[Tolo News] The Australian government rejected Afghanistan's Caped PresidentHamid Maybe I'll join the Taliban Karzai ... A former Baltimore restaurateur, now 12th and current President of Afghanistan, displacing the legitimate president Rabbani in December 2004. He was installed as the dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001 in a vain attempt to put a Pashtun face on the successor state to the Taliban. After the 2004 presidential election, he was declared president regardless of what the actual vote count was. He won a second, even more dubious, five-year-term after the 2009 presidential election. His grip on reality has been slipping steadily since around 2007, probably from heavy drug use... 's statement condemning a night raid in southern Uruzgan province which left two men dead.
Australian Defence Minister Stephen Smith on Monday told news hounds that Karzai's statement on the military operation was wrong.
"The statement that has been issued by President Karzai's palace over the weekend in Kabul that this operation was not authorised is wrong," he said at a presser.
Karzai released a statement Saturday condemning the "unilateral military operation conducted by Australian troops" as a breach of the special operations agreement signed with NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions... in April which gave Afghans oversight of the controversial night raids.
It said the President has ordered an "all-out probe" into the operation that killed a 70-year old man Haji Raz Mohammad and his 30 year-old son Abdul Jalil.
However, if you can't be a good example, then you'll just have to be a horrible warning... Smith said there had been a "misunderstanding".
"That is not factually correct, and this point has been made strongly by Australia's ambassador to Afghanistan to palace and presidential officials," he said.
Smith confirmed that two men - who he said were gunnies - had been killed, and a third tossed in the calaboose Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un! during the raid.
The man in jug is suspected of having helped or sought to help the Afghan soldier, Hekmatullah, who shot at Australian troops last week, killing three and wounding two.
"The outcome of the operation has been the detention of an individual who is regarded not just as a leader of the insurgency in Uruzgan province but a person who has also sought to or actually assisted Hekmatullah in his escape," Smith told news hounds.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/04/2012 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] Afghanistan's Caped PresidentHamid Maybe I'll join the Taliban Karzai ... A former Baltimore restaurateur, now 12th and current President of Afghanistan, displacing the legitimate president Rabbani in December 2004. He was installed as the dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001 in a vain attempt to put a Pashtun face on the successor state to the Taliban. After the 2004 presidential election, he was declared president regardless of what the actual vote count was. He won a second, even more dubious, five-year-term after the 2009 presidential election. His grip on reality has been slipping steadily since around 2007, probably from heavy drug use... has nominated a cabinet minister to head the country's spy agency who has been accused of involvement in torture, drug-trafficking and corruption.
Asadullah Khalid, the minister for borders and a one-time governor of the Taliban-troubled province of Kandahar, must be approved by a parliamentary vote before taking office as head of the National Directorate of Security.
Ahead of his nomination by Karzai late Sunday, the U.S.-based Human Rights Watch ... dedicated to bitching about human rights violations around the world... (HRW) urged the president not to appoint Khalid, accusing him of rights abuses and graft.
"Numerous and credible reports allege that Asadullah Khalid, while governor of Kandahar province and in other posts, commanded forces that committed grave human rights ...which often intentionally defined so widely as to be meaningless... violations," HRW said in a release.
From 2005 to 2008 Khalid served as governor of Kandahar, where the Taliban insurgency against Karzai's government and its Western allies is most intense.
"Credible allegations have been made that forces under his authority operated a private prison in Kandahar from 2005 to 2008 in which detainees were tortured, including with beatings and electric shocks," the rights watchdog wrote.
"Allegations about abuses have also been made to U.N. and local Afghan human rights groups."
"Khalid has also been accused of corruption and high-level involvement in Afghanistan's narcotics trade."
Speaking on Afghan TV station Tolo News, Khalid denied the allegations. No, no! Certainly not! "I reject it. It's all baseless and it's an attempt to undermine Afghan personalities," he said.
Khalid become controversial in 2008 when reports about his brutal handling of Afghan detainees transferred by Canadian troops -- then operating in Kandahar under NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Originally it was a mutual defense pact directed against an expansionist Soviet Union. In later years it evolved into a mechanism for picking the American pocket while criticizing the cut of the American pants... -- to Afghan custody surfaced in Western media.
"A dark cloud of serious accusations has hung over Asadullah Khalid's head for many years," Brad Adams, Asia director for HRW said.
Appointing him as the head of the NDS "would send a disturbing message that the Afghan government has no intention of ending torture", Adams added.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/04/2012 00:00 ||
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#1
Taking up a collection for all of the people running background checks for Afghan troops. Will be purchasing fisher price farm wheel where you pull the string and it makes animal noises! Have to retool it for goats and giant spiders camels and yaks! Also will be introducing new bdu's for them as I don't want them sticking out with all of their tall dorkyness, trench coats and sunglasses! Got Holly Wood and the digital dorks working on some hunting orange ones they say the terrorists don't see color and I believe them! They our the United States best Allies! Also have something in the works for tapping string and soup cans and breaking the encryption got it from the Iranian Aliens man they got the good stuff! Good Luck!
(Sh.M.Network) -- Security was tightened at various churches in Kenya as worshippers went to the places of worship the first Sunday since widespread chaos targeting Christians erupted in the coastal town of Mombasa.
