GAROWE, Somalia -- Puntland government in northern Somalia has suspended cooperation with the Somali Federal Government in Mogadishu until the countrys constitution is restored, Garowe Online reports. Puntland President Abdirahman Farole said that Puntland was founded in 1998 to establish law and order in the territory and to help establish a federal system of government for Somalia.
If Puntland had existed as it does today in 1991 when Mogadishu collapsed, then Puntland would not have collapsed. This is among the benefits of federalism, President Farole said.
The Puntland leader spoke at length about the process to establish the Federal Government in Mogadishu, noting the sacrifices of life and limb made to ensure that Somalia had a functioning national government.
However, the federal constitution is the fundamental thing that keeps Somalia together. Without the constitution, Puntland is not married to Mogadishu; Puntland is only married to its state constitution, President Farole declared, to the crowds applause.
He criticized the Federal Government for failing to print new Somali Shilling currency and to help Somali markets recover, despite Puntlands repeated appeals and the March 11 agreement signed in Garowe between President Farole and Somali Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon.
President Farole condemned Somali federal officials for preventing Sudanese scholarships for Puntland students, saying: Do they [Federal Government] expect us to travel to Mogadishu so Sudanese scholarships can be distributed? What era are we in? Who do they think we are? he asked to the crowds applause.
Puntland educational certificates do not require Mogadishus stamp of approval. If anything, Puntland should approve Mogadishus educational certificates, because Puntland has a unified curriculum, functioning institutions, standardized examinations, and an educational policy, said President Farole.
They're rather acting like a country...
Continuing, he said: Puntland will suspend all cooperation and relations with Somali Federal Government until the countrys genuine federal constitution is restored. Puntland does not recognize the tampered constitution the Federal Government now uses and Puntland does not recognize any law passed by Federal Parliament using the tampered constitution. Puntland considers the tampered constitution as Mogadishu regional government's constitution, not Somalia's federal constitution.
President Farole declared that Puntland will attend the New Deal conference in Brussels in September only with its own name, status and will speak on its own behalf. No entity will represent Puntland except Puntland government, he added.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/03/2013 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
[AnNahar] Islamist backers of Egypt's deposed president Mohammed Morsi staged defiant rallies Friday, with police firing tear gas at demonstrators, after the government ordered their protest camps to be broken up.
The new marches came after U.S. Secretary of State John F. I was in Vietnam, you know Kerry Former Senator-for-Life from Massachussetts, self-defined war hero, speaker of French, owner of a lucky hat, conqueror of Cambodia, and current Secretary of State... angered Morsi loyalists by saying said Egypt's military had been "restoring democracy" when it deposed the Islamist leader.
Meanwhile, ...back at the revival hall, the SWAT team had finally arrived... world powers pressed both sides to resolve the impasse peacefully, with U.S. Under Secretary of State William Burns expected in Cairo on Friday night for more talks.
Morsi supporters began to march after Friday prayers, pouring out of several Cairo mosques.
The afternoon rallies passed off peacefully, with demonstrators marching along main thoroughfares in the capital.
Early evening, they held several smaller demonstrations, including by Cairo's Media Production City in the city's outskirts, where security forces fired tear gas after protesters "tried to storm" the building, a security source told Agence La Belle France Presse.
Protesters tore up the pavement to make barriers as police in armored vehicles fired barrages of tear gas, an AFP correspondent said.
"I am a Musselmen, not a terrorist," demonstrators chanted.
Eyewitnesses also reported festivities between residents in the Alf Maskan area and Morsi loyalists after they tried to set up a protest site.
The Anti-Coup Alliance of groups calling for Morsi's reinstatement said it planned to make Alf Maskan a new sit-in site.
It also announced Friday evening marches to four security buildings in Cairo, including two army headquarters.
The marches came a day after Kerry in an interview with Pakistain's Geo television appeared to defend Morsi's ouster.
"The military was asked to intervene by millions and millions of people, all of whom were afraid of a descendance into chaos, into violence," he said.
"And the military did not take over, to the best of our judgment -- so far. To run the country, there's a civilian government. In effect, they were restoring democracy," he added.
A front man for Morsi's Moslem Brüderbund denounced Kerry's comments, accusing Washington of being "complicit" in the coup.
