MOGADISHU - Kidnappers in Somalias northern Puntland region on Wednesday freed two female aid workers from the Spanish branch of Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF), Puntlands trade minister said. The two MSF workers have been released by their abductors and they are now in a hotel in Bosasso, Trade Minister Abdisamad Yusuf Abwan told Reuters. Spanish doctor Mercedes Garcia and Argentinian nurse Pilar Bauza Moreno were seized by gunmen in Bosasso, a northern Somali port, on Dec. 26 while driving to a hospital in the semi-autonomous region.
It was not immediately clear if a ransom demand had been met. Somali kidnappers generally do not harm their victims, instead treating them as an investment which can pay off in the form of ransom.
MSF Spain on Tuesday withdrew its foreign staff from southern Somalia as a precaution after the abductions in Puntland, which used to enjoy a reputation for relative stability compared to the rest of the anarchic Horn of Africa nation.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/03/2008 00:00 ||
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President Mwai Kibakis government accused rival Raila Odingas party of unleashing genocide in Kenya on Wednesday as the death toll from tribal violence over a disputed election passed 330.
It is becoming clear that these well-organised acts of genocide and ethnic-cleansing were well-planned, financed and rehearsed by Orange Democratic Movement leaders prior to the general elections, the statement read by Lands Minister Kivutha Kibwana on behalf of his colleagues said. Odingas supporters, drawn mainly from his Luo tribe, have made similar charges against Kibaki, whose Kikuyu have dominated political and business life in East Africas biggest economy.
Western powers have called for calm and Britain has urged the African Union and Commonwealth to try to reconcile Kibaki and Odinga whose parties accuse the other of vote-rigging during the Dec 27 election. There are independent reports of serious irregularities in the counting process, said British Foreign Minister David Miliband and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in a joint statement. They called for an end to violence and an intensive political and legal process to end the crisis.
The caretaker government would consider sending detained Awami League President Sheikh Hasina and BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia abroad for better treatment if it received formal proposals from their parties. Both the parties however decided not to make any proposal to the government for sending their leaders abroad.
Since they wouldn't be let back in. For health reasons.
"I received no such proposals. The legal aspects of such proposals would be examined once we receive them," Law and Information Adviser Mainul Hosein told reporters at his office yesterday. Asked about how the government would send the two former premiers abroad as they are detained and under trial, the law adviser said, "There are many options including bail and release on parole."
Hasina's personal physicians, pro-Awami League doctors, lawyers and cultural activists already demanded that the caretaker government sends Hasina abroad for better treatment.
Asked if the Awami League would send the proposal to the caretaker government, the party's acting President Zillur Rahman said they would not send any formal proposal as the government earlier said there is no rule to send detainees abroad for treatment. He, however, said, "It is the party chief's decision whether she wants to go abroad for treatment. If she wants to go then we will support it," Zillur told reporters at his Gulshan home, adding that they would talk to Hasina in this regard soon.
The BNP, however, termed the law adviser's comments "a reflection of the government's previous plan to send the two leaders on exile". "We have not heard that Khaleda Zia is seriously ill," said Rizvi Ahmed, acting office secretary of BNP. He said if such situation arises, her physicians and family members would decide whether to send her abroad.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/03/2008 00:00 ||
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SOUTH Korea's military has been put on alert against overseas hackers who have gained access to some soldiers' personal computers, the defence ministry said. It did not identify the country where the hackers are based but Chosun Ilbo newspaper said it was China.
The Defence Security Command, which handles counter-intelligence, this week warned all military units to be on the alert against hacking, a ministry spokesman said. "The alert was issued after the counter-intelligence command found 'third-nation' hackers had successfully broken into some soldiers' computers via emails to steal private data," the spokesman said. "No military information has been leaked."
The South's military runs its own intranet, usually disconnected to the internet, and also has separate servers for processing confidential data, he said. But the command instructed troops to keep no official data on personal computers and also to update anti-virus programs.
The spokesman said hackers used emails entitled in Korean "Current state of the North Korean army's capabilities" to arouse the curiosity of soldiers. The hacking virus starts working when the emails are opened.
