While the how is of interest, what would be truly interesting is why. I doubt this was a simple error that took 20 years to figure out.
KIGALI, Rwanda -- Researchers said nearly two decades ago that this tiny country was part of an AIDS Belt stretching across the midsection of Africa, a place so infected with a new, incurable disease that, in the hardest-hit places, one in three working-age adults were already doomed to die of it.
But AIDS deaths on the predicted scale never arrived here, government health officials say. A new national study illustrates why: The rate of HIV infection among Rwandans ages 15 to 49 is 3 percent, according to the study, enough to qualify as a major health problem but not nearly the national catastrophe once predicted.
The new data suggest the rate never reached the 30 percent estimated by some early researchers, nor the nearly 13 percent given by the United Nations in 1998.
The study and similar ones in 15 other countries have shed new light on the disease across Africa. Relying on the latest measurement tools, they portray an epidemic that is more female and more urban than previously believed, one that has begun to ebb in much of East Africa and has failed to take off as predicted in most of West Africa.
Yet the disease is devastating southern Africa, according to the data. It is in that region alone -- in countries including South Africa, Botswana, Swaziland and Zimbabwe -- that an AIDS Belt exists, the researchers say. Keep sending those pennies and nickles
"What we know now more than ever is southern Africa is the absolute epicenter," said David Wilson, a senior AIDS analyst for the World Bank, speaking from Washington. Yup, it's real bad. Send money.
In the West African country of Ghana, for example, the overall infection rate for people ages 15 to 49 is 2.2 percent. But in Botswana, the national infection rate among the same age group is 34.9 percent. And in the city of Francistown, 45 percent of men and 69 percent of women ages 30 to 34 are infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Oh yeah, with the credibility established above, I believe oit.
Most of the studies were conducted by ORC Macro, a research corporation based in Calverton, Md., and were funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development, other international donors and various national governments in the countries where the studies took place. Two disinterested organizations that had a motivation to be sceptical about the results.
Taken together, they raise questions about monitoring by the U.N. AIDS agency, which for years overestimated the extent of HIV/AIDS in East and West Africa and, by a smaller margin, in southern Africa, according to independent researchers and U.N. officials.
"What we had before, we cannot trust it," said Agnes Binagwaho, a senior Rwandan health official.
Years of HIV overestimates, researchers say, flowed from the long-held assumption that the extent of infection among pregnant women who attended prenatal clinics provided a rough proxy for the rate among all working-age adults in a country. Working age was usually defined as 15 to 49. These rates also were among the only nationwide data available for many years, especially in Africa, where health tracking was generally rudimentary.
The new studies show, however, that these earlier estimates were skewed in favor of young, sexually active women in the urban areas that had prenatal clinics. Researchers now know that the HIV rate among these women tends to be higher than among the general population.
The new studies rely on random testing conducted across entire countries, rather than just among pregnant women, and they generally require two forms of blood testing to guard against the numerous false positive results that inflated early estimates of the disease. These studies also are far more effective at measuring the often dramatic variations in infection rates between rural and urban people and between men and women. EFL
#1
Why? LLL conspiracy theorists would suggest it was all a propaganda ploy to get the people to use condoms, with the desirable side effect of reducing the rate of population growth.
Another possibility is that the rates were not overstated then, but that somehow the Rwandan population had or rapidly developed some natural immunity. In my opinion this disease is not new, and has jumped into the human population repeatedly in the past, such that there are reservoirs of potentially more resistant people scattered about.
#2
"U.N. AIDS agency, which for years overestimated the extent of HIV/AIDS"
Well, I'm just shocked!
Hooda thunk the sainted UN could possibly get something wrong when it involves extorting more money from the West.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
04/08/2006 14:49 Comments ||
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#3
Heck, back about the mid-80s there was concurrent publication by Newsweek and Time [promoted by the advocates of the gay agenda] that a HIV epidemic would sweep hetero America by the mid-90s if nothing was done to stop the spread by dumping billions of dollars looking for a cure. Dire Predications[tm] of another 'black plague' style destruction of normal society and economy. Concurrent with those ravings were repeated denials that HIV in America was largely a disease spread among the gay community. Twenty years later the general population remains pretty free of the threat, but the gay community has paid a heavy price for that misdirection, largely self-inflicted. Watch carefully as they shift the discussion from America to the world in trying to tag it as a hetero spread disease. Its the same rhetorical slight of hand as the discussion of illegal immigrants is changed to 'immigrants'.
#4
I wonder what the stats would show if they tracked the UN's movements with the spread of HIV? Any bets the Peacekeepers and bureaucrats raped and impregnated these city prostitutes, following the same trails that infection spread? Years ago I read AIDS, not yet identified for what it was, seemed to originate in Africa and Haiti, in places the UN had medical missions and and gave innoculations, playing into the conspiracy theory it was an engineered disease targeting blacks. Doesn't seem so improbable anymore. Who knows what goes on in Geneva?
