[Arab News] The rehabilitation of Billy the Kid lies dead in the dust. I'm sure he's just as disappointed as can be...
In one of his last official acts -- or non-acts -- before leaving office, New Mexico's governor refused to pardon the Old West outlaw Friday for one of the many murders he committed before he was gunned down in 1881. All the other problems New Messico's faced for the past four years or so have been addressed. This was all that was left.
Gov. Bill Richardson cited ambiguity surrounding the pledge of a pardon 130 years ago as the reason.
"I felt I could not rewrite history," Richardson told The Associated Press, hours after announcing his decision on ABC's "Good Morning America" on his last day in office.
The prospect of a pardon for the notorious frontier figure drew international attention to New Mexico, centering on whether New Mexico territorial governor Lew Wallace promised Billy the Kid a pardon in return for testifying about killings he witnessed.
Richardson concluded Wallace did make a deal, "but it's uncertain why he did not keep his promise," said the former UN ambassador and Democratic presidential candidate.
He said he could not pardon Billy the Kid given that ambiguity and the fact he killed two deputies when he escaped in April 1881 from the Lincoln County jail, where he was awaiting hanging for the 1878 killing of Sheriff William Brady.
A pardon document was even drafted, "but in the end, I didn't use it," said Richardson, adding that he didn't decide until Thursday night.
The proposed pardon covered only the killing of Brady, and not the deaths of the deputies or any other killings.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/01/2011 00:00 ||
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He may have been a legend, but he certainly was a murderer and criminal.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
01/01/2011 0:40 Comments ||
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every time I see the name, I picture Bill and Ted saying "Mr. The Kid"
duuuude...
Posted by: abu do you love ||
01/01/2011 7:24 Comments ||
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Well I guess we can all sleep well tonight now that this has been resolved...
We take the news where we find it, One Eyed Omease2378. The Saudi editor of the Arab News must have found this as interesting as the usual War on Terror stuff.
[Emirates 24/7] A man who raped 17 girls in Saudi Arabia, including a 13-year-old teenager, told the police he had committed such crimes on the devil's orders. "Dat's right. The devil made me do it!"
The unnamed man, a school employee, had used his religious treatment and dream interpretation skills to seduce the girls to his house, where he "had sex with them and tore their virginity," Anbakuk newspaper said on Thursday. "It wuz Beelzebub! I seen him!"
In a report from the capital Riyadh, it said one of the victims was a Saudi 13-year-old girl, who later begged him to "heal her virginity." "He had big ol' bat wings and a forked tail an' a pitchfork!"
"Police also found texts and phone numbers of many other women in his mobile phone...the victims included Arab and Indonesian girls," it said. "An' he said 'Pork those kiddies or you get the fork!'"
"The man told the court in Riyadh that he had been seduced and commanded by the devil to commit such acts...the court will soon sentence him."
To be completely fair, the court should judge and sentence the devil, as well. Surely it is not Allah's will that innocent girls be deflowered, not only suffering unspeakable assault, but thus sentenced to never be marriageable. How then could they enter Paradise, with no husband of whose seventy-two virgins to be the most beautiful?
Posted by: Fred ||
01/01/2011 00:00 ||
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Justin Bieber was given an apology from an opponent of the Ground Zero mosque, who was taken in by a hoax in which the teen idol was accused of supporting the mosque at the 9/11 site during an interview.
Andy Sullivan, founder of the 9-11 Hard Hat Pledge under which construction workers pledge not to help build it, posted an apology on his website.
"It seems a wrong needs to be righted and the fault is my own," Sullivan wrote on his blog.
This followed when Sullivan realized hed been duped by a post which had appeared on satirical website Celeb Jihad, which claimed the young singer told Tiger Beat magazine that "Muslims should be allowed to build a mosque anywhere they want."
Sullivan gave outraged interviews about his children's reaction to the news that Bieber was in favor of a mosque being built at Ground Zero and urged a boycott against the young singer.
But the interview had never happened. It was a complete hoax, concocted by Celeb Jihad.
"I offer my most genuine apology to Justin Bieber, his family and fans," Sullivan posted. "If I have caused any grief or pain I am terribly sorry."
Justin Bieber has been the target of numerous pranks, including a recent campaign to send the singer to North Korea during his My World Tour. This prank was carried out with help from 4chan, Digg, and Reddit users who voted for the country in a contest on Biebers tour website.
