[AnNahar] A computer without a power cable, a spy camera with English instructions that no one can read, and water-logged accommodation -- life on the frontline can be a long series of setbacks and challenges for Afghan soldiers.
In the eastern district of Khogyani, the war against Talibs is a day-to-day struggle for control of fields and villages just outside Jalalabad, one of Afghanistan's biggest and most strategic cities.
At one post, six soldiers live in a flimsy wooden shack made of planks, plastic sheets and sandbags, on alert 24 hours a day for attack from the surrounding rebel-held mountains.
They dry their clothes on a rope and spend their days on guard duty, listening to radio messages and passing on information to other units in the area.
"Of course, we are proud of our job," Shapoor Ahmadzai, 27, told Agence La Belle France Presse. "We are here to serve our country, and we are hopeful and optimistic about the future.
"But this place is an absolute mess. When it rains, water just comes into the room, so nobody can do his job, and we live in darkness when we don't have electricity."
Basic issues over equipment, living quarters, food supplies and vehicle maintenance are among the major problems facing the Afghan army as it fights a resilient enemy that controls swathes of the south and east of the country.
The 190,000 soldiers of the Afghan National Army (ANA) have largely taken over responsibility for the war against the Taliban after more than a decade in which well-equipped, well-trained NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions... troops dominated the battlefield.
All 51,000 remaining NATO combat troops will pull out of the country by December.
"If they equip us with helicopters and fighter jets, and if they support us properly, we can perform our job the best way on our own," Ahmadzai said.
"But we are short of helicopters and planes, and without them it will be difficult for us."
- Spartan army life -
Soldiers at the post in Khogyani hang flak jackets by their beds at night in case of emergencies, and keep their sparse personal possessions on wooden beams in living conditions that boast few creature comforts.
Billions of dollars of foreign money -- most of it American -- is spent every year on Afghan cops in the hope they will be able to secure the country and prevent a return to civil war after NATO troops leave.
The army has been built from scratch since 2002, and has made rapid progress, but it remains dogged by high desertion rates, ethnic imbalances and poor logistics.
Also looming over the ANA is the ever-present threat of "insider attacks", when soldiers -- inspired either by the Taliban or personal grievances -- turn their guns on their own colleagues.
The ministry of defence declines to give numbers for such incidents, but it became such a problem for NATO troops that "guardian angel" snipers were assigned to oversee joint-patrols.
"A few months ago, a soldier wanted to assassinate the general here," an Afghan intelligence officer told AFP.
"We were suspicious and tracked down explosives he had hidden in his car. Such a danger exists in all of Afghanistan."
The officer, who declined to be named, showed AFP the computer on which he was meant to gather reports.
It sat uselessly on a desk, with no power cable, and no electricity to plug it into.
He has also been supplied with a high-tech digital camera, but it doesn't have a memory card and no one can work out how to use it as the instructions are written in English.
#1
"But this place is an absolute mess. When it rains, water just comes into the room, so nobody can do his job, and we live in darkness when we don't have electricity."
Initiative must be a foreign word in the Afghan language. These bozos can't figure out how to caulk a roof?
#3
People that can't fix a roof want helicopters? My advice: order big ones. That way you can set up housekeeping in the wreckage once the fires are out.
[AnNahar] The U.S.-led military presence in Afghanistan will remain "significant" despite this year's drawdown, Washington's special envoy for the country said Tuesday, as he predicted that outgoing president Hamid Maybe I'll join the Taliban Karzai ... A former Baltimore restaurateur, now 12th and current President of Afghanistan, displacing the legitimate president Rabbani in December 2004. He was installed as the dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001 in a vain attempt to put a Pashtun face on the successor state to the Taliban. After the 2004 presidential election, he was declared president regardless of what the actual vote count was. He won a second, even more dubious, five-year-term after the 2009 presidential election. His grip on reality has been slipping steadily since around 2007, probably from heavy drug use... would continue to wield influence.
James Dobbins, the U.S. special representative for Pakistain and Afghanistan, told news hounds in Tokyo that Washington was "still considering" the details of the withdrawal plan.
