[ADN Kronos] The United Nations human rights office in Afghanistan has called for the repeal of a controversial amnesty law which it says offers impunity for serious crimes and rights violations.
Nurse! They're making pronouncements again -- the green pills this time, I think. The little blue ones didn't distract them enough.
Dr. Maturin could tell you what the blue pills are for. That seems appropriate here ...
That's what I thought, too. ;-)
"This law relieves Afghan authorities of their obligation to investigate and prosecute, on their own initiative, those allegedly responsible for gross violations of human rights," Norah Niland, the representative of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, told journalists in Kabul. "The law is likely to undermine efforts to secure genuine reconciliation, which is of course about bringing together different elements of a fractured society."
In 2007, the Afghan parliament approved the Reconciliation and General Amnesty Law, which provides immunity and pardons for former members of Afghanistan's armed factions for actions committed before December 2001.
"The High Commissioner for Human Rights and Afghan civil society and human rights NGOs [non-governmental organisations] in and outside of the country have asked that the law be repealed," Niland said.
Meanwhile, the special representative of the secretary-general for Afghanistan, Staffan de Mistura, met representatives from Hezb-e-Islami, a political party in Afghanistan. De Mistura said that the ongoing discussions with Afghan authorities further underscored the importance of Afghan-led dialogue to bring stability to this country.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/27/2010 00:00 ||
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Can they wait until the current civil war is over with before they decide they want to restart a previous one?
[Al Arabiya Latest] The United States hopes next month's presidential election in Sudan will set the stage for a "civil divorce, not a civil war" over moves by the oil-rich south to secede, the Obama administration's special envoy said late on Thursday.
Scott Gration acknowledged problems with preparations for the April vote. But he said it should still occur on time so democratic structures are put in place to deal with the looming issue of the status of southern Sudan, which will be decided by a referendum next January.
He said the United States was prepared for any eventual secession vote and was working to resolve contentious issues in hopes of avoiding a reprise of the two-decade civil war that ended five years ago. "I don't see that the north has to reinvade the south and start the war again," Gration said. "If we can resolve these issues, I think there is a fairly good chance that ... the south can have a civil divorce, not a civil war."
Sudan's north-south civil war claimed 2 million lives and drove more than 4 million from their homes, destabilizing much of East Africa. It was fought over issues of ethnicity, ideology, religion and oil, all of which still fester.
Gration said next month's elections, even if flawed, would mark a step toward establishing a democratic framework of voter rolls, electoral authorities and monitors that will underpin political decision-making.
"It is important that the election takes place on time, and is done in a way that the people themselves see as credible," Gration told Reuters in an interview.
"What we are trying to do is get as much done as we can now and then make adjustments that we need to."
Accusations of fraud have mounted before the vote, Sudan's first multiparty election in more than two decades, and many opposition parties have called for a delay, saying more democratic reforms are needed.
The only long-term international observer mission in Sudan, the Carter Center, has said the election remains "at risk on multiple fronts" and urged Sudan to lift harsh restrictions on rallies and end fighting in Darfur before the ballot.
Gration, named U.S. special envoy for Sudan last year, has sought to ease tensions that threaten the fragile 2005 peace deal between Khartoum and the semi-autonomous south.
That agreement called for both the elections and the referendum on secession for southern Sudan, which many analysts say could trigger new conflict.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/27/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
ION TOPIX > VARIOUS >YEMEN TO FACE SERIOUS WATER CRISIS BY 2017; + MILLIONS WAITING FOR RAIN IN CHINA/NORTH ASIA.
#2
The concept of simply supporting Secession in such places would do a lot towards convincing bad governments to straighten up. Still I don't think any nation wants to begin that precedent because everyone has some minority that would agitate.
#3
I'm sure this administration, which campaigned on not meddling in other's business, will explain how changing the appearance and name will resolve the underlying issues?
(stuffs a tomato into my ear canal)
Ah, I get it. By calling it 'war' instead of 'civil war' it is a 50% reduction in violence.
[Bangla Daily Star] The nation paid tribute to its Liberation War martyrs yesterday celebrating the 40th Independence Day, with citizens of all walks of life expressing their expectation that the government will soon start fair and expeditious trials of war criminals.
Hundreds of thousands of people of different generations thronged Liberation War memorials across the country all through the day.
Amid the jubilant celebration of independence and solemn remembrance of the martyrs a feeling of resurgence of the spirit of the Liberation War permeated the country.
