[DAWN] IN the wake of the Greek voters' fairly unequivocal verdict in Sunday's referendum, the decent way for Brussels to respond would be to cut Athens some slack and conclude a deal that leaves out some of the more toxic strictures on which the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... (EU) negotiators have thus far insisted.
Unfortunately, doing the decent thing does not come naturally to the eurocrats and politicians in charge. The initial reaction from Germany suggested it was pretty miffed with the Greek people for their stubborn refusal to endorse for an indefinite period the collective punishment that has been their lot for the past five years.
The July 5 referendum, called just eight days earlier, was something of a desperate gamble for the government led by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. It was necessitated by a near-impossible situation after the troika -- the European Commission, the European Central Bank (ECB) and the IMF -- turned down a deal offered by Greece that was more or less tantamount to capitulation.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/08/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
Overlooked in this article is the Greek tendency to spend money and have other people pay the bills. This is nice work if you can get it.
The other thing overlooked is that the Greeks are spending more than they take in. All the Eurocrats have to do is NOTHING and the Greek economy will come to a screeching halt.
Al
Posted by: frozen al ||
07/08/2015 11:42 Comments ||
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#2
Methinks the writer is overeducated on politics and shorted himself on economics.
The government is way more powerful and able to spy on us in ways unthinkable in 1775. And the publicly employed will now literally kill to keep the magic paychecks coming.
Knish's ideas are good ones but we are truly up against a leviathan that will force us to choose between our faith, family, possessions, wealth, and liberty.......or death.
Posted by: no mo uro ||
07/08/2015 10:45 Comments ||
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#3
We need a president willing to not only roll back a few things but prosecute the illegal things going on (government agencies targeting based on politics for example).
[DefenseOne] In more than six years since taking office--longer if you count his 2008 campaign speeches--Obama has held firm on one principle for his U.S. foreign policy and global security: he set the bar for U.S. military intervention higher than it's been since 9/11, and kept it there. At least "intervention" as defined as the kind of large-scale U.S. ground forces deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan last decade.
#3
His foreign intervention bar is high because he thinks the enemy is America. His bar to intervene in the IRS, DOJ, Healthcare, Marriage, local police....Is very low.
#5
I'm surprised he hasn't invaded Mexico in the name of: (a) removing the Oligarchs who punish those poor people. (b) Bringing a ton of new Democratic voters into the nation in one swoop (c) Drastically reduce the USAs southern land border in one move (d) Stopping human trafficing and drugs crossing the border.
He does know the ruling class in Mexico are more or less white doesn't he?
#9
PCorrect-Deniable "Safe Politics" while also being MilPol/Geopol, poten even EXISTENTIALLY, dangerous to US interests at the same time.
THE POST-9-11 US = GLOBALIST AMERIKA IS THE "TIP-OF-THE-SPEAR" IN SETTING UP ANTI-US OWG-NWO.
I say again that as a OWG Globalist, the Bammer is doing things deliberately. UNTIL OWG-NWO IS PERMANENTLY EMPOWERED + ENTRENCHED, MAINSTREAM AMERIKA SHOULD EXPECT THINGS TO GET MUCH PROTRACTIVELY WORSE BEFORE IT GETS BETTER.
The DemoLeft + aligned are using the GWOT to forcibly impose Secularist US-Global Socialist Order - howvere, THERE IS NO EVIDENCE THAT THEY ARE OR WILL BE ABLE TO CONTROL, LET ALONE STOP, [Theo-socialist]RADICAL ISLAM + GLOBAL JIHAD, THE LATTER OF WHICH IS IRONICALLY GOING NUKULAAR WID US-WESTERN/ALLIED ASSENT OR ACQUIESCE.
In the name of OWG-NWO + Globalism, the US is helping its Geopol or Ideo Enemies + Protagonists, including NGOS, TO GET STRONGER VEE ITSELF.
DON'T FEAR ANTI-US US OWG GLOBALIST OBAMA - FEAR HIS ANTI-US US OWG GLOBALIST SUCCESSOR.
[DAWN] A large number of city localities plunged into darkness on Tuesday night as a major fault occurred in the transmission and distribution system of power distributor K-Electric (KE).
According to KE officials, a conductor on the main 220KV transmission line failed, causing the extra high tension line to trip. This caused a ripple effect and units at Bin Qasim power plant tripped in turn, plunging most parts of the city in darkness.
Calling from different parts of Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... , people said they faced the first power cut at around 9.00pm.
The power breakdown also affected commercial activities of the city with business centres and markets turned dark, and people facing difficulties making their way out of densely populated shopping malls.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/08/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
220 KV for a populace of 18 Million is already barely marginal, and with the heat wave....
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/08/2015 16:06 Comments ||
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[DAWN] THE absence of large-scale sectarian violence in the last few weeks should be no cause for complacency. The menace of sectarianism is alive and well in Pakistain, as illustrated by the tragic assassination of two Hazara Shia brothers in Quetta on Monday, the latest among a series of such murders in the city since April. The men, both in their 20s, were outside a passport office when two assailants gunned them down and also killed a policeman who confronted them. While the operations being carried out by the military in the northern areas and by the Rangers and police in Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... appear to have disrupted sectarian-jihadi networks to some extent, the massacre of Ismaili Shias on May 13 in Karachi shows that their capacity to unleash mass murder has certainly not been neutralised. That is even more so a cause for concern whenever a religiously significant event in the Moslem calendar -- such as Hazrat Ali's death anniversary which will fall tomorrow -- comes around and is commemorated with majalis and processions.
