(PAN): Balkh security officials have seized 12000 bottles of liquor and have arrested two people in Chakchak area of Kaldar district. Sher Durrani, spokesman for Balkh police headquarters told Pajhwok Afghan News the liquor was recovered from a car.
Durrani said the smugglers wanted to smuggle it to Mazar-i-Sharif but added it was not certain from where these liquor was being smuggled. He said the detainees were being investigated but did not disclose the identities of the smugglers.
Balkh Police Chief Brig. Gen. Mohammad Sulthani confirming the incident said he had seized three weeks back 12000 bottles which were destroyed before the officials. It is said that alcohols are being smuggled from Uzbekistan and Tajikistan via Heratan port of Balkh and Sher Khan port of Kunduz province to Afghanistan.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/20/2008 00:00 ||
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SPOKESMAN > The contraband was *hic* officially *hic" destroyed by *hic* at *hic* time today!?
About 2,000 Gurkhas watched today as 50 veterans outside Parliament handed back their military medals in protest against the Government's "immoral discrimination" against them.
Dressed in regimental ties and their distinctive khaki hats, the retired soldiers protested against "disgracefully low" pensions and called for the right to live in Britain in return for years of fighting alongside British troops. Nepalese Gurkhas have served in the Army for nearly 200 years, but receive a monthly pension of about £131 - compared to about £1,000 for their British counterparts.
"Our pension is not even enough for life in Nepal. In Britain, it is incredibly low," said Dewan Gurung, 46, who served in the army for 23 years including tours in Bosnia, Sierra Leone and the Falkland islands. "Our pension is an insult, a disgrace," added Arkumar Gurung, 42, who saw duty in the invasion of Iraq in 2003 during a 19-year career. "I gave half my active life for Britain. We deserve more."
The Gurkhas are also calling for a change to rules under which they have no automatic right to remain in Britain if they retired before 1997.
They handed their medals over to Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat leader, who called their plight a "national disgrace".
During Commons question time, Mr Clegg asked Gordon Brown why Gurkhas who served in the Army after 1997 were "worthy" of British citizenship, but those who served before were not. Holding up one of the medals, Mr Clegg pressed the Prime Minister: "Do you know what it means for a loyal British soldier to give up a medal that he won for his long years' of service to this country?"
Damber Ghaly, who handed back six medals - including an MBE - after 28 years in the Gurkhas, said: "It is very sad and emotional but I think it is the only thing we can do." The 50-year-old coordinated the protest for the Gurkhas United Front. "I served in Kosovo and Bosnia where I was in charge of my troops," he said. "It is not a case of being angry but we feel very disappointed and let down."
Many of the retired veterans who today handed back their Long Service and Good Conduct medals have made their home near their old base in Folkestone, Kent.
Mr Brown said the 1997 date was chosen because that was when the Gurkhas' main base moved to Britain. Their former headquarters in Hong Kong was handed over to Chinese rule that year.
The Prime Minister said Labour was the first Government to have raised Gurkha pensions. It was increased last year by 19 percent to its current level. "They have done a tremendous job for our country," Mr Brown said. Check out the pictures of the Gurkhas at the link.
Reminds me of Kipling's poem: For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Chuck him out, the brute!"
But it's "Saviour of 'is country" when the guns begin to shoot;
An' it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' anything you please;
An' Tommy ain't a bloomin' fool -- you bet that Tommy sees!
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
03/20/2008 12:58 ||
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"Dressed in regimental ties and their distinctive khaki hats, the retired soldiers protested against "disgracefully low" pensions and called for the right to live in Britain in return for years of fighting alongside British troops."
Men honored and respected worldwide for their service to Queen and Country, no.
Vile, freedom and Enlightenment-hating filth that treat women and non-believers like dirt, yes.
HAVANA - The Cuban government is considering reforms to make migration regulations more flexible, which may include the possibility of longer stays abroad and even the elimination of exit visas, Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque said on Wednesday. We are firm in our commitment to make ever more fluid the relationship between Cubans living abroad and Cuba, and making the procedure and the regulations on that issue faster, Perez Roque said during a meeting in Havana with Cubans living abroad.
When asked whether relaxing laws on exit permits and the extension of stays abroad - now with an 11-month limit - are among reforms to be mentioned by Raul Castro when he formally becomes the countrys president in February, Perez Roque admitted that such issues are being considered.
Several delegates at the meeting of Cubans Living Abroad Against the Blockade and Terrorism told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa that there is even discussion about the possible elimination of the carta blanca, the exit visa that Cubans need to leave the country.
