[Quqnoos] Afghan President Hamid Karzai pledged to form an inclusive government after he was declared the elected president. Speaking in a news conference on Tuesday in Kabul, President Karzai said he would try his best to tackle corruption from his next government.
"Afghanistan has been tarnished by administrative corruption and I will launch a campaign to clean the government of corruption," President Karzai said.
Earlier, US president Barack Obama called on Karzai to focus on tacking the corruption.
President Karzai also called on Taliban to "embrace their land," as the militants' insurgency reached its fiercest moment.
Taliban in a statement called Karzai a "Puppet President" saying that the final decision has been made in Washington and London.
Regarding the second round of the election the president said "It would have been better for our country, if our brother Dr Abdullah had participated".
President Karzai was declared the elected president after the withdrawal of Abdullah Abdullah, the sole Karzai's challenger.
Karzai's sitting for the second termed raised questions about his legitimacy as his tally votes were below 50%, the level needed for outright victory according to the Afghan election law.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/04/2009 00:00 ||
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Officials in Libya on Monday reported that Megrahi had been discharged from Tripoli Medical Centre, the country's most advanced public clinic, where he had received treatment since late August.
In August, doctors gave Megrahi just three months to live in a judgement that secured his release from a Glasgow prison. But he entered the Tripoli hospital to undergo an aggressive chemotherapy programme just days after Libyans celebrated his triumphal return.
And you know just how much better Libyan medical care is than the NHS ...
It was experimental. The British Health Service doesn't do things like that.
Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's regime publicly declared its hope that "a miracle from God" would preserve his life.
The 57-year old former Libyan intelligence official marks three months since his release next week. One Libyan official was quoted as saying that Megrahi need "years" to pursue his efforts to clear his name from the conviction for causing the deaths of 280 people in 1988.
Under the terms of the medical parole arrangement made with the Scottish government, Megrahi was supposed to communicate with officials weekly via a videolink installed in his family home.
Megrahi has now been sent back to the family's villa in central Tripoli where a police guard keeps unauthorised visitors at bay. The family has been ordered to sever contacts with journalists.
Where is James Bond when his nation needs him?
Posted by: Fred ||
11/04/2009 00:00 ||
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#3
Investigate the Doctor's finances, both deeply and extremely thoroughly, his family as well, so tha a "Brother" who suddenly got wealthy falls with him too.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
11/04/2009 18:23 Comments ||
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SEOUL, Nov. 4 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party (DP) on Wednesday urged the Lee Myung-bak government to entirely change its North Korea policy and resume rice and fertilizer assistance.
Because the only people the DPs won't appease are Americans ...
DP floor leader Lee Kang-rae said in his parliamentary speech that massive rice shipments to the communist North are inevitable in order to address the problem of falling rice prices in the South.
But the DP leader also called on North Korea to return to the six-party talks and give up its nuclear program in return for food shipments from the South.
"North Korea should immediately abandon its nuclear weapons program. The Lee Myung-bak government should also overhaul its North Korea policy and resume fertilizer and rice assistance, as his liberal predecessors did," said the DP leader. "Rice shipment to the North is particularly needed to cope with falling rice prices at home."
So this is just about trying to grab up some of the farming vote at home.
The Lee government has linked the resumption of full-scale food aid to North Korea to its denuclearization, although it last week offered to give the North limited volumes of corn and other humanitarian aid.
Meanwhile, the DP floor leader asked the Lee government to review a host of controversial policy projects, including the development of four major rivers, downsizing of the previous government's plan to move key government ministries out of Seoul, and tax reductions for conglomerates and high income earners.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/04/2009 00:00 ||
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Well, I guess it's better than burning the grain like Henry Wallace would have wanted...
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
11/04/2009 9:09 Comments ||
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Normalization of ties between North Korea and Japan does not necessarily have to wait till the abduction issue is fully resolved, Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has said. Choi Sang-yong, a former South Korean ambassador to Japan, met with Hatoyama in Tokyo on Oct. 31 and sent his thoughts on the meeting to the Chosun Ilbo.
He said contentious issues like the repatriation of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea in the 1970s and 80s and other matters can be tackled separately. "Our position is that it is possible to tackle one by one in the process of normalization," Choi quoted Hatoyama as saying.
That suggests greater flexibility in Japanese policy compared to previous administrations, which made the resolution of the kidnap issue the absolute prerequisite for normalization of ties. But Hatoyama added there was "no clear message" from North Korea about diplomatic relations.