"I hope we will decide sometime in the next month or two on the exact size of (the remaining) contingent," Dobbins told journalists in the Japanese capital, where he is attending talks on supporting Afghanistan.
"We and our allies, I think, will be prepared for a continuing advisory mission, much smaller numbers than we have there today but still significant in terms of its ability to continue to improve the quality of the Afghan cops," he said.
About 51,000 U.S.-led NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Originally it was a mutual defense pact directed against an expansionist Soviet Union. In later years it evolved into a mechanism for picking the American pocket while criticizing the cut of the American pants... troops still deployed in Afghanistan are set to withdraw by December, ending a long and costly battle against the Taliban, who launched a fierce insurgency after being ousted from power in 2001.
The U.S. is thought to be looking at a small number of U.S. troops staying on in a training and counter-terrorism role, but is waiting on a long-delayed deal being struck with Kabul after Karzai raised a series of objections.
The White House says U.S. President Barack Obama We're gonna punish our enemies and we're gonna reward our friends who stand with us on issues that are important to us... has so far made no decisions about how many American troops will remain behind to advise the still fledgling Afghan armed forces.
Dobbins refrained from predicting the results of the ongoing elections to pick a successor to Karzai, saying only: "It could be a close race."
Afghanistan is due to announce the results of its first-round presidential elections on Wednesday, with former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah ... the former foreign minister of the Northern Alliance government, advisor to Masood, and candidate for president against Karzai. Dr. Abdullah was born in Kabul and is half Tadjik and half Pashtun... and ex-World Bank economist Ashraf Ghani set to go through to a run-off vote.
Dobbins said the elections are crucial for the country's survival in the post-Karzai era.
"The first hurdle is the elections," he said. "So far so good, but can't take anything for granted."
Whoever wins Afghanistan's election will lead the country into a new era after Karzai's 13 years in power and as U.S.-led troops end their war against Taliban myrmidons.
But despite his departure, Karzai will maintain political influence even after he steps down, Dobbins predicted.
"He will be an influential figure after the elections and I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing," the envoy said.
"I think that the new president will respect him," he added. "We believe he views a peaceful transfer as a part of his legacy."
#1
"I hope we will decide sometime in the next month or two on the exact size of (the remaining) contingent," Dobbins told journalists in the Japanese capital, where he is attending talks on supporting Afghanistan.
Yes, that'll be a thankless, career-ending assignment.
[Al Ahram] Presidential hopeful Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has called on the Egyptian youth to back him and asserted that "as long as the army is good, Egypt is good."
In an interview with private satellite channel Sky News Arabia, El-Sisi said young people should support and monitor ministers and governors "to acquire the necessary experience to lead the nation" in the next phase.
Last week, El-Sisi had given his first television interview to private channels CBC and ONTV.
El-Sisi, who retired from his post as a defence minister to run for the presidency, is widely expected to win the election on 26/27 May against leftist Hamdeen Sabahi.
He became immensely popular for his role in the ouster of Islamist president Mohammed Morsi ...the former president of Egypt. A proponent of the One Man, One Vote, One Time principle, Morsi won election after the deposal of Hosni Mubarak and jumped to the conclusion it was his turn to be dictator... .
He said the mass protests against Morsi on 30 June 2013 were a continuation of the roadmap that began with the January 25 revolution, and were a correction to deviations from the first revolutionary wave.
Morsi was ousted on 3 July, after days of mass protests.
El-Sisi spoke of the army, his background and former post, saying the armed forces were the shield of the nation.
"As long as the (army) is good, Egypt is good," he said.
The Egyptian army, one of the strongest in the Arab world, prides itself on its performance in the 1973 war with Israel.
"The 1973 victory recovered part of the lost Arab dream," he said.
"No Arab country shall be threatened while we (the Egyptian armed forces) are here," he asserted.
El-Sisi also spoke of Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason,, which rules the neighbouring Gazoo Strip, saying it had "lost the sympathy" of the Egyptian people.
"Attempts to burden Egypt with the crisis of the besieged Gazoo Strip and the building of tunnels that were used in terrorist attacks, brought sympathy with the Paleostinian cause in Egypt to its lowest level."
