#1
Thanks Fareed Zakaria! Your Saudi paycheck is in the mail, minus the prophet's cut.
/The ISI
Posted by: ed ||
03/03/2009 21:35
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#2
It's like living with Cancer, you can isolate it for a while, but eventually it will spread and kill you. The only way to treat Radical Islam is to cut it out and kill it.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
03/03/2009 23:45
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No one should be surprised at what the Obama Administration is doing, Rahm Emanuel laid it out clearly in November. Wall Street votes every day and they are voting "No Confidence" in this Administration.
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) - It'll be Barry Manilow versus the mall rats. The New Zealand city of Christchurch hopes that putting the American crooner's smooth and gentle tones into the mix of music to be broadcast through the central mall district can pacify unruly teens who congregate there- or at least convince them to go elsewhere.
"The intention is to change the environment in a positive way ... so nobody feels threatened or intimidated," Central City Business Association manager Paul Lonsdale told The Associated Press. "I did not say Barry Manilow is a weapon of mass destruction."
A group of several dozen young people regularly spread rubbish, spray graffiti, get intoxicated, use drugs, swear and intimidate patrons at the outdoor mall, he said. The city council, police and local property owners covering 410 businesses agree that "nice, easy listening" music like Manilow's "Can't Smile Without You,""Mandy" and other hits might change the behavior of loitering teens.
But one 16-year-old told The Press newspaper that unfashionable music wouldn't deter them. "We would just bring a stereo and play it louder," Emma Belcher said. ...
Posted by: Mike ||
03/03/2009
17:16 ||
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#1
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, NOT BARRY!
D *** NG IT, MORIARITY, ONCE AGAIN THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU DON'T SEND IN THE MARINES AND AIRBORNE TO INVADE NEW ZEALAND!
#2
See, instead the mall should hire themselves a few mafia goons who will quietly take the teens outside, beat them up, steal their money and gadgets and ensure happiness for all. You can even put the videos of the beatings on display for the normal mallgoers to enjoy as they shop in peace and quiet.
Square Root Day occurs only nine times in a century. The last one occurred on February 2, 2004, and the next will occur in seven years on April 4, 2016. Happy Square Root Day, all you radicals out there along the Tropic of Calculus!
Posted by: Mike ||
03/03/2009
14:35 ||
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#1
I mourn for the Upside Down Year, myself. The last time I saw one was in 1961. Flip it over and see for yourself.
The next one is in 6009.
Assuming 1, 6,8,9,0 are upside down numbers. If 5 is allowed (open to debate) then 5005 is the next. Regardless, it is out of all of our leagues with the present technology of living.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
03/03/2009 17:55
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#1
The military [approval ratings higher than the pols and the media] is one place you don't want to have a confrontation with anytime in the near future with all the crap the pols are already stuffing into the bag. However, the short track record shows the people in charge do not have a basic grasp of real history, only the Marxist dialectic of class warfare.
Japan is preparing to deploy a controversial missile defence system against an imminent North Korean rocket launch, in what could be the first use of the so-called "Son of Star Wars" system to knock out an intercontinental ballistic missile.
In a move that could have strategic implications for the whole northeast Asian region, the Japanese Government plans to dispatch naval destroyers equipped with anti-missile systems to the seas off North Korea, as the isolated dictatorship continues preparations for the launch of a rocket.
As long as the weapon passes through the atmosphere far above Japan, as seems to be the intention, the system will probably not be fired. But if the rocket malfunctions and threatens any of its islands, then Japan will become the first nation to use a long-range missile defence system in anger. "If it is capable of reaching Japan then it goes without saying that we will react," Japan's defence minister, Yasukazu Hamada, said today. "We have been making preparations, including BMD [ballistic missile defence], for any incident which could affect Japan. If it will affect Japan then it will be our target."
Continued on Page 49
#2
ION MISSLES, WAFF.com > STRATEGYPAGE - THE SILOS OF KHORRAMABAD [IRGC Imam Ali Missle Base = 15 SHAHAB-3's].
ALso, CHINESE MILITARY FORUM > CHINA's TOP PAPER [People's Daily] BLAMES TIBET TROUBLES ON WEST [ WEST intends to DIVIDE + WEAKEN EMERGING POWER CHINA, + divert attention from its own econ woes vee Chin].
#5
I spoke to a conference a while back and the next person on the panel was a comms chief from a CVN. Her presentation focused on exercises with JMSDF units. Kongo was up there, and I just had to chuckle and shake my head. The night before I'd just read an account of "The Night of the Battleships" Oct. 13/14 1942 at Guadalcanal, in which that ship and others gave Henderson a real pasting. And an elderly friend flew in to the 'canal a week after that attack.
Back to today's Japanese navy .... cool. The Norks' missile shenanigans (along with China's clumsy bellicosity) have accelerated Japan's return to the geopolitical mainstream by many years. Generational change is part of it, but the course change WRT goofy pacifism (yes, they basically adopted it under our orders, and it all worked out) has been striking, from renaming the Defense Agency a ministry, to little things like a battleship Yamato museum in Kure (with a JMSDF museum across the street) to throngs visiting Chiran (kamikaze base on Kyushu) and the like.
I rejoice that our east Asian adversaries have woken a sleeping mid-size giant ally of ours, and filled him with an interesting resolve (and no, I don't think Yamamoto ever actually said what I'm paraphrasing here, but it works - and he clearly understood and felt exactly as the apocryphal quote implied).
#6
Uh, obviously I meant the WWII battleship Kongo in the second reference above - the chuckle coming from seeing the same name on a Japanese ship today ....
Freshly harvested mussels being processed at a farm. Humans and farm animals were known to emit harmful greenhouse gases through digestion, but German researchers said Tuesday that mussels, freshwater snails and other underwater creatures are also culprits, releasing laughing gas.
Humans and farm animals were known to emit harmful greenhouse gases through digestion, but German researchers said Tuesday that aquatic worms and bugs are also culprits, releasing laughing gas.
Scientists at the Max Planck Institut and Denmark's Aarhus University found that mussels, freshwater snails and other underwater creatures release nitrous oxide -- laughing gas -- when nitrate is present in water.
"There's nitrate in water that has been polluted by humans, so the more we pollute, the higher the production of this problematic gas will be," Fanni Aspetsberger from the institute told AFP on Tuesday.
Aspetsberger added that no quantitative data were available, but that it could be "seriously detrimental" to the climate if nitrate pollution continues to rise the way it has over recent years.
Laughing gas is one of many greenhouse gasses that has been released into the atmosphere since industrialisation. Such gasses act as a blanket around the Earth, causing temperatures to rise worldwide.
Rising temperatures have already had disastrous consequences for mankind -- including major disruptions to global weather systems -- and problems are expected to become worse in the future.
The main reason for global warming though, is the release of another greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide, by the burning of fossil fuels. World leaders aim to strike a new global climate deal in Copenhagen in December.
#2
Aspetsberger added that no quantitative data were available, but that it could be "seriously detrimental" to the climate if nitrate pollution continues to rise the way it has over recent years.
Hmmmmmmmmm...since no "quantitative data" appears to be available on laughing gas farting shellfish looks like you'll need more money to study laughing gas farting shellfish, eh, Fanni? Looks like you've found your niche in the grant gravy train.
And these people wonder why folks doubt them?
#7
...Consolidation of power in Washington and centralized control of the U.S. More globalization. More taxes. Ceding authority of the U.S. to groups like the U.N. More money for global warming. A sharp left turn towards socialism and communism and ecofacism...
IMO, cultural relations is the job that the State Department and the CIA ought to do, but they are generally run by leftards, and therefore the military has to step in and take responsibility.
#2
I too agree with this. We knew right from the start of the Iraq war that Rummy's statement that "DOD does not do nation building" Was the kiss of death for anyone who wondered about what happens after.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
03/03/2009 23:25
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"The Dow closed today at its lowest mark in 12 years, and now it's becoming clear even to Obama supporters on Wall Street that his reckless agenda will make a bad situation worse." More at link; well worth the read....
#2
I have no doubts taht worse is yet to come. This bottom will start to show when spostsmen and advertising bussiness starts to moderate their prices. Until then we don't have any signal.
Posted by: Large Snerong7311 ||
03/03/2009 15:02
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#3
"Is the Worst Yet to Come?"
Well, yeah....
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
03/03/2009 18:28
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As 2009 opened, three weeks before Barack Obama took office, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 9034 on January 2, its highest level since the autumn panic. Yesterday the Dow fell another 4.24% to 6763, for an overall decline of 25% in two months and to its lowest level since 1997. The dismaying message here is that President Obama's policies have become part of the economy's problem.
Americans have welcomed the Obama era in the same spirit of hope the President campaigned on. But after five weeks in office, it's become clear that Mr. Obama's policies are slowing, if not stopping, what would otherwise be the normal process of economic recovery. From punishing business to squandering scarce national public resources, Team Obama is creating more uncertainty and less confidence -- and thus a longer period of recession or subpar growth.
The Democrats who now run Washington don't want to hear this, because they benefit from blaming all bad economic news on President Bush. And Mr. Obama has inherited an unusual recession deepened by credit problems, both of which will take time to climb out of. But it's also true that the economy has fallen far enough, and long enough, that much of the excess that led to recession is being worked off. Already 15 months old, the current recession will soon match the average length -- and average job loss -- of the last three postwar downturns. What goes down will come up -- unless destructive policies interfere with the sources of potential recovery.
And those sources have been forming for some time. The price of oil and other commodities have fallen by two-thirds since their 2008 summer peak, which has the effect of a major tax cut. The world is awash in liquidity, thanks to monetary ease by the Federal Reserve and other central banks. Monetary policy operates with a lag, but last year's easing will eventually stir economic activity.
Housing prices have fallen 27% from their Case-Shiller peak, or some two-thirds of the way back to their historical trend. While still high, credit spreads are far from their peaks during the panic, and corporate borrowers are again able to tap the credit markets. As equities were signaling with their late 2008 rally and January top, growth should under normal circumstances begin to appear in the second half of this year.
So what has happened in the last two months? The economy has received no great new outside shock. Exchange rates and other prices have been stable, and there are no security crises of note. The reality of a sharp recession has been known and built into stock prices since last year's fourth quarter.
What is new is the unveiling of Mr. Obama's agenda and his approach to governance. Every new President has a finite stock of capital -- financial and political -- to deploy, and amid recession Mr. Obama has more than most. But one negative revelation has been the way he has chosen to spend his scarce resources on income transfers rather than growth promotion. Most of his "stimulus" spending was devoted to social programs, rather than public works, and nearly all of the tax cuts were devoted to income maintenance rather than to improving incentives to work or invest.
His Treasury has been making a similar mistake with its financial bailout plans. The banking system needs to work through its losses, and one necessary use of public capital is to assist in burning down those bad assets as fast as possible. Yet most of Team Obama's ministrations so far have gone toward triage and life support, rather than repair and recovery.
AIG yesterday received its fourth "rescue," including $70 billion in Troubled Asset Relief Program cash, without any clear business direction. Citigroup's restructuring last week added not a dollar of new capital, and also no clear direction. Perhaps the imminent Treasury "stress tests" will clear the decks, but until they do the banks are all living in fear of becoming the next AIG. All of this squanders public money that could better go toward burning down bank debt.
The market has notably plunged since Mr. Obama introduced his budget last week, and that should be no surprise. The document was a declaration of hostility toward capitalists across the economy. Health-care stocks have dived on fears of new government mandates and price controls. Private lenders to students have been told they're no longer wanted. Anyone who uses carbon energy has been warned to expect a huge tax increase from cap and trade. And every risk-taker and investor now knows that another tax increase will slam the economy in 2011, unless Mr. Obama lets Speaker Nancy Pelosi impose one even earlier.
Meanwhile, Congress demands more bank lending even as it assails lenders and threatens to let judges rewrite mortgage contracts. The powers in Congress -- unrebuked by Mr. Obama -- are ridiculing and punishing the very capitalists who are essential to a sustainable recovery. The result has been a capital strike, and the return of the fear from last year that we could face a far deeper downturn. This is no way to nurture a wounded economy back to health.
Listening to Mr. Obama and his chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, on the weekend, we couldn't help but wonder if they appreciate any of this. They seem preoccupied with going to the barricades against Republicans who wield little power, or picking a fight with Rush Limbaugh, as if this is the kind of economic leadership Americans want.
Perhaps they're reading the polls and figure they have two or three years before voters stop blaming Republicans and Mr. Bush for the economy. Even if that's right in the long run, in the meantime their assault on business and investors is delaying a recovery and ensuring that the expansion will be weaker than it should be when it finally does arrive.
#2
So what has happened in the last two months? Merely the unfolding of a disaster. It has taken years to set the stage, and the play will take years to complete. The fear from last year that we could face a far deeper downturn is well-founded.
The reality of a sharp recession has been known and built into stock prices since last year's fourth quarter. The reality might be known, but its ultimate scope is unknown and unknowable at the present. If you think stock prices are low now, what would you think if a stock was offered for sale, and there are no bids for it? Capital is not on strike so much as holing up in a compound with guns, ammo & canned goods. Anyone who uses carbon energy -- that's each and every one of us -- has been warned to pay far more than currently for the necessities of daily life expect a huge tax increase from cap and trade That is the stupidest move made by Obama so far. I expect many more stupid moves by him unless he has a "road to Damascus" moment.
#2
Looks very cool but if history tells us anything at all then Microsoft will ruin it by concentrating more on trying to kill their competition than on creating real value. They'll copy other peoples' ideas then use their cash and the leading position they now have in the market to get out ahead of everybody else. Then they'll start erecting obstacles to any further progress or innovation. That's what they've always done.
Beijing (AsiaNews/Agencies) -- Just in Shenzhen, 370 firms defaulted in 2008 on paying 102 million yuan (US$ 13 million) in wages to some 39,200 workers. The government for its part seems more interested in teaching public officials how to manage social unrest caused by the default than in protecting workers' rights.
In the past it was not unusual for companies to shut their doors without paying their workers, but the current global crisis has made it worse.
In Shenzhen between October and December of last year, 48 companies went bust and their bosses absconded without paying wages for a total of 30 million yuan. An estimated 5.6 migrant workers are in the city. Street protests are very likely if job losses and wage pilfering continue.
The city's Labour and Social Security Bureau has begun monitoring firms with operational problems that are a month behind in paying workers. Baoan District Labour Bureau has demanded firms submit detailed payroll records online and pay wages through banks, which notify the bureau two days after funds are transferred. The bureau can then compare the two sets of records to check whether firms have paid workers properly.
Firms that do not pay employees, or delay payments, are then excluded from government tenders.
At the same time plans are underway in Beijing to train more than 3,000 public security directors by mid-June to improve responses to threats to public security in the provinces. This is especially pressing since more than 20 million rural migrant workers have lost their jobs and many have few immediate prospects of finding another.
