[An Nahar] Egyptian liberal MPs withdrew on Saturday from a crucial parliament vote for a panel to draft a new constitution amid a rift with Islamists over the constituent assembly's make up, liberals said. Best way to ensure your voice isn't heard is to have a temper tantrum and refuse to participate.
The liberals accused the majority Islamists of trying to monopolize the 100-member panel, whose constitution will replace the one annulled by the ruling military after an uprising toppled President Hosni Mubarak ...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011... last year.
"All our MPs withdrew," said Naguib Sawiris, founder of the Free Egyptians Party, the largest liberal party in the Islamist-dominated parliament.
"It's ridiculous," he said. "A constitution being written by one force and one force alone. We tried our best and there was no use."
Sawiris said two parties, including his and a coalition of secular and left-leaning parties, withdrew from the vote for the 100-member panel, half of which will be senators and parliamentarians.
At least two other parties had boycotted the voting from the start, including the leftwing Tagammu party.
"The constitution should not reflect the majority, it should reflect all forces in society," said Rifaat al-Said, the head of Tagammu.
"There is an attempt to possess everything," he said of his party's Islamist opponents. "Possessing the constitution is the most dangerous thing."
Mustafa al-Naggar, head of the Adl (Justice) Party, said parliamentarians should not even be on the panel, which will also include 50 public figures.
"Parliamentarians have a special interest," he said.
The constitution will lay out the powers of the legislature, which Islamists dominated in elections after Mubarak's fall.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/25/2012 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] Egypt's Moslem Brüderbund warned the ruling military Saturday over its backing of the current government, which it accuses of stalling the revolution that ousted Hosni Mubarak ...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011... and saw Islamists dominate parliament.
The Moslem Brüderbund's political arm, the Freedom and Justice Party, has been pressuring the military to sack the cabinet and appoint an FJP-led government after it won a crushing victory in parliamentary elections.
But the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, which took power after the popular uprising that toppled Mubarak, has stood by the cabinet and its head Kamal Ganzuri.
In an unusually strongly worded statement, the Brotherhood said the government's performance had been the "biggest failure", listing unrest, judicial interference, stalling reforms, fuel shortages and dwindling foreign reserves.
"When we called for the resignation of the government, its head refused, and this was unfortunately supported by the military council," the group said.
"Keeping this government as we approach presidential elections... which raises suspicions over the fairness of these elections, as well as the general decline of affairs, are things we cannot remain silent or patient over," it added.
"If anyone intends to recreate the former corrupt regime with new faces, the people are willing to move in order to revive their revolution and protect their ship from sinking at the hands of people with no sense of responsibility," it said.
Last month, a lawsuit was brought before the Supreme Constitutional Court arguing that the parliamentary election was unconstitutional due to its complex voting system.
The Islamists said they fear the military council could push through this lawsuit should they insist on Ganzuri's removal.
"This would be a disaster. What governs the relationship between the different organs of the state is it the constitution and the law or is it threats?" the group asked.
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03/25/2012 00:00 ||
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[Bangla Daily Star] Egypt's Islamist-dominated parliament and senate began meeting yesterday to elect a panel to draft a new constitution amid calls by liberal groups for protests against Islamist influence over the charter.
The constitution drafted by the 100-member assembly -- half of it politicians and the rest public figures and trade unions -- will replace the one annulled by the ruling military after an uprising ousted president Hosni Mubarak ...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011... last year.
According to a schedule established by the military, the panel is meant to finish its work before presidential elections, which now seems unlikely ahead of the vote due to be held in May.
Some presidential candidates fear that could leave the new president without constitutionally defined powers, while the dominant Islamist Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) angles to give more powers to a prime minister in the new charter.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/25/2012 00:00 ||
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CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez flew back to Cuba on Saturday to begin radiation treatment for cancer, but said he was in good shape and would be back home in several days.
Because the second surgery cured him, you know...
The socialist leader's latest trip to Havana will heighten anxiety among supporters worried about his health, fan rumors of a power struggle among his top aides, and leave Chavez absent just as his election rival is stepping up a campaign tour.
And lead to hope for freedom loving people...
Since making a triumphant return to Caracas from Cuba a week ago after a third operation in less than a year to remove a malignant tumor from his pelvis, the 57-year-old had been saying he would start radiation therapy soon. But until Saturday he had not revealed whether he would go to Cuba or stay in Venezuela for the treatment, which is expected to leave him weaker during his campaign to win a new six-year term at an October 7. vote. Chavez has no clear successor.
