(Not sure where he got his graph, but pretty sure it's correct.)
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
03/06/2009
19:55 ||
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Sorry, mods - forgot to change the section. :-(
Can you move, please?
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
03/06/2009 19:58
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Matthew Hoy - the blogger - works at the San Diego Union - which has been up for sale for months with no takers. He seems like a well-rounded, smart, decent guy
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/06/2009 20:23
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My personal favorite - Chicago Tribune stock down more than 98%!
Thanks, guys - you know how to really brighten my day!
Aswat al-Iraq: Policemen arrested eight wanted persons on different criminal charges and 14 suspects others and seized munitions in a raid in some areas in Basra, the province's police information office said. "The munitions seized included 52 shells and 12 cannon rockets on the road linking the areas of al-Zubeir and Safwan, (60 km) western Basra," the office told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/06/2009
19:02 ||
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#1
I recall an interview in Der Spiegel a few years back. I'll have to dig to find it, but the gist of it was this: the reporter was talking to a high official in the Kenyan government (Ag Minister?), and the reporter asked what she, the minister thought of the foreign aid that Kenya received. He doubtless thought that she would talk about the importance of it and ask for more.
Instead, her words were simple. "Stop."
What, the reporter asked?
Stop, the minister said, and then related how foreign aid was killing her country. The grain given to her country was stolen almost before it came ashore at the docks, and the farmers there couldn't compete with free (stolen) grain, so they quit farming. The donated clothing from the west killed the domestic market. And so on, and so on.
An eye opener.
We ought to think about stopping the aid and instead help the African nations with markets. Let them sell whatever it is they can create or grow. That would not only build their economies but also foster rule of law, the courts, and so on.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/06/2009 18:54
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THE US unemployment rate hit a 25-year high of 8.1 per cent last month as employers buckling under the strain of a severe recession axed 651,000 jobs, government data showed today.
Another grim milestone in the Bambi administration ...
Adding to the gloom, a combined 161,000 more jobs were lost in January and December than previously believed, the Labor Department said. Since the start of the recession in December 2007, the economy has shed 4.4 million jobs, with more than half purged in the last four months alone.
"The economy is in a tailspin. Businesses are shedding workers at breakneck pace and there's no reason to expect that to change," said Richard Yamarone, chief economist at Argus Research in New York. "A million job losses a month have moved from possible to probable."
US stocks opened higher amid relief that the drop in payrolls was not as bad as some in the market had expected, but surrendered gains on the back of a sell-off of big-cap technology shares. Treasury debt prices rose.
"The 'whisper' numbers were calling for the change in non-farm payrolls to come in as low as minus 800,000," said Kevin Giddis, head of fixed-income trading at Morgan Keegan in Memphis, Tennessee. "Markets, being forward-looking, will turn before the broader economy, and the economy itself will improve before we begin seeing signs of stability in employment patterns."
The Labor Department said the unemployment rate in February was the highest level since December 1983, and it was above market forecasts for a rise to 7.9 from January's 7.6 per cent. January's job cuts were revised to show a steep decline of 655,000, while December's payroll losses were adjusted to 681,000, the deepest since October 1949.
Job losses in February were broad based, with only government, education and health services adding jobs. "Since the recession, the rise in unemployment has been concentrated among people who lost jobs, as opposed to job leavers or people joining the labour force," said Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Keith Hall.
The Obama Administration, which is rolling out a $US787 billion stimulus package to try and break the economy's alarming downward spiral said February's jobs statistics were more evidence of the depth of the recession.
And more evidence that the 'stimulus' isn't working ...
Circus performers can twist themselves into pretzels and somersault through rings of fire, but even they are struggling to jump through new hoops set up by the U.K. immigration authorities.
In November, the British Home Office introduced a points-based system to crack down on illegal immigration and create what its web site describes as "a significantly more straightforward and transparent structure." It's easy enough for foreign trapeze artists and acrobats to secure the requisite points for entry into Britain based on their unique skills. But ringmasters say that various problems with the new system - including faulty computer software and poorly trained embassy staff - are preventing international talent from reaching Britain's big tops.
"My season started in February," says Martin Lacey, owner of the Great British Circus, "and I've got comedy acrobats stranded in the Ukraine, and Mongolian horse riders who were refused their visas in Ulan Batur." The holes in his lineup have forced Lacey to draft last-minute substitutes. "Our Mexican clown is stuck in Mexico, so we've got a trapeze artist pretending to be a stooge just to get everybody out of trouble," he says. "It's a mess."... Britain's been a steadfast ally and friend to us, so we should help 'em out. President Obama, send your party's top people--Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Barney Frank, John Forbes Kerry, Chris Dodd, Tim Gerletner, Al Franken--and let 'em clown around over there for a while!
Posted by: Mike ||
03/06/2009
16:55 ||
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Another Golden Moment in the Obama Adminstration.
GENEVA--Secretary of State Hillary Clinton opened her first extended talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov by giving him a present meant to symbolize the Obama administration's vow to "press the reset button" on U.S.-Russia relations. She handed a palm-sized box wrapped with a bow. Lavrov opened it and pulled out the gift: a red button on a black base with a Russian word peregruzka printed on top. What's it mean? Surrender? No, but read on...
"We worked hard to get the right Russian word. Do you think we got it?" Clinton asked. "You got it wrong," Lavrov said. Instead of "reset," Lavrov said the word on the box meant "overcharge." Oh, well. I'm sure there's no Russian language experts at the State Department...
Clinton and Lavrov laughed. Ha ha ha. Johnson, find out who did this. And have them killed.
Right away, Madame Secretary...
"We won't let you do that to us," she said. Trying to recover, Clinton said the new administration was serious about improving relations with Moscow. "We mean it, and we're looking forward to it." Humina humina humina...
Lavrov said he would put the button on his desk and he and Clinton pushed the button together, before sitting down for their meeting. How do you say "What kinda goofy shit is this" in Russian? Don't ask the guy at State who inscribed the gift ...
A State Department official said the misspelling on the button was being corrected, in time for the post-meeting news conference. They'll add that to the stimulus package...
Parents who took their children out of school in protest at them being taught about gay, bisexual and transgender history could be prosecuted.
Council bosses said the protest resulted in around 30 primary pupils missing school and had "taken action" against parents who pulled took their children out of George Tomlinson School in Leytonstone, east London, but refused to state what sanctions are being taken.
Pervez Latif, a 41-year-old accountant whose children Saleh, 10, and Abdurrahin, nine, attend the school, said his wife Shaheen, 38, was worried they could be taken to court. He said: "My wife is very concerned she might be prosecuted.
"As yet we haven't heard anything from the council about whether they are taking action."
He said he knew of about 30 children who had been taken out of classes during the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Week after parents objected to their youngsters being encouraged to "celebrates the lives and achievements of lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people in the community".
Under current laws parents can be prosecuted for failing to ensure their children attend school.
Mr Latif, from Leytonstone, said: "We were worried because weren't sure how they were going to teach our children these issues. We don't think it is necessary to teach it for a whole week and the children are so young. It is more appropriate for secondary school.
"Most children that age don't understand these things. When we took our children out of school we had to explain why - they didn't know what two parents the same sex meant."
A spokesman for Waltham Forest Council refused to reveal how many children missed lessons or what action would be taken against pupils but the council's website said parents of truant youngsters can be asked to sign a contract, given an on the spot fine or hauled into court. The spokesman added: "As part of the borough's policy of promoting tolerance in our schools, children are taught that everyone in our society is of equal value.
"At George Tomlinson, parents were invited to meet with teachers and governors several weeks ago to discuss what work would be taking place throughout the national LGBT History Month, and how this work would be delivered.
"Regrettably, some parents chose to remove their children from school. The council does not condone any unauthorised absence from school and action has been taken."
Posted by: john frum ||
03/06/2009
16:13 ||
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If I were there, I'd be tempted to call for a burning of the parent's privates in a grand public ralley - to see how many loonies would pick up on that. The coppers would be in a quandry since my hateful free speech was in apparent support of political correctness. sarcasm/off.
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
03/06/2009 16:22
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Pakistan is a failed state due to thieir own stupidity. This country is in the middle of international terrorism. The only thing out there for Pakistan to behave as a civilized and responsible country will be the real threat of inhilation to the this stupid country. This is the message Pakistan has to be told.
The Hermit Kingdom has been getting awfully crabby in recent headlines, and Bellum proposes that itâs time to step back and formulate a recourse to the inevitable: Parallel to intimating that it will shoot down South Korean aircraft that enter its airspace during the course of war games with the United States and that it will confront the âpuppet stateâ on its disputed western sea border, North Korean authorities claim that they will soon launch an innocuous âcommunications satelliteâ that it has been preparing since January. Of course, as with most snarky announcements out of DPRKâs state-run Korean Central News Agency, the noise has got analysts up in arms on suspicions that the object-in-question may instead be a malevolent Taepodong-2 missile capable of reaching the western United States (and thereby picking up where Yasuyo Yamazaki left off in 1943, harrying Aleut-Americans just trying to go about their business). Upon further inquiry, NKâs spokesman betrayed juche by responding with a Buddhist coan, legacy of an earlier subjugated age: âOne will come to know later what will be launchedâ. Zen indeed.
ST. PAUL, Minn. The Minnesota Supreme Court on Friday blocked Democrat Al Franken's petition for an election certificate that would put him in the U.S. Senate without waiting for a lawsuit to run its course.
The decision means the seat will remain empty until the lawsuit and possible appeals in state court are complete. Republican Norm Coleman's lawsuit challenging Franken's recount lead is at the end of its sixth week, and both sides expect it to last at least a few more weeks.
After a state board certified recount results showing Franken 225 votes ahead, he sued to force Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Secretary of State Mark Ritchie to sign an election certificate. Franken argued that federal law stipulates each state will have two senators when the Senate convenes, and that law trumped a state law that blocks such certificates while lawsuits are pending.
But the state Supreme Court disagreed. In their ruling Friday, the justices said states aren't required to issue such certificates by the date that Congress convenes. The justices wrote in their unsigned opinion that "if the Senate believes delay in seating the second Senator from Minnesota adversely affects the Senate, it has the authority to remedy the situation and needs no certificate of election from the Governor to do so."
Coleman's team hailed the ruling for giving the state courts space to sort out Coleman's lawsuit. "This wise ruling will ensure that Harry Reid, Al Franken and Chuck Schumer cannot short-circuit Minnesota law in their partisan power play," Coleman adviser Ben Ginsberg said, referring to two Democratic leaders in the Senate.
Franken's campaign had no immediate comment on the ruling.
Updated at: 2250 Pakistain Standard Time, Friday, March 06, 2009
RABAT: Morocco has cut its diplomatic relations with Iran, the Moroccan Foreign Ministry said on Friday over statements by the government of Iran questioning Bahrain's sovereignty.
#1
Here's an interesting article on the history of Bahrain and Iran -- Bahrain is important to us since the USN 5th Fleet makes it home there!
The article is somewhat short, a little difficult to read because of some of the language (may be it has been translated, and some words translated strangely)
Guicciardi with the UN, in 1970, was sent to determine the political future of the British territory. He concluded the people wanted independence from both Britain and Iran.
The report of Guicciardi was surrounded to the Security Council of the United Nations and in the meeting of 11th May 1970 was discussed. Following the ratification of this report, the mentioned resolution of Security Council was conveyed to the Governments of Iran and Britain.
The Governments of Iran reported the result of the mission and the resolution of the United Nations to the two assemblies (The lower and upper houses of Parliaments). The report of The Government was ratified by Iranian National Assembly (Mjles-e Shoray-e Melli) in 14th of May, and by Iranian Senate (Majles-e Sena) on 18th of May.
Iran is now rattling swords. Curious, as they now are feeling stronger and stronger with The One now in power, if they will attempt to pull a Saddam and attempt to get the island back.
#2
Any attack on Bahrain would involve a huge number of foreign nationals and business interests from much of the world. China has a big footprint in Bahrain, and owes them a big favor for sponsoring China into the WTO.
So this would not just be a head-on attack against the US Navy.
Special Forces soldiers and Central Intelligence Agency operatives could soon be moving seamlessly between the military and intelligence realms if Congress follows advice it received Tuesday.
The special operations community and the CIA each would benefit from a much closer integration of their personnel, Roger Carstens, a recently retired Special Forces lieutenant colonel who is a non-resident fellow at the Center for a New American Security, and Robert Martinage, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, told a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee's terrorism, unconventional threats and capabilities subcommittee.
Martinage, who authored an 82-page report titled "Special Operations Forces -- Future Challenges and Opportunities" that was published in November, argued for "increased institutionalized cooperation between the CIA and SOCOM [i.e. U.S. Special Operations Command], including hybrid career paths, so people could go back and forth between the two."
"Ideally, personnel should not only be able to move back and forth from CIA stations and SOF ground units, but also to compete for selected mid- and senior-level leadership positions in either organization," Martinage said.
The Defense Department should "migrate Special Forces [units] over to the CIA," suggested Carstens, who conducted a yearlong study of the U.S. special operations community for CNAS in 2008.
"I'm not talking about just onesies and twosies," he said. "Why not take a Special Forces company and just plop them down in Virginia and say, 'When you go to that company, you're spending a three year-long tour working for the agency'?"
CIA operatives as well as members of other government agencies, could also serve on A-teams, the 12-man units also known as operational detachments-alpha, or ODAs, that are the lowest echelon of command in Special Forces, Carstens said.
Such arrangements would have multiple benefits, they said.
What Martinage termed "flexible and routine detailing of SOF personnel" to the CIA would allow special operations forces to use the agency's Title 50 foreign intelligence authorities, which permit covert activities in which the U.S. role is hidden, he said. The same would be true if a CIA operative was serving on an A-team, according to Carstens, who noted that adding a State Department representative would give the A-team access to authorities under Title 22, the section of the U.S. Code that covers foreign relations.
Seconding a Special Forces company to the ground branch of the CIA's Special Activities Division would give the agency "a resident capability in foreign internal defense, which is not a bad thing," Carstens said. Foreign internal defense is the training of host-nation security forces in counterinsurgency and related techniques.
Any special operators detailed to the agency "would also benefit from being exposed to the tradecraft of National Clandestine Service personnel," Martinage said in his prepared remarks.
Contacted by Army Times, U.S. SOCOM spokesman Ken McGraw declined to answer questions on the relationship between the CIA and special operations forces. "The Central Intelligence Agency is one of U.S. Special Operations Command's key interagency partners," he wrote in an e-mail "It would be inappropriate to discuss the details of that partnership or speculate how the CIA and special operations forces may or may not integrate in the future." Obviously somebody ain't read'n the tea leaves.
Report says Tsvangirai was injured, but will survive. His wife, not. Tsvangirai was/is a Mugabe opponent. Is this "accident" the work of ZimBob? At least Morgan has the good sense not to accept any helicopter rides.
There was no immediate sign of foul play in the crash, some 50 km (30 miles) south of Harare as Tsvangirai headed to his rural home in Buhera. A truck coming from the opposite direction veered off the road and headed into Tsvangirai's vehicle, his spokesman said.
India today inched closer towards its endeavour to put in place its own home-grown Ballistic Missile Defence System as it successfully carried out the third Interceptor test today at 1624 hrs from Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Wheeler Island in Orissa. The mission control room burst into raptures as the radar display indicated the interception and destruction of the decoy enemy missile by the interceptor. Todays test achieved all the mission objectives. The two-stage Interceptor Missile fitted with advanced systems hit the target enemy missile at 75 kms altitude.
To mimic the incoming enemys ballistic missile trajectory, Dhanush missile went to an altitude of 120 Km and was launched from ship about 100 km away from the Orissa Coast. The Interceptor missile was launched from a mobile launcher located on Wheeler Island Launch Complex.
The third consecutive interception of Ballistic Missiles once again demonstrated the robustness of the Indian Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) system. The Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) have already conducted two interception trials, first in Exo-atmospheric region at 48 Kms altitude on 27th November 06 and second in endo-atmospheric region at 15 kms using Advanced Air Defence (AAD) missile on 06 Dec 07.
The missile interception trial was witnessed by the DRDO Chief Shri M Natarajan, Air Defence Programme Director Dr VK Saraswat, senior Scientists from DRDO, senior officers from Armed Forces and Government officials. The Defence Minister Shri A K Antony has congratulated the scientific community of DRDO for the third consecutive success in achieving Ballistic Missile Defence capability.
Posted by: john frum ||
03/06/2009
12:41 ||
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The interceptor used for the first time a manoeuvrable warhead called gimballed directional warhead (GDW), which can rotate 360 degrees.
As the single-stage Dhanush, 9.4 metres tall and weighing 4.5 tonnes, lifted off at 4.17 p.m. from the ship located 150 km away from the Wheeler Island, radars at Konark and Paradip in Orissa tracked it 50 seconds into its flight. The Mission Control Centre (the MCC) on the island also received information about it.
The MCC declared it a hostile target and that it would impact very close to the island. This data was used by the Launch Control Centre (LCC) to compute the trajectory of the interceptor, called Prithvi Air Defence (PAD II), to engage the target missile at an altitude of 80 km. The LCC also automatically decided when the interceptor should lift off and the launch computer gave the command for it.
About 160 seconds into the flight of Dhanush plus 150 seconds after the lift-off of the interceptor, the interceptors homing seeker acquired the target. Using this information, the interceptors computer guided it towards the target and brought it very close to it. At this point of time, the radio proximity fuse (RPF) of the GDW computed the time at which it should explode.
Dr. Saraswat, who is also Chief Controller, DRDO, said: When the target and the interceptor were practically colliding with each other, the warhead was detonated which led to the fragmentation of the target and the interceptor. It was a direct hit and also warhead detonation. The large number of fragments formed due to collision and detonation were tracked by the ground radars and we could see that hundreds of new tracks had been formed, confirming that the target was destroyed in both a direct hit and detonation.
He praised the young scientists of the DRDOs missile complex at Hyderabad and other DRDO laboratories for the missions success.
It was one of the most complex missions planned, designed and executed by the DRDO with clock-work precision. I feel satisfied that the BMD shield of the DRDO has reached a great level of maturity.
The interceptor was a two-stage vehicle, with the first stage fuelled by liquid propellants and the second stage by solid propellants. It was 10 metres long and weighed 5.2 tonnes.
Posted by: john frum ||
03/06/2009 14:57
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So long, boys...
A federal judge yesterday quickly dispatched a slew of motions seeking an acquittal or a new trial for the five foreign-born Muslim men convicted in December of planning a terrorist attack on Fort Dix.
"This was the fairest trial this court could provide any defendant," District Court Judge Robert B. Kugler said. "There was overwhelming evidence from which the jury could find guilt." Bet he's not a Carter appointee ...
Yesterday's hearing in Camden was the first time the men, all raised primarily in Cherry Hill, had appeared in court since the jury verdicts. And....cue...The Seething!
After Kugler's rulings, agitated relatives of the defendants began calling out "This is not justice" and "It's not over." Court security tried to calm Ferik Duka, the father of defendants Dritan, Eljvir and Shain Duka. "Who can stop me?" he asked before saying "Allahu akbar," which means "God is great" in Arabic. His sons, being led from the courtroom in shackles, responded loudly, "Allahu akbar." Faten Shnewer, mother of defendant Mohamad Shnewer, also spoke up, echoing her emotional denouncement of the verdict in December. "The judge is with the government," she said yesterday. "It's all lies."
The Duka brothers, Shnewer, and Serdar Tatar all face life in prison at their sentencings, scheduled for April. Which should give them plenty of time to talk to their friend Allahu Akbar.
They were convicted of conspiring to kill U.S. soldiers, but acquitted of attempted murder. One juror told The Inquirer that the panel believed that the men had seriously planned an attack, but that the plot had not progressed far enough to convict on attempted murder.
The five were arrested in May 2007 after Dritan and Shain Duka tried to buy rifles from Mahmoud Omar, an FBI informant. Omar and a second informant, Besnik Bakalli, secretly recorded hundreds of hours of conversations with the men. The tapes formed the basis of the government's case. Okay. Cue...Just Mixed Up Kids!
Defense attorneys argued that their clients were alienated young men who had talked tough about jihad but never intended to carry out an attack. They said the informants often goaded their clients into their most inflammatory statements. Okay. Cue...It Was Just A Vacation!
Much of the case hinged on how to interpret the men's words and actions, such as the trips they took to the Poconos, where they fired guns on a shooting range. The defense called the trips vacations; the prosecution called them training.
Kugler yesterday said the defense motions were a restatement of the cases presented "before the jury, and which the jury rejected." He said the jury had been carefully selected and the defendants given every opportunity to mount their case. "We spent millions of dollars on the defense in this case," Kugler said. "Just the translations and the technical support . . . exceeded $1 million." Okay. Cue...We're Really Sorry!
Since the verdict, several defendants have written to Kugler, and their relatives have been peppering the judge with letters, pleading for mercy. None of the defendants testified at the trial. In one letter, Shnewer wrote that he regretted the "lies" he had told Omar about his codefendants being willing participants in a plan to attack the base. He said he "didn't mean any of it."
Kugler addressed that letter yesterday. "The enormity and the quantity of what he said makes it difficult to believe he didn't mean at least some of what he said," the judge said.
Eljvir Duka also recently wrote the judge a 17-page letter - on legal-pad pages - to explain his recorded conversations, complete with citations from the transcripts. I was...Misquoted! Misconstrued! Taken out of context!
Kugler said the letter amounted to an argument that Eljvir Duka could have presented from the stand. "He had the opportunity to testify," Kugler said, "and he chose not to testify." Okay. I've changed my mind. I'll testify...
SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) -- Lawmakers from Chile and Argentina met in Antarctica Thursday, preparing to speak with a common voice against Britain's claim to oil and gas in the southernmost seas. Chile, Argentina and Britain all claim rights over the same slices of the southernmost continent. This is important for more than the few scientists who live and work in Antarctica, since under a U.N. treaty, coastal countries can control hundreds of miles of continental shelf off their soveriegn territories.
Claims involving Antarctica were tabled for 50 years under a 1959 treaty protecting the icy continent's fragile environment. But the offshore rights have become much more important recently given the global race to secure future energy sources. With the undersea resources in mind, 11 countries have made claims over parts of Antarctica.
The UN's Convention of the Law of the Sea would expand each coastal nation's sovereignty over its continental shelf from 230 miles to 380 miles off shore. But the claims must first be approved by the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, which faces a May deadline to announce its decisions.
Other nations asserting claims over the seas around Antarctica include Russia, Brazil, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, France, Spain and Norway.
I'm surprised Hugo isn't making a claim ...
But the claims of Argentina, Chile and Britain are particularly difficult to sort out, since the British application to extend the boundaries of the British Antarctic Territory it first claimed in 1908 overlaps with similar claims by Argentina and Chile.
