(SomaliNet) The crowd had been sweltering for three hours in an overgrown stadium on Saturday before Laurent Nkunda arrived and launched a harangue against the government and the UN peppered with dancing, singing and biblical references.
"They are sending in another 3 000 peacekeepers and you are applauding. You are mistaken!" thundered the rebel leader to a mostly male audience of some 1 500 people, in his first public address in this eastern Democratic Republic of Congo town since capturing it last month.
"We cannot accept there are (outsiders) to provide our security," he argued during a rowdy "popular meeting" in Rutshuru, located about 80 kilometres north of Goma, the main city in war-torn Nord-Kivu province.
Elegantly clad in khakis and walking boots and carrying his trademark cane topped with an eagle's head, the rangy ex-general denounced those "aimed to fight Nkunda" and called for coexistence in a region torn by ethnic differences.
"There is only one solution, we must live together. There is enough space for foreigners," said Nkunda, who claims he is defending the region's Tutsi minority.
Nkunda's arrival here - in a white 4x4 vehicle with tinted windows, preceded by a jeep packed with rebels bristling with machine guns and rocket launchers - came just two days after the United Nations Security Council approved sending 3 000 additional peacekeepers to this troubled central African country, bringing the total UN operation to 20 000.
"We will not accept outsiders coming in to provide security to us here," Nkunda boomed, arguing the extra UN forces were incapable of securing peace and separately slamming the government of Congolese President Joseph Kabila for "bad management."
Earlier in the week, Nkunda's men withdrew from two key frontlines in this eastern province of Nord-Kivu, ostensibly to boost a mission by UN special envoy Olesegun Obasanjo to end months of fighting between Nkunda's rebels and government troops that has displaced a quarter of a million people.
But the rebels remain posted outside Goma, where the conflict is centred.
At Rutshuru, Nkunda appeared to be launching another offensive - aimed to charm or at least sway the local population - complete with rappers sporting military headbands, and dancing by a group of local pygmies and little girls, in which the rebel leader joined in.
Many Rutshuru citizens were afraid to attend the event, members of the audience said, blaming Nkunda's men for pillaging and rape.
But even under the watchful eyes of police and rebels, the crowd gradually appeared to unwind, applauding Nkunda's calls for peace and for a new local administration.
Leaving the stadium, 32-year-old farmer Jules Jean de Dieu said he was "reassured" by Nkunda's announcement that schools would reopen Monday.
For his part, a young student who gave his name only as Innocent, praised the Tutsi leader's call for harmony in the country's east, where the fighting is rooted in ethnic divisions.
But he also noted that Nkunda had not tackled security problems or the difficult coexistence between the rebels and the local population. "He said we could circulate freely, but we don't circulate freely in Kiwanja," a town next to Rutshuru, Innocent said. "There is sexual violence and extortion at night. He did not let us speak about these problems."
Posted by: Fred ||
11/25/2008 00:00 ||
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(SomaliNet) South Africa's ANC leader Jacob Zuma said on Monday that prominent figures, including former UN secretary general Kofi Annan, believe Zimbabwe could soon collapse due to a political and economic crisis. "They believe the situation is very bad. They believe things could collapse in a few months time in Zimbabwe," Zuma told reporters after meeting Annan, former US President Jimmy Carter and other prominent figures.
Annan, Carter and Nelson Mandela's wife, Graca Machel, are among a group of prominent figures and former statesmen called The Elders. They were barred by Zimbabwe from visiting to assess a humanitarian crisis there this weekend.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/25/2008 00:00 ||
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#2
If Annan and Carter turned up at my door , i'd probably turn them away too ..
On the subject of Zimbabwe , the sooner it collapses the sooner it can get better .
Posted by: Unavigum the Rasher of Bacon1103 ||
11/25/2008 5:22 Comments ||
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#3
Thanks to their contacts in Antwerp and the ME, Zimbob and Grace are still doing a lucrative diamond business. Their gold portfolio is managing to keep up as well. His plundering continues unabated. Unless his health fails I doubt he'll be leaving the field soon.
