Bangladeshs emergency government needs more time to implement reforms to strengthen democracy before lifting the ban on political activity, the official BSS news agency Friday quoted a minister as saying.
The military-backed governments law minister, Mainul Husein, said years of political corruption meant the country needed to give some time to those who are working for bringing about reforms in politics, BSS reported. We understand what to do and it will be done by us, he said in response to calls by outgoing US ambassador Patricia A Butenis for the interim government to lift a ban on political activity.
The emergency government declared all political activity, including indoor meetings, illegal when it came to power on January 12 after the president imposed a state of emergency and cancelled elections planned for later that month. Husein said the government had prioritised its work on an election roadmap. New polls have been promised by the end of 2008.
Meanwhile, former prime minster Sheikh Hasina Wajed on Friday accused the military-backed emergency government of trying to push her out of politics by having criminal cases filed against her. The leader of the Awami League party which held power from 1996-2001 was speaking after a court investigating corruption allegations barred her from travelling to the United States later Friday.
The government does not want me to compete in the elections. That is why they are filing cases against me, Sheikh Hasina told reporters. Police are investigating the cases filed against me. If I am found guilty, punish me but why should I not be allowed to go abroad, she added. Sheikh Hasina faces a string of cases including accusations of murder and extortion that were filed against her while she was visiting relatives in the US in April.
Two more extortion cases were filed earlier this week. She has denied all the allegations and vowed to prove her innocence. A Dhaka court on Thursday issued an order preventing her from leaving the country, a report by the official BSS news agency said. Sheikh Hasinas personal secretary Hasan Mahmud and a senior immigration official, however, said that they had not yet received any formal notification of the court order.
We did not get any instructions from any government authority about whether Sheikh Hasina will be allowed to pass the immigration or be barred, the immigration official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/16/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Someone should start a Rapid Action Party. Then the RAB can be "the militant wing."
Posted by: Gary and the Samoyeds ||
06/16/2007 11:33 Comments ||
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TAIPEI - The Taiwan parliament on Friday approved part of a controversial bill to buy modern weapons from the United States, following a five-year delay and debate.
Parliament approved the 6-milar (US dollars) budget for evaluating the purchase of eight diesel submarines while cancelling an earlier 130-million-dollar budget for the purchase. The two-part budget was drawn up because buying submarines from the US is a complicated process as the US has stopped producing conventional submarines and will have to re-open the production line or find a foreign shipyard to build the vessels for Taiwan.
Parliament also passed the 184.8-million-dollar budget for buying 12 P3-C anti-submarine aircraft, but cancelled the 342- million-dollar budget for buying PAC-III anti-missile defence system. Instead, it approved a budget of 106 million dollars for a US upgrade of Taiwans PAC-II anti-missile defence system.
US President George W Bush approved the arms sales package to Taiwan in April 2001, to help Taiwan defend itself against an attack by China. Taiwan drew up a 1 billion-dollar budget to buy the arms, but some lawmakers have been blocking the passing of the budget, citing high cost and late delivery.
Over the years, the US has repeatedly warned Taiwan that it may not come to Taiwans aid if Taipei was not willing to boost its own defence capability.
We'll help those who help themselves.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/16/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
"We'll help those who help themselves" Yeah that philosophy has helped us soo much in Pakistan....
Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer on Friday called a referendum on government-backed plans to have the head of state elected directly by the people instead of by parliament. In a statement posted on the presidential website, his office said Sezer would also ask the Constitutional Court to rule on certain objections he has regarding the reforms. The statement did not say what these objections were.
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogans Islamist-rooted government introduced the reform plans after opposition parties, top judges and the army managed to derail its bid to have Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul elected president in a vote in parliament. The crisis has also forced Erdogan to bring forward a parliamentary election from November to July 22. Erdogan says allowing the Turkish people directly to elect the president instead of lawmakers will bolster Turkish democracy. But his critics say the move will upset delicate checks and balances in Turkeys constitution.
