Any Moroccan peacekeepers found guilty of sexual abuse or exploitation in Ivory Coast will be sent home and punished under the laws of their country, the United Nations said Sunday.
Where any reasonable court will deny jurisdiction as the crime did not occur within its territory.
#1
Hopefully they will be returned to Morocco after their government has been notified that they are "homosexuals." That might have a different outcome.
Posted by: Abu do you love ||
07/22/2007 17:53 Comments ||
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#3
Nimble, US law makes it illegal for a US citizen to travel to a foreign country for the purpose of having sex with someone underage; you might want to look up 'sex tours' on Google. Well, maybe not. But there have been lots of junkets to Thailand in the past, mostly from Japan.
Posted by: Eric Jablow ||
07/22/2007 23:26 Comments ||
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Two top Democratic contenders in the presidential race are in South Florida to address the National Council of La Raza, the nation's largest Hispanic civil rights group.
Sunday morning, New York Senator Hillary Clinton told the gathering at the Miami Beach Convention Center, she would prefer to pass a comprehensive immigration bill that would provide a path to legalization for immigrants in the United States.
But, she was quick to add, there were some aspects of the current immigration reform proposal that she believes have a chance of passing on their own. For example, she pointed to the so called "Deam Act" that would help students who are brought to the U.S. as young children go to college and eventually become citizens.
Illinois Senator Barack Obama was scheduled to address the conference Sunday afternoon.
The organization had invited the top three Republican candidates; Mitt Romney, John McCain and Rudy Giuliani to speak as well, but all three said they would not be able to attend according to La Raza officials.
Other conference speakers include Gov. Charlie Crist, Wal-Mart President Lee Scott and the Rev. Al Sharpton.
Also during the conference, La Raza will launch a new campaign to register and mobilize millions of immigrant voters, who are mostly Hispanic, to take part in next year's presidential elections.
La Raza's 2007 Annual Conference and Latino Expo will run through Tuesday. "Por la raza todo" (Everything for the race.)
American Media has decided to suspend publication of Weekly World News, both the print publication and the web site. No reason was given at press time, although reliable sources do tell us that management turned down at least one offer to buy the publication.
(SomaliNet) The Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict today adopted recommendations regarding children in armed conflict in Uganda and Somalia, as well as examining recent reports by the Secretary-General on the situation in Chad and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
The Working Group called on the Lords Resistance Army in Uganda to unconditionally release children used in their ranks. The LRA has ignored the repeated calls from the international community for too long and we hope that they will now immediately undertake actions for the sake of these children, said Radhika Coomaraswamy, UN Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict.
On Somalia, the Working Group appealed to the Government to ensure improved child protection, and called on all parties to stop recruiting children and demobilize those serving as soldiers.
Yup, that oughta do it.
Mr. Bans report on children in the DRC observed that while significant progress has been made by the Government to tackle the violation of childrens rights, impunity for crimes committed against children are cause for great concern.
Children continue to be recruited and subjected to sexual violence, Ms. Coomaraswamy noted. Those who commit grave violations against the civilian population in open defiance of the national and international authorities must be held accountable.
Paging Carla del Ponte to the white courtesy phone ...
Regarding Chad, the Secretary-Generals report emphasizes the grave violations against children who are recruited by all factions, killed and maimed by landmines and unexploded ordnances and subject to sexual violence at the centre of humanitarian disasters.
Authorities in Liberia charged a former House speaker and an ex-military commander with treason for their alleged involvement in a suspected coup plot, officials said. House Speaker George Kaukau and ex-military commander Charles Julu were among five people arrested in the plot, Gabriel Williams, a deputy minister of information, said late Friday.
Under Liberian law, treason carries the death penalty or life imprisonment. Williams said one of the accused, retired Col. Andrew Dorbor, told a state investigation panel Friday he had been asked in January by Julu to travel to neighboring Ivory Coast to arrange an arms shipment with an Ivorian border commander.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/22/2007 00:00 ||
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A bus carrying Polish pilgrims back from a holy site in the French Alps veered off the road and fell into a river Sunday, killing 20 people and injuring another 20, local authorities said. The accident occurred on a steep descent close to the city of Grenoble on Sunday about 9:30 local time.
