[An Nahar] Protesters on Monday demanded the resignation of Tunisia's minister for women's affairs, Sihem Badi, accusing her of defending a children's nursery where a three-year-old girl was raped.
The protesters, among them relatives of the victim, gathered outside the ministry in Tunis shouting slogans against Badi, including "Minister of shame, get out!" and "Ministers who protect pedophiles have no place among us."
The young girl was raped repeatedly by the caretaker of the nursery in La Marsa, an upscale suburb of the capital, according to the police.
The suspect was nabbed Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please! on Saturday.
On the same day, Badi, who as minister of families as well of women's affairs is responsible for children's nurseries, said a member of the girl's family was to blame and that no measures against the nursery were needed.
"Three weeks ago, my life turned into a nightmare. When I imagine my daughter, who weighs 11 kilos, in the hands -- and on several occasions -- of this 55-year-old caretaker, I have only one wish, to die," the father of the victim told Agence La Belle France Presse.
"The children's nursery is still open despite what happened to my daughter," he added, his voice welling with emotion.
If found guilty, the rape suspect risks the death penalty, even though no executions have been carried out in Tunisia since 1991.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/26/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
three yrs old? He's already received the death penalty. Let him out to the crowd
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/26/2013 9:48 Comments ||
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[An Nahar] Family members of Libya's Muammar Qadaffy ... one of those little rainstorms from the Arab Spring... who had taken refuge in Algeria during the revolution that toppled the long-time dictator have now moved to Oman, Libya's foreign minister said on Monday. That might be far enough away...
"Some of the family has moved to Oman," Mohammed Abdelaziz told news hounds in Doha following reports that Qadaffy's relatives who fled to Algeria in August 2011 had now left that country.
Abdelaziz said an official statement by the three countries involved, Libya, Algeria and Oman, would be issued soon.
Omani local daily al-Shabiba said on Monday that some members of Qadaffy's family have been in Oman since October.
It cited a foreign ministry official saying that the Gulf state did not want to "show off" with an action prompted by "humanitarian" motives.
Qadaffy's wife Safia and two sons, Hannibal and Mohammed, along with daughter Aisha sought refuge in Algeria after the fall of Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... in August 2011 to rebels battling the veteran leader's loyalists.
Another son, Saadi, fled to Niger in September that year.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/26/2013 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] A Mohammedan man was sentenced to death on Monday after having been found guilty of killing two Coptic Christians in southern Egypt in 2011, court sources said.
The court in Sohag, 500 kilometers (300 miles) south of Cairo, convicted Mahmud Abdel Nazir, 50, of having killed two Copts, maimed three others and started a fire to avenge what he called the murder of his brother by a Copt.
The death sentence has to be confirmed by Egypt's Grand Mufti.
And there's the out.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/26/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
Hey, give him a break. He was only doing his religious duty, dontcha know.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
03/26/2013 9:30 Comments ||
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#2
I think we need a graphic of pigs flying attached to this artitle.
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
03/26/2013 15:25 Comments ||
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#3
article.
Sorry folks.
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
03/26/2013 15:26 Comments ||
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[An Nahar] The U.N. Security Council will hold urgent talks Monday after a bloody coup in Central Africa sent ousted leader Francois Bozize fleeing across the border, and left 13 South African soldiers dead.
Diplomats in New York said the 15-nation council would meet to discuss the rapidfire assault in which rebels seized the capital Bangui on Sunday after the collapse of a two-month-old peace deal with Bozize's regime.
Amid growing international condemnation of the coup, which the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... said was "unacceptable", the Security Council was set to call for a swift return to democracy.
"There is a new president, self-proclaimed in a totally unconstitutional way and the question we are all asking is how to come back to a constitutional situation, how to have elections as quickly as possible," La Belle France's U.N. ambassador Gerard Araud told news hounds as he announced the meeting.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/26/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
Um... how is this an emergency for the UN? Cuts off slush fund? Loss of preteen whores?
[Iran Press TV] At least 13 South African soldiers have lost their lives in clashes with rebels at a checkpoint on the outskirts of Central African Republic's capital, Bangui.