"Is it the job of the army to restore democracy?" asked Gehad al-Haddad in a statement.
Morsi's supporters have remained defiant in the face of mounting threats from the army-installed interim government.
On Thursday, the interior ministry urged those at protest sites in Rabaa al-Adawiya and Nahda squares "to let reason and the national interest prevail, and to quickly leave."
The ministry pledged "a safe exit and full protection to whomever responds to this appeal."
The state-owned al-Ahram newspaper, quoting police sources, reported that police had prepared a plan to end the sit-ins, but had not decided when to implement it, with the cabinet still hoping for a peaceful resolution.
The stand-off has raised fears of new violence. More than 250 people have been killed since Morsi's ouster.
Diplomatic efforts to avoid further bloodshed have gathered pace.
Kerry said Friday that Egypt should "get back to a new normal" and a senior Egyptian official said U.S. envoy Burns would arrive in Cairo for talks.
The visit comes on the heels of trips by the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... 's Middle East envoy Bernardino Leon and German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle.
A senior member of the Freedom and Justice Party, the political arm of Morsi's Moslem Brüderbund, said the European envoys had asked them to end their sit-ins.
Speaking after meeting Brotherhood representatives, Westerwelle warned that the situation was "very explosive" and reiterated a call for a "peaceful solution."
Morsi has been formally remanded in jug on suspicion of offenses when he broke out of prison during the 2011 revolt that toppled former president Hosni Mubarak ...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011...
Prosecutors have also referred three top Moslem Brüderbund leaders, including supreme guide Mohamed Badie, for prosecution of allegations of inciting the deaths of demonstrators.
Morsi was tossed in the slammer Youse'll never take me alive coppers!... [BANG!]... Ow!... I quit! hours after the coup and is being held at some holy man's guesthouse an undisclosed location, where his family has been unable to see him.
EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton met Morsi on Tuesday, later telling news hounds he was "well".
Qatar, a staunch backer of Morsi's presidency, announced meanwhile that it had shipped a consignment of liquified natural gas to Egypt, in the first gesture of its kind since Morsi was deposed.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
08/03/2013 08:13 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[5 views]
Top|| File under: Muslim Brotherhood
#1
Qatar, a staunch backer of Morsi's presidency, announced meanwhile that it had shipped a consignment of liquified natural gas to Egypt, in the first gesture of its kind since Morsi was deposed
It's called "knowing which way the wind is blowing".
An international human rights group has warned Egypts new interim leadership against ending sit-ins by loyalists of ousted president by force, saying all measures must be taken to avert a bloodbath.
Unless the Brüderbünd stages it. Then it's only 'regrettable'...
The statement by Human Rights Watch came as Mohammed Mursis followers called for new mass rallies across the country on Friday in defiance of a government order to disband.
Nadim Houry from the New York-based group says Egyptian authorities need to avoid another bloodbath and ensure the ongoing right of protesters to assemble peacefully.
Egypts military deposed Mursi on July 3, following days of demonstrations by millions who rallied against him and the rule of his Muslim Brotherhood. Many say Mursis one-year rule was rampant with political failures and focused on concentrating power in the hands of his Islamist group.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/03/2013 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Haven't you heard---it's not a coup? So shut up!
The new commander of the Ingush wing of the North Caucasus insurgency, Emir Ubaydullakh, has declared his qualified support for Khamzat Chumakov, the hugely popular imam of a mosque on the outskirts of Nazran.
Over the past 10 days, Ingush officials have repeatedly sought to intimidate Chumakov, who openly defied a demand by Republic of Ingushetia chief Yunus-Bek Yevkurov to resign his post and to stop criticizing the republic's authorities.
Ubaydullakh has said that the authorities' harassment of Chumakov is understandable in light of his relentless criticism. Ubaydullakh predicts that Chumakov may be killed to silence him, as was Magomed Yevloyev, owner of the independent website Ingushetiya.ru, five years ago.
Instead, Ubaydullakh continues, Chumakov may be forced to emigrate, or he may join the insurgency. The latter course of action seems unlikely, however, given Chumakov's rejection of violence and concerted efforts to dissuade young men from "heading for the forest" to join the insurgents' ranks.
