#1
Somewhere far into the article is this telling chunk: The GAO report said the US had been self-sufficient in rare earth minerals for most of the post-War era. The key mine at Mountain Pass in California shut down in the 1990s when China flooded the market with exports and drove Western mines out of business. One by one, US-based processing plants owned by German and Japanese firms switched operations to China. There are none left.
OUTSOURCING strikes again!
#2
Rare metals are not in fact very rare. Large amounts exist in the US, Canada, Australia,, South Africa, Russia, Sweden, Vietnam, and above all Greenland with a third of the world's known reserves. What is rare is to find them in viable concentrations. The metalurgy is complex. The frequent presence of radioactive Thorium complicates matters. Extraction is capital intensive.
So instead of spending capital on extraction of rare earth metals outside of China, shovel it into the pockets of financial CEOs. This makes sense in some alternate universe.
#3
Its not just MONGOLIA [read, RUSSIA] anymore???
FYI CHIN MIL FORUMS > POSTERS = have opined that Beijing should consider building PLA-dominated ARTIFICAL ISLANDS + ARMED STATIONS, crammed full of various MILSYS on shallow reefs, minor islets in the SCS near VIETNAM, PHILIPPINES + INDONESIA.
#5
ION CINA, WMF > CHINA INCREASINGLY VICTORIUS IN WAGING SUBTLE "LOCAL WAR UNDER HIGH CONDITIONS" USING SUFFICIENT/MINIMAL FORCE AGZ US GEOPOL INTERESTS IN ASIA-PACIFIC. CHINA'S "ANTI-ACCESS, LOCAL DENIAL" STRATEGY + ROUTINE METHODS WILL FORCE THE US TO CHOOSE BETWEEN STRATEGIC RETREAT, VERSUS "MUTUALLY DESTRUCTIVE" NUCLEAR WAR AGZ CHINA. THE TOP CHIN PARTY-MIL LEADERSHIP BELIEVES ITS STRATEGIES WILL CAUSE THE US TO WITHDRAW OR PULLBACK FROM THE WESTERN PACIFIC TOWARDS HAWAII + US WEST COAST.
* SAME > FOREIGN MINSTER WU WU LIANG DEMANDS THAT JAPAN RETURN OKINAWA [Ryukyus Islands] TO CHINA UNDER THE TERMS OF THE WW2 "CAIRO DECLARATION", IN RESPONSE TO THE COMMENTS BY JAPAN'S AMBASSADOR THAT TAIWAN WAS NEVER FORMALLY OR HISTORICALLY RECOGNIZED BY TOKYO AS BEING CHINESE TERRITORY. FM LIANG ALSO DEMANDS THAT THE CPLAN'S EAST CHINA SEA FLEET SEND ANOTHER FORCE OF ARMED WARSHIPS TO SAIL THROUGH OKINAWA + TO PREPARE TO USE MILITARY FORCE [PLA Ground Troops] TO SEIZE THE DAOYUS FROM JAPAN.
* SAME > THE ILLEGAL ANNEXATION IN 1879 OF THE RYUKYU VASSAL KINGDOM BY JAPAN ALSO INCLUDED THE ILLEGAL SEIZURE BY JAPAN OF THE RYUKYU-CONTROLLED MIYAKO, ISHIGAKI, YAEYAMA + OTHER ISLANDS.
* SAME > CENTRAL NEWS AGENCY: TAIWAN'S INTERIOR MINISTER JIANG YI HUA DECLARES UNILATERAL TAIWANESE SOVEREIGNTY + DOMINION OVER THE SOUTH CHINA SEAS IRREGARDLESS OF THE CLAIMS OF CHINA + OTHER REGIONAL NATIONS.
ARTIC = IOW, its JUNE 6th, 1944 NORMANDY + TAIWAN is the chaotic, embattled "OMAHA BEACH" dividing the Amers at UTAH BEACH + BRITS-CANADIANS at GOLD-SWORD-JUNO BEACHES as agz the German forces in France. SUB-IOW, TAIWAN > keeping PLAN from forming a UNITED MIL FRONT between the NORTH CHINA SEA/NE ASIA + SOUTH CHINA SEAS/SE + SOUTH ASIA.
* SAME > US EXCLAIMED: US SCHOLARS CLAIM THAT THE SINO-US MIL, GEOPOL STRUGGLE IN ASIA-PACIFIC MAY CAUSE THE US TO BECOME THE "NEW USSR/SOVIET UNION".
The OWG Mighty USSA versus the OWG Weak United Socialist Republiks of Amerika SSR [NORAM = becomes NORAK = NORTH AMERIKA?]
Soviet Global Republik.
D *** NG IT, CLEARLY NO "9-11 + WOT > WAR FOR OWG-NWO", COMMIE + SOCIALIST WORLD ORDER, HERE.
#8
Here is a real problem. We see it in many commodities including oil, minerals, and rare earths where it takes a substantial amount of capital investment and time to build up production.
A state with the power to coerce their citizens to work for less money than anyone else in the world, can drive out all competition for the commodity by driving the price down for years at a time. Then, with a monopoly created, they raise the price and capture monopoly profits for the time needed to build that infrastructure. As the old sources ramp up, bang, they drop the prices again and repeat the cycle.
This is a situation that is ripe for an international anti-monopoly agreement enforced if necessary by collaborative tariffs to support the second or third least expensive source for that commodity.
Unfortunately, without clarity of purpose this sort of approach could quickly lead to protectionist tariffs and squabbling about who deserves to be the supported second or third tier producer, rather than merely creating the environment necessary to avoid the creation of monopoly profits.
Perhaps the benefit of super-cheap supplies about half the time from the monopolist has more utility than a smoother supply provided at higher prices by an oligopoly. Each situation is unique and the issues can be complex.
THE top US military officer says he has a plan to attack Iran if needed to prevent it from getting nuclear weapons, but is "extremely concerned" about the possible repercussions of such a strike.
We have attack plans for Canada, too. Gotta keep the War College busy ...
Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, says military action against Iran could have "unintended consequences that are difficult to predict in what is an incredibly unstable part of the world".
But, speaking on Sunday's Meet the Press program on NBC, Admiral Mullen said allowing Iran to develop a nuclear weapon is also unacceptable.
"Quite frankly, I am extremely concerned about both of those outcomes," he said.
Admiral Mullen held out hope that a combination of international diplomatic efforts and sanctions against Iran will lead Tehran to suspend a nuclear enrichment program that many believe is a clandestine bid to develop nuclear arms.
"I am hopeful (it) works," he said. At the same time, though, he said "the military options have been on the table, and remain on the table".
"I hope we don't get to that, but it's an important option and it's one that's well understood," he added.
Asked if the military has a plan to strike Iran, he replied: "We do".
#5
This announcement is part of the plan. Interesting timing, the First of August. Perhaps the plans will be more advanced by, say, September? If so, I'm thinking Barry could achieve another first, first President not to see increase in support during a foreign crisis.
#6
Be prepared as any US or US-ISRAELI Milstrike = unleashing of TerrOps agz CONUS + likely also NATO, etc.
Again, the longer the Clock goes ticky-tock, the greater the likelihood for GROUND INVASION, NOT JUST LIMITED AIR-COMMANDO STRIKES. The focii now becomes to stop or preclude destabilizing REGIONAL, GLOBAL NUCLEAR MILITANCY-TERRORISM, notsomuch a NUC IRAN per se.
#7
This not surprising : hell, we even have plans to invade Canada and Jamaica if need be. There is a whole office in the Pentagon which only does contingency plans -- every 5 to 10 years, they pull out the old plans, make changes based on equipment changes and the like for both sides, re-game them, and then put the updated plan back into its folder.
#8
but is "extremely concerned" about the possible repercussions of such a strike.
Who gives a $hit about repercussions? Every country in the ME would breathe a sigh of relief if they found out that the Iranian government was annihilated. The Green Revolution could step right in and make things much better, and I'm sure they would let us come in there to take out the nuclear stuff and to make sure things remained stable. Then we could leave. The people want it, it wouldn't take long. The Republican Guard would be a problem, but they could be easily identified and neutralized at the baginning of any action, and the people would contribute to identifying them afterwards if they even bothered to fight after their government wasn't there to reward them. The people don't like the Republican Guard.
The decisions that are black and white are the ones you have to get right. The ones that are grey are not so much of a problem if you get them "wrong", because either way you have positives that you can work with.
In this case, the decision is more black and white, and we need to stop worrying about subtle shades of grey.
by JOAN VENNOCHI ... writing in the Bahston Ferfawdsake Globe...
DEMOCRAT John I was in Vietnam, you know Kerry sets sail in a $7 million yacht built in New Zealand. Republican Scott Downtown Scotty Brown hits the campaign trail in a GMC pickup truck with 200,000 miles on it.
From Newport, R.I., -- where Kerry's "Isabel'' was berthed before heading to Nantucket -- to Rhinebeck, N.Y. -- where Chelsea Investment Bankerette Clinton will marry in a mansion modeled after Versailles -- today's Democrats are looking more like Louis XVI than Tip O'Neill.
Kick in the First Family's vacation plans for Martha's Vineyard, and there's a real air of Marie Antoinette & Co. retreating to idyllic gardens, while Fox News whips up revolutionary flames. The ethics charges against Representative Charlie (Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers!) Rangel of New York are added foie gras.
In 2008, Republican John Maverick McCain ... the former foot soldier in the Reagan Revolution... was the presidential candidate with so many houses, he lost count. Barack B.O. Obama was the guy with only one somewhat luxurious home. Today, President Obama presides over a party of perceived privilege, while Republicans accessorize themselves as the party of the people.
Brown accessorized brilliantly during last January's Senate race in Massachusetts. He's not mega-rich like Kerry, yet comfortable enough, with five properties and a horse his daughter co-owned for a time with a race track owner. But Brown's humble pickup truck and barn jacket remain the enduring symbols of his upstart campaign to win the seat held for decades by the late Teddy The Lion of Chappaquiddick Kennedy.
Kennedy was a rich and powerful Democrat who kept a connection to the people in a way that Brown and millionaire Sarah Mama Grizzly Palin understand. Palin was a millionaire before she quit as governor of Alaska? Brown was a millionaire before he was elected to the Senate?
But some Democrats just don't get it, from Governor Deval (Whoa! Nice drapes!) Patrick's fancy drapes and Cadillac to House Speaker Nancy (San Fran Nan) Pelosi's Armani suits and taxpayer-funded military jet.
It isn't about having a lot of money. It's about making people feel you are rubbing your money in their faces, while draining their modest assets for sketchy government programs funded by taxes you don't want to pay.
Republican Mitt Romney is worth more than $200 million, with enough cushion to invest $35 million in his 2008 presidential bid. His real estate holdings include a $12 million mansion in La Jolla, Calif., that was once owned by actor Cliff Robertson, and a lakefront spread in New Hampshire. But for all of Romney's grandiose aspirations and political flip-flops, he is wise enough to avoid grandiose mistakes of excessive, public consumption.
Before his marriage to Teresa Heinz, Kerry was living on his Senate salary and a trust fund worth no more than $100,000. Now he is ranked as the wealthiest member of Congress, with assets of at least $231 million. The Kerry family has five houses, a jet called the "Flying Squirrel'' and a legacy that includes paying to move a fire hydrant from in front of their Beacon Hill home to free up parking space. Now, Kerry's legacy also includes the Newport-berthed yacht and the impression that he was trying to duck Massachusetts taxes.
This might all be empty, frivolous symbolism, except that in politics, perception matters. In this case, the perception fueled by the Kerry yacht fiasco hurts the Democratic agenda.
If the little guy doesn't trust the Democrats, that helps the GOP -- for now. Ahah. Now we get to the meat of it...
While Republicans drape themselves in middle class values, they are sticking it to the middle class. ... by agitating for tax cuts and competitiveness and individual liberty...
It's all in the effort to deny Obama and the Democrats any positive political message. Damn them. It's an insidious plot upon the poor Dems. There is no substance. All is perception...
Last week, Senate Republicans rejected a bill to aid small business with expanded loan programs and tax breaks. That was after the Dems spent all the money that could have covered it...
Before that, Republicans tried to block extension of employment benefits and financial regulatory reforms, which finally passed with minimal help from the GOP. The "financial regulatory reforms" are so deeply flawed they'll be gnawing the national backside for generations.
These just-say-no tactics can catch up with Republicans -- maybe not in time for midterm elections, but perhaps in time for 2012. Some of us are hoping they're the opening shots in the new American revolution.
If you watch what Brown does, not what he wears or drives, it's clear that he gets it. He's walking a line that he hopes leads to reelection. It means he can't vote against every Democratic policy aimed at helping ordinary voters. His vote against extending unemployment benefits was risky business for the junior senator from Massachusetts. He's shown to be a summertime soldier in that new American revolution.
