Taliban chief Mulla Omar has given his approval for talks aimed at ending the war in Afghanistan and allowed his representatives to attend the Saudi-sponsored peace negotiations.
"Mulla Omar has given the green light to talks," said one of the mediators, Abdullah Anas, a former friend of Osama bin Laden who used to fight in Afghanistan but now lives in London. One of those negotiating for the Afghan government confirmed: "It's extremely sensitive, but we have been in contact, both with Mulla Omar's direct representatives and commanders from the front line."
The breakthrough emerged after President Barack Obama admitted that the US-led forces were not winning the war in Afghanistan and called for negotiations with "moderate Taliban"."A big, big step has happened," Anas said. "For the first time, there is a language of... peace on both sides."
His words were echoed by Qayyum Karzai, the brother of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who has been attending talks on his behalf. "I have been meeting with Taliban for the last five days and I can tell you Obama's words have created enormous optimism," said Qayyum Karzai.
"There is no other way left but talks. All sides know that more fighting is not the way," he said. As Britain and the US have increased troop numbers over the past two years, security has worsened, leading many to doubt the wisdom of sending in more.
A Sunday Times poll showed that 64 per cent of respondents favoured talking to the Taliban to achieve a deal. Some 69 per cent said the aim of stabilising Afghanistan was not sufficiently worthwhile to risk the lives of British troops and 64 per cent thought the war could never be won.
Although observers question why the Taliban would agree to talks when they appeared to have the upper hand in the conflict, Anas said its leaders knew they could not retake power without a bloodbath.
"Taliban are in a strong position now, but that doesn't mean they can control the state," he said. "They are well aware that it's a different situation to 1996 when they swept to power because Afghans saw them as bringing peace," he added.
Britain is also backing talks with the Taliban that could lead to their inclusion in the Afghan government and is pushing for a "reconciliation czar" to coordinate efforts. "Economic development and a workable reconciliation strategy are as crucial as boots on the ground when it comes to dismantling the insurgency," said British Foreign Secretary David Miliband.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/16/2009 00:00 ||
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(RIA Novosti) - A Russian plane carrying 40 metric tons of humanitarian aid arrived in the Afghan capital of Kabul on Saturday. The aid, part of which was supplied by a Russian veterans' organization, includes basic foodstuffs, warm clothes, and 56 winter tents, a Russian diplomat said.
An Afghan deputy agriculture minister received the aid in person and thanked Russia in a solemn ceremony. "Russia has given us humanitarian assistance," he said. "We are very grateful to Russia."
Meanwhile, Russia continues its deliveries of wheat flour to Afghanistan, where about 300 people died last year of hunger and cold during an unusually severe winter. Some 18,000 metric tons of flour in 275 rail carriages are expected to be delivered.
As of March 13, a total of 140 rail cars, or 50%, have arrived in the Afghan city of Hairaton on the border with Uzbekistan, while another 70 are on their way. Under favorable conditions the deliveries of high-quality flour to Afghanistan are expected to be completed by mid-April.
Russia also plans to give the Afghan government 50 Kamaz trucks later this year.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/16/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Why bless their hearts.
Watch out for the tunnel tho.
In the war against terror in Afghanistan three Belgian F-16s have been damaged on the tarmac at Kandahar Airport.
The Belgian fighter jets sustained the damage from stones thrown up into the air when a Russian freight plane came too close to the parked aircraft.
The Russian civilian plane made a mistake and taxied too near the Belgian F16s, blasting stones and sand into their engines. The engines of the three aircraft were ripped to bits.
Security officials in eastern Afghanistan have expressed concern that a recent peace deal between Pakistani officials and pro-Taliban leaders in the Bajaur tribal area of western Pakistan could "reorganize destructive activities."
Konar Province's chief of security, Abdul Jalal Jalal, told RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan that reports indicate that militants are trying to reestablish their bases in neighboring Afghanistan since signing the peace deal.
He added that 700 additional U.S.-led coalition forces are being sent to the border to counter the threat, and Afghanistan's national army and police in the area are going through preventative measures in case of more crossborder incursions.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/16/2009 00:00 ||
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The Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) stressed on Saturday its solidarity with Sudan in spite of an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/16/2009 00:00 ||
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United Nations peacekeepers in Chad and the Central African Republic (CAR) today took over the military and security responsibilities of European forces in the two strife-torn nations. Today's transfer, which took place at midnight local time, was marked by a ceremony in the Chadian city of Abéché where MINURCAT's headquarters are located.
In January, the Security Council approved the deployment of over 5,500 blue helmets -- 300 police officers, 25 military liaison officers and 5,200 military personnel -- with the UN mission (MINURCAT) to replace the European troops (EUFOR), which has been in place since March 2008.
"As MINURCAT assumes its new responsibilities, the Secretary-General is confident that the force will build upon and strengthen EUFOR's military achievements while continuing to execute the full range of its mandated tasks, including to contribute to the promotion of human rights and the rule of law and to support the development of the Chadian community police (Détachement Intégré de Sécurité) deployed in eastern Chad," the statement added.
Eastern Chad faces an acute humanitarian challenge with over 290,000 Sudanese refugees from the Darfur war, more than 180,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) and a further 700,000 individuals among host communities in need of food, water and health care. Northern CAR has also been affected by a spill-over from the Darfur conflict as well as by other armed groups.
Currently, the Mission is composed of some 300 uniformed personnel, mostly police, plus some 325 international civilians.
"In order to succeed, MINURCAT will need the active support of the Governments of Chad and the Central African Republic," the Secretary-General said, adding that he is grateful to both Governments for "their cooperation during the transition period and looks forward to working with them in the implementation of MINURCAT's mandate."