This year Independence Day was observed at a time when the government had initiated the process for trying the war criminals by forming a tribunal, an investigation agency, and a prosecution team.
On March 26, 1971 valiant Bangalees of the then East Pakistan, on declaration of independence by Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, picked up arms to resist Pakistani occupation forces, who had unleashed a genocide on the Bangalees the night before.
Victory was finally achieved on December 16 after a nine-month long struggle, and Bangladesh was born.
Yesterday began with 31 gun salutes at dawn in the capital, while President Zillur Rahman, and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina laid wreaths at the National Memorial in Savar, and stood in solemn silence for a few moments paying their respects to the martyrs. A smartly turned out contingent of the armed forces stood at salute while the last post was played on bugles.
Speaker Abdul Hamid, the chief justice, cabinet members, parliament members, senior leaders of ruling Awami League, chiefs of the armed forces, diplomats, civil and military officials, freedom fighters, and other dignitaries were also present at the National Memorial on the occasion.
The premier then went to Bangabandhu Memorial Museum in the capital's Dhanmondi, and placed a wreath at the portrait of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Later she joined the Rally of Children and Youths at Bangabandhu National Stadium organised by the district administration.
Opposition Leader Khaleda Zia, accompanied by senior leaders of her party BNP, laid a wreath at the National Memorial as well. Later, she visited the mausoleum of late president Ziaur Rahman, and offered prayers for his departed soul.
In the evening, President Zillur Rahman hosted a reception in Bangabhaban for wounded freedom fighters, dignitaries, noted citizens, and diplomats, which was also attended by the prime minister.
Afterwards the president exchanged greetings with the family members of Birsreshthas in Bangabhaban.
The day was a public holiday. The national flag was hoisted at government buildings, corporate offices, banks, leading business houses, and at private residents.
A combined parade of Bangladesh Army, Air Force, Navy, Bangladesh Rifles, Police, National Cadet Corps, Rapid Action Battalion, President's Guard Regiment, and freedom fighters was held at the National Parade Square in the capital in the morning. President Zillur Rahman received salutes at the march past.
The National Memorial resonated with slogans, patriotic songs, and processions all day long. People of all walks of life, and different organisations also placed wreaths at Shikha Chirantan in Suhrawardy Uddyan of the capital.
Major political, social, and cultural organisations also observed the day through elaborate programmes.
Many cultural programmes were organised all over the country where the historic March 7 speech by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and patriotic songs were played on loud speakers.
State owned Bangladesh Betar and Bangladesh Television as well as private television channels aired special programmes throughout the day, and newspapers brought out special supplements.
Special meals were served in hospitals, prisons, orphanages, and homeless shelters.
The president, prime minister, and the leader of the opposition issued messages on the eve of the day.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/27/2010 00:00 ||
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MIAMI (AP) A teary but smiling Gloria Estefan mounted the stage at the end of a march she spearheaded that drew tens of thousands of demonstrators in Miami's Little Havana to support Cuban dissidents.
"Thank you Miami," Estefan told the crowd that packed the street Thursday. "We are a people united by our love for freedom. We are here with all our different flags. That is what this great country allows us to do."
Shouting "Libertad! Libertad!" the marchers gathered in support of the Ladies in White, a group of Cuban mothers and wives of 75 dissidents arrested in a 2003 government crackdown there. Last week, as the Ladies in White marched through Havana to mark the anniversary of the arrests, pro-government groups surrounded them and Cuban state security agents put several in choke holds.
At Thursday's Miami demonstration, many brought children and grandparents.
A small plane flew overhead towing a banner that read, in Spanish, "Freedom for the Political Prisoners."
The march was peaceful, with different generations standing together and, unlike past marches, few angry shouts against Fidel Castro, the island nation's longtime leader.
Cuba's human rights record has drawn world attention in recent weeks with the death of dissident hunger striker Orlando Zapata Tamayo, the hospitalization of a second activist, Guillermo Farinas, and most recently, video of the treatment of the Ladies in White.
"I see the rest of the world speaking out, I see the European Union speaking out, people who usually side with Fidel Castro," Estefan said in advance of the demonstration. "I thought, 'My God. I'm a woman. I'm Cuban. I have the opportunity to speak out because of the music thing. It's something I have to do.'"