As for relations with the United States, Hatoyama said while Japan's diplomatic policies have been very much dependent on the U.S. and it could not steer its policies independently, it is time for change. The Japan-U.S. alliance remains the basic axis of Japan's foreign policy, but Tokyo needs separate policies centered on Asia, he said.
Sure. No problem. Why don't you build a military -- for defensive purposes, of course -- to back up your new, independent foreign policy? Your neighbors won't mind, they'll understand that your new military is for defensive purposes.
You see, you get just a little too independent, and we just might decide to do what we should have done when the Y'urp-peons started acting like this -- we just might bring our military home. Your country is the #2 economic power in the world. You can afford to be independent of us.
So go ahead. We won't mind. Honestly.
Choi quoted the Japanese leader as calling for cooperation with the U.S. on an equal basis in promoting humane capitalism, multilateral cooperation and nuclear disarmament. But he added Japan can if necessary take a different approach from Washington.
Hatoyama said he disagreed with U.S. President Barack Obama that the current situation in Afghanistan can be solved by military intervention. "People are turning blind eyes to the lessons from the failed war in Iraq," Hatoyama said according to Choi.
"failed" war in Iraq? Oh dear, Joe Biden has been to Tokyo, hasn't he ...
Sheriff Joe's bestest thoughts cross both space and time.
Hatoyama also said he was "positive" about giving Korean Japanese the vote, but warned that the opinion of all sectors of society should be taken into account.
By the time all the consulting is done, nothing will be.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/04/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Somewhere in the back of my mind I remember reading that Samurai Swords were "Flexible" enough to be bent in a "U" nd when let go recoiled like a spring.
That what you mean by the Japanese should be more "Flexible"?
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
11/04/2009 18:45 Comments ||
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#2
I suspect Hatoyama means ankles behind the head flexible. After all, he is the Japanese Obama.
Posted by: ed ||
11/04/2009 18:47 Comments ||
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#3
Exactly, ed. Sad to say, Hatoyama does sound as clueless as our ridiculous "government" these days. Yet I don't think Japanese share these sentiments. The LDP was ejected after 1,000 years of an exclusive lock on power for several reasons, nothing having anything to do with foreign policy or the Norks.
North Korea on Monday warned it will "go its own way if the U.S. is not yet ready to sit down" for dialogue about the North Korean nuclear issue. A North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman made the remarks to the official KCNA news agency. "As we magnanimously clarified our position that it is possible to hold multilateral talks including the six-party talks depending on talks with the U.S., now is the U.S.' turn to make a decision."
Sorry to keep you waiting. Our president is deciding between the shanghai beef and the moo-shoo pork. It could take a while ...
Have you tried the bulgogi? Delish!
A South Korean security official said the remarks sound like blackmail, warning of some kind of military action "including increasing its nuclear capability" unless the U.S. jumps into talks. But he said the substance was a "rehash" of previous statements.
Blackmail? Oh lawzy, the Norks?
In a recent meeting held between Ri Gun, the chief of the North Korean Foreign Ministry's American affairs bureau, and Sung Kim, the chief U.S. delegate to the six-party talks, the spokesman complained "no discussion" took place "on any substantial issue concerning the bilateral dialogue."
He claimed the North suffered huge economic losses in the process of talks to solve its nuclear issue, as the promise to supply a light-water reactor came to naught. This is being read as a broad hint that the North wants more economic support as a reward for returning to the six-party talks.
The spokesman already drew lines for future talks by saying a Sept. 19, 2005 statement of principles was a "dead document," because the U.S. brought North Korea's "satellite launch" -- widely understood to have been a long-range missile test -- to the UN Security Council and invoked sanctions.
The 2005 statement stipulates a stage-by-stage dismantlement of North Korea's nuclear weapons on the "action-for-action" principle.
That's gone well.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/04/2009 00:00 ||
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#2
So tell me, where does your way go? Does it have a view? Because we've been thinking about a picnicking day-trip, and we're always looking for nice walks through hell-and-gone.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
11/04/2009 9:10 Comments ||
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North Korea on Tuesday said it completed reprocessing 8,000 spent fuel rods in late August. "Noticeable successes have been made in turning the extracted plutonium weapon-grade for the purpose of bolstering the nuclear deterrent," it said.
The claim was made by the official KCNA news agency. It said the North was "compelled to take measures for bolstering its deterrent for self-defense against the increasing nuclear threat and military provocations of the hostile forces."