Cuba is one of a few countries whose residents require exit visas to go abroad. The process, which sometimes includes the need for an invitation letter, costs Cubans some 400 dollars, a very high figure for a country where the average monthly wage is 15-20 dollars.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/20/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
If you allowed open borders under Fidel they would have had an empty country. Under the brother, well he's old and people probably hope they can wait him out.
#4
I guess we aren't to expect a hugh migration towards Cuba. Maybe our lefties can be boat-lifted to Cuba. Send Sean Penn, Jane Fonda, Susan Sarandon and the rest who hate America.
BBC reporter: "we...saw a train carrying about two dozen military vehicles, including trucks and four-wheel drives, on the rail line that leads to Tibet. The words China's People's Armed Police Rapid Reaction Force were written on the side of one of the vehicles, spotted on the Qinghai-Gansu border... Chinese are deploying extra security forces both inside Tibet and in other areas in western China as the tension continues... situation in Hezuo suggests the protests are continuing"...
#2
So... why isn't Richard Gear and all of his Kumbia, gonga smoking friends holding vigils and trying to get to Tibet to involve themselves in the protest to help truly free Tibet?
#3
Had the same thought DarthVader. They should form the 420th Light-em Infantry Foreign Volunteer group, but they would have to put down the paper mache and lattes. "But that's, like, a long walk man!" I'm sure they will buy a new bumper sticker for their car just as soon as they finish their bowl of weedies.
#4
Looks like extremely scenic country there. Too bad the Chicoms can't keep their filthy hands off of it.
As for Richard Gere, no matter what you think of him personally, he does piss off the Chicoms and that has to be a good thing. Have any of our vaunted presidential candidates uttered one little peep about Tibet?
I hear crickets but not one little peep from any of our vaunted presidential candidates. Is George Bush still planning on attending the Olympic Games opening ceremonies? Yeah? Thought so.
#5
I may be out of step with some folks but I'm for boycotting the Olympics, personally of course but I'd like to see our spineless gubmint do the same.
The only reservation and revulsion that I have for the boycott is that Jimmy 'the assclown' Carter did a boycott in the 1979 Olympics in Moscow, USSR.
#7
Jimmy was looking for reelection. Had to 'appear' tough given all the 'man of peace' talk. So it was easy to screw a lot of kids out of years and years of preparation at, for most of them, their one shot for glory.
TAIPEI - Taiwans ruling party chief lit a torch for Tibet at a presidential campaign rally late Wednesday as he sought to pick up support three days ahead of the vote. With Chinas crackdown on the Himalayan region overshadowing the election campaign here, Frank Hsieh denounced Beijings handling of the unrest in Tibet and likened the situation to what might happen to Taiwan under Chinese rule.
Taiwans future should be decided by its people, and we support Tibetan people deciding their own future, he told the rally in a Taipei park of about 2,000 people. We oppose Chinas crackdown on Tibet and oppose Chinas threat to Taiwan, he added, as supporters waved Free Tibet placards.
The crisis in Tibet has focused a harsh spotlight on Taiwans own fraught relations with China, which claims sovereignty over the self-ruled island. Election frontrunner Ma Ying-jeou, who has vowed closer ties and a peace treaty with China, has been forced onto the defensive against Hsiehs charges that Taiwan could end up like Tibet.
Today we can elect the president, but if we give up our sovereignty and admit we are not a country, and accept the one-China principle, our future would be very miserable, just like Tibets, Hsieh said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/20/2008 00:00 ||
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DER SPIEGEL > TOP CHIN OFFICIAL: WE WILL DEFEND OUR SOVEREIGNTY [Taiwan]WITH ALL OF OUR MIGHT; + GLOBAL MODERNIZATION OF THE PLA. China admit that their present effect line of operations extends only to the "FIRST ISLAND CHAIN" i.e. ARC OF JAPAN, FORMOSA/TAIWAN, and the PHILIPPINES - ability agz USN for time being is only TAIWAN-FOCUSED SEA/AREA DENIAL, NOT CONTROL albeit will prob change over time.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/20/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
All of them have old scores to settle with Serbs, so the revenge is tasting sweet. But, actions have consequences. Wars in Macedonia (Albanian muslims) and Sanjak (muslims) area will soon follow, then in south-eastern Bulgaria (Turkish minority) and even Greeks will be dragged in.
#3
More than half of Americans view Europeans as having NO influence on foreign affairs. That's what happens when you have nothing to back your words with.
