For three long years, the U.S. has been undertaking an experiment in economic policy. Could record levels of government spending, waves of new regulation and political credit allocation, and unprecedented monetary stimulus re-ignite growth? The results have been rolling in, and they represent what increasingly looks like an historic mistake that deserves to be called the Keynesian growth discount. Or uncalculated risks are KOOL
The latest evidence is yesterday's disappointing report of 1.8% in first quarter GDP. At this stage of recovery after a deep recession, the economy is typically growing by 4% or more as consumer confidence returns and businesses accelerate investment as their profits revive. Yet in this recovery consumers are still cautious and business investment remains weak.
Some of the first quarter's growth slump is due to seasonal factors such as bad weather and weaker defense spending. In the silver lining department, the private economy grew faster than the overall GDP figure because government spending declined. But even maintaining the 2.9% growth rate of 2010 would mark an historic underachievement for a recovery after a recession that was as deep as the one from late 2007 to mid-2009.
The most recent recession of comparable depth and job loss was in 1981-1982, when unemployment hit 10.8%. Huge chunks of industrial America shut down and never re-opened. Yet once the recovery began in earnest in the first quarter of 1983, the economy boomed. As the nearby table shows, growth exceeded 7.1% for five consecutive quarters, and it kept growing at nearly a 4% pace for another two years. Growth didn't dip below 2% in any quarter until the second three months of 1986. This was the Reagan boom.
Now look at the first seven quarters of the current recovery. Only briefly has growth hit 5%, in the fourth quarter of 2009 as businesses rebuilt inventories that had been pared to the bone. Growth has been mediocre ever since, sputtering to a near-stall in the middle of last year, accelerating modestly late last year, and now slowing again. This recovery is as weak as the much-maligned "jobless recovery" of the last decade, which followed a mild recession and at least gained speed after the tax cut of 2003.
Most striking is that this weak growth follows everything that the Keynesian playbook said politicians should throw at the economy. First came $168 billion in one-time tax rebates in February 2008 under George W. Bush, then $814 billion more in spending spread over 2009-2010, cash for clunkers, the $8,000 home buyer tax credit, Hamp to prevent home foreclosures, the Detroit auto bailouts, billions for green jobs, a payroll tax cut for 2011, and of course near-zero interest rates for 28 months buttressed by quantitative easing I and II. We're probably forgetting something.
Imagine if President Obama had introduced his original stimulus in February 2009 with the vow that, 26 months later, GDP would be growing by 1.8% and the jobless rate would be 8.8%. Does anyone think it would have passed?
View Full Image
1gdp
Associated Press
Shoppers on 34th Street in New York.
1gdp
1gdp
Liberal economists will blame this latest slowdown on spending cuts across all levels of government, and government spending did fall in the first quarter. But those modest declines follow the biggest government spending binge since World War II that was supposed to kick start the economy and then stop. Remember former White House chief economist Larry Summers's mantra that stimulus spending should be timely, targeted and temporary?
With deficits this year estimated to hit $1.65 trillion, are we really supposed to believe that more deficit spending will produce faster growth? Would $2 trillion do the trick, or how about $3 trillion? Two years after the stimulus debate began, the critics who said all of this spending would provide at most a temporary lift to GDP while saddling the economy with record deficits have been proven right.
The good news is that the private economy seems to have enough momentum to avoid a recession in the near term, but the danger is that growth will continue to be subpar. The evidence is that the combination of spendthrift fiscal policy and a wave of new regulatory costs and mandates are restraining business expansion and hiring.
Then there's the threat of higher tax rates on investment and business that we dodged for two years after the GOP won Congress but that President Obama has now promised for 2013 if he is re-elected. This too deters the animal spirits necessary for robust growth. The great risk is stagflation, a la the 1970s, when easy money tried to compensate for bad fiscal and regulatory policy, which led to sluggish growth, rising prices and declines in real wages.
***
The contrast in results between the current recovery and the Reagan years is instructive because the policy mix was so different. In the 1980s, the policy goals were to cut tax rates, reduce regulatory costs and uncertainty, let the private economy allocate capital free of political direction, and focus monetary policy on price stability rather than on reducing unemployment. This is the policy mix we need to rediscover if we are going to escape our current malaise and stop suffering from the Keynesian discount.
Posted by: Fi ||
04/29/2011
19:50 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[7 views]
Top|| File under:
Tom Rosenstiel, director of the Pew Foundation's Project for Excellence in Journalism: "A newspaper reporter is being punished because she took pictures with a moving camera. We live in a world where there are no longer distinctions. The White House is trying to live by 20th century distinctions."
The President's practice not just with transparency but in other dealings with the press has not been tracking his words, despite the cool glamour and easy conversation that makes him seem so much more open than the last guy. W wasn't easy to talk to? I guess some must think that someone is more likeable if they are a shallow, bitter, punishment-clinging, slow-thinking fool.
It was his administration that decided to go after New York Times reporter James Risen to get at his source in a book he wrote about the CIA. For us here in SF who went through the BALCO case and other fisticuffs with the George W. Bush Attorney General's prosecutors, this is deja vu. I guess that in the liberal mind, Obama going after a reporter for using a videophone somehow equates to W going after James Risen?
Late today, there were hints that the White House might be backing off the Carla Fatwa.
Barack Obama sold himself successfully as a fresh wind for the 21st century. In important matters of communication, technology, openness and the press, it's not too late for him to demonstrate that. Methinks some folks are still sold on the idea. Or maybe they don't know what the words mean other than giving them a good tingly feeling down their leg.
#1
Every time I hear anything about the O'bumble administration, or from O'bumble or any of his "friends", it just makes me want to put sharper points on my pitchfork.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
04/29/2011 21:50
Comments ||
Top||
#2
This is going viral. San Francisco Gate just called Obama a liar.
#1
Remember a couple days back the article about 'this is going to be the most racist election ever' meme? This is exactly why they're falling back upon that narrative. They're losing their base in the community. Couple this with the double level of unemployment among that core, they're starting to sweat.
Having a target painted on one's back just took on a whole new meaning.
The Air Force wants a new kind of tracking tech in which a tiny drone surreptitiously "paints" an individual with some kind of signal-emitting powder or liquid that allows the military to keep tabs on him or her. Or perhaps upload his coordinates to a hellfire missile.
On Tuesday, the Air Force put out a call for proposals for such technology, though it didn't specify exactly what kind of drone might deliver the magic powder, or what the magic powder might be. But as Danger Room notes, there are a range of experimental technologies that could potentially serve both purposes.
Regular readers of PopSci know that tiny insect drones, while not yet perfected, abound in the lab. From larger hummingbird drones to other tiny ornithopters to DARPA's remote-controlled beetle, the delivery system for such a technology isn't so far away from being a reality. What most of these tiny drones lack is range, and that will only improve with advances in battery life and materials science.
What's less clear is how the tracking might go down, though the Pentagon is hard at work on a range of what they call "Clandestine Tagging, Tracking, and Locating" (TTL) technologies. Some Pentagon ideas include marking targets with biological paints or micromechanical sensors. Other ideas proposed by outside groups are equally out there.
One proposal from a University of Florida researcher uses insect pheromones encoded with unique identifiers that could be tracked from miles away. Other plans employ biodegradable fluorescent "taggants" that can be scattered by UAVs. Voxtel, a private firm in Oregon, has already made available a product called NightMarks, a nanocrystal that can be seen through night-vision goggles and can be hidden in anything from glass cleaner to petroleum jelly.
DARPA is even looking into "smart dust" -- which is essentially a cloud of dust mote-sized sensors that could be sprayed into the air near a target in hopes that he or she might walk through the cloud and be tagged, meaning the drone or delivery system wouldn't even have to make direct contact with the target (think bird-like drones that can crop-dust a vehicle or person).
Of course, the Air Force also notes that the technology it is fostering will be useful for things like tracking wildlife -- though why anyone would want to fire a hellfire missile at a flock of migrating birds is unclear.
The journalist clearly hasn't met serious birders. Starlings and European House Sparrows are evil -- strong methods are required.
#1
Screw the smart dust idea. Just develop a drone in the shape of a European House Sparrow designator that shines a laser on a target that a Hellfire missile in the form of a Sparrow can home in on and blow to Kingdom Come.
#3
Personally, I've long hoped that the military would develop a powder that could be mixed with water, and sprayed from an ordinary crop duster over roads frequented by IED teams.
The idea is that once the water had dried, the residue on the roadway would be invisible to the naked eye, but would reflect to say, invisible UV light, in a unique but still invisible "color" that could be picked up by a special camera mounted on a UAV.
The roadway would look fairly homogeneous, except for the tire stripes where vehicles had driven. Yet a large, round patch in the paint would indicate that somebody dug up a lot of pavement right there, then covered it up to look normal.
Granted, far more useful in a developed place like Iraq, instead of Afghanistan, it would still be worth some investigation.
Deep rifts among Iran's ruling elite have reached an all-time high in recent weeks, according to sources, who say things have gotten so bad that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad may have stopped showing up for work.
Iran's complex power structure has for years been compared to a multi-headed hydra, with multiple points of strength. But the struggle now appears to have boiled down to a showdown between Ahmadinejad and Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei -- once viewed as Ahmadinejad's biggest cheerleader.
Dr. Mohsen Sazegara, one of the founders of Iran's Revolutionary Guard and now an opposition figure living in the U.S., says it's a classic Iranian power struggle.
"We have always had this divide by two system, since the founding of the Islamic Republic. The main problem here is a lack of democratic mechanisms in the constitution of the country. There will always be disagreements, and competition for power." And no clear way to resolve them.
There have been disputes over positions in the cabinet, with the apparent sidelining of longtime Ahmadinejad confidante Esfandiar Rahim-Mashaei, often viewed as the man to take the torch from Ahmadinejad when his term runs out.
Some have cast Mashaei as the Dmitri Medvedev to Russia's Vladimir Putin -- the real power behind the Kremlin. Mashaei, who has made controversial comments in the past -- like saying Iranians could actually be friends with the people of Israel - has been cast of late as an Iranian nationalist rather than an ideologue of the Islamic Republic regime and its pan-Islamic position.
There are other signs of trouble between the president and the supreme leader. When Ahmadinejad tried to fire his power Intelligence chief, Heidar Moslehi, Khamenei intervened to reinstate him. And things have gotten so bad that Ahmadinejad is reportedly not showing up to work, may be planning to resign, and has presented a list of demands for the Supreme Leader, including removing the current Chief Nuclear Negotiator and Head of the Supreme National Security Council Saeed Jalili.
There are also rumors that Ahmadinejad wants to give an upcoming report on the economy and subsidies live on state television next week, but is being told he can only do it on tape, fueling speculation he may be censored. Also, the Mehr News agency reported Wednesday that a cabinet meeting three days ago was presided over by Mohammad-Reza Rahimi rather than the president. And Ali Banaei, a member of parliament from the religious city of Qom, has announced that Ahmadinejad's tour of the city this week had been cancelled.
Ahmadinejad's absence at the presidential palace this week has thrown even the usually compliant supporters of the president into speculation frenzy. Qom cleric Ahmad Najmi, previously a diehard Ahmadinejad fan and head of the Rasa News Agency, had been silent about the president's recent absence from the scene.
"If Ahmadinejad is removed, the supreme leader will have two problems on his hands. His first, most powerful enemy could become the people of Iran. The leader tortured and repressed people to keep the president in power. His second problem will be the hardcore inside of the organization, like the Revolutionary Guard and the Ministry of Intelligence, those who presided over the repression and torture."
If Ahmadinejad loses, Sazegara believes, Iranian Foreign Policy will continue unchanged, because, in the end, it is the Supreme Leader, who as his title indicates, has the last say.
Cliff Kupchan of the Eurasia Group does not believe this all spells the end of Ahmadinejad.
"This is the most intense and public clash yet between the two. It's over control of the Intelligence Ministry, Ahmadinejad's growing power, and momemtum behind competing factions in the run up to next year's Parliamentary elections. But the core fact remains that Khamenei and Ahmadinejad are dependent on each other, they jointly anchor this regime's hard-line policies. It's very unlikely that the ambitious and combatative Ahmadinejad will quit or be impeached."
The airing of Iran's dirty laundry prompted the Supreme Leader to warn, "If there are disputes, we mustn't frown in front of the people, and give ammunition to foreign media."
But it's the Iranian press and blogosphere, that appear to have the ammunition these days, as foreign journalists are largely barred from reporting in Iran.
#4
Right now it's internal and yes, something similar happened last year.
If it breaks into the open, expect Iran's economy to be thrown into chaos (the IRGC controls a slightly larger - at last report - chunk of Iranian industry than the mullahs).
Posted by: Bob ||
04/29/2011 16:17
Comments ||
Top||
#9
Ahmadinejad's tenure threatened Several Iranian lawmakers announced they were calling for the impeachment of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad amid Cabinet disputes.
Twelve members of the Iranian Parliament called for Ahmadinejad's impeachment, reports Radio Zamaneh, a Persian-language broadcaster in the Netherlands. Parliamentary laws stipulate that at least 10 members must sign a demand for impeachment before the matter is processed by the speaker.
Posted by: Jimmy Hoffa ||
04/29/2011 22:01
Comments ||
Top||
#11
MOUD "IMPEACHMENT"
versus
* WINNIPEG FREE PRESS >[Hardline = Ayatollah Khatami]] CLERIC WARNS IRAN'S PRESIDENT TO END POWER STRUGGLE WID SUPREME LEADER, SHOW OBEDIENCE
[Ideo-Pol, Religious].
IIUC, IOW Khatami is demanding that Ahmadinejad "stand tall", put differences aside, + work as one wid their common El Supremo the Ayatollah Khamenei.
* OTOH CHINESE MIL FORUM > [NYT = "Jasmine"-Embattled] ARAB LEADERS WILL USE LETHAL FORCE, PERSISTENCE IS THE KEY TO VICTORY.
Uncle Muammar's defiance in Libyuh showin 'em all how its done.
When a dictatorial regime goes bust in the middle east, the dictators' families generally flee to Syria, so where does a Syrian dictator flee when his little ponzi scheme of a government goes bust? Will short round take him?
With few alternatives for refuge, do you suppose Bashir is going the Mussolini route here?
Posted by: Bill Clinton ||
04/29/2011 13:43
Comments ||
Top||
#3
Assad has the same problem as Daffy. Keeping control in a large country with a geographically dispersed population, with only a limited number of troops he can rely on - apparently only division, commanded by his brother I think.
German police arrested three alleged members of al-Qaida on Friday, as a report said they had been plotting attacks in Germany. The prosecutor's office in Karlsruhe said the trio had been detained early Friday and would appear before a judge on Saturday. A news conference has been scheduled afterwards.
Bild reported that the three were Moroccans residing in North Rhine-Westphalia and were caught with "large amounts of explosives". The newspaper said they were thought to be plotting attacks in Germany. The paper reported that they may have been targeting the Eurovision Song Contest in Düsseldorf on May 14.
Bild identified the three as Abdeladim K., Jamil S. and Ahmed Sh. So they aren't Hans, Gert and Dieter, eh...
German authorities boosted security measures in November after US officials warned of an al-Qaida plot to implement "Mumbai-style" attacks in Europe.
Last week, US authorities handed over to Germany the source of the tip, Ahmed Wali Siddiqui, who had been held for nine months in Afghanistan. According to German media, Siddiqui met with al-Qaida's third in command, Sheikh Yunis al-Mauretani, who brought him into the plot for an attack in Europe.
A terrorist militant leader and his nine cell members were killed in a security operation in Russia's Stavropol region, near the North Caucasus.
Southern Federal District Police spokesman Sergei Morozov stated that Asker Dzhappuev, the jihadi militant leader of the neighboring Kabardino-Balkaria, and nine other suspected terrorists militants -- including two women -- were killed at a village hide-out in the Stavropol area.
In a separate operation, security forces in the neighboring Republic of Daghestan killed at least six more terrorists militants.
Former White House officials have launched a new group designed to foil conservative attacks on President Obama's reelection with unlimited campaign cash.
Former Obama deputy press secretary Bill Burton announced the formation of Priorities USA and Priorities USA Action, two groups that will exploit campaign finance loopholes President Obama had previously condemned.
The groups began on Friday with a website and video attacking the "extreme right," featuring examples of harsh rhetoric toward Obama by Republican presidential candidates, as well as the wealthy conservatives who support them.
#2
Toxic narcissists do not like criticism. They are in their own heads infinitely wise and always right.