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/16/2009 00:00 ||
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Three foreign aid workers with the Belgian branch of the Medecins Sans Frontieres who were kidnapped in Sudan''s Darfur region arrived in Khartoum on Saturday evening.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/16/2009 00:00 ||
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RIYADH - Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal on Sunday expressed reservations over how Iran supports Arab countries, following talks with his Iranian counterpart. "As much as we appreciate Iran's support for Arab causes, we would like to see it channelled through Arab legality and be in harmony with its objectives," Prince Saud told reporters.
Diplospeak for "quit messing around in our sphere of influence."
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki arrived in the Saudi capital earlier on a previously unannounced visit. Prince Saud said Mottaki met King Abdullah and delivered a message from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad about bilateral relations and the situation in the Middle East and the Gulf. "I met him afterwards and discussed with him all these questions in a spirit of honesty, clarity and transparence," said Prince Saud, who welcomed Mottaki at the airport.
And then they pulled the knives from each other's backs ...
Mottaki's visit to the ultra-conservative Sunni kingdom of Saudi Arabia came less than a fortnight after Prince Saud called for a joint Arab strategy to deal with what he called the "Iranian challenge."
"In order to cement Arab reconciliation we need a common vision for issues that concern Arab security and deal with the Iranian challenge," he told a meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Cairo on March 3.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/16/2009 00:00 ||
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Two activists accused the government on Friday of encouraging prosecutors to target Muslims on trumped-up charges of terrorism and extremism and said the abuse could lead to anti-government unrest.
Sergei Komkov, president of the nongovernmental All-Russian Education Fund, asserted that the Kremlin was trying to pin social ills on innocent Muslims and warned that it could backfire against President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. "There threatens to be a powerful explosion of public discontent in the next three or four years that could, if not stopped, lead to a change in the political leadership," Komkov said at a news conference attended by prominent rights activists.
Komkov said authorities are increasingly convicting observant Muslims on trumped-up charges of terrorism and extremism in an effort to satisfy what he claimed were quotas from the central government.
Ignorance of Islam as a peaceful religion helps authorities scapegoat Muslims, activists said.
Long terms in the abusive prison system are turning those wrongfully convicted against society, said Lyudmila Alexeyeva, head of the Moscow Helsinki Group.
Isa Betsiyev, 40, a businessman and Muslim from the city of Kaluga, said he has been harassed repeatedly by the counterterrorism branch of the Federal Security Services. "They burst into my home in masks and flash some card at me. They collect my books [on Islam] and call me an extremist," Betsiyev told the news conference. "This is how they make their money. This is how they justify their income."
Komkov said Betsiyev's story was typical. Ignorance of Islam as a peaceful religion helps authorities scapegoat Muslims, activists said.
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03/16/2009 00:00 ||
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Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen said the recent killings of two British soldiers and a police officer in Northern Ireland were carried out by "a few fools" and "psychopaths" whose actions do not threaten peace in the province. Of course they do. If they're running around killing people, that's not peaceful by definition.
"People have made it very clear there is no support for this," Cowen said in an interview Friday. "This is a small number of very misguided, criminal people who obviously think it's a good idea to shoot people."
Speaking ahead of a trip, starting today, to the United States, where he will meet with President Obama at the White House, Cowen said Northern Ireland is a "totally transformed" province where violence is no longer tolerated. "This has nothing to do with politics," he said. "The reforms that we've seen bedded down in Northern Ireland, the political developments we've seen there over the last 11 or 12 years, have proven resilient against all attacks."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/16/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
The nine arrested include two well-known Irish republicans detained Saturday. The arrest of Colin Duffy, 41, triggered weekend riots by his largely teenage supporters in the town of Lurgan. Police also arrested Declan McGlinchey, 32, son of Dominic "Mad Dog" McGlinchey, who once boasted of killing more than 30 people as leader of an IRA splinter gang called the Irish National Liberation Army. Former INLA colleagues killed him in 1994 in front of his son.
Mad Dog killed too many? Didn't kill enough? Got a little gabby?
FT. WALTON BEACH, Fla. U.S. Special Operations Command is proposing to start a new gunship in the fiscal 2010 budget, but it remains to be seen whether the tight fiscal environment will support a new program, according to Pentagon officials.
Keith Sanders, deputy director of air warfare for the Pentagon acquisition chief, says the gunship will be a more flexible system than todays AC-130H/U aircraft. One requirement likely to emerge is to operate the gunship safely in an urban environment such as Baghdad.
Sanders and others spoke here March 10 at the Precision Strike Associations Annual Review conference. President Barack Obamas defense budget for next fiscal year is expected to be detailed by next month.
Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) officials had previously hoped to base a future gunship on the to-be-designed 2018 bomber, which would provide a huge leap in capability with the addition of low-observable attributes. But the bomber program is expected to slip beyond 2018, and the cost would likely have been too high for the special operations community to afford the system.
The forthcoming gunship would build off of existing platforms using existing weapons or those near maturity, says one U.S. Special Operations Command official here. The official declined to name a platform.
Likely candidates include the L-3 Communications/Alenia North America C-27J. Already, AFSOC is looking at options using a decommissioned C-27 as a ground-based test bed. Officials also are exploring various weapons suites, including the current 24mm or 40mm guns on the AC-130U, as well as a newer 30mm weapon. Small precision-guided munitions are also likely to be included in the system.
Also on the table is Lockheed Martins C-130J, which is being used as the host platform for the new HC-MC-130J infiltration/exfiltration aircraft for the Air Force. Size, however, could be an issue. Pentagon officials may want to shrink the forward-based footprint for a future gunship compared to that of the AC-130H/U.
Air Force Lt. Col. Brenda Cartier, commander of the 4th Special Operations Squadron, which operates 17 AC-130U gunships, says that the center-wing boxes on her squadrons aircraft are holding up well for the moment. These are the parts most likely to experience stress from the high operations tempo of the gunship fleet; operators are flying the aircraft three to four times more than predicted to support global operations, she says.