Posted by: Fred ||
05/14/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
Good for what---can you conquer Libya, Abdel-Fattah?
They got their bit of fresh air and sunshine, now it's back in the cells where they belong for the next twenty years. Bring plenty of writing paper and pencils, guys, you're going to need it.
[Al Ahram] Egypt's Minister of Interior Mohammed Ibrahim said the ministry formed a committee to revise presidential pardons granted to Islamist "extremists" by former Moslem Brüderbund president Mohammed Morsi ...the former president of Egypt. A proponent of the One Man, One Vote, One Time principle, Morsi won election after the deposal of Hosni Mubarak and jumped to the conclusion it was his turn to be dictator... during his one year in office.
Speaking at a presser on Monday, Ibrahim said the matter would be concluded promptly.
Soon after he was sworn into office, Morsi released tens of members of hard-line Islamist groups Al-Gama'a Al-Islamiya and Islamic Jihad ...created after many members of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood decided the organization was becoming too moderate. Operations were conducted out of Egypt until 1981 when the group was exiled after the assassination of President Anwar Sadat. They worked out of Gaza until they were exiled to Lebanon in 1987, where they clove tightly to Hezbollah. In 1989 they moved to Damascus, where they remain a subsidiary of Hezbollah... , both of which had orchestrated acts of violence against the state in the 1990s.
Previously, however, hundreds of other Islamists were released under the rule of the Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF), during the period separating the ouster of Hosni Mubarak ...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011... in 2011 and Morsi's ascent to power in 2012.
Ibrahim also said police forces had apprehended Osama Kamel who, according to the minister, is the leader of Ansar Bait Al-Maqdis, the murderous Moslem group which has grabbed credit for a number of major attacks against Egypt's army and police in recent months.
Attacks targeting police and army troops since last summer's ouster of Islamist president Mohammed Morsi have left over 500 officers dead.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/14/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
cobble-stone cell floors to randomize headbumps
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/14/2014 14:32 Comments ||
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[VOA News] Moslems worldwide have condemned the abduction a month ago of more than 200 Nigerian schoolgirls by the Moslem bully boy group Boko Haram. ... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality... Coming a bit late to the indignation, aren't they? Moslem leaders have criticized Boko Haram's leader, Abubakar Shekau, for using Islamic teachings as his justification for threatening to sell the girls into slavery. Of course he used Moslem teachings. He's a Moslem.
Others have focused on what they view as a slow response by Nigeria's government to the crisis. Nigeria's got all that oil money. They'd be well-advised to use it to hire someone to govern them, since they can't manage themselves. Moslem leader Faisal Suliman, chair of the South Africa Moslem Network (SAMNET), appeared on the South African radio show Voice of the Cape's Breakfast Beat on Wednesday to distance Boko Haram's actions from Islam. "just a splinter group. Nothing to get excited about. Tut tut."
"This is a totally un-Islamic act. It is contrary to the Sharia and what is in the Koran. "Yeah! It wudn't the Profit who said 'Kill enemies! Hear da wamentations of dere wimmin!... Not in those words. Certainly not."
"There is no place for this in Islam no matter who does it, regardless of whatever cause they try and perceive it to be," Suliman said. that sort of thing is the very foundation of Islam, isn't it?
He questioned some of the coverage by mainstream media, whom he claimed were trying to link the kidnappings to the beliefs of Islam. He also questioned the use of words such as "Islamist" and "fundamentalist" to describe the group's actions. Since that's what they proclaim themselves to be, why shouldn't the press report it that way?
"It was an act worthy of condemnation across all communities, religions and ethnicities, and we are trying to make that clear. But certainly in the mainstream media, it is still being presented with that Islamic connotation," he said. "Really, we're harmless. Just ignore us, okay? We'll letcha know when it's okay to look."
Posted by: Fred ||
05/14/2014 11:39 ||
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#1
It is a start.