The lawmakers arrived Thursday at Chile's research station, and will meet again Friday at Argentina's base, with plans to issue a joint statement Assessment: This time Britain folds.
Groundhog Day. Palestinian version...
Relatives and neighbors of Beit Hanina resident Mar'i al-Rdaidah insist that the 26-year-old freelance construction worker did not intend to commit a terrorist attack when he was called to a job Thursday afternoon. Sometimes...all of a sudden, the Jihad just hits you.
Al-Rdaidah, who had a West Bank ID and was not allowed to cross into West Jerusalem, simply had "a car accident," they said. One of his neighbors suggested that the incident may have happened after he panicked from seeing police in the area. Hmmmmmmm...why would that make him "panic"?
"He went to make a living for the children" in his extended family, said his uncle Amin Mahmoud al-Rdaidah, 33, from a home where more than 20 male relatives gathered late Thursday evening to pay their condolences at the uncle's house on the outskirts of Beit Hanina. Ah. "For the children"... Please don't destroy our house! We didn't know nuthin. Nuthin, I say! And he was a good boy! Said his prayers five times a day! Learned the Quran forwards and back!
"He was not political or anything. He didn't even deal with these kind of things," his uncle said. "It was a car accident and nothing more." ...and I don't care what the sons of apes and pigs say. "Lies! All lies!"
The family is originally from the West Bank village of Abadiya, near Bethlehem, but they had lived in Beit Hanina for about 40 years, he added, insisting that the family was not interested in political affairs.
But Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said there is no doubt that al-Rdaidah "clearly, intentionally rammed [the bulldozer] into the police car and tried to slam that police car afterwards onto a bus." Police obtained footage of the incident, which was captured on closed-circuit television. "It was very clear the intentions of the terrorist and the motives," Rosenfeld said, noting the attack was about 500 meters from the largest mall in Jerusalem. Uh-oh. There's video. Sorry, unky...
Police took the suspected attacker's wife, his father, another uncle, and two brothers into questioning on Thursday, the uncle said. The suspect had one son, who is a year-and-a-half old. "He loved all of us... He loved his neighbors. He loved people. It's normal," al-Rdaidah's uncle said. He was a..."quiet man".
Neighbor Khaled al-Natshe agreed, saying al-Rdaidah didn't have any nationalistic inclination. He became slightly annoyed and reprimanded a reporter who asked several guests whether they believed it was an attack or an accident. "You can see the modest situation they were living in," he said. "He is a man who went to work, came back from work... he was in an accident." So please don't bulldoze my house...
The good news is reality exists. The bad is it's even stranger than people thought
"HOW wonderful that we have met with a paradox. Now we have some hope of making progress." So said Niels Bohr, one of the founders of quantum mechanics.
Since its birth in the 1920s, physicists and philosophers have grappled with the bizarre consequences that his theory has for reality, including the fundamental truth that it is impossible to know everything about the world and, in fact, whether it really exists at all when it is not being observed.
Now two groups of physicists, working independently, have demonstrated that nature is indeed real when unobserved. When no one is peeking, however, it acts in a really odd way.
In the 1990s a physicist called Lucien Hardy proposed a thought experiment that makes nonsense of the famous interaction between matter and antimatter--that when a particle meets its antiparticle, the pair always annihilate one another in a burst of energy.
Dr Hardy's scheme left open the possibility that in some cases when their interaction is not observed a particle and an antiparticle could interact with one another and survive. Of course, since the interaction has to remain unseen, no one should ever notice this happening, which is why the result is known as Hardy's paradox.
This week Kazuhiro Yokota of Osaka University in Japan and his colleagues demonstrated that Hardy's paradox is, in fact, correct. They report their work in the New Journal of Physics.
The experiment represents independent confirmation of a similar demonstration by Jeff Lundeen and Aephraim Steinberg of the University of Toronto, which was published seven weeks ago in Physical Review Letters.
The two teams used the same technique in their experiments. They managed to do what had previously been thought impossible: they probed reality without disturbing it. Not disturbing it is the quantum-mechanical equivalent of not really looking. So they were able to show that the universe does indeed exist when it is not being observed.
The reality in question--admittedly rather a small part of the universe--was the polarisation of pairs of photons, the particles of which light is made. The state of one of these photons was inextricably linked with that of the other through a process known as quantum entanglement.
The polarised photons were able to take the place of the particle and the antiparticle in Dr Hardy's thought experiment because they obey the same quantum-mechanical rules. Dr Yokota (and also Drs Lundeen and Steinberg) managed to observe them without looking, as it were, by not gathering enough information from any one interaction to draw a conclusion, and then pooling these partial results so that the total became meaningful.
What the several researchers found was that there were more photons in some places than there should have been and fewer in others.
The stunning result, though, was that in some places the number of photons was actually less than zero. Fewer than zero particles being present usually means that you have antiparticles instead. But there is no such thing as an antiphoton (photons are their own antiparticles, and are pure energy in any case), so that cannot apply here.
The only mathematically consistent explanation known for this result is therefore Hardy's. The weird things he predicted are real and they can, indeed, only be seen by people who are not looking. Dr Yokota and his colleagues went so far as to call their results "preposterous". Niels Bohr, no doubt, would have been delighted. Didn't they use Hardy's Paradox in one of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies? They could only find the island if they weren't looking for it?
#1
Physics seem SO cool, but I'm bad at math and unfortunately don't understand any of it! At least this article assures me that reality exists. I'm relieved to hear it....
Would the ghost of Decartes say "I told you that I think therefore I am?
Then he could add "But you look therefore it isn't."
#2
If I understand this article correctly (which is doubtful), the conclusion here seems to be that reality is weirder when not observed than when observed.
#4
There are many very weird descriptions at play in physics. I say descriptions because they are mathematical equations that purport to describe reality (and yes, that is what physics is).
One of the items currently "understood" is that energy warps space (aka gravity) in a way similar to matter.
Quote from a friendly NASA astro-physicist: "With respect to the curvature of space/time in the universe as a whole,
the total warping of space/time comes not only from the "normal" mass,
but from the total mass-energy density of the universe."
Dark energy & dark matter, two other topics of my conversation, exist according to the mathematical models but have no experimental reality. At least not yet.
#7
What are the consequences of this not being true? What are the consequences of it being true? Are they the same or are they different? Please explain.
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
03/06/2009 15:04
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#8
#7, I would explain it but then you'd disappear. So, you understand why I hesitate? #7? Hello? #7?
#9
In Quatum Mechanics the particles are so small that in order to be observed some type of energy is either added or taken away. This energy changes the state of the particle and changes it inot something else therefore maybe you didn't see what you thought you did. Did the particle really exist before the observation?
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
03/06/2009 17:24
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#10
AlanC: If you want to conceptualize reality from a quantum perspective, start with the idea that space and time are the same thing.
Think traveling from "point 'a'" to "point 'b'". The further they are apart in space, the longer it takes to travel between them *at the same speed*. Reduce the space and you reduce the time.
The next idea is to imagine that matter and energy are just different ideal states of the same thing, with all matter and energy being partly energy and partly matter to different degrees, somewhere in the middle between the two ideal states.
Now imagine that space-time is more like 3 dimensional space, and that matter-energy is one of the three dimensions of that area. The second dimension is mass and gravity.
One and a half of these dimensions are the more space and matter side of reality, the other half and third dimension are the more time and energy side of reality. So it is best to call the third dimension "causality".
It is the middle ground between the two ideal extremes of stasis and change in reality. In a matter of speaking, from "outside", reality looks balanced and stable, but "inside" reality, it is inherently unstable, to maintain its overall stability.
#12
Okay, so some Big Brain came up with the idea that 'perhaps' nature doesn't exist if we're not looking and then years later, some other Big Brains prove that nature does indeed exist when we're not looking.
That all these men earned (I use that term loosely) a living at something so absurd, is proof positive that these are extremely smart motherfuckers. Big Brains, indeed.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
03/06/2009 19:21
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#13
Of course, #11 BrerRabbit. ;-p
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
03/06/2009 19:28
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#14
If a woman says something in a forest and there are no men around, you are still wrong.
Have investors gotten so pessimistic that there are no bears left to sell and we are therefore due for an oversold bounce?
Consider this: Berkshire Hathaway credit default swaps are now trading wider than Vietnam, according to Bank of America/Merrill strategist Michael Hartnett. Meaning that Berkshire bondholders need to pay more to protect themselves against default than those holding sovereign debt issued by Vietnam. Hartnett holds this up as just one example of the extremes he's seeing in the credit markets.
Let me point you to an article in The Economist that states that some people in Vietnam are so scared about their economic prospects that they've resorted to drinking the blood of snakes, which is supposed to enhance "good fortune and sexual prowess."
I do not see Warren Buffett resorting to such a tactic. But I do see that he has $24.3 billion in cash sitting around.
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
03/06/2009
12:10 ||
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#1
Maybe this was his strategy to leave nothing to his kids.
Posted by: no mo uro ||
03/06/2009 20:56
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It's hard not to see the continued sell-off on Wall Street and the growing fear on Main Street as a product, at least in part, of the realization that our new president's policies are designed to radically re-engineer the market-based U.S. economy, not just mitigate the recession and financial crisis.
The illusion that Barack Obama will lead from the economic center has quickly come to an end. Instead of combining the best policies of past Democratic presidents -- John Kennedy on taxes, Bill Clinton on welfare reform and a balanced budget, for instance -- President Obama is returning to Jimmy Carter's higher taxes and Mr. Clinton's draconian defense drawdown.
Mr. Obama's $3.6 trillion budget blueprint, by his own admission, redefines the role of government in our economy and society. The budget more than doubles the national debt held by the public, adding more to the debt than all previous presidents -- from George Washington to George W. Bush -- combined. It reduces defense spending to a level not sustained since the dangerous days before World War II, while increasing nondefense spending (relative to GDP) to the highest level in U.S. history. And it would raise taxes to historically high levels (again, relative to GDP). And all of this before addressing the impending explosion in Social Security and Medicare costs.
To be fair, specific parts of the president's budget are admirable and deserve support: increased means-testing in agriculture and medical payments; permanent indexing of the alternative minimum tax and other tax reductions; recognizing the need for further financial rescue and likely losses thereon; and bringing spending into the budget that was previously in supplemental appropriations, such as funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The specific problems, however, far outweigh the positives. First are the quite optimistic forecasts, despite the higher taxes and government micromanagement that will harm the economy. The budget projects a much shallower recession and stronger recovery than private forecasters or the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office are projecting. It implies a vast amount of additional spending and higher taxes, above and beyond even these record levels. For example, it calls for a down payment on universal health care, with the additional "resources" needed "TBD" (to be determined).
Mr. Obama has bravely said he will deal with the projected deficits in Medicare and Social Security. While reform of these programs is vital, the president has shown little interest in reining in the growth of real spending per beneficiary, and he has rejected increasing the retirement age. Instead, he's proposed additional taxes on earnings above the current payroll tax cap of $106,800 -- a bad policy that would raise marginal tax rates still further and barely dent the long-run deficit.
Increasing the top tax rates on earnings to 39.6% and on capital gains and dividends to 20% will reduce incentives for our most productive citizens and small businesses to work, save and invest -- with effective rates higher still because of restrictions on itemized deductions and raising the Social Security cap. As every economics student learns, high marginal rates distort economic decisions, the damage from which rises with the square of the rates (doubling the rates quadruples the harm). The president claims he is only hitting 2% of the population, but many more will at some point be in these brackets.
As for energy policy, the president's cap-and-trade plan for CO2 would ensnare a vast network of covered sources, opening up countless opportunities for political manipulation, bureaucracy, or worse. It would likely exacerbate volatility in energy prices, as permit prices soar in booms and collapse in busts. The European emissions trading system has been a dismal failure. A direct, transparent carbon tax would be far better.
Moreover, the president's energy proposals radically underestimate the time frame for bringing alternatives plausibly to scale. His own Energy Department estimates we will need a lot more oil and gas in the meantime, necessitating $11 trillion in capital investment to avoid permanently higher prices.
The president proposes a large defense drawdown to pay for exploding nondefense outlays -- similar to those of Presidents Carter and Clinton -- which were widely perceived by both Republicans and Democrats as having gone too far, leaving large holes in our military. We paid a high price for those mistakes and should not repeat them.
The president's proposed limitations on the value of itemized deductions for those in the top tax brackets would clobber itemized charitable contributions, half of which are by those at the top. This change effectively increases the cost to the donor by roughly 20% (to just over 72 cents from 60 cents per dollar donated). Estimates of the responsiveness of giving to after-tax prices range from a bit above to a little below proportionate, so reductions in giving will be large and permanent, even after the recession ends and the financial markets rebound.
A similar effect will exacerbate tax flight from states like California and New York, which rely on steeply progressive income taxes collecting a large fraction of revenue from a small fraction of their residents. This attack on decentralization permeates the budget -- e.g., killing the private fee-for-service Medicare option -- and will curtail the experimentation, innovation and competition that provide a road map to greater effectiveness.
The pervasive government subsidies and mandates -- in health, pharmaceuticals, energy and the like -- will do a poor job of picking winners and losers (ask the Japanese or Europeans) and will be difficult to unwind as recipients lobby for continuation and expansion. Expanding the scale and scope of government largess means that more and more of our best entrepreneurs, managers and workers will spend their time and talent chasing handouts subject to bureaucratic diktats, not the marketplace needs and wants of consumers.
Our competitors have lower corporate tax rates and tax only domestic earnings, yet the budget seeks to restrict deferral of taxes on overseas earnings, arguing it drives jobs overseas. But the academic research (most notably by Mihir Desai, C. Fritz Foley and James Hines Jr.) reveals the opposite: American firms' overseas investments strengthen their domestic operations and employee compensation.
New and expanded refundable tax credits would raise the fraction of taxpayers paying no income taxes to almost 50% from 38%. This is potentially the most pernicious feature of the president's budget, because it would cement a permanent voting majority with no stake in controlling the cost of general government.
From the poorly designed stimulus bill and vague new financial rescue plan, to the enormous expansion of government spending, taxes and debt somehow permanently strengthening economic growth, the assumptions underlying the president's economic program seem bereft of rigorous analysis and a careful reading of history.
Unfortunately, our history suggests new government programs, however noble the intent, more often wind up delivering less, more slowly, at far higher cost than projected, with potentially damaging unintended consequences. The most recent case, of course, was the government's meddling in the housing market to bring home ownership to low-income families, which became a prime cause of the current economic and financial disaster.
On the growth effects of a large expansion of government, the European social welfare states present a window on our potential future: standards of living permanently 30% lower than ours. Rounding off perceived rough edges of our economic system may well be called for, but a major, perhaps irreversible, step toward a European-style social welfare state with its concomitant long-run economic stagnation is not.
#1
Charles Krauthammer has this to same about the Chosen One:
"At the very center of our economic near-depression is a credit bubble, a housing collapse and a systemic failure of the banking industry. One can come up with a host of causes: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac pushed by Washington (and greed) into improvident loans, corrupted bond-ratings agencies, insufficient regulation of new and exotic debt instruments, the easy money policy of Alan Greenspan's Fed, irresponsible bankers pushing (and then unloading in packaged loan instruments) highly dubious mortgages, greedy house-flippers, deceitful home buyers.
The list is long. But the list of causes of the collapse of the financial system does not include the absence of universal health care, let alone of computerized medical records. Nor the absence of an industry-killing cap-and-trade carbon levy. Nor the lack of college graduates. Indeed, one could perversely make the case that, if anything, the proliferation of overeducated, Gucci-wearing, smart-ass MBAs inventing ever more sophisticated and opaque mathematical models and debt instruments helped get us into this credit catastrophe."
#2
Krauthammer's point is the same one we've been making here for months. Barry doesn't give a damn about the economy or the market, it's his social welfare programs and the CONTROL they bring that is central to his efforts. Everything else is secondary.
#3
I am hoping the public anger & disgust over the economic crisis will overwhelm and discredit Obama's irrelevant & harmful socialist agenda. The Dow may wind up killing Obama's radicalism after all.
#4
Usually the socialist take advantage of economic disorder or backwardness to get into the positions of power and control. However, they've yet to succeed in a country where people were the year before relatively well off and then they pull the screws to make the economy go into full tailspin. Too close to the blame line and events to not avoid being among the villains of the production. With the Porkout Act of '09 and the degree of either cluelessness or intent in killing the market, it will be the 'Obama Recession/Depression'.
#5
So at current rate of fall - we have what, 28 days til Dow hits zero? There's little incentive at moment to get back in to the market so what's to stop this?
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
03/06/2009 17:24
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#6
But at least Obama will have a colorful military parade on May 1st.
March 6 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama now has the distinction of presiding over his own bear market.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average has fallen 20 percent since Inauguration Day, the fastest drop under a newly elected president in at least 90 years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The gauge has lost 53 percent from its October 2007 record of 14,164.53, slipping 4.1 percent to 6,594.44 yesterday.
More than $1.6 trillion has been erased from U.S. equities since Jan. 20 as mounting bank losses and rising unemployment convinced investors the recession is getting worse. The president is in danger of breaking a pattern in which the Dow rallied 9.8 percent on average in the 12 months after a Democrat captured the White House, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
People thought there would be a brief Obama rally, and that hasnt happened, said Uri Landesman, who oversees about $2.5 billion at ING Groep NVs asset management unit in New York. It speaks to the carnage thats in the economy and the lack of confidence in the measures that have been announced.
A bear market is defined as a decline of 20 percent or more.
Buying shares is a potentially good deal for long-term investors, Obama said March 3. He compared daily fluctuations to a tracking poll in politics and said he wouldnt adjust his policies just to meet market expectations.
Congress last month enacted Obamas $787 billion package of tax cuts and spending on roads, bridges and public buildings. His 2010 budget indicated the governments financial rescue may need another $750 billion after an initial $700 billion.
Getting Cheaper
The Dow average has dropped 31 percent since Obamas election. The 30-stock gauge trades at 8.04 times annual earnings, the cheapest since 1995 and down from 10.06 times on Inauguration Day.
Citigroup Inc. led the plunge, losing 71 percent. The government proposed taking a 36 percent stake in the New York- based bank, cutting the percentage owned by shareholders. Detroit-based General Motors Corp. tumbled 53 percent after the largest U.S. automaker said it needs more government aid.
Its the Obama bear market, said Dan Veru, who helps oversee $2.8 billion at Palisade Capital Management in Fort Lee, New Jersey. We dont know what the rules are in so many different areas the government is touching.
The Dow average gained 2 percent to 6,726.18 as of 9:49 a.m. in New York today after a government report showed the rate of job losses slowed last month.
Bank Losses
The U.S. economy contracted at a 6.2 percent annual rate in the fourth quarter, the most since 1982, the Commerce Department said last week. Unemployment jumped to 7.6 percent in January, the highest since 1992, as Americans fell behind on their mortgages and banks seized homes at a record pace.
Losses at financial companies worldwide that grew to about $1.2 trillion sent the Standard & Poors 500 Index to a 38 percent retreat last year, the steepest since 1937.
Prospects for recovery in the financial sector, despite all the government help, still seem rather remote, said John Carey, who manages about $8 billion at Pioneer Investment Management in Boston. Weve had a weak economy for a couple of years, and we arent seeing the stimulus working at this point. That is what weighs on investors minds.
The Dow average took eight months to decline 20 percent following the inauguration of George W. Bush, reaching the level on Sept. 20, 2001, nine days after terrorists attacked the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington.
Herbert Hoover
The crash of 1929 occurred seven months into the administration of Herbert Hoover, who presided over an 89 percent plunge in the Dow between September 1929 and July 1932, the steepest retreat ever.
Only twice has the benchmark gauge slipped in the 12 months after the election of a Democratic president since 1900, after Woodrow Wilsons victory in 1912 and Jimmy Carters in 1976.
The Dow entered its most recent bear market on July 2, 2008, when a 167-point decrease gave it a 20 percent loss from its record 14,164.53 on Oct. 9, 2007. Unlike the Standard & Poors 500 Index, the Dows rally from its November low of 7,552.29 fell short of a 20 percent bull market gain, ending at 19.6 percent.
Obama should be listening to the stock market more than talking to it, said Kenneth Fisher, the billionaire chairman of Woodside, California-based Fisher Investments Inc., which oversees $22 billion. He hasnt gotten out of the gate well.
#1
"I'm not sure where you live Mr. Fisher, and you obviously havn't read the plan either. But if you do, could you perhaps record it onto DVD so that the president can watch it on his next vacation?"
We dont know what the rules are in so many different areas the government is touching.
Exactly. US out of Wall Street. Why I won't invest until at least 6 months after I'm sure the gov has stopped meddling. And Wall Street, some of you jerks are just as responsible; instead of putting logos on sports events and tending the trough could have protected your business from government and made people aware that the meddling was going to do this.
You know who has more money than the government for the bailout? The American People - let us keep our money and we will spend it where it needs to go; clergy, lawyers, and politicians I swear have no business sense.
#2
I'm just so glad I pulled out all my 401k money in stocks and put it in money market funds a couple months ago. I was already hurting from the drop then, but I knew we hadn't hit bottom yet--and I'm positive we haven't hit bottom even now.
I won't have any confidence in the markets until we at least see GM and Chrysler fold. Until the feds stop throwing good money after bad and let these two dinosaurs off life support, nothing's predictable in this artificial economy.
Posted by: Dar ||
03/06/2009 13:05
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VIENNA (Reuters) - The United States said on Wednesday that U.N. inspectors had found growing evidence of covert nuclear activity in Syria, and European allies said a lack of Syrian transparency demanded utmost scrutiny.
The U.N. nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, is looking into U.S. intelligence reports that Syria had almost built a North Korean-designed, nuclear reactor meant to yield bomb-grade plutonium before Israel bombed it in 2007.
Last month, the IAEA said inspectors had found enough traces of uranium in soil samples taken in a trip to the bombed site granted by Syria last June to constitute a "significant" find, and satellite pictures taken before the Israeli bombing revealed a building resembling a reactor.
But the IAEA report said Syria, citing national security reasons, had ignored many agency requests for further on-the-ground access and documentation to back up its assertion that Israel's target was a purely conventional military building. "This report contributes to the growing evidence of clandestine nuclear activities in Syria," Gregory Schulte, U.S. ambassador to the IAEA, said during a debate by its 35-nation Board of Governors in Vienna. "We must understand why such (uranium) material -- material not previously declared to the IAEA -- existed in Syria and this can only happen if Syria provides the cooperation requested."