Chosun Ilbo said military investigators had traced the hackers to China but failed to identify whether they are ordinary citizens or military personnel. It noted that China launched a military unit called NET Force to carry out online warfare against enemy computer networks in 2000, with one million civilian "red hackers" operating in the country.
#1
Sigh. This sort of thing really is the death of the internet. The idea that everyone should be equal, and communication should be possible everywhere, is being ruthlessly exploited by the worst possible people. It's amazing what America did with the internet, and it's going to come crashing down sooner than everyone thinks.
#4
The hackers are specially trained members of the PLA. It's no use pretending otherwise. There probably isn't much use pretending our guys aren't hacking right back at them.
Fun and games.
The upside is that dealing with it forces us to learn how to make our systems more secure. You might say it makes us tougher...if it doesn't kill us.
#3
"I say its spinnage, and I say the hell with it."
Posted by: James ||
01/03/2008 8:30 Comments ||
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#4
ok, 3rd try to post on this - keep getting blanked (naughty words? didn't think I used any)
Basically it isn't that she lost but how she lost which is noteworthy.
But we will see what happens when her supporters show up next week.
#5
Poor Hillary, nobody likes her and nobody ever has. She rose to the top by marrying Bill and riding on his coat-tails. She looked the other way while he lied and cheated and he stuck with her because she did - and she helped clean up his messes.
Go away Hillary. Nobody likes you. Even your massive machine can't help you now. You are just too freaking wierd.
#8
Edwards "grabbed my 7-year-old son by the hand, he dropped to one knee, and he looked him straight in the eye and he said, 'I'm going to keep fighting for your daddy's job. I promise you that.' You know, that stuff sticks with you," Doug Bishop, the laid-off worker, says in the ad.
"That's the kind of things we need in a leader in this country," Bishop said. "I want a guy that's going to sit down and look a 7-year-old kid in the eye and tell him, 'I'm going to fight for your dad's job.' That's what I want."
#9
Spinning means not quite telling the truth? That is the usual fare for the Clintons. I hope the American people are fed up with the Clintons. However, she might be the easiest candidate to beat.
#11
If she finds she's losing, she'll go for the sympathy vote. Bill better have some really good bodyguards and a couple of food tasters.
Just sayin'....
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
01/03/2008 18:39 Comments ||
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#12
hope tonight someone on her hotel floor has had "First Aid for Thrown Lamp Injuries" training
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/03/2008 18:47 Comments ||
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#13
Frank, I think "First Aid for Thrown Out a Window Injuries™" would be more useful.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
01/03/2008 18:50 Comments ||
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#14
heh, heh. Hillary came in 3rd. Gotta love it. She's melting, melting. Hard to get too excited about it since the Huckster won as well. But Hillary had far more riding on her "invinciblity". Now she's just a wannabe loser bitch instead of The Annointed One. Nobody likes you Hillary. Go home.
"Bush ran on the program of a humble foreign policy, no nation building and do not police the world," he said. "Traditional Republicans and conservatives have had a much different approach to this. We do not need to be doing this. We should be concentrating on a strong national defense and dealing with our safety and our borders. But here we forget ourselves and we are bankrupting our country."
Could someone translate this for me, the only way it makes sense is if I do it in a 2 liter whiskey drunk accent - and then it still doesn't make sense just justifies that it doesn't.
Kolkata (PTI): Capitalism was the only way to industrialise West Bengal although socialism could have been a better alternative, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacherjee said on Thursday. "The reality has forced us to accept capitalism as the only way to get funds for industries. It is simply impossible for the state to mobilise funds for industries and we have to depend on capitalism if our economy is to progress," Bhattacherjee, a CPI(M) Polit Bureau member, said.
"We are aware of the filth that is inherent in capitalism but there is no other way at the moment. From where will the state get money for industries? Does the state government have money to set up steel plants?" he told a function to mark the 41st anniversary of CPIM) mouthpiece 'Ganashakti' here.
He said the most important issue which was being debated in the state and the country was whether industrialisation would be carried out on the basis of progress in agriculture.