Between that and the Grand Imam of the Great Mosque in Mekkah denouncing terrorism, maybe, mainstream Moslems are getting the message that if they really are "the religion of peace" they had better damned sure make sure they don't advocate violence with silence.
Moslem leaders need to get off their butts and tell the world this stuff is not Islam (as I was told many times in Libya by just about everyone I met on the street.)
Posted by: Bill Clinton ||
05/14/2014 13:56 Comments ||
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#3
Its one thing for individual or groups of Moslems to condemn it.
Its another for the mosques and madrassas to condemn in general language.
Its still another to have the mosques and madrassas explain why the literalist reading of the Quran, the Hadith and the Sunna is wrong regarding kidnapping. Without the third thing happening, the first two don't really matter much.
Posted by: lord garth ||
05/14/2014 16:11 Comments ||
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#4
But what did he say in Arabic?
Posted by: Barbara ||
05/14/2014 18:00 Comments ||
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#6
Betcha every denunciation is couched in terms of "harming Islam" by means of public relations, and not about the act itself -- which is not just permitted by Islam, but emulates the career of Mohammed (bees pee upon him).
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
05/14/2014 22:31 Comments ||
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[Daily Beast] The United States should send in special forces to rescue the hundreds of girls kidnapped by Boko Haram--whether the Nigerian government gives permission or not, according to Sen. John McCain. Africans need help from former colonials and others, they just don't realize it yet. We know what is good for them. I had really, really hoped John would have retired by now...
"If they knew where they were, I certainly would send in U.S. troops to rescue them, in a New York minute I would, without permission of the host country," McCain told The Daily Beast Tuesday. "I wouldn't be waiting for some kind of permission from some guy named Goodluck Jonathan," he added, referring to the president of Nigeria. "Some guy?"....Forget national sovereignty, the rule of law, and an elected official. We're the #worldcops! Thanks for thoughtlessly denigrating a head of state John. Your skills know no bounds...
Posted by: Besoeker ||
05/14/2014 06:22 ||
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#1
An night out with him and Joe Biden would be... interesting.
[Tolo News] Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... has expelled at least thirteen Afghan children ages six to 15 due to their lacking proper legal documentation, according to Afghan officials on Tuesday. Some of the children were thought to have been smuggled to Saudi Arabia and forced into bonded labor.
Representatives of the Afghan Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, Martyrs and Disabled said that they are considering all options when it comes to caring for the children, many of who are poor and lack homes to return to in Afghanistan.
Protection centers, often used to house victims of family violence and persecution, are said to be the top choice at the moment. The centers, located in secret locations in a number of provinces around the country, have been used in the past for housing and protecting victims of human trafficking.
"Last we year we handed over at least 14 children to their families from Baghlan, Kabul and some other provinces," Deputy Minister Wasil Noor Mohamand said.
The children that were expelled from Saudi Arabia this week have said that some of them were originally brought there by human traffickers and were forced into hard manual labor.
"We have established four centers for such children in Kunduz, Herat ...a venerable old Persian-speaking city in western Afghanistan, populated mostly by Tadjiks, which is why it's not as blood-soaked as areas controlled by Pashtuns... , Kabul and Nangarhar The unfortunate Afghan province located adjacent to Mohmand, Kurram, and Khyber Agencies. The capital is Jalalabad. The province was the fief of Younus Khalis after the Soviets departed and one of his sons is the current provincial Taliban commander. Nangarhar is Haqqani country.. provinces and last year we helped 169 children," Mohmand said.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/14/2014 00:00 ||
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The rhetorical battle between the two Koreas intensified after a South Korean official said that North Korea 'must disappear soon'.
The comments were made by South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok after a series of sexist and racist slurs made by North Korea against South Korea and the United States leaders. Pyongyang has been ramping up its rhetoric against Seoul and Washington since Obama and Park met in Seoul last month.
Min-seok told reporters at a briefing in Seoul that North Korea is not a real country and exists for the benefit of only one person, making a reference to dictator Kim Jong Un.He said the North has no human rights or public freedoms.
North Korea threatened yesterday to wipe out the Southâs government in a furious response a day after a Seoul official said Pyongyang must disappear soon, in an escalation of rhetoric between the rivals.