[Dawn] Provincial revenue minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur on Wednesday declared the Dera Ismail Khan ... the Pearl of Pashtunistan ... jailbreak incident an act of cowardice on part of local police and said tough action would be taken against those responsible for the debacle.
"Police officers and constables had hidden in sewer lines when Death Eaters attacked the Dera Ismail Khan central prison. Our head hangs in shame," Ali Amin Gandapur told a news conference.
The minister, who also belongs to Dera Ismail Khan, said coppers and constable with the exception of a few had disappeared at the time of the jail attack and there was no one to defend the premises.
He said Death Eaters succeeded in carrying out their task without resistance for more than 45 minutes due to cowardice on part of police.
Mr Gandapur said the main gate of the prison had been built by the British and it was not something that could have been blown up.
"But the irony is that our own officials opened the gate to Death Eaters to welcome them. The entire force had disappeared instead of confronting bad boys," he said.
The minister said instead of laying down their lives to protect the honour and property of the people, senior coppers hid themselves in sewer lines.
"These officers act like tigers confronting ordinary citizens but chicken out when they see bad boys," he said.
Mr Gandapur said the nation would have been proud of its police had they laid down their lives by defending the prison but instead, they (police) simply disappeared when one of the armoured personnel carriers was blown up by bad boys.
He said the government did not have a magic wand to correct the mess caused by former rulers but it was committed to correcting the situation and restoring law and order in the province.
The minister said those found guilty of dereliction of duty and negligence over the jailbreak would be dealt with strictly.
He said he had spoken to the relevant authorities, so curfew would be lifted from Dera Ismail Khan city on Thursday.
Mr Gandapur said those killed in the attack would be properly compensated.
He criticised Punjab law minister Rana Sanaullah and Jamaat Ulema-e-Islam ...Assembly of Islamic Clergy, or JUI, is a Pak Deobandi (Hanafi) political party. There are two main branches, one led by Maulana Fazlur Rahman, and one led by Maulana Samiul Haq. Fazl is active in Pak politix and Sami spends more time running his madrassah. Both branches sponsor branches of the Taliban, though with plausible deniability... -Fazl leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman Deobandi holy man, known as Mullah Diesel during the war against the Soviets, his sympathies for the Taliban have never been tempered by honesty ... for taking potshots at the PTI government. "They should look into their own conscience," he said. The minister said recruitments in police in the past were done in disregard of merit and that was one of the reasons for the current state of affairs in police.
JAILBREAK CASE REGISTERED: The Dera Ismail Khan police on Wednesday registered the case of the Dera Ismail Khan jailbreak against unidentified attackers under anti-terrorism act and different sections of other laws.
The case was registered at the cantonment cop shoppe.
Jail superintendent Ghulam Rabbani registered the case against 200 unidentified attackers at the cantonment cop shoppe under sections 302, 324, 353, 365, 427, 435, 224A, 225A, 120B-3/4EXP-7ATA-186/148-149PPC.
The report said Death Eaters attacked the prison at midnight, broke locks of cells by firing gunshots, killed prisoners and coppers, took away wanted Talibs, women prisoners, and woman constable Gulab Bibi.
It said the room of the deputy jail superintendent was set on fire, the record destroyed and jail vehicles torched. Also in the day, curfew timing was relaxed.
Dera Ismail Khan commissioner Irfanullah on Wednesday said curfew had been relaxed from 10:00am to 12noon and for an hour from 4:00pm to 5:00pm in the city to facilitate the people to buy food items for Iftar and Sehri.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/03/2013 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[7 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
#1
They ran and hid.
Sounds like normal Muslims to me, yell a lot and do nothing, (without well hidden assets, like faces.)
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
08/03/2013 8:39 Comments ||
Top||
[Dawn] The entire district police is being deployed at the Central Jail Hyderabad to prevent any attempt of jail breaks.
The move came following the violent jail break in Dera Ismail Khan ... the Pearl of Pashtunistan ... recently.
Earlier DawnNews had reported that in a communiqué sent to the Sindh government, the interior ministry warned of possible attacks on Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... , Hyderabad and Sukkur prisons.
After receiving the communiqué, IG Sindh prisons Nusrat Mangan gave instructions for stepping up security at all the prisons.
Talking to Dawn.com, SSP Saqib Memon said that there was an intelligence information that Hyderabad jail would be attacked on the pattern of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central...
