[Ynet] After repeatedly calling on fellow musicians not to perform in Jewish state, former Pink Floyd frontman says he is rethinking his position. 'I care more about the outcome than I do about the moment,' he explains.
I 'm quite sure that sequence of words holds meaning to the speaker.
I'm surprised that the earth didn't shatter at the news.
#3
Are there any Islamic countries where a Pink Floyd concert would evem be conceivable? Maybe in Dhubai, or Jakarta or Kuala Lumpur, or Turkey? But I doubt it.
Posted by: DJ Curtis C ||
04/21/2013 2:54 Comments ||
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#4
..given that he could play Jerusalem, home of two faiths, but never Mecca. Just that factoid shoulda told him something.
#8
'I care more about the outcome...'
Translation: I need the dough, man.
Posted by: USN, Ret ||
04/21/2013 11:31 Comments ||
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#9
Here's a guy who made millions exploiting teenagers and taking their cash. There is nothing 'progressive' or enlightening about his so-called music, i.e. sound effects, that promote drug use and brain rot in its listeners. He knows that and probably has a powerful psychic need to deflect and project his guilt. As a good European he projects his guilt on the favorite scapegoat, the Jews.
Show what you think of RW and his ilk,. Go listen to some good uplifting jazz or classical music. Hell, you could do so in Tel Aviv - where they have 50 more accomplished musicians per block than RW will ever hope to be.
Oh, and Rog..., you can kiss my skinny Jewish ass!
#10
I'm crazy about classical music, me and you CA we could get us some windowpane and listen to the 1812 Overture real loud and like play along at the end. Or we could go to Wellington's Victory Karaoke Bar (a bring your own boom joint).
#11
I think that's a little unfair CA. (Not about your ass. I'm certain it's quite attractive.) Pink Floyd made a lot of really great albums. Piper At The Gates of Dawn? Wish You Were Here? The Wall? All classics - and they sound good when you're not high on LSD too. And I'm pretty sure you're not exploiting people when you sell them albums, regardless of how good or bad that album might be.
Pink Floyd were pioneers of psychedelic music. We shouldn't discount that genre because a lot of its songs were recorded by people who were stoned out of their wits. Frankly, I think if you were slip Justin Timberlake or Pink a couple of hits of LSD-25, the results could only be an improvement. And a lot of great art has been created by people who were crazy and/or high... especially in Jazz or Classical.
Roger Waters is a great and very successful musician... which doesn't make him particularly *smart* in a political or social sense. Very few artists are. They live in their own little bubbles where reality seldom intrudes. (Trust me: I work with them for a living.)
#12
When people tell them about the political advice musicians give out, I tell them I always choose what bands to follow based on what the prime-minister likes.
[An Nahar] More than 150 people were killed and 6,700 injured when a strong earthquake hit a mountainous part of southwestern China on Saturday, destroying thousands of homes and triggering landslides.
The shallow earthquake struck Sichuan province on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau just after 8:00 am, prompting a major rescue operation in the same area where 87,000 people were reported dead or missing in a massive quake in 2008.
Nearly 17 hours after the quake hit Lushan county in the city of Ya'an, the corpse count stood at 160, the official Xinhua news agency reported, citing the China Earthquake Administration which said 6,700 people had been injured.
At least 10,000 homes were destroyed, the Sichuan government said, as rescue workers searched through the rubble for survivors.
Local seismologists registered the quake at magnitude 7.0 while the U.S. Geological Survey gave it as 6.6. More than 840 aftershocks followed, Xinhua said.
The quake was felt in the lovely provincial capital Chengdu, which lies to the east, and even in the megacity of Chongqing several hundred kilometers (miles) away.
Panicked residents fled into the streets, some of them still in their slippers and pajamas.
"Members of my family were woken up. They were lying in bed when the strong shaking began and the wardrobes began shaking strongly," said a 43-year-old Chongqing resident surnamed Wang. "We grabbed our clothes and ran outside."
Xia Donghai, 48, a migrant worker in the northern province of Heibei rushed home to Lushan when his family failed to respond to his telephone calls after the earthquake.
"I am filled with terror, I do not know what I will find when I return to the family home," he told Agence La Belle France Presse.
