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Politics : Sioux Nation -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: SiouxPal who wrote (5834)	1/28/2005 10:26:55 AM
From: SiouxPal	Respond to of 362296

As a counterpoint to my post I will post redfish's facts about the elections in Palestine..... President Peckerhead says democracy will defeat terrorism. Hamas Wins Major Victory in Gaza Local Elections By Nidal al-Mughrabi GAZA (Reuters) - Islamic militant group Hamas swept nearly two-thirds of the seats in the Gaza Strip's first council elections, defeating the dominant Fatah movement of President Mahmoud Abbas, unofficial results showed on Friday. The municipal poll was a test of support for Islamists sworn to destroy Israel, who boycotted a Jan. 9 presidential election won by Abbas on a platform of ending violence. "Hamas's victory proves Islam is the solution," blared a slogan from loudspeakers as thousands of supporters celebrated in the streets beneath fluttering green Hamas flags. Results collated by Reuters for the 118 seats on 10 councils showed that candidates from the Hamas list had won just over 65 percent in Thursday's ballot against nearly 30 percent for Fatah and its allies. Some seats went to independents. Abbas has been trying to win a cease-fire from Hamas and other militants spearheading a 4-year-old revolt to allow the resumption of talks with Israel and to avoid chaos in Gaza ahead of an Israeli plan to abandon the occupied territory. "Our people have a consensus on the choice of jihad and resistance and the election has underscored that concept," Hamas spokesman Muhir al-Masri told reporters. But while the results were a blow to Abbas's Fatah, they also raise the prospect that Hamas will join parliamentary elections in July and thereby shift closer to the political mainstream. CHARITY AND BOMBS Hamas, which has killed hundreds of Israelis in suicide bombings, has won many hearts in Gaza not only for its role in the fighting but also for charities that help the needy in the absence of support from the crumbling Palestinian Authority. Fatah, formed by the late leader Yasser Arafat and the dominant force in the Palestinian Authority, did not comment immediately on the unofficial results. The electoral commission was due to make an official announcement later on Friday. Voter turnout topped 80 percent -- considerably higher than at the presidential election for a successor to Arafat. Continued ... reuters.com

To: SiouxPal who wrote (5834)	1/28/2005 10:27:00 AM
From: redfish	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 362296

I don't think a real peace if possible over there because there are too many people who don't want peace. Only after things get so painful that peace is the only alternative will the situation change.

To: SiouxPal who wrote (5834)	1/28/2005 10:56:17 AM
From: T L Comiskey	Respond to of 362296

Ho..Ho..Hos..and their 'Friends in high places'..too Saudis Backing Higher Oil Prices Now in Policy Shift (Story also in NYT Business today) Oil Firm at $49; Saudi Signals No Cuts Thu Jan 27, 2005 02:48 PM ET NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices firmed above $49 a barrel on Thursday as concern over potential attacks on Iraqi oil infrastructure leading up to Sunday's elections outweighed signs from Saudi Arabia that a fresh OPEC output cut was probably not imminent. U.S. light crude (CLc1: Quote, Profile, Research) was up 47 cents at $49.25 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, cutting into Wednesday's 86-cent fall after a bigger-than-expected build in U.S. crude inventories. London Brent crude was up 31 cents at $46.82 a barrel on the International Petroleum Exchange. Traders were anxious about Iraq's election Sunday, fearing intensifying violence could hit southern exports, which have been largely spared the repeated sabotage that has paralyzed northern flows for more than a month. Wednesday was the deadliest day for American forces since they invaded the country 22 months ago as 31 troops died in a helicopter crash and six more were killed in insurgent attacks. As oil prices firmed, Saudi Arabia's oil minister, Ali al-Naimi, said on Thursday the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries did not need to cut production at the cartel's meeting on Sunday. "One needs to wait until we get closer to the second quarter, possibly in the March meeting, possibly after. It just depends," he told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Naimi's comments were the first indication of Saudi Arabia's stance heading into OPEC's ministerial meeting in Vienna. The group agreed last month to withdraw 1 million barrels per day, effective Jan. 1, to bolster prices. "This meeting is basically looking at the effects of the decision last December and see whether it has actually affected supply," Naimi said. "What it looks like is supply is adequate, inventories are inching upwards," he said. "The market seems to be, from a fundamental point of view, in balance." Kuwait, the UAE, Nigeria and Indonesia said this week they supported keeping production unchanged as prices remain high and world oil inventories are not building too fast. Crude prices are up 13 percent for the year after winter finally hit hard in the U.S. Northeast, the biggest heating oil market in the world. U.S. heating oil inventories fell by 2.1 million barrels last week, keeping them 4 percent below year-ago levels as consumers and retailers stocked up ahead of the cold snap. Winter supply worries are receding with temperatures in the frigid Northeast forecast to rise next week and stay warmer than usual in February and March. U.S. crude oil supplies, meanwhile, rose last week by 3.4 million barrels, swelling the year-on-year surplus to about nine percent.