The riots, sparked by the killing of Moslemholy man Aboud Rogo last Monday, saw protestors attack dozens of churches in what many feared could spark religious violence.
The rioters looted property from churches and set others ablaze in protests that threatened to ignite religious animosity in the East African nation.
Kenya's Prime Minister Raila Odinga blamed the violence that lasted three days on Al-Qaeda allies Al-Shabaab ... Somalia's version of the Taliban, functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda... , whom Kenya and its partners, are fighting in Somalia.
While police managed to quell the violence in Mombasa, many Christians fear for their lives since protestors may spread their attacks.
Besides that, threats of terror attacks from Al-Shabaab still linger over the East African nation.
In the capital Nairobi, faithful in various popular churches worshipped under the watchful eyes of security officers.
The officers made up of private security guards and the police kept vigil as people worshipped, a scenario that has now become familiar to many Christians since snuffies began to target churches in the East African nation.
Worshippers went through several security checks with those carrying handbags and other luggage having to endure lengthy searches.
At Kayole Catholic Church in the east of the capital, faithful queued as several security officers frisked them with metal detectors.
"It is prudent that we delay the service but ensure that worshippers are safe.
"We cannot take chances with the safety of the faithful," said a security officer as he frisked even children.
The officer noted that while they had intensified security since threats of attack started, last week's events inMombasawas a reminder that churches are under threat.
"The riots in Mombasa pointed to the fact that Christian's places of worship and faithful are not safe.
"Churches seemingly have become prime targets of protestors and terrorists," he said.
And as security guards did their work, armed coppers watched from a distance scouting for trouble makers.
"It is said that we have to worship under tight security.
"Things have really changed in this country.
"The depressing thing is that the situation seems not be improving as time goes by," said Silvanus Marete, a worshipper at the church.
Marete noted that churches have become main targets because criminals believe they can get crowds to hurt.
"Terrorists in their misguided missions know that churches are always full of people.
"So, if they attack them, they will inflict pain on many people, but this should not be the case," he said.
He recounted that before the fresh attacks on churches inMombasalast week, security in most churches had been relaxed.
"Security officers were searching people using metal detectors but coppers had stopped manning churches," he said.
According to Marete, threats of terror attack hanging over churches are making the places of worship insecure.
"People can no longer seek solace and guidance at places of worship because they have become insecure and top targets of criminals.
"It is unusual for people to worship under the watchful eyes of police.
"This is not what should happen at places of worship," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/04/2012 00:00 ||
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#1
It is well past time for the churches raise not only their voices but also their fists against these Muslim oppressors. This cannot stand.
Just days after a report that the U.S. was sharply cutting its participation in a military exercise scheduled with Israel, U.S. planes landed in Egypt Tuesday for a joint exercise, the first since the fall of Hosni Mubarak. Code-named Eagle Arena 2012, the exercise will include air and naval forays by US and Egyptian planes and boats, over the country, Sinai, and the Red Sea.
According to Egyptian media reports, the purpose of the exercise is to enable Egyptian forces to practice both defensive and offensive tactics. The specific number of American troops and planes participating in the exercise.
The exercise is one of a series of steps the U.S. has undertaken in recent weeks to build ties with the regime of the Muslim Brotherhood''s Mohammed Morsi, the new President of Egypt. According to U.S. reports, Washington is set to forgive a billion dollars of Egyptian debt as part of its international assistance program for Egypt. The debt will be dumped in the laps of U.S. taxpayers. Egypt currently owes the U.S. some $3 billion.
#6
Try starvation,
No chance of that with the US prepared to bankroll the new regime. U.S. nears deal for $1 billion in Egypt debt relief The Obama administration is close to a deal with Egypt's new government for $1 billion in debt relief, a senior US. official said on Monday, as Washington seeks to help Cairo shore up its ailing economy in the aftermath of its pro-democracy uprising..
#10
In all fairness to the Camp David Accords, it must be pointed out that Egypt already had Islam, a condition that, while not necessary, is certainly sufficient to explain any f**ked-upedness.
#11
I really hope Romney/Ryan tells Egypt to FO. I'm of the opinion if Isreal claims Egypt is breaking the Accords, we should could off aid. Oh how that would ruffle the feathers of the MB who don't yet fulling understand what effects a change in administration can have.
"yeah, the other guy had to go get a Root-Canal, he's not here anymore. If you want, I can direct you to our caller-hotline for the soon-to-be-dead. It's brought to you BY the other guy, so it should work out!"
Posted by: Charles ||
09/04/2012 19:28 Comments ||
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Rabbi Abraham Dayan confirmed that for the first time ever, no Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur prayer services will be held at "Eliyahoo Hanavi"
"Elijah the prophet"
synagogue in Alexandria.
On Sunday it was reported that Egyptian authorities prefered not to enable prayer services due to security risks. This led the head of Alexandria's Jewish community to cancel them.
Bahrain has clarified that a human right activist who has been sentenced to three years in jail was not prosecuted for expressing his opinion but for breaking the law.
That's a huge difference, you see. Everyone knows that you can always express your opinion, whatever it may be, in an Arab kingdom or emirate, but you just can't break the law, nope, nope...