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04/21/2013 00:00 ||
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[AlAhram] Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi fails to reach an agreement over a loan from Russia on his two-day visit, discusses constructing a nuclear power plant with Russian energy minister
Egypt's trade and industry minister Hatem Saleh said on Friday that no agreement has been reached on a Russian loan to Egypt.
Speaking after a meeting between Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi and Russian President Vladimir Putin ...Second President of the Russian Federation and the first to remain sober. Because of constitutionally mandated term limits he is the current Prime Minister of Russia. His sock puppet, Dmitry Medvedev, was installed in the 2008 presidential elections. Putin is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law. During his eight years in office Russia's economy bounced back from crisis, seeing GDP increase, poverty decrease and average monthly salaries increase. During his presidency Putin passed into law a series of fundamental reforms, including a flat income tax of 13%, a reduced profits tax, and new land and legal codes. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to Putin. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile... , Saleh said "today we have reached no conclusion on that loan."
Earlier on Friday, Yuri Ushakov, assistant of Russian leader, revealed Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi had requested a large loan during his meeting with President Putin.
"We are not talking about a small amount here," reaffirmed Ushakov, abstaining from revealing further information.
A Moscow-based source said previously that Egypt had planned to discuss a possible $2 billion loan.
Meanwhile, ...back at the Council of Boskone, Helmuth ordered the space pirate fleet to attack Zemblonia... Russian news agency Novosti quoted earlier on Friday Alexander Novak, Russia's energy minister, stating Egypt had suggested collaborating with Moscow for constructing a nuclear power plant.
President Morsi arrived to Russia on Thursday on a two-day trip, which marks 70 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
It was earlier reported that the Egyptian delegation may discuss financing needs and oil and wheat supplies during their visit to Russia.
Egypt's wheat stocks are likely to plunge below 1 million tonnes by 30 June as its economic crisis cripples purchases from the international market.
President Morsi was accompanied by a ministerial delegation, including Minister of Investment Osama Saleh, Minister of Petroleum Osama Kamal, Minister of Agriculture Salah Abdel Moemen, and Minister of Electricity and Energy Ahmed Imam.
During his meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, the Egyptian President affirmed that post-revolution Egypt and Egyptians appreciate the history of strong ties between the two countries, and the contribution Russia has made to Egypt's agriculture, industry, and military.
"The issue isn't only about an increase in trade exchange or number of tourists... I am speaking of a true alliance in economic fields that shall establish a true industrial renaissance to realise enormous developments in Egypt," said President Morsi.
A strong alliance was formed between Egypt and the USSR during the ruling of late president Gamal Abdel-Nasser. The alliance has aided Egypt in several fields; the highlight of it was the help of the Russians in building and funding the High Dam in South Egypt.
According to state-owned news agency MENA, Voice of Russia Radio has also quoted President Putin stating, during his meeting with President Morsi, that the number of Russian tourists in Egypt had increased by 30 percent in spite of unrest in Egypt since the 2011 revolution.
The number of Russian tourists visiting Egypt in 2010 alone was estimated to be 2,855,723, accounting for 25,037,045 tourist nights, making it the number one country in providing Egypt with tourists.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
04/21/2013 00:00 ||
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[MAGHAREBIA] Morocco's High Council of Ulemas (CSO) issued a fatwa calling for the death penalty for Mohammedans who renounce their faith, AFP reported on Thursday (April 18th).
The fatwa was published for the first time in Tuesday's edition of Arabic-language daily Akhbar al-Youm but it dates back to April 2012.
The scholars, who officially represent Islam in Morocco, said in their edict that Mohammedans who reject their faith "should be condemned to death".
Mahjoub El Hiba, a senior human rights ...which are usually open to widely divergent definitions... official in the government, denied having requested any such fatwa from the council of Islamic scholars.
The CSO is the only institution entitled to issue fatwas in Morocco.
The ministry of Islamic affairs declined to comment on the issue.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/21/2013 00:00 ||
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[Chicago Tribune] Illinois had the second-largest decrease in employment in the nation last month, the Labor Department reported Friday.
The state lost 17,800 jobs, second only to Ohio, where employment fell by 20,400 positions.
The nation as a whole was split last month. Payrolls rose in 23 states, fell in 26 and were unchanged in New Mexico.