If reprocessing of spent fuel rods has really been completed, it could have obtained some 7-8 kg of plutonium from all 8,000 spent fuel rods, providing enough raw material for one nuclear weapon, for which about 6-7 kg of plutonium is normally needed.
But the claim is not new. In a letter it sent to the UN Security Council president in early September, the North made a similar claim, saying that reprocessing of spent fuel rods was "near completion" and extracted plutonium was being turned into a weapon.
More from the Voice of America -- US: North Korea Plutonium Production Violates UN Resolutions.
Gee. No kidding. That Bambi, has he got an outstanding command of the obvious.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/04/2009 00:00 ||
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His Point is that the UN is NOT NOTICING these transgressions, It's like the UN has forcefuly looked the other way to be sure they don't see.
Well we all know the UN is safe, the NORK's would Never blast their allies.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
11/04/2009 18:38 Comments ||
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#2
How many calories in a kilogram of plutonium? Bon apetit my strong Nork bruthas!
Posted by: ed ||
11/04/2009 18:58 Comments ||
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#3
WORLD NEWS/TOPIX > VARIOUS - NORTH KOREA SAYS IT HAS MADE MORE WEAPONS-GRADE PLUTONIUM/EXPANDED NUCLEAR ARSENAL.
[Jakarta Post] Police in China's far west have launched a crackdown on terrorism and stepped up a hunt for suspects who took part in deadly ethnic riots there four months ago, the regional public security ministry said Tuesday.
The "Strike Hard" campaign is to run from November through the end of the year and will cover all of the remote Xinjiang region, with police on high alert for terror plots, the ministry said in a faxed statement.
Hundreds have already been arrested and nine people sentenced to death following the July 5 riots, which saw Uighurs attacking Han Chinese in the regional capital of Urumqi. Nearly 200 people were killed in those attacks and in the revenge killings of Uighurs by Han Chinese in the days that followed.
Uighurs are a Turkic Muslim ethnic group linguistically and culturally distinct from China's majority Han. The Uighurs see Xinjiang as their homeland and resent the millions of Han Chinese who have poured into the region in recent decades. A simmering separatist campaign has occasionally boiled over into violence in the past 20 years.
China says overseas Uighur separatists orchestrated the riots to worsen ethnic divisions and bolster their campaign for independence but the government has provided little evidence to back up its claim.
"We must step up efforts to collect and analyze information and clues regarding terror and explosives in order to strictly prevent occurrences of violent cases of this sort," the statement said, without referring to any particular threats.
It also ordered security forces to continue the search for riot suspects.
The remote oil-rich region has been blanketed in tight security since the violence erupted, with Internet access and long distance phone service cut for even ordinary people.
Overseas Uighur rights activists and human rights groups have accused Xinjiang security officials of illegally detaining dozens of alleged rioters for months without informing families of their whereabouts, with some suspects said to be as young as 14 years old.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/04/2009 00:00 ||
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AN Italian judge has convicted 23 US and two Italian secret agents for the CIA's kidnapping of an Egyptian cleric in 2003.
The CIA's Milan station chief at the time, Robert Lady, was sentenced to eight years in prison and the other Americans to five years, all in their absence, today.
The two Italians were given three-year prison terms.
#1
So how did the Italians know THE NAMES of these guys?
Posted by: Richard Aubrey ||
11/04/2009 14:41 Comments ||
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#2
Credit card receipts, cell phone numbers, etc. Apparently it was a pretty sloppily run op. It's not like the prosecutors got any cooperation from the Italian or US governments.
#4
We could even take our military out of Italy and start using our former bases to store nuclear waste. I mean, why not, it's apparent that Italy has decided to bite it's allies.
#5
I'm more worried that our DOJ might actually co-operate with the extradition, given that BHO needs to keep the anti-American wing of the Democratic party on his side.
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
11/04/2009 17:43 Comments ||
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#7
Ummm, I'm thinking a horses head is good, but put the Prosecuting Attorney's head in the Judges Bed would be ten times more effective.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
11/04/2009 18:31 Comments ||
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#8
Even better, a Jihadi in the wife's bed
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/04/2009 18:36 Comments ||
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#9
On the bright side, the next time the Balkans blow up, we'll know to stay home and let the Italians handle it. Save us a fortune.
Posted by: ed ||
11/04/2009 18:42 Comments ||
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#10
So how did the Italians know THE NAMES of these guys?
Would you believe credit card receipts? Great field craft guys.
Posted by: ed ||
11/04/2009 18:44 Comments ||
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#11
"Baltazar is a piker!"
