Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
01/17/2012 15:55 ||
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#1
Interesting article from RAND Review on demographics of China, India, and US. Of course, this will affect world politics, events, and relationships.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
01/17/2012 15:58 Comments ||
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#2
Good stuff, Alaska Paul. Well worth a careful read.
#3
Uh, guys, WW III ended over 20 years ago with the disintegration of the USSR. We're currently in the midst of WW IV, which is Jihad vs. infidels & apostates.
Judicial Watch, the organization that investigates and fights government corruption, announced today that it filed an amicus curiae brief with the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of the State of Louisiana challenging a current federal policy in which unlawfully present aliens were counted in the 2010 Census (Louisiana v. Bryson).
The government used these census numbers to reapportion seats in the House of Representatives and, as a result, the State of Louisiana lost a House seat to which it was entitled. Louisiana is asking that the Supreme Court order the federal government to recalculate the 2010 apportionment of House seats based upon legal residents as the U.S. Constitution requires.
Judicial Watchs brief was filed on January 13, 2012, in partnership with the Allied Educational Foundation (AEF) in a lawsuit filed by the State of Louisiana against John Bryson, U.S. Secretary of Commerce; Robert Groves, Director of the U.S. Census Bureau; and Karen Lehman Hass, Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives. According to the brief:
Amici are concerned about the failure to enforce the nations immigration laws and the corrosive effect of this failure on our institutions and the rule of law. Among the problems caused by this failure is a redistribution of seats in the U.S. House of Representatives to States with large populations of unlawfully present aliens.
Amici respectfully submit that neither Article I Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution, the Fourteenth Amendment, or any other provision of the Constitution authorize or permit the inclusion of unlawfully present aliens in the apportionment process. As a result, this case raises issues critical not just to Louisiana, but to every State, every American citizen, and our federal system of government.
Judicial Watch argues that due to this Census Bureau policy at least five states will lose House seats to which they are entitled. For example, based upon the Census Bureaus calculation, Louisiana is being allocated only six House seats, as opposed to the seven that it would have been apportioned, were it not for the inclusion of illegal aliens and non-immigrant foreign nationals, encompassing holders of student visas and guest workers. The brief also notes that the apportionment, in turn, determines the apportionment of electors in the Electoral College for the next three presidential elections.
It is the contention of the State of Louisiana, Judicial Watch and AEF that the policy of counting unlawfully present aliens in the nations decennial census is unconstitutional and undermines both our federal system of government and our democratic institutions, and is the direct result of the failure to enforce our nations immigration laws.
The U.S. Census Bureaus policy of counting illegal aliens is unconstitutional and it distorts the democratic process, said Tom Fitton, President of Judicial Watch. Moreover, the Obama administrations hostility to enforcing illegal immigration laws will only make this problem worse as greater numbers of illegal aliens flood into the country. Judicial Watch is pleased to join with the Allied Educational Foundation to file this amicus curiae brief in support of the State of Louisiana and the rule of law. We hope the Supreme Court takes up this historic case and vindicates the right of American citizens to have full representation in Washington.
#1
since the purpose is to elect representatives of citizens and voters, not non-citizens and non-voters, their argument should carry the win. The fact that it would at best be 5-4 is another reason to vote for anybody but Obama
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/17/2012 18:40 Comments ||
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#2
How conservative is Louisiana? Bobby Jindal's entire re-election campaign consisted of him posing with the president of the NRA in his TV spots. (And he won by a landslide.) Clearly folks like us can't be trusted with seats in Congress.
Posted by: Matt ||
01/17/2012 19:28 Comments ||
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#3
Slaves couldn't vote but they still got (partially) counted for representative apportionment; sounds pretty similar to counting illegals for apportionment.
[Pak Daily Times] Down with America. America is conspiring against our nuclear programme. America wants to disintegrate Pakistain. America is aligned with our mortal enemies, India and Israel, and wants to weaken us resulting in the weakness of the Islamic world. This is what you hear everywhere in Pakistain, from public rallies of politico-religious parties to talk shows on cable TV networks and newspaper headlines. But very deep down, the feeling is different.
Hamida Bibi, Nasim Javed and Tahira Sultana live in Kalabagh, a town located on the western bank of the Indus River in Mianwali district in the Punjab province. They have learned tailoring and embroidery work in a project run by USAID in partnership with AHAN, an initiative of the Punjab government that provides support to poor artisans.