BTW, has anyone talked to Ole Johnny McCain about how well his famous campaign "reform" bill worked out? I mean the infinitely wise all powerful and mystically insightful Obama only raised $750 MILLION for his last campaign...John, I THOUGHT your bill was supposed to stop crap like that? Someone plug John's pacemaker back in and have him give me a call...
Posted by: Bill Clinton ||
04/29/2011 13:50
Comments ||
Top||
RCW: Recent events in Lebanon - government collapse, a looming tribunal decision on the Hariri assassination and periodic protests - are not encouraging. Is Lebanon primed for more violence and conflict?
MT: Probably. None of the outstanding issues that led to violent conflict in the past have been resolved. More war is almost assured in Lebanon, either between Hezbollah and its domestic enemies, between Hezbollah and the Israelis, or both. The status quo isn't sustainable.
The country basically has two governments - the ostensible government with its capital in Beirut, which controls most of the country, and Hezbollah with its effective capital in Tehran that controls the suburbs south of Beirut and the southern part of the country along the border with Israel. The country is too small and fractured to be partitioned, and no country is big enough for two governments. The state will eventually have to disarm Hezbollah, or Hezbollah will devour the state. And since Hezbollah is willing to kill their fellow Lebanese while the government and the pro-government Lebanese aren't, Hezbollah, for now anyway, is the horse to bet on.
RCW: Can the Obama administration shift Syria away from Iran?
MT: It won't work. Syria's President Bashar al-Assad is a blood-spattered tyrant and always has been. A number of officials in both the Republican and Democratic parties have been laboring under the delusion that he's a reformer, though I imagine they must be feeling a little chagrined at the moment now that he's using snipers to shoot peaceful demonstrators in the face. He is not going to reform, nor is he going to suddenly break his alliance with Tehran.
Assad's alliance with Iran and his support for terrorism in Iraq, Lebanon and Israel give Syria far more clout internationally that its size, economic might and conventional military power would ever allow. Syria would be no more geopolitically relevant than Yemen if Assad were to sever his ties with Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah. Trying to yank Syria out of that orbit is bound to fail for the same reason East Germany could not have been extracted from the communist bloc before the Soviet Union was in a state of collapse. Bashar al-Assad may be an Internet junky, and he may have been educated in London, but he was raised in the house of the ruthless Hafez al-Assad, and he will not play nice or go quietly.
Abbas's plan suffers from a fundamental misconception -- that the General Assembly has any authority to decide about the existence of new states. In fact, the assembly only has the power to make a non-binding recommendation to the world community that a Palestinian state should be established; Abbas would then have to actually declare a state and, by doing so, set the stage for gaining formal recognition by the major powers of the world.
What are the outlines of the new Palestinian state Abbas is hoping the international community will endorse? By all accounts, Abbas would like a U.N. resolution to delimit the borders of his new Palestinian state; in this context, he will seek control not only of the entire West Bank but the Gaza Strip as well. However, since Hamas's violent takeover in 2007, Abbas has been powerless in Gaza -- a fact that has complicated international recognition of Abbas's authority.
From PJ Media. It's mostly inside-baseball politics. It is becoming clear that the Obama administration committed a major stupidity in allowing ATF to put guns into Mexico -- not private gun dealers, our very own government -- and now is trying to dodge the inevitable political consequences.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/29/2011
09:25 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[4 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Not only was this incredibility stupid, illegal and got people killed, it might be considered an act of war. Governments usually don't take too kindly to another government arming their insurgent enemies.
#2
at a minimum, there needs to be a major firing of responsible DOJ and ATF management and political appointees that allowed this crime. I would suggest the slain BP agents' family file a wrongful death suit with disclosure demands
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/29/2011 11:23
Comments ||
Top||
My Rebuttal to a Progressive who Admonished Me to Play Nice ....
From six months ago, but superb. We at the Burg always appreciate a well-structured, thoughtfully constructed, righteous rant, and this is one of those.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/29/2011
09:23 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[10 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Is there video of her encounter with camp pinko?
It is the liberal elites who revile the American colossus and devoutly wish to see it cut down to size. Leading from behind diminishing Americas global standing and assertiveness is a reaction to their view of America, not the worlds.
Other presidents have taken anti-Americanism as a given, rather than evidence of American malignancy, believing as do most Americans in the rightness of our cause and the nobility of our intentions. Obama thinks anti-Americanism is a verdict on Americas fitness for leadership. I would suggest that leading from behind is a verdict on Obamas fitness for leadership.
Leading from behind is not leading. It is abdicating. It is also an oxymoron. Yet a sympathetic journalist, channeling an Obama adviser, elevates it to a doctrine. The president is no doubt flattered. The rest of us are merely stunned.
#2
...Well, seeing as how Governor Haley shot herself (not to mention 1200 jobs and the rest of the state)in the foot this week by running an Amazon.com sales center out of here, she'd BETTER not screw this up.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
04/29/2011 8:17
Comments ||
Top||
#3
Lots of states are going after Amazon. I guess they really need the sales tax revenues. It's a shame, 1200 jobs aren't easy to find these days.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/29/2011 9:20
Comments ||
Top||
#4
In Louisiana I have to pay a sales tax substitute to the state on purchases made from Amazon, but it's an 'honor' system.
As Amazon and other merchants displace more and more brick & mortar merchants the governments are going to have to replace those sales tax revenues with something (and it won't be with decreased spending). So far it looks like whichever state holds out the longest against taxing Amazon sales will win all the Amazon jobs - and then the feds will step in. So the question is, can Amazon operate from Grand Cayman? (No, tariffs & shipping would eat them up.)
#5
States do need the sales tax revenue and should get it. However, they are burdening Amazon with the work and that company can still tell them to piss off and go somewhere else.
This would be a perfect area for the commerce clause and the feds to work. The feds can write the rules and the guidelines for a national/state sales tax counting house. 3-4 companies can be contracted to run it with federal and independent oversight. They pay for it by taking a small percentage of the taxes they collect. The internet/interstate companies use this group to calculate and collect the state, county and city taxes for the person that is making the purchase. Business happens and at the end of the month, the counting house deposits each state, county, city's taxes directly into their coffers. It is painless for the state, company and buyer while being transparent, easy and instant. No more keeping 50 accountants on your payroll to do business across the nation.
There are ways to do this without burdening businesses and buyers with loads more paperwork and regulation.
#6
In Louisiana I have to pay a sales tax substitute to the state
Most states, I believe, have a use tax imposed on anything you import from out of state. The states would love to have the retailers collect local taxes, but calculating the amount due is a little more complicated than just a lookup table with 50 entries. Even trying to do it by 5 digit ZIP code fails in places like Houston where sales tax is levied by county and city and can change from one side of the street to the other.
But the NLRB hardened their hearts and wouldn't let them go build planes in the wilderness a Right To Work state.
Posted by: Grenter, Protector of the Geats ||
04/29/2011 9:54
Comments ||
Top||
#8
It's starting to look like Amazon's strategy is to be the only major retailer where you don't have to pay sales tax. Interesting, for guys who are allegedly fans of big government.
#9
Darth, this is one area where the 'FairTax' (national sales tax or VAT) would work -- everyone would pay a level sales tax, so be it Amazon or mom-and-pop store, every business would have a level playing ground tax-wise.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/29/2011 11:44
Comments ||
Top||
#10
@2
State representatives, on a 71-47 vote a night earlier, defeated a bill that would have provided a sales tax break sought by Amazon.
The legislature refused to give them a sales tax break by a very large majority. Put the blame for the Amazon departure on Walmart and state retailers who pressured the legislators directly. Do not blame that one on Nikkie Haley. The shooting was done by the legislature quite clearly.
Posted by: The Other Beldar ||
04/29/2011 11:49
Comments ||
Top||
#12
Darth, this is one area where the 'FairTax' (national sales tax or VAT) would work -- everyone would pay a level sales tax, so be it Amazon or mom-and-pop store, every business would have a level playing ground tax-wise.
A VAT would end up taxing every sale, even B2B. It is like a compound tax, and the end consumer can really get hammered.
But I'm sure they'd only ask for a 1% VAT, and never raise it above, say, 2%. Or thereabouts. Just like the federal income tax.
State representatives, on a 71-47 vote a night earlier, defeated a bill that would have provided a sales tax break sought by Amazon
I wonder what calculus they use to justify this in their tiny minds. Probably the idea of "well, if we let them get away with this, then the next thing you know every company in the US will move here and not pay the sales tax."
Of course, they completely ignore the idea that they just threw away all those potential jobs. And the income taxes that come along with them. And the other businesses that get supported by a healthy middle class. And the idea that these businesses really doesn't cost the state anywhere near the 5% sales tax they are asking for. And the idea that they won't need to pay for food stamps for employed workers. Or housing subsidies. Or free school lunches. Or their health costs. Or the costs of the housing market getting crushed by all the mortgage defaults.
Yep. They are completely ignoring this. Unless, of course, they want to create the kind of folks that want to live in a nanny state. Which can't really support them as well as if they were used to in a free market constitutional republic. In which case they are doing a "great" job.
So who/what did we vote for over the last 50 years or so?
#13
I suspect the reason we don't already have a VAT is that it's so flatly unconstitutional, Congress knows there really isn't a way the courts could find any wiggle room in their "living" document:
Art. I, Sec. 9: "No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from any state."
Nope, no penumbras there.
Amazon reminds me of a 17th century house in Amsterdam: 1 meter wide, five stories high. Half a block deep, but barely wide enough for a staircase inside. Why? Property taxes were calculated according to how much street profile the building occupied. An elegant visual of how taxes distort the markets. So: go Amazon.
#15
I've been in a few of those Dutch houses. The average is about eight feet wide, and extends from the sidewalk to an alley in back. Either the front or the back of the house is taken up with stairs and a landing. There are usually one or two narrow, long rooms opening from the stairwell to the opposite end of the house. There's usually one room on each floor. The kitchen is on the ground floor, the living room/parlor is on the second floor, and the rest of the floors contain bedrooms. You're really in hurting condition if you have bad knees. They're the kind of houses people like Obumble love, though - crowd us all together where we're easy to control, make us take public transport because it's too expensive to buy gas or a car, and seal up all the open space in "wilderness" or "national [whatever]". I think I'd reach for my shotgun before I'd be forced into something like that.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
04/29/2011 18:49
Comments ||
Top||
#16
"States do need the sales tax revenue and should get it."
Why, Darth?
Sales taxes are used to build/maintain roads, provide police and other services, etc., to businesses in the state.
Amazon ain't in most states.
I have to collect 5% sales tax when I sell something on my Etsy shop to someone in Virginia; 1% of that goes to the county I live in. When I sell at the Farmers Market, I collect sales taxes, but the 1% goes to the city where the market is located. And when I sell at the big Christmas show, the 1% goes to the county where the show is located (not the one I live in). (And I can tell you that filling out the sales tax form for the quarter where I make sales in all three locations is a pain in the ass.)
I have no problem with that. I live here, so I use the roads, the police protection, and the other services. (Well, not many of them, but some.) So do my local customers.
Amazon doesn't have a physical presence here. Why should they collect taxes here? What benefit are they getting from the state?
I'd suggest that the states don't "need" increased sales tax revenues; they NEED TO STOP SPENDING. Particularly on things that aren't absolute necessities.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
04/29/2011 21:09
Comments ||
Top||
#17
A useful and informative rant, Barbara. I hadn't thought of it that way. Thank you.
If they were smuggling drugs, they could've been smuggling jihadi packages as well, so it's a good thing they were shut down. Now y'all get to work fixing the security holes this little exercise revealed.
#1
It would be interesting to know if drug activity at a specific airport might correlate with the incidence of bags that "disappear" from that same airport. Maybe statistics can identify where the problems are for deeper inspections.
The U.S. envoy to the United Nations told the Security Council on Thursday that troops loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi were increasingly engaging in sexual violence and some had been issued the impotency drug Viagra, diplomats said.
Several U.N. diplomats who attended a closed-door Security Council meeting on Libya told Reuters that U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice raised the Viagra issue in the context of increasing reports of sexual violence by Gaddafis troops.
Rice raised that in the meeting but no one responded, a diplomat said on condition of anonymity. The allegation was first reported by a British newspaper.
Pfizer Incs drug Viagra is used to treat impotence.
Diplomats said if it were true that Gaddafis troops were being issued Viagra, it could indicate they were being encouraged by their commanders to engage in rape to terrorize the population in areas that have supported the rebels. That would constitute a war crime.
Several diplomats said Rice provided no evidence for the Viagra allegation, which they said was made in an attempt to persuade doubters the conflict in Libya was not just a standard civil war but a much nastier fight in which Gaddafi is not afraid to order his troops to commit heinous acts.
She spoke of reports of soldiers getting Viagra and raping, a diplomat said. She spoke of Gaddafis soldiers targeting children, and other atrocities.
RAPE AS WEAPON?
Rices statement, diplomats said, was aimed principally at countries like India, Russia and China, which have grown increasingly sceptical of the effectiveness of the NATO-led air strikes, which they fear have turned the conflict into a protracted civil war that will cause many civilian deaths.
Most council members, diplomats said, had expected Gaddafis government to collapse quickly. They said the frustration felt by India, Russia and China would likely grow if the war dragged on.
The use of rape as a weapon during wartime has received increasing attention at the United Nations. Last year, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed a special envoy on sexual violence during armed conflict, Margot Wallstrom.
#4
Several diplomats said Rice provided no evidence for the Viagra allegation, which they said was made in an attempt to persuade doubters the conflict in Libya was not just a standard civil war but a much nastier fight in which Gaddafi is not afraid to order his troops to commit heinous acts.
Maybe true. Gadaffi is not a nice guy--he's capable. But suppose this is propaganda to justify whatever the next step is? And then suppose Samantha Power's doctrine known as the Responsibility to Protect, which encourages the international community to further intervene in a sovereign countrys internal affairs with military force if necessary in order to thwart genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, or ethnic cleansing.
Whats the next step? Takedown of Gadaffi? The Libyan Rebels are backed by the Muslim Brotherhood. The next step might be to give the Libyan rebels a push.
The radical left is united behind the Palestinians, supportive of the Muslim Brotherhood, was supportive of the Israeli blockade-breaking attempts, and is supportive of the rebel uprisings across the Middle East. It is not a stretch to imagine the radical left is supportive of the Muslim Brotherhood, as well Iran proxies Hamas, and Hezbollah. Obama has been lukewarm-to-hostile towards Israel. Harry Alford , [president and CEO of the National Black Chamber of Commerce] , blasted President Obama's anti-business administration in an explosive interview. Harry Alford, a 2008 Obama supporter, labeled the administration "Marxist" and "fanatical." "They might as well put on the brown shirts and swastikas," he said.
Whats the final step? Takedown of Israel? Israel should be very worried about the Machiavellian shenanigans of Obamas radical left administration. Israeli is in the crosshairs. But then again, Whats new?
#6
Y'all are missing the key point: Gaddafi's men can't rape normal females without the aid of chemicals. Why, it's worse than having one's mustache shaved off!! Were I head of Gaddafi's troops, I would immediately indignantly deny the Viagra accusation, insisting that my men are perfectly capable of rape without even so much as seeing the girl involved.
#4
Oh my. Most people turn to strong language because that's all they have to say. It's a real pleasure to read what a good writer, who does have something to say, can do with a sprinkling of strong language judiciously applied.
The residents of Kotki area in Hangu district ... Hangu is famous for its greenery, hills, beauty and water. Most of the people of this area are Bangash & Orakzai Pashtuns. Part of the Bangash are Shia. The Orakzai and the Sunni Bangash are determined to kill them... shot and injured a person for alleged desecration of the holy Koran at a shrine on Wednesday.
Police placed in durance vile the young man under section 195-B and put him in the lockup of Hangu city cop shoppe. However, The essential However... case against him was registered in Saddar cop shoppe because the incident occurred in its limits.
Sources said that police received anonymous threatening calls, threatening them of dire consequences in case they didn`t arrest the alleged blasphemer. Similar telephone calls were also received by local journalists, who were warned to file story about the incident or face consequences. Sources said that the calls were made by bad boys.
Sources said that 27-year-old Saiful Malook picked up few damaged pages of the holy Koran from a mosque and burned them at a shrine in Kotki area where he was spotted by some people. Locals beat him and opened firing on him, injuring his leg, they added.
He was brought to Hangu city cop shoppe and locked after registration of case for interrogation.
