Posted by: Frank G ||
01/21/2008 10:01 Comments ||
Top||
#3
by the way "somewhat male"? I think they're talking about you, Shipman
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/21/2008 10:02 Comments ||
Top||
#4
How could that site possibly know my age, household income or ethnicity?
Better get out the bullshit detector....
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
01/21/2008 10:07 Comments ||
Top||
#5
The henna-beard crowd just looks at the pictures on the front page of the Scimitar-Defender.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
01/21/2008 10:32 Comments ||
Top||
#6
Barbara,
Would you like one of our reps give you a call for a price quote? Who do you think sold your name to the telemarketer who called during dinner last night?
Attackers hacked three people to death with machetes in a slum in Kenya's capital on Sunday in ethnic clashes triggered by President Mwai Kibaki's disputed re-election last month, witnesses said.
Armed police chased away youths in Nairobi's Huruma neighborhood, whose name means "mercy" in Swahili, and some residents started to leave with their belongings on their heads. "I saw three people dead, killed by pangas (machetes), slashed on the head, cuts on the back and a hand chopped off," said Samuel Oduor, 22, a freelance cameraman.
Other witnesses confirmed the death toll from fighting between youths from Kibaki's Kikuyu ethnic group and the Luo tribe of opposition challenger Raila Odinga.
They bring the number of dead to at least 34 since the opposition launched three days of anti-government demonstrations on Wednesday. Many were killed by police opening fire on protesters, others by ethnic gangs. "No need to kill somebody because of his tribe, even if he did not vote for me," Odinga told several hundred supporters as he came out of a church service in Nairobi's Kibera slum, its roads blackened with the remains of days of flaming barricades.
Odinga said a memorial service would be held at a sports field in central Nairobi on Wednesday for those who had died and repeated a call for more demonstrations from Thursday, despite police orders to prevent rallies. "You can beat our body, but you cannot break our spirit of justice," he told cheering supporters, some holding up banners reading "Raila our solution" or "Kibaki hand over to Raila".
Posted by: Fred ||
01/21/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
KINSHASA (Rooters) - Democratic Republic of Congo's government and warring rebel and militia factions will sign a deal on Tuesday to end fighting in the country's conflict-torn east, government officials and diplomats said on Monday.
The agreement, which will include a ceasefire, was announced following more than two weeks of talks in Goma, capital of eastern North Kivu province, that brought together government officials, local leaders and rival armed factions.
"(A ceasefire) will be signed tomorrow at the closing ceremony," Vital Kamerhe, spokesman for the peace conference and head of Congo's lower house of parliament, told Reuters.
More than 400,000 civilians in North Kivu have fled their homes over the past year to escape fighting between government soldiers, local Mai Mai militia, and Tutsi insurgents loyal to renegade General Laurent Nkunda.
Under the deal to be signed, an immediate permanent ceasefire would be established between the government, the Mai Mai and Nkunda, diplomats and observers at the talks said.
Nkunda's fighters would pull back from advanced positions in North Kivu, many of which they have held since the failure of a government offensive in December. This would create space for a buffer zone to be patrolled by United Nations peacekeepers.
A technical commission would then be established to oversee the disarmament of the Nkunda rebels and Mai Mai fighters and their integration into the national army, or demobilization.
The government would, in turn, promise to create a law granting amnesty to the Mai Mai and Nkunda rebels covering "insurgency and acts of war".
The conflict in Congo's North Kivu, which has its roots in neighboring Rwanda's 1994 genocide, has raged on despite the official end of a broader 1998-2003 war and accompanying humanitarian catastrophe that killed an estimated 4 million people, mainly through hunger and disease. And yet, the paleos get all the media attention when a couple "militants" are snuffed trying to infiltrate Israel or launching rockets...
(Reporting by Joe Bavier; Editing, basic grammar and typos correction by Pascal Fletcher)
Three people were hacked to death in ethnic clashes in Nairobi slums, police said Monday, as mediators prepared a fresh bid to break the deadlock that followed President Mwai Kibaki's re-election.
The three died in the capital's Huruma and Babadogo slums where feuding tribes clashed late into the night, bringing to 48 the number of deaths over the past six days.
Police said the fighting and revenge killings raged between members of pro-Kibaki tribes and those supporting opposition chief Raila Odinga, who claims he was robbed of victory in the December 27 presidential polls.
Several houses were razed as hundreds stampeded out of shantytowns that have been divided into tribal blocs.
Three days of opposition protests that began Wednesday provoked a fierce crackdown by anti-riot and paramilitary police, and some unarmed civilians were shot down in the capital and the western city of Kisumu.
The political rioting predictably morphed into tribal killings and looting, mainly in the capital's crowded slums and areas in the country's western region where the political crisis has exacerbated long-running tribal feuds.
"Police are doing everything to ensure that stability is maintained and we are urging members of the public to operate within the (boundaries of the) law," national police spokesman Eric Kiraithe told AFP.
Riot police continued to patrol major towns as well as the volatile rural areas across the country.
Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party over the weekend called for a fresh round of demonstrations on Thursday, but police have vowed to block them.
Alarmed by the stalemate, the Roman Catholic Church appealed to the feuding leaders to start talks and avert plunging the country, once seen as a bastion of stability in a restive region, into chaos.
"We are making a special appeal to our politicians: It is not by going to the streets that is going to solve the problems. If you respect your own dignity and identity, please come together and talk together," Cardinal John Njue said.
Odinga said on Sunday that he was open to dialogue as former United Nations chief Kofi Annan was set to arrive in Kenya Tuesday to push for a settlement between the feuding sides.
The government has rejected the term "mediation", insisting there is no crisis in the country, but has welcomed African leaders to facilitate dialogue.
Kibaki formed a panel headed by Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka -- who finished third in the presidential poll -- to launch dialogue, but Odinga has rejected the initiative.
The ODM announced last week it would change tactics and launch a boycott of companies owned by Kibaki's allies.
But the government, in a statement published Monday, said the move was meant "to create poverty and destroy the livelihood of the very poor" and accused the opposition of incitement.
"The targeting of companies and directing of supporters to target and destroy specific companies or persons is a serious crime," the statement added.
The EU's development commissioner Louis Michel on Saturday met Odinga and Kibaki separately and insisted that a solution to the crisis could be found with "a little political will".
The violence that erupted when Kibaki was declared the winner of the presidential election on December 30 has killed at least 700 people and displaced a quarter of a million.
The disruption to transport services caused by nationwide violence as well as lasting business closures have dealt a blow to the country's economy, East Africa's largest.
Footage of people hacking each other to death, reports of police violence and people being burned alive in a church have dealt a huge blow to the tourism industry, Kenya's top source of foreign currencies.
The country is also a major trade hub for other nations in the region, some of which are landlocked and depend almost entirely on routes passing through Kenya for their imports.
One of Liberia's most notorious rebel commanders, known as General Butt Naked, has returned to the nation his troops terrorised to confess, saying he is responsible for 20,000 deaths.
Joshua Milton Blahyi, who now lives in Ghana, returned this week to face his homeland's truth and reconciliation commission, this time wearing a suit and tie. His nom de guerre is derived from his platoon's practice of charging naked into battle, a technique meant to terrify the enemy.
Other warlords, though, have refused to ask forgiveness, dismissing a commission many in Liberia see as toothless. Blahyi is urging other former killers to come forward as the country founded by freed American slaves in 1847 struggles to recover from past horrors. "I could be electrocuted. I could be hanged. I could be given any other punishment," the 37-year-old Blahyi said in a weekend interview following his truth commission appearance last week. "But I think forgiveness and reconciliation is the right way to go. I have been looking for an opportunity to tell the true story about my life - and every time I tell people my story, I feel relieved."
The civil war, which killed an estimated 250,000 people in this nation of 3 million, was characterised by the eating of human hearts and soccer matches played with human skulls. Drugged fighters waltzing into battle wearing women's wigs, flowing gowns and carrying dainty purses stolen from civilians.
Before he led his fighters into battle, wearing only a pair of lace-up boots, Blahyi said he made a human sacrifice to the devil.