Layoffs have already led workers in some cities to take to the streets in protest at factory shutdowns.
These training sessions are "urgently needed for the heavy and difficult task of maintaining stability this year," Public Security Minister Meng Jianzhu was quoted as saying on the Ministry website. Public security officials should work proactively to "explore new solutions to solving the people's grievances [and] be deeply involved with the people," he added.
Beijing also does not want public protests to be settled summarily by local authorities resorting to police intervention. Pundits doubt however that warmth and courtesy will do much for people who need a job to earn a living. Hildebeast road tour or not, appears they may JUST SAY NO to Obama Bonds.
Angered that her local McDonald's was out of Chicken McNuggets, a Florida woman called 911 three times to report the fast food "emergency." Latreasa Goodman, 27, last Saturday called police to complain that a cashier--citing a McDonald's all sales are final policy--would not give her a refund. When cops responded to the restaurant, Goodman told them, "This is an emergency. If I would have known they didn't have McNuggets, I wouldn't have given my money, and now she wants to give me a McDouble, but I don't want one." Goodman noted, "I called 911 because I couldn't get a refund, and I wanted my McNuggets," according to the below Fort Pierce Police Department report. That logic, however, did not keep cops from citing Goodman for misusing the 911 system. Even after being issued a misdemeanor citation, Goodman contended, "this is an emergency, my McNuggets are an emergency." The McDonald's devotee is seen at right in a mug shot snapped after a previous encounter with police. Last month, a Florida man was arrested after he called 911 to complain about his displeasure with a Burger King combo meal.
#6
I think we should break Mexico out from Latin America, but still report what happens in Mexico either under WOT Background or Non-WOT. Things are getting crazy with the drug war there. There was a murder in Pueblo, CO, that the local cops think is related to one of the crime cartels in Mexico. That's just too da$$$$ close to home! It may not be Islamic terror, but it's terror just the same.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
03/03/2009 12:06
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#7
Mexico does need its own category. Otherwise non-WOT & Local events might as well be combined.
#8
I like it. But disagree about one comment. I thought "All Seedy Politicians Were Local"?
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
03/03/2009 12:43
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#9
Another modification which might make the Burg more 'inclusive' would be the letter character coding of ethnic origins following the poster's screen name. Here are some examples:
White (not of Hispanic origin) All persons having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, North Africa, or the Middle East (W).
Black (not of Hispanic origin) All persons having origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa (B).
Hispanic All persons of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central or South American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race (H).
Asian or Pacific Islander All persons having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, the Indian Subcontinent, or the Pacific Islands. This area includes, for example, China, India, Japan, Korea, the Philippine Islands, and Samoa. (P)
American Indian or Alaskan Native All persons having origins in any of the original peoples of North America, and who maintain cultural identification through tribal affiliation or community recognition; including American Indians, Aleuts, and Eskimos (I)
#10
I tend to think of Non-WOT as worldwide (including Mexico South) and Local as US and Canada. However if the change makes sense to the Fred and the mods and makes their job easier, no problem on my part.
#11
I consider the current Messican festivities as a part of Latin America generally. The tradition's not limited to them, so when it spills over to Guatamala or Honduras it'll all be in the same bucket.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/03/2009 13:15
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#12
Combine them as proposed. Works for me.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
03/03/2009 14:30
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#13
Combine 3 and 5. Simplifies things and the extra slot as done as present does not add anything of value.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
03/03/2009 14:51
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#15
This is how it started with my local paper. Sports and Business were combined into a single section. Next the page width will be reduced. The cost of 1024 pixels was too great. Then the Saturday DS & TP will be cut back.
Then there's "both", of course. but Besoeker, how would it affect our understanding of a snarky post to know that the poster was a red-headed Maori-American male-gendered hermaphrodite retired Navy submarine commander... until recently working as an executive with an international bank based somewhere in Europe?
#21
Whatever you think is best works for me, Fred.
I stand sit in awe of you, always.
Have I mentioned you are a god? :-D
(re the surgery - nothing serious, I hope)
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
03/03/2009 16:24
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#22
Damn that is some high grade Haka, Bosoeker.
The viewer should note, all participants are on the same side.
Fred, good luck mate. Trust it goes well for you.
#25
I've made the change to the posters so that Page 5 isn't there anymore.
Had I thought about it more, which I didn't, I'd have renamed Page 3 and made it Commies, Other Dictators, and Coups d'Etat. That would have left Page 5 for everything else. But I didn't.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/03/2009 16:52
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#26
I'm not as organized as you folks so I'll punt on taking a position on this one and just send some money to Fred for "premises upgrades".
#27
The fresh paint and spackle will run a few quid, so if you're so inclined, the tip jar is up and to the right, and/or you can stimulate the Amazon economy to the right and a little lower.
1. A combination of incongruous things
2. A miscellaneous anthology or collection
3. A collection of miscellaneous literary extracts.
4. Any mixture, esp. of unrelated objects, subjects, etc.
5. A place to post stories of penis dismemberment.
BTW, has the posting cut off been changed from 9PM Eastern? Tried several times to post. Wasn't sure if rejected or went into tomorrow's bin.
Posted by: ed ||
03/03/2009 20:52
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#34
Ed, If I'm posting (rare lately) late in the day, I manually post it for tomorrow
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/03/2009 20:54
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#35
If it's significant we'll usually hold it over for the next day.
I'm getting a new hip. This one doesn't work right anymore. I'll be three or four days in the hospital, off work for a couple weeks.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/03/2009 20:58
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#36
How do you do that? Change the date to tomorrow and time to 00:00?
It would also be nice if a warning page is displayed for posting duplicates.
Posted by: ed ||
03/03/2009 20:59
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#37
Fred, wishing a successful surgery and speedy recovery.
Posted by: ed ||
03/03/2009 21:00
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#38
Best of luck with the surgery Fred. And a speedy recovery.
Probably best to get it now - before Obama f-ks up our healthcare system. I don't want to imagine what a hip designed by Obama Healthcare would look like....
CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico | The U.S. Defense Department thinks Mexico's two most deadly drug cartels together have fielded more than 100,000 foot soldiers - an army that rivals Mexico's armed forces and threatens to turn the country into a narco-state.
"It's moving to crisis proportions," a senior U.S. defense official told The Washington Times. The official, who spoke on the condition that he not be named because of the sensitive nature of his work, said the cartels' "foot soldiers" are on a par with Mexico's army of about 130,000.
The disclosure underlines the enormity of the challenge Mexico and the United States face as they struggle to contain what is increasingly looking like a civil war or an insurgency along the U.S.-Mexico border. In the past year, about 7,000 people have died - more than 1,000 in January alone. The conflict has become increasingly brutal, with victims beheaded and bodies dissolved in vats of acid.
Continued on Page 49
#8
Various Net sources indic the number could be as high as 150,000, mostly well-armed or possessing deadly weapons which the Mexi Govt-Army may NOT be able to contain or eradicate.
IFF THESE NUMBERS ARE CORRECT, IT MAY MEAN THE MEXI GANGS MAY NOT BE INTIMIDATED OR FRIGHTENED OF THE MEXI ARMED FORCES OR LOCAL POLICE.
Who the heck would ever plunk good money down to read a book titled "The Governor" by Rod Blagojevich?
That's the working title of Blagojevich's planned book, but it's a terrible title. That's why you readers are being enlisted to come up with a juicy, compelling title for our former Gov. Dead Meat's tell-all book, which was announced Monday.
If your title wins, you'll get a prize, and I mean a real prize this time, something tangible.
Because I'm writing the column, I get to go first. So how about this one:
"Et Tu, DeLeo?"
That's a reference to Blagojevich's former close friend, the former shadow governor of Illinois, state Sen. James DeLeo (D-How You Doin?), who abandoned Dead Meat and voted to remove him from office after all the good times they had.
But at least Jimmy held a pre-impeachment fundraiser for Dead Meat at the Oak Brook mansion of developer Ron Scarlato, according to a report in the Sun-Times. But the report didn't mention all the guys who showed up, including Melrose Park royalty. Melrose Park became Mafia Junction after King Richard Daley I uprooted Little Italy to make room for the University of Illinois at Chicago
So just send your Blago book title to me at jskass@tribune.com, and the winner will receive a great prize, a fantastic prize, a marvelous prize.
I'm sure you'll come up with a better title than mine, although many good and bad ideas are already circulating at the Tribune, including "Impeach This!" and "Read This Book, It's [Bleeping] Golden!" sent to me by Tribune reporter Rex Huppke. Sadly, employees of the Tribune and their immediate families are prohibited from winning the prize.
I don't have the prize yet, but it will either be meat-related, in honor of Dead Meat's dead meat, perhaps a beef tongue or a lamb's heart or maybe some veal shanks for osso bucco. Or, better yet, how about a couple of tickets to the smash hit play about Chicago politics and the late Mayor Richard J. Daley, "Hizzoner," starring the great character actor and my good friend Neil Giuntoli?
Police say a 36-year-old township man furnished Freedom High School students with alcohol and coaxed teenage girls clad in cheerleader outfits to dance on a "stripper" pole in the basement of his home.
Steven A. Russo, of the 2400 block of 15th Street, allowed his now 17-year-old son, also a Freedom student, to invite at least eight other students, ranging in ages from 14 to 16, to his home Dec. 12, according to court papers.
The teens allegedly listened to Russo spin tales about his sexual exploits and drank vodka, rum and beer he gave them. They also mingled in the basement while he played music and shouted, "Get on that pole," according to a criminal complaint filed by Bethlehem Township police at the office of District Judge Joseph Barner.
Continued on Page 49
EU Monetary Affairs Commissioner Joaquin Almunia on Tuesday refused to rule out further downgrades to the European economic outlook, warning of deepening risks from the global downturn.
On January 19, the European Commission estimated that the eurozone economy would shrink by 1.9 percent this year while the 27-nation European Union would see a contraction on the order of 1.8 percent. It forecast that Europe would return to growth in 2010 with economic expansion of 0.4 percent among the 16 countries using the euro single currency, and 0.5 percent in the EU.
"When we presented the forecasts on January 19, I said the risks are broadly balanced," Almunia said at the European Policy Centre think-tank. "Now I can say downside risks are bigger," he said.
Almunia also held out the possibility that EU governments might have to ramp up their economic stimulus plans if existing packages fail to snap Europe out of an increasingly dire recession.
European governments are ploughing hundreds of billions of euros into their economies in hope of reviving activity, but economic data keep going from bad to worse while their budget deficits balloon in the meantime. Concerns are growing about how to finance the widening gap between government revenues and spending. One of the most radical ideas in Europe is for countries to issue bonds together as a group.
Almunia said that it was up to member states to decide on such a joint bond issue, adding that "if you ask is it reasonable? Yes, it's reasonable."
"It's not politically viable today, but perhaps one day in the future" it would be, he said.
While Italy has led calls for the issue of so-called euro bonds, economic powerhouse Germany, which enjoys the lowest interest rates on its government debt, has poured cold water on the idea.
Almunia also dismissed lingering market concerns about the possibility that a member of the eurozone could be forced to leave the 16-nation bloc if deficits get out of control. "Who's crazy enough to leave the euro area? Nobody," he said.
Almunia said that the EU had means of aiding a eurozone country with financing troubles before it would have to turn to the International Monetary Fund, but refused to say precisely what could be done. "We're equipped to face ... a crisis scenario but these kind of things should not be talked about in public," he said.
Currently, there is no formal solidarity mechanism within EU treaties to assist eurozone countries that run into financing troubles, although there is an arrangement for non-euro members of the European Union.
#1
For the last 2 years economic forecasts haven't been worth the air they were written on. The MSM scrupulously avoids mentioning this comprehensive failure of foresight.
Algeria's military has killed 16 militants linked to al-Qaeda in a weekend raid on their secret base near the capital, Algiers, state media says. French-language state radio says Interior Minister Yazid Zerhouni has raised the death toll among the militants from seven previously announced. Further details were not provided in the report on Tuesday.
Officials said the raid starting late Friday near Blida was launched with information obtained from a terror support cell dismantled a week earlier. Blida is about 80km south of Algiers. The government has said the military killed 120 militants over the last six months from al-Qaeda's north Africa wing. The wing emerged from a former insurgent group in Algeria.
The question of whether a Muslim woman can wear a niqab -- a veil that shows only her eyes -- while testifying against men accused of sexually assaulting her will be heard next week.
The woman was ordered to testify by Justice Norris Weisman at a preliminary hearing last fall to ensure the defendants could face their accuser in court. But Justice Frank Marrocco ordered that the woman won't have to testify next week at a preliminary hearing so that he can hold a hearing on the issue.
Marrocco will listen to arguments from defence attorney Adam Weisberg and lawyer David Butt, who represents the woman, and Ontario Human Rights Commission counsel Prabhu Rajan. Crown attorney Laurie Gonet said the prosecution isn't taking a position on the matter.
The commission will be arguing that Weisman failed to recognize the religious freedoms of the complainant. "This is a conflict of rights -- that of religious beliefs -- as opposed to the defendants' rights," said Butt, a former Crown attorney who is now in private practice as a defence lawyer. "The preliminary hearing could have gone on without the court having to see the witness' face to assess credibility."
Defence lawyers at the preliminary hearing argued that seeing the woman's face and her demeanour would help them weigh her testimony. The prosecution responded that the woman should be permitted to wear the veil. Weisman said it was a difficult decision, but noted the woman removed her niqab to get a drivers' licence photo.
#1
Fair for one fair for all. I'm starting a religion where it's required that members wear a Nixon, Batman or Donald Duck mask in any situation where a veil is permitted. Fair for one, fair for all...l
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
03/03/2009 10:11
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#2
Go whole hog, have everyone wear Christ masks.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
03/03/2009 12:06
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Global warming activists stormed Washington Monday for what was billed as the nation's largest act of civil disobedience to fight climate change -- only to see the nation's capital virtually shut down by a major winter storm.
Schools and businesses were shuttered, lawmakers cancelled numerous appearances and the city came to a virtual standstill as Washington was blasted with its heaviest snowfall of the winter.
It spelled about six inches of trouble for global warming activists who had hoped to swarm the Capitol by the thousands in an effort to force the government to close the Capitol Power Plant, which heats and cools a number of government buildings, including the Supreme Court and the Capitol.
The snowy scene, with temperatures in the mid-20s, was reminiscent of a day in January 2004, when Al Gore made a major address on global warming in New York -- on one of the coldest days in the city's history.
Protest organizers said about 2,500 people braved the blizzard to oppose greenhouse gas emissions, but the shroud of snow wasn't the only wet blanket in the nation's capital Monday.
#4
Now, shutting down the Capitol Power Plant and freezing the asses of the current Congress and staff, isn't such a bad idea. How come we didn't think of that?
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
03/03/2009 13:01
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Wonder what thermostat was set at in the Oval Office yesterday?