"What we want is moral and financial support to be productive citizens of this country. But look who came to our help when we needed it, who changed our life, who gave us exposure to the outside world, who extended help and took us out from the well where we had been languishing like frogs; not some politicians, not some mullahs, not some military generals, but USAID; with the tax money of American people," Tahira Sultana, 26, with an average height, but the smartest and wittiest of the three, said in an emotional tone looking me into my eyes.
"Pakistain cannot afford that half of its population is dependent on the other half. The project has given us hope and strength that we can change our lives and contribute to our families. What we want from our government and donors is to give us tailoring machines and access to our products in the bigger lucrative markets of Pakistain," said Nasim Javed, 32, and the mother of three, who seemed very excited about her work and the future prospects.
The USAID project is helping micro-entrepreneurs develop better products, learn new skills, and access more lucrative markets. The project provides emergency grants to people affected by conflict and natural disasters, especially if they are women or women-headed households. The project is linking 75,000, mostly women micro-entrepreneurs in embellished fabric, dairy, honey, and medicinal and aromatic plants industries, to more profitable markets nationwide.
The funding for the project goes through the people-to-people diplomacy under the Kerry-Lugar bill, which was voted into law in 2009. The $550 million in funding goes to government-conducted projects, as well as NGOs and the private sector. The bill allocates $1.5bn a year over five years in aid money to Pakistain. The opponents of the bill, especially the army, played politics behind and took a different view as it believed that some of its clauses posed a threat to Pakistain's security and expressed its reservations through the media.
Recent political-cum-emotional outbursts of PML-N leadership about cutting US aid, while totally ignoring its practical complexities is impacting common people's lives. "They want to play politics in everything. They don't care about us but to please their middle class cable TV debates viewers," said Nasim Javid, 32, a mother of three.
But only 17% of Paks have a positive view of the US, according to different polls, despite over $18 billion in aid given to Pakistain since 9/11, I said. "Well the simple reason is that much of the money has been given to the military and little has reached to the common people," said Tahira Sultana, whose favourite politician is Fidel Castro of Cuba.
Hamida, 25, the sole bread earner of her family after the demise of her father was a quiet person and spoke very little. When I asked her how had the project changed her life, she said that though she was earning a meagre amount from the tailoring and embroidery work, but she feels very valuable and productive. She thinks if they were given machines for sewing, they would be able to make more dresses and thus more money for their families.
We are living in a tribal society in Kalabagh. The birth of a female child is considered a curse for the family and is not even felicitated. There is nothing for us, no entertainment, no parks, and our only luxury is that we wait for a marriage ceremony to meet our relatives and dance. Our work is kind of an entertainment for us as it gives us an opportunity to come out of our houses and meet our friends. We love to watch Indian soap operas, but when our men come, they switch to news channels irrespective of our choice, but one thing we are happy about is that mullahs are banned to deliver their sermons on loudspeaker as the sermons are mostly against women, laughed Tahira joined by Nasim Javed. Both of them could not study beyond intermediate for want of resources.
But what about your men, what they think about America, I asked. They possess anti-America and anti-India sentiments because they watch talk shows on TV. The hatred for the two countries could be found only in the news and talk shows, or in the rallies of politico-religious parties, they said seeming unanimous on this point.
To them, the political class of Pakistain is a hopeless mess. But what about Imran Khan ... aka Taliban Khan, who ain't the sharpest bulb on the national tree... who belongs to the same district and who is considered a harbinger of change, I asked. "He is a beardless mullah and his message of change is mere fiery ...a single two-syllable word carrying connotations of both incoherence and viciousness. A fiery delivery implies an audience of rubes and yokels, preferably forming up into a mob... political rhetoric," said Sultana.
Like many people in Pakistain, the three ladies also looked convinced that our intelligence agencies promote anti-American sentiments. "Our agencies want to use our shoulders to bargain for their own interests. We are poor people and we need money wherever it comes from to feed our families," adds Tahira Sultana, whose considerable political awareness was impressive.
You have seen our town and the nauseating poverty there. I am not saying that the meagre amount we make preparing the dresses has changed our world, but we feel proud that we were selected for the project. We have around 20 women in the group and all are very happy. But have you come across any antagonistic elements while working on the project, I asked. As my friend said earlier, the poor people want help and they don't want to indulge in any form of politics, Nasim said.
We want improvement in national curriculum and the hate material should be expunged from it. We love our religion but it does not mean it should be made part of everything, even mathematical studies. The message in our course books should be of love and respect and the state needs not teach people who to hate and otherwise, said Nasim Javed, who looked concerned about her children's education.