Before he led his fighters into battle, wearing only a pair of lace-up boots, Blahyi said he made a human sacrifice to the devil. The sacrifice was typically "the killing of an innocent child and plucking out the heart which was divided into pieces for us to eat," he told The Associated Press in an interview Saturday. He appeared before the commission on January 15.
Between the time he made a pact with the devil circa 1980 and began his rampage and the time he stopped fighting in 1996, he said "more than 20,000 people fell victim (to me and my men). They were killed."
Posted by: Fred ||
01/21/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
The Liberians should have stayed in the US.
The timeline suggests this guy started fighting at ten years old!
Maybe the rest of the warlords will come forward if this guy retires above ground.
#2
What is urban legend in America is reality in Africa. I don't know that reconciliation and forgiveness for that type of crap would be possible. We have had trouble enough with reconciliation after our civil war without the sacrifice of innocent babies, canabalism, pacts with the devil and the using of skulls for sporting. The naked charges and transvestite regalia ought not to be a real problem. Maybe forgiveness of the unforgivable is possible in Africa. If so that would be the first advantage of Africa over America of which I have ever heard.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
01/21/2008 12:57 Comments ||
Top||
#3
The South African TRC worked in an environment where the government was firmly in control and pretty much everybody agreed on a clear narrative of good guys and bad guys. As long as UN troops are there Ellen is probably safe enough, but the Liberian legislature is dominated by various warlord partisans, and its a safe bet there are weapons still stored in safe locations. A lot of resident Liberians think that a TRC is a very bad idea, and I suspect they're in a better position to know than do-gooders from abroad.
If they absolutely must have a TRC, Blahyi is probably a good fellow to start with. Well known, long list of crimes (probably embellished a bit), repentant ...
Posted by: James ||
01/21/2008 14:20 Comments ||
Top||
#4
The only problem with the well intended Liberian experiment was that it was designed by naive western Christians and involved dreadfully uneducated people in a dark, tribal domain. Not much has changed in nearly 150 years. Not much will change in the next I'd venture. We'd probably do quite well to stay upwind of Africa, and leave them all to dip their own privy.
#5
I can't say whether the Truth and Reconciliation Commission will succeed on a large scale; too many politicians have a vested interest in keeping hate going. But truth and reconciliation do work on a small scale.
True story (source known to our family):
When Doe killed Tolbert in 1980, the Americo-Liberian leadership were either killed or forced to flee. Doe was Krahn, and he promoted the Krahn and their allies the Mandinka in the military. These men organized fellow tribesmen into attack units against their traditional enemies the Mano and Gio, and began a nasty round of ethnic cleansing, carried out in the deep bush where whole villages would just disappear.
Taylor came over the border in 1989, into Mano and Gio country, rallying supporters from the Mano and Gio tribes. The Mano and Gio who joined Taylor began by attacking Krahn and Mandinka villages.
In Monrovia, a Krahn man learned that his family had been killed by Gio upcountry. His next door neighbor was Gio, and so the Krahn man attacked the man with a machete, killing him and his 9 month old son. The wife happened to be out in the back, and she hid; so the killer missed her.
The Krahn man joined a militia, and killed a lot of people over a few months, feeling more and more like hell. He dropped his weapons one day and made his way into the Ivory Coast, to a refugee camp. In the tent city, he found himself across the road from the Gio woman whose family he had killed in Monrovia.
The woman went to her pastor in the tent city, because she could not bear the sight of the man who had killed her husband and son. She and the church did some serious praying. One day the Krahn man walked into a church service and said, "I killed my neighbor's husband and child. I killed a lot of other people. I cannot give my neighbor her husband and son back. What do I do?"
The woman said, "Before God and Christ, I forgive you."
Slowly, slowly, slowly, as the man came to the pastor for counsel and as the woman encouraged and prayed for him, this man found peace and forgiveness.
#6
What "mom" didn't tell you was Doe and his group were trained by a US Army mobile training team (MTT) sent by US policy and decision makers back in Washington. Nobody expected an army sergeant to overthrow the entire gummit and march them all to the beach to be shot. But he did.
#7
Bad news: based on the results of the Rape of Nanking and other incidents a society can not really ever be totally healthy until the generation of the perpetrators dies off.
Good news: it's Africa, that shouldn't take more than 15 years.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
01/21/2008 15:21 Comments ||
Top||
#8
Besoeker, I'd be interested to know more about the military matters you described.
After Doe killed Tolbert, as soon as he'd installed himself in the Executive Mansion, he sent for the US ambassador and the Soviet Ambassador. They arrived at about the same time. Doe wanted to find out which of the two big powers would cut him the best deal. Apparently the US did.
Saudi Arabia is to lift its ban on women drivers in an attempt to stem a rising suffragette-style movement in the deeply conservative state. Government officials have confirmed the landmark decision and plan to issue a decree by the end of the year.
The move is designed to forestall campaigns for greater freedom by women, which have recently included protesters driving cars through the Islamic state in defiance of a threat of detention and loss of livelihoods.
The royal family has previously balked at granting women driving permits, claiming the step did not have full public support. The driving ban dates back to the establishment of the state in 1932, although recently the government line has weakened.
"There has been a decision to move on this by the Royal Court because it is recognised that if girls have been in schools since the 1960s, they have a capability to function behind the wheel when they grow up," a government official told The Daily Telegraph. "We will make an announcement soon."
Mohammad al-Zulfa, a reformist member of the Saudi consultative Shura Council, which scrutinises official policies in the oil-rich state, said reversing the ban was part of King Abdullah's "clever" strategy of incremental reform. "When it was first raised, the extremists were really mad," he said. "Now they just complain. It is diminishing into a form of consent."
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/21/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[5 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Do we not have a Hell Freezes Over graphic?
"There has been a decision to move on this by the Royal Court because it is recognised that if girls have been in schools since the 1960s, they have a capability to function behind the wheel when they grow up"
How about Master of the Obvious?
The Saudis think that dynamiting this little stretch of the fault will relieve the tectonic stresses on their society, and the rumblings will cease.
#2
It's about time. The main aptitude that one must demonstrate to acquire a driving permit in the KSA is to be able to honk the horn. Women should be able to toot the vehicle's horn as well as any Saudi man. BTW there's no right or wrong time to honk. Just get behind the wheel and beep, beep, beep to your heart's content.
#7
How could they be any worse drivers than Saudi men?
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
01/21/2008 8:19 Comments ||
Top||
#8
One can only hope that this follows the rule of revolutions.
Total oppression works because it eliminates all expectaions of improvement. Once that totality is broken expectations rise faster than reforms can or will go. This leads to an increasing dissatisfaction with the ever widening gap between expectations and reality.
It is not the true oppressors that have fallen, but the more moderate types whose reforms triggered this phenomena. See Czarist Russia and the fall of the USSR under Gorby for two examples.
As Angie said, they think this will quell the problem when it will probably be like dousing a fire with gasoline. (At least I certainly hope so)
Posted by: Ebbolulet Dark Lord of the Swedes9659 ||
01/21/2008 10:17 Comments ||
Top||
#11
Soo Sorry --- Try again for the graphic -
Posted by: Ebbolulet Dark Lord of the Swedes9659 ||
01/21/2008 10:20 Comments ||
Top||
#12
The good news: the KSA will lift ban on women drivers.
The bad news: Shari'a Traffic Laws are being amended for the benefit of women drivers. For example:
First offense speeding citation: right foot cut off at ankle. Second offense speeding citation: left foot cut off at ankle. Third offense: head chop (albeit rarely imposed).
First offense ACD (assured clear distance/rear ender accident): Right eye gouged out. Second offense: left eye gouged out plus lifetime license suspension.
Failure to drive in marked lanes: head chop.
Improper parking: 100 lashes.
Failure to signal right turn: Loss of right arm up to the elbow. Failure to signal left turn: Loss of left arm up to the elbow. Third offense (in theory, rare): head chop.
Expired registration or driving without male permission: 200 lashes plus 6 months incarceration.
Driving without license: head chop.