"During the battle 13 of our soldiers fell, one is unaccounted for," President Jacob Zuma said on Monday.
Pilots will have to coordinate takeoff and landing by themselves after April 7 using a shared radio channel.
Some 200 soldiers from South Africa were deployed to Central Africa in January to support the government troops against the offensive launched by the Seleka fighters in early December.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/26/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
It is my understanding that professional intelligence reporting was ignored in favour of so-called external subject matter experts who provided free advice and training.
Reports out of South Africa, however, describe the 200 SADF soldiers as paratroopers and Special Forces, not trainers. Their engagement over the weekend with over 1000 rebel troops advancing on the city apparently proved too much for them; it is now unclear what will happen. According to an unconfirmed UN source in Bangui (as reported by Reuters) SADF had asked the French for assistance in leaving the country. Additionally, the rumour mill in South Africa has it that the soldiers were never really there to protect Bozize as their primary mission, but rather to safeguard South African mining interests and to counter French influence in the region. If that is the case then the irony of asking the French for help to depart will certainly not be lost on the critics.
Apparently being a power-broker is proving to be harder than expected.
#3
....the rumour mill in South Africa has it that the soldiers were never really there to protect Bozize as their primary mission, but rather to safeguard South African mining interests and to counter French influence in the region.
[Iran Press TV] The ousted president of the Central African Republic, Francois Bozize, has taken refuge in neighboring Cameroon as France sends more troops to the African country.
A statement from the office of Cameroon's president said on Monday that Bozize is seeking a temporary stay before going to another county. Mauritania Oman?
Bozize fled his country after Seleka fighters had seized the capital Bangui over the weekend. Reports say that the rebels' leader Michel Djotodia declared himself the new president.
Meanwhile, France sent 350 more troops to its former colony, bringing the number of soldiers stationed in the African nation to 600.
Several hundred soldiers from South Africa were also deployed to the Central African Republic to counter the Seleka fighters.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/26/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
"declared" himself the new President? Just dispense with the elections I have a gun sort of thing? That should go nicely.
But then, they are sweaty guys who share the monkey... heavily armed sweaty guys.
And the other guy ( who is now looking out the window at scenic where was it...ah...Cameroon )...with a valise full of real value commodity is named...Francois Bozize?
Nice name, its the sort of name you see on a toilet stall door with a phone number saying "for a good time call ". They don't have anything "strategic" in his little African country , do they?? Something we need perhaps? No?
Let South Africa and France handle it, they need the exercise and they may already be sitting on the strategic parts now anyway. Sounds like a Regiment with a modern logistics, that should do it against what...Bujuba Kakakwey and the boys?
[Al Ahram] French troops killed two Indians Monday when they opened fire on vehicles approaching the airport in the capital of the Central African Republic, which they are protecting in the wake of a coup, the French defence ministry said.
The shooting at three vehicles trying to enter the airport happened "in a particularly confusing situation", just as French troops had been fired upon "from an unknown source," it said.
Another Indian and a Chadian were maimed in the shooting.
"These vehicles were transporting Chadian and Indian nationals. Despite warning shots fired by troops guarding the site, the vehicles kept going at high speed," the ministry said in a statement.
"Two Indian nationals died. French forces immediately took charge of the injured Indian and the Chadian, who were driven to an aid facility."
Around 300 French soldiers were dispatched to the Central African Republic over the weekend to reinforce troops already present in the capital Bangui, which was seized by rebels on Sunday.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/26/2013 00:00 ||
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Have you noticed the lack of hand wringing and sniveling by the mostly lefty press in France?
Apart from the media embargo in Mali, it appears the French as a group have decided the riots and the global jihad are not coming back to LaBelle Francais
Posted by: Bill Clinton ||
03/26/2013 10:21 Comments ||
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[FRANCE24] The rebels who seized the capital of the Central African Republic on Sunday have said that they remained committed to a January power-sharing deal and would hold elections in three years in order to "return to democracy." That ought to be long enough for everyone to forget who was in charge before...
Eric Massi, Europe front man for the Seleka rebel alliance, told FRANCE 24 on Monday that legislative and parliamentary elections would be held in three years. "Three years may sound like a long time, but it's a short time to bring security back to the country and return to normal conditions," he added.
