Briefing by Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin and Head of the Federal Space Agency Oleg Ostapenko on International Space Cooperation
Transcript:
Dmitry Rogozin, Oleg Ostapenko,
...
Dmitri Rogozin: Mr Ostapenko will correct me if I’m wrong, but I think about one third of our total space programme budget goes to manned space exploration – the ISS, that is. It’s a huge amount of money, of taxpayer money. We’d like to look ahead, beyond the horizon. As a matter of fact, manned space exploration, as we know it today, involves two inseparable segments – American and Russian. Specialists from the Russian Space Agency will confirm, as they’ve reported to the Government, that the Russian segment – strange as it may seem – is capable of of operating independently from the US, but not vice versa. That’s a feature specific to the station.
Second, Russian rockets will remain the only means of delivering astronauts to the International Space Station for the next few years. The United States has no such spacecraft, and so dependence on Russia for extending the work of the ISS, although mutual, is larger for the United States. As for Russia, we should adopt a very pragmatic attitude. We must determine our direct and indirect gains from the ISS, the research projects we can implement there, what our cosmonauts would do at the station, and the benefit-cost ratio.
So, we respect the work of the Federal Space Agency in this sphere. It has reported that in the near future, or more precisely this summer, it would forward new plans to the Government for prospective exploration projects in near and outer space. Mr Ostapenko is working on these projects in cooperation with the Advanced Research Foundation. After 2020, weÂ’d like to use these and the intellectual and production resources for the implementation of more forward-looking space projects. These could even be international projects, but it would be us who would choose our partners and decide with whom to cooperate in near and outer space exploration.
Question: Interfax. Mr Ostapenko, you said Russia would carry out all the planned commercial spacecraft launches in 2014. Has anything changed? Are there any problems with foreign spacecraft launches?
Oleg Ostapenko: There were some obstacles, because launch licences had not been issued for 2014, 2015 and 2016. As of now, the licences for 2014 have been issued. What is our reasoning? We do have licences for spacecraft launches in 2014. But considering that our partner is not reliable, as Mr Rogozin has said, we are also considering the worst case scenarios. We will keep working in Russia to resolve this issue, and we will also carry on our cooperation with NASA and the European Space Agency.
#1
This is the part in the movie where we find out Enterprise was not sent to New York, a mock was, and this time it has been fitted with a meteor destroying strength laser, and Captains Bruce Willis and Chuck Norris launch to the space station to deliver cheeseburgers and apple pie and smile one-liners to the camera?
Posted by: Cousin Avi ||
05/14/2014 18:36 Comments ||
Top||
#4
"Roman Moroni: I would like to direct this to the distinguished members of the panel: You lousy cork-soakers. You have violated my farging rights. Dis somanumbatching country was founded so that the liberties of common patriotic citizens like me could not be taken away by a bunch of fargin iceholes... like yourselves."
#5
New fodder from the competition is bad crowd:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2014/05/14/gop-congressman-wants-to-block-elon-musk-from-competing-in-space/
Paring down the number of competitors will help things along greatly because the funding wonÂ’t be split.
If NASA were compelled to “downselect” Commercial Crew to a single vendor, Washington power politics would clearly favor Boeing’s CST-100 capsule, a luxurious spacecraft, that while it has never flown, is on track for some unmanned flights to the ISS in about three years. This leisurely development schedule puts no pressure on SLS. While it is surely coincidentally that both the SLS and CST-100 programs are headquartered in Houston, we are lucky to have Messrs. La Branche and Culberson standing between us and the utter chaos of free market competition.
[Al Ahram] A planned Lady Gaga concert in Dubai in September will be censored to respect cultural traditions, the United Arab Emirates daily Gulf News reported on Tuesday.
Lady Gaga, who is known for her outrageous stunts and provocative costumes, cancelled a concert in Indonesia in 2012 because of security concerns over objections by Islamic groups to her style.
The Gulf News quoted Marco Rios, the chairman and CEO of AMI Live, one of the three firms involved in bringing Gaga to Dubai, as saying: "There will be some edits for Dubai. It cannot be the full show, because it wouldn't be allowed. So it's a special show for Dubai and for the culture."
Rooters could not immediately reach a representative for Lady Gaga for comment.
