DAILY KOS CO-AUTHOR FINED $30K FOR UNETHICAL STOCK TOUT
Prominent liberal blogger Jerome Armstrong has agreed to pay nearly $30,000 in fines in a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission over allegations that Armstrong touted the stock of a software company, without disclosing that he was being paid to do so, the NY TIMES reports.
Armstrong is the co-author of _Crashing the Gate: Netroots, Grassroots, and the Rise of People-Powered Politics,_ with Markos Moulitsas of Daily Kos. He is also the founder of the Democratic activist site MyDD.com.
Under the agreement, Armstrong neither denies nor admits to the allegations.
"It's good to see the matter finally end," Armstrong said in an e-mail message to the TIMES.
Developing...
Posted by: Ol Dirty American ||
08/09/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Shocked, I tell ya, absolutely schocked. Acting like republicans. What is the world coming to when you can't even trust a leftist to stay away from capitalism and the stock market.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
08/09/2007 11:41 Comments ||
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N/T In From the Cold
ELMENDORF AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska (AP) - The U.S. Air Force on
Wednesday stationed its first squadron of stealth fighters outside the contiguous United States, saying the Alaska base is an ideal gateway to Asia and Europe.
It was standing-room only as earplug-wearing onlookers craned their necks to see the touchdown of the F-22 Raptor, an insidious, super-cruising fighter that officials say is unmatched by any other aircraft.
Eight of the stealth fighters are now stationed at the Anchorage base. When Elmendorf's two squadrons are complete, the 40 planes - including two reserves for each squadron - will make up more than a fifth of all the Air Force's Raptors.
The reason for that is Alaska's unique strategic location, said Gen. Paul Hester, commander of the Pacific Air Forces. Its easy access to Asia and Europe make Alaska an ideal location to house the most deadly tool in the box, he said.
Planes are now being test flown at other bases, with one other combat squadron stationed at Langley Air Force Base, Va.
The Air Force also announced Wednesday it had signed a production contract with Lockheed Martin to add 60 Raptors to the Air Force by December 2011, which will complete plans to buy 183 total planes.
Among those on hand for Wednesday's welcoming ceremony was U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, who noted he has worked on the program since its inception in 1981.
Stevens said recent criticism of the program - that it's overpriced and unnecessary in the age of terrorism because there is no other air power in the world that can challenge the U.S. - is dated and off-base. He said the Air Force needs the cutting-edge technology of the Raptor to keep America secure.
"Rather than asking who we're going to fly the F-22 against, we should ask who's going to fly against the F-22," he said.
Critics also claim many of its features, such as its stealth capability, were included to showcase American ingenuity rather than to build a practical, modern-day fighter.
But Lt. Gen. John Bradley, chief of the Air Force Reserve, said the Raptor represents a practical need to keep America's edge as other countries continue to develop their own air prowess.
"We need this aircraft badly today, but we need it even more badly for the future," he said. "It's a capability that no one else has and this is going to give us air superiority for years to come."
The Raptor can cruise faster than Mach 1.5 - one and a half times faster than the speed of sound - without using its afterburner, but its top speed is confidential. The Raptor can also perform tactical maneuvers at altitudes greater than 50,000 feet, far superior to current fighters such as the F-15 and F-16. And it has stealth capability, so it can attack air and ground targets undetected.
Each plane - built collaboratively by Lockheed Martin, Boeing and Pratt & Whitney - costs $135 million. When research, development and testing costs are factored in, its cost rises to about $350 million each.
Larry Lawson, executive vice president and F-22 general manager at Lockheed Martin, said the Raptor has been reconfigured to adjust to the changing nature of combat since it was originally designed to combat aerial Soviet threats. For instance, the Raptor is designed to avoid surface-to-air missiles, and it can now attack ground targets, he said.
"The world's a lot more complex today than simply flying around in air-to-air combat," he said. "Other nations have been looking into this sort of technology for quite a while, but we'll have the edge with the Raptor."
Hester said the world is continuing to move forward with weapons production, and America can't afford to lag behind. Because adequately planning and developing a new weapon system takes years, Hester said the Air Force needs to plan now for whatever may happen 10 or 20 years down the road.
"Terrorism as a threat will not only go on for the next five years," he said. "We must have weapons that can support America's needs."