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/27/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Sad but almost certainly true: US foreign policy could be handled better by Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine than the current incumbents of the West Wing.
#5
"that mightwould be true even if Bulldog IS a bulldog."
FTFY, Glen. No extra charge. ;-p
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
03/27/2010 12:16 Comments ||
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#6
Heh!
The other night I successfully argued a case against a friend for the recognition of simian as sentient beings affording all rights as a US citizen. Then, taking account monkey years to human years - wouldn't want racism/specism right? - monkeys could qualify and then be elected to congress. Friend conceded after realizing that if C-span's coverage was dominated by fecal throwing and monkey humping the nation would be better off.
#7
Chimps, _maybe_, wouldn't be beneath their dignity serving in your Congress. But the average gorilla, orangutan, or yeti? It would be a definite step down.
The global human rights non-government organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a news release that the arrest of former governor of the state of Zulia Oswaldo Álvarez Paz, and of Guillermo Zuloaga, president of TV station Globovisión, in retaliation for public statements that were critical of the government is a serious blow to freedom of expression in Venezuela. At least HRW noticed. That's more than they usually do.
"To prosecute someone for speech, which is protected in any democracy, is a dangerous precedent," said José Miguel Vivanco, Americas director at Human Rights Watch. "The violations of free speech are likely to be compounded by a trial that falls far short of due process protections, given the government's political takeover of the Supreme Court."
According to the state-run news agency Agencia Bolivariana de Noticias, Zuloaga has criticized President Hugo Chávez for undermining freedom of expression by closing media outlets. Meanwhile, according to state-owned Radio Nacional Venezuela, Venezuela's attorney general is currently investigating Zuloaga for "the crimes of dissemination of false information, offense and vilification of the President of the Republic."
"For years, Chávez has been pushing legislation to restrict free speech." He added: "Now we seem to be entering a darker period where these draconian laws are being implemented," Vivanco said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/27/2010 00:00 ||
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They don't need no steenking prosecutions - just executions.
North Korea has accused the US and South Korea of seeking a regime change in the country, threatening to launch nuclear strikes to counter any provocations by the two.
"Those who seek to bring down the system in the DPRK (North Korea)... will fall victim to the unprecedented nuclear strikes of the invincible army," a North Korean General Staff spokesman told the official Korean Central News Agency on Friday.
When did the North Korean engineers finally achieve a workable nuclear bomb? The last I heard there was a distict pffffft deep in that mountain when a BOOM!! had been predicted.
The spokesman cited a South Korean newspaper report as evidence of desperate moves of the US imperialists on the Korean Peninsula.
On March 19th, a South Korean newspaper claimed that the US Pacific Command will meet with South Korean and Chinese think-tanks next month.
Based on the report, they are slated to hold talks on how to control the North's weapons of mass destruction in the event that the government in Pyongyang collapses.
Earlier this month, North Korea criticized the South for planning joint military war games with the United States. The North Korean military said the drill was a rehearsal for an invasion of the North.
Pyongyang also stated that it will respond to any aggression with nuclear weapons if necessary. North has vowed to enlarge its nuclear arsenal to counter what it describes as US "military threats and provocations."
Tensions on the Korean peninsula have been high since the North's missile test in April 2009.
Following the move, the UN Security Council toughened sanctions against Pyongyang resulting in the North walking out of the six-party talks aimed at dismantling its nuclear program.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/27/2010 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Commies
#1
You cannot kill US all. We can kill you ALL.
It is funny what tin pot dictators do when they are in a death spiral.
Here, let me help you out North Korea.
God Curse Kim jung Il.
Now he be Illin and dead. You dunged ass creature.
Tell the military we will nuke them all unless they become respectable neighbors to the south and Japan and China.
#7
Can't say a new attack would bring us any closer now. If it was San Francisco or Seatle I don't know if I would donate anything for relief. I see cities like those, I know there is a mix of conservative and commie in them, but the commie side always has the bigger mouth. I would let the commies dig themselves out - any survivors would likely change their multi-cultural tune (unless of course they could blame Cheney)
#9
Indeed. Or even of some NYers. Firefighters from our neighborhood died there, having rushed the 80 miles down to the burning buildings to try to save lives. And smug little 'clever' people made all sorts of cute verbal one-offs to trivialize those deaths and the attack itself.