"I have decided, on the recommendation of my medical team and my political team, to begin the radiation treatment tomorrow," Chavez said during a televised cabinet meeting on Saturday before leaving for Maiquetia international airport.
As he addressed white-clad troops gathered on the runway there, government ministers looked on, grim faced. He said he might have more radiation treatment in Venezuela in the future.
Little is known about what kind of cancer the president has, nor how serious it is. So big questions remain about his future.
Nah, the big question has been answered...
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/25/2012 11:42 ||
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If pelvic cancer has spread beyond the Kidneys the five-year survival rate is 5 to 15 percent.
Bye-bye Hugo.
Posted by: Mike Ramsey ||
03/25/2012 13:37 Comments ||
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Awww...I was expecting the vulture. Accordion Lady, shoo! I can't hear the weeping and gnashing of teeth properly.
I suppose Hugo's getting close to death's door, and realizes that if he doesn't get treatment he won't be elected, period.
Google translation:
The initiative is as astounding as unfortunate. Thirty young people, mostly girls, gathered Saturday in the district of Toulouse Izards, which grew Mohamed Merah, to honor the memory of the killer of seven people shot dead by police Thursday, comparing the pain of those families victims. One hundred members of security forces have surrounded this event static during which a woman wearing a full veil has harrangué group.
"We are what we ask today is that we stop demonizing Mohamed, that's it, he died," she said. "We share the pain and suffering of the families because it is the same pain for us here," said the girl, who declined to give his name. "I think what influenced him is what he has seen in his many travels. He could not manage all that. It was still a teenager in his head, despite his 23 years." They're openly celebrating their victory. And why shouldn't they? After islamofascistic attacks we're habitually rewarding islamofascists as long as they don't personally employ the method we call 'terrorism.'
#3
They either want to be French or they don't. If the latter, deport them back to their country of origin, or their parents' country of origin.
I'm getting really tired of this: if you don't wish to conform to the laws and culture of the democratic state in which you live, and your differences are both fundamental and irreconcilable, then leave.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/25/2012 15:55 Comments ||
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#4
Dr. Steve, what? And give up all those welfare benefits?
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
03/25/2012 16:26 Comments ||
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A local bookstore has sold out of a controversial marriage guide that advises Muslim men on how to beat their wives.
The 160-page book, published by Idara Impex in New Delhi, India, is written by Hazrat Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi, whos described in the books foreword as a prolific writer on almost every topic of Islamic learning.
The stores manager, who didnt give his name, said the book had been sold out for some time, and the stores owner, whom the manager identified as Shamim Ahmad, refused to comment for the story.
It wasnt clear whether the shop has ordered more copies of the book, but its available at online Islamic bookstores and even through eBay.
In the books opening pages, it is written that it might be necessary to restrain her with strength or even to threaten her.
Later, its author advises that the husband should treat the wife with kindness and love, even if she tends to be stupid and slow sometimes.
Page 45 contains the rights of the husband, which include his wifes inability to leave his house without his permission, and that his wife must fulfil his desires and not allow herself to be untidy ... but should beautify herself for him ...
In terms of physical punishment, the book advises that a husband may scold her, beat by hand or stick, withhold money from her or pull (her) by the ears, but should refrain from beating her excessively.
Moderate Muslim voice Tarek Fatah says the shopkeeper should be charged for selling such a book.
I wouldnt say its hate, but it is inciting men to hit women, said Fatah, who identified the books author as a prominent Islamic scholar. This is new to you, but the Muslim community knows that this is widespread, that a woman can be beaten. Muslim leaders will deny this, but...
Male dominance over women has been making headlines for some time, with the recent lengthy trial and conviction of the Shafia family.
Mohammad Shafia, 59, his second wife, Tooba Yahya, 42, and their son, Hamed, 21, were each convicted in January on four counts of first-degree murder in what was characterized as an honour killing of four female family members as punishment for disobedience. They were handed life sentences with no chance of parole for 25 years.
Shafias three daughters and his first wife were found drowned in a car at the bottom of the Rideau Canal in Kingston, Ont., in June 2009.
Eric Brazau says he was flipping through the marriage guide while in the bookstore around a month ago.