Illinois' unemployment rate held at 9.5 percent in March despite the job loss, according to preliminary data released Thursday by the Illinois Department of Employment Security. That's still significantly higher than the national average, which stood at 7.6 percent in March.
Overall, state unemployment rates were little changed in March. Twenty-six states and the District of Columbia saw unemployment rate decreases, while 7 saw increases and 17 saw no change.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/21/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
Twenty-six states and the District of Columbia saw unemployment rate decreases, while 7 saw increases and 17 saw no change.
And the unemployment rate decreases in most of those States can attributed to the defeated segment of the work force that has simply given up. Now consider this. The initial tremors from the ACA are just beginning to be felt. The financial sector still doesnt know the ramifications of Dodd-Frank because its still being written. Unrestrained Federal agencies such as the EPA continue to restrict growth in Agriculture, Energy, Mining, and beyond. Taxes are going up under the guise of investment. The Fed presses are printing QE dollars around the clock. And coming down the pike is the real potential for an amnesty deal that will allow non-citizens to legally compete for not just unskilled but skilled positions as well. Meanwhile the Obama Recovery seems to hinge on all-day Preschool and mythical Green Jobs.
On a lighter note
If your ship doesn't come in, swim out to it.
~Jonathan Winters
[Dawn] A suspected gangster was killed in a shoot-out with Rangers in Lyari ...one of the eighteen constituent towns of the city of Karachi. It is the smallest town by area in the city but also the most densely populated. Lyari has few schools, substandard hospitals, a poor water system, limited infrastructure, and broken roads. It is a stronghold of ruling Pakistan Peoples Party. Ubiquitous gang activity and a thriving narcotics industry make Lyari one of the most disturbed places in Karachi, which is really saying a lot.... on Friday night.
According to a text message sent by Rangers, gangsters opened fire on the Rangers personnel when they entered a locality during a targeted operation in Lyari.
The paramilitary force returned the fire wounding a suspect, Fareed alias Tunda. He was taken to the Civil Hospital where the he died during treatment.
The suspect was said to be a notorious gangster wanted in several criminal cases.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/21/2013 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] The inquiry report of a judicial magistrate has declared fake the encounter staged under the supervision of the two SPs in which a man was killed.
Saleem alias Mithu of Mohallah Kot Mohammad was killed near a picket on Jaranwala Road by the CIA police headed by in-charge Organized Crime Lyallpur Town, Ahmed Muneel. Two SPs of the CIA and Madina Town also supervised the encounter.
The police told judicial magistrate Mehr Sarfraz Hussain that Ahmed Muneel and other coppers equipped with SMG rifles had picketed on Jaranwala Road on July 19 last.
They said the police had information that two accused Mithu, having a bounty of Rs0.5 million for his arrest, and Ghaffori, who was wanted in many cases of robbery/dacoity, would pass through the area on a bike.
They said when the police tried to intercept a cycle of violence coming from Tezaab Mills the riders started firing and turned their bike towards a link road. As the police chased them, the bikers became panicky and fell down, but succeeded in entering Commerce College by scaling its boundary wall.
The police asked them to surrender but they continued firing which was returned. After a brief shootout, the police found one of them (Mithu) dead while his accomplice managed to escape in the darkness.
The judge recorded statements of 16 people, including coppers, a doctor and a college watchman.
"Perusal of the evidence of witnesses clearly shows that the story narrated by the complainant (Muneel) in the FIR is concocted," the judge said.
He noted that head-constable Rafiullah had stated that barriers were erected for the picket, but Muneel said no barrier was installed. The head-constable said the incident had occurred at 1:45am but Muneel said it happened at 12:15am.
From contents of the FIR and evidence of a witness, there was a complete darkness, but constable Asad Zarryab said streetlights of the road and the college were on. In the same breath, the constable changed his version and said they were unable to see the accused.
Quoting the statement of constable Tanwir Hussain, the judge mentioned that probably the accused were doing firing by lying on the ground.
"If there was darkness in the ground then how did he know the position of the accused. There is a big question mark as how the bullets pierced into the abdomen of the accused when he was lying on the ground.
