Dean screams roars into town
Democrats welcome new DNC leader
Democrats, he said, must reframe the values debate, claiming the high ground on Social Security, health care and protecting American security.
"Those are Kansas values," he said.But the Hiebert crowd got a little more red meat than the Liberty Hall attendees.
On abortion specifically, he said, the party must commit to making abortions "safe, legal and rare" while maintaining women's rights to choose.
"The issue is not abortion," Dean told the closed-door fund-raiser. "The issue is whether women can make up their own mind instead of some right-wing pastor, some right-wing politician telling them what to do."
And Dean told the Hiebert fund-raiser that gay marriage was a Republican diversion from discussions of ballooning deficits and lost American jobs. That presents an opportunity to attract moderate Republicans, he said.
"Moderate Republicans can't stand these people (conservatives), because they're intolerant. They don't think tolerance is a virtue," Dean said, adding: "I'm not going to have these right-wingers throw away our right to be tolerant."
And concluding his backyard speech with a litany of Democratic values, he added: "This is a struggle of good and evil. And we're the good."
When told of Dean's remarks, Derrick Sontag -- executive director of the Kansas Republican Party -- said he was "shocked."
"My immediate reaction to that whole dialogue is, it's full of hatred," Sontag said. "The Democratic Party has elected a leader that's full of hatred."
Sure, they are even tolerant of hatred, especially hatred of eviiil Republicans who demonize the opposition and generalize too much.
#1
Kitten provided by Karl Rove Vetinarians for Fur.
Posted by: Charles ||
02/27/2005 21:10 Comments ||
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"And concluding his backyard speech with a litany of Democratic values, he added: "This is a struggle of good and evil. And weâre the good.""
What'd Howlin' Howie do, manage to escape his handlers? I was reading just this past week that his advisors were keeping him on a short leash to minimize his contact with the public.
Something tells me the Dems don't have things quite figured out yet...
Posted by: Dave D. ||
02/27/2005 21:29 Comments ||
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#3
I can hardly wait for the 2008 primaries. This is going to be more fun than any Republicans should have.
Posted by: Tom ||
02/27/2005 21:37 Comments ||
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#4
Red meat for the Deaniacs? Oops!
"Hey, you can't print that!"
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/27/2005 21:38 Comments ||
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#5
Lawrence, KS? Good idea, Howie - go to the bright blue dot in the middle of the reddest state in the union, and get all excited about the false positive you receive. Got self-delusion?
LONDON - Queen Elizabeth II has distanced herself from the wedding of Prince Charles because she believes her son is putting "personal gratification before duty," a newspaper reported on Sunday.
He's not the first Crown Prince to do this.
Royal courtiers, quoted by The Sunday Telegraph, also said privately that the queen is "lukewarm" about the marriage and worried it could tarnish the monarchy itself.
Royal watchers in the British media called her planned absence a monumental snub even though the queen and other family members planned to attend the service of dedication afterwards at St George's Chapel in Windsor. The queen's private secretary Sir Robin Janvrin had tried to protect her from becoming involved in a "town hall marriage," which demeaned her own status, a courtier was quoted as saying.
The courtier said Janvrin's intervention was symptomatic of the queen's persistent concerns over Charles's relationship with Parker Bowles. "The queen believes that the Prince of Wales has put his own gratification and interests before duty by pursuing his relationship with Camilla and she can never forgive that," the courtier was quoted as saying.
She wasn't too happy with Diana either. Oh, the miseries of a meddling mother.
Meanwhile, The Sunday Times said the wedding may be the first in modern times not to be televised. While it had been agreed the town hall ceremony would not be broadcast, chances were only 50-50 that the church service would be shown because of objections from ArchDruid bishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/27/2005 12:15:39 AM ||
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#1
What's with the odd cap? Is he a mooselimb? The ...whatever he wears looks vaguely druidic.
I would offer a guess that he ie one marble short of the full set.
#2
Many, many years ago Charles couldn't marry Camilla because she was, Ethel bring my salts, a Catholic. So he was pressured into marring that greedy bitch Diana. Result has been scandal, cheating, divorce and a severe blow to Maonarchy's prestige. So the best the Queen could do is shut up.
#3
Charlie is a gone coon. The best thing Prince Harry could do is to start cultivating a large flock of SAS as his personal entourage. Only by "militarizing" the crown can he save it, protecting both it and Britain from the Eurocrats and enemies of Britain who seek the downfall of both. Privately, he should create his own (offshore) army, paid for by the royal estate, which is perhaps in the dozens or more billion dollars (the tight-fisted dear old Queenie's money), then if Britain is disarmed, they can rise to Britain's defense if attacked, as they most certainly WILL be. It would be the British version of the Foreign Legion. The final result would be about three regiments, led by loyal SAS officers. And while the fools in the "EU Army" and the UN are futzing about, his regiments can appear instantly and start murdering the enemy before London is in flames.
#5
"Queen thinks Charles puts personal life before duty: report"
Tell me again what these inbred elitest loosers "duty" is? Do they go to work in the morning? If so, at what? Would that work that they do perform better go undone? Moreover, what sort of an example do they set, whether morally, ethically, politically, economically, socially, systemically, or any other way? But they are a great tourist attraction? Weak.
State monarchy is so last millennium. Evict 'em. Lucky for them we're so enlightened; these sorts of things used to be settled differently.
Posted by: Mark E. ||
02/27/2005 11:32 Comments ||
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Wait DB! Sounds like the start of a damn fine screen play or perhaps a novel! I like it!
#8
Re: Camilla being a Catholic in the old days - what happened with that?
Did she convert out or something? I know they haven't changed the law.
And even if she was, and did convert, once Charles becomes (God help the Brits) King, what's to prevent her converting back?
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
02/27/2005 13:43 Comments ||
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#9
IIRC Camilla was married to some other mook - didn't know she was Catholic though....so the divorce thing would cause some tongue-wagging as well
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/27/2005 14:08 Comments ||
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Why would the divorce thing cause some tongue-wagging? Didn't this family (or an earlier version thereof) split off the English church from Rome simply so Old Henry could more easily divorce his wives? (Not to mention that he usually subsequently executed some of them...)
Posted by: Phil Fraering ||
02/27/2005 14:57 Comments ||
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#11
wagging about her, not him so much
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/27/2005 15:05 Comments ||
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If the same behavior that is acceptable for him (and for Henry VIII) is unacceptable for her then the British have a massive double-standard going on for men and women.
(And I don't see the point! Are they concerned about whether or not the issue of their relationship will be perceived of as legitimate or not? Everyone but the dog breeders already know enough molecular genetics to realize that that's bunk... and besides, both Charles and Camilla are in their sixties anyway, so there isn't going to be any issue to begin with.)
Bah, this whole topic is just more Stupid Europe Tricks.
