GENEVA - Thousands of children in war-torn Somalia risk dying from the insecurity, famine and sickness as the countrys humanitarian crisis worsens, the United Nations childrens agency warned on Thursday.
Amazing, huh? Three decades of civil war, Islamist skull-duggery, vandalism, gang wars, and kleptomania have left the country unable to feed its children. Yup, surprised me too.
Unless we are able to address the very basic needs of water and food you will see a time bomb soon exploding in Somalia, said Christian Balslev-Olesen, UNICEFs representative for the country. If we are not able to do so, these kids will die, he told journalists.
UNICEF is asking for 10 million dollars (6.8 million euros) from the international community to provide food and medical assistance over the next few weeks to around 90,000 children who depend entirely on food aid for their survival. We already have incidences of children dying because of outbreaks of cholera, we have high levels of malnutrition and that means people, children specifically, are dying today for lack of food, Balslev-Olesen said.
UNICEF hopes to avoid another nightmare scenario such as in the early 1990s, when 300,000 people died in just three months at the beginning of Somalias civil war, he added.
Aid agency Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF - Doctors Without Borders) last week said the international community should shoulder some of the blame for the crisis. There has been a collective failure by the international community, who must share some of the responsibility for the current situation, MSF Operations Director Bruno Jochum told AFP.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/15/2008 00:00 ||
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And of course, the solution is more money poured into Africa. How did I know this without even reading the article?
#2
UNICEF has been around since 1946. There are more hungry people now than ever. Like trying to find a cure for taxes, I'd say it's a failed effort. Try something else.
#8
yes, Gorb, and they have children. I'm sure they're raising them in sweetness and light with unicorn dreams and bushels of qhat. I tend to hold grudges. You can help em, I won't
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/15/2008 7:52 Comments ||
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#9
My point was pretty much like yours: Things seem the same even though they are 14 years down the road or so. They keep hopelessly passing the same torch to the next lot. They are in basically the same wretched state they were in when the US pulled out. The only thing they seem to learn are the wrong lessons.
Until they see the light I don't intend to give them any more help than you do - it will just encourage them to breed more of the same. AFAIAC if they are hungry they can eat their faith.
Not that there's anything wrong with their society, of course . . . .
#10
k - I misunderstood your point - thx for keeping me straight :-)
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/15/2008 8:59 Comments ||
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#11
What happened the the projected mass famine predicted by our intervention in Afghanistan? Are thousands of children in the same dire straights there and Iraq? Why the difference? Inquiring minds want to know./sarcasm off
Liberals - its about feelings and appearances. It's never about actually fixing a problem if it means having to break things and dealing with a some chaos on the way to get to the underlying pathology that feeds it.
#12
UNICEF's total income was $1.97 BILLION in 2004, of which 94 percent went to programs. As I do the math, that's $118 million that went to "administrative" costs. If they can't cut $10 MILLION a year out of that budget to save the children of Somalia "over the next few weeks", then I sure as hell am not sending UNICEF even more money.
#13
And this'll be the absolute last time you'll ask, right UNICEF?
It's all our fault. Right, UNICEF? Right, Medecins Sans Frontieres? Bullshit. It's not our fault. Maybe when these noble Africans start fessin up that maybe, just maybe, some of these neverending situations on that pesthole continent of theirs might just be a teeny tiny bit their fault, you can come and talk to me. Until then, don't bother.
#14
it's like carbon credits...libz & rinos love 2 throw money at problems - doesn't matter if they get solved as long as the libz&rinos buy off their own silly feelings of guilt. Meh...$$ rarely ever improves a behavior...which is the big prob w/africa...the idiots there won't fix their behavior. HIV infected men having sex w/13 yr old girls - insanity.
As a father I feel bad for the suffering of any child but it's not our job to try and fix africa w/our tax$$. Cut'em loose mesez & screw bono - self rightous ass.
UNICEF's been out of the headlines lately and needs to feel important, GIMME MONEY.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
02/15/2008 12:30 Comments ||
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"For the Children" (Of course)
Pay no attention to that paymaster behind the curtain passing out huge salary checks. That doesn't count. (Because by shuffling around trillions of dollars we can make it seem like a low percentage.)
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
02/15/2008 12:47 Comments ||
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#17
UNICEF has been around since 1946. There are more hungry people now than ever. Like trying to find a cure for taxes, I'd say it's a failed effort. Try something else.
Offer free sterilization for recipients of the AID food, that should cut down on the next crop of "Starving Orphans".(Unwanted babies)
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
02/15/2008 12:50 Comments ||
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#8: yes, Gorb, and they have children. I'm sure they're raising them in sweetness and light with unicorn dreams and bushels of qhat. I tend to hold grudges. You can help em, I won't
ditto Frank...
also, getting 94% of total receipts out in aid is very efficient for a charity. especially one with the initials UN in it.
