[Al Ahram] A coalition of Tunisian opposition parties intends to propose next week a cabinet of independents to end the political crisis shaking the country, one of their number said Saturday.
"The National Salvation Front will continue to work toward a government of national salvation and make its proposals on independent figures to constitute it next week," said Karima Souid, from the Massar party.
"The front will also set out a precise road map," she added.
The front is a mixed bag of parties running from the extreme left to the centre-right that is demanding that the Islamist-led government of Prime Minister Ali Larayedh step down.
The North African country has seen almost non-stop political turmoil since the February liquidation of opposition politician and MP Chokri Belaid.
His killing was followed by the murder on July 25 of another opposition figure, Mohamed Brahmi.
The murders have been blamed on radical Islamists, and the cabinet has been accused of not doing enough to prevent such killings.
The opposition has rejected talks with the government until it steps down, while the Ennahda party that heads the coalition has ruled out any dialogue conditional on its ouster.
But Souid said there "can be no discussion until a government of national salvation is put in place. That is non-negotiable."
Larayedh has refused to resign, and vowed Thursday that his cabinet will make every effort to turn to dialogue with its critics to resolve the crisis.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/11/2013 00:00 ||
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[Al Ahram] The deposed president of the Central African Republic, Francois Bozize, has surfaced in La Belle France, where he told a radio station on Saturday that he would seek to return to power c.
Bozize, 66, fled the Central African Republic after the Seleka rebel coalition seized power on March 24 in the latest coup to hit the chronically unstable nation.
His home country issued an international arrest warrant for him in May on charges including crimes against humanity.
But the current interim president, Michel Djotodia, has since said Bozize could return, without specifying whether he would be tossed in the clink Into the paddy wagon wit' yez! if he did so.
Bozize was thought to have fled to Cameroon after he was tossed but his precise whereabouts were unknown.
In the interview with RFI radio on Saturday, Bozize said he was in La Belle France "to visit family who has always lived here".
A spokeswoman for the French foreign affairs ministry told AFP that Bozize had been granted a visa in 2012.
Bozize also announced the creation of an organization that would "follow closely and report everything that happens in the country, so as to inform the international community which seems to be unaware of the serious crisis building in the Central African Republic".
Asked if he wished to return to power, Bozize responded: "Yes, regain power. If the opportunity presents itself, I will."
He said though that any such attempt would be through "political means, as using force only comes when a political solution cannot be found".
Bozize accused neighbouring Chad of aiding the coup.
The rebellion, he said, "took power because it was helped by an external power... This was Chad."
"I did not think I had a problem with Chad and its president, Deby. I was surprised to see the forces of his country finish the rebels' actions" he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/11/2013 00:00 ||
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That's a dclaration of war, execute him.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
08/11/2013 23:13 Comments ||
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[Dawn] The British government on Saturday warned teachers, doctors and airport staff to be on alert for a rise in forced marriages over the school summer holidays.
Summer marks a peak in reports of young people -- mainly girls -- being taken abroad on "holiday," not knowing their families are forcing them into a marriage, the interior ministry said.
Britannia's Forced Marriage Unit dealt with some 1,500 cases last year, a third of them involving children aged under 17. In nearly half the cases the victims were taken to Pakistain.
"The rise in forced marriage reports over the school holidays is shocking," said crime prevention minister Jeremy Browne.
"Teenagers expecting their GCSE or A-level (exam) results should be embarking on a bright future, not condemned to a marriage with someone they have never met and do not want to marry.
"My message to young people who feel they are at risk is, please come forward -- you do not have to suffer in silence, there is help available and it can be stopped." The Forced Marriage Unit is handing out cards this summer providing information for potential victims, telling them to speak to police or airline staff if they believe they are being taken to be married against their will.
But the opposition Labour party said the warning might have been more helpful if it was issued before schools broke up for the holidays.
The Forced Marriage Unit said the victims it had dealt with last year were taken to 60 countries, including Bangladesh (11 per cent), India (8 per cent) and Afghanistan (2.1 per cent).
In 18 per cent of cases, the victim was male.
