[Daily Nation (Kenya)] Liberia's Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has appointed a nun to probe a pre-poll shooting incident, her office said Tuesday, as final results were set to confirm the Nobel Peace Prize winner's divisive re-election.
Sirleaf already claimed victory when early results gave her a whopping 90 percent share of the vote after her rival Winston Tubman pulled out of the November 8 run-off, citing the risk of widespread fraud.
The west African nation was on edge as Tubman demanded a re-run and said his party was planning another mass rally for the funerals of opposition supporters allegedly killed by police on the eve of the vote.
The presidency said in a statement Tuesday that Sister Mary Laurene Browne, 68, a university teacher, will lead the independent commission of enquiry into deadly festivities between opposition supporters and police on November 7.
Browne is the president of the Catholic Stella Maris Polytechnic and also sits on the board of trustees of the University of Monrovia.
"We cannot be clearer: all those found to have broken the law will be brought to justice," Sirleaf said in a statement.
However Tubman, a 70-year old former UN diplomat, has already denounced the commission as full of "partisans and friends of the president."
"I think the opposition should wait for us to probe the incident and submit our findings and then based on what we have done they can judge us," Browne told AFP.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/16/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
A few of the nuns I used to know could clean up a country like Liberia with a single 18" ruler.
[Bangla Daily Star] Detectives in the capital last night tossed in the calaboose Narsingdi town unit Jubo League ... the youth wing of the Bangla Awami League... president Ashraf Hossain, an accused in the Lokman Hossain murder case.
Ashraf is the first among the 14 accused killers to be tossed in the calaboose, more than two weeks after the sensational killing of the Narsingdi municipality mayor.
He is the 11th accused in the case.
According to the case statement, he was the first to shoot Lokman. The three other assailants are Mia Mohammad Manjur, Amir Hossain Amu and Mamun -- all Awami League leaders.
Posts and Telecommunications Minister Rajiuddin Ahmed Raju's younger brother Salauddin Ahmed is the prime accused.
Ashraf, brother of former district unit AL vice president and former Narsingdi mayor Abdul Matin, was tossed in the calaboose from a relative's house at Jheelpar in South Khilgaon around 8:00pm.
Senior Assistant Commissioner of DB police Sanwar Hossain told The Daily Star that Ashraf had admitted his involvement in the killing.
"Mobarok Hossain Moba [deputy publicity secretary of district AL] was one of those who planned the murder," Sanwar quoted Ashraf as saying.
"Ashraf was the first to shoot my bother," Lokman's brother Kamruzzaman told The Daily Star last night. He said Lokman told him this on their way to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, hours before he died.
Ashraf was handed over to Narsingdi police late last night, said Sanwar Hossain.
DB officials said a large amount of money had changed hands for the murder, and Mobarak sought Ashraf's help five to six times in the killing.
Several groups involved in Narsingdi politics teamed up to kill Lokman, officials added.
Ashraf had made more than 10 attempts to kill Lokman, his family told The Daily Star last night.
He wanted to kill Lokman as the latter had defeated Ashraf's brother in the 2004 mayoral election in the district, they added.
Police earlier tossed in the calaboose Narsingdi district Jubo League committee member Masudur Rahman Tippon and Haji Mohammad Selim of Narsingdi in connection with the November 1 killing. However, Switzerland makes more than cheese... none of the two was made an accused in the case filed by Lokman's family.
Meanwhile, ...back at the pie fight, Bella opened her mouth at precisely the wrong moment... friends and family of Lokman yesterday reacted sharply over police not arresting Raju's brother Salauddin and two others who went to the High Court to seek anticipatory bail on Monday.
The two others were Murad Ahmed, assistant personal secretary to the telecommunications minister, and Montaz Uddin Bhuiyan, a Narsingdi Awami League leader.
The court, however, did not grant them bail, saying, "We are prisoners of conscience. Bail cannot be granted."
Expressing frustration, Lokman's family called on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to sack Raju in the interest of a fair investigation.
"It is now clear that Rajiuddin Ahmed Raju is playing a role to influence the investigation. We, therefore, urge the prime minister to axe him from the cabinet," Kamruzzaman told news hounds.
Earlier on many occasions, family members alleged the telecommunications minister and his brother were behind the killing.
Abdul Matin Bhuiyan, general secretary of Narsingdi district AL, said the law enforcement agencies failed to arrest the three from the HC premises when they went there to seek bail.