And then there was the hit on the Pentagon, in the wing where friends and colleagues of ours worked. They too went into the collapsing burning areas at great risk to themselves to save people. And there were plenty of smug 'clever' comments about that attack as well.
Some people need to grow up. Assessments of oneself as clever - nay, daringly nihilistic and counter-rational - don't suffice to make cutesy comments palatable or acceptable when what's at stake are the deaths of brave and innocent people. Even the high regard of one's mother or spouse is unconvincing in this case.
#10
Over the eight or so years immediately after the attacks the New Yorkers voted to keep in place energy and industrial policies that provide the nation-state sponsors of Al Qaeda with some 200 to 300 billion dollars worth of straight profit, year after year.
After all that, I feel like asking, why is it we're all expected to come together but we're not allowed to come up with a plan to break even?
#11
Really? its funny how sheep still think this will be the world against N.Korea. Giving the fact that the U.S. has 2 wars going on and if and *when* this next war goes off its going to be US/EU/S.korea vs N.Korea/RUSSIA/CHINA(owns the U.S.'s ass in debt)/Venezuela/Iran,... get it? this will change the world as we know it,.. only people that will benefit from this fight are the NWO bankers that will be funding BOTH SIDES of the fight like they doing since the American civil war,.. wake the hell up sheep!!!
Posted by: Not a retard... ||
03/27/2010 22:37 Comments ||
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A radical Islamic elder who praises the Taliban and preaches violent jihad to a band of keen followers is being investigated in Perth by WA and Federal police.
Sources confirmed the joint-agency investigation after The Sunday Times revealed to police that the newspaper had infiltrated a group in which the sheik described armed jihad as the "top" ideal for Muslims and likened the Taliban to "angels".
Muslim community members said they warned police weeks ago that the Middle Eastern man was recruiting disaffected young Muslim men at a Perth mosque and spreading dangerous messages - about armed jihad, or holy war, against those fighting Islam; and that he claimed to know, and have trained with, Osama bin Laden. They stressed that mainstream WA Muslims did not share the views and were concerned police had not acted on their tip-offs. They alerted The Sunday Times as a last resort "before something really bad happens . . . before this poison spreads".
In an undercover investigation, The Sunday Times obtained information from meetings at the sheik's northern suburbs home where, before a group of young men, he promoted armed jihad as the highest ideal for Muslims, praised the Taliban and said he had fought in Afghanistan against Soviet forces. In other meetings, he praised bin Laden - and even Hitler, justified the actions of suicide bombers, claimed that US presidents were priests and said that Allah would "get" the US and Jews for their actions.
The man, an Australian citizen whom The Sunday Times has not named under police advice, also said that though Islam forbade killing, people who had tried to stop those bringing the religion to others in the past were killed so that people could receive the word of God.
Muslim community members said they feared police were waiting for the man and his followers to do something "terrible", so they could make a dramatic arrest and then point to "home-grown terrorists" as justification for repressive police measures and surveillance of all Muslims. But sources confirmed an investigation was under way because of earlier information received. It involved both the WA Police State Security Investigation Group and the Australian Federal Police.
Last Saturday, in front of five men and youths, the man said that jihad, at its "top" end, was to fight those who fought against Islam, and that going into battle and "putting your life on the line" for Islam was the highest ideal. "I'm not afraid to say that if angels walk this earth, they are the Taliban," he said.
In the same meeting he told one youth that he had fought in Afghanistan during the Soviet conflict. On another occasion he said that people could say Osama bin Laden "is no good . . . but he helped a lot of people when they are needing help, he built hospitals, he built schools, he give food when people was hungry". He said Allah would punish Jews for their wrongdoings and of Hitler he said: "He enjoyed art, and he enjoyed music, that means he had some softnesses (sic) in him. He looked after his people".
The man also said that suicide bombers were the result of bombing by the US and its allies. "In Iraq, (a man) come home, he find his wife leg there, head there, his children (in) three pieces and his father (in) five pieces and the home is gone," he said. "What do you expect from this person? I make myself pieces to at least kill (those) who killed my father, who killed my wife."
When The Sunday Times contacted the elder yesterday, he denied encouraging jihad anywhere, or any wrongdoing, and said he was a loyal Australian, but that the Koran said "jihad is top of the worshipping because this is (a believer) risking his life". Asked about his views that Allah would punish the US and Jews, he said: "Allah (is) not punishing anyone doing the right thing."