The Kuwaiti government has submitted its resignation to the emir. However, the official news agency said Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah would not decide immediately whether to accept it.
The move follows demands by some MPs to question the prime minister over the recent visit of an Iranian Shia cleric accused of insulting Sunni Muslims. Touchy... good thing a Christian didn't do it- he'd have his head sawed off.
Three Islamist MPs took offence to remarks the cleric made about some companions of the Prophet Muhammad. The resignations are the latest in a series of political crises in Kuwait.
Ministers led by the Prime Minister, Sheikh Nasser Mohammed al-Ahmad al-Sabah, walked out of parliament as it was about to set a date for the questioning session. Without the government in attendance, parliament is not able to proceed with any business.
In the past, Sheikh Sabah has reshuffled governments or dissolved parliament to head off questioning sessions and the votes of confidence that often follow. MPs are unable to question the same minister for the same reason following a ministerial reshuffle. The current cabinet is the third formed since March 2007.
The walkout of the government was a surprise to everyone. It's an indication that parliament might get dissolved.
The Kuwaiti parliament has a reputation for being one of the most independent of any in the Gulf states. That's a pretty low hurdle to get over
But the willingness by some MPs to question the prime minister, a member of the royal family, is still controversial.
The three Islamist lawmakers have not confined their criticism of the prime minister to theological matters. They have also accused him of corruption and allowing public services to deteriorate.
There are fears that another political crisis in this oil-producing state could further delay key economic reforms intended to respond to the global economic slowdown. The government had hoped to pump extra cash into the Arab world's second largest stock exchange and to set up a new financial regulatory system.
A counsel of former BNP lawmaker Mosaddek Ali Falu yesterday told the court he "mistakenly" attached the controversial medical report on his client's health to his bail petition in a relief scam case.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/25/2008 00:00 ||
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Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's allies won a hefty majority of state governorships in Sunday's elections, but the opposition secured important victories by winning the mayor's seat in greater Caracas and two economically vital states.
"Today, the people of Venezuela have spoken," Chavez said early Monday. "Today's victory is Venezuela's. The democratic path has been ratified."
Alberto Muller Rojas, vice president of Chavez's United Socialist Party, characterized the day's vote as a triumph for the government. "We have won in the majority of cases with a substantial difference," Muller Rojas said at a news conference after the election.
But the National Electoral Council said it was still too close to call the winner in the border state of Tachira and in the northern industrial state of Carabobo. It was also unclear who had won in big cities like Maracaibo or Valencia. The president's allies won two states, Yaracuy and Anzoategui, after the government disqualified two promising opposition candidates vying for governorships in those states.
The election was seen as a test of Chavez's dominance in the oil-rich nation, which has been tested in recent months as rising crime, high inflation and food shortages have shaken faith in the man known to his followers as El Comandante. The president had vigorously campaigned for his candidates, knowing a big win would give him the political leverage to reform the constitution and stay in office past 2013, when his six-year term ends.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/25/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Some Venezuelan sites have pointed out that quite a few of the winning governors are only nominally in Chavez's party and opposed the Constitution amendment that would have allowed Chavez to run again in 2012.
PRAGUE: In the 1980s, a Communist secret police agent infiltrated clandestine economics seminars hosted by Vaclav Klaus, a fiery future leader of the Czech Republic, who had come under suspicion for extolling free market virtues. Rather than reporting on Marxist heresy, the agent was most struck by Klaus's now famous arrogance.
"His behavior and attitudes reveal that he feels like a rejected genius," the agent noted in his report, which has since been made public. "He shows that whomever does not agree with his views is stupid and incompetent."
Decades later, Klaus, the 67-year-old president of the Czech Republic — an iconoclast with a perfectly clipped mustache — continues to provoke strong reactions. He has blamed what he calls the misguided fight against global warming for contributing to the international financial crisis, branded Al Gore an "apostle of arrogance" for his role in that fight, and accused the European Union of acting like a Communist state.