The bulk of the AC-130U missions abroad are close air support, though the aircraft also provide some base defense, convoy support and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capability to ground personnel.
One hope she has for the fleet is to upgrade the old fire control computers on the AC-130U to a Windows-based computer system. Cartier also noted the AC-130U has executed some air-launched release tests of the Special Operations Precision Guided Munition (SOPGM), a new variant of the Armys Viper Strike munition, which is under 50 pounds and includes a guidance kit.
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
03/16/2009 12:13 Comments ||
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#2 Why not use the C-17 as a base? Posted by Frozen Al 2009-03-16 12:13
Too fast, too expensive to operate in a loiter role. The AC-130 can slow to 150Kt, and its turn ratio is much tighter than a C-17. The price of the C-17 may also play a part in the choice. Like the A-10, there's still a role for "low-&-slow" in the military community. The AC-130 also operates best at about 20,000 feet, while the C-17 is most efficient above 35,000 feet.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
03/16/2009 12:35 Comments ||
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#4
New+Weapon+Obama= It'll never be even considered.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
03/16/2009 13:33 Comments ||
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#5
One requirement likely to emerge is to operate the gunship safely in an urban environment such as Baghdad.
Safety is everything when operating a gunship in an urban area.
#7
... had previously hoped to base a future gunship on the to-be-designed 2018 bomber, which would provide a huge leap in capability with the addition of low-observable attributes.
Not that I'm any expert, but I thought one important attribute of a gunship is that everyone knows it's there. Stealth, shmealth, you want the bad guys whispering, "Cheez, Spooky is here!" and heading for the hills. So basing the new gunship on a stealth bomber, besides being frightfully expensive, is the wrong idea.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/16/2009 13:58 Comments ||
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Youssef Megahed is not charged with terrorism. But whether the Egyptian citizen was a potential terrorist or just an innocent college student has been a central question since his arrest in South Carolina in 2007, when deputies said he and Ahmed Mohamed had pipe bombs in the trunk of their car.
What's 'innocent' about a pipe bomb?
Today, a federal judge will begin seating a jury to decide whether Megahed, a 23-year-old former University of South Florida student, is guilty of transporting explosives and possession of a destructive device.
Although passions have subsided since the Sept. 11 attacks, experts say it will still be a challenge to find a jury that can fairly judge a Muslim defendant. "There is so much prejudice toward Muslims still," said Neil Vidmar, a Duke Law School professor who served as a defense jury expert in the case of former USF professor Sami Al-Arian, who was accused of leading a U.S. cell of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
And the prejudice towards people with pipe bombs is really amazing ...
"Ever since Al-Arian, I would never say you can't get a fair jury in Tampa Bay because we did," said Kevin Beck, who represented an Al-Arian codefendant in their 2005 trial, which ended with acquittals on numerous charges and deadlocked jurors on others but no convictions. (Al-Arian later pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiring to help terrorists.) But Beck said he's concerned it may be more difficult for Megahed's defense to find an impartial jury because the jury selection process won't be as thorough as it was in Al-Arian's case. "I feel that they should be afforded a greater opportunity to question potential jurors than they'll necessarily get," he said.
You're not entitled to a jury that is most favorably predisposed towards you; you're entitled to a fair jury, and a good judge can settle that in a non-capital case in a day.
In Al-Arian's case, potential jurors were given detailed questionnaires probing opinions about the case, the Middle East and religion. Candidates were then questioned in small groups by the judge and attorneys. U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday has denied defense motions for questionnaires in the Megahed case and may conduct all or most of the questioning himself with larger groups.
Good for him. That's just what a judge is supposed to do.
"I think jurors tend to cower to a degree when a judge is doing the questioning," Beck said. "I think there is a significant group of people that will try to please the judge." Prejudice is "a heavy hurdle to overcome," said Edward J. Bronson, a retired law professor and jury expert. "It's not that people don't honestly think they can be fair and impartial, and really believe they can be fair and impartial. ... It's just the way people are."
So we should just let the pipe-bombers go ...
Some of the potential jurors discarded in the Al-Arian case expressed extreme hatred toward Muslims in their questionnaires, Bronson noted. A few said they were afraid to serve because they worried terrorists might target them if they voted to convict. Defendants can overcome prejudices, "But that's not the way our system's supposed to work," Bronson said. "You shouldn't go into trial having to overcome a story model that prospective jurors have developed that the defendant is guilty and the burden shifts to the defense to prove that he isn't."
Notice that the jurors who were most prejudiced were .. not allowed to serve. Seems to me that the system worked.
Megahed, whose family has lived in the United States for 11 years, was a USF student when he and Mohamed were pulled over in South Carolina in August 2007. Deputies said they found explosives in the car's trunk - PVC pipes stuffed with kitty litter, corn syrup and stump remover. Also in the car were items such as a partially filled can of gasoline, a safety fuse and .22-caliber bullets. The FBI determined the substance in the pipes was a "low explosive" pyrotechnic mixture. Prosecutors contend the devices could have been modified to something more serious.
Sure could have. Sounds like they were experimenting ...
Investigators also found Mohamed's laptop computer and a YouTube video he made showing "martyrs" how to use remote-controlled toys to detonate bombs. Deputies said they saw Megahed, the passenger, disconnect wires from the laptop and throw them into the back seat. Minutes before the stop, someone used the laptop to view a video of rockets being fired.
Mohamed, also an Egyptian studying at USF, said he posted the YouTube video hoping it would help martyrs harm U.S. troops overseas. He pleaded guilty to helping terrorists and is serving 15 years in federal prison. Megahed has not been linked to the YouTube video, although prosecutors have said they want to show it at his trial. Merryday has said he will not allow that.