Muneel deposes that CIA SP Rai Zameer and the SP Madina Town reached the spot after stopping of the firing and the former had complimented him with remarks of "well done."
However, women are made to be loved, not understood... ASI Khalil Ahmed said both SPs reached the spot when the firing was continuing. Two coppers did not conceal the presence of the two SPs on the spot, the judge noted.
CIA Sub-Inspector Atif Mehmood and some other coppers said that both accused had fallen down from the bike. However, Caliphornia hasn't yet slid into the ocean, no matter how hard it's tried... the judge said: "In my opinion both the riders should have suffered injuries after falling from a speedy bike, but the medico-legal certificate shows no such injuries on the body of the dear departed."
Quoting statement of watchman Noor Ahmed, the judge mentioned him as saying, "coppers told him only that they had an encounter". These lines speak volume for the authenticity of police version regarding the encounter, he said.
Wrapping up the inquiry, judge said: "In a nutshell I am of the considered opinion that it was a staged police encounter under the supervision of the then SP CIA and then SP Madina Town. In my view all coppers/officials present at the time of the fake police encounter are liable to be dealt with in accordance with law," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/21/2013 00:00 ||
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Come now, my dears -- it is Pakistan, after all, where all relief money evaporates when exposed to air, condensing in certain well-placed pockets that will never be those of the needy.
[Dawn] Relief operation continues in the border town of Mashkel which was badly affected by a massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake in Iran on Tuesday, forcing thousands of people to live in the open.
About 15,000 people have been rendered homeless after their houses and shops were destroyed or badly damaged by the quake.
Forty people were reportedly killed and over 100 injured. The area has been without electricity since Tuesday.
The Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (Erra) has finalised a plan to build container houses in the area to provide temporary shelter to the quake-hit people. A group of people affected by the quake held a demonstration on Friday in protest against inadequate supply of food and other relief items. They gathered in the deserted town, rolled their eyes, jumped up and down, and hollered poorly rhymed slogans real loud against the government and the local administration and demanded that relief goods be supplied to them immediately. "We need tents, food and potable water," shouted the protesters.
The people whose houses remain safe have refused to return home for fear of aftershocks which continue to haunt them. "We should be provided tents immediately as we are living in the open in the simmering heat," the quake victims told journalists.
Provincial authorities admitted that the supply of relief goods was poor and said dilapidated roads were the main cause of hurdles in the relief operation.
"There is no proper road link between Dalbandin and the remote town of Mashkel," officials said, adding that relief goods were being sent through army helicopters.
"PDMA trucks carrying tents, food and other goods are on their way and will reach the affected area," they said. The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) has completed initial survey of the losses which will be submitted to the government soon. Erra Director General Abdi Hussain assured the affected people that they would be provided all help and facilities. "Container houses will be built in the quake-hit area after the assessment of the losses is completed," he said during a visit to Mashkel.
Mr Hussain said 1,300 tents were on way and another 1,000 would reach the area in two days. "Besides a water scheme in Mashkel, road network connecting Washuk with Nokundi and Dalbandin would also be built," he added.
He said affected people would not be left alone in this hour of trouble and all necessary support would be extended to mitigate their suffering.
The Army and Frontier Corps personnel and medical teams are carrying out relief work and providing necessary goods and medical facilities to the quake-struck community.
The Quetta Electric Supply Company has set up an emergency cell in Mashkel and its engineers are trying to restore the power supply suspended after the earthquake.
The communication system could not be restored even after four days. The authorities said efforts were under way to restore the system.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/21/2013 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] The Indian police jugged Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please! a man on Saturday on allegations of rape and torture of a five-year-old girl in New Delhi, according to a front man, after the incident triggered protests and revived memories of a brutal December assault on a woman that shook the country.
The man, 22, was arrested from eastern Bihar state, and is being brought to the capital, police front man Rajan Bhagat said. The accused was a neighbour of the girl and did odd jobs, he said.
The assault on the girl, which left her in a critical condition, revived memories of the gang rape by five adult men and a teenaged boy of a 23-year-old physiotherapy student on a bus on Dec 16 in New Delhi.
That woman died of her injuries in a Singapore hospital where she was brought as anger poured in the streets of Delhi and elsewhere over the lack of safety for women.