That pickup truck only gets him so far.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/01/2010
14:11 ||
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#1
The GOP is only the party of the people faute de mieux. From Codevilla's famous essay: The GOP does not represent the country class. For it to do so, it would have to become principles-based, as it has not been since the mid-1860s. The few who tried to make it so the party treated as rebels.
#2
Joan almost...almost...got off the plantation. Her editor must've reminded her to add the last couple paragraphs
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/01/2010 14:52
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#3
nah, it is just another one of those lame articles that reads like this:
Though it seems Democrats are now the party of perceived privilege, and GOP is the party of the people, if you look more closely you will see that to be untrue.
They aren't really writing this for you or me, they are writing it for the people who like to think of themselves as "liberal elite". They are starting to get a clue that they are just upper middle class, and not elite enough to make the cut to the upper-crust. It is becoming harder and harder for them to pretend they are intellectually superior to the great unwashed simply by supporting the Democrats and hating Dick Cheney, Sarah Palin, Fox News and the GOP. This article helps make them feel good about themselves by allowing them to continue to delude themselves that they are still superior to the great unwashed because only they can see what you can not. It just appears the dems are the party of privilege but smart people realize that is just an illusion. You simpleton, you!
Posted by: Martini ||
08/01/2010 17:32
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#4
The Dems are a party of three different groups of people.
1) The poor who pay no taxes and but recieve government largess.
2) Wealthy businesses who benefit from government largess, government regulations and government stifled competition. (e.g. Banksters, Warren Buffett, GE and Unions come to mind.)
3) The liberal elite who know what is best for the serfs and benefit from government grants to academia. Includes most government workers in this group.
Any time a lib tells me the Republicans are the party of the wealthy, I make a small wager that if they look up the results for the last election (almost any election in the last 20 years will do), they will find that the dems won a majority of the wealthiest zip codes, or congressional districts, or cities, or states. Those that accept the wager (after paying me off) then tell me they also found that the dems also win the poorest regions as well. I have to explain to them about point 1) above that the dems are the party that takes from the middle class and gives to the poor and wealthy to maintain their hold on power.
On the other hand, the Republicans held congress from 1994 to 2006 and the Presidencey for 20 of the last 30 years and I am sad to say they were not worth a sack of wet hair (with the exception of RR).
I think Obama is every bit the closet Marxist as the next Burger. But at least he help bring about the Tea Party and expose the Dems and Repub for what they really are. Hopefully the election of BO will be a pyrrhic victory for the dems.
The Islamic Jihad organization said on Sunday that it has decided to resume suicide attacks against Israel from the West Bank. The threat came in response to attacks launched by IAF planes on the Gaza Strip following the firing of rockets on Israel in the past few days.
The group, however, admitted that it has become very difficult to launch suicide attacks out of the West Bank because of security coordination between the Palestinian Authority and Israel.
"Suicide operations require places for training and preparing explosive belts," said Abu Ahmed, spokesman for the Al-Quds Battalions, the armed wing of Islamic Jihad. "It's very difficult to do these things because of the policy of security coordination and the arrest of [would-be] suicide bombers."
He said that members of his group were "suffering a lot" in the West bank because of the PA's security measures and "persecution." Abu Ahmed described the PA's crackdown as a "national crime" against Palestinians.
For the PA to enforce its own laws is a 'national crime' against Palestinians? A prime example of Paleo logic.
They don't make sense even when they don't make sense ...
#1
"Suicide operations require places for training and preparing explosive belts," said Abu Ahmed, spokesman for the Al-Quds Battalions, the armed wing of Islamic Jihad.
#3
WAFF > {Syria's] ASSAD WARNS OF GROWING THREAT OF NEW MIDEAST WAR. No negotiations = conditional talks/compromise wid Israel oer RETURN OF THE GOLAN HEIGHTS TO SYRIA.
and
* SAME > TURKISH SOIL MULLED AS AN OPTION FOR US ANTI-IRAN MISSLE DEFENSE | US TO ACTIVATE MISSLE SHIELD OVER SOUTHERN EUROPE.
* YNET NEWS > [UN Envoy Mohammed Khazee]IRAN OFFCIAL: WE WILL "BURN TEL AVIV" IN CASE OF ATTACK.
* VARIOUS > IRAN THREATENS TO DESTABILIZE PERSIAN GULF/MIDDLE EAST [security] IFF ATTACKED.
Iraqis don't expect political impasse to be resolved by fall
Nearly five months after disputed parliamentary elections, leading Iraqi politicians say they have all but abandoned hope of resolving an impasse over forming a new government before fall. Did we give them a Supreme Court? Cant't they make a ruling?
The protracted stalemate is a scenario U.S. officials have long dreaded. By the end of August, the United States will declare the end of its combat mission in Iraq - and reduce troop strength to 50,000 - amid a deepening political crisis. "Mission Accomplished", Obumble?
U.S. officials have long feared that Iraq's first transfer of power as a sovereign nation could be marred by unrest and violence.
Former prime minister Ayad Allawi, one of the contenders for his former post, said in an interview Saturday that months of negotiations among blocs have not led to a resolution on who is entitled to the country's premiership or how other powerful jobs will be allocated. He said a breakthrough is unlikely before September or October because little official business is conducted during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which begins in mid-August.
The top U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. Ray Odierno, has insisted that political troubles and continuing violence will not keep American troops from leaving the country on schedule, although he said he would be concerned if the issue is not resolved by October. What with The One do, just before the US elections?
Allawi's Sunni-backed coalition, Iraqiya, won 91 seats in the new parliament. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's bloc came in a close second, winning 89. Appointing a new prime minister requires at least 163 votes.
Political leaders agree in principle that the new government should be inclusive. But the two leading blocs have quarreled over whether the constitution gives the top vote-getter the right to form the incoming government, or whether a larger coalition assembled after the vote could earn that right. Sounds like a flaw in their Constitution.
Iran backs the creation of a government led by religious Shiites, while Syria, Turkey and Saudi Arabia are reportedly supporting Allawi, a secular Shiite whose coalition received strong support from Sunni voters.
"Now, everything is stopped," said Nadjha Khadum, the editor of the Ur News agency Web site. "There's no work, no jobs. People are waiting. People are just buying food and saving money because they are afraid the situation will get worse in the future - worse than in 2006 and 2007," years marked by a brutal insurgency. But last week, we read everything was sweetness and light. Oh, wait. This is the WaPo.
Iraqi lawmakers began collecting their $10,000 monthly paychecks a month ago. But they have convened only twice since the ratification of the election results in June. Both times they adjourned quickly, having failed to elect a speaker.
The U.N. Security Council is scheduled to meet Wednesday to renew the mandate of the organization's Iraq mission. Iraqi leaders have long wanted the Security Council to completely lift the sanctions imposed on Iraq after the 1990 invasion of Kuwait. Iraqis also want more control over Iraqi money seized as part of the sanctions that is now in accounts creditors can't access.
Other Iraqi officials say foreign mediation, while unfortunate, is the best hope for a resolution. So far, though, no bloc leaders have asked for greater U.S. intervention, likely fearing that whoever prevails would be seen as an American stooge. Maybe they could get themselves a UN stooge? Maybe they need to learn to fix their country without relying on 'foreign mediation'.
Hanging in the balance is the legacy of the United States' seven-year war in Iraq, which the Obama administration will soon start calling "Operation New Dawn," rather than "Operation Iraqi Freedom." Hey, Joe! Will it be your bosses legacy if this comes unglued on his watch?
The longer the process drags on, U.S. officials say, the harder it will be for them to smoothly transfer U.S. initiatives and projects to the Iraqi government. U.S. commanders will also have limited time to forge strong relationships with senior Iraqi security officers if the incoming Iraqi government were to reshuffle the leadership of its security agencies.
Perhaps more significant, Allawi said, are the implications for the U.S. goal of establishing a democracy in the heart of the Middle East. "Right now, if you ask any Iraqi: What do you think of democracy? They will say it's blood, stagnation, unemployment, refugees, cheating," Allawi said. "If democracy does not succeed in Iraq and tyranny is replaced by another tyranny, there will be no legacy." Life is choices, Ayad. Even in the Middle East.
Posted by: Bobby ||
08/01/2010
12:21 ||
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The district governor of Nad-e-Ali pointed across parched fields toward a line of trees from where the Taliban attacks come. "That's where our enemy is," said Habibullah Shama-lany, 58, standing outside a police fortress, the ground around his feet littered with discarded ammunition cartridge cases from recent battles. "Their shadow government begins over there." Behind him a teenage police recruit wearing jeans and an Adidas shirt squinted down the sight of his machine-gun toward where the governor was pointing.
Shamalany is a close ally of British soldiers who patrol the dangerous roads around Lashkar Gah, the provincial capital 30 kilometres away. The Taliban sow fear in the villages, he said, but it is Pakistan that is the true enemy of Afghans like him. "Yes, our Afghan village boys join the Taliban," he conceded. "But only because they are scared by Taliban threats to their families.
"It is Pakistan that trains, funds and leads them. When we capture their fighters they confess that they are trained in Pakistan. The Pakistanis find religious boys, give them weapons, and send them across the border into Afghanistan to kill us, and to kill your British soldiers." Villagers grunted in agreement. "Pakistan is against Afghanistan, they want to destroy us," said Mullah Yar Gul, 29, to approval.
They had gathered to discuss a new "safer fields" scheme, described by the commander of British forces in the district, Lt.-Col. Lincoln Jopp MC, as Neighbourhood Watch, Helmand-style. "The difference is that instead of reporting possible burglars, farmers are encouraged to keep their land free of bombs and landmines by keeping an eye out for suspicious activity," he said.
The colonel arrived with a detachment of 1st Battalion Scots Guards in armoured vehicles to be embraced as an old friend by the governor.
Only a year ago the area was under Taliban control, and it remains frighteningly violent. Last Sunday three Taliban died in a gunfight with police a mile from the fortress, a mud brick construction festooned with razor wire and with an Afghan flag fluttering over it. Days before that, two of Col Jopp's soldiers died when they came under fire trying to rescue an injured comrade.
At dawn British and American soldiers had started Operation Black Prince to push the Taliban out of one of the few pockets of Nad-e-Ali they still controlled, a few miles to the north of the fortress.
Villagers said they were glad the insurgents were being pushed back again. They queued up to denounce the Taliban, who they said had stolen food and press-ganged their young men. They believed that many of the gunmen, who they were forbidden from talking to, were Pakistani fighters, speaking Pashtun with unfamiliar foreign accents.
The governor was delighted to hear David Cameron accuse Pakistan of promoting the "export of terror" and saying that Helmand was one of the places to which it was exported. "I agree with your prime minister," he said, jabbing his finger in the air for emphasis. "I am glad he said this about Pakistan. Almost every day here we see the bloody consequences of their work."
Bismillah Khan, 22, the deputy leader of the Afghan police contingent said he chose to work for the police because the Taliban was against Afghanistan and killed innocent people. "Friends from my village joined the Taliban and there is a lot of trouble now at home. My family has been threatened," he said.
Like other Helmandis, he fears what will happen when the British and other NATO troops finally pull out, a process which is expected to begin next year. "The Afghan security forces are not strong enough by themselves. There will be civil war again," he said.
Direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians could begin as early as mid-August, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. The Israeli leader told his Cabinet Sunday that the timing has not been confirmed, but "It appears that direct talks will begin in mid-August." Netanyahu said the timing for the direct talks would "become clear in the next few days."
Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said the Palestinians had submitted a "far-reaching" peace proposal to President Obama that would end the conflict with Israel and resolve all Palestinian claims, Haaretz reported Saturday.
Also Saturday, the White House reportedly declined to comment to Politico's Laura Rozen on reports that Obama had sent a letter to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas warning that relations with the United States could be affected if Abbas did not agree to enter direct talks with the Israelis during the month of August, as reported in the Israeli daily Maariv and the London-based Arabic Al Hayat newspapers.
Several hundred Red Shirt protesters defied a state of emergency in the Thai capital to stage a symbolic protest Sunday, with hundreds of people sprawling on the ground and chanting, "People died here!" "Toxin's latest pay-for-protest check came in" Everything's paid for in Thailand according to the blog Besoeker referred us to recently.
The demonstration at the city's Democracy Monument was peaceful, but it was the latest sign of seething simmering discontent since the army cracked down May 19 to disperse a sprawling anti-government protest camp and end 10 weeks of demonstrations calling for early elections.
Rolling clashes between troops and Red Shirts killed 90 people - mostly protesters shot by soldiers - and injured more than 1,400 in the demonstrations' final weeks. well, at least they've been peaceful protests...