He said it was also essential that Syria allow inspectors to examine debris removed from the bombed facility to an unknown location immediately after Israel's strike. This applied as well, Schulte said, to three other military sites which satellite pictures showed Syria "sanitized" -- landscaping them and whisking away equipment -- shortly after the IAEA asked to check them out.
Last week, Damascus said the uranium particles were not "significant." It said they came from depleted uranium used in Israeli munitions, contradicting an IAEA finding that this was chemically processed uranium not in Syria's declared inventory. Syria also suggested IAEA analyses were faulty and that satellite imagery Washington gave to the IAEA was fabricated. Its only declared nuclear site is an old research reactor, and it has no known nuclear energy capacity.
In a statement to the closed-door IAEA gathering, the 27-member European Union voiced concern at the "possibility that Syria has not declared all its nuclear installations. Any obstacles, unnecessary delays or a lack of cooperation ... undermine the credibility of the agency's verification capabilities. Such cases, therefore, deserve our utmost attention," it said."
Vienna diplomats said Syria had told the IAEA it had built a missile facility on the desert tract hit by Israel, a disclosure apparently meant to reinforce the Syrian refusal to grant more IAEA access on national security grounds.
#1
But...but....Doesn't our (unfortuantely MY) Senator from Frawnce won't to talk to them without preconditions???? Doesn't that mean they're good guys????
#4
Nah, it would be a waste of perfectly good Nukes
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
03/06/2009 15:07
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#5
Redneck, I was thinking more along the lines of the Silo-gaurds and operaters losing their jobs since their won't be anything to gaurd anymore. THAT would be the real tragedy here.
Posted by: Charles ||
03/06/2009 21:14
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#6
Actually Charles I was saying the several hundred million dollars is more than their nation's worth.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
03/06/2009 21:50
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#4
The bull will return when
a) the governments currency monopoly is managed by bank supervision rather than global regulation.
b) the government stops punishing people for working.
c) the government stops rewarding people for doing stupid things.
d) A property value tax stops rent-seeking.
#9
DRUDGEREPORT > CHAVEZ CALLS ON OBAMA TO FOLLOW THE PATH OF SOCIALISM; + KRAUTHAMMER: DECEPTION AT THE CORE OF OBAMA'S PLANS [covert "Big Bang" Federalization/Nationalization].
#10
Some estimates I've heard put the DOW at between 800-1500 for about 10 years. The biggest variable is how long it will take the USG to give up and default on the national debt.
That will kill most international trade, require a balanced budget, end government largesse such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, and reduce the size of the USG by over 50%.
The recovery will begin in earnest with the rebuilding of the US industrial infrastructure that has been outsourced.
The House on Thursday night turned back another call to investigate the PMA Group, a once-powerful lobbying firm whose offices were recently raided by the FBI and which has close ties to Pennsylvania Rep. John P. Murtha (D).
Twenty-one Democrats, including nine freshmen, voted to proceed with debate on the measure offered by Arizona Rep. Jeff Flake (R) calling for an investigation of the lobbying firm. Most of the Democrats represent fiscally conservative districts.
Republican Rep. Don Young of Alaska the focus of an unrelated federal corruption probe voted with the Democrats to table Flake's motion. He was joined by Republicans Walter Jones of North Carolina, Dana Rohrabacher of California and Tim Murphy of Pennsylvania, whose district abuts Murtha's and who has been an outspoken supporter of his recently embattled neighbor.
By PAUL KRUGMAN You know things are bad when Krugman starts to be critical of the Administration. Nah, they just want Bambi to channel his inner Lenin more productively ...
Last month, in his big speech to Congress, President Obama argued for bold steps to fix Americas dysfunctional banks. "While the cost of action will be great," he declared, "I can assure you that the cost of inaction will be far greater, for it could result in an economy that sputters along for not months or years, but perhaps a decade."
Many analysts agree. But among people I talk to theres a growing sense of frustration, even panic, over Mr. Obamas failure to match his words with deeds. The reality is that when it comes to dealing with the banks, the Obama administration is dithering. Policy is stuck in a holding pattern.
Heres how the pattern works: first, administration officials, usually speaking off the record, float a plan for rescuing the banks in the press. This trial balloon is quickly shot down by informed commentators.
Then, a few weeks later, the administration floats a new plan. This plan is, however, just a thinly disguised version of the previous plan, a fact quickly realized by all concerned. And the cycle starts again.
Why do officials keep offering plans that nobody else finds credible? Because somehow, top officials in the Obama administration and at the Federal Reserve have convinced themselves that troubled assets, often referred to these days as "toxic waste," are really worth much more than anyone is actually willing to pay for them -- and that if these assets were properly priced, all our troubles would go away.
Thus, in a recent interview Tim Geithner, the Treasury secretary, tried to make a distinction between the "basic inherent economic value" of troubled assets and the "artificially depressed value" that those assets command right now. In recent transactions, even AAA-rated mortgage-backed securities have sold for less than 40 cents on the dollar, but Mr. Geithner seems to think theyre worth much, much more. And they would be if you'd suspend the 'mark-to-market' rule and let banks and investors carry them at their previous value for a while. They could then revalue and sell/buy them in the market at prices closer to what they were worth a year or two ago.
And the governments job, he declared, is to "provide the financing to help get those markets working," pushing the price of toxic waste up to where it ought to be.
Whats more, officials seem to believe that getting toxic waste properly priced would cure the ills of all our major financial institutions. Earlier this week, Ben Bernanke, the Federal Reserve chairman, was asked about the problem of "zombies" -- financial institutions that are effectively bankrupt but are being kept alive by government aid. "I dont know of any large zombie institutions in the U.S. financial system," he declared, and went on to specifically deny that A.I.G. -- A.I.G.! -- is a zombie.
This is the same A.I.G. that, unable to honor its promises to pay off other financial institutions when bonds default, has already received $150 billion in aid and just got a commitment for $30 billion more.
The truth is that the Bernanke-Geithner plan -- the plan the administration keeps floating, in slightly different versions -- isnt going to fly.
Take the plans latest incarnation: a proposal to make low-interest loans to private investors willing to buy up troubled assets. This would certainly drive up the price of toxic waste because it would offer a heads-you-win, tails-we-lose proposition. As described, the plan would let investors profit if asset prices went up but just walk away if prices fell substantially.
But would it be enough to make the banking system healthy? No.
Think of it this way: by using taxpayer funds to subsidize the prices of toxic waste, the administration would shower benefits on everyone who made the mistake of buying the stuff. Some of those benefits would trickle down to where theyre needed, shoring up the balance sheets of key financial institutions. But most of the benefit would go to people who dont need or deserve to be rescued.
And this means that the government would have to lay out trillions of dollars to bring the financial system back to health, which would, in turn, both ensure a fierce public outcry and add to already serious concerns about the deficit. (Yes, even strong advocates of fiscal stimulus like yours truly worry about red ink.) Realistically, its just not going to happen.
So why has this zombie idea -- it keeps being killed, but it keeps coming back -- taken such a powerful grip? The answer, I fear, is that officials still arent willing to face the facts. They dont want to face up to the dire state of major financial institutions because its very hard to rescue an essentially insolvent bank without, at least temporarily, taking it over. And temporary nationalization is still, apparently, considered unthinkable.
But this refusal to face the facts means, in practice, an absence of action. And I share the presidents fears: inaction could result in an economy that sputters along, not for months or years, but for a decade or more. The silliest part of all this is that a mortgage cramdown measure will further devalue the assets backed by mortgages so the administration is implementing policies which will make the gap between the theory and the reality even wider. Some adults are required but no-one will take the jobs because they applicants have to answer questions about their taxes. Monty Python??.
Posted by: Omoter Speaking for Boskone7794 ||
03/06/2009
10:08 ||
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#1
So basically, Paul Krugman is on track to become Obama's very own Father Conklin - a fanatical election-year supporter who turned on the punative Saviour of the Left because he wasn't leftist enough, fast enough?
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
03/06/2009 11:42
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#2
Its what happens when a peson stands on the fence post of decision and instead of falling on one side or the other, chooses a little of both and falls straight down.
I don't like the idea of nationalizing the banks even if the arguement could be made to do so because I have zero confidence in who would be the decision makers; also do you really want the people who are in charge now deciding your health concerns? Back to the topic, why in the world do it with failed banks (ex. nationalize the energy industry under the name Enron) - the only way it would have any confidence with the people is if were successful in the first place before a state takeover - but if they are successful its because they didn't bite into the government apple.
#3
So Geithner really, really believes the cost of an average home in southern California should be $1 million? Yippee! As soon as he can get me that much for my house I'm outta here.
#5
I don't like the idea of nationalizing the banks even if the arguement could be made to do so because I have zero confidence in who would be the decision makers;
Yah, if we're going to have socialism, we need socialism run by someone who's at least tried to run a small business and failed, and knows that things can go astray of your best intentions.
All the democrats seem to have in the way of real businessmen are the people who made sweetheart deals based on their personal influence, like Terry McAuliffe or Hillary Clinton.
#6
Ebbang, when that happens, your grocery bill will average a grand a week.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
03/06/2009 15:28
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#7
Suspending the MTM rule is an even dumber idea than anything the Obamanauts have yet come up with. Our troubles will not go away if the toxic waste is given an imaginarily high value, either. A lot of the big banks are truly insolvent, need to be taken out back & shot in the head. Housing is still ridiculously overpriced, even in places like Detroit & Cleveland. do you really want the people who are in charge now deciding your health concerns? That is on the topic, very much so. I sure don't want the pirates & thieves who have run the world banking system into the ground to deciding to dig their holes even deeper. Sometimes I think chimps could make better decisions than the Best and the Brightest® have done.
#8
Although mark-to-market is a problem where there is no legitimate market, the whole MTM notion is not the full story. It emanates from FASB157 and applies only to assets held for sale. If a bank makes a loan which it holds on its books to maturity MTM has no relevance. There is the need for annual write down provisioning which is different. So the MTM issue is a bit of a red herring and not fully understood. [See Steve Forbes in the WSJ today - he gets it wrong as well]. But it is legitimate where there is no market - which should be defined as a ready and willing buyer meeting a ready and willing seller. At the moment the only buyers are hedgefunds who want to pay fire sale prices so that doesn't fit the definition. It is a mess and not easily susceptible to a silver bullet.
#9
"Some adults are required but no-one will take the jobs"
The adults won't take these jobs because the White House staff studiously ignores whatever they have to say. There are stories about Paul Volker wandering the halls of White House trying to find someone to speak to while the political types make policy decisions without any input from the economic advisors.
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
03/06/2009 16:38
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#10
These declinations are of no consequence. The One's devoted Leibstandarte primary staff will find the right people. There should be no concern, no concern at all.
#11
Our troubles will not go away if the toxic waste is given an imaginarily high value, either.
Way to demolish that straw man. The problem with mark to market is that it has effectively destroyed the ability of anyone to make a market in the "toxic waste" that is an incredible long term opportunity but would result in an immediate short term GAAP loss for any purchaser without creating any tax benefit. Listen to John Allison's presentation to understand how a responsible banker views mark-to-market.
A lot of the big banks are truly insolvent, need to be taken out back & shot in the head. Housing is still ridiculously overpriced, even in places like Detroit & Cleveland.
Great non-sequitur.
Mark to market should be reversed. We've had it for two years. Let's repeal it for two and see what happens.
#12
I'm with NS. MtM is no secret anymore. Nobody is going to get 'suckered' into buying some overpriced crap because it's no longer marked to market. In a market and economy like this, investors are deciding for themsleves what things are worth, they're not trusting anyones word on values.
Suspend it for a couple years and see what happens.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
03/06/2009 19:40
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Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN's chief medical correspondent, has withdrawn his name from consideration as surgeon general of the United States, he said Thursday.
This is more about my family and my surgical career," Gupta told CNN's "Larry King Live." The neurosurgeon said he would likely have had to give up practicing had he taken the job as the nation's top doctor. In addition, the 39-year-old and his wife are expecting their third daughter any time, and the government job would have meant long periods away from his family, he said."I think, for me, it really came down to a sense of timing more than anything else," he said. "I just didn't feel I should do that now."
Gupta said he had not been formally nominated for the job, though he had spoken with senior members of the Obama administration, who made it clear he was their choice, he said. "I think there was a real melding there," he said, adding that he felt flattered to have been considered. Joyceln Elders. Tanned, rested and ready...
#4
I recall with horror and amusement the time Gupta caused "controversy" among "journalists" in Iraq when he - gasp - used his neurosurgeon's expertise to assist a victim of a bombing (I think) while "on the job." A pretty accurate measure of the insanity of the media mindset in the early 21st century.
Remmber Dr. Bob Arnot of MSNBC? He was my favoritest "journalist" - actually, he was 1,000 cuts above most of 'em - he was an MD, spoke Arabic (also a pilot). There was at least one time I was watching his live reports from Iraq in '03 in the middle of the night in the US where he was with a Marine unit entering suburban Baghdad. He was not only providing live war reporting up at the tip of the spear - he was interviewing locals in Arabic, and then assisting with medical referral for some of them, as well as checking on some Marines. Pretty impressive. Of course he was canned and disappeared .....
The U.S. identified the remains of a suicide bomber who committed an attack in Somalia last October, and returned the remains to his family in Minnesota last December. The bomber, 27 year old Shirwa Ahmed, was an naturalized American citizen of Somali origin. It's believed that 10-20 other young Somali men have gone back to Somalia to fight with Islamic radicals in the last year or so. The FBI has been investigating this situation for nearly a year, and so far have not released their findings. This is understandable, as it is an ongoing investigation, and the FBI doesn't want to jeopardize the sources it has, or reveal how close it is to identifying and building a case against those who recruited and paid for the missing Somali-Americans to go fight for Islamic radicals in Somalia.
Suicide bomber Shirwa Ahmed migrated to Minneapolis with his family in the 1990s. There are 15,000 Somalis, mostly recent migrants, in the Minneapolis area. Somalis claim there are many more, up to 80,000, but this would imply a large number of illegal migrants, and there is little evidence of this. The young men have the usual problems of recent arrivals from a Third World country. Many have a hard time adapting, and some join Somali street gangs. These gangs largely preyed on fellow Somalis, although there were increasing attacks on non-Somalis.
It was hoped that family ties would help maintain order in the Somali community. But then the State Department began DNA testing of family members allowed to migrate to the United States, and found that 80 percent were not family, but participants in a scam whereby they paid up to $10,000 to have a Somali already in the U.S. claim them as a family member so they could enter legally.
The Somali community in Minneapolis is a mixed lot. Some are college educated professionals who left before the government disappeared in 1991. Most, however, are poorly educated, often illiterate, Somalis who fled the violence that has beset the country since 1991. And many of these got in illegally via the false family member scam. A number of the Somali migrants are Islamic conservatives, and some of these are believed to be the key people in the Islamic terrorist recruiting operation. This sort of recruiting goes on in Moslem migrant communities throughout the world. What worries the FBI the most is that if some of these missing Somalis are given terrorist training overseas, and then return to the United States.
Posted by: ed ||
03/06/2009
08:45 ||
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#1
"Our strength lies within our diversity."-I forget who said that, Karl Marx, Castro, Mao or Jane Fonda.
#3
We could dig into the Somali immigrant community and use the lies about family relationships as a lever. That might tell us who some of the troublemakers are. We could then deport those jokers.
But don't look for Eric Holder to do this.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/06/2009 10:41
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#4
The Hispanics deported from the Postville Iowa kosher meat processing plant were quickly replaced by Minnesota Somalis, "disillusioned" to discover they couldn't live in the US on the income they can make. Rules about overtime, child labor, and even rental agreements that have limitations on number of persons allowed per home, plus khat doesn't grow in the northern climate means we have quite a few illegals without the government subsidy for refugees. Since the FBI has investigated this for over a year, they may be building a case.
#6
Give us your tired your poor your hungry terrorist yearning to throw Bombs because they hate the GREAT SATAN!
Posted by: Red Dawg ||
03/06/2009 12:10
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#7
Two days ago a Palestinian cab driver askeed if I were Jewish. I said yes. He then began a long rant against Israel. We are letting scary people in our country...
#11
Speaking of cab drivers - my brother had a conversation with an Afghan cab driver in DC a couple of years ago. The driver said he knew most of the Afghan cab drivers in DC, like which ones were Taliban and which ones weren't.
Egypt has refused to implement U.S. peace proposal for Gaza, that would halt the smuggling of weapons into Gaza via tunnels under the Egyptian border. The Egyptians officially say they will stop the smuggling, but they have been saying that for years. In practice, the Egyptians are not willing to take the heat, from their own pro-Palestinian population, and from the Bedouin tribes in the Sinai desert around Gaza, if they actually cracked down on the weapons smuggling into Gaza. Oh well, cease fire off. Unleash up the arty Moshe.
Rest at link
Posted by: ed ||
03/06/2009
08:43 ||
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#1
I thought Egypt had been messing with the Bedouins for a while now, what with their designation as 'usual suspects' anytime there's an attack in Sinai?
#6
The Bedouins are an odd lot, and other Arabs are always careful not to mess with them. They will sell to the Paleos, but will take no crap from them.
They rule Jordan, and the Jordanian secret police, which is why the Paleos mind their manners there, as a rule. If they cut up rough, the Bedouin would think nothing of slaughtering them like goats.
That satellite collision 500 miles above the Earth last month? All a Yankee plot, says a Russian general. Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Leonid Shershnev, identified as the former chief of Russia's military space intelligence, tells the Kremlin-run RIA Novosti press agency that the cosmic crack-up may have been a test of U.S. space-weapon technology.
Officially, a defunct Russian satellite collided with an American telecommunications bird, one of 66 owned and operated by the Iridium company which relay signals to and from satellite phones on Earth.
Shershnev doesn't buy it. He thinks the American satellite was really one of the two used in the 2007 Orbital Express experiment, a NASA-Pentagon joint venture in which one satellite hooked up with and refueled another.
That program was officially shut down nearly two years ago. Shershnev thinks it may be still running, that Orbital Express has reached its goal to "develop technology that would allow monitoring and inspections of orbital spacecraft by fully-automated satellites equipped with robotic devices," and that it can now do even more.
According to RIA Novosti's paraphrase of the general's words, the U.S. may now be "capable of manipulating 'hostile satellites,' including their destruction, with a single command from a ground control center." Yes general, it is referred to here as dynamic galactic sensor reprogramming or DGSR. We overcame the language coding challenges in 1979.
#1
According to RIA Novosti's paraphrase of the general's words, the U.S. may now be "capable of manipulating 'hostile satellites,' including their destruction, with a single command from a ground control center."
Actually, general, all they have to do is use their psychic powers to think about it happening and it happens.
Be afraid, commie...
#3
Sigh... General, why would the US military be plotting nefarious orbital derring-do with an operational Iridium sat in vital use by our own ground forces, and an ABANDONED COMMIE HULK? Wouldn't we want to, oh, I don't know, REVERSE THE PARTICIPANTS?
The "Money Shot":
But what if we turned the tables? Iran's most dangerous weapons are all dependent upon the same computer-driven systems as ours. Their nuclear plants, uranium enrichment systems, missile launch systems, radar control, etc. are all as vulnerable to the EMP destruction of microchip-driven computers as ours are.
So, why sit around and wait for our known enemies to put us technologically into the 1850s? I think we should "do unto them before they do unto us." In the final analysis, such an act of boldness would save millions of lives on both sides. Israel, I especially hope you are listening.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
03/06/2009 11:01
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#2
I call BS on the EMP scare. The B-29 aircraft that delivered the atomic weapons at Hiroshima and Nagasaki did not lose power due to damage to their electrical or electronic systems. Some systems may be affected, but odds are most stuff will still work fine. Anything shielded with metal mesh is well protected, I suspect the steel rebar in most concrete buildings would be sufficient.
#3
The B-29 was pretty much an 'analog' device, switches, wires and 'hard contacts' like relays, solenoids, etc. Not really adversely affected by magnetic pulses (except maybe solenoids and relays for the duration of the pulse) when enclosed in a ferrous container and properly grounded.
The newer electronics utilize ICs, MOSFETs and the like for switching and controlling power. These gizmos really don't like large magnetic pulses as these induce 'extra electron flow' in semiconductor substrates that aren't designed to handle them, unless specifically made to do so which most commercial-market devices aren't. The mesh will help, but it wouldn't be 100% effective for the first few microseconds if the device activated next to it.
A relay, mechanical switch or 'hard wire connection' can withstand a short 'surge' of electrons, but a standard semiconducting device can't.
After a big EMP burst, I'll still be driving my '79 1-ton analog pickup (took out the HEI ignition a few years back and replaced with a 'point' system) while my neighbors nice new EFI vehicles with LCD Dashboards will be dead in the water.
My radio might not work, though.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
03/06/2009 12:55
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#4
Does anyone know if the diodes in auto alternators are affected by EMP? Decent info on the scope of EMP damage is hard to find. From Wiki: "Karaganda suffered the most severe electromagnetic pulse effects ever observed in history, when its electrical power plant was set on fire by currents induced in a 1,000 km long shallow buried power cable by Soviet Test 184 on 22 October 1962. The test was part of Operation K (ABM System A proof tests), and consisted of a 300-kt nuclear explosion at 290-km altitude over Zhezkazgan. Prompt gamma ray-produced EMP induced a current of 2,500 amps measured by spark gaps in a 570-km stretch of overhead telephone line to Zharyq, blowing all the protective fuses. The late-time MHD-EMP was of low enough frequency to enable it to penetrate the 90 cm into the ground, overloading a shallow buried lead and steel tape-protected 1,000-km long power cable between Aqmola and Almaty, firing circuit breakers and setting the Karaganda power plant on fire [1]."
Sounds like one system that would definitely be damaged is the electric grid & power plants. If thousands of the electric company's trucks were put out of commission, I suspect the juice would be out for a very long time. People who have come to depend on cell phones would be out of luck, also. Etc.
#5
Diodes are pretty tough because they're so 'simple', but they're not indestructible.
The alternator diodes would be affected if the blast was close by and the car was running (with current flowing through the diodes during the blast). You would lose your alternator's charging capacity, but continue to run on the battery if you had a 'analog' vehicle (and a battery in good condition). You'd then better find a way to re-charge your battery or carry a spare diode pack (hint, they're pretty cheap and easy to change on the older alternators).
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
03/06/2009 16:37
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#6
Back to the 1850's? I suppose if you are talking about technology..
these guys are like tribal cave men in living in the 21st century. It's more like taking rocket launchers away from the monkeys at the zoo.
#7
Master Mechanic speaking here, the normal flux in and around alternators exceeds any EMP Pulse by around a thousand to one, there's so much flux I carelessly fried my wristwatch buy getting within a foot of an idling alternator (Car was at idle) I forgot to take it off.