Now the Czech Republic is about to assume the rotating presidency of the European Union and there is palpable fear that Klaus will embarrass the world's biggest trading bloc and complicate its efforts to address the economic crisis and expand its powers. His role in the Czech Republic is largely ceremonial, but he remains a powerful force here, has devotees throughout Europe and delights in basking in the spotlight.
"Oh God, Vaclav Klaus will come next," read a recent headline in the Austrian daily Die Presse, in an article anticipating the havoc he could wreak in a union of 470 million people already divided over its future direction.
An economist by training and a free marketeer by ideology, Klaus has criticized the course set by the union's departing leader, President Nicolas Sarkozy of France. The ambitious Sarkozy has used France's European Union presidency to push an agenda that includes broader and more coordinated regulation by the largest economies to tame the worst of the market's excesses.
Even those who worry about Klaus's potential role as a spoiler concede that his influence over policy in the European Union will be circumscribed, given his largely symbolic functions as president in the Czech Republic.
But Klaus's sheer will and inflammatory talk — the eminent British historian Timothy Garton Ash once called him "one of the rudest men I have ever met" — are likely to have some impact.
"Klaus is a provocateur who will twist his arguments to get attention," said Jiri Pehe, a former adviser to Vaclav Havel, Klaus's rival and predecessor as president.
To supporters, Klaus is a brave, lone crusader, a defender of liberty, the only European leader in the mold of the formidable Margaret Thatcher. (Aides say Klaus has a photo of the former British prime minister in his office near his desk.)
To his many critics, he is a cynical populist, a hardheaded pragmatist long known as a foil to Havel, the philosopher-dreamer, and a troublemaker.
Klaus declined to be interviewed for this article. His office called a list of proposed questions "peculiar."
As a former finance minister and prime minister, he is credited with presiding over the peaceful 1993 split of Czechoslovakia into two states and helping to transform the Czech Republic into one of the former Soviet bloc's most successful economies.
But his ideas about governance are out of step with many of the European Union nations that his country will lead starting Jan. 1.
While even many of the world's most ardent free marketeers acknowledged the need for the recent coordinated bailout of European banks, Klaus lambasted it as irresponsible protectionism. He blamed too much — rather than too little — regulation for the crisis.
A fervent critic of the environmental movement, he has called global warming a dangerous "myth," arguing that the fight against climate change threatens economic growth.
Perhaps his greatest ire has been reserved for the European Union. In 2005, he called for it to be "scrapped." Now, he is a vocal opponent of the Lisbon Treaty, which aims to help Europe become more of an international player, but which he argues will strip countries of sovereignty.
On a state visit to Ireland this month, Klaus incensed the government and annoyed many in his own country by publicly praising Declan Ganley, a businessman and political activist who was influential in persuading a majority of Irish voters in June to reject the treaty.
And while other European leaders have criticized a newly assertive Russia, Klaus has forged close ties with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and recently distanced himself from the Czech government's criticism of Russia over the war with Georgia in August.
#2
Had the pleasure of seeing him speak here in Phoenix back in October. Among other things, he pointed out that NATO was the military embodiement of the spirit of Western civilization. It made me realize the whole Old Europe/New Europe thing was real. Having him become the EU president (whatever that means) is encouraging. Good to know somebody in the West still believes it is worth defending.
U.S. President-elect Barack Obama on Monday nominated Timothy Geithner as Treasury Secretary and Lawrence Summers as director of the National Economic Council.
Geithner, the New York Federal Reserve Bank president, and former Treasury Secretary Summers will be at the center of the Obama administration's efforts to fight the worst financial crisis to hit the United States since the Great Depression.
In a statement Obama also named University of California at Berkeley economist Christina Romer as the head of the White House Council of Economic Advisers.
Obama said that he wanted to see a massive stimulus package enacted "right away" as it was desperately needed to jolt the economy back into shape. Asked at a press conference after formally unveiling his economic team, when he hoped to see a new stimulus package passed, Obama replied: "I want to see it enacted right away.
"It is going to be of a size and scope that is necessary to get this economy back on track. I don't want to get into numbers now.