According to preliminary investigations the accused was a sensible man and just wanted to burn the damaged pages under the Islamic law to save them from desecration. However, The essential However... officials of local police, when contacted, were tightlipped about the incident.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/29/2011
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[7 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
Officials blame the lay-offs, in a large part, to what they call an excessive bed tax the District government slapped on them and other hospitals in the city earlier this year. Hospitals in the city are required to pay $500 in taxes for every licensed bed they have.
Washington Hospital Center, one the largest hospitals in the District, has more than 900 beds.
That word you're probably looking for is "rapacious."
[Iran Press TV] The Wisconsin Democratic Party has slammed a voting legislation proposed by Republican politicians as "morally repugnant." Only if you're a Dem...
"The Republican voter suppression bill is an affront to democracy in Wisconsin," said Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Mike Tate.
[The bill] drafted by Rep. Jeff Stone, would require voters to show a Wisconsin driver's license, a state-issued ID card, a military ID, a passport or a naturalization certificate. Oh, noze! Not some form of identification!
They would also have to provide both their current address and their previous address, and sign a poll book when they voted. In addition, the bill would restrict many voters from using absentee ballots and end straight-ticket voting for anyone not in the military or overseas. Republicans claimed the bill is needed to help prevent voter fraud. Sign a book? That's... that's... Oh, Gawd! My mind just boggled!
Opponents of Assembly Bill 7 (AB-7) packed the Assembly Committee on Election and Campaign Reform's public hearing on the Wisconsin Voter Identification Bill on Wednesday.
According to the 2005 study, only 26% of African-Americans and 34% of Hispanics have a valid Wisconsin driver's license. Well, of course. Nowadays most people walk around with no form of identification at all, don't they? So only 26% of African-Americans and 34% of Hispanics in Wisconsin drive? Wonder who funded the 2005 'study'...
Posted by: Fred ||
04/29/2011
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[11 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
A significant number of illegal aliens do not have valid IDs.
#5
Note: Note having a valid drivers license is a CHOICE.
Not for all of us, CrazyFool. It took me five tries to pass, the first time around. It took me two tries when we moved back from Europe -- but the habits of thought necessary to survive Brussels roads are not acceptable in Sharonville, so I don't take that as a judgement on my driving ability.
#6
Typically states issue an ID in lieu of drivers liscence for those who can't or don't want to drive. On or the other is necessary to legally purchase alcohol, tobacco or firearms. I fail to understand why voting should not require at least as much identification.
(Oh, and those 26% & 34% statistics must be approximately the percentage that is too young to drive - at least in many states illegals can get them.)
#7
...would require voters to show a Wisconsin driver's license, a state-issued ID card, a military ID, a passport or a naturalization certificate...
More open than I'd be. I would require a separate voter photo ID, issued at the time of registration and free to the voter (cost assumed by the state). It would have the usual demographics and a photo, bar code and magnetic stripe. It could only be used for voting and would be required to vote: no tickee, no laundry.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/29/2011 9:34
Comments ||
Top||
#8
But Doctor, voting is such an important right that we CAN'T restrict it from those who lack the foresight or intelligence to get proper ID before the election. In fact, voting is so important that voting twice must be doubly important.
#11
I see nothing onerous about those rules. We've had them in Colorado for at least 20 years that I know of, possibly longer. You can still cast a provisional ballot that will be held for up to 72 hours until you can come in with the proof you're eligible to vote.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
04/29/2011 18:54
Comments ||
Top||
#12
Some of this is knee jerk politics. And I'm sure if the dims had proposed it some of the GOP would of automatically responded not only no but hell no. It just seems to be the way politics is now days*. Actually a lot of the Democrats I know are in favor of this. Not because there has been a huge problem with voter fraud. Which there hasn't but because a lot of them are really concerned about illegal immigration.
*Personally I blame the post Watergate Democratic Party for most of the lack of bi-partisan policical action in DC and the states
[Dawn] Security forces shelled bad turban hideouts in northwest Pakistain's Hangu district ... Hangu is famous for its greenery, hills, beauty and water. Most of the people of this area are Bangash & Orakzai Pashtuns. Part of the Bangash are Shia. The Orakzai and the Sunni Bangash are determined to kill them... on Thursday killing at least seven thugs, DawnNews reported.
Separately, one security official was killed and five others were maimed when a landmine went kaboom! in the Mohmand ... Named for the Mohmand clan of the Sarban Pahstuns, a truculent, quarrelsome lot. In Pakistain, the Mohmands infest their eponymous Agency, metastasizing as far as the plains of Beautiful Downtown Peshawar, Charsadda, and Mardan. Mohmands are also scattered throughout Pakistan in urban areas including Bloody Karachi, Lahore, and Quetta. In Afghanistan they are mainly found in Nangarhar and Kunar... tribal region.
The mine went kaboom! in the tribal region's Safi tehsil.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/29/2011
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[13 views]
Top|| File under: TTP
[The Nation (Nairobi)] Parts of North Korea are expected to run out of food in less than two months due to a poor harvest even if foreign donors agree to provide assistance, a US relief group said Wednesday. The first thought that pops to my mind is "let them eat nukes."
The United States and South Korea have been cautious over reports of dire food shortages in the North, with some officials suspecting that the communist state is exaggerating the problem to win assistance.
But Samaritan's Purse, one of five US groups that visited North Korea in February, said that a harsh winter has reduced crop yield by up to half and that some people were already eating grass, leaves and tree bark.
"We believe that, in many of the areas that we visited, in mid-June they're going to run out of food," said Ken Isaacs, the Christian-oriented group's vice president for programs and government relations.
"We are certain, based on our field surveys, that there is an urgent need and that if it's not met, people will suffer and people will die this year," he told a seminar at the American Enterprise Institute think-tank.
Isaacs said that the relief groups want to provide 160,000 to 175,000 tons of food to North Korea -- about half of what the regime requested -- but that it would be impossible to arrange shipments in time to meet the shortfall.
"If a green light was given today, that food probably isn't going to be into North Korea for about three months," Isaacs said.
Hundreds of thousands of North Koreans died in a famine in the 1990s. But North Korea, which prides itself on its "juche" philosophy of self-reliance, abruptly kicked out the US aid groups in 2009.
His warning came as former US president Jimmy Carter ... the worst president ever. Maybe the second worst. The votes aren't all in yet... , a proponent of engagement with North Korea, led a delegation of elder statesmen to Pyongyang for talks on issues including food aid.
But US President Barack B.O. Obama's administration has held off on deciding whether to provide food assistance, with officials saying they want more evidence of an urgent need before committing to assistance.
Several politicians from the rival Republican Party have urged Obama not to authorize aid, fearing that North Korea wants the food for its elite or to stock up for next year's celebrations marking the 100th birth anniversary of the regime's founder Kim Il-Sung.
Robert King, the US special envoy on human rights ...which are usually entirely different from personal liberty... , told the same forum that the B.O. regime was still debating whether to send food to North Korea and wanted a way to monitor that it would go to people in need.
He said the United States would make its decision based on North Korea's needs, not on politics. But he pointed out that a number of nations -- some with better track records -- were competing for a share of tight aid budgets.
"The needs for humanitarian assistance have to be balanced with the need and demand for our assistance in other parts of the world as well," King said.
North Korea has also asked other countries for help. But South Korea, which for a decade maintained a flow of aid to its estranged neighbor, toughened its stance when conservative President Lee Myung-Bak took office in 2008.
Unification Minister Hyun In-Taek, who handles cross-border affairs, said Monday that the North's food shortage was not particularly worse this year and there appeared to be some political motivation for its pleas for aid.
The B.O. regime has followed a policy of "strategic patience" with North Korea, saying that it will wait for it to make clear commitments on key concerns including on ending its nuclear program.
The US administration has indicated that it will wait for its South Korean allies to decide when the time is right for dialogue. Tensions soared last year after North Korea shelled a civilian island and was accused of sinking a warship.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/29/2011
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[10 views]
Top|| File under: Commies
#1
That gives them an opportunity to eat the FAT Politburo members in June. In July with the party top leadership and the Sung-Ils eaten... then the South can send food aid.
Posted by: Water Modem ||
04/29/2011 1:30
Comments ||
Top||
#2
The Army will be starved next-to-last. The people will need guns.
#8
"Sorry, sir, bark's off. Got some nice rock..."
"Sedimentary, metamorphic or igneous?"
"Sedimentary, of course!"
"That's for me, then. That igneous is awful tough chewing."
#9
If/when NK is liberated, how would unification even be possible? No one in NK would have any idea how to function in a free, modern society. East Germans openly looted the homes of their West German relatives - on the grounds that they "deserved" a share of the West's wealth. What would North Koreans do (after eating enough to think clearly, that is)?
#10
As far as I can tell, it's a hostage situation. They're holding a population hostage, and demanding we supply the hostage-takers with food.
I say we start trading food for political prisoners, or hell, open borders. Family reunification, with the families reunified on the southern side of the DMZ.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
04/29/2011 13:55
Comments ||
Top||
#11
Great point, Mitch. That's exactly what it is.
#12
"Hostage situation" > Yeeeeepp, and its increasingly looking like not even the DPRK Army = Armed Forces is safe.
DPRK Soldats from Middle, Lower/Working-class families repor being allowed to get out early from their mandated mil service iff they can BUY FOOD SUPPLIES FOR THE UNIT THEY WERE ASSIGNED TO
Officers, NCOS from Top-tier or Elite Families usually have no probs meeting this requirement, but are expected to procure in food quantities matching their family's political, econ status.
ANALYSTS doubt the top classes will be spared long iff the DPRK food crisis continues to worsen as anticipated, whihc may explain ...
To wit,
* PEOPLE'S DAILY FORUMS > CARTER: NORTH KOREAN "REGRETS" OVER SHIP SINKING [Cheonan + Yeongpyeong mil incidents].
It appears that the DPRK is publicly but informally apologizing to the ROK via ex-POTUS Jimmy Carter oer the recent incidents, but IMO its highly doubtful the ROK = Seoul will accept it in this manner. IMO SEOUL WANTS SOMETHING OFFICIAL + STRAIGHT UP FROM PYONGYANG FIRST, + IS UNLIKELY TO COMMIT TO ANY SERIOUS NUCLEAR, OTHER TALKS INVOL THE DPRK UNTIL IT DOES???
* ION SAME > JAPAN POSTPONES NUCLEAR COOLING, Brouhaha over TEPCO Executive salaries + what-to-do wid any radioactive cooling wastewater.
IMO Artic sub-read - TEPCO MAY RELEASE EXCESS RADIOACTIVE WASTEWATER INTO THE SEA AGAIN???
* SAME > TAIWAN MISSLE CAN REACH BEIJING: REPORT.
Twas repor tested already a few years back.
ARTIC read, YUH-OH???
THE CLOCK IS STEADILY GOING "TICK-TICK" AGZ CHINA, ESPEC AS PER CLOSE-N-GETTING-CLOSER DPRK COLLAPSE, VERSUS TIME-FACTORS FOR SECURING, BREAKING THE BARRIERS OF THE "FIRST ISLAND CHAIN" [PLA, Trade Air + Sea "Warm Water" Ports = FAR ASIA-PACIFIC].
[Arab News] Sudan President Omar Hassan Bashir said on Wednesday the disputed oil-producing Abyei region will remain part of the north after the south secedes in July.
Abyei straddles north and south Sudan and both sides have been building up forces there, according to satellite images and the United Nations. ...an international organization whose stated aims of facilitating interational security involve making sure that nobody with live ammo is offended unless it's a civilized country... South Sudan's draft constitution, to be adopted after the south becomes independent on July 9, lays claim to Abyei, according to a copy seen by Rooters. Bashir rejected the claim.
"Abyei is located in north Sudan and will remain in north Sudan," he told a rally in the province of Southern Kordofan where long-delayed parliamentary and gubernatorial elections start next week.
The audience for his speech, which was televised, was largely from the Arab nomadic Misseriya tribe who lay claim to Abyei, where they graze their cattle a few months a year.
The pro-south Dinka Ngok tribe who reside there all year say Abyei is their territory.
Southern Kordofan, which borders Abyei, contains much of the north's future oil production and Bashir's ruling National Congress Party is fielding Ahmed Haroun as its candidate for governor there in the elections. Haroun is wanted by the International Criminal Court ... where Milosevich died of old age before being convicted ... for war crimes in Sudan's western Darfur region.
North and south Sudan fought each other for all but a few years since 1955 over differences in ethnicity, ideology, religion and oil. The conflict claimed at least 2 million lives and destabilized much of the region.
Southern Sudanese voted in January to separate from the north and form a new nation, a referendum promised to them as part of a 2005 peace deal which ended the decades of civil war.
An Abyei referendum on whether to joint the north or south was meant to run parallel to the January vote, but it did not take place. Talks on Abyei's future have stalled.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/29/2011
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[9 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Sudan
#1
I think Sudan will find fighting South Sudan a somewhat different kettle of fish as they progress from a band of rebels to an organized state (even of African standard).
House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi used Exxon Mobil Corp.'s first-quarter profits to again call for ending subsidies to big oil companies, escalating the already-intense war of words over energy policy.
Earlier Thursday, the oil giant said its profit rose 69% to nearly $11 billion in the first quarter, as $100-a-barrel crude prices helped the company's bottom line reach levels not seen since 2008.
Pelosi, like President Barack Obama earlier in the week, said oil companies don't deserve tax breaks and that the U.S. ought to be investing in clean energy. Pelosi poinces on Exxon for making 2 cents a gallon profit, while her feds garnished 18.4 cents per gallon and relentlessly refuse to reduce that tax. In the first quarter Exxon paid $10 Billion in taxes while federal government sweeheart GE paid $0 in taxes in all of 2010. The Federal government then waste those tax dollars on "green", useless energy initiatives that in reality are payoffs to Democratic butt kissers, while Exxon invests thier 2 cents into viable energy resources for America. Drain the Federal swamp. ASAP.
Posted by: no mo uro ||
04/29/2011 6:48
Comments ||
Top||
#3
Just remember, before it gets to the bottom line, the Feds take half.
Posted by: Bobby ||
04/29/2011 6:59
Comments ||
Top||
#4
I openly admit I'm a complete dolt when it comes to macro economics. But something isn't making sense here. The immediate problem is I'm getting squeezed at the pump. But (As I understand it.) the fundemental problem is that high energy prices stunt economic growth. The rationale behind subsidies to the industries that produce commodities is to balance their production costs. And, in turn, those reduced costs make their product more affordable to the consumer and ultimately spur economic growth. So how does squeezing the tit of Big Oil make it less painful when I fill up my gas tank? I dunno, I'm beginning to think Obama and Pelosi are just playing games. But hey...if it works I say go after Big Sugar and Big Corn next. Have you seen the price liquor lately?
But you have a government that is driving prices up by stopping operations in the Gulf of Mexico and shutting off oil from Libya causing prices to rise and then they complain that because a barrel of crude goes up in price the oil companies make more money?
Look, the oil company DOESN'T SET THE PRICE. I wish these libtards would get that through their heads. The buyers set the price. The price is what amounts to an auction. There is nothing Exxon can do about the price of oil short of bringing more to market ... which this government actively blocks.
I just don't understand because it sounds like the government is giving them money with one hand and then taking it away with another hand. Wouldn't it make more sense to subsidize less but then tax less as well? Wouldn't it save a lot of accountants a lot of time?
#12
Yes, but more passes thru the Federal till this way.
Posted by: Bobby ||
04/29/2011 16:27
Comments ||
Top||
#13
The Feds don't subsidize oil. What they do is provide a few incentives to companies to drill. One of them is the Oil Depletion Allowance, which allows oil companies to deduct from profits, because extracting oil means there's less of it in the ground (the "depletion"). Since it costs money to do the surveys to find the oil, to drill to extract it, and then a constant cost to maintain the well AND the reservoir, the companies can deduct the costs from profits, based on a sliding scale. The mineral depletion allowance in one form or another exists in all mineral extraction industries. The environmental protection racket agency also requires that all mineral extraction companies set aside a certain amount for "restoration" once a mine closes or an oil well is shut down. This is also deducted from profits before taxes. I can't ever remember reading anything about the oil and gas industry that included any kind of direct subsidy for the industry. Taking away the two allowances listed above would make drilling much more expensive, and surveying prohibitive, yet that seems to be exactly what Peloosey wants.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
04/29/2011 18:35
Comments ||
Top||
#14
Well, fortunately we have the media to explain these things to us.
Thanks for doing their job, OP!
