The blog will finish it's focus tomorrow morning.

Thank you for your interest.

Have a good night.

Do we dare leave them alone?

Click link above

Since early 2002, IFDC has been undertaking a USAID-funded Developing Agri-Input Markets in Nigeria (DAIMINA) project. This project is being conducted in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD). Project activities include dialogue on policy reforms and regulations, private sector capacity building in agricultural input marketing, and strengthening of market information services.

Private sector capacity building was initiated in 20 selected markets in Kano and Oyo states and was later extended to another 20 markets in Bauchi and Abuja.The efforts of DAIMINA have resulted in the development of a strong input supply chain, revision and amendment of fertilizer and seed laws, and strengthening of the market information services. A significant improvement in input supply and fertilizer retail prices has shown a downward trend through competitive business practices of trained agricultural input dealers.

....As a market-friendly alternative to direct subsidy, IFDC—in collaboration with FAO’s Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) Special Programme on Food Security Project (SPFS)—launched the fertilizer voucher scheme in May 2004 in seven SPFS sites. Initial response is encouraging and shows potential for expansion.

Where the USA has been successful, we need to reflect on the quality of life we have brought the citizens of other countries, being very, very careful to raise standards of environmental safety. It is surprising to me that Nigeria is an ally to the USA at all. Big Oil has killed citizens and destroyed villages through false incentives to the country's national military. It was only a few months ago when citizens kidnapped company personnel believed to cause harm to Nigerians, their ecosystems and their river, esturary and ocean food supplies.

Efforts like this need to accompanied by Peacekeepers that insure justice is practiced while defeating corporate corruption leading to the deaths of citizens. In this instance, fertilizers are a fine start as well as improved farming practices accompanied by microinvestment, however, are we sure the species of produce aren't adverse to the ecosystems of Africa, adverse to water run off with potential water quality issues and practices whereby fertilizers lead to salination of land and soil erosion. If measures are overlooked to protect 'the truth' these citizens have in these measures we will be 'set back' in our diplomacy rather than advanced and then everyone loses while suspision and superstitions return.

Challenges to established and benevolent leadership exists within the defintion of threat as trust slips away and the international community questions it's previous decisions when USA policy was benevolent and correct. The turmoil that mistrust breeds has to end. In all relationships the highest of standards including environmental laws and child labor has to be upheld. As investors to the stability of a global community there should be every effort to safeguard international relationships at all levels.

The advancement of democracy cannot coexist with corruption.

Violence on the eve of Nigerian elections

Tensions flared in Nigeria today, a day before key national elections, after unidentified gunmen shot dead a hardline Muslim scholar and government critic while he was at prayer in a mosque in the northern city of Kano.
It was not immediately clear if the assassination was linked to tomorrow’s first round of general elections in the vast African country or was the result of a feud between rival sects in the largely Islamic north who have differed bitterly over attempts to impose Sharia law.
Gunmen who burst into the mosque mowed down Sheikh Jafar Adam, a Wahhabi cleric, and two other members of the congregation, police said. Witnesses said the Saudi-educated cleric was shot five times at close range at the Dorayi Central Mosque and died of his wounds before reaching hospital. He was buried today.
The death came as President Olusegun Obasanjo warned the government would “deal firmly” with acts of fraud and violence in the elections. The polls have been dogged for months by bitter infighting and accusations of attempts to organise vote rigging.

Boost for landmine clearance - Bosnia. Peacekeeping has helped give people a fighting chance.

A remotely controlled Panther armored mine-clearing vehicle leads a column of armored vehicles down a road near McGovern Base, in Bosnia-Herzegovina on May 16, 1996.

You might recognize this focus as the one Princess Diana made when she bravely walked into a mine field. She practiced diplomacy to the fears of all that watched. The mission continues today and people are alive that would not have been otherwise. If the USA had done it's job in Aghanistan and handled Iraq through the World Courts rather than oil invasion, the efforts here would have been finished or far better established than today. When the USA walks away from peace efforts through the deployment of Peacekeepers while stretching NATO thin, it prolongs the peace process and people die as a result.


THE fight to rid former war zones of landmines will be stepped up when a Burwell firm expands.
Special armoured tractors, produced in the village by Armtrac, are in use around the world but the business has outgrown the farm buildings it now uses.
East Cambridgeshire councillors have approved plans for a new factory on several acres of land at Reach Road, Burwell.
There will be a test area next to the factory on set-aside farmland.
Corena Barrie, who runs the business in partnership with Stephen Brown, said up to four modified tractors, fitted with armour plating and a front "flail" to detonate mines, were produced each year.
But the company, which also produces agricultural harvesting machines, is hoping to double production.
Their machines are being used to clear mines in Iraq, Jordan, Angola, Sri Lanka, Bosnia and Croatia.
It is estimated there are up to 70 million landmines in more than 90 countries, killing or injuring a civilian every 30 minutes, or 18,000 people a year.

http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/newmarket/2007/04/12/805ad4a1-003b-4ccc-8c34-e65046d7516f.lpf

FEAR IN THE VALLEY - A non-fiction account of the conflict in Kashmir

One of the most volitle areas of the Afghanistan region is Kashmir. How is the NATO and British forces suppose to stop 'the base' of Osama bin Laden with areas of chronic war serving as a destabilizing forces where terrorists can find 'safe habor?'