Sezer, a stern secularist critic of the government, vetoed the reform plans in May but he does not have the right to veto laws a second time. He had just two options to sign them straight into law or to call a referendum on the reforms. Under current constitutional arrangements, the referendum cannot be held before October, but the government is trying to shorten the period to allow it to take place on July 22, when Turks are due to elect a new parliament. The Constitutional Court is expected to rule next week on an appeal from the main opposition Republican Peoples Party (CHP) that would annul the governments reforms on a technical voting irregularity.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/16/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Something wrong with his eyes, he has a "Bored Shitless" look.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
06/16/2007 16:30 Comments ||
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Comments by Republican senators on Thursday suggested that they were feeling the heat from conservative critics of the bill, who object to provisions offering legal status. The Republican whip, Trent Lott of Mississippi, who supports the bill, said: Talk radio is running America. We have to deal with that problem.
At some point, Mr. Lott said, Senate Republican leaders may try to rein in younger guys who are huffing and puffing against the bill. Wow! John McCain without the charisma. If this is the best leadship available Sulla waits in the wings.
#3
Rep. Tancredo in the House may have put a shot over the bow of the Senate. Yesterday, he got passed an amendment that would deny Federal Emergency aid to sanctuary cities. He has tried to get this amendment passed several times in the past.
This time there were 49 Democrat Reps. voting for the amendment and only 9 dissenting Republicans. I believe that the House will kill this Bill if it makes it through the Senate, and this vote yesterday was an attempt to let that be known.
You can read about it and find other links at HotAir and Malkins site.
Posted by: Natural Law ||
06/16/2007 12:35 Comments ||
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#4
Senate to the little people: "Give B&E latinos amnesty, or we won't secure your (sic) border." Where's the outrage?
Posted by: regular joe ||
06/16/2007 13:41 Comments ||
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#5
Hey mods, when I posted this I received an error message. My apologies for the dupe posts you're going to find.
Nine high-tech towers that form the backbone of the Department of Homeland Security's latest "virtual wall" test program in some of the most God-forsaken land in the US the desert southwest of Tucson are up, but their launch has been delayed. The 98-foot towers — equipped with cameras, radars and sensors in a 28-mile area flanking Sasabe as part of the SBInet Project 28 — were originally scheduled to become operational Wednesday. But that start date has been pushed back, said Xavier Rios, a Border Patrol spokesman.
The Boeing Co., which is being paid $20 million to administer the pilot project, is testing the towers and training agents in preparation for a system launch in the coming weeks, Rios said. No date has been set.
The towers will send surveillance information to command centers and agents' vehicles equipped with special laptop computers.
Posted by: Gary and the Samoyeds ||
06/16/2007 11:30 ||
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Where's the Chertoff photo op showing off his "this time it counts" towers?
#2
I like the idea of a virtual wall for some place like Afghanistan, but for the Mexican border I think the flood of people would overrun a virtual wall.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
06/16/2007 13:52 Comments ||
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#3
I know when I was in Sierra Vista/Ft Huachuca in March (going again Wednesday), they have a tethered observation balloon above the base about 1000'(?) to monitor for illegals and drug mules
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/16/2007 15:36 Comments ||
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#4
So...balloons are good camera platforms? Whoda thunk it! Must be that electronic surveilance on the cheap. Your results may vary.
A mysterious coin shortage gripping Calcutta has shop-keepers begging for change from beggars and buying coins at prices above their face value. No one knows exactly why there is no change in the eastern Indian city, but the situation has spurred the Reserve Bank of India to emergency measures, distributing millions of coins to try to satisfy the demand. Since the coin shortage became acute in early June, the bank has distributed five mill-ion rupees ($121,950) worth of coins, including a million on Thursday alone, said Nilanjan Saha, the bank's treasurer in the city. But the emergency supplies have failed to stem the demand. "There is no reason for it ," said Saha. "But I have heard reports that some unscrupulous traders are melting coins because the face value of the coins is lower than the metal value."