Two grenades have exploded in Bangkok over the past week, killing one bystander and wounding 11. There have been no claims of responsibility but both are presumed linked to ongoing political tensions. Thai Media reported Sunday that an unexploded grenade was found in a sewer on the grounds of the prime minister's office compound over the weekend. or not...
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/01/2010
10:27 ||
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Even as debate rages in India on how to upgrade madrassa education system, Thailand has reformed its pondoks or seminaries by teaching modern subjects like English, Mathematics, Science and IT along with Arabic and Islamic studies.
"There is no government interference in Islamic teachings. It is just that we've included secular subjects like Science, Mathematics and English along with Islamic studies so that the Muslim students can earn a decent livelihood after they pass out of our school," Mayai Yaya, principal of Attarkiah Islamic School in Meong district of restive Narathiwat province in south Thailand, said.
The school was a pondok (traditional madrassa) which was upgraded to a Islamic School years back. "Islam and modern education goes side by side. We just teach how to behave like a Thai national. School is encouraging this trend so that the students should be proud to be Thai. The philosophy of the school is religion, discipline and knowledge," he added.
"There is no question of de-radicalisation of Muslims as they are not radicalised.
Perish the thought!
It is just that the Thai government wants that the community also gets modern education. The policy of the government is to raise the standard of pondoks and reform them to modern Islamic school," said Colonel Sangwit Noonpackdee, a top military officer in the Meong district of the Narathiwat province.
The school uses English language in teaching Science, Mathematics, English, Physical Education and Computers. Arabic is used in teaching all religious subjects. The curriculum is made by the government officials with consultation from Muslim leaders.
The Attarkiah school is fully air-conditioned and receives aid from Thailand government and Saudi Arabia-based Islamic Development Bank.
Where there's Saudi funded AC, there's fire? The Thai government might be wise to have an Arabic speaker scrutinize all of the textbooks carefully.
There are 4,352 students in the school, in which females outnumber the males. There are 1,307 male students and 3,045 female students. All the female students wear 'hijab'.
A Muslim man was shot dead and his cousin seriously injured by gunmen who stormed their hut in Ire Buergae village of Narathiwat's Janae district while they were sleeping late Friday night, said Pol Col Thirawut Thissathian, Janae police chief. Police blamed terrorists separatist militants.
Raymond Franklin Peake III told investigators that "he would kill to defend his country and he was stealing weapons to defend his country," court documents read. The Hampden Township man is in Cumberland County Prison without bail after being charged with homicide Saturday. Police said one of the weapons Peake, 64, stole resulted in the July 21 shooting death of lawyer Todd Getgen, 42, of Enola.
Both Peake and Tuso are correction officers at State Correctional Institution at Camp Hill, a spokesperson confirmed Saturday. "When something like this happens, they are suspended without pay," said Susan McNaughton, the state department of corrections press secretary.
Peake told police he had been stealing guns for an organization that is collecting firearms to overthrow the federal government, court documents say. Peake also told police that he and Tuso are members of the organization, but refused to give its name.
#4
Overthrow the government? One can't say these two yokels didn't have grandiose ambitions delusions. Peake and Tuso were a few beers short of a six pack.
48 Hours Rule on this one inasmuch as the story seems legitimate. No other news outlet has picked up the story, oddly enough...
A text message in Spanish and originating in Mexico is offering $1 million price on the head of controversial Maricopa County, Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio, Saturday, according to press reports.
The messages comes with a telephone number with more details, and a request to forward the message. The offer is allegedly by someone in the Juarez Cartel. The message was sent out Tuesday, July 29th.
#1
In his time, Arpaio has gotten a bunch of death threats, and even some attempts. However, sheriffs in other counties are also getting threatened, usually when they make a major cartel drug bust, or even seize a bunch of their drugs.
This is unwise.
The Earps, for better or worse, were Arizona lawmen. I might also add that they were Republicans, and while the Clantons may or may not have been Democrats, before and after the OK Corral fight, they, being bad guys, were supported by the Democrat political types in the area, who tried to railroad the Earps.
#2
killing Joe Arpaio would be the stupidest move the cartels or illegal-activists could possibly do. It would be open season and very few captures, just kills
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/01/2010 10:23
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Posted by: Frank G ||
08/01/2010 13:28
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#7
#5: I wonder what Obama will do about this.
Posted by: gorb|
I don't wonder, I know - NOTHING. O'bumble won't do anything that might cost him a single vote. A pile of sh$$ is more valuable than O'bumble - at least it can be used as fertilizer. O'bumble just destroys.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
08/01/2010 13:45
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#8
Zero, that POS, would blame Arizona and SB1070, he would call for understanding the poor plight of the mexican cartel. He would have Jan investigated for setting up the death of a Sheriff. Its simple what that worthless person would do..
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
08/01/2010 16:45
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#9
Maybe he could grovel to the Mexican president.
#11
I remember the words of a newly-elected Maricopa County prosecutor, back when shooting burglars was something of a national controversy. The media asked him about his policy on that, and he replied, "If somebody breaks into your house, you shoot the S.O.B."
And he did not abbreviate that last bit.
And there used to be a Sheriff in Flagstaff, who had a small jail, so if he had extra customers, they would go with him on his beat around town. They did not speak, nor make any effort to escape, though they were not handcuffed. For they all knew that he was an expert, and deadly shot.
#2
The current economic debacle has been in the making for years. Shipping our industries abroad, making ourselves dependent upon foreign oil, etc. are a couple of of many reasons for our current situation. Some of our elected politicians are morons. When a politicians think there are 500 million people in our country and think South Vietnam still exists, we got problems. These people establish policy and make laws.
#3
The 2nd great depression was a bipartisan achievement.
The 2nd depression was an achievement of liberal ideology. Republican trimmers and RINOs were indeed complicit, but the party of Taft and Goldwater was not. It was simply in the minority and out of control. Now that the fruits of that ideology are plain for all to see the question for the true Republicans is whether they can wrest control of the GOP from the collaborators.
#4
Some of our elected politicians are morons.
JohnQC, unfortunately God in Her wisdom has decided to never put political ability and IQ surplus in the same DNA package.
While the BP well was still gushing, the Obama administration issued an order that limited the spreading of controversial dispersant chemicals on the Gulf of Mexico's surface. Their use, officials said, should be restricted to "rare cases." The entire article rants about dispersants without ever once telling us why they're bad. What's worse: the use of dispersants or leaving the oil to clog up the shores, bayous and bays? You're a newspaper, WaPo, why not start acting like one?
Despite the order - and concerns about the environmental effects of the dispersants - the Coast Guard granted requests to use them 74 times over 54 days, and to use them on the surface and deep underwater at the well site. The Coast Guard approved every request submitted by BP or local Coast Guard commanders in Houma, La., although in some cases it reduced the amount of the chemicals they could use, according to an analysis of the documents prepared by the office of Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.).
The documents indicate that "these exemptions are in no way a 'rare' occurrence, and have allowed surface application of the dispersant to occur virtually every day since the directive was issued," Markey wrote in a letter dated Aug. 1 to retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad W. Allen, the government's point man on the spill. Markey chairs the House Select Committee on decreasing Energy Independence and Global Warming.
Allen said that on some days the amount of oil on the surface justified a "tactical" decision, by on-scene Coast Guard commanders, to spray some dispersants. "There's a dynamic tension that goes on when you're managing an incident that has no precedent," Allen said. "You establish general rules and guidelines, but knowing that the people on scene have the information" means trusting them to make decisions, he said. We don't permit individual initiative!
In the end, Allen said: "You can quibble on the semantics related to 'rare.' I like to focus on the effects we achieved" by dispersing the oil. Officials have said that, in the days since the gusher was stopped, thick sheets of oil have nearly disappeared from the gulf's surface. Results are not important, following the procedures is all that counts!
EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson conceded that there had been "frustration in the field" from EPA officials about the waivers. But Jackson said it was partly alleviated June 22, nearly a month after the order was issued, when Coast Guard officials began giving the EPA a greater role in the discussions over whether to approve dispersant use. Right! The EPA gets to regulate pollution!
"EPA may not have concurred with every single waiver," Jackson said. But, she said, the Coast Guard had the ultimate say: "The final decision-making rests with the federal on-scene coordinator. That's where the judgment, the ultimate decision-making ability, had to lie." So why is this article on the front page (below the fold) of the Washington Post? Maybe the answer lies in the remainder of the article.
The dispersants break up the oil, acting like a detergent on kitchen grease. They are intended to keep the oil from reaching shore in large sheets and to make it easier for microbes to consume the oil underwater. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I rest my case!
In May, under pressure from environmental groups, the EPA and the Coast Guard issued a directive to BP, ordering the company to "eliminate" the use of dispersants on the surface. But the article laments the underwater use, as well, lumping the good and the bad into the bad.
"Because so much is still unknown about the potential impact of dispersants, BP should use no more dispersant than is necessary," Jackson wrote in a letter to BP. The directive said BP could seek an exemption in rare cases when other cleanup methods were not feasible. Yeah, like those foreign ships we banned for 60 days!
The government allowed BP to continue injecting dispersants below the surface, as oil leaked from the well on the gulf floor. Their logic was that the chemicals could be used more efficiently underwater, where the gushing of BP's well provided a turbulence that helped them work. Why waste a good crisis, when you can aggravate it?
Posted by: Bobby ||
08/01/2010
07:40 ||
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"You establish general rules and guidelines, but knowing that the people on scene have the information" means trusting them to make decisions, he said.
aka ROE. Notice how much trouble keeps bubbling up with control freaks who need to have a mother-may-I empire rather than pushing responsibility down to the lowest level to address the immediate situation at hand? It's a fatal flaw in bureaucracies and institutions that become inflexible and eventually ineffective. If you don't trust your people to execute the job, then fire them and get new ones. When you can't find anyone willing to take the job anymore, it's time to fire yourself.
#3
In a related turf/oil war, the oil spill in Michigan resulted in a tussle between the EPA, Fish and Wildlife and Battle Creek police over how to best save/treat animals caught in the oil.
No pun intnended, but feathers were severely ruffled when the BCPD took the lead in treating birds.
#5
The leak has been stopped as predicted. The giant, killer, methane bubble did not surface and destroy all life on the planet. Birds are still flying, gators are still gatering. I predict a near record season catch for gulf fishermen. Let's get back to producing those wells.
#6
Let's get back to producing those wells. Only the productive class will do that. The parasite class will continue to predict Gloom 'N Doom unless we follow the Party Line.
#7
Looks like the Coast Guard takes seriously the part of the oath that says the will protect us from all enemies, foreign and domestic.
If you are suggesting the Coast Guard run up the Potomac and lay siege to the White House... well, OK.
As a side note, I read somewhere that years after the Exxon Valdez spill, the untreated areas of shoreline were cleaner than the treated parts. I suspect whatever treatment chemicals and techniques used reduced the microbial populations.
#8
If you are suggesting the Coast Guard run up the Potomac and lay siege to the White House... well, OK.
Couldn't happen. They probably have equipment violations like not enough of the proper types of fire extinguishers so they won't be allowed off the dock.
#9
Lessons from Exxon Valdez
Bioremediation protocols employed during cleanup of the Exxon Valdez oil spill effectively demonstrated that application of nutrients in the form of fertilizer (nitrogen and phosphorus) could increase oil biodegradation rates.
Ten days after treatment, the surfaces of the oil-blackened rocks on the shoreline turned white and appeared to be free of surface oil. The striking visual results strongly supported fertilizer application, which sustained higher numbers of oil-degrading microorganisms in oiled shorelines, according to EPAs 1990 interim report. Additionally, the EPA noted, biodegradation rates were enhanced as evidenced by the chemical changes detected in recovered oil from treated and untreated reference sites.
The Exxon Valdez oil spill contaminated more than 1300 miles of coastline. Bioremediation was used only as an experiment on 78 miles of coastline. Two weeks after the fertilizer application, areas that had received bioremediation were easily distinguishable using satellite imagery. Bioremediation is far more advanced today than it was in 1989. It should be no surprise if it is even far more effective in the warmer waters of the Gulf.
#10
What, you're going to use phosphorous fertilizer? Everyone knows that's bad stuff, causes algae, milfoil, and who knows what. And nitrogen fertilizer? Good heavens, mix it with oil, look what happened in Oklahoma. I mean, the whole coast could go up if someone lit off an M80. Get some gummint experts in here to study this up, pronto!
Almost 1,000 Somali police went missing in May after training financed by the German government to the tune of $1 million (760,000 euros). It is feared these officers will now join forces with the Islamist militants Al-Shabaab.
The training took place in Ethiopia. The new recruits were equipped with uniforms and weapons. Two months after completing training, almost 1,000 new police officers disappeared en route to the Somali capital Mogadishu.