[Iran Press TV] Ivory Coast's incumbent president Laurent Gbagbo has blamed La Belle France and other western countries for the ongoing political crisis in the West African nation.
Gbagbo said in an interview aired on Friday that President Nicolas Sarkozy's government was responsible for post-election violence in his ethnically-divided country.
"The EU follows La Belle France. In relations between the great powers today, everyone has their area of influence. And when it comes to speaking about the countries of Black Africa, when La Belle France talks everyone follows. La Belle France interferes in the worst possible way. For all the UN resolutions on the Ivory Coast it was La Belle France who wrote the draft. We have disputed this several times," Euronews quoted Gbagbo as saying.
Gbagbo has recently warned that a French-US "plot" was pushing the country towards civil war.
Gbagbo noted that his resignation would not serve to unify the divided nation.
"If I said I would leave office right now, who could provide an assurance that it would bring peace and that it would not bring even greater violence than we feared?"
Gbagbo and his rival Alassane Ouattara have been locked in a standoff since the presidential elections in November.
Tensions further escalated after they both claimed victory and appointed separate cabinets.
The UN General Assembly has recognized Ouattara as the winner of the presidential election in Ivory Coast and announced that it only accepts Ouattara's representative as the Ivorian envoy to the UN.
The disputed presidential election has raised the risk of a long power struggle that could trigger another civil war in the country.
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01/01/2011 00:00 ||
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[Iran Press TV] La Belle France has once again asked its citizens to leave Ivory Coast as tensions mount over the outcome of the recent presidential run-off election in the West African country.
"Although foreign nationals are not at present threatened, the French authorities renew their advice... to all French who can, in particular families with children, to temporarily leave Ivory Coast," the French foreign ministry said in a statement on Friday.
On December 22, La Belle France urged its citizens to leave Ivory Coast after UN Secretary-General the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon warned that the former French colony is on the brink of civil war following the disputed November 28 run-off presidential election.
Around 14,000 French citizens live in Ivory Coast. "We estimate at around 2,000 the number of French who have left the country," French Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Christine Fages said on Friday.
Friday's renewed advice comes as supporters of the incumbent Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo have vowed to seize Alassane Ouattara's headquarters on New Year Day in an uprising.
Ouattara has taken refuge in Abidjan's Golf Hotel since November's vote. The hotel is currently protected by an 800-strong force of UN peacekeepers.
More than 16,000 Ivorians have decamped to neighboring Liberia following the post-electoral instability. The United Nations, aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society expects the number to hit 30,000, according to Rooters.
The United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, in a Saturday statement said that the growing number of Ivorian refugees has had a major impact on several Liberian communities.
"Our staffs report that host community houses are full and congested," the UNHCR said. "There are homes where 7 to 20 family members share a single room."
Gbagbo has ignored calls from countries on the African continent and elsewhere worldwide to concede defeat to Alassane Ouattara.
"Between December 16 and 21, human rights ... which are not the same thing as individual rights, mind you... officers have substantiated allegations of 173 killings, 90 instances of torture and ill treatment, 471 arrests and detentions and 24 cases of enforced or involuntary disappearances," UN's Deputy Human Rights Chief Kang Kyung-wha said on Thursday.
The European Union on December 13 slapped a round of sanctions against Gbagbo and his political aides to intensify his diplomatic isolation.
Sanctions including visa bans and asset freezes "will particularly target those leading figures who have refused to place themselves under the authority of the democratically elected president," EU ministers said in a statement.
"We call for an immediate and peaceful handover of power," EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton told news hounds after the ministerial meeting.
"We decided to adopt, without delay, restrictive measures against those who are obstructing peace and reconciliation."
"I hope today's decision will persuade the incumbent government to respond before we reach that stage," she added.
On December 2, Ivory Coast's electoral commission announced that opposition candidate Ouattara had won the nation's long-awaited presidential election with 54 percent of the vote.
However, The infamous However... the Constitutional Council immediately contested the result, citing the electoral commission's failure to declare the vote result by Wednesday's deadline.
The council overruled earlier provisional poll results a day later and declared Gbagbo as the winner of the country's presidential run-off election.
On December 9, the 53-nation African Union (AU) decided to suspend the membership of Ivory Coast over the disputed presidential election.
The AU said the suspension would remain until president-elect Ouattara takes power.
The disputed presidential election has raised the risk of a long power struggle in the country.
