International

Not Wrong, Just Misunderstood

When it comes to acknowledging the widespread anti-American anger in the Arab World, the Bush administration refuses "to engage in self-criticism," according to James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute. "The fault, they insist, must be elsewhere. And so they maintain that Arabs are only angry at us because they are being taught to hate us and their regimes use that hatred to deflect from their own inadequacies. ...

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Clamping Down, Down Under

The Australian government is using a report by the right-wing think tank Institute for Public Affairs to determine "the most effective ways to ensure that the transparency of the growing engagement between Government and Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) is maintained." The report, titled "Managing Relations with Non-Government Organisations," maintains that NGOs enjoy "privileged positions

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High-Priced Friends in Need

Russian oil company OAO Yukos has seen hard times since the arrest on tax evasion and fraud charges of its former chief executive, Mikhail Khodorkovsky. The company "is trading at a fraction of its value at the time of Mr. Khodorkovsky's arrest," and owes $3.4 billion in back taxes, according to the Russian government. "Company executives say Yukos could be driven out of business," writes the Wall Street Journal.

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Democracy Is Gr8!

Bush administration plans for "the world's wealthiest nations to declare their support for democracy in the Middle East" at the G8 Summit this week are backfiring. The declaration "has strained relations with several important allies in the Arab world," including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Morocco, Egypt and Pakistan.

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What the World Needs Now

Sixty percent of the nearly 19,000 people in 19 nations surveyed by the Program on International Policy Attitudes agreed: "The world is not going in the right direction." This view was strongly linked to the opinion, held by 55 percent of respondents, that "the United States is not having a positive influence in the world." A majority of poll participants "does not think that rich countries are playing fair in trade negotiations with poor countries"; believes "rich countries

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Freedom Fries, Hold the Freedom

The U.S. State Department is warning Americans in Italy that "not all demonstrations" planned during George Bush's visit this weekend "are expected to be peaceful." Italian peace groups are organizing several demonstrations; one Rome-based activist explained: "We are going to disrupt this visit ...

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Trading Places?

After being arrested by Israeli secret service agents "on suspicion of having arranged a television interview with Mordechai Vanunu in violation of state gagging orders," British journalist Peter Hounam was released today. Hounam was in Israel working on a BBC documentary about Vanunu, a former nuclear technician turned whistleblower. In 1986, Hounam's reporting "helped to reveal Israel's nuclear secrets," after Vanunu came forward with weapons programs information.

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