The Northâs powerful National Defence Commission called Seoulâs comments an intolerable provocation that showed the South wants to take over the North. It said in a statement that Pyongyang would launch all-out, merciless strikes to wipe out every last person in South Korean President Park Geun-hyeâs government.
South Korean Defence Ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok said on Monday that the North was not a real country and existed for the benefit of only one person â a reference to its leader, Mr Kim Jong-un. He added that the North has no human rights or public freedoms.
The spokesmanâs comments followed a series of slurs by Pyongyang against South Korean and United States leaders. North Koreaâs media likened Ms Park to an âold prostituteâ and US President Barack Obama to a âmonkeyâ in recent dispatches. South Korea called the Northâs verbal insults against Ms Park immoraland unacceptable, while the US described Pyongyangâs racist slurs against Mr Obama as âdisgustingâ.
The South Korean Defence Ministry said the Northâs military had not undertaken any suspicious activities. A ministry official said Seoul is always ready to repel any provocation by Pyongyang.
South Korea tries to avoid publicly talking about anything that can be interpreted as a collapse of Pyongyangâs government due to worries that the North would raise tensions.
#3
Sorry, should have added the quote that I had in mind.
South Korea tries to avoid publicly talking about anything that can be interpreted as a collapse of Pyongyang�s government due to worries that the North would raise tensions.
#4
"South Korea tries to avoid publicly talking about anything that can be interpreted as a collapse of Pyongyang's government due to worries that the North would raise tensions it will collapse and all those hungry NorKs will come pouring across the border looking for food."
FTFY, Squinty.
Posted by: Barbara ||
05/14/2014 18:19 Comments ||
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#5
I appreciate the fix. However, that may be how the Kim's ultimately plan to take down the south. :-)
#6
However, that may be how the Kim's ultimately plan to take down the south. :-)
It's been mentioned on these pages on occasion that should the North Korean army head south, they would be bogged down by the first dozen 7-11s on the road, and never make it beyond the first actual grocery store. I can't speak to this myself, not being in any way military, though I do know a few people who've put on a uniform and headed toward the sound of guns.
Hat tip Powerline. Former Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and former CIA Deputy Director Michael Morell agreed that the investigation of the events in Benghazi on September 11, 2012, is a good idea. Panetta was Defense Secretary at the time of the Benghazi attack; Morell was Deputy CIA Director at that time.
It's buried in a San Jose Mercury News story about Edward Snowden, but as this becomes more commonly known it's going to devastate Democratic efforts to bury the Benghazi story. Panetta and Morrell are heavyweights -- and they clearly have nothing to hide.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/14/2014 09:00 ||
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#1
Morell, who said he already has testified four times about Benghazi, said he is 100 percent confident the upcoming investigation will show that allegations "the intelligence community politicized its analysis" are false.
Notice the governmental branches Morrell did NOT mentioned in the "politicized" allegations? Nice opportunity for former Klingons Morrell and Panetta....'to walk the dog' and talk about old times.
[Ynet] Iranian hackers have become increasingly aggressive and sophisticated, moving from disrupting and defacing US websites to engaging in cyber espionage, security experts say.
According to Silicon Valley-based cybersecurity company FireEye Inc, a group called the Ajax Security Team has become the first Iranian hacking group known to use custom-built malicious software to launch espionage campaigns. Ajax is behind an ongoing series of attacks on US defense companies and has also targeted Iranians who are trying to circumvent Tehran's Internet censorship efforts, FireEye said on Tuesday.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
05/14/2014 00:00 ||
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[AnNahar] The United States has appealed an order from a military judge at the U.S. jail in Guantanamo that they turn over information on secret CIA interrogation centers.
There's that openness our beloved president promised when he was running for office...
In a 26-page document dated April 23 but only just declassified, top military prosecutor Mark Martins asked the judge to re-evaluate his order from April 14.
In that decision, Army Colonel James Pohl ordered the government to turn over to the defense information on where accused USS Cole bombing criminal mastermind Abd Rahim al-Nashiri was held between his capture and his arrival at Guantanamo Bay.
