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North Korea Fires Rockets at Island
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-Lurid Crime Tales-
MoveOn Wants 2008 Obama Back
MoveOn, the group that heavily influenced the 2008 election of President Obama, wants its progressive president back. "I miss that guy," says MoveOn organizer Nita Chaudhary in a widely distributed E-mail.
Shane! Shane! Come back!
Her worry: Obama is going all moderate on his supporters, especially on the Bush tax cuts. "In the wake of the election, it's more crucial than ever that President Obama stand up for progressive change. But instead he's considering giving in to GOP demands for a tax bailout for the rich. We need the bold, progressive Obama we elected in 2008 back--and we've got to send him that message," she writes in a sidebar to her E-mail:
But wait, Nita. A tax cut implies someone actually earned that money that is being taxed. So you are saying you are against letting people keep the money they earned so that it can be redistributed inefficiently through the federal Bureaucracy? Yes, that's what I thought.
Dear MoveOn member,

Remember Barack Obama in 2008? The guy who refused to go along with a "dumb war" and said, "In the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope."
Unless, Nita, it was false hope.
I miss that guy. Imagine if someone told you in 2008 that Barack Obama was actually thinking about signing legislation to extend the Bush tax giveaways for the rich. I wouldn't have believed it.
Dear Nita. I know that the concept of redistribution of wealth is near and dear to your socialist/Marxist heart. But consider this: Why don't you. Yes you, Nita...take the first step and offer yourself as the role model by giving everything you earn to the federal bureaucracy in the form of a voluntary tax.
Now more than ever, we need the Barack Obama we elected in 2008--the smart, tough, hopeful progressive champion who inspired millions of us--to stand up and say "no" to a millionaire bailout.
Dear Nita: They are millionaires for a reason. By and large they have more ambition than you. They have more drive than you. They work harder than you. And they are willing to sacrifice more than you. They also...unlike the Left...tend to donate more money to charities than you. And oh, by the way, the "rich" buy and use products and services, and stimulate growth...growth that does not come from an earmark or government handout.
Right now, with the change we all fought for hanging in the balance, President Obama needs to hear from those of us who supported him the most.

So we're asking MoveOn members nationwide to record a video message from the heart to tell President Obama to go to the mat to stop any extension of the millionaire tax giveaways--and to bring back the progressive fighter we all knew and supported in 2008.

A personal appeal from so many of us who worked hard to elect President Obama will send a strong message. And to make sure the White House and millions of Americans hear it, we'll take the best videos and turn them into an ad that we'll air on national television.

Thanks for all you do.

--Nita, Marika, Duncan, Steven, and the rest of the team
And this is best and brightest of the Obama-nistas.
Posted by: anymouse || 11/23/2010 18:03 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  to bring back the progressive fighter we all knew and supported in 2008

Such a man never existed in the first place. You think they would have figured that out by now. But self-delusion is a strong drug.
Posted by: gromky || 11/23/2010 20:06 Comments || Top||

#2  MoveOn Wants 2008 Obama Back

You mean the one that was so clueless that he thought he knew everything? The one who knew so little that every decision was easy?
Posted by: gorb || 11/23/2010 20:39 Comments || Top||

#3  There's no place like home...tap tap tap...there's no place like home...tap tap tap...there's no place...
Posted by: tu3031 || 11/23/2010 21:06 Comments || Top||

#4  Gotta be a splitter on this one.
The rich don't need anymore of our money.
"Ours" being tax money that pays for everything and runs the country.

Call it an opinion, or what have you.
Posted by: bigjim-CA || 11/23/2010 21:34 Comments || Top||

#5  They didn't even have to die to find out he's a false god. Poor bastads...
Posted by: M. Murcek || 11/23/2010 22:16 Comments || Top||

#6  imagine their surprise to find out a "blank slate" is awfully close to an "empty suit"
Posted by: Frank G || 11/23/2010 22:21 Comments || Top||

#7  Brings to mind the saying that if you're playing cards and can't figure out who the mark is, it's probably you. Suckers!
Posted by: SteveS || 11/23/2010 23:36 Comments || Top||


80-year-old pilgrim robs 100 mobile phones
[Emirates 24/7] Saudi authorities have jugged an 80-year-old Pak man who stole 100 mobile phones and nearly $135,000 while on pilgrimage in the Gulf Kingdom last week, the Saudi Arabic language daily Ajel reported on Monday.
Ah, Allah is beneficent...
The unidentified man was seized at his residence in the holy city of Makkah on Saturday night, just after the end of the annual pilgrimage season in the Kingdom, where nearly 2.7 million pilgrims performed the rituals.