Posted by: Abu do you love ||
02/15/2008 19:59 Comments ||
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"94% to programs" may not be giving out 94% as aid. Trust the U.N. bureaucracy to have different definitions than the norm.
#20
I didn't have to Google far before finding their numbers game:
In 2007, the "UNICEF United States Fund" only transferred 83% of its "Total Support and Revenue" on to UNICEF. (Source: 2007 Annual Report.) So 17% was used before the US contribution made it to the international bureaucrats. The international level can look good because they get big chunks like the $309 million (the 83%) with minimal fund-raising effort. So they can combine all those big checks and then $118 million for administrative costs. 94% of 83% is 78%. Now they don't look so good, do they?
NAIROBI - Kenyas rival parties on Thursday signed an agreement during talks led by Kofi Annan aiming to end weeks of political turmoil that has left more than 1,000 people dead, the UN said. No details were given but Annan has called a news conference for Friday to outline what was agreed in 48 hours of discussion at a location outside the capital, said a UN statement. Mr Annan will make available the text of the agreement signed today between the two parties, it added.
The former UN secretary general had been pushing for a power-sharing agreement to resolve the dispute over the result of the December 27 presidential election that unleashed nationwide violence. Talks were to resume on Monday in Nairobi, the statement added.
In an address to parliament this week, Annan put forward the idea of a grand coalition government that could oversee reforms and pave the way to elections, possibly in two years. But Kibakis lead negotiator Martha Karua sent a protest letter to Annan, saying such an arrangement had never been discussed in the mediation talks or agreed upon.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/15/2008 00:00 ||
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A Catholic priest was sentenced by the tribunal of Oran, a city in northwestern Algeria, to a year in prison for having directed a religious ceremony in a place which has not been recognized by the government. Father Pierre Wallez is the first victim of legislation approved in March 2006 regarding the exercise of the practices of non Muslim worship, in this North African country of 33 million residents, 99% of whom are Muslim.
Speaking Saturday on Vatican Radio, Archbishop Henri Teissier of Alger, explained that the most surprising thing is that the conviction was issued simply because the priest visited a group of Christians in Cameroon. He had not celebrated Mass, but was only joining them in a prayer. It was Dec. 29, a little after Christmas."
The prelate clarified that the sentence will not be carried out, because the tribunal decided to modify it to a sentence of parole. Obviously we are all very shocked by the decision made against our brother, the archbishop said.
According to a report by the Italian daily Avvenire, along with Father Wallez, a young Muslim doctor was condemned to a harsher punishment (two years without parole) for using medicines paid for by Caritas, sources from the Algers archdiocesan office said. They systematically reject entrance visas for our delegates, stated the archbishop, and in November they withdrew the residency permission for four young Brazilian priests who were working with the Portuguese-speaking African immigrants.
In Algeria, Islam is the state religion, and freedom of worship is purportedly guaranteed by the constitution. The new law on worship sought above all to control clandestine evangelical proselytizing groups, which Archbishop Tessier said, have made something of a racket because of the conversion of some of the faithful.
The law, composed of 17 articles, prohibits the exercise of non-Islamic worship outside buildings approved by authorities. An article allows for fines and prison for anyone "who changes the original function of places of worship or incites, coerces, or uses persuasive means to oblige a Muslim to embrace another religion. The same penalties are also applied to those who produce, store, or distribute publications or audio or video material or other means oriented toward undermining faith in Islam.
So how's that 'freedom of religion' thing working out?
Posted by: Fred ||
02/15/2008 00:00 ||
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Speaking Saturday on Vatican Radio, Archbishop Henri Teissier of Alger, explained that the most surprising thing is that the conviction was issued simply because the priest visited a group of Christians in Cameroon . He had not celebrated Mass, but was only joining them in a prayer. It was Dec. 29, a little after Christmas." (emphasis added)
A Catholic priest residing in Algeria was arrested and sentenced to one year in prison for participating in a public prayer in Cameroon.
A repentant "Christian" has revealed his story with Christianity and different contradictions for over 6 years he has been living among Christians in Tizi Ouzou province (100 km east of Algiers). The 36-year-old man is a poor orphan and suffers from a disease which needs a surgery. A Christian sect in Tizi Ouzou seized the opportunity of his social crisis to convince him that Christianity would resolve all his problems. He was given money, a comfortable house and a decent job among Christian leaders in Tizi Ouzou. He was also promised to be helped in all necessary procedures for his surgery and marrying a French woman. "I belived in all these promises during the time I was frequenting different Christian sects in Tizi Ouzou," he said. "But I started having doubts in this belief all that time and my dreams became illusions," he added.