He said he had met bin Laden when working for a relief agency in Afghanistan in 1980-81 and had "asked him for some donation for some people" as part of that relief work. He denied claiming he had trained and fought alongside him.
Yesterday he agreed he had said the Taliban were like angels. "Compared to what we are seeing from the other side when the killing coming (sic) or the bombarding happening, I said we can consider Taliban like angels for that, because they are not attempting to hurt the people, but the war is happening there," he said.
NEW DELHI: New Delhi's doors, it appears, will not open anytime soon for Richard Holbrooke, US special envoy for Af-Pak. He has been frozen out of India yet again, after his recent statement that Indians weren't really targetted in the February 26 attacks in Kabul.
It was a callous remark that was so blatantly aimed at pleasing Pakistanis that the Indian foreign office was forced to make an official complaint about it. Particularly, since it was evident from the beginning that the attack was intended to get India out of Afghanistan, and by Pakistan-supported terror groups. So when Holbrooke announced on March 20 that he would definitely be going to India soon', he got the familiar cold shoulder from the MEA. Holbrooke was supposed to travel to Kabul and Delhi in the coming days, stopping by in Brussels.
In the last year, Holbrooke has found that after such public displays of determination to visit India, his travel plans invariably dry up. In fact, after two such freeze-offs, Holbrooke stopped trying in 2009. It was in early 2010 that the MEA decided to let him come to India.
His visit, when it did happen, went off rather well, with Holbrooke getting face-time with everyone in the leadership, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
But his remarks after the February 26 attack on guesthouses in Kabul mainly used by Indians brought back the Indian distaste for the special envoy. Speaking to reporters in Washington soon after the attack, Holbrooke held forth, I don't accept the fact that this was an attack on an Indian facility... There were foreigners, non-Indian foreigners hurt. It was a soft target. Let's not jump to conclusions.'
He added, I understand why everyone in Pakistan and everyone in India always focus on the other. But please, let's not draw a conclusion for which there's no proof.' He rendered a qualified apology later.
Posted by: john frum ||
03/27/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Is there anyone in the State Department that can play this game?
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
03/27/2010 9:12 Comments ||
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#4
I would never for a moment assume that Holbrooke wasn't aware of what he was doing. Even in his early 20s, he was under the wing of some ruthless individuals, such as Robert Komer, who created the Vietnam-era Phoenix Program and Strategic Hamlet Program.
Currently he is in the Hillary camp, so it can be assumed that he will sabotage Obama without hesitation.
#5
An Indian acquaintance of mine that works for the U.N. was in the guest house across the street from the one hit. He says there is no way that Indians were not the target.
As the article states, the guest houses in this area are housing almost exclusively Indians. Holbrooke needs to fall down some stairs or something.
Posted by: Secret Asian Man ||
03/27/2010 11:34 Comments ||
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#6
Currently he is in the Hillary camp, so it can be assumed that he will sabotage Obama without hesitation.
Holbrooke is in the Holbrooke camp. Always. He is the smartest man in any Admin, just ask him. He would turn on Hillary in a second if it furthered him. He always wanted to be SOS
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/27/2010 11:47 Comments ||
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#7
Israel, you see what to do. Thank you, President Obama -- another thing that as far as I know has never happened to a previous American envoy.
[Dawn] Pakistan on Friday rejected suggestions that it has quietly supported Taliban elements in Afghanistan and pledged to work to bring stability in its northwestern neighbour.
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, in a theme he has stressed throughout a visit to Washington, said Pakistan was striving to be a "moderate, democratic voice" since its return to civilian rule in 2008.
"Friends can also change," Qureshi told National Public Radio. "There was a time when there was a Taliban government in Afghanistan and Pakistan felt comfortable with that. But today we do not want the Taliban to take over Afghanistan," he said. "What the American people need to understand is people in Pakistan, democracy in Pakistan -- they are getting their act together," he said.
He said Pakistan would only seek involvement in Afghanistan in accordance with the country's wishes. Whatever we can do to achieve the objective of a peaceful, stable, friendly Afghanistan, we are going to do that," he said.
Or not, as the case may be.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/27/2010 00:00 ||
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The movement led by anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr is poised to make a dramatic return to the forefront of Iraqi Shia politics, combining its success in recent elections with the anticipated elevation of its leader's religious status.