The UAE, where exaptriates make up most of the population, has had to contend with controversy surrounding international pop artists' shows in the Moslem state.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/14/2014 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Lady GAGA, outspoken over gay rights, goes to Dubai, a place that is only second to Saudi in laws executed against gay rights. She is just another hypocrite in the long line of lefties that take the money and run.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
05/14/2014 0:24 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Shucks, a payday is a payday folks. Ask Mariah Carey...
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/14/2014 8:51 Comments ||
Top||
[Al Ahram] Western embassies in Sudan expressed "deep concern" on Tuesday over the case of a woman who activists say risks a death sentence for apostasy.
Meriam Yahia Ibrahim Ishag, who says she is Christian, was convicted last Sunday in the Khartoum-area district of Haj Yusef.
"We call upon the government of Sudan to respect the right to freedom of religion, including one's right to change one's faith or beliefs," the embassies of the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands said in a joint statement.
That right is included in Sudan's 2005 interim constitution as well as in international human rights ...which are usually open to widely divergent definitions... law, they said.
The court has given Ishag, who is pregnant, until Thursday to recant her faith, Amnesia Amnesty International says.
A refusal would put her at risk of the death penalty, and she also faces up to 100 lashes for "adultery", the watchdog said in an "urgent action" notice about her case.
The "adultery" charge stems from her marriage to a Christian South Sudanese man, Amnesty said, adding that under Sudan's interpretation of Islamic sharia law a Mohammedan woman cannot marry a non-Mohammedan man and any such relationship is regarded as adulterous.
The embassies urged Sudanese legal authorities "to approach Ms Meriam's case with justice and compassion that is in keeping with the values of the Sudanese people".
Sudan's Islamist regime introduced sharia law in 1983 but extreme punishments other than flogging are rare.
Amnesty said Ishag, 27, was raised as an Orthodox Christian, her mother's religion, because her Mohammedan father was absent.
"It's not only Sudan. In Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... , in all the Mohammedan countries, it is not allowed at all for a Mohammedan to change his religion," Information Minister Ahmed Bilal Osman told AFP.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/14/2014 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[6 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Sudan
#1
We Keeel you !!
But then, they ARE Moslems. You expect Moslems NOT to have Religious Freedom. Its their code, and who are we to judge the cultures of others when we do all the nasty nasty things like wear hot pants and allow women to drive. I mean , let's be fair.
So a few hundred million Moslems with drool in their beards and knives out, you come to expect it. PBUH.
Posted by: Big Thromoth3646 ||
05/14/2014 7:00 Comments ||
Top||
[Dhaka Tribune] BNP Chairperson the loathesome Khaleda Zia Three-term PM of Bangla, widow of deceased dictator Ziaur Rahman, head of the Bangla Nationalist Party, an apparent magnet for corruption ... has demanded Prime Minister the loathesome Sheikh Hasina ...Bangla dynastic politician and current Prime Minister of Bangladesh. She has been the President of the Bangla Awami League since the Lower Paleolithic. She is the eldest of five children of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of Bangla. Her party defeated the BNP-led Four-Party Alliance in the 2008 parliamentary elections. She has once before held the office, from 1996 to 2001, when she was defeated in a landslide. She and the head of the BNP, Khaleda Zia show such blind animosity toward each other that they are known as the Battling Begums.. 's resignation over Narayanganj abductions and killings.
"Prime Minister is in the charge of home ministry. So she cannot avoid the responsibility of the murders and abductions," she said.
"So she has to resign from the office," the BNP chairperson added.
The BNP chief came up with the PM's resignation demand while visiting the family members of slain Narayanganj Panel mayor Nazrul Islam, and lawyer Chandan Sarkar at his Siddhirganj residence on Tuesday afternoon.
Narayanganj city Ward Counsillor Nazrul Islam, lawyer Chandan Sarkar and five others were kidnapped on April 27. Their bodies surfaced in the Shitalakkhya River three days later.
Later Nazrul's father-in-law alleged that the ex-RAB trio were hired in exchange for Tk6 crore to abduct and kill the seven.
Following the allegation RAB sent the three officials-- former commanding officer of RAB 11 Tareq Sayeed, Major Arif and Lt Commander Rana--to forced retirement.
Khaleda has blamed elite force RAB for the abduction and killing incident in Narayanganj.
Khaleda Said: "Now Rab is the name of fear and the force is now involved in killing, abduction and force disappearance."
"Under the circumstances, Rab should be dissolved to bring peace in the mind of the people," she said.