The man said he followed that sect because he believed in it. He used to go for prayer at Tizi Ouzou's churches in shabby clothes but Christians were asking him to change his style, shave his beard and put on suitable clothes to enter the churches. The man shaved his beard and bought a new suit. At a church in Tizi Ouzou, he was surprised by warm welcome there. Then, he was wondering what the purpose of Christianity is after those Christians ignored because he looked poor.
God for poor and another one for rich
He did not hide his confusion about Christianity and declared it at the church explaining the difference of those Christians' behaviour with him before and after he changed his style. "I believed that there are two gods; one for the poor and another one for rich and those who wear suits," he said. After 6 years, the repentant Christian realized that he was wrong. He noticed that the Christians he met were friendly with each other on the basis of interests and not according to divine religions. "I realised that they will not treat me from my disease. They prefer getting friendlier with the rich," he said.
Russian on a secrete mission
The man met Thierry Constantinophe, a Russian Orthodox preacher who came to Algeria for evangelisation purposes. His mission was to activate different Catholic churches which used to work in Tizi Ouzou. The man told Echorouk that the preacher agreed with him on giving him a room in Tizi Ouzou in return for providing the preacher with information about the town and helping him in accomplishing his mission in Algeria.
In the beginning, the man was happy and had big hopes in future but he started discovering exciting and frightening facts. The preacher was illegally staying in Algeria as he was renting an apartment in Tizi Ouzou in the name of another person. According to reliable sources, the Russian entered Algeria throughout France after he had got a visa from Algerian consulate in Paris. He was moving from a village to another in Tizi Ouzou carrying his laptop and gathering information about people there, according to the repentant man. The Russian preacher's goals were reopening churches and setting up a training centre for Christians in Tizi Ouzou.
Strange practices
The Russian's house was a place for prayer. There were a Cross and some statutes of Jesus and the Virgin Mary. He was praying 8 times per day inviting many new Christians to pray with him and participate in Orthodox practices. Then, he gave them money to main them at his service.
The man said a man from Boumerdes province (50 km east of Algiers) and a woman from Tizi Ouzou were living in the Russian preacher's house. They were everyday taking special courses in ways used in evangelisation. He was hearing all sounds coming from their room as they had sex. "That was an animal relation. Shouting coming from their room and the sound of whacks on the woman's body were indicating that."
Six months later, the man reminded the Russian preacher of his promises but the latter said he did not know him and drove him away from the apartment.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/15/2008 00:00 ||
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Nasty, nasty Christians. You just can't trust them, can you.
Seems like China's government is inflicting the Death of a Thousand Cuts on itself. Its actions in Darfur seems to be yet another cut.
China defended its policies in Darfur on Thursday and rejected attempts to link the humanitarian crisis to the Beijing Olympics, a day after Steven Spielberg said his conscience would not allow him to continue working as an adviser to the event. The director's decision was part of growing criticism against China, targeting everything from its food safety to diplomatic policies abroad. Officials have repeatedly argued that the Olympics is a sporting event and should not be "politicized."
President Bush said Thursday that although he was concerned about the slow pace of international action in the Darfur region of Sudan, it wouldn't stop him from attending the Olympics.
He said Spielberg's decision to resign as an artistic adviser to the Olympics was personal. "That's up to him. I'm going to the Olympics. I view the Olympics as a sporting event," Bush said in an interview with British Broadcasting Corp. television. "On the other hand, I have a little different platform than Steven Spielberg, so I get to talk to President Hu Jintao," Bush said. "I do remind him that he can do more to relieve the suffering in Darfur." Zinnnnng!
Meanwhile, a top European Union official said athletes should resist raising human rights and other sensitive political issues during the Beijing Olympics. "Sports is too important. It is too important to use it as a political instrument," said Milan Zver, the sports minister of Slovenia, which holds the EU presidency.
China is believed to have special influence with the Islamic regime because it buys two-thirds of Sudan's oil exports while selling it weapons and defending Khartoum in the U.N. Security Council. Fighting in Darfur has killed more than 200,000 people since 2003.
The Beijing Olympics organizing committee expressed regret over Spielberg's statement, in which the director said he felt China wasn't doing enough to pressure Sudan into ending the conflict. "Linking the Darfur issue to the Olympic Games will not help to resolve this issue and is not in line with the Olympic Spirit that separates sports from politics," BOCOG said, adding preparations for the opening and closing ceremonies were progressing smoothly.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said it was understandable if some people did not understand China's policy on Darfur, though, "some people may have ulterior motives, and this we cannot accept." He did not elaborate on what the ulterior motives might be.