The world's top cocoa-producing nation is still reeling from the 2002-2003 civil war, which split the West African country in two.
You'll get my hot chocolate when you pry it from my cold, dead hands.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/01/2011 00:00 ||
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[The Nation (Nairobi)] Cote d'Ivoire faced a New Year overshadowed by the threat of open conflict as West African states said they were ready to deploy troops to oust Laurent Gbagbo by force if talks fail to resolve the standoff.
West African regional military chiefs have set in motion plans to oust the strongman if negotiations by regional mediators fail, a Nigerian defence front man, Colonel Mohamed Yerimah, told AFP in Lagos.
He said chiefs of defence staff from the Economic Community Of West African States (Ecowas) met this week in the Nigerian capital "to put machinery in motion that if all political persuasions fail ... Ecowas will forcefully take over power from Laurent Gbagbo and hand over to Alassane Ouattara".
Ouattara, recognised by the international community as winner of the November 28 presidential election, is being protected by UN peacekeepers who on Friday were staring down a threat to storm a hotel which he has made his temporary headquarters in Abidjan.
UN secretary-general the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon warned UN troops would use "all necessary means" to resist any assault on the hotel.
The UN chief was responding to a threat from strongman Laurent Gbagbo's most notorious lieutenant to storm his rival's base.
Gbagbo's notorious "Street General", Minister for Youth Charles Ble Goude, on Wednesday urged Ivorian youths to rise up after the New Year to seize control of Ouattara's headquarters in the waterfront Golf Hotel resort.
"From January 1, I, Charles Ble Goude, and the youth of Cote d'Ivoire are going to liberate the Golf Hotel with our bare hands," the political showman turned minister declared to a cheering crowd of hardline supporters.
The call came as the United Nations, aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society' chief peacekeeper accused Gbagbo's state media of "inciting hatred" against UN troops and as West African leaders promised to try once more to negotiate a peaceful settlement to the crisis.
"This is only the latest provocation from Gbagbo's camp," Ouattara's spokeswoman Anne Ouluto told AFP by telephone from the hotel, where Cote d'Ivoire's internationally recognised leader is effectively cornered.
"It's a false pretext to attack United Nations forces and create a genuine incident," she said of Ble Goude's declaration.
The once-plush resort is protected by a small contingent of lightly armed former rebel fighters known as the New Forces and 800 UN troops equipped with armoured vehicles and re-supplied by helicopter.
It is surrounded by Gbagbo's well-armed regulars, but Ouattara's camp is more concerned about Ble Goude's threat to send thousands of unarmed youths to storm the hotel.
The Ecowas meeting last Tuesday and Wednesday was attended by military chiefs from Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Liberia, Mali, Senegal, Togo, Niger and Nigeria.
Ghana has already announced it would not send any troops on the grounds that it has overstretched its capacity in peacekeeping operations elsewhere.
Ecowas has a standby troubleshooting force of 6,500 soldiers, which officials said is almost ready to deploy.
"This is the last resort but hopefully Gbagbo will be persuaded to hand over power politically without military cohesion," Yerimah, the Nigerian defence front man, told AFP.
Both Gbagbo and Ouattara claim to have won last month's Ivorian election, but only the latter has been recognised as president by the world community, including the Ecowas regional group and the UN.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/01/2011 00:00 ||
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Ecowas has a standby troubleshooting force of 6,500 soldiers, which officials said is almost ready to deploy.
ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast - The United Nations is warning supporters of incumbent leader Laurent Gbagbo that an attack on the hotel where the internationally recognized winner of last months election is based could re-ignite civil war.
A U.N. warning? I'm sure Gbagbo is laughing his hind end off.
A pro-Gbagbo youth leader has said that Alassane Ouattara and his supporters have until Saturday to pack up their bags and leave the hotel where they are being guarded by some 800 U.N. peacekeepers and hundreds of rebels loyal to Ouattara.
U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is deeply alarmed by the youth leaders comments. Ban said Thursday that an attack on the hotel could provoke widespread violence, which could re-ignite civil war in the West African country divided in two by the 2002-2003 civil war. Ban called on Gbagbo supporters to refrain from such dangerous irresponsible action, Nesirky said.
That should do it. No one in Africa would dare defy the U.N.
The youth leader, Charles Ble Goude, is known as the street general for organizing a violent anti-French and anti-U.N. gang that terrorized the foreign population in Ivory Coast in 2004-2005.