Kashmir serves as 'the sore spot' between two nuclear nations, Pakistan and India.

Mufti optimistic about 3rd Kashmir routable conference

Srinagar, April 14 (NAK): Hoping that the third Kashmir roundtable conference, to be held in by the end of this month, would be result oriented, chief patron of Peoples Democratic Party Mufti Muhammad Sayeed today urged New Delhi to strengthen general masses instead of relying on security forces in the state of Jammu and Kashmir.

Addressing a public rally at Lolab in border district of Kupwara, the former chief minister said that the central government should take measures to empower the people politically and economically as they are the biggest custodians of the state's interests.

Sayeed was of the opinion that fast-changing ground realities in the sub-continent necessitate initiation of concrete measures for peaceful and ultimate settlement of the Kashmir issue as the cost of not doing so would be colossal for the region.

An active State Department and Peacekeeper force is vital to these people. They have to feel a sense of well being under the governments they exist before terrorist networks are viewed as destructive to their best interests.

Sri Lankan military, Tamil rebels clash in north, 30 reportedly killed

Indonesia and the islands of the Indo-Pacific are among the largest Muslim populations on Earth. It is vital to the security of the USA that all efforts to improve the lives of the people there are met with support for the sovereign Indonesian government. Known terrorists have been known to strike in Bali. Where is the USA Peacekeepers in this region? Nowhere. Why? Because Bush's policies of 'overwhelming force' are viewed as a direct threat to the soveriegnty of these OPEC nations.

The USA military was allowed in the region for a limited engagement after the tsunami which is well documented on this blog. But, they were required to leave to ensure the sovereignty of the nations remained intact without occupation.

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka -- Clashes between Sri Lankan soldiers and Tamil rebels in the island's north have killed about 30 people, the two sides said Wednesday.
The clashes broke out a day earlier near the frontier separating government- and guerrilla-held areas in northern Sri Lanka -- violence that each side accused the other of instigating.
A military spokesman, Lt. Col. Upali Rajapakse, said unprovoked rebel mortar fire killed a soldier at a checkpoint, forcing the army to respond with its own artillery and mortar fire that left at least 20 insurgents dead.
"The figure may be more, but this is what we have from our intelligence sources," Rajapakse said.
Tamil rebels countered that their fighters had ambushed soldiers making a push through jungle into rebel territory, killing eight to 10 troops.

One of the aspects of terrorist strongholds that plays well with citizens of countries is that their government is curel. As a result they will stage episodes of attacks and attribute them to the government.

Violent Start
14 April 2007 13:37:23

Five including child shot by Tamil Tigers as Sri Lanka marks New Year: military

COLOMBO, April 14, 2007 (AFP) - Suspected Tamil Tiger rebels shot dead five people in eastern Sri Lanka on Saturday, the military said, as the country marked the traditional New Year and the president appealed for national unity.

Gunmen from the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) ordered a family out of their home in Eravur and shot them dead, the military said, adding some of the victims were from a breakaway rebel faction.
Among those killed was a three-year-old boy, the military said.
The killings came as both the majority Sinhalese and the minority Tamil community marked their common New Year on Saturday.
President Mahinda Rajapakse in his New Year message appealed for unity in the ethnically-divided nation of 19.5 million people.
"The observance of New Year traditions and rituals leads to the unity of the nation," he said.
"We should all come together to observe the New Year traditions, irrespective of all differences."
The Tigers on Friday vowed to hit back against an advance by government troops in the east of Sri Lanka where a breakaway faction known as the "Karuna Group" is collaborating with security forces to attack the Tigers.

Borrowed infrastructure.

They are brilliant.

George Walker Bush stated, "Iraq is the central front of terror." It wouldn't seem to be the case. How is the USA to stop terrorist networks if the sovereign countries that have authority over them see a relationship with the USA as adverse greater than the very terrorist networks that plague it?