China has made significant changes to its policies in Sudan within the last year, appointing a special envoy to the region and sending 140 engineers to help prepare for the arrival of a planned hybrid peacekeeping force. The efforts have earned kudos from the United States.
Political statements by athletes have become a growing issue as the Beijing Games approach, with less than six months until the opening ceremony. Under IOC rules, athletes cannot discuss political issues within Olympic zones, but should have freedom of speech outside them. The EU's Zver said that even though he understood the importance of human rights, the Beijing Games should be spared the controversy. "The Olympics is not a good place for that," Zver said in an interview with The Associated Press in Brussels. "We, the politicians, have to do that."
Zver believes multinational companies that trade and invest in China have more of an obligation to speak up rather than athletes. "All the great companies from Europe and the United States try to be integrated in the economic development of China," he said. "They should say something, more efficiently, not the athletes."
#1
This is a good move by SS. The left; and all its affiliated governments, have never taken responsibility for the actions of their own ministrations, Obama has already said he wants US out of Iraq and into Darfur....imagine that.
The Chinese are a big power now, yet they still play Putin games, as there wealth and prestige grows from Capitalism, that saved them from oblivious socialism, maybe a light will come on and they'll become moral leaders instead of the duplicitous opportunists that always turn a blind eye to slaughter of innocents, while advancing hegemony of leftist cause.
Spielbergs, first steps are welcome from my point of view, had he understood the crimes of saddam and spoke out; we would know he had a consistant moral principle guiding him....perhaps these are constructive first steps in formulating a new awareness......we just dont know.
"Sports is too important. It is too important to use it as a political instrument," said Milan Zver, the sports minister of Slovenia, which holds the EU presidency.
Wow, what a plonk. Of course, it would probably require a plonk to voluntarily become minister of sport, anyways.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
02/15/2008 8:48 Comments ||
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#3
Under IOC rules, athletes cannot discuss political issues within Olympic zones, but should have freedom of speech outside them. The EU's Zver said that even though he understood the importance of human rights, the Beijing Games should be spared the controversy.
I remember when Avery Brundage didn't shut down the Munich games even while Black September was butchering the Israelis. They don't like it when somebody besmirches their expensive little plaything.
#5
FREEREPUBLIC > IS THE MIRACLE OVER - MASSIVE UNEMPLOYMENT LOOMING IN CHINA?; + CHINESE MIL FORUM POster threads > CHINA'S INFRASTRUCTURE MIRACLE; + THE FINANCIAL DESTINY OF AMERICA IS IN CHINA'S HANDS.
A member of Germany's state parliament has sparked outrage by arguing for the return of the dreaded East German Stasi secret police. Christel Wegner, of the German Communist Party, said such an organisation would be needed to protect against "reactionary forces".
But a couple of folks in Brussels put down their teacups and stroked their chins in a thoughtful manner...
#1
One of three.... still McCain-Feingold and Immigration to go. Gotta admit, I have this feeling he'll pull a Howard Dean and make himself unelectable to the middle-grounders sometime between now and Nov. Not looking forward to the next 4 years.... if we last that long.
WASHINGTON (AP) - Declaring the age of paternalism over, President Bush said Thursday the United States demands clear results for the billions of taxpayer dollars it sends to Africa. He accused other nations of exploiting the continent's resources or irresponsibly offering aid as charity. "America is serving as an investor, not as a donor," Bush said in a tone-setting preview of his six-day trip to Africa, which begins Saturday.
Bush's speech was largely aimed at Congress, which sets the foreign aid budgets that will ultimately shape whether his initiatives outlast his presidency.
The president said the United States has a moral imperative and a vital security interest in helping Africa overcome disease, poverty and instability. His message reflected that foreign aid goes over better with lawmakers and the taxpaying public when it turns up tangible results and lasting change.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/15/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
That is a HUGE relief. This White Man's Burden is HEAVY.
#2
How is this a renunciation of paternalism? Seems more like a shift from maternalism to me - going from "oh you poor, poor babies, have a cookie" to "here's a cookie, now shape up you slacker" isn't exactly abandonment.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
02/15/2008 8:51 Comments ||
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The blood pile and human degradation was a lot less under paternalistic colonialism [except in the Belgium Congo].
#6
Bush's speech was largely aimed at Congress, which sets the foreign aid budgets
Congressional accountability for foreign aid and earmarks is a no-brainer in these days of tough budgetary cuts yet no one has ever demanded it before!!!! Sprint on home, Mr. President, and I hope the end of Colonialism in favor of freedom is your legacy.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg has unleashed another flurry of jabs on Washington, ridiculing the federal government's rebate checks as being "like giving a drink to an alcoholic" on Thursday, and said the presidential candidates are looking for easy solutions to complex economic problems. The billionaire and potential independent presidential candidate also said the nation "has a balance sheet that's starting to look more and more like a third-world country."