The clarification was made in response to a statement issued on August 23 by three UN experts concerning president of the dissolved Bahrain Human Right Centre Nabeel Rajab.
The Ministry of Human Rights highlighted in a statement on Saturday that Rajab participated previously in tens of protests as well as activities but authorities did not act against him because his activities were within the law. However, when he broke the law, authorities had a legitimate right to prosecute him to protect the rights of others.
Rajab is currently facing five cases before the court, one of which was challenged by his lawyers who succeeded in turning its verdict in his favour. This demonstrates that the judicial process in Bahrain is fair, independent and transparent.
Sure, except he'll be jugged for life on the other four...
Moreover, his lawyers can challenge the other cases before the court, the ministry added.
Unless they also break the law...
The statement said that the opinion of the foreign media is based on distorted information that does not reflect the real situation in the case of Rajab.
So they get MS-NBC there too?
Therefore, the ministry hopes that now, at a time of healing in the country, the external actors would contribute positively by encouraging all parties in Bahrain to recognise the importance of dialogue to reconcile the divisions in society created by last years events.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/04/2012 00:00 ||
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#1
human right activist
Enemies general of the Humankind, to be dealt with as wolves are.
The Mexican Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nacion (SCJN) or Supreme Court ordered 22 soldiers to trial in civilian court over the detention and disappearance of two men in Ciudad Juarez in 2008, according to Mexican news accounts.
A news report posted on the website of Animal Politico political news website Monday evening said that an amparo appeal filed by the 22 defendants was overturned, and the court ordered the military judge in the proceedings to stop the proceedings and turn the case over to a federal judge.
Up until a year ago, military prosecutors nationwide conducted the investigation and prosecution of all Mexican military involved in crimes against civilians, even if those crimes were committed as a part of a military operation. Amparo suits intended to move those cases to civilian courts, which are procedural appeals instituted to assure the rights of defendants, were usually denied by civilian courts in favor of military prosecutors, until the SCJN declared last year that all human rights cases stemming from crimes committed by the military must be prosecuted in civilian courts.
The case involves the detention in November 2008 of two brothers who were arrested by a force of between 40 and 50 soldiers in Ciudad Juarez, and then disappeared.
According to a column by Raymundo Riva Palacio posted in 2009 on the website of Zocalo.com.mx, witnesses had seen soldiers remove the two men from their home and were taken away in military vehicles.
A year after the detention, the Mexican Army and security officials in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua state and even the federal government denied knowing the whereabouts of the two men.
The raid was a joint operation carried out by Mexican Army and Policia Federal, which provided perimeter security for the raid, took the detainees to the headquarters of the Mexican 22nd Motorized Cavalry regiment. One of the detainees, Jose Luis Guzman Zuniga, 29, was arrested for extortion while the other, Carlos Guzmän Zúniga 28, was arrested for possession of cocaine.
The Mexican Procuraduria General de Republica (PGR) or Mexican attorney general denied having been involved in the detention subsequent to the arrests.
According to the Animal Politico story, the Secretaria de Defensa Nacional (SEDENA), the controlling agency for the Mexican Army, had investigated the involvement of four of the soldiers involved in the arrests, but had to date not made any case or arrests against them.
According to current law even though a Mexican federal judge can continue the prosecution, that judge still has the power to dismiss the case outright.
The disappearance case also directly impacts the Mexican Constitution, Article 19, which permits federal courts to assert jurisdiction in cases even though a case may have been a local matter, regardless whether federal security forces were involved in the original arrests.
The SCJN ruling last year which requires human right cases to only be tried in civilian courts, relies heavily on Article 19 which allows federal courts to take jurisdiction in cases even with a jurisdiction issue that would allow the case to proceed in a local or state court.
Chris Covert writes Mexican Drug War and national political news for Rantburg.com
The United States has indirectly informed Iran, via two European nations, that it would not back an Israeli strike against the country's nuclear facilities, as long as Tehran refrains from attacking American interests in the Persian Gulf, Yedioth Ahronoth reported Monday. So we're sacrificing Israel to remain safe ourselves for another year or two...
According to the report, Washington used covert back-channels in Europe to clarify that the US does not intend to back Israel in a strike that may spark a regional conflict. In return, Washington reportedly expects Iran to steer clear of strategic American assets in the Persian Gulf, such as military bases and aircraft carriers. Do we really think the Iranians can whack our fleet assets?
Israeli officials reported an unprecedented low in the two nations'' defense ties, which stems from the Obama administration''s desire to warn Israel against mounting an uncoordinated attack on Iran.
The New York Times reported Monday that US President Barack Obama is promoting a series of steps meant to curb an Israeli offensive against Iran, while forcing the Islamic Republic to take the nuclear negotiations more seriously.
One of the steps considered is "an official declaration by Obama about what might bring about American military action, as well as covert activities that have been previously considered and rejected," the report said.
Several of Obama''s top advisors believe that Jerusalem is seeking an unequivocal American statement regarding a US strike on Iran -- should it actively pursue a nuclear bomb. Israel hopes such a statement is made during Obama''s address before the UN General Assembly on September 25.
Others in the White House said Israel is trying to drag the US into an unnecessary conflict in the Gulf.