"The man was seized with nearly SR500,000 ($135,000) and 100 mobile phones...he also had a large amount of foreign currencies," Ajel said.

It gave no details of the theft but Saudi authorities have reported the arrest of several thieves targeting Mohammedan pilgrims in Makkah, Islam's holiest shrine.
That's okay, gramps. Those hands were probably pretty arthritic anyways. You won't miss 'em much...
Posted by: Fred || 11/23/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  ouch
Posted by: anon1 || 11/23/2010 7:25 Comments || Top||


Facebook foe pastor offers to resign over affair
A pastor who believes Facebook leads to infidelity
Anything can lead to infidelity for those who are open to it, Pastor.
has offered to step down over a past affair that involved a three-way sexual relationship with his wife and a male church assistant.

Pastor Cedric Miller spoke to his flock at Living Word Christian Fellowship Church in Neptune Township for about an hour on Sunday.

His sermon came days after the Asbury Park Press reported the 48-year-old testified in 2003 that he had a threesome with his wife and the male assistant 10 years ago.

Miller apologized for what he said was a foolish transgression from his past. He offered to step down as senior minister if church leaders found him unfit to serve.

The pastor is calling on church leaders to delete their Facebook accounts, claiming the social network site could lead to infidelity.
...and incriminating evidence.
Posted by: Fred || 11/23/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Isn't there something about "casting stones"? Or was it "casting couches"? I'm so confused!
Posted by: Canuckistan sniper || 11/23/2010 12:42 Comments || Top||

#2  hope he didn't "cross swords"
Posted by: Frank G || 11/23/2010 21:08 Comments || Top||

#3  Back to Fiji for that remark, Commodore Frank.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 11/23/2010 22:37 Comments || Top||

#4  damn
Posted by: Frank G || 11/23/2010 22:43 Comments || Top||


-Short Attention Span Theater-
More than 180 320 die in stampede in Cambodian capital
[Dawn] Cambodia's prime minister says more then 180 people have died in a stampede during the celebration of a water festival in the capital.

Authorities had estimated that upward of 2 million people would descend on Phnom Penh for the three-day water festival, which marks the end of the rainy season and whose main attraction is traditional boat races along the river.

A witness said the crowd began to panic when a few people fell unconscious in the crush. Prime Minister Hun Sen says more than 180 people were killed in the ensuing stampede. Hundreds of injured littered the area.
Posted by: Fred || 11/23/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Yup! 320 is more than 100.....
Posted by: Uncle Phester || 11/23/2010 20:14 Comments || Top||


Africa North
Opposition accuses Egypt regime of rigging election
[Dawn] The opposition Mohammedan Brotherhood accused the government on Monday of rigging Egypt's parliamentary election by stopping its candidates from campaigning and arresting nearly 250 of its supporters.

Senior Brotherhood official Mohammed Mursi told a presser that the "violence against opposition candidates, particularly those of the Brotherhood"showed the government was bent on "falsifying the will of Egyptians."

Since the Brotherhood announced in early October that it would contest the election being held over two rounds, starting on Sunday, more than 1,200 of its supporters have been rounded up, of whom around 500 remain in jug, he said.

The group, which registers its candidates as independents to skirt an Egyptian ban on religious parties, is fielding 130 for the 508 seats in parliament.

Saad al-Katatni, who headed the Brotherhood bloc in the outgoing parliament in which it held a fifth of the seats, said: "What is going on with these elections is beyond imagination.

"What is underway is the effective rigging of the elections," he said, adding that he was surrounded by security agents everywhere he went in his campaign for re-election.

Earlier on Monday, Egyptian civil society groups threatened to boycott the poll because of obstacles to their observation mission.

Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights chief Hafez Abu Seada said poll observers were being required to seek authorisation from the heads of individual polling stations on top of clearance from the electoral commission.

He urged geriatric President Hosni Mubarak to intervene immediately in keeping with his pledge of free elections to allow NGOs to do their work unhindered.

Abu Seada said four people had already been killed in campaign-related violence, without giving details, and warned that the situation was likely to deteriorate.
Posted by: Fred || 11/23/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Can we, please, have the surprise meter?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 11/23/2010 17:28 Comments || Top||


Africa Subsaharan
Cote d'Ivoire runoff candidates expose top secrets
[Daily Nation (Kenya)] Violent festivities at the weekend between the supporters of the runoff candidates in CĂ´te d'Ivoire have spurred their leaders to reveal secrets never heard of.