A UN police officer has died from injuries sustained during violent clashes in Kosovo, it was announced today,
Duty. Honor. Turtle Bay.
while French Nato troops fired into the air to prevent further disturbances. The Ukrainian officer was one of hundreds of riot police, backed by Nato helicopters and armoured vehicles, deployed in the Serb-dominated north of the Albanian-majority province. A police spokesman said the Ukrainian died from injuries caused by a hand grenade thrown during yesterday's clashes in the town of Mitrovica.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/20/2008 00:00 ||
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French President says there would be no slowdowns in reform plans despite the fact that his party suffered big losses in local elections.
Nicolas Sarkozy announced a minor cabinet reshuffle but vowed Wednesday to pursue reform plans after his centre-right UMP party's losses at the weekend. "These elections were the expression of expectations, impatience and also questioning over whether commitments made during the presidential campaign will be kept, given the current economic climate which everyone sees as increasingly difficult," Sarkozy said in an address to the new cabinet. "The worst answer would be to slow down change," he said. "In the global economic storm, we must stay the course. There will be no change of direction, no slowdown in reforms and no austerity plan".
Sarkozy appointed six junior ministers and broadened the portfolios of 12 ministers in a shakeup of his government that came after opposition Socialists took key cities in municipal elections this month. Elysee sources said the president is changing his style to project a more statesmanlike image after earning the nickname "Bling-Bling president" for his glitzy romance with Italian model Carla Bruni, whom he married last month.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/20/2008 00:00 ||
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Senator Barack Obama tried again on Thursday to shift his campaign away from a focus on race that had threatened to envelop his candidacy, and bring other issues to the fore, notably the Iraq war and the economy.
There were signs that Mr. Obama, an Illinois Democrat, had suffered significant political damage from the firestorm over provocative comments made by his former minister, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr. A nationwide Gallup poll showed Senator Hillary Clinton of New York taking a significant lead over Mr. Obama in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, for the first time since early February, just after the Super Tuesday primaries. Mr. Obama continues to lead Mrs. Clinton in the tally of pledged convention delegates won.
Two days after delivering a major address in Philadelphia about the racial divide, Mr. Obama focused on the Iraq war on Thursday during a campaign visit to Charleston, W.Va. Having spoken Wednesday about the wars strategic costs, Mr. Obama put his emphasis Thursday on its economic costs, which he said weighed on ordinary Americans every day.
When youre spending over $50 to fill up your car, Mr. Obama told a politely appreciative crowd, youre paying a price for this war. When Iraq is costing each household about $100 a month, youre paying a price for this war.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/20/2008 14:56 ||
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#1
Pay no attention the that man up on the pulpit behind the curtain!
#2
When you go to a spittle-spewing race-baiting raving lunatic like Jeremiah Wright, Jr., for TWENTY YEARS, that says something about who you are. BHO can say all he wants, but look at the company he keeps. That says more than words.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
03/20/2008 16:20 Comments ||
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#4
Damn, SPo'D, don't hold back - unredact those comments and tell us how you really feel. ;-p
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
03/20/2008 18:31 Comments ||
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#5
BO referred to his granny as a "typical" white person. BO would be a typical ____? For "typical" mixed race people, we might need a new category that is a contraction of white and black. We would have typical "blite" person or "typical whack" person--a contraction of white and black.
I blame the high cost of gas on the democrat's so-called energy plan (or lack thereof). And diesel is worse. Wait until the cost of transport starts to become really obvious to the "less than rich".
#7
We already have a typical "whack" person: it's called a Democrat. They're usually not too much trouble unless you see them around a voting booth.
Posted by: Ho Chi Whimp8387 ||
03/20/2008 19:08 Comments ||
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#8
When youre spending over $50 to fill up your car, Mr. Obama told a politely appreciative crowd, youre paying a price for this war. When Iraq is costing each household about $100 a month, youre paying a price for this war.
The war is always the reason, never a word is spoken about all the money given to illegals and welfare programs that he wants and more.
Alaska Paul, agreed and well said.
Posted by: Jan ||
03/20/2008 20:20 Comments ||
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When youre spending over $50 to fill up your car,
Did he mention that his buddy, John Dingell (D=MI), thinks the tax on gas should be raised by $.50/gal? You know, so us mere mortals will all learn to conserve.
#10
The Dhimmicratic Party, having preached the politics of race and gender the past four decades, now is surprised that its members vote on the basis of ... race and gender.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/20/2008 23:12 Comments ||
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This is getting interesting, the more Shrillary and Bam-bam talk, the less people dig what they have to say.
The double-digit lead won't last but it certainly forces the Dhimmicrats to move to a different set of talking points. Much snippage applied.
Daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Thursday, March 20, 2008
The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Thursday shows John McCains lead growing against both potential Democratic opponents. McCain currently leads Barack Obama 49% to 42% and Hillary Clinton 51% to 41% margin (see recent daily results). African-American support for Clinton has collapsed, falling to 55% in the general election match-up. Obama, on the other hand, earns solid support from African-American voters but attracts only 36% of white voters in a match-up with McCain.
So black voters prefer McCain to Clinton, and white voters prefer McCain to Obama. I think both groups are right!
Over the past month, McCain has gained ground in Ohio, Michigan, Colorado, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania. Both Democrats continue to lead in New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut and California.
On the fifth anniversary of the War in Iraq, the candidates except Shrillary all had something to say on the topic but the politics of the issue have become much more complicated.
In the race for the Democratic Presidential Nomination, Obama now leads Clinton 46% to 43%. Before the story broke about his former Pastor, Obama led by eight. New polling data released today shows that Clinton leads handily in West Virginias Presidential Primary.
On Thursday, Barack Obamas favorable ratings are unchanged for the third straight day48% favorable, 49% unfavorable. McCain is viewed favorably by 53% of voters nationwide and unfavorably by 43%. For Clinton, those numbers are 43% favorable, 55% unfavorable (see recent daily results).
No politican, I repeat no politican, can get elected with a negative rating that high.
The Rasmussen Reports Democrats Balance of Power Calculator shows Democrats leading in states with 210 Electoral Votes while the GOP has the advantage in states with 189. When leaners are added, the Democrats lead 247 to 229. Recent polling shows that, over the past month, New poll results released today show both Democrats leading in Massachusetts (see summary of recent state general election polling).
Rasmussen Markets data now give Obama a 73.5 % chance to win the Democratic nomination while expectations for a Clinton victory are at 25.9 %. Market data also suggests that Obama has a 43.0 % chance to become the next President. Expectations for McCain to become President are at 41.0 % while Clintons prospects are at 16.4 %.
#3
Apparantly that whole vetting process servers a useful purpose. Yes having an unknown looks good initially but it can tend to blow up in your face at the worst time. Good to remember Dems.
#5
Matthews has probably never read the Lincoln-Douglas debates, much less the Gettysburg Address. After all, Lincoln was a Republican, so Matthews would have to insist that he was an ignorant ape.
#6
Why is this utter fool and simpleton allowed to continue on the air ? The only dimwit comparable is Wolfman Blitzer, also an utter fool. These two chipmunks are laughingstocks, but dangerous because the light-headed lefties suck up their every pronouncement. Please, lightening strike these imbeciles quick.
#9
Its interesting to hear twits like Mathews insinuate that somehow this political crisis just happened to percolate up forcing Obama to pen this speech over the weekend. The truth is Obama delivered two planned, but slightly different, speeches at the same time. The Jeremiah Wright was my Pastor justification speech was dreaded but certainly not anticipated. They no doubt remembered the damage control for Billy Carter or Clintons idiot relatives. Unfortunately, the Obama campaign was hoping to deliver the I transcend race so vote for me speech as the presumptive Democratic nominee. Call it the Hope and Change money-shot if you will. Ironically, it is exactly as Geraldine Ferraros almost prophetic commentary predicted. The white liberals sucked up the moral relativism themes like they were large vats of Mammas-milk. The Independent voters not afflicted with collective white guilt will not be so eager to sign onto the Sol Alinsky style of grievance politics. There is a giant hypocrite Albatross around Baraks neck. How can he vigorously profess to be against hate-speech but choose to allow his children to witness it every Sunday in the guise of religion?
#11
Well, Chris, you're not one of the people he was trying to convince, seeing how he already knows you're his bitch and he doesn't have to waste the time...
#12
I would say that the Obama speech was worthy of Bill Clinton. He said a lot, it sounded real nice and articulate. But after he walked away and you really started thinking about it, you realize that he never really said anything clear and there is now a steaming pile of manure in front of the podium.
It's beginning to look like the mainstream media will not be able to deliver the nomination to Obama, let alone the election. This follows on their inability to deliver the election to Kerry in 2004, despite efforts their statisticians fondly believed resulted in a 15 percentage point increase in his popularity. If 15 percentage points is indeed what press salesmanship can deliver, it seems the reality is that the honourable Senator Obama is not electable this round. Perhaps his chances will be better in 2012.
But seriously: why would one expect critical intelligence from an MSNBC talking head?
#17
No, you folks don't seem to understand. The MSM is trying to squash the Big O. See comment 9.