The government announced plans last year to introduce new laws for England and Wales that would see parents sent to jail if they force their children into a marriage.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/11/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
The Labour party thought it might be enough to just have a stab at something that could be good - they never thought of it, and it would never of been pushed through because everything for them is just another left turn. Wankers
Leadership requires empathy, an ability to put yourself in your subordinate's shoes. It also requires decisiveness and a willingness to accept responsibility. Believing themselves to be unique, the Chinese find it almost impossible to empathise.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
08/11/2013 11:18 Comments ||
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#3
BP, I think you're reading into it things he didn't say. He _did_ talk about greed and status, but... the Big Marxist Enterprises like Russia and China have _always_ been about Greed and Status.
People weren't scared of Stalin because they thought the Red Army was going to come in and make everyone pay the burger-flippers a livable wage.
And the author realizes these things, that's why he specifically mentions "Sixty years of self-serving socialism."
#5
Read the article. Whatever he was that put him in the London UniversityÂ’s School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) as a youth he has been and is an entrepreneur in a land where he is an outsider.
Worth the read, best not to comment until you do so. And the article has a link discussing the response to the original article.
Especially important read for those interested in doing business in China.
#6
Read the article before commenting. It's still quite clear he was in love of the top down model, where the state makes you a good person. It's never worked. It never will...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
08/11/2013 12:10 Comments ||
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#7
Let me try this, with emphasis:
Modern day mainland Chinese society is focused on one object: money and the acquisition thereof. The politically correct term in China is “economic benefit.” The country and its people, on average, are far wealthier than they were 25 years ago. Traditional family culture, thanks to 60 years of self-serving socialism followed by another 30 of the “one child policy,” has become a “me” culture. Except where there is economic benefit to be had, communities do not act together, and when they do it is only to ensure equal financial compensation for the pollution, or the government-sponsored illegal land grab, or the poisoned children. Social status, so important in Chinese culture and more so thanks to those 60 years of communism, is defined by the display of wealth. Cars, apartments, personal jewellery, clothing, pets: all must be new and shiny, and carry a famous foreign brand name. In the small rural village where we live I am not asked about my health or that of my family, I am asked how much money our small business is making, how much our car cost, our dog.
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/11/2013 13:45 Comments ||
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#9
I've been a Sinophile for a while now - several Chinese girlfriends and on my way back again to visit Chongqing in about 4 weeks. I really love China and have thought about living there many times, but I just don't see it happening. He is right. It would be a great place to goof off a few years as an English teacher, but there are too many obstacles to setting up camp there for the long term.
#10
If you wait long enough China will be coming here as they buy America via bankruptcy court. I imagine that with Detroits voting history China would be more welcome than say the Koch Brothers.
#11
If you wait long enough China will be coming here as they buy America via bankruptcy court.
One of the writer's points is that China is working up to a couple of major economic crashes, due to Communist Party short-term thinking and -- my interpolation here -- a lack of basic economic understanding. China may well not have long enough to buy up the rest of the world, nor the financial depth or diversity or whatever to leave their money in investments abroad when things go badly wrong back home.
A good article, dear Shipman, which is generating a useful discussion. I'm glad you posted it.
I'm also looking forward to any thoughts Scooter McGruder might have, as he is over there now.
#12
I see China crashing economically and turning back to militaristic repression internally as well as external assholery around the local oil fields
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/11/2013 17:11 Comments ||
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#13
All things equal, China wants overseas PLA milbases, i.e. what the Superpower USA had after 1945 + Cold War, UK in the 19th thru mid 20th century, + "great power" world predecessors.
Despite its rhetoric, I see no sign that China is seriously willing to amend or give the above up - IFF ANYTHING, THE OPPOSITE IS TRUE I.E. CHINA IS PREPPING TO MILPOL CONFRONT + WAGE WAR TO ACHIEVE IT.
China's history points towards PROTRACTIVE OR PHASED, INTENSE "LIMITED WAR(S)" WHERE HIGH COMBAT = PLA CASUALTIES IS NOT A MAJOR OR DECIDING FACTOR.
Maryland is getting a second dose of the housing crisis -- a sequel that foreclosure experts and state officials knew was coming but no one wanted to see.