In a statement, the German Foreign Office confirmed that funds were released to train Somali police, and that in May 2010, 925 trained officers were transported to Somalia under Ethiopian surveillance. They did not comment on whether the police had deserted or not.
The question then becomes how well trained the 925 are, or whether their chief attractions to recruiters are the uniforms and weapons they bring.
[Bangla Daily Star] The Election Commission (EC) will decide whether to cancel registrations of religion-based political parties in the country, Law Minister Shafique Ahmed said yesterday.
"The Election Commission is a constitutional body and it'll uphold the supremacy of the constitution," the minister told reporters after attending a national consultation meeting titled "Children Justice System in Bangladesh" in the city.
In reply to whether Jamaat-e-Islami's politics would be banned following the Supreme Court (SC) verdict on the fifth amendment, Shafique said the Election Commission as an independent body will decide which political parties it will allow to operate within the constitutional framework.
The fifth amendment to the constitution, which the SC declared illegal, scrapped article 12 of the original constitution that prohibited religion-based politics and communalism in all forms. The SC verdict, published in full on Wednesday, however, reinstates that article.
The law minister said article 38 of the original constitution stated whether or not a political party can use religion in its political pursuits.
Save the Children, Children Justice Network (CJN) and the Shishu Shurokkhay Amra (SSA) jointly organised the consultation meeting at CIRDAP auditorium to explore ways to a comprehensive justice system for children in Bangladesh.
Speaking on the issue, barrister Shafique said dispute resolution concerning children through arbitration could save them from severe punishment at the early stage of their lives.
He also emphasised ensuring adequate facilities for sports and recreation for them that can keep them away from committing offences.
Justice Iman Ali of the High Court Division presented the keynote paper on the issue while Human Rights Commission Chairman Mizanur Rahman spoke as the special guest.
Justice Ali said a good number of children in the country are deprived of their basic human rights.
Many of them confront violence including sexual abuse at home and workplace, and fall victims of child trafficking, he said.
Representatives from development organisations, NGOs and civil societies also took part in the discussion.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/01/2010
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[Dawn] Iraqi officials say a roadside bomb has killed four Iraqis, including three soldiers, and wounded 11 people south of Baghdad.
The blast took place on Saturday near the municipal offices in Rashid district just south of the Iraqi capital, as soldiers were responding to an earlier explosion in the same area.
Police and hospital officials say the three soldiers and a bystander succumbed to their wounds in a Baghdad hospital. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to the media.
Violence has dramatically dropped in Iraq since 2008, but insurgent attacks are still a daily occurrence at a time when US forces are withdrawing and leaving the country's nascent forces alone in charge of security.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/01/2010
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The Arizona governor's appeal to lift a temporary block on provisions of the state's controversial immigration law has been dismissed.
US District Court Judge Susan Bolton on Wednesday temporarily blocked a section of the law which requires police to check the immigration status of anyone they suspect could be an illegal immigrant, Reuters reported.
Other provisions blocked by Judge Bolton included an order requiring immigrants to carry documentation at all times, as well as banning undocumented immigrants from seeking work in public places.
Arizona Governor Jan Brewer and her legal team called on the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco on Thursday to overturn the injunction and arrange public oral arguments in the case for mid-September.
But the court dismissed the state's request to expedite the appeal in Friday evening and set a hearing for the week of November 1.
Arizona's controversial immigration law has sparked protests in the state especially among the Hispanics and labor activists who blocked roads and held demonstrations in the state cities on Thursday and Friday.
Seventy-one people were arrested during the demonstrations.
Other cities in the US have moved to condemn the new law by enacting resolutions and tens of thousands of people across the US have joined protests against the law.
Opponents of the law say it constitutes discrimination and encourages racial profiling.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/01/2010
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#1
tens of thousands of people across the US have joined protests against the law.
And MILLIONS of us who are too busy working to join a protest actually support the law. However, that doesn't support the narrative, so the MSM doesn't mention it.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
08/01/2010 0:13
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#2
But the court dismissed the state's request to expedite the appeal in Friday evening and set a hearing for the week of November 1.
#4
Agenda based press. 9th Circus court - agenda based. This county is going to be a total loss if people dont wake up. I have seen this in third world countries, socialist agenda, playing on the apathy of the masses until its too late.. We are going to lose the greatest nation on earth, the boomers have destroyed this country.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
08/01/2010 1:37
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#5
9th circuit is the most often reversed court in the land. Let them take their good old time coming to the wrong conclusion, then on to SCOTUS.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
08/01/2010 1:56
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#6
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has thus ensured this will be an election issue across the country, at a time when the Democrats appear increasingly vulnerable.
#8
Last year, the SCOTUS reversed 15 of the 16 9th Circuit cases it heard. 94%. However, the problem lies with their being no "Second Court of the United States", to review the other 3,000 cases the SCOTUS never hears.
This is why a "Second Court" has been proposed: under federal auspices, but acting on *behalf* of the States. That is, 100 State-appointed judges, just like US Senators, to review that vast number of cases advanced by the circuit courts.
It would likely kill a huge amount of "legislating from the bench", by screwy lower federal judges, as well as them bullying the States, by doing things like forcing States to appropriate money for things the judge wants.
#11
We need a way to force activist judges from the bench. The "good order" clause is far too weak and "mealy-mouthed" to stand up under pressure. We need a constitutional amendment that would IMMEDIATELY vacate a judicial appointment if a federal judge passes down a decision contrary to the CONSTITUTION.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
08/01/2010 13:50
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#12
#8 Last year, the SCOTUS reversed 15 of the 16 9th Circuit cases it heard. 94%. Moose
Anyone besides me see a systemic problem here? I suggest we proceed with OP's cmnt at #11 and use Moose's statistics as justification.
#13
Actually, while 94% is high for a circuit court, the SCOTUS can review so few cases from the circuit courts, that they generally try to pick ones they will overturn. With a potential docket of something like 3,000 cases a year, upholding a case is seen as something of a waste of their time.
Again, this is why we need a Second Court of the US. With a hundred justices, they could punch through the circuit court decisions *and* support States rights at the same time.
Border crossing at the Pak-Afghan Torkham border will not be allowed without a passport, Daily Times learnt on Saturday.
Most of these people cannot read or write, and have only one name. How will they know they have the correct papers? For that matter, what percentage of the border patrols can read?
No one would be allowed to cross the border from Afghanistan to Pakistan and vice-versa without legal documents, including a passport. According to eyewitnesses, a person who was entering Pakistan from Afghanistan had been stopped at the Torkham border and was asked to show his passport. But he was allowed to go after he told the FC personnel that he belonged to the Tribal Areas. The local political administration had not issued any such orders, a government official said. A security official said that he was unaware of any orders to check passports of the people crossing the Pak-Afghan border at Torkham.
Another security official said that only suspicious people would be asked to show their passports and the masses would be exempted from such conditions. Local tribesmen criticised the condition saying that they had been exempted from showing their passports at the border crossing since several years. They said that the tribal people would not accept any such condition, as they visited businesses in Afghanistan.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/01/2010
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Chicago's hereditary Mayor Daley has ruled out a pre-election property tax hike -- but other tax increases, layoffs and a raid on previously sacred economic development funds are "on the table" -- to erase a record $654.7 million budget shortfall that could rise considerably.
"There's nothing off the table, other than the property tax increase," Budget Director Gene Munin said Friday, insisting that spending cuts would come first.
After unveiling the city's $6.3 billion preliminary budget, Munin acknowledged that another raid on parking meter and Chicago Skyway reserves was "not a long-term solution" because revenues generated by the sale of those assets are "finite." But he didn't rule it out.
"We will take a look at that after we look at the expense side, just like we would look at other revenue items," he said.
Under pressure from aldermen, Munin also opened the door to a possibility that Daley had previously foreclosed: declaring a surplus in tax-increment-financing districts -- known as TIF districts and used for economic development -- and distributing the unallocated revenue to the city and other local government agencies.
That would have the added advantage of easing the budget crisis at the Chicago Public Schools, since schools get 53.5 percent of that money. The city gets just over 20 percent.
Year-end audits show Chicago's 159 tax-increment financing districts had a collective balance of $1.2 billion on Dec. 31, with all but $37.1 million of that money uncommitted. But Munin insisted that the unallocated figure is more like $700 million.
"There's obviously a price to be paid if you do that," Munin said. "That's an economic development tool. To declare a surplus, distribute it, get the city's share back in a much smaller amount and not be able to build police stations, firehouses and public libraries ... is a serious policy discussion we're gonna have to have."
Ald. Tom Allen (38th) countered, "That's the only logical place to find revenue. There's nowhere else to go. It's a recurring revenue stream. If that causes us to hold off on spending TIF money on building projects, we have to take that step."
Ald. Pat O'Connor (40th), the mayor's unofficial City Council floor leader, agreed that it's time to talk about raiding Daley's favorite piggy bank for economic development projects.
With the February 2011 election fast approaching, the only thing O'Connor would rule out is turning to Chicago taxpayers.
"My belief is that a tax increase [of any kind] would not be entertained under anybody's scenario. People can't afford it," he said.
The Chicago Sun-Times reported last week that the 2011 budget shortfall would approach a record $700 million when the cost of police and fire contracts are factored in, setting the stage for another raid on the parking meter and Skyway reserves.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/01/2010
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#1
$655 million? That's chump change to the federal government. They could pay that and not even notice that. So all Hizzoner has to do is explain to The One about some things he knows that would be very embarrassing if they came out. Obama tells Rahm to release some money from petty cash, and the problem is solved.
It won't work for other cities because Obama is not from there.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
08/01/2010 0:19
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[Ma'an] The renewal of Israeli air strikes on Gaza were a response to the Arab League's decision to resume direct peace talks, a Hamas official said Saturday.
Ismail Radwan said negotiations can only lead to further "judaization" of Jerusalem, and Israeli crimes against Palestinian people, citing Saturday's air strikes on Gaza as an example.
An Al-Qassam Brigades fighter was killed and ten Gaza residents were injured on Saturday morning in Israeli air strikes across the Strip.
Radwan said the meeting of the Arab Peace Initiative follow-up in Cairo on Thursday, which approved direct talks with Israel subject to conditions, over-extended the Arab League's authority, explaining that the decision to resume negotiations must be taken by Palestinians.
President Mahmoud Abbas has been under pressure from the US and Israel to resume face-to-face talks with Israel, which were broken off in 2008 when Israel launched Operation Cast Lead against Gaza.
The meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Cario approved direct talks, but supported Abbas' demand for pre-conditions.
Meanwhile, Israeli media reported Friday that the recent projectile launch into Ashkelon was a bid to prevent talks between Israeli and Palestinian Authority officials.
"Though it is still unclear who was responsible for the Grad fire, it is clear that Hamas has no interest right now in escalating tension. Hamas wants to maintain the status quo in Gaza as it is. It is not frozen, and continues to arm itself, but is still deterred by the IDF and doesn't want conflict," one senior official told Israeli news site Ynet.
The Israeli army said the airstrikes on Gaza Saturday morning were in response to the projectile launch a day before.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[The Nation (Nairobi)] A cell phone suspected to have been left behind by the people who masterminded the Kampala blasts led detectives to the three Kenyans arraigned in court on Friday.
Intelligence sources in Uganda said an unexploded bomb left behind by the terrorists at a night spot in Makindye division helped them to piece together evidence that led to the arrest of Kenyans Idris Magondu, 42, Hussein Hassan Agade, 27, and Mohammed Aden Addow, 25.
The trio was charged with 76 counts of murder. The three men did not enter a plea.
Condemned arrest
But, speaking in Nairobi on Saturday, the suspects' lawyer Mbugua Mureithi and human rights activist and chair of the Kenya Muslim Human Rights Forum Al Amin Kimathi condemned the arrest and handing over of the trio to Ugandan authorities.
They said Mr Magondu and Mr Agade were part-time preachers in Nairobi.
Mr Mureithi accused Kenyan authorities of breaching the law in handing the suspects over to Ugandan authorities. Mr Mureithi said he has filed an application to have Kenyan police compelled to produce the suspects in court on Monday.
"We shall be in court Monday because, as far as I am concerned, my clients were kidnapped by a government that does not want to follow the judicial process," he told the Sunday Nation on the phone on Saturday.
He said that since they were arrested on Monday, July 22, neither their families nor their lawyers had contacted them directly.
Are depressed
"The families are depressed after receiving nothing but mistreatment from the government," he said.
Mr Kimathi also described the handing over of the suspects to Ugandan authorities as illegal.
Under the illusion they've got Constitutional rights, are they?
Seventy-six people died and many others were injured in explosions at the Kyadondo Rugby Club and the Ethiopian Village Restaurant. The victims of the blasts were football fans watching the World Cup final between Spain and The Netherlands on the night of Sunday July 11.
