http://politics.humanbeams.com/index.php international political news, opinion and discussion en Copyright 2007 2007-02-01T16:31:01-08:00 http://politics.humanbeams.com/index.php/politics/comments/p1007ngwane_benin_liberal_to_social_democracy/ http://politics.humanbeams.com/index.php/politics/comments/p1007ngwane_benin_liberal_to_social_democracy/#When:17:31:01Z March 29, 2006 - Benin is undeniably one of Africa’s most successful stories in liberal or electoral democracy. From 1990 when she became the first African country to institute a sovereign National Conference, Benin has continued to employ all innovative and endogenous democratic strategies that distinguish her from the continent’s identity of political insolvability. The solid foundation laid by the conference in February 1990 provided the Beninese people with a nationalistic vision that focused on the power of alternatives through the ballot box rather than the principle of self-perpetration through constitutional tinkering. Politics, Africa, Benin 2007-02-01T17:31:01-08:00 http://politics.humanbeams.com/index.php/politics/comments/p1007al_ali_iraq_case_for_withdrawal1/ http://politics.humanbeams.com/index.php/politics/comments/p1007al_ali_iraq_case_for_withdrawal1/#When:16:59:01Z The post-2003 occupation is only the latest chapter in Washington’s long, disastrous involvement in Iraq. Zaid Al-Ali tracks a bitter history and draws a lesson. Politics, MiddleEast, Iraq 2007-02-01T16:59:01-08:00 http://politics.humanbeams.com/index.php/politics/comments/p1007concannon_us_congress_haiti/ http://politics.humanbeams.com/index.php/politics/comments/p1007concannon_us_congress_haiti/#When:16:49:00Z The New Year is a good time for all kinds of resolutions—resolutions to do better next time, resolution of conflicts, resolutions as joint declarations of principles. Politics, Americas, CarribeanIslands, Haiti 2007-02-01T16:49:00-08:00 http://politics.humanbeams.com/index.php/politics/comments/p1007parry_gonzales_questions_habeas_corpus1/ http://politics.humanbeams.com/index.php/politics/comments/p1007parry_gonzales_questions_habeas_corpus1/#When:16:41:00Z In one of the most chilling public statements ever made by a U.S. Attorney General, Alberto Gonzales questioned whether the U.S. Constitution grants habeas corpus rights of a fair trial to every American. Parry_Robert, Politics, Americas, NorthAmerica, UnitedStates 2007-02-01T16:41:00-08:00 http://politics.humanbeams.com/index.php/politics/comments/p1007gjohnsit_western_intervention_somalia/ http://politics.humanbeams.com/index.php/politics/comments/p1007gjohnsit_western_intervention_somalia/#When:16:55:01Z While the 19 American soldiers had their deaths made into a movie, the 200 dead Somali woman and children are completely forgotten in the western world. No wonder we don’t understand their motivations - we never cared enough to look for them. Politics, Africa, Somalia 2007-01-12T16:55:01-08:00 http://politics.humanbeams.com/index.php/politics/comments/p1007zibechi_argentina_uruguay_pulp_mill_conflict/ http://politics.humanbeams.com/index.php/politics/comments/p1007zibechi_argentina_uruguay_pulp_mill_conflict/#When:16:44:00Z Conflict between Argentina and Uruguay over the construction of cellulose mills on the shore of the shared Río Uruguay has taken a spectacular turn. Politics, Americas, SouthAmerica, Argentina 2007-01-12T16:44:00-08:00 http://politics.humanbeams.com/index.php/politics/comments/p1007tehrani_bloggers_opinions_iran_control_attempt/ http://politics.humanbeams.com/index.php/politics/comments/p1007tehrani_bloggers_opinions_iran_control_attempt/#When:16:37:01Z The Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance in Iran has been trying to follow the Chinese government’s path of controlling blogs and web sites. Owners of blogs and sites have been asked to register their web site or blog within two months. Politics, Global 2007-01-12T16:37:01-08:00 http://politics.humanbeams.com/index.php/politics/comments/p1206irin_somalia_question_of_balance/ http://politics.humanbeams.com/index.php/politics/comments/p1206irin_somalia_question_of_balance/#When:19:54:00Z “There are two sorts of freedoms,” pointed out a Mogadishu businessman. “Going about our daily lives is the most important freedom we can have now. But...” News_Wire, Politics, Africa, Somalia, GlobalDotConnecting, OrganizationsNGOs, UN, WarandConflicts 2006-12-01T19:54:00-08:00 http://politics.humanbeams.com/index.php/politics/comments/p1206chinahand_tonga_tangle/ http://politics.humanbeams.com/index.php/politics/comments/p1206chinahand_tonga_tangle/#When:19:51:00Z Tonga is only one of several nations in crisis in the South Pacific as populist, democratic forces battle against entrenched elites, economically dominant non-indigenous ethnic groups, and Australian pretensions to regional hegemony… Politics, Asia-Pacific, Tonga, GlobalDotConnecting, Colonialism 2006-12-01T19:51:00-08:00 http://politics.humanbeams.com/index.php/politics/comments/p1206stone_humanitarian_intervention/ http://politics.humanbeams.com/index.php/politics/comments/p1206stone_humanitarian_intervention/#When:19:43:00Z According to some observers, the US keeps Sudan in a perpetual state of war by making sure at least one rebel group is on the move while another is engaged in peace talks - Stone Politics, Global, GlobalDotConnecting, HumanitarianIntervention 2006-12-01T19:43:00-08:00