President Bush signed legislation Wednesday that will result in cash rebates ranging from $300 to $1,200 for more than 130 million people. The federal checks are the centerpiece of the government's emergency effort to stimulate the economy, under the theory that most people will spend the money right away. But Bloomberg does not believe it will do much good. And his harsh words at a news conference Thursday reflect the view among some of his associates that the country's economic woes present a unique opportunity for him to launch a third-party bid for the White House.
The theory among those urging him to run for president is that a businessman who rose from Wall Street to build his own financial information empire might be particularly appealing as the fiscal crisis worsens. Publicly, Bloomberg says he is "not a candidate," and explained recently he is speaking out on national issues as part of an "experiment" to influence the dialogue in the race.
His tirade against the candidates and the economic stimulus package on Thursday began when he was asked how that experiment is going. In his answer, he praised Democrat Barack Obama for the plan the Illinois senator outlined on Wednesday that would create a National Infrastructure Reinvestment Bank to rebuild highways, bridges, airports and other public projects. Obama projects it could generate nearly 2 million jobs.
Last month, Bloomberg and Govs. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California and Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania announced a coalition that would urge more investment in infrastructure. "I don't know whether Senator Obama looked to see what I've been advocating, or not -- you'll have to ask him -- but he's doing the right thing," Bloomberg said.
But then the mayor went on to say that while the presidential candidates appear to be talking more about the economy now, they are looking for quick fixes to please voters instead of focusing on the roots of the problem. "Nobody wants to sit there and say, 'Well there's no easy solution,"' Bloomberg said. "They want to send out a check to everybody to stimulate the economy. I suppose it won't hurt the economy but it's in many senses like giving a drink to an alcoholic."
Posted by: Fred ||
02/15/2008 00:00 ||
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The billionaire and potential independent presidential candidate also said the nation "has a balance sheet that's starting to look more and more like a third-world country."
He's obviously spending far too much time in California.
#2
Mayor Nanny needs a good beating every time he opens his mouth. I'm getting real tired of his moral hectoring and nanny statism. Perhaps he should make that third party run to see what America really thinks of his moral genius
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/15/2008 6:21 Comments ||
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#3
"has a balance sheet that's starting to look more and more like a third-world country."
Which is more than enough reason to reject yet more big welfare programs.
#4
More CFR politics postured to purpose, he's another useful idiot that will be running to disagragate momentum for independent solutions.
There is ney a word from him about the persistant Naked short selling in the markets,(a subject his friends know a lot about) we'll need infrastructure projects because of it. All well n good, because that is the plan, afterall, isnt it?
#5
"has a balance sheet that's starting to look more and more like a third-world country."
Well, Mike o'boy, let's just pull up the balance sheet from 1960 and compare the difference with today. Why, why that big friggin cancerous increase in federal spending on health. That was barely visible on the books back then. So, what'cha going to do about getting that back to its original state before it became malignant?
#7
"The billionaire and potential independent presidential candidate..."
Only the billion provides the potential.
"said the presidential candidates are looking for easy solutions to complex economic problems"
Unlike those governors who are just looking for hand-outs:
"Last month, Bloomberg and Govs. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California and Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania announced a coalition that would urge more investment in infrastructure."
Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton has double-digit leads over Barack Obama in Ohio and Pennsylvania, both crucial states in upcoming primaries, according to Quinnipiac University poll released on Thursday.
Clinton, a New York senator, has lost eight straight nominating contests to Illinois Sen. Obama, but leads him 55 percent to 34 percent among likely Democratic primary voters in Ohio, the poll found.
Among Ohio Democrats, women back Clinton, 56 percent to 30 percent for Obama, while men back Clinton 52 percent to 42 percent, the poll found.
White Democrats favor Clinton 64 percent to 28 percent, while Obama leads 64 to 17 percent among black voters, according to the survey. "Ohio is as good a demographic fit for Sen. Clinton as she will find," Peter Brown, an Quinnipiac University Polling Institute official, said in a statement.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/15/2008 00:00 ||
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Go, Hillsie, go! Yay, Ohio!
(I'll admit it, I'm selfish. I want a brokered convention and back-room dealing and floor fights. We haven't had one of those in a generation. It'll be fun.)
Posted by: Mike ||
02/15/2008 9:03 Comments ||
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#2
oh, and don't forget: Hillary - Selected, Not Elected!