White House spokesman Jay Carney said Monday that "There is absolutely no daylight between the United States and Israel when it comes to preventing Iran from getting a nuclear weapon."
Carney said that all options remain on the table for Iran. He said the "window for diplomacy remains open," adding that the diplomatic process remains the best way to deal with the Islamic Republic, though "that window will not remain open indefinitely." Cyber war a go?
According to the New York Times, Washington has also sent Iran a back-channel deal suggesting they curb their nuclear ambitions, but Tehran rejected the deal, saying no agreement is possible sans lifting all West-imposed sanctions.
According to the report, the Obama administration is exploring the possibility of mounting a covert operation, as well as waging a "quiet" cyber war against Iran. It would be better if we worked with the Israelis. It would be better if we activated Operation Lemony Snickett and just let a lot of bad, unexplained, unfortunate incidents occur inside Iran. As Stalin once remarked, we have a 'nobody' problem: "no body, no problem". As more and more Revolutionary Guard commanders, political chiefs, nuclear scientists and ayatollahs meet with unfortunate accidents, our problems become fewer.
President Obama had previously rejected the notion, fearing such cyber assaults would wreak havoc on Iranian civilian life. There's a fair chance the Iranian people would have thanked us for this had we stood by them in 2009...
Later in September, the United States and more than 25 other nations will hold the largest-ever minesweeping exercise in the Persian Gulf, in what military officials say is a demonstration of unity and a defensive step to prevent Iran from attempting to block oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz.
In fact, the United States and Iran have each announced what amounted to dueling defensive exercises to be conducted this fall, each intended to dissuade the other from attack.
#2
The US has denied the Reports but may not be enuff to restore effec trust as per Israelis + US Jews - INSTEAD OF A "COLD WAR" BETWEEN ISRAEL + IRAN, THE COLD WAR INSTEAD IS BETWEEN THE US + ISRAEL???
#3
While at the same time Bammy has sent Gen. Petreaus to Israel as the 'Designated Groveler' to 'splain that the relations between Israel and the U.S. are closer than ever.
more empty words from an empty suit.
#4
According to the report, Washington used covert back-channels in Europe to clarify that the US does not intend to back Israel in a strike that may spark a regional conflict. In return, Washington reportedly expects Iran to steer clear of strategic American assets in the Persian Gulf, such as military bases and aircraft carriers.
So I'm to believe that the folks who run our foreign policy would give away something for nothing? Not even the Obean regime is that dumb.
#7
while forcing the Islamic Republic to take the nuclear negotiations more seriously
Give me a f*cking break. The mullahs have been playing rope-a-dope for years. It's been quite successful for them so far, why should they stop now?
#8
The Jew, what will we do with him? He continues to do the unthinkable, as he bravely denies the right of the world to exterminate him. [sarcasm added]
#10
One thing for sure ... this division between USA and Israel is exactly what the Iranians want. It plays into their hands - by buying them more time. Every day without action by the West - is a big advantage to Ahmadinejad.
#11
Champ will do almost anything to prevent a closure of the Straights of Hormuz before November. $7.00 to $10.00 per gallon gasoline going into the election would be a huge negative. It could happen overnight.
#12
Has bambi ever told the truth? About anything? EVER? What's really sad is that I can believe this. I should have zero doubt we'd abandon our allies but we've already knifed Poland in the back.
#17
I'm actually surprised by this. No, not that B-HO did it, silly. But that he was so obvious about the sellout. Netanyahu lecturing him like a schoolboy must have really wound him up. Welcome to the Chicago Way.
#18
Let's think carefully about what we oppose in Iran. Not the Iranian people. Not their aspirations for wealth and respect. We oppose their government's fostering of hate and fear.
We ridicule their hate. And we disparage their fear.
Whether they have nukes, frightening poopy guns, or just poopy pants, America will always oppose Iran's government as long as it is animated by hate and fear.
America's interests are not primarily in a Navy base or in the security of Israel, they are in the minds of the people of the world, and Iran. America will respect Iran when it respects itself and its neighbors. That is America's interest.
[Dawn] Mohmand Agency ... Named for the Mohmand clan of the Sarban Pahstuns, a truculent, quarrelsome lot. In Pakistain, the Mohmands infest their eponymous Agency, metastasizing as far as the plains of Peshawar, Charsadda, and Mardan. Mohmands are also scattered throughout Pakistan in urban areas including Karachi, Lahore, and Quetta. In Afghanistan they are mainly found in Nangarhar and Kunar... Political Agent Adil Siddique has urged the heads of peace committees and common rustics to fulfil their collective responsibility and check movement of cut-throats in their respective areas.
Addressing two separate tribal jirgas of Safi and Ambar Utamnkhel tribes in Lakaro and Had Kor areas on Sunday, he said that strict action would be taken against the elders of an area if any thug activity happened there.
The jirgas were attended by hundreds of elders and big shots of peace committees belonging to various sub-tribes of Safi and Ambar.
Commandant Mohmand Rifles Col Mushtaq Hussain, Lt-Col Zegham and Assistant Political Agent Rasool Khan were also present on the occasion.
The political agent said that writ of the government had been restored in the region with the efforts of security forces and tribal elders.