#1
funny how this comes out at the same time that Glenn Greenwald says this http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2009/03/02/executive_power/ In the meantime, though, the Obama DOJ is now refusing to comply with the Judge's order, actually arguing to the court that only the President can decide whether classified information can be used in a court proceeding, and that courts have no power to make such decisions.
Anytime that the Chicago Tribune and Glenn Greenwald appear to be sharing an appetizer, good men need to take a long hard look at the menu.
The march toward tyranny continues. The only question that remains is - can we stop it?
#2
The Bush administration eventually abandoned many of the legal conclusions
Most of these were just legal research opinions and not implemented. Obama is releasing them to make his administration look good by comparison, while at the same time pursuing some of the same policies.
It's all about DEFLECTION, did I say DEFLECTION? Well anyway, here it is again, DEFLECTION! Bush, Rush, all targets of opportunity. Get that evil smell off of Barry at any cost, even if it means parading Rahm out in full media view.
03/07/2008 -- Casper Barack Obama told a cheering crowd at a town hall meeting in Casper today that he would restore respect for law in the White House by reviewing every executive order issued by President George W. Bush and discarding any deemed unconstitutional.
Obama's comments came in response to a question from a man in the audience who said he worried that presidents sometimes consider themselves above the law.
As president, he said he would ask his attorney general "to review every executive order" of the Bush administration. "We are going to overturn those that were unconstitutional. We are going to overturn those that are unnecessary."
Humm -- unconstitutional and unnecessary pretty much can cover anything that Bush did. All he does, it "make it so."
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
03/03/2009 12:01
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#7
BUSH BAD, BAMA GOOD, repeat ad nauseum.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
03/03/2009 12:03
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#8
Come on, get the sheep chorus bleating RIGHT NOW.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
03/03/2009 12:04
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#9
Lincoln suspended habeas corpus. I guess George Bush is just like Lincoln. Oh, my mistake, only Obama is a like Lincoln ... and FDR, Churchill, and Jesus Christ.
#10
These folks are every bit the unserious and contemptible amateurs most of us expected. This crew is overwhelmed by current events (quietly, but clearly) and they spend a significant amount of time looking backwards and fighting past battles (battles they lost on the merits, without exception, of course). Amazing. In a depressing, infuriating, dangerous kinda way.
No company has ever lost as much as AIG did last quarter. All told, it lost almost $100 billion last year, with $61.7 billion of those losses in just the last quarter of 2008. Few companies have ever been worth that much, or been able to put anything like that much at risk. It's almost unfathomable.
Let's see if we can break it down into a more reasonable number.
Every day AIG lost: $670 million.
Every hour AIG lost: $27.9 million.
Every minute AIG lost: $465 thousand.
Every second AIG lost: $7,750.
That's more like it. It means that every six and half seconds, AIG loses the equivalent of the median household income in the US.
#3
It's just another ponzi scheme coming to an end. I suspect many insurers are just legal, slow-motion ponzi schemes. They charge what the market will bear, live lavishly, and then fold when the insured risks become realities.
#5
AIG is something of a special case because as one line of business they carved out a niche in offsetting risk for major banks, some of which are in effect national banks of European countries.
As we now know, many of those banks in places like Germany used AIG to circumvent national regulations and international agreements regarding capital and other soundness measures. Those banks treated AIG policies as if they were solid assets when they constructed their balance sheets.
AIG's not the primary cause, nor is their executive leadership entirely to blame for this fiasco. In reality AIG is the canary in the coal mine re: both national and international banking in many countries. They played a role in constructing the tower of cards that is now collapsing, but a lot of the blame belongs to the bankers who lied, cheated and faked their way to profits.
#7
I heard on street talk this morning that if AIG failed it would cause a "run" on the insurance companys. What would a "run" do to people that have life insurance policies with say Kansas City Life?
#8
socialist governments who's policies and regulations drove capital out of their own systems into the hands of the confidence men. This puts the cart before the horse. Governmental regulation of financial transactions has been largely driven by the abuses financiers themselves foisted on the public, e.g., the South Sea Bubble, the Tulip Mania, the Mississippi Company, and the origins of the Securities & Exchange Commission & the Glass-Steagall Acts.
#11
Back in the good times, AIG gambled with money they didn't have. Now the US government is forced to back up their bets, or 500 large companies will be out of business.
#12
Ben Bernanke had this to say in today's testimony before Congress: A.I.G. exploited a huge gap in the regulatory system.
What he didn't say was that any regulatory system will have huge gaps waiting to be exploited, due to human nature.
Hardly. There existed regulatory principles before socialism. Those principles where to provide 'integrity' to the system not to exploit the system for social engineering. The socialists move from the amoral natural system of commerce to an agenda based extension of government control and power. In doing so they've driven capital to other markets. It's been the classical model of killing the goose that lays the golden egg.
After reviewing information about how many army officers were in fact inside the BDR headquarters during the last week's bloody carnage, the army authorities yesterday revised the number of missing officers down to six from the previous 72.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/03/2009
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#1
Strange they didn't know right away?
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
03/03/2009 11:18
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#2
I'm going to bet that we've got a bureaucracy unwinding a ghost-soldier payroll scam - phantom "officers" who only existed to pad somebody's bank-account.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
03/03/2009 16:32
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#3
See also TOPIX > CHINA FUELS SRI LANKAN WAR { + others].
UN atomic watchdog chief Mohamed ElBaradei urged Iran Monday to "unblock" a long-running nuclear standoff and expressed hope that a possible change in US policy toward Tehran may help break the deadlock. "I again urge Iran to implement all measures required to build confidence in the exclusively peaceful.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/03/2009
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#1
"unblock"--"unclench"--what's with these diplo constirpation metaphors--el baradi should just pass go and collect all that iranian moollah at the numbered swiss bank account in his brother's name in geneva--and then give jack straw his bakshesh--with a side car to javier solana
Posted by: SON OF TOLUI ||
03/03/2009 3:39
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Generals from North Korea and the US-led UN Command in South Korea met for talks Monday for the first time in almost seven years as tensions rise over Pyongyang's planned rocket launch. Their meeting at Panmunjom, inside the frontier buffer zone, came two days after the communist North warned US troops to stop "provocations" in the area or face retaliation.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/03/2009
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#1
Everyone will be at the rocket launch. Everyone with the ability to shoot it down that is. They will be looking for bragging rights it they can shoot it down first. I see a Mel Brooks scene here, everyone firing at this thing at once... It never even gets completely off the launch site and there is a giant smoking hole where it used to sit. What a sight.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
03/03/2009 23:49
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#2
Oops, I forgot, and pieces of that pink bunny suit everywhere!!!
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
03/03/2009 23:50
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Taliban militants have released six Pakistani paramilitary personnel in Swat valley in northwest Pakistan, says a senior official.
Chief Minister of the North-West Province Frontier (NWFP) Ameer Haider Khan Hoti said he had been informed that the kidnapped security personnel were released and have reached the Mingora city, the main town of Swat valley on Monday.
Taliban militants kidnapped a local commander of the Frontier Corps (FC) and his four bodyguards and a driver on Sunday evening from the Qambar area as they were on their way from Malakand to Mingora city.
Malakand Commissioner, Mohammad Javed also confirmed the release of the kidnapped security personnel, a Press TV correspondent reported.
The kidnapping followed an operation carried out by Pakistani forces in NWFP's Kohat district during which nine militants were killed and ten others arrested.
The recent kidnapping, as well as the Sunday attack on the security forces that left two government troops injured, are the first attacks carried out by Taliban militants, after a recent peace agreement was signed between Islamabad and the insurgents.
The peace deal envisages the implementation of Taliban-style laws, and a judicial and court system run by the militants in the Swat region in exchange for an end to attacks on Pakistani forces and civilians.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/03/2009
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Rod Blagojevich's publicist says the former Illinois governor plans to write book " exposing the dark side of politics."
He'll never live to the see the page proofs ...
Glenn Selig says Blagojevich signed a six-figure deal Monday. Selig says the book also will detail how he selected President Barack Obama's successor in the U.S. Senate.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/03/2009
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#1
"Blago signs six-figure book deal"
Of course he does.
"He'll never live to the see the page proofs ..."
That's downright optimistic. I don't expect him to live long enough to finish the book. Especially after he names the right wrong name....
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
03/03/2009 0:14
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#2
What seedy publisher arranged that deal?
I'd like to avoid the rest of their wares.
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/03/2009 5:53
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#3
How does The 'Audacity of Hope Curruption' sound to everyone?
#4
Enter your title in John Kass' contest, B. You just might have a winnah. ;-p
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
03/03/2009 16:26
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Words fail... well, not me, since I am a writer and words are my stock in trade.
See, this is why traditional, old-line publishing is spinning towards the drain, just as the old-line MSM is. They would rather hand out the sweetheart book contracts to scum like Blago, and other temporarily notorious POS, and to million-selling authors whose next book is a clone of their last one. To them what have, more shall be given. Them as what haves not can go pound sand, while their manuscripts languish in the slush pile.
Whereas aspiring scribblers like myself can publish through outlets like LuLu, iUniverse, Booksurge and Booklocker, and pretty much do all the work themselves, scum like Blago go whistling on their way with a six-figure check in their pocket. And yeah, I'd like to know who the publisher is also, so I can abstain from buying anything of theirs.
BTW, I will be participating in an on-line book-club (link here - the Conference Room is "Let's Read Historical Novels") tonight at 8PM Central for "The Gathering" - Book One of Adelsverein Trilogy, or as one of the fans put it "Barsetshire with cypress trees and lots of sidearms. I know a couple of Rantburgundians have read it, so join in, y'all.
The United States and the United Kingdom assured Bangladesh intelligence support in investigating last month's killing of army officials at BDR Pilkhana headquarters, said Foreign Minister Dipu Moni.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/03/2009
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(AKI) - There are renewed fears for the safety of United Nations worker John Solecki after the separatist group suspected of kidnapping him in Pakistan issued a new threat on his life. A letter believed to have been sent by the Baluchistan Liberation United Front on Sunday threatened to kill Solecki within four days if the Pakistani government does not release more than 1,000 prisoners.
According to Pakistani channel, Geo News, the threat on the American's life was issued in a letter sent to local news agency Online International News Network.
UN spokeswoman Maki Shinohara said the world body was aware of the threat through the media and was taking it seriously.
Solecki, the head of the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Quetta, disappeared a month ago in Baluchistan, one of Pakistan's four provinces, which has been the target of a militant insurgency for several years. Gunmen abducted him on 2 February after killing his driver as the pair drove to work in the southwestern city of Quetta.
In the letter sent on Sunday, the front demanded the release of 1,109 activists from Baluchi nationalist groups it claimed had been arrested by the government.
"John Solecki's mother and his relatives and international human rights groups should play a role for the recovery of thousands of our sons ... who are in state-run torture detention cells," the one-page letter said. "The United Nations and state institutions ... are forcing us to kill Mr. John Solecki in our protest,'' it said.
On 13 February, the group threatened to kill Solecki within three days unless similar demands were met. It did not carry out the threat.
Pakistani officials were not immediately available for comment.
Violent separatist groups have waged a long campaign for independence in Baluchistan, a natural gas-rich region that borders Afghanistan and Iran. Last month, militants beheaded a Polish geologist abducted in another border area of Pakistan after the government did not respond to demands for a prisoner release.
Afghanistan's ambassador-designate, an Iranian diplomat and a Chinese telecommunications engineer were recently seized in or near the main northwestern city of Peshawar and are still missing.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/03/2009
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Aswat al-Iraq: Iraqi security forces arrested 66 wanted men during a security operation in Karbala, the chief of local police said on Monday.
"A total of 66 wanted men have been arrested in Karbala during a wide-scale crackdown operation waged in the province since the beginning of this week," General Ali Jassem Mohamed told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. "Seven of them are wanted for terrorist cases and three suspected of being involved in killing a woman and injuring her daughter," he noted.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/03/2009
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Al Qaeda has claimed the responsibility for the Marriott blast that took place in Islamabad on September 20, 2008, and threatened to attack Saudi Airlines' offices, and important installations in Pakistan, a private TV channel reported on Monday.
According to the channel, immediately after Al Qaeda's threat, the federal government directed the provincial government to beef up security.
An Interior Ministry source said that the Saudi embassy had received a message through an email in which Al Qaeda had threatened to target Saudi Airlines' offices and other important installations. The source said the Saudi embassy had written to the Pakistani Interior Ministry about Al Qaeda's threat. It also said that External Ministry additional secretary Imran Khan Al Sherazi had requested the Interior Ministry to immediately increase security at Saudi installations across the country.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/03/2009
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#1
Al Qaeda threatens to attack Saudi installations in Pakistan.
right before my daughter goes to bed, she gets in a little frenzy. For some reason, this article reminds me of that.
#2
I raised a Daughter, it's simple, she doesn't want to go to bed. Keep her up a bit later, snd she'll fold like a rug.
I made one rule, have any homework done, and stay up as long as you like, wasn't long before she set her own bedtime. After all wake up time was still the same, to get to school on time.
A few mornings napping in her cornflakes did it.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
03/03/2009 11:53
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RJ, We didn't put them to bed early because THEY needed the sleep, but because WE needed them asleep.
#4
AH HA, in that case do as my grandmother did, when they needed time alone they'd throw a roll of pennies out in he front yard, and when we found them all we could come back in (Sometimes they'd throw 49)
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
03/03/2009 17:12
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#5
I don't care who ya are, this thread's funny right here!
Posted by: Larry the Rantburg Guy ||
03/03/2009 20:13
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Aswat al-Iraq: Joint forces on Monday arrested 16 wanted men and seized an amount of ammunition during a crackdown operation in southern Basra, the media office of the Basra police said.
"Joint police-army forces launched a wide-scale security operation in Umm Rusas island in southern Basra, where they arrested 16 wanted men," the office told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. "The forces seized a large amount of weapons and ammunition," it added.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/03/2009
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BRUNEI has defended its tough penalties against illegal immigrants after revealing that nearly 400 foreigners were whipped in the past five years for settling unlawfully in this oil-rich sultanate, a news report said on Monday.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#2
I stumbled across an old Powerpoint show I got in an e-mail months ago that told a similar stor with stick figures and bad words.
The conclusion also applies to Global Warming™:In the world of finance, too many quants see only the numbers before them and forget about the concrete reality the figures are supposed to represent. They think they can model just a few years' worth of data and come up with probabilities for things that may happen only once every 10,000 years. Then people invest on the basis of those probabilities, without stopping to wonder whether the numbers make any sense at all.
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/03/2009 6:48
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#3
well said, Bobby.
Those who banked on a loser like Al Gore becoming a winner were the same kind of people who banked on Wall Street profiting from the sub prime craze.
The moral here is that a Nobel Prize is as worthless as AIG stock.