Posted by: Mark Z ||
01/21/2008 11:55 Comments ||
Top||
#13
LOL @ GK
When I lived there we used to joke that an experiment was set up to measure the smallest increment of time, that being the time from when the traffic light turned green and the waiting Saudi's started honking. The experiment failed, as no one would stop for the red light.
Posted by: Cowboy is a compliment ||
01/21/2008 12:09 Comments ||
Top||
#14
When it is said that KSA is "intensely conservative", it doesn't necessarily mean from a political or even religious slant, but in the truest sense of the word: resistant to change.
Not just the government, but the typical Saudi on the street are as conservative, or more conservative, than the Swiss, when it comes to change. (Who finally gave women the vote not too long ago.)
I remember back when the Saudis had their first toe-dipping experiment with tightly controlled democracy, allowing a vote on what amounted to a planning and zoning board. They were scared half to death that it would cause chaos and anarchy, with rioting in the streets. The police and military were on alert.
As you might expect, it was boring. Dull. Not a particularly good turn-out. And most of all, the public who voted showed themselves to be just a tad *more* conservative than the government.
The government was thrilled. Overnight most of their reservations about democracy disappeared, and it was no longer seen as a risky, dangerous, revolutionary doctrine that could destroy them all. But something pleasantly boring and conservative. Their consensus was that "maybe this democracy stuff isn't so bad after all."
No doubt that giving women the right to drive has them all scared out of their wits right now. The police will be everywhere, and emergency services will be on full alert in case the kingdom is threatened by a legion of women drivers.
#15
The real test will be when the massive younger generation of peripheral royals thinks there is a teensy chance they can wield power (most likely individually, but perhaps via some movement as they are more influenced than they realize by the Net etc.).
#22
Interesting,how this consideration is now being brought forward, seeing that the Saudis are so keen on the US elections and the very real possibility of a 'woman' that could take the top seat of Government. That same woman who said that OPEC would fall oil prices by half upon her inauguration. Smelling fear I should guess!!
Pajamas Media h/t Instapundit and Jonah Goldberg's Liberal Fascism book blog
On January 4, Monica Fernandez, a Venezuelan jurist with a track record for human rights advocacy, and her fiancée Javier Herrera, went shopping for plants and flowers in a nursery near her home in Caracas. As they were loading her car, she noticed two men park nearby in a brand new Mercedes Benz. They began walking toward her and each pulled out a gun. One of the men told her to give him her car keys and to get into the passenger seat. After closing her door he got into the drivers seat. Please, take the car, please be calm, take everything, she pleaded. He said to her shut your mouth you dirty bitch and put the gun to her temple.
Fernandez believes she was to be executed. I lunged forward and ducked she told me. She did not hear the gunshot but felt the sharp pain of the bullet in her back. The bullet hit her spine and bounced off into the other side of her back.
Judge Fernandezs fiancée, a municipal police officer, was outside of the car, held at gunpoint by the other man. Mr. Herrera had his standard issue weapon and defended himself. He killed the man in front of him but before he could save Judge Fernandez the man in the drivers seat fired twelve rounds, hitting Mr. Herrera five times, before speeding off with the car and Judge Fernandez. The driver panicked, realizing his accomplice was dead and his gun had run out of bullets repelling Mr. Herrera. He dropped Judge Fernandez off near a freeway and abandoned the car with her purse and checkbook in the passenger seat. Mr. Herreras actions saved his fiancees life.
Within three hours and before an investigation had concluded, the head of the forensic police department, controlled by the ministry of justice, declared the shootings a botched car robbery.
Really? The night before she was shot, Judge Fernandez was the target of a television program called La Hojilla (The Razor) used by the government as its public pillory. It is on La Hojilla that the party faithful and the media learns who is in and who is out of Chavezs favor. In a studio adorned with portraits of Lenin, Mao, Marx, Stalin, and Che Guevara, the programs host, Mario Silva, attacks all of those who disagree or oppose the governments actions. From Tony Blair to human rights groups like HRF and Freedom House, the government-funded program is ruthless. On January 4, Judge Fernandez was the mark and her image appeared as viewers were reminded that she is an enemy of the state, a coup-plotter, and a fascist. Mere coincidence, I'm sure.
Posted by: Mike ||
01/21/2008 10:41 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Wonder if the car's purchase history can be traced, and would it lead to Chavez? is he smart enough to use a cut-out?
Will this even be 'investigated' any further????
Answers:
No
Yes
No
#2
He probably would be smart enough to use a cut-out.
That's what all those criminal gangs are _for_.
He's increaced control at all levels of society. Why do the criminal gangs still exist? Well, by making people insecure in their homes/belongings/persons, they're doing his bidding, creating the sort of society he wants.
More people are dying in Venezuela from "random criminal acts" than from an allegedly centrally run terrorist campaign in Iraq. It's distributed anarcho-tyrrany. (And no, Pappy, I don't think this was the state of nature that Hobbes was talking about. Or maybe I misunderstand, and need to read more Hobbes.)
#3
COUNTERTERRORISM BLOG > THE REAL STORY IN THE LATIN AMERICAN LANDSCAPE. Threat to PANAMA CANAL = US INTERESTS stems notsomuch from a PER SE ISLAMIST TERROR ATTACK but from INTERNATIONAL NARCOTERRORISM = DRUG CARTELS/MAFIAS? wilfully mixing or colluding wid ACTIVE-MILITANT ISLAMIST RADICALISM IN LOWER AMERICAS.
President Hugo Chavez threatened Sunday to take over farms or milk plants if owners refuse to sell their milk for domestic consumption and instead seek higher profits overseas or from cheese-makers. With the country recently facing milk shortages, Chavez said "it's treason" if farmers deny milk to Venezuelans while selling it across the border in Colombia or for gourmet cheeses. "In that case the farm must be expropriated," Chavez said, adding that milk plants could also be taken over. Addressing his Cabinet, he said: "If the army must be brought in, you bring in the army."
Posted by: Fred ||
01/21/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Zimbabwe Mk2.
Stealing your way to wealth AKA socialism experiment number 4,127,092.
Prediction: The living standards of the poor and the rich will converge! Everyone will be poor and starve (except those in charge of state theft).
#9
I was doing what we call 'second degré" who could be translated like joking about the joke or joke not to be "taken seriously". Taht is what I placed warnings. Retrospectivekly it should't have been made.
Hmmm...the economy is tanking, but they still got some oil income...and Hugo is *such* a Man of the People, I'm thinking he can hang on for a while. 600 days or better.
Cubans voted in parliamentary elections on Sunday that could start a transition to a post-Castro government in Cuba after half a century of rule by the Communist revolutionary.
Even though he has not appeared in public for almost 18 months, ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro was on the slate of 614 uncontested candidates for 614 seats in the rubber-stamp National Assembly.
The assembly will hold its first session on February 24, acting President Raul Castro told Reuters after voting early at a school near Havana's Revolution Square.
That meeting to approve the executive Council of State will confirm whether the elder Castro, 81, will continue as Cuba's head of state or be formally succeeded by his brother, 76, or a younger leader. "We are electing a new parliament at a complicated time when we have to face different situations and big decisions, bit by bit," Raul Castro said. "He is in good health. I know he has been writing a lot, up to four essays simultaneously. Considering that he is 81, Fidel is strong, healthy and an intellectual powerhouse."
Posted by: Fred ||
01/21/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
up to four essays simultaneously
great, now KCNA will come back with Dear Leader doing six, simultaneously, while balancing a ball on his tail nose
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/21/2008 5:13 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Who goes first, El Commandante or Britney Spears?
Abandoning Frances traditional policy of solely selling arms to Persian Gulf states, President Nicolas Sarkozy signed a deal with Abu Dhabi for a permanent military base of up to 500 French troops in the UAE; a move that reflects the new French stance towards Iran as well as its closer ties with Washington.
...
The military accord makes France one of the first Western states other than the U.S. to have a permanent base in the Gulf region, thats why many analysts say that the new deal indicates that Paris is aligning itself more openly with Washington, which has also been selling arms to Gulf states. Tehran Times never got the memo about Camp Mirage. There does not seem to be a Persian Gulf or Iran category so I almost filed this one under Great White North...
#8
For the same reason Tiger Woods has that beautiful blond wife... Because they can.