Incumbent president Laurent Gbagbo started the ball rolling when he declared in one of his campaign speeches that his rival Alassane Ouattara had been the brainchild of all four failed coup d'Ă©tats against him.

The revelation took the nation by surprise since all eyes had been on the incumbent Prime Minister Guillaume Soro who headed an armed rebellion that sought to unseat Mr Gbagbo.

In response, Mr Ouattara while also addressing a mammoth crowd of supporters in Abidjan , said an independent investigation in the liquidation of the former military junta leader Gen Robert Guei will find Mr Gbagbo responsible for the act.

That stunning revelation also negated the widely held belief that the General was assassinated by his colleagues who were agitating for the army to give free reins to a democratically elected civilian government.

These allegations have been judged as more incisive than the earlier one which Mr Gbagbo uttered accusing the third place winner (former president Bédié) of chasing Mr. Ouattara into exile.

"If you love Ouattara then vote me because I brought him back from exile after he was chased away by former President Henri Konan Bédié," Mr Gbagbo said.

Both the attempted and failed coup d'Ă©tats and the liquidation of the general led to the death of scores of civilian and military personnel in the country that was eventually divided into a rebel-led north and the government-controlled south.

United Nations, aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society forces and French troops were jetted into the country at the height of the war in 2003 before a buffer zone was created between the belligerent factions and a timid peace installed throughout the country.
Posted by: Fred || 11/23/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Bemba faces trial
[Al Jazeera] Jean-Pierre Bemba, former vice-president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, has gone on trial for rape and murder allegedly committed by his troops in the neighbouring Central African Republic (CAR).

The 48 year old pleaded not guilty as the trial began at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague on Monday afternoon.

Bemba is charged with three counts of war crimes and two counts of crimes against humanity for the alleged atrocities by about 1,500 fighters of his Congolese Liberation Movement (MLC) between October 2002 and March 2003.

He is the most senior political leader to be nabbed so far by the ICC.

"It is the first time in the history of international justice that a military commander is on trial on the basis of indirect criminal responsibility for rapes committed by his fighters," an official in the prosecutor's office told the AFP news agency.

The case, which is expected to continue for months, should serve as an "example" for others who lead fighters in war, he said.

'Unfair trial'
Jonah Hull, Al Jizz's correspondent in The Hague, said the defence team told a pre-trial news conference that the court was likely to see "the most unfair trial in the history of international justice".

"[The defence] said that Bemba in essence had no command of his forces once they crossed the border into the Central African Republic and that ultimate responsibility lies with Ange-Felix Patasse, the then-president of the CAR, who invited Bemba's forces in to put down a coup in the first place."

But Luis Moreno-Ocampo, chief prosecutor of the ICC, told the news conference that "the evidence shows that the troops were always under the authority and command and control of Jean-Pierre Bemba".

"The MLC is the army of and owned by Jean-Pierre Bemba," he said.

"Bemba created it, to make money and to make power ... and that is the point for us: you will not make money or power by committing atrocities. You will be jugged."

So far, 759 victims have been authorised to participate in the trial, with a further 500 applicants for the court to consider, a registrar said.
Posted by: Fred || 11/23/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Madagascar approves new charter
[Al Jazeera] Madagascar's new constitution has been approved by nearly three-quarters of voters in a referendum held last week, according to provisional results from the country's electoral body.

With votes counted from more than 99 per cent of polling stations, 74.13 per cent of ballots were "Yes" votes. Turnout was around 53 per cent, authorities said.

The vote was widely seen as a test of confidence for Andry Rajoelina, the current president. The three main opposition parties had urged their supporters to boycott the poll.

Rajoelina seized power in a military coup last year, and was hoping to use the referendum to rubberstamp his rule until elections he has promised next year.

Rajoelina has faced several challenges to his leadership, most recently last week, when dissident soldiers attempted a coup.

Security forces stormed a base housing the rebels on Saturday, and the coup-plotters handed themselves in after a brief shootout.

Under the new constitution, the president will be allowed to extend his term in power.

Advantage Rajoelina
Al Jizz's Tania Page, reporting from Madagascar, said that Rajoelina had made sure the terms of the new constitution were favourable for him in case he chose to run in any future election.

"He certainly has gone out of his way to ensure that he has come out on top in this," she said. "This will lower the age that someone can legally be president in Madagascar to 35. President Rajoelina is 36 himself and although he previously said he wouldn't run for the presidency in an election, this leaves the door open for him to do so."