Megahed's attorneys will fight to keep the specter of terrorism out of the courtroom and to keep jurors focused on deciding whether the trunk's contents meet the legal definition of explosives or destructive devices. Bolstered by the FBI report, the defense maintains the contents could not have exploded and, at worst, could have spewed smoke if ignited.
In the portrait that has emerged from the defense, Megahed and Mohamed were college buddies on a road trip to visit beaches with homemade fireworks, or "sugar rockets," to celebrate Mohamed's birthday. The defense says they were stopped by racist deputies who saw Arabic letters on a book and concluded the men were terrorists. Megahed maintains he was unaware of Mohamed's terrorist support.
"No, no, certainly not!"
The prosecution describes two would-be terrorists who were stopped by quick-thinking deputies. To prove intent, prosecutors want to introduce evidence, including videos on Mohamed's laptop, suggesting Megahed was interested in violence against Americans. They also want to show that someone using the Megahed family computer did online searches, viewing information about improvised explosive devices and car bombs two months before the arrest.
"I think the really interesting thing," Beck said, "is going to be how Judge Merryday necessarily controls ... the government's efforts to turn this into a quasi- or mini-terrorism case.
#1
Some of the potential jurors discarded in the Al-Arian case expressed extreme hatred toward Muslims in their questionnaires, Bronson noted. A few said they were afraid to serve because they worried terrorists might target them if they voted to convict.
You know, like if you expressed fears of getting whacked sitting on a jury for a Mafia hit-man would be an example of extreme hatred towards Catholics.
#2
In the portrait that has emerged from the defense, Megahed and Mohamed were college buddies on a road trip to visit beaches with homemade fireworks, or "sugar rockets," to celebrate Mohamed's birthday. The defense says they were stopped by racist deputies who saw Arabic letters on a book and concluded the men were terrorists. Megahed maintains he was unaware of Mohamed's terrorist support.
Yeah, that theory should go over real big with a jury in South Carolina...
#4
What's 'innocent' about a pipe bomb? Depends on your definition of "pipe bomb". The How pig were the PVC pipes? The stuff they filled the PVC with won't go BOOM. It's very near to what we used to make our home-made rockets with. We just used powdered sugar instead of corn syrup. I'd be very interested to find out what is in the "stump remover". Potassium nitrate?
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
03/16/2009 17:32 Comments ||
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#5
Pick me, Allah Akbar!!!! I want to be a juror for that poor misunderstood muzzie brother. Please be Allah if he pick me!!!!
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
03/16/2009 17:44 Comments ||
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"stump remover" = Potassium nitrate
JihadWatch TAMPA - A laptop computer deputies found when they pulled over two University of South Florida students in South Carolina contained a video made by one of the men showing how to use a toy to detonate a bomb remotely, a federal prosecutor said Friday.
On that video, the student, Ahmed Mohamed, said the detonator could 'save one who wants to be a martyr for another day, another battle,' Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Hoffer said.
The prosecutor said that video was posted by Mohamed on YouTube, a popular Web site. Also on the laptop were 'jihadi' images and footage of rockets used by Hamas, Hoffer said.
...
In the trunk, deputies found four small sections of PVC pipe, at least three of which were stuffed with a 'potassium nitrate explosive mixture' of potassium nitrate, Karo syrup and kitty litter, Hoffer said. He said the kitty litter served as a binder to keep the substance from coming out of the pipes, which were not capped.
Investigators also found a container of gasoline, 20 feet of safety fuse and an electric drill, which Hoffer said could be used to drill holes in the pipe so fuses could be attached.
Posted by: ed ||
03/16/2009 18:06 Comments ||
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ISLAMABAD: The senior leader of Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) Makhdoom Javaid Hashmi has dubbed the reinstatement of deposed Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Ifitikhar Muhammad Chaudhry as the victory of the entire nation, lawyers, President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Ginali together.
Talking to media outside the residence of the deposed CJ Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, he offered salute to lawyers' movement in winning the deposed CJ's reinstatement.
"I laud the efforts of media, which have shown their power in order to accomplish the goals", he expressed his facilitation to media saying, "Nawaz Sharif, Qazi Hussain Ahmed, Imran Khan and Mehmood Achakzai promised to get the deposed CJ reinstated."
The announcement, PM will make in his address, will make the dreams of 16 million people come true, he hoped maintaining, "I offer my prior greetings to media, lawyers and the CJ over his reinstatement."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/16/2009 00:00 ||
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ISLAMABAD: In a historic address to the nation, Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani announced on Monday to restore the deposed Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry.
The prime minister also pledged that the government would steer the country out of the numerous domestic and international challenges facing it. Monday, March 16, 2009 05:48
Posted by: Fred ||
03/16/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Monday, March 16, 2009 05:48
Which date/time can now be chiseled on the tombstone of Pakistan. I'd say RIP, but there can be no such hope.
ISLAMABAD: The nation is anxiously waiting for Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani's address. At this historic moment in country's history, the prime minister will announce to reinstate the deposed CJ Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/16/2009 00:00 ||
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On Friday, Hindu radicals in the southern state of Karnataka stymied plans to erect a 20m (67ft) statue of the film star, on the grounds that he was a Christian. The move came amid a backlash against Western culture that has raised concerns that parts of India are at risk of being "Talebanised" by Hinduism's far Right.
The Chaplin sculpture was being built at a cost of about 3.5 million rupees (£48,600) near the town of Udupi, the site of several Hindu temples. The structure was to form part of a film set, but work ground to a halt when Hindu activists chased the workers away and buried the building materials.
Hemant Hegde, the film-maker, told local reporters that he abandoned the project after being threatened by a mob of about 50 people, whose leader told him: "We will not allow you to construct a statue of a Christian actor."
The protesters were said to belong to the Hindu Jagarna Vedike (Hindu Enlightenment Group), a group linked to an attack on a Christian school in the same state last May.