Seriously I think is as much "weapons showroom" as military base. I also think looking forward, it is a good thing from Americas perspective. It puts another "cop" on the beat, and even though he ain't "our cop", I am OK with more "adult supervision" in the region.
#9
For obvious reasons, there was both a heavy police and uniformed army presence at the rail stations last week end in Paris. I wouldn't write Sarkozy or the French off.
#10
I don't know if it's a smart move or not, but it's a thumb in Iran's eye. It establishes both an EU and a NATO "tripwire" in the Persian Gulf. If Abu Dhabi is attacked by Iran, France can legitimately say its forces have been attacked. That, by EU treaty, would supposedly force all of the EU to respond. The same can be said of NATO - 'an attack upon one is considered an attack upon all'. At the same time, it will provide a point for France to collect vital intelligence about Iran without having it filtered through any other nation's intelligence agencies. It makes sense, in a French sort of way...
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
01/21/2008 14:23 Comments ||
Top||
#11
Might maybe work with the EU, but NATO's response to 9/11 doesn't bode well for action in the Gulf - especially not if they think their oil supply from Iran might be at stake. No, I think they'd temporize all the more furiously. But maybe they'd surprise me....
Sir: when I read/confirm member states of the EU actively reversing the muslim immigration trends of the last 40 years, THEN I'll reconsider my contempt for Europe and her individual states. Until then, Sarkozy (read the French people) are all talk and no walk.
Mr. B: Has France opened her doors to welcome the 60,00 plus Christian and secular emigrants leaving (annually) the Netherlands to escape the muzzie cultural on-slaught? Or are those Dutch emigrants heading to OZ and Canada, bypassing France? Word on the street is that they are bypassing France.
An extreme nationalist won the first leg of Serbia's presidential election last night, raising the prospect of international isolation and increasing the chances of more Balkan conflict over the looming declaration of independence by Kosovo.
With the Albanian leadership of the breakaway southern province due to declare independence within weeks, the loss of the region that Serbian nationalists view as sacrosanct territory appeared to help Tomislav Nikolic, of the extremist Serbian Radical party, to a four-point victory over the incumbent, the pro-western moderate, President Boris Tadic.
According to exit polls and early results last night in Belgrade, Nikolic took more than 39% of the vote to Tadic's 35% in a crucial ballot that could determine whether Serbia turns east, into Russia's offered embrace, or west, towards European integration.
Neither contender, however, scored an outright victory, requiring an absolute majority of the vote. The other seven candidates were eliminated from the race, leaving Nikolic and Tadic to contest a run-off on February 3. Nikolic, an extreme nationalist who fought as a paramilitary in the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s and served under the late president Slobodan Milosevic, could yet be beaten, since many of the votes last night, on a high turnout of more than 60%, were cast for pro-western democrats. His support, however, is more easily mobilised and he could well secure victory in two weeks. A win for Nikolic and the Radicals, whose party leader, Vojislav Seselj, is currently being tried for war crimes at the tribunal in The Hague, would be viewed as a disaster in western Europe and a severe setback to EU policy in the Balkans.
The EU has a policy for the Balkans?
In an attempt to boost Tadic's chances, Brussels announced last week that it was opening talks on visa-free travel to Europe for Serbs. Several EU countries also want to sign a pre-membership deal with Belgrade before the end of the month in order to help Tadic to a second-round victory. But some EU states are strongly opposed to this, demanding that key Serbian war crimes suspects be arrested and extradited to The Hague as a condition for the EU deal.
David Miliband, the foreign secretary, met his counterparts from France, Germany and Italy at the weekend in Slovenia to work out how and when to recognise Kosovo's independence. The Kosovan prime minister, Hashem Thaci, is due in Brussels this week to coordinate his policies with the EU. Thaci has been leaned on to delay an independence declaration until after the Serbian election. The declaration is expected within six weeks.
Serbia's key ally, Russia's Vladimir Putin, went to the Balkans last Friday to announce that any unilateral declaration of independence would be "illegal and immoral".
The outcome of Serbia's presidential run-off could hinge on how the Serbian prime minister, Vojislav Kostunica, advises his supporters to vote. Kostunica is fiercely nationalistic, engaged in a permanent power struggle with Tadic, and unbending on the Kosovo dispute. Tadic could need the votes of the prime minister's supporters to defeat Nikolic.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/21/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
TOPIX/RIAN > RUSSIA WILL NOT SUPPORT [UNILATERAL} INDEPENDENCE FOR KOSOVO; + PRAVDA > THE COSSACKS OF THE DON WILL SUPPORT SERBIA IF KOSOVO DECLARES INDEPENDENCE.
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton said that if she became president, the federal government would take a more active role in the economy to address what she called the excesses of the market and of the Bush administration. Is she taking lessons from Zimbob and OOgo?
In one of her most extensive interviews about how she would approach the economy, Mrs. Clinton laid out a view of economic policy that differed in some ways from that of her husband, Bill Clinton. Mr. Clinton campaigned on his centrist views, and as president, he championed deficit reduction and trade agreements. Deficit reduction = higher taxes. Trade agreements = selling technology to the Chineese.
Reflecting what her aides said were very different conditions today, Mrs. Clinton put her emphasis on issues like inequality and the role of institutions like government, rather than market forces, in addressing them. Economic Equality = Wealth Redristribution
She said that economic excesses including executive-pay packages she characterized as often offensive and wrong and a tax code that had become so far out of whack in favoring the wealthy were holding down middle-class living standards. Yup, the Government should decide how much CEO's get paid. Tax the Rich to Feed the Poor, Till There Are No Rich No More. Making money is BAD!!
I am not happy with any of the Republican candidates this year, but I sincerely hope all US voters who frequent the Burg are willing to support the nominee against her. Or Obama, for that matter, because the damage either would do in 4 years would be incredibly hard to recover from IMO.
#6
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton said that if she became president, the federal government would take a more active role in the economy, wages, medical care, schools, lives, families, farms, children, old folks, church, automobiles, trucks, houses, pets, vacations, literature, television, travel, and hobies to name a few.
#8
gorb: she really believes it; in fact i think this is a toned down version because what is really on her mind is truly scary.
the bitch is power mad......
#12
Bill's incessant philandering reinforces her 660's mems about the oppression of women, m inorities and anyone who's not a white male, Besoeker. No doubt she's hurt and humiliated, but he also makes her feel SUPERIOR and quite smug.
#13
Ironically, the stock market is probably going to take a tumble tomorrow. Pity that nobody is going to use the meme: "Hillary gives economic plans, DOW crashes".
Just getting people used to having her associated with catastrophe.
#14
Don't worry so much. This nation has gone thru a hell of a lot of things scarier that Hillary, Obama or McCain.
I know, I know.. things are different now. LOL
We gotz the muslims angrified at us... theys way worser than them RUSSIANS, GERMANS, JAPANEESE, GERMANS, SPANIARDS, POMS, FROGS AND ENGLANDER, INJUNS AND THEM DAMMN TREES. We whipped 'em all. Hell them damn Yankees even got lucky against the finest light infranty the world has ever seen! Shoot! Don't worrry so much. It's a huge country. Bike across it sometime.
#15
To be fair, Hillary has never really known all Bill was up to and her ideas certainly aren't what he has championed. The good ole boys from Arkansas spearheaded the cheap labor and illegal immigration that is driving down wages and exporting jobs. How about a novel idea for American taxpayers--equality! A flat tax is more equitable than a progressive tax as it takes an equal percentage of your income! We need to raise revenue to cover our budget deficit, as that is the purpose of taxation, but we can't stifle wealth creation with excessive taxation either. Removing the burden of benefit packages (health care and retirement fund matching) from employers in favor of a standardized national program so people can afford to start competitive small businesses and would allow them to change jobs or move across state lines would also help out struggling families without stifling businesses. The elderly oppose the Fair Tax, as they think it unfairly double taxes them when they can least afford it, but collecting sales tax on yachts as well as canoes would also be proportionate. Unregulated free trade and socialism neither work well and some new ideas should be welcome.