He said the information does not name the group which could possibly be behind the attack.
"Police from the entire district is being mobilised for deployment at the central prison. Also, demand for more reinforcement is being put up to authorities," he further said.
He added that the police deployment was underway for the last two to three hours.
Hyderabad's central prison is a colonial era jail. It is believed that prisoners belonging to banned outfits are lodged here, including Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, who was awarded capital punishment in the kidnapping and murder case of US journalist Daniel Pearl.
Co-accussed of this case including, Salman Saqib, Fahad Naseem and Sheikh Adil are in Karachi jail.
Sindh IG Prison Nusrat Mangan said that this was an old intelligence report given to the authorities after DI Khan jail break.
"However, a hangover is the wrath of grapes... we are in a state of high alert since the last one week," he said.
He said that Karachi, Sukkur, Hyderabad are likely targets for jail break.
Its worth noting that Rangers have arrived at the central prison while there has been a power breakdown in the area for some hours.
The inner and outer premises have already been cordoned off while SSP Hyderabad was also inside the facility. The central prison is located off the National Highway.
It is surrounded by colonies like Mubarak housing society which is a predominantly Ismaili community colony, Sahafi colony, Hur camp, police CIA centre and Baldia cop shoppe. It also faces a multi story hotel as well.
Dozens of heavily-armed Pak Taliban forces of Evil freed nearly 175 inmates, including 35 'high-profile myrmidons', during a brazen overnight attack on the central jail in Dera Ismail Khan on Tuesday.
Similarly in early 2012, snuffies launched and audacious attack on a prison in Bannu, where they freed nearly 400 prisoners.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/03/2013 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
#1
Lock the barn, the horse is gone.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
08/03/2013 8:49 Comments ||
Top||
[AnNahar] Nasrallah In Public Speech Says Israel Demise A Lebanese Interest, Resistance To Protect Country Alongside Army
Every once in a while it's good to remind ourselves what we're fighting against...
Hizbullah chief His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah The satrap of the Medes and the Persians in Leb... on Friday noted that "Israel's demise is a national Lebanese interest," stressing that Hizbullah will continue to "protect our country alongside the national Lebanese army" and that it will not "abandon Paleostine," as he made a rare public appearance at a rally in Dahieh.
It was the first appearance in public since last September for Nasrallah, public enemy number one for Israel and a staunch ally of Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Before going into the family business Pencilneck was an eye doctor. If he'd stuck with it he'd have had a good practice by now... whose troops have been battling an insurgency since 2011. His appearance comes less than two weeks after the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... listed Hizbullah's military wing as a "terrorist" organization.
"Entire Paleostine, from the sea to the river, must return to its people. No one in the world, no king, prince, Sayyed, leader, president or state has the right to give up a single grain of sand of Paleostine's land," said Nasrallah in a speech marking Quds (Jerusalem) Day.
This day "aims to remind Mohammedans and the world of the Paleostinian cause and to rescue Jerusalem from the hands of the Zionist occupiers and it is an occasion to shed light on what Paleostine and its people are suffering from the siege, Judaization, starvation and the demolition of holy sites," Nasrallah said.
"Today, on August 2, 2013, we critically need to commemorate the occasion, and I thank all of you for heeding the call of (late) Imam (Ruhollah) Khomeini," leader of the 1979 Iranian Revolution, Nasrallah told supporters.
He warned that Israel poses a "grave and permanent threat to all the states and peoples of this region and its capabilities, security, dignity, safety and illusory sovereignty, and anyone who denies that would be practicing obstinacy."
"Therefore, it is not only an existential threat to Paleostine's people, but also to all the peoples and civilizations of the region," added Nasrallah.
"The removal of the usurper entity is in the interest of the entire Islamic world and the entire Arab world and it is also a national interest for every country in the region. Israel poses a threat to Jordan and its demise is a national Jordanian interest, it poses a threat to Leb and Israel's demise is a national Lebanese interest," he went on to say.
He added that accordingly, "anyone who stands in the face of the Zionist scheme anywhere in our region and through any means, would be defending his country, people and the future of his children and grandchildren, in addition to defending Paleostine."
He called for highlighting the priority of "this conflict with the Zionist scheme in Leb, Syria and Jerusalem."