#3
The Pennsylvania primary is over two months away. A lot can happen in two months. For instance, ignorant Democrats (not that there would be many) might stop answering polls on long-term name recognition alone and might discover that this sounds-like-Osama guy is more attractive than this sounds-like-witch.
BALASORE: After successfully test-firing anti-ballistic missiles and the land version of the Agni series, Indian defence scientists are preparing to launch a ballistic missile from under water. The ballistic missile (SLBM) K-15 is to be test-fired from an underwater launcher, a replica of a submarine, next week.
"The missile will be fired on February 24 or 25 from INS Kalinga, about 13 km from Vishakhapatnam,'' a source at the integrated test range (ITR) at Chandipur-on-sea told TOI.
"The missile will be fired from an underwater launcher 50 metres deep and about eight km from the coastline. Called Pontoon, the launcher has been designed by Electronics Corporation of India,'' said the source, adding that a strategic missile with a strike range of 750 km will be used for the purpose.
Posted by: john frum ||
02/15/2008 16:47 ||
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Located up the winding shipping channel in Visakhapatnam harbour is a secret, completely enclosed facility known only as the Shipbuilding Centre (SBC).
Inside this dry dock, nearly 50m below ground level, is a cylindrical black shape, which is as tall as a two-storey building and at 104 m in length, is longer than the Qutub Minar lying on its side.
Technicians working on it confess to a surge of national pride: Indias first nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine or SSBN is arguably its greatest engineering project.
Posted by: john frum ||
02/15/2008 16:55 Comments ||
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The India Today article mentions three K15 missiles to each tube with the option to replace them with a single Agni-3 SLBM variant
Looking at that photo of the inside of the tube, it appears that the opening is one of three. I assume the missile cannister will be lowered into this tube frame.
Posted by: john frum ||
02/15/2008 18:56 Comments ||
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"a secret, completely enclosed facility"
Ummmm - not anymore.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
02/15/2008 20:11 Comments ||
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Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan (JUP-Chishti group) provincial President Pir Muhammad Chishti announced on Thursday a political alliance of his party with the Awami National Party (ANP).
During a press conference at the Peshawar Press Club, the JUP leader said that his group would support the ANPs national and provincial assembly candidates in all constituencies of the province. He said the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) had ignored smaller component parties of the Muttahidda Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) during its five-year rule and deprived them of their rights. ANP Central Senior Vice President and NA-1 Peshawar-1 candidate Haji Ghulam Ahmed Bilour was also present on the occasion.
Incompetent people: Chishti slammed the JUI-F leaders for appointing their incapable and undeserving people to various posts at madrassas (seminaries) and educational institutions during their five-year rule and ignoring capable and qualified workers associated with the JUP. He said the rights of people belonging to Barelvi school of thought were trampled at all levels. The late Maulana Shah Ahmed Noorani formed the MMA for the sake of Pakistan and its ideology, but two big components of the religious alliance deprived the smaller components of their rights, said Chishti. He appreciated JI Chief Qazi Hussain Ahmed for his efforts to keep the MMA intact. Chishti said the JUI-F always tried to harm others and benefit itself. He hoped the ANP would respect the rights of the JUP.
ANP leader Ghulam Bilour said his party respected the rights of minorities and assured the JUP-Chishti his party would take care of its rights at all forums. Bilour said the ANP leaders were taking part in election activities in spite of security concerns, adding it was the duty of the government to protect the life and property of citizens. He said the government would rig the polls but the ANP activists would thwart its bids.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/15/2008 00:00 ||
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France and the United States have threatened not to participate in the 2009 United Nations anti-racism conference if it showed signs of being dominated by the same anti-Semitism that was so prevalent in the controversial 2001 event held in Durban, South Africa. "The Durban conference in 2001 led to intolerable excesses from certain states and numerous NGOs which turned that conference into a forum against Israel that no one has forgotten," said French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
He spoke on Wednesday night at the annual dinner of the Representative Council of France's Jewish institutions, known as CRIF. "France will not allow a repetition of the excesses and abuses of 2001," said Sarkozy. He noted that France would be a significant player when it came to the 2009 conference, because it is slated to hold the rotating EU presidency around that time. "If ever our legitimate demands are not taken into account we will disengage from the process," said Sarkozy.
His remarks were provided to The Jerusalem Post by the nongovernmental Geneva-based group UN Watch, who along with the American Jewish Committee welcomed his words. "It is a very powerful statement. Europe's heads of state need to follow his lead. For the first time we are seeing a real red line being laid down by a European head of state regarding the alarming developments of Durban II," said UN Watch Executive Director Hillel Neuer.
The 2001 conference had been intended to highlight issues of racism and xenophobia around the globe, but quickly disintegrated into a forum in which to bash Jews and Israel. Among other things, it equated Zionism with racism. Canada has already announced that it would not attend the 2009 follow-up event.