Sadr's followers are projected to have won more than 40 seats in the new parliament, increasing their share by at least ten. They are now the strongest faction in the Iraqi National Alliance, the main bloc that challenged prime minister Nuri al-Maliki for the Shia vote. Maliki has been regarded with suspicion by the Sadrists since the Iraqi military led a crackdown on their militia in 2008.
Alongside growing leverage over their political rivals, the Sadrists are expected to enjoy greater spiritual authority among their supporters as Muqtada continues his studies to become an eminent Shia scholar, or ayatollah.
Officials close to the 36-year-old cleric say he is making swift progress in his schooling at a seminary in the Iranian holy city of Qom. It is unclear whether he will graduate soon, as most ayatollahs spend several decades attaining the rank.
It is also as yet unclear whether the Sadrists will enter government or form an opposition, as final election results have yet to be released and protracted coalition talks are expected to follow. Whatever they decide, analysts say the Sadrists will be impossible to ignore in the new parliament.
"They will have their word in every decision," Abdullah Jaafar, a retired professor of political sciences in Baghdad, said.
As the most blatantly anti-American of the Shia political groups, Sadr's movement is particularly well placed to capitalise on the planned withdrawal of most United States military forces from Iraq later this year.
"If the Americans withdraw at the expected time, the Sadrists will tell their followers that they kicked the troops out," Jaafar said. He added that the Sadrists would oppose any attempt to extend the Americans' stay in Iraq.
As long as the pullout proceeds as planned, Sadr's movement is unlikely to seek a violent confrontation with the US military, according to Patrick Cockburn, a British journalist and author of a book on Sadr.
"Why on earth should they disrupt the withdrawal since it's what they wanted anyway," he said.
Cockburn added that he expected the remnants of Sadr's militia to stick to the terms of a current ceasefire, while the movement channeled its energies into politics.
"Sadrists are surprising in being slightly more numerous and better organised than people imagine," he said.
Posted by: tipper ||
03/27/2010 13:28 ||
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Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
03/27/2010 14:43 Comments ||
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#3
Officials close to the 36-year-old cleric say he is making swift progress in his schooling at a seminary in the Iranian holy city of Qom. It is unclear whether he will graduate soon, as most ayatollahs spend several decades attaining the rank.
Panty Burqa raids, goat orgies, small boy boomer festivities, it's an all around Islamic education
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/27/2010 16:44 Comments ||
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[Ma'an] Jordan's King Abdullah has conveyed a strong message to Israel and the international community that the region could no longer tolerate endless peace talks, the Amman-based The Jordan Times reported Thursday.
In an interview with the chief editors of the Times and four other regional newspapers on Wednesday, Abdullah said that Israeli practices in Jerusalem were undermining "already cold" Jordanian-Israeli ties and threatening stability in the region, the English-language daily reported.
"In all my meetings with Israeli, American and international officials, I have warned that continued attacks on Jerusalem and its holy sites will ignite the entire region," he added. "Jerusalem has a special place in the hearts of Palestinians, Jordanians, Arabs and Muslims."
The king reportedly emphasized that all political, legal and diplomatic options were on the table in dealing with the "rejected" Israeli actions, adding that Jordan would not refrain from exerting all possible means to protect Jerusalem and to achieve a peace that gives justice to Palestinians and restores all Arab rights.
Abdullah was also quoted as warning that the peace process was at a crossroads and that people were tired of an open-ended process that did not lead to results, stressing that the world could not afford to waste more time as the peace process continued to lose credibility.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/27/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
TOPIX > ARAB STATES CALL FOR [UNO]ICJ RULING ON JERUSALEM.
#3
Please King Ab, be a nice fellow now and go take a ride on your Harley, or stuff a sock in it. We're dreadfully tired, I mean bone tired of your pro-paleo anti-Israeli mantra.
#4
Interesting...see I was theorizing it is the generationally cultivated area social networking experiment known as 'Arab Street' which will continually torpedo or outright sabotage even meaningful and/or secret negotiations.
Amid threats of an Israeli attack against Iran, Brazil's president said Friday he has planned a visit to the country to prevent a "mistake" that was the prelude to the invasion of Iraq. "I am going there because I do not want the mistake that was made in Iraq to be repeated in Iran," President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said, in comments reproduced by the state news agency ABR, DPA reported.
Does anyone at all care what the Brazilian has to say on this or any other matter? Besides the citizens of his country, I mean.
