On 18 April at 0800 orders were received to launch aircraft. Army crews, who had expected to take-off late in the afternoon, had to be rounded up and last minute instructions noted. Engines were warmed up, Hornet turned into the wind and at 0825 the first plane, Lieut. Colonel Doolittle, USA, pilot, left the deck.
--Captain Marc A. Mitscher, USS Hornet, after action report to Admiral Chester A. Nimitz
Proceeded to Tokyo and bombed the North Central industrial area with 4 incendiary clusters. Proceeded on to the China Coast where very unfavorable weather made it necessary for crew to abandon ship. Put plane on AS.F.C.E. and turned off gasoline valves. Pilot jumped last at 0:20 p.m. ship time, from 8,000 feet and landed near Tien Mu Shen, about 70 miles north of Chuchow. After landing contacted General Ho, Director of the Western Branch of Chekiang Province who agreed to take the necessary steps to collect missing crew members, locate the ship and establish a look-out for other planes in China, on the stretch of beach between Hung Chow Bay and Wen Chow Bay and by the sampans and junks that might be putting out to sea. All crew members o.k. Detailed report attached hereto.
--Lt. Col. James E. Doolittle, report to the Commanding General of the Army Air Forces
Posted by: Mike ||
04/18/2009 10:33 ||
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It's too bad we don't have the men of character to do such raids these days. Our senior leadership are all partisan politicians who won't do anything that might cost them a vote, even if it was the only thing that would save this nation. We have very few heroes today, and the media hates the few we have.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
04/18/2009 16:47 Comments ||
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#1 It's too bad we don't have the men of character to do such raids these days
I'd disagree with that. The men who would actually DO the raids still have strength, character, devotion and duty, and the balls to do such a thing. It is the political leadership, and many time the political military leadership that lack the necessary characteristics. Hell, in Jimmy Carter's day, the mil was willing to try and rescue the hostages. As I understand it, it was the Cluster Fucking White House micromanaging that screwed that op up and got dedicated and willing service members killed.
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/18/2009 16:59 Comments ||
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it was the Cluster Fucking White House micromanaging that screwed that op up and got dedicated and willing service members killed.
Frank,
Without question the White House screwed things up almost beyond hope, but the military leadership went a long way towards scuttling things too. All the services demanded their 'cut' of the ops, and that led to less reliable helicopters being used...with the awful results we remember.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
04/18/2009 20:32 Comments ||
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agreed, Mike, from my readings of the unclassified post-op reviews, you are right.
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/18/2009 20:38 Comments ||
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it still sticks in my craw any time Zbigniew is cited by the left and MSM as a "foreign-policy expert". That whole Carter regime should've been banned from further public comment, policy-manipulation (thanks, Jimmuh! great job on NK! Asshole!), or position of employment other than attending funerals of servicemen killed in the ME and being forced to dig graves
*spit*
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/18/2009 20:43 Comments ||
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[Bangla Daily Star] A man was trampled to death by a herd of wild elephants at Hazachhara village in Barkal upazila early yesterday.
The deceased was identified as Saiful Islam, 30, son of Md Barek of the village.
Police and locals said around eight elephants also destroyed two tin-shed houses and a banana plantation when they entered the village in search of food at about 2:00am.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/18/2009 00:00 ||
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Listen my children and you shall hear
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,
On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five;
Hardly a man is now alive
Who remembers that famous day and year.
He said to his friend, "If the British march
By land or sea from the town to-night,
Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry arch
Of the North Church tower as a signal light,--
One if by land, and two if by sea;
And I on the opposite shore will be,
Ready to ride and spread the alarm
Through every Middlesex village and farm,
For the country folk to be up and to arm."
Then he said "Good-night!" and with muffled oar
Silently rowed to the Charlestown shore,
Just as the moon rose over the bay,
Where swinging wide at her moorings lay
The Somerset, British man-of-war;
A phantom ship, with each mast and spar
Across the moon like a prison bar,
And a huge black hulk, that was magnified
By its own reflection in the tide.