#5
Yup, coins are just a raw material for the recycling centers. One thing I've learned about third-world nations, the second that you can make a fraction of a cent doing something, they'll do it, no matter how destructive it is to society at large.
#6
KOLKATA: There are two sides to the story: the crime and the end-use. The crime is confirmed: Indian coins of small denominations like 25 paise, 50 paise, Re 1 and Rs 2 are being smuggled out to Bangladesh, where they are melted and put to varied uses.
The end-use is a subject of intense speculation. Some say the coins are melted and the metal used to make shaving bladesone Re 1 coin equals three shaving blades worth Rs 2 each. Some say the metal is used for making idols of gods and goddesses. Some others say the shine on the metal is useful for making ornaments.
Whatever it is, somethings on, and from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to Kolkata Police to the Border Security Force, everybody seems to be on high alert. In the midst of all this, the coins are disappearing fastso fast that RBI had to pump in 900 million pieces of fresh coins only in May to restore the demand-supply imbalance.
Right now, the central bank says there isnt any shortage although the demand is surging. Cut to the security guys. BSF ADIG (G), North Bengal Frontier, SS Sandhu said, We have heard of it from our jawans and from the rural areas that we patrol. But we have never had any major seizure so far along the frontier, at least on the Indian side.
The Indo-Bangla border in north Bengal is 1,066 km long and BSF is on the prowl for one of those stone-chip filled bags that are supposed to smuggle coins out of the country. Well, that is the modus operandi.
Smuggler contacts on the Indian side at Changrabandha, Hili, Gojadanga, Phulbari and Phansidewa confirm that consignments are usually of small plastic bags containing 10 kg of Indian coins, which are shoved inside larger sacks of small-sized stone chips used for construction work. Ingenious, isnt it?
Why stone-chips? Because, theres a whole lot of construction work going on in that side of the border and stone chips are exported legally and also smuggled out from India.
Customs points and BSF outposts through which these bags pass are equipped with small metal detectors, not very sophisticated ones, which are not able to detect the small bags of coins inside the stone-chip sacks.
Along a border through which 30 rivers flow down from India to Bangladesh, searching for one such small plastic bag is more difficult than locating a pin in the proverbial haystack. And mind you, north Bengal may not be the only point on the 4,095 km Indo-Bangla border through which these bags of stone chips may be crossing over.
West Bengal alone shares 2,216 km of the border followed by Tripura 856 km, Meghalaya 443 km, Mizoram 318 km and Assam 262 km. Unconfirmed sources also say several mini plants dot the Bangla landscapefrom Chittagong in the east, across Rangpur, Dinajpore, Nawabganj to Khulna in the westwhich break the coins down to molten metal.
The 4.85 gram Re 1 coin is made of ferratic stainless steel (FSS) and is costlier than the cupro-nickel variety used earlier. The illegal trade that runs the smuggling show pays a premium of 10-30% to the ground-level collectors of these coins. There are various facets about this that arent clear to anybody. For example, the melting part.
Metallurgists say FSS requires a temperature of about 2,000 degree Celsius to melt and it is unlikely that mini plants in Bangladesh will have furnaces sophisticated enough to produce that kind of heat. Besides, they point out that after melting, FSS loses its character as iron gets separated from molybdenum and chromium. They, therefore, feel that melting isnt a very commercially viable thing to do.
Numismatist Jaidev Biswas says, The metal is possibly used to produce cheap quality blades or artefacts or as an illegal substitute for platinum in small quantities. But there is no strong evidence of these. The standard policy is that the cost of metal in any coin is kept lower or near equal to the coin denomination, but never substantially higher than the value of the currency. Without any major value addition, therefore, usage of Re 1 coins as raw material for production of other low-cost items cannot be too profitable. However, coin smuggling is a common thing across the world. RBI agrees.
It says the total value of metal in a Re 1 coin will amount to just 70 paise when melted. RBIs Kolkata office has already alerted the city and state police about the coins being smuggled out. We got a tip off from RBI and my senior officers have already started investigating, said Gyanwant Singh, deputy commissioner, detective department, Kolkata Police. RBI, in both Kolkata and Mumbai, confirmed that the demand for coins has gone up very sharply.