I doubt seriously any damage at all will occur,Having said that the Voltage regulator IS succeptable (If NOT mounted inside he alternator, those are pretty safe.)
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
03/06/2009 22:14
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#8
It's more like taking rocket launchers away from the monkeys at the zoo.
Cool! Monkeys with rocket launchers. At last, a reason to go to the zoo.
#9
I suspect Jim is correct. The voltage regulator is likely toast. The GM internally regulated alternator that Mullah has in his formerly HEI ignited truck would stand a better chance.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
03/06/2009 23:04
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Master Mechanic speaking here
Rantburg U. is once again in session! But what about Iran's missile launch systems and such? Please explain in words of one syllable or less, Professor R. Jim, as electrical physics was the course I kind of failed, back in the day.
My country is bleeding to death. It is heart breaking and it augurs the twilight of a nation.
I am mourning the loss of Pakistan's pastoral mountain "state" of Swat with its fair, gentle people. Pakistan's continuous dalliance with Islamists, the machinations of politicians and the greed and strategic intrigue of its army have delivered these peaceful people into the hands of the vermin-like Taliban, whose flinty hearts match the stony terrain they descended from.
The shame of it. It is a challenge to and very possibly the end to the constitution of Pakistan. At best it is a consequence of the apathy and operational paralysis of the Pakistani army. At worst it is the harbinger of a future in which the Islamists and our "national" army, which brokered the deal with the black-turbaned Taliban, will spread their tentacles through the rest of the country.
How did we get here? Years ago the Taliban warlord and commander Gulbuddin Hekmatyar predicted this event, quivering with rage when he was ordered to leave Pakistan. I was then a journalist covering these events and sensed his desperation. He had sent thousands to their deaths, for a jihad funded by the US, and was now trapped like a rat, along with rival mujahideen groups now fighting each other for power in Afghanistan.
"Pakistan has played the whore," he said on his expulsion. "It took the money while we gave our blood. We rid Afghanistan of the Russians and one day we will descend from the mountains and put you right." Used to the ravings of egotistical generals and deranged politicians, I dismissed his threat. The evil has, a decade or so later, seeped over the mountains and infested Pakistan. Their carefully chosen target this time was the Sri Lankan cricket team.
I got the news while sitting in the forests of Gabon, Africa, and began to pray that this atrocity is some internal Sri Lankan affair with Tamil terrorists taking revenge on the national team for their recent losses. But the immaculately planned and executed attack, in which eight people died and seven members of the team were injured, demonstrates that what remains of civil society has lost the battle. It may be only a matter of time till the black-turbaned menace will pour on to the plains and make us another Iran.
There is no end to the corruption of Pakistan's political parties, both the PPP and the Muslim League. The former promises a secular agenda, while appeasing the Turbanators. The latter promises civil rule with the veneer of Islam: religion for the masses and rich pickings for the party leaders and their camp-followers.
I have been away from the country for 13 years but I can see that we asked for it. There is no end to the corruption of Pakistan's political parties, both the PPP and the Muslim League. The former promises a secular agenda, while appeasing the Turbanators. The latter promises civil rule with the veneer of Islam: religion for the masses and rich pickings for the party leaders and their camp-followers.
And the army has never had its hand far from the levers of power and profit. It is the other leg of our one-legged democracy. After 11 years of the dictatorship of General Zia which enriched the corps' commanders and their favourites, while promising the masses riches in heaven, the army will not relinquish its access to wealth.
General Musharraf appointed nephews to sensitive positions and fell into the way of all dictators, demanding sycophancy above truth. Musharraf became willy-nilly the guardian of the army's industrial empire. The army had become and is today a huge business mafia. It, and its officers and ex-officers, owns the cement factories, spices and fertilisers; it bakes bread and makes cheese.
The Nawaz Sharif government that succeeded was a mere changing of the guard. His family were greedy if petty industrialists. Under his watch the Islamic element grew. His government passed the infamous blasphemy law, which can still be used as a death warrant on any dissident. Mrs Bhutto Buggins'-turned her way back to power and then we had the merry-go-round of the return of Sharif and the last coup by General Musharraf. For the first time the people of Pakistan welcomed the military coup. They wanted a rule of law which the "democrats" had eroded. The corruption and nepotism of all the political parties had defeated the very idea of a nation. Some even questioned whether democracy was alien to us and ought to be suspended till we were ready for it. In a largely illiterate population votes are bought, traded and meaningless.
General Musharraf appointed nephews to sensitive positions and fell into the way of all dictators, demanding sycophancy above truth. Musharraf became willy-nilly the guardian of the army's industrial empire. The army had become and is today a huge business mafia. It, and its officers and ex-officers, owns the cement factories, spices and fertilisers; it bakes bread and makes cheese.
The army is forced by operational paralysis to negotiate with the Taliban, and has handed over Swat to these thugs to administer according to the Sharia, letting them bomb and burn schools to stop, at first, girls being educated and now to prevent all modern education in their territory.
The assault on the Sri Lankan team in the heart of our greatest city, the fact that none of the assailants, who had rifles, grenades and rocket launchers, have been apprehended, has demonstrated to the world that our government is a trussed rather than a lame duck.
#2
promises civil rule with the veneer of Islam: religion blah, blah, blah for the masses and rich pickings for the party leaders and their camp-followers.
Now it describes pretty much all politics.
#4
Pakistan is eating a giant Islamic D-Con burger, a bite at a time. That is why she is bleeding to death.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
03/06/2009 11:23
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As it could be expected she spins it: Hykhmatyar spent more time fighting Ahmad Shah Massood than fighting the Soviets. Then after the Sovietws withdrew and the fall two years later of the regime they sponsored he bombarded Khabul causing thousands of victims trying to wrestle power from the coalition whose strong man was (untermensch aka Tajik) Massod. Hykhmatyar, a Pshtoon and a supremacist one at that was soundly defeated alongside his pakistani protectors dozens of them (it was found they were not ven Pakistani Pashtoons but Punjabis) falling into the hands of Massood's men. At this point since his defeats and the bombarding of Khaboul had made he was "burned" even in the eyes of Pashtoons Pakistan drew Mullah Omar out of its sleeve.
Extremist groups in Southeast Asia are increasingly using the internet and social networking to radicalise the youth of the region, said a new security report released on Friday. Internet usage in Southeast Asia has exploded since 2000 and extremist groups have developed a sophisticated online presence, including professional media units.
"For extremist groups in our region, the internet is an increasingly important tool for recruitment to violence," said the report by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute and S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore. "Importantly, they aren't attacking only the West, but are drawing on their narrative to attack the governance arrangements of regional states," said the report titled "Countering internet radicalisation in Southeast Asia"
The report said online extremism first appeared in Southeast Asia in early 2000, particularly in the Bahasa Indonesia and Malay language cyber-environment. Since then internet usage in the region has exploded and so too have extremist websites, chat rooms and blogs. The number of radical and extremist websites in Bahasa and Malay rose from 15 in 2007 to 117 in 2008. Of those, sympathetic websites rose from 10 to 16 and sympathetic blogs and social networking rose from zero to 82. Between 2006 and July 2007, radical regional websites have disseminated al-Qaeda and Southeast Asian militant group Jemaah Islamiah propaganda videos, pictures and statements, it said.
In Indonesia, which has battled extremist Muslim groups responsible for bombings, internet usage rose from 2 million in 2000 to 20 million in January 2008. The country now represents 80 to 90 percent of visitors to 10 radical and extremist websites in the region, said the report. The Philippines, which has a Muslim insurgency, has seen internet usage rise to 14 million from 2 million in 2000, Malaysia 14.9 million from 3.7 million and Thailand 8.5 million from 2.3 million in the same period. "The Bahasa and Malay language websites include sites manned by radical and extremist groups, Islamic boarding schools (pesantrens), and groups of individuals who sympathise with and support the ideology of violent jihad," said the report.
One of the first appearances of a "tradecraft manual" was in August 2007 in the then forum, Jihad al-Firdaus. The forum had a section on electronic jihad, including several hacking manuals. In 2008 the region's first sophisticated bomb-making manual and bomb-making video were posted on the Forum Al-Tawbah, which is registered in Shah Alam, Selangor and Malaysia, said the report. But it said there had been no serious attempt to plan militant operations in these forums, adding further details of their activities were in private messages or personal emails.
Militant groups have also become internet media savvy. The Mujahidin Syura Council, an extremist group that claims to operate in southern Thailand, launched an official media wing in July 2008 as a blog on Google, said the report. The Khattab Media Publication's blog is mainly written in Malay and was used to announce the start of a new military campaign, codenamed Operation Tawbah (Operation Repentance). Another group, Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia, often produces high-quality videos of its activities and uploads them onto YouTube. Many of the videos focus on the failings of the Indonesian government and the need to implement sharia law and establish an Islamic caliphate, said the report.
The report said that regional governments had done little to stop the rise of online radicalisation, partly because attempts to regulate cyberspace have been a political minefield. It said while websites inciting violence are subject to criminal laws in some countries, there are often no specific regulations covering the internet. "Some governments don't want to appear un-Islamic by coming down hard on Islamist groups, and some don't want to appear undemocratic by seeming to rein in freedom of expression in cyberspace," it said. "The problem of online radicalisation crosses national borders and will require a concerted international response."
#1
Why does this surprise anyone? All media are used for political purposes, propaganda and trouble making. Pamphleteers did it and so did newspapers. Before mass media there were balladeers and minstrels that went from place to place singing their political views, overtly or subtly. Shakespeare and other playwrights always pushed a certain view of the political facts of life. Internet is new and exciting. Using it for political ends is almost a natural evolution of the tool for disseminating information to many people. Moreover, it is hard to censor and the engineers are sometimes cleverer than the censors. The part of internet that provides a modicum of accurate information, history and geography and truly up-to-date reporting should not be censored by special groups, religious, political, commercial or otherwise, unless the reasons themselves are unbiased and are urgent. To paraphrase Marshall McCluhan who worked prior to internet, INTERNET has become the political and religious message. Obama's insistence on a Blackberry is as good an example of the internet's importance, as any. Internet is instrumental in all the functioning of society at this moment. Education, Health, Welfare, Religion, Commerce and Government all depend heavily on it. At this moment it is truly indispensable in the daily lives of just about everyone. Some of my contemporaries are afraid of it or afraid of not knowing how to get into it. The children of the world are now better at using computers as I was at getting SW radio stations as a kid, before TV, of course. The TV Generation is not the Internet Generation. Thanks for listening.
#2
Welcome, Dr. Izzy Sommers! A lovely first rant; I look forward to reading more of your thoughts on this site. Only one thing: you wrote, "the engineers are sometimes cleverer than the censors." I'd change that to always, with the caveat that whatever it is must catch an engineer's attention first. ;-)
Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, who recently returned from a Middle East trip that included stops in Damascus and Gaza, called yesterday for loosening sanctions on Syria, which he praised for opening a stock market and sending an ambassador to Iraq.
"Loosening certain sanctions in exchange for verifiable changes in behavior can actually benefit US businesses," Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told a packed auditorium at the Brookings Institution. "The sanctions can always be tightened again if Syria backtracks."
The Bush administration shunned Syria for more than four years, accusing the regime of fostering the insurgency in Iraq, meddling in Lebanon's affairs by assassinating its elected leaders, and supporting anti-Israeli militant groups Hezbollah and Hamas.
You say that twelve rockets were fired into israel since the end of the "war" (ethnic cleansing). Not one Israeli was hurt or killed by these rockets, and now you say you are going to go back and kill more palestinians to teach them a lesson!!!
I think rockets are being fired by your own sources, since less than ten israelis have been killed by them. You are bullshitting the world as you pocket money made from arms sales, along with bibi and your agents in Hamas. step down all men in power!
#2
Hire enough stylists and surgeons, and the results can be surprising, even if underneath one is still the same no-class, unamusing, pig-ignorant stupid bitch one walked in as.
#9
Ummm, No thanks, My wife is far better looking.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
03/06/2009 13:04
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#10
If she cheated on her taxes, she's a shoo-in for a national security billet.
Posted by: Mike ||
03/06/2009 13:18
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#11
Remind me not to get on trailing wife's bad side ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/06/2009 14:03
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#12
I never liked as a comedian, now I really dislike her as a person.
Posted by: lena ||
03/06/2009 15:11
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#13
disgusting that she's even getting air time for this garbage.
I guess the Obama believers are getting desperate to explain the $900 million bail out for Gaza.
Posted by: Jan ||
03/06/2009 16:29
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#14
She has also seen the future. And it is the Apocalypse or...sumthin.
February 24, 2009
tevel is the world of the righteous
and that is what is occurring now. The evil ones are confounded. they sputter and unwind because their programming has become obsolete. Many many of them are awakening and turning away from the lies. Meditation nullifies the chips that were implanted in the brain.
A GREAT FLOOD IS COMING!!! THE POLAR ICE CAPS WILL DROWN THE WORLD WITHIN TEN YEARS!!! in 2012 the righteous will inherit the world. (read seeking contact--archives here). noah is us.
i rewrote/am rewriting "seeking contact" and will include the finished version in my book.
that poor noah guy got raped by his own crazy ass son after the vessel they were riding out the storm in opened and they all went nuts having to see what they had survived. noah is a story about survivor guilt. Noah is a story about how the animals saved R N A....the animals gathered at the water and pushed the ark into the stream so that it could be saved. on the ark was the blueprint of all living things, which is RNA. rna is god and it is immortal! It replicates itself over and over forever and forever again. it has no beginning and no end. it is god almighty itself! immortality now! immortality now! immortality now!! please let us be done with lack!!! there is actually nothing missing! We have the answer to every problem on earth within our hands and it is so simple. find the balance between should be and is!!! that third thing is called "and so it must be done"......thank jesus for these words that floated through me today. elijah was here too and so was abraham and isaac and moses and david the king of my tribe. the third thing is gimmel the camel---the world of formation...we are god and she is us
#15
Dayam, tu3031, that is some sweet, sweet crazy. The whole site's like that! I'm thinking Roseanne is trying for something like the Weekly World News. No, wait, that was better-written.
#16
TW, a beautiful comment. Perfect. Short, sweet, and to the point (upon which she (RB) is impaled). Art.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
03/06/2009 21:51
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#17
Whiskey Mike, such praise from you is a rare and precious thing. I'm overwhelmed.
the third thing is gimmel the camel
No, it's Gamel the camel. Or Gamal... it's a transliteration thingy. Gimel is the Hebrew version of our letter G, the third letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Clearly Ms. Barr has no gift for language in addition to her other handicaps. Did she have children?
Union Home Minister P Chidambaram on Friday said in Hyderabad that the 2007 Mecca Masjid blast case - in which an explosion killed nine people and five died in police firing - has turned "cold" as the two primary suspects are dead.
"The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is investigating the case but in police language the case has turned cold. The reason is we think that two primary suspects in that case are dead," he told reporters. "Unless we get further clues, it is not possible to take that forward but the CBI is working on that," he said when asked about progress made in the case.
Nine people were killed in a bomb blast during Friday prayers at the historic Mecca Masjid here on May 18, 2007. Five people were killed in subsequent police firing on protesters outside the mosque. Police claimed that Shahid Bilal, a key suspect in the case, was killed in a shootout in Pakistan a few weeks after the mosque blast. Shahid, a native of the city, was allegedly working for Bangladesh-based terror group Harkatul Jihad-e-Islami (HuJI).
Chidambaram also said investigations were nearing completion in one of the twin blast cases of August 25, 2007 and that a chargesheet would be filed soon. As many as 43 people were killed in the near-simultaneous blasts at Lumbini Park and a popular eatery Gokul Chat in the heart of Hyderabad that day. "I am told that in one of the cases, the investigations are nearing completion and a chargesheet will be filed shortly. The other one will follow thereafter," he said.
#1
Can anyone elaborate on the etymology of mosque vs. masjid? I understand they mean the same thing: an Islamic temple, or place of worship. But why confuse things with an English synonym that is similar to the Arabic version, yet has no other English usage? I've never heard the term "mosque" used by Muslims with other Muslims, they always seem to prefer "masjid". Am I wrong? Please correct me if I am!
I wonder, if Muslims don't use the word "mosque" why should infidels? Just use a general term and call it a temple... or use the correct foreign word: masjid.
#3
What's the diffo between a basilica and a cathedral?
Posted by: Fred ||
03/06/2009 9:10
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#4
A cathedral (from latin cathedra: pulpit) is a church who is a bishop's siege and in which he teaches doctrine. A basilic is a church built upon a holy place.
#5
My suspicious nature suspects taqqiya... they tell infidels they worship in "Mosques" but then sneak around building lots of innocent-sounding "masjids" and count on infidels to shrug and move on, after all -- what the heck is a "masjid"??? Joe Sixpack has no clue....
The jihad against Israel rages not just in Gaza, but worldwide, including on the Internet -- and even on Facebook, as a 14-year-old American Jew named Todd Snider recently discovered. In July 2008, Snider started a Facebook group called "I Wonder How Quickly I Can Find 1,000,000 People Who Support Israel." This group quickly grew to become the largest pro-Israel group on Facebook, with over 180,000 members. But then, unexpectedly, this group gave this enterprising and dedicated young man a lesson in jihadist intimidation and thuggery -- including an unpleasant taste of how Western bureaucrats abet that thuggery, whether out of indifference or complicity.
For the first time, federal prosecutors in Alexandria, Va., have acknowledged that when Sami Al-Arian took a plea deal in early 2006, federal prosecutors in Tampa believed as did Al-Arian that it exempted him from testifying in other cases. But with this surprising admission, which begins a 24-page document filed in Virginia federal court Wednesday night, comes a provocative argument: It doesn't matter.
"The understandings of the prosecutors who negotiated that agreement are irrelevant to (Al-Arian's) guilt or innocence" for criminal contempt, wrote the Alexandria federal prosecutors, who maintain they are not bound by an agreement made in another district. Despite what prosecutors in Tampa agreed to, the Virginia prosecutors argue they had a right to move Al-Arian to Virginia to testify. They also say that when Al-Arian repeatedly refused, citing a good-faith belief his plea agreement protected him, he was guilty of criminal contempt. He "willfully disobeyed," they say.
But U.S. District Court Judge Leonie Brinkema has said it does matter what he and the Tampa federal prosecutors agreed to. A criminal conviction could mean more prison time and she would need to see "a completely full record" to determine the length of his sentence. Furthermore, Brinkema has said, she doesn't think "the Department of Justice can compartmentalize itself."
"This is not one U.S. Attorney's Office vs. another. You have the United States Department of Justice involved at both ends," she said.
Al-Arian took a plea deal in February 2006, in Tampa after a jury acquitted him on eight counts of aiding terrorists and deadlocked on nine counts. He pleaded guilty to aiding associates of the terrorist group Palestinian Islamic Jihad with nonviolent immigration needs. Tampa prosecutors agreed with his defense attorneys that he would be deported within a few months of signing the plea agreement. But, instead, a Tampa federal judge sentenced him to 11 more months in prison. Virginia prosecutors called that extra time "the window of opportunity" they needed to move Al-Arian to Virginia and force him to testify before a grand jury investigating an Islamic think tank.
Al-Arian's criminal contempt trial was scheduled to begin Monday, but Brinkema postponed it. A new date will be set Monday.
ISLAMABAD: TV footage aired Thursday clearly showed two of the terrorists who attacked the Sri Lankan team in Lahore fleeing past an approaching police vehicle, giving the lie to the authorities' claims that they had cordoned off the area immediately after the incident occurred.
Captured by a CCTV camera and aired by Geo TV, the visuals show two men on a motorcycle, one of them branding an automatic, entering the frame from the bottom of the picture. A police vehicle approaches from the other side, crosses the motorcycle and speeds on without even attempting to stop the duo as they ride out of the frame.
On Wednesday, Geo TV had aired four sets of visuals captured by CCTV cameras in the lanes around the Liberty Market area near the Gaddafi Stadium where a group of terrorists, said to number 12, sprayed bullets on the Sri Lanka team bus Tuesday.
One of the visuals showed two armed terrorists running 50 metres down a lane to where another man waited on a motorcycle. The rider kick starts the machine, the other two get on and the motorcycle speeds away.
Posted by: john frum ||
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#1
That being Dar, I wouldn't be surprised if the police were the attackers.
In other words, if your bank fails and the fund is broke, you loose all the money you have in your bank account... But that will NEVER be the Democrats that now control everything's fault. Now THAT is what you call CHANGE!
March 4 (Bloomberg) -- Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Sheila Bair said the fund it uses to protect customer deposits at U.S. banks could dry up amid a surge in bank failures, as she responded to an industry outcry against new fees approved by the agency.
"Without these assessments, the deposit insurance fund could become insolvent this year," Bair wrote in a March 2 letter to the industry. U.S. community banks plan to flood the FDIC with about 5,000 letters in protest of the fees, according to a trade group.
"A large number" of bank failures may occur through 2010 because of "rapidly deteriorating economic conditions," Bair said in the letter. "Without substantial amounts of additional assessment revenue in the near future, current projections indicate that the fund balance will approach zero or even become negative."
The FDIC last week approved a one-time "emergency" fee and other assessment increases on the industry to rebuild a fund to repay customers for deposits of as much as $250,000 when a bank fails. The fees, opposed by the industry, may generate $27 billion this year after the fund fell to $18.9 billion in the fourth quarter from $34.6 billion in the previous period, the FDIC said.
The fund, which lost $33.5 billion in 2008, was drained by 25 bank failures last year. Sixteen banks have failed so far this year, further straining the fund.
Smaller banks are outraged over the one-time fee, which could wipe out 50 percent to 100 percent of a bank's 2009 earnings, Camden Fine, president of the Independent Community Bankers of America, said yesterday in a telephone interview.
#2
to rebuild a fund to repay customers for deposits of as much as $250,000
Anyone have a reference on a site with the distribution of how much we really do have in our accounts? Given that 250K just in annual salary would put you into the 2 or 3 percent mark, I would doubt many Americans, outside the usual suspects of those with 'special' connections [who got the coverage amount raised from 100K not too long ago], have that much. Stupid to have raised it in the first place and thus creating the situation we have now.
Smaller banks are outraged over the one-time fee, which could wipe out 50 percent to 100 percent of a bank's 2009 earnings,
That appears to be the real damage. The experts and those in charge who brought us to this point are now compounding the problem.
#3
I'm awaiting a cost sharing 'customer funded FDIC scheme' where one is taxed charged according to the amount deposited. Of course Obamabonds and CD's would be insurance exempt.