The order calls for the release of "all records, photographs, videos and summaries," on the conditions of his confinement in each prison and during transport during that period.
The Saudi suspect, who faces the death penalty over the USS Cole attack and the 2002 attack on French oil tanker, the MV Limburg, endured harsh interrogation techniques between his 2002 arrest and his transfer to Guantanamo in September 2006.
Lawyers for the five 9/11 suspects being held at Guantanamo have also said their clients were subjected to "enhanced interrogation techniques" at CIA sites and have requested a similar ruling in their cases.
For instance, the self-proclaimed criminal mastermind of the September 11,2001 attacks, Pak Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, was subjected to water-boarding 183 times, before being transported to Guantanamo.
The defense lawyers argue they have only received a small portion of the information on the period during which their clients were held by the CIA.
In the appeal filed in the Nashiri case, general Martins invokes "national security" multiple times and asks the judge to await the upcoming publication of a Senate report on the detention and interrogation program used after the 9/11 attacks.
The prosecutor noted that, "to date, the government has produced more than 245,000 pages of discovery to the defense."
He said they have also provided "substitutions, summaries, or statements" of classified information, which are allowed as long as the accused "would have substantially the same ability to make his defense."
The prosecutor argued Pohl had exceeded his powers, because the laws governing the special military tribunal require him to avoid creating situations in which the government is "compelled to choose between protecting classified information necessary for national security and holding an accused accountable" for war crimes and other serious offenses.
[DAWN] Pakistain will require all travelers leaving the country to obtain a polio ...Poliomyelitis is a disease caused by infection with the poliovirus. Between 1840 and the 1950s, polio was a worldwide epidemic. Since the development of polio vaccines the disease has been largely wiped out in the civilized world. However, since the vaccine is known to make Moslem pee-pees shrink and renders females sterile, bookish, and unsubmissive it is not widely used by the turban and automatic weapons set... vaccination from June 1, 2014, the health ministry said on Tuesday.
A statement from the ministry said the restrictions comply with a decision by the World Health Organisation (WHO) advising travelers of all ages to be vaccinated by next month.
It said all provinces have been provided necessary guidance and material to set up special counters at hospitals and airports for polio vaccination and certification.
The ministry front man Sajid Shah said pregnant women traveling abroad are not exempted from the restrictions and the vaccination was not injurious for them.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/14/2014 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani scientist serving an 86-year prison sentence for shooting at US soldiers is seeking to have her conviction overturned on the grounds that she did not have proper legal representation.
Siddiqui said in court papers filed on Monday in federal court in New York City that her 2010 guilty verdict should be vacated. She said a judge forced her to accept three lawyers paid for by the Pakistani government.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/14/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
She's lucky we didn't turn her over to one of those "dissolvers" that works for the Mexican cartels and let him practice his trade on her...ALIVE.
The article doesn't mention all of her work for AQ on biological weapons and chemical thingees for terrorist acts...she's bad to the bone and should have her skeleton on display in the Smithsonian
Posted by: Bill Clinton ||
05/14/2014 14:00 Comments ||
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[DAWN] Advisor to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs and National Security Sartaj Aziz informed the National Assembly on Tuesday that this perception was wrong that the late Osama bin Laden ... who used to be alive but now he's not... was traced in Abbottabad ... A pleasant city located only 30 convenient miles from Islamabad. The city is noted for its nice weather and good schools. It is the site of Pakistain's military academy, which was within comfortable walking distance of the residence of the late Osama bin Laden.... due to the fake polio ...Poliomyelitis is a disease caused by infection with the poliovirus. Between 1840 and the 1950s, polio was a worldwide epidemic. Since the development of polio vaccines the disease has been largely wiped out in the civilized world. However, since the vaccine is known to make Moslem pee-pees shrink and renders females sterile, bookish, and unsubmissive it is not widely used by the turban and automatic weapons set... campaign launched by Dr Shakil Afridi.
Responding to a point of order raised by Senator Farhatullah Babar of Pakistain Peoples Party (PPP), he said that the wrong perception led to attacks on polio workers, adding that there were only 60 to 65 different areas in the country where the campaign could not be launched properly.