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/04/2009 18:57 Comments ||
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#12
worried that our DOJ might actually co-operate with the extradition
Frozen Al has a good point - I believe the US and Italy do have extradition agreements for serious crimes - like kidnapping, which out guys were convicted of - and we are actually BOUND to extradite our agents.
#13
really? Like Liam whose American father is trying to pry him out of an Italian orphanage? Liam was kidnapped from Dad's legal custody after a divorce by his crazy Italian Mom, and taken to Italy. She has since been judged nuts, and Liam was removed to an Italian orphanage. The Italian gov't refuses to send the boy home.
They wanna talk? We discuss this first, and publicly
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/04/2009 20:20 Comments ||
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#14
Frank G, the problem with your analogy is that there is no criminal CONVICTION (whether we think it was an actual crime or not is not the issue) in play - and not only that, there won't be, since the mother is insane. Clearly Italy is wrong, but it's a different kind of situation.
Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir will visit Turkey next week for the first time since an international court asked for his arrest, government sources said, in a test of Ankara's support for international justice.
Predominantly Muslim Turkey has not ratified the 2002 Rome Statute that established the International Criminal Court (ICC), but it is under pressure to do so to bring it closer to European Union standards. Rights groups say Turkey, anxious to secure entry into the EU, is obliged to arrest Bashir when he lands in Istanbul for a summit of Islamic nations.
One presidential source in Khartoum said on Wednesday: "The decision has been taken. Unless there are last minute changes, he is going."
Ankara's government, which has its roots in political Islam, has sought to deepen ties with Khartoum, putting it in an awkward position over the visit. Asked if Turkish authorities would arrest Bashir during his visit, a Turkish Foreign Ministry official said on condition of anonymity: "No, there are no such plans."
A public outcry about Bashir's visit to Turkey could still cause it to be cancelled, which would embarrass Khartoum, one Sudanese analyst said.
Activists said there was sure to be opposition from civil society to the visit, adding Turkey had obligations to arrest Bashir as a U.N. member. "We most certainly expect Turkey to show respect for this monumental decision by the ICC," said Ozlem Altiparmak from the Turkish Coalition for the ICC.
"Turkey could see a backlash in public opinion and from civil-society groups if it fails to act while he is here."
Bashir has travelled to African countries, who reject the arrest warrant, since March when ICC judges said he was responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Sudan's Darfur region. He was last in Turkey in August 2008, before the arrest warrant was announced.
[Associated Press of Pakistan] Chairman Senate Farooq H Naek Tuesday called for additional efforts to freeze terrorist assets and enact legislation to criminalize terrorist financing and to improve information sharing between financial intelligence units. ''Through effective policy-making and legislative interventions, national institutions can be enabled to effectively cope with terror-related challenges such as flow of money into wrong hands.
Another effective intervention can be necessary legislation to criminalize not only money laundering but terrorist financing as well,'' said the Chairman Senate speaking as chief guest at judicial workshop, 'Parliament's Role in Combating the Financing of Terrorism.'
He said, informal money transfer system can be vulnerable to be used by terrorist and terrorist organizations. Likewise, laundering money through front organizations such as charities, offshore, companies and trusts and areas like Cayman Island, Jersey, Liechtenstein and Isle of Mann provide a way for groups to transfer cash from legitimate causes to terrorist ones.
Stressing for more comprehensive cooperation among national parliaments to tackle this issue, he said that such cooperation is vital to combat terror not just on an operational level but on a philosophical level.
''Parliamentarians are entrusted by citizenry with the task of regulating public life through the promulgation of laws. It is our job as promulgators and custodian of law to present a common front to the terrorists,'' said the Chairman Senate. He said, Pakistan's commitment to combat terrorism goes beyond law enforcement as particular attention is being paid to strengthen our legal regime to address all aspects of this complex problem. ''In this regard, an Anti Money Laundering Law was promulgated in 2007 that contains detailed provision for countering terrorist financing and number of amendments are being made to make law of international standard,'' he said.
The chairman observed that workshop is a welcome initiative and a stronger and deeper cooperation between national parliaments, international financial institutions, security networks and other stakeholders vis-vis exchange of information and intelligence sharing to detect and eliminate financing for terrorism. Executive Director CTED Mike Smith, said countering terrorist financing is inevitable to eliminate this menace of terrorism and Parliaments can play due role to make any legislation in this regard.
He said, the legislation is a basis in this regard and the Parliament can also upgrade this legislation in accordance with the needs of time.