His comment came at a time when his government's industrial roadmap for West Bengal has come under fire from CPI(M)'s allies in the ruling Left Front and the opposition as well.
Allies like the Forward Bloc and RSP have publicly criticised the Buddhadeb Bhattacherjee government saying that the way in which big business houses from the Tatas to the Indonesian Salim Group were entering West Bengal, "is a blemish on the state's Left tradition".
Posted by: john frum ||
01/03/2008 11:23 ||
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#1
wow! Is this not front page news? Goodbye 20th Century and Welcome 2008.
#3
The tragic thing is these childhood fantasies have kept hundreds of millions in poverty and delayed development by decades... criminal fantasies would be more accurate...
Posted by: john frum ||
01/03/2008 11:51 Comments ||
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#4
Basic law of economics: If you're gonna "manage an economy" first y'gotta have an economy to manage.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/03/2008 12:08 Comments ||
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#5
> We are aware of the filth that is inherent in capitalism.
I'm sorry it's coerced collectivisation that causes filth. Western countries are both cleaner and wealthier than countries run by beurocrats.
#6
It's always sad when another true believer Commie finally figures out that their life's work's been a total waste when they come to the realization that Communism's a failure because there's no money in it.
#8
It's always sad when another true believer Commie finally figures out that their life's work's been a total waste when they come to the realization that Communism's a failure because there's no money in it.
I must respectfully disagree. "I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance." Luke 15:7.
Posted by: Mike ||
01/03/2008 15:15 Comments ||
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NEW DELHI: Nagaland was on Thursday brought under central rule with President Pratibha Patil putting her stamp of approval on the recommendation of the union cabinet in this regard.
The President, who was handed over the recommendation on Wednesday, signed the proclamation on Thursday evening, Home Ministry sources said.
Patil, who is at present in Hyderabad, had received the decision of the cabinet taken at its unscheduled meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on January 1.
Posted by: john frum ||
01/03/2008 11:11 ||
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#1
Imagine if Zimbabwe was part of a larger African federal structure... Mugabe dismissed, Zanu PF dismissed, administrators brought in who actually know how to run things, independent federal courts, all backed by a 1.5 million strong military...
Posted by: john frum ||
01/03/2008 11:40 Comments ||
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Prophet's urine and naked sex fatwas still prominent
In three separate polls, the adult breastfeeding fatwa Islamic ruling went head to head with the Prophet's urine fatwa in the 2007 sweepstakes for the "stupidest" fatwas in recent memory. In a list of 'The World's Stupidest Fatwas' compiled by American Magazine Foreign Policy, adult breastfeeding, sanctioned by a professor at Al-Azhar University, ranked third.
First was the 1989 fatwa from Ayatollah Khomeini that sanctioned the killing of Salman Rushdie, the British author of The Satanic Verses, a controversial book on the origins of the Quran.
Then came the "unclothed sex" fatwa that annuls the marriage of a couple who take off all their clothes when having sex, while the third banned the Japanese Pokemon games because they encourage gambling, which is forbidden in Islam.
In fourth place was the fatwa issued by some Pakistani chieftains that polio vaccines are a Western conspiracy to spread infertility amongst Muslims.
In another poll conducted by IslamOnline.com, the breastfeeding fatwa edged out the fatwa on flogging journalists issued by Al-Azhar's Grand Imam Sheikh Sayed Tantawi and the sacredness of the prophet's urine by Egypt's Mufti Sheikh Ali Gomaa. Gomaa's statement that the prophet's apostles used to seek blessing by drinking his urine was no less provocative. Gomaa actually cited an incident when a woman drank the urine and the prophet told her "this stomach of yours will never see hell."
In May, Dr. Ezzat Atiya, head of Hadith (Prophetic Tradition) Department at Al-Azhar University, told AlArabiya.net that women should breastfeed their male co-workers so they can be alone in a closed office space. Breastfeeding an adult man five times makes it legal for the woman to sit alone with that man at a closed workplace. This way, the woman can take off her veil in front of her work-mate without being in violation of Islamic rulings," Atiya said. After the ruling provoked outrage across the Muslim world, the university referred Atiya to a disciplinary board, which dismissed the Islamic scholar.
