FIdel Castro steps down as Cuban leader after 49 years in power; France, US, UK officially recognize Kosovo...

19 February :: At 81, Fidel Castro has announced his retirement as head of state, potentially opening door to political reform, after 49 years under the regime he founded when his revolution took power in 1959; Cuban exiles have expressed little enthusiasm as in past, due to his brother's apparently firm hold on power... US, France, UK, officially recognize new Kosovo independent state, with Sec. of State Rice saying the US "has today formally recognized Kosovo as a sovereign and independent state"; Spain, however has rejected the Kosovo declaration, its foreign minister Miguel Ángel Moratinos saying "The government of Spain will not recognize the unilateral act proclaimed yesterday by the assembly of Kosovo", due to perceptions that Kosovo's regional assembly declaring independence without Serb approval could lead to similar actions in Spain's Basque region, or in Catalunya; EU in Brussels voted to allow member states to choose their own position toward Kosovar independence, has made no official joint declaration...

SPECIAL NEWS ALERT: Fidel Castro retires from Cuban leadership, potentially opening way for reform

Fidel Castro has announced he will retire from leadership of the Cuban government; in a letter published by the official state newspaper, Granma, he wrote that he "will not accept, I repeat, I neither want nor will accept, the position of president of the Council of State and commander in chief"; the move comes after nearly 50 years in power, and more than 18 months after a severe but undisclosed intestinal ailment forced him to cede power to his brother, Raúl...

Reaction to the news of Castro's official retirement was muted in Cuban expat capital Miami, as many say Castro has effectively transferred his regime to his brother, that Raúl has shown no signs of true democratization or reform; in summer 2006, when it was announced Castro would cede power to his brother temporarily, demonstrations were larger, celebratory, rumors circulated that led to reports Castro had already died; by now it seems the population has largely adjusted to Fidel Castro no longer being the true head of the regime, with his brother and allies firmly in power...

On 20 February last year, Fidel Castro was named anew to the Cuban Parliament, but he did not state at that time whether he was planning to leave power or not, leaving control of the government in his brother's hands; his announcement came just 5 days before the Parliament is to name a new central leadership council, including the role of head of state, embodied until now by Castro as president and commander-in-chief...

Dallas Morning News breaks US media silence on Sibel Edmonds case; Serbia pledges "peaceful" resistance to Kosovo independence...

18 February :: Dallas Morning News becomes first "mainstream" or corporate-owned US media outlet to run the now partially corroborated story regarding allegations of US officials' selling nuclear secrets to foreign operatives, possibly to enemy, terrorists; DMN ran revised edition of Philip Giraldi's investigative report from The American Conservative magazine questioning the US media's role in keeping the story from public view; among the information Sibel Edmonds is allegedly prohibited from disclosing are contacts between State and Defense Dept. agents and foreign spies, involving a transfer of cash, and the sale of nuclear secrets:

Ms. Edmonds' revelations have attracted corroboration in the form of anonymous letters apparently written by FBI employees. There have been frequent reports of FBI field agents being frustrated by the premature closure of cases dealing with foreign spying, particularly when those cases involve Israel, and the State Department has frequently intervened to shut down investigations based on "sensitive foreign diplomatic relations."

Giraldi's report also states that:

Curiously, the state-secrets gag order binding Ms. Edmonds, while put in place by DOJ in 2002, was not requested by the FBI but by the State Department and Pentagon – which employed individuals she identified as being involved in criminal activities. If her allegations are frivolous, that order would scarcely seem necessary.

the scope of the allegations and the peril posed by the alleged corruption to international peace and security, US foreign policy, and American lives, can scarcely be overstated, if the details Edmonds and corroborating FBI leaks are true... Kosovo braces for Serb resistance to independence declaration; Reuters reports "Serbia's leaders pledged peaceful resistance after Kosovo's declaration of independence on Sunday, but angry protesters turned to violence in Belgrade and a Serbian stronghold in Kosovo", while Russia, China openly declare the independence move troubling, illegitimate; EU debating official policy, as western powers plan mission to help build, protect, new state... Though the original ballot measure proposing splitting California's Electoral College votes by population has been withdrawn, report suggests ballot initiative continues "full steam ahead", with aim to sway presidential election tally nationwide; California would be the only state with such a system, some aim to pressure Gov. Schwarzenegger to back a rival proposal that would commit California's electors to backing the winner of the national popular vote, a nationwide campaign that aims to end the relevance of a system some say was designed to protect slave-owners' political interests...