We have supplied 900 million coins in May alone and the four mints have a collective capacity of minting 6 million coins a day, said the RBI spokesperson. The central bank, which manages currency and coin distribution, is using its mobile vans to carry bagfuls of coins around in large markets in metros like Mumbai and Kolkata to meet the growing demand.
The coin distribution rules have also been made stricter. RBI offices now insist on trade licences and other documents before distributing coins in bulk. In Kolkata, RBI says, typical demand is for 100-125 bags of coins a day. Each bag contains 2,500 pieces.
This has now gone up to about 400 bags a day. Calcutta State Transport Corporation, Calcutta Tramways and Metro Railways are some of the bulk customers for small coins. They collect about Rs 2-5 lakh worth of coins from RBI every week.
Posted by: John Frum ||
06/16/2007 6:39 Comments ||
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#7
The humble Lincoln penny is headed for the same fate.
#8
pretty obviously it's the Joooos, melting them down to make metal matzoh balls...one of the lesser known protocols of the Elder Zionists
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/16/2007 8:45 Comments ||
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#9
Yep. Pre '70 copper cents are worth about 3 times face value if you care to collect. Even the zinc's are getting valuable! Har! Even the least of us..... Now if 5 cent pieces were made out nickel....
#10
Some say the coins are melted and the metal used to make shaving bladesone Re 1 coin equals three shaving blades worth Rs 2 each.
Which still beggars the question of how much the smelting energy costs? Even if they used "free" charcoal harvested from local arboreal preserves forests, the park warden payoffs fuel processing and transportation would still chew up any profit margin. This whole thing is stranger than a snake's suspenders.
The humble Lincoln penny is headed for the same fate.
Which is why I have a glass five gallon water bottle full of them. It's my "401K-In-A-Jar".
#11
I blame the fuse boxes. I bet most young Rantburgians won't know what you mean, Zen. Pennies wuz good to have in the 50's and60's during a thunderstorm in South Alabama.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
06/16/2007 19:13 Comments ||
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#12
#3 phil - I remember getting candy (peppermints) instead of small-value centesimi (equivalent of pennies) in change in Italy back in the early 1970's. I thought it was seriously weird.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
06/16/2007 21:13 Comments ||
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#13
Why should they have to smuggle the coins to melt them down. The coins belong to the bearer, don't they ? When the metal in the coin becomes more valuable than the coin's face value, then the host country should combine the metal with something cheaper. This isn't exactly new.
The ENCyclopedia Of DNA Elements (ENCODE), an international research consortium organised by the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), today published the results of its exhaustive, four-year effort to build a "parts list" of all biologically functional elements in 1 percent of the human genome in the journal Nature.
The ENCODE consortium's major findings include the discovery that the majority of human DNA is transcribed into RNA and that these transcripts extensively overlap one another. This broad pattern of transcription challenges the long-standing view that the human genome consists of a small set of discrete genes, along with a vast amount of "junk" DNA that is not biologically active.
The new data indicate that the genome contains very little unused sequences; genes are just one of many types of DNA sequences that have a functional impact. The consortium identified many previously unrecognized start sites for transcription and new regulatory sequences that contrary to traditional views are located not only upstream but also downstream of transcription start sites.
Other surprises in the ENCODE data have major implications for our understanding of the evolution of genomes. Until recently, researchers had thought that most DNA sequences with important biological function would be constrained by evolution making them likely to be conserved as species evolve.
But about half of the functional elements in the human genome do not appear to have been constrained during evolution, suggesting that many species' genomes contain a pool of functional elements that provide no specific benefits in terms of survival or reproduction.
Over the next couple of years the ENCODE project will be scaled up to the entire genome. The Ensembl project, a joint EMBL-EBI and Sanger Institute project, jointly headed by Ewan Birney, has already generated some initial genome wide datasets with early full scale datasets.