Posted by: Bobby ||
04/29/2011 19:14
Comments ||
Top||
#15
Y'all are forgetting state and city taxes as well as Federal
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
04/29/2011 19:17
Comments ||
Top||
#16
Well when you consider that to the ex-Queen Nancy and her gang *all* the profits properly belongs to the government and they are just being generous in even providing the incentive and allowing (hence the 'subsidies') the oil companies to keep even that much of their profits.
[Dawn] Crumbling unity among forces of Evil could provide the Pakistain army an opening to conduct a limited offensive against a particularly vicious Taliban group in a strategic tribal region, according to analysts and a senior military official.
The target of such an operation in North Wazoo would be the most violent factions within the so-called Pak Taliban. Their leader, Hakimullah Mehsud, is believed to be increasingly isolated after executing a prominent former Pak official over the objections of senior bad turban leaders.
Although Mehsud has been linked to attacks in neighbouring Afghanistan, his main focus appears to be in plotting carnage elsewhere in Pakistain. And that makes him a prime target for the army.
Washington has long urged the Paks to launch an operation in North Waziristan, a region overrun by an assortment of bad turban groups including al Qaeda. Most US drone strikes in Pakistain take place in North Waziristan.
Already there are more than 30,000 soldiers in North Waziristan, and some analysts say the Mighty Pak Army could quickly redeploy to the area. The army has 140,000 soldiers in the tribal regions that border Afghanistan
The Paks, however, are unlikely to target the Haqqani group, which the US considers its greatest enemy in Afghanistan. US Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, complained last week that Pakistain's secret service maintains links to the Haqqani network. The Haqqanis are Afghan Taliban who control parts of eastern Afghanistan and have bases in North Waziristan.
If the Haqqanis and other bad turban groups in North Waziristan cooperate with a military assault against the Pak Taliban, that would give the army more options.
The fissures among the forces of Evil were laid bare in February, when Mehsud released a gruesome video that confirmed the shooting death of former Pak spy Sultan Amir Tarar, better known as Col. Imam, according to a senior Pakistain army officer who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject.
As Pakistain's consul general in Afghanistan's Kandahar province during the Taliban's rule, Imam was the conduit for money and weapons to the religious movement. A former Pak intelligence officer, Imam met regularly with Afghan Taliban's reclusive leader, Mullah Mohammed Omar. Imam was known to have kept contact with leading Taliban in hiding in Pakistain since the US-led coalition ousted them from power in Afghanistan in 2001.
Mehsud's group had held Imam for 10 months. The killing confounded Pak military officials. They had long believed the Haqqanis held sway over the myriad of groups -- including forces of Evil from Uzbekistan, Chechnya and the Middle East -- operating in North Waziristan.
"We always thought that the Afghan Taliban had a sway over these groups, but Col. Imam's killing shows that no one is in control of anyone there," he said. "His death was a shock for us."
Taliban members who spoke to The News Agency that Dare Not be Named on condition of anonymity because they feared being tossed in the calaboose said Mullah Omar made a personal plea for Imam's life. Also requesting that Imam's life be spared was Sirajuddin Haqqani, a key leader of the Haqqani group.
The senior military official said Mehsud defied Mullah Omar and Sirajuddin Haqqani and went ahead with the execution after the government and army refused his demands to free several of his imprisoned men.
Not only that, Mehsud boasted on a jihadi website about the killing, according to the SITE Intelligence Group. The same website carried an Urdu language condemnation of Mehsud's organisation, calling those behind the execution "beasts" and "ignoble killers," SITE said.
The divisions that Imam's death revealed among the bad turban groups could provide an opportunity for the army to hit hard at beturbanned goons in the North Waziristan town of Mir Ali, where Mehsud set up bases after fleeing last year's military assault on his headquarters in neighbouring South Waziristan, according to Mahmood Shah, a retired army brigadier and former security point-man for the government in the tribal regions.
Mir Ali is about 20 miles from the town of Miramshah, where the Haqqanis are based.
Tribal elders from North Waziristan, all of whom were too afraid to talk on the record, fearing retribution from bad turbans, said the landscape in their home region has undergone massive upheavals since the army operation in South Waziristan.
They said Mehsud and his men were among the most troublesome of the bad turbans, largely because of their affiliation with criminal gangs.
Mehsud and his followers are also among the richest, having accumulated wealth through kidnappings for ransom, thefts and extortion, said a tribal elder from Shawal district of North Waziristan.
Mehsud's close affiliation with Lashkar-i-Janghvi, a Punjab-based Sunni Mohammedan bad turban group blamed for dozens of attacks against minority Shia Mohammedans, has also provided him with a reservoir of jacket wallahs. They have carried out dozens of attacks throughout Pakistain and in Afghanistan.
US officials who did not want to be identified because of the sensitivity of the subject said the Jordanian suicide bomber who killed six CIA operatives in Afghanistan's Khost province ... across the border from Miranshah, within commuting distance of Haqqani hangouts such as Datta Khel and probably within sight of Mordor. Khost is populated by six different tribes of Pashtuns, the largest probably being the Khostwal, from which it takes its name... in December 2009 was trained by Lashkar-i-Janghvi's Qari Hussain, who was also a member of Mehsud's group. Hussain was killed in a drone attack but was quickly replaced by a cousin and fellow primitive of Mehsud's.
Mehsud has overseen the Pak Taliban ever since his predecessor, Baitullah Mehsud, was killed in a CIA missile strike on August 5, 2009. Hakimullah Mehsud is affiliated with the Taliban's most violent factions and has survived US and Pak attempts on his life.
In recent years the United States has identified Mir Ali as the site of a reconstituted al Qaeda. Also on the run in Mir Ali is Ilyas Kashmirei, a confidante of Mehsud's. The United States this month put a $5 million bounty on Kashmirei's head.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/29/2011
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[13 views]
Top|| File under: TTP
#1
Mullah Omar and Haqqani wanted Col Iman rescued which shows the relationship with Pak Army.
Mehsud has gone rogue and will be targeted.
Good Taliban attack Afghan/US/Nato whilst bad Taliban attack Pakistan in ISI eyes!
#2
The US-Coalition is repor expecting a wave of imminent Taliban-led attacks to atke place in Afghanistan.
Oh where oh where to begin ....
To wit,
* WAFF > PAKISTANI TROOPS FIRE ON INDIAN BORDER POST, in Jammu.
HMMMM, HMMMM, intehwesting, first Afghan [NATO?] troops fire on Pak border posts which leads to Pak Army firing at Indjuh???
* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > [WAPO] PETRAEUS IFF CONFIRMED CIA CHIEF WILL FIGHT THIRD WAR IN PAKISTAN | US WILL FIGHT THIRD WAR IN PAKISTAN IFF PETRAEUS CONFIRMED AS NEW CIA CHIEF.
* SAME > [NYT] MOVE TO CIA OF PETRAEUS IN CONFLICT WID PAKISTAN. Petraeus as CIA Chief repor will have direct control of PAK-criticized/hated US Drone operations.
[Emirates 24/7] Libya's tribes urged Muammar Qadaffy on Wednesday to cede power, as rebels backed by NATO air strikes said they drove the strongman's forces out of missile range of the lifeline port of Misrata.
Rebels defending Zintan, in the mountains southwest of Tripoli, also pushed back Qadaffy forces who bombarded the town with at least 20 Grad rockets, wounding three people and damaging a local hospital, before retreating.
An AFP team in the town late Wednesday witnessed rebels firing off celebratory salvos into the night as a NATO warplane flew overhead.
Meanwhile, ...back at the abandoned silver mine, the water was up to Jack's neck and still rising... the United States opened another lifeline to the rebels by authorizing Americans to buy oil, gas and petroleum products from the rebels' Transitional National Council.
"The people of Libya are brave and defiant but we need access to oil revenues so that we can feed, protect and defend our families," the council said in welcoming the move by the US Treasury Department.
Chiefs or representatives of 61 tribes from across the North African country called for an end to Qadaffy's four-decade rule, in a joint statement released by French writer Bernard-Henri Levy.
"Faced with the threats weighing on the unity of our country, faced with the manoeuvres and propaganda of the dictator and his family, we solemnly declare: Nothing will divide us," said the statement, released on Wednesday in Benghazi.
"We share the same ideal of a free, democratic and united Libya.
"The Libya of tomorrow, once the dictator has gone, will be a united Libya, with Tripoli as its capital and where we will at last be free to build a civil society according to our own wishes," it said.
Levy has become an unofficial front man in Gay Paree for the revolt and is credited with pressing President Nicolas Sarkozy ...23rd and current President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra. Sarkozy is married to singer-songwriter Carla Bruni, who has a really nice birthday suit... to mobilise international political and military support for it.
"Each of the tribes in Libya is represented by at least a representative. In this list of 61 signatures, some tribes are represented 100 percent, others are still divided," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/29/2011
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[7 views]
Top|| File under:
[Dawn] The ongoing wave of assassinations claimed lives of four political activists in the city on Wednesday, as the menace remained beyond control of the provincial security establishment and the political administration, police and party sources said.
All the four killings were confirmed by officials at the central police office`s special cell, which has been recently set up on the chief minister`s directives to keep the exact record of assassinations in an effort to prevent misreporting of the incidents in the print and electronic media.
A gun attack near Ibn-i-Sina Hospital in Gulshan-i-Iqbal left a 42-year-old man and his nephew dead and their two friends maimed, the police said.
All the four victims were associated with the Pakistain People`s Party (PPP). "The dear departed victims have been identified as Hussain Abid and his nephew, Iqbal Khan," said Gulshan-i-Iqbal SHO Inspector Kanson Deen.
"They were residents of Liaquatabad and had come to the apartments along University Road in Block 6 of Gulshan-i-Iqbal to see their common friends, Ibrahim Jatoi and Ghulam Nabi Brohi."
The inspector said that all the four friends were at a cold drink shop near their home when two men riding a cycle of violence pulled up there. One of the riders opened fire on them and decamped along with his accomplice.
"The firing killed Iqbal and Hussain and maimed Ibrahim and Ghulam Nabi. Both the maimed victims were taken to a private hospital on Stadium Road."
"The attackers used a 9mm pistol," the SHO said, adding that Sherlocks had collected spent bullet casings of 9mm pistol found at the crime-scene.
The PPP leaders saw the incident as part of the frequent killings of political activists that had been going on for more than a month, "mainly targeting the ruling party".
The leaders said the victims were active party members.
"It is a brutal incident," said Sohail Abidi, a senior leader of the PPP`s Bloody Karachi division. "We have been a target for the past few years but it is the vision and reconciliation policy of the PPP leadership that has so far kept workers calm and peaceful."
Earlier, an Awami National Party (ANP) worker was targeted in Gulistan-i-Jauhar.
The victim, identified as 29-year-old Asif Khan alias Angraiz, was bumped off in Block 13 of Gulistan-i-Jauhar.
"He was associated with the construction business and was heading to work when two men riding a motorbike targeted him. A bullet hit him in the head and another in the left arm," said an official at the Sharea Faisal cop shoppe.
The police officials said that the victim was a resident of the Pehalwan Goth area.
An ANP front man condemned the incident and said the victim was an active member in the Bhitaiabad ward of the party`s organisational structure.
In a Bin Qasim area, a young man was found rubbed out with a bullet wound each in the head and chest, the police said.
The victim was identified as 36-year-old Muhammad Haris, an activist of the Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz (JSQM) and a resident of Juma Himayati Goth near Bhains Colony.
"The victim was found rubbed out at an abandoned place near the Port Qasim industrial area," said Sukkan SHO Sub-Inspector Ahmed Sheikh.
"He has been identified as a JSQM activist by area people but there is no such claim made by the party leaders. The body has been handed over to the family after medico-legal formalities at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre."
SSP Naeem Sheikh, who heads the CPO cell, said the four killings in the day were executed apparently on political grounds according to initial investigations.
But, he added, that "out of the four killings, there is some doubt about the incident that claimed the life of a JSQM activist. The motive behind his killing is not clear so far," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/29/2011
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[14 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
Following declines in all but one year from 1986 to 2008, U.S. oil production (crude oil and lease condensate) increased in 2009 and again in 2010. Due in part to Hurricanes Ike and Gustav, average production dipped below 5.0 million barrels per day (bbl/d) in 2008, then climbed to 5.4 million bbl/d in 2009 and 5.5 million bbl/d in 2010, with 2010 volumes representing an 11 percent increase over 2008. The article shows the growth due to oil Shale formations. The Bakken alone is responsible for much of the recovery. The Eagle Ford formation (in Texas) has about as much potential as the Bakken, maybe more, and there are several other oil shale formations with substantial potential (although, alas, mostly to produce methane). Also we have lost production from the Gulf over the past year.
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
04/29/2011
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[4 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
We've lost about 250,000 barrels a day of production out of the gulf. By next year it's going to be 400,000 barrels a day. I don't know how many gallons of gas that is; it's about 8.8 million gallons of oil going into the refinery.
#8
More than welder's and truck drivers are needed. Companies are desperate for Rig hands, directional and MWD.
Halliburton is hiring! We still don't have nearly enough people and it is very good pay. But it is also a serious lifestyle change. Directional and MWD hands work the well. We're here from start to finish and right now a Bakken well is averaging 35-40 days. Then you get about 10 days off and for many, living on the rig for that long just isn't for them.
#10
"We've lost about 250,000 barrels a day of production out of the gulf. By next year it's going to be 400,000 barrels a day. I don't know how many gallons of gas that is; it's about 8.8 million gallons of oil going into the refinery." Thing From Snowy Mountain
From down here in Texas where some gulf oil drilling has stopped, all I know is "I'm on Empty, and Obama is just filling me up with lies."
Posted by: Large Shuper1125 ||
04/29/2011 17:30
Comments ||
Top||
#11
But but....drilling is fun! Who needs things like cell phone coverage, towns with more than 20 people (They got a bar, so what more can you want.) and you have to drive 75 miles to find a Wal-Mart, if you're lucky. Besides, think of all the scenery!
Posted by: Silentbrick - Lost Drill Bit Division - Halliburton ||
04/29/2011 17:35
Comments ||
Top||
#12
You guys are thinking all wrong! Shale oil is evil! Extracting it produces CO2. Burning it produces CO2.We must shut it down. Better to produce less here and pay $5-6/gallon of gasoline to other countries.
/sarcasm
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
04/29/2011 20:05
Comments ||
Top||
[Arab News] Soddy Arabian money supply growth surged to a 20-month high in March of 13.8 percent and bank deposits jumped 13.3 percent to more than SR1 trillion as the government handed out SR53 billion in bonuses that are likely to fuel short-term inflationary pressures.
The latest data of the Soddy Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) also show that, as a consequence of higher oil prices, the Kingdom's foreign assets advanced almost 11 percent to a record level. Bank credit growth to the private sector further extended its moderate climb to 6.5 percent, a 22-month high.
In the first quarter, King of the Arabians, Sheikh of the Burning Sands, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah announced a block of initiatives to support Saudi citizens estimated to cost SR485 billion over several years, including plans to raise wages, pay out one-off bonuses, introduce an unemployment benefit, build new homes and create jobs. The immediate distribution of bonuses in the first quarter added about SR53 billion to fiscal expenditures this year, according to our estimates. Many private sector companies and banks followed suit with similar bonuses, greatly enhancing the purchasing power of citizens and residents.
The implications for money supply and deposit growth were apparent. Broad money supply (M3) increased 13.8 percent year on year to SR1.15 trillion in March, while growth in M2 -- which includes demand deposits, currency outside banks and time and savings deposits -- rose to 14.9 percent, the highest since June 2009.
Soddy Arabia's monetary base, comprising highly liquid currency in banks and held by the public, soared 24.7 percent in March to SR276.1 billion and, as a result of the liquidity boost, the money multiplier fell to 4.16 from 4.52 the month earlier.
The surge in privately held funds was reflected in total bank deposits, which grew 13.3 percent to SR1.04 trillion in March compared with the year earlier, the fastest rate of growth since September 2009. Non-interest-bearing demand deposits advanced by an annual 28.2 percent to SR579.5 billion during the month, up 7.1 percent from February.
Customers have favored demand deposits for the last two years due to their accessibility and the low interest rates offered on savings deposits. Demand deposits now account for 55.5 percent of total deposits, compared with less than 42 percent at the start of 2009. Time-and-savings deposits, by contrast, slipped 5.1 percent year on year in March, although they are up almost 1.8 percent from February, while foreign currency deposits grew by an annual 6.4 percent.