Between January and June, Maryland went from having one of the lowest foreclosure rates in the nation to the third highest as banks worked their way through a backlog of delinquent loans, created in part by the state's long foreclosure process. Live Free! For a while. In Maryland.
All the while, the backlog of troubled loans grew, mainly in states such as Maryland, where courts approve foreclosures and the process takes much longer. Lawmakers in Annapolis also passed a series of reforms to help homeowners try to save their homes, which made the foreclosure timeline even longer. Once among the shortest in the nation, Maryland's is now among the longest: an average of 575 days as of June, according to foreclosure-tracking firm RealtyTrac. In Virginia, where court approval for foreclosures is not required, it takes 184 days, the shortest of any state.
Home prices have gone up in her neighborhood, but not enough to help the Adegbuyis, who bought their house in 2005 for $583,000. In January, the county assessed it at $332,900, tax records show.
She and her husband began negotiating with her bank in 2008, after she was laid off from her workforce development job. That was the start of a five-year stint in paperwork purgatory that she said continues. The couple started to fall seriously behind on their mortgage after her husband was laid off in 2011. Welcome to the New O-Conomy! Get a green job! Move to California! Solyndra is hiring, aren't they?
Adegbuyi went to a June meeting of the Prince George's County Foreclosure Task Force, which reviews the county's response to foreclosures and proposes policies. She left frustrated with the task force's focus on housing counseling, down-payment assistance, and rehabbing vacant foreclosures. The county seems more focused on helping new people come in, she said. "What about the people trying to stay in their homes?" Stay in your home? Without employment? We need to work on a program for that! If only the evil re-thuglicans would raise taxes on the very wealthy, we could save these folks!
At the current rate, it will take 18 months for the backlog of foreclosures to clear, state policy analyst Flora M. Arabo said. While that is longer than officials would like, buying more time for struggling homeowners is worth it, she said. After all, the banks have plenty of money. We bailed them out once, didn't we?
Posted by: Bobby ||
08/11/2013 08:58 ||
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Just remind everyone that every foreclosure someone loses a house they couldn't afford, but it's normally bought by someone who can!
#2
it's normally bought by someone who can
Not really. Housing is too darn expensive in general (even in Detroit) and that is part of the housing bubble. By old-time financing standards, very few would now qualify for home mortgages. One would think housing prices would plunge to affordable levels, but noooo-- the Feds have been intervening massively to support this whole corrupt and damaging process.
Yes maybe slow court proceedings may be aggravating the situation in Maryland - this is entirely under the control of the state legislator, who fund the courts. They have apparently decided on the go-slow approach (which also supports the housing bubble).
#3
The givernments have been fighting so hard to keep the values up because locals tied their tax revenue to housing values. This is just another land mine for the next administration to deal with. Add obamacare, higher taxes and a 18 trillion dollar debt, part time employment and you have a few other mines to avoid while digging out. Regardless what the MSM says things will get worse before they get better. And things may never be the same again as we settle to the new normal.
#4
I'm reminded of the comment that"You never really end a mortgage, it's extended forever", when I paid off my mortgage they wanted me to continue paying, even going so far as to call me in, and dun me for a debt THAT WAS NOT MINE trying to "Guilty" Me into paying.
The problem was, that I had kept records, and they coldn't shake me.
They're out of business now.
but I'm reminded they LIE and steal.
So now I don't use mortgage companies, if I can't buy it, I either wait, or don't buy it.
It's slow, but I'm debt free, (Not that it makes any difference to the Telephone you "debt companies" YOU OWE AND PAY NOW)
No I don't, and you're thieves.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
08/11/2013 23:04 Comments ||
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[AnNahar] Spanish and French police said Saturday they have dismantled a human trafficking ring that smuggled Chinese migrants into Europe and the United States, arresting 75 suspects including "main operatives" based in Barcelona.
Fifty-one suspects were tossed in the clink Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please! in Spain and 24 in La Belle France after a two-year joint investigation, a police statement said.
The traffickers charged 40,000 to 50,000 euros ($53,000 to $66,000) per person to provide "false identities and transport Chinese citizens to the United States and countries such as Spain, La Belle France, Greece, Italia, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Turkey," the statement said.