Firefighters said the bus suffered a problem with its brakes and plowed through a protective fence, falling about 65 feet into a river below the road. Residents of Notre-Dame-de-la-Mesage, a town near where the bus crashed, said the vehicle then burst into flames. The pilgrims were returning from the shrine of Notre-Dame-de-la-Salette, about 25 miles south of Grenoble.
Following a similar accident in the 1970's involving a bus carrying pilgrims, buses have been prohibited from using the road - which has a 7 percent gradient - without a special permit. The bus involved in Sunday's crash pilgrims had no such permit, firefighters said.
New Delhi, July 22: In a major move, the United States has sent feelers that it is now ready for transfer of hi-technology weaponry to India, including its 5th generation Joint Strike Fighter F-35. Though Pentagon has offered New Delhi participation in its missile shield, top of the shelf 4th generation F-16 and F-18/A fighters, weapon locating radars and its new brand of long range maritime reconnaissance aircraft, it has so far kept the F-35 under wraps.
But in a surprise move last week, a high-level team from US Defence Major Lockheed Martin met top officials of the Indian Air Force to convey that the F-35 Ligthening-II was available for IAF's 5th generation fighter requirements.
Boy howdy that's going to twist some turbans in Islamabad.
Lockheed Martin's Vice President for Business Development, Rob Weiss told PTI after the meeting that they had indicated that the F-35 was ready to be in reckoning for India's fighter needs beyond the induction of the 126 Multi Role Combat Aircraft
The offer would come in handy for India as the country's security experts have been struggling to find partners to develop futuristic 5th generation fighters. Though New Delhi has been in negotiation with Moscow for joint development and joint investment in next generation fighters, the Russian concepts of such fighters is currently only on the drawing board.
Russians have fabulous aircraft designers -- some of the best in the world -- but don't have the means to get 5th gen fighter aircraft built in any quantity and quality. The F-35 is a reality and will be rolling off production lines soon. While the Paks and Chinese might in the future come up with a counter for th F-16 or F-18, it's a decade, at least, before they get their hands on a plane that counters the F-35. This is a win-win situation for us and India: it pulls the Indians closer to us, it cuts the per-plane cost of the -35, and it allows the IAF a big jump in its quest to be a first-nation air force.
Posted by: John Frum ||
07/22/2007 09:22 ||
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#1
Big. Mistake. Let's just ship a couple to Russia while we're at it! Our government is stacked to the rafters with idiots.
Posted by: Natural Law ||
07/22/2007 10:03 Comments ||
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#2
This is about pulling India away from Russia and into the American sphere.
Dick Cheney intervened on Friday in the US-India nuclear talks to ensure that the deal was secured.
Weapon sales are integral to alliance building.
Posted by: John Frum ||
07/22/2007 10:20 Comments ||
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#3
Pakistan is unravelling. We need a solid alliance with India sooner, not later, if we are to control the damage when it implodes.
Saudis - Iraq - Iran - Afghanistan - Pakistan - India ... the pattern is not a coincidence.
#4
The F-35 is not the F-22; it was always meant for sale to friendly, or at least non-hostile countries.
Posted by: Gary and the Samoyeds ||
07/22/2007 10:53 Comments ||
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#5
This is about pulling India away from Russia and into the American sphere.
I understand the intent of the action. However, that doesn't eliminate the fact that India was once a client of the Soviets, and, there are still huge numbers of folks in the Indian military establishment that have a fondness --shall we say-- for the Russians.
Giving/Selling the F-35 to the Indians and the resulting technology transfer will be about the same as giving it to the Russians. Our government is stacked to the rafters with idiots!