Meanwhile, his friend through alley and street
Wanders and watches, with eager ears,
Till in the silence around him he hears
The muster of men at the barrack door,
The sound of arms, and the tramp of feet,
And the measured tread of the grenadiers,
Marching down to their boats on the shore.
Then he climbed the tower of the Old North Church,
By the wooden stairs, with stealthy tread,
To the belfry chamber overhead,
And startled the pigeons from their perch
On the sombre rafters, that round him made
Masses and moving shapes of shade,--
By the trembling ladder, steep and tall,
To the highest window in the wall,
Where he paused to listen and look down
A moment on the roofs of the town
And the moonlight flowing over all.
Beneath, in the churchyard, lay the dead,
In their night encampment on the hill,
Wrapped in silence so deep and still
That he could hear, like a sentinel's tread,
The watchful night-wind, as it went
Creeping along from tent to tent,
And seeming to whisper, "All is well!"
A moment only he feels the spell
Of the place and the hour, and the secret dread
Of the lonely belfry and the dead;
For suddenly all his thoughts are bent
On a shadowy something far away,
Where the river widens to meet the bay,--
A line of black that bends and floats
On the rising tide like a bridge of boats.
Meanwhile, impatient to mount and ride,
Booted and spurred, with a heavy stride
On the opposite shore walked Paul Revere.
Now he patted his horse's side,
Now he gazed at the landscape far and near,
Then, impetuous, stamped the earth,
And turned and tightened his saddle girth;
But mostly he watched with eager search
The belfry tower of the Old North Church,
As it rose above the graves on the hill,
Lonely and spectral and sombre and still.
And lo! as he looks, on the belfry's height
A glimmer, and then a gleam of light!
He springs to the saddle, the bridle he turns,
But lingers and gazes, till full on his sight
A second lamp in the belfry burns.
A hurry of hoofs in a village street,
A shape in the moonlight, a bulk in the dark,
And beneath, from the pebbles, in passing, a spark
Struck out by a steed flying fearless and fleet;
That was all! And yet, through the gloom and the light,
The fate of a nation was riding that night;
And the spark struck out by that steed, in his flight,
Kindled the land into flame with its heat.
He has left the village and mounted the steep,
And beneath him, tranquil and broad and deep,
Is the Mystic, meeting the ocean tides;
And under the alders that skirt its edge,
Now soft on the sand, now loud on the ledge,
Is heard the tramp of his steed as he rides.
It was twelve by the village clock
When he crossed the bridge into Medford town.
He heard the crowing of the cock,
And the barking of the farmer's dog,
And felt the damp of the river fog,
That rises after the sun goes down.
It was one by the village clock,
When he galloped into Lexington.
He saw the gilded weathercock
Swim in the moonlight as he passed,
And the meeting-house windows, black and bare,
Gaze at him with a spectral glare,
As if they already stood aghast
At the bloody work they would look upon.
It was two by the village clock,
When he came to the bridge in Concord town.
He heard the bleating of the flock,
And the twitter of birds among the trees,
And felt the breath of the morning breeze
Blowing over the meadow brown.
And one was safe and asleep in his bed
Who at the bridge would be first to fall,
Who that day would be lying dead,
Pierced by a British musket ball.
You know the rest. In the books you have read
How the British Regulars fired and fled,---
How the farmers gave them ball for ball,
>From behind each fence and farmyard wall,
Chasing the redcoats down the lane,
Then crossing the fields to emerge again
Under the trees at the turn of the road,
And only pausing to fire and load.
So through the night rode Paul Revere;
And so through the night went his cry of alarm
To every Middlesex village and farm,---
A cry of defiance, and not of fear,
A voice in the darkness, a knock at the door,
And a word that shall echo for evermore!
For, borne on the night-wind of the Past,
Through all our history, to the last,
In the hour of darkness and peril and need,
The people will waken and listen to hear
The hurrying hoof-beats of that steed,
And the midnight message of Paul Revere.