Fighters from Seleka, which means "alliance" in the local Sango language, seized the presidential palace in the capital city of Bangui early on Sunday after their advance from the north of the country.
Pillaging and raids were reported overnight and gunfire could still be heard on Monday morning, according to witnesses. "There is no electricity nor public transport," said Sylvain Groulx, head of the Doctors Without Borders mission in the Central African Republic.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/26/2013 00:00 ||
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"Three years may sound like a long time, but it's a short time to bring security back to the country and return to normal conditions," he added.
Takes a great deal of time to establish the proper Afrikan single-party system, kill off opposition party elements and tribes, and create a network of patronage jobs and alliances. A promise of free elections must be good enough for now.
The number of former workers enrolled in the Social Security disability program has more than doubled in the last two decades, and the reasons why have little to do with the health of our workforce.
According to the letter of the law, disability recipients must prove they are too physically or mentally impaired to hold a job. And early in the program's life, the most commonly reported ailments were easy-to-diagnose problems such as heart-disease, strokes, or neurological disorders. But after the Reagan administration began trying to thin out the program's rolls in the early 80s, an angry Congress reacted by loosening its criteria. Suddenly, subjective measures like self-reported pain or mental health problems earned more weight under Social Security's formula. Today, the most common diagnoses are musculo-skeletal issues, such as severe back pain, and mental illnesses, such as mood disorders -- health problems where the line between a disability and a mild impairment is far blurrier.
As of last year, Social Security's disability trust fund was on pace to run dry by 2016, which would lead to an automatic 21 percent benefit cut affecting all of the program's participants, including the millions who truly can't work because of their impairments. The article puts the recipients in two categories, truly needy and lazy. They leave out a large group who draw the benefit and work on the side. As a doc I can tell you that the rules have become very slack the last few years. I have plenty of patients putting disability forms in front of me that (to my medical eye) aren't disabled in the least. But they're hoping to work the system.
In economics, the tragedy of the commons is the depletion of a shared resource by individuals, acting independently and rationally according to each one's self-interest, despite their understanding that depleting the common resource is contrary to the group's long-term best interests.
#2
Lots of finger pointing. The real issue is the graying of our society. The boomers are getting old, entitlements will double in the next 10 years, it will blow our nation's budget out the roof. Instead of pointing finger and blaming the left or right, we need to figure out a realistic way of dealing with this large force of people who are falling off of the tax rolls and onto entitlement programs.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
03/26/2013 14:18 Comments ||
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#3
49Pan: absolutely, agreed, and as someone will is gray and will one day be old (hey, it could happen), my suggestions are --
-- move (in steps) the SS full pension age from 66 to 70
-- adjust the other pension ages appropriately
-- fix the inflation COLA that over-increases benefits
-- let elder worker earn what they want and tax SS
That would be a start for SS. For disability, the only solution is to clamp down. Disability should be for the disabled.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/26/2013 14:57 Comments ||
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#4
Social Security is not an entitlement, it is insurance as in FICA (Federal Insurance Contributions Act) which is purchased by wage earners. The fact that it was plundered by a crooked, thieving government and turned into a massive Ponzi scheme and vote getting tool should not be lost on anyone.
#5
Social Security was a Ponzi scheme from the git go. Look what happened to Barry Goldwater when he said that 50 years ago. Now the reality is setting in.
#6
Furthermore, if you would like to know how the Social Security Administration has turned into a "Secret Welfare Programme", I recommend you visit your local Social Security office and see who sits on the other side of the counter.
If you would like to know why 18% of the nation's citizens comprise 38% of all Federal jobs, [such as those found in your Social Security Office]visit your local Federal Civilian Personnel Office (CPO).
If you would like a glimpse into the future of the "The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), more commonly referred to as "Obamacare", return to para's 1 and 2 above.
#9
You wish to get this country out of debt and take care of the elderly, here are some starters:
-- Stay out of meaningless middle-eastern conflicts.
-- Limit unemployment insurance to 90 days.
-- End food stamps and hand out canned food and day-old bread through the local church or food pantry.