A fan of actor-filmmaker Charlie Chaplin has just discovered that it is not a joke dealing with Indian babudom.
Hemant Hegde set out to build a statue of Chaplin, partly as a tribute to his idol and partly to lend some glamour to his Kannada film House Full. Diganth (an actor) and I play two idiots and the film is about our misadventures, said Hegde. We wanted to build the statue and hand it over to the tourism department so that people would remember our tribute even years later.
But Hegdes plans are stuck in red tape.
On Friday, the film unit put up a shack and dug a pit for a pedestal for the 60-foot-high statue at Paduvari village, 150 km north of Mangalore. But they had to pack up because the official permission was not in hand.
Besides, the spot was in front of a temple, at a place where pilgrims park vehicles and from where they walk down towards the sanctum sanctorum.
On Saturday, the crew drove away in search of another spot in Uttara Kannada district for the statue.
The deputy commissioner told me to get a no-objection certificate from the police and the forest department, but every official wants me to wait, said Hegde. They tell me to go ahead but wont give me that official letter of sanction. Can a man wait for years for permission? The villagers said, We dont want to see a Christian before we enter the temple.
Hemalatha, deputy commissioner, Udupi, said she agreed to allow the shooting but asked them to wait for the construction plans to be approved.
Suresh Batawadi, a member of the Paduvari gram panchayat, who led a protest to stop the construction of Chaplins statue in front of the temple, said the film crew was told to find another place and get permission from the district administration. We told them to look around for alternative places but they left in a huff, said Batawadi. How can we speak against Christians when weve many families living here? I think this is some publicity gimmick for his film.
Posted by: john frum ||
03/16/2009 6:41 Comments ||
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#2
Babudom?
I know Babalooism (the worship of Ricky Ricardo) but not Babudom.
#3
In British India, "Babu" was a term used to describe a native Indian clerk. The word was originally used as a term of respect attached to a proper name, but later, especially when used alone and not as a suffix, was a derogatory word signifying a semi-literate native, with a mere veneer of modern education.[1] In the early 20th century the term Babu was frequently used to refer to bureaucrats and other government officials, especially by the Indian media; in this sense the word hints at corrupt or lazy work practices. It can also mean the pimp or client of a sex worker. The term babu has thus fallen out of favour in polite society, since it may be taken as an insult.
Posted by: john frum ||
03/16/2009 7:31 Comments ||
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Apparently this is a famous temple, located on the beach.
I doubt the Babus will give him permission. A new 60 foot permanent structure on the beach would violate coastal zone regulations. Post-Tsunami, these building regulations are actually being enforced.
I can think of a lot of places where a 60 foot statue of Charlie Chaplin would be welcome. The parking lot of a historic place of worship is not one of them.
Posted by: john frum ||
03/16/2009 7:41 Comments ||
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#6
The should make the statue w/six arms and have the legend read: "I am Charlie the maker and thrower of banana creme pies."
Posted by: regular joe ||
03/16/2009 16:17 Comments ||
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Kannada film actor-director Hemant Hegde is determined to have a statue of his idol Charlie Chaplin installed on the west coast of Karnataka.
On Tuesday, he will meet chief secretary Sudhakar Rao to seek permission for erecting the statue either at Om Beach, near Karwar, 520 km northwest of the state capital, or at Devbagh, 550 km northwest of Bangalore. Both places are on the coast in the Uttara Kannada district.
This time, I hope the government will give me an approval in a week. Being an artiste and director, I cannot run around for three months to get permission (that's his grouse against authorities in Udupi, where he sought approval for building a 60-ft statue at Paduvari village, 150 km from Mangalore). That will upset our shooting schedule, he told HT on Monday.
Hegde failed to get permission to have Chaplin's statue built in Paduvari village because locals did not want a Christian's statue near the entry to their temple. Chaplin was never known to have been a believer in religion, but that is another matter. Hegde said he planned to have the statue along the coast as it would form the backdrop for a song in the last segment of his film, House Full.
Some fans of Charlie Chaplin called him to offer private land for the statue but the actor-director is not sure if the offers are for real.
On Thursday, he plans to organise a protest in Bangalore by representatives of the Kannda film industry against the manner in which he was forced to leave Paduvari on Friday.
Posted by: john frum ||
03/16/2009 19:32 Comments ||
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The US administration will urge PKK insurgents to put down their weapons as a way to end the current conflict between the militants and Turkey. The US will also ask the Turkish government to pardon the former Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants, Turkey's Aksam newspaper declared in a report on Sunday.
The report further said that Washington's new approach to the PKK-Turkey conflict would be the main focus of a conference due to be held in Iraq's Erbil in April.
The newspaper quoted Iraqi and Turkish diplomats as saying that the conference is considered to be quite important to the US administration. The report says that the conference, which is supported by the US, will bring together top Kurdish leaders from Syria, Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Europe.
Turkey's special envoy to Iraq, Murat Ozcelik, has also declared that he had talks with the Iraqi President, Jalal Talabani, and the leader of the regional Kurdish government in Iraq, Massoud Barzani, and they have assured him that the result of the conference will not be disappointing for Turkey.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/16/2009 00:00 ||
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Iraq will not be a staging ground or a way station for terrorists after combat troops from the US-led coalition withdraw, the Iraqi prime minister said on Friday, insisting the country is united against terrorism.
Nouri Al Maliki, who is on a four-day visit to Australia, said militias and sectarianism had no place in the new Iraq, where citizens for the first time have a constitution that protects their human rights and parliamentary elections in January were run on political platforms rather than ethnic or religious affiliations.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/16/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
We gave Maliki Abu Ghraib and Camp Bucca - they've been good places for terrorists in Iraq. And there's still plenty of places next to Saddam.
(AKI) - A prominent Shia Iraqi cleric has called for the release of Iraqi journalist Montazer al-Zaidi, a day after he was sentenced to three years in jail for throwing his shoes at former United States president George W. Bush.