Notice a pattern?
Under a peace deal after the war, the U.N. was tasked with certifying the results of the Nov. 28 presidential runoff vote. The U.N. declared Ouattara the winner, echoing the countrys own electoral commission chief. Gbagbo insists he won, pointing out that the Ivory Coast constitutional council declared him the winner. The council, which is led by a Gbagbo ally, did so after invalidating half a million ballots from Ouattara strongholds in the north.
Chaos in Ivory Coast already has kept Gbagbo in power five years beyond his mandate in Ivory Coast, the worlds top cocoa producer that was once a West African economic powerhouse. The countrys long-delayed presidential election was finally held in October was intended to help reunify the country, which had been split into a rebel-controlled north and a loyalist south.
That worked well, didn't it.
Instead, the vote and a runoff held last month have renewed divisions that threaten to plunge the country back into civil war.
Who would have seen that coming?
While Ivory Coast was officially reunited in a 2007 peace deal, Ouattara still draws his support from the northern half of the country, where residents feel they are often treated as foreigners within their own country by southerners.
So more violence, more blood spilled, and a bigger mess for the U.N., though since it will be French troops bleeding, the MFM won't dare call it a 'quagmire'. We'll see more refugees headed for Liberia, which itself isn't exactly a garden-spot on the west coast of Africa. There will be more appeals for the developed world to give money to the U.N. refugee office, though of course no money will be diverted from the Paleostainian camps.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/01/2011 00:00 ||
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"UN warns against any attack on Ivory Coast hotel"
Or what? They'll issue a dreaded Strongly Worded Letter™?
Yeah, that'll work.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
01/01/2011 11:01 Comments ||
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Heck, just remove two or three chairs from each of the Dining Rooms. It will mess up the prearranged seating assignments thereby driving the UN folks into a deep anxiety. Since Gbagbo, his associates or his goons probably run the liquor concessions in the hotel, his profits would soar.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
01/01/2011 13:28 Comments ||
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#5
ION TOPIX/WORLDNEWS/PEOPLES DAILY FORUM > GBAGBO: UN TROOPS MUST LEAVE COTE' D'IVOIRE [Ivory Coast].
[Bangla Daily Star] An alleged robber was beaten to death by a mob and two members of a house were stabbed in Bunti area under Araihazar upazila of the district early yesterday.
It is seriously dangerous to be a miscreant in Bangladesh. It's a wonder anyone survives long enough to be crossfired by the Rab.
The dear departed was identified as Elem, 35,
A poor single-namer, with nary an alias in sight...
son of late Sona Mia
And an orphan, too!
of Girda village of the same upazila.
Police said, a gang 15 to 20 robbers swooped on the house of Julhash Mia, a cloth trader of the village by breaking open the door early yesterday and took the house members hostage at gunpoint.
"Yer coming wit us, Julhash!"
Then they looted Tk 3 lakh cash, gold ornaments and four mobile sets.
Truly, Mr. Julhash Mia was a successful trader indeed.
The criminals also seriously stabbed Julhash, 60 and his son Manzur Hossain, 28.
The meanies!
Hearing the screams of the victims, locals chased the robbers and managed to catch one of them and beat him up mercilessly, leaving him dead on the spot.
In Rajbari, robbers took away 101 tolas of gold ornaments from a jewellery shop from a market in the district town early Tuesday.
Is that a lot? It sounds like a lot...
USD $5675.00
Definitely plenty, then.
So it's a grand larceny!
Police said, breaking open the collapsible gate, a gang of robbers entered the shop of Annonya Jewellers at Poura Millennium Market at about 3:30am and looted 101 tolas of gold ornaments worth about Tk 40 lakh.
Gold christmas ornaments worth Tk 40 lakh? Truly B-desh is a land of plenty.
None was jugged in this connection. A case was filed.
Another report from Narayanganj adds: Robbers looted Tk 1 lakh cash from five shops of NS Super Market at Shimrail in Siddhirganj upazila early Tuesday .
It must be high season for robbers.
Police said, breaking open the doors a gang looted the amount from five shops late at night. But the robbers did not touch other valuables of the shops.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/01/2011 00:00 ||
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Villagers really need to learn to get whomever they catch to turn a few of the gang, and only then beat the captured miscreant inside-out.