Smith said, the Parliament has also the role to explain the facts to the people about challenges of terrorism and get their ideas. The two-day workshop is being attended by a large number of parliamentarians from different political parties.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/04/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Aren't there already laws against
Aiding and abetting
Accessory before the fact
Accomplice
Why pass more laws? Enforce those already passed.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
11/04/2009 18:51 Comments ||
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US special envoy Richard Holbrooke has said those criticising the Kerry-Lugar law are either opposed to the current Pakistani government or are supporting the Taliban, reported a private TV channel on Tuesday.
Holbrooke told the channel that Pakistan's current political situation would not become similar to the crisis on March 16 -- when top US officials had to make phone calls to the Pakistani leadership to sort out issues related to the restoration of the judiciary. He said the US only supported the leadership of constitutionally elected governments. Holbrooke said although the NRO did not come under much discussion during Hillary Clinton's recent visit to Pakistan, US officials were fully aware of the situation.
About Pakistan's claim that India is supporting militancy in the Tribal Areas and an insurgency in Balochistan, the envoy said the US fully understood these concerns.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/04/2009 00:00 ||
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A Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesman denied on Tuesday that the army has won a series of battlefield victories in South Waziristan, saying the group was drawing troops into a trap. "We are prepared for a long war," Azam Tariq told an Associated Press reporter by telephone. "The areas we are withdrawing from, and the ones the army is claiming to have won, are being vacated by us as part of a strategy. The strategy is to lure the army into a trap, and then fight a long war." Tariq also denied army claims that hundreds of Taliban had been killed, saying only 11 had died so far.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/04/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Eleven? What kind of command-and-control does the TTP have? Good enough for them to be able to pull real casualty lists? Or is that just "eleven that I know about (because they're related to me)"?
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
11/04/2009 9:37 Comments ||
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#2
Which, now that I think about it, makes me wonder about payrolls and death benefits for these tribal militia/mercenary gangs. Do they get money from their paymasters on a head count basis? Are there widow-and-orphan funds, or do they have an incentive to pretend dead jihadi are still around to featherbed the gang bottomline?
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
11/04/2009 9:39 Comments ||
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[Al Arabiya Latest] Jordan has granted citizenship to the wife and sons of Iraq's jailed former deputy premier Tareq Aziz who have lived in the kingdom since the 22D3 US-led invasion, an official said on Tuesday.
"The council of ministers granted Jordanian citizenship on Monday to Saddam Tareq Aziz and his mother Violet Yusef Nobud," the official told AFP.
"The elder son, Ziad Tareq Aziz, and his wife, Seba Mzaffar Antwan, have been granted citizenship recently, upon their request."
Posted by: Fred ||
11/04/2009 00:00 ||
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The U.S. House of Representatives has overwhelmingly passed a resolution condemning a report by a United Nations fact-finding panel that criticized Israel as part of an assessment of the conflict in Gaza in 2008 between Israel and Hamas. House lawmakers approved the symbolic measure by a vote of 344 to 36.
In its report, the U.N. panel headed by South African Judge Richard Goldstone said Israeli forces and Palestinian Hamas forces committed violations of international law, including war crimes, during the 22-day conflict which left 1400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis dead.
Among its recommendations, the panel said Israel, and Hamas which controls Gaza, should face potential prosecution in The Hague if they do not conduct independent and credible investigations within six months.
But the report provoked angry reaction in Congress, where many lawmakers condemned it as biased, while others asserted it contained balanced criticism of Israel and Hamas. The House resolution calls the commission's report irredeemably biased and unworthy of further consideration or legitimacy and urges the Obama administration, which has already condemned it, to strongly oppose its endorsement by the United Nations.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer was among Democrats and Republicans characterizing the Goldstone report as biased, and taking aim at the U.N. Human Rights Council which established its mandates. "The Human Rights Council mandates for the report specifically targeted Israeli actions, ignoring, ignoring the deliberate Hamas attacks on civilians [in Israel] that provoked Israel's self-defense in Operation Cast Lead [Israeli military operation in Gaza in 2008," said Steny Hoyer.
However, Republicans and Democratic opponents said the resolution itself was biased, asserting that by passing it the House would be demonstrating it wants to cover up the truth about actions in Gaza by both Hamas and Israel.
"This resolution is blatantly biased and it damages U.S. credibility," said Democratic Representative Betty McCollum. "This resolution seeks to hide the ugliness of the Gaza war by covering up violent excesses committed against innocent civilians by both Hamas and the Israeli Defense [Forces]."