Sheik Suhail al-Iqabi said the sentence against al-Zaidi was "a verdict against the Iraqi people who reject the American occupation." Al-Iqabi, who supports hardline Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, made the remarks during Friday prayers in Baghdad's Sadr City.
On Thursday, Iraq's Criminal High Court invoked article 223 of the Iraqi Constitution and sentenced al-Zaidi for the shoe-throwing incident that occurred last December. The article provides for punishment of between three and 15 years in prison for assaulting a foreign leader on an official visit, al-Birqadar said. However, al-Zaidi's sentence will not be final unless it is ratified by the Court of Cassation which has a month to uphold or amend the verdict.
On Thursday, the Iraqi Journalists' Syndicate and the Journalistic Freedoms Observatory appealed to Iraqi president Jalal Talabani and prime minister Nouri al-Maliki to pardon al-Zaidi.
The incident in which al-Zaidi also hurled insults at Bush, was broadcast around the world. Iraqi officials have described it as shameful. Al-Zaidi threw his first shoe at Bush as he yelled "This is a gift from the Iraqis. This is the farewell kiss, you dog,"
As he threw his second shoe, he said: "This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq." As Bush avoided the shoes, al-Zaidi was quickly wrestled to the ground by security guards.
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03/16/2009 00:00 ||
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SULAIMANIYA, Iraq - Iraq's President Jalal Talabani confirmed on Sunday that he will not seek another term when his mandate expires at the end of the year and will focus instead on writing his memoirs. Talabani, who was born in 1933 and underwent heart surgery in the United States in August last year, implied he would remain head of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan party. "I will not nominate myself to another presidential term and I will dedicate my time to party work and writing my memoirs", Talabani told reporters in Iraq's largely autonomous Kurdistan region, before leaving for a trip to Turkey.
Talabani, a Kurd and former guerrilla leader who fought Saddam Hussein's regime, has been president since 2005. Although he does not wield executive power in Iraq, his role has been seen as vital to maintaining the country's delicate and sometimes volatile ethnic balance. His two vice presidents are a Shi'ite and a Sunni Arab.
Their mandates expire at the end of December, when Iraq holds parliamentary polls that will determine whether Shi'ite Arab Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's coalition government stays in power. Some Iraqi politicians doubt whether Talabani will be replaced by another Kurd.
Tensions are heating up between Baghdad and the Kurdistan government, as disputes simmer over oil rights and territory. Talabani has often helped to defuse such disputes.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/16/2009 00:00 ||
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GAZA CITY - Palestinian reconciliation negotiators in Cairo signed an agreement to prohibit fighting or the use of weapons to settle internal disputes, a Palestinian academic said on Saturday.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/16/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
aPalestinian academic
*snicker*
this is The Onion, right?
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/16/2009 7:04 Comments ||
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#2
I'll bet they shook on it and swore their solemn word and...everything.
(Xinhua) -- Palestinian factions continued reconciliation talks in Cairo after Egypt extended the work of specialized committees for a few more days, Palestinian officials said Sunday.
Ramzi Rabah, a member of the Democratic Front for the Liberation Palestine (DFLP), said that most of the differences were embedded in the elections committee.
The dialogue mainly aims at reconciling Islamic Hamas movement and President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah by forming a unity government replacing their two feuding administrations of Gaza Strip and WestBank.
The factions agreed on forming four committees to settle the controversial issues of the government, the security services, theelections and reforming the Palestinian Liberation Organization. Afifth committee is assigned to press on for the reconciliation.
According to Rabah, the differences in the elections committee were about the time of holding the presidential and parliamentary elections. As Hamas' term in the parliament ends in January 2010, Hamas' says the term of Abbas as a president has expired at the beginning of this year.
"We, the DFLP and some more factions, demand that all the elections be held in their due time in January 2010 but some factions demand to postpone them for two years and this is unacceptable," Rabah said.
He added that other differences involve the proportional representation and some factions consider the Central Elections Committee (CLC), the body to oversee the elections, biased to Fatah.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/16/2009 00:00 ||
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(Xinhua) -- The Palestinian committee in charge of the issue of elections agreed Sunday in Cairo to hold presidential and legislative elections no later than Jan. 25, 2010, reported the Egyptian MENA news agency.
The committee also agreed on the formation of the Higher Elections Committee, head of the Palestine Liberation Front Wasel Abu Yousef was quoted as saying.
According to earlier reports, the Palestinian committees on the reform of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), security and reconciliation have also concluded their talks.
On Tuesday, five Palestinian committees started to work on different issues related to the Palestinian reconciliation.
The five committees are assigned to deal with the issues of forming a Palestinian national unity government, reforming the security services, holding elections, reforming the PLO and pushing forward reconciliation.
The committee on the formation of a new government is expected to finish its work on Sunday night, according to MENA.
The major rift among Palestinian groups, particularly between rival Fatah and Hamas movements, is on the formation of a Palestinian government.
According to Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum, Fatah wants the would-be government to absolutely observe the commitments made by the PLO, while Hamas refused this point because it indicates a recognition of Israel, which is rejected by Hamas.
The pending issues of the five committees are expected to be presented to a higher supervision and guidance committee for further discussion in the coming few days.
Four members of the British parliament met Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal late Saturday, urging their government to end its boycott of the Palestinian group "to achieve just peace" as Israel and Hamas stepped up talks on prisoners' swap. "We need to talk to Hamas to make progress (toward peace) because they represent a big proportion of the Palestinians," Clare Short, an MP in the governing Labour Party, told reporters. Nobody's quite as usual a member of the usual suspects as Clare Short, unless it's George Galloway...
Britain, along with the European Union and the United States, has said there can be no dealing with Hamas until it recognizes Israel, renounces armed struggle and accepts interim peace accords.