#3
I personally loved seeing the word insidious, but perhaps that's just a byproduct of my personality.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
08/09/2007 21:13 Comments ||
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#4
Interesting word to use to describe a plane:
in·sid·i·ous /ɪnˈsɪdiəs/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[in-sid-ee-uhs] adjective
1. intended to entrap or beguile: an insidious plan.
2. stealthily treacherous or deceitful: an insidious enemy.
3. operating or proceeding in an inconspicuous or seemingly harmless way but actually with grave effect: an insidious disease.
File this under 'Britain is lost'. Along with so many like it.
A homeowner was arrested after a burglar plunged from the balcony of his top-floor flat. The intruder suffered head injuries and is fighting for his life after falling around 30ft on to a concrete path. Later police arrested the owner and are investigating whether the intruder was pushed.
The incident happened early on Monday when Patrick Walsh, 56, awoke to find the 43-year-old man rifling through his flat. They argued and the confrontation moved towards the rear window of the flat.
It is believed the intruder then smashed the window and clambered out on to a narrow ledge and fell to the ground.
It is believed the intruder then smashed the window and clambered out on to a narrow ledge and fell to the ground.
Mr Walsh phoned police and at around 6.30am officers found the man on the ground outside the smart Victorian apartment block in Chorlton-cum-Hardy, He was taken to hospital with serious head injuries.
Officers arrested Mr Walsh on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm with intent and are trying to establish whether the intruder was forced out of the window. The arrest is expected to fuel arguments about the rights of householders to defend themselves against burglars. The issue has been high on the law and order agenda since farmer Tony Martin was jailed for shooting dead a burglar in 1999.
Following the Martin affair the Crown Prosecution Service and the Association of Chief Police Officers said any householder can use reasonable force to protect themselves or others, or to carry out an arrest or to prevent crime.
Yesterday Mr Walsh, who was given bail pending further inquiries, refused to speak about the incident. But his solicitor Victor Wozny said: "My client is not at liberty to say anything because he is under police bail.
"However we appreciate that the public view might be that this is a man arrested in his own home defending his own property."
A neighbour said: "Police arrived in what seemed to be minutes and were there for the whole day. It's shocking to find out what has happened but people shouldn't break into other people's houses." Another resident said: "I presume we will have to respect the burglar's rights while his victim has the nightmare of court hanging over his head. It all seems so unfair."
Mr Walsh was released on bail until November. If charged and convicted he could face a life sentence.
#2
Seems to me that this sort of thing (arresting & prosecuting the victims in clear cases of self-defense) would stop if Brit juries would simply refuse to convict. Do they do so and we never hear about it? Can the wanker judges somehow overrule an aquittal? Or do juries in general feel the need to enforce even the most stupid, irrational, and/or asinine laws?
.....Thats because it is "unfair." Mr. Walsh, please consider relocating to the United States. The motoring isn't nearly as civilized, but our homeowners rights are still somewhat protected.
#5
Just imagine if the burglar had been black or Islamic - it would be a media field day, and everyone would be calling Mr. Walsh a racist and university professors would band together to publish a newspaper ad in which they would make their strong denounciations known.
#7
Sounds like a lose-lose situation to me. The way things are going over there you will have to bend over and let the burglar bugger you, lest you "offend" the burglar and get a very serious charge against you.
#8
Seems to me that this sort of thing (arresting & prosecuting the victims in clear cases of self-defense) would stop if Brit juries would simply refuse to convict.
Why did the father get off with 5 years probation for blowing away this scumbag molester? Simple. The prosecutor know no jury would convict. To hell with what an unjust law says, If enough folks stand up and stop taking this crap, things will change in short order. Even in Britain.
#10
At one time, dear Brit cousins, you were a light and inspiration to us. In a way, I suppose you still are. How sad that a tradition of justice and liberty that started back around the Magna Carta would end up in modern times as a bad scene from A Clockwork Orange.
#13
This could have been avoided had the homeowner kept his valuable more organized and posted adequate safety instructions. Lucky for the homeowner that the burglar is receiving high quality free health care. How will they determine the amount of lost wages for the surely pending civil suit? Hopefully, the burglar kept accurate records.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
08/09/2007 19:15 Comments ||
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#14
According to the Daily Telegraph , the anonymous footpad has passed on to the Big Joint in the wherever.