One short-term consequence of government payouts and salary hikes this year should be a rise in inflation as private consumption picks up pace, with consumers more likely to pursue big-ticket purchases such as cars or appliances. Headline inflation fell in February to a 10-month low of 4.9 percent, but we anticipate prices will gain impetus in the coming months due to money supply growth, higher global food prices, steep rents and the weaker US dollar. Inflation should average 5.6 percent for the year, up from 5.1 percent last year.
Private consumption, meanwhile, is already on the rise. In March, there was a notable gain in the number and value of point of sale (POS) transactions, which grew 22.6 percent month on month to SR7.7 billion. The number of transactions rose 18.7 percent to 15.1 million compared with the month earlier. Soddy Arabia is a largely cash-based society, yet these data send a clear signal that residents are spending more money after receiving bonuses equivalent to a 17 percent one-time pay rise. The value of commercial and personal checks, too, jumped almost 29 percent on the month to SR51.6 billion, illustrating the immediate impact of the government cash injection.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/29/2011
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[8 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Making record profits off of gasoline, perhaps Mr. Obama could ask them for some of our money back.
#2
And let the rentier state continue! What could go wrong in a culture addicted to the largesse of their government? That works fine until the well runs dry.
Posted by: American Delight ||
04/29/2011 14:43
Comments ||
Top||
#3
What could go wrong in a culture addicted to the largesse of their government?
The current king is trying to move education toward more math, science, and foreign languages, and away from memorizing the Koran and magical thinking. As we saw from young JUSTICE's example the other day, even many of the children of the elite are not going to be capable of making the change. He said flatly, "Israel is not part of the Middle East," which of course makes it so.
[Tolo News] Fifteen beturbanned goons handed over their weapons and surrendered to government in western Afghanistan on Wednesday, Afghan National Directorate of Security said in a statement.
The men were active in Shindand district and surrendered to government along with their commander Sayed Ahmad, added in the statement.
The statement said that the men have promised to work for peace in their province.
The Taliban have not yet commented.
Magical thinking: if they say nothing, it didn't happen.
Shindand is considered one of the insecure districts in the province where faceless myrmidons have been active.
Herat is one of the seven areas that Afghan forces will take over from foreign forces in the first phase of security transition in July this year.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/29/2011
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[10 views]
Top|| File under: Taliban
[Iran Press TV] Soddy Arabian security forces have jugged up to 30 Shia activists over the past two days, keeping up with their crackdown on pro-reform protests.
The detainees, who included two internet activists, were tossed in the slammer in the eastern city of Qatif for taking part in anti-government protests, AFP reported on Thursday.
"Arrests have been ongoing for sometime but in the past few days it focused on bloggers and writers," a Shia activist was quoted as saying on condition of anonymity as he feared facing arrest.
"The number of Shias tossed in the slammer since the start of the protests and (those who) remain in jail is 140."
Earlier in the month, a Human Rights Watch report said the authorities have tossed in the slammer over 160 activists since February.
The people were called to cop shoppes or saw their homes being raided by police.
"Even ordinary people have been jugged for taking part in demonstrations," a human rights ...which often intentionally defined so widely as to be meaningless... campaigner was quoted as saying.
The Saudi nationals have been voicing outrage at Riyadh's continued imprisonment of people without charge and the suppression of women's rights. The unemployed have been rallying for job opportunities and their share of the biggest Arab economy's oil income.
Riyadh has also sparked outrage among the country's public for dispatching troops to Bahrain to aid Manama's current deadly crackdown on the popular protests there.
The protests have been held despite a ban by the Interior Ministry on all kinds of demonstrations and public gatherings.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/29/2011
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[11 views]
Top|| File under:
[The Nation (Nairobi)] Ugandan police on Thursday tossed in the slammer opposition leader Kizza Besigye for the fourth time this month, after smashing his car windows and spraying him with tear gas.
Besigye, who was released from a week in jug after being granted bail on Wednesday, had attempted another "walk to work" demonstration to protest against rising food and fuel prices.
He was blocked from walking by the police however and eventually drove from his home on the outskirts of Kampala into the city centre.
"I was not even allowed to get to a public road," Besigye told news hounds.
A crowd of several hundred supporters formed around his vehicle when he claimed he was prevented by the police from driving to the bank.
The standoff was broken when plain-clothed police smashed his car windows with a hammer and sprayed Besigye with tear gas, forcing the opposition leader and his bodyguards out of the vehicle.
Police argued Besigye was blocking the road.
"He was inciting violence, blocking the road and disobeying coppers," Kampala metropolitan police commander Grace Turyagumanawe told AFP.
"He was moving with many people who were riotous. We asked him to go one way but he refused. The force used was just proportionate not more," Turyagumanawe said.
Besigye, 55, was then bundled into the back of a pick-up truck by coppers and at least three other members of his entourage were also whisked away.
It was not immediately clear where they were taken to.
The event sparked stone-throwing from the crowd to which police responded with tear gas, eventually dispersing the demonstrators.
Food and fuel prices have soared in the eastern African country recently, with President Yoweri Museveni blaming inflation on meteorological and global economic factors, but protestors see it as a result of bad governance.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/29/2011
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[6 views]
Top|| File under:
[Dawn] The premises of the Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL) in the capital witnessed high drama on Wednesday as its zealous security team took on the officials of Employees Old-Age Benefits Institution (EOBI) and journalists. Scuffles, fights and allegations and counter-allegations were the order of the afternoon -- at the bank and at a cop shoppe later.
The `excitement` began in the afternoon when an EOBI team, led by Deputy Director Zulfiqar Ali Grewal, arrived at the ZTBL head office at Zero Point. He carried a warrant to seal the `property` of the bank for not clearing dues --Rs85.40 million -- owed to EOBI. The team included six assistant directors of the EOBI, including Tariq Mehmood along with their lawyer, Khurrum Mehmood Qureshi and a bailiff.
Issued by the assistant collector EOBI under Land Revenue Act 1969, Section 83, the warrant entitled the EOBI to seal moveable property and was issued against ZTBL`s president Zaka Ashraf.
The `raiders` of the old employees were accompanied by journalists who had been informed about the raid. Journalists and cameramen -- Samar Abbas and Asif Mirza of DawnNews and Waseem Abbas and Zyafat Abbasi of Sama TV respectively -- entered ZTBL`s headquarter along with the EOBI team and were taken to the room of Security Officer Col (retired) Manzoor Ahmed Qazi.
"The security in-charge told us to wait there," said Zulfiqar Ali Grewal. He explained that ZTBL had not paid up since 2008 and the EOBI people had the documents to seal a `property` of the bank. A symbolic gesture, the EOBI`s plan was to seal the managing director`s office or that of any bigwig.
However, The all-purpose However... the officials of EOBI, the bailiff and the lawyer ended up meeting Senior Vice President ZTBL Masood Khan in the security officer`s room. Once he was served the warrant, Khan claimed that it was not valid.
At this point, the lawyer and Khan had a heated exchange as the former tried to get the warrant back from the latter`s possession.
According to the EOBI team, the bank`s security personnel who were present sprung into action as attention focused on the news channel crews who were filming the episode. As the bank employees tried to stop the filming, the EOBI officials, the bailiff, the lawyer and the journalists were attacked.
According to the visitors to the bank, the ZTBL staff kicked and punched them, tearing their clothes in the process. All of them, including the journalists, were jugged in the security officer`s room and threatened.
After a while, a senior officer of ZTBL asked the detainees to accompany him to his office. However, The over-used However... on the way, the journalists used their cellphones to call their newsrooms and even contact the police for assistance.
This proved to be the proverbial red flag for a staff that was still enraged apparently. Not only did the ZTBL staff snatch the journalists` cellphones, they also demanded that the news channel air the bank`s denial of the news that its employees had thrashed the raiding team and members of the media.
Soon journalists from various organisations gathered outside to protest the detention of their colleagues. The nervous security team locked all the gates to prevent the protesters from entering.
Next on the scene was Subdivisional Officer City Circle Faisal Bashir Memon who was accompanied by others including SHO Haq Nawaz Ranjah. However, The essential However... they too were not allowed to enter and had to seek the help of Assistant Commissioner Mohammad Ali Randhwa.
After an hour long negotiations, the coppers were able to secure the release of the jugged people as well as arrest five to seven security staff members and the members of the ZTBL union.
As the tossed in the clink people were shifted to the Aabpara cop shoppe, the journalists followed them, demanding harsher measures against the bank.
Inevitably, a scuffle broke out between the excited journalists and the police. Cameras were used as weapons (at least one was) as the police brandished their trusted batons. To add to the confusion, federal minister for information and broadcasting Firdous Ashiq Awan also arrived at the spot.
By that time, however, Sadaqat Ali of Sama TV was maimed in his head as other also suffered injuries.
Incidentally, all the accused in police custody are retired army officers: Brig. (retired) Anjum Saeed Akhtar, managing director, Kissan Support Services Limited, a subsidiary of the ZTBL; Col. (retired) Mansoor Ahmed Qazi, incharge of security; and Maj (retired) Mohammad Masood, head of the law department.
Lawyer Qureshi told Dawn that Assistant Director Mehmood lodged a complaint with Aabpara cop shoppe. The journalists have registered a separate complaint.
While the police have promised an inquiry into the incidents, ZTBL has also condemned the incident and suspended Col (retired) Mansoor Qazi.
"The president of the bank has condemned the incident and we can assure that all the culprits will be taken to the task," said Israr Kisana, ZTBL media chief.
The interior minister has also announced a judicial commission that is to finalise a report within 24 hours.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/29/2011
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[9 views]
Top|| File under:
[Arab News] An Islamic group has sued a suburban town it says engaged in religious discrimination by abruptly changing zoning regulations to prevent the opening of a mosque.
Members of the Al Falah Center and local residents filed suit Tuesday in federal court against Bridgewater Township's mayor, council and planning officials.
The lawsuit says the sudden zoning changes thwarted plans the group had been working on, with the township's knowledge, to convert a closed banquet hall in a mostly residential area into a mosque and community center. It accuses town officials of bowing to pressure from protesters and an anti-mosque Internet campaign.
The Bridgewater protests were reminiscent of opposition to an Islamic center and mosque planned in New York City near the World Trade Center site. Developers have envisioned an Islamic center, a large health club, a day care center and a cultural gallery built over a subterranean mosque just blocks from where Islamic Death Eaters used hijacked airplanes to destroy the twin towers and kill thousands of people on Sept. 11, 2001. Supporters say allowing the center to be built would reflect American values of tolerance and religious freedom, while opponents argue locating a mosque so close to the attack site would be insensitive to the victims' memories.
The Al Falah Center, according to court papers, is a nonprofit group formed by local Mohammedan residents of different ethnicities, backgrounds and professions who said they had been renting out various locations around Bridgewater for 10 years as they searched for a suitable place to build a permanent mosque to serve Mohammedans in and around the central New Jersey suburb.
The center members found a closed former inn with a large banquet hall on more than 7.5 acres (3 hectares) of land that was zoned for "permitted conditional use" for houses of worship, and they drew up plans to renovate it into a mosque, day care facility, religious school and community center.
The lawsuit claims the site plan, with details of available parking and other requirements, was discussed with the town planning board, but the first public hearing on the application had to be adjourned because so many protesters showed up, exceeding the venue's capacity.
"What should have been an uncomplicated approval of the application then foundered in a storm of anti-Mohammedan sentiment and hysteria," the lawsuit says.
Town officials voted to change the rules for houses of worship, prohibiting them in residential zones unless they fronted on state highways, court papers say. The ruling affected only the mosque, the suit says, as 17 existing religious facilities in Bridgewater -- several in residential areas -- were allowed to remain. The suit seeks to block enforcement of the ordinance and allow the group's application to be processed.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/29/2011
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[7 views]
Top|| File under: Global Jihad
#1
When you get over your Christian hysteria, maybe, just maybe, we will get over our Muslim hysteria.
[Iran Press TV] A senior holy man has described Iran's Islamic theocracy as the pioneer in pro-democracy movements in the region, cautioning Saudi rulers of the same fate as that of Bahrain's royal family.
"Today, the wave of Islamic awakening has overrun countries across the globe and God-willing this wave will become even more widespread," Fars News Agency quoted Ayatollah Hossein Nouri Hamedani as saying on Thursday.
"We take pride in that all these awakenings have been influenced by the Iranian movement," he said in reference to Iran's Islamic revolution of 1979.
The senior holy man pointed out that an Islamic Middle East is in the making and that the schemes by arrogant powers, the US in particular, to forge an Israel-centered region has failed.
"Despite the obstacles created by oppressors and arrogant powers, this course is irreversible," he said.
Ayatollah Hamedani criticized the states ruled by Arab royal families in the Middle East as puppet regimes swept into power and sustained by Washington.
"The US has empowered Al Khalifa in Bahrain, Al Saud in Soddy Arabia, Al Nahyan in the United Arab Emirates and Al Sabah in Kuwait to maintain its dominance on the region," he said.
"Currently, these puppet regimes have been shaken and Soddy Arabia should know it is bound to face a fate similar to that in Bahrain," the holy man warned.
Ayatollah Hamedani lashed out at the West's dual stance on the recent developments in the region.
"They are attempting to maintain their puppet rulers a while longer, but they should know that the culture of Islamic awakening will not die and they will all be eliminated."
The Iranian holy man also rejected allegations made by a number of such Arab states which accuse the Islamic Theocratic Republic of interference in Bahrain's internal affairs.
Such accusations are made by the same countries that invaded Bahrain, the Iranian holy man said, stressing that Iran has only engaged in preaching Islamic teachings and supporting the oppressed, and that it takes pride in doing so.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/29/2011
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[6 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
Move along people, as once again there is clearly no Iran-vs-KSA, Shia-vs-Sunni struggle for "universal" Islamic dominance here???
[Emirates 24/7] Yemen's veteran President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh ... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, after serving as a lieutenant colonel in the army. He had been part of the conspiracy that bumped off his predecessor, Ibrahim al-Hamdi, in the usual tiresome military coup, and he has maintained power by keeping Yemen's many tribes fighting with each other, rather than uniting to string him up. ... said he supports "peaceful" and "constitutional" change as 13 more people were killed on Wednesday with no let-up in protests demanding his ouster.
Four members of the security forces and nine protesters were killed in violence across the country's restive south, officials and medical sources said as anti-Saleh demonstrators vowed they would not stop their actions.
Yemeni troops killed at least nine people and maimed more than 100 others as they shot up anti-regime protesters in Sanaa on Wednesday, medical sources said.
Eight bodies were taken to a private university hospital and one was carried off to a field hospital in the main square where a protest camp has been active for the past three months, the sources said.
They said 10 of the maimed were at death's door, after violence broke out as troops moved in to disperse the demonstration to call for the immediate ouster of President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh.
"We are not against change as long as it is done by democratic and peaceful means, within the constitution, and with respect to the people's will," Saleh said Wednesday in a statement carried by state news agency Saba.
Saleh also accused his opponents of attempting a "coup against democracy and the constitution."
The embattled leader's comments came after the president and opposition agreed on Tuesday to sign a landmark deal in the coming days for an orderly transition and end three months of unrest that has killed more than 135 people.
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which is brokering the transition deal, said their foreign ministers would meet in Riyadh on Sunday to work out the modalities of their plan for Yemen.
"Riyadh will host on Sunday an extraordinary meeting for the Gulf Cooperation Council foreign ministers to continue the procedures for the adoption of the GCC initiative," the Gulf Arab grouping said in a statement.
However, The flatulent However... hundreds of activists demonstrated outside the Saudi embassy in Sanaa on Wednesday in protest at the Gulf initiative, insisting that Saleh go immediately.
"Youth of the revolt reject the Gulf initiative," said a banner carried by the young protesters outside the embassy.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/29/2011
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[11 views]
Top|| File under:
[Dawn] The bodies of three members of jihad boy organisation Lashkar-i-Islam were found in various areas in Bara tehsil of Khyber Agency on Wednesday.
The body of Mohammad Ayub alias Boda, local commander of the outlawed jihad boy outfit, was found in Sepah area of Bara.
Sources said that his colleagues killed him after developing differences with him. Two other alleged hard boyz Gul Wais and Shah Syed were killed by unidentified persons and their bodies were found in Shen Drand area of Akkakhel. The motive behind the killings was not known.
Meanwhile, ...back at the Hubba Hubba Club, Nunzio had his hands full of angry bleached blonde...
empty houses of Ali Akbar and Fazal Mohammad were torched and razed by political administration in Landi Kass area while the houses of Painda Khan and Momin were demolished in Shalober area.