The country's military has suffered from rifts since Rajoelina's 2009 coup, when he toppled Marc Ravalomanana, the then leader, and scrapped the old constitution.

That coup, which had backing from large parts of the military, created turmoil on the Indian Ocean island, prized by foreign investors for its oil, nickel, cobalt and uranium deposits.

Africa's youngest leader, Rajoelina rose to power on wave of popular support, galvanising widespread anger over Ravalomanana's increasingly autocratic style of leadership.

But some analysts say Rajoelina's failure to end the leadership squabbles and deliver on populist pledges have eroded his popularity.
Posted by: Fred || 11/23/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Bangladesh
Khaleda evidence 'convincing'
[Bangla Daily Star] The Anti-Corruption Commission has claimed to have found "convincing" evidence that former prime minister Khaleda Zia had shown fake sources of funds for establishing Zia Charitable Trust.

Nearly Tk 2 crore spent on the establishment of the Trust came from unknown and fake sources, said a commission official referring to the findings of an ACC probe into corruption allegations against Khaleda.

The probe did not find any involvement of Khaleda's sons Tarique Rahman and Arafat Rahman Koko in the corruption.

Meanwhile,
...back at the ranch...
another ACC investigation found lack of diligence on the part of the then prime minister Khaleda Zia in the allocation of Tk 100 crore for construction of the Bhairab bridge, said a source at the commission.

The ACC is now looking into the legal aspect of the probe reports to find whether they have any flaws or loopholes.

Probes into the corruption allegations against Khaleda were initiated early this year and the findings came about two months ago. But the matter came to prominence following the growing acrimony between Awami League and BNP over the evacuation of Khaleda Zia from her cantonment residence.

The print and electronic media ran reports and programmes based on the rumour that the government might move to file cases against Khaleda and her two sons to compel BNP to drop its plan for anti-government programmes.

ACC Chairman Ghulam Rahman however brushed aside any possibility of the government using the commission for the purpose.

"The commission will file a case only after it is totally convinced that the case would lead to punishment of the accused," he said.

"The Anti-Corruption Commission has no connection with the government. It works independently and makes its own decision," the chairman said.

Senior ACC lawyers are going through the findings to determine whether ACC should go ahead as filing of any cases against Khaleda might evoke a controversy.

The ACC also initiated investigation into two corruption allegations against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina but it did not find evidence against her.
Posted by: Fred || 11/23/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


BNP calls hartal for Nov 30
[Bangla Daily Star] The main opposition BNP once again called a countrywide dawn-to-dusk hartal
... a peculiarly Bangla combination of a general strike and a riot, used by both major political groups in lieu of actual governance ...
on November 30 demanding resolving the miseries of public life, to save democracy and to protect the interest of people and the country.

The party will also organise procession and rallies in districts and upazilas from November 25 to 27 and in divisional headquarters on November 28 and procession in support of hartal on November 29.

BNP secretary general Khandaker Delwar Hossain last night announced these programmes during a press briefing at party Chairperson Khaleda Zia's Gulshan office.

BNP standing committee was discussing the latest political situation and decided to enforce hartal and hold protest programmes. At a stage of the meeting Delwar came out and briefed newsmen.

The meeting started at 8:00pm and ended at 10:15pm with Khaleda Zia in chair.

The party enforced a countrywide dawn-to-dusk hartal on November 14 to protest the "eviction" of Khaleda Zia from Dhaka cantonment house.

Earlier on June 27, BNP called a countrywide dawn-to-dusk hartal, first in more than three and a half years.

Delwar said, "We called a hartal on June 27 almost on same demands but government failed to bring any changes within this time."
Posted by: Fred || 11/23/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Latest global environmental threat: Siberian ice farts
This has never happened before.

So be afraid.

Very afraid.

Unless, of course, the NWO guys can figure out how to redistribute resources and power into their own pockets and away from their opposition's based on this.

In which case everything will be just fine.
Posted by: gorb || 11/23/2010 02:06 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  How did methane ever get trapped in permafrost when it was causing all that warming before the ice age?
Posted by: European Conservative || 11/23/2010 5:01 Comments || Top||

#2  There is not a dang thing that can be done with Siberia. However, there are enormous methane ice (clathrates) deposits under the northern oceans, that need to be "mined down", with the methane used for fuel, to reduce their significant hazard of blowing up in a big way.