Posted by: Phil Fraering ||
02/27/2005 15:31 Comments ||
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#14
Hey , Chuck ! Let your eldest son be King someday ! You're feeling the, The British Public , has shown ", No Compassion For You" , too ! Then step aside , Sir ! You can enjoy the life with your lady being married to you ! Congratulations ! On you getting married to Camilla !
#16
# 8 Barbara Skolaut~ Canon law is complicated.
I thought being a Catholic and divorced- you could NOT marry again in a Catholic Church.
Do you know of the arrangment's? I don't understand why Charles is get married to Camilla?
If it isn't broke DON'T fix it seems to apply
Or why buy the cow when you get the milk for free? (Barbara, I'm glad you are back).
Andrea Jackson
Posted by: Andrea Jackson ||
02/27/2005 20:53 Comments ||
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I don't understand why Charles is get married to Camilla?
He's wanted to be her tampon for 40 years. Seems like a pretty good reason to me. If you're a tampon.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
02/27/2005 20:56 Comments ||
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#18
that cap must be flushable?
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/27/2005 21:05 Comments ||
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It defies belief. Ex-President Jimmy Carter, who crystallized a fraudulent recall referendum for Venezuela's dictator Hugo Chavez, now says his Carter Center will return to Caracas "to help consolidate peace and democracy." He also says he's got a final report on the Venezuelan recall referendum. (There've been some other final reports but somehow he's got to issue a final final final report) He's up to no good.
No one has demoralized Venezuela's democracy more than America's worst-ever president. The only legitimate reason he has to go to Caracas is to beg Venezuelans for forgiveness after that sorry show he put on last August, endorsing an election that was clearly stolen with his complicity. The Carter Center's shoddy election monitoring and mendacious spin control in the aftermath turned a profound exercise in democracy into a travesty, while Carter prepared to move on to the next election.
But something happened along the way to the next election: The State Department declined to endorse Carter's recall referendum observational results, as it had announced it would, and nobody important wanted the Carter Center's business anymore. Carter was conspicuously absent from the dead-serious elections in Ukraine and Iraq recently. Ever the vindictive little man, Carter "participated" in those by sniping at these great human events from the sidelines. For that, President Bush didn't care to call on him to lead tsunami relief either, as he did all other able-bodied former presidents.
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Posted by: A.M. Mora y Leon ||
02/27/2005 10:48:05 AM ||
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Carter's up to no good, PERIOD.
That sums up his entire life.
In fact, that should be carved on his tombstone:
Jimmuh Cahtah
Ex-president
Dictator's ass-
kissing loser
Spent his life
up to no good.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
02/27/2005 13:31 Comments ||
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Barbara
There is an attack sheep ship named "Jimmy Carter"
#6
Wrong photo, Fred. Consider this one:
http://ap.grolier.com/images/cache/021/news0134.jpg
Posted by: Tom ||
02/27/2005 15:48 Comments ||
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#7
That F***ing peanut farmer never met a dictator he did not like. I hope that one of my severely pissed off family members kidnaps him and forces him to work for one of Chavez's famous "missions" to help the poor.
PROTESTS SWEEP THE COUNTRY
Thousands of people across Kyrgyzstan have taken to the streets to back election candidates disqualified from running in the parliamentary poll.
The protests are widespread, spanning four regions of Kyrgyzstan — Issykkul, Talas, Naryn and Jalalabad.
Many of the candidates involved are not associated with the opposition, and are either pro-government or not aligned with either side. They allege these individuals have been barred from running on spurious grounds, to allow the regime to insert its current favourites into local constituencies and ensure there are no strong rivals to prevent them being elected to parliament.
The wave of discontent began February 21 in Talas where 2,000 supporters of parliamentary hopeful Ravshan Jeenbekov demonstrated outside a local court house to protest the revoking of his registration. The decision was eventually reversed so that Jeenbekov was able to stand. Also in Talas, 800 followers of candidate Bolotbek Sherniyazov gathered to protest interference by the local electricity company, which promised to wipe out unpaid electricity bills for voters who backed Sherniyazov's rival, ex-speaker of parliament Altai Borubaev.
Demonstrators in the Issykkul region scored a notable victory after they blocked roads in Tyup and forced officials to lift their disqualification of a local candidate, Sadyr Japarov. Elsewhere in the region, protesters occupied a local government building but as of February 25, their candidate Arslan Maliev remained disqualified.
The interior ministry on February 24 placed Kyrgyz security forces on high alert for an indefinite period of time. Police officers will guard polling stations around the clock.
Labour migrants in Russia will take legal action against the Kyrgyz government for denying citizens working abroad the right to vote, the AKIpress news agency reported on February 21. They plan to file a civil rights case with the International Court of Justice.
Central Election Committee, CEC, chairman Sulaiman Imanbaev has spoken out against informal exit polls which non-government organisations plan to conduct. He said such polls would violate ballot secrecy, they would be inaccurate, and that they would be used to manipulate election results. Separately, Imanbaev announced election results will be available live on the internet and on state television, using a computerised election-tally system.
On February 23, the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights, IHF, issued a press release saying the Kyrgyz authorities were violating their OSCE commitments by interfering in the election. IHF executive director Aaron Rhodes accused the government of "attempting to prevent a free and fair election".
The embassy of Kazakstan announced that the country will have more than 60 monitors observing the election. A total of 15,000 local and 600 international observers will be on hand, according to the CEC. On February 24, state regulators closed Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Kyrgyz service, Azattyk, for an undisclosed period. The authorities recently announced they would be auctioning off the local frequencies which Azattyk now uses to broadcast, under the pretext of raising money to modernise the radio network. Electricity to the United States-funded Independent Printing House in Bishkek, where most opposition newspapers are printed, was cut on February 22. Observers suspect a power outage so soon before the election was a deliberate attempt to prevent the printing of more than 40 newspapers and other publications, some but not all of which are critical of the regime. However, plant officials used a generator to continue printing, and plan to sue the electricity company.
President Akaev said on February 18 that he intends to sue the opposition newspaper Moya Stolitsa Novosti, MSN, for libelling him. The following day, more than 200 protestors gathered in Bishkek in support of MSN. The international Reporters Without Borders group warned President Askar Akaev that a diversity of media outlets is essential for a fair electoral process to take place.
The independent media commissioner, Shamaral Maichiev, has accused certain journalists of breaching the electoral legislation in their reporting, for example by giving preferential treatment to certain candidates and publishing campaign material sooner than they were entitled to.
On February 22, the independent Mass Media Association, a local journalists' organisation, unveiled a handbook for Kyrgyz journalists containing guidelines on how the media should conduct itself during elections.
Posted by: Anonymoose ||
02/27/2005 9:37:00 AM ||
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Just looked at the map and Kyrgyzstan just happens to be in the middle of the 'Stans.