Russian bombers have flown to the US airforce base on the Pacific island of Guam for the first time since the Cold War. The aerial brinkmanship, known as "buzzing", was part of an exercise yesterday designed to prove the nation's resurgent military power.
US pilots scrambling to intercept the two Tu-95 bombers received a cheery welcome from their adversaries, according to the commander of Russia's long-range bombing force.
During the Cold War, "whenever we saw US planes during our flights over the ocean, we greeted them," Maj Gen Pavel Androsov told a news conference.
"On Wednesday, we renewed the tradition when our young pilots flew by Guam in two planes. We exchanged smiles with our counterparts who flew up from a US carrier and returned home."
The flight to the Pacific Island was part of a three-day air force exercise during which Russia's strategic bombers made 40 sorties and launched eight cruise missiles, Maj Gen Androsov, who commands Russia's long-range bomber force, said.
Before the collapse of the Soviet regime, bombers routinely flew far over the Arctic, Atlantic and Pacific Oceans - the areas from where they would launch nuclear cruise missiles at the United States in case of war.
Snarkiness aside, as I understand it, the Bear is a venerable and proven airframe. (someone that actually knows something feel free to chime in!) They operate a bazillion versions of it. Think if it as a rooski B-52 but with better gas mileage.
#9
I wonder how much thoe pilots were laughing? "You want me to intercept what? Say again I thought you said a Bear? Come on give me something worthy of intercepting" FYI when they fly in pairs like this one is an intelligence bird and the other acts as a tanker.
#10
Actually, the Tu-95 is what the B-29 would have become if it had been updated and given turboprops. And considering that Stalin interned and never returned over a dozen B-29s doing bomb runs on Japan {while he was supposedly our ally}, a lot of the initial work and research had been done by us. But then in the 1950s, when the Soviets were having a bunch of problems with their jet engines, they developed the Tu-95 as a stand-in for a jet bomber. It has swept wings and 2 contra-rotating props on each engine, and can carry a load for a good distance. Sort of like crossing a B-29 with a C-130. Not particularly elegant but functional.
#11
As I understand it Russia still has the bird in limited production to replace worn out airframes. To locate one you really don't need radar. It's supposed to be about the loudest plane ever built. Also the original Boeing proposal for the B-52 was a swept wing turbo prop
#14
Well, I for one am glad to see Russia buzzing our bases and airspace.
There are a lot of younger pilots who've never locked radar on a Russian plane. It's always good to give them a chance to gain familiarity with real targets.
#1
Can we get AQ in Iraq to buy them as getaway cars?
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
08/09/2007 11:53 Comments ||
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#2
Rather than snarking about how the energy absorbing front passenger compartment collapses to protect luggage in the trunk, all I am going to say is if your dog chases one and catches it, don't let him put it in his mouth.
#7
Actually, you just insulted the Trabant, Zenster. This things are suicide junkers that make the original VW Bug look like an armored car, in terms of safety. I don't think the importers of these will survive the first wave of liability lawsuits coming after the first few accidents in the US.
Norway pledged 20 million kroner (US$3.4 million, ?2.5 million) on Wednesday to help the United Nations fight the genital mutilation of young girls through female circumcision. The UN children's agency, UNICEF, has reported that 130 million girls and women have undergone such mutilation worldwide. "Genital mutilation is a brutal violation of the basic human rights of women and children," Norwegian Aid Minister Erik Solheim said in announcing the pledge. "According to the World Health Organization, 6,000 girls are circumcised daily." The Norwegian donation is earmarked for a special fund recently created by the UN Population Fund and the UN children's fund, UNICEF. Solheim said the fund will work with national and local officials, religious leaders, the news media and local residents in the countries where the practice is most widespread. A separate Norwegian-led effort launched in 2003 to curb the practice is already showing results in Kenya and Tanzania, as well as in parts Ethiopia and Eritrea, where the number of female circumcisions is declining, a news release said.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/09/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
When did you find out THIS was happening, Norway? Did you need 300 claims before you acted or was it politically expedient to ignore it? Do you think that GOD wants women to be destroyed?