#16
Please Mrs. Clinton, tell the American people again and again how you want the government to control the economy more. Please let everyone see your socialist objectives. Please let them see that you want the DMV-mentality to take over every facet of their lives. Please continue to do this so the Republican nominee can just play it over and over and over again.
#17
Hillary has never really known all Bill was up to
Do you honestly believe the smartest woman in the world didn't know everything that billy boy was up to? Don't be naive. As long as he kept her in power and money, it was A-OK
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/21/2008 15:40 Comments ||
Top||
#18
Don't worrry so much. It's a huge country. Bike across it sometime
Haven't biked across it, but I've driven through much of it and lived in a dozen or so states. Yeah, it's a great country. And huge.
It's not that Hillary could totally wreck the country. But in power she could do a lot of damage. Think of her working closely with Pelosi in a Dem majority Congress, both houses.
For 4 years while the Iranians complete their uraniaum enrichment and refine their ability to copy Chinese nukes using German-supplied engineering and milling equipment.
Not a scenario I'd like us to work through if we can avoid it.
#19
like 2 or 3 Ruth Bader Ginsbergs on the SCOTUS?
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/21/2008 15:46 Comments ||
Top||
#20
As far as the Judges.... they gotta get by the Senate, I know at least one blue dawg won't vote for 'em.
Far as every thing else?
I'll be honest with you... (Ima lying), regardless of the hand-wringing, hand-waving and sincere speech..... there's only one damn thing in the world that counts. That's the Ohio SSBNs on patrol. All else is wasted worry. We'll get recessions, maybe even a depression or 2. But nothing, nothing on gawds green earth can fuck with the USN. Now that's the truth.
#22
Don't forget that Hillary continues to stand by her "suspend disbelief" statement re: Petraeus.
I've talked with military who had to escort the Clintons on various occasions when Bill was in the WH. She treated them like shit - openly hostile and dismissive, when there was nothing at stake other than their required presence during a Clinton visit to a military post. Nasty, gratuitous stuff.
She hates the military. Really hates those who serve. These fine officers had no doubt whatsoever about that.
#23
Weve done it in previous generations, she said, alluding to large-scale public projects like the interstate highway system and the space program. But weve got to have a plan.
Hers will run four years instead of the traditional five.
Danielle:
Removing the burden of benefit packages (health care and retirement fund matching) from employers in favor of a standardized national program so people can afford to start competitive small businesses and would allow them to change jobs or move across state lines would also help out struggling families without stifling businesses.
Uh, no. What that will do is guarantee crappy health care for everyone except those with the cash to travel overseas to where ever our best doctors end up. It'll also give the government an "in" to controlling the details of how we live, since suddenly it's a public policy matter whether or not you work out and how often you eat ice cream. Gimme liberty over the illusion of "free" health care, thank you.
And, guys, Clinton's much more a national socialist than an international socialist. She preaches the whole "it takes a village" and "politics of meaning" crap.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
01/21/2008 16:14 Comments ||
Top||
#24
If she were to win the Democratic nomination and the general election, she would most likely take office at a similar economic moment as her husband, with the economy struggling to emerge from a downturn.
*jaw drops*
ISTR the economy *grew* in 1992. The press and the Democrats (but I repeat myself) simply ignored that because they needed something to attack Bush.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
01/21/2008 16:20 Comments ||
Top||
#25
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton said that if she became president, the federal government would take a more active role in the economy to address what she called the excesses of the market and of the Bush administration.
Because of all your much tauted "executive experience" during the Dotcom Boom that ended with the Bust and recession that you passed to George, makes you oh so qualified on what to do. No excess during that period. Nothing to see here. Memory hole open!
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
01/21/2008 17:58 Comments ||
Top||
#31
"Hillary has never really known all Bill was up to"
Sure she did, and it was just fine, as long as it kept him off of her. Once was just enough.
If she succeeds in her 'punish the rich' - as in high income - program (as I suspect she will), I do believe I'll retire and let all you proles take care of me. I don't think I'll be alone, and as we transfer more and more of the tax burden onto fewer and fewer taxpayers the whole darn scam will come tumbling down. It won't be pretty.
1. Free men are not equal. Equal men are not free.
2. This was written in 2004
The overall level of GDP (Chart 2) was $9.89 trillion (in 2000 dollars) when Bush was elected and $9.87 trillion in the third quarter of 2001, when the 9/11 terrorist attacks occurred. Exactly three years later, GDP is $10.88 trillion, a 10 percent real increase. To put that in perspective, just the growth of the U.S. economy over the past three years is larger than half of the entire French economy.
Want more? Hokay Chief...skip forward to late 2007, US GDP is 13.7 trillion (French GDP 1.87 trillion)
Real GDP growth in the US was 4.9%! in Q3 2007 - what's that?, 671 billion, it's the entire economy of Switzerland AND Austria. Or put another way, the growth in the US economy *in three months* is equal to a third of the entire French economy, or the total economy of Switzerland and Austria - you choose.
You don't want to mess that up, do you? ;)
Posted by: Tony (UK) ||
01/21/2008 19:36 Comments ||
Top||
#33
Tony (UK),
Information that you have put up on your comment is factual information. Sorry, in America now, factual information is no longer considered printable. Our media is so not interested in integrity anymore. For example, in Texas, a blimp passed through an area whose residents have never seen a blimp pass through on its way to the Cowboy, Giants game. The local "newspaper" reported it as a UFO, and continued to do so even after many people told them it was a blimp. The "newspaper" did not want to hear it and continued to report it as a UFO for two weeks, everyday.
What does all this mean? It means Hillary can lie and lie and lie about the economy, and the main source of information to Americans will print her lies over and over and over again until she wins and wrecks America. It took Reagan 8 years to untangle what the dems did on the home front and it has taken 8 years to try to untangle what Billary did on the Al Qaeda front.
She wants to take from American citizens and give to Mexican citizens. And the result is that she keeps winning primaries.
#34
We'll do our best to strengthen the right, Tony. Trailing daughter #1 and her cohorts will be voting, too, although td #1's only considerations so far are: not a Democrat, absolutely not Hillary, and no to anyone John Kerry has ever been for. She's looking forward to her first election, with td #2 looking eagerly over her shoulder toward 2010. Ohio is one of the key states this time around; in 2010 we'll lose delegates when the census numbers cause rebalancing.
#35
Please note that Hillary! seems to spout some serious Socialist bullshit like this approximately every six weeks since she's been running for president. www is spot on that mere facts such as Hillary!'s Marxist bent is not well reported on, if at all.
Best rejoinder for the Republican nominee for this issue - show replays of the Berlin Wall being torn down.
#36
Hillary's senior thesis at Wellesley praised radical left activist Saul Alinsky. There's no evidence she's ever moved very far from those beliefs. Certainly she learned her confrontational, hardball political approach from Alinsky.
#37
@www - seems to me the local fishwrap was after a story to sell, and wasn't too concerned about the truth of it - ah well, another nail in the coffin of the dead tree press. Seen the NYT stock price recently?
@tw - pretty mature thinking there from the TD's (I didn't have my 'awakening' until much later - sadly).
Posted by: Tony (UK) ||
01/21/2008 21:36 Comments ||
Top||
#38
I was a late bloomer too, Tony. But the td's read Rantburg, and even comment occasionally, so they have the benefit of informed opinion. I had the New York Times and National Public Radio news. But their generation gets their news on-line, and knows about Wikipedia's biases and incomplete information.
#2
How much more Christian ism do you need? He's been in church for 20 years. Personally,
I'd rather have someone with common sense and is scientific, caring for America's economy and will use America's strategic resources to the most advantage to make her grow and stay safe.
The president I want is the one who's going to take the job the most seriously?
Hillary the Hype machine?
Obama the newbie black role model?
McCain the old angry POW?
Romney the dumb rich kid?
Edwards the clueless pretty boy?
Huckabee the straight looking conservative guy?
Guiliani the Italian centrist city guy?
from 911
Thompson who helped Bruce Willis?
Paul the independent terrorist?
#3
Ummm, whether or not you like his policies etc., it's pretty dumb to call Romney a dumb rich kid. Not too many people can do what he did at Bain (i.e. in business) ... and you don't do that by being dumb.