#3
Reading this it occured to me that this might be why we had spahgetti westerns and not rice westerns. Every time Clint Eastwood tried to say " meet me at the Upazilla" he swallowed his cigar.
Salman Gul discovered what he took to be Arabic words as he munched on a roll bought from Subway in Normanton Road, Derby. When a piece of tomato fell out he saw what appeared to be "Muhammad is God's Messenger" written in Arabic formed by the tomato's veins.
His imam at the Iqra Centre, Normanton, examined the tomato slice and confirmed his reading, saying "it cannot be a coincidence".
Mr Gul said finding the phenomenal fruit "clarified and confirmed" the strength of his credulity faith.
"For me it's something really special. I was eating at the Halal Subway sandwich shop on Normanton Road and this tomato slice fell out from my sandwich.
"I noticed Arabic writing that appeared to be from within the tomato, constructed from its veins or venation the botanical term for plant veins.
"I asked the guys who worked at the Subway if they could read the same thing, and they agreed. I needed a third opinion so I went to my local mosque on Portland Street, and the imam who teaches Arabic classes read the tomato and confirmed it."
Mr Gul said he had been a shmendrik Muslim all his life but had never seen anything like the tomato.
The imam, Rafi Din Shah said the message had come as a surprise.
He said: "It's no coincidence it's a sign from God. Muhammad said 'I will leave this world but there will be signs that come to show I am the true messenger of God, that will confirm my prophet-hood. This is one of those signs."
Mr Shah said he had been teaching Arabic for two years, having received a masters in the subject.
He said: "I have never seen anything like this before, although you do read about and see these things on the internet.
Tell us about it.
I think you'll find this will be a major boost for the whole Muslim community in Derby. To hear and see that something like this has happened in Derby will really cheer people up."
#3
Not quite the same sense of drama, but I suppose if God can appear to Moses in a burning bush, Allah can appear to some random dude in a fast food sandwich. Still, I can't help feeling that Allah is just messing with these guys.
[Iran Press TV] Thousands of demonstrators have taken to the streets across Bolivia to protest the recent jump in fuel prices in the country.
Protesters marched through the streets in capital La Paz and other cities across Bolivia on Thursday, demanding from the government of President Evo Morales to repeal the hike.
The demonstration in La Paz started peacefully but turned violent after police prevented protesters from entering the main plaza where the presidential palace is located, AP reported.
Police used tear gas to disperse protesters that blocked main roads in urban centers and attacked public property.
This comes as a public transport strike continues to paralyze daily life in several cities. A walkout in La Paz has brought public transportation in the Bolivian capital to a complete standstill.
The jump in prices was announced suddenly on Sunday, with gasoline prices jumping 73 percent and diesel prices soaring by 83 percent. The move has led to a rapid increase in food and transport prices across the country.
Fuel prices were kept fixed for six years in Bolivia, but the government says it can no longer subsidize them, especially since much of the fuel is smuggled to neighboring countries. It also describes the measure as a vital tool to cut imports and spur investment in oil output.
Morales' government, on the other hand, has announced plans for mitigating the economic effects of the move, including a 20-percent increase in the salary of public workers and new assistance to rice, corn and wheat farmers.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/01/2011 00:00 ||
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Evo caves...
Bolivian President Evo Morales has reinstated subsidies on petroleum products after protests over higher fuel prices, the state-run news agency ABI reported Friday.
Morales made the announcement from the government palace after meeting with his Cabinet, trade unions and social organizations in La Paz, the news agency said.
Supreme Decree 748, which ended the subsidies, was issued Sunday. On Monday, gasoline and diesel prices rose dramatically, sparking widespread protests in major cities.
"I want to say to the Bolivian people that this means that all the measures remain without effect," he said. "There exists no justification now to raise the cost of travel or to increase the price of food ... everything returns to the way it was before."
[El Universal] The new package of laws recently approved by the Venezuelan National Assembly is unprecedented, according to Jorge Cardinal Urosa Savino. "It is something that should be meditated and I say it to government officials, because they are causing an unbearable situation of disrespect of rights and the people's will."
Urosa made an appeal to rectify for the sake of social peace. "Both the enabling law and the amendment to the regulations on domestic affairs and sessions at the National Assembly are intended to make the legislature null and void and concentrate all the legislative capacity in the hands of the President of the Republic."
"This is certainly undemocratic, because it nullifies and dismisses the people's will which was expressed on September 26 and threatens the country peace."