-- Establish a 10% Federal Income Tax for all earners, no exceptions, no exclusions and have it sent directly to the US Treasury.
-- Disestablish the Departments of Education, Agriculture, DOE, BATF, IRS, and Homeland Defense.
-- End foreign aid.
-- Disestablish Fannie and Freddie.
-- End the Federal Student Loan Program.
-- End Federal Public Housing assistance programs.
Golf Bravo & Kilo Bravo are using the 66/70 strategy. Kilo is drawing Spouse Benefit (1/2 mine) until she reaches 70, then she will change to her own benefit.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
03/26/2013 16:11 Comments ||
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#12
NS:
Without even discussing spousal benefits or the meager cost of living increases, had I not taken FICA at age 62, I would have forfeited about $19,000. per year waiting until age 66 to start drawing full FICA benefits.
From age 62 to 66 that equates to a rough total of some $ 80,000. dollars. At age 66 I would have been eligible for an additional (again roughly) $ 410. per month. The 'make up' or break even point would have been age 62 plus 200 months or about age 80.
#13
If you want an investment tip on your Social Security dollars, buy some HCI or OHI. They are healthcare REITs (old folks homes), which pay a buttload of dividends and have phenomenal annual growth rates which will likely continue throughout the boomer era (next 25-30 years).
#14
Well now Besoeker.... on most of this but let's be honest here.
Disestablish the Departments of Education, Agriculture, DOE, BATF, IRS, and Homeland Defense.
No sir, providing for the national defense and providing good farm-market roads are near the very top of what an efficient government is all about. The most important one being of course, the Peanut Allotment.
Sirs: I remain yours
/Walter George
/Carl Vinson
Committee of 1st damn things first.
#7
Godzilla isn't going to be happy about this, you mark my words...
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/26/2013 7:48 Comments ||
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#8
Godzilla isn't going to be happy about this, you mark my words...
Oh, he won't mind the mining. Those heavy metals make his skin itch.
It is the radioactive dirt from the nuclear plant they backfill it with that he will really hate as that not only makes him itch, but gives him a rash.
#9
phil, the main islands of Japan are just covered in volcanoes, I'd think if these heavy metals were common around them, the Japanese wouldn't be going to the trouble of deepwater mining out in the middle of nowhere.
At least the site is nowhere near either of the Chinas, looks like it's halfway to Wake Island.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
03/26/2013 10:07 Comments ||
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#10
One more thing to blame for earthquakes and tsunamis.
In the resurgence of US energy production, one spillover effect has been to put relatively obscure places on the map. One of those is Bakken, an oil hub that some believe could challenge the Gulf Coast's prodigious crude output. Even if it doesn't it's still mighty nice to have...
Bakken, a region stretching through swaths of North Dakota and Montana, has transformed itself into a major site of US crude production. And almost all on privately-owned land...
The formation is now seen as the future of oil drilling in the U.S., and is an epicenter of J-O-B creating
pipeline expansion projects designed to capitalize on production. Estimates say the region's oil output has more than doubled over the last two years.
According to official data cited by North Dakota's Department of Mineral Resources and the Energy Information Agency, Bakken crude production surged from 274,000 barrels per day in January 2011 to 673,000 in January 2013.
Yet private estimates put that figure even higher, stating Bakken generates more than 800,000 barrels per day - with the potential to top one million barrels within the next few years. Analysts expect some 33,000 wells will be drilled there over the next 20 years, with more than 5,000 coming by 2015.
Bakken is now one of the largest sources of crude production in the US, and is teeming with international investment capital. Special Note: International Investment is a good thing
Although the state currently lacks the refining capacity and advanced infrastructure of Texas and Louisiana, some say isolated North Dakota stands a solid chance of taking the Lone Star State's crown for drilling and production.
With U.S. crude oil hovering above $90, drilling in Bakken "is like printing money. Capital is coming from all around the world, even Europe and Asia," said Fadel Gheit, an energy analyst at Oppenheimer. "It has single-handedly changed the outlook for oil production."
The excitement surrounding Bakken's production is due in large measure to the fact that its crude is now making its way beyond the borders of the Midwest, to the US coasts. In a comprehensive report written this month, Platts said some of the region's blends are now being used in the NYMEX crude futures contract.