What you would say to President B.O. if he were sitting here in my place in Kalabagh, I asked. We have three different messages for the American President Barack Obama I inhaled. That was the point... : First that we are common people like the majority of your people, having the same aspirations and dreams like them, and we appreciate that with the tax money of the American people, the lives of many have been transformed in Pakistain, second, the common people in Pakistain should experience American assistance on the ground, third, the Americans should leave us alone and pull its forces from Afghanistan, as their presence is causing us troubles in terms of law and order in Pakistain, they said.
If we could understand this reality, why not the over-educated TV talk show hosts and people in the urban centers that America is not our enemy, we are our own worst enemy. We are at war with ourselves. It's high time for introspection, said Tahira Sultana.
[Dawn] Malala Yousafzai, 14, who has earned international fame for raising voice against Taliban in Swat, wants to rebuild destroyed schools in the district.
`About 400 schools had been fully destroyed by Taliban in Swat ...a valley and an administrative district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistain, located 99 mi from Islamabad. It is inhabited mostly by Pashto speakers. The place has gone steadily downhill since the days when Babe Ruth was the Sultan of Swat... and I like to work for rehabilitation of damaged schools so that students of these areas can be provided an opportunity of getting education,` she told a panel of this news agency at her residence in Mingora, Swat.
She admitted that she was also in a state of shock when hard boyz captured Swat, but ban on female education by them moved her a lot and her inner determination overcome the fear as she decided to stand against obscurantist forces.
`I was scared enough to see pictures of bodies hanging in Green Chowk, but the decision of hard boyz to bar girls from going to school was very shocking for me and I decided to stand against forces of backwardness,` Yousafzai added.
She said that the news that their school might be closed and they would not be allowed to get education was very painful for her and her classmates.
`Though I was a student of grade V in 2009, yet I decided that I would convey the concern of girl students and people of Swat to the world. For this purpose my father guided me to contribute dairies to BBC under the pen name of Gul Makai,` she said.
She regularly made contributions to BBC and reflected the sentiments of her terrorised classmates, relatives and neighbours.
`One of my class fellows once wept in sorrow over the state of affairs during the reign of terror unleashed by turbans,` Yousafzai recalled.
She contributed dairies to BBC for around four months. She also expressed the suffering of displaced people after migrating to Shangla when government launched military operation in Swat against turbans.
`I had no intention nor had I thought before contributing diaries on brutalities of Taliban that my efforts would earn fame for me and I will become a voice against tyranny,` she remarked.
She said that all her initiatives were based on informing people about the suffering of Swat people at the hands of Taliban in the name of the sacred religion.
However, today is that tomorrow you were thinking about yesterday... the courage and bravery of a teenaged girl got recognition and she was nominated for an International Children Peace Award by a Dutch organization, Kids Right. Yousafzai and four other nominees beat 93 contestants from 42 countries to become finalists.
`The news about nomination for international peace award was a great source of excitement for me and my family because I earned a good name for my country,` she added.
Though the prize of Kids Right ultimately went to a disabled 17 year-old South African girl, Michaela Mycroft, yet the government of Pakistain decided to encourage her so it awarded National Peace Prize of Pakistain to her, making her the first child to be honoured with such a prestigious award.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani ... Pakistain's erstwhile current prime minister, whose occasional feats of mental gymnastics can be awe-inspiring ... also announced a cash prize of Rs1,000,000 for her and issued directives to give such awards to deserving children on annul basis.
The provincial governments of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... , Punjab and Sindh also honoured the brave girl and each of them an-nounced cash prizes of Rs500,000 for her.
The response of both international community and people of Pakistain invigorated Yousafzai with additional courage and she has now decided to continue her efforts for children education, especially female, by setting up an organization with the name of `Malala Education Foundation`.
She also plans to play active role in politics after completing her education. `I want to become an honest, committed and hardworking politician as our country badly needs such politicians,` she said.
To a question, Yousafzai said that she was impressed by the charismatic personality of Benazir Bhutto ... 11th Prime Minister of Pakistain in two non-consecutive terms from 1988 until 1990 and 1993 until 1996. She was the daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, founder of the Pakistain People's Party, who was murdered at the instigation of General Ayub Khan. She was murdered in her turn by person or persons unknown while campaigning in late 2007. Suspects include, to note just a few, Baitullah Mehsud, General Pervez Musharraf, the ISI, al-Qaeda in Pakistain, and her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, who shows remarkably little curiosity about who done her in... and politics of Bacha Khan and wanted to follow both of them.