The cardinal is afraid that the enabling law will finish the current status of deputies. "People elected there, both of the government and the opposition, will just be nullified by such a law and the changes in the regulations on domestic affairs and sessions."
Posted by: Fred ||
01/01/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Enabling law worked for Hitler, why not for the Venezuelan despot?
#2
won't prevent the economic collapse. Inflation's 27% right now and is expected to double due to the recent (second) devaluation in 2010. Imports become too expensive, power grid's failing, and his oil's sulfurous crap that pretty much only we can crack right now. How does he keep the lid on when the riots start? Cracking heads? I expect he'll issue ration cards and only Chavistas will get them. Venezuela will have an interesting 2011
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01/01/2011 17:59 Comments ||
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[El Universal] Roy Daza, the Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, National Assembly (AN), stated on December 30 that the revocation of Venezuelan ambassador to the US Bernardo Alvarez's visa represents an escalation in Washington policy of aggression against the South American country.
"We categorically reject this measure. It is an obvious act of retaliation, in the context of aggressions against Venezuela," Daza told state-run television channel Venezolana de Televisión (VTV).
He added that "it seems that hard line stances within the government of Barack B.O. Obama are prevailing," state-run news agency AVN quoted.
Daza pointed out that only in 2010, they recorded 29 attacks by official spokespersons of the United States Department of State against Venezuela "in attempts at meddling with domestic affairs."
The purpose, he said, "is to keep the imperial mentality that dominates US policy."
"If relations are broken it is the responsibility of Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton," ... sometimes described as the Smartest Woman in the World and at other times as Mrs. Bill... he stressed.
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[Iran Press TV] International Monetary fund will not release billions of dollars in loan to Pakistain unless the country undertakes urgent economic reforms, reports say.
But it's jizya! Besides, if they don't hand over the dough, something dreadful will happen. Possibly having to do with terrorism, the way it used to have to do with communism.
Media reports say that the IMF has withheld USD 3.5 billion this year. A report published in The Wall Street Journal on Friday revealed that the move was part of efforts to pressure the country to reform its economy.
It's certainly seems like a reasonable idea...
The global funding body has recently asked Islamabad to take steps to cut its spiraling budget deficit and urged immediate fiscal belt-tightening measures.
They do that only after they can't get money elsewhere, not before...
This is while Pakistain has failed to implement general sales tax reforms and curb spending in line with promises made by the government to the IMF in return for lending.
IMF loans are hugely unpopular in Pakistain as government faces pressure to take tough economic decisions.
Pakistain obtained billions of IMF bail-out loan in late 2008 as country sought to stave off economic meltdown.
President Asif Ali President Ten Percent Zardari ... husband of the late Benazir Bhutto, who showed remarkably little curiosity about who actually done her in ... has tried to convince international community and donors to forgo Pak debt and provide more economic aid in exchange for help in the war in neighboring Afghanistan.
The developments come at a time when the Islamabad government is trying to tackle the growing militancy and economic crisis in the country.
Moreover, Pakistain's economic outlook has tanked'>has tanked sharply as a result of the recent floods which affected more than 20 million people.
The agriculture sector, which accounts for 21 percent of Gross Domestic Product and 45 percent of employment, has been hit particularly hard.
Economic experts say Pakistain's state of economy is far worse than previously estimated.
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01/01/2011 00:00 ||
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[Geo News] A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court on Friday for disqualification of Interior Minister Senator Rehman Malik over wrong recitation of the Holy Koran (Surah Ikhlas), Geo News reported.
Tariq Asad Advocate contended in his plea that Senator Rehman Malik wrongly recited Surah Ikhlas three times during the cabinet meeting.
He asserted that Malik did not qualify for the senate seat, as he has no knowledge of the basic teachings of Islam, therefore, he should be disqualified under article 62 and 63 of the constitution.
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01/01/2011 00:00 ||
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[Al Jazeera] Noble Energy, a US-based oil and gas firm, along with its Israeli exploration partners, have confirmed the discovery of a huge offshore gas field called Leviathan, 130km off the coast of the Mediterranean port of Haifa.
Whew! If it had been oil, the cartel would have had to figure out how to keep them icky juices from joining their lily-white organization.
Delek Energy, one of the Israeli partners, said on Wednesday that the discovery was the largest deepwater natural gas find in the world in the past decade.