THE OPPENHEIMER REPORT This is a 3 part report. Links to the other 2 are found at the bottom.
China's development dwarfs Latin America's
ANDRES OPPENHEIMER
aoppenheimer@herald.com BEIJING -- I came to the People's Republic of China for a 10-day visit to find out how Latin America could best compete with this economically booming country. It took me about 30 seconds to know the answer: Unless it undertakes dramatic reforms, it can't. From the minute one lands in Beijing, even before one has a chance to be stunned by the capitalist fever that is gripping this country, the monumental dimensions of Beijing's newly remodeled, 38-million-passengers-a-year airport shocks even the most skeptical visitor.
My plane pulled in at Gate 305 -- an eye-opener for someone used to arriving at Gate B-7 of Miami International Airport, which has only 107 gates. But that was only the first surprise. On the way to my hotel, I saw more high-rise construction cranes than I've ever seen anywhere, let alone in Latin America. There are 5,000 high-rise construction sites in the Chinese capital today -- so many, that the latest joke making the rounds here says you should never blink while in this city, because you could miss a new building's inauguration.
PRESTIGIOUS NAMES
At street level of some of the ultra-modern skyscrapers, there are dealerships of Rolls Royce, Maseratti, Lamborghini, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi, next to Rolex, Armani and Louis Vuitton stores. I asked my taxi driver to stop in front of some of these car dealerships, convinced that they were representative offices to sell jet engines or tractors to the Chinese government. But no: They were selling luxury cars to rich Chinese. Last year, Mercedes-Benz sold 12,000 cars in China, BMW 16,000 and Audi about 70,000, the government-run China Daily reported recently, with obvious pride.
Continued on Page 49
Sounds like they're looking for something here. 101st had truck drivers. Still does, in fact. So both statements could very well be true.
Regents, who may one day be called upon to vote on Churchill's job, are upset about the daily publicity over the controversial professor, saying it could cause long-term damage to CU's reputation. "The possible damage to the university this controversy has created will take years to recover from," said Regent Peter Steinhauer. "Holmes, how do you do it?"
Posted by: Raj ||
02/27/2005 11:19:19 AM ||
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#1
LOL. Fred, you're gonna get sued by the Kickapoos for associating their tribe with Churchhill. Too bad Al Capp is not still around to weigh in on the 'Big Chief Spouting Bull' matter.
#5
It's not easy to revoke tenure unless you actually commit a crime or violate a hard-line university rule. For example, I know of a certain ex-faculty person at my institution who was canned -- in about an hour's time, tenure or not -- when an employee presented evidence, including (apparently) videotape, of said faculty person's inability to keep his hands to himself. But short of that sort of violation or breaking a law, tenure is difficult to break. It's supposed to be difficult, that's the whole idea.
The real problem for the University of Colorado is, how in hell did they give this guy tenure? Or, even better, how did he get a faculty appointment in the first place? It's clear from the news that Mr. Churchill was not vetted properly either at the time of his original appointment to the faculty (he was hired after working as a temp for some sort of remedial education program) or when he was tenured. Apparently the tenure committee didn't read his work as they were supposed to do, or the dean overruled the committee. Either way, they screwed up.
If I were a Colorado taxpayer (hi Old Spook!) I'd be angry at Churchill, but I'd be thoroughly pissed at the University for screwing this up. I think Churchill's lies should cost him his job.
But more importantly, the dean and the provost that let this happen need to lose their jobs.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/27/2005 18:08 Comments ||
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eh, he'll just end up at Evergreen or Columbia or some other lame-ass "school".
California voters are in favor of another actor to face actor-turned-governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 2006 election, according to a new statewide poll. Actor-director Rob Reiner leads a Democratic field that also includes Attorney General Bill Lockyer, state Treasurer Phil Angelides and Controller Steve Westly, the Field Poll said Friday...
Oh, good idea. Run somebody named "Meathead" against somebody named "The Terminator."
Posted by: Anonymoose ||
02/27/2005 10:57:23 AM ||
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Oh please, oh please, oh please....
Methinks "Meathead" will shortly be "Ground Meat." :-D
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
02/27/2005 11:47 Comments ||
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Arnold will trounce anyone they put up - the Dems are in disarray against him eright now, and his four reform proposals will change the balance of power for a long time. A lot smarter man than he's given credit for.....hey! sounds familiar...
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/27/2005 12:08 Comments ||
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#3
Every time I hear meathead say he's willing to pay more taxes, I want to ask him, what's preventing you?
#9
have the whole album - still like Let the Sky Fall
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/27/2005 18:20 Comments ||
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#10
never try to guess at what a deadhead likes: Today I've got Led Zep (always); Green Day (newest) , and Allman Bros on my playlist, along with a Stevie Ray Vaughan DVD I'll be watching instead of the Oscars :-)
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/27/2005 18:32 Comments ||
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#1
Actually, it may be a good idea to paste the article here, despite that it does not require registration. Just for the sake of dissemination of good info. The more exposure, the better.
#2
Upon the Kyoto agreement coming into force for its signatories last week, Gregg Easterbrook noted in The New Republic that "The world's first international anti-global-warming agreement to take force is not the Kyoto treaty. It is a Bush Administration initiative, and you have not heard a peep regarding the initiative because the American press corps is pretending it does not exist."
Easterbrook's no friend of W, even though he does a good TMQ column at NFL.com, which makes this pleasantly surprising
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/27/2005 16:23 Comments ||
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#3
Contrast this eminently sensible program with the Kyoto inspired lunacy of capturing methane flaring it off hence creating CO2 to earn carbon credits which then can be sold so others can release more CO2. Link BTW, I have come across a number of approving refernces to this because it shows Kyoto 'is working.' FYI atmospheric methane naturally degrades in about 10 years whereas CO2 remains in the atmosphere for hundreds of years.
UN officials fear the sex-abuse scandal among peacekeepers in Africa is more widespread and appears to be a problem in each of the global body's 16 missions around the world. As the world body seeks to crack down on the abuse, it could bar countries from participating in missions if they fail to prosecute offenders, even though the UN is hard pressed to find contributing nations, the officials said on Friday. Rocked by widespread abuse of women and girls, including gang rape, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the United Nations also has found sexual exploitation cases in at least four other missions - in Burundi, Liberia, Ivory Coast - as well as more recently in Haiti, they added. "We think this will look worse before it begins to look better," Jane Holl Lute, assistant secretary-general for peacekeeping operations, said. "We expect that more information will come from every mission on allegations. We are prepared for that."
Posted by: Fred ||
02/27/2005 00:00:00 ||
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At least the UN doesn't dissappoint, just when you think they can't possibly be more inept, corrupt, & disgusting they prove you wrong.
I'd love to see this disgraceful episode blasted all over tv but I guess there is no point in holding my breath.