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/20/2008 13:15 Comments ||
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I'm sorry kids, but . . . no. This is the greatest speech ever given by an American president:
If we shall suppose that American slavery is one of those offenses which, in the providence of God, must needs come, but which, having continued through His appointed time, He now wills to remove, and that He gives to both North and South this terrible war as the woe due to those by whom the offense came, shall we discern therein any departure from those divine attributes which the believers in a living God always ascribe to Him? Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bondsman's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said "the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether."
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation, so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicatewe can not consecratewe can not hallowthis ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before usthat from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotionthat we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vainthat this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedomand that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
Reagan, on his bestdays, was good enough to play in Lincoln's league. Ditto, JFK & MLK. Nobody active in politics today (including the folks I've voted for) is speechwriter enough to be worthy to type a Lincoln speech from dictation on a manual typewriter. Obama? Clinton (either one)? Gimmie a break!
Posted by: Mike ||
03/20/2008 14:07 Comments ||
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#19
I'd swap Lincoln's two speeches around for numbering, but that just MNSHO.
BTW, Lincoln used 270 words in the Gettysburg Address; Obama used 5000.
#20
And the really scary thing is that Lincoln wrote the Gettysburg Address, and probably his inaugural addresses, by himself. Obama and every other national politician uses professional speech writers.
Posted by: Rambler in California ||
03/20/2008 18:11 Comments ||
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#21
I've put in a triple order just for the convention, #10 EU6305,
Now if I can just the rail spur to my back door approved....
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
03/20/2008 18:41 Comments ||
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#22
al'obama could make a steaming pile of sh*t and matthews would say it was worthy of Lincoln. Matthews has the type of face I'd like to repeatedly kick.
#4
George isn't worried about reelection come November even with 31 percent approval. Congress at about half of that does have a problem. Based upon their performance to date, if they're not in a secure district, its going to be interesting.
#6
Who takes these polls and what is the sample?
GWB has done some good things, tax cuts, dynamics in the MEast, and he has done some things that were not so good, immigration.
I won't live to see him get any credit, if indeed he deserves any.
#7
Congress does have a low rating, but ALL the candidates at this point are sitting Senators. They ALL can't lose (pity) so one will win. Speaking of which, when is the last time a sitting US Senator became President? It's been a while.
Thanks tu3031. 48 years. It's been a while and it doesn't happen often. Between McCain, Shillary, and BO it will happen this year. Joy. On a scale of 1 to 10 we've got a 4 and a pair of zeros.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/20/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
There are 'those' who wouldn't accept Obama's sincere explanation "guilt by association" of his spirituality even if he crawled hands and knees up to Hillary's Pastor to beg for forgiveness.
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/20/2008 7:19 Comments ||
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#3
Just like those who won't accept Trent Lott's or Don Imus'.
"I understand MSNBC has suspended Mr. Imus," Obama told ABC News, "but I would also say that there's nobody on my staff who would still be working for me if they made a comment like that about anybody of any ethnic group. And I would hope that NBC ends up having that same attitude."- Sen. Obama.
#5
Obama is gonna be hard pressed to convince the super delegates that he is electable now. I believe we are seeing the beginning of the end of his run for president.
#6
We can fully expect the Democratic Talking-Heads, like Brazille and Carville, to once again repeat their oft repeated cliché. Now that weve cleared up these distractions we can move on to the real issues that confront the American people like blah, blah, blah, and blah. Be careful of what you wish for. Funny thing, now that folks have heard Obamas eloquent twenty minute version of Rodney Kings Cant we all get along speech more and more people will be looking for specifics. Hes defined the Hope portion of the Obama narrative but the Change metaphor demands some details. How long he will continue with the simple I will do better then Bush routine without offering any real viable plans is any ones guess. This could be the Mr. House o Cards meets Mr. Industrial-Fan moment many have predicted.
#7
Procopius2k, that WAS Trent Lott's and Imus's spewed racists remarks from their own mouths, you didn't hear Obama say any of that crap that Wright talked about...and that is what is called 'Guilt By Association'! How would you like it if someone followed you around with a camera or tape recorder for awhile, to snoop into your private life?
FrankG (#2), he shouldn't have needed to give that speech, but he was man enough to bold it; have someone follow YOU around with a 'magnifying glass', and lets see how much you squeal!
#8
An obvious difference, smn, is that neither of them is running for President.
Say....weren't you a semi-regular visitor here a few weeks ago? Got your hook in the water again?
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/20/2008 12:57 Comments ||
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#9
Here's an interesting notion from a poster at the link - Obama handled the fracas extremely well. The problem is that the networks that will regurgitate Wright's quotes forever, as out of context as they find necessary.