There are some big craters in the ocean floor from previous methane ice explosions, and having a dense, continent sized cloud of poison gas could be unpleasant. Especially if it ignites.

Such undersea mining needs to be done robotically, removing methane ice, pipelining it to the surface, then incinerating it to produce energy. This produces CO2 and water. Some of the energy can be used to lower the temperature of the CO2 until it freezes, then using the dry ice both as replacement mass, and to cool the methane ice far below ignition temperature.

As the dry ice sublimates, it is replaced with water ice.

The energy produced could at least fractionally offset the high price of the mining.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 11/23/2010 9:06 Comments || Top||

#3  How about piping the CO2 into orchards and corn fields, so the plants grow bigger and stronger faster? We need to be creative to make up for crop failures around the world, lest the poor actually starve, instead of merely going to bed hungry.
Posted by: trailing wife || 11/23/2010 9:39 Comments || Top||

#4  sounds like the source of "the pillars of fire" in Revealations
Posted by: 746 || 11/23/2010 9:42 Comments || Top||

#5  tw: Interesting agricultural twists. To fix additional CO2, plants need additional nitrogen. Which happens to be in worldwide shortage right now.

Ironically, methane is a good source for ammonia, the simplest nitrogen fertilizer, as is petroleum. But ammonia needs to be stabilized, typically with either oxygen, as ammonium nitrate; or the far more stable mix with sulfur, producing ammonium sulfate.

But at the same time, with more CO2 and nitrogen, plants need to open their respiratory pores less, which means they lose less water due to evaporation, leaving more moisture in the soil so that more plants can grow.

The bottom line is that more atmospheric CO2 may result in de-desertification, and much more abundant flora and crops, but only if there is enough fixed nitrogen for the plants to take advantage of it.

Which could come from methane ice.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 11/23/2010 11:18 Comments || Top||

#6  but only if there is enough fixed nitrogen for the plants to take advantage of it.

Which could come from methane ice.


Or chicken and pig farms...
Posted by: trailing wife || 11/23/2010 13:11 Comments || Top||

#7  Or the UN.
Posted by: gorb || 11/23/2010 14:58 Comments || Top||

#8  Yeah, come see me when Siberia melts...
Posted by: tu3031 || 11/23/2010 16:03 Comments || Top||

#9  I read a study yesterday that claimed Wi-Fi is killing th trees.
Posted by: Deacon Blues || 11/23/2010 16:30 Comments || Top||

#10  until the trees fought back...

oh wait, that was just another bad M. Night Shyamalan movie
Posted by: Frank G || 11/23/2010 21:19 Comments || Top||

#11  And the solution is carbon credits, yada, yada.

No, the real problem in the Arctic is soot. It reduces reflection from snow, and gets trapped in the shallow ice-melt lakes and warms them.

If you are concerned about this problem, and it may be real, go after particulate emissions.
Posted by: KBK || 11/23/2010 23:14 Comments || Top||

#12  The arctic has a low aspect angle to the sun. It really doesn't collect as much heat as say something along the equator.
Posted by: gorb || 11/23/2010 23:33 Comments || Top||


China-Japan-Koreas
China's Efficiency Mandate Causes Diesel Shortage
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 11/23/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Not just diesel. China is also releasing state stockpiles of food basics.

China is caught between the rock of inflation and the hard places of shortages.

Welcome to a command economy.
Posted by: phil_b || 11/23/2010 8:42 Comments || Top||

#2  Gee, if only we could drill. We have something they want.
Posted by: anonymous2u || 11/23/2010 8:52 Comments || Top||

#3  To me the most interesting part of this story was that the diesel shortage was an unwanted but entirely predictable side effect. The powers-that-be in China simply ORDERED a cut in electrical production without respect to businesses & people who had other ways of making electricity. Those who were able to, turned on their diesel-powered generators to make up the gap in electricity, diverting the fuel from other places in the economy that were not dependent on electricity.
Coming here soon in some form or other.
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 11/23/2010 14:34 Comments || Top||


Europe
Irish government says budget must be passed for EU/IMF deal
Posted by: tipper || 11/23/2010 07:32 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Home Front: Politix
YouTube: Isarithmic History of the Two-Party Vote
Posted by: tipper || 11/23/2010 06:52 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  As usual, Alaska and Hawai'i don't count.
Posted by: Jemp McGurque9434 || 11/23/2010 13:32 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Pakistain: Woman falsely accused of blasphemy. Probably . . . .
Great. After spending a year and a half in jail.