"I think the most important thing to recognize is that we have a consensus, which is rare, between conservative economists and liberal economists, that we need a big stimulus package that will jolt the economy back into shape."
There was no mention Monday of Obama's pick for commerce secretary, with New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson reportedly in line for the job of promoting domestic U.S. industry.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/25/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
More un-change. The New York Fed gave AIG something like $25 billion on top of what the Fed gave them.
Liberal and conservative economists? This ass-hat won't even pretend that he doesn't view economics as politics.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
11/25/2008 0:47 Comments ||
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#2
Tim Geithner speaks fluent Chinese. He received his economics training and experience at Kissenger and Associates. Next question please.
#3
The donks are evidently calling for "W" to resign so The One can jump into action. Here's an idea....
Democracy in Action: "W" resigns and Dick Cheney becomes President (that would really tick off the libs)!!! Then he appoints Condoleeza Rice as VP. Then Cheney resigns two weeks later and Condoleeza Rice, A Republican,
becomes... the first "BLACK - WOMAN" President!!! ***Check Mate.
#8
With the Treasury Secretary on his spending spree he surely isn’t trying to get a good return on the tax payers’ investment. The bailout was to buy up bad mortgage debt but it never did. What is the purpose of the fund? Paulson’s has warrants on many banks and they average 1 – 3 percent when enacted. Yet the cash investment is about 20 percent of the market cap. Maybe the next Treasury Secretary will be less erratic.
http://nomedals.blogspot.com
Posted by: Jason ||
11/25/2008 13:55 Comments ||
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#9
Has there been any comment in RB about the fact that appointing Hillary SoS is probably unconstitutional?
Seems that there is this little clause about congress critters not being allowed to take a position whose salary has been increased while said critter was in congress. This fits Her Thighness.
Isn't Zero supposed to be some sort of Constitutional Scholar?
The International Monetary Fund's (IMF) executive board has formally approved a $7.6 billion bailout package for Pakistan, a private TV channel reported on Monday. A Finance Ministry official said that the first instalment of $3.2 billion would reach the State Bank of Pakistan in seven to 14 days, the channel added. However, the channel said that the IMF had asked Pakistan to reduce its non-development expenditures.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/25/2008 00:00 ||
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The Airports of Thailand has decided to close the Suvarnabhumi airport after PAD protesters entered passenger terminals. Now, there will not be out-bound flights. In-bound planes are being allowed to land for now, but can be diverted to key provincial airports if situations deteriorated.
The order was issued by AOT chief Serirat Prasutanont. He made the decision out of safety concern after PAD protesters penetrated some passenger areas. How long the closure will last is not known.
The People's Alliance for Democracy threatened earlier Tuesday night to close down the Suvanabhumi Airport completely after several thousand PAD protesteers blocked an entrance earlier in the day and caused turmoil for numerous passengers.
As PAD protesters moved to surround Suvarnabhumi Airport where the plane carrying Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat was scheduled to land, the arrival of his plane from Peru was reportedly delayed due to technical problems. The estimated time of arrival has not been confirmed. Some sources said he could be arriving Wednesday evening.
"We have tried to pressure the government for more than 50 hours but nothing has happened, so we need to step up our campaign by closing the airport to tell the world problems Thailand is facing," said PAD leader Sondhi Limthongkul at Government House Tuesday night. The political opposition in Thailand has been exercising the concept of mob rule for several months, to little effect. They have occupied "Government House" for more than a month, causing the Cabinet to displace to the largely unused former International airport facility. This past weekend, they decided to "march on Parliament" - which they effectively shut down on Monday. Today, they first massed, perhaps 30,000 strong, in front of the Military Supreme Command Headquarters - and then decided to close down the main Thai airport - which is a VERY busy airport. The Government has been incredibly tolerant of the disruptive behavior - but the Government's patience must be wearing thin. I suspect that some serious violence may be just days - or even hours - away. I've lived in Bangkok for eight years - and I've never seen anything like this.
#4
Basically they have Thaksin derangement syndrome. Thaksin was kinda like Thailand's Clinton, but he loved money instead of plump chicks. The PAD-ites see the current PM as Thaksin's disciple, and it makes them fightin' MAD! I will add that if they want to get shot by the authorities, closing the intl airport is a good way to do it....