#4
Excellent - Chinese tires, pet food, milk, and now Chinese math. Of course, for Wall Street to have been hurt, they had to have bought what was being sold. And they did - hook, line and sinker. Guess what? The same short cuts the Chinese have taken in making tires, pet food and milk were present in this guy's math. And the smartest guys in the room bought it anyway - it would be have been politically-incorrect to do otherwise.
It's the same mistake made by cost-cutting American vendors with dollar signs in their eyes who decided to outsource manufacturing to China without carefully inspecting each shipment received from their Chinese suppliers. They brought it on themselves. Actually, given that Uncle Sam is on the hook for bailout expenses, they brought it on our heads.
The story has a happy ending - he's back in China working for the government. Here's to hoping that this math whiz will do for the Chinese all the good things he's been doing for our capital markets.
#6
Impressive title, but this was only one of many models used in the financial markets, and the models aren't the cause.
The primary cause of the financial breakdown is too much debt, private and public, domestic and worldwide.
The secondary causes are 1)the intertwining of assets and liabilities between financial institutions, which makes it difficult to allow the weak to fail without dragging down others, 2)public policy initiatives to push credit to weak borrowers (both domestic households and emerging economies), and 3)keeping interest rates too low for too long.
Wall Street was the (willing) facilitator, the models were tools. There weren't any models in 1929, but the world ended up in much the same place.
#7
warnings about its limitations were largely ignored
When engineers do this, buildings collapse. But we don't blame the formula, we blame the engineers. Like the government that pushed mortgages for uncreditworthy people and now blames deregulation, the financial community would like to blame a formula. The truth is incompetence and greed, not a formula.
#9
The problem with this model is the same problem with ALL models of complex systems.
There is a need to simplify the equations or it makes no sense and is worthless. See his use of gamma as a constant. This is the same kind of crap that the AGW people try and pull off with their idea that the effect of the Sun is a minor (constant) factor.
Mass human psychology cannot be successfully modeled such that individual behavior is understandable. Just as with climate there are too many variables that are not quantifiable for a model to work reliably for all cases.
If this was deliberate on Li's part (which I doubt) he would be the perfect con-man. Cause, remember, you can't con an honest man. The people conned, seduced and bamboozled were so because they were in the market for cheap riches and heard what they wanted to hear.
#10
The crucial part of the article is where it points out that everyone who understood the limitations of the formula were not authorized to make investment decisions, and everyone who was authorized to make investment decisions didn't understand the formula.
This is a perscription for disaster.
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
03/03/2009 11:33
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#11
No, the perfect formula for disaster was the fact CEOs were not playing with their own money and that there were no provisions about losses and ticking time bombs.
Let's see: as a CEO my ultimate goal is not having my company make money but myself making money. Ok? Now, consider this. I get my company grow on a solid basis and get paid 10 for two years that is I make twenty. Or, I go the glitz way manage to push the stock through the rood for one year, cash 100 and next year it is revaled that I invested on smoke and mirrors and company bankrupts. Total gain 100 instead of 20. This is not theoretical since a lot of the CEOs who were at the helm during the meltdown have retired with enough money to buy a small country. Had they faced the prospective of the 100 being taken way and they being liable for damages the bubble would have never taken these proportions.
#12
as a CEO my ultimate goal is not having my company make money but myself making money But, but, if people really understand that, they will never invest in the stock market. Maybe they are beginning to understand it now.
#13
For many many years, financial CEOs were compensated mainly in salary with relatively small bonuses, a little stock and large pensions tied to the company's health. This rewarded longer term thinking and prudence.
Then in the early 90s there was a huge push to shift compensation to 'pay for performance'. This shift came as a result of ordinary people now owning stock in 401ks and hearing about skyrocketing valuations on tech IPOs.
Boards gave in under pressure from stockholders. Older style CEOs were eased out and risk takers deliberately hired.
That's the background to JFM's comment about ultimate goals. CEOs weren't the only or even the first ones to be greedy. The roots lie in shareholders who saw their new, self-traded or at least personally owned, stock accounts as get rich schemes in the Clinton go-go years.
#14
Then in the early 90s there was a huge push to shift compensation to 'pay for performance'. This shift came as a result of ordinary people now owning stock in 401ks and hearing about skyrocketing valuations on tech IPOs. Boards gave in under pressure from stockholders. Nope, ordinary stockholders did not push for this drastic revision of corporate incentives, that was a job for the insiders. Once upon a time, people pooled their resources in public corporations so as to all share in its profits and suffer its losses. It was like an economic democracy. Some of the gains were from stock appreciation, some from dividends. That basic function of stock ownership and corporate governance went by the boards a long, long time ago.
A similar example (I will tell why at the end)
was Soviet Union. The more you produced the more you were paid but what you produced was evaluated in quantitative not economic terms. So a worker in a tire plant was paid ze big bucks if he produced three or four times what was assigned by the plan. How do you do it? By cutting on finishing and quality control. And the plant manager had no interest in exposing you because he too was paid according to plant's output. Also if he managed to double the production he was rewarded. It was not his fault if the production of cars had not raised in same proportion so zillions of tires were decaying in the warehouses. If he had managed to do it despite not getting a single additional ounce of rubber would not prevent him of being promoted and getting the Lenin order medal. Too bad for the (fortunataly rare) car owners. End result was that over a half of what the Soviet Union produced fell apart before leaving the factory.
So greed is the motor of economy and when you manage to tie it to economic performance (something that it is structurally impossible in socialim) it can produce capitalism's wonderful achievements. But when earnings are not linked to real economic performance it leads to disaster and the higher the incentives the earlier and graver the capsizing as economic agents push in the wrong direction in order to maximize their personal gains.
#18
I understand that, JFM. I have an MBA in finance and operations from a highly rated business school.
With the introduction of computer-traded derivatives, especially 2nd and 3rd order derivatives, however, 'real economic performance' became hard to measure for financial institutions in the short term. And it was in the short term that CEOs began to be compensated.
Yes, highly short-sighted (literally). Once I understood that I became very stodgy and conservative with my own savings at a time when a lot of people I knew were making profits by day trading over the Internet.
Despite the international community's pledging billions to reconstruct the Gaza Strip after Israel razed much of it to the ground during its January offensive, donations have proved futile in the face of Israel's persistent blockade that has prevented key building material from entering the Strip for security reasons. "Hello? This is Mahmoud, over at Hamas! I wanna place an order for eight tons of dynamite... Of course it's for reconstruction... Can you ship that airmail?
As world leaders met in Egypt for a conference on Gaza reconstruction, the irony of such efforts was palpable as Israel continued to block the passage of cement, iron and steel, all essential materials for reconstruction.
" We are facing on the one hand, large sums of money of potential use to the Strip and on the other, no means of using this money in substantive ways, on a large scale "
Michael Bailey, Oxfam
After heavily bombing tunnels at the Rafah border and declaring a unilateral ceasefire, Israel retained full control over Gaza's commercial crossings, through which goods and other materials for rebuilding must pass, in a bid to control reconstruction efforts and seek guarantees that reconstruction projects will not benefit Hamas.
"[U]nless key goods are allowed in and Israel ends its blockade reconstructing Gaza will not happen," the international aid agency Oxfam warned in a press release Sunday.
As important as the financial contributions expected to come out of hte donor's conference are, Oxfam's Jerusalem head officer Michael Bailey warned that they would be meaningless unless pressure is put on Israel to allow essential goods including building materials to enter Gaza.
"We are facing on the one hand, large sums of money of potential use to the Strip and on the other, no means of using this money in substantive ways, on a large scale," Bailey told AlArabiya.net, adding that having a roof over one's head is basic humanitarian need.. Not being able to spend large sums of money does limit the graft potential ...
Posted by: Fred ||
03/03/2009
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#1
Can you ship that airmail?
Oh, I'm sure the IDF could deliver 8 tons of dynamite by airmail...
The U.S. government has agreed to provide an additional $30 billion in taxpayer money to the American International Group and loosen the terms of its huge loan to the insurer, the U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve said Monday.
AIG also reported a $62 billion fourth quarter net loss Monday, the biggest quarterly loss in history. For all of 2008, AIG's loss was $99.3 billion.
The intervention is the fourth time that the United States has had to step in to help AIG, the giant insurer, avert bankruptcy. The government already owns nearly 80 percent of the insurer's holding company as a result of the earlier interventions, which included a $60 billion loan, a $40 billion purchase of preferred shares and $50 billion to soak up the company's toxic assets.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
Another vampire living on the blood of taxpayers.
An investigation committee of the army, led by Quartermaster General of Bangladesh Army Lt Gen Mohammad Jahangir Alam Choudhury, will start probing the BDR mutiny in Pilkhana headquarters today.
Chief of General Staff of Bangladesh Army Lt Gen Sina Ibn Jamali told the press during a briefing at the army headquarters last night that the probe body has six to seven members and if necessary more members will be co-opted. The committee will visit the BDR headquarters today and continue its probe until the investigation ends.
Asked how the BDR mutineers managed to flee their headquarters, he said it will be clear after the investigation. He said those BDR jawans who failed to report back will be considered deserters.
Continued on Page 49
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Somali opposition gunmen drive the government troops out of a southern town despite a recent agreement with the incumbent Somail president.
What's an agreement worth if it can't be broken?
On Monday, Al-Shabaab fighters engaged with the soldiers forcing them out of the El Barde town on the common border with Ethiopia, a Press TV correspondent reported quoting a local Sheikh Dahir Aliyow Moumin.
The troops were seen fighting a rearguard action while fleeing towards the border. Ten soldiers reportedly died in the battle which caused no civilian casualties.
The recent development comes in breach of a peace agreement signed in February between the UIC - al-Shabaab's political front - and President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed.
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#1
I see "Hat boy" is back.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
03/03/2009 11:21
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#2
Every time I see him, I think "Wedgie - SUPER wedgie". Somebody also pulled a sack down over his head.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
03/03/2009 12:12
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#3
A round of bullet entering premolars # 20 and 21 from 270-295 degrees makes my heart sing. Just say'n.
THAI Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva vowed Monday that his government would use 'every means we can' to extradite fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra to serve a two-year jail term.
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A suicide bomber killed five and injured 12 people at a girls' religious school in Pishin district of Balochistan on Monday.
District Police Officer Akbar Raisani confirmed the incident saying that the blast had occurred at a girls' madrassa in Kili Karbala, where a senior leader of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), Maulana Mohammad Khan Sherani, was scheduled to address the school's convocation.
Witnesses said the suicide bomber was a teenager who wanted to get close to the JUI-F leader as soon as he ended his speech.
Protest: JUI-F supporters burnt tyres on the Jinnah Road and shouted slogans against the government for being unable to arrest the elements behind the blast.
JUI-F leader Maulana Abdul Wasay, who is also a senior provincial minister, condemned the incident. He said the JUI would observe a strike across the province today (Tuesday). The police said it was investigating the matter.
According to the witnesses, two men had come to the religious school for the bombing but one of them escaped immediately after the first explosion. Quoting police sources, the JUI leaders said two alleged suspects had been arrested in connection with the blast.
Balochistan Chief Minister Aslam Raisani expressed sorrow over the blast and assured the bereaved families that the government would investigate into the matter to expose those behind the blast.
Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah and Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ebad also condemned the blast and offered condolences to the families of the victims, APP reported.
This article starring:
Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl
Hafiz Abdul Zahir
Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl
Jalath Khan
Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl
Maulana Abdul Wasay
Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl
Maulana Mohammad Khan Sherani
Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl
Muhammad Nasim
Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl
Posted by: Fred ||
03/03/2009
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#1
the Pishin district in bman's back yard is over by the compost pile.
Algerian troops killed seven armed fighters Saturday night during in Larbaâ, Blida province, Tout sur l'Algerie reported on Monday (March 2nd). Information provided by 12 members of a dismantled terror-support group in Blida reportedly led to the operation.
In related news, some 120 terrorists have been killed since last September, Interior Minister Nourredine Yazid Zerhouni told reporters Sunday (March 1st) at a police officer promotion ceremony. While another 322 terrorists were arrested, only 150 weapons were seized, Zerhouni noted, indicating that not all the fighters possess arms.
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(AKI) - Italy will donate 100 million dollars to help rebuild the Gaza Strip after the recent devastating Israeli military offensive there, Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi on Monday told an international conference on Gaza taking place in Egypt. Donors are expected to pledge over 3 billion dollars.
If these suckers can come up with 3 billion dollars I have a few banks they might be interested in. I'll throw in a free toaster ...
"I believe countries will vie with one another to make the biggest donations they can in order to rebuild Gaza as quickly as possible," Berlusconi said.
Don't you have problems in your own country, Silvio? You've got refugees boating in to Lampedusa. You've got banks melting down. You've got unemployment -- when has Italy not had unemployment? You've got the Mafia that still owns most of Sicily and the south of your country. A 100 million dollars might not fix any of these problems, but it sure wouldn't hurt. And a 100 million won't fix Gaza, not now, not ever.
"But we know this won't be enough. When the (future) Palestinian state has received sufficient pledges to ensure a revival of its economy, the entire world should follow through and swing behind it to ensure the Palestinian economy can prosper," Berlusconi added.
He called for all donor states to "strive together in an extra act of responsibility and generosity to do what we can."
"I do not believe there can be true peace and coexistence between two people who have standards of living that vary too greatly," he continued.
Never asking, of course, just why it is that the Israelis live in a first-world country and the neighboring Gazooks live in a third-world shit-hole ...
Berlusconi said the Italian government would like Gaza's airport to be rebuilt and for the Palestinian territories to become a future destination for tourists from the Christian and Islamic world.
Great idea! I'd call it 'Medieval Times' but that name has already been taken. And besides it sounds too .. modern for Gaza ...
Italy, as current president of the G8 group of the world's top economies plus Russia, is already talking to hoteliers, multinationals and budget airlines from all over the world about locating hotels and offices in Gaza and the Palestinian territories, Berlusconi stated.
You could put 'em right next to the greenhouses ...
Berlusconi said it should be possible to get a "a significant number" of the current 400 million European tourists to visit the biblical sites of the Holy Land.
The United Nations has forecast that tourists worldwide will increase by 50 percent over the next eight years from 800 million currently, Berlusconi noted.
Just as soon as Bambi heals this little economic trouble we're having ...
The proposed canal between the Dead Sea and Egypt's Red Sea to provide electricity and potable water to the Palestinian Authority, Israel and Jordan, which would also increase agricultural land in the region is "an important project," Berlusconi said.
Eyup, honest to goodness potable water since the Red Sea is salt water and the Dead Sea is .. saltier water ...
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#1
The idea of the Canal is to provide water for Hydro-Turbines and using the power partly for desalination of The Canal water.
It's the drop to the dead sea that makes the idea worth doing.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
03/03/2009 17:38
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Girls in Pakistan's Swat Valley can attend school but must wear veils that cover their heads and faces, a top official said Monday after the government pledged to impose a version of Islamic law in the area during much-criticized peace talks with Taliban fighters. Provincial chief Minister Amir Haider Khan Hoti also said the government would do its best to install religious judges by a mid-March deadline demanded by a the religious cleric mediating the talks.