#5
Actually, the spread of AIDS with U.N. medical missions is due to incompetence and penny-pinching, not a wide ranging conspiracy. The U.N. medicos simply reused syringes dozens of times in those areas, effectively infecting thousands with AIDS, hepatitis, and similiar blood-borne diseases. In the developed world, such reuse was already banned and so was not a contributing factor to the spread of AIDS, except among IV drug users.
British officials called for calm after confirmation the deadly bird flu virus had reached the country's shores in a dead wild swan in Scotland.
"I don't think that one dead swan is a crisis," the government's chief science adviser, David King, told BBC radio.
"I think what it meant was we immediately had to step up our surveillance procedures, we had to see that animal movements were restricted, and we had to make sure all of our reactions were done in the proper and reasonably constrained way."
Officials have said the threat to humans is remote, despite the discovery of the deadly H5N1 strain in the partially eaten carcass of a Mute swan, found late on March 29 in Cellardyke harbour in eastern Scotland.
Since the swan was found, 14 other birds, including 12 swans, have been tested, with results yet to be announced.
"The risk of this particular virus passing into humans is extremely low. It's unlikely to occur unless there is any very close contact between a diseased bird and an individual," Scotland's chief medical officer Harry Burns said.
"There is a better chance of a person winning the national lottery than catching bird flu in the UK today," said Jim Robertson, a virologist from the National Institute for Biological Standards and Control.
Scientists fear bird flu could become highly dangerous to humans if the virus mutates into a form easily passed on from one person to another, although it has not done so yet.
According to the World Health Organisation, the virus has killed 109 people out of at least 192 known human infections since 2003, almost all of them in Asia and involving people who had close contact with infected birds.
It has infected birds in France, Germany and several other European Union countries in recent months, but there has been no reported case of human infection in the EU.
Doctors say properly cooked poultry is safe to eat, but farmers worry demand could plummet because of fear of the disease.
Scottish officials announced measures to prevent the spread of the disease to domestic poultry farms as has happened in some other European countries.
Vets will test birds at all poultry farms within 3km of the site the swan was found.
The authorities also set up a new, 2,500 sq km "wild bird risk area" in Scotland.
The government said it had ordered poultry farmers within this area to keep their flocks indoors.
There are 175 poultry centres in the zone with some 3.1 million birds, of which 260,000 are free range.
WASHINGTON (AP) - The State Department accused Caracas city officials of complicity Friday in an attack on the car of U.S. Ambassador William Brownfield in the Venezuelan capital. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns summoned Venezuelan Ambassador Bernardo Alvarez to the State Department and told him that Venezuela was in violation of an international treaty that requires the host countries to ensure the safety of foreign diplomats, department spokesman Sean McCormack said. The incident ``clearly was condoned by the local government,'' McCormack said.
Pro-government activists bombarded Brownfield's car with fruit and vegetables and a group of motorcyclists chased the convoy, at times pummeling the vehicles with their fists.
McCormack said local government officials were handing out snacks to the perpetrators as Brownfield was participating in a ceremony at a Caracas stadium. The event included a gift of baseball equipment to children. McCormack said it was the fourth government-sponsored attempt to intimidate U.S. diplomats in Venezuela, three having occurred in the past three weeks. ``We will not be intimidated,'' McCormack said.
According to McCormack, Burns warned Alvarez that there will be ``severe diplomatic consequences between our countries'' if there is another incident.
That phrase means something different when we say it compared to when Kofi says it, Hugo.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/08/2006 00:37 ||
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#1
Isn't this an act of war? It seems to me this is how the Iranians began their undeclared war against us.
The U.S. ambassador to Venezuela's motorcade was pelted with fruits, vegetables and eggs by backers of President Hugo Chavez as police did nothing, a U.S. embassy spokesman said. No one was hurt.
The incident occurred after U.S. Ambassador William Brownfield distributed baseball equipment to little leaguers in a baseball stadium in a working class neighborhood in the capital of Caracas, said U.S. Embassy spokesman Brian Penn in a telephone interview. Supporters of Chavez, including an official who identified himself as a member of Caracas Mayor Juan Barreto's staff, demanded Brownfield leave, Penn said. On their departure, the ambassador and his four-car motorcade drove through an adjacent market where Chavez supporters began throwing produce and eggs.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/08/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Note to DIPSEC: Glenn, Sara, and Mike - After your finish washing the eggs and tomatoes off the SUV's, please re-look the Surveillance Detection Route (SDR) SOP for Caracas with an eye toward market avoidance. Thanks again for the "hearts and minds" little league tip and photo op.
AUSTRALIAN tourists are staying away from Indonesia as tensions between the countries escalate.
Tourist numbers have halved amid terrorism fears and anger at the treatment of Australian drug-runners.