"However, we can't all be heroes. Somebody has to sit on the curb and applaud when they go by... you should play due role in restoration of peace in the area," he added.
The official said that restoration of peace was not a difficult task but the main challenge was its maintenance. The recent incidents of militancy affected law and order in the region, he added.
Mr Siddique assured the rustics of reconstruction of all health, educational and others facilities, which were destroyed in the recent conflict. He asked officials of education and health departments to perform their duty regularly otherwise their salaries would be stopped.
Addressing on the occasion, Col Mushtaq urged the heads of Safi and Ambar peace committees to nominate 10 volunteers from each village to form village defence committees in their respective areas. He said that security forces were present in the region to facilitate rustics.
"We will not disturb your tribal customs and jirga system," he told the rustics.
Col Mushtaq said that peace committees should trace the elements involved in thug activities. He also praised Safi and Ambar rustics for rendering sacrifices to bring peace to the area.
The tribal elders including Malik Sadol Khan, Malik Zardali, Malik Ibrahim, Malik Shab Khan and Malik Izzat Khan also spoke on the occasion and said that Mohmand rustics had always supported security forces and rendered sacrifices to eliminate cut-throats in the area.
They said that people of Safi and Ambar tehsils were fully alert to counter thugs' attacks in their areas.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/04/2012 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] Interior Minister Rehman Malik Pak politician, Interior Minister under the Gilani government. Malik is a former Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) intelligence officer who rose to head the FIA during Benazir Bhutto's second tenure. Malik was tossed from his FIA job in 1998 after documenting the breath-taking corruption of the Sharif family. By unhappy coincidence Nawaz Sharif became PM at just that moment and Malik moved to London one step ahead of the button men. He had to give up the interior ministry job because he held dual Brit citizenship. said that foreign elements along with traitors within Pakistain are trying to destabalise the country, DawnNews reported.
Speaking to the media outside the parliament, Rehman Malik said that everyone knows where the headquarters of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi ... a 'more violent' offshoot of Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistain. LeJ's purpose in life is to murder anyone who's not of utmost religious purity, starting with Shiites but including Brelvis, Ahmadis, Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Rosicrucians, and just about anyone else you can think of. They are currently a wholly-owned subsidiary of al-Qaeda ... is and that by arresting Malik Ishaq, the Punjab government has shown responsibility.
When replying to a question he said that according to intelligence reports he had been getting, he had already warned over the past two weeks, that possible terrorist attacks could take place in the major cities of Pakistain.
He also said that strict action will be taken against beturbanned goons no matter where they are hiding in the country. He further stated that al qaida elements had managed to infiltrate into Pakistain, in the same manner as they have in Syria and Yemen.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/04/2012 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] The primary and secondary schools curricula (being taught to children in public and private schools in Punjab and Sindh) is replete with content that can fan hatred, prejudices, torture, extremism and religious intolerance in society.
The curricula 'hate material' is mostly targeted at religious minorities including Hindus, Christians, Sikhs and the neighbouring country, India. There is also a lot of material that has the potential to turn innocent minds against the Englishmen.
Despite hectic and repeated efforts by human rights When they're defined by the state or an NGO they don't mean much... organizations and impartial educationists aimed at pointing out negativity being promoted through textbooks, especially for the last three decades, the latest textbooks have more hate content than those written previously.
A content analysis report (of the books published by Punjab and Sindh textbook boards) prepared by the National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP), entitled "Education or Fanning Hate" says the hate content has increased manifold with the passage of time. Many textbooks that had no hate material in their earlier versions, now carry such material both in Punjab and Sindh.
Educationists believe that now the issue of religious intolerance should be discussed openly and that must lead to some action to save younger students from such influences at the outset.
The content analysis report on Punjab textbooks states that there were 45 lines containing hate material in the books published in 2009-11, which rose to 122 lines in 2012. Urdu and Pakistain Studies' textbooks for Class-VII, VIII, IX and X were found to be the "most-affected" as the hate material swelled from 15 lines to 86 lines this year. In all, 22 lessons in the current primary and secondary schools curricula have hate content.
According to the report, the 2009 textbooks for Class-IX and X Urdu (grammar and composition), Class-IX Pakistain Studies textbook, Class-VI History book and Class-VIII social studies had no hate content but the latest versions of these textbooks have three, three, one and four lessons, respectively, that contain such material. The Class-VIII Urdu textbook had also one such lesson, but in the new book the number has risen to three.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/04/2012 00:00 ||
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#1
They read a book other than the Koran?
Posted by: American Delight ||
09/04/2012 4:46 Comments ||
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A Pakistani court on Monday adjourned by another four days possible bail for a Christian girl accused of blasphemy in a case that has sparked international criticism.
Judge Muhammad Azam Khan has repeatedly delayed bail proceedings for Rimsha Masih, who was arrested last month accused of burning papers containing verses from the Quran in breach of Pakistan's blasphemy laws, punishable by death. Khan on Monday again put back the hearing until September 7 following a request from a lawyer representing Rimsha's original accuser, neighbour Hammad Malik.
Khan really, really doesn't want to die...