#1
See RIAN > RUSSIAN ANALYST PREDICTS THE DECLINE AND BREAKUP OF THE USA/US ALREADY IN THROES OF COLLAPSE [Prof.Igor Penarin]. May destabilize and break up into SIX SECTIONS.
#2
With this blatant and apparently unstoppable raid of our Federal treasury, perhaps we are in collapse. Six sections sounds about right: East Coast, West Coast, Chicago Lake area, Old South, Northern Midwest, Southern Midwest ???
The experiment probably lasted longer than they expected. Let us just hope that somehow, someway, it lives on.
#3
Joe, you are pissing me off. Why can't you post the damn link? I can't find the article there (highlight, press ctrl+c and then ctrl+v. Copy and paste, that is all to it. Please.
#5
This is fairly ominous. Japan has already stopped buying Treasuries. If China does so, the House of Cards may collapse. In order to obtain capital, interest rates on T-Bills will mandatorily rise. This scheme may work for a while...10-20 years. When debt service rises beyond 1/3 of GDP, look for US to stop servicing debt payments. Then, all hell will break loose. Or, alternatively, taxes on US citizens will rise to prohibitive levels...maybe 60% total, including, federal, state taxes, fees, fees, and more fees...of annual earnings. This madness is not sustainable. The only way to grow beyond it is to impose substanial tariffs on imported goods, returning most jobs to US domain. This, too, would create havoc in the rest of the world, and no doubt, lead to serious conflicts. Probably the best path for US citizens.
#7
No no no. There is NOT 700 billion or 7 trillion of bad mortgage loans out there. There IS some multiple of 100 billion of BAD PAPER out there. Some people bought the wrong paper. It's the government working now to make those people whole on the backs of the American taxpayer. That's the crisis.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
11/25/2008 11:09 Comments ||
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#8
The only way to grow beyond it is to impose substanial tariffs on imported goods, returning most jobs to US domain.
That worked well with Smoot-Hawley. /sarcasm off
Anyone else notice that the unemployment has also moved with the jobs. The economy has been and is cyclic and a significant down turn has been due. Usually assisted by stupid leverage tricks and both government interference in the basic market and failure to enforce regulations established from lessons learned from previous experience. The low level jobs may have been contracted out [either across borders or illegally imported] but the unemployment that hits with the vagaries of the economy go with it.
#10
Issuing bonds in a foreign currency is a stupid idea. Every banana republic out there has issued foreign currency bonds. The result has always been a major boom followed by the complete collapse of the currency and economy - defined here as a 50% contraction - accompanied by widespread social unrest. If we can't finance out debt, the right way to fix this is to cut expenditures and raise yields. We don't need a penny of foreign financing. Americans will rush in to buy Treasuries with 5% yields. The problem is that the Treasury department won't issue them - they are putting out debt without compensating for the risk of future hikes in rates.
#12
Assuming there isn't a total collapse of confidence in the dollar, can't anyone see that the unleashing of all this cash (albeit really just paper) will result in massive inflation as trillions of TARP/bailout funds work into the econmy? I was in the market in the 80's when we had money market rates of 18+ %, and remember selling a guy US Treasury Bonds for Puerto Rico at 13%. Those numbers will be chickenfeed in this next go round.
You can only shake the confidence of the public so long, and DIRE things start to happen.
And into this massive mess, domestically and abroad, steps ZERO, with manical, calculating and adroitly sly Marxist plans.....
sounds like a Clancy novel, or more likely Cussler....
My grandparents are spinning in their graves in anger at how we have screwed up the grandest experiment in the history of mankind!
#13
This scheme may work for a while...10-20 years
Try 10-20 months. I've concluded that this is a attempt to jump start the economy before the effects of paying the government debts are felt.
Read the UK Times and Telegraph where there are discussions of the impact of the debt resulting from the current bailouts and stimuluses. If economies are not back to something like normal in 18 months or less then the gamble will have failed and government debt will drag us into something worse.