The BNP chief alleged that the prime suspect of the gruesome murder was sent abroad with the assistance of the elite force and also criticised the government for not taking any step to arrest the killers even after the court order.
The former premier said if the trio ex-rab officials were placed in durance vile Please don't kill me! then the mystery of the killing would be unearthed. Issuing a note of warning, the former premier said tough movement would be waged if the killers were not arrested immediately.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/14/2014 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[6 views]
Top|| File under:
[An Nahar] Venezuela's opposition said Tuesday it has suspended working group-level talks with the government because of mass arrests of student protesters last week.
"These actions show that the government does not want dialogue, when it has been asked several times to stop this very aggressive position," said Juan Jose Medina, the coordinator of the opposition delegation.
"We're convinced that they are creating a climate that is not conducive to talks," he said.
Medina said the meetings of government-opposition working groups were suspended on Monday.
The opposition coalition, which goes by the acronym MUD, also was mulling whether to take part in higher level talks Thursday with the government under auspices of the Union of South American Nations (Unasur) and the Vatican, he said.
More than 200 people were tossed in the slammer Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out! in police raids last week on encampments of protesters in Caracas, a focus of the street demonstrations against the government of President Nicolas Maduro.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/14/2014 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under: Commies
As a tit-for-tat sanctions war vaporizes U.S.-Russian space cooperation, the Russian government has boosted the budget of its Federal Space Agency by 1.8 trillion rubles ($52 billion) to modernize and expand its existing infrastructure and capabilities by 2020.
The new program for Russian space activities through 2020 was quietly released on Tuesday, the same day that Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin issued a series of controversial statements painting the future of U.S.-Russian space cooperation in a bleak light.
According to Rogozin, Russia will not accept a NASA proposal to extend the life of the International Space Station, or ISS beyond 2020, and instead will be looking to other projects and partners. The new space policy, which pledges 1.8 trillion rubles toward modernization and development efforts throughout the Russian space industry, appears to be a step toward ensuring Russia is free to pursue its own interests in space after its ISS obligations are fulfilled in 2020.
Rogozin tweeted that Russia will discuss cooperative space projects with China at a summit meting in Beijing on May 19.
Be that as it may, Russia has extensive international obligations to fill in the near-term, a point that is made in the Roscosmos statement explaining the new plan. Indeed, the entirety of the 1.8 trillion rubles will be devoted to addressing near-term concerns, such as ensuring "the access and necessary presence of Russia in space."
Therefore, Roscosmos will launch a long-overdue modernization effort in the Soviet-era industrial base responsible for producing the rockets and technology that have enabled Russia to enjoy its preeminence in space exploration.
This modernization effort will extend to the renovations to the old cosmodromes at Plesetsk — located in Arkhangelsk — and Baikonur — located in northern Kazakhstan.
Russia currently leases the Baikonur Cosmodrome from the Kazakh government for $115 million annually.
Russia is also busy constructing a brand new launch facility in the Far East — the Vostochny Cosmodrome.
Vostochny will be the home of Russia's newest rocket, Angara — a critical project for Russia, as it will be the first new launch vehicle to be deployed since the fall of the Soviet Union.
The government has ordered Roscosmos to expand the existing constellation of orbiting satellites to 78 by 2015, and 113 by 2020, "in order to meet the needs of the state," the plan said. The military, for example, does not have the elaborate network of communications and reconnaissance satellites it once commanded during the Cold War, as these assets were not replaced when they reached the ends of their operational lifetimes during the 1990s.
Moreover, the expansion of Russia's network of satellites places a heavy emphasis on the continued deployment of Glonass satellites, including the newest Glonass-K models. This will drive the program toward its goal of providing Glonass users with navigation data accurate to 1.4 meters by 2015, and 0.6 meters by 2020.
The 2020 plan also emphasizes the need for the development of the advanced hardware Russia will need to pursue ambitious lunar and deep space exploration projects beyond 2020.
1.8 trillion rubles is a significant investment in the Russian space program. Since the collapse of the Soviet state apparatus that had so lavishly funded space exploration — famously launching both the first satellite and man into space — the Russian space program has experienced protracted economic hardship.
Last year, President Vladimir Putin pledged to double down on Russia's space program, presenting an ambitious outline of exploration and technological development through 2030 and beyond. At that time, he promised a hefty $52 billion investment toward revitalizing Russian space efforts, which has now been delivered.