Taliban fighters in Swat have destroyed scores of girls' schools in fighting that stretches back more than a year, and at one point declared a ban on female education in the one-time tourist haven.
Many girls' schools have reopened since a cease-fire took hold last month, but the government's pledge to impose a version of Islamic law in the northwest valley has raised the question of whether it will interpret religious rules as harshly as many in the Taliban.
The Swat Taliban and the military agreed last month to an open-ended cease-fire after months of fighting that has killed hundreds and displaced up to one-third of the valley's 1.5 million residents.
No officials have said the peace process would require fighters to hand over their weapons, leading many analysts to speculate it will quickly unravel. American and European officials have also raised concerns that it could turn the valley - located near tribal regions where Al-Qaeda and the Taliban have strongholds - into a safe haven for militants.
In a visit to Swat's main city of Mingora, Hoti told reporters Monday that girls would have access to schooling, but must don the "proper and required dress, which is a culture of this province and Islamic norms." Most girls and woman in the region already wear all-encompassing veils that they drape over the lower half of their faces.
It was unclear whether Hoti's declaration had the force of law, but it was unlikely to apply to the youngest schoolgirls in Swat Valley who often wear small headscarves.
The provincial government in northwestern Pakistan made the pledge to establish Islamic courts in Swat and surrounding areas to Sufi Mohammad, a pro-Taliban cleric who agreed to then negotiate with the Swat Taliban.
Mohammad's son-in-law heads the Swat Taliban, and he himself heads a group that has long pushed for a version of Islamic law to be adopted in parts of the northwest.
Pakistani officials insist the plan will mostly mean changes in the court system, something many local residents unhappy with the inefficient secular courts would welcome.
Mohammad said Sunday he was not happy with the pace of creating the religious courts, and that his followers would stage protests if new, religiously trained judges were not in place by March 15.
Hoti said he expected there will be enough progress on the matter by mid-March to satisfy Mohammad. He also warned both sides to be wary of trouble from "elements" and a "foreign hand" who do not want to see peace in Swat. The comments follow an attack on a security convoy Sunday that the military said was a violation of the ceasefire.
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Aswat al-Iraq: Iraqi army forces on Monday arrested seven wanted men after two bombs exploded in western Mosul, a security source said.
"A force from the 6th brigade of the 2nd division of the Iraqi army arrested seven wanted men in al-Zinjili region in western Mosul," the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. "The arrest operation comes after two bombs went off targeting two army patrols on Sunday (March 1) in al-Islah al-Zeraei region in western Mosul," he added.
A security source had said earlier that three army soldiers were wounded on Sunday when a bomb exploded targeting their vehicle patrol in al-Islah al-Zeraei region, while another bomb detonated targeting another patrol which rushed to the region to carry the wounded.
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Pottu Amman, the feared head of the Tamil Tiger intelligence wing who is wanted for former Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi's assassination, is now commanding the guerrillas against the military in Sri Lanka's north, a media report said Sunday.
Sri Lankan troops on Monday destroyed two boats belonging to the Tamil Tiger rebels during a pre-dawn clash in the northeast of the island, the defence ministry said. It said ground troops repulsed an attack from the Tigers, who launched 15 boats, including four suicide craft, from a lagoon near the Puttumattalan area. The ministry described the rebel attack as a sign of "desperation" and an effort to boost the "disintegrating morale" of the Tamil Tigers, who have been hemmed in to a small jungle area in the northeast after a string of military defeats.
The state-run Sunday Observer reported that Pottu Amman, said to be the second in command in the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), 'himself has stated to command (in the battlefront)', after realising the grave danger the group is facing. 'His (Pottu Amman) voice has been heard for the first time in the radio communications intercepted by the 58 Division,' the report said. The Tamil Tigers are trying to prevent the military from entering the heart of the town of Puthukkudiyiruppu, a small town where the LTTE has had a base for years.
Pottu Amman and LTTE chief Velupillai Prabhakaran are wanted for the 1991 assassination of Gandhi, who was blown up by a woman suicide bomber at an election rally near Chennai. Indian officials say that although Prabhakaran ordered Gandhi's killing, it was Pottu Amman who oversaw the entire operation. The LTTE intelligence unit tasked with killing Gandhi in India reported to Pottu Amman.
The LTTE was now left with less than 600 cadres and another 100 cadres to provide security to the elusive Prabhakaran.
According to the Sunday report, Pottu Amman 'has vowed not to allow troops to enter Puthukkudiyiruppu junction which is being heavily defended by the LTTE'. It said the LTTE, cornered into a 50 sq-km stretch of land in Mullaitivu district, 'is fighting tooth and nail in defending their final stronghold'.
The Observer said the troops were witnessing 'the fiercest battles they have ever faced these days'. It added that the LTTE was exerting maximum pressure on the troops, making maximum use of its firepower despite limitations in the number of fighters. 'They have created a massive (civilian shield), restricting the use of firepower by the security forces,' it said.
The Tigers were also making desperate attempts to break the security forces' defences south of Puthukkudiyiruppu and enter the jungle patches in Oddusuddan and Mullaitivu. Quoting military intelligence sources, the report said the LTTE was now left with less than 600 cadres and another 100 cadres to provide security to the elusive Prabhakaran. 'The only advantage they are having at this moment is heavy firepower and more than 70,000 civilian population trapped in the no fire zone in the coastal belt in the north of Mullaitivu,' the report said.
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#1
So what's up with Mario? He consulting with his travel agent?
MOSCOW, March 2 (RIA Novosti) - Washington has told Moscow that Russian help in resolving Iran's nuclear program would make its missile shield plans for Europe unnecessary, a Russian daily said on Monday, citing White House sources.
Anyone not see this coming? Obama has never liked missile defense and so he's going to sell the Poles and Czechs down the river so as to get Vlad to make nice with Short Round. Any bets on how that goes?
U.S. President Barack Obama made the proposal on Iran in a letter to his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, Kommersant said, referring to unidentified U.S. officials.
Iran's controversial nuclear program was cited by the U.S. as one of the reasons behind its plans to deploy a missile base in Poland and radar in the Czech Republic. The missile shield has been strongly opposed by Russia, which views it as a threat to its national security. The dispute has strained relations between the former Cold War rivals, already tense over a host of other differences.
Who cares if relations are tense? The Russians aren't that important to us anymore. They're not going to start a war with us, they're not going to invade Europe (why bother when they can just turn off the natural gas) and their ambitions are limited by the fact that they have a creaky, unreliable military. Bambi, for all his post-racial, post-partisan hipness, is acting like a certain Cold War figure we all know -- Jimmuah Carter.
The leaders have exchanged letters and had a telephone conversation since Obama was sworn into office in January, Kommersant said. The first high-level Russia-U.S. meeting will take place later this week, when Russia Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov meets with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Geneva.
I'd advise the wait staff to count the silver after lunch, and check both parties ...
Moscow has not yet responded to the proposal by Obama, the paper said, adding that a decision was unlikely to be made during Lavrov and Clinton's meeting.
Correct. Vlad will milk this one for all it's worth. After all, Bambi is willing to make a concession -- why not wait and see if he makes another one? The Russians certainly have time. We're the ones staring at a soon-to-be nuclear capable Iran and the need to spend money on the missile defense site. Russia has nothing at risk here, so Vlad will extract all he can.
The issue is likely to be discussed when Obama and Medvedev meet in London on April 2 on the sidelines of the G20 summit of world leaders to address the financial crisis. Earlier reports said Medvedev had also invited the U.S. leader to visit Russia and the date of Obama's first visit to the largest country in the world could be announced in the British capital.
So Bambi will go to Moscow but gives India and Iraq short-shrift. Says everything ...
In an interview on Sunday with Spanish media, Medvedev said he hoped to discuss the issue of missile defense with Obama in London. He also said he hoped the new U.S. administration would display a "more creative approach" to the issue than its predecessors. "We have received signals from our American colleagues," Medvedev said. "I expect those signals will turn into specific proposals. I hope to discuss the issue, which is extremely important for Europe, with U.S. President Barack Obama."
"And then we'll wait and let the Europeans whine for a while."
The United States and other Western nations suspect Tehran of secretly seeking nuclear weapons. Iran says its nuclear program is purely aimed at generating electricity. However, unlike his predecessor, George W. Bush, Obama has stated a preference for diplomatic efforts to resolve the dispute.
Thus undercutting his ability to resolve the dispute ...
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on the NBC television channel on Sunday that the Islamic Republic was not close to building a nuclear bomb. "They're not close to a stockpile, they're not close to a weapon at this point, and so there is some time," Gates said.
C'mon Robert, you know better than that.
Gates also said that the while more sanctions should be imposed against Iran, the door should not be closed to diplomacy.
#1
I can only hope that when the Mullah bomb goes off, the only casualties are the cowards, traitors, and fools who've done so much to stand in the way of our self defense
*spit*
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/03/2009 5:52
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#2
Like Putin, Barry is overcome with FSU nostalgia. The power broker wanna-be factor is off the charts. This relationship will no doubt become an important geopolitical and intelligence resource as delectable crumbs of knowledge are strategically released by Barry's new handlers in Moscow.
#4
Putty and Mahmoud the Weasel are playing him like a violin. The missile defense will not be installed and Iran will continue it's nuclear efforts (aided by the Rooskies). First rule of negotiation: when you give something up, get something for it. It's rather alarming that he hasn't learned this yet.
#5
This will cost more than a missle shield - watch for more concessions. Vlad the chess player realizes Bambi just showed weakness, and he'll exploit it.
#6
Barry is getting something alright, it's called "facetime." This is all leading up to a glorious Russian state visit, probably in May. Also along for Volga River tour, Michelle, granny, Rahm and the kids. I'll leave it to your imagination as to where Barry will be standing while he reviews the troops and assembled masses of flag wavers.
#14
Who was it that said, "History repeats itself, first time as theater, second time as farce"? This must be our second time, because OBambi is certainly a farce.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
03/03/2009 12:48
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A Moroccan man linked to the 2004 Madrid bomb attacks was jailed for 10 years by an appeals court on Monday for his role in the 2003 Casablanca suicide bomb attacks that killed 45 people, the state news agency MAP reported. The court found Hassan el Haski guilty of "setting up a criminal gang to carry out terrorist attacks with the aim of undermining public order through terror and violence," according to MAP.
" It's an unfair verdict, the appeals process was summary "
Khalil El Idrissi
His sentencing on appeal Monday comes less than four weeks after he was acquitted by Morocco's anti-terrorist tribunal and was met with an angry response from his lawyer. "It's an unfair verdict, the appeals process was summary," said Khalil El Idrissi.
Al Haski is not the first person to be probed in connection with both Madrid and Casablanca bombings. Another Moroccan suspect in the 2004 Madrid bombings, Saad Housseini, was given a 15-year jail sentence last week by a Rabat court for his role in the Casablanca attacks
Haski, 41, was extradited to Morocco from Spain, where he was already serving a 13-year-jail term for leading an armed group involved in the Madrid train bombings which killed 191 people. Moroccan lawyers said Haski would serve the sentence imposed in Morocco and then be extradited to Spain to complete his 13-year-sentence there.
Housseini, a chemistry graduate, was suspected of having made the Madrid bombs.
Originally from the Moroccan city of Meknes, he visited Afghanistan in 2002. He was questioned by police upon his return that same year and released without charge.
This article starring:
Hassan el Haski
Saad Housseini
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03/03/2009
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#1
Very unusual. Under King Hassan II they would save the expense of trial and just put a bullet between his eyes and drop him off in some souk.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
03/03/2009 12:46
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Forty-eight army officers, wife of the slain BDR director general and a soldier -- all killed during the February 25-26 mutiny of the border guards at their headquarters -- were laid to eternal rest with state honours in a sombre atmosphere yesterday.
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Several thousand BDR men who left the Pilkhana headquarters during or after the mutiny were found waiting in front of Jhigatala BDR gate with grave anxiety yesterday though the deadline set for them to report back expired Sunday afternoon. Around 1600 BDR men reported back to the headquarters till 6:30 pm yesterday while the number was 414 on Sunday, according to the official figure.
The process of reporting back to the headquarters will continue until completion of the formalities for waiting BDR men, an army officer said.
The BDR men were allowed to enter into the boundary of the Rifles Square for primary interrogation and later were taken to another place for final quizzing, he said. After completion of such interrogation, most of the BDR men were given 15 days leave, the official said.
Apart from the headquarters, 11 BDR personnel reported back in Jessore while 44 in Jaypurhat and Naogaon, 34 in Rajshahi, nine in Sylhet and two in Kishoreganj yesterday.
The gathering of the BDR men at Pilkhana headquarters started on Saturday morning following an order of the home ministry that asked those BDR members who did not take leave but remained absent at their stations, to report back within 24 hours.
"The government started 'Operation Rebel Hunt' from yesterday but we could not get any chance for reporting back. We do not know what is there in our fate," said Ibrahim, an anxiety-ridden employee of BDR, who came here at 6:00 am yesterday but could not get call for report till 6:00 pm. Over 1000 fourth-class BDR employees returned to the headquarters for reporting back, he said.
Gofran Mollik, a BDR subedar of 24 battalion said 394 BDR men of the battalion who fled leaving their uniform were waiting for the call but none of them got the chance till 7:00 pm.
On the other hand, some BDR men became sick due to delay of the proceedings. The family members, who brought their children were also the worst sufferers.
Abdur Razzak, Nayek (signal) of BDR whose leg was broken while fleeing from the headquarters claimed that he was not involved in the mutiny rather he along with his some colleagues saved the life of Lt Col Abu Taslim by concealing him in the INT room. But they are yet to get chance of reporting back till 6:00 pm, he said.
He said about 26 sick BDR men were waiting here for reporting back since Sunday.
Nayek Shah Alam who was at full rest as a cardiac patient following the advice of doctor in the barrack was found waiting till 6:00 pm, he said. Alam was found on a narrow lane of Hazaribagh tannery at about 12 am on February 27 in an unconscious state, he said.
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Pakistan on Monday denied allegations by the Indian media about the involvement of its intelligence agencies in last week's killing of 77 Bangladeshi army officers by Bangladesh Rifles. Responding to the allegations by Times of India, Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit said, "These reports are obviously baseless and malafide." It's only coincidence that it took place a few days after the Banglas started putting 1971 war criminals on trial after 38 years, and it's only coincidence that the mutineers' sugar daddy is a Pak in Bangla clothing.
"Pakistan and Bangladesh enjoy close, friendly and cooperative ties," he said, adding that Pakistan believed in the principles of 'non-intervention and non-interference'.
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#1
"Pakistan and Bangladesh enjoy close, friendly and cooperative ties," he said, adding that Pakistan believed in the principles of 'non-intervention and non-interference'.