"All the massacres and plights that we suffered in Leb and the region can be attributed to abandoning the priorities and responsibilities," Nasrallah noted.
"Unfortunately, some in the Arab world who are backed by the states and governments of the West are blocking and preventing this priority and are pushing peoples to endorse other priorities and are inventing new wars. First they spoke of the communist expansion and Paleostine was forgotten and they spent billions and came up with books, conferences and wars. Then they invented the Iranian and Persian expansion and a war that cost billions was waged against Iran. Had they spent only one tenth on Paleostine, it would have been liberated," he added.
"They then used the so-called Shiite expansion and said the priority is confronting the Shiite threat because it poses a greater threat to the nation than the Zionist scheme. To many, Israel is not a threat and an enemy anymore," Nasrallah lamented.
He added that what's worse is that "they gave some local conflicts a sectarian nature."
"In Egypt, there is an acute political rift, but it is political and not sectarian. The same applies to Yemen, Tunisia and Libya. But when it comes to countries that have diversity, such as Syria, Leb, Iraq and Bahrain, the political conflict is turned into a sectarian conflict and they invoke the conflicts of history," Nasrallah noted.
"Isn't it time for the peoples of the region to realize that some parties are seeking to destroy the region and its countries, armies and peoples? They don't only want to fragment the nations but also to fragment the peoples into sects. Isn't it time for the peoples of the region to point their fingers at the countries that are sponsoring this destructive, spiteful scheme, which is the most dangerous scheme our region has witnessed?" he said.
Nasrallah pointed out that anyone backing the "Takfiri ...an adherent of takfir wal hijra, an offshoot of Salafism that regards everybody who doesn't agree with them as apostates who most be killed... groups" ideologically, financially and in the media and anyone "pushing them to the battlefields" bears the first responsibility for all the "ongoing destruction."
Hizbullah's leader called on everyone to realize the threats and "exert strenuous efforts in every country to resolve its issue through dialogue and halt the bloodshed, in Syria, Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain, Pakistain and Somalia," noting that "unfortunately, wherever these Takfiri groups go, there will be disasters."
"In Hizbullah, we have always and will continue to seek common denominators and to organize and postpone our differences, because the disputes have become destructive," he said.
"Where will this madness lead everyone? This is the responsibility of all the scholars and for the sake of the entire nation efforts must unite to defeat this destructive scheme," added Nasrallah.
But he reassured that "our people are capable of defeating this scheme and God willing it will be defeated."
"We in Hizbullah stress our commitment to these principles, for which our enemies and sometimes our friends criticize us," he added.
Addressing the dispute with the Paleostinian Islamist movement Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, over the conflict in Syria, Nasrallah said: "We in Hizbullah will keep supporting Paleostine and we're keen on good ties with all the Paleostinian forces, although we might have our differences sometimes over Syria and Paleostine."
"Whatever the doctrinal, religious or political dispute might be, Paleostine must remain the main cause," he stressed.
Nasrallah thanked Hizbullah's regional allies Iran and Syria "for all they are doing for Paleostine."
Turning to Leb, Nasrallah said: "We will remain a vigilant and alert resistance to protect our country alongside the national Lebanese army and we send a big salutation to its command, officers, soldiers and maimed."
He also noted that certain forces ]are seeking to "remove the Shiites of the Arab and Islamic worlds from the equation."
"Describe us as rejectionists, describe us as terrorists, describe us as criminals, say whatever you want and keep killing us ... On every front, at the door of every hussainiyah and mosque, we the Shiites of Ali bin Abi Taleb will not abandon Paleostine," Nasrallah vowed.
Continued on Page 49
[AnNahar] A Lebanese suspect with alleged links to Hizbullah and on trial in Nigeria for terrorism offenses told a court on Friday he was aware of a plot to assassinate 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 the Soddy national face... 's ambassador to Abuja.
The alleged plot, which had not previously been made public, came up during questioning of the defendant during the trial of him and two other Lebanese in high court in the Nigerian capital.
The defendant, Talal Ahmad Roda, alleged that another man who is on the lam was behind a plot to assassinate the ambassador. The man was identified as Abdulhassan Tahir.
Asked by prosecutor Samuel Edege whether he was aware of the alleged plan, he said "yes" but did not know other details. Questioning then moved on to other subjects.