#2
Perhaps the UN HR dept. should remove "Sexually abusing underage girls in third world countries" from the Benefits brochure. Along with "Bribes from tin-pot dictators.".
Posted by: Fred ||
02/27/2005 00:00:00 ||
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admitted to hospital in Monaco on Saturday after suffering heart problems, the principalityâs press service said. Boutros-Ghali, 82, was taken ill while lunching at one of the territoryâs grand hotels
Need more evidence that Mohammad was a creepy wack-job with major personality issues? No, me neither, but I found this anyway. It's a short excerpt from the January 2002 issue of "Bathroom Today."
Posted by: Rex Rufus ||
02/27/2005 3:39:46 PM ||
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After using the toilet, one should performs the Istinjaa (cleansing with water). In Istinjaa, water is preferred for the purpose of cleaning oneself. However, when water is not available, a material that does not have a smooth surface, such as stone or wood can be used. Tissue paper can be used as long as it does not absorb the feces or urine and cause the hand to come into contact with it.
Qurâan forbids the use of the right hand in order to clean oneself from the impurities of urine and feces. The Prophet said, âNone of you should touch his privates with his right hand whilst urinating nor should he wipe off feces with his rightâ.
great - how about a piece of schist? or petrified wood? or a branch from a rose bush? F*&king Idiots
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/27/2005 17:39 Comments ||
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Why am I getting persistent images from Life of Brian after reading this?
#8
Now I understand the importance of having one of those new Saudi cell phones with a built-in direction indicator to Mecca. Lets you know how to sit on the throne.
President Hosni Mubarak has ordered that Egypt's constitution be changed to allow more than one candidate to run in presidential elections. But restrictions remain on who can be a candidate.
THE CURRENT SYSTEM:
- Under the constitution, a presidential candidate must have approval by a third of the People's Assembly, or parliament, to be nominated. Parliament then must approve by two-thirds majority. The public then votes on the single candidate in a "yes" or "no" referendum.
In the four elections since he came to power in 1981, Mubarak has been the sole nominee approved by parliament and the sole candidate passed by lawmakers for a popular referendum. He has won every referendum with more than 90 percent of the vote.
THE CHANGES:
- Mubarak gave guidelines to parliament for amending the constitution to eliminate the referendum and allow "direct, secret elections" for president with "guarantees to allow more than one candidate."
- A certain number of parliament members or members of provincial and municipal councils must approve any candidate to be eligible to run. The exact number is still to be determined.
- For the first elections held after the reform - the upcoming vote in September - each registered political party will be able to nominate one leader to run without the required support from parliament, which is currently dominated by Mubarak's ruling National Democratic Party. In future presidential votes, all candidates will have to get parliamentary support.
- A commission will be created "with full independence and neutrality" to oversee the presidential vote. Currently, there is no election commission for presidential or parliament votes.
THE TIMETABLE:
Parliament is to propose the amendment within two weeks, and then a national referendum will be held to approve it, most likely in May.
These images, taken by the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on board ESA's Mars Express spacecraft, were released at the First Mars Express Science Conference this week. They show the areas of focused research - water, ice, glaciers and volcanism.
The opposition Movement for Democratic Change, MDC, finally launched its campaign this week for Zimbabwe's March 31 parliamentary elections — but it faces an uphill task to convince a cowed electorate that it offers a viable alternative to President Robert Mugabe's ruling ZANU PF party.
The launch, at a rally attended by about 5000 people in the central Zimbabwe town of Masvingo, came after months of dithering about participation in what is already a ballot rigged heavily in favour of the government.
"We are damned if we do take part, and damned if we don't," MDC leaders lamented, as their provincial organisations debated at interminable length whether to boycott the election.
Having decided to contest, the MDC's first hurdle is now time. With just five weeks to go before polling day, the news of the party's participation is still only trickling through to rural folk, the crucial section of the electorate who, among the majority Shona ethnic group, are the bedrock of ZANU PF's continuing political success.
In Zimbabwe, it takes months for important opposition news to filter into the countryside, large swathes of which have anyway been declared "no-go" areas by Mugabe's equivalent of the Nazi Germany-era Brownshirts, the thuggish youth militias, known as the Green Bombers after their bottle green uniforms and also a particularly unpleasant blowfly.
The militias, supported by aggressive local ZANU PF committees and the police, also prevent Zimbabwe's last two independent newspapers, the Financial Gazette and The Independent, both weeklies, from circulating in ZANU PF traditional rural strongholds.
Because of the late decision to participate, the MDC manifesto was also late, and to some extent it reads like ZANU PF's, promising similar manna from heaven — economic revival, jobs for a populace experiencing an unemployment rate approaching 80 per cent, boosted agricultural production and the restoration of such essential but rapidly deteriorating public services as health.
The MDC's tactical shortcomings are nothing new. Strategically also, it has failed to develop effectively from being a vigorous protest movement into a strong political party with a clear ideology and carefully worked out ideas.
Formed in 1999, around the leadership of Morgan Tsvangirai, the unassuming secretary-general of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trades Unions, the MDC was a loose coalition of workers sinking into poverty because of Mugabe's disastrous economic policies; an urban middle class whose quality of life had been eroded; employers whose business faced various threats; white farmers who were losing their land and Ndebele peasants who bore the brunt of massacres by Mugabe's North Korea-trained Fifth Brigade in 1983-84.
The party won 57 out of 120 directly elected seats in the last 2000 parliamentary elections. Two years later, despite massive voter intimidation, Tsvangirai lost a presidential election only narrowly to Mugabe.
But after 2000 and 2002, Tsvangirai and the MDC failed to consolidate their dramatic gains. Infighting has seen it lose in by-elections six of the seats to ZANU PF it had won in 2000.
Although it has been handicapped by heavy government oppression, it failed to develop beyond its early anti-Mugabe appeal. Its MPs also made some critical mistakes — for example, when one of its MPs told the BBC that an MDC government would return properties to white farmers that had been taken in Mugabe's land grab campaign.
That caused uproar. Mugabe and his ministers pounced on the statement and called MDC leaders traitors who had sold out to rich whites and British prime minister Tony Blair. "The people gradually began to doubt the party," said Margaret Dongo, a former ZANU PF MP who staged a revolt and became a celebrated independent. "Its land policy was unclear and the MPs spent little time in their constituencies. Half the time they are either in their town houses or out of the country."
The MDC rightly claims it has faced terrible harassment under the infamously repressive AIPPA (Access to Information and Privacy Act) and POSA (Public Order and Security Act) legislation. POSA requires the MDC to apply to the police, now completely loyal to Mugabe, for permission to hold meetings, while AIPPA has effectively muzzled the independent press.