The new space budget places Roscosmos back on the leading edge of global space expenditures, second only to NASA — which receives around $17 billion to $18 billion annually. If this funding level remains consistent through 2020, the U.S. will have outspent Russia in space by almost $70 billion dollars.
[The Peninsula] Rebels in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region appealed yesterday to join Russia after what they claimed were resounding victories in independence referendums.
Moscow said it "respects" the result of the weekend votes on self-rule, which were denounced by authorities in Kiev as a "criminal farce" and by the West.
But Moscow left the door open to a negotiated solution, calling for talks between Kiev and the rebels in the industrial regions of Donetsk and Lugansk, home to seven million of Ukraine's 46 million people.
The Kremlin's move allayed fears Moscow might move to quickly annex the territories, as it did earlier this year after a similar vote in Ukraine's Black Sea peninsula of Crimea.
But tensions remained high in the worst crisis in relations between Russia and the West since the end of the Cold War, and Germany announced plans for a diplomatic mission to Ukraine.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/14/2014 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
[Iran Press TV] Seven Ukrainian soldiers have been killed and seven more injured during festivities with pro-Russia protesters near the east Ukrainian city of Krematorsk.
According to Ukraine's Defense Ministry the ambush took place in the village of Oktyabrski in the Donetsk region, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from Kramatorsk, on Tuesday.
"In all, as a result of the prolonged fighting, six members of the armed forces were killed. Eight soldiers were maimed, one of them seriously," the ministry said.
The seriously injured soldier died while being taken to hospital, the state security service (SBU) said later in the day.
The attack was carried out by at least 30 pro-Russia protesters armed with grenade launchers and automatic weapons. One of the pro-Russian protesters was also killed during the battle.
A number of military vehicles were also destroyed in the battle.
The eastern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk declared independence on May 12 following an independence poll.
According to pro-Russia activists, 90 percent of the voters in Donetsk voted in favor of independence from Ukraine.
Results in Lugansk showed that 96.2 percent of voters supported independence from the central government in Kiev.
The region now plans to ask the United Nations ...boodling on the grand scale... to recognize its independence, also announcing that it will not participate in Ukraine's presidential election.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/14/2014 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[7 views]
Top|| File under:
[AnNahar] Albanian police said Monday they tossed in the clink Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un! 16 suspects thought to be involved in trafficking people to the United States.
The group allegedly charged more than 50 Albanian citizens $20,000 (14,500 euros) each to take them to Mexico, providing them with false documents there to enter the United States, police and prosecution said.
"The trafficking route included Albania, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Italia and Spain," Albi Serani, the prosecutor's front man said.
Serani said the investigation was ongoing, adding that more people could be involved in the trafficking network.
Since 2010, Albanians have been able to travel to European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... member states without visas. But they still need visas for the United States.
[Al Ahram] Turkey said Tuesday it will defy a European court order to pay 90 million euros ($124 million) in compensation to Greek Cypriots over its 1974 invasion of the island.
The European Court of Human Rights ordered Turkey to pay the damages this week, 13 years after finding it guilty of "massive and continuous" rights violations against Greek Cypriots on the island.
The court ruling said 30 million euros should go to the families of people who disappeared after the invasion, and the rest to enclaved Greek Cypriots in the north of the divided island.
But Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said his country would not be bound by the ruling.
"Considering the grounds of this ruling, its method, and the fact that it is a country that Turkey does not recognize, we do do not find it necessary to make this payment," he said.
"We do not see the ruling as binding in terms of payment as it consists of legal contradictions," he said without elaborating.
The eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus has been divided since Turkish troops occupied the northern third in 1974 in response to an Athens-engineered coup aimed at uniting it with Greece.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/14/2014 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[7 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
So any EU country that owes Turkey should use the same logic not to pay?
[An Nahar] India's triumphant right-wing opposition said Tuesday it was headed for a decisive majority in the world's biggest election after exit polls showed its hardline leader Narendra Modi closing in on victory.
It seems Indians are tired of the traditional corruption and want to try something new. We'll see if that means a change in how the country responds to traditial Pakistani nonsense.
Stock markets surged to record highs on hopes of a business-friendly government under Modi after a decade of rule by a left-leaning coalition, while U.S. President Barack Obama I am not a dictator!... said he looked forward to working with the new administration in New Delhi.