By that time, the fatwa had already made Muslims the laughing stock of the West and subjected girls to various types of harassment, Egyptian daily Al-Ahram reported in September. Four days after the fatwa was posted on AlArabiya.net, Atiya signed a written statement of apology to all Muslims and retracted his statement, saying it was based on a specific incident.
The former Dean of Al-Azhar's School of Shari'a (Islamic law), Sheikh Rashad Hassan Khalil, ruled in 2006 that a marriage is no longer legitimate if the couple strip naked in front of each other, while the 2001 Pokemon fatwa that started in Saudi was supported by U.A.E. scholars and condoned by the Mexican Catholic Church as work of Satan.
When did this come up? Does that mean that someone was collecting the prophet's urine? More important, does that mean someone has been saving it for 1300 odd years? What kind of religion assigns sacred features to someone's body waste?
Al
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
01/03/2008 14:11 Comments ||
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#5
Id say banning Pokemon is one of the less stupid things a mullah has done.
#6
First was the 1989 fatwa from Ayatollah Khomeini that sanctioned the killing of Salman Rushdie, the British author of The Satanic Verses, a controversial book on the origins of the Quran.
Not "stupid", just evil. No sense trivializing this one.
Then came the "unclothed sex" fatwa that annuls the marriage of a couple who take off all their clothes when having sex,
One of Mohammed's maids was thirsty and got up during the night.
Mohammed had relieved himself in a basin and she mistook this for water and drank from it.
Some of his companions considered his sweat blessed. When he washed, they would collect the runoff and bless themselves with it.
based on these recollections, the fatwa was issued. Rather pointless since Mohammed is no longer around to produce secretions and waste.
And against Sharia since human waste is considered unclean and Mohammed was just a man. These Hadith directly contradict Sharia and the fatwa is clearly invalid.
Posted by: john frum ||
01/03/2008 19:46 Comments ||
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#12
The marriage must also be consummated
That is why the local Mullah (who issued the divorce) is the perfect temporary husband.
Just doing service to the faithful, looking after the flock.
Posted by: john frum ||
01/03/2008 19:48 Comments ||
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It gives a whole new meaning to the word "micromanager."
Judging from a recent patent application, Microsoft hopes to build some sort of "activity monitoring system" that keeps an eye on worker productivity using various "physiological or environmental sensors." These sensors would track everything from heart rate, respiration rate, body temperature, facial expressions, and blood pressure to brain signals and galvanic skin response.
Yes, galvanic skin response is what drives a lie detector.
Redmond sees this system as a way for companies and, um, governments to monitor "group activities."
"In particular, the system can monitor user activity, detect when users need assistance with their specific activities, and identify at least one other user that can assist them," the patent application reads, in classic patent speak.
"Assistance can be in the form of answering questions, providing guidance to the user as the user completes the activity, or completing the activity such as in the case of taking on an assigned activity."
In other words: If you don't do your duty, the system will make sure your duties are assigned to someone else.
The system is designed to provide its unique brand of "assistance" as workers slave away on various computing devices, including desktops, laptops, and cell phones. But it doesn't just track your physical use of such devices. It also monitors things like "frustration and stress."
And it always knows whether you can handle this frustration and stress. "Baseline or 'normal' parameters for each user can be established in view of the fact that different body types and sizes and personalities can display different physical, mental, and emotional responses to similar situations," the patent application continues.
"For example, an elevated heart rate during tax return preparation may be considered normal for one user and not an indication that help is needed but for another user, the inverse may be true."
Plus, all this personal information is safely stored away for future use. According to Microsoft, that's a good thing. "The system can aggregate activity data across users and/or devices.
As a result, problems with activity templates or activities themselves can be more readily identified, user performance can be readily compared, and users can communicate and exchange information regarding similar activity experiences."
If you ask us, we'd feel safer under the care of the Hal 9000.
