[DAWN] WHILE the prospects of peace in Afghanistan appear tantalisingly near, the fact is that much ground needs to be covered before a lasting end to the decades-old conflict in that country can be reached.
It would help greatly if Pakistan's ISS were to stop financing, training, and directing the Taliban, as well as providing them safe havens for rest and recuperation on the Pakistani side of the border...
Even as the US and Afghan Taliban ...mindless ferocity in a turban... interlocutors have been engaging in shuttle diplomacy over the past several months, with the Qatar ...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi... i capital Doha the usual venue for their rendezvous, the murderous Moslems have been continuing their violent activities inside Afghanistan. Last week, the Taliban announced the start of the ’spring offensive’, a dreaded annual ritual that signals the start of the fighting season as the weather in Afghanistan turns warmer. The offensive comes in the wake of an operation launched by the Kabul government against the Taliban last month. Moreover, as the Taliban and the Kabul government continue to fight, the UN has lifted a travel ban on a number of senior figures of the militia, ostensibly to allow them to attend peace talks.
To many, it might appear strange that the Afghan Taliban are suing for peace on the one hand, and continuing to wage war on the other. However, a lie repeated often enough remains a lie... such tactics have been used by both states and murderous Moslems throughout history, and are part of strategic calculations. From the outside, it appears that the Taliban are continuing with their violent activities in order to approach the Americans from a ’position of strength’ at the negotiating table. Though the ethical and moral justification for this practice may be questionable, the fact is that the Taliban have managed to sustain their campaign against the US-backed Kabul government, and the only way to end the violence would be to keep engaging with the group and bring them to terms. The onus is on the Americans to expedite the grinding of the peace processor so that a negotiated settlement can be reached. However, a lie repeated often enough remains a lie... the Taliban’s insistence of keeping out the Afghan government is unacceptable; they must shed their rigidity and talk to the elected government in Kabul. In fact, in the next phase of negotiations, Ashraf Ghani ...former chancellor of Kabul University, now president of Afghanistan. Before returning to Afghanistan in 2002 he was a scholar of political science and anthropology. He worked at the World Bank working on international development assistance. As Finance Minister of Afghanistan between July 2002 and December 2004, he led Afghanistan's attempted economic recovery until the Karzais stole all the money. .. ’s representatives and those of the Taliban should meet directly, facilitated by regional states and the international community. Ultimately, foreign elements can play a supporting role, but the grinding of the peace processor must be Afghan-led and Afghan-owned. And where needed, Pakistain can offer its good offices to help end this bloody war, that has not only affected Afghanistan, but has also had a major impact on this country.
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[Babylon Bee] WASHINGTON, D.C.‐In an intense televised debate Tuesday evening, presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg handily defeated a straw man fashioned to look like Vice President Mike Pence.
Buttigieg railed against the straw man's hateful positions on the LGBT community and inhumane treatment of gay people, and the straw man couldn't respond to a single argument.
"Why do you hate gay people so much, huh?" Buttigieg began. Getting no response, he shook his head. "Just as I thought. No answer."
Since the straw man Pence could not provide actual arguments, Buttigieg simply made up his opponent's arguments for him.
"Ah, so you're saying you don't think gay people should be allowed to exist? Simply despicable."
Every moderator of the debate and 100% of the audience polled declared Buttigieg the winner.
"Mayor Buttigieg totally destroyed the arguments of the other side that he invented on the spot," said one audience member. "His position was much more sound than the imaginary position of Mike Pence."
#2
"Pete Bootigig wearing straw man attire" in the headline is what I read a.m. Thought it was something about the Village People. Time for more caffeine.
[Babylon Bee] WASHINGTON, D.C.—After it was revealed that Bernie Sanders only gave a very small percentage of his considerable wealth to charity upon release of his tax returns, socialist Bernie Sanders vowed to do better, promising to be more generous with your money in the future.
"I know I haven't given as much to charity as I could have, but I'm going to try to be a lot more generous with your money going forward," he said in a solemn press conference. "I only gave like 1-2% of my money away. And that's just not right. After much r reflection and introspection, I've decided I'm OK with giving as much as 70, 80, or even 90% of your income away."
The crowd cheered and wept openly at this extremely generous gesture.
"I just love how generous the old coot is," a woman with a Bernie face tattoo said in an interview with reporters. "Some people make millions and then hoard it all, but not Bernie. He's willing to make millions of his own money with a very successful book and then give away tons of your money."
"I wish more people in Washington were like him."
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"I wish more people in Washington were like him."