The MSM doesn't want Obama appointing members to the FCC. "Follow the money."
So the MSM is for Hillary? She'd sell them out in a hearbeat, or sell us off to the networks for a night in the Lincoln bedroom.
So maybe the MSM is for McCain?
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/20/2008 13:08 Comments ||
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#10
smn you're confused about the point. The point is about keeping the Rev around. He only becomes a non-person when it becomes widespread public knowledge, not during the years or year since the offensive remarks were made with his daughters in attendance.
#11
The memory hole trip only when the revelation happens demonstrates who Obama is. Why now, why not years ago? Because he's a player who wants it both ways like any other politicians who thinks he can get away with it. He's therefore not entitled to any greater consideration than any other hustling politician. He's just got a good story line, nothing more.
#13
How would you like it if someone followed you around with a camera or tape recorder for awhile, to snoop into your private life?
smn,
Ive got a couple of quick observations. The videos were of Reverend Wright not Obama. But regardless that your moral relativism argument falls flat from that little reality, the sermons werent covertly filmed they were part of the churches promotion package. That makes them, by definition, public information not private life. But when in doubt, use the ole I know I am but what are you? routine. Its been working for school kids and Presidents that cheat on their wives for years.
#15
Its perfectly legitimate to examine both Obama and his close associates (such as Wright) very, very closely. They are, in fact, hoping to be the next president of the United States after all - and all that implies.
The fact that Wright is a racist America-hater and that Obama has been a member of his church for 20 years (lets repeat that: *twenty* *years*) and that Obama's wife has made similar remarks (before being shut-up) is a pretty fair indication that Obama more than likely has similar feelings - in spite of what he says in his speeches.
Someone damn well better follow Obama, his wife, and close associates around with a video camera and tape recorder and some damn hard questions, and yes, snoop around in his private life. The media sure the hell isn't doing it - and its their job!
The same goes for Hillary and McCain as well. They aren't running for dog-catcher but to be the most powerful man in the free world.
When they threw in their hat fors the presidency they forfeit privacy.
#16
If Obama was a real poltiician he'd have had one of his loyal followers or fans create a distraction to take Wright off of the daily news. One of his Hollywood lackys going on a murder spree or something would have done the trick, but no, not Obama. He doesn't have the iron to order Danny Glover to do what it takes and if he doesn't have the stones I just can't see him as president.
#19
Obama needs help right now to get out of the poison grip of the Jeremiah Wright-Satan Axis. I would recommend that he drop everything, drive over to the Christ United Church "Palace Cathedral" in Manhattan's Washington Heights section in a Prius, and hear the Word and get some serious spiritual trinkets from the tried and true Reverend Ike.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
03/20/2008 22:26 Comments ||
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#20
Dang, Paul - Is Rev. Ike still around?
"Why settle for pie in the sky when you can get it right now with ice cream on top?" :-D
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
03/20/2008 23:47 Comments ||
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#21
The personal and professional lives and histories of all serious contenders for president are put under a microscope, and their close associates followed up. Senator Clinton was just forced to release 11,000 pages of her schedule as First Lady... reporters dug out the details of the day Senator McCain fell for his current wife at a party before he'd even thought of divorcing the wife he already had. It's about time Senator Obama was subject to the same examination.
Hundreds of Lashkar-e-Islam volunteers on Wednesday demolished the houses of three criminals in Khyber Agency for their alleged involvement in the kidnapping of a child from the Punjab.
The Shura of the organisation, led by its chief Mangal Bagh Afridi, met here to decide the fate of four people accused of kidnapping the minor for ransom and ruled in favour of demolition of their houses. The group managed to arrest three of the kidnappers, including Sayyal Muhammad, who is said to be heading an inter-provincial gang of kidnappers.
Immediately after the Shura decision, hundreds of volunteers moved to carry out the directive and demolished the houses of three of the accused while the fourth was expected to be demolished on Thursday.
The volunteers also razed the Hujra of Sayyal Muhammad despite an appeal made by his family members not to do so. Mangal Bagh rejected the plea that the Hujra belonged to the entire family. He said the place was used for planning criminal activities. "If the entire family could not restrict him from anti-social activities, then they should suffer as well," he argued.
The group on Tuesday raided the compound of an alleged gang of kidnappers and recovered a two-year-old-boy kidnapped near Chakwal Interchange on Motorway on February 26. The boy was later shifted to Bara in Khyber Agency and its abductors demanded a huge ransom for his release.
An FIR was lodged with the Chakwal police and a kidnapper, Shehzad, was arrested.