"Modi at Delhi Gate" said a headline in the Mail Today, while the Hindustan Times read simply "Exit Polls: Enter Modi" after surveys released after voting ended Monday pointed to a big win.
All forecasts showed Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies trouncing the Congress party which has been in power for a decade, and most indicated they would seal a narrow majority.
Official results are due on Friday, with some still cautioning against over-confidence in a BJP victory given notorious forecasting errors at the last two general elections.
Modi was keeping a low profile, but senior BJP figures were bullish.
"These elections have been fought on a hope that the country will get a good, stable government," V. K. Singh, a former army chief of staff who is now a senior BJP leader, told news hounds at party headquarters.
"My personal view is that we will get around 300 seats" of the 543 seats in parliament, said Modi's chief lieutenant Amit Shah
Posted by: Fred ||
05/14/2014 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[8 views]
Top|| File under:
[DAWN] Chief Justice of Pakistain Tassaduq Hussain Jillani on Tuesday remarked that according to Pakistain Penal Code's Article 295, offence against any religion comes under the blasphemy law while expressing annoyance for non-registration of cases against culprits involved in setting Hindu temples ablaze in Sindh.
Yes, yes, that is what it says. So?
He expressed these remarks while chairing a three-member bench in a suo motu ...a legal term, from the Latin. Roughly translated it means I saw what you did, you bastard... case over Beautiful Downtown Peshawar ...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire. Church bombing and rights of minorities.
The chief justice announced that due to importance of the case, the court would appoint amicus curiae including Munir A. Malik, Khawaja Haris and Hassan Aurangzaib who would assist the court in the matter without charging any fee.
He also directed the minorities representatives to submit a report which indicates sections where the material has been used to abuse the minorities and identify areas where law enforcing agencies failed to secure their lives and property.
Justice Jillani said that the court would share grievances of the minorities, hinting establishment of a new force to safeguard the minority communities.
He's going to arm and uniform minorities, giving them authority over the Master Religion?! But that is forbidden!!
"Mahmudullah, give the Justice's driver a pistol, and hurry!"
Pakistain Moslem League-Nawaz (PML-N) MNA Dr Ramesh Kumar apprised the court that during last two months six untoward incidents happened with the Hindu community where their temples were set ablaze and their religion was not properly honoured and miscreants were not brought to book.
He said that four of the incidents come under the blasphemy law.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/14/2014 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
[DAWN] Samples taken from sewage in different parts of Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... and Lahore -- the country's most populated cities -- have tested positive for the polio ...Poliomyelitis is a disease caused by infection with the poliovirus. Between 1840 and the 1950s, polio was a worldwide epidemic. Since the development of polio vaccines the disease has been largely wiped out in the civilized world. However, since the vaccine is known to make Moslem pee-pees shrink and renders females sterile, bookish, and unsubmissive it is not widely used by the turban and automatic weapons set... virus, officials confirmed on Tuesday.
The Prime Minister's focal person on polio, Ayesha Raza Farooq, confirmed that an environmental sample from Lahore taken at the Main Outfall pumping station, and two from Karachi -- one taken at Gadap and the other at Gulshan-e-Iqbal -- have tested positive for the virus.
The samples collected were taken in April.
Earlier on Tuesday, Farooq chaired a meeting of the Prime Minister's Polio Monitoring and Coordination Cell where the information was shared with stakeholders -- including the World Health Organisation -- in the country's fight against polio.
However, denial ain't just a river in Egypt... Farooq says she was not "too concerned about (the environmental sample testing positive in) Lahore because there are no reported cases which means a high level of immunity has developed among the population so while the virus is still be circulating it is a low grade one."
Posted by: Fred ||
05/14/2014 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[9 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
[Ynet] Manal Mussa from Deir al-Asad, Hayatem Khalila from Majd al-Krum traveled to Leb and successfully passed the audition stage of Arab world's most popular television program. But how did they get into Leb?
Two Israeli youths made history by successfully passing the audition stage of "Arab Idol," the most popular television program in the Arab world, broadcast by Leb's MBC network.
Manal Mussa from Deir al-Asad and Hayatem Khalila from Majd al-Krum will be the first Israeli-Arabs to participate in the program; but not the first from our neck of the woods -- two years ago Muhammad Assaf, from Gazoo Strip , won the competition, and skyrocketed to international success.