In some cases the ring was involved in the sexual exploitation of migrants, it added.
Spanish police seized 81 fake passports from Asian countries such as Taiwan, South Korea, Malaysia, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore.
The investigation into the ring described as "complex" began in July 2011.
"The composition of this perfectly structured, hierarchical organization, with its kingpin in China and independent cells operating in different countries, completely shut off from each other, complicated the investigation," the police statement said.
The traffickers accompanied their clients all the way from China to Spain, "the last stop (serving as a) trampoline to the final destination, usually the United Kingdom or the United States," it said.
[Al Ahram] A Danish Mohammedan leader who seven years ago traveled the Mohammedan world fueling the uproar over newspaper caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad is back in the headlines in Denmark after doing an about-face on the issue.
Once a leading critic of the Danish cartoons, which sparked fiery ...a single two-syllable word carrying connotations of both incoherence and viciousness. A fiery delivery implies an audience of rubes and yokels, preferably forming up into a mob... protests in Mohammedan countries, Lebanese-born Ahmad Akkari now says the Jyllands-Posten newspaper had the right to print them.
His unexpected change of heart has received praise from pundits and politicians in recent weeks, though some question his sincerity. It has also disappointed some in the country's Mohammedan minority who were deeply offended by the cartoons.
Akkari, now 35, was the front man for a group of imams who led the protests against the drawings in Denmark. They traveled to Leb, Egypt and Syria to elicit support, saying the Danish government wouldn't listen to their concerns.
Their journeys helped turn the dispute into an international crisis. Dozens were killed in weeks of protests that included violent attacks against Danish missions in Syria, Iran, Afghanistan and Leb. Tiny Denmark found itself on a collision course with the Mohammedan world -- something Akkari now regrets.
"I want to be clear today about the trip: It was totally wrong," Akkari told The News Agency that Dare Not be Named this week. "At that time, I was so fascinated with this logical force in the Islamic mindset that I could not see the greater picture. I was convinced it was a fight for my faith, Islam."
He said he's still a practicing Mohammedan but started doubting his fundamentalist beliefs after a 2007 trip to Leb, where he met Islamist leaders.
"I was shocked. I realized what an oppressive mentality they have," Akkari said.
A year later, he moved to Greenland, the desolate Danish Arctic island, where he worked in a school for two years.
"I had plenty of time to read and write. And think," said Akkari, who has shaved off the patchy beard he used to wear.
Islamic law generally opposes any depiction of the prophet, even favorable ones, for fear it could lead to idolatry. Arguing that such religious sensitivities should not limit the freedom of speech, Jyllands-Posten in 2005 invited Danish cartoonists to draw the prophet.
At the time, Akkari joined Mohammedan hardliners demanding an apology from the paper and action against it by the government. He appeared to advocate violence against a more moderate Danish Mohammedan in a secret TV recording, but later said it was just a joke.
Akkari now says printing the drawings was OK and that his reaction at the time was wrong. Last week he even apologized in person to one of the cartoonists, Kurt Westergaard, who has faced multiple death threats and murder attempts from krazed killers. Many Mohammedans consider Westergaard's drawing, which depicts Muhammad with a bomb-shaped turban, as the most offensive.
"I met a man who has converted from being an Islamist to become a humanist who understands the values of our society," Westergaard said of Akkari. "To me, he is really sincere, convincing and strong in his views."
Akkari's former colleagues in the Islamic Society of Denmark are not impressed, and have reportedly accused him of being an attention-seeker trying to get back into the limelight.
Group front man Bilal H. Assaad declined to comment on Akkari on Thursday but said "it is still not OK to publish drawings of Muhammad. We have not changed our position."
The group is believed to represent about 10 percent of Denmark's estimated 200,000 Mohammedans.
Michael Ulveman, who was an adviser to then-Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Ramussen during the cartoon crisis, also expressed doubts about Akkari's sincerity.
"I think Ahmad Akkari should go on al-Jazeera and tell the Arabic world about his new realization," Ulveman wrote on his Facebook page. "That would have real value for Denmark and the freedom of speech. And convince many of us about the depth and reach of his reorientation."