"Why, Pakland and East Pakland are like blood brothers. Practically BFFs, even. And with relations nearly as warm as Pakland and Sri Lanka, insh'allah!"
JUI-F chief Fazlur Rehman on Monday telephoned PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif and discussed the mounting tension between the PPP and the PML-N after Sharif brothers' disqualification by the SC, a private TV channel reported. According to the channel, the conversation lasted for 30 minutes. The channel said a meeting between the two leaders was also likely in the coming days. Earlier, the JUI-F chief told another TV channel he was making efforts for reconciliation between the two major parties.He said Pakistan was passing through a critical phase in which such confrontation could prove dangerous. Fazl said the current crisis could harm democracy.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
now there's a hell-fire invitation
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/03/2009 5:58
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UNIDENTIFIED gunmen attacked the bus taking the Sri Lankan cricket squad and its police escort to a cricket stadium in the eastern Pakistan city of Lahore today, according to witnesses and cricket officials. Sri Lankan media, quoting the sports minister, said four players received minor injuries in the attack - Kumar Sangakkara, Ajantha Mendis, Thilan Samaraweera and Tharanga Paranavithana.
Pakistan television channels news channels said four people were killed.
A witness said he believed two police commandos were killed along with a regular policeman and a traffic warden.
Shopkeeper Ahmed Ali said the two police commandos had been driving behind the team bus when they were hit. "It was a very heavy firing and I heard at least two explosions at the time," said a witness who had been on his way to cover the test match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Pakistan only invited the Sri Lanka team to tour after India's team pulled out with security concerns following the militant attacks on the Indian city of Mumbai in November.
#2
For those of you not familiar with cricket, Sri Lankan is one of the top international teams.
Sri Lanka was doing Pakistan a big favour by touring Pakistan when the likes of India, England and Australia had refused and pulled out of matches due the terrorism risk.
No international team will go to Pakistan for the next 20 years.
The Sri Lankans were on their way to the Gaddafi Stadium when their bus was attacked by five armed terrorists near Liberty market. Habibur Rehman, chief commissioner of police, said 12 masked terrorists fired at the Sri Lankan team bus. The gunmen shot at the wheels of the bus and also injured the driver. A grenade was also thrown at the bus but it missed. The others players injured are Ajantha Mendis, Thilan Samaraweera and Tharanga Paranavitana.
"The bus came under attack as we were driving to the stadium, the gunmen targeted the wheels of the bus first and then the bus," Mahela Jayawardene told Cricinfo. "We all dived to the floor to take cover. About five players have been injured and also Paul Farbrace [a member of the support staff], but most of the injuries appear to be minor at this stage and caused by debris."
Sri Lanka's sports minister Gamini Lokuge said Farbrace and Samaraweera were hospitalised while the others have been discharged. "Mahela and the other three had very minor injuries and they have already reached their hotel," Lokuge said.
The reserve umpire Ahsan Raza was also injured in the attack. Nadeem Ghauri, the TV umpire, who was traveling in a bus behind the Sri Lanka team bus said the firing continued for some time. Umpire Steve Davis, who was on the team bus, called the terrorist attack "terrible". "I'm lost for words," he said.
#9
BBC is running the story with essentially the same details (of course Auntie has to use the word "gunmen" rather that terrorist but that's our batty Aunty Beeb). Of interest is this declaimer in their solicitation for comments:
Were you at the game in Lahore? Did you witness the shooting? Tell us your thoughts by filling in the form below. Do not endanger yourself or others.
Now why do you s'pose they felt it necessary to add that?
Lahore police chief Rehman said "between 12 and 14 men" took part in the assault and they resembled Pashtuns, the ethnic group that hails from close to the Afghan border, the stronghold of al-Qaida and the Taliban. He said officers were hunting them down.
And:
Authorities will also consider possible links to Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger separatist rebels who are being badly hit in a military offensive at home, though Sri Lankan military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara says authorities there did not believe the group was responsible.
#14
At least one of the Twitter comments blamed the Heathen Hindoos, saying that weapons retrieved at the scene were made in India.
How convenient: weapons dropped by the perfidious bad guyz, and they didn't bother acquiring them locally, where you can't walk a block without tripping over weaponry.
And they disguised themselves as Pashtoons.
As someone once said in another context: "Wotta country!"
Posted by: Fred ||
03/03/2009 9:28
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#15
When do the Pakistanis come out to say this has nothing to do with Pakistan?
PAKISTANI police were interrogating five people today in connection with a deadly ambush on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore, security officials said.
"We have detained five people for questioning following the attack," senior local police officer Amjad Saleemi said.
A security official confirmed the arrests.
"Police detained five people who they believe may have information about the attackers," the official said on condition of anonymity.
Khaled Farooq, chief of police in Punjab province, said an investigation had been launched but declined to give any details.
"I have set up a very high-powered investigation team. An experienced officer is heading the team. God willing, we will give you good results," he told a news conference.
"I will not divulge anything prematurely," he said.
Bonus question: Cricket legend Imran Khan is astonished they all got away. Is it really so astonishing? Of course, the answer to that is a stain on the honour of the Land of the Pure and must be avanged...
#22
perhaps if we sealed Pakland off, like a petri dish?
And don't forget Pasteur's admonition:
"If you want to avoid a lot of the sh*t hitting the fan, keep your cultures separate"
#23
The country's largest and wealthiest province was plunged into turmoil last week after its most popular politician, opposition leader and former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, was barred from holding elected office by the Supreme Court in a controversial ruling. The decision sparked angry protests across the province and opened up a major rift with the government.
Considering who's backing Sharif, this really isn't surprising.
#24
tu3031 asked: When do the Pakistanis come out to say this has nothing to do with Pakistan?
The answer, at about 4:00pm Eastern time:
A former Pakistani spy chief with Islamist sympathies speculated that the attack could have been carried out by Sri Lankan Tamil Tiger rebels backed by Indian intelligence as a payback for what happened in Mumbai.
"It's all too obvious that it is the handiwork of the Indian intelligence," retired general Hamid Gul said.
Hey, Hamid. Howz it hanging? And why haven't you hung, yet?
Mar 03, Lahore: Pakistani police have arrested five people today in connection with the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore.
A Pakistani security official confirmed the arrests saying that police detained five people believed to have information about the attackers and declined to give further details on the investigation.
Barry Rubin Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has arrived in Israel on the first of what will no doubt be many visits. Beyond the simple self-interest of making her feel appreciated, most Israelis are genuinely glad that she was appointed to this job. The reason why is critical to understanding the future of U.S. Middle East Policy and U.S.-Israel relations.
What is most important is that Clinton is regarded as a realist. She watched her husband try really hard and put his prestige on the line in attempting to achieve an Israeli-Palestinian peace and saw him being made to look foolish by Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat and Syrian ruler Hafiz al-Asad who rejected his proposals. During the presidential campaign she courageously--and to her own cost--tried to explain the dangers to those dreaming only of a fast getaway from Iraq.
Moreover, it's not just that she spoke positively about Israel--a senator from New York could do no less--but that the way she explained her positions seemed to indicate she really understood the situation.
All things considered, then, one can believe the secretary of state doesn't accept four myths that some--though not all--of her colleagues in Washington and Europe embrace. She seems to know that:
--The Israel-Palestinian conflict is not the fulcrum of the Middle East whose solution will make Islamism, terrorism, Iran's nuclear weapons' program, anti-Western or anti-American sentiments, Iraq's instability, and all other regional problems disappear.
--The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not easily solvable by pressure, the perfect plan, or hard work. Not only is peace not at hand, it isn't even at arms' length.
--Whatever part of the blame for continued conflict is due to Israel, a very large and decisive portion rests on the Palestinian side for reasons including the weakness of the Palestinian Authority and its leadership, the division into Hamas and Fatah regimes, and other issues.
--Bringing Hamas into the negotiating process is a mistake that would doom any chance for peace and might even bring the Palestinian Authority (PA) crashing down altogether. U.S. interests require that the PA survives as recognized Palestinian leader, while Hamas is an Iranian client whose triumph would hurt the U.S. strategic position in the region.
Secretary of State Clinton also knows that the new Israeli government is not yet in place and her first visit must be dedicated to getting acquainted with leaders and issues.
What are the problems for bilateral relations? A critical aspect is that no matter how skeptical Clinton is of the chances for progress, she wants to make it appear that she is actively engaged and making progress. The thing that will make her furious is that which makes her look bad. And she wants Israel to make her look good.
On some items, this is no problem. A high level of cooperation with the PA, supporting funds and military training for it within reason, is in Israel's interest. The West Bank economic and security situation is improving. Here, Clinton and Israel should agree.
Her next goal is a bit more difficult but reasonable: that Israel should dismantle more settler outposts, as Israel has promised. True, this presents political difficulties and potential confrontations with settlers, yet Israel's government should assert its authority. A serious effort on this front would bring a positive return from Washington with no cost to Israel's security.
Beyond this, the United States is likely to ask for Israel to stop expanding settlements, even for natural growth. Since the peace process's start 16 years ago Israel has publicly asserted that building homes for "natural growth," new adults on existing settlements, is part of the Oslo agreement.
If this were to change, Clinton could claim a victory of stopping settlements, usually portrayed by the PA as its main grievance, that is, excuse for not doing more itself. Such a concession should not be unthinkable but the question is what would Israel get in exchange? U.S. pressuring the PA to stop officially inspired anti-Israel incitement; changing its schools and media to advocate a two-state solution; greater U.S. backing for Israel's security regarding Gaza? Asking Israel to do something on the settlement issue is all right if--but only if--there is more real compliance from the Palestinian side.
Finally and importantly there is the question of Gaza. Clinton wants some quick success on that front, namely a ceasefire and resolution of humanitarian problems there. It will be tempting for her to insist that Israel reopens crossings unconditionally, without a real ceasefire or any release of Hamas's Israeli hostage. And Israel will explain why it has legitimate concerns which must be realized, lest a new war crisis emerge.
Of course, the two governments must begin to reach understandings about Iran. The new administration is determined to try engaging Tehran. Israel must convey the point that Washington should be alert to Iranian efforts to bully or fool the new president. The goal of stopping Iran's nuclear weapons' drive has to be the top priority; unilateral concessions in exchange for nothing should be avoided.
And the White House will hopefully not be shy in admitting when it finally concludes that Iran doesn't want to be friends. President Barack Obama has spoken of opening Iran's clenched fist. The danger is that Iran will do so only in order to slap America silly.
Early on this administration must comprehend that reputations will not be built, Nobel Peace Prizes won, or Arab and European cooperation won by sacrificing Israel's vital interests. In exchange, Clinton must see that Israel wants to make her look successful and to cooperate on reasonable terms. On such a basis of understanding and good will a very successful partnership can be built.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/03/2009
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#1
Clinton's personal appointments in the Dept of State have been mainline types who generally embrace the previous 60 years of Israeli-American strategic relationships.
However, Obama's appointments include some very anti Israel types (e.g., Chas Freeman) and Obama insisted on placing Samatha Powers in the Dept of State.
It will be an interesting ride until this settles out.
According to various sources, Huma is working in the Office of the Sec of State doing 'assistant' type work. She is also dating someone in the H of Representatives (presumably Tony Weiner, a pro Israel guy who represents a district in NYCity)
The Israeli corruption watchdog slams the Defense Ministry for its failure to develop an anti-missile system, countering the rocket-firings.
Those can't possibly work. Talk to the Dhimmicrats ...
Comptroller Micha Lindentrauss presented a report to acting Knesset Speaker Michael Eitan in Eitan's office on Monday afternoon, The Jerusalem Post reported.
Lindentrauss's criticism comes amid rocket-firings by Palestinian factions and the army's failure to contain the attacks.
The officials slammed the lack of coordination and a flawed decision-making process in the Defense Ministry which has hampered efforts to develop an effective anti-missile system. "Significant errors were found in the decision-making process regarding developing active defense systems against surface-to-surface missiles, errors that could cause development and mobilization of systems that do not satisfy all of the operational needs," he said.
The official warned that such handlings of issues could lead to "needless financial expenditures and a waste of time."
The Israeli Army also came under fire by Lindentrauss over its failure to take into consideration all of the operational possibilities when devising plans for developing the system. The official also accused Israeli Army Chief Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi of unauthorized funding of the Magic Wand anti-missile system.
The two anti-missile systems are supposed to counter rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip. Israeli has failed to halt the attacks despite fighting a bloody war in December and January that left at least 1300 Palestinians dead.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/03/2009
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#1
I keep saying this because I keep believing it. Israel should simply counter every rocket launch with 1000 rockets of basically the same type right back at the neighborhood that launched at Israel. Simple and, I will bet, effective. Launch 10 missiles at Isreal, eat 10,000 in return.
#2
The rockets will never stop as long as Gaza exists. The only way to stop them is to totally destroy Gaza, flush out all the "palestinian refugees" (I.E., Arab propaganda population), and annex Gaza to Israel. You'll then have rockets being launched from Egypt, but not as many, and not as often. It'll also give Abbas (or his successor) something to think about other than building up its cadre of suicide bombers.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
03/03/2009 13:42
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If it won't be rockets, it'll be something else. As long as Islam is on the march, Israel will remain one of its prime targets. And Islam will stay belligerent as long as tranzis rule EUbambia.
Monday the government announced an additional 3200 troops to patrol the city, for a total of 8000. Sergio Lozano Renteria, 37, a Juarez native said "I haven't seen the Army make a difference. Things are getting worse every day, and every day more and more people get killed." A fruit vendor who requested anonymity said, "If things don't change, I think you will see every citizen carrying a gun soon."
So far in 2009, more than 300 homicides have been committed in Juarez, including nine last weekend. In 2008, about 1,600 people died violently. The troops are wearing new uniforms to distinguish them from drug cartel gunman, who also wear military style fatigues.
U.S. citizens rarely visit Juarez.
"We need the gringitos to come back," said Maria Guadalupe Santiago Gutierrez. "The violence is not aimed at them, and if you are not involved in the drug business, nothing will happen to you. Please put that in the paper. People in El Paso don't understand that if they don't come buy things from us, we don't eat."
#1
"The violence is not aimed at them, and if you are not involved in the drug business, nothing will happen to you. Please put that in the paper. People in El Paso don't understand that if they don't come buy things from us, we don't eat."
Well, those countless years of hassling and extorting the gringos by the local corrupt police didn't help either amigo.
#3
maybe the gringos will come back. What division is stationed at Ft. Bliss now?
I was stationed at Beumont hospital in El Paso after coming back from Nam. Couldn't tell much difference between the culture in Juarez and the one outside the gate at Tan Son Nhut.
Attorneys have asked the UN-backed Khmer Rouge genocide tribunal for permission to interview Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and former King Norodom Sihanouk, according to confidential documents obtained on Monday. Bubbles is still alive? He must be 189 or so...