The two passed initial auditions in the West Bank, under the auspices of the Paleostinian Authority. Though the two were barred from speaking to media, family members told Ynet that the PA arraigned travel visas for them, allowing them to cross into Jordan, from where they entered into Leb.
Once in Leb, the two successfully passed the official audition, and will soon face off in the second round, which will be broadcast live around the Arab world to millions of viewers.
Thousands of Arab youths vied for a spot on the program, but only 27 managed to pass the auditions.
Their families members explained why the production requested the two refrain from being interviewed, saying that "publicity could create problems for them; the production thinks they are from the West Bank and do not know they hold Israeli citizenship."
Israeli-Arab artists expressed surprise at the two's ascension to Arab Idol, a show which some claim refuses to cooperate with Israelis.
Amal Mussa , Manal's mother, recently said in an interview that "we're all proud of her, she could be a success for the entire Arab world, not just in our village of Deir al-Asad. I just want her to know that he uncle from Leb called and said that he saw her on TV."
In response to an inquiry from Ynet, the Shin Bet reiterated that traveling to enemy states is a criminal offence. However, if you can't be a good example, then you'll just have to be a horrible warning... the Shin Bet claimed to have no knowledge of the two singers' movements, and said that it was possible that the police were investigating the incident.
It is worth recalling that at the beginning of April, Majd Kayyal, 23, an Israeli-Arab political activists and journalist was detained by the Shin Bet after entering Leb.
Though Kayyal claims his visit was well known and published -- he traveled to the country to attend an event organized by a paper he openly writes for and 'checked-in' via his Facebook page once in Leb - the Shin Bet suspects Kayyal was recruited by an enemy organization in Leb working against Israel.
The editor of the human rights ...which are usually open to widely divergent definitions... website Adalah - The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, Kayyal left the country on March 23 and was tossed in the calaboose Youse'll never take me alive coppers!... [BANG!]... Ow!... I quit! upon his return at the Sheikh Hussein border crossing between Israel and Jordan.
His arrest and detention was kept under a gag order, which was eventually rescinded following a request from the Adalah center, the Ilam center and several journalists from both Arab and Jewish press.
[Al Ahram] Thousands of Iranian women have come together in an online campaign for greater social freedoms, posting pictures of themselves flouting the Islamic dress code required of all women in public.
More than 146,000 people have supported the Facebook page "Stealthy Freedoms of Women in Iran," which was created just 10 days ago with the aim of sparking debate on whether women should have the right to choose to wear the hijab.
It has yet to provoke an official response from the Iranian authorities, who fear people are letting Islamic values slip as they turn towards a more Western lifestyle.
The hijab, which is obligatory in Iran, requires women to cover their hair and much of their body in loose clothing in public. It has become a defining feature of Iran's interpretation of sharia, or Islamic law, since the 1979 revolution.
More than one hundred photos have already been posted on the page, with young women posing bare-headed in the countryside, suburbs, by the sea and even in cities.
"This is me committing a crime," wrote a girl who posted an image of herself sitting in the middle of a secluded road in Nour Forest in northern Iran, with her headscarf resting on her shoulder. "Covertly, but in absolute peace," her caption said.
Another photo shows a grandmother, a mother and her daughter together on a pavement.
"In one frame, three generations secure freedom at a corner of this street," read the caption.
"Here's hoping the day comes when the next generation can exercise its most basic right, before their hair goes grey."
For more than a decade, the issue of the hijab has been hotly contested between hardline authorities and ordinary women pushing its boundaries.
A dedicated morality police has long handed out fines, verbal notices or even arrests to women it considers are not observing the hijab rules properly.
The unit has reportedly been ordered to exercise more restraint since President Hassan Rouhani, a self-declared moderate, took office in August promising greater social freedoms.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/14/2014 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[5 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
No sh*t?! Freedom & democracy must be just around the corner.
In other news, the Iraqi Minister of Wacky Religious Shit has proposed a law legalizing marriage of 9 year old girls. If it was good enough for the Profit...
Pinch - "You there, boy, rearrange these deck chairs! Chop chop"
Jill Abramson, the executive editor of The New York Times, is unexpectedly leaving the position and will be replaced by Dean Baquet, the managing editor of the newspaper, the company said Wednesday.
Ms. Abramson, 60, a former investigative correspondent and Washington editor who was appointed to lead the newsroom in 2011, was the first woman to serve in the top job.