#3
I don't understand how giving money to the UN will fight female circumcision unless it is going for plane tickets and safe houses. This doesn't seem to be something that can eliminated through pamphlet distribution, roundtable discussions and other awareness initiatives.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
08/09/2007 19:20 Comments ||
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#4
The Norwegians aren't trying to solve the problem they're trying to salve their conscience.
It takes a certain ... chutzpah ... for the Germans to refer to the art & manuscripts brought to the area by Nazis as "the last German prisoners of war".
#1
But you must remember auch, still not returned to us as well, is das boot U-505!
http://www.msichicago.org/exhibit/U505/index.html
Posted by: Karl Dönitz ||
08/09/2007 5:14 Comments ||
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#2
And then there's the little matter of the province of Silesia which was part of Austria or Prussia or Germany for many hundred years. That was annexed by Poland circa 1945 and ethnically cleansed, which predates the Paleo whine by about three years. So do the Euros really support the 'Right of Return'?
The French trade deficit with the rest of the world widened 16.5 percent in the first half of the year to 15.046 billion euros (20.6 billion dollars) from the same period last year, official figures showed Wednesday. But the shortfall in June narrowed to 3.011 billion euros from 3.218 billion in May, according to customs authorities.
"The trend is not good," secretary of state for trade Herve Novelli told RTL radio just before the results were announced. "France is losing market share."
Novelli said that while the rising price of oil and the appreciating euro had contributed to the deficit, they were not solely to blame. He noted that in the first five months of the year, France sold more aircraft than it had ever done before in the period despite the rising euro, which tends to make eurozone exports more expensive and less competitive.
He attributed France's trade weakness to "structural factors at the heart of our economy that are preventing us from giving our full measure."
#6
He attributed France's trade weakness to "structural factors at the heart of our economy that are preventing us from giving our full measure."
Now what "structural factors" could that be:
1. 35 hour work week
2. 30 days government guaranteed paid vacations
3. strong arm labor unions that stifle competition and increased productivity
4. political parties unwilling, unable and incapable of chaning a nations lethargy and antipathy to work versus narcissistic pleasure in telling everyone else how to behave. A nation of Al Gores and George Soros.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
08/09/2007 12:05 Comments ||
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#7
Other "structural factors":
5. Burgeoning welfare state providing living for jihadis hell-bent on Islamicising France.
6. Lack of courage needed to enforce existing laws and secure the peace--resulting in hesitation by capital holders to invest there.
#8
And yet despite all that is wrong with the French economic system, the Euro continues to climb relative to the dollar. NET productivity favors the French: we are more efficient producers but effectively print even more money to cover our higher consumption.
The United States and Canada have scoffed at a Russian submarine expedition that planted a Russian flag on the seabed under the North Pole. Coming home to a hero's welcome Tuesday, the famous polar scientist who led the risky voyage did not mince words in responding.
"I don't give a damn what all these foreign politicians there are saying about this," Artur Chilingarov told a throng of well-wishers. "If someone doesn't like this, let them go down themselves ... and then try to put something there. Russia must win. Russia has what it takes to win. The Arctic has always been Russian."
Thursday's dive by two small submarines was partly a scientific expedition. But it could mark the start of a fierce legal scramble for control of the seabed and what could be vast energy reserves beneath among nations that border the Arctic, including Russia, the U.S., Canada, Norway and Denmark, through its territory Greenland.
The United States promptly dismissed the Russian move as legally meaningless whether it planted "a metal flag, a rubber flag or a bedsheet."
The United States promptly dismissed the Russian move as legally meaningless whether it planted "a metal flag, a rubber flag or a bedsheet." Canadian Foreign Minister Peter Mackay said the voyage was "just a show" and that Russia could not expect to claim territory under the rules of "the 15th century."
But in Russia, the tone of state-run television reports have been triumphant since the submarines planted the titanium flag on the Arctic Ocean floor.
Chilingarov, who became a Soviet hero in the 1980s after successfully leading an expedition aboard a research vessel that was trapped for a time in Antarctic sea ice, was shown brandishing the Russian tricolor and spraying champagne from a huge bottle. President Vladimir Putin quickly telephoned the crew to offer his congratulations.
Officials said the expedition was more about gathering evidence for the case Russia hopes to make for ownership of the Lomonosov Ridge, a 1,240-mile underwater mountain range that crosses the polar region. A U.N. commission, which has rejected Moscow's claims in the past, will ultimately make the decision.