Suppose her accusers will be punished?
Posted by: gorb || 11/23/2010 01:58 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under:


Pakistan releases Christian woman, convicted in blasphemy case
(KUNA) -- Pakistain released the Christian woman who was convicted in a blasphemy case and sentenced to death by a district court.

President Asif Ali President Ten Percent Zardari
... husband of the late Benazir Bhutto, who showed remarkably little curiosity about who actually done her in ...
accepted the clemency plea of Aasia Bibi and she has been released, official sources told KUNA.

They said she was transferred to undisclosed location.

Aasia Bibi, 45, was given the death sentence by a judge in Nankana Sahib district of eastern Punjab province on November 9.

A local holy man, Qari Saleem, lodged a First Information Report (FIR) against her for allegedly passing derogatory remarks against Prophet Mohammad peace be upon him.

However,
The infamous However...
Aasia has rejected the accusation.

The case of Aasia has renewed controversy over blasphemy law in Pakistain with civil society groups and minorities calling it an unjust law.

Local reports on Saturday said that the next session of National Assembly will present "a motion for the review of the anti-blasphemy law." Asma Jahangir, a human rights
... which are not the same thing as individual rights, mind you...
activist and President of Supreme Court Bar Association, said that the blasphemy laws are being misused in the country.

She said that the death penalty should be abolished from the country and that such cases should be heard by the High Court.
Posted by: Fred || 11/23/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan

#1  Countdown to the woman being savagely knifed to death, or worse, in 3...2...1
Posted by: Anonymoose || 11/23/2010 9:08 Comments || Top||


Govt investigating Hajj corruption allegations: PM
[Dawn] Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Monday directed Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Hamid Saeed Kazmi to take back the Rs100 million compensation notice that Kazmi had sent to Federal Minister of Science and Technology Azam Khan Swati over corruption allegations pertaining to the Hajj arrangements.

Prime Minister Gilani telephoned both the ministers and directed them to stop issuing statements and remarking against each other in the media. He further directed Hamid Saeed Kazmi, who is currently in Soddy Arabia, to meet him as soon he arrives in Pakistain and submit a comprehensive report pertaining to the issue.

Prime Minister Gilani said the pilgrims' sufferings during Hajj brought bad name to the country. He further said that the government is investigating the allegations.

Earlier today, Hamid Saeed Kazmi had sent a compensation notice of Rs 100 million to Azam Khan Swati, over corruption allegations by the latter on Kazmi regarding embezzlement during Hajj operations. The notice described that Swati's allegations had harmed Kazmi's reputation.

Kazmi, in the notice, called upon Swati to either provide evidence against him or compensate.
Posted by: Fred || 11/23/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan

#1  Corruption at Hajj? No way.
Posted by: newc || 11/23/2010 1:26 Comments || Top||

#2  "Nobody's allowed to fleece these sheep but US!"
Posted by: mojo || 11/23/2010 11:21 Comments || Top||


Pressure grows for pardon of Aasia bibi
A Pak cabinet minister on Monday ratched up the pressure on President Asif Ali President Ten Percent Zardari
... husband of the late Benazir Bhutto, who showed remarkably little curiosity about who actually done her in ...
to pardon a Christian mother of five sentenced to death for blasphemy.

Aasia Bibi was sentenced to hang in Pakistain's central province of Punjab this month after being found guilty of insulting the Prophet Mohammed.

Pope Benedict XVI last week called for Bibi's release and said Christians in Pakistain were "often victims of violence and discrimination."

"According to my own investigation, it was a personal dispute and she did not commit blasphemy," said Pakistain's minister for minority affairs, Shahbaz Bhatti, who is himself a Christian.

He said Zardari had commissioned him to investigate the case. "I will hopefully submit my report to the president on Wednesday and recommend to him to grant pardon to Aasia Bibi".

"Bibi is innocent and the case against her is baseless."

Punjab governor Salman Taseer on Sunday became the first senior government official to appeal to Zardari for clemency after visiting Bibi in prison.

"We have forwarded her petition to President Asif Ali Ten Percent Zardari
... husband of the late Benazir Bhutto, who has been singularly lacking in curiosity about who done her in ...
and it is with him," Taseer told AFP. "She is poor and belongs to a minority community and should be pardoned."

But the presidency told AFP on Monday it had received no petition.

Rights activists say Pakistain's controversial blasphemy law, which is punishable by death, encourages extremism in the Mohammedan country.