He disclosed to the police that the child was shifted to Khyber Agency. The family of the kidnapped child then contacted Mangal Bagh, who succeeded in tracing out the culprits.
A chain of arrests made during the process led the organisation to recover the child from one Razbat of Qambar Khel on information provided by Sayyal, the ringleader of the kidnappers from the area.
Mangal Bagh on Tuesday morning produced the kid before the media and said the parents of the child had been contacted.
Islam gives a message of freedom to the human race, but we still live in an age of ignorance, eminent scholar Justice (r) Dr Javed Iqbal said at the Government College University (GCU) on Wednesday.
As far as I can see, Islam has always been the antithesis of freedom, by definition. Islam, recall, means "submission"...
Dr Iqbal addressed the GCU students and faculty members at the Bokhari Auditorium on Ideological Foundations of Pakistan under the auspices of the Quaid-e-Azam Political Science Society. A press statement by GCU quoted him, saying that Pakistanis had the potential to invent and innovate, and they needed to explore their latent faculty. He said that sectarianism, monarchy, extremism, mullaism [theocracy] and peers [pirs] were the major causes of the Muslim civilisations deterioration, as anarchy turned citizens into subjects, mullaism closed the doors of ijtihad [reinterpretation] and innovation, and peers compelled people to worship graves.
You might also add that lacking the freedom to change religions is the ultimate restriction on freedom of thought.
He said that the creation of Pakistan was not meant for a specific Muslim sect but for every Muslim of the Subcontinent, and its prime objectives were to make it a model Muslim state.
And, lo, that's precisely what it's become, the very epitome of the Muslim state.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/20/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
A message of freedom from worldly cares to many infidels. A message of freedom from having to make choices to the rest.
Pakistan's new parliament has elected the country's first woman speaker from the party of slain former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. Fehmida Mirza, a 51-year-old medical school graduate and a businesswoman, was nominated by the Pakistan People's Party to become the first woman speaker of the country's national assembly.
Mirza, a three-time member of the parliament, was elected to the post with 249 of the 324 votes cast in a ballot in the National Assembly. Mirza's rival got only 70 votes since her Pakistan People's Party and other members in the new coalition government have a majority in the assembly. The coalition government is yet to name its candidate for prime minister as Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the son of Bhutto, returned to Pakistan on Wednesday to discuss the issue.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/20/2008 00:00 ||
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Gold-trimmed SUVs idle outside the parliament. Among new female lawmakers, Muslim veils are out and Gucci bags are in.
Civilian rule has returned to Pakistan, and its politicians have come back with bling. Last months elections ushered into parliament a new crop of business leaders and wealthy elites opposed to US-backed President Pervez Musharrafs one-man rule. The new body is headed by followers of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto secularists who have vowed to fight extremism. Many are also veterans of a series of civilian governments that nearly bankrupted the country in the 1990s. Eight years after Musharraf took over in a military coup, theyre back in power, accessories and all.
Its their cars, their fashion. They have all the latest models, said Sana Asad, a journalist covering parliament. Theyre richer and more secular.
Perhaps its because theyre connected to the previous administrations - the wealthy elites, she said, sunning herself outside parliaments housing complex on Wednesday. Parliaments parking lot was crowded with new sports utility vehicles festooned with flashy tire rims and hood ornaments. Women in bright colors clogged past in heels and huge sunglasses. Bodyguards fanned out.
The February 18 elections saw a hard line coalition of religious groups lose control of the NWFP. Also, many conservative-minded allies of Musharraf lost their seats. In the last parliament, about a dozen female lawmakers from the religious alliance wore body-shrouding black veils that concealed everything except their eyes.
But as parliament elected its first female speaker on Wednesday, just a single lawmaker - one of 74 women in the 342-seat house - covered her face with a light beige wrap. Others wore traditional flowing gowns, some with bare heads and others with their hair only partially covered by loose scarves.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/20/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Must've read DER SPIEGEL > WHY SEX SCANDALS ARE GOOD FOR WESTERN DEMOCRACY? Europe surrenders to Ahsley/Kirsten - dare ASIA???
#2
Good, now let the militants run wild to spite us and see how long you can have your bling.
I don't know what the hell is wrong with pakistani people, but it's endemic across the board.
...agreed in principle Wednesday to a deal that would have Egypt replace Israel as the Gaza Strip's sole electricity provider.
Under the deal, Egypt would set up a new power line from the Sinai Peninsula town of Arish to the nearby Gaza Strip. The 150-megawatt line would cost $35 million to set up ... [Saudis to fund - Egyptian oligarchs and lackeys get to steal stuff]
... and would be operational within two years.