Canada answered the Russian move with a clear message, highlighting plans to spend up to $7.12 billion to build and operate eight patrol ships to help protect its sovereignty in the Arctic.
#2
"Russia has/will do what it takes to win". AMERICAN THINKER > article premises that Russia is becoming belligerent due its own awareness of its SSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHH declining power???
OTOH, lest we fergit, CHINA has already declared the Pacific and 1/2 of CONUS as future Chicom territory, so when the Motherly Russ Airborne invades Amer to save Amer cities from Americans, they'll be invading China. *EAST-ASIA INTEL > China has formally requested that the Pacific be evenly divided between it + USA. So, iff the Chicoms ever do take over the USA one day, the Pacific will be divided bwtn China + China.
#4
Methinks all sorts of Commie Chinese flags will begin sprouting up all over the soon to be ex-Russian Far East.
Posted by: ed ||
08/09/2007 7:19 Comments ||
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#5
Canada answered the Russian move with a clear message, highlighting plans to spend up to $7.12 billion to build and operate eight patrol ships to help protect its sovereignty in the Arctic.
Is this the same Canada who couldn't deliver rescue and security troops to Indonesia during the Tsunami because it didn't have the transport logistics to do it? Now they are going to spend billions on patrol boats to keep the Russkies honest in the artic?
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
08/09/2007 12:13 Comments ||
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#6
Boy, is Santa Claus going to be upset when he sees you've cluttered up his front yard! Coal in your stockings come December!
Posted by: Mike ||
08/09/2007 13:41 Comments ||
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#7
One of the first Canadian craft actively patrolling today. :)
#8
"If someone doesn't like this, let them go down themselves ... and then try to put something there.
I say do it. Go down, rip theirs out, put up one of ours. And send the one we ripped out back to Putty. He can put it in his museum next to his Super Bowl ring...
#12
Is this the same Canada who couldn't deliver rescue and security troops to Indonesia during the Tsunami because it didn't have the transport logistics to do it?
Yep. The same Canada that had a Chinese ship make an unannounced port visit in their northern territory. No response, 'cause there was nothing to respond with.
#1
The fact that the MSM all over the world is concerned with American guns should be a wake up call to all gun owners, and to people who don't own guns but believe in firearm freedom.
Mark my words. The two brass rings that the left want to grasp are socialized medicine and gun control in the U.S. Having gotten those, the American Revolution will have been essentially revoked, and replaced with the meme descendants of the French Revolution, pretty much permanently.
Posted by: no mo uro ||
08/09/2007 7:12 Comments ||
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#2
That's a surprisingly fair and accurate piece. I especially like the last line.
Posing that T-shirt slogan so baldly, it actually might make some people think.
#3
I've always boggled at the left. They use the 1st Amendment as their battle flag, but in the same breath try to tell us that the 2nd Amendment is meaningless and outdated. It's the 2nd goddamned amendment, pretty high up on the list, dont you think?
#4
Without the second amendment, the rest of 'em become academic pretty quickly...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
08/09/2007 10:43 Comments ||
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#5
You clearly just do not understand, you redneck hillbilly. The second amendment referred to the right for a country to have a military armed with those horrible killers of innocent people. We'll deal with the military separetly, like the Swedish model.
Posted by: Left Leaning Lefty Liberal Looser ||
08/09/2007 11:11 Comments ||
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#6
the kind of military hardware normally reserved for private armies
#8
"...he has no time for Arizona Senator John McCain and former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, the current Republican favorites."
Rudy said as recently as of today that he supports the 2nd amendment but believes it should be up to individual states to decide their own laws regarding firearms. Unless I'm missing something that is quite a bastardization of Federalism.
#9
Rudy believes in laws like NYC, New Jersey and California have, that is to say no Second Amendment rights at all. McCain follows closely behind him.
New Delhi, Aug 9 : India is quietly expanding its defence and security links with Mongolia in a bid to monitor China's space and military activities in the region.
Furthering these links presently are four Indian Army colonels attending the 10-day Khaan Quest 2007 command post exercise (CPX) in the Mongolian capital Ulaanbaatar.