This integration has lead to the identification of just over 110,000 regulatory elements across the human genome. "The goal for the next five years is delivering a more complete understanding across our genome" said Birney, "the ENCODE pilot project is the first step towards this goal."
#1
Translation: The overlap during the transcription process indicates that there are several levels of encoding. The long repeating sequences (formerly deemed junk) may serve as a key (or keys) to decode other layers. Thus what may seem a simple sequence may be decoded in numerous ways, depending what is the actual position on the overlap that reading starts from.
Lt's look a little closer. Imagine the DNA as a rope that is twisted from many strands (or rather loops which are then separated wrapped into chromosomes). This rope is again tightly packed, and held together with short strands of RNA that tie up several 'ropes' together. The tRNA that is usually specific to a certain code sequence approaches the packed DNA and unwraps a loop that is supposed to read, a little bit more of it as we learned above. It then acquires single amino acids from the cellular fluid and chains them according to the code (a mirror image). Somehow, it knows (I don't have a better word to describe it) where to look and how to call the singletons up. This is going at speed that if you could scale the nucleus up so you could see the process clearly, you would be enveloped in a 1000 mph whirlwind.
God is sitting in Heaven when a scientist says to
Him, "Lord, we don't need you anymore. Science has
finally figured out a way to create life out of
nothing.
In other words, we can now do what you did in the 'beginning'
"Oh, is that so? Tell me..." replies God.
"Well",says the scientist, "we can take dirt and
form it into the likeness of you and breathe life
into it, thus creating man."
"Well, that's interesting. Show Me."
So the scientist bends down to the earth and starts
to mold the soil.
#5
Without wishing to sound unimpressed (which I'm not), what else should we expect from several million years of evolution? I'm especially interested by their reassessment of "junk" DNA. While long intervals between vital coding sequences confers a degree of protection from ionizing radiation, nature usually doesn't lavish a lot of effort for no reason at all. This is especially so in light of how DNA remains a pinnacle of compact and concise information storage.
The consortium identified many previously unrecognized start sites for transcription and new regulatory sequences that contrary to traditional views are located not only upstream but also downstream of transcription start sites.
This isn't the huge surprise that it might seem to be. I would regard the downstream transcription start sites as "backup files" of these vital macros.
But about half of the functional elements in the human genome do not appear to have been constrained during evolution, suggesting that many species' genomes contain a pool of functional elements that provide no specific benefits in terms of survival or reproduction.
Again, not such a big shocker and they may well be wrong about how these functional elements "provide no specific benefits". A large library always provides more value even if a given individual does not read all of the books contained therein. Similarly, a large DNA catalogue of functional elements makes available many more viable mutations (read: adaptations) which can prove quite valuable if environmental conditions change downstream.
All together, much as I would expect but still extremely cool.
WASHINGTON, 15 June 2007 The FBI is trying new tactics to win over the opinion of Arab-Americans. In an effort to change perceptions about itself which were damaged by a wave of arrests and searches since the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001 it recently sponsored Arab-American and Muslim-American comedians to perform at the annual convention of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, ADC... WTF? Over 80% of Arab Americans are Christian. Many are refugees from Islamic tyrannies. We should be encouraging them to undermine Islamic jihadism. Cultural sensitivity always means: catering to extremists within non-assimilating ethnic minorities. If Arab Muslims can subvert the FBI, they can subvert America.
Gwen Hubbard, chief of the FBIs National Recruitment and Marketing unit, explained the logic behind the FBIs support: We, within the FBI, are trying to break down a lot of barriers and create a different brand about the FBI within the Arab-American and Muslim American community. So, what better way that to allow the attendees to see us as we are? Were just like them we like to laugh and have a good time, too.
Usually when you create a relaxed atmosphere, you can break barriers within the community, Hubbard told Arab News. Outreach becomes much more effective. As people become more relaxed and less guarded, and they are more willing to listen and share ideas to help enhance the overall mission.