[ADN Kronos] Two earthquakes measuring 5.5 and 5.1 in the Richter scale struck the Hindu Kush region, near the border with Pakistan early on Friday, killing at least 22 people, injuring 20 others and destroying 200 homes. The earthquakes struck the country's eastern Nangahar province. However, villagers clawing through the rubble said the toll was at least 40 and likely to rise. God smote them, huh? Prob'ly not Islamic enough. They likely deserved what they got.
The first quake struck at 1:57 am local time at a depth of eight kilometres, while the second one struck two hours later at a depth of 3 kilometres, the US Geological Survey's website said. The quake was also felt in the country's capital, Kabul, located 90 kilometres away.
Earthquakes are common in both Northern Afghanistan and neighbouring Pakistan due to the collision of the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates. A 7.6-magnitude earthquake in northwest Pakistan and Kashmir in October 2005 killed 74,000 people and displaced 3.5 million others.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/18/2009 00:00 ||
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ALLAH DOESN'T LIKE YOU.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
04/18/2009 15:25 Comments ||
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Get through the short commercial -- Cap't Phillips minimizes his own role, thanks all his military heroes. He turned down being flown into Kenya to head home, rather, chose to stay on the Bainbridge, sailing into port, cause he liked their company. You know why when he talks of them.
Posted by: regular joe ||
04/18/2009 8:25 Comments ||
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Having spoken to some SEAL pals here in Virginia Beach yesterday and asking why this thing dragged out for 4 days, I got the following:
1. BHO (Barack Hussein Obama) wouldn't authorize the DEVGRU/NSWC SEAL teams to the scene for 36 hours going against OSC (on scene commander) recommendation.
2. Once they arrived, BHO imposed restrictions on their ROE that they couldn't do anything unless the hostage's life was in "imminent" danger
3. The first time the hostage jumped, the SEALS had the raggies all sighted in, but could not fire due to ROE restriction
4. When the navy RIB came under fire as it approached with supplies, no fire was returned due to ROE restrictions. As the raggies were shooting at the RIB, they were exposed and the SEALS had them all dialed in.
5. BHO specifically denied two rescue plans developed by the Bainbridge CPN and SEAL teams
6. Bainbridge CPN and SEAL team CDR finally decide they have the OpArea and OSC authority to solely determine risk to hostage. 4 hours later, 3 dead raggies
7. BHO immediately claims credit for his "daring and decisive" behaviour. As usual with him, it's BS.
#4
1 and 3A (RIB fired upon) is public knowledge. As for 7, Obama or his underlings didn't have to claim credit. The news media were more than eager to Monica him.
Posted by: ed ||
04/18/2009 16:16 Comments ||
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Thanks for the update. Sounds like standard ops for a US hostage. Nothing here is different from the Bush or Clinton admin.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
04/18/2009 21:26 Comments ||
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[Maghrebia] At least 30 people were injured Thursday (April 16th) after ethnic clashes between Malekites and Ibadites resumed in the Algerian town of Berriane (Ghardaïa province), local press reported. I thought the Amalekites were all smote a coupla thousand years ago?
The wali of Ghardaïa is expected to hold an emergency meeting Friday with security services. "Joshua fit the battle of Ghardaia, Ghardaia, Ghardaia, Joshua fit the battle of Ghardaia, Ghardaia, Ghardaia, And the wali came tumblin' down!"
The resurgent violence comes a little more than a fortnight after village elders signed a peace charter. Oh, that worked well.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/18/2009 00:00 ||
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[Maghrebia] The sweeping success achieved by President Abdelaziz Bouteflika in the April 9th elections prompted several political parties and individuals to rethink their strategies and find new ways to weigh in on the political arena. Especially after boycotting the elections, some political groups now worry that their voices will be marginalised. Individually, they believe, they cannot count enough in front of the ruling power. That's what happens when you boycott elections: you raise your chances of losing from something, however tiny, under 100 percent to exactly 100.00 percent.
Hocine Ait Ahmed, head of the Socialist Forces Front (FFS), called on political groups and individual politicians to "join hands within the framework of a bloc". Right. And don't forget to march shoulder to shoulder.
The current political scene in Algeria is exclusively occupied by the national, Islamic, and Trotskian powers, Ahmed said. Trotskyites?