Republican Representative David Price asserted that passage would also complicate U.S. efforts for peace between Israelis and Palestinians, and negatively impact Israel's own investigations:
"Israel is a strong and resilient democracy," saidd David Price. "Successfully investigating this episode could only make it stronger, but we shouldn't pass this resolution now which could actually hinder the wheels of justice before they have ever begun to turn."
Richard Goldstone, who headed the U.N. inquiry, wrote last week to the Democratic chairman and senior Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Howard Berman and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, demanding changes to correct what he called serious factual inaccuracies.
Though he and Ros-Lehtinen agreed to some changes, Congressman Berman asserted that the commission's conclusions remain flawed. He said lawmakers needed to voice a position before Wednesday's U.N. General Assembly consideration of a resolution supported by Arab countries on the Goldstone report.
"The fact is, I truly believe the report is flawed," said Howard Berman.
Israel and the United States have urged foreign governments to vote against the resolution on the Goldstone report.
Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have called for implementation of its recommendations. Human Rights Watch urged U.S lawmakers to vote against resolution in the House of Representatives.
Besides urging the Obama administration to oppose any further consideration of the Goldstone report in multi-lateral forums, or measures stemming from it, the resolution also reaffirms support for Israel's security and right to self-defense, and its right to defend its citizens from violent militant groups and their state sponsors.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/04/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Ah, two wrongs don't make a right they make the UN wrong as usual. Dissolution of the UN = priceless.
#2
PAKISTANI DEFENCE FORUMS > SOUTH AFRICA'S LEGAL WAR IN GAZA [Muslim lawyers desire to prosecute SA'ers whom fought for Israel vee alleged Israeli "war crimes" agz Paleos-Muslims].
[Al Arabiya Latest] U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton offered aid on Tuesday to boost ties with the Muslim world and urged Israel, the Palestinians and Arab countries to move beyond recrimination in the search for peace.
"We are determined and persistent in the pursuit of that goal," she said in a speech at a development forum in Morocco attended by Arab ministers.
After a weekend of heated words about the perceived U.S. tilt toward Israel on the issue of settlements on the occupied West Bank, Clinton said it was important for all sides to "be careful about what we say" and avoid angry rhetoric.
"We need to work together in a constructive spirit toward this shared goal of a comprehensive peace. I believe very strongly that it is attainable ... (and) that with your support we can find a way through."
Posted by: Fred ||
11/04/2009 00:00 ||
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[Al Arabiya Latest] A group of professors in Norway have called for a boycott of Israeli academics because of "systematic" discrimination against Palestinian students and for altering history to develop the Zionist ideology, the professors said in their proposal sent to Al Arabiya on Tuesday.
Because the Arab nations currently have such a robust academic exchange program with Israel. Posturing asses all.
You've never, ever seen the Paleos alter history. They do alter maps, however ...
The Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), where the professors work, is set to decide next week whether to boycott Israel after it received the proposal from 30 of its professors who said their aim was to put "pressure" on Israel to end its occupation of Palestinian land.
Norway... isn't that where Hansel and Gretel used to live before they emigrated?
"We, who have signed this letter, believe that it is time that academic institutions contributed to an international pressure against Israel so that real negotiations between Israel, democratically elected Palestinian authorities and the international society can begin," the open letter said.
I suspect Israeli politicians routinely have more degrees from better institutions than this particular collection of Norwegian science and technology professors. Many Israeli taxi drivers as well, given how many used to be Soviet physicists and engineers. So the impact isn't likely to be quite what the good professors hope.
The group accused Israeli universities and institutions of higher education of playing "a key role in the policy of oppression" and said "historians and archaeologists are important in the development of the Zionist ideology and renouncement of Palestinian history and identity."
The letter cited Israel's 22-day land, air and sea assault of Gaza as an example of Tel Aviv's actions that inflict "immense human suffering," which they said "shocked the world."
Posted by: Fred ||
11/04/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Also, der Juden make us look like children playing in a sandbox.
#3
Whoever needed proof that you dont need any common sense or intelectual honesty to become a professor in Norway- this is it.
My response is as follows:
1) I will not set my foot again in Norway or spend a single Dollar on Norwegian merchandize until I have proof that this stupidity is stopped on a national level (Boycotts work both ways- you know).
2) I truely wish the Norwegians, and particularely the asshole professors the benefit of getting a close first hand exposure to Palestinian history, identity, aspirations and culture (not to speak of their Islamic fervor) and hopefully a close quarter demonstration of the famous paleo gun sex !