After a decisive loss in Nevada on Saturday, John Edwards said he hopes the old saying, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas, proves to be true. Edwards placed a distant third in the Nevada caucusesearning only 4 percent of the vote and acquiring zero delegates. Clinton won 51 percent of the electorate, while Obama received 45 percent.
I'd call that a fairly good indication that neither of the Two Americas™ wants a pretty boy for president.
Addressing reporters outside a diner in Winnsboro, South Carolina, on Sunday, Edwards said, I got my butt kicked, and attributed his loss to the millions of dollars spent by his rivals in the state. I think the other candidates spent enormous amounts of money and we didnt, he said. It was a caucus process. They were there for a long time organizing.
"It couldn't possibly have been that nobody liked me! With hair like this? No way!"
But Edwards spent more days in Nevada than his Democratic rivalshe visited the state 17 times. Obama came 12 times and Clinton 8 times. Though the Edwards campaign never predicted he would win the state, his advisers remained optimistic that he would finish competitively. Edwards also criticized the national media for representing the Democratic presidential campaign as a two-person racefocusing most of their attention on the two celebrity candidates, senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Despite his loss, he assured voters that he was in the race for the long haul and that 47 states have yet to be heard from.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/21/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
"47 states have yet to be heard from"
They'll say NO, too, Silky Pony Jawn.
Here's a hint: Nobody wants you.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
01/21/2008 1:11 Comments ||
Top||
#2
perhaps he could sue the voters
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/21/2008 5:14 Comments ||
Top||
#3
There are two Americas: one in which John Edwards is a viable candidate, and one in which he isn't. The first one appears to exist only in his mind.
Posted by: Mike ||
01/21/2008 6:03 Comments ||
Top||
#4
At this point he should begin to strategize on how to win a peace prize. My recommendation: asteroid protection system.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
01/21/2008 13:48 Comments ||
Top||
#2
On the surface both countries have dramatically different cultures and are located half a world away. Under the surface both share a commonality in that the largest percentage of their population who care about political freedom and can't abide economic corruption live and work in America.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
01/21/2008 16:46 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Compare wid WND>COM > US FACES "GRAVE THREAT" IN DRUG FIGHT [Mahico crime elements]. USA must enable stronger measures including the setup of myriad armed positions along the US-Mexico border.
Mexican Govt-Army-Police struggling hard agz local crime groups.
Sriharikota (PTI): India on Monday launched an Israeli satellite 'Polaris' from the spaceport at Sriharikota by a homegrown Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) and successfully placed it in the intended orbit, ISRO said. The PSLV-C10 lifted off from the First Launch Pad (FLP) at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at 0915 hours with the ignition of the first stage, ISRO said in a statement released here.
The 300 kg TECSAR satellite, equipped with a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) payload, a capability to see through the clouds and carry out day and night all weather imaging, was placed in its intended orbit with a Perigee (nearest point to earth) of 450 km and Apogee (farthest point to earth) of 580 km with an orbital inclination of 41 degree with respect to the equator, it said.
TECSAR was placed in orbit 1185 seconds after lift off.
The launch of the satellite was executed under a commercial contract between Israel Aerospace Industries (AIA) and Antrix Corporation, the release said.
TECSAR is a SAR technology satellite, the design, development and fabrication of which were led by MBT Space, a division of the Israeli Aerospace industries with participation of other high-tech industries such as ELTA, Tadiran, Spectralink and Rafael. This is the second time that a "core alone" PSLV configuration had put a foreign satellite into orbit. In April 2007, an Italian satellite Agile was put into orbit. The launch of the radar-imaging, remote-sensing satellite, was shrouded in secrecy. The launch was originally scheduled in September 2007 though no date was specified.
A section of the media had speculated that the launch was abandoned following 'pressure' from some countries, a claim strongly denied by ISRO, which cited non-resolution of technical issues as the reason for the delay.
Posted by: john frum ||
01/21/2008 06:02 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[5 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Haaretz Satellite launch bolsters ability to spy on Tehran
Israel launched early Monday a sophisticated new spy satellite, designated TECSAR, which could boost intelligence gathering capabilities regarding Iran.
The satellite was sent into orbit from the Sriharikota Launching Range in India, using an Indian rocket.
The TECSAR, manufactured by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), has the ability to use radar to identify targets even under adverse weather conditions including dense clouds.
As such, it differs from Israel's Ofek series of reconnaissance satellites, which rely on cameras.
IAI officials said that the satellite, which weighs some 300 kilograms, was launched at 5:45 A.M. Israel time, and was successfully placed in orbit. IAI ground stations reported receiving signals at 7:10 A.M. showing that all measuring parameters were operating correctly.
Scientists and engineers are now conducting a battery of tests to check the systems and gauge their performance. A first picture from the satellite is expected within two weeks.
The TECSAR launch was postponed a number of times in the past, largely due to weather conditions.
Israel currently operates a number of reconnaissance satellites, including Ofek 5 and Ofek 7, as well as several commercial satellites such as the Amos and EROS series. A total of 11 Israeli satellites have been placed in orbit, a number of them still operational.
The Ofek 5 was launched in May, 2002, and the Ofek 7, last July, from the Palmachim missile range on Israel's coast.
Israel intends to launch another two spy satellites as part of its strategic cooperation commitments
Posted by: john frum ||
01/21/2008 6:10 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Posted by: john frum ||
01/21/2008 6:10 Comments ||
Top||
Posted by: john frum ||
01/21/2008 6:12 Comments ||
Top||
#4
BBC reports Israel reportedly took the decision to launch the satellite from India three years ago, and asked for Delhi's help because it lacks a vehicle capable of boosting the satellite into a polar orbit.
"The kind of low-earth polar orbit they are putting the satellite into, it is meant to give Israel the capability to keep an eye on the Iranian nuclear programme," an unnamed defence analyst told the AFP news agency.
"This is bound to be seen in the Islamic world as a sinister tie-up between Israel and India," he said.
Posted by: john frum ||
01/21/2008 6:17 Comments ||
Top||
#5
Haaretz commentary....
New Israeli spy satellite sends Iran a message
The pre-dawn launch Monday of a new reconnaissance satellite further establishes Israel as one of the world's superpowers in space, and grants it an important further intelligence advantage over its rivals.
The primary intelligence contribution of the TECSAR satellite, manufactured by Israel Aerospace Industries, lies in improving capabilities of intelligence gathering and coverage over Iran.
Although planned several years ago and delayed a number of times of late, the launch sends anew a message to Iran that Israel continues to maintain its superiority in the field of intelligence in space.
The message coincidentally accompanies last week's high-profile launch of an Israeli Jericho surface-to-surface missile, also intended as a signal to the leaders of Iran.
The launch of an Israeli satellite atop an Indian missile from a launch site in India bears a number of additional advantages. First, it enables Israel to establish a new point of view in space, allowing it photographic angles and reception of Iranian communications which were unavailable in prior satellite launches.
The direction of the launch, from the east and opposite to the earth's rotation, allows Israel increased coverage of sites in Iran. TECSAR's optical capability is based on SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) technology and on its cameras, which are more advanced than those employed by the Ofek intelligence satellites developed and used by Israel. Image resolution will be better, sharper, and of higher overall quality.
The radar technology aboard TECSAR renders its photo and listening abilities usable under all earth weather conditions, including dense clouds, rain, and storms, and at night as well as during the daylight hours.
One of the world's space superpowers
Even before the Monday launch, Israel could take pride in being one of the world's six superpowers in space, along with the United States, Russia, France, Britain and India. At the moment, Israel has three reconnaissance satellites in space, Ofek 5, launched in May, 2002, Ofek 7, sent into orbit last July, and TECSAR. It also has three communications satellites of the Amos and EROS series. This satellite system furnishes visual and auditory intelligence, interception of media communications, and reception of electromagnetic signals from radar.
The launch is also an expression of the growing cooperation between Israel and India in the security sphere as a whole, and in particular in the fields of missiles, radar, and satellites.