However, these are near-universal problems faced by opposition parties in Africa. Opposition on this continent is a thankless and often dangerous task. No ruling party concedes easy victory to its opponents without a tough and dirty fight first. The MDC dismally and naively failed to realise and plan for that.
Tsvangirai thought the walk into State House, given the deep unpopularity of Mugabe in 2000, would be straightforward. It was never going to be that way, and in the meantime the MDC has failed to establish a formidable think-tank tasked to design workable strategies to unseat ZANU PF.
Denford Magora, a columnist with the Financial Gazette, commented, "The opposition party has deceived itself into thinking that keeping attention focused on ZANU PF is a strategy. The thinking in the MDC is that all it needs to get into power is for ZANU PF to misgovern the country.
"Democracy's lessons are very easy to learn. Whenever your opponent puts a foot wrong, you must be immediately there — not only pointing out that your opponent has lost the plot, but convincing people that you would have done a better job because you have real ideas anchored in a passion for developing the lives of people you seek to lead. When ZANU PF bungles, the MDC rarely succeeds in capitalising on the situation."
In Zimbabwe's harsh political landscape, some of the criticisms targeted at Tsvangirai — that he lacks charisma, power-broking skills and political sophistication — are looking increasingly true.
It is a picture denied by his loyalists. Eddie Cross, the MDC's justice spokesman, said, "You cannot buy integrity, humility or wisdom. Morgan has all these characteristics. He has survived several assassination attacks, has a brutal work schedule and has worked under intense pressure for years — yet he remains a pillar of strength to those who work with and for him."
Posted by: Anonymoose ||
02/27/2005 9:55:37 AM ||
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Violence and massive intimidation are wreaking havoc in Zimbabwe's rural areas as the ruling party's and opposition's campaigns gather momentum ahead of Zimbabwe's fifth parliamentary election on March 31.
ZANU PF youth militias, President Robert Mugabe's much feared stormtroopers, known among the population as the Green Bombers, are currently behaving with such menace in the Makoni West constituency that many villagers have fled their homes.
Makoni West is a marginal constituency on the outskirts of Rusape, 135 kilometres southeast of Harare. The sitting ZANU PF MP has been replaced by Zimbabwe's highly unpopular Minister of Agriculture Joseph Made, who is opposed by Remus Makuwaza, for the main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change, MDC, and Tendai Chekera of the small regional party ZANU-Ndonga.
Villagers also allege they have been threatened with eviction from their recently acquired farms - taken over in Mugabe's move against white commercial farmer - if they do not vote for ruling party.
Matthew Ngoroma, 38, told IWPR that he fled his home after "some people told me I would pay the price for supporting MDC". He said four men in Zanu PF campaign shirts visited him three weeks ago and threatened to burn down his house. "They said they would torch my house if I continued selling MDC cards," said Ngoroma, who has moved his family to a place near Rusape town. "I am not alone. There are others who have been beaten, threatened and intimidated. It's a terror campaign."
Other villagers perceived to be MDC supporters have been denied food aid, fertiliser and maize seed being distributed by government officials loyal to ZANU PF.
"You have to be a Zanu PF supporter to get fertiliser, seed and food," said another villager, Susan Rugoyi. "We have to show Zanu PF cards in order to get a pack of maize meal being distributed by Zanu PF officials as food aid."
The chiefs and village heads have also been roped into Zanu PF campaign teams. Villagers said the chiefs are forcing their subjects to attend Zanu PF rallies. Meanwhile, the chiefs are banning opposition rallies in their areas while threatening to evict opposition supporters.
"We do have several cases of political violence that we are investigating," said a senior police officer who declined to be named. "But it would be unfair to say categorically say that these violent incidents are being perpetrated by Zanu PF. What if they are just rogue elements abusing Zanu PF regalia?"
The violence is not just isolated incidents. It is on a national scale. Fifty soldiers assaulted three MDC candidates returning from the launch of the party's election campaign in Masvingo in the southeast on February 20. MDC spokesman Paul Themba Nyathi said, "The soldiers first assaulted Gabriel Chiwara, our candidate for Makoni West, and his election candidate, Josphat Munhumumwe, accusing them of selling the country to the British.
"They were kicked and punched and sustained injuries all over their bodies. They were taken to hospital for treatment and later released. The assault was reported to the police, but no arrests have been made."
Nyathi said the MDC was particularly concerned about this assault because it repeated a pattern of army violence against the opposition in places many hundreds of kilometres apart. MDC candidate for Mutare West, Gabriel Chiwara, who is trying to topple Transport Minister Christopher Mushohwe in a constituency 250 km southeast of Harare, was assaulted by soldiers together with his campaign manager.
Reports are also coming in of violence by soldiers, Green Bombers and ZANU PF activists against MDC candidates in the south of the country in Gwanda and Beitbridge constituencies.
In Norton, 40 km west of Harare, a stronghold of ZANU PF MP Sabina Mugabe, the president's sister, ruling party supporters waylaid and severely beat an eleven-strong MDC campaign team who were putting up party posters. The posters and party regalia the MDC activists were wearing were confiscated and burned.
Hilda Mafudze, the MDC candidate for Manyame constituency, neighbouring Norton, said, "This cannot be a free and fair election. How can the whole process be fair when one's campaign team is beaten up and their regalia burnt by these thugs who belong to a party which claims it supports a free and fair election?"
Wellington Chibebe, secretary-general of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, said, "We want to state very clearly that as much as the politicians are saying the elections will be violence-free, the reality on the ground is that ordinary men, women and children are going to be subject to untold violence."
Reginald Matchaba-Hove, chairman of the Zimbabwe Election Support Network, ZESN, a group of 40 civic organisations supporting democratic elections, said, "For many opposition supporters, fear of violence means they would rather not go to vote than vote and face the recriminations.
"The penalty for voting for the opposition can be expulsion from the village, physical violence, withdrawal from the local food aid registers, or all of them combined. Past experience has taught them that such threats are eventually carried out, and they fear a repeat of 2000 and 2002 [legislative and presidential elections marred by widespread violence and intimidation]."
Rural areas in Zimbabwe's majority ethnic Shona regions have traditionally voted ZANU PF, with the chiefs, who maintain government food registers, beneficiaries and loyal supporters of the ruling party. According to southern Africa's Famine Early Warning System Network, five million Zimbabweans, nearly half the population, are in need of food aid.
President Mugabe, in an interview on ZANU PF-controlled state television, said he wanted this election campaign to be peaceful. His interior minister, Kembo Mohadi, said organisations alleging violence and human rights abuses were "subversives who are western-funded".
Responding to the allegations that chiefs are forcing their people to attend ZANU PF rallies and vote for Mugabe's party, Mohadi said, "Ours is a peaceful party. Our people hold their chiefs in high regard and, naturally, get worried when such accusations are made against them. We cannot deny our people the right to choose their own leaders when we fought so hard [in the 1970s liberation war] to bring them human rights, freedom and social justice."
