Between the 30^th of June and the 11^th and 12^th of December of 2009, the Iraqi government auctioned off much off Iraq's proven crude oil reserves.

Among the oilfields that went under the hammer were the giant Rumaila oilfield with an estimated contents of 17 billion barrels (peak production expected to be around 2.9 million barrels per day), the West Qurna oilfields 1 and 2 with an estimated contents of 8.6 billion barrels and 12.9 billion barrels respectively (total peak production expected to be around 4.4 million barrels per day), the Majnoon oilfield with an estimated contents of 12.6 billion barrels (total peak production expected to be around 1.8 million barrels per day) and the Zubair oilfield with an estimated contents of 4 billion barrels (peak production expected to be around 1.1 million barrels per day).

The British began their domination of the Indian subcontinent via the East India Company. This commercial entity, originally there from the 1600s to trade with the region, slowly began leading to the need to have a private militia there to protect its interests. By the late 1700s, the British had a regular army there to look after their assets and by the mid 1800s these foreign exploitative colonialists had completely replaced the previously resident ruling system and had taken over the running of the entire subcontinent for themselves. In doing so the British had demonstrated how the concept of ‘divide and rule' can be applied successfully in a country and used to split the population along religious, political and ethnic lines.

The Western media has gone into hyperdrive with the beginning of operation Moshtarak. The US and NATO have been trumpeting this invasion for over a month, and predict a quick victory.  One US commander noted that Marjah residents who went to bed tonight would "wake up to a new tomorrow."

This operation takes place less than two weeks after all those involved in the Afghan conflict met at various European venues to hammer out a deal to bribe the Taliban, offer reconcilable elements ‘normal lives,' and bring the Taliban leadership into some sort of political settlement.

A month on from the Haitian earthquake and the images of mothers and young children trying to rebuild their lives after the devastation is upsetting for all. Although such disasters cannot be prevented, the post earthquake events in the country reveal some startling facts about Haiti. Firstly, the tiny state is one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere and has development indicators comparable to some of the poorest African states. In terms of illiteracy and mortality, it is on par with countries such as Bangladesh, Chad and Sierra Leone. Such characteristics are quite unsettling, especially as it is only 600 miles from the United States.