"It is about time to rally together the democratic forces and form a bloc that can offer an alternative to political practices," he said. Since he's bitching about the Trotskyites, I'm guessing the Socialist Forces Front is mainstream commies. Not that I know squat about them.
Said Saadi, leader of the Rally for Culture and Democracy movement (RCD), welcomed the idea, "Yeah! Good idea! Shoulda thought of that myself. Before we boycotted the election."
stressing the need to immediately lay down the foundation for that rally, crystallise joint ideas and draw a roadmap through which they can promote their plan. Right. Draw a roadmap. You should issue a manifesto, too. That always helps.
Ahmed Ben Bitour, who held the Prime Minister's post for less than a year in Bouteflika's first government in 1999, said he was ready to join the new bloc if and when founded. He even said that "in fact, it should be extended to encompass all the opposition regardless of their orientations." "And then we can all boycott the next election together! That'll show 'em!"
Observers are already casting doubts over the ability to form this new comprehensive bloc, given the reality on the ground. "But... They're all dishpits!"
Many said that the differences among these political groups, especially in the platforms and ideologies, could hinder the initiative. "Some of them are lunatics besides being dishpits!"
When Ahmed initiated his call, he said he realised that there will be some obstacles in the way to such grouping, but "we understand the need to overcome those obstacles." Sounds like the first obstacle to overcome is your own damned dimwittedness.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/18/2009 00:00 ||
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[Maghrebia] Libya's new construction and service industry expansion has led to an illegal immigrant population of up to 1.5 million, Reuters reported on Thursday (April 16th), citing a report from the International Organization for Migration (IOM). File under "what goes around comes around."
An estimated 100,000 migrants cross to Italy each year from Libya, the report noted. Joint sea patrols by Italy and Libya will begin next month in an effort to stem the migrant tide. In March, hundreds of sub-Saharan migrants drowned off the Libyan coast when their boats capsized in stormy weather.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/18/2009 00:00 ||
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We called this one right the first time we read about it ...
Early reports from an investigation by Zimbabwe's MDC suggest that a car crash which killed PM Morgan Tsvangirai's wife may not have been accidental. No! Reeeally? Well, golleeee! Shucks.
Senior MDC officials told the BBC that investigators were questioning the cause of the March crash, in which Mr Tsvangirai was injured. At first, Mr Tsvangirai said he thought the crash had been an accident. But the evidence which has so far come to light in the MDC investigation leads senior MDC officials to believe that the whole affair was highly questionable, says the BBC's John Simpson, who has been in Zimbabwe.
The car carrying Mr Tsvangirai and his wife was hit by a lorry on a main road south of Harare. US embassy officials say the lorry belonged to a partner organisation of the US government aid agency USAID.
Mr Tsvangirai's car was accompanied by two cars provided by the government, and driven by men from Zimbabwe's Central Intelligence Organisation, which is loyal to President Mugabe. One car led the way, the other followed Mr Tsvangirai. The MDC sources say the lorry involved in the crash sideswiped Mr Tsvangirai's car, hitting the rear offside. The car veered across the road and landed in the bush on the far side, upside down. Mrs Tsvangirai was thrown out and killed, and her husband was injured.
The MDC stands to gain hugely in political terms, our correspondent says, if it can prove that it was all a deliberate attempt to kill Mr Tsvangirai soon after he had entered the power-sharing agreement, something which Mr Mugabe's Zanu-PF party seems to regard as a potential threat to its position. But the MDC officials pointed out that the apparently deliberate deaths of senior politicians who have been seen as a threat to the Zanu-PF leadership are nothing new. At least two have died in highly suspicious road accidents in the past.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/18/2009 00:00 ||
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Sounds suspiciously like a TIP manuver. (Ask any Cop)
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
04/18/2009 15:12 Comments ||
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#2
RJ - ya mean PIT ?
Posted by: Bangkok Billy ||
04/18/2009 18:08 Comments ||
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[Mail and Globe] Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe made a strong call for national unity and urged Zimbabweans to help push for the lifting of sanctions imposed by the West.