It was not clear whether anyone sought to put the alleged plot into action or which Saudi ambassador had been targeted for liquidation since a name was not provided. The motive for the alleged plot was also not described.
An official at Saudi Arabia's embassy who did not want his name used told AFP it was unaware of the alleged plot.
"We don't have any information about this story," the official said. "We just heard it from you."
The three men on trial are accused of plotting attacks against Israeli and Western targets in Nigeria as well as having links to Hizbullah.
They were charged in June after authorities discovered a cache of arms at a business in Abuja and a private home in the northern city of Kano.
Nigeria is grappling with a deadly Islamist insurgency waged by Boko Haram ... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality... , but there has been no suggestion of any ties between the Lebanese accused and the Nigerian myrmidon group.
Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, is home to a sizable Lebanese population, including in the mainly Mohammedan north.
Considering the disagreements between the Central Bank of Iran, Industry, Mine, and Trade Ministry, and the Customs Administration of Iran, the country will face food shortage in the Iranian months of Sharivar and Mehr (August 23-October 22), Assadollah Asgaroladi, Head of Export Commission of Iran's Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Mines said on Wednesday.
"Most of the goods that are stuck at the Customs are foods that could be expired," the ILNA News Agency quoted Asgaroladi as saying.
Currently 10,000 containers of food stuff and medicines are stuck at the country's customs, while another 5,000 containers are ready to be shipped to Iran.
The three parties cannot reach agreement over the allocation of official-rate forex to the staple food imports.
Regarding the staple foods, the prices of 43 groups of food, including dairy, egg, rice, beans, fruits, meat, vegetables, sugar, tea, and edible oil have risen in Iran last week (ended July 19) compared to the same period in the previous year, Tasnim news agency reported on July 29.
According to the report released by the Central Bank of Iran, the price of dairy products, rice, and meat rose by 0.5 percent, 0.1 percent, and 0.1 percent respectively, compared to previous year. The prices of egg, fruits, vegetables, and sugar also fell by 0.3 percent, 2.5 percent, 1.7 percent, and 0.6 percent respectively.
Revolutions have started over less...
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/03/2013 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[10 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Gee Tough. (Not snark) I could give a damn if they starve.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
08/03/2013 8:33 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Governments with starving populations tend to do desperate things. Usually outside the country.
Vilified abroad for his blistering attacks against the West, blamed at home for Irans economic woes and isolated from the supreme leader who groomed him for power, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad leaves the presidency with few friends and an uncertain future.
Iranians elected his opposite - a mild-mannered, moderate member of the clerical establishment - to replace him, doubtless hoping for better times than they endured for eight years under the caustic hardline outsider.
His successor is just as committed to exterminating the Joooz; he's just more quiet about it...
Ahmadinejads abrasive rhetoric made him an easy target for Irans opponents abroad, and the collapse of the economy under the weight of international sanctions and domestic mismanagement made him a magnet for blame at home.
But those hoping for a rapid improvement in the quality of life, swift rapprochement with the West or more transparency in the way Iran is ruled may soon find that its problems go deeper than the small man with the scruffy beard and ill-fitting suits.
Since his shock election victory in 2005, Ahmadinejad rose from near total obscurity to become the most visible actor on the Iranian stage, on the way pulling through a disputed re-election victory that rocked the nation to its core.
His final speech as president on Friday was vintage Ahmadinejad: I swear to God that a ferocious storm is coming and it will uproot the Zionist entity, he declared on Quds Day, an annual event devoted to opposing Israeli rule over Jerusalem.
Mocked by progressive Iranians, he created a cult following among traditionalists and the working classes through his charisma, simple lifestyle and populist beliefs.
His name gives three times as many results in a Google search as that of his former sponsor, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Irans most powerful man.
But history, whether written at home or abroad, is unlikely to be kind. Within hours of the election victory of moderate cleric Hassan Rohani, thousands of people gathered outside Rohanis headquarters and across the city to celebrate, shouting out Ahmadi bye bye.
He is unlikely to exit the political scene gracefully, for grace has hardly been a hallmark of his eight years in office and is unlikely to be an adjective applied to the good doctor in the future, said New York-based Iranian-American author Hooman Majd who has met Ahmadinejad on several occasions.