Actually, there already are techniques to turn natural gas into oil -- hydrogenating it or something, like Crisco. This could get very interesting.
Leviathan is estimated to have 450 billion cubic metres of gas and could transform Israel into an exporter of gas.
Tamar, a nearby site already being drilled by Noble and Delek, was the largest gas find in the world in 2009, at 8.4 trillion cubic feet.
"A world power," read a headline in Israel's Maariv newspaper, describing the country's new energy potential.
But experts noted that there is currently a glut in natural gas and that unlike oil, which is sold on global markets, gas is geographic and needs a specific buyer.
"It's not a great time for Israel to enter a lot of the markets," Brenda Shaffer, an energy expert at the University of Haifa, told Rooters news agency.
"European consumption is going down, new suppliers are coming on. I'm not sure there's a buyer waiting by the door at this point."
Then Israel should just keep it for home use, and stop buying oil from Egypt, or whomever.
Shaffer also said thon the lamr amounts have been discovered onshore, where it is also cheaper to produce than in deep water.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/01/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Actually, there already are techniques to turn natural gas into oil -- hydrogenating it or something, like Crisco. This could get very interesting.
It is called "gas to liquid", it is quite an industry, and is one of the things that keeps a lid (such as it is) on oil prices.
About the oil power status change don't worry--
they're a democracy. They will screw it up somehow.
I often wonder how much funding to the various green movements comes from the magic kingdom?
#2
"I often wonder how much funding to the various green movements comes from the magic kingdom?"
Most of it that doesn't come from George Soros. >:-(
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
01/01/2011 11:02 Comments ||
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#3
It is called "gas to liquid", it is quite an industry,
Thank you, nGuard. It's so helpful when somebody can clarify what I'm trying to talk about, covering for my vast ignorance. And, I get to learn something, always worth doing. :-)
#6
Dear Steven, you flatter me inordinately. Ralph's son Johnnie, in response to your comments yesterday on my little rant: so much of what I know I learnt here at Rantburg from you-all, including you. If I write something that works, it's because of the generosity, wisdom, and knowledge of Rantburg's teachers.
#9
TW, I wasn't being facetious with my comments yesterday - I never had heard of the Cairo/Cordoba schism putting the Islamists in irons (its not in any Bernard Lewis history) - I thought the main schism was always between the Sunnis and their hatred for the Shiites.
I would add to your comments about the rough road ahead for the Islamists, that free commentary on the Internet is largely responsible for this.
#10
Johnnie, that perspective came from the book I'm reading that triggered the post yesterday. The author was talking about how, from an open and confident world-view during the tenures of Mohammed and the first four khalifs, within a generation Islam became closed and defensive, despite continuing expansion by conquest along the borders. Partly, he said, it was due to continuous raiding by the Turks, as Christendom was being bedeviled by the Vikings -- which somehow threw into question the proof through conquest thingy (not a problem for Christianity, which was proved through the visions of Christ experienced by the apostle Paul and others, as I understand it) -- and partly, he said, because of the establishment of three caliphates with more or less legitimate claims to the mantle of khalifa:
o the Cairo bunch had a Shiite descendant of Ali (the last of the "Rightly Guided" khalifs, who'd been companions of Mohammed) and Fatima, daughter of Mohammed, so a double claim,
o the Cordoba bunch had the last scion of the Ummayids (the two middle of the RG khalifs, who had moved operations from Mecca to Baghdad),
o and the Baghdad bunch, which controlled the capitol of Islam, where the first of the Abbasids murdered Ali and all the Ummayids except that one who escaped to Spain.
The thing was, Sunni/Shia was a split over who should be in charge -- a spiritual or physical descendant of Mohammed -- but there had still only been one person in charge, and Ali had accepted the rule of the Ummayids, per et fil after accepting Abu Bakr. But now there were three men claiming the mantle of Mohammed, so to speak, all three risen to power through warring against fellow Muslims. But neither Mohammed nor Allah intervened to reunite the world of Islam into a single community, even though Abu Bakr had gone to war after Mohammed's death to prevent so much as a single Muslim village from opting out, using the argument that there might be no compulsion to enter Islam, but leaving the community of God was not a possibility.
So I can't claim originality in the thought or my own cleverness in the analysis, I'm afraid.
Liquefied natural gas takes up about 1/600th the volume of natural gas in the gaseous state. It is odorless, colorless, non-toxic and non-corrosive.