Co-hosted by Mongolia and the US, the meet ends Aug 10 and is to be followed by the third joint Mongolian-Indian military exercise - Nomadic Elephant - at the Five Hills Training Centre, 65 km west of Ulaanbaatar, later in the year, defence sources said.
The two armies had earlier carried out joint peace-keeping manoeuvres in Mongolia in October 2004, followed a year later by a second round of bilateral exercises at the Counter-Insurgency Jungle Warfare School (CIJWS) at Vairangte in India's Mizoram state bordering Myanmar.
The CIJWS manoeuvres were attended by visiting Mongolian Defence Minister T.S. Sharavdorj, whose arrival celebrated 50 years of bilateral diplomatic relations between New Delhi and Ulaanbaatar.
These have steadily proliferated since the late 1990s as part of New Delhi's 'Look East' policy and strategy to build strategic ties with China's neighbours.
India was the first non-socialist country to recognize Mongolia, which opened its embassy in New Delhi in 1956. India's diplomatic mission in Mongolia commenced 15 years later in 1971.
During Sharaddorj's visit, the two sides constituted a Joint Defence Working Group that succeeded the 2001 Agreement on Defence Cooperation, which included joint exercises and reciprocal visits by military officers.
Building on the existing goodwill and recent diplomatic and security initiatives, India plans on expanding and upgrading its 'listening posts' in Mongolia erected after the January 2004 cooperation protocol between its Department of Space and the Mongolian Ministry of Infrastructure.
The agreement provides an umbrella for cooperation in space science,technology and undefined applications.
It also covers studies related to satellite communication, satellite-related remote sensing and satellite meteorology. Also included in the protocol are satellite ground stations and satellite mission management, training facilities and exchange of scientists.
As an adjunct to this agreement, official sources said India is also believed to be considering erecting Early Warning (EW) radar at undisclosed locations in Mongolia with the capability of monitoring Chinese missile tests in the vast surrounding desert region as well as Beijing's' expanding space programme.
Alongside, New Delhi has plans to enlarge its Ulaanbaatar embassy by stationing additional security services and military personnel in Mongolia to manage these proposed assets, official sources said.
Meanwhile, around 240 Service members from 15 countries are attending the Khaan Quest 2007 CPX, co-financed by the Global Peace Operations Initiative of the US State Department and the Mongolian government, focusing on multinational peace support operations.
Other than India the participants include Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, France, Germany, Indonesia, Nepal, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, the Philippines and Tonga.
UN representatives, the International Committee of the Red Cross and USAID are also present.
Taking place simultaneously at the Five Hills Training Centre is the fortnight-long field training exercise (FTX) involving some 1,000 military personnel drawn from five countries in addition to hosts Mongolia and the US.
These include Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, South Korea and Sri Lanka, all of whom have fielded personnel.
China and Russia, though invited, have only deployed observers for FTX that aims at developing core competencies for peace operations with emphasis on improving the multinational speed of response to situations, mission effectiveness and interoperability.
Meanwhile, furthering its fledgling China 'containment' strategy, India signed a defence agreement with Vietnam in July as a possible prelude to New Delhi selling weapons to Hanoi.
The defence agreement concluded during Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung's New Delhi visit built upon similar earlier agreements in 2000 that stressed greater military co-operation, sale of advanced light helicopters and assistance in overhauling and providing spares to Hanoi's ageing MiG series fighter aircraft.
This also provided a framework under which Vietnamese officers would train the Indian Army in jungle warfare and counter-insurgency operations. It also provided for bilateral co-operation between India's Coast Guard and the Vietnamese Sea Police in combating piracy.
Reciprocal visits by senior military officers, regular exchange of intelligence and a periodic dialogue between the Indian and Vietnamese defence ministers were also included in the agreement.
Proposals to supply Hanoi India's locally developed SSM Prithvi missiles were also reportedly discussed besides the possibility of training Vietnamese nuclear scientists in Indian atomic establishments. But little seems to have emerged from these discussions.
Military co-operation, however, picked up apace.
Two Indian Navy warships visited Vietnam this year and in 2005 the Indian Navy ferried 150 tonnes of spares to Hanoi for its Russian Petya and OSA-II class missile boats.
Indian officials view the burgeoning military ties with China's neighbours as New Delhi's attempts to strengthen security relations with the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) to counter Bejing's growing regional military presence.