#4
The 2 to 3% limit doesn't apply here. We have a very, very large amount of foreign deposits by folks from other countries that trust American banks more than there own. FDIC being one reason.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
03/06/2009 9:40
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#5
There are plenty of Americans with incomes well below the $250,000 annual income level who have been exceedingly frugal. My darling in-laws, for instance, always set aside 25% of my father's salary as a steel worker, using it to buy a little house, put two children through college at nearby state schools, and set aside substantial funds for their old age. This, despite the steel plant closing before my father-in-law hit the half century mark, throwing him into unplanned very early retirement; they have continued to set aside a portion of his pension payments toward their very old age, putting a substantial portion of their savings into CDs. I can easily imagine they had funds above the cut-off.
#6
If you think the crisis is bad now, just imagine the FDIC reneging on its pledge, even to small-potatoes savers like me. It would be March 1933 all over again, as depositors scrambled to convert their account balances into currency. That can't be done in a short period of time.
It seems inevitable that there will be a surge of bank failures, as the awareness of the true scope of bank insolvency spreads. Yup, it is truly time to institute National Health Insurance.
(PTI) Pakistan today suspected al-Qaeda to be behind the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team and said the perpetrators have been identified while ruling out the involvement of India or LTTE in the terror strike. So the Hidden Hand™ turned out to be Arabia again. As usual.
Investigators have not found any evidence of India's involvement in the attack, Interior Ministry chief Rehman Malik told reporters at the National Assembly in Islamabad. He also rejected speculation in media about possible involvement of rebel Tamil Tigers in the island nation.
The possibility of al Qaeda's involvement in Tuesday's attack could not be ruled out, he said, adding the preliminary report of the investigation will be ready by tomorrow.
Hours after the Tuesday attack, a couple of ministers and some police officials hinted at India's involvement. Malik also had said that they suspected involvement of a foreign hand but will not give details till they get proof.
As the authorities came under criticism after a dramatic video footage showed the gunmen moving leisurely after striking, Punjab Governor Salman Taseer said here "we have identified the people who have carried out the attacks. We are after them." He, however, did not give details or name any suspect.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/06/2009
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#1
The first people I would investigate interrogate would be
"a couple of ministers and some police officials hinted at India's involvement."
The Army appears on verge of crushing Tiger rebels. By Simon Montlake
Colombo, Sri Lanka - In 1992, Lt. Col. Gotabhaya Rajapaksa retired from the Army after two decades in uniform. A year later, he moved to Los Angeles and began working in IT. In 2001, he heard President Bush declare that "you're either with us or against us" in the global war on terror.
"The lesson that I have learned is that peace talks will never go anywhere.... Tell me a place where this has worked."
Mr. Rajapaksa didn't need convincing. The decorated officer -- today Sri Lanka's defense secretary -- had long ago concluded that his own country's fight against extremism, which broke into civil war in 1983, required a military solution by a united front. "The lesson that I have learned is that peace talks will never go anywhere.... Tell me a place where this has worked," he says. Every place you find a working government of national unity you can find productive peace talks with formerly murderous enemies.
After a massive buildup of troops and equipment, Sri Lanka appears on the verge of victory against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. If successful, It will have succeeded where others in the region, such as India and Pakistan, have failed in putting down an armed rebellion by force.
Behind Sri Lanka's war machine is Chinese military hardware, foreign intelligence sharing, and a focus on military professionalism. "They've insulated the way the Army operates. It's purely military logic," says a Western diplomat in Colombo.
The government has also tried to clamp down on LTTE overseas funding, with limited success. While the United States has frozen two Tamil charities as terrorist fronts, European countries have dragged their feet, say Sri Lankan officials.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/06/2009
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#1
Peace Talks apear as the guerrilla is on the verge of winning or at least cannot be defeated and, in a kind of war where the morale and politic aspect is everything, greatly strengthens it. Also you can bet the guerrilla will use the time for reinforcing itself.
The principal economic problem resulted from the government's inability to curb its reckless spending spree. The civil service continued to expand, the security forces were thriving and government ministers lived in opulence. They asked: 'Why are people concerned; after all, the government provides the money?'
But at what price - the poor taxpayer received the message every day. Infation had reached 50 per cent, interest rates peaked at 55 per cent and unemployment continued to increase - as it had done for the past twelve years since the coming to power of ZANU(PF). Headlines in March 1993 told us that the Minister of Defense was planning a 40 per cent reduction in the size of the army - proportional to population the largest in Africa. However, in the national budget producted in Parliament at the end of July there was an increase of 14 per cent in the defence vote! The largest increases went to those ministries which helped to prop up the government, such as Information, which was a massive propaganda machine dedicated to brainwashing the public into expecting 'miracles' performed by ZANU(PF).
COLOMBO, March 5 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka plans to open two safe routes to let tens of thousands of civilians trapped in a war zone escape and has invited the Red Cross to help, a senior Sri Lankan official said on Thursday. That will last until the next boomer...
Sri Lankan soldiers have cornered the Tamil Tiger separatists in an area of less than 45 square km (17 sq miles) in the Indian Ocean island's northeastern shore, aiming to deliver a final blow to a separatist war that has raged off and on since 1983.
Aid agencies say tens of thousands of civilians are being kept at gunpoint by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) inside a military-demarcated no-fire zone on the coast, a sandy 12-km strip of coconut groves with water on both sides.
"One route will lead north past Challai and the other south past Mullaittivu town. The ICRC has been invited to facilitate the movement along these routes," the official told Reuters on condition of anonymity. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is the only agency allowed a permanent presence in the war zone.
The military officials cautioned the announcement may not come for a day or two since troops are fighting heavy battles to secure the last parts of the areas they need to open the routes.
The current no-fire zone is the second demarcated by the army. When troops reached the edge of the first one which was further inland, nearly all of the roughly 37,000 people who have successfully fled the fighting this year came out in a flood.
The Red Cross in Geneva said the idea has been under discussion but a spokesman said he was unable to confirm whether the Sri Lankan government had made a formal request yet. "Should there be an agreement from all parties involved, the ICRC stands ready to facilitate the movement of civilians as long as these movements are voluntary," spokesman Simon Schorno said.
The LTTE could not be reached for comment with most communication in the war zone severed. It has insisted that people are staying voluntarily despite accusations from witnesses, aid agencies and rights groups that they were shooting people trying to flee and forcibly recruiting people, including children as young as 15.
The Red Cross has successfully negotiated the evacuation of 2,769 sick and wounded people from the no-fire zone by boat, and ferried in medicine and food on its return trips. A group of 356 was taken out on Wednesday, the ICRC said.
The United Nations and others have said there are around 200,000 people trapped in the war zone, while the government says the number is no more than 70,000.
The army's commander, Lt-Gen. Sarath Fonseka, has ordered commanders to take "maximum precautions keeping the civilian factor in mind at all times," the military's official web site www.nationalsecurity.lk quoted him as saying.
The pro-rebel web site, www.TamilNet.com, said on Thursday artillery fire into the no-fire zone had killed 78 civilians, but it did not name its sources and had no pictures. The military denies firing inside the no-fire zone and has repeatedly accused the LTTE of trying to manufacture a civilian crisis to get international pressure for a ceasefire, which it has done in the past and used as a period to re-arm.
Posted by: Steve White ||
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(AKI) - Prominent Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti would be released from jail in a prisoner exchange deal between Israel and Hamas that would also free kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, a close associate of Barghouti has claimed. Saed Nimr, director of the Free Marwan Barghouti campaign, spoke to Adnkronos International (AKI) on Thursday as Egypt-sponsored negotiations continue for a long-term peace deal between the parties.
Marwan gets exchanged in the same condition as Shalit. If Shalit is alive and well, so is Marwan. If Shalit has bruises, give some to Marwan. If Shalit is dead, whack Marwan just before the exchange takes place ...
"We have received assurances that Barghouti is included in Hamas' list to swap Shalit," Saed Nimr told Adnkronos International (AKI) in a telephone interview from the West Bank. "There have been so many times when the release of Barghouti was talked about, this time, we have reasons to be more optimistic than any other time in the last seven years."
Nimr, a political science professor at Birzeit University in the West Bank, has been campaigning for Barghouti's release since he was arrested in Ramallah in 2002.
Nimr was responding to claims by the Arab daily al-Quds al-Arabi, which quoted Fatah sources who claimed that young Fatah members were protesting against the failure of Fatah's so-called 'old-guard' to secure Barghouti's release. "Some of the leaders of the 'old-guard' are not very happy about Barghouti's release, because they are afraid of reforms that Barghouti would implement in Fatah which could undermine their positions, " Nimr said.
The pan-Arab daily claimed that Palestinian Authority officials were preventing Barghouti's release, because PA officials are afraid that it could severely weaken Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas and instead strengthen Hamas which is reportedly holding Shalit hostage in the Gaza Strip.
The newspaper also said Abbas was not able to secure Barghouti's release during negotiations with outgoing Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert. Al-Quds al-Arabi also quoted a Hamas political official who confirmed the threat to Abbas' power.
" Palestinian officials asked their Israeli counterparts not to release Fatah's patriot, Marwan Barghouti, because it would weaken Abu Mazen (Abbas) and strengthen Hamas," said Hamas official, Mohammed Nazzal, from the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp in Syria.
However, Nimr told AKI how important Barghouti's release was for both the Gaza-ruling Hamas and its rival Fatah. "Not only is Hamas asking for the release of 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, but Marwan Barghouti is one of them, " he said. "From the point of view of Hamas, releasing Barghouti is very important because without him such a prisoner exchange deal would be very weak.
"Despite that he would most likely be its (Hamas) opponent in elections in the near future."
Many consider Barghouti as Abbas' successor as Palestinian leader, but Nimr said Barghouti would work with Fatah's leadership. Nimr said Barghouti is necessary for a reconciliation between Palestinian factions, and to lead them ahead of legislative and presidential elections as well as to unite the West Bank and the Gaza Strip with Hamas and Fatah taking leading roles in politics.
"Definitely Marwan Barghouti is the one who is going to unify Fatah and lead the elections from Fatah's side. Barghouti believes we should share power with Hamas, we should share the political arena.
"No-one can cancel the other one out. Hamas cannot lead without Fatah and Fatah cannot lead without Hamas, they need each other, even if it the other is in the opposition."
Barghouti, was the leader of the West Bank's Tanzim movement - a militant wing of Fatah - and is considered the new guard within the ruling Fatah movement. He was arrested in 2002 and sentenced to five life-terms in 2004, by an Israeli court which found him guilty for the deaths of 26 people and for belonging to a terrorist organisation. Barghouti refuses to recognise the legitimacy of the Israeli court system.
During the first and second Palestinian intifada, or uprising, in 1987 and in 2000, Barghouti led marches through Israeli checkpoints and is widely associated with the grassroots movement opposed to Israeli occupation.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
Barghouti led marches through Israeli checkpoints and is widely associated with the grassroots movement opposed to Israeli occupation.
Uh huh, which is why he's in jail - cuz he led marches 'n stuff. Sheesh.
Though as with many things I haven't studied the thing exhaustively, it's always seemed to me that Iz'rl has screwed up this whole prisoner exchange thinggy. These trades of two Israelis for a zillion Paleos, and esp. release of high-profile beasts like that POS killer who got the big reception in Lebanon last year, seem quite stupid to me. Setting up perverse incentives for their enemies, and all that.
#2
Dope him quietly, say at dinner, then in the dead of night implant a biggish bomb (Radio detonated) then when Shalit is returned dead, wait until he's in a crowd of fellow conspirators and WHAMMO.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
03/06/2009 12:14
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Human Rights Watch called on the Sri Lankan government and ethnic Tamil rebels Thursday to allow thousands of families to flee the northern war zone. A local doctor said scores of civilians were killed and hundreds wounded in two days of shelling.
A Red Cross staff member reportedly helping evacuate wounded patients from the area was among those killed.
International aid groups have expressed growing concerns for the safety of the civilians in recent weeks as government forces pushed the rebels out of much of their de facto state in the north and cornered them in a tiny strip of land along the northeast coast.
Health officials and witnesses have accused the government of killing civilians in artillery attacks, and the rebels of holding the local population hostage for use as human shields against the military offensive. Both sides deny the accusations.
Aid groups estimate 200,000 civilians might be trapped along with the rebels. The government says the number is closer to 70,000.
Human Rights Watch said the civilians in the area were at grave risk from the fighting and dwindling supplies of aid, and said a "humanitarian disaster" was unfolding in the country.
"A humanitarian evacuation of civilians is desperately needed right now," said Brad Adams, Asia director for the New York-based rights group.
The group, which estimated 2,000 civilians were killed in recent fighting, called on the government and the rebels to work together to let the civilians flee and to allow aid into the area.
The top government health official in the war zone, Dr. Thurairaja Varatharajah, said the tiny area still under rebel control along the northeastern coast was packed with civilians and under constant shelling.
"Day and night they are shelling. There isn't any gap," he told The Associated Press by telephone from a makeshift hospital in the war zone.
The shells fell both inside and outside a government-declared safe zone in rebel territory that the military promised not to attack, Varatharajah said.
The shelling killed 60 civilians Wednesday and injured 159 others, he said. By noon Thursday, five bodies had been brought to the makeshift hospital and 94 more wounded civilians were admitted, he said.
The number of casualties is quickly escalating because civilians are so densely packed into the 19-square-mile (50-square-kilometer) area still under rebel control, he said.
"If one shell falls, there are a big number of deaths, a big number of casualties," he said.
The pro-rebel Web site TamilNet said a Red Cross worker, who was returning from assisting a sea evacuation of wounded civilians, was among those killed Wednesday. Sophie Romanens, a spokeswoman for the International Committee of the Red Cross, confirmed a local staff member was killed by shrapnel, but did not provide details of the incident.
Military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara denied the government was responsible for the attacks.
"We don't even use shells now. It's all house-to-house fighting, street-to-street," he said. "Hardly any artillery is being used. It's all false propaganda."
Verification of the fighting is not possible because independent journalists are barred from the war zone.
Many of those trapped in the area were running out of food, Varatharajah said. Some were eating only one meal a day and others had begun eating inedible leaves from trees, he said.
Over the past week, 13 people most of them elderly died from starvation, he said.
The population also has no clean supply of water or sanitation facilities and is facing outbreaks of diarrhoea, chicken pox and hepatitis, he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#2
Bebe watches HIS market. Let's see what today brings.
Ron Steinblatt 5 Mar 09 17:52
The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) fell today. The Tel Aviv 25 Index fell 2.57% to 638.47 points, the Tel Aviv 100 Index fell 2.82% to 577.91 points, and the Tel-Tech fell 3.60% to 141.52 points. Turnover was NIS 845.3 million.
International Cricket Council (ICC) match referee Chris Broad says he fears the terrorist attack on the Sri Lanka team bus and match officials in Lahore may have been aided by a conspiracy involving Pakistani security forces.
"There were plenty of police there and yet these terrorists came in, did what they had to do and then went again."
-- Chris Broad
Broad was travelling in a van behind the Sri Lankan team bus on Tuesday when both vehicles came under fire from gunmen as they headed towards the Gaddafi Stadium for what should have been the third day of the second Test.
The 51-year-old former England batsman escaped unhurt, as did Australian on-field umpires Simon Taufel and Steve Davis. But six policemen and the driver of the umpires' minibus were killed and Pakistani fourth umpire Ahsan Raza was shot in the chest. Seven Sri Lankan players and their assistant coach were among 19 people wounded.
Broad, speaking at Manchester Airport following his return to England, slammed Pakistan security forces for leaving the vehicles like "sitting ducks". "We were promised high-level security and in our hour of need that security vanished," he said.
Taufel and Davis echoed his concerns, criticising the security for cricketing officials.
As he tried to make sense of what had happened, Broad said there were several questions he was struggling to answer. "On the first two days (of the Test) both buses left (the hotel) at the same time with escorts. On this particular day the Pakistan bus left five minutes after the Sri Lankan bus. Why?" he said.
"It went through my mind as we were leaving the hotel - 'Where is the Pakistan bus?' But there were times during the Karachi Test when the Sri Lankans went first and Pakistan went afterwards.
"I thought maybe they were having five or 10 minutes more in the hotel and would turn up later, but after this happened you start to think: 'Did someone know something and they held the Pakistan bus back?'"
Broad said although he had no evidence for a conspiracy, the events he had witnessed had left him perplexed. "At every junction from the hotel through to where we were attacked and all the way to the ground there were police in light blue uniforms with hand-guns controlling traffic," he said.
"How did the terrorists come to the roundabout and how did they start firing and these guys not do anything about it? There were plenty of police there and yet these terrorists came in, did what they had to do and then went again. It is beyond me."
What made Broad all the more angry was that prior to the incident he had already told the ICC about his safety worries. "I raised my concerns with the ICC before the tour started and they passed on those concerns to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and they assured me through email that all security would be taken care of, presidential-style security, and clearly that didn't happen," he said.
"When you watch the TV pictures you can clearly see the white van we were in, in the middle of a roundabout and not a sign of a policeman anywhere. They had clearly gone, left the scene and left us to be sitting ducks. I am extremely angry we were promised high-level security and in our hour of need that security vanished.
"I am extremely fortunate to be here today."
However, Lahore city police chief Habib-ur Rehman told AFP: "It was precisely because of police valour and bravery that the Sri Lankan team and the international umpires survived."
And PCB chairman Ijaz Butt added: "How can he [Broad] say that when six policemen died in the attack?"
The incident appears to have ended all prospect of major international cricket in Pakistan for the foreseeable future.
But Broad, the father of England fast bowler Stuart, stopped short of saying people should avoid the country, and indeed the whole subcontinent, where the 2011 World Cup is due to be co-hosted by India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, completely.
"Clearly I have views on the subcontinent, particularly after what has happened here," he said. "I will share them with people who want to know, but it's not my place to sit here and say don't go to the subcontinent as I've enjoyed many games in the subcontinent, even in Pakistan. I think it's a situation where we need to let the dust settle."
Posted by: john frum ||
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Gas supply to a large number of consumers was suspended after unidentified men blew up a gas pipeline in Kirani area on Thursday, local police said. According to the police, militants blew up a 4-inch (in diameter) gas pipeline by planting explosives in Kirani, suspending gas supply to over 1,000 households in the area. Sui Southern Gas Company sources said teams consisting of engineers had been engaged to repair the damaged pipeline for early restoration of gas supply. Police have registered a case and started investigation.
Posted by: Fred ||
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Calling the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore an 'eerie replica' of the Mumbai attacks, United States (US) Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said Pakistan is facing a serious internal security threat, a private TV channel reported on Thursday.
Speaking at a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels, Clinton said a broad agreement had been reached on the basic elements of a strategic review on the way forward for Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Clinton said the US wanted strong relations with the people and the government of Pakistan and stressed the need for regional approach that included Pakistan and Afghanistan for the resolution of the issue of terrorism on the Pak-Afghan border.
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(AKI) - United States secretary of state Hillary Clinton on Thursday proposed a high-level international conference to forge a new strategy for war-torn Afghanistan. Addressing NATO foreign ministers in Brussels, she said neighbouring Pakistan and Iran would be invited but did not set a date for the meeting.
"Afghanistan is our most important ongoing operation. Afghanistan and the border regions of Pakistan face a common threat and have a common challenge," Clinton (photo) told ministers.
As well as Pakistan and Iran, Clinton also proposed inviting NATO allies and countries contributing troops to the international force in Afghanistan and major donors and international organisations.
She also urged NATO members to send more soldiers to combat Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants in Afghanistan, giving support to the additional 17,000 US forces which the US vowed last month to send there. "We must add resources to address the serious situation on the ground right now," Clinton said.
She said Afghanistan and Pakistan must be seen as a single strategic concern, warning that the region is "the nerve centre for extremists," who are planning fresh attacks. To this end, she called for better coordination between Washington and NATO.
Because that's the whole problem, not enough coordination ...
The NATO meeting reviewed the current political and military situation in Afghanistan, focusing on upcoming presidential elections scheduled for August, on the training and development Afghan security forces and on closer cooperation in Afghanistan among donors and international organisations.
Ministers agreed more effort needs to be made to train and expand Afghan security forces, especially police. Clinton called for more development aid to help achieve this. The ministers also stressed the importance for NATO of helping the Afghan government in providing the necessary security to ensure free, fair, and transparent elections.
Italy plans to hold a separate international meeting on Afghanistan in June in the northeastern city of Trieste, during the Italian presidency of the G8 group of top economies plus Russia. It has invited Iran to attend the conference.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/06/2009
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The solution is partition of Afghanistan (as well as Pakistan) into several ethnic countries. Unfortunately, things will have to get a lot worse before this happens.
Pop megastar Michael Jackson announced Thursday he will play a series of comeback concerts in London in July, his first major shows for over a decade.
Four years after his infamous child abuse trial, the 50-year-old singer of hits including "Thriller" and "Billy Jean" confirmed he will play 10 gigs at the giant London O2 Arena starting on July 8.
"I'll be performing the songs my fans want to hear," Jackson said in an announcement at London's O2 Arena where thousands of screaming fans had gathered.
"This is the final curtain call and I'll see you in July," said Jackson, wearing sunglasses and a black jacket with silver sequins as hundreds of fans, some holding placards saying "Michael We Love You," screamed with delight.
True to his reputation for eccentricity, Jackson's brief appearance was punctuated by salutes to the crowd, pauses, and expressions of love for his fans.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/06/2009
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#1
Love his music Your table manners are a crying shame
Your playin' with your food, this ain't some kind of game.
Now if you starve to death you'll just have yourself to blame.
So eat it, just eat it.
Toe tapping good stuff.
Looked like an Obama deal with the teleprompters and all. I did have some unanswered questions before I continue my day: are they gonna allow men into the concert? Still got what it takes to moonwalk in a burka?
Was also wondering what snoopy dog is gonna do with all that bacon from woody's smokehouse centerville. I'd take it, you know, if its gots to be gettin rid of.
(AKI) - By Syed Saleem Shahzad - Pakistan Cricket Board chairman, Ijaz Butt, has reacted angrily to criticism from survivors of the deadly attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team, including British match referee Chris Broad. Butt claimed Broad was lying about the lack of security provided to the Sri Lankan side and said he would register a formal protest with the International Cricket Council.
Butt's comments came as Bangladesh's cricket team announced it was postponing Pakistan's seven-match tour of the country scheduled to start next week. The decision, announced on the Bangladesh Cricket Board's website, was published two days after the terrorist attack against the Sri Lankan team on Tuesday in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore killed eight people and injured several others.
Butt said Broad's complaints about the inadequate security provided by the Pakistani authorities were not shared by members of the Sri Lankan team who had been targeted in the attack. "I never saw nicer behaviour than that exhibited by the Sri Lankan players," Butt, a former test cricketer told a media conference in Lahore. "Even those boys who were injured repeatedly said that they did not have any regrets visiting Pakistan and they would visit Pakistan again. However, the ICC match referee's statement was a pity."