BTW, the USA was hit worst in the Great Depression because it had most of the world's excess manufacturing capacity. This time around, it will be China.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
11/25/2008 19:42 Comments ||
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#18
Methinks the Russian was just reflecting on his own experience of an empire collapsing . Euros have been betting on an American breakup since the Treaty of Paris.
Han Solo: You said you wanted to be around when I made a mistake, well, this could be it, sweetheart.
Princess Leia: I take it back.
FOX News Channel's (FNC) Alan Colmes will relinquish his role as co-host of Hannity & Colmes at the end of the year.
In announcing his decision, Colmes said, "I approached Bill Shine (FNC's Senior Vice President of Programming) earlier this year about wanting to move on after 12 years to develop new and challenging ways to contribute to the growth of the network. Although it's bittersweet to leave one of the longest marriages on cable news, I'm proud that both Sean (Hannity) and I remained unharmed after sitting side by side, night after night for so many years."
Colmes will continue to have a presence on FNC as he will serve as a liberal commentator on a variety of FOX News programming, including Foxnews.com's The Strategy Room and continue hosting his radio program, The Alan Colmes Show on FOX Talk, a division of FOX News Radio. He will also begin developing a weekend program.
Shine said, "We're very sorry to see Alan reach this decision but we understand his desire to seek other creative challenges in his career. We value his incredible hard work in making Hannity & Colmes the most successful debate program on cable news and we're going to miss him on the show. Thankfully, he will begin developing a weekend pilot for us."
FOX News Chairman & Chief Executive Officer Roger Ailes added, "Alan is one of the key reasons why FOX News has been such a remarkable success. We're sad to see him leave the program but we look forward to his ongoing contributions to the network."
Hannity & Colmes is the only FNC program which has remained in the same timeslot for 12 years, catapulting to number one in 2003 and never relinquishing the top spot. The second highest-rated program in cable news behind only The O'Reilly Factor, Hannity & Colmes averaged 3.3 million viewers nightly for the Nielsen month of October and is poised to mark 60 consecutive months at number one at the end of November.
Hannity added, "Not only has Alan been a remarkable co-host, he's been a great friend which is rare in this industry -- I'll genuinely miss sparring with such a skillful debate partner."
Posted by: Fred ||
11/25/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Great! Now can we look forward to "Hannity and Coulter"?
Maybe Alan found he can make more money getting folks all riled up about global warming. ;-)
#2
Story line is Colmes "asked" to go. I doubt it. Hannity found out he was better received on his own with his radio show. Time to let ole Colmes join the looney left group.
#3
Love listening to the leftist's positions but Colmes' were rather rote-ish and DNC talking-point-esque. Little objective thought there and to be fair Hannity had about the same approach from the conservate side but he at least criticised Repulicans when warranted.
#4
I'm amazed he lasted as long as he did on that show. I don't particularly like the yell at each 'cross-fire' style shows and think they should just end the show rather than rename it with a new cohost.
#6
I can't watch that show for more than about 30 seconds. It gives me a headache. Everyone is yelling at one another, nothing more than a sound bite is said...just utter bs. They can both go AFAIC.
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.
(SomaliNet) South Africa's ANC leader Jacob Zuma said on Monday that prominent figures, including former UN secretary general Kofi Annan, believe Zimbabwe could soon collapse due to a political and economic crisis. "They believe the situation is very bad. They believe things could collapse in a few months time in Zimbabwe," Zuma told reporters after meeting Annan, former US President Jimmy Carter and other prominent figures. 
Decades later, Klaus, the 67-year-old president of the Czech Republic — an iconoclast with a perfectly clipped mustache — continues to provoke strong reactions. He has blamed what he calls the misguided fight against global warming for contributing to the international financial crisis, branded Al Gore an "apostle of arrogance" for his role in that fight, and accused the European Union of acting like a Communist state.
U.S. President-elect Barack Obama on Monday nominated Timothy Geithner as Treasury Secretary and Lawrence Summers as director of the National Economic Council. 