The militant Somali group al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the bombings.
The Uganda police were backed up in their investigations by detectives from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation who offered technical assistance.
The suspicions
Mr Magondu, Mr Agade and Mr Addow were arrested in Kenya after the Ugandan police notified their Kenyan counterparts of their suspicion that the trio had made calls to a number in Uganda.
A detective told the Sunday Nation they had evidence that the trio had earlier made "several trips between Kampala and Nairobi by bus".
"We have their original bus tickets," the officer said.
Twenty-seven Ugandan nationals have also been arrested for allegedly hosting terror suspects. Police sources said some al-Shabaab agents are still hiding in Uganda and have issued threats to attack some places.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/01/2010
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#1
Man...the Kenyan Trio, I just loved their music. Hang down your head Tom Dooley, hang down head and cry...
Posted by: Secret Asian Man ||
08/01/2010 13:24
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Secret Asian Man, that's definitely room-worthy. :-) One of my many favourite songs, that is.
Warplanes hit smuggling tunnels on the border with Egypt without causing casualties, witnesses said.
Also on Saturday, two Palestinians were wounded by Israeli fire while searching for scrap material near the Gaza border fence, Hassanein said. The army had no immediate comment on the shooting incident.
The airstrikes came after a rocket fired by Gaza militants on Friday slammed into the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon.
The United Nations criticised the action.
Which, bombing the tunnels or firing the rockets?
Posted by: Fred ||
08/01/2010
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#1
Without Killing anybody, or are bodies simply too deep to find?
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
08/01/2010 12:42
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[The Nation (Nairobi)] By YOWERI MUSEVENI
Somalia seems to be suffering on account of a confluence of three factors:
A failed government under Siad Barre that could not defeat or keep under check the various rebel groups; incapable resistance groups to that government of Siad Barre; and, more recently, the infiltration into the area of reactionary ideology from the Middle East (what some people call extremism or fundamentalism).
The Siad Barre government collapsed in January 1991. I do not have time to go into why it collapsed. I have not even done enough research into that subject. However, collapse it did.
This was factor number one in the Somali problem.
Factor number two was that the armed opposition groups that were fighting Siad Barre seemed to have been having ideological problems and had also problems in grasping strategy.
I visited General Aideed and Al-Mahdi in Mogadishu in 1992. One of the questions I asked General Aideed was: "Why did you attack the city (Mogadishu) if you did not have the capacity to control it?"
It was clearly a mistake to shift from rural guerrilla operations to attacking the city and attempting to seize power there if Aideed did not have the fire-power and the accompanying organisational capacity to capture it quickly and retain control.
Those Somali groups seem to have been suffering from the mentality of "putschism" -- wanting to seize control even when you do not have the capacity.
This is apart from the more fundamental ideological issues of those groups basing themselves on clanism as a base of political organisation. This created a proliferation of warlords based on clans. These warlords disintegrated the unity of the country and turned it into fiefdoms.
Agreed to share power
At some stage, former President Daniel arap Moi started mediating among the Somali groups. After a long time, they agreed to share power in the transitional government that was supposed to last some years and, then, go for elections.
This formula has worked in both Congo-DRC and Burundi.
The IGAD countries supported this formula. If any Somali group was interested in helping, this was the easiest way out of the problem.
Such a group or groups should have prepared for elections so that legitimacy is re-established. This, however, was not to be. Some Somali groups, supported by reactionaries from the Middle East and Central Asia, introduced a new problem.
Somalia had to become what they call a fundamentalist Islamic state governed by Sharia.
Women had to cover themselves from head to toe, otherwise they will tempt men into immorality; people must not watch television because that is some form of atheism, and so on. All this must be achieved by coercion. Besides, this model should be exported to the rest of Africa.
The UPDF got involved after the Somali clan factions agreed to form a transitional government. The African Union (AU), the IGAD and the UN gave the mandate to us to help the Transitional Government by doing two things:-- Guarding some strategic points (Port, Airport and State House) as well as help in training the Somali Army, along with others from the rest of the world.
It is, therefore, sacrilege for anybody to fire at, let alone assault, an AU Force on a capacity building mission in Africa.
Who are these who dare to fire at an AU Force? They can only be agents of external, non-African forces trying to impose a new colonialism on Africa. We defeated European colonialism and we are going to defeat this new form of colonialism.
The Somalis are part of the ancient African peoples. They are a Cushitic people -- part of Nilo-Saharan group of languages. Some of their words are even to be found in the Bantu dialects.
Stop disturbing the peace
Africans believe in a philosophy of live and let live. They never try to impose anything on anybody. If the Somali reactionaries want to implement Sharia law in Somalia, let them stop disturbing the peace of their country so that the Transitional Government organises elections and they can put their agenda to the people.
If the people decide to impose Sharia law on themselves, that will be their choice.
Anyway, in the immediate, the main issue is our mandate to the AU Force to assist the Transitional Government by guarding the State House, the Airport and the Port.
Guarding them well, we have done.
The Somali reactionary groups, supported by their foreign leaders, have attacked us many times and we have defeated them.
The cowardly act of attacking our merry-making non-combatants on July 11 will make their situation worse. In the past, we were only guarding the three installations as per the AU Force mandate.
These reactionary groups have now committed aggression against our country. We have a right of self-defence. We shall now go for them.
These agents of mindless, cowardly Middle-Eastern terrorism will discover that Africa has got its defenders if their failures when they attacked us in the past, have not shown them that already.
The Somali people are the ones with the key for the solution to this problem. We can only play a supportive role. Many of the Somali people have voted with their feet by running away from the oppressor. They need to be organised so as to defeat the reactionaries.
The neighbouring countries and the AU also have a responsibility to the people of Somalia when dealing with these murderous groups.
If the internal forces are still in formation, it is the duty of Africa to stand with the Somali people. This is the experience of Africa in the last 50 years. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni is the President of Uganda.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/01/2010
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#1
Africans believe in a philosophy of live and let live. They never try to impose anything on anybody.
[Al Arabiya Latest] Sudan said on Saturday it would monitor travel by U.N./African Union peacekeepers in Darfur -- a day after the U.N. Security Council extended the force's mandate and told Khartoum to stop hindering its work.
The government has been hostile to the UNAMID peacekeepers ever since they began to deploy in 2007, and relations worsened after the International Criminal Court indicted the Sudanese president for war crimes, and more recently genocide, in Darfur.
Peace talks between Khartoum and the rebels are under way in Qatar but have been boycotted by the two main rebel groups, and eight people were killed this week in a surge of violence in refugee camps between supporters and opponents of the talks.
The U.N. Security Council extended UNAMID's mandate on Friday for a further year and ordered it to give priority to protecting civilians and ensuring free humanitarian access to refugees.
The council's 15 ambassadors unanimously adopted a British-drafted resolution that extends the mandate, which expires Saturday, to July 31, 2011.
The text said the mission must "make full use of its mandate and capabilities, giving priority in decisions about the use of available capacity and resources to the protection of civilians in Darfur and ensuring safe, timely and unhindered humanitarian access, the safety and security of humanitarian personnel."
It strongly condemned all attacks on UNAMID, underlining that "any attack or threat on UNAMID is unacceptable."
Posted by: Fred ||
08/01/2010
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[Jerusalem Post Front Page] Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad told Saudi King Abdullah during their meeting in Damascus Friday that the UN tribunal investigating the 2005 assassination of Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri must be closed to protect Lebanon's stability, AFP cited from a report in Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar on Saturday.
Assad made clear to Abdullah - a key supporter of the faction of Sa'ad Hariri, son of the former premier and current prime minister - that Syria would find any attempt to hold Hizbullah accountable for the elder Hariri's death as unacceptable.
The UN Special Tribunal for Lebanon is reportedly set to announce that Mustafa Badr al-Din, a senior Hizbullah operative and close relative of the former Hizbullah terror chief Imad Mughniyeh, is the main suspect in the Hariri assassination.
According to an Israel TV report on Thursday night, Hariri's son, the current Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, asked the tribunal to postpone releasing Din's name, because of the potentially incendiary implications for Lebanon of such an announcement.
Din, the cousin and brother- in-law of Mughniyeh, who was killed in a car bomb in Damascus in February 2008, was also reportedly responsible for planning the attempted assassination of the ruler of Kuwait in 1985, among other operations.
Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hizbullah, said last week that members of his group would be among those indicted by the tribunal, which he dismissed as an "Israeli plot."
Many in Lebanon have worried that if the tribunal implicates Hizbullah, it could lead to another round of clashes between Lebanon's Shi'ite and Sunni communities, like the bloody conflict that convulsed Beirut in 2008.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/01/2010
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Democratic Senator Ben Cornhusker Kickback Nelson of Nebraska said he will vote against confirming Elena Kagan to the U.S. Supreme Court, becoming the first in his party to announce opposition.
Also today, Senator Judd Gregg of New Hampshire said he will vote for President Barack Obama's nominee, the fifth Republican to do so.
Nelson said he had heard "concerns" from people in Nebraska about Kagan. "Her lack of a judicial record makes it difficult for me to discount the concerns raised by Nebraskans, or to reach a level of comfort that these concerns are unfounded," Nelson said. "Therefore, I will not vote to confirm Ms. Kagan's nomination."
Still, Nelson said he would oppose any filibuster of Kagan's nomination and favor allowing an "up or down vote." It takes 60 votes to force a final vote. With 59 votes controlled by Democrats and five Republicans in support, Kagan's nomination would have enough to end a Republican filibuster.
In announcing his support for Kagan, Gregg said she "has pledged that she will exercise judicial restraint and decide each case that comes before her based on the law, with objectivity and without regard to her personal views."
"Ms. Kagan and I may have different political philosophies, but I believe that the confirmation process should be based on qualifications, not ideological litmus tests or political affiliation," Gregg said.
Republican Senators Lindsey Endangered South Carolina RINO Graham of South Carolina, Richard Lugar of Indiana and Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine also have announced their support for Kagan. The Senate plans to vote on confirmation next week.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/01/2010
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#2
The country will be sorry if Kagan is confirmed. She is an idealogue who will put personal beliefs about social justice before law. I'm wondering why Pubs and conservative Dems don't oppose her. She is a radical with little experience.
#4
Karl,
Pass the popcorn.
Jimmy, its gonna get better before the vote.
I think she gets confirmed by boy howdy the screams and yells, the cries of indignation are going to be fun to watch
[Dawn] Iraqi soldiers arrested two suspected insurgents behind a brazen series of attacks in Baghdad this week that killed 16 people and wounded 14 others, a security official said on Saturday.
The pair were arrested as a result of security camera footage that showed insurgents setting alight three dead soldiers and planting Al-Qaeda's flag, a defence ministry official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The private surveillance tape was taken from a shop in the predominantly Sunni area of Adhamiyah where the attack, which also involved homemade bombs being placed on routes to the scene of the fire, took place on Thursday.
"The private security camera recorded the entire operation and shows the gunmen attack an army checkpoint, plant bombs and burn dead bodies," the official said.
According to the official, the videotape shows the gunmen killing the soldiers after a 10-minute gun battle, pouring oil over their bodies and setting them on fire.
"Then, they put bombs on the roads leading to the scene, and planted the flag of the Islamic State of Iraq (Al-Qaeda's front group) near the dead bodies before fleeing," the official said.
He said two people including a lawyer had been arrested as a result of the footage of the attacks, which occurred within 15 minutes of each other.
In addition to the original killing of the soldiers, three homemade bomb attacks on different routes to the scene of the shooting killed 13 more people, including three soldiers and three policemen, and wounded 14, among them seven police and two civil defence members, the interior ministry said.
Baghdad security spokesman Major General Qassim Atta said "large numbers of weapons and explosions were found within the last 24 hours" in raids as part of an investigation into the attack.
"A number of suspects and wanted persons have been arrested after the terrorist attack in Adhamiyah," he said.
US and Iraqi officials have warned of the dangers of an upsurge in violence as negotiations on forming a new governing coalition drag on, more than four months after the country held a parliamentary election.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/01/2010
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#1
here's hoping the "interrogation" is strenuous, and painful
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/01/2010 10:26
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Barry Rubin
Once upon a time in an intellectual galaxy now seemingly far away, liberals and conservatives shared a common view. There were the forces of democracy and the forces of totalitarianism (or, if you prefer, authoritarianism) that threatened the world, took away freedom, and held back both economic and social development. The goal of Western foreign policy was to help those favoring liberty against the tyrants and would-be tyrants.
Naturally, there were different views about how to do this, for example should some dictatorships be backed against those deemed worse, but the basic template was the same.
