[Ennahar] Thousands of Tunisians, including many coppers, were again demonstrating on Saturday, combining social demands and calls to rid the government of the new bosses of the old regime who have been maintained despite the promises of break.
Perhaps they should put an ad in the Wall Street Journal, requesting candidates to send in their resumes.
In neighboring Algeria, the police prevented in the center of Algiers a demonstration for democracy called by the opposition but banned by the authorities. Clashes have left several people injured, police and protesters according to sources, while arrests of opponents have taken place.
In Tunis, thousands of Tunisians marched in processions throughout the center city, Avenue Habib Bourguiba, before the seat of government, or that of the General Union of Tunisian Workers (UGTT), the Central Association, noted journalists and photographers from AFP.
Many plainclothes or uniformed coppers marching in the center of the capital, saying "they are Tunisians as the others."
The processions were often a social ride, employees of City Hall here demanding improved working conditions, workers in household enterprises demanding wage increases.
On the second day of "national mourning" in memory of victims of the revolution of jasmine-one hundred deaths in one month according to the UN, most victims killed with the bullets of the police, police claim the creation of a union to defend their rights.
"We're tired of receiving orders and for once we want to scream our anger," stormed a police officer outside the headquarters of the UGTT, the powerful trade union which has played a crucial role in the downfall of Ben Ali on 14 January, channeling and politicizing a revolt.
Police officers who were demonstrating outside the headquarters of the government blocked an access point to the car of Tunisian President of transitional Fouad Mebazaa, before being gently removed by colleagues in operation.
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01/23/2011 00:00 ||
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[The Nation (Nairobi)] The once peaceful Cote D'Ivoire
...when was that?...
may be on the brink of yet another civil war. It has hitherto experienced temporary peace after a drawn-out civil war caused by ethnic rivalry some years ago.
After exhausting various diplomatic avenues and with incumbent Laurent Gbagbo refusing to leave office peacefully, leaders from the region's economic bloc -- the Economic Community Of West African States (Ecowas) -- now say they are left with no option but to deploy the Ecowas standby force to remove him and instal the legitimate and democratically elected president, Alassane Ouattara.
Nigeria's Chief of Defence Staff Air Chief Marshall Oluseyi Petinrin said last Tuesday in Bamako that Ecowas troops may move into Cote d'Ivoire if negotiations and dialogue with Gbagbo fail.
"You are all aware that Ecowas Heads of State have given the people of Cote d'Ivoire all the opportunity to comply with what the whole world wants, which is for the winner of the election to take over," said Air Chief Marshall Petinrin, who is also the chairman of Committee of Ecowas Chiefs of Defence Staff.
"Despite increasing international pressure as well as a series of Ecowas and African Union diplomatic initiatives, there is still no visible progress in resolving the crisis. In the prevailing atmosphere of insecurity, some Ivoirians are reported to have bit the dust while others have been forced to seek refuge in neighbouring countries," he added.
Analysts say the military chief may be speaking for Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan, who is also the chairman of Ecowas.
This, they say, is because military intervention may be the best option for Jonathan, especially in a year in which he is seeking re-election.
"Jonathan is not the one taking the decision for Ecowas. Such a decision will be voted for by Ecowas Heads of State. If a majority of leaders vote in support of military intervention, then military intervention it is," Mr Godwin Nnanna, a political analyst, says.
Already, Ghanaian president John Atta Mills has declared that he is not in support of military intervention. This has generated huge debate in Ghana, with opposition leaders accusing the president of incompetence.
However, The infamous However... other Ecowas members seem to be in support of forcefully removing Gbagbo. They sent presidents Pedro Pires of Cape Verde, Ernest Bai Koroma of Sierra Leone and Yayi Boni of Benin to urge Gbagbo to leave office quietly.
And Nnanna explains that the use of military intervention in Cote d'Ivoire will not be the first.
"A case in point is that of Liberia," he states. "Charles Taylor was asked to leave power and he was offered asylum in Nigeria. The same hand of fellowship had been offered to Gbagbo by Jonathan. The United States has even offered him a top job at the UN in Washington. When all these fail, Ecowas will have no choice but to forcefully remove Gbagbo."
Vincent Eboigbe, another political analyst, is of the opinion that a majority of Nigerians will support the forceful removal of Gbagbo since they are also hoping for a free and fair election in April.
Already, some Nigerians residing in Cote d'Ivoire have become victims of the political uprising.
Air Chief Marshall Petinrin said that the security situation is equally untenable for citizens of other Ecowas states who are resident in Cote d'Ivoire.
Therefore, he said, it is a matter of great concern to regional leaders that normality is restored and sustained in Cote d'Ivoire as soon as possible.