Short said after meeting Meshaal in Damascus that opening up discussions with Hamas immediately would "move things forward in the hope that we in the end achieve just peace."
Her father emigrated to this country from rural Pakistan some time in the 1960s and is, apparently, a highly respected local figure.
He is also an incestuous child abuser, repeatedly raping his daughter from the age of five until she was 15, ostensibly as part of her punishment for being disobedient. At the age of 16 she fled her family to avoid the forced marriage they had planned for her in Pakistan. A much, much greater affront to honour in her familys eyes, however, was the fact that she then became a Christian an apostate. The Koran is explicit that apostasy is punishable by death; thus it was that her father the imam led a 40-strong gang in the middle of a British city to find and kill her.
Hannah Shah says her story is not unique that there are many other girls in British Muslim families who are oppressed and married off against their will, or who have secretly become Christians but are too afraid to speak out.
When, at school, she had finally summoned the courage to tell a teacher that her father had been beating her (she couldnt bring herself to reveal the sexual abuse), the social services sent out a social worker from her own community. He chose not to believe Hannah and, in effect, shopped her to her father, who gave her the most brutal beating of her life.
Hannah blames what is sometimes called political correctness for this debacle: My teachers had thought they were doing the right thing, they thought it showed cultural sensitivity by bringing in someone from my own community to help, but it was the worst thing they could have done to me. This happens a lot.
When Ive been working with girls who were trying to get out of an arranged marriage, or want to convert to Christianity, and they have contacted social services as they need to get out of their homes, the reaction has been well send someone from your community to talk to your parents. I know why they are doing this, they are trying to be understanding, but its the last thing that the authorities should do in such situations.
This is the sort of cultural sensitivity displayed by Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, last year when he suggested that problems within the British Muslim community such as financial or marital disputes could be dealt with under sharia, Islamic law, rather than British civil law. What did Hannah, now an Anglican, think on hearing these remarks?
I was horrified. If you could speak to him now, what would you say to the archbishop? I would say: have you actually spoken to any ordinary Muslim women about the situation that they live in, in their communities? By putting in place these Muslim arbitration tribunals, where a womans witness is half that of a man, you are silencing women even more.
#3
An important characteristic of "hate speech" is that it is not about "speech", but about a "hated individual" who is speaking about a subject that he is not permitted to speak about.
The most obvious example is that black people are allowed to use racist language, even when it menaces or threatens, because they are authorized to use that speech.
But white males are not authorized to use that speech at all, so the content of what they say, even if it is fully truthful and used in a non-aggressive context, is "hate speech".
Geert Wilders is an "enemy of Islam", forbidden to speak about Islam at all. So the content or context of what he has to say, even if objectively accurate, is "hate speech".
It does not matter what he says. He is not permitted to speak.
"Freedom of expression doesn't mean the right to offend."
-- Maxime Verhagen, Dutch Foreign Minister
A Jemaah Islamiyah terrorist on death row for the 2004 bombing of the Australian Embassy in Jakarta remains unrepentant about the deadly attack in a recently-released book, in which he states that jihad means killing those who dont believe in Islam and says he will die a martyr. The book, a copy of which was obtained by the Jakarta Globe, is likely to anger the countrys security authorities, who are attempting to halt the circulation of books written by the three Bali bombers prior to their execution in November 2008, to prevent the spread of violent messages.
Rois Abu Syaukat, also known as Iman Darmawan, argues that the enemy of Islam depends on ones beliefs, in the latest book, What is Jihad?
Jihad is to wage war on the nonbeliever. It truly depends on Shariah [Islamic law], he writes. Jihad is not just [conducting missionary work] or building madrasahs, he adds.
According to the International Crisis Group, Rois was recruited by Malaysian terrorist suspect Noordin M. Top and was in charge of logistics for the Sept. 9, 2004, truck bombing, which killed nine Indonesian security guards and motorists. Among Rioss responsibilities were training the suicide bomber, Heri Golun, how to drive the Dai-hatsu delivery van and its one-ton load, and to monitor Heris state of mind in the moments before the attack. It has been reported that Australias role in supporting the United States during the invasion of Iraq was his motivation.
In his 224-page book, published by Jakarta-based publishers Pustaka Shotulhaq in January, Rois cites the Koran and Prophet Muhammad for justifying his actions, but during an exclusive interview with the Jakarta Globe from Cipinang Prison in Central Jakarta last Friday, he refused to elaborate on his role in the bombing. He has previously both confessed and denied involvement. I dont want to talk about it. Just read my book, he said. He is appealing his sentence.
In the 224-page book, Rois writes that legitimate targets for jihad include nonbelievers, Muslims who abandon their beliefs, killing others for money, hypocrites, those who disobey Islamic law and despotic governments. For this reason, he wrote, the bombing of the Australian Embassy was justified.
On the eve of Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi''s visit to the United States for talks on Iran''s nuclear program, his American counterpart, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Michael Mullen, warned last Thursday that an Israeli attack on Iran might lead to escalation, undermine the region''s stability and endanger the lives of Americans in the Persian Gulf "who are under the threat envelope right now."
...
Posted by: Fred ||
03/16/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Because the region is rock stable right now?
Come on..
#4
Because the Americans in the Persian Gulf "who are under the threat envelope right now" are in more danger from the Iranian threat of nuclear war than the Israelis at whom the missiles are aimed? Clearly there is a subtlety of analysis beyond my simple and uneducated understanding.
#6
Israel could turn the tables on Iran and start a sabotage campaign in Iran proper. The difference being that a trained expert saboteur can bring a large city to a grinding halt quickly. A single company of such men spread throughout Iran could make the country chaotic.
No electricity, no fuel, fires, water catastrophes and contamination, ships sinking, food adulterated or ruined, farm animals dying, industrial accidents, computer havoc, you name it.