Aziz said the United Nations ...a formerly good idea gone bad... ' name was mistakenly mentioned in the list of NGOs involved in Shakil Afridi's fake campaign, which had been clarified in today's newspapers as well.
Earlier, on a point of order, Senator Babar said it was a matter of concern that World Health Organisation (WHO) had recommended some travel restrictions over Pakistain on polio issue.
He said the statement issued by the foreign office in response to WHO mentioned that a fake campaign was conducted by Shakil Afridi in Pakistain to trace the al Qaeda leader, in which, all the international NGOs were involved.
The PPP senator further said that as the Abbottabad Commission's report was still not made public, the statement of the foreign office was misleading the nation.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/14/2014 00:00 ||
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[13 views]
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#1
Fake Dr. Shakil Afridipolio campaign, fake Nakoula Basseley Nakoula anti-Mohammad video....what difference does it make? Seemed like a good ideas at the time.
[Ynet] As monetary aid from foreign Arab nations dries up and peace with Israel slips away, Paleostinian leaders are faced with deepening economic crisis.
In the wake of collapsed peace talks with Israel, it's fair to say that the Paleostinian economy is in crisis. After several years of modest growth, the 'Arab Spring' entered, along with all of its impacts, effectively turning the tables on the Paleostinians.
Until the revolutions that sprang up in across the Arab world, the Paleostinian issue was high on the list of priorities for Mideast leaders (at least outwardly), but now, it has been pushed to the side of the road.
Arab nations, even those who did not experience direct change from the revolutions, started putting money into domestic issues. In the end, governments shifted their emphasis in a different directions.
Most Arab governments, if they still distribute funds, are sending their money to help Syrian refugees, preferring to help them instead of closing the deficit created by the Paleostinian Authority. Even the US, which adds $500 million yearly to the Paleostinian budget, have been dragging their feet during the last round of the grinding of the peace processor.
The problem is reflected in the data: According to the Paleostinian Finance Ministry, NIS 630 million in aid has arrived from abroad since the beginning of the year. That's a 65 percent decrease from the first quarter of 2013.
Contributors to PA aid since the beginning of the year are: Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... , Qatar, the World Bank and the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... . The amount donated is a mere fraction compared to what the PA needs to function, most of which's income comes from monetary aid.
The PA deficit stood at $1.3 billion at the end of 2013 and is projected to reach $1.6 billion by the end of 2014. The effects of the crisis will be felt by businesses in the West Bank that will have to make do with late or even partial paychecks.
280,000 unemployed Paleostinians
The decline in interest in the plight of the Paleostinians, together with the lack of political prospects for a peaceful solution, creates concerns in the business sector of the West Bank.
The worry comes mostly from the decline in the quality of living (income per person fell by 2 percent last year) and a possible rise in unemployment in part due to Israel's frustration at a unity deal signed between Fatah and Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, in Gazoo on April 23.
In the 20 years since the Oslo accords, the Paleostinians haven't created any replacement for their complete dependence on Israel (trade, employment, energy demands), despite many ooperation with other Arab sources.
Dr. Samir Halaila, the Paleostinian's most senior economist and the man behind Padico, Fadico, the biggest company working for the development of infrastructure in the West Bank, warned that continuing along the current status-quo will lead to a decline in the labor market.
He recently said that the Paleostinian economy is dependent on high growth rates of 8 percent per year at least for the next decade in order to bring down unemployment rates to a level he called, "reasonable."
Halila also knows that this goal will be difficult if not impossible to achieve and so, like many others, he's concerned that the economic future of the Paleostinians is not auspicious.
In Halila's opinion, the PA needs to declare an economic state of emergency due to currently low growth rates and high unemployment.
According to official figures from the PA, unemployment was at 28.5 percent at the end of 2013 (including Gazoo) and the International Monetary Fund indicates that maximum growth for 2014 will reach 2.5 percent.
According to the estimates, 280 thousand Paleostinians are currently unemployed.