"We cannot relent in our efforts to help the Ecowas politicianship find a workable and lasting solution to this seemingly intractable political impasse. Most Ecowas countries have already contributed troops to this force. It is these troops that will eventually move into Cote d'Ivoire if there is no success," he said.
Bmahamare Toure, Ecowas commissioner for political affairs, peace and security, says there is too much at stake in Cote d'Ivoire.
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01/23/2011 00:00 ||
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RIYADH - Saudi ArabiaÂ’s elderly King Abdullah arrived in Morocco on Saturday to convalesce after spending almost two months in New York for medical treatment, Saudi state media said.
The official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said Abdullah, aged about 87, arrived in Casablanca where he often spends holidays, but gave no date for when he would return to the kingdom. He left Riyadh on Nov. 22 and underwent two operations in New York after a blood clot complicated a slipped disc.
Blood clot? Could be in the leg (deep vein thrombosis) or lung (pulmonary embolus). But two months? Sounds like he's not doing so well.
SPA did not publish a picture of King Abdullah, who arrived in New York in a wheelchair but was shown on state television walking after leaving hospital on Dec. 22. Based on the most recent picture issued by SPA on Jan. 11, he appeared to have lost weight.
Riyadh has been keen to show its allies there will be no power vacuum as health problems affect its octogenarian rulers but the kingÂ’s recent medical troubles have aroused concern over whether a reformist like himself or a conservative would succeed him.
A frail Crown Prince Sultan, who has health problems of his own, returned from holiday in Morocco to govern the kingdom in AbdullahÂ’s absence. With both Abdullah and Sultan in their 80s, speculation has arisen that Interior Minister Prince Nayef, a conservative who is a relatively youthful 76, could take over the running of the affairs of state in the future.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/23/2011 00:00 ||
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#2
I hope every US surgeon, doctor, nurse and tech was a Jooooooooo, lol
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/23/2011 13:53 Comments ||
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#3
Any chance that since we got him a visa to visit a US hospital that maybe he'll help influence the lowering of oil prices? Oh I forgot he's a arab muzzie there is no quid prop quo.
[The Nation (Nairobi)] Ousted Haitian dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier has apologised to the victims of his 15-year regime and said he had ended two decades in exile to work for national reconciliation.
"I have come back as a sign of my solidarity during this extremely difficult period in national life," he said Friday in his first full public statement since his sudden return late Sunday to the nation he once ruled with an iron fist.
How is it more difficult today compared to when you were in charge?
They've got an endemic cholera epidemic now...
"Baby Doc" Duvalier said he also wanted to "voice my deep sorrow to my fellow countrymen who say, rightly, that they were victims under my government."
And he wants his money, of course...
Speaking in a weak voice to a room packed full of journalists, the 59-year-old called for "national reconciliation" in Haiti and said he had hoped for a "rapid resolution to the political crisis."
But he did not outline what had happened to those who suffered under his 1971-1986 regime.
Instead, speaking mainly in French with a few words of Creole, he offered "sympathies to my millions of supporters who, after my voluntary departure from Haiti in 1986 to avoid a bloodbath and to allow a swift resolution to the political crisis, were left to themselves."
The ex-dictator said thousands of his supporters were "assassinated, suffocated, interrogated, subjected to tire necklaces burnings; their houses, their possessions were pillaged, uprooted and torched."
They joined the thousands who opposed him.
With so many unanswered questions, his words are only likely to stoke further tensions among people with long memories of his brutal rule.
Many fear he is seeking a return to power by capitalizing on the current political chaos stalking the quake-ravaged Caribbean country.
And Duvalier, who decamped amid a popular uprising, did not explicitly rule out taking on any political role.
Haiti, already struggling to recover from the devastating January 2010 earthquake and a cholera outbreak, is caught up in deepening political turmoil due to disputed presidential elections.
Memories of Duvalier's repressive regime remain vivid, and human rights ... which are not the same thing as individual rights, mind you... groups have accused him and his late father, Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier, of presiding over decades of unparalleled oppression and abuse.
Meanwhile, ...back at the ranch... six private lawsuits alleging human rights violations have already been filed against "Baby Doc," who has also been charged with corruption, embezzlement of millions of dollars from state funds and criminal association, according to the country's Chief Magistrate Harycidas Auguste.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/23/2011 00:00 ||
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#3
Houngan Jean-Claude Duvalier has returned to Haiti as a "sign of my solidarity during this extremely difficult period in national life."