Meanwhile, ...back at the precinct house, Sergeant Maloney wasn't buying it. It was just too pat. It smelled phony... Omar Hayat, a kidnapped lineman of Tesco, reached home after being released by captors. Six linemen of Tesco were kidnapped on January 8, 2011 by unidentified persons from Alamgudar area of Bara.
The Tesco had suspended power supply to Bara for a week in protest against the kidnapping of the officials. One of them, Jan Mohammad, was released in the first week of February while Sabir Mohammad was freed one week ago. Aftab Hussain, Fateh Mohammad and Niaz Ali were freed on Sunday last and Omar Hayat was released on Wednesday.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/29/2011
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[15 views]
Top|| File under: Lashkar-e-Islami
[Straits Times] ONE of the grand figures of the Vietnam War, the influential sister-in-law of president Ngo Dinh Diem who led a US-backed regime in the country's south, has died in Italia, media reported.
Known as 'Madame Nhu', Tran Le Xuan died on Sunday in a Rome hospital, according to the VNExpress news website, citing the Nguoi Viet Nam Chau magazine which specialises in coverage of overseas-based Vietnamese.
The New York Times ...which still proudly displays Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize... confirmed the death by citing her sister, Lechi Oggeri.
Born in 1924, Madame Nhu married Diem's brother Ngo Dinh Nhu in 1943 and effectively became the first lady of the pro-American South Vietnam regime as US involvement in the country deepened.
A 'femme fatale' known for shocking declarations, she described self-immolations by Buddhist monks opposed to Diem as a 'barbecue'.
'Sexually suggestive in her decollete gowns, which shocked old-fashioned Vietnamese, she occupied a peculiar place as the only woman close to the misogynist Diem,' journalist Stanley Karnow wrote in Vietnam: A History.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/29/2011
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[4 views]
Top|| File under:
[Dawn] The governor of the Afghan jail where hundreds of Islamic fascistithis week beat feet through a tunnel built by the Taliban has been jugged along with several top aides, an intelligence source told Rooters on Thursday.
General Ghulam Dastgir, who headed the high security Sarposa jail where almost 500 fighters beat feet along a dirt shaft fitted with lights and air pipes, was led away in handcuffs following a preliminary investigation, the source said on condition of anonymity.
Also jugged were eight others including Dastgir's deputy governor and several senior prison managers, he said.
A front man for Tooryalai Wesa, the governor of southern Kandahar province where the jail was located, confirmed several detentions at the prison, but declined to name anyone.
"A number of people were jugged because they neglected their duties," the front man said.
Several police from stations located around the prison on the outskirts of Kandahar city had also been dismissed for sleeping when they should have been on patrol as the escape took place under cover of darkness, he said.
Afghanistan's government has launched a full investigation into the breakout, the second in three years at the jail, which Karzai's chief front man said had exposed serious holes in the country's security preparedness.
In 2008, around 1,000 prisoners including Taliban fighters beat feet after a truck bomb blew open the jail gates. That mass escape quickly led to a surge in fighting.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/29/2011
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[7 views]
Top|| File under: Taliban
[Emirates 24/7] [Emirates 24/7] French jet are dropping inert bombs packed with concrete instead of explosives to destroy Libyan ruler Muammar Qadaffy's tanks without killing civilians, the military said Thursday.
Military front man Thierry Burkhard denied rumours the use of the 300-kilo (660-pound) training devices was prompted by a shortage of real bombs. He said the first such strike crushed an armoured vehicle on Tuesday.
"The aim of this munition ... is to use the effect of the impact while limiting the risk of collateral damage," Burkhard told news hounds. "It is a very precise strike. There is no, or very little, shrapnel thrown out."
The military said French warplanes have made 216 sorties in Libya over the past week and destroyed targets including 15 armoured vehicles and big guns as well as a munitions depot.
Burkhard said French forces were also continuing to use real bombs against other Qadaffy targets in the NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Originally it was a mutual defense pact directed against an expansionist Soviet Union. In later years it evolved into a mechanism for picking the American pocket while criticizing the style of the American pants... -led assault, which aims to frustrate Qadaffy's forces and protect civilians in his assault on rebels.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/29/2011
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[9 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
sigh...
Posted by: Mr. Bill ||
04/29/2011 0:27
Comments ||
Top||
#2
Actually, the US used a bunch of concrete bombs fighting Saddam's forces in Baghdad, Mosul, and other big cities in Iraq for the very same reasons - no explosives so there is limited collateral damage.
#3
According to our family Marine's personal experience watching one 'connect' with a target, the concrete is pretty effective, too. Apparently fitted with a JDAM kit, they can guide these little puppies down into an ally and destroy a tank hiding there without leaving much more than crushed metal, small concrete chunks and a few 'paint scrapes'.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
04/29/2011 7:51
Comments ||
Top||
Laser guided bomb kit. A 500-1000 lbs of steel encased concrete traveling near the speed of sound will penetrate the top armor as well as break the running gear.
[Iran Press TV] At least five security personnel have been killed and four others maimed by a roadside kaboom in Algeria's northern province of Ain Defla.
The attack happened at around 10:30 a.m. local time (0930 GMT) on Thursday when their patrol vehicle set off a roadside kaboom near Oued Djemaa town of the province, located 140 kilometers (87 miles) southwest of the capital Algiers, a Press TV correspondent reported.
The corpses as well as those injured in the blast were transferred to the main hospital in Khemis Miliana town.
Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) faceless myrmidons are suspected to be behind the attack.
The blast came a day after two gendarmes were killed and another was injured when their car struck a roadside kaboom in Bordj Menaniel district of corpse-littered Boumerdes province, situated about 50 kilometers (30 miles) east of Algiers.
Two weeks ago, 14 Algerian soldiers died after they were ambushed by AQIM faceless myrmidons in the country's northeastern region of Kabylie.
In recent years, the Sahara region has seen a dramatic increase in the activities of smugglers and faceless myrmidons linked to AQIM, who have grabbed credit for several attacks on Algerian government forces and foreigners.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/29/2011
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[11 views]
Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in North Africa
[Dawn] The Beautiful Downtown Peshawar High Court on Wednesday ordered to set free on bail a suspected would-be jacket wallah as the government claimed that he had already been de-radicalised.
A two-member bench comprising Chief Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan and Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel directed the brother of the accused to appear before the political agent of Bajaur Agency, aka Turban Central for fulfilling the legal requirements of furnishing surety bonds to his satisfaction.
The accused, Khalid Khan, was an eighth-grade student at Government High school Nawagai in Bajaur Agency. His brother, Gul Rehman, had sent an application to the chief justice regarding his detention which was converted into a writ petition.
The petitioner claimed that his brother was taken into custody on Nov 20, 2009, by the personnel of Bajaur Scouts and since then he had been in illegal detention.
The deputy attorney general, Mohammad Iqbal Mohmand ... Named for the Mohmand clan of the Sarban Pahstuns, a truculent, quarrelsome lot. In Pakistain, the Mohmands infest their eponymous Agency, metastasizing as far as the plains of Peshawar, Charsadda, and Mardan. Mohmands are also scattered throughout Pakistan in urban areas including Bloody Karachi, Lahore, and Quetta. In Afghanistan they are mainly found in Nangarhar and Kunar... , and a representative of Frontier Corps appeared before the bench. Mr Mohmand stated that the security agencies had information that the teenaged suspect, Khalid Khan, had been trained by the Islamic fascistias a suicide bomber.
He stated that after he was taken into custody the security agencies had worked on his rehabilitation. He stated that they would not object to his release provided his relatives furnish guarantee that they would keep an eye on him and in future he would not join the turbans.
Meanwhile, ...back at the buffalo wallow, Tex and his new-found Indian friend were preparing a little surprise for the bandidos... the bench disposed of a writ petition challenging alleged illegal detention of a resident of SLearned Elders of Islamnkhel here in Badhber area as all the security agencies expressed ignorance regarding his whereabouts.
The bench directed the petitioner that in future if he received any information about the detainee he could again move the court.
The petition on behalf of the detainee, Lateefullah, was filed by his father Wasiullah. He alleged that his son was taken into custody by the security agencies and local police on Dec 14, 2009, and since then his whereabouts were not known.
The director (legal) of Ministry of Defence, Lt-Col Sarfaraz appeared and contended that the detainee was not in jug of the agencies functioning under his ministry. He stated that they had already filed affidavit in this regard.
Mr Iqbal Mohmand stated that the ministry of interior had also expressed ignorance about him.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/29/2011
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[8 views]
Top|| File under: TTP
[Emirates 24/7] Rebels said they had managed to push back Qadaffy's forces and secure the besieged port of Misrata, a day after it came under sustained rocket fire.
The gunnies said NATO raids overnight enabled them to force Qadaffy's troops 40 kilometres (25 miles) from the city, which is pressed by regime forces from the east, west and south.
That put Qadaffy's Grad rockets ...Soviet-made 122-mm rockets, usually launched from trucks. Newer versions have a range of up to 30 km.... out of range of the port, an aid conduit for rebels in the western city of half a million people under siege for more than seven weeks.
Further west, Qadaffy forces were massed in force in an apparent bid to recapture the Dehiba border post with Tunisia, a Western military source said.
Witnesses said the area was rocked by artillery and mortar fire.
"There is a lot of fire in the area at the foot of the mountains," said a taxi driver at the border, 200 kilometres (125 miles) south of Ras Jdir, the main crossing point into Tunisia that the rebels seized on Thursday.
Security sources in Tunis said Qadaffy fighters tried earlier Wednesday to enter Tunisia at a point south of Dehiba in a bid to sneak up on the rebels, but were stopped by Tunisian forces.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/29/2011
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[10 views]
Top|| File under:
[Al Jazeera] A blast has hit a bus carrying Pak navy officials in the southern city of Bloody Karachi, killing five people, officials have said.
"Now a total of four of our employees - all sailors - have been martyred in the attack on our bus while seven others are injured," navy front man Commander Salman Ali told AFP.
A hospital official said a passerby was also killed in the incident, which took place in the city's busy Faisal avenue.
About three kilogrammes of explosives were packed into the bomb which exploded remotely, senior police official Iftikhar Tarar said.
Bloody Karachi is Pakistain's commercial hub and also home to the navy's main base.
Thursday's blast occurred two days after two other navy buses were attacked in the city. Four people were killed in those blasts and 56 others maimed.
Both the Baluchistan Liberation Army and the Pak Taliban grabbed credit for Tuesday's attacks, which police said were carried out with remotely controlled bombs roughly 15 minutes apart in different areas of the city.
The Taliban vowed to continue attacks on the country's military until it stops targeting the group in the country's northwest.
Fighters have not targeted the navy in the past and security experts say the attacks on the navy, seen as a soft target with less effective protection, could be part of a new strategy to widen their violent campaign.
"It's not the navy that is being targeted, it is the armed forces," Moinuddin Haider, a former interior minister and retired army general, said.
"And the most dangerous thing is that IEDs [improvised bombs] and remote bombs are now being used. This is a new thing which here first started in Iraq and has caused a lot of damage in Afghanistan."
The attacks this week on the military in Bloody Karachi were the first since 2004 when assailants ambushed a convoy escorting the Bloody Karachi army corps commander. The general beat feet that attack.
In 2002, 11 French engineers and technicians working on the construction of submarines for the Pak navy were killed, along with three Paks in a suicide car booming outside a hotel in Bloody Karachi.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/29/2011
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[19 views]
Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Pakistan
Posted by: Fred ||
04/29/2011
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[7 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Happy Birthday/Daily Gam Shot
Kate Mulgrew aka Captain Kathryn Janeway in "Star Trek: Voyager" aka Victoria Riddler in "Riddler's Moon" aka Sarah Watson in "Daddy" aka Hattie Carraway in "Roots: The Gift" aka Mary Ryan Fenelli in "Ryan's Hope" (age 56)
[Dawn] Veteran politician and central leader of Awami National Party Mohammad Afzal Khan Lala has opposed holding negotiations with Taliban, saying the exercise has already been practiced several times but bore no fruits.
Terrorists deserved no sympathy and needed to be dealt strictly, he said while addressing Guest Hour programme of Beautiful Downtown Peshawar Press Club here on Wednesday.
"These human rightist activists, who are talking about extrajudicial killings in Swat, should recall the agonies of people who have seen slit throats of their near and dear ones in streets and their women lashed by Taliban in the district," he said.
Khan Lala said that he opposed government's agreement with gunnies in Swat ...a valley and an administrative district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistain, located 99 mi from Islamabad. It is inhabited mostly by Pashto speakers. The place has gone steadily downhill since the days when Babe Ruth was the Sultan of Swat... as he knew well about the future of the deal.
Within few months gunnies went back on their promises and again challenged the state's writ, he added.
He said that the idea to establish Islamic university at Swat was also wrong as it was not a demand of people of the area. "I had asked the governor to establish a university, but not the Islamic university otherwise government would have to rename all the universities as Islamic universities in different districts," he said.
The nationalist leader also urged Afghanistan, Pakistain and India to devise a joint strategy for restoration of sustainable peace in the region.
He said that none of the country could save itself from the menace of terrorism unless they all extended support to each other and avoid playing the 'losing game'.
Expressing concern over increasing incidents of terrorism in the region, he urged the three neighbouring countries to stop leg-pulling and join hands against the menace of terrorism.
"If European nations can unite, why India, Pakistain and Afghanistan can't form a greater alliance at least to fight a common enemy," he asked. He said that those three countries could easily come closer on the basis of common culture, civilisation and customs.
Khan Lala said that entire Pakistain was facing the menace of militancy but Pakhtuns were the worst affected citizens of the country. Pakhtuns could not take a unified stand for solution to their problems as they were divided into four different areas, he added.
To a query, he said that Taliban had basically emerged in Kala Daka, now Torghar district, but they gradually expanded their influence to Swat to exploit the religious sentiments of people, who extended them full support and enabled them to challenge the government's writ.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/29/2011
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[9 views]
Top|| File under: TTP
[Al Jazeera] Muammar Qadaffy's forces have regained control of the strategically important Dehiba-Wazin Crossing, and now have control of the entire border with Tunisia, Al Jizz has learned.
Fighting broke out in the Tunisian town of Dehiba after the crossing was attacked on Thursday.
But Al Jizz's Youssef Gaigi said opposition forces had retreated to the Tunisian side of the border, leaving the entire frontier in the hands of pro-Qadaffy forces.
"They weren't really trained, they didn't have good weaponry, and under attack they weren't able to hold on for even one hour," our correspondent said.
The crossing, is near the western mountains, has been a main route of escape for Libyan nationals fleeing the conflict since the rebels claimed control on April 21.
Prior to then, residents of the western mountains area had been forced to take long and difficult roads around the crossing in order to seek shelter or medical help in Tunisia.
Controlling the crossing also gave the rebels better access to aid and supplies to continue their fight against Qadaffy forces in western Libya.
Witnesses said the area had been rocked by artillery and mortar fire.
Government forces closed in on rebel outposts on Thursday, showering the western mountain city of Zintan with missiles and attacking rebels holed up near the border, according to rebel sources.
A rebel spokesperson said Zintan had come under fire from Grad missiles - the Russian-made battlefield rockets used by Qadaffy forces which are considered hazardous to civilian areas because of their inaccuracy.
"Today alone, 80 missiles hit the town. We knew they are Grad missiles by the sound they make and we checked what remained of them," the spokesperson, identifying himself as Abdulrahman, told the Rooters news agency by telephone.
"The rebels are preventing the army reaching the city. That is why Qadaffy forces are using missiles to subjugate the town".
Libyan leader Muammar Qadaffy ... a proud Arab institution for 42 years ... denies his forces are attacking civilians and describes his opponents as Islamist forces of Evil and foreign-backed agitators who deliberately put non-combatants in harm's way.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/29/2011
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[10 views]
Top|| File under:
[Al Jizz] Dozens of people have reportedly been placed in durance vile in the town of Madaya outside the Syrian capital, Damascus. ...The City of Jasmin is the oldest continuously-inhabited city in the world. It has not always been inhabited by the same set of fascisti...
Residents said tanks rolled into the mountain town early on Thursday morning and that checkpoints had been set up at all entrances into the town.
"We are terrified here and don't understand why this is happening," an eyewitness told Al Jizz. "There were no plans for protests today and neither had any protests been held in the city in the past two days."
Madaya has seen only limited anti-government rallies since the nationwide protests began last month.