When asked about security concern, as she is now a public figure and role model for youth after getting prominence for speaking against Taliban, she said that she didn`t want security. `I am feeling secure in my city and don`t want to be pointed out owing to security around me,` she added.
Ziauddin Yusafzai, the proud father, when asked to comment, expressed excitement over achievement of his daughter.
`I would not have thought that my little daughter would get such prominence,` he said. Ziauddin, who runs a private school, said he fully supported his daughter and never stopped her from writing against Taliban.
`I have chosen the name Malala for my daughter after being inspired from Malala of Maiwand, who was a brave lady and was famous for her poetry in which she urged her countrymen to fight against the intruders (British soldiers) till death,` he added.
`My daughter fulfilled my dream and played the role played by Malala of Maiwand,` Ziauddin remarked. He has also two sons Khushal, 12, and Atal Khan, 8.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
01/17/2012 00:00 ||
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#1
With Pre-Planted dynamite?
Or very heavy insurance?
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
01/17/2012 18:30 Comments ||
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Described once by an American magazine editor as a "neo-fascist" and a "certified gangster", Israel's firebrand Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman is no stranger to controversy. It has not stopped him from building up a devoted following that has propelled his party to the forefront of Israeli politics.
But as a more than decade-long corruption probe nears its conclusion, even this canny political survivor may find that this is one controversy he cannot so easily dodge.
Via Instapundit
One needn't fail to feel genuine sympathy for the victims of a stupid showboating Italian cruiseship captain to nevertheless be amused at the complaints from women who suddenly find they aren't so keen on that all-important equality when push comes to shove
#1
Sorry. Women's lib does not excuse boorish behavior on the part of men or women. I don't care if you are in a panic or liberated or what ever, you let the women and children onto the lifeboats first. And it most certainly does not excuse the failure of the cruise line, captain and crew to be prepared for the emergency. Not to mention the captain's complete failure to keep the ship and passengers safe.
#2
The state and the advocates have spent a lot of capital to displace and destroy the 'patriarchy'. It's little bit late down the line to try to preserve 'noble' elements by picking and choosing. We have whole communities where in the absence of that paternal structure, made possible by the policy of the state, the youths have basically gone feral and procreating even more with the same culture.
Right now Michael Yon appears to be spending capital to remove the Congressional ban on women in combat. Once that little item is brushed aside, every male has the right to ask why they must register for selective service and not all 'citizens'.
#3
Don't assume that the lady's complaining were the ones burning bras and demanding equality. Those folks were probably safe in lower manhatten not seeing the results of their demands.
#4
Another nice twist, if we had full equality we'd have women called up in the draft but that would take so long to implement those that demanded the full equality wouldn't be imposed upon either.
#5
Don't assume that the lady's complaining were the ones burning bras and demanding equality.
Probably true, but then again I haven't voted for redistributionists to run the society and government. My beliefs/choices didn't win out. Yet I'll pay the consequences as their actions are manifested throughout society. Things often sound good or enticing till the real world results start to hit. It's easy simply to keep quiet and go along and then complain when you end up with the dirty end of the stick.
#6
Sigh - as I small 'f' feminist, I always rather understood the updating of the Victorian convention to be that youth and strength yielded to age and unfitness. That is, someone fit and able, in a crisis was obliged to see the unfit - say, a pregnant woman, a small child, or the elderly person creaking along in a walker.
In this instance, it does look as if this was not entirely upheld.AQnd it looks, according to some stories, as if the regular ship's crew were the worst offenders.
OTO, according to the Daily Mail, the last crew off the boat were a half-dozen of the female entertainment staff - who worked very hard to organize evacuation of the passengers, and the Italian purser, who was doing so until he was sidelined by a broken leg.
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.
[Pak Daily Times] Down with America. America is conspiring against our nuclear programme. America wants to disintegrate Pakistain. America is aligned with our mortal enemies, India and Israel, and wants to weaken us resulting in the weakness of the Islamic world. This is what you hear everywhere in Pakistain, from public rallies of politico-religious parties to talk shows on cable TV networks and newspaper headlines. But very deep down, the feeling is different.
...a valley and an administrative district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistain, located 99 mi from Islamabad. It is inhabited mostly by Pashto speakers. The place has gone steadily downhill since the days when Babe Ruth was the Sultan of Swat...
Punjab