They could fall even further as diplomatic relations deteriorate over Australia's decision to grant political asylum to 42 people, including several independence activists, from the Indonesian province of West Papua.
Figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics reveal 16,500 Australians visited Indonesia in February, down from 32,500 in the same month last year.
Despite terrorist attacks in Jakarta and Bali, Indonesia remained among our top four tourist destinations until September, but numbers dropped dramatically after the second Bali bombing in October.
Indonesia no longer ranks among Australians' top 10 destinations.
Thailand has been the big winner, enjoying a 45 per cent increase in Australian tourists between February 2005 and February 2006, according to the bureau.
More Australians also are visiting Singapore, India, Fiji and the US, especially Hawaii.
Flight Centre spokesman Haydn Long said Bali's tourist trade had not recovered as it did after the first terrorist bombings in 2002. "People aren't going there in great numbers," he said.
The latest travel advisory from the Department of Foreign Affairs warns of a "high threat" of terrorist attacks in Indonesia and says Australians should reconsider plans to go there.
But Mr Long said the tourist boycott was probably due to a combination of factors, including resentment over the treatment of Schapelle Corby and the Bali Nine drug smugglers.
"Tourists went to Bali for the people, the beach, the affordability Thailand also offers a lot of that kind of appeal," he said.
Barring further terrorist attacks, Bali is expected to recover, but it may take some years.
"From what we've seen it will probably be a bit slower than previously," Mr Long said.
#1
Muslims seem to trouble with the concept of "cause and effect." People will not visit, not invest, not help in any way places where people try to kill them. These people always seem to want the goods, services, and wealth of the West without Westerners. Indonesia is eventually going to fall apart as its continuing attempts to industrialize fall apart under the weight of militant Islam. Too bad. The West is going to vote with its wallet.
Federal Minister for Customs and Justice Senator Chris Ellison says the Federal Government has the power to force boats carrying Papuan asylum seekers back to Indonesia.
After the Tampa affair in 2001, the Navy forced several boats carrying Middle Eastern asylum seekers back to Indonesian waters.
Speaking on ABC Radio National's The National Interest, Senator Ellison said the Government's policy has not changed.
He says circumstances would determine whether the Government would consider forcing boats, carrying Papuans, back to Indonesia.
"It will depend on the circumstances in which we intercept these people, but certainly they will be dealt with as we would deal with any other attempts at illegal entrance into Australia," he said.
"We've put in place measures for dealing with people who try to enter our country illegally and you've seen what we've done in the past and our policy has not changed."
No breach
Australia is a signatory to the International Convention on Refugees, but Senator Ellison rejects claims that the policy of forcing a refugee back to a place of persecution is a breach of international law.
"The international law that we're upholding is our sovereignty in that we're maintaining our borders," he said.
"As the Minister for Customs and Justice, I have responsibility for border control, and that is to safeguard our borders against illegal fishing, illegal entrance, security risks and anything else which might pose a risk to this country including quarantine.
"When we're faced with a boatload of people, they don't come with a sign saying, 'These Are Refugees'. When we're presented with that situation on the water, we don't know who they are; we don't know their background.
"They might say they're refugees, they might say they're all sorts of things but I have to tell you that we're primarily charged with looking out for Australia's sovereignty and security and that means that we intercept people who are trying to enter this country illegally and that could involve a number of measures which would be determined at the time by authorities who are engaging in the process of looking after our borders."
The full interview with Senator Ellison will be broadcast on The National Interest at midday on Sunday on ABC Radio National.
#1
I doubt they will force West Papuans back to sea. A lot of people who are hardline on immigration like me, have considerable sympathy for these people, because they are getting F&&ked over by the Javanese who run Indonesia.
Incidentally, my wife is going on business to Papua New Guinea in a couple of weeks time and I'm trying to swing a trip.
EFL
When I visited Turkey last week on an inaugural London-to-Ankara flight, I decided the country was clearly ripe for membership of the European Union. Only a short walk from my hotel I found a Marks & Spencer, a McDonald's, a Body Shop and a Mothercare. I could have been in Milton Keynes.
But on the flight home next day, a stewardess gave me a copy of the Daily Telegraph that threatened to change my view. It contained a story from Ankara, the city I had just left, bearing the headline Muslims Accused of Killing "Unclean" Dogs. The report said a Turkish vet caring for stray animals had come across hundreds of dead dogs in a municipal dump. These were said to have been left there by city workers who liked to round up, torture and kill dogs because they believed them "unclean". Grrrrrrr. It's bad enough here, with the dog-fighting pits, the "Oope! Fluffy had more puppies. Well, let's just dump them; they'll find good home," and the occasional deliberate torture. But at least our culture considers these wrong and condemns those who do it.