The eyewitness said he saw tanks and armoured personnel carriers surrounding the town and closing off all exits at 4am. Mobile and landline communications and electricity were cut from 4am until 9am, he said.
An activist said five people had been killed when security services raided homes at dawn.
Activists are calling for big rallies to be held on Friday, dubbed 'Azadi Friday', using the Kurdish word for freedom as a gesture of national unity.
International pressure Meanwhile, ...back at the shattered spaceship, Fffflirgoll the Arcturan slithered stealthily toward the control room, where the humans had barricaded themselves... international leaders continued to exert pressure on Bashir al-Assad, Syria's president, to end the violent crackdown on anti-government protesters.
Russia, an ally of Damascus, called on authorities to punish those behind the crackdown which rights groups say has left about 500 people dead.
"We are counting on Damascus to hold an effective and transparent investigation into all the incidents leading to the deaths of people, and that the guilty parties will be brought to justice," Itar-TASS news agency quoted Alexei Sazonov, a foreign ministry front man, as saying.
Resistance from Russia, China and Leb has helped to block a European push to secure a UN Security Council statement condemning Syria's crackdown.
Assad is facing international condemnation as his leadership is using troops and tanks to put down protests, and some European powers threaten sanctions if the bloody crackdown does not ease.
Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's special envoys were expected to meet Assad in Syria on Thursday to convey Turkey's worries. Turkey has close ties with Assad and is hoping to convince the Syrian leader to show restraint.
The southern city of Daraa is under military siege, with reports of food and water shortages.
A similar situation was reported in the Damascus suburb of Douma, Al Jizz's Rula Amin, reporting from the capital, said. She said the suburb was effectively sealed off, with security personnel "in almost every corner".
Big rallies have been held in the suburb, with attempts by demonstrators to march into the centre of the capital resulting in festivities with security forces.
More than 200 members have quit Syria's ruling Baath party in the southern province of Deraa, at the epicenter of the country's uprising to protest against the violence, Mustafa Osso, a rights activist, said on Thursday.
He said another 30 resigned in the coastal city of Baniyas, adding that most of those who had quit were lower-rank members.
There were also reports of divisions within the army and a growing number of soldiers refusing to follow orders and shoot at protesters. Al Jizz has received footage of maimed soldiers, who sources say were shot by colleagues for switching allegiance in Deraa.
Al Jizz has not been able to verify the footage.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/29/2011
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[14 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
[Dawn] Security concerns raised by two gun attacks inside the Judicial Complex within a week brought Chief Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan on a surprise visit to the Beautiful Downtown Peshawar High Court on Wednesday and a call to lawyers to come to the complex unarmed.
General Secretary Ameenur Rehman of the Peshawar High Court Bar Association (PHCBA) said the call went out from the Executive Council of the lawyers that reviewed the security situation following the gunning down of two under-trial prisoners by rivals on the hallowed grounds on April 20 and 26.
PHCBA council noted that several lawyers come to the courts carrying their licenced pistols for safety. The meeting directed all such members to abandon this practice.
On his surprise visit to the complex, Peshawar High Court Chief Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan took serious notice of security lapses there and ordered more security measures for providing protection to litigants and others attending the courts.
The chief justice toured both the old and new parts of the Judicial Complex to assess the security environment.
According to a blurb, Justice Ejaz Afzal visited every nook and corner of the complex and examined all the entry points wherefrom any myrmidon equipped with arms and ammunition could sneak into the complex.
He directed the Provincial Building Maintenance Cell to raise the level of boundary walls of the complex and install sufficient grills and barbed wires to obstruct any unauthorised entry into the complex.
The PHC's Registrar Syed Mussadiq Hussain Gilani, district and sessions judge Ziauddin Khattak, Peshawar District Bar Association's office-bearers and lawyers accompanied the chief justice during his visit.
Capital City Police Officer Liaquat Ali had told the registrar a day earlier that the police officials whose negligence was blamed for the two fatal shootings had been suspended.
The officer assured the high court that the security of the Judicial Complex would be strengthened on priority basis.
According to the statement, the high court had held a detailed meeting with the SSP (coordination), officials of Communication and Works Department and all other concerned on Dec 7, 2010 and it was decided that a detailed floor-wise security plan would be provided by the SSP along with detailed standard operating procedures to facilitate all the concerned in the Judicial Complex. However, The contradictory However... the said security plan and SOPs were yet to be finalised.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/29/2011
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[10 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Ah, Not America, the headline didn't say.
Stupid, bet the judges have a gun.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
04/29/2011 10:38
Comments ||
Top||
[Al Jazeera] The leader of a militia that helped Alassane Ouattara ...the current president-for-life of Ivory Coast. He actually beat his predecessor in an election before having to eject him from the presidential palazzo.... defeat rival Laurent Gbagbo ... Former President-for-Life of Ivory Coast from 2000 to 2011. Laurent lost to Alassane Ouattara in 2010 but his representtive tore up the results on the teevee and he refused to vacate the presidential palace. French troops assisted the Oattara forces in extricating him from his Fuhrerbunker... for the presidency in Ivory Coast has been killed.
Ibrahim Coulibaly died in a shootout on Wednesday after he and his men refused to obey presidential orders to disarm.
The Death Eaters have been accused of not meeting a deadline to surrender arms and join the new army under Ouattara.
"I can confirm that Ibrahim Coulibaly was killed during fighting today," Captain Alla Kouakou Leon, a defence ministry front man, told Rooters news agency.
Ouattara had on Friday ordered Coulibaly and his forces to disarm or expect to have weapons seized by force. Coulibaly said that disarming would take time to organise.
Coulibaly's 'Invisible Commando' Death Eaters had fought alongside what is now the Ivorian national army to topple Gbagbo.
Last week Coulibaly pledged loyalty to Ouattara saying his 5,000 men were ready to join to new army. He requested a meeting with Ouattara but was told to disarm without condition.
It is believed that Coulibaly turned the gun on himself instead of surrendering to a group that he once considered an ally.
Fighting broke out on Wednesday night in the Abidjan neighbourhood of Abobo near the militia's headquarters as Ouattara's forces attacked the Death Eaters.
"Our positions were attacked this morning by Republican Forces (FRCI) while our soldiers had met to wait for disarmament overseen by the UN," Felix Anoble, a front man for Coulibaly, said.
Coulibaly had led a successful 1999 coup that installed General Robert Guei, who was assassinated after elections in 2000.
In 2002 Coulibaly helped lead a failed coup against Gbagbo and made no secret of his own presidential aspirations. Later that year, he began the rebellion that divided Ivory Coast between a rebel-held north and government-run south.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/29/2011
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[7 views]
Top|| File under:
[Al Jazeera] A Bahraini military court has sentenced four Shia protesters to death and three to life jail terms for the killing of two coppers during demonstrations last month, state media has reported.
Thursday's verdicts are the first related to the uprising against the Gulf kingdom's ruling family, which begain in February.
The seven defendants were tried behind closed doors on charges of premeditated murder of government employees, which their lawyers have denied.
A Shia opposition official named those sentenced to death as Ali Abdullah Hasan, Qasim Hassan Mattar, Saeed Abdul Jalil Saeed, and Abdul Aziz Abdullah Ibrahim.
He told the AFP news agency that Issa Abdullah Kazem, Sadiq Ali Mahdi, and Hussein Jaafar Abdul Karim were
sentenced to life in prison.
Sheikh Ali Salman, president of Bahrain's Al Wefaq, the largest Shia political group in the country, told Al Jizz that the punishments did not fit the crime.
"I believe that these sentences should be revised and the international community must intervene to stop this," he said.
He added that the proceedings were "unprecedented" and that question marks remain over the conditions the detainees are living in.
Government officials have said that a total of four coppers were killed during the unrest that gripped the country in February and March, at least three of whom were run over by cars around March 16.
Hundreds of thousands of Bahrain's Shia-led opposition have called for greater rights and freedoms in the Sunni monarchy.
Authorities have jugged hundreds since martial law was declared last month to quell dissent.
On Wednesday, a Bahraini official said 405 detainees had been referred to military courts while 312 have been released.
"Sixty-two criminal cases and 343 misdemeanor cases have been referred to the courts of national safety," , Sheikh Fawaz bin Mohammed Al-Khalifa, the head of the Information Affairs Authority, said.
He said 312 detainees have been released, "some for health reasons," and others after considering the period of their detention enough.
Bahraini authorities have come under strong criticism from international rights organisations over a heavyhanded crackdown on protesters.
Earlier this week the US raised concern over the fate of detainees, noting that some have died in jug.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/29/2011
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[16 views]
Top|| File under:
[Iran Press TV] After four months of captivity, the Panama-flagged bulk carrier MV Renuar has been released by the Somali pirates, the European Union's Naval Force says.
"The ship is now sailing to a safe port," EU Naval Force said in a statement on Thursday, but did not say whether the carrier's release was after the payment of ransom.
MV Renuar, with a crew of 24 Filipinos, was hijacked some 1,700 kilometers (1,050 nautical miles) east of the Somali coastal village of Eyl in December 2010.
The ship was hijacked only 880 kilometers (550 nautical miles) from the coast of India -- signaling a shift by pirates towards more open waters in an effort to evade anti-piracy forces in the Gulf of Aden.
Rampant piracy off the Indian Ocean coast of Somalia has made these waters among the most dangerous in the world.
The Gulf of Aden, which links the Indian Ocean with the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean Sea, is the quickest route for more than 20,000 vessels traveling annually between Asia, Europe, and the Americas.
However, The contradictory However... attacks by heavily armed Somali pirates on speedboats have prompted some of the world's largest shipping firms to switch routes from the Suez Canal and reroute cargo vessels around southern Africa, leading to climbing shipping costs.
Strategically located in the Horn of Africa, Somalia has been embroiled in a bitter civil war for two decades.
The country does not have a functioning government and the authority of the so-called Transitional Federal Government is limited mostly to the areas around the capital Mogadishu.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/29/2011
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[15 views]
Top|| File under: Pirates
#1
The Jihad, land-based or sea-based, will come to Southern Africa includ South Africa eventually - CENTRAL AFRICA IS ALREADY UNDER ATTACK + BEING SLOWLY CARVED UP.
#3
You say? Well, since when is it the USA's business in Southern/Central Africa? Apart from a few righteous characters prepared to fight for what was right, your politocracy chose something else.
Unless you are prepared to put your money where your mouth is. Give it up as lost and STFU. You had the chance and blew it, so leave it alone now.
Libyan rebels have fought to take over control of Misrata's airport, after pushing back Muammar Qadaffy's forces from the embattled city's sea port as the oil-rich country's tribes urged the longtime leader to relinquish power.
Rebels in Libya's third-largest city said they were confident victory was "very close" for them in the strategic port city as a UN panel arrived in Libya to investigate violence and human rights ...not to be confused with individual rights, mind you... abuses.
"Our freedom fighters have managed to defeat the soldiers of Qadaffy" by forcing them out of Misrata, Khalid Azwawi, head of the local transition committee, said late on Wednesday.
"They managed to force them to leave, but not very far. That's why Qadaffy is trying to bomb the port," he said.
There are also reports of heavy festivities between Qadaffy forces and rebels in the desert town of Kufra in Libya's remote southeast, Al Jizz has learned.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/29/2011
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[7 views]
Top|| File under:
April 28 (Bloomberg) -- European nations stepped up pressure on Syria, summoning the country's ambassadors and pushing for a United Nations vote to protest the increasingly violent suppression of anti-government demonstrations.
In coordinated moves, France, Britain, Germany, Italy and Spain yesterday called on the Syrian envoys in their capitals to condemn the crackdown that has led to hundreds of deaths. "Bring out the comfy chair!"
In New York, China and Russia yesterday led opposition that blocked an initiative by the U.S. and its European allies for the UN Security Council to condemn the Syrian government's attacks on peaceful protesters.
The situation "does not present a threat to international peace and security," Russian Deputy Ambassador Alexander Pankin said, referring to the standard for Security Council involvement.
European Union members will meet tomorrow at the ambassador level in Brussels to discuss Syria. Germany favors sanctions on Syria's leadership, including travel restrictions and financial freezes, German government spokesman Steffen Seibert told reporters in Berlin yesterday.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/29/2011
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[17 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Bound to be just as effective as it was against their Iranian patrons, boys.
#2
I simply do not understand why they don't just do their own sanctions without involving the UN. The EU is a pretty big trade block, or if that won't work, the named countries are anyway the majority of the EU -- a pretty big chunk of the world economy all on their own.
Unless they really don't want to do anything except posture...
[Emirates 24/7] A powerful blast destroyed a cafe in the Moroccan city of Marrakesh Thursday, killing 11 foreigners and three Moroccans in what authorities suspect was the work of a jacket wallah.
"According to the information I have, it could have been perpetrated by a suicide bomber," an official in the regional governor's office told AFP.
"We found nails in one of the bodies," added the official, who was in a hospital where some of the bodies were taken.
And an interior ministry official said that indications pointed to a terror attack on the Argona cafe in the main square of Marrakesh, a favourite haunt of foreign tourists.
But there were contradictory reports on exactly how the blast occurred.
One witness who was inside the cafe but beat feet unscathed said: "An individual entered, ordered an orange juice and a few minutes later went kaboom!"."
But another witness, quoted by several Moroccan radio stations, said the bomber dropped a suitcase and immediately walked out of the cafe.
Latifa Idrissi, whose husband Yassine Bouzidi, 28, was one of the victims, said the blast occurred on the cafe's terrace and badly injured the manager.
A medical source speaking on condition of anonymity ... for fear of being murdered... said five women are among the 11 dead foreigners.
"We cannot at this stage determine the exact identity of all the victims," the source added.
Earlier another official said that, in addition to the 14 fatalities, 20 people were maimed in the midday blast which he described as "criminal" in nature.
Authorities said an investigation was under way to shed more light on the kaboom which occurred on Djemaa el Fna square in the central Moroccan city.
Early reports had suggested that the accidental kaboom of gas canisters.
The French embassy here meanwhile said it did not know whether Frenchies were among the casualties but added that it was in touch with Moroccan authorities to find out.
Thursday's Marrakesh blast came eight years after the May 16, 2003 terror attacks that killed 45 people, including 12 suicide bombers, in Casablanca, Morocco's largest city.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/29/2011
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[17 views]
Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in North Africa
[Yemen Post] After yesterday's security attacks that killed 15, (13 Sanaa+ 2 Aden), Yemen's opposition JMP officially threatened in a statement they will not be able to sign the GCC proposal if the GCC cannot assure protesters peace and safety.
"Its seems that the Saleh regime is using the GCC proposal to kill people and spill the blood of Yemenis. We will not accept the proposal if it is not effective immediately," the statement mentioned.
"We accepted the gulf proposal to avoid the spilling of Yemeni blood, but if killing does not stop, we will continue the revolution and the government will never be forgiven for the massacres against the people," the statement added.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/29/2011
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[8 views]
Top|| File under:
[Arab News] New indictments were issued by US Justice Department officials in Chicago this week, charging four Paks with played a role in the 2008 attacks in Mumbai which killed 166 people, six of them Americans.
The indictments, filed Monday, do not cite press news reports that directly tie the defendants to Pak security forces, nor do the charges claim that the Pakistain government was officially involved in the attacks in India three years ago. However, The contradictory However... the legal action serves as a diplomatic landmark because of the close -- and frequently uneasy -- alliance between Washington and Islamabad in the war against global terrorism.
One of the defendants charged in the indictment, a man known only as "Major Iqbal," is said to have paid David Coleman Headley to set up a reconnaissance operation several months before the November 2008 attacks. Headley, a Pak-American businessman who at one time worked as an undercover intelligence agent for the US Drug Enforcement Administration, was tossed in the slammer October 2009, and is serving as a material witness in the case.
This week's indictment characterizes Major Iqbal as "a resident of Pakistain who participated in planning and funding attacks by (the Pak terror goup) Lashkar." Press reports, citing Indian and American counter-terrorism officials, say that Iqbal was an officer in Pakistain's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Directorate at the time of the attacks. According to similar indictments handed down last month in India, Iqbal was Headley's main handler, "one of at least three ISI officers who are suspected of being involved in recruiting, training and directing Headley in terrorist activities."
Another prominent figure named in the recent indictment is Sajid Mir, a longtime Lashkar chief also is also accused of serving as Headley's handler. Mir, who probably resides overseas, is said to be a "key plotter" and is heard arranging the attack in wire-tapped phone conversations made between a "safe house" in Pakistain and some of his operatives in India. In 2007 a French court convicted Mir in absentia on terrorism charges, saying he was an officer of the Pak military and possibly the ISI.