Tofazzel Hossain, general secretary of Narsingdi district BNP, also echoed the view of Fazlul and Matin.
"It was clear that the administration and police involved in the investigation of Lokman Hossain murder were not acting neutrally," he added.
Meanwhile, ...back at the fist fight, Jake ducked another roundhouse, then parried with his left, then with his right, finally with his chin... Inspector General of Police Hassan Mahmood Khandaker at a press briefing yesterday said arresting an accused is not always possible for "strategic reasons" or for lack of time.
The police chief made the comment when news hounds asked him why the three top accused in the case had not been tossed in the calaboose.
Hassan was briefing journalists after attending a cabinet meeting on law and order at the home ministry.
The issue of the three top accused, who are "runaway" according to the police, not being tossed in the calaboose has triggered controversy.
Meanwhile, ...back at the desert island, Bert was realizing to his horror that he'd had only one bottle for one message, and he'd forgotten to include a return address... Superintendent of Police of Narsingdi Khandakar Mohid Uddin said they have obtained important information from Masudur Rahman Tippon, one of the main suspects in the murder.
But, he declined to elaborate "for the sake of the investigation".
Masudur was placed on an eight-day remand on Sunday.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/16/2011 00:00 ||
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[Iran Press TV] A senior Iranian Foreign Ministry official has criticized arrogant US policies, blaming Washington for the current economic crisis across the world. Arrogance, thy name is Ah-madman-ejad.
"The economic crisis has been created due to the unfair economic management of the world by one of the [world]powers and has resulted in a situation in which no country can escape its negative consequences on their development plans," Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Mohammed-Mahdi Akhoundzadeh said on Tuesday, IRNA reported.
The deputy foreign minister made the statement during an address at a ministerial meeting of the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC) in Bangalore, India.
Akhoundzadeh blamed some countries for objectifying the world's economic and political situation for their own benefits.
"There is no prospect of a remarkable change in the world's economy unless each country plays its role in reforming the current economic situation," he stated.
The Iranian official further addressed the issue of piracy in international waters and called for more cooperation between the IOR-ARC member states.
The regional bloc was established in 1997 with Australia, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Iran, Kenya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mozambique, Oman, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen as the member countries.
Seychelles, which had left the organization in 2003, re-joined Tuesday to become the 19th member of the IOR-ARC.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/16/2011 00:00 ||
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#3
Seems to me that most economies have been ratcheting up towards the socialist, unsustainable, side of things. The US might have been the first domino that sort of started the thing but everyone was pretty well positioned.
#5
No, the problem with Basel 2 was zero reserve requirements, this effectively means exponential amounts of credit (nice if you are covering up the problems caused by tax on free exchange).
..not to mention all the overseas investments in the Fannie Mae's et al speculative papers because the ROI back home sucked because of their governmental interference in their domestic markets.
#7
BP, 0 reserve would do damage going forward but mark to market basically turned everyone insolvent simultaneously as their asset value disappeared over night.
Could fix obesity in the US the same way. Tomorrow the definition of obese changes from the current BMI to one that basically gives the same number + 20 lbs. Presto, less than half as many fat folks.
#11
I think we should start calling roses, fart bags, just to keep everything equal..
If I were Cameron, I'd tell the EU in no lesser terms, to fuck off, and deal with the consequences than play plinko with the EU; the former one has control of no matter how bad it gets for a few years.
The problem here is in reality a people cannot just 'imagine' wealth. Wealth is not an abstract term, it is a count of tradable goods whether labor or minerals or whatnots. Moving a decimal point is hocus pocus and, quite honestly, theft.
I would like to see the deer leaders explain that obamacare is legal because the us gov already forces commerce onto private enterprises as freddy/fannie. Come on and show how business is supposed to work when those who make laws they themselves do not follow meddle in the basic physics of input/output.
The problem is the unearned credit, generations tought that credit is automatic and not a pre-approved loan given to those who showed ability to re-pay said loan. Are the banks faultless, no, but to approve the petitions of those banks leaves the govs just as guilty. Time for an audit, rather than just create an imaginary currency such as carbon credits; and if that is the goal of a unified global currency than an audit is required anyways.
#12
Just about everyone has been overspending for most of the past two generations. The U.S. is no more to blame than anyone else, except inasmuch as they counted n us to be the source and market of last resort. And given how badly the Mad Mullahs have screwed up their own economy --and Lebanon,s via Hizb'allah, not to mention the costs to a number of other countries to offset the terrorists with Iran or Hizb'allah have inserted there -- since they took power in 1979, they are in absolutely no position to point fingers.