By their very definition, processions are relatively difficult to secure. A mass of people moving along a route with potentially multiple points of vulnerability are a security challenge of no mean proportions. And conversely, one that bandidossnuffies are tempted to exploit. In 2009, the bombing of an Ashura procession in Karachi killed around 50 people, while in early 2012, a similar attack on a Chehlum procession in Rahim Yar Khan left nearly 20 dead. Religious tensions also run high on such occasions: a communal clash in Rawalpindi two years ago, reportedly incited by provocative sermons from a mosque along an Ashura procession route, resulted in a number of deaths. For their part, the authorities have of late pulled out all the stops -- including recourse to aerial surveys -- to ensure that peace is maintained on these sensitive days. However, Switzerland makes more than cheese... while Ashura and Chehlum processions/gatherings have been targeted most often, the authorities cannot afford to let down their guard on other similar commemorative occasions.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/08/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
THE absence of large-scale sectarian violence in the last few weeks should be no cause for complacency.
Too hot for Pakistanis to take the effort of killing each other?
[DAWN] SINDH Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah is suddenly an angry man. The target of Mr Shah's ire are the FIA and NAB -- federal organizations that are, according to the Sindh government, busy conducting raids against the provincial authorities without the authorisation or support of Mr Shah's government. The Sindh chief minister has even vowed to take the matter of granting additional powers to the FIA under federal legislation to the superior courts. While the centre has claimed that new powers to detain suspects for 90 days have been granted to the FIA are applicable to all provinces and not just Sindh, Mr Shah made it clear that his government believes it has been singled out for punishment. Unsurprisingly, the MQM has come out in his support and is also concerned by the FIA and NAB investigations. As with virtually everything else in the growing conflict between the centre and Sindh, there is some truth in what both sides are claiming.
Clearly, for all the federal government's clarifications, there is something Sindh-specific about the FIA and NAB's recent crusades. Where are similar actions in the other provinces? Have provincial offices in Balochistan ...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... or Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... been raided? Has Punjab 1.) Little Orphan Annie's bodyguard
2.) A province of Pakistain ruled by one of the Sharif brothers
3.) A province of India. It is majority (60 percent) Sikh and Hindoo (37 percent), which means it has relatively few Moslem riots.... seen an uptick in investigations into financial fraud or corruption by provincial authorities? The answer is obvious from the media headlines alone: Sindh appears to be the inordinate focus of interest by federal Sherlocks in recent months. Add to that the fact that a city-specific operation is in place only for Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... and that the army leadership has expressed some very blunt opinions about the quality of politicianship in Sindh, and the reasons for the siege mentality of the Sindh government become clear. While the federal government has for the most part tried to suggest that the many facets of the Sindh crackdown are entirely coordinated and led by the PML-N, there are clear and worrying signs that much of what is happening is occurring at the behest of the security establishment behind the scenes. A Sindh government that is at odds with not just the federal government but the military is a dangerous development in an ostensibly democratic framework.
Yet, the Sindh government will win little sympathy from any quarter so long as it continues with its hapless ways. That there is epic corruption and mis-governance in the province is no longer questioned by even the most ardent of democrats. That the Sindh government has done nothing to stamp out corruption in its midst is also not seriously questioned by independent observers. That the province could take the lead and has the powers necessary to fight corruption and mis-governance is also quite clear. If Sindh won't put its own house in order, is it a surprise that the centre should be attempting to do so itself?
Posted by: Fred ||
07/08/2015 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] ONE thought that the saga of the 35 punctures was over after the Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf ...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations.... (PTI) failed to provide any evidence to prove its allegations before the judicial commission. But trust an obdurate Imran Khan ... aka Taliban Khan, who is the lightweight's lightweight... not to give up, even though he admitted in a TV interview that the allegation against Punjab's former caretaker chief minister Najam Sethi was a political ploy. It seems that he is stuck in a groove from which he finds it hard to extricate himself.
Imran Khan's fixation with the puncture theory, pertaining to electoral rigging, has now become an embarrassment for many of his own supporters. It is a pity to see party stalwarts clumsily trying to defend the accusation that they themselves do not really believe. Many of them privately admit the silliness of the fabricated account of election-fixing. Yet no one would dare defy the great leader, a sad commentary on the party that promises to change the political culture of this country. A show of reason is certainly not acceptable.
For sure, the PTI deserves credit for forcing the government to agree to probe the vote-rigging charges. But the party should now wait for the judicial commission ruling instead of mindlessly harping on a fictitious theory. It is a pity to see the party pursuing a one-point agenda, completely ignoring other important national issues the country's main opposition was expected to take up. Its rejectionist approach and politics of perpetual agitation seems to have lost the party much credibility causing disillusionment in its ranks.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/08/2015 00:00 ||
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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.
[DefenseOne] In more than six years since taking office--longer if you count his 2008 campaign speeches--Obama has held firm on one principle for his U.S. foreign policy and global security: he set the bar for U.S. military intervention higher than it's been since 9/11, and kept it there. At least "intervention" as defined as the kind of large-scale U.S. ground forces deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan last decade.
'Intervention' of another sort. 