Speaking in Washington on Wednesday, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said that the US could similarly decide not to attend this time around as well. The US and Israel walked out of the last conference to protest the excessive anti-Jewish bashing that occurred. The final decision regarding US attendance at the 2009 conference will, however, be made by the newly elected president and not by President George W. Bush, who leaves office in January 2009.
In contrast, South Africa's President Thabo Mbeki proudly announced last Friday in a speech before his parliament that the conference would once again be hosted in Durban. "Next year, South Africa will play host to the Review Conference to evaluate the implementation of the decisions of the World Conference Against Racism which was held in our country in [2001]," Mbeki said.
The office of the UN high commissioner for human rights said that no final decision had yet been made. All formal decisions regarding the 2009 event are handled by the planning committee, which is headed by Libya.
Neuer, whose group has already protested the composition of the planning committee, told the Post on Thursday that he was concerned about Mbeki's statements and believed they bore testament to the fact that the 2009 event would indeed be in Durban. "This has to be stopped," he said.
The 2009 event is known as a review conference, and such conferences are typically held in Geneva or New York. The venue of the last conference played a large role in its disintegration, said Neuer. People were physically attacked there, he said, and added that the conference needed to be in a much more controlled environment, like Geneva or New York.
#7
Good first step. Boycott the UN's work product, then move on and up to boycotting the UN altogether...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
02/15/2008 12:59 Comments ||
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#8
When you have to remove a big pile of bulls**t left on your driveway, you got to start with a shovelful.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
02/15/2008 13:56 Comments ||
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#9
I think the US should attend and take careful notes and at the end give a speech about which NGOs lose tax exempt status in the US and which might be prosecuted for hate speech and which nations and peoples have now managed to get onto the US enemies list which means no more money of any kind plus the occasional SEAL team in the dead of night if we feel like it just to make sure jerkoffs sleep well.
That's what I'd do.
I'd follow it up with a written declartion to the United Nations demanding action, suspensions, and movement to another site as it is clear the UN sanctions anti-US hate speech.
Words must have repercussions. We should not be afraid of them, but we MUST respond.
A leader of Myanmar's biggest rebel group was shot dead at his home in a Thai border town on Thursday in an assassination immediately blamed on troops loyal to the former Burma's military junta.
Mahn Sha Lar Phan, secretary-general of the Karen National Union (KNU), was shot at his two-storey wooden home by two men who arrived in a pickup truck, his neighbor Kim Suay told Reuters at the scene. He died instantly. "One of them walked up to the house and said in Karen 'How are you, uncle?' Then the other man joined him after parking the truck and they both shot him with two pistols," she said, her voice shaking with emotion.
In an interview with Reuters on Monday, he had predicted a possible increase in violence ahead of a constitutional referendum in the former Burma in May. However, the KNU and its armed wing, the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), are riven by internal feuds and lethal vendettas. His son Hse Hse, another senior member of the predominantly Christian Karen rebel movement, blamed a Buddhist Karen splinter group which brokered a truce with the Myanmar junta in the mid-1990s. "This is the work of the DKBA and the Burmese soldiers,"" Hse Hse said, referring to the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army.
The Irrawaddy, an exile-run magazine based in the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai, said there had been several recent attacks and assassination attempts between mainstream KNU members and the breakaway 7th Brigade led by Htain Maung, which agreed a ceasefire with the junta last year.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/15/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[5 views]
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Hearings on the first application in 30 years for an operating license for a nuclear reactor have been delayed indefinitely. The reactor design is by General Electric and similar plants are already operating in Japan. But the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, after accepting the application and giving opponents until later this month to file their objections, has concluded that the application is not complete enough to proceed, a commission spokesman said.
#1
Jeebus. What's the holdup? Are these bureaucrats mandated to keep us dependent for energy on 7th century barbarians? The much safer Generation 3 reactor type is already producing power in Japan and these two are located at the South Texas Nuclear Project which has been producing power for 20 years.
For comparison, the 4 reactors at STNP will produce more power than all the wind turbines in the USA, do it reliably and don't need spinning backup. And that's even after a 45% wind power capacity increase in 2007.
Posted by: ed ||
02/15/2008 19:45 Comments ||
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#4
the application is not complete enough to proceed,
Horsepooky. This has nothing to do with the application and everything to do with "environmentalists". Needle-dicked Bugwits.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
02/15/2008 22:20 Comments ||
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#2
Vancouver BC had an explosion 2 nights ago at a resturant; the police have not yet been able to question the suspect ( in hospital with burns over 40% of his body) so the motive is unknown.