ICC referee Broad has complained that Pakistan had promised high level security, but at the time of attack, the team was abandoned by the security forces and there were no police to aid them immediately afterwards. Broad even speculated whether the attack may have been a conspiracy, as in all other matches both teams left the hotel together but on the day of attack, the Sri Lankan team was sent alone.
Australian umpires Steve Davis and Simon Taufel on Thursday backed Broad and demanded answers after surviving the terrorist attack in Pakistan. The pair returned to Australia on Thursday, still clearly shaken from their ordeal and angry about apparent security failures.
Butt disagreed with their claims about inadequate security in Pakistan. "There were successful and secure matches in Karachi and other places," Butt said. "Nobody could have predicted the Lahore incident, but the security forces did their best and even laid down their lives and did not let any harm come to the players. The bus driver showed bravery and took the bus away from the place of the attack."
Butt said the results of the investigation would be completed soon and its findings would be made public. But he reaffirmed Pakistan's commitment to provide adequate security for international teams.
"It would be unjust to doubt Pakistan's ability to host the 2011 World Cup in the wake of terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team," Butt said. "I have taken up the matter with the ICC, and would also request the international cricket community not to make hasty decisions and wait for a year at least to judge Pakistan's credentials as a host of international matches."
"Such terrorists incidents have occurred in many countries in the past. They failed to bring any long term negative impact on sport, and neither will it have any long term implications for the future of Pakistani cricket."
Bangladesh cricket chiefs announced on Thursday they have postponed on government advice Pakistan's seven-match tour of the country that had been due to start next week.
Officials of the Pakistan Cricket Board had announced a 16-man squad for the tour on Wednesday and said they had requested government permission for the team to travel to Bangladesh. The tour had been due to start with a Twenty20 match in the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka, on 10 March.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/06/2009
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#1
It would be unjust to doubt Pakistan's ability to host the 2011 World Cup in the wake of terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team," Butt said.
Former chief minister of Punjab, Mian Shahbaz Sharif, has said that the whole country will take part in the long march and planned sit-in for the restoration of deposed judges. Addressing a public rally here on Thursday, he said that PML-Q has assured us of a conditional support. He called upon President Asif Ali Zardari to the see the flood of people and restore the independent judiciary. This massive gathering, he said, shows that people will fully participate in the long march from Khyber to Karachi if real judges are not reinstated. The former chief minister said that he would not hesitate even from sacrificing his life for the noble cause of justice. Â"We all have to march toward Islamabad on March 15,Â" he added. Â"The long march caravan will comprise of Nawaz Sharif, Shahbaz Sharif and PML-N workers,Â" he said, adding that judges shall be restored even before the caravan reaches Jehlum.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/06/2009
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Leader of the Opposition in Parliament Khaleda Zia said yesterday the killers in the BDR massacre were 'foreign spies' and it needs to be known whether they are from 'within the present government'.
"I don't believe any Bangladeshis were involved in this killing. The killers were hired from outside and entered the Pilkhana headquarters in BDR uniform," the BNP chairperson said while addressing a mourning procession organised by her party to pay respects to all killed in the BDR mutiny.
"Bangladesh is under attack. A conspiracy is going on, that is why unity is necessary now," she said calling on all people to remain united and alert to safeguard the sovereignty of the country.
Khaleda alleged that delays were caused in the name of dialogues during the mutiny to give the killers a chance to escape.
She said the BDR incident proves that spies of foreign forces have infiltrated into all sectors of the country and have been launching attacks from 'within'.
Terming the Pilkhana carnage a deep-rooted conspiracy against the security of the country, Khaleda Zia said more serious problems would crop up if the incident is not investigated properly and the culprits brought to justice.
She warned that 'More blood would be spilled and more damage incurred' if the real criminals are not punished.
"We guessed the conspiracy before the election, even our arrests were part of it to place the army in this difficult position before the people," the former premier alleged.
She said the nation's independence and sovereignty had been affected by this incident.
'The force protecting the borders of the country has been destroyed through outside instigations and a large number of army officers killed -- this was nothing but a deep rooted conspiracy to divide the country, Khaleda said.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/06/2009
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uh huh
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/06/2009 20:58
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Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Fazlur Rehman, who is mediating between the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) to ease political tensions in Punjab, said on Thursday he was optimistic about a breakthrough.
"We met Nawaz Sharif last night and took his demands to President Asif Zardari today," he said. "We will soon meet Nawaz again. We are hopeful of resolving the differences between them."
Fazl said Zardari was the head of the state and should not think only as the co-chairman of the PPP, and that Nawaz should also show flexibility. But he said the people of Pakistan had not accepted the judiciary's decision to disqualify the Sharifs and the imposition of governor's rule in Punjab.
"We (politicians) should learn lessons from our past experiences," he said.
Restraint: In the meeting with Zardari, Fazl and Awami National Party (ANP) chief Asfandyar Wali told the president that the PML-N leaders were ready to show restraint if something could be done to do away with the steps taken on February 25 and restore the judiciary, sources told Daily Times.
The president told the two leaders the PPP believed in reconciliation and that the country was passing through several crises and could not afford political tensions between the two major political parties.
He appreciated Fazl and Asfandyar's role in rebuilding trust between the two sides.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/06/2009
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Taliban blew up 16 shops selling DVDs in Takhtbai tehsil of Mardan district, police said on Thursday. "An improvised explosive device planted in a market selling DVDs in Takhtbhai town blew up 16 shops overnight," a police official said, blaming the Taliban. There were no casualties, he added. Meanwhile, in Peshawar, the Taliban fired at least 20 mortar rounds, which landed in open spaces late on Wednesday. "They tried to hit a police station and other buildings but the rockets missed the targets and landed in open spaces on the outskirts of Peshawar," a local police official said.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/06/2009
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Because of the rumor they carry Michael Jackson's music?
A Singapore terror suspect admitted in court Thursday to helping plot a 2001 attack on the city-state's airport, saying members of his al-Qaida-linked militant network wanted to plow a hijacked Russian Aeroflot into the terminal. Mohammad Hassan bin Saynudin, 36, did not say why the Changi Airport strike was canceled.
But prosecutors told the South Jakarta District Court that he and other Jemaah Islamiyah members backed out at the last minute - they already had tickets in hand - because the media had uncovered details about their plot.
It is not the first time bin Saynudin has made such claims of responsibility.
Last month, he told Singapore's newspaper, The Straits Times, he and fugitive JI leader Mas Selamat Kastari came up with the plan because they wanted to punish the city-state for supporting the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan.
Jemaah Islamiyah has been blamed for a string of terrorist attacks on Western targets since Sept. 11, 2001, including the nightclub bombings on Indonesia's resort island of Bali in 2002 that left 202 people dead, many of them foreign tourists.
They've also been linked to several foiled plots in the region - including the Singapore airport strike.
Bin Saynudin and nine other alleged members of his group were arrested in July for allegedly planning an attack on a bar on Indonesia's western island of Sumatra.
The Singaporean was speaking Thursday at the trial of two of those men.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/06/2009
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Suspected Taliban blew an ancient shrine of a 17th century sufi poet -- Rehman Baba -- in Akhund Baba graveyard early on Thursday, said locals and police, with the AP news agency reporting that a letter delivered three days before the attack to the management of the mausoleum had warned against its promotion of 'shrine culture'.
The white-marble shrine was badly damaged when explosives planted along its pillars went off at around 5:10am. There were no casualties.
Women: Locals said the administration had also been warned before the attack to stop women from visiting the shrine.
Police told Daily Times that the Taliban planted the explosives and then jumped over a wall of the shrine to escape. Hazarkhawni Nazim Hidayatullah told reporters that the building had been severely damaged in the attack, and called on the provincial government to reconstruct it. He said the Taliban were able to carry out the attack because no guards had been deployed outside the building, and called on the authorities to arrange for the security of the shrine.
He said a Khalil-Mohmand tribe jirga would be held in a few days o look into the attack, and announced a demonstration on Ring Road on Friday to protest against the attack. Prime mMinister Yousuf Raza Gilani has condemned the attack.
City SP Ijaz Abid told Daily Times, "Bara-based militants could be behind the attack, sas they are opposed to shrines and have previously attacked other shrines as well." He, however, said that police had not been told of any threats before the attack. He said an investigation underway would be competed in two days.
Meanwhile, militants also fired 18 mortar shells at a union council officials house on Thursday, said police, but the house was not damaged and there were no casualties.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/06/2009
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But, but, but isn't it 1256897th holiest place of Islam?
The Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Kashmir Affairs has urged Western countries, especially the European Union (EU), to shun 'Islamophobia' and try to promote a better, broader and more realistic image of Islam and Muslims in media.
This was observed during a meeting between the committee and the Foreign Policy Committee of the Danish Parliament on Thursday. The Senate committee, led by Senator Mushahid Hussain, called for addressing the root causes of terrorism, poverty, injustice and deprivation, to eradicate it. "Dialogue and development are the only answer to terrorism," it said. It said the war against terrorism could not be won through military means alone, adding it has to be backed up by spreading education and awareness.
For Pakistan: The Senate body, voicing its concern over the drone attacks, termed them a violation of Pakistan's sovereignty. It said these were creating a negative perception about the war on terror among the people of Pakistan. "If Pakistan can manage its nuclear assets successfully, it can also effectively employ drones if given the chance to do so," it said. It recommended the US consider providing the drones to Pakistan to utilise against terrorists whenever it had confirmation of their presence.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/06/2009
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#1
Why not ask moslems to shun 'antisemitism' and try to promote a better, broader and more realistic image of THE TORAH and Jews in media.
#4
I suggest the Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Kashmir Affairs get to work on preventing Pakistan from further cementing Westerners' fear of Islam based on actual nasty events executed by Pakistani Muslims or by those Muslims trained by Pakistan.
(AKI) - Ten men have been sentenced to death by hanging in Egypt, after being convicted of raping an 18 year-old woman two years ago. The death sentence by hanging was handed down on Wednesday by a court in the northern governorate of Kafr el-Sheikh. Only eight of the sentenced men appeared before the court, while two others allegedly involved in the gang rape are still fugitives.
A 15-year-old youth who collaborated in the attack was sentenced to 15 years in jail. During the court proceedings, police were forced to intervene to stop protests by family members of the accused.
The court was told the ten men, who were all armed, raided a home in 2006 during the night and threatened all the family members. After firing a few shots in the air, they kidnapped a woman and took her to an open field, where she was repeatedly raped for three hours until she lost consciousness.
Egyptian daily al-Ahram said the barbaric attack was aimed at punishing the woman's husband, who had reportedly refused to marry the sister of the group's leader.
The judge said that the court had chosen such a severe punishment because it learned about "the necessity to eradicate the roots of sin, and cleanse society."
The court's decision to impose the death sentence, however, will be sent to the Egyptian mufti who must then ratify it before it is carried out.
The last execution in Egypt took place in 2006. In December 2008 the Egypt's general assembly voted against a moratorium on the death penalty.
Posted by: Fred ||
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Pakistani authorities have agreed to establish Taliban rule in the troubled northwestern Swat Valley, new reports have revealed.
Seventeen new points emerged in a meeting involving North-West Frontier Province officials, Taliban leaders and the representatives of the pro-Taliban cleric Sufi Muhammad who are mediating the talks, local media reported Thursday.
Syed Mohammad Javed, commissioner of the Malakand division that includes the valley, confirmed that provincial government officials had agreed to abide by the agreement, adding that "the meeting restored the trust" lost after the ceasefire violations.
The accord came after Sufi set a March 15 deadline for the government to set up a Taliban-style judicial system in the restive valley and after both sides agreed in February to an indefinite ceasefire in the troubled region.
The truce, however, has been violated several times by militants who attacked security convoys.
The latest round of talks has expanded the scope of what Pakistan had previously said it would do to pacify the Taliban militants in Swat Valley, sources said.
The deal made no mention of female education, which militants seek to ban. Taliban has destroyed nearly 200 girl's schools in Swat.
Moderate forces are concerned that the agreement will increase the influence of extremists in Pakistan.
While Pakistani President Asif Zardari says the deal obliges the Taliban to lay down arms, local media reports indicate that there has been no sign of disarmament and that the Taliban has effectively gained control of Swat.
In the past few months, clashes between Taliban insurgents and Pakistani military forces in Swat have left hundreds dead and displaced up to one-third of the area's 1.5 million residents.
The insurgents waged a violent campaign to enforce Wahhabi-inspired laws, which included beheading dissidents and bombing girl's schools in the troubled region.
Taliban leaders, who were toppled in the 2001 US-led invasion of Afghanistan, took refuge in the tribal regions of Pakistan. They have rapidly extended their influence to major towns and cities.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
Ladies and gentlemen, please allow me to present the Islamic Republic of Swat!
#3
Folks, you will hate me for what I am saying but it is the fact that what it appears to be happening in Pakistan is about the same what happened in Iran. Pakistan is racing to become the same pain in the ass to USA just like Iran. Thanks to the stupidity of our Pentagon who believe to the level of stupidity that the very powerful army and intelligence of Pakistan are in their control. It may be true for a while, never for a long time. All those stupid in Pentagon need to be thrown out because what is happening in Pakistan, already happened in Iran and none of those stupid in Pentagon never learned nothing.
#4
we're not h8terz, Annon. You're largely on target
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/06/2009 22:21
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Personally, I welcome hate. Somewhere along the line, it and discrimination became bad words, unfortunately.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
03/06/2009 22:25
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I don't welcome it, but when the opposition, traitors, thieves, cowrads, Anti-Americans and Democrats (but I repeat myself...) pass a certain line, they earn it
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/06/2009 22:38
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#7
Hate is so draining, Mike N.. However, discrimination between acceptable and unacceptable is what we have brains for. Refusing to accept the unacceptable, and DOING SOMETHING ABOUT IT is our job because we are humans instead of brute animals. Apropos what Annon said. One can only hope General Petreus and his team aren't the kind of stupid Annon describes with such passion, and that they'll be listened to back in Washington.
#2
Nice new bumper sticker to go with the faded "Free Tibet"--give that a few more decades... It Just Might Work.
Posted by: Grenter, Protector of the Geats ||
03/06/2009 9:04
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Geez, George. Now that Bush is gone, it appears that the Khaleej Times and Larry King are the only people who seem to care about what you think about anything anymore.
How's "Ocean's 57" coming along?
New Delhi: India has formally asked the United States to negotiate the arrangements and procedures under which American spent nuclear fuel will be reprocessed in the country, presenting the Obama administration with its first test of how committed it is to the India-U.S. nuclear agreement.
The request was made last month, senior officials told The Hindu.
Under the terms of the 123 agreement on bilateral nuclear cooperation, Washington has six months to begin consultations and one year after that to reach an understanding with Delhi. The clock has started ticking, an official said. We have till the end of August 2010 to finalise an agreement.
The 123 agreement gives India prior consent to reprocess but stipulates that this right will come into effect only when India establishes a new national facility dedicated to reprocessing safeguarded nuclear material under IAEA safeguards and reaches an agreement with the U.S. on arrangements and procedures under which such reprocessing will take place in this new facility.
On February 3, Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon wrote to Under Secretary for Political Affairs William Burns invoking this provision and asking the U.S. side to propose dates and an agenda. A similar letter was also sent from the Department of Atomic Energy to Richard Stratford, head of the State Departments Office of Nuclear Energy and Washingtons pointman for nuclear negotiations with India.
The request is important for two reasons. First, because it will provide the first indication of how President Barack Obama intends to balance traditional American non-proliferation concerns about reprocessing with the broader geopolitical interests underpinning the strategic partnership with India. And second, because the prospects of American companies winning a slice of the multi-billion dollar Indian market for nuclear energy depends crucially on India being satisfied that it will be able to reprocess the spent fuel which accumulates from the running of U.S.-supplied reactors.
Last January, Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Anil Kakodkar explicitly told a delegation of the U.S.-India Business Council which included many representatives of the American nuclear industry that there would be no reactor purchases without reprocessing.
Shortly after that meeting, Ted Jones of the USIBC told the Washington Post that Dr. Kakodkar had said commercial ties could commence only after talks about reprocessing rights are concluded.
If the State Departments Bureau of Non-proliferation likely to be headed by Robert J. Einhorn plays a role in the process of formulating reprocessing arrangements and procedures, the proposed talks could hit an early roadblock. Mr. Einhorn fiercely opposed the nuclear agreement with India ever since it was first unveiled in 2005.
At the same time, the default position bequeathed by the Bush administration is not without problems for India either. In answers to questions from Congress last year, for example, the State Department and the Bush White House said that reprocessing consent rights for India would not be permanent and could be rescinded.
Given the negative experience of Tarapur, where a vast acreage of spent fuel has accumulated following Washingtons decades-long refusal to endorse reprocessing, the DAE is unwilling to accept any future ambiguity in this regard, especially when the U.S. is looking to sell several thousand megawatts worth of reactor capacity to India.
Since Russian and French reactor exports to India come bundled with reprocessing consent, Washingtons failure to conclude an agreement on reprocessing arrangements and procedures to the DAEs satisfaction would be tantamount to freezing U.S. vendors out a market that the U.S. itself was instrumental in reopening.
Though the 123 agreement treats the dedicated, safeguarded national facility and the reprocessing arrangements and procedures as two separate preconditions, some U.S. officials have argued in the past that India must first come up with a design of the proposed new facility before detailed consultations on reprocessing can begin.
India, however, sees no link between the two.
Posted by: john frum ||
03/06/2009
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I had to stop reading at "...under IAEA safeguards..."
Character assassination is a favorite Democratic political tactic. Barack Obama echoes themes in George Orwell's novel 1984 in his "Two Minutes Hate" style attacks on private citizens.
Posted by: Age Of Pericles ||
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The interesting connection here is that Nixon's list was the subject of much swooning and handwringing amongst the elite left, and Obama's is not, even though they are equally repugnant by any objective standards.
The irony? Nixon was hated and pursued with an inhuman gusto by the elite in the press and the academy because they never forgave him for taking out Alger Hiss - the politician who the left had hoped would be the Obama-like figure to lead this country into socialist paradise fifty years ago.
How the worm turns.
Posted by: no mo uro ||
03/06/2009 8:05
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Any reference to Orwell or "Nineteen Eighty-Four" should include the footnote that the police state concepts of the novel never stopped, but continued to develop. In the year 1984, IBM sold the PC-AT. Computers are more advanced today, so why not the technologies, and viciousness, of the police state?
#6
I know this is long and should probably be a separate posting under non-WOT but it is on topic and very relevant to The One's MO:
Saul Alinsky's "Rules for Radicals" out of print. Look particularly at rule 5 and 10 as they apply today.
RULE 1: "Power is not only what you have, but what the enemy thinks you have." Power is derived from 2 main sources - money and people. "Have-Nots" must build power from flesh and blood. (These are two things of which there is a plentiful supply. Government and corporations always have a difficult time appealing to people, and usually do so almost exclusively with economic arguments.)
RULE 2: "Never go outside the expertise of your people." It results in confusion, fear and retreat. Feeling secure adds to the backbone of anyone. (Organizations under attack wonder why radicals don't address the "real" issues. This is why. They avoid things with which they have no knowledge.)
RULE 3: "Whenever possible, go outside the expertise of the enemy." Look for ways to increase insecurity, anxiety and uncertainty. (This happens all the time. Watch how many organizations under attack are blind-sided by seemingly irrelevant arguments that they are then forced to address.)
RULE 4: "Make the enemy live up to its own book of rules." If the rule is that every letter gets a reply, send 30,000 letters. You can kill them with this because no one can possibly obey all of their own rules. (This is a serious rule. The besieged entity's very credibility and reputation is at stake, because if activists catch it lying or not living up to its commitments, they can continue to chip away at the damage.)
RULE 5: "Ridicule is man's most potent weapon." There is no defense. It's irrational. It's infuriating. It also works as a key pressure point to force the enemy into concessions. (Pretty crude, rude and mean, huh? They want to create anger and fear.)
RULE 6: "A good tactic is one your people enjoy." They'll keep doing it without urging and come back to do more. They're doing their thing, and will even suggest better ones. (Radical activists, in this sense, are no different that any other human being. We all avoid "un-fun" activities, and but we revel at and enjoy the ones that work and bring results.)
RULE 7: "A tactic that drags on too long becomes a drag." Don't become old news. (Even radical activists get bored. So to keep them excited and involved, organizers are constantly coming up with new tactics.)
RULE 8: "Keep the pressure on. Never let up." Keep trying new things to keep the opposition off balance. As the opposition masters one approach, hit them from the flank with something new. (Attack, attack, attack from all sides, never giving the reeling organization a chance to rest, regroup, recover and re-strategize.)
RULE 9: "The threat is usually more terrifying than the thing itself." Imagination and ego can dream up many more consequences than any activist. (Perception is reality. Large organizations always prepare a worst-case scenario, something that may be furthest from the activists' minds. The upshot is that the organization will expend enormous time and energy, creating in its own collective mind the direst of conclusions. The possibilities can easily poison the mind and result in demoralization.)
RULE 10: "If you push a negative hard enough, it will push through and become a positive." Violence from the other side can win the public to your side because the public sympathizes with the underdog. (Unions used this tactic. Peaceful [albeit loud] demonstrations during the heyday of unions in the early to mid-20th Century incurred management's wrath, often in the form of violence that eventually brought public sympathy to their side.)
RULE 11: "The price of a successful attack is a constructive alternative." Never let the enemy score points because you're caught without a solution to the problem. (Old saw: If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem. Activist organizations have an agenda, and their strategy is to hold a place at the table, to be given a forum to wield their power. So, they have to have a compromise solution.)
RULE 12: Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it." Cut off the support network and isolate the target from sympathy. Go after people and not institutions; people hurt faster than institutions. (This is cruel, but very effective. Direct, personalized criticism and ridicule works.)
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
03/06/2009 9:47
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#7
Jack -- thanks for that! -- I've often considered doing a search for Alisnky's rules, and just never did.
#8
After listening to pelosi and reid and gibbs, the only thing I can come up with why Obama is considered charismatic is because the previously mentioned set the bar so low. Listen to his speeches - it has all the zeal as a grade school English classroom book reading exercise. He is the only democrat who can move their eyebrows so he stands out.
#9
Seems to me, that Alinsky's rules would work just as well against the Left if properly applied. Maybe we should just start applying their own tactics against them. It would be only fair.
Posted by: Black Charlie Clinegum5078 ||
03/06/2009 23:34
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Lahore: The careless approach of investigators has resulted in a loss of important forensic evidence related to Tuesday's terrorist attack on Sri Lankan cricketers. The Indians laugh at them for their incompetence, y'know. They hate that. It doesn't make them pay attention, though.