Pakistan is unravelling. We need a solid alliance with India sooner, not later, if we are to control the damage when it implodes.
India is more than capable of dealing with the Pakis on their own, anytime they want to. We, need to give Mushy the finger and just clean out the tribal zones ourselves. I think around the clock ARCLIGHT missions for about 21 days ought to do it.
Posted by: Natural Law ||
07/22/2007 11:24 Comments ||
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#6
Saudis - Iraq - Iran - Afghanistan - Pakistan - India ... the pattern is not a coincidence.
The textile strategy. Checks are nice, but I was looking for something in a tie dye, maybe madras.
#8
Giving/Selling the F-35 to the Indians and the resulting technology transfer will be about the same as giving it to the Russians.
India has bought specialized gear for its special forces from the US. During exercises with Russia, it kept this equipment away from the Russians as per the sale agreement with the US.
The stuff provided by the CIA for spying on China was not shared with Russia.
Previous western equipment (the ELINT gear purchased from Japan, the French and British warplanes, the Israeli Greenpine ABM radars etc) has remained confined to India.
The Indians (unlike Pakistanis) actually pay cash for planes.
Boeing has just bagged orders for 68 aircraft from Air India worth more than $11 billion. Jet Airways have bought more than 30 planes from Boeing. Kigfisher Airlines is also looking at planes. Originally it wanted to buy 100 planes from Airbus. It now looks like Boeing will bag a portion of that order as well.
Posted by: John Frum ||
07/22/2007 12:08 Comments ||
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#9
Somehow I don't believe that, John Frum. It's nice that we get to cozy up to India, but I'm not a fan at all of sharing our latest greatest technology with anyone. With Britain, maybe.
Posted by: John Frum ||
07/22/2007 12:52 Comments ||
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#11
I'd rather share with India than Britain. Anything we give the Brits will go to the French and Germans and then to the Russians with a far higher probability than what's given to India. And in 25 years I'd rather be fighting next to the Indian Army rather than whatever the Brits will have as an army.
Face it, Britain is tanking. That leaves Oz and the Japanese, sort of and Denmark. We need allies. Allies we can talk to. Allies who share our values. Allies who understand what's at stake in this war. That describes India, not Britain.
#12
While there are many socialists and people that love the old Soviet union in India, it is actually behaving like a western democracy. It is respecting treaty rights in technology, intellectual rights and other "fuzzy" rights. Sure, there are those in the government that will try to sell some stuff to the russians, but all in all, I think it is worth the risk to add another ally to ring Russia and China. Not to mention the fact that they are not exactly friendly to the muzzies either.
#13
I think our greater interest is to keep India one step ahead of China with several technologies. China wants to oppose the US, but they dasn't ignore India. To have China spending a lot of its military dollars pointed in a different direction takes a lot of the pressure off of us.
#14
John Frum is correct. The real key to any export aircraft is not the airframe and the engines, but the avionics. There is always a custom suite for any export.
NEW DELHI, JULY 21:In a significant departure from all 123 agreements that the US has signed with other countries, India has extracted an explicit commitment in its bilateral nuclear cooperation agreement, which was finalised in Washington yesterday, that the US will not hinder the growth of Indias strategic weapons programme.
India had pushed for including this commitment specifically to address concerns emerging from the Hyde Act that contains references in its non-binding portions allowing the US government to make efforts to freeze and roll back Indias weapons programme.
These references had drawn criticism from the Left, BJP and former nuclear scientists even though Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had made it clear in his August 17 speech last year that Indias weapons programme will remain untouched.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: John Frum ||
07/22/2007 00:00 ||
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#2
Yup, this is a big deal. Combine this with the advanced weapons sales, the trade deals, the continued cultural exchanges, and the simple back and forth of a couple million people of Hindi heritage now living in the U.S., and you draw India firmly into the Anglosphere alliance. Which is going to be a mighty handy thing in the years ahead.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/22/2007 11:36 Comments ||
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#3
And let's think, who's almost exclusively responsible for this change in relations with India...John Kenneth Galbraith?