Rao Abdur Raheem, the lawyer, said the case should not be heard to show solidarity with a strike being observed by the bar association in neighbouring Punjab province, the largest organisation of its type in the country.
Rimsha's lawyer said the case against his client had collapsed.
'The prosecution has completely failed. There is nothing left in this case now,' Raja Ikram, a lawyer representing Rimsha, told reporters after the adjournment.
On Saturday, police arrested the cleric who originally submitted the burnt papers after his deputy and two assistants said he tampered with the evidence. They said Hafiz Mohammed Khalid Chishti planted pages from the Quran among the burnt pages brought to him by a witness to beef up the case against her.
The whole point is to keep the Christians in their place. How that happens is less important...
Campaigners have demanded Rimsha's immediate release.
'Rimsha must be released now. The evidence has been proved false so there is no reason to keep her behind bars any more,' Shamaun Alfred Gill, a spokesman for the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance (APMA) told AFP.
According to a medical report, Rimsha is around 14 years old with a mental age below her true age, but some reports say she suffers from Down's Syndrome.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/04/2012 00:00 ||
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Israeli officials said Tuesday they are in close discussions with the United States over how to deal with the Iranian nuclear program, seeking to ease tensions that have emerged between the two allies over a possible Israeli military strike against Iran.
The dialogue, in which Israel is looking for President Barack Obama to take a tough public position against Iran, suggests the odds of an Israeli attack in the near term have been reduced.
Israel, convinced that Iran isn''t taking seriously U.S. vows to block it from acquiring nuclear weapons, believes that time to stop the Iranians is quickly running out. A series of warnings by Israeli officials in recent weeks has raised concerns that Israel could soon stage a unilateral military strike. In response, senior American officials have made clear they oppose any Israeli military action at the current time.
After tense exchanges with the Americans, Israeli political and defense officials said Tuesday that the sides are now working closely together in hopes of getting their positions in sync. Clearer American assurances on what pressure it is prepared to use against Iran, including possible military action, would reduce the need for Israel to act alone, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were discussing a security matter.
There was no immediate American comment Tuesday, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu huddled with his security cabinet for a daylong briefing by military intelligence on Iran''s nuclear program.
#2
I can't share your sentiments, g(r)om. It's very sad when someone losses all hope of having a future. I have a very good friend that had some problems and he did something similar a week ago Sunday.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
09/04/2012 7:15 Comments ||
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#3
Muslim suicide motivated by a lack of employment, as reported by his father? We'll have to have another look at this one. For now however, please file under the disappearing wives of Police Sergeant Drew Peterson.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
09/04/2012 13:09 Comments ||
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#6
I'm just actually surprised/relieved he didn't take anyone with him. Usually they die in multiples when someone goes like this, Murder-suicide. Then again would they even report if he'd killed his wife or daughter?
Posted by: Charles ||
09/04/2012 20:08 Comments ||
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AMMAN: The spokesman for the Jordanian Ministry for Communications Affairs and Government Samih Ma'ytah said Jordan would not be able to continue extending help to Syrian refugees if their influx continues at the current pace and the international community pays no attention to the seriousness of the situation.
He told Arab News reporter Sami Al-Zubaidi in Amman that the number of Syrian refugees is steadily increasing and puts an additional burden on his country's limited resources. He said such a burden was not limited to the direct services provided to the refugees but also falls heavily on water and electricity sectors in his country.
He said the buffer zones that have been proposed within Syria are a political and military concept and not a decision made by a country that hosts refugees. He said the establishment of buffer zones has international, military and political dimensions.
Jordan is only concerned with how the international community can undertake its duty toward Jordan and Syrian refugees. A lengthy interview with the minister follows at the link.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/04/2012 00:00 ||
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#1
Whatsa matter? UN only helps Palestinian "refugees"?
The head of Iran''s navy says the country aims to put its warships in international waters off the U.S. coast "in the next few years."
The comments Tuesday from Admiral Habibollah Sayyari on state TV are part of Iran''s response to Washington''s beefed up naval presence in the Persian Gulf.
The U.S. Navy''s 5th fleet is based in Bahrain -- across the gulf from Iran -- and the U.S. plans maritime war games later this month.
Iran has made similar claims in the past that its ships could soon sail into international waters off the U.S. coast.
Tehran and Washington have been in odd over Tehran''s nuclear ambitions that the West suspects it has aimed at weapon. Iran denies the charge.
Our navy has been rescuing a lot of them lately right off their shores in the "Iranian Gulf". Ironically if they make it here, at least they may feel safer.
But it is rather interesting that Hussein seems to have no problem with that kind of thing recently.
#11
Looks like we'll have some new artifical reefs off our shores soon...
Posted by: Abu Chuck ||
09/04/2012 18:49 Comments ||
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#12
Over/Under how many defect? Or know how to swim?
Posted by: Charles ||
09/04/2012 19:52 Comments ||
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#13
IMO its safe to say Iran wants to be an Islamist or Islamic Nuclear Global Superpower.
The Christians have the US including NATO-EU, + Mama Russia; the Jews have We-Cannot-Confirm-or-Deny-Having-Nukes Israel, the Buddhists = Asians have Nuclear China + perhaps Nuclear Hindu India [future Japan?] - there is of course Nuclear Pakistan, but its domestic economy leaves much to be desired at present.