Egypt currently provides the Gaza Strip with only 7 megawatts of power, while Israel provides 124 megawatts via 10 different lines. A local power station produces the remainder.
#2
Just make sure the Israelis blow the pylons on their end when it's all setup to take this issue off the table permanently. Maybe even sooner if there are "delays" or "problems"...
#3
What about the water? Let's get Egypt to take over the water. The Saudis can pay for a treatment plant and pipelines from the Nile or whereever they take it from.
And the Saudis can also pay for sewage collection and treatment infrastructure. If they can fund Al Qaeda, they can fund a little infrastructure.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
03/20/2008 16:16 Comments ||
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#4
The only electricity the Israelis should provide Gaza is the current in the electric fence keeping them away from Israel.
#3
I guess my only question is why Sderot doesn't have a couple of these already in place, even if they are still in the testing phase. So what if they only got 80% of the katushnas?
#4
Saw an episde of 'FutureWeapons' last night devoted to IDF equipmnet: the Iron Fist was particularly awesome!
Now if they only had the balls to really use them, all the crap would stop.
A new and virulent wheat fungus, previously found in East Africa and Yemen, has moved to major wheat growing areas in Iran, reports the UN's Food and Agricultural Organization. The fungus is capable of wreaking havoc to wheat production by destroying entire fields. Inshallah
Countries east of Iran, like Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, all major wheat producers, are most threatened by the fungus and should be on high alert, FAO said. India could be a problem. But perhaps it only grows in the muzzie parts of the country.
It is estimated that as much as 80 percent of all wheat varieties planted in Asia and Africa are susceptible to the wheat stem rust (Puccinia graminis). The spores of wheat rust are mostly carried by wind over long distances and across continents.
The government of the Islamic Republic of Iran has informed FAO that the fungus has been detected in some localities in Broujerd and Hamedan in western Iran. Laboratory tests have confirmed the presence of the fungus. Iran said it will enhance its research capacity to face the new infection and develop new wheat varieties resistant to the disease. Anybody from Halliburton Biological Warfare Services available for foreign assignment?
#1
Wheat rust, fungus and bunts scare the pootwaddle out of the USDA. After karnal bunt was detected in Arizona wheat, the USDA ordered all AZ wheat destroyed and for no wheat to be grown in the entire State for five years.
#5
Hey RBers - let's just keep this story to ourselves for now - know what I mean? For what it's worth, the staff in the Spore Dispersal Unit have the environmental impact statement for all the algorithms concerning south asian/east african tropospheric climate effects, and the USAF won't disclose higher altitude data for security reasons.
#6
If the US would now mount a concerted drilling effort, or at least announce its intentions to do so, the resulting collapse of crude prices would overwhelm the teetering Iranian economy as well as El Gordo's in Venezuela. It's a shame that Pelosi and Reid are still fixated on Bush instead our national interest.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
03/20/2008 11:28 Comments ||
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#8
Wheat self sufficiency is one of the most important goals of the Mullocracy. They have spent lots of $$$ increasing ag acreage (generally though irrigation which has required them buying a lot of Western hardware).
In 2006-2007, they were close to achieving self sufficiency.
#9
Can the Mullacracy afford to import enough wheat to feed the population on an ongoing basis until their scientists discover a strain resistant to this fungus? And wasn't the French Revolution a success -- in its own fashion -- because the peasants could not afford to buy bread?
#10
The bredth of your knowledge never ceases to amaze me, TW. Modest little midwestern Housewife, indeed!
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/20/2008 13:11 Comments ||
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#11
TW,
I'm not sure about the operating cost of the irrigation systems, but I'll bet it isn't cheap and they probably don't do it well enough to avoid the salinity build up problem. Thus its quite possible that importing wheat is more cost effective for Iran than trying to be self sufficient. Its also possible (even probable) that the acreage used for wheat cultivation would be better used to grow something else.
The issue, as I think they see it, is to their ideology/theology; somehow the idea of being dependent on infidels for the material to make flatbread must really grind their gears.
#13
Thank you, mhw. Bobby, I know just enough to ask questions of those who actually know what they're talking about. (See how cleverly I did exactly that?) That's why I make tea, and you-all make sure everything actually works. But I do like that cute little pun in your first sentence. :-)
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.
HAVANA - The Cuban government is considering reforms to make migration regulations more flexible, which may include the possibility of longer stays abroad and even the elimination of exit visas, Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque said on Wednesday. We are firm in our commitment to make ever more fluid the relationship between Cubans living abroad and Cuba, and making the procedure and the regulations on that issue faster, Perez Roque said during a meeting in Havana with Cubans living abroad.