#6
1. Will this be more like "Bob", Millennium Edition, or Vista?
2. Will the critical updates be on the second Tuesday of every month or some other day?
3. Can you reboot or do you have to get new employees each time?
4. Will the European version work more than 30 hours per week?
The Louise T Blouin Foundation's flagship event took place at Harold Pratt House, New York City in November 2006. Its stated aim was:
By bringing together influential leaders in business, technology, government, science and the arts, the Global Creative Leadership Summit, hosted by the LTB Foundation, hopes to unleash insights that will have practical implications for problem-solving across disciplines. How can business and government leaders benefit from knowing more about how the brain works? How can those who see the world differently come together to break through todayâs complex challenges?[4]
Notable speakers included:
* Nobel Laureates [b]Henry Kissinger, Richard Axel, James Watson and Eric Kandel[/b]
* Scientists V.S. Ramachandran, Mehmet Oz and Lisa Randall
* Spiritual leader Sri Sri [b]Ravi Shankar[/b]
* Journalist Arianna [b]Huffington[/b]; chess grandmaster Susan Polgar; then-Saudi Ambassador to the US[b] Prince Turki Al Faisal[/b]; artists Chuck Close and Richard Serra; CEO of the Blackstone Group Stephen Schwarzman; and Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales.
#2
an economically strong China makes a strong America
Rubbish. An economically strong China means the Chicoms can acquire more weapons with which to threaten us and other friendly countries. An economically strong China demands more oil which makes it more expensive for us. Then they burn the oil and the coal without any environmental controls and the pollution blows across the ocean to us. So Ms. Louise one of these people who are willing to trade national security for profits...her profits that is...for my national security.
#3
Ebbang, there is another side to the argument. A wealthy China would not want to risk its position with a war. A wealthy China would have the discretionary income to deal with issues such as pollution. A wealthy Chinese population will demand it...they already are in the most egregious cases. It is a desperate China that is the most dangerous.
#4
Somewhat ditto, remoteman. Chinese have a mind set that is on the opposite end of a Jihadi mind set on the life-death scale. An acid test is how well Chinese integrate in Western societies. They carry some cultural traits in the firt generation, but the 2nd generation is integrated through out, compared to someone from Islam-majority countries.
Not meaning that China should not be watched with a hawk's eye.
It certainly appears so. From TFA:
In October 2002, Ameriquest announced it would stop doing business in the state until the law changed. Shortly thereafter, Standard & Poor's Corp. announced it would no longer assign credit ratings to many mortgage securities containing subprime loans from Georgia. The ratings agency said that under the new law, such loans, if found to be in violation of the law, might carry legal risk, potentially tainting the securities. Without credit ratings, such securities are virtually unmarketable. The change raised the possibility that subprime lenders would simply stop making loans in Georgia.
The subprime industry mounted a campaign against the Fair Lending Act. Within months, the Georgia Senate voted 29-26 in favor of a new law that eliminated for nearly all loans the tangible-net-benefit requirement opposed by the industry. The state House passed the law, 148-25.
#1
The represenatives that approved this should be held accountable and they should be checked for free or low cost loans that they may have received as kickbacks.
While many people made stupid decisions regarding their mortgages, and should not be rewarded for them with OPM (other people's money), the biggest failure was from our leaders to prevent obviously unfair usury laws. This is why we elect these useless bastards. To review the legislation presented to them and to, at the very least, do no harm. It's was never about capitalism, it was about robbery.
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.
MOGADISHU - Kidnappers in Somalias northern Puntland region on Wednesday freed two female aid workers from the Spanish branch of Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF), Puntlands trade minister said. The two MSF workers have been released by their abductors and they are now in a hotel in Bosasso, Trade Minister Abdisamad Yusuf Abwan told Reuters. Spanish doctor Mercedes Garcia and Argentinian nurse Pilar Bauza Moreno were seized by gunmen in Bosasso, a northern Somali port, on Dec. 26 while driving to a hospital in the semi-autonomous region.
In three separate polls, the adult breastfeeding fatwa Islamic ruling went head to head with the Prophet's urine fatwa in the 2007 sweepstakes for the "stupidest" fatwas in recent memory. In a list of 'The World's Stupidest Fatwas' compiled by American Magazine Foreign Policy, adult breastfeeding, sanctioned by a professor at Al-Azhar University, ranked third. 