Inspector Wayne Bvudzijena, Zimbabwe's national police spokesman, said the national force had not received any reports of violence or intimidation by political parties. "I am surprised to hear these reports," he said. "But I can assure you that the campaign remains peaceful."
Posted by: Anonymoose ||
02/27/2005 9:52:15 AM ||
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Only one development could upset this optimistic prognosis: an end to the technological dynamism, openness to trade, and flexibility that have powered the U.S. economy. The biggest threat to U.S. hegemony, accordingly, stems not from the sentiments of foreign investors, but from protectionism and isolationism at home.
Computer screen splutter warning The following are excerpts from an interview with Dr. Abd Al-Baset Al-Sayyed of the Egyptian National Research Center. Al-Majd TV aired this interview on January 16, 2005
Dr. 'Abd Al-Baset Sayyid: The centrality [of Mecca] has been proven scientifically. How? When they traveled to outer space and took pictures of the earth, they saw that it is a dark, hanging sphere. The man said, "Earth is a dark hanging sphere — who hung it?"
Interviewer: Who said that?
Dr. 'Abd Al-Baset Sayyid: [Neil] Armstrong. Armstrong was basically trying to say: Allah is the one who hung it. They discovered that Earth emits radiation, and they wrote about this on the web. They left the item there for 21 days, and then they made it disappear.
Interviewer: Why did they make it disappear?
Dr. 'Abd Al-Baset Sayyid: There was intent thereâŠ
Interviewer: So it may be said that this suppression of information was significant.
Dr. 'Abd Al-Baset Sayyid: It was very significant, sinceâŠthe Ka'ba [in Mecca]⊠They said it emits radiation. This radiation is short-wave.
When they discovered this radiation, they started to zoom in, and they found that it emanates from Mecca — and, to be precise, from the Ka'ba.
Interviewer: My God!!
Dr. 'Abd Al-Baset Sayyid: It was saidâŠ
Interviewer: Does this radiation have an effect?
Dr. 'Abd Al-Baset Sayyid: They found that this radiation is infinite. When they reached Mars and began to take pictures, they found that the radiation continues beyond. They said that the wavelength known to us⊠or rather the shortness of the wavelength known to us⊠This radiation had a special characteristic: It is infinite, and I believe that the reason is that this radiation connects the [earthly] Ka'ba with the celestial Ka'ba.
Imagine that you are the North Pole and I am the South Pole — in the middle there's what is called the magnetic equilibrium zone. If you place a compass there, the needle won't move.
Interviewer: You mean that the pull is equal from both sides?
Dr. 'Abd Al-Baset Sayyid: Yes, and that's why it's called zero-magnetism zone, since the magnetic force has no effect there. That's why if someone travels to Mecca or lives there, he lives longer, is healthier, and is less affected by Earth's gravity. That's why when you circle the Ka'ba, you get charged with energy.
Interviewer: Allah be praised.
Dr. 'Abd Al-Baset Sayyid: Yes, this is a fact.
This is a scientific factâŠ
Interviewer: Because you are distant fromâŠ
Dr. 'Abd Al-Baset Sayyid: Earth's magnetic fields have no effect on you in this case.
There's a study that proves that the black basalt rocks in Mecca are the oldest rocks in the world. This is the truth.
Interviewer: The oldest rocks? Yes. Has this been proved scientifically?
Dr. 'Abd Al-Baset Sayyid: It's been scientifically proven, and the study has been published.
Interviewer: They took basalt rocks from MeccaâŠ
Dr. 'Abd Al-Baset Sayyid: âŠBasalt rocks from Mecca, and investigated the places where they were formed.
In the British Museum there are three pieces of the black stone [from the Ka'ba] âŠand they said that this rock didn't come from our solar system.
Posted by: tipper ||
02/27/2005 12:59:09 AM ||
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"Islamic science"
Isn't that an oxymoron?
With the emphasis on the MORON.
Wotta maroon.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
02/27/2005 1:16 Comments ||
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#2
I think there's something to this Ka'aba thing... they just missed the 1x4x9 ratio thingy. I guess this image sums up things today up rather well.
#5
Poor Allan! It must really suck to be an omnipotent deity and have your followers be such idiots. And after such a promising start a millennium ago! Not surprising he is tormenting them with earthquakes, tidal waves, UFOs and JOOS!
#6
Armstrong was basically trying to say: Allah is the one who hung it. They discovered that Earth emits radiation, and they wrote about this on the web. They left the item there for 21 days, and then they made it disappear.
hmmmm - did Algore know his web was around in '69?
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/27/2005 11:43 Comments ||
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#7
LOL - good catch, Frank.
Posted by: Matt ||
02/27/2005 12:40 Comments ||
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#8
heh, musta been some secretive arpanet thing using pml (primative markerup language)
{maker big type} HI World! Give me a Quarter!
{maker end big type)
#9
I love Rantburg, because it is truly the only place where these buffoons and their idiotic comments get coverage that isn't fawning or protective. One can see that they never let facts get in the way of their evangelical zeal to convert the world, bring a universal caliphate, and destroy the West. I hope Frodo and Sam are out there somewhere with the damn ring, because the great battle with the forces of Sauron is fast approaching, and the list of players on our side is down to us, the Australians, and maybe the Brits for a little while longer ....
#10
If Bush's space plan works out we will be able to treat certain areas of the world with all the sacred black rocks they want. They just might not like the effects of the sudden stop.
Posted by: bruce ||
02/27/2005 19:49 Comments ||
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#11
Armstrong was basically trying to say: Allah is the one who hung it.
"Praise unto Allah, the hanger, the hanging, and the well-hung..."
Posted by: Rex Rufus ||
02/27/2005 22:30 Comments ||
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#12
Since he liked 9 year olds... not that well-hung..
A spacecraft that flies on sunbeams is about to begin its travels across the solar system. A group of American and Russian scientists are preparing to launch a probe with giant, wafer-thin plastic sails that can catch sunlight just as a yacht's sails fill with wind.
Cosmos-1 has been designed to tack across space without using rockets and could form the forerunner of a network of solar observatories that would hover over the sun to provide early warnings of disruptive magnetic storms, or deliver instruments to remote space stations and planetary exploration teams.
The probe, to be launched from a Russian nuclear missile submarine, is made up of a fan of eight 15-metre sails, each thinner than a dustbin bag but stiffened and coated with mirror material.
The technology is the product of years of collaboration by the US Planetary Society, a group of private space enthusiasts; the Russian Academy of Sciences; and Moscow space industry designers Lavochkin. 'Cosmos-1 will be blasted into space by conventional rocket technology but once in orbit above earth, solar sail technology will take over,' said Susan Lendroth of the Planetary Society. 'We will be able to move each one of Cosmos-1's sails individually and so direct the craft in whatever direction we wish. The aim will be to get it to higher and higher orbits.'