This made me wonder if Turkey really is ready to join Europe. True, its people seemed charming, intelligent and civilised; and its capital city could boast an M&S. But this was no way to treat a dog. Furthermore, the report included the distressing detail that at least two of the dead dogs had been sexually abused. Why would you want sexually to abuse a dog if you considered it "unclean"? Because they're devil-worshipping savages? It made no sense, but it suggested that the founder of modern Turkey, the great Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, had died before Europeanising his country as fully as he would have liked.
But I mustn't make too much of this. Since the is Al Guardian, after all. Muslims are by no means alone in not liking to be licked by dogs and Islam is opposed to cruelty to animals of any kind, its faith teaching that animals are part of Allah's creation and so should be treated with respect. Male animals, anyway.
French prosecutors called Friday for a 25-year prison sentence for a young man accused of burning a 17-year-old woman to death in a Paris suburb. Sohane Benziane, a Frenchwoman of Algerian origin, was doused with lighter fuel, set on fire and left to die in the basement of a run-down housing estate in Vitry-sur-Seine near Paris, in October 2002. Jamal Derrar, 22, is accused of acts of torture and barbarity leading to death and faces 25 years' imprisonment, while his co-defendant Tony Rocca, 23, faces eight to 10 years in jail. State prosecutor Jean-Paul Content argued that Derrar had premeditated what he called "an act of boundless cruelty", but had intended only to scare the young woman, not to kill her. According to the prosecutor, Derrar had focused his anger on Sohane after getting into a fight with her boyfriend. The article notes that the victim was of Algerian origin, but conveniently glosses of the perpetrator's origin.
Sohane's murder deeply shocked the country and her name became synonymous with the fight to improve women's rights, particularly to combat violence against women of immigrant background in the country's poor suburbs.
#1
Not good enough for him. He deserves at least as much as she was put through. What the heck is wrong with the legal system when they allow premeditated torture and murder being punished with only time in prison?
#3
25 years? And the EUros wonder why we think their "justice" is a joke?
Twenty five years that is what the prosecutor is demanding. It will be probably lowered by the jurty (1). Then there will be the reductions for good behaviour. In 10 years max he will be out again. And it is fortunate he being judged in France: in Spain he would also get further reductions for playing football, feigniong to study or washing the jail floors (real eaxmples) so he would be out in five years max.
(1) In France the juries are composed of 9 citizens and 3 judges ie the judges vote and are in the same room where the ciizens deliberate thus being able to influence/pressure the 9 citizen voters. They only need to rally four on the 9 to get a majority (since the judges vote).
#5
In unrelated news today, the.eu extensions are up for grabs. Being American, I can't get a .eu web address, but it doesn't matter anyway as sacrebl.eu and mondi.eu are already spoken for.
The crime in a housing project in Vitry-sur-Seine southeast of Paris exposed the problem of violence against women in impoverished French suburbs. Vitry-sur-Seine was the starting point of a protest march four months later for women's equality.
Derrar's accomplice, Tony Rocca, was sentenced to eight years in prison for barring the door of the garbage closet where Derrar left the victim while she screamed for help. Rocca denied the charge.
The two young men sat silently, their heads down, during the sentencing. Their supporters wept outside, calling the sentences too heavy.
The family of the victim left the courtroom immediately without speaking to reporters. The family's lawyer, Francis Szpiner, said Derrar should have been charged with murder. He noted that Derrar bought the bottle of gasoline a day before the attack and that rumors had flown around the neighborhood that "he was going to torch Sohane."
The court, however, ruled that the act was not premeditated
#8
Sohane's murder deeply shocked the country and her name became synonymous with the fight to improve women's rights, particularly to combat violence against women of immigrant background in the country's poor suburbs.
#9
Not to seem cold hearted, but while this tragedy was mediatised and acted as some kind of waking call (the media favorite and socialist front feminist org from the 'hood "ni putes ni soumises" was created from the "femmes de quartier" org at the occasion, and used this as a prop to get public exposure, to be later disawoved by sohane's family), this isn't certainly neither the firts, nor the last. There had been at least two others instances since, including one with the perp probably at large in his native Pakistan, hidden by his extended family.
and I remember reading in my very own local newspaper, quite a few years ago (mid-late 90's I'd say?) the sad case of a nurse who left her turkish boyfriend; the guy then lured her into an ambush in the country, gangraped her with a couple of pals, burned her alive and left her to die. I remember reading how a nearby farmer found her still alive, crawling in his courtyard, naked and "red as a lobster".
speaking of a nurse, there was also that other nurse who was doused with gasoline while coming home on Xmas eve, and being set on fire by a Youth(tm) who was later sentenced as mentally insane. This happened in 2002-2003, and she was disfigured and lost both hands.
And there was that handicapped womand set on fire during the 2005 ramadan riots, plus at least an another unreported case (except in local press and the www) of a woman doused with gasoline just outside of her home, but who managed to run away, also during the RR.
Add the rampant car BBQ, the torching of schools, gymnasiums,... what's with fire and theses guys??? Any possiblity it's psychosexual, or am I too freudian or something?