Guess Abu Abbas's plan to push the juices off the land by sheer mass of Palestinian bodies isn't working as well as planned... And with the world-wide recession, sending those bodies abroad to work isn't going to work very well, either. Bummer, dood.
As the largest employer in the Paleostinian economy, the PA announced that they wouldn't be hiring any new workers for the time being because of a severe cash shortage.
#2
First you give them shovels, then you gather all they sold or stole, then you give thm shovels.
It's endless, Get the picture?
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
05/14/2014 10:26 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Let them eat their seething
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/14/2014 15:43 Comments ||
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#4
the Paleostinian issue was high on the list of priorities for Mideast leaders (at least outwardly), but now, it has been pushed to the side of the road
Nobody ever gave a rat's patoot about the Paleos, except as a way to annoy the Juices. Now the ME is filled with events that actually matter and the Paleos are outgrown, discarded toys. How we yearn for the golden Arafat years!
[Al Ahram] International Syria mediator Lakhdar Brahimi will step down on May 31 after nearly two years of seeking an end to "the brutal and still worsening" civil war, U.N. Secretary-General the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon ... of whom it can be said to his credit that he is not Kofi Annan... said on Tuesday.
For more than a year, Brahimi has made no secret that he is contemplating stepping down from the post as the United Nations ...an organization originally established to war on dictatorships which was promptly infiltrated by dictatorships and is now held in thrall to dictatorships... and Arab League ...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing... joint special representative on Syria. Brahimi is due to brief the United Nations Security Council later on Tuesday.
"It's not very pleasant for me. It's very sad that I leave this position and leave Syria behind in such a bad state," Brahimi told news hounds after Ban made the announcement.
Ban said he would work on finding someone to replace Brahimi to try to bring an end to the three-year civil war in Syria.
"At this time, I have to think who should be the right person and at what time," he told news hounds.
There are several possible candidates to replace the veteran Algerian diplomat, diplomatic sources have said, among them former Tunisian Foreign Minister Kamel Morjane.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/14/2014 00:00 ||
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[Al Ahram] La Belle France said on Tuesday it was examining evidence that Syria's government had used chemical weapons in 14 incidents in recent months and expressed concern ...meaning the brow was mildly wrinkled, the eyebrows drawn slightly together, and a thoughtful expression assumed, not that anything was actually done or indeed that any thought was actually expended... that Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Leveler of Latakia... still has the ability to produce toxic weapons despite international efforts to dismantle Syria's chemical arsenal.
"We have at least 14 indications that show us that in the past recent weeks again chemical weapons in a smaller scale have been used, in particular chlorine," French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told a news conference speaking through an interpreter. "Right now we are examining the samples that were taken," he added.
Fabius said the Assad government had handed over 92 percent of its chemical weapons stockpile under an international agreement being overseen by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.
But he said the recent chemical weapons reports involving chlorine showed the Assad government still had the ability to produce chemical weapons.
"What it shows is that (the) Bashir al-Assad regime in spite of its commitment continues to be able to produce chemical weapons and to use them," he said.
The watchdog Organisation for the Prevention of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is currently considering launching a fact-finding mission on its own to investigate the reports of chlorine gas attacks, sources told Rooters last month.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/14/2014 00:00 ||
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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.
[Al Ahram] Presidential hopeful Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has called on the Egyptian youth to back him and asserted that "as long as the army is good, Egypt is good." 
[VOA News] 
North Korea threatened yesterday to wipe out the Southâs government in a furious response a day after a Seoul official said Pyongyang must disappear soon, in an escalation of rhetoric between the rivals.
No worries. Here are the trailer PPT's, go for it. We've got your back. 
[Ynet] Iranian hackers have become increasingly aggressive and sophisticated, moving from disrupting and defacing US websites to engaging in cyber espionage, security experts say.
[DAWN] Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani scientist serving an 86-year prison sentence for shooting at US soldiers is seeking to have her conviction overturned on the grounds that she did not have proper legal representation.
[Ynet] As monetary aid from foreign Arab nations dries up and peace with Israel slips away, Paleostinian leaders are faced with deepening economic crisis.
the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