[DAWN] THE launch of a fresh report on Pakistain’s digital trends has turned the spotlight on a host of milestones and challenges for both citizens and the state.
Titled Pakistain’s Internet Landscape 2018, the report compiled by Bytes for All is a comprehensive document which maps online patterns of activity and their impact on the social, economic and political rights of citizens. The writers of the report pertinently note that it has been released at a time when Pakistain and other countries in the region are witnessing a tussle between a vibrant civil society and a controlling state, which forces both citizens and governments to confront the issues of control when it comes to freedom of expression.
Above all, the report highlights that although internet penetration is increasing in Pakistain, the key issues are lack of access; the potential for online abuse; and censorship.
When it comes to internet usage and access, the urban-rural, socioeconomic divide still exists, leaving Pakistain behind other countries in lists such as the Economic Intelligence Unit’s Inclusive Internet Index 2018, which ranks Pakistain 68th amongst 86 countries. But the report also notes that even with these challenges, usage has increased manifold, presenting a host of new questions.
For instance, the report highlights that regarding blasphemy online, an environment of fear has emerged with the possible addition of clauses specific to blasphemy in the already controversial Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act. It argues that this could result in harm both online and offline through the abuse of laws, and says that false blasphemy accusations, as well as the targeting of minorities, was witnessed this year.
Another troubling trend noted by the report is the issue of child pornorgaphy. While the report notes that awareness is being created and some arrests are being made, it says 2018 is "just the tip of the iceberg" and that this year saw focus shift to child pornography being produced and disseminated online from within Pakistain.
When it comes to the issue of censorship, the report talks about how different tactics are employed to intimidate or silence journalists online. It mentions specific cases in which warnings though official channels, such as the FIA, Twitter or even confiscation of devices, are tools through which the state imposes censorship in the digital space. In addition to these tactics, it describes how online ’mob justice’ warriors spewing hate speech lead to self-censorship.
Overall, the report does not paint a happy picture for the direction in which Pakistain is headed. The gender gap and urban-rural divide in terms of access mean currently the internet is only for a few citizens. If the overall digital environment is plagued with these issues, promising areas such as e-commerce will not be able to thrive. The new government must focus on these areas and work towards an inclusive, free and safe digital space.
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[DAWN] NOT too long ago, the government of Pakistain and many of its citizens appeared enamoured of New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, whose actions in the wake of an attack on Moslems in her country turned many here into admirers of her compassionate and determined style of leadership. But while our leaders heaped praise on her humanity, their response to the deadly attack on the Hazara ...a grouping of Dari-speaking people of Sino-Tibetan descent inhabiting Afghanistan and Pakistain. They are predominantly Shia Moslems and not particularly warlike, which makes them favored targets... community in Quetta on Friday, and its subsequent sit-in, has been inadequate. There appears to be a lacklustre effort by the government to reach out to and pacify the protesting members of the minority Shia group who continued their sit-in even amid heavy showers and cold weather before ending it on Monday night. The response from the government has included a visit by the maritime minister to Quetta, where he condoled with the families of the victims and gave assurances about investigating the incident. On the fourth day, other PTI leaders visited Quetta and gave similar assurances. The protesters, who set up their camps to condemn last week’s blast at the Hazarganji vegetable and fruit market, rightly demanded that elements involved in the suicide kaboom be incarcerated Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un! , steps be taken to ensure their protection and the implementation of NAP take place "without any discrimination". Above all, their fresh demand was that the prime minister himself visit and engage with them to chalk out a future for a vulnerable community battered by violence and hate.
It is a pity that governments past and present have fallen short when it comes to standing by Pakistain’s minorities ‐ especially the Hazara community, whose plight reflects an existential struggle. Token condemnations through tweets are a far cry from Ms Ardern’s gestures, which politicians here gushed about in the aftermath of the Christchurch attacks. Instead of simply praising Ms Ardern, the government should strive to embody her qualities of empathy and courage. More leaders should aspire to be like her across the world ‐ especially in Pakistain where she is hailed as a champion.
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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.
...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi...
...former chancellor of Kabul University, now president of Afghanistan. Before returning to Afghanistan in 2002 he was a scholar of political science and anthropology. He worked at the World Bank working on international development assistance. As Finance Minister of Afghanistan between July 2002 and December 2004, he led Afghanistan's attempted economic recovery until the Karzais stole all the money. ..
[Babylon Bee] WASHINGTON, D.C.—After it was revealed that Bernie Sanders only gave a very small percentage of his considerable wealth to charity upon release of his tax returns, socialist Bernie Sanders vowed to do better, promising to be more generous with your money in the future.