#10
Btw, the first case in my last coment was at least as horrible as Sohane's (that's why I wrote about being cold-hearted), but this was treated in a small article, and I even doubt it made national news except in a very discreet way, as it is usually when the victim is not "a victim by essence"; time was different, but I somehow resent sohane "made the headlines" because it is emblematic of the feminine condition in the muslim projects. Still sad for that poor kid, though, and for her family (her sister's testimonies were quite clear, this guy was NOT a disgrunted would-be lover, as the defense said, but a smug young thug too cowardly to take his revenge on her boyfriend); JFM is right, in France the time actually spent in jail is roughly 1/2 of the sentence, with time spent before judgment included into the total. Thus, in about 10 years this scum will be out.
#12
Frenchman faces 25 years for burning girl alive
Were I the French media, I'd make d@mn sure to specify how the individuals in question were newcomers to French society, as in "first-generation" or some such other monicker. French people in general should be up in arms that the people of their country are being attributed with crimes of such barbarity.
Add the rampant car BBQ, the torching of schools, gymnasiums,... what's with fire and theses guys??? Any possiblity it's psychosexual, or am I too freudian or something?
Bah! My own bet is on how they never, ever get to barbecue pork ribs. Us Americans know that it is exactly this sort of manly, pyroclastic beer-drinking-accompanied sport that sublimates all sorts of primal urges and instinctual predispositions. Charred pigflesh and chilled alcohol, even paradise has little better to offer without taking your clothes off and it works on so many levels!
A picnic by student protesters held in the middle of a busy Paris boulevard turned violent Friday when a frustrated motorist burst through the crowd, injuring 10. Outraged students set upon the driver, overturning his car before police stepped in.
The scene in the Latin Quarter highlighted the increasing unruliness of college and high school students leading protests against a new jobs law for youths. But spring break, which starts this weekend, may succeed where politicians have failed in ending the protests. With Alpine ski slopes and Mediterranean beaches calling, high school students in particular say they will have to stop their protests to vacation with mom and dad. "I'm sorry to say so, but I think the movement is going to lose steam," said Elies Alexandre, one of about 200 high school students taking part in Friday's violence-marred sit-in near the Sorbonne University, which has been closed for a month. "Most people are going on vacation with their parents," said the 15-year-old, who leaves this weekend for a family holiday in Italy.
Students more keen to protest than study have been at the forefront of the standoff with the government over a law that was designed to spur the hirings of youths under 26 by making it easier for companies to fire them. The law was meant, above all, to help those less qualified get a first job, but city students led the protests.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/08/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
It's a start....
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
04/08/2006 0:40 Comments ||
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#2
Let the record show, that a 'whiff of grape' has shown remarkable success in calming unruly Parisian mobs and preventing further outbreaks of rude behavior usually reserved for tourists.
This may be a trivial pet peeve but Student protesters seems like a misleading demographic classification. No question the median age of the majority protesters does provide insight into understanding the dispute. And I may be reading too much into this but the description of student suggests, as fact, that the majority attend some form of educational institution. Not only is this irrelevant but it is also impossible to verify. Furthermore it is clear, in this situation, that there is organization from people that are neither students nor of what is considered student age. Seems to me it would be more accurate to describe this as juvenile delinquents supported by Union provocateurs.
Protesters demanding a Maoist takeover return to democracy postponed a rally that had been expected to draw thousands on Saturday, after the king imposed an all-day curfew and ordered violators shot on sight.
One person was killed and at least two wounded when security forces fired at demonstrators in Pokhara, a resort town 125 miles west of the capital, Katmandu, said Gangadhar Baral, who was among those wounded. "We were protesting and some of us were throwing stones at the soldiers. Suddenly, the soldiers fired shots at us. One of my friends was killed instantly," Baral said. He spoke from the town's main hospital. I guess this is the Nepalese version of bringing a knife to a gun fight.
Khadga Prasad Oli, deputy leader of the Communist Party of Nepal, called the curfew "unnecessary, illegal and illogical" and said the protesters would try to hold the rally on Sunday. Bet the turnout is even lower than that of the Fresno Peace March last month....
Seven main political parties organized the rally as the high point of a four-day general strike that has shut down Katmandu, where King Gyanendra's refusal to give up absolute rule has led to growing unrest.
Protesters clashed with police in Katmandu and surrounding areas on Thursday and Friday. Hundreds of people were arrested and dozens were injured. The protesters have the backing of communist rebels, who are separately fighting against the king's rule and formed a loose alliance with the political parties in December.
Gyanendra dismissed the prime minister in February last year, saying he needed full powers to check the communist insurgency, which has killed some 13,000 people since 1996.
The rebels bombed government buildings and attacked a jail in the southwestern town of Taulihawa on Friday night, freeing 104 prisoners, officials said. Insurgents also attacked security bases in the nearby town of Butwal. Officials said the curfew was in response to information that the rebels would try to infiltrate the rallies and wage terror attacks against government targets.