Brazau bought it out of curiosity but was taken aback when he found dozens of chapters and passages giving Muslim husbands advice on controlling, restraining, scolding and beating their wives.
At first, I thought that it is incredible that this kind of thing can be found in Canada, said Brazau. And then I thought, radical Islam is not coming to Canada, it is already here.
Above the fold, Page 1 article in today's Washington Post. Four pages at the link, herewith a taste:
For every cloud of smoke that follows a CIA drone strike in Pakistan, dozens of smaller plumes can be traced to a gaunt figure standing in a courtyard near the center of the agency's Langley campus in Virginia.
The man with the nicotine habit is in his late 50s, with stubble on his face and the dark-suited wardrobe of an undertaker. Roger, which is the first name of his cover identity, may be the most consequential but least visible national security official in Washington. WaPo has just made him plenty visible.
They couldn't resist the frisson. But the CIA did make his available to the Post reporters, which suggests they have a reason for doing so. It probably is something more than revealing the drone killings are an internal Muslim affair...
"Irascible is the nicest way I would describe him," said a former high-ranking CIA official who supervised the counterterrorism chief. "But his range of experience and relationships have made him about as close to indispensable as you could think." The Post agreed to withhold some details, including Roger's real name, his full cover identity and his age, at the request of agency officials, who cited concerns for his safety. Although CIA officials often have their cover identities removed when they join the agency's senior ranks, Roger has maintained his.
For every cloud of smoke that follows a CIA drone strike in Pakistain, dozens of smaller plumes can be traced to a gaunt figure standing in a courtyard near the center of the agency's Langley campus in Virginia.
The man with the nicotine habit is in his late 50s, with stubble on his face and the dark-suited wardrobe of an undertaker. As chief of the CIA's Counterterrorism Center for the past six years, he has functioned in a funereal capacity for al-Qaeda.
Roger, which is the first name of his cover identity, may be the most consequential but least visible national security official in Washington -- the principal architect of the CIA's drone campaign and the leader of the hunt for the late Osama bin Laden ... who had a brief but splitting headache... . In many ways, he has also been the driving force of the B.O. regime's embrace of assassination as a centerpiece of its counterterrorism efforts.
ISLAMABAD The lifestyle of Pakistani parliamentarians is like that of royalty and in stark contrast to that of the vast majority of the people have to deal with the much harsher realities of poverty, inflation and a struggle to put food on the table, said a leading daily.
An editorial in Dawn newspaper on Saturday said: Every year we view the statements of our parliamentarians assets with a mixture of amusement, disbelief and frustration, perhaps because those who represent the people of Pakistan live luxurious lives worlds away from the misery that confronts the public.
Sucks to live in a oligarchy, doesn't it...
It said that considering the immense wealth of many of the elected representatives, it is not out of place to compare their lifestyles with those of royalty.
While many parliamentarians are living the good life, the vast majority of the people of this country have to deal with the much harsher realities of poverty, inflation and a struggle to put food on the table, it said.
The daily cited the example of the Balochistan minister for home and tribal affairs who owns over 24,000 acres of land. While some very wealthy lawmakers represent the countrys most underdeveloped province, parliamentarians from the other provinces are also doing quite well.
A number of lawmakers in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly own assets worth tens of millions of rupees while Sindhs food minister owns assets worth over Rs1.5 billion. Legislators in these three assemblies own considerable stashes of gold, silver and precious stones, while several own real estate in the US, Britain, Canada and Dubai.
Stating that there is nothing wrong with making or having money, the editorial said: ...the electorate needs to know if the income their representatives possess is legitimate and if tax has been paid on it. The declaration of assets is a positive thing, yet we need to move a step ahead and analyse if these assets are lawful and taxed, it added.
Elected representatives must set an example by assuring the people that their sources of income are legitimate and that they pay their fair share of taxes. Such steps are essential for transparency, good governance and a healthy democracy, said the editorial.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/25/2012 00:00 ||
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As long as the royalty aren't taking golf vacations on the peoples' dime things should be fine.
[Dawn] PML-N President Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... accused the PPP government on Friday of indulging in corruption and blamed it for the economic crisis faced by the country. According to him, PPP's coalition partners were equally responsible for the country's problems.
"The PPP's coalition government is responsible for inflation, loadshedding, halting the wheel of industrial development and pushing people towards a crisis-like situation," Mr Sharif said at a ceremony held at the Punjab University for distribution of laptop computers among students.
Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, who was scheduled to distribute the laptops, did not turn up. The ceremony was attended by senior PML-N leaders and over 20,000 students.
Mr Sharif said his party quit the coalition government after President Asif Ali President Ten Percent Zardari ... sticky-fingered husband of the late Benazir Bhutto ... did not meet his commitments.
He said the PML-N was the only party which was serving the masses and praised Shahbaz Sharif for working tirelessly for the people of Punjab.
"The youth should support the PML-N and join hands with it. The party will end inflation and loadshedding and make Pakistain a prosperous country."
Mr Sharif said the PPP and its coalition partners would be answerable to the masses in the next general election, adding that the PML-N would form a government with the support of the youth and give laptop computers to every deserving student across the country.
He criticised Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaaf chief Imran Khan ... aka Taliban Khan, who ain't the sharpest bulb on the national tree... and said he was raising hollow slogans. He said the PML-N had a track record of bringing about real changes. It built the motorway and highways and made the country a nuclear power. "The Punjab government is now developing a revolutionary transport system in the country."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/25/2012 00:00 ||
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Ahmadinejad quarrels with Ayatullah Khamenei
Reported in monthly Naya Zamana President Ahmadinejad of Iran fell foul of Spiritual Leader Ayatullah Khamenei by declaring that the latter's son Mujtaba Khamenei was guilty of defrauding two Iranian banks of Iran of 3 crore dollars by using his father's authority. Ahmadinejad complained that the media and the judiciary were actually projecting him negatively to spoil his relations with Khamenei. When Ahmadinejad removed the intelligence chief of Iran Muslehi he was restored to his position by the Spiritual Leader.
Aslam Beg on 'election conspiracy'
Famous ex-army chief Aslam Beg was quoted in Mashriq as saying that next elections in Pakistain would be held in October because the powers that be had agreed on this. The PPP government panicked when it saw that Army Chief Kayani ... four star general, current Chief of Army Staff of the Mighty Pak Army. Kayani is the former Director General of ISI... had got a high level of protocol in China thinking that it would now be removed with Chinese consent. This led to PM Gilani issuing a controversial statement against the Army.
Army killed Benazir through Baitullah
Daily Nawa-e-Waqt reported that a JIT report presented by Interior Minister Malik at Sindh Assembly stated that Musharraf had killed Benazir in December 2007 through Baitullah Mehsud, chief of Taliban, who trained men with the help of Al Qaeda and the Haqqania madrassa of Maulana Samiul Haq - the teacher of Taliban - where the killers stayed in room 96 of the madrassa hostel. Two coppers were involved in the liquidation, one of them got himself demoted to lead the security detail of Benazir which disappeared just before her killing, and later he washed the place to remove evidence.
Shaukat Tareen against Benazir card
Quoted in Jinnah former finance minister Shaukat Tareen said that billions of rupees spent by the government under Benazir Income Support programme as direct subsidy to the poor was a waste and amounted to political bribe to garner votes.
'Parliament is supreme'
Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan stated in Mashriq that among all the state institutions the parliament was supreme and there will be no clash between the executive and the judiciary and the prime minister will not be handcuffed by the Supreme Court. He welcomed the 20th Amendment saying it will ensure impartial elections.
Why India is Most Favoured now?
Quoted in Naya Zamana Baloch leader of the PPP in Quetta Lashkari Raisani stated that Pakistain was now ready to give India the Most Favoured nation status but there was a time that when the Baloch said they considered India not an enemy but simply a neighbour they were punished by the state. The Baloch were told that the trouble in Balochistan ...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... was not their struggle but mischief started by India and its secret agency RAW.
Hindu girls being forcibly married
Monthly Naya Zamana quoted Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It may be the largest city in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... Hindu Panchayat leader Amarnath that the Hindu community of Sindh was suffering because of the new practice of forcibly marrying their daughters. He said the pattern of crime was that first the young girl is made to run away from home and then seduced into marrying Mohammedan boys. He said no one including the police and politicians was heeding his complaints. He said in the crime of marrying Hindu girls religious leaders were directly involved. Madrassas are used to issue certificates of change of religion in respect of the affected Hindu girls.