Tamil Tigers 'hijack' satellite
Correspondents in Washington
APRIL 13, 2007
TAMIL Tiger rebels in Sri Lanka have been illegally using a satellite of US giant Intelsat to beam their radio and television broadcasts overseas."We have been actively pursuing avenues to terminate the illegal usage of our satellite," said Nick Mitsis, the spokesman for Intelsat, the world's largest provider of fixed satellite services.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), fighting for independence in Sri Lanka's northern and eastern regions, has been blacklisted as a terrorist organisation by the United States since 1997.
Intelsat officials and technical experts met with Sri Lanka's Ambassador to the United States Bernard Goonetilleke on Tuesday to discuss steps Intelsat was taking "to address the unauthorised use of one of its satellites by the LTTE," an Intelsat statement said.
During the meeting, Intelsat's executive vice-president and general counsel Phillip Spector said: "Intelsat does not tolerate terrorists or others operating illegally on its satellites," the statement said.


Sri Lanka: Human rights is the issue, not cricket
The distortion in Sri Lanka of Amnesty International's campaign "Play by the Rules" is a ploy to distract attention from the increasingly desperate plight of hundreds of thousands of Sri Lankan people.

"We are concerned at abuses by all parties to the conflict -- civilians are killed, abducted and forcibly disappeared every day at the hands of government forces, Tamil Tigers, the Karuna faction and other armed groups," said Purna Sen, Asia Pacific Director at Amnesty International. "Let us be clear -- no side in this conflict has anything to be complacent about. On the contrary, all parties are breaching international law by failing to protect civilians."

Increasing abductions, illegal killings and child recruitment in Sri Lanka are all going on unchecked and victims do not receive justice. The intensified fighting over the last year has forced over 300,000 people to flee their homes. At least 1000 people have been forcibly disappeared since the beginning of 2006."

The situation in Sri Lanka has become so desperate for local people that urgent action is needed. Civilians desperately need better protection and a key goal of our campaign is to press for independent human rights monitors to investigate human rights abuses and identify the perpetrators, so they can be brought to justice," said Purna Sen.

..."Cricket is a great game and the Sri Lankan people are rightly proud of their ethnically diverse national cricket team, which symbolises the best of Sri Lanka," said Purna Sen. "But hundreds of thousands of people have had to flee the fighting to live in temporary shelter -- and so are not able to live in safety let alone watch cricket."

Bush and Cheney have no effective diplomacy. All they have is The Doctrine of Overwhelming Force, The Powell Doctrine.

The Powell Doctrine is a general's focus, not that of an Executive Branch.

In the winter of 1992/93 the view of the Former Secretary of State was inclusive of all peace process and not war.

Summary: The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff defines a new national military strategy aimed at accomplishing a range of missions far broader than America's armed forces have known before. Peacekeeping and humanitarian operations will loom larger. Called for is a flexible Base Force with capabilities to meet a host of far-flung threats to America's interests, rather than the single threat of communist power that guided military doctrine through the Cold War.

How quickly the Neocons forget how a directive of peace is vital to any 'end game' of a war. It is failed diplomacy that leads to war. Bush and Cheney ran oil wars and intend to do same if allowed to with Iran. The shouting match that is half a world apart is undermining to all initiative to defeat terrorists and their networks.

As a Secretary of State, Colin Powell never 'got it right' when it came to priorities of the Bush Administration. Powell was supposed to 'set the stage' for war. Instead, he bravely walked through the streets of Vietnam on his way to talks with it's current government. The Powell State Department never had a chance. The Powell Doctrine stands as a tribute to the strategies of generals, but, not statemen.

War doesn't work against terrorist networks, it does however kill lots of innocent people that then seek out terrorists to end the killing. ie: Iraq

War is for defense of a nation against another nation's invading military. Terrorist networks aren't sovereign nations with established and wel financed militaries. They rely on common weaponry and suicide bombers. The Bush White House has misused the USA miliary for the purpose of illegal invasion into sovereign countries. The policies of this administration are illegal and designed to allow profeeters to benefit without purpose to the national security of the USA.

President Bush said, a plan to set an end date for the war gives "our enemies the victory they desperately want."

Al-Qaeda link to Algiers bombs

Ian Black and Hugh Macleod Oran

Algeria suffered its worst violence since its long civil war on Wednesday when terrorists affiliated to al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for twin bombings in the capital, Algiers, that killed up to 30 people and wounded more than 100 others.

Algerian Prime Minister Abdel-Aziz Belkhadem condemned what he called “cowardly and criminal attacks” after separate blasts at his own office in the centre of Algiers and shortly after at a police station.

“The whole block of the entrance to the prime minister’s office blew up,” said one eyewitness. Scores of ambulances converged on the residential neighbourhood while dazed survivors were led from the badly damaged six-storey building.

It's Saturday Night

American Pie by Don McLean

A long, long time ago...
I can still remember
How that music used to make me smile.
And I knew if I had my chance
That I could make those people dance
And, maybe, they’d be happy for a while.

But february made me shiver
With every paper I’d deliver.
Bad news on the doorstep;
I couldn’t take one more step.