So yes, America owns part of the current financial difficulties. But no, we are not alone to blame.
#13
BP I think that we're in violent agreement here. My take is that mark to market immediately slammed the brakes on the "source" of the credit. Lenders would be able to lend x% of the asset value. When the asset value dropped like a rock overnight, then the credit crunch crunched and the "way out" of that was to remove any reserve requirements. Hey presto they're back in business creating credit out of thin air. Or to credit the gromster "luft gesheft".
#14
Everyone is quick to denounce the US. That third world growth is where to be. That the dollar is no longer the worlds currency of choice. Should the US catch a cold, the other countries are home sick in bed. We have our part to play and it is a big part of the world economic order of things.
#15
No matter who is or was to blame, there is a huge amount of bad debt sucking the life out of many national economies. This vampire / zombie situation will not improve until someone eats the bad debt. The Vampire Squids of the world want the taxpayers to eat it. Line up everyone, and take your share.
http://www.usdebtclock.org/ shows current national debt is $14.999 trillion, not counting Fannie and Fraudie's $7 trillion. Total personal debt for USA is $15.958 trillion.
#16
AH I have always liked to use the Zombie idea. Empty shells going through the motions. Those more aware are like the vampires working the situation to their advantage at every opportunity. Most just trying to manage their boat as best they can. At this point I believe we can add a black hole. Tolkiens Mt. Doom and the craters of Mordor perhaps. Well at least dark clouds on the horizon. The future is one day at a time thank goodness. Regarding "Fannie and Fraudie's", inconceivable comes to mind(of Princess Bride).
#17
Who's to blame? Lots of blame to go around.
Two figures say it all. World debt has been rising by 12% over the last 10+ years while world gdp has only been rising by 4%.
Using the rule of 72, we see that debt will double in 6 years while gdp will only double in 18. That is the problem, there is no way the debt can be paid back. Only solution a world war or massive debt write off via inflation. One is as bad as the other.
#18
It's Official: Total US Debt Passes $15 Trillion
Too sad for commentary, but here is some math: total US debt has increased by 41.5%, or $4.4 trillion, from $10,626,877,048,913 on January 20, to $15,033,607,255,920, under Obama as president.
(as a reminder the most recently updated debt ceiling is $15.194 trillion
[Dawn] The Lahore Registry of the Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the anti-corruption department to dismiss a corruption case filed against Nawaz Sharif, ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... DawnNews reported. Wonder what that cost him?
General (retd) K M Arif had filed an application in 1990 in which he had stated that the Pakistain Moslem League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief had distributed plots to his friends. Following which, the anti-corruption department had registered a corruption case against Mr Sharif.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/16/2011 00:00 ||
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I am sure you all share my relief at this news.
The geological record holds clues that throughout Earth's 4.5-billion-year lifetime massive supervolcanoes, far larger than Mount St. Helens or Mount Pinatubo, have erupted. However, despite the claims of those who fear 2012, theres no evidence that such a supereruption is imminent.
What exactly is a "supervolcano" or a "supereruption?" Both terms are fairly new and favored by the media more than scientists, but geologists have begun to use them in recent years to refer to explosive volcanic eruptions that eject about ten thousand times the quantity of magma and ash that Mount St. Helens, one of the most explosive eruptions in recent years, expelled.
Its hard to comprehend an eruption of that scope, but Earths surface has preserved distinctive clues of many massive supereruptions. Expansive layers of ash blanket large portions of many continents. And huge hollowed-out calderas craters that can be as big as 60 miles (100 km) across left when a volcano collapses after emptying its entire magma chamber at once serve as visceral reminders of past supereruptions in Indonesia, New Zealand, the United States, and Chile.
The eruption of these prehistoric supervolcanoes has affected massive areas. The magma flow of Mount Toba in Sumutra, which erupted some 74,000 years ago in what was likely the largest eruption that has ever occurred, released a staggering 700 cubic miles (2,800 cubic km) of magma and left a thick layer of ash over all of South Asia. For comparison, the quantity of magma erupted from Indonesias Mount Krakatau in 1883, one of the largest eruptions in recorded history, was about 3 cubic miles (12 cubic km).