Lula, who has scheduled a two-day visit to Tehran on May 15, said the Iraq war stemmed from a "lie" spread by world powers.
In 2003, Britain and the US led a campaign to win support for the invasion of the oil-rich country under the pretext that the regime of former dictator Saddam Hussein had produced weapons of mass destruction -- a claim that has been refuted by the US Army, which has continued its presence in Iraq since the attack.
President Lula, who was addressing members of Brazil's Arab community in Sao Paulo, said he intended to mediate between Iran and the countries that are suspicious of the Islamic Republic's nuclear program to seek a peaceful solution to the long-lasting dispute.
Iran, a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, says its nuclear work is civilian. The West, however, accuses it of seeking an atomic bomb in an alleged covert nuclear program.
The UN nuclear watchdog, meanwhile, says there is no diversion in Iran's civilian nuclear program.
"I'm going there to tell (Iranian) President (Mahmoud) Ahmadinejad, in Tehran: 'I am against you building nuclear weapons, but I am in favor of you enriching uranium like Brazil does, to produce nuclear energy,'" Lula said.
The remarks come as Israel, which alleges that a nuclear Iran would spell the end of the regime, has long threatened to launch military strikes against Iranian nuclear sites, should Tehran continue with its enrichment program.
Uranium enrichment allows Iran to produce fuel for its under-construction nuclear power plants, as well as its medical research rector in Tehran.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/27/2010 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
An Iranian cleric said on Friday that the Islamic Republic intends to rescue the American people from the two parties that have ruled the country in the past.
"We should focus our efforts on freeing Americans from under the yoke of the two ruling parties (Democratic and Republican) in the United States. We want to save the West and spread morality in the world," Tehran's interim Friday Prayers leader Hojjatoleslam Kazem Seddiqi said.
"We should concentrate our efforts on the international revolution and rescuing nations from the rule of arrogant powers," he added.
The cleric criticized US President Barack Obama for pursuing the same policies of his predecessor George W. Bush in the Middle East.
"Today, there is more insecurity in Iraq than the time of [former Iraqi dictator] Saddam Hussein," he said.
"Despite US promises, no economic development has been made in Iraq. They (US officials) even interfere in Iraq's domestic affairs," Seddiqi added.
He lashed out at the US president for supporting the unrest that followed last year's presidential election in the name of "civil rights activists" and said the Iranian people proved that the Islamic Republic moves in line with its culture.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/27/2010 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
I think we should return the favor. Send over battalions of clean cut Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses knocking on doors. Bra-less Unitarian women in long cotton skirts and their scruffy consorts in tie-died jeans warbling Kumbaya around ad hoc bonfires and offering to share their organic tofu.
Evangelists deployed to Iranian street corners, handing out Gideon bibles and pocket New Testaments.
Hallelujah, brothers and sisters! Have you heard the Good News for today? GLORY!!
We Americans are quite selfish with our wonderful kaleidescope of religious expression. We should share it more.
The Lubavitchers who live a ways down the highway from Chez Lotp should be invited too. Nobody dances with quite the same enthusiasm as the Hasidim high on G*d.
While some of the activities lotp mentions verge on war crimes, she names but a few of the religious faiths in America, many of which conflict in belief or practice, but all somehow manage to co-exist side by side in our pluralistic society. We often take for granted what we have created here. E Pluribus Unum, baby!
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.
North Korea has accused the US and South Korea of seeking a regime change in the country, threatening to launch nuclear strikes to counter any provocations by the two. 
A radical Islamic elder who praises the Taliban and preaches violent jihad to a band of keen followers is being investigated in Perth by WA and Federal police. 
[Dawn] Pakistan on Friday rejected suggestions that it has quietly supported Taliban elements in Afghanistan and pledged to work to bring stability in its northwestern neighbour.
[Ma'an] Jordan's King Abdullah has conveyed a strong message to Israel and the international community that the region could no longer tolerate endless peace talks, the Amman-based The Jordan Times reported Thursday. 
Amid threats of an Israeli attack against Iran, Brazil's president said Friday he has planned a visit to the country to prevent a "mistake" that was the prelude to the invasion of Iraq. "I am going there because I do not want the mistake that was made in Iraq to be repeated in Iran," President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said, in comments reproduced by the state news agency ABR, DPA reported. 
An Iranian cleric said on Friday that the Islamic Republic intends to rescue the American people from the two parties that have ruled the country in the past. 