The case began in June 2009 when Bibi was asked to fetch water while out working in the fields. Mohammedan women labourers objected, saying that as a non-Mohammedan, she should not touch the water bowl.

Bibi was later jugged by police and prosecuted after Mohammedan women complained that she made derogatory remarks about the Prophet Mohammed.

Rights activists and pressure groups say it is the first time that a woman had been sentenced to hang in Pakistain for blasphemy.

Only around three per cent of Pakistain's population of 167 million are estimated to be non-Mohammedan.
Posted by: Fred || 11/23/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Olde Tyme Religion
No the Pope did not change Catholic doctrine
Posted by: Frozen Al || 11/23/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  oh well the whole world now believes he did pretty much

the world now thinks the Catholic Church has finally resiled from its ridiculously out-dated idea that condoms are bad when in fact they help people plan their family sizes and stop sexually transmitted infections.

everyone ignored them pretty much anyway, especially Western Catholics who are exposed to plenty of scientific thinking and are well-educated.

so now since the whole world pretty much thinks the Pope said Condoms are OK he will have to either deny it stridently (hopefully not)

or say nothing in which case the world will think it is a silent nod that condom use is OK

which is fine by me

the world needs more condoms, especially the aids-infested, overpopulated, poverty struck third world
Posted by: anon1 || 11/23/2010 7:32 Comments || Top||

#2  oh well the whole world now believes he did pretty much

the world now thinks the Catholic Church has finally resiled from its ridiculously out-dated idea that condoms are bad when in fact they help people plan their family sizes and stop sexually transmitted infections.

everyone ignored them pretty much anyway, especially Western Catholics who are exposed to plenty of scientific thinking and are well-educated.

so now since the whole world pretty much thinks the Pope said Condoms are OK he will have to either deny it stridently (hopefully not)

or say nothing in which case the world will think it is a silent nod that condom use is OK

which is fine by me

the world needs more condoms, especially the aids-infested, overpopulated, poverty struck third world
Posted by: anon1 || 11/23/2010 7:32 Comments || Top||

#3  sorry for that double post sometimes it happens to me and I can't seem to stop it
Posted by: anon1 || 11/23/2010 7:33 Comments || Top||

#4  Last time it happened to me, I posted, waited, nothing happened and I figured it didn't go, after I clicked again it then finaly went, twice.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 11/23/2010 9:08 Comments || Top||

#5  ...the world now thinks the Catholic Church has finally resiled from its ridiculously out-dated idea that condoms are bad...

Yeah, that whole personal restraint concept is sooooo...like 16th century...I mean fuh shuh. We know people are gonna...ya know...fornicate. So...puhleeze...just give up on all yer old fashioned morality stuff and buy em some more rubbers.
Posted by: DepotGuy || 11/23/2010 12:33 Comments || Top||

#6  yes, exactly redneck jim, exactly what happens!!

DepotGuy

I detect the sarcasm

But i will say that is literally accurate

Not only is the personal restraint concept sooo 16th Century, it didn't even work then. It has never worked, because most human beings are not monogomous by design.

They are not meant to partner off with one person for life.

Some can

But many can't

and they won't

and as long as it is between consenting adults, doesn't spread disease or misery then people are free to pursue what makes them happy.

Plus it's great aerobic exercise.

the catholic church has for too long tried to stifle sexual urges that are only natural.

the result? perversion. Pedophile priests being a great example. That is what happens when you tell human beings that sex is bad, evil and only there for procreation.

It is a natural urge.

It is like telling people they must never enjoy food or eating - another natural urge. You can only eat gruel for sustenance and if you eat a cake for pleasure you will go to hell.

What crap. No wonder catholics have the second most screwy religion after Islam. Thank goodness they also have the concept of guilt and redemption, it's the only way they get by in the modern world: by ignoring the ridiculous then feeling guilty and apologising for what is merely natural.
Posted by: anon1 || 11/23/2010 18:16 Comments || Top||

#7  What crap. No wonder catholics have the second most screwy religion after Islam. Thank goodness they also have the concept of guilt and redemption, it's the only way they get by in the modern world: by ignoring the ridiculous then feeling guilty and apologising for what is merely natural.

thanks for another smarmy post, anon1. I remembered why I disliked you earlier his month. Please post more so I can scroll past your drivel. It would be nice if you kept it just long enough that page down to me to someone smarter's post. Thankyewverymuch
Posted by: Frank G || 11/23/2010 21:23 Comments || Top||

#8  Well, Frank, free speech is free speech
we are all entitled to our opinions.
i have mastered the art of not "disliking" other human beings because they have different opinions to me.
Sadly that seems to not be a feature on this site sometimes.
All the best, enjoy a life of denying natural urges!
Posted by: anon1 || 11/23/2010 21:57 Comments || Top||

#9  I have a natural urge right now. Should I indulge it? I'll do better than that. I'll exert my human control over it. You may not have that ability from your diarrheac expositions. Good night to you
Posted by: Frank G || 11/23/2010 22:09 Comments || Top||

#10  And secondly, Frank G, think what you like about me, being "smarmy" or whatever else in your ad-hominem attack.