In an interview with Zimbabwe's state broadcaster ahead of Saturday's 29th independence anniversary, Mugabe said Zimbabweans should help the government put pressure on the Western powers and work together, rather than against each other.
"The sanctions are unwarranted and it is important that we sing the same song," Mugabe was quoted as saying in the interview which was published in the state-owned Herald newspaper. The television interview will be broadcast on Friday night.
Zimbabwe's economy is in ruins with unemployment at about 90% and millions in need of food aid. After years of hyperinflation, prices are falling after the government allowed the use of hard currency and abandoned the Zimbabwe dollar.
The unity government formed by Mugabe and his rival Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai is seeking to rebuild the country's shattered economy after years of hyperinflation and decline blamed on Mugabe's mismanagement and authoritarian rule.
The United States and the European Union have said they are waiting to see whether Mugabe is serious about sharing power with Tsvangirai in the unity government that took office in February before lifting sanctions and unblocking aid.
Mugabe said it would take time for sanctions to be lifted, even with the support of Tsvangirai and his opposition Movement for Democratic Change.
The veteran leader said Zimbabweans must work to ensure the country does not remain divided between supporters of different parties, but work together to ensure economic and social stability, boost investment to the country and control the country's resources.
"Reality must dawn on you that the people of Zimbabwe are divided between your party and others. Instead of quarrelling and unleashing violence on each other, isn't it better that you get together and start a chapter of working together?"
Posted by: Fred ||
04/18/2009 00:00 ||
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Most African countries have had their independence for over three decades, yet, the report card our leaders have shown us are wars, famine and gross corruption. While it may be argued that Britain and other European countries did us more harm than good in colonizing us, it is high time we faced reality and realized that we are the architects of our own destiny. We need to choose what is good and bad, what future we want, and whether colonialism took us closer to what we want.
It's time we as Africans took responsibility for our troubles and stopped trying to guilt-trip the West into accepting responsibility for our problems.
Mfonobong Nsehe excerpt entitled 'Africa, Don't Blame The Whites.' Here
[Bangla Daily Star] A security guard and an alleged criminal were killed in separate incidents in the city's Kafrul and Lalbagh yesterday and early hours of today. Besides, muggers looted valuables from a police officer by stabbing him at Malibagh in the city yesterday morning. Mugging a cop. That's tough. They're either really competent crooks or he's a really incompetent cop. Or both.
The deceased were identified as Anwar Hossain, 25, a security guard of developers firm IBBL, and Mohammad Reaz, 25, a suspected criminal of Jagannath Saha Road in Lalbagh.
Abdul Hamid, another security guard who witnessed the killing of Anwar, said three youths came to the site of an under-construction building at Senpara Parbata at about 6:00am and looked for the owners of the construction work. "As Anwar asked them why they needed the officials, the gang first stabbed him and then fired a gunshot at him before leaving the scene," he said. Anwar who hailed from Gaibandha died on the spot. Can't blame him. I'da prob'ly done the same.
Neighbours said the criminals had demanded extortion money from the house owner a few days ago. Delwar Ahmed, officer-in-charge (OC) of Kafrul police station, said they were not informed about the matter. "The cops are always the last to know."
In the other incident, assistant sub-inspector (ASI) Abdul Kader of special branch (SB) came under attack while he was going to his office from his Rampura residence around 4:00am. "Mornin' boys! What brings youse out so early?"
"Give us yer dough!"
Police said the muggers took away his mobile phone, watch and cash money he was carrying. The ASI with the help of pedestrians caught one of the muggers, Shiplu who was later handed over to police. "Help! Help! Police!"
"Russell! That policeman's calling for the cops!"
"I don't see any but him! Maybe we should help!"
"Good idea! Here, you! Halt or I'll shoot!"
"[SCREECH!] Don't shoot!"
"Don't worry. He ain't got no gun!"
"But I do! [Huffa puffa!] Yez didn't nick that, did yez?"