As the chinese say: May you live in interesting times (in Eurabia).
Posted by: Elder of Zion ||
11/04/2009 11:08 Comments ||
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[Iran Press TV Latest] Hamas says remarks about its possessing weapons is a mere 'fabrication' to mobilize world opinion against the movement ahead of the UN General Assembly's vote on a Gaza war crimes report.
Israeli Military Intelligence chief Major-General Amos Yadlin claimed earlier Tuesday that the movement possesses in its arsenal a rocket capable of reaching targets in Tel Aviv.
"This is a pre-emptive step by the Zionist enemy to influence international opinion ahead of the General Assembly's discussion of the Goldstone report," said Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum on Tuesday.
"This crisis has pushed the Zionist enemy to create these kinds of fabrications", he added.
The remarks were made a day before the United Nations General Assembly convenes to discuss a report on Israeli war crimes during its December-January offensive against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
The report prepared by former South African judge Richard Goldstone concluded that Israel used disproportionate force and failed to protect civilians during the 22 say war on Gaza.
Israel however urged the international community on Tuesday to oppose the report when it is put to vote on Wednesday.
"This report damages not only Israel but any peace-seeking democratic state that has to face terror," said Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon.
The UN Human Rights Council endorsed the report last month and the UN Security Council mentioned it during its monthly debate on the Middle East on October 13 without taking any action.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/04/2009 00:00 ||
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[11126 views]
Top|| File under: Hamas
#1
you would think Hamas would want Israel to think they could hit Tel Aviv even if they couldn't
what is Hamas thinking here
Alternative 1: they have been told by the Mullahs not to give Israel a pretext to hit Iran's nuke assets
Alternative 2: Hamas received a defective missile from Iran (or it was damaged in transit) and they want one that works (or more than one).
Alternative 3: Hamas doesn't want to give the IDF a reason to zap them.
Posted by: lord garth ||
11/04/2009 10:16 Comments ||
Top||
November 4 is the 30th anniversary of the siezure, by young Iranian militants, of the U.S. embassy in Tehran. Leading up to that event, the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini had returned to Iran from exile in France, leading an Islamic revolution that forced the Shah of Iran to flee. Fifty-two of the US diplomats seized by the Iranians were held captive for more than a year, most of them at the US embassy.
On November 4, 1979,the United States embassy in Tehran was seized by militants in the name of Iran's new leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. For the next 444 days, it was the scene of captivity for 49 Americans, including embassy Press Attache Barry Rosen.
He describes how he was taken hostage. "One young man, looking rather ferocious at that time, started to kick, to kick the door down," he says, "This person said to me in a loud voice, in Farsi, "You are under arrest! You are a member of the nest of spies! You are going to come with me!"
The Acting US Ambassador at the time, Bruce Laingen, was also taken hostage. In hindsight, he says, the close U.S. relationship with the Shah of Iran, widely unpopular, set the stage for what happened.
"If we had done things differently, you could come up with all kinds of scenarios. But I believe myself that it was almost inevitable," Laingen said.
A celebration in Algiers on November 1st, where Iran's Prime Minister Mehdi Bazargan was photographed meeting with U.S. National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski, pushed the situation over the edge, according to Victor Tomseth, who was a political officer at the embassy. "I'm convinced to this day that it was that picture that was the catalyst for the student group that carried out the attack on the embassy," Tomseth said.
The U.S. diplomats spent nearly 15 months confined in the embassy, the foreign ministry and other Tehran locations.
In the U.S., Americans hung yellow ribbons to show solidarity, also putting pressure on President Jimmy Carter to act.
Months later, the US mounted a rescue mission. A dust storm turned the operation into a disaster, killing eight servicemen. The mission was aborted.
Barry Rosen says the U.S. made several mistakes, including not closing the embassy after an earlier takeover attempt in February 1979. "We should have shut down the embassy after February 14th. And said to the Iranians 'When you want us back, we will be back,'" he states.
Bruce Laingen says decisionmakers in Washington weren't paying attention to the detailed reports the embassy was providing about the deteriorating situation in Iran.
Washington was paying attention to the Cold War and Moscow, according to Rosen. "We are still worried about the Soviets. We had listening posts in the embassy. That to the administration was more important than bilateral relations or the bodies [the embassy personnel] that were in Tehran," Rosen said.
Bruce Laingen says he spoke with Foreign Minister Ebrahim Yazdi late on November 4 about the situation. "I had a telephone conversation that night, of the first day, when he told me 'Look. We will resolve this by morning.' And I said to him, 'OK, what am I going to do?' What are you going to do with me? And he said 'Why don't you go down into the diplomatic reception rooms [at the Foreign Ministry] and find a place to sleep there?" Laingen recalls.