"The outlook for Bakken crude production over the next few years is promising, and many of the government reserve estimates could be understating the potential" of Bakken and some of its surrounding formations, Platts said.
Oppenheimer's Gheit calls Bakken's crude "one of the purest oil plays "because it is comprised of 90 percent oil and 10 percent natural gas. Better technology and capital investment will only ramp that up, he added.
However, "the only challenge for the Bakken is that it's in a state that has no infrastructure," Gheit said. "Everything has to be built from scratch." Which creates J-O-B-S
All of which means Bakken has a long row to plow if the region plans to displace the Gulf Coast. North Dakota's isolation and what many observers say is woeful infrastructure is a barrier to its ability shake up the entrenched oil production apparatuses in Texas and Louisiana. Both states refine more than half of the US's oil, with West Texas Intermediate serving as the unchallenged benchmark for U.S. crude. That's what a hundred years plus of infrastructure does for you...
Aside from the state's conservative
business-friendly bonafides and decades-long dominance in energy production, Texas also has a booming region of its own, in Eagle Ford.
A booming south Texas oil hub, Eagle Ford produces somewhere north of 750,000 b/d, and the US Geological Survey estimating the region having a whopping 853 million barrels in undiscovered reserves.
For that reason, John Hummel, CIO of investment advisory firm AIS Group, is not as bullish on Bakken as others are. He cites the relative attractiveness of Eagle Ford, as well as what he argues is the rapidly diminishing returns from drilling in the Bakken formation.
"You've got this rapid depletion rate," yep, be all gone soon
Hummel said, calling the hopes for Bakken "pie in the sky." He said most of the new wells drilled in the region over the last two years have only sustained current rates of production.
"It's like being a runner on a treadmill," he said. "Somebody keeps turning up the speed on you and eventually you fall off," he added. Say wat ?
#2
On one hand I see a developing oil and natural gas energy boom. On the other hand I see an administration hell bent on suppressing the boom and economic upturn. You don't suppose the political timing of the 2014 and 2016 elections could be a factor ?
#3
Meanwhile, FAST-N-FURIOUS = VIN DIESEL Fans, over by the Falklands ways ...
* BHARAT RAKSHAK > [Washington Times] CHINA GETS A JUMP ON BRAZIL'S OIL.
CNOOC signs a major M-A-J-O-R DEAL wid NEXXEN + Brasilia' = Brazil's Govt.
While US Bammer Admin + GOP-DEM Politicos + Enviros squabble both widin + widout over proposed domestic pipeline projects, China's state oil is busy signing big Oil-Gas = Energy Dev deals all around the world.
#4
Couldn't have happened to a nicer state or to nicer people. My ND friend told me last week Quik-Trip, a convenience store chain, has started selling natural gas at one of its filling stations in eastern ND. Natural gas for autos is selling there for the equivalent of $1.59/gallon gas.
#4
To where does the money flee? Wall Street? Good luck with that one...
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/26/2013 18:13 Comments ||
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#5
There is always a safe haven Steve.
Singapore actually does some great banking with the wealthy. Large transfers in the US get flagged and take a couple days because of Drug war and Terror war. If a guy wants to buy a 10 million dollar yacht, he doesn't want to waste the two days to sign. So he banks out of places like Singapore where the transfer is instant.
#7
"To save the EURO" > besides also anti-EU EU Drones = armed UAVS over the Med???
D *** NG IT, HOW CAN THE FUTURE OWG RIGHTEOUSLY SEND A HELLFIRE UP YOUR REBELLIOUS, ANTI-GLOBALIST SIX IFF YOU + FAMILY + PET DOG, GOLDFISH DON'T HAVE THE PROPER RFID IMPLANTS???
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] Family members of Libya's 
The number of former workers enrolled in the Social Security disability program has more than doubled in the last two decades, and the reasons why have little to do with the health of our workforce. 
In the resurgence of US energy production, one spillover effect has been to put relatively obscure places on the map. One of those is Bakken, an oil hub that some believe could challenge the Gulf Coast's prodigious crude output. 