The other two suspects charged Monday -- Abu Qahafa and Mazhar Iqbal, alias "Abu Al-Qama" -- are a pair of suspected Lashkar chiefs whose voices are heard directing the several of the 10 gunnies who ultimately carried out the three-day siege in Mumbai. Mazhar Iqbal was tossed in the slammer along with six others by Pak authorities in early 2009, but his trial has apparently stalled.
The four suspects named in the indictment were charged Monday with six counts of aiding and abetting the murder of US citizens, giving material support of terrorism and conspiracy to murder. If convicted, the four could face the death sentence or life in prison.
A fifth defendant, Tahawwur Rana, a Pak-Canadian, is currently in American custody, awaiting trial on May 4. He is charged with assisting Headley's reconnaissance in India and Denmark.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/29/2011
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[19 views]
Top|| File under: Lashkar e-Taiba
Count me among the abstainers. I won't be watching over-the-top media coverage of Friday's wedding between Prince William and the "commoner," Kate Middleton.
After the "wedding of the century" of William's mother and father in 1981 and the ensuing drama that led to their divorce in 1996 and, eventually, her death on Aug. 31, 1997, the wedding of their son is unlikely to match the earlier nuptials in pomp or circumstance.
Pete Broadbent, the bishop of Willesden in northwest London, demonstrated just how cynical we have become about these fairy tale weddings. Last November, the bishop compared the couple to "shallow celebrities."
He said their marriage is bound to fail. "I give the marriage seven years," he wrote on his Facebook page. But he wasn't through. He went on to trash Prince Charles and Princess Diana, saying of the media coverage of their wedding, "I managed to avoid the last disaster in slow motion between Big Ears and the Porcelain Doll, and I hope to avoid this one too."
The bishop, an anti-monarchist, cited a history of "more broken marriages and philanderers among these [royals] than not. They cost us an arm and a leg. ... Talent isn't passed on through people's bloodstock. The hereditary principle is corrupt and sexist."
I don't go ga-ga over royal weddings, and I'll probably miss this one -- I didn't get an invitation and I'll probably be washing my beard that day. (I don't have much hair left...) But I do have to take issue with his statement that "talent isn't passed on through people's bloodstock." There's lots of evidence to refute that didactic statement of the counter-intuitive. Intelligence (or the lack thereof) can be passed from parent to offspring in precisely the same manner as hemophilia, buck teeth, or red hair. We breed little white mousies all the time for this trait or that, to include the ability to think their way to the most direct route to the cheese.
To whit: Note that the prospective groom resembles his late mother in the face, while his brother got her hair and her complexion. Neither, thankfully, has their father's ears, and hopefully neither has his brain power.
Way back when, Henry VIII was begotten by Henry VII, who was no dummy, and Henry VIII begat the first Elizabeth who eclipsed the pair of them, both for intellect and for ruthlessness. When she pegged out she left the throne to James VI of Scotland, who as James I of England introduced the gene for dumbassery into the line. He got that from his mother, Mary, Queen of Scots. God knows where she got it, but it probably wasn't from Robert the Bruce.
James had a liking for funny hats and practical jokes and a firm belief in the divine right of kings. His son, Charles I had the same belief and as a result got his head chopped off and gave Oliver Cromwell his place in history. Charles II was the original "Good Times Charlie," fathering a dozen illegitimate children, most of whom got government jobs. James II was a divine right disaster.
While there have been kings and queens since then who've been well loved, like Queen Victoria and George V, none have been towering intellects.
Princess Di was a breath of fresh air for the royal family simply because her antecedents weren't picked from the stud book. Miss Middleton takes that a step further: her Mom was a stewardess and her Dad a flight dispatcher. They run a successful mail order company, implying they've got some business sense to them, which the royals demonstrably don't.
My guess is that given a few generations of out-breeding the British royals might become something more than a relic of days gone by. Whether they recapture the glory days of William I is another story. But a few throwbacks to the Plantagenets would probably scare the knickers off the current crop of Brits anyway.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/29/2011
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[10 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Not much interest in the affair, except the picture I caught at Fox website of the young men in uniform on the way to the proceedings. At least someone still has that sense of noblesse oblige and has earned their spurs carrying themselves well without apology for doing so.
#2
A shame not to watch such a joyous, refreshing, much-needed change from the doldrums. Not only were the pomp and circumstance equal, but you can see the friendship and chemistry between William and Catherine, which was absent between Charles and Diana. They'll make it.
Not to mention how enjoyable it was to watch some beturbanned sheik at the service, and wonder how intensely uncomfortable he was with all the peaceful Christ stuff. Admittedly, it was infuriating to realize that about once a minute, I found myself wondering if you'd be able to hear the "allahu akbar" before one of his coreligionists blew himself to smithereens.
I hope this day reminds Britons what they're really all about, how much more they're capable of, and inspires them to reassert their identity.
#4
It's a cynical, negative, pessimistic world. Life beats us all up, some more than others, and I don't see how it helps to tune out what little good there is, or openly hope for its demise.
The Bishop of London's address was very uplifting. William's sober salutes were those of a real military man, not just a ceremonial one. It took place in Westminster Abbey, 1000 years old, times throughout which England had some self-respect. A country that once knew better, has now allowed itself to be overrun by Mohammedans, and submits to Continental rule. The celebration today underscored how backwards, Orwellian, and evil it all is. A healthy dose of perspective never hurts.
#5
Many Royal + Media Pundits believe the two daughters of Prince Andrew + ex-wife Fergie deliber wore OUTLANDISH, LADY GAGA-ESQUE HATS to the event, as exemplified by them sitting just behind Queen Liz + Prince Phil, to disply their angst at mom Fergie not being invited.
IMO a worse snub was PRINCE HARRY'S REPOR ON-OFF GIRLFRIEND CHELSY "I'M NOT GOING TO BE QUEEN IFF I MARRY PRINCE HARRY OR NOR, HENCE I DON'T CARE" DAVIS [spelling?] APPEARING TO BE THE ONLY FEMALE INVITEE/GUEST THAT SHOWED UP NOT WEARING ANYTHING SIGNIFICANT = BIG ON HER HEAD, save for a regular hair band. Prolly explains why the Medias focused more on Harry + other Royals, Ladies, e.g. POSH SPICE = VICTORIA BECKHAM, after Chelsy's arrival than later.
"I'M NOT-ANNA-LONGINOVA" POSH BECKHAM BLEW CHELSY AWAY, AS PER FASHION + PROTOCOL.
The wedding was smaller in scale than Charle's + Diana's back in 1981, but still very elegant + well-done.
#6
That little thing on the girlfriend's head is called a fascinator, JosephM. About as many women at the church today chose to wear one of those as wore proper hats. The new princess has been photographed in such things on other occasions.
#8
I don't know who this Thomas person is, but sounds like a blowhard wimp.
People getting married is neat stuff, especially for the right reasons, this just happens to be high publicity. Wife says last sentence is stupid, and I agree it has the key words of slanderers.
Nature vs. Nurture, I am straight down the middle; that is both are determinates. Too simply put, it is a D&D roll. Once a person comes out of the womb, they begin to be a product of environment - parents (who raises them). Example, no matter how hard I worked out I hit a peak, I am only so tall, my eyesight is so much, adrenaline at a point, so on. Now, how I use that becomes my decisions based upon my upbringing - am I a tunnel rat or am I a soccer player, do I stand up to a bully or do I shudder, do I fight or flight, how do I handle something new whether good or bad. These decisions create personality, or soul.
IMHO, and wife's, William is his own man and has chosen his life. Chuckie is only a peripheral, Charon if you will, and as someone who has gone out and did the deed, his decisions are his own and there he goes.
And piss on anyone who decounces any wedding based on social agendas, sad so called expert observer of life.
I piss on royalty, which is what Mr. Thomas procailms himself as, as my better. I have seen no such prejudices from Mr. or Mrs. William "the commoner" person. Whether they call themselve Kennedy, or Sebilius, or Baldwin, or whatever.
And no, I do not believe in the ruler for life; other very brave people fought against for my privilage of holding an opinion and said spirit still exists.
[Iran Press TV] Bahraini forces have fired live rounds at protesters east of the kingdom, keeping up the Soddy Arabia-backed crackdown on anti-government protests.
The violence occurred on Thursday during festivities between security forces and anti-government demonstrators in Sitra, a Press TV correspondent reported.
Video footage featuring earlier events showed the forces using poison gas against protesters.
On Wednesday, the regime forces' raided one of Sitra's medical centers before arresting several doctors.
Also on Thursday, a military court in the Persian Gulf kingdom sentenced four jugged protesters to death, despite Manama's rejection of reports by a number of human rights ...which often intentionally defined so widely as to be meaningless... groups, pointing to extended massive rights violations in the country, said our correspondent.
Anti-government protesters have been holding peaceful demonstrations across Bahrain since mid-February, calling for an end to the Al Khalifa dynasty's 40-year rule.
On March 13, Soddy Arabia and the United Arab Emirates deployed police and military forces in the kingdom upon Manama's request to quell the nationwide protests.
According to local sources, scores of people have been killed and hundreds tossed in the calaboose so far during the government clampdown on the peaceful demonstrations.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/29/2011
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[11 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Get yer programs here! Can't tell your enlightened dictators from your brutal oppressors without a program!...
#2
I'll take a program, young man. As Bahrain goes, I feel like I've come in late to the wrong opera -- things weren't supposed to go this way. I thought...
Britain has withdrawn the royal wedding invitation to Syria, with the support of Buckingham Palace, after a violent crackdown against pro-democracy supporters, a Foreign Office spokesman said on Thursday. Boy howdy, that sends a message...
Mrs. Assad was the subject of an adoring, photo-filled article in Vogue only a few months ago -- she is beautiful, expensively but sleekly fashionable, and of course "beloved of her husband's people". She looks nothing like the stereotypical nouveau riche Arab princess...but her actions are very typical, unfortunately.
The invitation was rescinded on the eve of Friday's wedding between Prince William, the second-in-line to the British throne, and his long-term girlfriend Kate Middleton, following criticism from opposition politicians and human rights groups.
"You may not want to see the pictures of repression in Syria at the same time as the picture of the Syrian ambassador happily being greeted at the wedding," Human Rights Watch senior legal adviser Clive Baldwin told Reuters. He said Britain should make clear it opposed human rights abuses to avoid being seen as condoning repressive regimes, especially as the eyes of the world would be on the country at this time.
Human rights groups are unhappy that invitations have been sent to best customer Saudi Arabia, while on Sunday, Bahrain's crown prince said he would not attend because of unrest in the Gulf Arab kingdom.
The Foreign Office said those countries with which Britain has normal diplomatic relations had been invited, and that "while we have strong disagreements with many of them this remains the case."
Human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, who held a demonstration outside Buckingham Palace on Thursday, said it was "time Buckingham Palace stopped playing diplomatic niceties".
"We can have diplomatic relations with these countries but there is no obligation to reward their regimes with seats of honor in Westminster Abbey," he told Reuters.
Opposition Labor politicians complained that representatives for Syria and other countries criticized for their human rights records had been invited, but former Labor prime ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown were not.
Britain summoned the Syrian ambassador Sami Khiyami to the Foreign Office on Wednesday to condemn the "unacceptable use of force" against protesters.
A day later, under intense media pressure, it rescinded the wedding invitation saying the Foreign Office and Buckingham Palace shared the view that it was "not considered appropriate" for the ambassador to attend.
Khiyami later told BBC radio: "I find it a bit embarrassing but I do not consider it as a matter that would jeopardize any ongoing relations and discussions with the British government."
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/29/2011
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[11 views]
Top|| File under:
[Tolo News] A front man to President Hamid Maybe I'll join the TalibanKarzai ... A former Baltimore restaurateur, now 12th and current President of Afghanistan, displacing the legitimate president Rabbani in December 2004. He was installed as the dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001 in a vain attempt to put a Pashtun face on the successor state to the Taliban. After the 2004 presidential election, he was declared president regardless of what the actual vote count was. He won a second, even more dubious, five-year-term after the 2009 presidential election. His grip on reality has been slipping steadily since around 2007, probably from heavy drug use... on Wednesday said foreign troops haven't been able to properly safeguard Kandahar Central detention facility.
Mr Siamak Herawi, Deputy Spokesperson to President Karzai, emphasised that plotters of the jailbreak will be introduced in a couple of weeks.
"Primary findings indicate that there has been cooperation from inside and outside the jail," Mr Herawi said.
But Dr Abdullah Abdullah, ... the former foreign minister of the Northern Alliance government, advisor to Masood, and candidate for president against Karzai. Dr. Abdullah was born in Kabul and is half Tadjik and half Pashtun... Leader of the Change and Hope Coalition, said we should not put the blame on foreigners for all incidents.
Dr Abdullah described the jailbreak as embarrassing to the Afghan government.
"There is nothing left to be called a system or a government," Dr Abdullah said.
Chief of jails in Afghanistan Gen. Amir Mohammad Jamshid accused some of the Kandahar jail officials and as well as Pak links of plotting the jailbreak.
More than 20 Kandahar jail officials have been incarcerated in connection with the incident, Gen. Jamshid said.
A joint commission consisted of officials from interior and justice ministries, Attorney General's Office and national directorate of security has been set up to investigate the incident.
"Our security and intelligence organisations should have controlled it," Gen. Jamshid told TOLOnews.
The Taliban have called the jailbreak a big achievement and a big blow to US war efforts in Afghanistan.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/29/2011
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[9 views]
Top|| File under: Taliban
[Emirates 24/7] Forces loyal to Libyan strongman Muammar Qadaffy ... Custodian of Wheelus AFB for 42 long years ... seized the southeastern city of Al Kufrah on Thursday, rebels told AFP.
"Sixty 4WD cars loaded with about 250 fighters of Qadaffy forces arrived to Al Kufrah," a rebel fighter told AFP.
He said there were "no casualties" as rebels withdrew after "putting up a light resistance," adding that Qadaffy forces were "now in control of three quarters of the city."
"They attacked the court and raised a green flag" in support of Qadaffy, another rebel said. A media front man for the Benghazi-based opposition National Transitional Council confirmed the information.
"We are in the process of sending reinforcements," said Jalal al-Gallal.
Kufrah is the main city in Kufrah province, which lies in the southeastern corner of the country, bordering Chad, Sudan and Egypt.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/29/2011
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[8 views]
Top|| File under:
I agree the 'burg isn't a place for bitherism but these lines are worth the post
Forget the certificate itself. The most astonishing thing I saw yesterday was a sitting president waiting for the host of Celebrity Apprentice to finish a New Hampshire press availability so he could start his own.
When your presidency is so lackluster youre getting upstaged by a guy whose job is to coax coherent sentences out of Gary Busey . . . well this was not a good moment for the republic.
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.
German police arrested three alleged members of al-Qaida on Friday, as a report said they had been plotting attacks in Germany. The prosecutor's office in Karlsruhe said the trio had been detained early Friday and would appear before a judge on Saturday. A news conference has been scheduled afterwards.
A 
Former White House officials have launched a new group designed to foil conservative attacks on President Obama's reelection with unlimited campaign cash. 
Security forces shelled
North Korea
Jimmy Carter
[Arab News] Sudan President Omar Hassan Bashir said on Wednesday the disputed oil-producing Abyei region will remain part of the north after the south secedes in July.
International Criminal Court
Wazoo
Punjab
cycle of violence
[Arab News] 
handed over their weapons
[Arab News] An Islamic group has sued a suburban town it says engaged in religious discrimination by abruptly changing zoning regulations to prevent the opening of a mosque.
Ali Abdullah Saleh
Sources said that his colleagues killed him after developing differences with him. Two other alleged 
[Straits Times] ONE of the grand figures of the Vietnam War, the influential sister-in-law of president Ngo Dinh Diem who led a US-backed regime in the country's south, has died in 
kaboom
Bajaur Agency, aka Turban Central
Karachi
Muammar Qadaffy's forces have regained control of the strategically important Dehiba-Wazin Crossing, and now have control of the entire border with Tunisia, 
Security concerns raised by two gun attacks inside the Judicial Complex within a week brought Chief Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan on a surprise visit to the 
Somali pirates
April 28 (Bloomberg) -- European nations stepped up pressure on Syria, summoning the country's ambassadors and pushing for a United Nations vote to protest the increasingly violent suppression of anti-government demonstrations.
jacket wallah
Karzai
[Emirates 24/7] Forces loyal to Libyan strongman 