#7
It's the Persian New Year this week. Lots of unauthorized pagan-type things going on. The mullahs will have their hands full, what with all the Jaheliah...
#8
Sounds like official U.S. policy is to acquiesce to development of an Iranian nuclear weapon. Not the kind of signal I'd want to send those bastards.
But, hey, unauthorized pagan-type things might be fun.
Former MP Faris Soueid is the March 14 Secretariat General Coordinator and a key member of the Cedar Revolution alliance. The conference at the Biehl ceneter marking the launching of the March 14 election campaign was attended by the leaders of the Cedar Revolution.
Soueid listed the main issues of the campaign as follows :
1- To protect Lebanon against Israeli aggression and regaining Shebaa via UNSCR 1701.
2- To impose the authority of the state on all its territories. There should be no arms other than those of the Lebanese state.
3 - To end the dispute with Syria and build normal, friendly relations based on the Taef accord, to complete our diplomatic relations, with border control and demarcation, to end the issue of Lebanese detainees.
4- To provide harmony between Lebanon and the international community, not to place Lebanon in confrontation with the international community.
5- We will work to regain Lebanon's Arab role, commit to supporting the Palestinian people and Authority's struggle in establishing an independent state with its capital Jerusalem.
6- we will pursue our strict commitment in not settling Palestinian refugees in Lebanon and adopting a draft law presented by March 14 MPs 6 months ago to amend the constitution on the issue
7 - We are committed to state building through the implementation of the Taef accord and securing the free and just presence of all sects.
8- To commit to the requirements of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon in a manner that guarantees Lebanon's safety and stability.
9- To provide the necessary commitments for returning displaced citizens and to finally close this issue once and for all.
10 - To protect Lebanon and the Lebanese internally and externally from the ramifications of the international financial crisis, to put in place an effective program regarding our national debt.
11- To implement economic, social and development policies.
12 - To secure wider participation of women in Lebanon's political, economic and social life and in the decision making process
13- To commit to the cause of the Lebanese Diaspora, in securing them with equal rights and duties particularly in their right to vote.
14 - To put an end to the environmental deterioration in Lebanon via a strategy of sustainable development.
Soueid concluded his speech by stressing that March 14 alliance forces" undertake to cooperate in the spirit of solidarity throughout their campaign in the upcoming elections and in all the electoral districts of country "
Posted by: Fred ||
03/16/2009 00:00 ||
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Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir urged the Lebanese during his Sunday sermon to vote during the June 7 elections for candidates who will defend their basic rights. "Voters must know who they will be choosing to defend their basic rights," Sfeir said. "They must not forget the proverb 'whoever buys you shall sell you.'"
Posted by: Fred ||
03/16/2009 00:00 ||
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(Xinhua) Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Friday dismissed international sanctions against the country as a "childish thinking" and a "grave blunder."
The idea of impeding Iran's progress through sanctions was a "childish thinking and a grave blunder," the official IRNA news agency quoted Ahmadinejad as saying in the Gulf city of Assalouyeh.
He made the remarks in his address to a ceremony for the inauguration of the 9th and 10th phases of South Pars gas field in Assalouyeh in southern Boushehr Province.
Calling the inauguration of the gas field projects as "the national feast of self-confidence, innovation and flourish," Ahmadinejad said the event marked "a rejoicing feast for the great Iranian nation."
"The happiness will double if you consider the fact that the huge task was done under conditions when certain people around the world refused to act on their duty and promises, showing bad temper and misbehavior," he said. The Iranian president also said that the country's presence in the space and its progress in nuclear program were all because of "the superpowers' bad temper."
Ahmadinejad's remarks came one day after U.S. President Barack Obama announced that the United States would continue its sanctions against Iran as the Islamic republic was continuing its "unusual and extraordinary threat" to the U.S. security and economy.
Washington, long being at odds with Tehran, began imposing its routine sanctions since 1995 when former President Bill Clinton was in office. The sanctions, which have been extended on an annual basis by successive presidents, include prohibiting American companies aiding the development of the Iranian oil industry and halting trade, export and import as well as investment ties with Iran.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/16/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Yes, childish liberal thinking...a smack along the side of the head (or Isfahan) is better.
Victor Bout, accused of being one of the world's leading arms dealers, denies supplying weapons to the Taliban, al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/16/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Well, we both agree on that then. And I suppose he'll also agree that anyone who did happen to supply arms to terrorists ought to be drawn and quartered. Right?
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.
Three foreign aid workers with the Belgian branch of the Medecins Sans Frontieres who were kidnapped in Sudan''s Darfur region arrived in Khartoum on Saturday evening.
RIYADH - Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal on Sunday expressed reservations over how Iran supports Arab countries, following talks with his Iranian counterpart. "As much as we appreciate Iran's support for Arab causes, we would like to see it channelled through Arab legality and be in harmony with its objectives," Prince Saud told reporters.
Youssef Megahed is not charged with terrorism. But whether the Egyptian citizen was a potential terrorist or just an innocent college student has been a central question since his arrest in South Carolina in 2007, when deputies said he and Ahmed Mohamed had pipe bombs in the trunk of their car.
Four members of the British parliament met Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal late Saturday, urging their government to end its boycott of the Palestinian group "to achieve just peace" as Israel and Hamas stepped up talks on prisoners' swap. "We need to talk to Hamas to make progress (toward peace) because they represent a big proportion of the Palestinians," Clare Short, an MP in the governing Labour Party, told reporters.
On the eve of Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi''s visit to the United States for talks on Iran''s nuclear program, his American counterpart, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Michael Mullen, warned last Thursday that an Israeli attack on Iran might lead to escalation, undermine the region''s stability and endanger the lives of Americans in the Persian Gulf "who are under the threat envelope right now." 
(Xinhua) Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Friday dismissed international sanctions against the country as a "childish thinking" and a "grave blunder." 