Television images on Saturday showed people again gathered in front of the Delhi police headquarters and the specialty hospital where the latest victim was battling for life, chanting slogans and demanding better law enforcement in a city of 16 million people.
More protests were planned for Saturday, and security has been beefed up, television reports said.
The girl, whose parents work as labourers and live in a slum in the outskirts of Delhi, went missing from home on April 15, according to Manish Sisodia, an official of the Aam Aadmi Party which organised Friday's protest.
She was found with bruise marks on her body in the suspect's house in a semi-conscious condition on Thursday by the police after her parents had registered a complaint, media reports said.
The suspect allegedly held the girl hostage for three days during which he raped and tortured her.
B.N. Bansal, a doctor from the Swami Dayanand Hospital, said that the young victim had undergone an operation after she was brought in. "The next 48 hours will be crucial for her."
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's office said in a statement that he was deeply disturbed by the latest incident. In December, his administration had faced criticism for failing to respond to public anger over the horrific attack on the physiotherapy student.
The unprecedented protests by thousands of people across India eventually forced Singh's government to pass tougher laws to fight gender crimes in March.
But activists on Friday said the laws were not enough to deter sex offenders in India's largely patriarchal societies.
"If you thought just bringing in a new law will stop crimes, you are wrong. They will reduce, but won't stop. You need community policing to stop these crimes," activist Kiran Bedi told an Indian TV channel.
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04/21/2013 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] The front runner for the historic May 11 polls, Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... Saturday said that former military ruler Pervez Perv Musharraf ... former dictator of Pakistain, who was less dictatorial and corrupt than any Pak civilian government to date ... 's crime of detaining judges of the higher judiciary can not be excused, DawnNews reported.
Speaking at an election rally in Kasur, the Pakistain Mohammedan League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief said he was personally 'saddened' by the treatment Musharraf is getting, pointing towards his arrest. However, a poor excuse is better than no excuse at all... he said that culprits of violating the Constitution and detaining judges deserve to be reprimanded.
An anti-terrorism court in Islamabad had sent former military strongman Pervez Musharraf on a 14-day-long judicial remand in the judges' detention case earlier on Saturday.
Reminiscing his days in exile, the PML-N chief said the person (Musharraf) who made him suffer "worst days of his life" is so constrained. "I personally feel bad for him," he added.
Criticising the outgoing Pakistain People's Party government, Sharif said that over all law and order situation of the country has tanked so much in the last five years that he was compelled to address the gathering from behind the bullet-proof glasses.
He questioned as what steps had been taken by President Asif Ali Ten Percent Zardari ... husband of the late Benazir Bhutto, who has been singularly lacking in curiosity about who done her in ... for the country's progress during his party's rule.
The PML-N chief vowed to generate employment opportunities for masses living in rural areas of the country after assuming powers. "We will rid the public of inflation and poverty," he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/21/2013 00:00 ||
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[AlAhram] Ahram Online investigates recent reports that thousands of vulnerable Syrian refugee women are being married off to Egyptian men as cheap brides
Posted by: trailing wife ||
04/21/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
Damn, and here I had this two for the price of one deal all lined up via the Syrian Dames R Us web site.
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 Nahar] More than 150 people were killed and 6,700 injured when a strong earthquake hit a mountainous part of southwestern China on Saturday, destroying thousands of homes and triggering landslides.
...Second President of the Russian Federation and the first to remain sober. Because of constitutionally mandated term limits he is the current Prime Minister of Russia. His sock puppet, Dmitry Medvedev, was installed in the 2008 presidential elections. Putin is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law. During his eight years in office Russia's economy bounced back from crisis, seeing GDP increase, poverty decrease and average monthly salaries increase. During his presidency Putin passed into law a series of fundamental reforms, including a flat income tax of 13%, a reduced profits tax, and new land and legal codes. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to Putin. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile...
[Dawn] A suspected gangster was killed in a shoot-out with Rangers in 
[Dawn] The inquiry report of a judicial magistrate has declared fake the encounter staged under the supervision of the two SPs in which a man was killed.
[Dawn] The Indian police 
Nawaz Sharif
Speaking at an election rally in Kasur, the Pakistain 
President Asif Ali 