On the international stage, he has shocked the Western world with his rhetoric, often during his annual appearances at the United Nations General Assembly, which have caused mass walkouts and public demonstrations.
Relishing the opportunity to discomfit Irans detractors, he has alleged the US government was behind the 9/11 attacks, denied homosexuality exists in Iran and lambasted Western leaders for being played by deceitful Zionists.
The presidents irresponsible rhetoric on Israel, the Holocaust and other issues has deepened Irans international isolation, said Shaul Bakhash, professor of history at George Mason University in Virginia.
Ahmadinejad was groomed by Khamenei to take on the reformist movement - those advocating more social and political freedoms. His devout religious views, his common touch, his accessibility to young Iranians and connections to the military were assets.
His fans glorified him as a humble servant who shunned the trappings of power. Ahmadinejad, so the story goes, refused the presidential salary and went to work with a packed lunch.
He wants to leave a legacy where he was the guy breaking the stranglehold of the mullahs, said Majd. He believes an elected president should be allowed to govern. Thats quite a popular sentiment among Iranians.
But ultimately he overplayed the hand his mandate gave him, leading to a direct confrontation with Khamenei. The feud erupted in 2011 when Ahmadinejad sacked the intelligence minister but the supreme leader reinstated him.
Khamenei loyalists accused Ahmadinejad and his advisors of seeking to erode clerical authority - activity denounced as a deviant current. He was frozen out of decision-making and threatened with impeachment. In March last year he became the first president in the history of the Islamic Republic to be summoned by parliament for a grilling on his policies.
High oil prices meant that Iran enjoyed record revenues during Ahmadinejads two terms. But the economy nevertheless faltered because of mismanagement, and ultimately crumbled under embargoes imposed in 2012 by the United States and European Union, which cut oil exports in half.
Dependent on oil to earn hard currency, Iran saw the rial fall and inflation soar, to 35 per cent according to official figures, by some estimates double that.
Ahmadinejads erratic stewardship has left the Iranian economy in a shambles. His courage in taking the bull of subsidies by the horns will be lauded, while its poor implementation will be deplored, said Yasmin Alem, of the Atlantic Councils South Asia Center.
Ahmadinejads reformist predecessor Mohamed Khatami had suspended uranium enrichment, a chemical process that can be used to make material for an atomic bomb.
Iran restarted enrichment within weeks of Ahmadinejad taking office in 2005, and has since maintained a no compromise stance.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/03/2013 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[7 views]
Top|| File under:
[CNN] Syrian opposition forces may have executed as many as 30 people, most of them government soldiers, in rural Aleppo, according to the United Nations ...an organization which on balance has done more bad than good, with the good not done well and the bad done thoroughly... , which cited videos of the killings posted on the Internet in July.
U.N High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay called the allegations "deeply shocking" and called Friday for an independent investigation into the incident, which appears to have taken place in Khan al-Assal in northern Syria.
"There needs to be a thorough independent investigation to establish whether war crimes have been committed, and those responsible for such crimes should be brought to justice," Pillay said in a statement.
The videos, posted to the Internet between July 22 and 26, show government soldiers being ordered to lie on the ground, bodies being collected by doctors, corpses strewn along a wall and bodies in Khan al-Assal bearing gunshot wounds to the head.
Pillay's office also has information that Syrian rebels are still holding government officers and soldiers prisoner, the statement said.
Reminding opposition forces that all captured or maimed soldiers must be treated in accordance with international law, Pillay said, "Opposition forces should not think they are immune from prosecution. They must adhere to their responsibilities under international law."
Posted by: Fred ||
08/03/2013 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[10 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
#1
Send him to Syria, let him find out the hard way.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
08/03/2013 8:51 Comments ||
Top||
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.
An international human rights group has warned Egypts new interim leadership against ending sit-ins by loyalists of ousted president by force, saying all measures must be taken to avert a bloodbath.
Maulana Fazlur Rehman
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
Vilified abroad for his blistering attacks against the West, blamed at home for Irans economic woes and isolated from the supreme leader who groomed him for power, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad leaves the presidency with few friends and an uncertain future.
[CNN] Syrian opposition forces may have executed as many as 30 people, most of them government soldiers, in rural Aleppo, according to the 