Streets quickly emptied as the curfew began at 10 a.m. Saturday, except for soldiers patrolling the streets in vans, pickup trucks and armored cars. Tourists were cooped up inside hotels and allowed to travel only if they were going to or from the airport.
The curfew was to continue until 9 p.m. Saturday in Katmandu and two suburbs, the government announced on state-run Radio Nepal. Violators would be shot, it said. "We strongly oppose this," said Oli, whose party is not linked to the rebels. Well, Oli, if you are really pissed off you could always take it to the street and lead the parade personally....
Authorities have cracked down forcefully on the protests. On Friday, police used batons and tear gas to beat back hundreds of demonstrators in Katmandu, many of whom who were throwing rocks.
A post office in Katmandu was set on fire Friday, and students at the capital's Tribhuwan University ransacked the dean's office and briefly held several officers hostage. The students were joined by workers, professionals and business owners, in what the opposition said was a sign of building momentum against the king. Protest organizers said the curfew order and other restrictions, for example on cell phone use, show the government is nervous. Well, duh....considering you have already proven yourselves to be violence-inclined...
"It proves that we have been able to startle the government. We have not decided how we are going to respond to the curfew order but we will not be deterred by the government using these means to try quash our movement for control democracy," Subash Nemwang, another communist party member.
Of the more than 750 people arrested the past three days, 115 were sent to prison under a tough public safety law that allows authorities to jail people without charge for 90 days, Home Minister Kamal Thapa said. "The government is using minimum force to control the situation," Thapa told reporters. The rebels have promised not to carry out attacks in Katmandu during the strike, but have stepped up attacks elsewhere. "Yeah...like somewhere where the soldiers aren't, 'cause we don't wanna get shot."
Gyanendra called for calm in a speech live Friday on national radio and television. "Let us all pledge today to devote time for establishing permanent peace," he said. "It is the need of today to establish permanent peace." The remarks were the king's first public comments on the daily protests and the escalating violence.
#5
They'll torch buses and other communal property identified with the state.
Private cars are quite expensive and torching those is sure to get you in the cross hairs of another mob - one of irate car owners - who will probably kill you.
Posted by: john ||
04/08/2006 14:57 Comments ||
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#6
Maoists are better when dead. I have no problem with the deaths of Communists or Scientific Socialists or their supporters of any stripe. Even if it's a messed up King thingey doing it.
Posted by: SPoD ||
04/08/2006 16:42 Comments ||
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JAIPUR: A western Indian state on Friday passed a controversial bill prohibiting religious conversions, bringing renewed focus on an issue that has triggered communal violence and been used as a political tool. For decades, Indias Hindu revivalists have accused Christian missionaries of bribing poor tribespeople to change their faith, but Christians deny mass conversions and say those who do convert do so to escape the rigid Hindu caste hierarchy. Authorities in Rajasthan state, ruled by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), said it was banning religious conversions because they were weakening communal harmony.
Some religious institutions, bodies and individuals are involved in unlawful conversion by allurement or by fraudulent means or forcibly, Gulab Chand Kataria, Rajasthans interior minister, said. In order to curb such illegal activities and to maintain harmony, we have enacted a special law. Any breach of the new proposal could be punished with up to five years in prison and a hefty fine, he said.
The act was passed by the state lawmakers, but still needs to be ratified by the governor to take effect. The move has attracted stinging criticism from other political parties and religious groups, who accuse the Hindu right wing of whipping up fear for political ends. Such an act defies logic, since conversion activities had rarely been reported in the state, said Salim Engineer, state general secretary of Jamait-e-Islami Hind, describing the move as an act of fascism.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/08/2006 00:00 ||
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A DSP-rank officer can arrest any person who has converted or attempted to convert a person through force, allurement or fraudulent means.
Posted by: john ||
04/08/2006 14:25 Comments ||
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#3
Not that some yahoo cop won't attempt to use it to harass some preachers.
But ultimately, the law (and any conviction) has to be in compliance with the Indian constitution - which guarantees religious freedom - and survive challenge to the Indian supreme court.
Posted by: john ||
04/08/2006 14:32 Comments ||
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The United States is quietly blocking the start of a long-awaited renovation of United Nations headquarters in hopes of keeping down costs, US Ambassador John Bolton acknowledged on Thursday. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has asked for an authorization of $100 million in new spending to get the work under way later this year, but Washington wants to commit to just $23 million at present, Bolton said.
The plan has been languishing in the UN General Assembly's budget committee for the past three weeks, and diplomats said Washington was at this point the lone obstacle. "For three weeks now, the committee has been hung up on the issue, with no real word from the US as to where things stand and when they might get resolved," said one diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity. Bolton said: "This is not a matter of saying we are for or against the plan. What we are saying is, 'Let's do this in a responsible, prudent, graduated fashion.'"