Osama's address was known in Indonesia
Indonesian terrorist Umar Patek was quoted in daily Pakistain as saying that he came to Abbottabad ... A pleasant city located only 30 convenient miles from Islamabad. The city is noted for its nice weather and good schools. It is the site of Pakistain's military academy, which was within comfortable walking distance of the residence of the late Osama bin Laden.... to meet the late Osama bin Laden Osama bin Laden is dead.
He took two shots to the head.
That made him frown
and he had to lie down.
Osama bin Laden is dead. because his address was known to him in Indonesia. Patek was incarcerated in Abbottabad trying to meet Osama so that he could go to Afghanistan and take part in jihad on behalf of Al Qaeda. He stayed in Pakistain a long time and was doing business of selling honey. He also made bombs. Patek is now being investigated by Indonesian police.
Javed Hashmi attacks Sharifs
Quoted by Express Tehrik Insaf leader Javed Hashmi appealed to Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... and Shahbaz Sharif to take pity on the nation and leave politics ( Khuda ra mulk ki jan chchor dain). He included the two among the ten politicians who needed to be kicked out of Pakistain together with PM Gilani.
Meera changes tack on marriage
Quoted in Jinnah filmstar Meera has changed her line on her marriage with an American-Pak pilot Naveed Shahzad and now says her decision is not final because the man had not given her present or a ring for engagement. She said she was investigating Naveed's first marriage and will make up her mind only after knowing all the facts. According to Mashriq Meera's own former husband who claims to be her husband still on the basis of nikah-nama appeared on the scene and expressed his determination to prevent another marriage by Meera. Ateeq said that he had sent a notice to Naveed about his intention.
America eying Balochistan
World-famous strategist and ex-ISI boss Hamid Gul The nutty former head of Pakistain's ISI, now Godfather to Mullah Omar's Talibs and good buddy and consultant to al-Qaeda's high command... told Nawa-e-Waqt that Nawaz Sharif should go and make a camp (deray dal day) in Balochistan and try to allay the Baloch leaders to make the province safe because America and Europe had been eying Balochistan to annex it because of its strategic importance in the region. He added the crucial information that after oil was finished in the Middle East, oil from the Caspian Sea will be the next source of energy, for which Balochistan will be the most important territory to annex.
Why India is Most Favoured now?
Quoted in Naya Zamana Baloch leader of the PPP in Quetta Lashkari Raisani stated that Pakistain was now ready to give India the Most Favoured nation status but there was a time when the Baloch said they considered India not an enemy but simply a neighbour they were punished by the state. The Baloch were told that the trouble in Balochistan was not their struggle but mischief started by India and its secret agency RAW.
Ch Nisar got rid of IG Punjab
Reported in Mashriq Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan of PMLN had approached IG Punjab Javed Iqbal with sifarish which he had ignored as a result of which Ch Nisar had got rid of him through Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif. But Javed Iqbal was a bold officer who had defied earlier governments when they tried to interfere in his work. He had recently changed 556 coppers in the province and stated publicly that if the province wanted to end crime it had to put an end to political appointments. After that statement Ch Nisar tried to order him, which he ignored. Most of the senior officers were unhappy with him too.
How Asad Mengal was killed by Army
Writing in Jang Hamid Mir stated that in 1976 the Army under General Zia kidnapped Asad Mengal the son of the Baloch leader Ataullah Mengal from Bloody Karachi and killed him. After killing him his body was buried somewhere ion Thatta. Prime Minister Bhutto later wrote in his memoir that when he asked General Zia about the kidnapping of Asad Mengal he was advised to say that Asad Mengal had gone into exile in Afghanistan. Bhutto took the advice but he was wrong in doing so.
Taliban lie about girls' schools
Monthly Naya Zamana reported that Taliban front man Ehsanullah Ehsan stated that the Taliban were not against the education of girls but were protesting against secular education because it ignored religious instruction. He was commenting on the world peace award won by a girl from Swat ...a valley and an administrative district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistain, located 99 mi from Islamabad. It is inhabited mostly by Pashto speakers. The place has gone steadily downhill since the days when Babe Ruth was the Sultan of Swat... on the basis of writing. But in 2009 the Taliban ruled Swat and forbade the girls from going to school and destroyed 400 schools dedicated to the education of girls.
Egyptian security forces thwarted an attempt by Iran to blow up an Israeli ship in the Suez Canal, the Egyptian daily Al-Ahram reported on Saturday.