Then came a turning point which can be symbolized by a line in Walt Kelly's comic-strip "Pogo." A dialogue balloon destined to shake the world: "We have met the enemy," said either Pogo the possum or Albert the alligator, "and he is us." Kelly later wrote that he originated this line in 1953 in an essay opposing McCarthyism but it really took off in a 1972 cartoon, perfectly timed for the "1960s," the era whose ideas rule us today in much of the West.
The sentence was a parody of Oliver Hazard Perry's message-"We have met the enemy and they are ours"-describing his naval victory during the War of 1812. So what had once been a triumphant shout of American victory was transmuted in a post-Pogo world to symbolize a vitriolic yell of self-induced anti-Americanism.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/01/2010
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#1
Lest we fergit, 1990's NET > ISLAMIST POLITBURO = are "GOD-FEARING TOTALITARIAN SECULAR SOCIALISTS"???
Where Commies go, Radical Islam = Islamists follow!
WHICH THEY HAVE, DID, + STILL ARE.
The ISLAMIST GLOBAL JIHAD = WORLD CONQUEST is SSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHH...CCCCCCCCCCCCCCC [Robin Williams = "C-orrectness] A COMMIE +LEFTSOCIALIST ONE AS WELL.
D *** NG IT, DON'T YOUSE EVAR FORGET WHAT WE NEVER TOLD YOU!
Iran's UN envoy Mohammad Khazaei warns Israel of a "crushing response," should the regime initiate any act of aggression against the Islamic Republic.
"If the Zionist regime (Israel) attempts to initiate the slightest act of aggression against Iran, it will receive a crushing response," IRNA quoted Khazaei as saying on Friday.
He said Iran does not welcome tension but in confronting its enemies, it adopts "strong stances" due to the "solidarity of its nation, divine guidance and the Leader [of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei]."
"Enemies want to bring the Iranian nation down to its knees by resorting to any means possible [ranging] from military threats to soft war. Even certain neighboring states, who are afraid of the weakening of the pillars of their corrupt power, have no objection to being equipped by their masters, the US and Britain, against our country," Iran's ambassador to the UN said.
Khazaei added that Iran had been exposed to the "strongest of pressures" but has never yielded once and would continue to remain proud and dignified.
He reiterated Iran's right to peaceful nuclear energy and said the dispute over Tehran's nuclear case was an "excuse to exert pressure on the country."
Khazaei criticized nuclear discrimination against Iran while "Israel has 230 nuclear warheads" and "Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are deemed atomic and military powers."
The remarks came as Israel has repeatedly threatened to attack Iran's nuclear facilities.
This is while the International Atomic Energy Agency has in numerous reports asserted that its inspectors and surveillance equipment at Iran's nuclear facilities have found no evidence of diversion in the country's declared nuclear material.
They wouldn't do, would they. They somehow managed never to, before.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/01/2010
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#1
Let's see now.
That makes thr 12,987.994,301st such DIRE WARNING this year.
Damn mouthy arent they.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
08/01/2010 12:35
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[Al Arabiya Latest] The United Nations refugee agency called on Saudi Arabia on Friday to halt expulsions of Somalis to Mogadishu, rebuking the kingdom for deporting 1,000 a month by aircraft to the violent capital.
Neighboring countries should offer legal residence to Somali workers and asylum-seekers until it is safe to return to Mogadishu, where civilians are often targeted in the fighting between Somali forces and Islamist al Shabaab rebels, it said.
"Given the deadly violence in Mogadishu, UNHCR is urging the Saudi authorities to refrain from future deportations on humanitarian grounds," Melissa Fleming, spokeswoman of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), told a news briefing.
Saudi authorities have told the UNHCR that they are deporting Somalis who have been staying in the country illegally, according to U.N. sources.
UNHCR said a week ago that Somali refugees were taken to Kenya and the semi-autonomous enclave of Puntland following deadly bombings by Al Shabaab in Uganda. Authorities in Puntland have also been deporting Somalis, but so far Kenya has not, it said.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/01/2010
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they are deporting Somalis who have been staying in the country illegally
I sure hope Obama doesn't miss this opportunity to denounce Saudi Arabia's racist immigration laws.
BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: The United States of America will not involve itself in forming a national salvation government in Iraq, said Izat al-Shabandar, a leading figure of the Dawlat al-Qanoon Alliance.
The U.S. is currently concentrating on withdrawing from Iraq in the best way, al-Shabandar told Aswat al-Iraq news agency on Saturday.
He noted that the U.S. can be more active by pressing on Iraqi political blocs rather than forming a national rescue government.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/01/2010
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NINEWA / Aswat al-Iraq: Seven people, including five policemen, were wounded on Saturday when a roadside bomb went off west of Mosul city.
The blast targeted a police patrol at the al-Zinjeeli area, west of Mosul, a local security source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. He noted that in addition to the injuries, the blast damaged one of the patrols vehicles.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/01/2010
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[The Nation (Nairobi)] Hamas vowed revenge today after Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip killed a senior militant and wounded eight other people.
The overnight Israeli raids came after a rocket fired from the strip hit a southern Israeli city.
One Hamas militant was killed in an airstrike on a caravan near the Magazhi refugee camp in the centre of the Palestinian enclave, a Hamas official said. The Israeli military said the site was "a weapons-manufacturing warehouse."
In a statement on Saturday, the military wing of Hamas identified the man as Issa al-Batran, 40, and said he was a senior field commander.
But was he a number three?
After all, anybody who's anybody in terror circles ends up as a number three these days... just before he finds himself dead. But that's a minor cost for a man who wants to be thought ambitious and able.
"These new Zionist crimes will not pass without answer," the statement said.
Israel has tried to kill Batran in the past. His wife and five sons were killed in an attack on his house during Israel's three-week offensive on the territory in December 2008.
Aircraft also fired at least four missiles at buildings used by Hamas security forces in Gaza City, wounding eight people, several of them seriously, said Muawiya Hassanein, the head of Gaza emergency services.
The site targeted used to house the offices of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas before his Western-backed Fatah party was ousted from Gaza by the Islamist Hamas in 2007.
Fearing further strikes, Hamas ordered the evacuation of all its security offices, a security source told AFP. We're going under the mattresses, boyz...
This article starring:
Issa al-Batran
Posted by: Fred ||
08/01/2010
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SEOUL, July 31 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-il inspected industrial facilities in the northwestern province of Jagang that borders China, the North's media said Saturday. The visit, reported by the Korean Central News Agency, came three days after the 68-year-old leader attended a concert.
The KCNA, as usual, provided no other details, including the date of the trip but released a photo of the leader during his visit to the industrial facilities.
Kim was accompanied by Park To-chun, chief secretary of the Jagang Provincial Committee and the leader's brother in-law-law, Jang Song-thaek. Also among the leader's entourage was his younger sister and Jang's wife, Kim Kyong-hui, the report said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/01/2010
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#1
ION WAFF > HERE IS THE NORTH'S "PHYSICAL RESPONSE" TO SOUTH KOREA'S WARGAMES [wid US] | DOZENS OF NORTH KOREAN LAND MINES WASH ASHORE IN SOUTH KOREA [heavy rains = floods], KILLING ONE MAN + INJURING ANOTHER.
"Acts/Wraths of God" caused assirted INTER-KOREAN TURTLES, CRABS, + FISH ETC. to wage Jihad via "IEDS from Heaven".
TEHRAN - A 5.8 magnitude earthquake struck southern Iran on Saturday, reports said without providing details on any casualties, a day after a weaker quake injured over 270 people in the countrys northeast.
The latest temblor rattled the southern province of Kerman at 11:22 am (0652 GMT), the website of state television reported, citing the geophysics department of Tehran university. It disrupted communications, but there were no immediate reports of casualties.
Fars news agency said the epicentre was in the town of Negar in southwest Kerman. It also said there were no immediate reports of casualties, and added the area where the quake struck was rural.
On Friday, a 5.7 magnitude quake rattled northeastern Khorasan Razavi province, leaving at least 274 people injured, ILNA news agency reported, adding only 12 victims were hospitalised.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/01/2010
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#7
One interesting thing about the quakes is that they struck areas about 500 miles apart. They're both in the western part of Iran, and about equidistant from Qom. For Halliburton - center, drop 2 degrees, and fire for effect.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
08/01/2010 19:33
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BAGHDAD - July was the deadliest month in Iraq since May 2008 with a total of 535 people killed across the country as a result or violence, according to government figures released on Saturday.
A total of 396 civilians, 89 policemen and 50 soldiers died in attacks in July, data compiled by the health, defence and interior ministries showed. The death toll is the highest for a single month since May 2008 when 563 people were killed in violence.
Saturdays figures also showed that 1,043 people 680 civilians, 198 policemen and 165 soldiers were injured in attacks this month, the highest such number this year. The data also showed that 100 insurgents were killed and 955 were arrested.
Four American soldiers died in July only one in a hostile incident bringing to 4,413 the total number to have died in Iraq since the US-led invasion in 2003 that toppled dictator Saddam Hussein, according to an AFP tally.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/01/2010
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RAMALLAH, West Bank - A senior PLO official says President Barack Obama has warned the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas in a letter that U.S.-Palestinian relations might suffer if the Palestinian leader refuses to resume direct peace talks with Israel.
What, we'd pull the money? Fat chance ...
The White House has been pushing Abbas hard in recent days to move quickly to face-to-face negotiations, but had no comment Saturday.
Didn't we try this face-to-face thing before? Some camp somewhere?
The PLO official says Obama sent the letter July 16 -- the strongest U.S. warning to Abbas yet. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the letter has not been made public.
President Obama subsequently quietly upgraded the diplomatic status of the PLO mission in Washington, DC, as a pre-reward for future negotiations. They now outrank Taiwan, which is a genuine nation.
Abbas insists he will only negotiate once Israel commits to the idea of a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem. Israel's prime minister refuses to be pinned down ahead of talks.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/01/2010
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#1
East Jerusalem is a non-starter - GFY
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/01/2010 11:37
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[Al Arabiya Latest] Lawyers for two Armenian men have sued Turkey and two of its major banks, claiming they and others were victims of genocide and seeking what could amount to hundreds of millions of dollars in damages. While I do sympathize, I think they make statutes of limitations for this sort of thing.
The lawsuit, filed on Thursday in U.S. District Court in California, names the Republic of Turkey, The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey and T.C. Ziraat Bankasi as defendants. The suit seeks class action status on behalf of all Armenians and Turkish citizens "who were deprived of their citizenship, brutally deported, (and) had their property seized" by the Turkish government. If this works the remnants of the Paleologues will be filing suit next.
Los Angeles attorney Brian Kabateck, who filed the suit on behalf of L.A. resident Garbis Daoyan and Queens, New York resident Hrayr Turabian, said he believes this is the first lawsuit dealing with the Armenian genocide that names the Turkish government as a defendant. Lawyers were seeking class-action status for the suit, a process that attorney Brian Kabateck said could take as long as three years. "We are rolling up our sleeves and are going forward," said Brian Kabateck. "If this flies we'll be rolling in dough. All those Armenian descendants will get a few bucks, but I'm lookin' at a half acre house and a trophy wife!"
The lawsuit seeks compensation for land, buildings and businesses allegedly seized from Armenians along with bank deposits and property, including priceless religious and other artifacts, some of which are now housed in museums in Turkey. "All of the lawyers involved have relatives who perished or fled the Armenian genocide, which gives it a special poignancy for us," said the attorney, Mark Geragos. I remember him. He defended Scott Peterson and then Michael Jackson fired him.
The lawsuit claims more than a million Armenians were killed in forced marches, concentration camps and massacres "perpetrated, assisted and condoned" by Turkish officials and armed forces. It was the prototype for the Holocaust...
Also named in the lawsuit were the Central Bank of Turkey and T.C., Ziraat Bankasi, the largest and oldest Turkish bank with origins dating back to the 1860s. The lawsuit claims the government of Turkey agreed to administer the property collect rents and sale proceeds from the seized assets and deposit the receipts in trust accounts until the property could be restored to owners. Instead, the government has "withheld the property and any income derived from such property," the lawsuit said. That was The Treaty of Sevres. The Turks signed it, then a few years later repudiated it, and it was replaced by the Treaty of Lausanne. Sounds like it's a matter for the League of Nations, which seems to have acquiesced, since it takes a minimum of two to treaty.
A message left with the Turkish Consul General's office in Los Angeles was not immediately returned. After-hours e-mails seeking comment from both banks were not immediately returned. Lawyers for the plaintiffs believe records of the properties and profits still exist, and they are seeking an accounting that could reach billions of dollars. 30 percent of billions is big bux indeed...
Geragos said the biggest issue in Armenian communities is seeking recognition for the ethnic bloodshed that allegedly claimed the lives of as many as 1.5 million Armenians between 1915 and 1919. The bloodshed's a matter of record, regardless of what the Turks say.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/01/2010
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#1
While I sympathize with the Armenians that were brutally slaughtered 80 years ago...I have to ask.. where does it end?