TWO people were killed and 15 wounded in Baghdad today when soccer-loving Iraqis fired weapons into the air to celebrate their team's quarter-final victory over Vietnam in the Asian Cup. Police said the victims had all been killed and wounded in central Baghdad.
Repeated bursts of automatic fire echoed around Baghdad straight after Iraq's national team won the match 2-0 in Bangkok.
With their country on the verge of all-out civil war, Iraqis have taken great delight in revelling in the progress of their soccer team in the Asian Cup. I like the last part where the writer smoothly interjects his opinion into an otherwise factual article.
They have done nicely, tho.
The victory is more important than it might appear to us soccer-ignorant Americans: it puts the Iraqis in a better position to qualify for the World Cup. That would do a fair bit, in a quiet way, to help unite the country.
#2
This is sooo middle-eastern. Perhaps someday, they will learn to celebrate by overturning police cars and setting fire to trash bins like traditional western sports fans.
#1
In their desperation for power, what the Donks forget is that while the war will bring out true hate America crowd to vote for them, the policies they pursue will certainly bring out the rest of America, which votes its pocketbook, when the economy dives as the result of international instability and American unreliability when their gal takes office and is unable to reverse course. Watch the price of oil climb even stepper and the hand wringing about opening existing known reserves get even sweatier. The economy will be hammered. And the lame duck bore sights land upon the clowns. In such desperation, their Freudian projections about 'stealing' elections will be implemented by their actions as they protect their power at any cost.
#2
It'll be a return to the good old days under Carter. You know, gas lines, America was running scared, it looked like the Soviets had the winning system, the military and CIA deteriorated, and our allies lost faith in us worldwide due to Congress' decision to cut off South Vietnam. Sounds like a Democrat paradise.
#3
Duhhh??? P2K, did you read this ridiculous shit from Rooters ? Investors pulling out of bottom feeder funds ? Meanwhile, the Dow surges past 14000 for first time. Most of this investment is based on foreign speculation anyway. If investors want security, let them turn to US Treasuries. Good for them and good for Uncle Sam. Oil could go higher. I hope it does. Let's get with the program on alternate fuels and break the choke hold the oil lobby has on both our economy and conduct of foreign affairs. If we didn't need much foreign oil, would we kiss up to Saoodis ? Give a rat's ass about Iraq ? I doubt it. We have some humanitarium interests of course, but let these be administered by the UN. What else are these suckers good for? We need massive investment in the latest nuclear technology which has the only hope of providing the high capacity and low cost power we need to move forward. Electric autos will never stand a chance unless we have very cheap electricity. Our main efforts for the next 20 years ought to be turned to achieving these goals.
#4
I have to agree with Woozle Elmeter2970. This is about investors shunning the riskiest investments after being burned, and moving to lower risk/lower reward. That's better for the market, and better for the economy, as the money isn't funding bad business decisions. There have been concerns (as there always are, it seems) that a balloon was going to pop with all that entails, and now that goes away. Although between reducing the deficit and discontinuing several of the Treasury time periods (the 30 years and the 10 years, I think), Treasuries are less available and lucrative than formerly.
Or so it seems to me. But I've never managed to more than an elementary grasp of matters financial, I'm afraid (Mr. Wife despairs sometimes over what will become of me, poor dear).
#7
TW, that's the reason we have economic cycles. Unfortunately the bigger the boom, the bigger the bust (for the reason you state), which is why I think we may be entering 'interesting times'.
#10
PS, this from a reliable source, and it was conveniently omitted from the artiturd, so pass it on;
According to FED data, savings rose from 3.6 to 3.9 $trillion over the last year. That's about a 10%/yr increase. How is that "horrible" or "poor"?
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.
(SomaliNet) The Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict today adopted recommendations regarding children in armed conflict in Uganda and Somalia, as well as examining recent reports by the Secretary-General on the situation in Chad and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). 