ELECTION IRREGULARITIES: Reported "Zero" Count or Undercount of Obama Votes in Some NY Precincts Raises Questions

The Democratic party is again facing questions about its handling of the primary process in some precincts in New York City, where initial "unofficial" tallies reported zero votes for Sen. Barack Obama, of Illinois, rival of local junior senator Hillary Rodham Clinton for the party's presidential nomination. The undercounts appear to represent severe distortions of the actual tally, and occurred in areas where Obama's support rivaled Clinton's.

The question has been raised by several party leaders as to how any candidate could be expected to have received zero votes and why the problem was not corrected sooner. Some have suggested the extreme error points to the unlikelihood of wrongdoing, while others allege some sort of conspiracy to steal enough votes to add one or two delegates to the Clinton tally. There is no evidence of any campaign operatives being involved.

The New York Times has reported that its own review of election night tally reporting "found about 80 election districts among the city’s 6,106 where Mr. Obama supposedly did not receive even one vote, including cases where he ran a respectable race in a nearby district."

Their report also found that some of these contests were close enough that one or two votes could sway the precinct. "In the Harlem district, for instance, where the primary night returns suggested a 141 to 0 sweep by Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, the vote now stands at 261 to 136. In an even more heavily black district in Brooklyn — where the vote on primary night was recorded as 118 to 0 for Mrs. Clinton — she now barely leads, 118 to 116."

• New York Times: "Unofficial Tallies in City Understated Obama Vote"
  
• Daily News: "Hillary's New York superdelegates are feeling the heat"
  

Kosovo to declare independence from Serbia, EU to help organize new state; Musharraf says elections will go ahead in Pakistan...

17 February :: Kosovo to declare independence from Serbia today, according to reports from Pristina, EU agencies; EU officials said "around 1,900 international police officers, judges, prosecutors and customs officials and approximately 1,100 local staff will be based in headquarters in Pristina or located throughout the judicial and police system in Kosovo", according to CNN, with EU staff replacing the UN mission currently aiding in the running of the territory... Musharraf gov't says parliamentary elections will be held as scheduled, despite massive suicide bombing that killed at least 27 at secular candidate's campaign rally; opposition parties have criticized the gov't for the escalation of allegedly extremist-motivated violence, and fear the gov't may use the bombings as a pretext to suspend elections or take measures to fortify Pres. Musharraf's hold on power... New release of economic data paints worrying picture of coming trends in US economy; IHT reports "With the price of oil near record levels, import costs grew in January at the highest annual rate in a quarter century, the Labor Department said. In New York, manufacturing activity fell to its lowest level in five years. And consumers, responding to a national survey, said they felt worse about the economy than any time since the recession era of the early 1990s", also quoting High Frequency Economics economist as saying "The sustained volatility in the markets, the rise in energy and food prices and, of course, the catastrophe in the housing market, is making consumers extraordinarily miserable"... Report suggests organizing everyday household processes to be more environmentally-friendly has become standard part of domestic planning stress in some parts of US; a write-up in IHT suggests "The truth is, we're not living very naturally - we're in our cars, staring at the computer screen, separated most of the day from the people we love", but warns against using ecological considerations as a stand-in for other personal goals... Report suggests economic hardship, political disappointments, marginalization, lack of progress toward democracy, are combining to drive Egyptian youths first toward religion, then in some cases to radical fundamentalist movements that seek Islamic state, abolition of secular culture, specifically "With 60 percent of the region's population under the age of 25, this youthful religious fervor has enormous implications for the Middle East. More than ever, Islam has become the cornerstone of identity, replacing other, failed ideologies: Arabism, socialism, nationalism"...