The injured ASI was first taken to DMCH then shifted to Rajarbagh Police Lines Hospital.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/18/2009 00:00 ||
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Bolivian officials were investigating what an international group of alleged mercenaries were doing in Bolivia. Among three men killed and two arrested in a police shootout in Santa Cruz, at least two fought for Croatian independence, according to government officials. The group was monitored until it launched a dynamite attack at the house of Cardinal Julio Terrazas that caused no fatalities.
Police commander General Victor Hugo Escobar identified the dead ringleader as Eduardo Rosza Flores, son of a Hungarian father and Bolivian mother. Rosza commanded a brigade in the Balkans. Police also killed Magyarosi Arpak, a Romanian sniper, and Michel Martin Dwyer, an Irish expert in martial arts and weapons. Police arrested Mario Francisco Tadik Astorga, 58, a Bolivian-Croatian who also fought in the Balkans, and Elot Toazo, a Hungarian computer science expert.
Police seized an arsenal, computers containing city plans of Santa Cruz and La Paz and a list of possible targets. The government said the group planned to attack the president, vice president and other authorities and personalities, including Santa Cruz Gov. Ruben Costas, a leader of political opposition to Morales.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said that US policy towards Cuba has failed, welcoming an offer to talk from the Cuban president.
She'll talk to Fidel. Talk to Kimmie. Talk to the Burmese Generals. Talk to Gomez. But I bet she won't talk to Bibi.
She said the US was "taking a serious look" at how to respond to President Raul Castro's comments, which she called an "overture".
Mr Castro had said he was ready for discussions covering human rights, political prisoners and press freedom.
The US passed a law this week easing restrictions on Cuban Americans. The move will allow Cuban Americans to visit relatives in Cuba and send money home more easily.
Correspondents say a series of exchanges between the US and Cuba suggest that both sides appear to be making efforts to find a way to end their 50-year stalemate. US President Barack Obama has said it is now up to Cuba to make the next move if relations are to be further improved. He said the US expected Cuba to "send signals that they're interested in liberalising". He also cautioned that relations would not mend "overnight".
Mrs Clinton made her comments about Cuba in the Dominican Republic, ahead of the Summit of the Americas that begins in Trinidad and Tobago later on Friday. "We are continuing to look for productive ways forward because we view the present policy as having failed," she said at a press conference. "We welcome his comments and the overture they represent, and we are taking a very serious look at how to respond," Mrs Clinton said.
Cuba is excluded from the summit, which includes 34 members of the Organisation of American States (OAS), though Latin American leaders have been calling for the communist country to be readmitted. OAS Secretary-General Jose Miguel Insulza said on Friday he would ask the organisation's members to readmit Cuba, 47 years after it was suspended. Mr Insulza said he would put the proposal to a meeting of the OAS general assembly in Honduras at the end of May.
Speaking to Latin American leaders in Venezuela on Thursday, President Castro said he had sent word to the US government "in private and in public" that he is open to negotiations as long as they are "on equal terms".
But we're not equal.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/18/2009 00:00 ||
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The usual liberal memory hole ignoring the overt actions of Havana to export 'revolution' [ie Communism] throughout the Caribbean and South America in the 60s and 70s. How about another body count on that one, like the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia.
U.S. civilian planes
shot down near Cuba
Search under way for possible survivors
February 24, 1996
Web posted at: 12:45 a.m. EST (0545 GMT)
MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- Two small planes operated by a Cuban-American group were shot down by Cuban fighters over the waters north of Havana and the four people on board were missing, President Clinton and the U.S. Coast Guard said Saturday.
Clinton said he had been briefed on "the shooting down Saturday in broad daylight of two American civilian airplanes by Cuban military aircraft."
"I condemn this action in the strongest possible terms," Clinton told reporters< in Seattle, Washington.
The two planes with four people on board were twin-engine Cessna aircraft operated by the group "Brothers to the Rescue," a Miami-based group of Cuban exiles funded by private donations. The group has flown hundreds of missions to spot Cuban rafters attempting to flee their island nations.
Group founder Jose Basulto was on a third plane that escaped the gunfire and returned to Miami.
Basulto said all three planes had radioed Cuban air traffic controllers to identify themselves and report their intentions to search international waters for Cuban refugees who may be on rafts.