Solar sail technology exploits the fact that photons have momentum and apply pressure to surfaces. A comet's tail is the result of solar photons battering its surface, for example. But this pressure is still relatively meagre and only recently - with the development of micro-electronic circuits that allow tiny spacecraft to be constructed - has it become possible to consider powering craft with solar sails.
The mission has cost a mere $4 million, raised by the Planetary Society. Cosmos-1 weighs only 50kg and contains only sails and electronic systems for guiding its panels. 'It is a technology test, no more than that,' said Lendroth. 'Once we have shown what can be done with solar sails, we hope all sorts of other agencies will follow.'
Both Nasa and the European Space Agency say they are interested. One mission they are eyeing is for a full solar sail mission to place a probe in Mercury's orbit. Mercury whirls round the sun every 88 days, and a traditionally powered spacecraft would need to gain enormous energy to manoeuvre above the planet. A solar sail ship could spiral in towards Mercury and slip into orbit without any fuel.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/27/2005 12:22:39 AM ||
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Cool.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
02/27/2005 1:17 Comments ||
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Amen, Barbara. Private enterprise, again, leads the way - reawakening the imaginations of those who look beyond their navels.
NASA, like State, the CIA, etc, needs a long hot bath to clean out the visionless self-serving 'tards installed during and since the rainbow purge of the Clinton years. During that time, Dan Golden's tenure, real and highly experienced engineers were forced into retirement - the engineers that made NASA - in favor of MBA-types. They turned a hardcore think-tank and competency atmosphere into a MacNamara-ish Edsel nightmare of chart shows and career climbers. I knew some of these guys because they migrated to the oil business. I was amazed that I was more bitter about their treatment than they were.
similar problems plague the IRS, after the 'Be nice damnit!' legislature, the IRS was forced to restructure, the point of the shuffle was to get the bad out and the good in, problem is the bad had the upper hand and all they did was give their cronies promotions and get rid of the good ones because the guys that knew what they were doing always made them uncomfortable. Nothing can make a useless guy unhappy like being forced to recognize his own incompetence; anyway, end result is that most, if not all, of the high management of the IRS is a painful joke.
----
Ex:
For extra feel goodness, one of the above jokes decided to limit the length of audits, to ensure speedy results.
problem is there is no equal speedy compulsion for the companies to demonstrate their compliance with tax law and plenty of financial incentive to make sure itâs impossible to complete the audit in the allotted time.
(
not that there arenât enough ways for big businesses to avoid paying taxes as it is
ex:
there is a law, passed by our beloved congress, which states that a company that was started between the time of Date x and the same Date x, in the state of y, does not have to pay taxes. Entertainingly enough, only one company was started during that time frame (I would fill in the variables, but my memory fails me right now)
(as a side note, if you want to be happy. Donât follow where the money goes in the history this country, it will only depress you)
)
The wide variation in accounting systems and database structures makes it VERY easy for the companies to confuse the data to the point where it would take months to break down and analyze
(the computers the IRS uses are old machines, but even with new machines, the work can be time intensive)
----
an old guy I know who used to love his job at the IRS. 'public enemy' or not he was still doing valuable work for the country he had served all his life (military etc).. An x-IRS accountant can make a hell of a lot of money working in the private sector, much more than he/she ever made working for the government. Many of the folks stuck around because the atmosphere was good and many of their peers were high caliber folks. It was just a nice place to work and thatâs something you canât buy with any amount of money... most of those high caliber types have since jumped ship, but my friend stuck around out of nostalgia and the vain hope that things would improve (things always got worse)
hell..
he used to talk about never retiring, or maybe retiring in 2035 (I don't know why he picked that year )
A week ago I was talking to him, he told me with disgust that he no longer felt proud to be working for the Internal Revenue Service and planned to retire before this year ends. He never said it, but when I looked in his eyes, I could see he felt embarrassed to be associated with them any longer. There was a sadness in his eyes, the kind you only see when someone watches something good and personal go bad and turn into the unrecognizable.
damn. Iâm being talkative today. Ok Back into the lurker-mobile for me
#4
Don't let the Aussies know about this sails-in-space thing we got. They'll cheat.
Posted by: Dennis Connor ||
02/27/2005 8:38 Comments ||
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#5
Dr simple fix:
No deductions.
10% sales tax.
10% income tax.
Anyone under poverty line gets back a fixed amount for the sales tax paid as a tax credit (or refund), and 100% of the income tax.
No deductions. No mortage deduction, no charity deduction, none of that. Just take more of your paycheck home. (Social Security gets rolled into this, to treat it like what it truly is: a wealth transfer program).
Capital gains are taxed at the 10% income rate.
Tax return is a postcard:
What did you make?
Take 10% of that and send it in if you diudnt get it withheld.
Corporations charged the same taxes - and are required to pass through all profit to shareholders, with strict expense accounting to prevent jobbing the system. Stock options, etc, are *income* and taxed accordingly.
This plugs up the biggest leak in the economy (the underground and off books economy) by way of the sales tax. And promotes a very fair tax structure - everyone pays the same percentage.
Why it will not happen: It puts the IRS, laywers and accountants out of business, and it stops congress from being able to give pet projects and donators tax breaks.
Anyone under poverty line gets back a fixed amount for the sales tax paid as a tax credit (or refund), and 100% of the income tax.
No deductions. No mortage deduction, no charity deduction, none of that. Just take more of your paycheck home. (Social Security gets rolled into this, to treat it like what it truly is: a wealth transfer program).
Capital gains are taxed at the 10% income rate.
Tax return is a postcard:
What did you make?
Take 10% of that and send it in if you diudnt get it withheld.
Corporations charged the same taxes - and are required to pass through all profit to shareholders, with strict expense accounting to prevent jobbing the system. Stock options, etc, are *income* and taxed accordingly.
This plugs up the biggest leak in the economy (the underground and off books economy) by way of the sales tax. And promotes a very fair tax structure - everyone pays the same percentage.
Why it will not happen: It puts the IRS, laywers and accountants out of business, and it stops congress from being able to give pet projects and donators tax breaks.
Anyone under poverty line gets back a fixed amount for the sales tax paid as a tax credit (or refund), and 100% of the income tax.
No deductions. No mortage deduction, no charity deduction, none of that. Just take more of your paycheck home. (Social Security gets rolled into this, to treat it like what it truly is: a wealth transfer program).
Capital gains are taxed at the 10% income rate.
Tax return is a postcard:
What did you make?
Take 10% of that and send it in if you diudnt get it withheld.
Corporations charged the same taxes - and are required to pass through all profit to shareholders, with strict expense accounting to prevent jobbing the system. Stock options, etc, are *income* and taxed accordingly.