According to the Daily Times, investigators neither wore gloves, nor avoided touching things that carried the fingerprints of the shooters.
It's almost as if they want the evidence tainted ...
According to forensic expert Dr Ahsan, senior police officials and forensic experts were seen touching and collecting arms and ammunitions without wearing gloves. "The three vehicles taken into custody by the police were also treated carelessly, and no one bothered to preserve the fingerprints or the DNA samples," Dr. Ahsan claimed.
Another forensic expert at the National Centre of Excellence in Molecular Biology, saidthere were water bottles, disposable cups, Kalashnikov rifles and cartridges, having fingerprints all over them, but security personnel examined them bare handed. Criminal law expert Aftab Ahmed Bajwa said collecting intact evidence from crime scenes would have offered nothing substantial. Not if you've already got all the answers.
Posted by: john frum ||
03/06/2009
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#1
Strata commo is useful. fingerprints do not help much on the dead. But you are correct. bungle.Hey, do I hear the calling of a tv show called CSI Mumbai?
The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has postponed Pakistan's tour of Bangladesh as advised by the government authorities. "So how long's it postponed?"
"'Bout six thousand years oughta do it.""
Posted by: Fred ||
03/06/2009
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The killers of Polish engineer Peter Stanczak will not go unpunished, President Asif Ali Zardari said on Thursday. Right. Tell him about the Iron Fist.
He was talking to Polish president's Special Envoy Under Secretary of State Jacek Najder. President Zardari expressed his deep sympathies and condolence with the Polish government and people over the assassination of the Polish engineer. "Gosh, we're real sorry our citizens kidnapped him and cut his head off. More tea?"
The two leaders discussed various issues, with a government statement saying the Polish envoy reiterated Poland's support for Pakistan in the war on terror. Najder said the Polish government would not allow the murder of the Polish engineer create hurdles for bilateral relations. Later, Najder also met Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani at the Prime Minister's House and discussed Pak-Poland bilateral relations and matters of mutual interest. Let us know when Omar Saeed Sheikh is dead.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/06/2009
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The Grand Mufti of Dubai, the leading Islamic legal scholar, has ruled that women can hold the position of mufti and issue religious rulings relevant to both men and women on every aspect of life.
Dr. Ahmed al-Haddad, Director of the Dubai Fatwa Department, issued a fatwa stating women can apply alongside men for the position of mufti. "If a woman reaches the level of education that enables her to issue fatwas, then she has the right to work as a mufti and issue fatwas on all possible issues," Haddad said in his ruling.
Since issuing fatwas means informing people of the laws of God, anyone who has the required knowledge has the right to do so, said Haddad, citing a verse from the Quran that requires those who know about God's laws never to withhold the knowledge they have. "These instructions from the Quran include everyone, male or female" Haddad said.
Islamic scholars define the position of "mufti" as someone who is qualified to apply the laws of God and the teachings of the prophet to contemporary issues, and Haddad underscored that such an ability is not confined solely to men.
Also at the Mecca International Conference on Fatwa and Its Regulations, held at the end of January in Riyadh, Islamic scholars softened their position on the topic of whether competent women scholars are qualified to issue fatwas or not.
The eighth article of the "Fatwa Charter which was adopted at the conference and will serve as a guideline on the issuing of fatwas, explains that the scholars, who are issue religious edicts must meet the following conditions: "Islam, Justice, maturity, intelligence, and deep knowledge in Islamic rules." None of the 41 articles of the charter prevents women from issuing fatwas.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/06/2009
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#1
go to it, Ladies -- the Reformation will be blogged.
#2
That's the UAE... and anyway the Grand Mufti of Dubai appears to be a government functionary. (Seriously, Director of the Dubai Fatwa Department?) Aren't the ulemas of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Iran the authoritative ones?
Japan and the United States reiterated their warnings to North Korea against a possible rocket launch, with their top envoys affirming a shared consensus Thursday that such a launch, be it a missile or what Pyongyang claims to be a satellite, would be a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions, a Japanese Foreign Ministry official said. Stephen Bosworth, the new U.S. special representative for policy on North Korea, and Japan's chief delegate at the six-party talks Akitaka Saiki also agreed to cooperate closely should the North go ahead with the launch, the official said. He did not elaborate on details such as whether the two discussed possible sanctions.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/06/2009
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Well the UN will just have to wave their finger at them at little harder, won't they.
(PTI) Distancing itself from speculative media reports about Indian elements being linked to the terror attack on its cricket team in Lahore, Sri Lanka has said it had scored successes in its counter-terrorism campaign due to India's support.
Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama, who visited Pakistan yesterday to discuss the progress in the probe into the audacious gun and grenade attack, brushed aside several questions on alleged Indian links to the incident during two interactions with the media.
Bogollagama told reporters that India is backing Sri Lanka's counter-terrorism actions and Colombo had been "able to succeed on many fronts due to this support".
Sri Lanka appreciates India's support in this regard, he said as he swept aside queries on New Delhi's "hegemonic" designs and on Indian intelligence agencies allegedly being linked to the attack on the cricket team.
Following his meetings with President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, Bogollagama said Sri Lanka had not ruled out the possibility of the LTTEs involvement in the attack.
The Sri Lankan government is "keenly studying" this issue, Bogollagama said.
Eight persons, including six policemen, were killed and over 20 others injured when a dozen heavily armed terrorists attacked the Sri Lankan team's bus near a stadium in Lahore yesterday.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/06/2009
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Britain said Wednesday it was prepared to engage in direct contacts with the political wing of the Lebanese group Hezbollah, which became part of a national unity government last year.
London has had no official talks with Hezbollah since 2005, and last July added its military wing to a blacklist of designated terrorist groups.
"We have reconsidered the position ... in light of more positive developments within Lebanon," Foreign Office Minister Bill Rammell told a parliamentary committee. "For that reason we have explored establishing contacts."
He said he was referring to the formation in July last year of a unity government in which Hezbollah and its allies in the opposition hold effective veto power, as agreed under a deal that ended a paralyzing political conflict in the country.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/06/2009
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#1
What benefit can come from talking to those pigs?
Tehreek Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Muhammadi (TNSM) chief Sufi Muhammad and Swat Taliban chief Mulla Fazlullah met at an undisclosed location on Thursday to discuss the implementation of a Swat peace deal with the government, according to sources. The sources said that Sufi had firmly told Fazlullah to stop armed Taliban from patrolling Mingora and other parts of Swat and lay down weapons immediately. Sufi said talks with the provincial government had been satisfactory and the Taliban's demands would be met soon, while Fazlullah's response had also been positive, they said. Meanwhile, TNSM spokesman Izzat Khan told Daily Times after a meeting between a TNSM jirga and the Malakand commissioner that the government had accepted only one demand for the withdrawal of the army from Imamdheri Markaz. He said that Takhtaband-Angrodheri Road was still closed, "and this is making us suspicious ... the government should take steps to overcome my group's mistrust". The government and the Swat Taliban recently reached a deal -- brokered by TNSM chief Sufi Muhammad -- on the implementation of sharia in Malakand division, which includes the scenic Swat valley. Analysts, however, fear the benefits of the agreement would be short-lived for the government.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/06/2009
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BAGHDAD (AP) A car bomb tore through a crowded livestock market south of Baghdad on Thursday, killing at least 13 people in a mainly Shiite area that the U.S. military has described as one of the safest in Iraq. The blast, which wounded 57 others, struck the market at the height of trading, scattering animal carcasses and human remains across the dirt.
"We had just started to have our breakfast in a tea shop inside the livestock market when we saw huge flames rising, and people started to run," Hussein Abdul-Kadir said. "We saw several bodies and carcasses, some burned and on the ground."
The attack on the outskirts of Hillah, a city 60 miles south of Baghdad was Iraq's deadliest in three weeks. The previous attack, on Feb. 13, took place just 20 miles to the north in the town of Musayyib, where a female suicide bomber killed 40 Shiite pilgrims. Both bombings occurred in Babil province. Hillah lies in Babil's mainly Shiite south. Musayyib is farther north where the population reflects a volatile mix of Sunnis and Shiites.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/06/2009
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Sudan's president told thousands of cheering supporters on Thursday an international call for his arrest on war crimes charges was a colonialist ploy and announced the expulsion of 10 foreign aid agencies.
The arrest warrant issued for Omar Hassan al-Bashir by the International Criminal Court on Wednesday for atrocities in Sudan's western Darfur region is the first against a sitting head of state by the Hague-based court. Bashir responded with defiance, accusing the aid agencies of breaking the law and saying the government would tackle any move to undermine stability. "We will deal responsibly and decisively with anybody who tries to target the stability and security of the country," Bashir told a meeting of top politicians on Thursday.
"We have expelled 10 foreign organisations ... after monitoring activities that act in contradiction to all regulation and laws," he said. He later addressed thousands of protesters carrying banners branding the court's prosecutor a criminal. Bashir said the ICC was a tool of colonialists targeting Sudan for its oil, natural gas and other resources. "We have refused to kneel to colonialism, that is why Sudan has been targeted ... because we only kneel to God," he told the crowd outside the Republican Palace. Cheers of "We are ready to protect religion!" and "Down, down USA!" interrupted his speech.
China urged the UN Security Council on Thursday to heed calls from African and Arab countries and suspend the case against Bashir, but the United States has welcomed the action. The ICC, set up in 2002, indicted Bashir on seven counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, which included murder, rape and torture. The three-judge panel said it had insufficient grounds for genocide. Hours after the warrant was issued, Sudan revoked the licences of several foreign aid agencies.
UN and other agencies are running the world's largest humanitarian operation in Darfur, a mainly desert region in western Sudan. International experts say at least 200,000 people have been killed there, while Khartoum says 10,000 have died. A further 2.7 million people are estimated to have been uprooted by the conflict, which began when mostly non-Arab rebels took up arms against the government in 2003.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/06/2009
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Pakistani authorities have identified the people responsible for this week's attack on Sri Lanka's cricket team, a senior government official said on Thursday as the country came under new criticism about its security forces due to the emergance of dramatic footage showing the attackers making a leisurely getaway.
The ambush on the team and its police escorts as they drove to the main stadium in Lahore shocked cricket-mad Pakistan and raised new fears about the nuclear-armed U.S. ally's ability to overcome the threat of rising Islamist militancy.
Seven Pakistanis -- six policemen and the driver of a bus carrying match officials -- were killed in Tuesday's attack.
" We have identified the people who did the operation. We have made arrests, we are chasing them, we have rounded up people "
Provincial governor Salman Taseer
Police issued sketches early on Thursday of four of the gunmen who attacked the team and their escorts with AK-47 rifles, hand grenades and rocket-propelled grenades, as they drove to Lahore's main stadium.
Later, provincial governor Salman Taseer, said authorities knew the identity of those responsible.
"We have identified the people who did the operation. We have made arrests, we are chasing them, we have rounded up people," Taseer told a news conference.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/06/2009
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#1
" We have identified the people who did the operation. We have made arrests, we are chasing them, we have rounded up people
The right people, or the "Usual suspects?"
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
03/06/2009 11:58
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This Day in History:
1836 - Battle of the Alamo Ends, 187 Texans held off 3,000 Mexicans for 13 days
1951 - The trial of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg begins.
1953 - Georgy Maksimilianovich Malenkov succeeds Joseph Stalin (Not for long)
1957 - UK colonies Gold Coast and British Togoland become Republic of Ghana. (Civilization process ends)
1964 - Boxing champion Cassius Clay joins slave trading religion taking the name Muhammad Ali meaning "Beloved of Allah".
1981 - After 19 years presenting the CBS Evening News, Walter Cronkite signs off for the last time. (Unfortunately he wouldn't shut up)
1992 - The Michelangelo computer virus begins to affect computers.
GolfBravoUSMC: RE:Walter Cronkite, Agreed the asshat stayed way past his bedtime and meds.
***********************************************
After 19 years presenting the CBS Evening News,
Walter Cronkite signs off for the last time.
AMEN, Halalooya, Praise Gawd, and Thank Youse Jeeesus
(Unfortunately he wouldn't shut up)
Posted by: Red Dawg ||
03/06/2009 1:36
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The government has agreed to accept the demands of Balochistan Liberation United Front (BLUF) for the safe release of abducted UN official John Solecki. According to sources, BLUF had asked the government to release 1109 missing persons in exchange for Solecki's recovery. It has also been learnt that the government has decided to take steps for the release of BLUF missing persons. Sources further told that seven out of 141 women have been identified and law enforcement agencies had also collected information about 45 persons. A high-powered committee will present a report in this connection in next few days
Posted by: Fred ||
03/06/2009
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#1
Only a "high-powered committee" would buy a deal from BLUF...
A million additional Afghan students started a new school year on Thursday, but a raging Taliban insurgency will keep about 400,000 out of classrooms, the education minister said.
More than 2,000 new schools were built over the last year to house the additional students in what is one of the biggest success stories in post-Taliban Afghanistan, said Education Minister Farouq Wardak. This year some 7.2 million students will attend school up from 6.2 million last year, Wardak said. But some 614 schools out of 13,300 were closed because of the deteriorating security situation in the country's south and east -- where the Taliban-led insurgency is most active -- denying about 400,000 students an education, said Wardak. Another 5.3 million children will be unable to go to school because of social and economic reasons, Wardak said without elaborating.
Posted by: Fred ||
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Auditors have raised serious doubts about General Motor Corp.'s ability to survive amid an unprecedented shortage of new car buyers.
GM recently received $13.4 billion in federal loans; however, the automaker says it might need another $22.6 billion in government loans to survive.
The Detroit carmaker has incurred $82 billion in losses in the past three years, including a $30.9 billion loss in 2008. The company has also announced plans to close 14 plants by 2012.
The major US automaker also has plans to cut 47,000 jobs in 2009.
"The corporation's recurring losses from operations, stockholders' deficit, and inability to generate sufficient cash flow to meet its obligations and sustain its operations raise substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern," auditors for Deloitte & Touche wrote in their annual report.
GM's chief operating officer Fritz Henderson said that European governments must act without delay to ensure the European divisions of the company does not run out of money by April or May.
"If we fail to do so for any reason, we would not be able to continue as a going concern and could potentially be forced to seek relief through a filing under the US Bankruptcy Code," GM said in its annual report filed with US securities regulators. "There is no assurance that the global automobile market will recover or that it will not suffer a significant further downturn," the company expounded.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/06/2009
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#6
My guess is they are forensic auditors? "He's dead Jim."
Posted by: regular joe ||
03/06/2009 14:46
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This is what happens when one sets policy without preconditions, $36bln put into a company which fails anyways.
Could have put that money into fire trucks - that is 170,000 grants for $200,000; average 3,400 grants per state. The US census figure I found had the population of the US in 2000 at about 306 million - so this would be about $118 per person.
March 5 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee will study how the CIA operated a secret network of prisons outside the U.S. to detain and interrogate suspected terrorists seized after the Sept. 11 attacks.
Anyone going to study how the House and Senate Intel committees did their jobs these last eight years?
There is a strong bipartisan basis for the yearlong review that will evaluate intelligence the spy agency obtained from harsh interrogation tactics, said a statement from the panels Democratic chairwoman, California Senator Dianne Feinstein, and its top Republican, Missouri Senator Christopher Bond. The study will run parallel to a review of Central Intelligence Agency interrogations that President Barack Obama ordered when he directed the CIA to shut down the prisons, the committee said. Obama ordered the CIA not to use harsh interrogation techniques such as water boarding, which simulates drowning.
The prisons were used to detain and question alleged al- Qaeda operatives such as Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the self- described mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks, and Abu Zubaydah, another al-Qaeda operative. President George W. Bushs administration acknowledged the secret prisons in 2006 when it transferred Mohammed, Zubaydah and 12 other high-value detainees to the U.S. military prison camp operated at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba.
The Senate panel will investigate whether the CIA accurately described the detention and interrogation program to lawmakers and other parts of the government, including the Justice Departments Office of Legal Counsel. It will consist of extensive document review and interviews to fully understand the creation and operation of the CIA detention and interrogation program, the lawmakers said in their joint statement.
We're going to find out that the lawmakers didn't want to know what the CIA was doing back then. We'll know by the volume of their opinions on the subject now.
The Senate committee will also review whether interrogations were conducted in compliance with official guidance from the Justice Department, presidential directives known as findings and CIA policy, Feinstein and Bond said in their statement.
CIA Director Leon Panetta told agency employees in a note that he had received assurances from Feinstein and Bond that this review is a way for the committee to assess lessons learned and not an attempt to blame CIA employees who followed legal guidance. What I will not support is an inquiry designed to punish those who acted in accord with guidance from the Department of Justice, Panetta said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/06/2009
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#1
Investigate for what you voted. Or, fix the economy.
#2
I've not followed these things as closely as I shoulda the last couple years, but seems as if (as with so many other things) stuff got seriously off the rails up at the "sissy" (SSCI). Mostly due to donk dereliction and dishonorable behavior of the sort that mushroomed not long after 9/11. Like members leaking classified info, 'n stuff (Rockefeller), nakedly partisan and political shenanigans in reports and investigations - this was not at all common years back, when I was very very familiar with the SSCI's goings on.
#3
Preliminary diagnosis - Acute administration DEFLECTION, aggravated by an accute desire to destroy any organization or activity which led to success in the GWOT.
(AKI) - Six people were wounded in a suicide car bomb attack on an army checkpoint in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul late Thursday. It was the third terrorist attack to strike Iraq within hours in a fresh wave of violence across the country.
According to the news agency, Voices of Iraq, a car rigged with explosives driven by a suicide bomber targeted an Iraqi army checkpoint in the neighbourhood of Hadbaa, in northern Mosul, 400 kms north of Baghdad.
Six people, including two women and an infant were among the injured, who were rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment.
Earlier on Thursday, at least 10 people were killed and 45 others were wounded in a powerful bomb blast in a busy cattle market in central Iraq.
The bomb exploded inside a car, parked at the al-Medhatiaya market, located in the town of Hamza in a mainly Shia community, 130 kms south of Baghdad in the province of Babil.
No-one claimed responsibility for the attack, which was one of the worst attacks to strike Iraq in recent months.
While it was not clear who was behind the bomb attack, many analysts said it may have been carried out by Al-Qaeda-linked militants who favour heavily-populated areas.
Babil province has a mixed population of Shia and Sunni Muslims and has been the target of serious sectarian violence and attacks on US forces in the past.
The US military handed over control of security in the province to Iraqi forces last October.
In a separate incident on Thursday, unidentified gunmen shot and killed an Iraqi policeman in Baghdad, according to the news agency Voices of Iraq. The attackers escaped.
Another car bomb exploded in the western Mosul neighbourhood of al-Abar but no-one was injured in the attack.
Although attacks have fallen in war-torn Iraq recently, levels of violence are still high, particularly in Baghdad and other cities.
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03/06/2009
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A worshiper was killed and 19 injured in a bomb blast in Ameer Hamza Khan mosque in Dera Ismail Khan (DI Khan) district on Thursday, District Coordination Officer (DCO) Mohsin Shah said. Shah said unidentified men hurled a hand grenade inside the mosque where people were offering their Maghrib prayers. The Cantonment police rushed to the site and cordoned off the area. Shah said the condition of four of the injured was critical. Meanwhile, emergency had been imposed at all hospitals in DI Khan and doctors who had been on leave were called in for duty. The DCO said security had been beefed up and police had been deployed on entry and exit points of the city to arrest the perpetrators. National Assembly Deputy Speaker Faisal Karim Kundi has strongly condemned the attack.In his message, the deputy speaker said it was a shameful act of terrorism, which reflected the inhuman nature of the perpetrators.
Posted by: Fred ||
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(AKI) -- Slovenian authorities have found the mummified remains of several hundred people believed to date from World War II in a disused mine. State prosecutor Barbara Brezigar told Slovenian television on Thursday that up to 300 corpses were discovered in a deserted mine near Lasko, in central Slovenia. "What I have seen is the most horrendous thing that a person can see in a lifetime," Brezigar said.
Andrija Valic, an investigator from Slovenia's Centre for National Reconciliation, said it would be difficult to identify the victims discovered in the mine before the investigation was completed. But he said he was confident the massacre had been carried out by the communist partisans of late Yugoslav president Josip Broz Tito.
Tito's partisans reportedly killed thousands of Croat and Slovenian soldiers at the end of World War II who had collaborated with Nazi occupiers and were withdrawing with German forces in 1945.
Valic said a large quantity of military boots was discovered in the mine, which has been disused for the past sixty years, suggesting that the victims were soldiers.
Most Slovenian parliamentary parties ascribed the shocking discovery to the "crimes of the communist era". The head of the Slovenian government's military graves department, Marko Strovs, said there was no proof that the victims had been shot dead, meaning it was possible they had been gassed. But Brezigar warned: "After sixty years, I don't know whether it will be possible at all to identify the perpetrators and whether they are still alive."
The massacres of several thousand Italians by Yugoslav partisans in and around the northeastern city of Trieste towards the end of World War Two, have remained a painful historical burden for Italy and a recurring source of tension between Italy and Croatia.
Italy's president gives an annual address in February to commemorate the victims of the killings, known as the 'foibe' in Italian. 'Foibe' is the Italian word for deep chasms into which several thousand Italians - some still alive - were thrown by Croatian and Slovenian partisans loyal to General Josip Broz Tito after Italy's capitulation in 1943.
The 'foibe' killings occurred in Trieste, in modern-day Slovenia and along the Istrian peninsula, which Italy lost to Croatia at the end of World War II.
The estimated number of people killed varies between 1,500 and 5,000. In addition, up to 400,000 Italians were expelled or emigrated from Dalmatia, Istria and the area bordering Slovenia.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
And the Germans executed Italian POWs they'd rounded up when the Italians switched sides in the region. The whole Balkans theater was one large multicultural vendetta played out in the end.
If the United States ranks near the bottom amongst India's defence suppliers, Washington's penchant for imposing sanctions and restrictions has much to do with it. Now, the US appears to have shot itself in the foot again. The Indian Navy chose to power its indigenously designed, cutting-edge stealth warship, the INS Shivalik, with gas turbines from American company General Electric (GE). But even as the Shivalik readies for sea trials, the US State Department has ordered GE to stop all work on the turbines it has supplied.
Vice Admiral HS Malhi (Retired), chairman and managing director of Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL), which built the Shivalik, has confirmed to Business Standard that GE has received instructions to stop operationalising (making ready for operations) the two new LM 2500 gas turbines that it supplied for the Shivalik. GE has told MDL that there could be up to three months delay, while the new US administration reviews its military relations with several countries. India is not alone in facing this ban; GE has been told to stop work even with close US allies like the UK and Australia.