Volcanologists continue to seek answers to many unanswered questions about supervolcanoes. For example, what triggers their eruptions, and why do they fail to erupt until their magma chambers achieve such enormous proportions? How does the composition compare to more familiar eruptions? And how can we predict when the next supervolcano will erupt?
But theres one thing that all experts agree on: supereruptions, though they occur, are exceedingly rare and the odds that one will occur in the lifetime of anybody reading this article are vanishingly small. Ah yes, the spurious statistical justification. The odds of a supervolcano happening in the lifetime of one recently born person are the same as the chances of it occuring in the lifetimes of the entire Earth's population of 7 billion, but it sounds more certain if you refer to to everyone.
The most recent supereruption occurred in New Zealand about 26,000 years ago. The next most recent: the cataclysmic eruption of Mount Toba happened about 50,000 years earlier. In all, geologists have identified the remnant of about 50 supereruptions, though teams are in the process of evaluating a number of other possibilities.
#1
I do indeed feel better at this news; but the real relief is that it wasn't announced by Bambi. We all know his track record at predicting things like basketball, football scores, etc.
#2
Now if they can get the weather forecasting correct.
Current activities have only increased. Several are due. Just do a current volcanic activity check. This world is not static but ever changing.
#4
Dale,
That new volcano in the Canary Islands is awfully close to El Hierro island. I expect the two landforms to join and become one (larger) version of El Hierro.
Al
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
11/16/2011 12:37 Comments ||
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#5
All such predictions are based on artificial models of whatever reality underlies things. Our knowledge of THIS reality is rather poor. People displace personal fears of their own death & project it onto the entire human race. But relax. As Spengler says, "It's not the end of the world, it's just the end of YOU."
#10
There are several spots that have magma pooling under known supervolcanos. One in South America is causing concern as it has risen 1cm/year for 20 years.
The real issue is... we have no idea what the precursors are and what means one is about to erupt. There is nothing we could do to stop it, but we could stockpile grain and get people out of the way of the major fallout. As of now, we may miss all the warning signs and be caught flat footed when one goes off.
#11
Ditto for the 2012/2013, "killer" Solar Storms as per NASA - unfortunately, too many University, Private Perts are not on board wid their assessment [on any].
IOW, we remain at threat because there is no common consensus among US-World Govts, Perts that we are NOT.
IT IS UTTERLY NONSENSICAL OR RIDICULOUS FOR VARIOUS PERTS TO FORECAST "PERMANENT" + "HOTTER/DEEPER" GW [GWCC] BY 2050 [2030-2050], BUT NOT SUFFER ANY CORRESPONDING CHANGES IN SOLAR ENERGIES = SOLAR DYNAMICS.
SUB-IOW, leads me back to KAMALEN + GUAM/EARTH-VISBLE MOON EXPLOSIONS circa 2030 [ + other] - I don't see anything from NASA, etc. that alters same.
The bullets were thought to have been fired during a drive-by shooting that resulted in two bullets hitting the White House. One of the bullets was found impacted in the ballistic glass of an exterior window on the residential level where the president and his family live.
Police on Wednesday night arrested a 21-year-old Hispanic man in Pennsylvania in connection with the shooting.
Oscar Ortega-Hernandez was arrested by state police at a hotel near Indiana, the Secret Service special agent in charge, Edwin Donovan, said.
Witnesses heard shots and saw two speeding vehicles in the area, in between the White House and the Washington Monument, late on Friday night. An AK-47 rifle was recovered and semi-automatic gun was also involved, a US Park Police spokesman said.
President Obama and the first lady, Michelle Obama, were in California at the time of the shooting.
Officials could be seen taking photographs of a window on the south face of the executive mansion yesterday.
The probe has not yet "conclusively connected" the bullets found on the White House grounds to Friday's incident.
Ortega is from Idaho Falls, Idaho, and was believed to be living in the Washington area. He was reported missing Oct 31 by his family. He has an arrest record in three states but has not been linked to any radical organisations, US Park Police said.
Mr Ortega is described as a 5'11, white Hispanic male of medium build, with several distinguishing tattoos including three dots on his right hand, his name across his back and the word Israel tattooed on his neck.
"As the investigation unfolded, the US Park Police located a vehicle in the 2300 block of Constitution Avenue," the US Park Police said in an earlier statement.
"Evidence in the vehicle led to us obtaining an arrest warrant for Oscar Ortega."
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.
Nawaz Sharif,