These moves are also reciprocated, albeit subtly, by several ASEAN states.
"Through these alliances India is mirroring China's game plan of befriending neighbours in order to develop strategic leverage," former Lt. Gen. V.K. Kapoor said.
China, he said, had military alliances not only with Pakistan, Myanmar and Bangladesh but was swiftly enhancing defence ties with Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and even the Maldives.
"India's military ties with Mongolia and Vietnam are still at a fledgling stage and need consolidation," Gen. Kapoor added.
Posted by: john frum ||
08/09/2007 12:59 ||
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#1
A few years ago India sent a former MP, the late Kushok Bakula Rimpoche, also the chief Buddhist Lama of the Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir, as its ambassador to Mongolia.
Bakula, born into a noble family of Ladakh, was recognized by the Thirteenth Dalai Lama as a reincarnation of Bakula Arhat - one of the Sixteen Arhats (direct disciples of the Shakyamuni Buddha)
Over a period of ten years, he helped re-open ancient Buddhist monasteries, erasing the legacy of decades of communist rule.
He spent one day a week receiving pilgrims and
dispensing spiritual advice to Mongolians.
Mothers would bring their children to be blessed by him. He was called Elchin Bagsha, the teacher ambassador.
Posted by: john frum ||
08/09/2007 13:10 Comments ||
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#2
AS far back as 1954, after a trip to Lhasa, Bakula warned Nehru about Chinese aggression. His advice was ignored.. and India paid the price...
Posted by: john frum ||
08/09/2007 13:16 Comments ||
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#4
While I'm not overjoyed about India's support of Viet Nam's communist regime, their policy of China containment is the best news in many years. America needs to assist this useful stragey in whatever way that makes sense.
Benazir Bhutto, former prime minister and chairwoman of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), showing signs of frustration at the confusing statements coming out of the presidency, told the Voice of America in an interview that her negotiations with the regime have remained inconclusive to date and time was running out for the government to reach an understanding with the opposition. She also indicated for the first time that if General Pervez Musharraf seeks re-election before general elections are held, her party might resign from parliament or boycott the elections altogether.
Anything to provide an excuse to boycott elections, I guess. As far as anyone can tell, an election you've boycotted is an election you've lost.
This article starring:
Benazir Bhutto
Posted by: Fred ||
08/09/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
It would be extraordinarily difficult to win an election you weren't running in.
It looks to me like the Iranian J-school's have been doing a little cross-training with the North Koreans
Minister of Culture and Jung Islamic Guidance said standard of news and news reporting has been upgraded in the past two years and its reason is President Kim Jong-il Ahmadinejad, who is the most news maker and also the most news friendly personality.
Jun Lee Sun Mohammad Hossein Saffar Harandi during President Kim's Ahmadinejad's visit to DPRK IRNA headquarter on Wednesday evening said, "The president by his visits to the cities and provinces presented good promises to the people."
He continued, "A man who does not sacrifice Korean Socialist Iranian glory and honour before its enemies and resisted for nations' values and honour became the most news maker of his time." Missing "Sea of Fire" but not bad for a first try.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/09/2007 12:01 ||
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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.
It was standing-room only as earplug-wearing onlookers craned their necks to see the touchdown of the F-22 Raptor, an insidious, super-cruising fighter that officials say is unmatched by any other aircraft.
Norway pledged 20 million kroner (US$3.4 million, ?2.5 million) on Wednesday to help the United Nations fight the genital mutilation of young girls through female circumcision. The UN children's agency, UNICEF, has reported that 130 million girls and women have undergone such mutilation worldwide. "Genital mutilation is a brutal violation of the basic human rights of women and children," Norwegian Aid Minister Erik Solheim said in announcing the pledge. "According to the World Health Organization, 6,000 girls are circumcised daily." The Norwegian donation is earmarked for a special fund recently created by the UN Population Fund and the UN children's fund, UNICEF. Solheim said the fund will work with national and local officials, religious leaders, the news media and local residents in the countries where the practice is most widespread. A separate Norwegian-led effort launched in 2003 to curb the practice is already showing results in Kenya and Tanzania, as well as in parts Ethiopia and Eritrea, where the number of female circumcisions is declining, a news release said.