[Jakarta Post] Mobile phone maker Sony Ericsson is reporting a euro293 million ($387 million) net loss in the first quarter and says it will slash an additional 2,000 jobs to cut costs.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/18/2009 00:00 ||
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Not much talk lately out of Washington on the 3-4 million NEW jobs Barry promised.
[Jakarta Post] Indonesia's first-ever sale of global Islamic bonds raked in $650 million and drew orders for seven times that amount, easing funding pressure on the government as it seeks ways to plug the 2009 budget deficit.
Finance Ministry official Rahmat Waluyanto said the overwhelming response to the five year dollar-dominated sukuk - bonds that are structured to avoid paying interest in line with Quranic teachings - pointed to improved investor confidence.
The global credit crunch had forced shut the international dollar sukuk market for more than a year.
Bids exceeded $4.6 billion but Indonesia was only able to accept the value of underlying assets, $650 million, said Waluyanto, adding he hoped the successful issuance would broaden the sukuk investor base on the international market.
He also hoped the sale - and possible future offerings - would "help cover our 2009 budget deficit."
The deficit is expected to balloon to over $12.9 billion this year as the government pumps money into the economy to spur growth.
By issuing global Islamic bonds, the government of the world's largest Muslim-majority nation also hopes to diversify its funding instruments.
The global Islamic bonds, sold Thursday and Friday, mature April 23, 2014 and pay a fixed 8.8 percent rate of return.
Middle Eastern and Islamic investors scooped up 70 percent of the bonds while buyers from the U.S. and Europe bought the remaining 30 percent, Waluyanto said.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/18/2009 00:00 ||
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Islamic bonds
That's where you murder the bond holder and keep the booty and women, minus Mo's 20% cut.
Posted by: ed ||
04/18/2009 6:29 Comments ||
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Can't wait to see what happens when the bond holders try to cash out.
[Bangla Daily Star] The International Monetary Fund on Thursday forecast a prolonged, deep global recession in a crisis ŽŽnobody is escaping,ŽŽ with recovery slow and difficult.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/18/2009 00:00 ||
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[Iran Press TV Latest] CaliforniaŽs unemployment rate has soared to its highest level in more than 30 years in March, climbing to 11.2 percent as 62,100 jobs vanish.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/18/2009 00:00 ||
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I wonder how badly it hits the illegals? I don't see a breakdown.
#7
My junior high teachers told me nice girl fridays dont speak badly about people...this was directly after I handed in a well researched paper about the destructive force of illegal immigrants from South America in seventh grade.
Now Im in my thirties, but the issue is still at hand and the malingering going on about this issue in D.C. is taking us down. Why cant the United States get it together? We are toxically nice to the point of our own "suicide" arent we? And we won't even see it or admit it, because we're the nation of immigrants. But cant we become more selective?
[Geo News] Up to eight hours of power cuts are being observed in Karachi as ongoing power crisis has worsened. Unscheduled loadshedding has paralyzed the routine life of people of the metropolis. Most of the residential, industrial and business areas are braving eight to 10 hours of loadshedding. Prominent among the most affected consumers are students and residents of flats. The word you're looking for is "incompetent."
Posted by: Fred ||
04/18/2009 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[7 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
#1
Or "islamic".
Posted by: ed ||
04/18/2009 6:30 Comments ||
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#2
Advice for Paki electric customers: Blow up more 500KV electric pylons in other parts of the country and more juice will be available for your hometown.
Posted by: ed ||
04/18/2009 6:36 Comments ||
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#3
This is the model for the US as the Obamanation and his water-melon hoard disrupt out industries with their "carbon" taxes.
No more power plants means less and less electricity as the old plants become uneconomical to maintain. What's going to charge all those electric cars? Within 25 years our whole infrastructure will come crashing down.
Look to Britain for the prototype too. They're figuring about 10 years.
#4
What??? That paragon of efficiency, Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESCO) is not delivering the power reliably?!? Shocked, shocked I tell you. Between those clowns and the clowns at WAPDA (Water and Power Development Authority) I'm surprised anyone in Pak can turn on the lights at all. I've never seen more people doing nothing in my whole life.