This plugs up the biggest leak in the economy (the underground and off books economy) by way of the sales tax. And promotes a very fair tax structure - everyone pays the same percentage.
Why it will not happen: It puts the IRS, laywers and accountants out of business, and it stops congress from being able to give pet projects and donators tax breaks.
BANGALORE — India will launch four satellites this year including two remote sensing satellites from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota on the Eastern coast. Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) Chairman G. Madhavan Nair told reporters here Cartosat-1 remote sensing satellite, with a 2.5 metre resolution camera to undertake mapping applications, would be launched by this April. The indigenous Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) rocket will launch the Cartosat-1 into space, he said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/27/2005 12:08:47 AM ||
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Polar Launch Vehicle? A southward launch? Way cool. India's in pretty good shape for all sorts of launches, I wonder if the Israelis will make use of their facilities someday.
NEW DELHI — India's indigenously built medium range surface-to-air missile Akash was test fired from a range in Orissa state yesterday. Three missiles were fired from mobile launchers at targets supported by pilotless target aircraft, defence sources said. Akash, part of India's Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme, has a range of 27 kilometres and a ceiling of 15 kilometres. It weighs 650 kilos and is capable of carrying a 50 kilo payload. The missile was successfully test fired from mobile launchers on February 21 and 24. It was put through a successful trial in November 2004 carrying a live warhead for the first time.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/27/2005 12:07:30 AM ||
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A missile called Heavenly? Those Hindus... everything is a sheer poetry to 'em, even misiles.
LAHORE: In Sanda police station, Muhammad Azam — a man who has confessed to the murder of his sister — awaits his verdict with little repentance or remorse. His reasons for killing the divorced mother of four — to defend family honour. Azam, a milkman by tradition who is soon to be transferred to Camp Jail, slaughtered 32-year-old Shahnaz at her house in Abu Bakar Colony, Bund Road on February 23 after suspecting her of having illicit relations. After the murder, Azam did not flee, instead he waited out patiently for the police to reach the crime scene and arrest him. "Our society leaves men like me with few options. I had to kill her to get my peace of mind," Azam told Daily Times from behind lockup.
Shahnaz married Zafar Ali after divorcing husband Allah Dita, from whom she had four children — Khurram Shahzad 14, Muhammad Amir, 12, Shan, 9 and Muzamil Abbas, 6. Ali is currently serving a sentence in Sheikhupura Jail for attempted murder while the kids are in the custody of their grandfather Malik Ali. "Since her husband went to jail, she started going out with other men," said a teary-eyed Azam, adding, "For two years I kept asking her to mend ways. I literally begged her to stop her antics because the children were being neglected. Everyone laughed at me. I couldn't take it anymore."
When asked whether being sentenced to death was worth it, he said, "In our society, a poor man has little dignity, and he cannot bear to part with it. My friends used to humiliate me. I decided to end my ordeal and face what may come." Sanda station house officer Muhammad Ishtiaq said that every individual held different views. "Most people in Punjab would rather face death, than let female family members dishonour the family name by having illicit relations," he stated.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/27/2005 10:33:15 PM ||
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I would personally rather shoot all you misogynistic retards that think killing, maiming and mutilating you mother, sisters and daughters is some kind of God given right. I think your lack of honor and manhood is the problem. You are the persons who need to be offed. You are the problem. Your total lack of manhood is what is dishonorable. I am just hoping we can kill more of you before you breed and pass this evil on to another generation.
generally speaking, attacking a culture's practitioners for it's practices just creates a "us vs them" situation.. which of course increases the importance of their culture and re-affirms it's existence, reversing your intended effect
of course the run and gun method CAN work, but you have to kill damn near everybody before they get the hint, most westner cultures don't have will to do that sort of thing these days
but, even assuming the shoot'em method was used and it worked. What have you done? You've effected a hostile change in culture, which has it's own interesting side effects. But regardless, the effect is a change in culture.
This of course indicates that a change in culture is the true goal, it's hard to effectively argue that using threats of lethal force is most effective long term choice for changing their culture.
What needs to be done is improve freedom, create systems of equal rights, reduce corruption, and limit the ability of the present culture to spread.. more or less what is already being done now...
I do not agree with what he did. But it seems that his motivations were in line with what his upbringing taught him.
It does seem that he knows what he did was wrong and he is willing to face up to it, although he did not have the strength to change his internal motivations. That he knew it was wrong and he stayed to meet the police is a hopeful sign that those within such a culture have the realization tha this is wrong, even though they have not come up with the strength to change.
Posted by: Jame Retief ||
02/27/2005 8:07 Comments ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
LONDON - Queen Elizabeth II has distanced herself from the wedding of Prince Charles because she believes her son is putting "personal gratification before duty," a newspaper reported on Sunday.
It defies belief. Ex-President Jimmy Carter, who crystallized a fraudulent recall referendum for Venezuela's dictator Hugo Chavez, now 
BEIJING -- I came to the People's Republic of China for a 10-day visit to find out how Latin America could best compete with this economically booming country. It took me about 30 seconds to know the answer: Unless it undertakes dramatic reforms, it can't. From the minute one lands in Beijing, even before one has a chance to be stunned by the capitalist fever that is gripping this country, the monumental dimensions of Beijing's newly remodeled, 38-million-passengers-a-year airport shocks even the most skeptical visitor.
UN officials fear the sex-abuse scandal among peacekeepers in Africa is more widespread and appears to be a problem in each of the global body's 16 missions around the world. As the world body seeks to crack down on the abuse, it could bar countries from participating in missions if they fail to prosecute offenders, even though the UN is hard pressed to find contributing nations, the officials said on Friday. Rocked by widespread abuse of women and girls, including gang rape, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the United Nations also has found sexual exploitation cases in at least four other missions - in Burundi, Liberia, Ivory Coast - as well as more recently in Haiti, they added. "We think this will look worse before it begins to look better," Jane Holl Lute, assistant secretary-general for peacekeeping operations, said. "We expect that more information will come from every mission on allegations. We are prepared for that."
The following are excerpts from an interview with Dr. Abd Al-Baset Al-Sayyed of the Egyptian National Research Center. Al-Majd TV aired this interview on January 16, 2005
LAHORE: In Sanda police station, Muhammad Azam — a man who has confessed to the murder of his sister — awaits his verdict with little repentance or remorse. His reasons for killing the divorced mother of four — to defend family honour. Azam, a milkman by tradition who is soon to be transferred to Camp Jail, slaughtered 32-year-old Shahnaz at her house in Abu Bakar Colony, Bund Road on February 23 after suspecting her of having illicit relations. After the murder, Azam did not flee, instead he waited out patiently for the police to reach the crime scene and arrest him. "Our society leaves men like me with few options. I had to kill her to get my peace of mind," Azam told Daily Times from behind lockup. 