The reduction in volume makes it much more cost efficient to transport over long distances where pipelines do not exist. Where moving natural gas by pipelines is not possible or economical, it can be transported by specially designed cryogenic sea vessels (LNG carriers) or cryogenic road tankers.
The energy density of LNG is 60% of that of diesel fuel.
Chinas first known stealth aircraft just emerged from a secret development program and was undergoing high-speed taxi tests late last week at Chengdu Aircraft Design Institutes airfield. Said to be designated J-20, it is larger than most observers expectedpointing to long range and heavy weapon loads.
The J-20 is a single-seat, twin-engine aircraft, bigger and heavier than the Sukhoi T-50 and the F-22. Comparison with ground-service vehicles points to an overall length of 75 ft. and a wingspan of 45 ft. or more, which would suggest a takeoff weight in the 75,000-80,000-lb. class with no external load. That in turn implies a generous internal fuel capacity. The overall length is close to that of the 1960s General Dynamics F-111, which carries 34,000 lb. of fuel.
#2
TOPIX > NORTH KOREA CALLS FOR PEACE [in New Year 2011] BUT WARNS "NUCLEAR HOLOCAUST" MAY BE ALTERNATIVE; + NORTH KOREAN PEACE OVERTURE COMES WID "NUCLEAR HOLOCAUST" WARNING.
IIUC, IOW DPRK = ANY NEW WAR ON THE KOREAN PENISULA AGZ SOUTH = ROK WILL BE A NUCLEAR WAR.
* SAME > [Japan] SDF PREPARATIONS ALL HAVE BUT ONLY ONE TARGET: CHINA.
ARTIC SOURCE = denotes that CHINA = PLA have only NINE MAJOR ROUTES TO ENTER INTO THE PACIFIC + INDIAN OCEANS vee "FIRST ISLAND CHAIN"- FIVE OF THESE NINE ALL GO THROUGH OR PASS NEAR JAPAN, wid Japan monitoring same, including the MIYAKO Straits.
The remainder are in the SOUTH CHINA SEA, forming a NARROW "GAUNTLET/CHANNEL(S)" between MIANLAND CHINA versus TAIWAN + PHILIPPINES-INDONESIA + INDIA-RUSSIA-US-JAPAN'S "NEW BFF" VIETNAM, + US-UK MilBases on DIEGO GARCIA, + UK PROTECTORATE SINGAPORE [UK = also read, USA]???
Islam doesn't prohibit any activity, aerobics included, within a mosque compound as long as it does not contravene sharia, according to PAS spiritual leader Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat.
He said it shouldn't be a problem for both Muslims and non-Muslims to conduct any activity in the mosque compound.
In Islam, it is not wrong for people to hold activities in mosques.
Even during the time of Prophet Muhammad, non-believers were allowed to enter mosques, which also acted as centres for various activities, including politics, he told reporters after his Friday sermon.
The Kelantan Mentri Besar was reacting to a report in Utusan Malaysia highlighting Serdang MP Teo Nie Ching, who was photographed wearing tight exercise clothing and doing aerobics in the compound of the Taman Cheras Jaya Mosque during a recent Maal Hijrah carnival.
Before this, Teo had caused a controversy when she delivered a talk in a surau in Kajang Sentral, Selangor, in August.
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.
[Arab News] The rehabilitation of Billy the Kid lies dead in the dust.
[Emirates 24/7] A man who raped 17 girls in Saudi Arabia, including a 13-year-old teenager, told the police he had committed such crimes on the devil's orders.
Justin Bieber was given an apology from an opponent of the Ground Zero mosque, who was taken in by a hoax in which the teen idol was accused of supporting the mosque at the 9/11 site during an interview. 
Salman Gul discovered what he took to be Arabic words as he munched on a roll bought from Subway in Normanton Road, Derby. When a piece of tomato fell out he saw what appeared to be "Muhammad is God's Messenger" written in Arabic formed by the tomato's veins.
[Iran Press TV] Thousands of demonstrators have taken to the streets across Bolivia to protest the recent jump in fuel prices in the country.
International Monetary fund will not release billions of dollars in loan to Pakistain unless the country undertakes urgent economic reforms, reports say.
Islam doesn't prohibit any activity, aerobics included, within a mosque compound as long as it does not contravene sharia, according to PAS spiritual leader Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat.