The request was made by the defense team for Nuon Chea, the main ideologist of the regime whose 1975-1979 rule left an estimated 1.7 million Cambodians dead. I think Bubbles was in Gay Paree and/or Beijing subsequent to the Khmer Rouge takeover. Hun Sen was in Vietnam. I imagine any testimony they could give would be minimally relevant to procedings against Mr. Ideologue of Mass Murder.
The long-delayed tribunal begins its first trial later this month, while the trial for Nuon Chea - charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity and facing life imprisonment - is expected to begin later this year. Life imprisonment doesn't last as long as being dead, especially when you've been allowed to grow old in relative comfort waiting for your trial to start.
The confidential court documents obtained by The Associated Press also request testimony from current senate president Chean Sim and assembly president Heng Samrin. Both men, along with Hun Sen, were members of the Khmer Rouge regime but defected to Vietnam before it was ousted. Hun Sen and Heng Samrin were Vietnam-style commies at the time, both members of the Indochina Communist Party. I've always thought it was much to both men's credit that they were too good to get involved with the Khmer Rouge approach to good government.
'They are likely in possession of much relevant information to the pending judicial investigation,' one of the documents said. All have denied any role in atrocities. ... the atrocities being the reason, presumably, they left for Vietnam.
Hun Sen, who has ruled Cambodia for more than two decades, was a former Khmer Rouge soldier who fled to Vietnam in 1977 and became prime minister of a Vietnamese-installed communist government after the regime's fall. I said that.
Son Arun, Nuon Chea's Cambodian attorney, confirmed the authenticity of the documents but said he had not personally filed the request, an apparent effort to distance himself from the move to put Cambodia's strongman on the stand. Hun Sen is still in charge, and will remain that way...
The defense team said that the 86-year-old former King Sihanouk, Bubbles lies about his age. He's at least a hundred years older than that.
who briefly served as a symbolic head of state after the Khmer Rouge took power, had 'rare access to the Khmer Rouge leadership, their strategies and policies' and was 'privy to a range of sensitive information.' He was a figurehead and he's got the physical courage of a sparrow. I think he was in China when he was annointed "king." Prior to that he had possessed a bit more power as Prince Sihanouk. I think he was dethroned by the Cambodian regime in 1971 or thereabouts, which was why he left for Paris. Or maybe just stayed there, since I think he spent most of his time there...
The tribunal's first trial, scheduled to begin March 30, is for 65-year-old Kaing Guek Eav, better known as Duch, who headed the Khmer Rouge's largest torture center. In a world with any justice in it that trial would last about five minutes, followed by a quick but maximally painful execution. It also would have taken place at least 25 years ago.
Later trials will be held for Khieu Samphan, the group's former head of state; Ieng Sary, its foreign minister; and his wife Ieng Thirith, who was minister for social affairs. Kill them all, just like they did their countrymen. They're vermin.
Posted by: Fred ||
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A MODERATE 5.7-magnitude earthquake struck off Indonesia's Sulawesi island Monday, seismologists said, but there was no immediate report of casualties or damage and no tsunami warning.
The quake, which hit at 7.03 am (8.03am Singapore time), was centred 24 kilometres (15 miles) southwest of Palu in Central Sulawesi and at a depth of 30 kilometres under the seabed, the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency said.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/03/2009
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Security forces arrested three suspicious men during a raid on a house in Jamrud tehsil of Khyber Agency on Monday, sources said. The suspects were identified as Roohullah, Hiadayatullah and Syed Agha; Afghan refugees and residents of Shakas area. The sources said the men had been arrested for their links to the Taliban and for harbouring kidnappers.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/03/2009
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At night, 11-year-old Salah Abbas Hisham wakes up screaming. Sometimes, in the dark, he silently attacks the boy next to him in a tiny Baghdad orphanage where 33 boys sleep on cots or on the floor.
Salah, who saw both his parents blown apart in a car bomb blast two years ago, can never be left alone at night, said Ahmed Abdul-Baqi, the night shift social worker at the Safe House, a private orphanage in Baghdad. "He wakes up in the night and tries to hit or even to choke the boy beside him," said Abdul-Baqi.
His hands always trembling and unable to speak properly, Salah is one of an army of uncounted orphans left behind by six years of sectarian slaughter and insurgency that was unleashed by the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq...
And the 30 years of Ba'athist rule that preceded it ...
Posted by: Fred ||
03/03/2009
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#3
Salah, who saw both his parents blown apart in a car bomb blast two years ago... six years of sectarian slaughter and insurgency that was unleashed by the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq
While we're not into car bombs, clearly it is our fault that Islam promotes sectarian slaughter.
#4
Salah, who saw both his parents blown apart in a car bomb blast two years ago
OK, just who set off the bomb? The Americans? Or is that the lie he's being fed here.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
03/03/2009 11:46
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#5
Of course there is not any possibility of adoption to loving christian homes in western Europe or American. Have to leave the poor kids to fester in glorious islamic orphanage...
Posted by: George Thomble6396 ||
03/03/2009 22:46
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Freddie Mac Chief Executive Officer David Moffett resigned, six months after being tapped by regulators to lead the mortgage finance-company through its government-run conservatorship. Moffett, 57, "indicated that he wants to return to a role in the financial-services sector," and the company will name an interim CEO before March 13, McLean, Virginia-based Freddie said in a statement today.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/03/2009
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I guess that 500k and no bonus thing sort of sucks. Time for a change. Family and stuff. Bet you can buy the whole thing next year with your new company from some dipshit who takes over your job next week.
Two prime accused of a case filed in connection with the sensational Chittagong arms haul gave confessional statements before a Chittagong court yesterday.
Chittagong Metropolitan Magistrate Md Osman Gani started recording the confessional statements of the accused--Hafizur Rahman and Din Mohammad--under section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) around 2:00pm. It took around two-and-half-hours to record the 10-page statement of Hafizur Rahman and two-page statement of Din Mohammad.
Sources said the accused provided new and important information regarding the haul of 10 truck-loads of weapons at Chittagong Urea Fertiliser Ltd jetty on April 2, 2004. However, the contents of their confessional statements could not be known.
Tight security was maintained at the court while their statements were being recorded. The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) had taken the two on remand in two phases.
Posted by: Fred ||
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Iraq's special criminal court Monday acquitted Tariq Aziz, the man who once served as the urbane, cigar-smoking public face of Saddam Hussein's rule, delivering the most significant not-guilty verdict in a series of prosecutions for crimes against humanity that occurred before the U.S. invasion in 2003.
Aziz, who will turn 73 next month, remained in custody, facing charges in two other cases. Only hours after his acquittal, he appeared before another judge to defend himself against charges that he was involved in a massacre of Kurds in 1983.
Even so, the verdict - the first in a case against him - was viewed as a sign of judicial fairness and independence for a controversial tribunal that has been deliberating the most heinous crimes of the Saddam era.
Aziz, who served as foreign minister of Iraq during the invasion of Kuwait in 1990 and as Saddam's deputy prime minister during the U.S. invasion in 2003, was acquitted of culpability in a brutal crackdown against Shiite protesters that followed the assassination of a revered cleric, Grand Ayatollah Mohammed al-Sadr, in 1999.
The court convicted Ali Hassan al-Majid, a former aide known as "Chemical Ali" for ordering poison gas attacks against the Kurds in the 1980s, for his role in those killings, sentencing him to death for a third time.
Two other Saddam aides, Saif al-Din al-Mashhadani and Uglah Abid Siqir al-Kubaysi, both senior Baath party officials who appeared on the infamous deck of playing cards from the U.S. government for Iraq's most wanted officials, were also acquitted in the case.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/03/2009
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#1
Tariq Aziz was, almost assuredly, not part of Saddam's "inner circle". Saddam wouldn't have trusted him with much because he wasn't from Saddam's tribe, he is a Christian, and he hung around with foreigners a lot.
Aziz was sort of like Baghdad Bob (in fact, didn't Baghdad Bob work for Aziz?). His job would have been making deals with foreigners and not having much say in domestic goings on. He would have been instrumental in the "oil for food" scandal, though.
#2
I didn't pursue it, but the word a few years back was that Aziz was implicated in the marsh Arabs case. That sounded odd from the start, but as I said I never followed up, as there was plenty to do with the other cases then under way.
Nice - I mean depressing - to see the standard distortion still at work. "Controversial" panel to whom? Self-dealing, failed, contemptible Euro & UN-judicial geeks who are paid by the week? Preening puerile purists? And defendants have been acquitted since the outset. Two were sprung in the opening case - Dujayl. The US advisors never thought they belonged in the dock, and the panel agreed in the end.
"Judicial fairness" and "independence" were not heretore evident in the tribunal's deliberations? Really? Evidence, please?
Contested elections, a free press, the first national trials for crimes against humanity in history, all in one of the world's most pathologically dysfunctional regions - made possible by the sacrifice and courageous integrity and skill of many in uniform (US and others), and a tiny handful of intrepid political leaders - yawn.
Outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert vowed on Sunday to hit back "severely" if fighters in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip continue to fire rockets into Israel, as President Shimon Perez urged world powers to hand over the Gaza reconstruction funds to the PLO and not to Hamas.
As the Israeli cabinet met, a rocket fired from Gaza slammed into empty ground south of the Israeli port city of Ashkelon, causing neither casualties nor damage, an Israeli military spokeswoman said.
"If the rocket fire from Gaza continues, we will hit back severely, so much so that the terrorist organizations will understand that Israel is not ready to resign itself to this," Olmert said at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting.
"At the end of the week, 11 rockets were fired against southern Israel," he said. "Defense Minister Ehud Barak will give directions so that Israeli forces bring calm to southern Israel."
Olmert was speaking a day before an international conference on rebuilding Gaza is to be held in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.
Posted by: Fred ||
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"Don't MAKE me come back there again!"
*sigh*
Yeah, I guess if they keep it up they are really going to be in trouble. Maybe Olmert will put them on restriction for a WHOLE MONTH!
This day in History:
1284 - Statute of Rhuddlan incorporated the Principality of Wales into England
1923 - TIME magazine is published for the first time. (Let's hope 2009 will be the last)
1931 - The United States officially adopts "The Star-Spangled Banner" as its national anthem.
1938 - Oil is discovered in Saudi Arabia.
1945 - World War II: The American and Filipino troops take in Manila the Philippines.
1958 - Nuri as-Said becomes the prime minister of Iraq for the 14th time.
1969 - Apollo program: NASA launches Apollo 9 to test the lunar module.
1991 - An amateur video captures the beating of Rodney King (Can't we all just get along)
Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla Sunday said Islamic banking had escaped the global economic crisis relatively unscathed as he took a swipe at the Western financial system.
"The latest global crisis has taught us that an economic (system) which is based on unreal transactions will be easily ruined," he told a pre-opening conference of the fifth world Islamic economy forum.
He said the Islamic banking and finance system had proved its strength by escaping relatively untouched by the global financial crisis.
"We all know that Muslim countries with an Islamic economic system during this current (crisis) situation are relatively unaffected by serious problems," he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
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right--take away the oil and those banks would be used for storage of dead locusts so the izzlamoids could eat some protein other than the occasional desert rat
Posted by: SON OF TOLUI ||
03/03/2009 3:50
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Muslim countries with an Islamic economic system during this current (crisis) situation are relatively unaffected by serious problems except for Islam.
Olexander Pavlenko, a young computer programmer, is one of tens of thousands of Ukrainians who cannot get their money out of the bank. He stood in line in Kiev at Nadra Bank and Ukrprombank, two big troubled banks, planning to withdraw more than $10,000 (7,950, £7,125). But like many others, he was told the cash was not available. "I stood in line a couple times with other bank clients who were protesting, crying and screaming. But the bank told me: 'Sorry, we simply don't have the money now and can't help you.'"
With about nine banks now under the central bank's special control, Ukrainians are increasingly worried. Even those with their money in apparently solid banks, including those controlled by west European banking groups, are concerned because the central bank has banned the early redemption of term deposits, the most popular form of saving in Ukraine.
Altogether, hryvnia bank deposits have dropped 20 per cent since September and those in foreign currency 10 per cent.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Steve White ||
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HAVANA -- President Raul Castro abruptly removed some of Cuba's most powerful officials Monday, putting a personal stamp on the government in the biggest shakeup since he took over from his ailing brother Fidel Castro a year ago.
The changes replaced some key Fidel loyalists, including the longtime foreign minister and the secretary of the Council of State, with men closer to Raul. They also reduced the enormous powers of a vice president credited with saving Cuba's economy after the fall of the Soviet Union.
But analysts saw no immediate indication that the changes are related to hopes for closer U.S.-Cuban ties now that both countries have new presidents.
The abrupt shakeup, which also consolidated some of Cuba's many ministries to create a "more compact and functional structure," was the first major reorganization under Raul Castro. It was announced at the end of the midday news, after the weather and sports.
The most prominent of those ousted, Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque, was the youngest of Cuba's top leaders and had been widely mentioned as a possible future president. Perez Roque, 43, had been Fidel Castro's personal secretary before becoming foreign minister almost a decade ago.
American Muslims are more likely than their counterparts in the rest of the world to feel accomplished and successful even if they feel socially alienated from mainstream society, according to a poll published Monday. Muslim-Americans had a more positive outlook on the world than Muslims in other countries but also experienced higher levels of discontent than other religious groups in the U.S. according to the poll by the Gallup Organization.
Racially and politically diverse but very religious, Muslim Americans are younger and more highly educated than the typical American but resemble Americans in their outlook on life more than that of Muslims in predominantly Muslim countries.
The Gallup survey Muslim Americans: A National Portrait, was conducted by the Gallup's Center for Muslim Studies, is the first of its kind to conduct research on a random selection of American Muslims. Out of 300,000 people interviewed by telephone, Gallup identified 946 Muslims who were selected for the study.
"It is a national portrait in every sense of the word," Magali Rheault, senior analyst with the Gallup's Center for Muslim Studies told AlArabiya.net. "We found that American Muslims signified the mosaic that is America."
Muslim-Americans were found to be thriving more than Muslims in nearly every Muslim-majority country but were less content than other religious groups in the U.S. at 41 percent, 15 percent below Jewish-Americans, for example.
The poll found that Muslims in Saudi Arabia and Germany ranked higher than U.S. Muslims under the "thriving" category, with Saudi Arabia ranking the highest at 51 percent followed by Germany at 47 percent. But less than 20 percent of Muslims in Indonesia, Pakistan, Egypt, Bangladesh, Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan were thriving while those who were "suffering" ranged between 20 and 45 percent.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/03/2009
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#1
"US Muslims thriving but not content"
Then haul your whiny asses back to the hell-holes you came from, where you can again be content to not thrive.
BTW, love the new illustration, Fred. ;-p
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
03/03/2009 0:10
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#2
Mooselimbs ≠ Contentment
Never Have; Never Will
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
03/03/2009 9:45
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They are not content because their very success in a non-muslim country makes them feel guilty and question Islam. That questioning of their very beliefs, even if they do not come to any conclusions, leads to discomfort and discontent.