Posted by: Fred ||
04/08/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
"We need time for the weapons inspectors consultants to finish their reports."
#7
It'd make more sense to sell the land in manhattan and use the proceeds to build a new UN headquarters in a more inexpensive place like Harare or Pyonyang.
#8
I can't believe Annan is serious! In these days of budget cuts for the cost of freedom, we have absolutely no slush funds for them to waste. We'll get back to the UN when we get our federal deficit balanced. Maybe they can build a spacious building on cheap land in Iran after it gets leveled? Keep an eye on the mullahs, and all.
#9
Get the UN off of American soil! It has tarnished itself beyond redemption and is essentially a source of intelligence agents from every single other country on earth. The UN needs to be moved to some backwater bumf*ck location where appointment constitutes a punishment posting. Only the most dedicated and altruistic world government types would seek the assignment. The only money we spend should be to provide free demolition and removal of the old offices once they are abandoned. They are nothing but a disgrace to human and political integrity.
We can take it - tell us what you really think of the Useless Nitwits. :-D
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
04/08/2006 20:14 Comments ||
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#11
I'd like to %&*#@ all of these $%&@# until they can't *&^# before sun-up with a pole up their @%$&* inserted sideways! Then I'd #%$&* all of their daughters for afters once they'd %^@#* me twice and let my wolf-hybrid $%&^* them too! Then I'd wrap them all in duct tape, %$&*@# them again and sell the video online.
GAZA: The new Palestinian culture minister has set his sights on stamping out pornography - and belly dancing. Atallah Abu Al-Subbah, a senior official of Islamist militant group Hamas, said belly dancing was a form of striptease.
I do not regard forms of pornography and striptease as culture. They are destructive, Abu Al-Subbah told Reuters in an interview late on Thursday. Since Hamas swept parliamentary elections in January, fears among secular Palestinians that the group might crack down on various forms of entertainment and the drinking of alcohol have largely proven unfounded. Hamas took office last week.
Abu Al-Subbah did not say how he would seek to outlaw belly dancing, which used to be performed in public in Gaza before a Palestinian uprising against Israel began in 2000. Some Palestinians expect Egyptian and Arab entertainers and singers to resume performances in Gaza, especially in the coming summer months, after the Palestinians took control of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt late last year. Abu Al-Subbah blamed Israel for the spread of pornographic movies in Gaza and the West Bank. He vowed to confront the vice by boosting the culture of resistance and Islamic values.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/08/2006 00:00 ||
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I do not regard forms of pornography and striptease as culture. They are destructive, Abu Al-Subbah told Reuters in an interview late on Thursday.
But strapping bomb belts on 3 year olds for parades, gun sex and dipping your hands in the giblets of one of your leaders that gets blown up are A OK?
#2
The ugliest bellydancer I've ever seen live was in Austin, Texas at some Moroccan restaurant near the capital. I don't know Gaza quality bellydancing, but if she represents, I'm with Hamas on this one. Life is too short for ugly bellydancers.
#3
Heh! Enjoy your new Hamas masters, Palestinians! First they can't make the payroll, then they take away the girlie shows. Remember, you voted for them!!!
#4
I do not regard forms of pornography and striptease as culture. They are destructive,
Whereas, a bunch of psychotic, genocidal murderous thugs who slaughter innocent civilians with utter abandon are not "destructive"? If a comparison of cultures were made, pornography and striptease amount to a minor yeast infection compared to the Ebola virus that is Hamas.
Darpa pulled the mothballed NASA X-37 space plan out of storage and is turning it into a space bomber?
Space plane flies free: After weeks of delay, the military X-37 space plane went through its first free flight through the skies over California's Mojave Desert today and landed autonomously at Edwards Air Force Base.
That's the good news from the Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. The bad news is that the vehicle experienced an "anomaly" and went off the runway, DARPA spokeswoman Jan Walker told me. Fortunately, only minor damage was done, she said.
The X-37 was carried up from the Mojave Airport by Scaled Composites' White Knight airplane, the same mothership that bore SpaceShipOne into the sky for its historic private-sector space launches. That's been done several times before. But until today, either unacceptable weather or electronic glitches had stymied the maiden drop test â and the X-37 had to stay hooked to the White Knight.
This time, all systems were go when the White Knight reached its target altitude of 37,000 feet, and the X-37 was set free at last for a three-minute glide to touchdown.
Back in the 1990s, the X-37 was designed as a NASA experimental craft, 27.5 feet (8.4 meters) long with a 15-foot (4.5-meter) wingspan. It was meant to be carried into orbit in the space shuttle's payload bay or atop an expendable rocket, then deployed for independent missions lasting up to 21 days. At the end of each mission, the X-37 would glide back down to an autonomous landing.
NASA dropped the project after deciding that the X-37 was not a good fit for its future exploration plans, but DARPA picked it up in 2004 for its potential military applications. As far back as 2001, NBC News producer Robert Windrem reported that the craft could be adapted to serve as a "space bomber."