Alarmed that a professional golf association proposed to exclude competitors who dont speak English, the state Senate acted today to prohibit businesses in California from discriminating against customers, including refusing them service, based on the language they use.
The Ladies Professional Golf Assn. last year backed down from a policy that would have suspended golfers who do not speak adequate English on the premise that language fluency in speeches and media interviews was critical to the sport's promotion efforts.
The golfers were considered "patrons" of the LPGA, not employees.
State Sen. Leland Yee (D-San Francisco) said the policy raised an issue that required changes to state civil rights laws that already protect employees from discrimination based on language.
"I dont understand the connection between speaking English and playing golf," Yee said on the Senate floor. "This is really about protecting our ability to speak the language that we wish."
Yee recalled as a young boy going to a San Francisco hardware store with an uncle who was mistreated because of his lack of proficiency in English.
SB 242, which now goes to the Assembly, was approved on a 21-15 vote, with Republican lawmakers opposed based on concern it would open businesses up to a rash of civil rights lawsuits if customers felt they did not get good service.
Yee noted the bill protects English speakers as well from being discriminated against by non-English-speaking business owners. The bill includes an exemption that says firms can require a specific language to be spoken if it is justified by a "business necessity," such as clear communications for safety, and that notification is provided as to when and where the language restriction is to be observed.
The bill drew concerns from U.S. English, a group that promotes English-only policies. Rob Toonkel, a spokesman for the group, said it makes good sense for businesses to treat customers well.
"Where we have concern is putting language on par with unchangeable characteristics," Toonkel said. "You cant change your gender. You cant change your disability. You can change the language you speak. You can learn to say, 'Id like a hamburger.' "
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/18/2009 9:54 Comments ||
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#2
so McD will have to have about a gazillion signs with each item listed in multiple languages [you just wait for the law suits - big pockets]. Those safety signs in English and Spanish, just wait till the walls are covered in all the languages spoken in LA. Welcome to the tower of Babel.
Meanwhile, literally millions of Chinese are studying English. Switzerland, the land of four official languages, has made English the second language to learn in school.
#5
Back in the 90's when I was a personnel director for a delivery service in Washington, D.C.; a man applied for a as a driver with the phrase ... "Inna yob"... When I asked (three times) if he could speak and/or read English, he replied with the same phrase. When I informed him of our minimum language requirements (the ability to read and speak the language of our clients) he was incensed by my "bigotry and racism". Some things never change.
#6
It seems to me that an adequate defense is ignorance. If someone cannot communicate in a language that you understand, there is no way to complete a transaction of any kind.
In this case, the professional golf association should have made a requirement for competitors to read a complex legal document in English, and to explain it to a satisfactory degree in layman's terms.
This would be done with the excuse of avoiding legal liability, clearly following some complex federal rule, or any number of documents that only someone proficient in English could understand or explain. As such, they could not be done by proxy, that is, an English speaking lawyer, but only by the competitors themself.
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.
[Bangla Daily Star] A man was trampled to death by a herd of wild elephants at Hazachhara village in Barkal upazila early yesterday.
[ADN Kronos] Two earthquakes measuring 5.5 and 5.1 in the Richter scale struck the Hindu Kush region, near the border with Pakistan early on Friday, killing at least 22 people, injuring 20 others and destroying 200 homes. The earthquakes struck the country's eastern Nangahar province. However, villagers clawing through the rubble said the toll was at least 40 and likely to rise. 
[Maghrebia] At least 30 people were injured Thursday (April 16th) after ethnic clashes between Malekites and Ibadites resumed in the Algerian town of Berriane (Ghardaïa province), local press reported. 
"Joshua fit the battle of Ghardaia, Ghardaia, Ghardaia,
Bolivian officials were investigating what an international group of alleged mercenaries were doing in Bolivia. Among three men killed and two arrested in a police shootout in Santa Cruz, at least two fought for Croatian independence, according to government officials. The group was monitored until it launched a dynamite attack at the house of Cardinal Julio Terrazas that caused no fatalities.