I would say that Iran is taking it upon itself to be the de facto "true" epitome of the Islamic/Muslim World, as opposed to Pakistan, Turkey, KSA or Egypt???
#14
Iff one believes that POTUS Bammer is also the so-called "ObaMuslim", i.e. Islam's "Man/Fifth Column in the White House", then one should believe that it is to ambitious Iran's advantage to help him win four more years as POTUS.
[An Nahar] Hizbullah Secretary-General His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah The satrap of the Medes and the Persians in Leb... on Monday denied that his group possesses nuclear weapons and stressed that the abduction of "innocent people" in Syria cannot force his party to change its stances on the Syrian crisis.
"If the Israelis cross the limits in their aggression, we will not abide by any limits ... but the use of chemical weapons is haram (forbidden in Islam). We don't have chemical weapons and we don't need chemical weapons," said Nasrallah in an interview on the Beirut-based, pan-Arab al-Mayadeen television.
At the end of July, a number of Israeli officials warned against a possible transfer of Syrian chemical weapons to Hizbullah. The Syrian regime, gripped by an unprecedented revolt for 18 months, admitted in July for the first time that it possessed chemical weapons and threatened to use them in the event of foreign military intervention.
Nasrallah, who rarely grants interviews, said that in the case of "enemy attacks" against Leb, Hizbullah would not be content to "defend itself" but would also "enter Galilee".
"Our choices are unlimited and all options are on the table. (Israeli Defense Minister Ehud) Barak once told his soldiers that they might return to Leb and I told the resistance fighters to get ready for a day when they might have to enter the Galilee region and this option is still on the table," Nasrallah said.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/04/2012 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] The success of a new international peace envoy to Syria depends on states such as Turkey, Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in their national face... and Qatar and not on Syria, a Syrian minister told news hounds in Damascus ...The City of Jasmin is the oldest continuously-inhabited city in the world. It has not always been inhabited by the same set of fascisti... on Monday.
"The success of Lakhdar Brahimi does not depend on Syria," said Information Minister Omran al-Zoabi.
"Brahimi's success depends on certain states such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey respecting his mission, by closing their borders to gunnies, and by ceasing to provide weapons," he said.
Newly appointed peace envoy Brahimi is due to arrive in Syria "soon," a foreign ministry front man said on Sunday.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/04/2012 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] Veteran war surgeon Jacques Beres has his own compelling reasons for urging that a no-fly zone be imposed over Syria -- one bomb dropped by the regime leaves more maimed than doctors can fix in a day.
Working undercover in the northern city of Aleppo ...For centuries, Aleppo was Greater Syria's largest city and the Ottoman Empire's third, after Constantinople and Cairo. Although relatively close to Damascus in distance, Aleppans regard Damascenes as country cousins... , which has been pounded for weeks as Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Lord of the Baath... 's forces seek to overrun rebel bastions, Beres insists the corpse count in the Syrian conflict is higher than what is reported.
"At least 50,000 people have been killed without counting the disappeared," Beres, a French surgeon who daily patches up dozens of people in a hospital near the front lines of Aleppo, told Agence La Belle France Presse in an interview.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has a network of activists on the ground across Syria, has given a latest toll of at least 26,283 people killed in Syria since the revolt began in March last year -- 18,695 civilians, 1,079 defectors and 6,509 troops.
But Beres said watchdogs such as the Britannia-based Observatory are unable to paint a full picture of the losses because many deaths are documented "only with ink and paper."
"I am sure that the dead that I have here are not tallied in London," said Beres.
In the past two weeks, he said, he has treated a daily average of 20 to 45 maimed people, the majority of them fighters with the opposition Free Syria Army, including "quite a few jihadists."
Fatalities in rebel ranks range between two and six each day, he said.
But those are just the figures collected in one small hospital within a massive commercial city which is now almost evenly divided between rebel and army-controlled areas.
Many gray zones lie between both camps and the security situation remains fluid: shops open and pedestrian traffic has resumed in some neighborhoods while tank shells and mortar hit others.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/04/2012 00:00 ||
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Syria's main opposition group pleaded Monday for weapons and urgent military intervention to defend civilians from bombardments by Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad's Oppressor of the Syrians and the Lebs... army.
"We need a humanitarian intervention and we are asking for military intervention for the Syrian civilians," Syrian National Council leader Abdel Basset Sayda said after meeting Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo.
"I have the duty of asking for weapons that will allow us to defend against the Syrian armor and weapons that are killing civilians all the time," he told a joint news conference.
Sayda said the Syrian conflict had now killed 30,000 people and forced millions from their homes, including more than three million internal refugees and 250,000 who had fled the country. Another 100,000 had been nabbed. Book 'im, Mahmoud! "Every day we have dozens of deaders and hundreds of maimed and disappeared," he said in Arabic, addressing journalists through a translator.
"We are seeking very quick action by the international community," he said.
Syria's opposition believed the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... could persuade Russia to change its posture at the U.N. Security Council so as to establish safe havens for refugees, Sayda said.
Russia, an ally of the Assad regime, and the Security Council's other veto-wielding members have failed to reach agreement on a proposal to set up protected enclaves for displaced civilians, which would imply authorizing a highly controversial protective military operation.