Haitian Vodou
Houngans (Male Vodou Priest) or Mambos (Female Vodou Priest) are usually people who were chosen by the dead ancestors (loas) and received the divination from the deities while he or she was possessed. His or her tendency is to do good by helping and protecting others from spells, however they sometimes use their supernatural power to hurt or kill people. They also conduct ceremonies that usually take place "Amba Peristil" (under a Vodou Temple). However, non-Houngan or non-Mambo as Vodouisants are not initiated, and are referred to as being "bossale"; it is not a requirement to be an initiate to serve one's spirits. There are clergy in Haitian Vodou whose responsibility it is to preserve the rituals and songs and maintain the relationship between the spirits and the community as a whole (though some of this is the responsibility of the whole community as well). They are entrusted with leading the service of all of the spirits of their lineage. Sometimes they are "called" to serve in a process called "being reclaimed," which they may resist at first. Below the houngans and mambos are the hounsis, who are initiates who act as assistants during ceremonies and who are dedicated to their own personal mysteries.
(contested) A "bokor" may be a practitioner of "darker" things and is often not even accepted by the mambo or the houngan. Or, a "Bokor" would be the Haitian term for a vodou priest or other, working both the light and dark arts of magic.
China's new stealth fighter is based on US technology acquired by Chinese spies during the 1999 Kosovo War, according to Croatia's former military chief of staff.
#1
....Okay - first, keep in mind one detail: the F-117 first flew in 1981, when I was still babysitting B-52s. The -117, in turn, is derived from the Have Blue demonstrator, which flew on 1 Dec 1976. That means that the stealth technology the Chinese are playing with is approaching forty years old. Impressive though it may be, no forty year-old technology (probably closer to forty five by the time it actually reaches squadron service) is not going to survive in 2015 style combat airspace. (The B-52 is to a certain extent SIXTY year old technology, but Miss Buffy's electronics are first-rate and she will never again have to penetrate enemy airspace under conditions of anything less than absolute US/Allied air superiority.) If anything, the J20 is probably semi-stealthy at best - the original radars on the F-15/16 would have a difficult time with it, but the current upgrades should be able to keep our guys even. The radars on the -22 and -35 will be able to see it and kill it. Keep in mind also that the Chinese will HAVE to have mastered several other technologies in order to make this beast stealthy, and it appears they haven't done that yet.
Second, it's my understanding that the -117 lost in Bosnia was killed through a number of things that probably couldn't be recreated, the reason they didn't bring down more. Short version (and again, this is my understanding, YMMV) is the the Serbs (with Soviet Russian help) discovered that one of their SAMs could get a very brief lock on the -117 just before/during bombs away. (Bistatic radar works in theory - it's just that AFAIK, nobody's ever built/deployed one, or if they have then certainly not in the numbers needed to cover an entire nation's airspace) and then they discovered that our people were launching -117s at pretty much the same time on the same headings every night. Once they got launch times and headings (from something as simple as somebody outside the fence with a compass and a watch, though there's a good possibility a French AF officer may have been passing them more detailed info) all they had to do was set up an ambush...at which point they threw everything they had at it and got the hit. It's not like we pulled the -117s from service after that; they kept flying missions and no more were lost. If it was that easy to do, they should have been dropping all over Bosnia.
It was, and still is, in a lot of people's interests to say, "Look, the SERBS were able to bring down a stealth fighter, what makes you think the (FILL IN THE BLANK) won't be able to do it?" This guy seems to be in that crowd. Is the J-20 something we need to look at carefully? Yes. Do we need to work on gear that can insure it doesn't become a threat? Yes. Is it going to end the USAF's ability to control the airspace over a battlefield? Not yet. Our politicians are much more likely to do far more damage than this aircraft will.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
01/23/2011 15:51 Comments ||
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Mike K.,
I agree with everything you said. The F-35 radar, which was retrofitted to the F-22 as an upgrade to the baseline, is far superior to anything else out there.
Another of the J-20's pedigree is the MIG I.42. The rear portion of the J-20 is particularly similar to the MiG I.42.
That being said, the US needs to keep an eye on this as our battle plans require absolute air superiority. I am not worried about the next ten years. I worry about the next thirty years. And the Chinese will be working on a competitor to the F-22 for at least that long.
The fact that China is a communist state and not a democracy is the biggest factor in our favor. The Chinese military is corrupt which cripples their effectiveness. Thank God that our enemies are evil.
Posted by: Mike Ramsey ||
01/23/2011 16:40 Comments ||
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#3
What was it some Israeli said? "God was watching over us when he planted us in the middle of the Arabs. We would have lost if we had competent enemies." Something like that, anyway.
Mike K, that was a wonderful "How to think about the subject" post. Thank you.
#4
our battle plans require absolute air superiority
That's called air dominance. And way too expensive to justify in my mind, especially when compared to a drone that can maneuver constantly at +10G. And -10G. Humans can't keep up. The only thing in my mind that makes them interesting now is the idea that drones can't see them very well on radar. Yet. But that could change with a drone swarm, where every drone comes to the party with a radar, and instead of watching for reflections of its own radar, it instead watches for reflections of other drones' radars.