MDL has clearly been taken by surprise. Says Admiral Malhi, "It is quite surprising that such a letter has been received from GE. They said the (US) State Department could take up to 3-4 months to re-look at relations with these countries. We don't have that kind of time; we have to deliver the ship to the navy."
The Shivalik stealth frigate is powered by four engines, in what is termed a CODOG (COmbined Diesel Or Gas) arrangement. Normal operations are powered by two Pielstick diesel engines, supplied by France. The gas turbines kick in for short bursts during combat, when extra power is needed. They are less fuel-efficient than diesel engines, but provide high performance. This is the first time that US turbines have been installed in an Indian-built frigate.
MDL is now exploring whether it can use another GE subsidiary to operationalise the Shivalik's turbines, without invalidating GE's warranty. According to Admiral Malhi, "If GE allows us to use one of its licensees, the delay can be cut down to a month. GE is not averse to that, as long as no American person is involved in the work."
GE has not responded to an email, asking for details of this delay. The US State Department has also ignored a request for information. A spokesperson of the US Embassy in New Delhi has sidestepped the question, replying by email that, "The State Department has not instructed GE in the conduct of this direct commercial sale. Aspects of this sale were subject to export licensing, which is conducted through the State Department."
When asked to comment specifically on blanket orders from the State Department to GE regarding commercial defence dealings with India, the US Embassy did not respond.
Recent Indian frigates were powered by Russian turbines. But GE's LM 2500 gas turbines were chosen for three Project 17 frigates (of which INS Shivalik is the first) because of their better reliability. More than one thousand LM 2500 turbines power more than 400 warships in 30 navies across the world. In addition, the LM 2500 is used for power generation in luxury cruise liners like the QE II.
US defence industry sources indicate that GE is upset by the State Department's directives, which clearly damage GE's commercial interests. The ban, suggest sources, was imposed by an "over-enthusiastic State Department bureaucrat", keen to display that the Obama administration was on the ball from the beginning. But in India, the ban is already generating talk of an unwise choice in going for a US engine.
Posted by: john frum ||
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This is a wise move on the part of the US Dept of State and shows the experience and wisdom of the Secretary of State and President. /s
#2
If the United States ranks near the bottom amongst India's defence suppliers, Washington's penchant for imposing sanctions and restrictions has much to do with it.
#3
Oh, for fuck's sake... we *WANT* a growing, healthy Indian navy! The fucking Chinese get all their tech from conspiracy and spying, anyways. Not as if this sort of control-freak pissiness over above-the-table tech exchange is going to harm anyone other than our own natural friends.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
03/06/2009 11:38
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Maybe they want the Chicoms and Paks to control the Indian Ocean. Sure sounds like it.
MALAYSIAN archaeologists on Thursday said they had discovered the main site of an ancient kingdom that predates the Angkor temples of Cambodia and could be the oldest civilisation in the region. "The region" being Malaysia. Mon-Khmer civilization dates to maybe a hundred years after the time of Asoka (300 BC)...
Archaeological team leader Professor Mokhtar Saidin said the find, which could lead to a rewriting of history books on the region, was made in two palm oil plantations in northern Kedah state last month. The most well-known of the Khmer states was "Funan" -- so called because we have the accounts of the country in the Chinese History of Chin. The name is cognate -- a Chinese pronunciation -- of todays' Cambodian phnom, which means "mountain." It's dated from archaeology from around 60 BC to 550 AD. Similar Buddhist kingdoms where flourishing throughout Southeast Asia at the same time, notably in Java, Bali and Sumatra. The rulers were Vedic Hindus -- the flavor of Hinduism that was in vogue before the caste system really took hold -- and there were court Brahmins and such. Written records are in Sanskrit. The populace seems to have practiced an early version of Greater Vehicle Buddhism, mixed with local animist customs and folk Hinduism -- Hanuman stories and such. Lakshmi (Lady Luck) was a favorite, as was Parvati, and there were shrines devoted to lingams and yonis.
Funan's cultural (not political) sway covered most of present-day southern Vietnam to at least the upper reaches of the Malay peninsula. Today's Cambodian, Thai, Lao, and Burman cultures are rooted in the later Khmer kingdoms that produced Angkor Wat. These in their turn are rooted in the Funan kingdoms. The Burman culture, I believe, has more Mon influence. The Thais and Laos, as they migrated from South China, absorbed most the the resident Khmers and the related forest tribes. The Burmans, coming from the other direction, absorbed the Mons and the forest tribes, but not as thoroughly.
He said buildings found at the site indicate it was part of the ancient Hindu kingdom of Bujang which existed in the area some time in the third century AD, predating the Angkor civilisation of Cambodia which flourished from the 12th to 14th centuries. I said that. Bujang wasn't the big city, as far as pre-Angkor civilizations go. The Angkor-era kings (at least eight of whom were named "Jayavarman" (Protege of Victory) and one Jaya Paramesvaravarman) and the Java kings that built Borobadur were the big time. You can still see milestones they laid down for the roads they built.
'We have dated artifacts from what we belive are an administration building and an iron smelter to 1,700 BP (years before present) which sets the Bujang civilisation between the third and fourth century AD,' he told AFP. 'We have only one date so far so we can say it is one of the earliest civilisations in the region but with more dates we will be able to verify whether it is the oldest civilisation in the region,' he added. It's not, unless your definition of "the region" doesn't include anything but Malaysia. But the remains of the peripheral Mon principalities are pretty rare, which is its significance. Malaysia at the time was pretty primitive in most places. It was peopled by folks related to Australian aborigines, who survive today in the Sakai tribes. The Malays are later arrivals, of Melanesian stock, coming by way of Indonesia. They're cut off from the Indianized Southeast Asian cultural strain by their conversion to Islam. The Malay sultans used to hop on their elephants and stage Sakai hunts on the weekends. I'd just like to add that much of Malaysia is still "pretty primitive" in many places, especially the island of Borneo. Peninsular Malaysia is very cosmopolitan in comparison to the Malay section of Borneo.
Mr Mokhtar said the iron smelter was a surprise find as it showed that such an early civilisation was already quite advanced technologically. 'We have 30 more mounds at the site that have to be excavated and we are hoping to also find the port area for the kingdom as it was near the sea,' he added. The Mon people were related to the Khmer -- the language group is called "Mon-Khmer" -- and migrated first west, then south. Burmese is a member of the Tibeto-Burman language group. Most of the hill and forest tribes speak languages that fall into one or the other group.
'This will give us a clue to how the civilisation was trading and influenced by China and India, who would have been the two main powers back then to have influenced development in this region.' Much, much more India than China. There were occasional Chinese travelers, who recorded their expeditions, and probably a lot more traders who didn't, but the civilization and the bulk of the trade came from India. Curiously, there have also been Roman coins found at Funan archeological sites, and a few at the later Oc Eo (Chinese Chan la) sites -- Oc Eo and Champa being the immediate successors to Funan. At one point Funan and the young kingdom of Champa attacked the Chinese territory of Tonkin, present-day northern Vietnam.
Malaysian archaeologists last month also announced the discovery of stone tools they believe are more than 1.8 million years old and the earliest evidence of human ancestors in South-east Asia. The stone hand-axes were discovered last year in the historical site of Lenggong in northern Perak state, embedded in a type of rock formed by meteorites. That has nothing whatsoever to do with the principality or kingdom of Bujang. [The above not guaranteed 100 percent accurate, since it was written off the top of my head.]
Posted by: Fred ||
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(AKI) - Israeli warplanes killed three Palestinian militants and injured two others in the Gaza Strip in overnight airstrikes. In the most recent attack on Thursday, two Palestinian militants - Wassim Mansour and Mahmoud Hammad - were killed near the al-Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza in an Israeli missile strike.
According to the Palestinian news agency, Maan, Mansour was a member of the Islamist militant al-Quds Brigades, while Hammad was a member of the secular National Resistance Brigades. "IAF (Israeli Air Force) forces struck a squad of armed Palestinian men near the security fence in the central Gaza Strip," said the Israeli Defence Forces website. "At around 08:00 am, the armed squad was identified after they fired an anti-tank missile an IDF patrol along the security fence. Following the anti-tank fire, the patrol forces pursued the gunmen into the Gaza Strip and directed an IAF strike against the squad."
Late on Wednesday, an Israeli drone launched a missile attack against a car in the Jabaliya refugee camp, killing Khaled Sharan, a senior Islamic Jihad commander.
Israel said the airstrikes were in response to the launch of homemade rockets at Israeli cities by Palestinian militants. On Thursday, Gaza militants launched three rockets into Israel and they reportedly landed in the Western Negev desert without causing any damage or injuries.
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G(r)om, Malathion might hurt the hornets, DDT is bad for the vultures, and they can't spread oil on the standing water because it would be an unlawful pollution event. So swatting is all that's available.
(PTI) Moving further into the last territory held by the LTTE, Sri Lankan troops today restricted the Tamil Tigers to an area of 55 sq km and killed at least 44 rebels in the embattled northern region, even as concern mounted on the safety of civilians caught in the war zone.
Troops successfully averted an infiltration attempt by the LTTE causing heavy loses to the rebel camp, the Defence Ministry said.
LTTE cadres attempted to break the forward defence line linking 55 and 58 Divisions south of Chalai early today, but troops repulsed the attack and inflicted heavy damages to the Tamil Tigers, it said, adding that 33 rebels were killed in the attack.
The Ministry said a large cache of arms and ammunition were also recovered from the rebels.
After liberating Puthukkudiyiruppu junction, last town held by the rebels, from the LTTE, troops of 58 division have commenced an eastward thrust towards the coast, the ministry said quoting sources, adding eight Tamil Tigers were killed in various clashes yesterday.
Also, troops of Task Force 8 moving towards northeast have been able to push their boundaries forward into Puthukkudiyiruppu east and claimed heavy damages to the rebel force.
"The LTTE is now boxed into an area less than 55 square kilometers," the ministry said.
Posted by: Fred ||
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A few days ago, the LTTE was boxed into 50 sq km. Since then they have squeezed the Tigers into 55 sq km. Progress like that can make for some very bad days ahead. Isn't it time to tank these Tigers?
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
03/06/2009 10:44
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Meh, trying to play kesselschlachen with an insurgency is like taking a hammer to a blob of mercury - afterwards, you just have a multiplicity of little mercury blobs all over your desktop where there used to be one big blob of quicksilver.
Or am I wrong in classifying the LTTE as an insurgency? Are they a proper rebel army which can be forced to surrender?
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
03/06/2009 11:17
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The LTTE are a terrorist organization and are recognized as such by most of the world. However, there is a major cult of personality component to them and if the Lankans can catch the one leader, most of the problem is solved. Sort of like when Peru caught the head of Sendero Luminoso - the terrorists fell apart.
The former Law Minister of Pakistan, Syed Iqbal Haider, on Thursday ridiculed the emerging theory of "good Taliban" and "bad Taliban." He said there was only one Taliban that believed in terrorism to impose its brand of radical Islam on people.
Mr. Haider, who is touring India with the Pakistan peace delegation, said at a press conference here that the people of Pakistan have not approved the peace bought by Islamabad with the Taliban in the Swat valley. "The theory that Pakistans Taliban head Sufi Mohammed is moderate is ridiculous. He is pretending to be peaceful but wants to take over Pakistan."
Remember, the only issue in the Land of the Pure is who gets to wear the bejeweled turban.
The former Attorney General blamed military rule in Pakistan as the root cause of tensions between both the countries. The Generals who ruled the country promoted religious fanaticism for their own benefit. Pervez Musharraf was more deceptive and destructive than the earlier Generals. He nurtured, financed and patronised terrorist organisations and allowed them to operate freely in the country. He put the unarmed civil rights activists in jail while releasing the fanatics and terrorists, who now were threatening the very existence of Pakistan, Mr. Haider said.
Arguing that majority of Pakistanis did not support terrorism, he said the terrorists who attacked Mumbai last year were enemies of both Pakistan and India. Such forces could be defeated with the collective effort of governments and the civil society.
Similarly, the attack on the Sri Lankan cricketers in Lahore on Tuesday also reflected their evil designs. He agreed that the incident caused more damage to Pakistan as a nation and also fuelled the existing tensions between India and Pakistan.
Mr. Haider wanted both India and Pakistan to follow the SAARC declaration on terrorism in letter and spirit.
Senior trade union leader of Pakistan B.M. Kutty, who is part of the delegation, said Pakistanis voted for secular parties in the last elections, which indicated whom they wanted in power.
The delegation, which is in India as part of a Joint Signature Campaign by civil society organisations, will visit various cities to promote peace. A similar delegation from India will visit Pakistan soon.
Posted by: john frum ||
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A similar delegation from India will visit Pakistan soon.
Will they be treated as well as the Sri Lankan cricket team?
Citing telephone records of some suspects, investigators said the February 25 massacre at BDR Pilkhana headquarters was planned at least two months back.
Perhaps starting about the time Hasina started talking about putting the '71 war crimes perps on trial?
Those involved in the investigation said so far they have collected the suspects' phone records for the last two months. "Most likely the networking between them had begun much before that time. Further investigation will shed light on that," said a high official of a law-enforcement agency, requesting anonymity.
The information obtained in interrogations of the arrested mutineers bears out the 'finding', he added.
So far, the investigators have gathered that at least 100 people were involved in the vicious killings of scores of army officials deputed to BDR. "However, this number [of mutineers] could shoot up to 1,000 in the end."
Another investigator who too would not speak on record said the maximum participation was from Rifles Security Unit, intelligence wing of BDR, a certain battalion and Regimental Police (RP) of the paramilitary force. He said the suspects being grilled have disclosed that plotters who include outsiders had been motivating the border guards against the army officers deputed to BDR. Particularly, the ones who joined the service around two to three years ago had been more involved.
"Some of the mutineers were told that only a few officers would be killed while others were told that none would be killed. The officers would be taken hostage only to be released after the demands are met," the investigator continued.
But as the revolt began, things went way beyond their control and an orgy of killings took place.
Investigators believe almost all border guards inside the Pilkhana compound knew that something was going to happen. They said they would not face any major difficulty detecting the border troops now that they have access to the database containing details of the 67,000-force. "Initially, there was no reliable source of information as the mutineers have burnt or destroyed most of the documents inside the headquarters," said an investigator.
A member of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) tasked with investigation of the bloodbath said they are sure the runaway mutineers have taken with them small firearms and grenades.
The efforts are on to know the number of missing grenades and firearms.
Asked about reports that some mutineers have managed to flee the country by air and through Comilla border, the investigators said they too have such information, but could not yet confirm if it is correct.
The law enforcement agencies and security forces will bring back the suspected rebels to the capital immediately after their capture in the 'Operation Rebel Hunt'. They have a helicopter all ready and waiting to fly the rebels back in the city.
Sources in the Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) said over 200 suspected mutineers have already been held in custody.
Besides, they said, they have also identified the 14 border guards who participated in the negotiations with the government. Of them, five are deputy assistant director (DAD), two havilders, two nayeks, one lance nayek and four soldiers. The sources, however, declined to divulge the names.
Intelligence agencies and committees formed to probe the carnage are working in coordination to help CID come up with a strong chargesheet after investigation.
Meanwhile, a Dhaka court yesterday granted a petition for permission to defuse 17 grenades seized from BDR headquarters. Chief Metropolitan Magistrate AKM Enamul Haque passed the order following a prayer submitted by CID ASP Abdul Kahar Akand, also investigation officer (IO) of the mutiny case.
In another development, 22 BDR jawans held in Tangail were shown arrested yesterday in the case filed with Lalbagh Police Station in connection with the mass killings at Pilkhana. Metropolitan Magistrate Abdur Rahim granted the prayer for the jawans to be shown arrested in the case.
The IO said the BDR troops have been arrested at different parts of Tangail district for alleged links to the bloody mutiny. The court also ordered that they all be shifted to Dhaka Central jail.
Posted by: Fred ||
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That picture looks somewhat familiar, is that Yul Brinner on the left?
Posted by: Rednek Jim ||
03/06/2009 11:40
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The district administration of Swat has decided to release 10 Taliban from government custody on Thursday, according to sources. The sources said the Taliban were supposed to be freed on Wednesday, but their release had been delayed because of 'some reasons'. The 10 men could be set free any time on Thursday, they added. The sources said the TNSM had given the authorities a list of 146 militants it wanted to be released. Meanwhile, Malakand Commissioner Syed Muhammad Javed and a TNSM peace jirga held talks on Thursday. However, the Awami National Party NWFP chief and information minister could not attend the talks.
Posted by: Fred ||
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their release had been delayed because of 'some reasons'.
Buisy organizing a recption Party" and loading rifles.
Posted by: Rednek Jim ||
03/06/2009 11:25
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Initiatives are going to be taken soon for disposal of the long-pending Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman assassination case following appointment of two new judges to the Appellate Division.
Legal experts say the appointments have paved the way for forming the required three-member bench of the apex court to hear appeals of five condemned prisoners against their conviction handed down by the High Court.
President Zillur Rahman on Wednesday appointed the most senior judges of the HC Justice Shah Abu Nayeem Mominur Rahman and Justice Md Abdul Aziz as judges to the Appellate Division. A gazette notification on the appointments was published yesterday.
The judges will take oath of their new office to Chief Justice MM Ruhul Amin Sunday morning, sources say.
The chief state counsel for this case, advocate Anisul Huq yesterday told The Daily Star he will convey the present status of Bangabandhu murder case to the Supreme Court (SC) through submitting a "concise statement" next week, as there is no bar to constituting a bench for hearing this case now.
Meanwhile, Attorney General Mahbubey Alam said yesterday his office is fully prepared for hearing of the case.
"A possibility has been created for constituting a bench of the Appellate Division for hearing the case. The chief justice will now constitute the bench and then we will move to the court to proceed with it," he said.
Of the five sitting judges of the Appellate Division, Chief Justice MM Ruhul Amin and Justice MA Matin had earlier felt embarrassed to hear the case in the HC. Justice Mohammad Fazlul Karim had heard the case and delivered judgment at the HC, Anisul Huq added.
The appeals against death sentence handed down by the HC have remained pending in the SC for about 16 months due to shortage of judges.
Lt Col (sacked) Syed Farooq-ur Rahman, Lt Col (retd) Sultan Shahriar Rashid Khan, Lt Col (retd) Muhiuddin Ahmed, Major (retd) AKM Mahiuddin Ahmed (Lancer) and Major (retd) Bazlul Huda filed the appeals with the apex court in the last week of October 2007 as per the court order.
Posted by: Fred ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Circus performers can twist themselves into pretzels and somersault through rings of fire, but even they are struggling to jump through new hoops set up by the U.K. immigration authorities. 
It's hard not to see the continued sell-off on Wall Street and the growing fear on Main Street as a product, at least in part, of the realization that our new president's policies are designed to radically re-engineer the market-based U.S. economy, not just mitigate the recession and financial crisis.
March 6 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama now has the distinction of presiding over his own bear market. 
Extremist groups in Southeast Asia are increasingly using the internet and social networking to radicalise the youth of the region, said a new security report released on Friday. Internet usage in Southeast Asia has exploded since 2000 and extremist groups have developed a sophisticated online presence, including professional media units.
Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, who recently returned from a Middle East trip that included stops in Damascus and Gaza, called yesterday for loosening sanctions on Syria, which he praised for opening a stock market and sending an ambassador to Iraq.
Union Home Minister P Chidambaram on Friday said in Hyderabad that the 2007 Mecca Masjid blast case - in which an explosion killed nine people and five died in police firing - has turned "cold" as the two primary suspects are dead. 
By Robert Spencer
ISLAMABAD: TV footage aired Thursday clearly showed two of the terrorists who attacked the Sri Lankan team in Lahore fleeing past an approaching police vehicle, giving the lie to the authorities' claims that they had cordoned off the area immediately after the incident occurred.
Gas supply to a large number of consumers was suspended after unidentified men blew up a gas pipeline in Kirani area on Thursday, local police said. According to the police, militants blew up a 4-inch (in diameter) gas pipeline by planting explosives in Kirani, suspending gas supply to over 1,000 households in the area. Sui Southern Gas Company sources said teams consisting of engineers had been engaged to repair the damaged pipeline for early restoration of gas supply. Police have registered a case and started investigation.
Calling the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore an 'eerie replica' of the Mumbai attacks, United States (US) Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said Pakistan is facing a serious internal security threat, a private TV channel reported on Thursday. 
Pop megastar Michael Jackson announced Thursday he will play a series of comeback concerts in London in July, his first major shows for over a decade. 
Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Fazlur Rehman, who is mediating between the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) to ease political tensions in Punjab, said on Thursday he was optimistic about a breakthrough.
Taliban blew up 16 shops selling DVDs in Takhtbai tehsil of Mardan district, police said on Thursday. "An improvised explosive device planted in a market selling DVDs in Takhtbhai town blew up 16 shops overnight," a police official said, blaming the Taliban. There were no casualties, he added. Meanwhile, in Peshawar, the Taliban fired at least 20 mortar rounds, which landed in open spaces late on Wednesday. "They tried to hit a police station and other buildings but the rockets missed the targets and landed in open spaces on the outskirts of Peshawar," a local police official said.
Suspected Taliban blew an ancient shrine of a 17th century sufi poet -- Rehman Baba -- in Akhund Baba graveyard early on Thursday, said locals and police, with the AP news agency reporting that a letter delivered three days before the attack to the management of the mausoleum had warned against its promotion of 'shrine culture'. 
Lahore: The careless approach of investigators has resulted in a loss of important forensic evidence related to Tuesday's terrorist attack on Sri Lankan cricketers.
The killers of Polish engineer Peter Stanczak will not go unpunished, President Asif Ali Zardari said on Thursday.
The Grand Mufti of Dubai, the leading Islamic legal scholar, has ruled that women can hold the position of mufti and issue religious rulings relevant to both men and women on every aspect of life. 
BAGHDAD (AP) A car bomb tore through a crowded livestock market south of Baghdad on Thursday, killing at least 13 people in a mainly Shiite area that the U.S. military has described as one of the safest in Iraq. The blast, which wounded 57 others, struck the market at the height of trading, scattering animal carcasses and human remains across the dirt.
Sudan's president told thousands of cheering supporters on Thursday an international call for his arrest on war crimes charges was a colonialist ploy and announced the expulsion of 10 foreign aid agencies. 
A million additional Afghan students started a new school year on Thursday, but a raging Taliban insurgency will keep about 400,000 out of classrooms, the education minister said.
Auditors have raised serious doubts about General Motor Corp.'s ability to survive amid an unprecedented shortage of new car buyers. 
Citing telephone records of some suspects, investigators said the February 25 massacre at BDR Pilkhana headquarters was planned at least two months back.