India is currently the most important export market for Israeli weapons systems, hardware, know-how, and technology. A high-level delegation of Indian scientists and military officers, experts in the missile and space fields, is to visit Israel next month, in a further expression of the strategic cooperation between the two countries.
Although command, control, and supervision of the TECSAR will be in Israel's hands, foreign media have reported that Israel will allow India access to some of the data sent back to ground stations. This is a sensitive issue for Israel, because it may spark anger in Pakistan.
On the other hand, Iran, which has close ties with India, which in the past supplied Tehran with materials and equipment for developing chemical weaponry, would be expected to be angry with India over the launch of an Israeli satellite.
Posted by: John Frum ||
01/21/2008 7:46 Comments ||
Top||
#6
This is a sensitive issue for Israel, because it may spark anger in Pakistan.
Is there anything that doesn't spark anger in RageBoyland? Why would Israel care?
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/21/2008 8:47 Comments ||
Top||
#7
Because of its large, non-Arab but Muslim population, Pakistan is seen by many states as an essential state with which to cultivate relations.
Many states had a policy of "equi-distance" towards India and Pakistan, trying not to offend either, not wanting to get too close to either one (and being seen as an ally).
Some in the Israeli foreign ministry would consider it a feather in their cap if they could cement full diplomatic relations with a Muslim country like Pakistan.
Some in Pakistan, worried about the Indian purchases of Israeli weaponry have sought contacts with Israel, seeking to curtail arms flows. The carrot they extend is diplomatic status, but the manufactured anti-semitism in Pakistan has prevented any real progress here.
Posted by: john frum ||
01/21/2008 14:02 Comments ||
Top||
#8
Good photo of the launch vehicle John - any chance India could launch some stuff for us? After all, that old One-Eyed Stalinist Bastard, Gordon Brown, has just announced an aid package for India worth £825 million over three years.
Does this make sense? We give aid to a nuclear power who can put satellites into space, when we don't have the capability to properly equip our troops in battle!
Lest anyone thing otherwise, I'm having a go at that shit of an unelected Prime Minister we have - who feels he has to give away our money to 'good causes'.
Grrr...
Posted by: Tony (UK) ||
01/21/2008 14:27 Comments ||
Top||
Posted by: Tony (UK) ||
01/21/2008 14:31 Comments ||
Top||
#10
any chance India could launch some stuff for us? After all, that old One-Eyed Stalinist Bastard, Gordon Brown, has just announced an aid package for India worth £825 million over three years.
That 825 million pounds could pay for some serious payload capacity.
Each GSLV launcher costs 160 crore rupees = 41 million US dollars
Each PSLV launcher costs 80 crore rupees = 21 million US dollars
(1 crore = 10 million
1 US Dollar = 39.3 Indian rupees)
Posted by: john frum ||
01/21/2008 14:41 Comments ||
Top||
Posted by: john frum ||
01/21/2008 14:46 Comments ||
Top||
#12
Don't John - you're just making me depressed :(
Posted by: Tony (UK) ||
01/21/2008 14:54 Comments ||
Top||
#13
"Meanwhile, across the border,
Gazians unable to equate cause w/effect; still stumbling around in darkness as crude homeade bottle rockets launch toward Israel...."
#14
What should really depress you is that that money is going to Bihar.. a bottomless pit for aid money... India's Africa... It will probably be wasted.
More than 2 decades ago a young Indian PM, Rajiv Gandhi enquired about the billions of dollars in development funds he was allocating that didn't seem to help things.
He found out that out of every dollar the Indian government spent, only ten cents went to the target groups.
On NASA earthlight maps, you can pick out Bihar amidst India. At the rate they are electrifying, it will take two hundred years for every village in Bihar to have electricity.
Some villages have fallen off the grid as the electricity poles and wires are stolen.
Politicians there are caste conscious, seeking affirmative action quotas for various tribals, untouchables, muslims etc. Basically, as Lee Kwan Yew pointed out, they are sharing a cake before it is baked, redistributing poverty.
Meanwhile the devil on earth (as the Indian intelligentsia sees him), Narendra Modi has ensured that every village in Gujarat state has running water and electricity. Reliance Industries is doubling the size of their refinery there, making it the world's biggest.
Posted by: john frum ||
01/21/2008 15:14 Comments ||
Top||
#15
83 days left for TAUVEX launch
A Collaboration between
the Indian Institute of Astrophysics
and Tel Aviv University
TAUVEX is an Indo-Israeli Ultraviolet Imaging Experiment that will image large parts of the sky in the wavelength region between 1400 and 3200 Å. The instrument consists of three equivalent 20-cm UV imaging telescopes with a choice of filters for each telescope. Each telescope has a field of view of about 54' and a spatial resolution of about 6" to 10", depending on the wavelength.
Posted by: john frum ||
01/21/2008 16:04 Comments ||
Top||
#16
41 degree with respect to the equator, it said.
The West has been pumping 'aid money' into corrupt areas for decades and all that happens is some fat bastard opens a Swiss bank account, usually with a lot of local people dying as well. Brown! - you are a dumbass!
Posted by: Tony (UK) ||
01/21/2008 19:08 Comments ||
Top||
#20
One of the most notorious corruption cases in India is the so called Fodder Scam involving the former Chief Minister of Bihar and his cronies.
The entire lot are awaiting trial.
Basically it is alleged that they stole 210 million dollars.
So they probably have the wherewithal to dispose of Brown's 'gift'
Posted by: john frum ||
01/21/2008 20:01 Comments ||
Top||
#21
Now there is the smart way to give aid and the dumb way.
The Japanese for example funded part of the Delhi Metro System. Japanese companies directly benefited from this. They are also funding the Delhi-Mumbai industrial corridor. Japanese companies will use the created infrastructure.
So, will British companies benefit? Or will the money be frittered away by NGO fatcats and local politicians?
Posted by: john frum ||
01/21/2008 20:15 Comments ||
Top||
#22
John - I'm betting on Door #2.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
01/21/2008 20:22 Comments ||
Top||
#23
Yep... #2 looks far more likely...
Posted by: john frum ||
01/21/2008 20:34 Comments ||
Top||
#24
ION, WAFF.com > STRATEGYCENTER.NET/KANWA > CHINESE, RUSSIAN DIMENSIONS TO THE 2007 DUBAI AIR SHOW.
Short summary:
* China has ambitions to dev 4-6 aircraft carriers includ suppor task groups.
* China is interested in UAV assets for said aircraft carriers.
* Russia's fifth-gener fighter may launch as early as 2009, China's version circa 2014-2015.
*China has also expressed interes in Russ BERLEV B-2500 MEGALIFTER AMPHIBIOUS PLANE [hypervelocity], capable of lifting up to 1000 tons of cargo + "fly/skim" along at 8000 metres
* China's ASW Doctrine is based on China's SUBMARINES, NOT SURFACE SHIPS, DEALING WID ENEMY SUBS. SURFACE SHIPS are there to cover the protect the PLAN's hunter-killer subs from sea and air threats.
*For time being, Chin is still heavily dependent on Russ for ENGINES TECH.
NEW DELHI: A Mumbai court on Monday awarded life sentence to 11 persons in connection to the Bilkis Bano gangrape case in Gujarat.
A life sentence in India means for the remainder of their natural lives
Oh, so it's not like the EU, huh?
Bilkis, who was six-month pregnant, was gangraped during the communal violence that erupted in Gujarat after a coach of Sabarmati Express carrying Ramsevaks from Ayodhya was set on fire on February 27, 2002.
Bilkis was also a prime witness to the murder and rape of members of her family and community during the riots. The trial was shifted from a court in Ahmedabad to Mumbai in August 2003 by the Supreme Court after the Central Bureau of Investigation and Bilkis expressed apprehensions that witnesses in the case could be harmed if the trial was conducted in Gujarat.
A benefit of the Indian federal system. Local courts have to answer to independent federal ones that can call upon police and troops to enforce their judgments if need be
The accused allegedly attacked 17 members of the minority community in their village, which resulted in the death of eight while six were reported missing. Bilkis was one among three who survived. Six police officers were charged with shielding the guilty while two doctors were accused of fabricating evidence.