Posted by: Fred ||
08/11/2013 00:00 ||
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Ahmad, laddie, you just got yourself squarely in the crosshairs of a contract fatwa, though, if you are sincere in your change of mind, it is admirable.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
08/11/2013 14:11 Comments ||
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#2
screw him. Too little too late. Dr. Frankenstein had regrets too
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/11/2013 14:50 Comments ||
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[BBC.CO.UK] A Buddhist mob has attacked a mosque in the Grandpass area of the Sri Lankan capital Colombo, leaving at least five people injured.
Buddhists and Musselmens clashed after the attack, and police imposed a curfew in the area.
Last month, a group of Buddhist monks had protested near the mosque, demanding it be relocated.
In recent months hardline Buddhist groups have mounted a campaign against Musselmen and Christian targets.
Several houses were also damaged in Saturday's festivities. Two of the injured were coppers guarding the mosque.
A Musselmen resident of the area said that a mob threw stones at the mosque when worshippers were performing evening prayers, the BBC's Azzam Ameen reports from Colombo.
The police and special task force commandos were dispatched to the area and have been able to bring the situation under control, a police front man told the BBC.
Buddhists monks had reportedly protested against the presence of the mosque but had agreed to allow Musselmens to continue praying there until the end of the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan.
But area Musselmens says Sri Lanka's religious affairs ministry had given them permission to continue using the site and had also provided special police security due to the threat of possible attacks.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/11/2013 00:00 ||
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Buddhists learn faster than Christians it seems.
Male feminist Hugo Schwyzer goes off his meds, or maybe back on his meds -- it's so confusing -- to confess his sins. No, he didn't come to Jesus, for he would have found real redemption. Instead, he came to the Twitter and fired off a barrage of tweets confessing he is a liar and a fraud, and he will never teach wimmyns studies again, and he will be off the internets 4evah. No really, he means it this time. You can trust him on that. No more, Ever. You can bank on it. Really. Finis. Finito...
From TFA:
This week, the Pasadena Star-News reported that following the sexting scandal and extramarital affairs, Schwyzer would be taking some sick time. At least one trustee doesn't want him to return to teaching "Navigating Pornography."
Schwyzer returned to Twitter yesterday, admitting in dozens of tweets to years of deception as he weaseled his way into feminist academia. He also said he was in the middle of a manic episode. Maybe he can go to the same hospital that Bob Filner went to. I hear Filner was cured in record time!
Before AOL ponied up the wampum for Huffington Post, their cash burn rate was $1 million a month, so this is an improvement. Hard to get my head around how leftists like Arianna Huffington can convince other rich folks to fund her money-losing projects, and not wind up in court.
This is the first time I have heard of Patch, which is apparently Ariana Huffington's attempt to publish local news, which tells you the marketing effort that was put into it.
AOL Inc. will replace the head of its struggling Patch local-news operation and plans to close or find partners for 400 of the unit's 900 community websites as it looks to cut jobs, two people familiar with the matter said.
AOL Chief Executive Officer Tim Armstrong announced the changes at a meeting with Patch editors this morning, according to the people, who asked not to be named because the information isn't public. On an interim basis, AOL executive Bud Rosenthal will replace Patch chief Steven Kalin, who is leaving the company, the person said.
AOL's Armstrong Says Adap.tv Gives Ad `Singularity'
AOL is still calculating the number of positions that will be eliminated as a result of the closures, which could number in the hundreds, one of the people said.
#1
When most people spent most of their lives within 20 miles of where they were born, local was very important. When people who arrived from beyond that 20 miles came in and told you how to live your life and what you can or can not do, local became less important.
#6
our local Patch site is pretty good. Lotta local news I can't get from the Big Local Rag
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/11/2013 11:55 Comments ||
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#7
I like the concept; what bugs me is "run by professional editors, photographers, videographers, and salespeople who live in the regions they serve, and is supported by a great team in our New York City headquarters" with the whole thing being advised by a board of 'esteemed' journalists.
IMNSHO, what is driving down the newspaper industry is the people working in it.
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.
Maryland is getting a second dose of the housing crisis -- a sequel that foreclosure experts and state officials knew was coming but no one wanted to see.
[Al Ahram] A Danish 