Fire from a pipeline explosion here had nearly burned itself out, three hours after it began.
Hidalgo County Emergency Manager Tony Pena said earlier reports of one injury in the explosion were incorrect. Smoke from the fire was no longer visible and Pena said the fire would probably be out within an hour.
The pipeline is owned by Hesco, Pena said.
Farm-to-Market Road 490 west of McCook was damaged by fire and would likely remain closed through the day, Pena said.
The fire marshal was investigating the cause of the explosion, Pena said.
Black smoke rushed across a cloudy sky in northern Hidalgo County on Friday, driven by winds gusting to 40 mph. Orange flames were visible just over a rise. Flames from the rupture reached 400 feet to 500 feet, Pena said.
Firefighters shut flow of crude oil distillate about 10 miles down the pipeline and were waiting for the rest of the crude to burn off.
Phyllis Pilarcyzk owner of the McCook Trading Post, said she knew little "except it was a big boom." She described the rural farming community in northwest Hidalgo County as "30 miles from anything."
#4
Since the linked AP headline reads Explosion not Explosions,and because the article at the link mentions only one explosion, I put my bet on "accident", Alan.
#6
Drudge is saying there was a large blast in the tourist section of Mexico City
hopefully it caught a lot of the pickpockets, thieves, and scam artists, rather than tourists. Yeah, I been to the Zona Rosa
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/15/2008 20:13 Comments ||
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#7
Standard pipeline explosion due to shoddy, low-rent maintenance, I'm betting. In Houston, refineries seemd to blow up or catch fire all the time with BP being the worst offender, IIRC. Shelter in place - you can go outside when the air is breathable again.
#8
After the latest BP explosion the chemical company where I work did a Process Hazzard Assement and we had to do some serious process changes to avoid a similar situation. Sometimes ya don't know it's gonna happen till it happens.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
02/15/2008 21:14 Comments ||
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#9
Steve S is correct . . . just check the map,
Phyllis Pilarcyzk owner of the McCook Trading Post, said she knew little "except it was a big boom." She described the rural farming community in northwest Hidalgo County as "30 miles from anything."
I'm surprised she heard it - they are almost nowhere, with lots of petro infrastructure around.
Academics deciding what to do with a professor "who has applied evolutionary psychology to studying Jews in ways that scholars find offensive and inaccurate." RTWT
#5
MacDonald argues with backing from Vanguard News Network that Jewish people band together, in part to undercut white society in the United States. He says that they do this in part by supporting immigrants, with the idea that letting more Latinos into the United States would advance Jewish interests by weakening the country.
That's a very dangerous meme . It is just believable enough - Jews supported diversity, Newspapers seem to work against the interests of the average American citizen and our government fails to stop the flood immigrants from coming in and undermining our country.
Universities need to do more to prevent this type of dangerous speech. I feel certain they would find a way to limit it if the meme was white supremacy or anti-Muslim bigotry.
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.
A Catholic priest was sentenced by the tribunal of Oran, a city in northwestern Algeria, to a year in prison for having directed a religious ceremony in a place which has not been recognized by the government. Father Pierre Wallez is the first victim of legislation approved in March 2006 regarding the exercise of the practices of non Muslim worship, in this North African country of 33 million residents, 99% of whom are Muslim. 
A repentant "Christian" has revealed his story with Christianity and different contradictions for over 6 years he has been living among Christians in Tizi Ouzou province (100 km east of Algiers). The 36-year-old man is a poor orphan and suffers from a disease which needs a surgery. A Christian sect in Tizi Ouzou seized the opportunity of his social crisis to convince him that Christianity would resolve all his problems. He was given money, a comfortable house and a decent job among Christian leaders in Tizi Ouzou. He was also promised to be helped in all necessary procedures for his surgery and marrying a French woman. "I belived in all these promises during the time I was frequenting different Christian sects in Tizi Ouzou," he said. "But I started having doubts in this belief all that time and my dreams became illusions," he added. 
Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton has double-digit leads over Barack Obama in Ohio and Pennsylvania, both crucial states in upcoming primaries, according to Quinnipiac University poll released on Thursday.
France and the United States have threatened not to participate in the 2009 United Nations anti-racism conference if it showed signs of being dominated by the same anti-Semitism that was so prevalent in the controversial 2001 event held in Durban, South Africa. "The Durban conference in 2001 led to intolerable excesses from certain states and numerous NGOs which turned that conference into a forum against Israel that no one has forgotten," said French President Nicolas Sarkozy. 
A leader of Myanmar's biggest rebel group was shot dead at his home in a Thai border town on Thursday in an assassination immediately blamed on troops loyal to the former Burma's military junta.