Posted by: john frum ||
01/21/2008 05:51 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under:
How did I - once an innocent child who grew up in a liberal, moderate and educated household - find myself a member of a radical Islamic group? These questions go to the root of Islamic violence and must be addressed if free societies are to combat radical Islam.... [he has firsthand experience which he relates]...
[he concludes that]... Salafi doctrine, which is at the root of the West's confrontation with Islamism, poses an existential threat to us all - including Muslims.
#2
It's important to understand that Salafism is not only one of the major problems of Islam, but one of the obstacles it faces on a path to reformation as a non-violent religion.
However, it is a very brittle concept, representing barbarism's struggle against civilization as much as a religious one.
Salafis reject not only Western ideologies such as Socialism and Capitalism, but also common Western concepts like economics, constitutions, political parties, revolution and social justice.
But at the *same* time, Salafi writers claim that any meritorious or worthwhile modern institutions were first invented and realized by Muslims.
That is, they are in the bizarre situation of rejecting modernism, while at the same time claiming that Islam is the most modern system that exists.
Islam evolved way back when as a "modernist" alternative to primitivism, and it is full of itself as a better way of doing things, compared to how they were done at the time. And at the time, they *were*. This is why they are so uncomfortable, now that the shoe is on the other foot, and they are the ones defending primitivism.
The only way Islam can reform is if it becomes very hypocritical, pretending away all the violence, death and destruction of their religion. But this is not impossible. The Christians did it a long time ago.
you note that they are already hypocrites, e.g. 'we reject capitalism but we invented it' then you say they need much more hypocrisy (if its the right type of hypocrisy)
Former Indonesian president Suharto was able to raise his arm on request and even tried to speak, doctors said on Sunday, as the ailing 86-year-old showed further signs of recovery after more than two weeks in hospital.
"What'd he say?"
"'Rosebud!'"
The former general has been critically ill since suffering multiple organ failure on January 4, but doctors now say he could eventually recover enough to go home.
The vast country of 226 million people has been gripped by the swings in Suharto's health in recent weeks. The former strongman remains a polarizing figure. He ruled Indonesia with an iron fist for 32 years and has never been brought to trial for human rights abuses or corruption that occurred while he was in power.
Jusuf Misbach, a neurologist, told a news conference Suharto was conscious on Sunday morning and could follow instructions. "When we asked him to lift his hand, he lifted his left hand. He could feel itching. So he is getting better," Misbach said. "He even tried to speak although his voice was still weak."
A tube for Suharto's ventilator, which doctors hope to remove gradually, was switched on Saturday to his throat from the mouth to reduce risk of infection and prevent damage to voice chords.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/21/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
#4
Now if he can learn to shake it all about, he will be well on his way to performing one of my favorite dances. At this point I will not rule out the Macarena.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
01/21/2008 13:44 Comments ||
Top||
Various industries in Iran are beginning to feel the pinch as bankers around the world have cut back lending to satisfy the U.S. governments demands.
U.S. efforts to halt Irans uranium enrichment program stalled in the United Nations, thwarted by Russia and China. But U.S. Treasury officials Stuart Levey and Robert Kimmitt have spearheaded a campaign to curb lending to a country the United States perceives as a global threat. Banks such as UBS AG (UBS), Deutsche Bank AG (DB), and HSBC Holdings PLC (HBC) have taken heed, reducing lending to Iran, and in some cases, cutting it off all together.
"We do absolutely no business in Iran," Serge Steiner, a spokesman for UBS, Europes biggest bank by market value, told Bloomberg News. Deutsche Bank, Germanys largest financial institution, said in July that it was retreating from Iran as well. "We have sent a letter to private clients in Iran who have an account with Deutsche Bank in Germany, and told them that we have to terminate our business relationship with them," Deutsche Bank spokesman Ronald Weichert said last year.
Iran is indeed an oil rich nation. It ships about four million barrels of crude a day and accounts for 5% of global supply. But an unnamed German banking analyst told Forbes that Deutsche Banks interest in the Iranian oil business was inconsequential.
"I think leaving Iran improves the business opportunities [for Deutsche Bank]," he said. "Iran is a small country. Its not worth it to deal with Iran and then lose business in the U.S."
Six months ago, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development cut Irans country-risk rating for export credits to the second worst level. It now shares a category with Albania, Bangladesh and Mozambique. The number of banks doing business with Iran has dropped substantially in the past two years. According to Bankers Almanac, the number of institutions used by Bank Saderat Iran, one of the countrys largest banks, have fallen from 29 in 2006 to 8.
The result of such precautionary measures has been detrimental to Iranian business, which has been deprived of funds necessary to acquire equipment and services. European Union data agency Eurostat reported that machinery and transportation equipment exports to Iran dropped 20% in the first nine months of 2007 from the previous year.
Financial institutions are in the midst of a global credit crunch and most are shying away from riskier investments. That doesnt bode well for Iran, which lacks the technology and equipment to develop its natural resources on its own. Without foreign investment, Iran is an island.
"Banks tend to be very, very conservative creatures," Peter Djinis a former member of the Treasurys Financial Crimes Enforcement Network told Bloomberg. Until they hear directly from the U.S. government that Iran can be trusted, "there will not be any wavering."
#2
I have this mental image of payday on Friday at their plant,
Okay you get either one goat, three piglets and a chicken, or you can change the piglets for two chickens apiece, or four piglets for the goat, loose change is given in eggs.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
01/21/2008 14:41 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Its not worth it to deal with Iran and then lose business in the U.S."
Wut? That's BS, Irans GDP is bigger than Conneticuts.
#2
Money is moving from there to here in buying American properties. The manipulation of the dollars is positioning money to go to long term secure markets with decent, but not spectacular growth. The more the usual suspects, MSM, keep this need to support a manufactured panic in an election year up the more opportunity grows. If you've got some money put away, it's now a big game of when to step in and pick up some good bargains. While the banks and big money houses are tight as they write off billions in gambling debts, they won't be in the position to exclude the small investors with the usual inside deals as they've done in the past.
It's sort of like the Bunky Hunt brothers silver speculation a couple decades back. When the price of silver reached a certain level, the common folk started unloading their family silver in a big run. That's when the speculation market halted and the prices dropped. When you see the public stepping in to take their opportunity, this stuff will stop too. Can't have the common folk profit, now can we.
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.
KINSHASA (Rooters) - Democratic Republic of Congo's government and warring rebel and militia factions will sign a deal on Tuesday to end fighting in the country's conflict-torn east, government officials and diplomats said on Monday.
Three people were hacked to death in ethnic clashes in Nairobi slums, police said Monday, as mediators prepared a fresh bid to break the deadlock that followed President Mwai Kibaki's re-election. 
One of Liberia's most notorious rebel commanders, known as General Butt Naked, has returned to the nation his troops terrorised to confess, saying he is responsible for 20,000 deaths.
Saudi Arabia is to lift its ban on women drivers in an attempt to stem a rising suffragette-style movement in the deeply conservative state. Government officials have confirmed the landmark decision and plan to issue a decree by the end of the year.
President Hugo Chavez threatened Sunday to take over farms or milk plants if owners refuse to sell their milk for domestic consumption and instead seek higher profits overseas or from cheese-makers. With the country recently facing milk shortages, Chavez said "it's treason" if farmers deny milk to Venezuelans while selling it across the border in Colombia or for gourmet cheeses. "In that case the farm must be expropriated," Chavez said, adding that milk plants could also be taken over. Addressing his Cabinet, he said: "If the army must be brought in, you bring in the army."
Cubans voted in parliamentary elections on Sunday that could start a transition to a post-Castro government in Cuba after half a century of rule by the Communist revolutionary.
After a decisive loss in Nevada on Saturday, John Edwards said he hopes the old saying, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas, proves to be true. Edwards placed a distant third in the Nevada caucusesearning only 4 percent of the vote and acquiring zero delegates. Clinton won 51 percent of the electorate, while Obama received 45 percent.
Former Indonesian president Suharto was able to raise his arm on request and even tried to speak, doctors said on Sunday, as the ailing 86-year-old showed further signs of recovery after more than two weeks in hospital.