The attack was being planned by two Egyptians who were recently arrested and interrogated, the prosecution in Egypt's state security court reportedly claimed.
RAMALLAH/WASHINGTON: Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said yesterday the release of $88.6 million in development funds by US lawmakers would help ease a fiscal crisis in the aid-dependent Palestinian economy.
Aid-dependent? There's an understatement. Gaza doesn't have any income other than what the Gazooks extort in aid or from each other...
This is very important in order to help us deal with the economic crisis, Fayyad told reporters in Ramallah.
In August Republican lawmakers put a hold on $147 million in US assistance because they objected to a Palestinian push for recognition at the United Nations, arguing that Palestinian statehood should be achieved through peace talks with Israel.
US lawmakers on Friday released $88.6 million in development aid for the Palestinians that they had held up since last summer, a move that should help ease a fiscal crisis in the aid-dependent Palestinian economy.
No dagnabbit, don't release the aid. Make the Paleos give up something verifiable in the peace process before you do.
Representative Kay Granger announced she was ready for the entire $147 million in US assistance that had been frozen since August to go to the Palestinians. But the other Republican who had a hold on the funds, Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, limited the release to $88.6 million, saying in a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that was all she was willing to free up.
Ros-Lehtinen also said she was releasing the money with the understanding it would not be used for assistance and recovery in Hamas-controlled Gaza, West Bank road construction, or trade and tourism promotion in the Palestinian territories. The United States correctly considers Hamas to be a terrorist organization.
The letter did not say how the freed-up funds would be spent, but Ros-Lehtinen suggested earlier this week she would be willing to approve money targeted for water programs, health and food for the Palestinians.
Both Granger and Ros-Lehtinen had barred expenditure of the US funds since last year because they objected to the Palestinian push for recognition at the United Nations. They argued that the path to Palestinian statehood was through a peace treaty with Israel.
Granger said on Friday she had decided the money should be released for humanitarian reasons and to help stability in the Palestinian territories in a time of uncertainty across the Middle East.
Let the Saudis fund the Paleo payroll.
I have taken a strong position on aid to the PA (Palestinian Authority) to send a message that seeking statehood at the United Nations, forming a unity government with Hamas and walking away from the negotiating table with Israel were not pathways to peace, Granger said.
Right now it is in our interest and the interest of our allies in the region to allow aid to flow to address security and humanitarian concerns.
Granger chairs the House of Representatives appropriations subcommittee in charge of foreign aid, while Ros-Lehtinen chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Technically, the Obama administration can override the objections of individual lawmakers and spend aid money once it has been appropriated by Congress. But successive administrations have generally deferred to holds on funds by key members of relevant committees.
We'll see if a second-term Champ honors that...
Ros-Lehtinen complained in her letter to Clinton and US Agency for International Development Administrator Rajiv Shah that the administration had threatened to spend the money over congressional objections if the lawmakers holds were not lifted.
I am disappointed that the administration would employ hard-ball tactics against Congress, she said.
Both Granger and Ros-Lehtinen have been pressured by the Obama administration as well as the international community to release the development aid, which Congress had appropriated for fiscal year 2011.
There have been growing warnings, including from the International Monetary Fund, that the Palestinians are facing a deepening financial crisis due to a drop in aid from Western backers and wealthy Gulf states as well as Israeli restrictions on trade. The IMF urged donors last week to meet their aid pledges to the Palestinian Authority in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, which has a projected 2012 budget deficit of $1.1 billion.
Based on expenses of $1.1 billion and an income of zero...
The United States has committed over $4 billion in bilateral assistance to the Palestinians since the mid-1990s, the Congressional Research Service says. Since fiscal year 2008, the annual US contribution has averaged $600 million, the CRS says. Usually, that includes about $200 million in direct budgetary aid and $100 million in security aid for training Palestinian security forces, in addition to development aid, the CRS says.
Congress voted in December to allow aid to the Palestinians to continue in fiscal 2012 the current fiscal year as long as they were not admitted as a state to any more UN organizations. The Palestinians won admission to UNESCO in October, a move that prompted the United States to cut off funding to that agency.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/25/2012 00:00 ||
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Families of shahids get really upset when the monthly check is delayed?
#2
If a county in the USA state voted to be a say "The Christian County of Sommerville" would the US Gov't continue to provide them federal grant money or would Field Marshal Holder intervene? Why do we give a cent to Islamic governments?