It was a nap that lasted nearly 15 months. In November 1980, President Carter lost his re-election bid. On January 20, 1981, Ronald Reagan was inaugurated as President of the United States. On the same day, Bruce Laingen and 51 other Americans were freed.
Some 30 years later, the United States and Iran are still at odds.
#1
If you want more detail and background, read Mark Bowden's "Guests of the Ayatollah". Warning: the treatment of the hostages will make you angry and your contempt for Jimmy Carter will increase. No, really!
You can get a taste here from back when The Atlantic was worth reading: Desert One Debacle
IRAN "must choose" whether to open the door to opportunity and prosperity, US President Barack Obama said in a statement marking 30 years since the storming of the US embassy in Tehran.
Or what?
"We have heard for thirty years what the Iranian government is against; the question, now, is what kind of future it is for," Mr Obama said.
"It is time for the Iranian government to decide whether it wants to focus on the past, or whether it will make the choices that will open the door to greater opportunity, prosperity and justice for its people."
Radical Islamist students captured the city-centre US embassy on November 4, 1979 - just months after the Islamic revolution toppled the US-backed shah.
The students, who took 52 American diplomats hostage and held them for 444 days, said they were responding to Washington's refusal to hand over the deposed shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
Iran's top dissident cleric Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri today said the capture of the US embassy 30 years ago by Islamist students was a mistake.
"The occupation of the American embassy at the start had the start of Iranian revolutionaries and the late Imam Khomeini and I supported it too," he said. "But considering the negative repercussions and the high sensitivity which was created among the American people and which still exists, it was not the right thing to do."
#2
IRAN "must choose" whether to open the door to opportunity and prosperity
(a) Iranian elites already have prosperity---and they couldn't care less about the rest of Iranians.
(b) Talk of prosperity coming from the man busy turning USA into an economic cripple?
#3
I'm sure the Iranian mullocracy is shaking in their curly-toed slippers right now. Might even have them converting to Judaism real soon to avoid the consequences.
#4
Oh, and I almost forgot: I'm sure the mullocracy never considered the consequences, and they are rethinking their choices right now in an emergency session.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
11/04/2009 14:19 Comments ||
Top||
#8
Oh wait, he's going to make a speech about them and use the power of his words to change their behavior. This is what we have for a leader....heaven help the Republic!
[Iran Press TV Latest] Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Jaber al-Sabah says Iran's nuclear program is peaceful and Tehran has the right to continue its nuclear program.
"All countries have the right to use peaceful nuclear technology, and we believe that Iran's activities are in the area of peaceful nuclear energy, and we support such a program," IRNA quoted al-Sabah as saying in a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki in Kuwait on Tuesday.
During the meeting, Mottaki and al-Sabah discussed the latest bilateral and regional issues.
The Kuwaiti emir also stated that Iran's security enhances the security of the Middle East region.
"We regard Iran's security as our own security," al-Sabah added.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/04/2009 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11125 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
???
Is this fear talking, or completely made up by the Iranian press?
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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.
North Korea on Monday warned it will "go its own way if the U.S. is not yet ready to sit down" for dialogue about the North Korean nuclear issue. A North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman made the remarks to the official KCNA news agency. "As we magnanimously clarified our position that it is possible to hold multilateral talks including the six-party talks depending on talks with the U.S., now is the U.S.' turn to make a decision."
North Korea on Tuesday said it completed reprocessing 8,000 spent fuel rods in late August. "Noticeable successes have been made in turning the extracted plutonium weapon-grade for the purpose of bolstering the nuclear deterrent," it said.
A Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesman denied on Tuesday that the army has won a series of battlefield victories in South Waziristan, saying the group was drawing troops into a trap. "We are prepared for a long war," Azam Tariq told an Associated Press reporter by telephone. "The areas we are withdrawing from, and the ones the army is claiming to have won, are being vacated by us as part of a strategy. The strategy is to lure the army into a trap, and then fight a long war." Tariq also denied army claims that hundreds of Taliban had been killed, saying only 11 had died so far.
The U.S. House of Representatives has overwhelmingly passed a resolution condemning a report by a United Nations fact-finding panel that criticized Israel as part of an assessment of the conflict in Gaza in 2008 between Israel and Hamas. House lawmakers approved the symbolic measure by a vote of 344 to 36.