Historically, the FBI is viewed as very stuffy and straight-laced organization by certain communities across the US. We wanted to put a human face on the FBI, and you can be just like us, come in a join us as agents or in any professional staff position.
Hubbard said the gamble paid off. Several Arab-Americans present at the ADC convention were recruited, and are now undergoing the application process. She said they hoped to book the comedians for a national conference of FBI recruiters in October.
Gamal Abdel-Hafiz, an Egyptian-American and the first Muslim FBI agent, encouraged guests to consider FBI careers, adding, We will never change what we dont like unless we take part. Sounds like destructive-engagement to me.
He told reporters that he had asked to speak to the ADC convention because he remained concerned by the lack of Muslims at the agency, which he said still had fewer than 10 Muslim agents out of a total number of over 12,000.
American Arabs and Muslims should seek to cleanse the stain of dishonor upon their group by cooperating with the FBI to uncover and arrest potential security threats emanating from within their communities.
The FBI should be viewed by them just as the rest of us view the FBI - as one of the bulwarks against extremist plots.
#3
Our old friend Agent Gamal Abdel-Hafiz is back. I question just where the FBI leadership is wrt muslim terrorism (e.g. openly islamist spies translating FBI intercepts).
Wall Street Journal After al Qaeda blew up two U.S. embassies in Africa in 1998, Wright tells ABC, the agents established a money trail from the attacks to some of the people they'd been investigating in Chicago, and to a Saudi businessman named Yassin al-Kadi. "Yet, even after the bombings, Wright said FBI headquarters wanted no arrests." Prosecutor Mark Flessner "was assigned to the case despite efforts Wright and Vincent say were made by superiors to block the probe." Flessner "said he . . . couldn't figure out why Washington stopped the case--whether it was Saudi influence or bureaucratic ineptitude."
There may also have been an element of political correctness, as evidenced by this appalling detail:
Perhaps most astounding of the many mistakes, according to Flessner and an affidavit filed by Wright, is how an FBI agent named Gamal Abdel-Hafiz seriously damaged the investigation. Wright says Abdel-Hafiz, who is Muslim, refused to secretly record one of al-Kadi's suspected associates, who was also Muslim. Wright says Abdel-Hafiz told him, Vincent and other agents that "a Muslim doesn't record another Muslim."
"He wouldn't have any problems interviewing or recording somebody who wasn't a Muslim, but he could never record another Muslim," said Vincent.
Wright said he "was floored" by Abdel-Hafiz's refusal and immediately called the FBI headquarters. Their reaction surprised him even more: "The supervisor from headquarters says, 'Well, you have to understand where he's coming from, Bob.' I said no, no, no, no, no. I understand where I'm coming from," said Wright. "We both took the same damn oath to defend this country against all enemies foreign and domestic, and he just said no? No way in hell."
Far from being reprimanded, Abdel-Hafiz was promoted to one of the FBI's most important anti-terrorism posts, the American Embassy in Saudi Arabia, to handle investigations for the FBI in that Muslim country.
Uncle Sam may sign his paychecks, but he's on the other side.
Posted by: ed ||
06/16/2007 7:39 Comments ||
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#4
Far from being reprimanded, Abdel-Hafiz was promoted to one of the FBI's most important anti-terrorism posts, the American Embassy in Saudi Arabia, to handle investigations for the FBI in that Muslim country.
Abdel-Hafiz and everyone who signed off on his promotion need to answer in open court on charges of treason. This is beyond the pale.
#7
This makes the alliance we made with the Mafia during WWII look like an act of Genius.
Al
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
06/16/2007 12:41 Comments ||
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#8
I'd like to reach out to them...grab them by the collar and haul them to a waiting deportation plane. Next stop, the Magic Kingdom of Saudiland! AMFs!
Posted by: Mac ||
06/16/2007 19:01 Comments ||
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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.
people instead of by parliament. In a statement posted on the presidential website, his office said Sezer would also ask the Constitutional Court to rule on certain objections he has regarding the reforms. The statement did not say what these objections were. 