I can’t remember if I cried
When I read about his widowed bride,
But something touched me deep inside
The day the music died.

So bye-bye, miss american pie.
Drove my chevy to the levee,
But the levee was dry.
And them good old boys were drinkin’ whiskey and rye
Singin’, "this’ll be the day that I die.
"this’ll be the day that I die."

Did you write the book of love,
And do you have faith in God above,
If the Bible tells you so?
Do you believe in rock ’n roll,
Can music save your mortal soul,
And can you teach me how to dance real slow?

Well, I know that you’re in love with him
`cause I saw you dancin’ in the gym.
You both kicked off your shoes.
Man, I dig those rhythm and blues.

I was a lonely teenage broncin’ buck
With a pink carnation and a pickup truck,
But I knew I was out of luck
The day the music died.

I started singin’,"bye-bye, miss american pie."
Drove my chevy to the levee,
But the levee was dry.
Them good old boys were drinkin’ whiskey and rye
And singin’, "this’ll be the day that I die.
"this’ll be the day that I die."

Now for ten years we’ve been on our own
And moss grows fat on a rollin’ stone,
But that’s not how it used to be.
When the jester sang for the king and queen,
In a coat he borrowed from james dean
And a voice that came from you and me,

Oh, and while the king was looking down,
The jester stole his thorny crown.
The courtroom was adjourned;
No verdict was returned.
And while lennon read a book of marx,
The quartet practiced in the park,
And we sang dirges in the dark
The day the music died.

We were singing,
"bye-bye, miss american pie."
Drove my chevy to the levee,
But the levee was dry.
Them good old boys were drinkin’ whiskey and rye
And singin’, "this’ll be the day that I die.
"this’ll be the day that I die."

Helter skelter in a summer swelter.
The birds flew off with a fallout shelter,
Eight miles high and falling fast.
It landed foul on the grass.
The players tried for a forward pass,
With the jester on the sidelines in a cast.

Now the half-time air was sweet perfume
While the sergeants played a marching tune.
We all got up to dance,
Oh, but we never got the chance!
`cause the players tried to take the field;
The marching band refused to yield.
Do you recall what was revealed
The day the music died?

We started singing,"bye-bye, miss american pie."
Drove my chevy to the levee,
But the levee was dry.
Them good old boys were drinkin’ whiskey and rye
And singin’, "this’ll be the day that I die.
"this’ll be the day that I die."

Oh, and there we were all in one place,
A generation lost in space
With no time left to start again.
So come on: jack be nimble, jack be quick!
Jack flash sat on a candlestick
Cause fire is the devil’s only friend.

Oh, and as I watched him on the stage
My hands were clenched in fists of rage.
No angel born in hell
Could break that satan’s spell.
And as the flames climbed high into the night
To light the sacrificial rite,
I saw satan laughing with delight
The day the music died

He was singing,
"bye-bye, miss american pie."
Drove my chevy to the levee,
But the levee was dry.
Them good old boys were drinkin’ whiskey and rye
And singin’, "this’ll be the day that I die.
"this’ll be the day that I die."

I met a girl who sang the blues
And I asked her for some happy news,
But she just smiled and turned away.
I went down to the sacred store
Where I’d heard the music years before,
But the man there said the music wouldn’t play.

And in the streets: the children screamed,
The lovers cried, and the poets dreamed.
But not a word was spoken;
The church bells all were broken.
And the three men I admire most:
The father, son, and the holy ghost,
They caught the last train for the coast
The day the music died.

And they were singing,
"bye-bye, miss american pie."
Drove my chevy to the levee,
But the levee was dry.
And them good old boys were drinkin’ whiskey and rye
Singin’, "this’ll be the day that I die.
"this’ll be the day that I die.

"They were singing,"
bye-bye, miss american pie."
Drove my chevy to the levee,
But the levee was dry.
Them good old boys were drinkin’ whiskey and rye
Singin’, "this’ll be the day that I die."

Morning Papers "It's Origins"

The Rooster

"Okeydoke"

This is not a normal ice melt for the region

April 12, 2007

Winnepeg, Canada

When the temperature started to fall, the ice started to flow including everything caught in it's wake

April 12, 2007

Winnepeg, Canada

Photographer states :: The water level at Selkirk has dropped enough to allow the ice jam to start moving under the bridge.. There is a lot of trees and other debris in the ice.. As Lake Winnipeg is still frozen over, all this ice moving down river will cause problems with communities to the north.

April 12, 2007

Burbank, California

Photographer states :: The water level at Selkirk has dropped enough to allow the ice jam to start moving under the bridge.. There is a lot of trees and other debris in the ice.. As Lake Winnipeg is still frozen over, all this ice moving down river will cause problems with communities to the north.