Following criticism that the SNC was not sufficiently representative, Sayda vowed to call a national dialogue so as to forge a unified position on a post-Assad transition to democracy.
"Syria is a multi-ethnic, multi-confessional country and everyone will have a part in its future. We want everything to be organized according to this principle," he said.
A front man for the SNC told Agence La Belle France Presse on Sunday that the group had agreed to expand its membership and would hold a vote later in September to elect its leadership.
Sayda's mandate, which was due to expire on September 9, had been extended until the leadership vote, he said.
Spain's foreign minister condemned the Assad government's onslaught on Syrian civilians.
"We will do all we can to provide humanitarian help to the Syrian people who are suffering a slaughter," Garcia-Margallo said.
"The Spanish people view the killings with horror."
But he urged Syria's pro-democracy opposition to join forces to avoid a power vacuum.
"In Syria we clearly are talking about a change of regime, Bashar cannot carry on a moment longer for humanitarian reasons," said the foreign minister.
But "the disappearance of Assad cannot be transformed into a power vacuum that could be used by factions," he added.
"Spain is worried about the unity of the democratic forces," the minister said. "Our desire: that the democratic forces come together, including all the minorities except for those that opt for violence," the minister said.
"We encourage you to be increasingly inclusive."
Posted by: Fred ||
09/04/2012 00:00 ||
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#1
Sending in American genetic to to grow arms and cross camels and goats so they have coats in the winter to eat and wear!
[An Nahar] Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Wally Jumblat ... Druze politician, head of the Progressive Socialist Party, who's been on every side in Leb at least four times. He'll sell you his friends for a dollar, but family comes higher because of shipping and handling... stated on Monday that the latest positions on Syria indicate that a regional and international conspiracy has been devised against the Syrian people.
He noted in his weekly editorial in the PSP-affiliated al-Anbaa magazine the "suspicious American and Russian interests in Syria" as demonstrated by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's remarks that the Syrian army will not withdraw from the cities and Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey's refusal to impose a no-fly zone over Syria.
"These two stances will eventually lead to Syria's classification as a failed state," added the MP.
"It is as if some regional and western powers are seeking to reconstruct what is left of the Sykes-Picot agreement," continued Jumblat.
Moreover, he noted that a second bombing had taken place in Syria's Jarmana district, accusing the Syrian regime of being behind the attack in order to "intimidate the people and force them to take up arms to defend themselves."
"The regime and some Druze powers, known for their shortsightedness, are behind this plan," stated the PSP leader.
"These Druze powers are conspiring with some of the Jabal al-Arab leaders to drag the Druze people in Syria into an armed conflict with the revolutionaries," he said.
"This falls in line with the regime's plans to create strife in Syria to eliminate the progress the revolt has been making in Syria," Jumblat added.
He therefore warned "all nationals and honorable men against this scheme."
"The awareness of the Syrian people and their massive sacrifices will lead them to victory," declared the MP.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/04/2012 00:00 ||
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DAMASCUS: The main opposition Syrian National Council has agreed to expand to include more groups opposing Bashar Assad and will reform to be more representative, a spokesman told AFP yesterday.
At a meeting in Stockholm late Saturday, the SNC agreed to expand its membership and to hold a vote later this month to elect its leadership, spokesman George Sabra said. The move follows criticism from both within and outside the group that it is failing to unite the diverse opposition forces working against Assad, after more than 17 months of brutal conflict.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/04/2012 00:00 ||
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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.
The Australian government rejected 
Rabbi Abraham Dayan confirmed that for the first time ever, no Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur prayer services will be held at "Eliyahoo Hanavi" 
The United States has indirectly informed Iran, via two European nations, that it would not back an Israeli strike against the country's nuclear facilities, as long as Tehran refrains from attacking American interests in the Persian Gulf, Yedioth Ahronoth reported Monday.
Mohmand Agency
Interior Minister 
[Dawn] The primary and secondary schools curricula (being taught to children in public and private schools in Punjab and Sindh) is replete with content that can fan hatred, prejudices, torture, extremism and religious intolerance in society.
Educationists believe that now the issue of religious intolerance should be discussed openly and that must lead to some action to save younger students from such influences at the outset.
A Pakistani court on Monday adjourned by another four days possible bail for a Christian girl accused of blasphemy in a case that has sparked international criticism.
AMMAN: The spokesman for the Jordanian Ministry for Communications Affairs and Government Samih Ma'ytah said Jordan would not be able to continue extending help to Syrian refugees if their influx continues at the current pace and the international community pays no attention to the seriousness of the situation.
Hizbullah Secretary-General 
The success of a new international peace envoy to Syria depends on states such as Turkey, 
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
"Every day we have dozens of 
Druze politician, head of the Progressive Socialist Party, who's been on every side in Leb at least four times. He'll sell you his friends for a dollar, but family comes higher because of shipping and handling...
"These two stances will eventually lead to Syria's classification as a failed state," added the MP.
DAMASCUS: The main opposition Syrian National Council has agreed to expand to include more groups opposing Bashar Assad and will reform to be more representative, a spokesman told AFP yesterday.