"I've loved my run at The Times," she said in a statement. "I got to work with the best journalists in the world doing so much stand-up journalism," she said, noting her appointment of many senior female editors as one of her achievements. As opposed to breaking any major stories, writing award-winning series, finding more subscribers...
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/14/2014 15:28 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[6 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Baquet won his Pulitzer Prize for investigating corruption in the Chicago City Council. Had to be some Dems in that mix which took courage. But too afraid to take on Obama's much larger corruption. I wonder what it feels like to go down in history as a lap dog. After all, truth will out.
[Daily Caller] "Tell him you can't do an interview because you're on leave and unavailable due to a family activity/event (or just say you're on leave)," Lancashire wrote Ogden. No worries, simply use the alternate scheduling software from the VA.
Ogden [lead scientist on child obesity study] did not take Lancashire's advice. She did not respond at all to the interview request. Hey, he's in D.C. and this doesn't pass the smell test. My Buckhead lawyer told me to make multiple copies of his memo, CC him, and put a copy in my gun safe.
But, according to the emails, which were obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, Ogden did respond to other media outlets, indicating she was not on leave. Can't we just talk about good cholesterol and bad cholesterol ?
#1
Seems like the O administration has numerous violations of the Hatch Act (1939) which bars employees in the executive branch of the federal government, except the president, vice-president, and designated high-level officials, from engaging in partisan political activity.
[America with Jorge Ramos] John Brennan's had a busy year. He became CIA director in March of 2013, and a few months later Edward Snowden became the face of public outrage over government surveillance. The anger flows both ways. Outrage - Snowden - Outrage - Snowden... why don't they get it ?
"I think I am, first of all, outraged that there are individuals who decided to take upon themselves to reveal some of the very, very important capabilities that this country has in place to keep American hombres safe," Brennan said in an exclusive distraction interview with Fusion's Jorge Ramos from CIA headquarters. Welcome to my conference room Jorge. Yes, that's right, Brazilian walnut Jorge. It was a gift. Do you like it? Can we talk about Snowden now Jorge ?
Responding to polls showing younger demographics' support of Snowden's revelations, Brennan said, "I think most of the young people don't even understand what in fact he has done and the implications of it." No mention of the fact the NSA had no 'understanding' or clue of what Snowden was doing at the time.
The millennialists, who by and large drank the Obama Kool-Aid really do NOT understand how freaking dangerous it is "out there" in the hinterlands of the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Africa. They don't have a clue that literally millions of fanatics and nutjobs and complete psychopaths (re: Boko Haram) are champing at the bit to do grievous harm to any and all things American, including them and their IPhone and their Ipad and their Twitter account.
Posted by: Bill Clinton ||
05/14/2014 14:04 Comments ||
Top||
#3
If they quit spying on us and started spying on them, they'd have no reason to worry about whistleblowers.
#4
Here's Daniel Pipes' take on Brennan from 2009.
People with Brennan's views are much more likely to turn the West's security apparatus against (non-Muslim!) Westerners than to go as far as to hurt the islamofascistc enemy's (i.e. the fanatics', nutjobs' and psychopaths') precious feelings.
The Obama administration has made clear to whom the future must not belong. That does not inspire trust.
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.
[Al Ahram] A planned Lady Gaga concert in Dubai in September will be censored to respect cultural traditions, the United Arab Emirates daily Gulf News reported on Tuesday. 
...Bangla dynastic politician and current Prime Minister of Bangladesh. She has been the President of the Bangla Awami League since the Lower Paleolithic. She is the eldest of five children of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of Bangla. Her party defeated the BNP-led Four-Party Alliance in the 2008 parliamentary elections. She has once before held the office, from 1996 to 2001, when she was defeated in a landslide. She and the head of the BNP, Khaleda Zia show such blind animosity toward each other that they are known as 
[An Nahar] India's triumphant right-wing opposition said Tuesday it was headed for a decisive majority in the world's biggest election after exit polls showed its hardline leader Narendra Modi closing in on victory.
[Ynet] Manal Mussa from Deir al-Asad, Hayatem Khalila from Majd al-Krum traveled to 
[Al Ahram] Thousands of Iranian women have come together in an online campaign for greater social freedoms, posting pictures of themselves flouting the Islamic dress code required of all women in public.