If you agree to this 'compensation' you open the flood gates.
slippery slope.
Everyone got fucked over by someone at sometime in history.
You cannot right the wrongs of history with legal remedies in the present tense.
Move forward...Move ahead!
Posted by: Mike Hunt ||
08/01/2010 4:45
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#2
oops... sorry for the potty mouth!
sincerely
Mikey
Posted by: Mike Hunt ||
08/01/2010 4:46
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#3
And how this is fundamentally any different from Spanish courts seeking international jurisdiction to prosecute Americans for actions in a third country? Yes, I know that the game has been played here before. It should never have been allowed to start.
#4
Not to disagree with your conclusion, but the difference is a criminal prosecution for an act committed elsewhere versus a civil action to collect for damages to a US citizen. The US does not try non-citizens for criminal acts committed in another jurisdiction. Do you really want to say that Americans from Iran can't sue Iran for damages they suffered when tortured?
I think Mike's point is more pertinent. To sue for damages, you have to have suffered the damage directly. If this stands, TW would be able to sue the FRG for the damages her family suffered in WWII. But almost everybody who immigrated did so as the result of some level of inhospitability in their former homeland that an artful attorney could construe as warranting damages.
Frankly people who raise these suits strike me as lacking a full understanding of what it means to be an American. When you come here, you should be leaving the old country and all its baggage behind once and for ever. When you come you should be dealt with as an individual American with the same rights as every other American. Make your way into the future in the new world, but leave the old behind.
#5
If this stands, TW would be able to sue the FRG for the damages her family suffered in WWII.
Agreed, Nimble Spemble, that's absurd. In the end I agree with my mother that we are happier here than we would have been had she stayed in the old country (beyond the mere fact of my existence, I mean). I'll check on that again over the next few weeks -- the trailing daughters and I are going on a tour of Germany and Holland with my mother, visiting her old haunts, school chums and relatives she hasn't seen in some cases since the 1930s. Mr. Wife has the odd idea that he has too much work at the office to take off for so long...
Mikey, forgiven. Even I've used strong language here on occasion for rhetorical emphasis. Your apology does you credit. :-)
#6
While I am against reparations for claimed past detrimental (can't think of a better word) acts, this is somewhat different.
They are suing the entities - the Turkish government and others - who benefited from illegal seizure of property. I am assuming the seizures were illegal under Turkish law at the time, unlike say slavery or removing indigenous people from land in the USA or Australia.
This isn't reparations for the 'genocide', its' suing people for what is in effect benefiting from the proceeds of theft or at least breach of contract.
I recall similar cases in Germany were settled many years ago.
#7
TW, My wife and son will be in Germany, Italy and Albania in the next few weeks. If you see a 6' 3" 14 year old, be sure to introduce yourself. I too have too much work, and my family has been here so long I don't know which country is the old one.
#8
I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, there is no end to the historic grievances one might pursue.
OTOH it brings pressure on the Turkish government regarding their treatment of the Armenians just after they sponsored the attempts to bust the embargo on Hamas.
#9
Phil, I agree that property seizure is the basis for the suit and I am sympathetic to that, but when I see class action and California, the only thing missing to make it a pure shakedown is The Justice Brothers, Reverend Jackson and Al Sharpton. It would be interesting to see what is owed to whom and how it will be divided amongst their heirs. All in all, a good opportunity for lawyers to feast on others with little true justice but plenty of vengeance.
#10
This logic would give Texas back to the Mexicans and then the rest of the US back to the Indians. Of course it would solidify the Jewish claim on Israel.
#11
The US does not try non-citizens for criminal acts committed in another jurisdiction.
Need to check how many terror acts committed in foreign countries have resulted in trials and imprisonment in the US. At least the target was usually an American citizen at the time of the act as with Mohamed Rashed Daoud Al-Owhali, and Mohammed Odeh of the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings.
The action here being done "on behalf of all Armenians and Turkish citizens" which were not even US citizens in foreign land when that situation occurred. The point is that as a third party similar to the Spanish, we have no standing in the issue at hand when the act was committed.
#14
Seems to me any such action is automaticly void as "Time Barred"?
Way too many years have passed.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
08/01/2010 12:29
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#15
Thanks trailing wifeI always try to keep it G rated, but sometimes a slip or 2 get the point across better.
I say again with emphasis:
If you agree to this 'compensation' you open the flood gates.
slippery slope.
Everyone got f**ked over by someone at sometime in history.
You cannot right the wrongs of history with legal remedies in the present tense.
Posted by: Mike Hunt ||
08/01/2010 17:09
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#16
Interestingly, the Palestinians have been talking about claims for years for the properties they still hold the front door keys to, in the expectation that Israel will both pay up and let them move back. Last week or so Israel announced that they will be compiling a list of the real property and possessions left behind by the Jews of the Arab/Iranian/North African world when they were fled following the establishment of Israel in 1948 -- for a threatened suit against the governments of the various countries. It is estimated that that the amount will be significantly greater than the Palestinian claim, and the plan is to agree to that claim if the Israeli one is honoured.
Initially, the Special Tribunal for Lebanon probing the murder of Rafik Hariri focused on Syria. Lately, indications suggest that the main focus is now on Hizbullah.
Tension is currently rising in Lebanon, amid reports that the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) is to issue indictments in the coming months. The tribunal is tasked with investigating the 2005 murder of Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri. Earlier this year, its president, Antonio Cassese, said he expected that indictments would be issued at some stage between September and December.
The Hariri tribunal has followed a long and winding path since its formation shortly after the murder, which took place on February 14, 2005. In its initial period, it was expected that its main angle of investigation would focus on the Syrians. Hariri was known as a defender of Lebanese sovereignty and therefore a natural adversary of the Syrian regime.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
The Arab world, where the truth is negotiable.
Posted by: Formerly Dan ||
08/01/2010 9:15
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The marriage plans of former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin's daughter have been thrown into jeopardy after reports her fiance's ex-girlfriend is pregnant with his child. Levi validated his manhood with another girlie, did he?
Bristol Palin, 19, announced plans to wed Levi Johnston last month after their first engagement in December 2008 was called off. "Levi! There's the door! Use it!"
But a report from tabloid newspaper the National Enquirier claimed Mr Johnston, 20, was expecting another baby with ex-girlfriend Lanesia Garcia, conceived during his split with Ms Palin. There's no such thing as rubbers. There's no such thing as birth control. There's no such thing as keeping it in your pants.
The news has reportedly prompted Ms Palin to call off the wedding but a representative from the Alaska family said "no official decision had been made". "Tood, throw him out or I'm going to maul him!"
"Yes, dear!"
Tood is her special pet name for him when she's about to shoot something that deserves it.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/01/2010
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#1
There is something about Alaska that is very attractive to women and men who want to make a lot of children, however they go about it. I've no idea why. But I have met at least two girls at different times who wanted to go to Alaska and *reproduce*.
Of course, I doubt their clever plans work out for most, but the intent is there.
#4
I remember the first time seeing 'Ricky Hollywood' on TV, at the 2008 Convention. The very first thought through my head was "Something just looks WRONG with that kid". I couldn't point out anything particular really, but looking at him for more than a minute you get the feeling not everything is there in that head of his.
Posted by: Charles ||
08/01/2010 15:55
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#5
Hey Levi! Bristol's mom is here to have a talk with you!
[Iran Press TV Latest] Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh has accused the Houthis of violating a ceasefire in what appears to be a prelude to another military attack on the Shia fighters.
"The state has abstained from all military action, while knowing that the rebels are pursuing other plans, as advocates of war who do not want peace," President Saleh was quoted by AFP as saying on Saturday.
The fighters had earlier warned that government forces stationed in the Amshia Bsfian region were creating a new stronghold in Mount Guide, in preparation of another onslaught.
Authorities have been trying to "militarize" civilian life and amass servicemen in villages, homes and farms, the Houthis said earlier in the month.
The north-based fighters have been defending Yemen's Shia minority against what they describe as efforts by the Yemeni leadership and neighboring Saudi Arabia to socially, economically, and religiously marginalize the community.
Nearly 350,000 people have been displaced and hundreds of others have been killed since 2004 when Sana'a began its crackdown on Shias.
The Yemeni government intensified its attacks in August 2009. Saudi forces joined Yemen in its campaign in November of that year, with Riyadh claiming that the fighters had been involved in cross-border attacks against the Kingdom.
In February, the Shia fighters offered a unilateral ceasefire with the Yemeni government in an effort to protect civilian lives. The initiative led to a truce.
The Houthis recently released 200 captured army soldiers and their leader, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, announced plans to release all prisoners ahead of the holy month of Ramadan as a goodwill gesture.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/01/2010
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[Ma'an] Palestinian Authority security forces detained at least 20 Hamas leaders in Nablus over the past two days, a security source told Ma'an Saturday.
Among those detained was Islam Al-Betawi, son of Hamas-affiliated lawmaker Hamed, the source said. Additionally, over 200,000 was seized by PA forces after locating what the source described as a "Hamas hideout" in the city.
The source identified four other detainees as Samer Al-Masri, Ghassan Daoud, Mousa At-Tanbur and Muhyi Ad-Din As-Sal'us, but refused to give further details on their arrest, saying all were still being questioned.
Earlier Saturday, Hamas said PA forces detained two party supporters in Nablus, including an elementary school teacher and a university student, but did not mention the detention of West Bank leaders.
The Islamist movement has accused the Fatah-affiliated forces in the West Bank of detaining several leaders. In June, Hamas spokesman Salah Bardawil said the movement would be "obliged to reciprocate" to political arrests after Khalid Al-Hajj, a party leader, was detained in Hebron.
Both rival movements have accused one another of carrying out political arrests in the areas they presently govern, with Hamas issuing nearly weekly statements on supporters being detained by Palestinian Authority security forces.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/01/2010
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[Dawn] The UN Security Council on Friday called for an immediate halt to escalating violence in Darfur and demanded that all rebel groups to join peace talks to end the seven-year conflict in the western region of Sudan.
Using tough language in a resolution adopted unanimously, the council said it deplores "the fact that some rebel groups continue to refuse to join the political process."
The resolution extended the joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur until July 31, 2011, and said the force should give priority to protecting civilians and ensuring that humanitarian workers can safely deliver aid.
Fighting in Darfur that began with a 2003 rebellion by groups who accused the government of neglecting the vast desert region has left up to 300,000 people dead and forced 2.7 million to flee their homes, according to UN figures.
The Security Council received a briefing late Friday afternoon on clashes and rising tensions in South Darfur's Kalma camp, where more than 100,000 displaced people now live. According to the peacekeeping force, known as UNAMID, the violence stemmed from differences over the peace talks in Doha, Qatar.
The council expressed concern at civilian casualties in Kalma "which have resulted from clashes within the camp between those who oppose the Doha peace talks and those who support them." It condemned targeted killings and urged all parties to join the peace process, resolve differences through dialogue, and refrain from violence.
Several rebel groups have negotiated peace agreements with the government at the talks, but Ibrahim Gambari, the top AU-UN envoy in Darfur, told the council earlier in the week that two of the major armed groups -- the Justice and Equality Movement and the Sudan Liberation Movement led by Abdelwahid Elnur -- have refused to join the talks.
He said the AU-UN mediator, Djibrill Bassole, is in contact with the leadership of both groups to urge them to join the peace process.
At a joint forum in early May, the AU and the UN decided that an overall political and peace agreement in Darfur should be concluded this year, ahead of the Jan. 9 referendum on whether South Sudan should become independent or remain part of Sudan.
Gambari said the prospects for a negotiated settlement in Darfur have improved.
"Civil society is now more involved in peace talks than ever, the government of Sudan is demonstrating renewed commitment to negotiations, and the leaders of most armed opposition movements are either participating in or are expressing an interest in participating in the talks," he said.
In the resolution, the Security Council reaffirmed "the importance of promoting the AU-UN-led political process," welcomed UNAMID's efforts to support the peace talks, and demanded that all rebel groups "immediately engage fully and constructively in the peace process without preconditions."
The council also demanded that all parties to the conflict immediately end attacks on civilians, peacekeepers and humanitarian personnel and commit to a cease-fire.
According to the latest UN figures, UNAMID has deployed 88 percent of its 19,555 authorized military personnel and 70 percent of its 3,772 authorized police.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/01/2010
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[Al Arabiya Latest] An Iranian woman sentenced to death by stoning for adultery in Iran pleaded to be allowed to hug her children, in a letter attributed to her released by human rights activists in London on Saturday.
Sakineh Mohammadi-Ashtiani, a 43-year-old mother of two, was given the sentence after being found guilty of adultery.