But the points are valid.

1) It is a fact that abstinence has never worked, look around, the evidence is irrefutable, obvious and before your own eyes.

2) It is a fact that preaching against condom use has led to rising rates of sexual diseases in third world countries where the people actually listen to the Pope.

3) It is a fact that Western Catholics, in a triumph of common sense, ignore the ridiculous teachings on condoms and the Pill - then go to confession later to expiate their "sins".

4) It is a fact that slum dwellers having too many children increases poverty levels in third world countries. This scourge is directly linked to Catholic teaching that contraception is evil. Also Islamic teaching as the faiths try to outbreed each other. Every sperm is sacred? Give me a break.
The best thing poor women in the slums of Kenya, Nigeria or the Philippines can do is NOT have kids. Or just have 1. But certainly not 9 or 10 and then go begging for food because they have nothing to eat.
But the Church does its best to ensure they have 9 and 10 - and they often cannot help having sex because they get raped and/or ordered into "marriage" where they have no control by male relatives.

If they at least felt the Church (which they listen to) would not condemn them for taking the contraceptive Pill, and were the Pill freely available for them (which Catholic church missionaries never do) then their lives would be cleaner, more prosperous, more productive and far less chaotic. The slums would clear like a bad case of acne.

5) It is a fact that many Catholic priests, who were severely sexually repressed, who were taught it was sinful and wrong even to have those natural urges in the first place have become great sexual offenders.

the scourge of Catholic priest pedophilia has become a GLOBAL scandal. It has shocked the USA, Ireland, Australia and many other nations.....

so the facts speak for themselves, ad-hominem attack notwithstanding.

If it is Smarmy to speak the obvious truth then I am proud to be smarmy. those are the facts I call it as I see it.

The best thing the Pope can do is say: Condoms are OK, in fact God blesses condoms and family planning. God encourages you to use your BRAIN to combat the spread of disease and poverty. God recognises you are only human and that you may occassionally give in to desire but that it is better for you to use a condom in that eventuality because He loves you and doesn't want you to die of aids or have 9 kids you cannot feed. Amen.
Posted by: anon1 || 11/23/2010 22:12 Comments || Top||


Science & Technology
Breakthrough Against Organophosphate Nerve Agents
Tsafrir Mor, a biochemist in the Center for Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology at the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University has shown that human butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), a so-called bioscavenging molecule, can be produced synthetically—from plants.

Further, Mor and his colleagues have demonstrated the effectiveness of plant-derived BChE in protecting against both pesticide and nerve agent organophosphate poisoning.

The group's research, recently reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS), shows promise not only for protecting the nervous system from the effects of organophosphates, but also for gaining a firmer understanding of acetylcholine-linked diseases such as Alzheimer's Dementia and possibly for use against drug overdose and addiction, particularly cocaine.

Following the collapse of the USSR, weaponized organophosphate poisons have proliferated, occasionally falling into the hands of rogue states or terrorist organizations, as these lethal nerve toxins are relatively easy and inexpensive to manufacture and store.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 11/23/2010 17:43 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  bug spray = organophosphate with an LD-50 toxic to insects
nerve gas = organophosphate with an LD-50 toxic to humans

They're exactly the same thing, otherwise.
Posted by: gromky || 11/23/2010 19:31 Comments || Top||



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Tue 2010-11-23
  North Korea Fires Rockets at Island
Mon 2010-11-22
  23 killed in Somalia fighting
Sun 2010-11-21
  FARC Honcho Killed
Sat 2010-11-20
  Nigeria seizes $9.9-million heroin shipment from Iran
Fri 2010-11-19
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Thu 2010-11-18
  Hekmatyar offers truce terms
Wed 2010-11-17
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Tue 2010-11-16
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Mon 2010-11-15
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Sun 2010-11-14
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Sat 2010-11-13
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Fri 2010-11-12
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Wed 2010-11-10
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