Posted by: jack salami ||
03/25/2012 9:51 Comments ||
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[An Nahar] Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Wally Jumblat ... Druze politician, head of the Progressive Socialist Party, who's been on every side in Leb at least four times. He'll sell you his friends for a dollar, but family comes higher because of shipping and handling... demanded on Friday that the ruling Assad family in Syria be removed from the country.
He said: "Anyone who believes that a settlement can be reached with the Assad family is crazy."
He made his remarks from Turkey where he is taking part in a series of meetings for Socialist International in the Arab world.
Addressing the international community, the MP remarked: "If Russia truly wants the best interests of the Syrian people, then it would transport the Assad family to somewhere in Russia or elsewhere and leave the Syrian people to decide their fate with freedom and dignity."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/25/2012 00:00 ||
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Azerbaijan, Baku -- The head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization Fereidoon Abbasi said that several countries have requested Iran to build them "pool reactors" like Tehran research reactor, Fars News Agency reported. Abbasi didn't mentioned the name of those countries.
Pool-type reactors, also called swimming pool reactors, are a type of nuclear reactor that has a core immersed in an open pool of water.
That explains why the pool at the local Y is always so warm...
"We are able to build pool reactors under supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)," he added.
Abbasi said that The Tehran reaserch reactor is 5-MW, but we can also produce 10-MW pool-type reactors as well.
Iran placed the first home-made nuclear fuel rods into Tehran research reactor on Feb.15. Iran says it's producing 20 more nuclear power plants with 1000 MW power production capacity, as well.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/25/2012 00:00 ||
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And Radical Islam's success vee the various
"Arab/Muslim/Islamic Springs" + Political-Legal-Electoral Jihad marches on.
The greatest single reason for a US-vs-Iran anti-NucProg Air + Ground War, i.e. the unilateral = "asymmetric" propagation or proliferation of Military-oriented NucTechs + related, slowly but steadily prepares to fly the coop, to the LT detriment of the US-West.
As symbolized by ...
* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > IRAN'S [progressive]NUCLEAR KNOWLEDGE CANNOT BE "BOMBED".
Iran plotted to carry out a terror attack on an Israeli ship as it passed through Egypt's Suez Canal, a report in the Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram said Friday. According to the report, two Egyptian terror operatives confessed to receiving instructions and funds from Iranian handlers ahead of the planned attack.
The two suspects have been named as Suleiman Razak and Ahmed Salama, Channel 2 said, citing the Egyptian report.
The suspects allegedly planned to recruit a third member to their cell, and were supposed to received 50 million Egyptian pounds to carry out the plan.
The report comes after a series of failed attacks on Israeli targets in India, Thailand, and Georgia, all of which have been linked to Tehran.
On Friday, India's NDTV news site said New Delhi requested that Interpol issue Red Corner warrants against four Iranians, one of whom was incarcerated by Malaysian police at Kuala Lumpur airport.
Earlier this month, the New Delhi police chief said a fifth suspect, an Indian-Moslem journalist with ties to Iran, carried out reconnaissance ahead of the February attack, which seriously injured Tal Yehoshua Koren, theju wife of an Israeli defense attache to India.
Egypt detained the two men last week after receiving information of the planned attack. Sources told state news agency MENA that a resident of the canal-side city of Ismailia, Soliman Abdel Razek, had planned to carry out the attack from land alongside the waterway, with the help of a colleague, Salama Ahmed.
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.
CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez flew back to Cuba on Saturday to begin radiation treatment for cancer, but said he was in good shape and would be back home in several days.
ISLAMABAD The lifestyle of Pakistani parliamentarians is like that of royalty and in stark contrast to that of the vast majority of the people have to deal with the much harsher realities of poverty, inflation and a struggle to put food on the table, said a leading daily.
Nawaz Sharif
Asif Ali 
Ahmadinejad quarrels with Ayatullah Khamenei
Hamid Gul
...a valley and an administrative district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistain, located 99 mi from Islamabad. It is inhabited mostly by Pashto speakers. The place has gone steadily downhill since the days when Babe Ruth was the Sultan of Swat...
Druze politician, head of the Progressive Socialist Party, who's been on every side in Leb at least four times. He'll sell you his friends for a dollar, but family comes higher because of shipping and handling...