It sparked an outcry in Western countries, and was temporarily halted earlier this month by Iranian judiciary chief Sadeq Larijani.
"I'm Sakineh Mohammadi-Ashtiani. From Tabriz Prison I thank all those who are thinking of me," said the letter, translated from Farsi into English and released by the International Committee against Stoning.
The message was relayed in a telephone conversation, a committee spokeswoman told AFP, without going into further details.
"I am now quiet and sad because a part of my heart is frozen," it said.
"The day I was flogged in front of (my son) Sajjad, I was crushed and my dignity and heart were broken.
"The day I was given the stoning sentence, it was as if I fell into a deep hole and I lost consciousness.
"Many nights, before sleeping, I think to myself how can anybody be prepared to throw stones at me; to aim at my face and hands? Why?
"I'm afraid of dying. Help me stay alive and hug my children."
Mohammadi-Ashtiani was convicted on May 15, 2006 of having an "illicit relationship" with two men, according to her lawyer and London-based human rights watchdog Amnesty International.
Amnesty said she received 99 lashes as per her sentence but was subsequently accused of "adultery while being married" in September 2006 during the trial of a man accused of murdering her husband.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/01/2010
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[Al Arabiya Latest] Pakistan's spy chief has called off a trip to Britain in protest at Prime Minister David Cameron's remarks on its militant ties, as Islamabad is hit by a barrage of criticism of its alleged links to terror groups.
Senior intelligence officials, including the head of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Lieutenant General Ahmad Shuja Pasha, would not go to London on Monday as planned for counter-terrorism talks.
"The visit has been cancelled in reaction to the comments made by the British prime minister against Pakistan," a spokesman for the ISI told The Times newspaper.
"Such irresponsible statements could affect our co-operation with Britain."
The daily also said Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari was considering pulling out of next week's three-day trip to Britain over Cameron's remarks.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/01/2010
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#1
Which begs the question... Why don't EU/UK lawfare judges good after really bad people like ISI chiefs instead of PC-Correct Victims?
Democratic leaders and major party donors plan to hold a lavish 80th birthday gala for Charlie (Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers!) Rangel at The Plaza Hotel in Manhattan next month, despite 13 ethics charges pending against the veteran lawmaker.
Gubernatorial candidate Andrew Cuomo and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg are also listed as featured guests, according to an invitation viewed by The Hill.
Lobbyists and other party donors received invitations this week to join Sens. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and New York Gov. David Paterson at one of New York's finest hotels to celebrate Rangel's birthday.
Gubernatorial candidate Andrew Cuomo and HizzonerMichael "No smoking, dammit!" Bloomberg are also listed as featured guests, according to an invitation viewed by The Hill.
Some potential guests received the invitation a day after the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct issued a report accusing Rangel of multiple ethics violations.
While some Democrats think Rangel has become politically radioactive in Washington, the invitation lists a variety of enticements to get people to show up to his birthday bash and contribute to his campaign.
Aretha Franklin, the "Queen of Soul," will serenade them and guests who pony up $200, $500, $1,000 or $2,500 for tickets. The funds will go to the Rangel Victory Fund, a campaign account.
The 2010 Rangel Birthday Gala is planned for August 11th despite the fact that Rangel's actual birthday is June 11th.
Black Entertainment Television founder Robert L. Johnson and Ken Raske, president and CEO of the Greater New York Hospital Association and Rabbi Arthur Schneier, a prominent advocate for human rights and religious freedom, are listed among the chairs of the event.
It remains to be seen whether the leaders of the New York Democratic Party will stay in Rangel's corner when a growing number of Democrats in Washington are backing away from him. It'll be interesting to see how many of the invitees have to wash their hair that night.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/01/2010
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#1
A rousing sendoff?
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
08/01/2010 3:06
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#2
This proves that Charlie isn't beholden to lobbyists. I guess I wrong about him.
Posted by: Formerly Dan ||
08/01/2010 9:12
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#4
Black Entertainment Television founder Robert L. Johnson and Ken Raske, president and CEO of the Greater New York Hospital Association and Rabbi Arthur Schneier, a prominent advocate for human rights and religious freedom, are listed among the chairs of the event.
I see at least some in the Jewish community remain in denial.
#7
Maxine Waters will pop out wearing nothing but taxpayer money.
that is an eye-scrubbing image, seeing how none of our tax money is left.
Posted by: Martini ||
08/01/2010 17:38
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#8
The people of New York will only get rid of Rangel when they duct-tape him to 400 pounds of cement and put him on a trash barge heading for deep water. I'm not sure there are enough people mad enough yet for that to happen. In the meantime, this crook continues to lie and steal his way to another couple of million in graft and corruption, all from the pockets of the taxpayer.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
08/01/2010 19:25
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#9
Get vids of the people attending and hang them with it on election day.
IN WHICH the inimitable and brilliant Claudia Rosett tracks down the imam of the planned Ground Zero mosque in Kuala Lumpur, and attempts to ask him where a small-time operative is getting US $100 million for building plus operating costs. D'you suppose Mayor Bloomberg reads Forbes Magazine?
[Bangla Daily Star] British troops targeting a Taliban stronghold in southern Afghanistan have found a cache of bomb-making equipment, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said. Bomb making equipment? In Afghanistan? Boy, y'don't see those very often!
The improvised explosive device (IED) components were found as troops pushed forward into an area of central Helmand province in Operation Tor Shezada.
The operation, which began before dawn on Friday, aims to remove bad boys from an area near the town of Saidabad. The explosives found in the bomb-making factory were detonated on site. "Private Mucklewame!"
"Sir!"
"Your stogey, please!"
"And cover your mustache, lad, you don't want it singed."
Earlier, commanders had said troops had met only light resistance as they consolidated their hold on ground seized from the Taliban. Insurgents are thought to make bombs and plan attacks from the area around Saidabad.
Hundreds of British and Afghan troops are being led by 1st Battalion, The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment. Others involved come from 21 Engineer Regiment, the Counter IED taskforce, 1st Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland, the Joint Helicopter Force (Afghanistan) and the Afghan National Army.
The MoD said troops worked to clear compounds around Saidabad throughout the early hours of yesterday. It said the "large find" of bomb-making equipment was found when soldiers, working alongside Afghan security forces, began searching and clearing buildings.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/01/2010
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#1
Y'don't see 'em very often either, but we may find some jihadists in Afghanistan, too. Eep!
Posted by: American Delight ||
08/01/2010 7:38
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#2
The sooner Pakistan becomes the late, unlamented, the better the entire world will be. Split it between Afghanistan and India, along the Indus River (funny how nobody ever comments on the fact that the Indus, which gave India its name, is now 90% in Phakestain).
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
08/01/2010 13:40
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#3
Pakistan is 85% of the problem with Afghanistan. With the remaining 15% slit between the usual suspects, Iran, Syria, and most recently Turkey.
The Venezuelan government has deployed troops on the border with neighboring Colombia after the two side severed bilateral ties.
"We've deployed military units, air force, infantry, but quietly because we don't want to upset anybody, the population," President Hugo Chavez told state-run VTV television in a telephone interview on Saturday, AFP reported.
If you don't want to upset anybody, then why say anything at all?
Chavez did not provide details regarding the troop buildup on the Colombian border, but accused Bogota of being "capable of anything."
"[Colombian President Alvaro] Uribe is capable of anything in his last days" before he leaves office on August 7, said Chavez.
"This has become a threat of war and we don't want war," he added.
Caracas severed diplomatic ties with Bogota on July 22, one week after Uribe accused Venezuela of sheltering 1,500 leftist Colombian rebels on it soil -- a charge Chavez has strongly denied.
Chavez has also threatened to cut off oil shipments to the United States if it backed an attack by Colombia, its chief ally in the region.
Colombia has rejected a peace plan offered by Venezuela to end the dispute over allegations that Venezuela is sheltering leftist guerrillas.
Uribe has said that his government will offer its own peace plan to address the issue.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/01/2010
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#1
Obama, I know he's your political bud but... can't you at the least place a cartel hit order?
#2
Talks! Talks! Let's have some talks. Of course, we will need to have talks to set up the talks. And, before that, have talks to determine where the talks to set up talks will occur. Oh, and before that, we need to hire some more Ivy League graduate and train them to prepare for the talks about talks about talks.
Our foreign policy is clearly better than it has ever been.
#3
This week we should see the dollar drop again. They want more for their oil so the prick of war will drive prices up or the dollar will. This is the same tactic employed in the Arab world why not here.
Hugo is desperate. He has to divert attention from the many problems his country has.
#4
If I were Columbia I would taunt tHugo militarily, making him tie up resources move troops and equipment here and there,in order to respond to 'attacks' that never come.
Make him spend more money and exhaust his troops keeping them on high alert for weeks, even months.
Sooner or later the Venezuelan people will tire of tHugo and he will be overthrown like all dictators eventually do.
Posted by: Mike Hunt ||
08/01/2010 17:15
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#5
Pull my finger.
If chavez tries anything Colombia, go in there and kill him and withdrawl.
3 days max. you know how to do it.
[Dawn] Three people were killed on Friday night in incidents of target killing in Karachi.
Unknown gunmen shot a person in Baldi Town No.4 and his body was transferred to Civil Hospital.
Another man was killed in Layari's New Lane area while the third person was shot dead in Kemari's Ghas Bandar area.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/01/2010
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[Al Arabiya Latest] U.S. President Barack Obama warned Mahmoud Abbas in a letter that U.S.-Palestinian relations might suffer if the Palestinian leader refuses to resume direct peace talks with Israel, a senior PLO official said Saturday.
Obama made the warning in a letter to Abbas but also pledged to rally Arab, European and Russian support for the Palestinians if direct negotiations resume, the Palestinian official said on condition of anonymity.
"In the letter, President Barack Obama warned president Mahmud Abbas that his refusal to enter into direct negotiations with Israel next month will have consequences for American-Palestinian relations," the official said.
The 16-point letter had a "carrot-and-stick approach," he added.
What about a carrot for Israel? Or does President Obama still have an Israel problem, despite all that fussing when Prime Minister Netanyahu stopped by?
Obama stressed "it is high time to resume direct negotiations with Israel" and told Abbas that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "is ready to resume direct negotiations."
The letter warned that "Obama will absolutely not accept the rejection of his recommendation to move to direct negotiations and that there will be consequences for such a rejection in the form of a lack of trust in president Abbas and the Palestinian side," the official said.
Golly, lack of trust! What does that mean when it's at home, I wonder.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/01/2010
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#1
The 16-point letter had a "carrot-and-stick approach," he added.
More like a carrot and noodle approach would be my guess.
Posted by: Alaska Paul in Colorado ||
08/01/2010 0:45
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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.
Former prime minister Ayad Allawi, one of the contenders for his former post, said in an interview Saturday that months of negotiations among blocs have not led to a resolution on who is entitled to the country's premiership or how other powerful jobs will be allocated. He said a breakthrough is unlikely before September or October because little official business is conducted during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which begins in mid-August. 
The district governor of Nad-e-Ali pointed across parched fields toward a line of trees from where the Taliban attacks come. "That's where our enemy is," said Habibullah Shama-lany, 58, standing outside a police fortress, the ground around his feet littered with discarded ammunition cartridge cases from recent battles. "Their shadow government begins over there." Behind him a teenage police recruit wearing jeans and an Adidas shirt squinted down the sight of his machine-gun toward where the governor was pointing. 
Direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians could begin as early as mid-August, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. The Israeli leader told his Cabinet Sunday that the timing has not been confirmed, but "It appears that direct talks will begin in mid-August." Netanyahu said the timing for the direct talks would "become clear in the next few days."
Even as debate rages in India on how to upgrade madrassa education system, Thailand has reformed its pondoks or seminaries by teaching modern subjects like English, Mathematics, Science and IT along with Arabic and Islamic studies. 
[Jerusalem Post Front Page] Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad told Saudi King Abdullah during their meeting in Damascus Friday that the UN tribunal investigating the 2005 assassination of Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri must be closed to protect Lebanon's stability, AFP cited from a report in Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar on Saturday.
TEHRAN - A 5.8 magnitude earthquake struck southern Iran on Saturday, reports said without providing details on any casualties, a day after a weaker quake injured over 270 people in the countrys northeast.
[Al Arabiya Latest] Lawyers for two Armenian men have sued Turkey and two of its major banks, claiming they and others were victims of genocide and seeking what could amount to hundreds of millions of dollars in damages.
The marriage plans of former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin's daughter have been thrown into jeopardy after reports her fiance's ex-girlfriend is pregnant with his child.
Democratic leaders and major party donors plan to hold a lavish 80th birthday gala for 
[Bangla Daily Star] British troops targeting a Taliban stronghold in southern Afghanistan have found a cache of bomb-making equipment, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said.