#7
Fake story. China raided the fuck out of US defense contractors' data in the past 10 years. Plus their excellent network in America, and it's no wonder they produced a copy, they're experts at copying.
Lang Lang the pianist says he chose it. Chairman Hu Jintao recognized it as soon as he heard it. Patriotic Chinese Internet users were delighted as soon as they saw the videos online. Early morning TV viewers in China knew it would be played an hour or two beforehand. At the White House State dinner on Jan. 19, about six minutes into his set, Lang Lang began tapping out a famous anti-American propaganda melody from the Korean War: the theme song to the movie "Battle on Shangganling Mountain."
#2
It seems there is a competition between the world's tyrants to see who can humiliate the lightweight Obama administration in the most outrageous way. And as long as it doesn't hurt his domestic poll ratings (after all, it's not like the MSM will report it), Obama doesn't care.
#3
"it's a song about General Tso's Chicken - you'll love it"
"can you get more veggie's into the tune? M'chelle would like that"
"Of course, sir. I'm sure you'll like it"
"Good time to step out for a smoke, I'm sure"
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/23/2011 17:27 Comments ||
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#4
The slight was intentional and intended for domestic Chinese audiences, allowing them to show their national pride and dominance by insulting the Americans in our very leaders house.
To do that is a very arrogant statement.... and shows utterly no fear of consequence.
#5
Yup, a slap in the face. Insulting ignorant barbarians to their face without them even knowing they're being insulted. Very Chinese, excellent job. A cheap victory, but a victory nonetheless. Gives confidence that further victories may yet be won.
#1
So what's next, a waiver of safety standards?
On a serious note the Port of Seattle has imposed environmetal rules on truckers servicing the port and that has effectively shut down many truckers due to environmental rules. No word on Obama waivers for the domestic truckers.
The word 'Muslim' will be replaced with 'Islam' in the column showing person's religion in the census forms of India after objections by some members of the Islam Muslim community.
Since some census forms have already been distributed, the field workers will have to to manually obliterate the word 'Muslim' and write 'Islam' in its place.
[Arab News] A Pak actress castigated for appearing to cuddle with an Indian actor on a reality show lashed out at a holy man who had criticized her during a widely watched television exchange this week.
The unusual outburst, punctuated by tears, came at a sensitive time in a country where fundamentalism is spreading and liberals are increasingly afraid to express their views.
"What is your problem with me? You tell me your problem!" an angry Veena Malik asked the scholar, who accused her of insulting Islam.
Earlier this month, a liberal Pak governor was rubbed out for opposing the country's harsh laws against blasphemy. In the aftermath, his killer was cheered as a hero among many in the public, shocking the country's small liberal establishment.
Veena, 26, participated recently on "Bigg Boss," an Indian version of "Big Brother." Clips of the show on the Internet include ones in which she appears cozy with Indian actor Ashmit Patel. Those scenes, and her involvement with a show in Pakistain's archrival India, prompted criticism online and on the air.
"You have insulted Pakistain and Islam," Mufti Abdul Qawi accused her on the Express TV channel talk show via a television link. The exchange first aired Friday and then again Saturday.
A furious Veena shot back, saying Qawi targeted her because she is a woman, reminding him that the Holy Qur'an admonishes men not to stare at a woman's beauty beyond a first glance, and telling him there were bigger problems in Pakistain, including the alleged rape of children at madrasas.
Woo hoo! You go, girl!!
During the exchange, Qawi admitted he had not seen the clips of the show but had heard about it from others.
"What does your Islam say, mufti sir?" the actress asked. "You issue edicts on the basis of hearsay." Veena said she had read the Qur'an and she knew what lines not to cross as a Mohammedan as well as an entertainer in South Asia. She pointed out that she never kissed Patel, for instance.
"I am a Mohammedan woman, and I know my limits," she said.
The holy man seemed unable to respond to her flood of words.
Veena's fierce outburst sparked a barrage of comments on Twitter. While some writers said they didn't agree with her and one called her a "porn star," others said she was brave for standing up to the Pak holy man establishment, especially when such an act can mean personal danger.
Wrote one supporter: "The only way to talk to these bloody holy mans is to talk down to them. Veena Malik did just that, and how. Good for her!"
Posted by: Fred ||
01/23/2011 00:00 ||
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#3
Being in India might not help that much. Remember that India is 13.4% Muslim. Since India has over one billion people, that means that there are well over 100 million Muslims in India.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
01/23/2011 10:19 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.
RIYADH - Saudi ArabiaÂ’s elderly King Abdullah arrived in Morocco on Saturday to convalesce after spending almost two months in New York for medical treatment, Saudi state media said.
The word 'Muslim' will be replaced with 'Islam' in the column showing person's religion in the census forms of India after objections by some members of the 