The Democrats campaigned to take over the reins of the majority in Congress by promising to ''drain the swamp'' of a ''culture of corruption'' by the Republican Party. Examples of Democratic corruption or self-dealing go largely unnoticed. For two weeks now, the national media has ignored a Los Angeles Times report that Rep. Grace Napolitano has paid herself more than $150,000 in interest on $150,000 she loaned herself in her initial 1998 House campaign.
Posted by: Fred ||
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Now that is a really nice self-stimulus package. Too bad, she probably wont get to enjoy it in prison.
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
03/03/2009 10:24
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My package will certainly be stimulated if they throw her fat arss in the slammer.
Stocks broadly sold off on Monday amid fears that a recovery for the global economy and the banking system may still be a long way off, sending market benchmarks past another set of milestones. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 299.64 points, or 4.2%, to 6763.29, its lowest close since April 25, 1997. The stock measure has fallen four straight days and in 10 of the last 12 sessions, declining 14.8% in that span. The Dow is down 25% from its January 2 peak for this year and down 52.25% from its high of 14164.53 on Oct. 9, 2007.
"This market will only stop when people run out of stock to sell"
All 30 Dow components dropped on Monday. Citigroup declined 20% to $1.20. General Electric sank 11% to fall under $8. Other big industrial companies like Boeing, Caterpillar and 3M swooned after a report from the Institute for Supply Management showed that the factory sector remains in dire condition.
Citigroup declined 20% to $1.20. General Electric sank 11% to fall under $8.
"Investors finally understand this recession will be deeper and longer, and the recovery will be shallow," said Joe Battipaglia, chief market strategist for the private client group at Stifel Nicolas. "And the government doesn't have a sense of any solution that might instill confidence."
Since the top of the government doesn't have any sense ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/03/2009
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#1
Banks and FIRE institutions don't wanna come clean about the condition of their books, so this is musical chairs, the DJIA version, in which all chairs but one are removed.
#2
When Barack Obama met with TV anchors at a White House lunch last week, he assured them he likes being president. "And it turns out I'm very good at it," he added.
#4
"This market will only stop when people run out of stock to sell," said Ms. Mogavero.
Safe bet I'd say. Unfortunately Barry could care less, the lower it goes the more Obama Bonds he can cell. He'll be the only interest and dividend paying act in town.
#5
"This market will only stop when people run out of stock to sell," said Ms. Mogavero. This statement is silly and ignorant. The "market" will stop when there are no bids to buy stock.
#6
Why put money into something that obviously lacks integrity Indeed, it's more a "scam market" than a "stock market." When I figured that out, I sold all my stock holdings, about 18 months ago.
#10
Back on November 5th, I wrote that Americans were going to be living in "Zimbabwe North" with the election of Hussein. Unfortunately, that prediction is coming true.
Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele says he has reached out to Rush Limbaugh to tell him he meant no offense when he referred to the popular conservative radio host as an "entertainer" whose show can be "incendiary."
"My intent was not to go after Rush -- I have enormous respect for Rush Limbaugh," Steele said in a telephone interview. "I was maybe a little bit inarticulate. ... There was no attempt on my part to diminish his voice or his leadership."
The dust-up comes at a time when top Democrats are trying to make Limbaugh the face of the Republican Party, in part by using ads funded by labor. Americans United for Change sent a fund-raising e-mail Monday that begins: "The Republican Party has turned into the Rush Limbaugh Party."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/03/2009
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#1
He apologized. Good for him. Apology accepted. The left will make hay of this. BFD. Move on. We've got work to do if we don't want to become serfs..or worse.
What happened to Limbaugh's thick skin? And of course Rush is never "inarticulate" or at a loss for words. Nor has he ever taken a verbal swing at anybody. Nothing Steele said was inaccurate. Limbaugh takes great pride in being "incendiary" and he is very entertaining. Limbaugh owes Steele the apology. Just my umble opinion.
scoff. An apology only matters if the intent was benign to begin with. You must be a leftist as they always value words and feelings over substance. What we need right now is meaningful action if we are to avoid the blatant grasp for power happening right before our eyes.
#4
Steele had a good point. There's a difference between being a bomb thrower and a motivator. It sounds as if Limbaugh moved from the one to the other at CPAC, which is good.
But there's also a difference between being a motivator and being a leader who can get things done. That's Steele's job at RNC.
I haven't forgotten that Rush organized a move to make Obama the candidate over Clinton. Sure, it seemed to many like a clever move at the time -- but how many people here are happy about the results? Do you really think that Hillary, with all her faults, would be doing as much damage as this administration is?
#6
Lotp's point, I take it, is that Hillary is less of an America-hating race baiter than O, and with far less of a cult of personality, she would be doing less damage than the False Messiah.
#8
The surprising comment by Steele on his CNN interview was his endorsement of Affirmative Action. Not that his position prohibits him speaking about his personal beliefs but his suggestion that the RNC should temper their opposition to a failed social engineering scheme. This isnt a reach out as much as it is a reach around. The conservative message needs to be articulated better not changed to accommodate the squeamish. Hiring Madison Avenue to re-brand the RNC as a way to appeal to larger audience is fine as long as core principles are retained. If Steele hasnt noticed, The US Constitution and the Bill of Rights are quite well crafted. Try this one on for size Michael Equal opportunity for all. Cause the DNCs Equal outcome for all is getting stale by the Trillions.
#9
I am not at all convinced that BO would have won had it not been for 9/15 and McCain's ridiculous suspension of his campaign. Whereas, Hildebeast would have been a much more formidable candidate under any circumstances.
But then, I also believe that by 2012 BHO, the New New Deal and the Old New Deal will be seen as inadequate to address the needs of the 21st century.
#10
Excellent point NS. Barry knows his "campaign of economic crisis" won't have any legs by 2010 or 2012. I suspect his staff are all hard at work designing a new crisis or conflict to confound the little please long before 2012.
#11
But then, I also believe that by 2012 BHO, the New New Deal and the Old New Deal will be seen as inadequate to address the needs of the 21st century.
That is supposing Obama's and Soros wild plans have not succeeded in their goals: destroying the United States either through submission to mullahs or through secession. But this time, since I am fond of them I advise you (the secessionists) keep the hymn, the flag, the name, the Constitution and after winning, force a twenty years reconstruction period on the losing side (aka the side of losers) in order to desintoxicate them from socialism.
#12
"campaign of economic crisis" won't have any legs
Beso,
FDR was elected after 3 years of economic crisis, and re-elected twice more on his (failed) handling of it. Absent WWII, he probably could have been re-elected on it a third time. When you control their food supply, the people will tend to vote for you rather than risk starvation.
#14
Steele made the same mistake as the Dems - talking about Rush. He loves it when someone like Reid or Emmanuel or Obama mention his name. He adds beaucoup bucks to his bank account since it attracts all the popcorn eaters to his show to watch the blood flow on the streets. He engenders controversy since it allows him to grow the audience and become even more influential. That's his schtick and he lives by it. People keep making the same mistakes with Rush.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
03/03/2009 13:32
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#15
Rush has ZERO experience in real matters of State, he's an entertainer nothing more, allowing him to be equated with a leadership role of the GOP is foolish and an easy way out, dont let his comments replace your own thought processes
Agreed, Think for yourself. He entertains by agitating. Although he does a great service by getting critical information to his audience, thus confounding the gatekeepers at the legacy media, his insistence on keeping emotions boiling is harmful rather than helpful, as his vast audience then is fixated on issues that are too often not very important, to the detriment of critical issues.
Nonetheless, Mr. Limbaugh's audience is a critical segment of the Republican party, so he must be appeased. Mr. Steele did the politically necessary thing, even though what he originally said was completely true. Mr. Limbaugh is going to seriously injure the Republican party if he continues to indulge in such egotistical nonsense.
#17
So Rush is an incendiary entertainer. I thought we all knew that. But he wouldn't be as successful as he is if he didn't articulate the views of a very large segment. If he tried to tell people that Affirmative Action is good, that we can't deport illegal aliens, that we can't put tariffs on plastic crap from China and we can't resist Obama's move to socialism he would very quickly lose his audience. People like Steele ignore him at their own peril just like McCain did.
#19
E.U. is onto something. Although Rush is pretty much always a blowhard, he is right, even insightful, often enough that he matters. Like him or not.
Posted by: no mo uro ||
03/03/2009 17:38
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#20
I think he reflects his audience, Undisciplined (fat) , Inciniary, (jingoistically so) , Unable to correlate information in a meaningful way (reflects ONLY his agenda), and very angry all the time weather Bush is in the White house or Obama.
#21
Glating S #20 this country might take a clue from Rush and China, and start being more self-centered, and anti-illegal immigrant! it would do us some good to stop being the shoulder to lean on internationally, quit bellyaching about what a-holes we are to poor foreigners, and start cleaning up our own act. as for Rush's audience, im not sure how you can systematically separate out his audience as fat? 60+% of americans are obese! and from what ive observed i think thats a low estimate! if about every other person in the US is fat, its safe to say many arent rush listeners? i have to agree he does seem surly a lot of the time, maybe has blood pressure problem.
#22
Lotp, the One didn't create the US EUropenization---it was the work of decades by your entire "educated" classes. Things became soo bad, only a Second American Revolution can help. And, if the One cannot provoke it, who can?
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.
As 2009 opened, three weeks before Barack Obama took office, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 9034 on January 2, its highest level since the autumn panic. Yesterday the Dow fell another 4.24% to 6763, for an overall decline of 25% in two months and to its lowest level since 1997. The dismaying message here is that President Obama's policies have become part of the economy's problem.
Algeria's military has killed 16 militants linked to al-Qaeda in a weekend raid on their secret base near the capital, Algiers, state media says. French-language state radio says Interior Minister Yazid Zerhouni has raised the death toll among the militants from seven previously announced. Further details were not provided in the report on Tuesday.
Officials said the raid starting late Friday near Blida was launched with information obtained from a terror support cell dismantled a week earlier. Blida is about 80km south of Algiers. The government has said the military killed 120 militants over the last six months from al-Qaeda's north Africa wing. The wing emerged from a former insurgent group in Algeria.
The question of whether a Muslim woman can wear a niqab -- a veil that shows only her eyes -- while testifying against men accused of sexually assaulting her will be heard next week. 
Global warming activists stormed Washington Monday for what was billed as the nation's largest act of civil disobedience to fight climate change -- only to see the nation's capital virtually shut down by a major winter storm.
Generals from North Korea and the US-led UN Command in South Korea met for talks Monday for the first time in almost seven years as tensions rise over Pyongyang's planned rocket launch. Their meeting at Panmunjom, inside the frontier buffer zone, came two days after the communist North warned US troops to stop "provocations" in the area or face retaliation.
Aswat al-Iraq: Iraqi security forces arrested 66 wanted men during a security operation in Karbala, the chief of local police said on Monday.
Al Qaeda has claimed the responsibility for the Marriott blast that took place in Islamabad on September 20, 2008, and threatened to attack Saudi Airlines' offices, and important installations in Pakistan, a private TV channel reported on Monday. 
The U.S. government has agreed to provide an additional $30 billion in taxpayer money to the American International Group and loosen the terms of its huge loan to the insurer, the U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve said Monday.
Somali opposition gunmen drive the government troops out of a southern town despite a recent agreement with the incumbent Somail president. 
A suicide bomber killed five and injured 12 people at a girls' religious school in 
Algerian troops killed seven armed fighters Saturday night during in 
(AKI) - Italy will donate 100 million dollars to help rebuild the Gaza Strip after the recent devastating Israeli military offensive there, Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi on Monday told an international conference on Gaza taking place in Egypt. Donors are expected to pledge over 3 billion dollars.
Pottu Amman, the feared head of the Tamil Tiger intelligence wing who is wanted for former Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi's assassination, is now commanding the guerrillas against the military in Sri Lanka's north, a media report said Sunday.
A Moroccan man linked to the 2004 Madrid bomb attacks was jailed for 10 years by an appeals court on Monday for his role in the 2003 Casablanca suicide bomb attacks that killed 45 people, the state news agency MAP reported. The court found 
JUI-F chief Fazlur Rehman on Monday telephoned PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif and discussed the mounting tension between the PPP and the PML-N after Sharif brothers' disqualification by the SC, a private TV channel reported. According to the channel, the conversation lasted for 30 minutes. The channel said a meeting between the two leaders was also likely in the coming days. Earlier, the JUI-F chief told another TV channel he was making efforts for reconciliation between the two major parties.He said Pakistan was passing through a critical phase in which such confrontation could prove dangerous. Fazl said the current crisis could harm democracy.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has arrived in Israel on the first of what will no doubt be many visits. Beyond the simple self-interest of making her feel appreciated, most Israelis are genuinely glad that she was appointed to this job. The reason why is critical to understanding the future of U.S. Middle East Policy and U.S.-Israel relations.
Security forces arrested three suspicious men during a raid on a house in 
At night, 11-year-old Salah Abbas Hisham wakes up screaming. Sometimes, in the dark, he silently attacks the boy next to him in a tiny Baghdad orphanage where 33 boys sleep on cots or on the floor.
Two prime accused of a case filed in connection with the sensational Chittagong arms haul gave confessional statements before a Chittagong court yesterday.
Iraq's special criminal court Monday acquitted Tariq Aziz, the man who once served as the urbane, cigar-smoking public face of Saddam Hussein's rule, delivering the most significant not-guilty verdict in a series of prosecutions for crimes against humanity that occurred before the U.S. invasion in 2003.
Outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert vowed on Sunday to hit back "severely" if fighters in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip continue to fire rockets into Israel, as President Shimon Perez urged world powers to hand over the Gaza reconstruction funds to the PLO and not to Hamas.
Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla Sunday said Islamic banking had escaped the global economic crisis relatively unscathed as he took a swipe at the Western financial system. 
HAVANA -- President Raul Castro abruptly removed some of Cuba's most powerful officials Monday, putting a personal stamp on the government in the biggest shakeup since he took over from his ailing brother Fidel Castro a year ago.
American Muslims are more likely than their counterparts in the rest of the world to feel accomplished and successful even if they feel socially alienated from mainstream society, according to a poll published Monday. Muslim-Americans had a more positive outlook on the world than Muslims in other countries but also experienced higher levels of discontent than other religious groups in the U.S. according to the poll by the Gallup Organization. 
Stocks broadly sold off on Monday amid fears that a recovery for the global economy and the banking system may still be a long way off, sending market benchmarks past another set of milestones. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 299.64 points, or 4.2%, to 6763.29, its lowest close since April 25, 1997. The stock measure has fallen four straight days and in 10 of the last 12 sessions, declining 14.8% in that span. The Dow is down 25% from its January 2 peak for this year and down 52.25% from its high of 14164.53 on Oct. 9, 2007.