Today's drop test was only the first of what surely will be a long series of flights, and the fact that the plane went off track after today's touchdown won't be a mortal blow. After all, SpaceShipOne veered off the runway at the end of its first supersonic flight. (For pictures of that mishap from Mojave photographer Alan Radecki, click here.)
Stuart Witt, manager of the Mojave Airport, was clearly pleased that the X-37 was finally released for free flight after so many false starts. "It's exciting," he told me.
"It's been good to see synergistic tests springboard off previous successes and capitalize on national assets like the White Knight for other uses," Witt said.
Here's the full statement from DARPA's Walker, released at 5 p.m. ET:
"The DARPA-sponsored X-37 Approach and Landing Test Vehicle (ALTV) conducted its first drop test on April 7, 2006.
"White Knight and ALTV took off from Mojave, Calif., airport at 6:30 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time (PDT). At 7:28 a.m. PDT, White Knight released ALTV within the Edwards AFB test range airspace at an altitude of 37,000 feet. ALTV touched down on runway 22 at Edwards AFB, Calif., at 7:31 a.m. PDT. ALTVâs autonomous landing sequence and initial touchdown were flawless and fully according to plan, but ALTV did not stop in the distance expected and rolled off the end of the runway. ALTVâs steering was nominal for the full length of the runway.
"The cause of the incident is not yet known. The ALTV flight team continues to assess the situation.
"All flight data has been recovered from ALTV. There was minor damage to ALTV â the nose landing gear is heavily damaged, but the main landing gear and aircraft appear structurally intact."
#1
Long-range, high-altitude bombers are an obvious application of autonomous systems. Apart from the landing, it's really a quite straightforward problem assuming you are high enough above any air defenses. Fly to location x, drop GPS guided munitions, return to start point.
#2
Taxpayers: Unfortunately a very limited amount of discretionary tax dollars are available. Please make your 1040 selections.
(____) Military X-37 Space Plane
(____) Federeral Emergency Motel Agency (FEMA)
(____) Cynthia McKinney legal fund
(_X__) Concertina wire for the Mexican border
#4
I see a very practical application for it right now. Dropping a bunker buster that is a rocket assisted GPS meteorite, in effect. A "Rod From God, Jr."
Imagine the impact of even a cargo full of fist-sized ceramic balls over a large area? I gather its cargo can be 12,000 lbs. Imagine the psychological impact of perhaps 3,000 meteorites striking a large area simultaneously?
#5
Are you thinking of dropping thousands of tiny little rocks on our enemies? Each with little navigation units? Course their mass to air ratio would slow them down to subsonic on impact. But still being bombarded by baseballs is very American.
#6
The space plane is nice, but for a weapons application I'd put my money on hypersonic missiles that can reach anywhere on the globe in about two hours. Low cost, high accuracy and astonishing impact velocities. Such vehicles would dramatically change the need to deploy carrier based aircraft and other high cost slow-to-deploy conventional assets. The ne plus ultra when it comes to projecting (non-nuclear) power.
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.
KIGALI, Rwanda -- Researchers said nearly two decades ago that this tiny country was part of an AIDS Belt stretching across the midsection of Africa, a place so infected with a new, incurable disease that, in the hardest-hit places, one in three working-age adults were already doomed to die of it.
French prosecutors called Friday for a 25-year prison sentence for a young man accused of burning a 17-year-old woman to death in a Paris suburb. Sohane Benziane, a Frenchwoman of Algerian origin, was doused with lighter fuel, set on fire and left to die in the basement of a run-down housing estate in Vitry-sur-Seine near Paris, in October 2002. Jamal Derrar, 22, is accused of acts of torture and barbarity leading to death and faces 25 years' imprisonment, while his co-defendant Tony Rocca, 23, faces eight to 10 years in jail. State prosecutor Jean-Paul Content argued that Derrar had premeditated what he called "an act of boundless cruelty", but had intended only to scare the young woman, not to kill her. According to the prosecutor, Derrar had focused his anger on Sohane after getting into a fight with her boyfriend.
A picnic by student protesters held in the middle of a busy Paris boulevard turned violent Friday when a frustrated motorist burst through the crowd, injuring 10. Outraged students set upon the driver, overturning his car before police stepped in.
Protesters demanding a 
The United States is quietly blocking the start of a long-awaited renovation of United Nations headquarters in hopes of keeping down costs, US Ambassador John Bolton acknowledged on Thursday. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has asked for an authorization of $100 million in new spending to get the work under way later this year, but Washington wants to commit to just $23 million at present, Bolton said. 
GAZA: The new Palestinian culture minister has set his sights on stamping out pornography - and belly dancing. Atallah Abu Al-Subbah, a senior official of Islamist militant group Hamas, said belly dancing was a form of striptease. 
