Helen Tilgner remembers seeing a scar on her father's left knee when she was 7, and realizing he had won a Purple Heart for being shot during combat in Vietnam.
But she had no idea that her father had won more than 100 medals and awards until this year 26 years after he died when his helicopter crashed in Malaysia while he was flying for a private medical rescue company... Would post the rest, but Senator John Kerry is the one who will present this heroes medals to his family, sucking much of the honor out of the event.
#1
The US had huge problems with broker-dealers in the 1930s...Enter the US Securities Exchange Act of 1934. This is one piece of depression era legislation that survives and thank the Good Lord for that.
What the broker dealer act does is (a) ring fence the US broker dealer and (b) limit the amount that the broker dealer can borrow against your securities and the amount of collateral it may take.
I am hardly a lawyer so take the bush lawyer caveat but the way it works is that the broker dealer may not borrow against your securities to finance their own business, only client business. So Lehman Brothers US broker dealer could take collateral of securities and if they had 100 million out on client margin loans the most that they could raise using client securities is 100 million and not a brass razoo more. This is really important because it meant that client assets were not used to finance Lehmans disastrous commercial real estate and other businesses.
Moreover when you deposit a million dollars at the broker dealer and give them the right to repledge those securities they can only rehypothecate 140 percent of your outstanding balances...
So (provided the broker is not acting criminally) you should get the bulk of your money back if the broker dealer fails. And provided the capital requirements are adequate (and they mostly are) the broker dealer wont fail. Even the Drexel Burnham Broker Dealer did not fail....
The result. Whilst Lehman brothers went bust Lehman US broker dealer did not. This pretty well saved the US hedge fund industry.
Europe however was a different story. Lehman Europe failed and the clients of the European broker dealer (read a good proportion of the London hedge fund community) are now queuing as unsecured creditors of Lehman. Many funds have folded. Far more have been nicked. Whilst the US hedge fund business is currently looking dazed, confused and a little problematic the UK business is on life support.
In some sense this is the end of the City of London.
A WEALTHY supporter of the Bali bombers wants to create a jihadi cemetery for the three men and other "holy warriors".
Cecep Hermawan, a businessman and activist in Indonesia's radical Islamist movement, says he wants it to become a site where "pilgrims" can pay their respects to "those who fought for the existence of Islamic sharia, those that paid with their life". He has offered a hectare of land in the city of Cianjur, West Java.
He has discussed the proposal with the bombers on death row - who killed 202 people, including 88 Australians, when they bombed Bali's tourist strip six years ago - during his regular visits to them.
"The families said they are OK with that. Their only complaint is about the distance, especially for the families of Amrozi and Mukhlas because they live in East Java. The family of Imam Samudra has no problem as it is not far from their home town."
The families of the Bali bombers are fielding requests from Indonesian Islamists who want to bury their bodies together. Achmad Cholid, the lawyer for the Bali bombers, said Mr Hermawan was only one of about five people wanting to fund a joint burial plot. Mr Cholid said the bombers and their families would wait until they knew the time of the execution before deciding which, if any, offer to accept.
Last week, a spokesman for Indonesia's Attorney-General, Hendarman Supandji, said he would announce the time and date of the execution on Friday. Under Indonesian regulations, he can do this only after death by firing squad has taken place.
That prompted widespread reporting that the executions were imminent but Mr Supandji later clarified those remarks, saying he would only foreshadow the month of the executions. He said they would occur this year and rejected suggestions that the killings were being repeatedly delayed for political reasons.
The Bali bombers have warned of a violent backlash if they are put to death.
A clear majority of Indonesians have no sympathy for the men. Even so, in a mainly Muslim country of more than 220 million people there is a significant fringe who regard them as slightly misguided heroes and accept the conspiracy theories that the murders were a CIA plot.
Gayle Dunn, whose 18-year-old son was killed in the attack, said the proposed shrine was inappropriate. She was not hopeful of the Australian Government's ability to intervene but hoped it would object. "I think something should be done to stop it," she said. "It sends a message to everybody that says it's OK."
Yvonne Iliffe, who also lost a son in the attack, said she was beyond caring whether the bombers were celebrated in death.
"It's just been six long years of one thing after the other," she said. "The day that I wake up and they're dead, I will be happy. They can build the biggest shrine they like and I wouldn't care."
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
10/19/2008 18:26
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What the hell kind of prison is that in the photos? It looks like a frigging college dorm room furnished with UK taxpayer money. That looks like a TV remote on the bed and with a window too!
Let's be culturally sensitive here and give them Koran 2.191.
Posted by: ed ||
10/19/2008 19:33
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It's called "buckypaper" and looks a lot like ordinary carbon paper, but don't be fooled by the cute name or flimsy appearance. It could revolutionize the way everything from airplanes to TVs are made.
Buckypaper is 10 times lighter but potentially 500 times stronger than steel when sheets of it are stacked and pressed together to form a composite. Unlike conventional composite materials, though, it conducts electricity like copper or silicon and disperses heat like steel or brass.
"All those things are what a lot of people in nanotechnology have been working toward as sort of Holy Grails," said Wade Adams, a scientist at Rice University.
That idea that there is great future promise for buckypaper and other derivatives of the ultra-tiny cylinders known as carbon nanotubes has been floated for years now. However, researchers at Florida State University say they have made important progress that may soon turn hype into reality.
Buckypaper is made from tube-shaped carbon molecules 50,000 times thinner than a human hair. Due to its unique properties, it is envisioned as a wondrous new material for light, energy-efficient aircraft and automobiles, more powerful computers, improved TV screens and many other products.
So far, buckypaper can be made at only a fraction of its potential strength, in small quantities and at a high price. The Florida State researchers are developing manufacturing techniques that soon may make it competitive with the best composite materials now available.
"If this thing goes into production, this very well could be a very, very game-changing or revolutionary technology to the aerospace business," said Les Kramer, chief technologist for Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, which is helping fund the Florida State research.
So far, the Florida State institute has been able to produce buckypaper with half the strength of the best existing composite material, known as IM7 graphite.
"By the end of next year we should have a buckypaper composite as strong as IM7, and it's 35 percent lighter."
The military also is looking at it for use in armor plating and stealth technology.
"Our plan is perhaps in the next 12 months we'll begin maybe to have some commercial products," Wang said. "Nanotubes obviously are no longer just lab wonders. They have real world potential. It's real."
#2
The problem with geodesic domes is that, generally speaking, the technology stopped there. What was needed was instead of imagining the domes as things in themselves, to have them as just a starting point, like any other building.
For instance, the outside could be designed for water collection and distillation, solar power and water pre-heating, algae biodiesel generation, light inclusion and exclusion, insulation and heat exchange, as a complex antenna, etc.
The inside could be just as complicated, using upper portions of the dome as a heat trapping small hydroponic greenhouse, along with mycoprotein (fungus) vats, with excess CO2 cycled up there to stimulate growth further. The external solar panels could power electrolysis to produce both hydrogen fuel and oxygen as a purifying bleach-oxidizer.
Remove the moon-sighting committee
As reported in Jang, JUI leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman said that the Ruet-e-Hilal Committee charged with sighting the Eid moon should be disbanded and reformed with true (jayyad) ulema because the present committee was making wrong decisions. Most people in Lahore said that the Eid on October 1 2008 was wrong and that the committee had eaten up one fast by relying on science. In some suburbs of Lahore, like Muridke, three Eids were celebrated.
Eid moon and the naked eye
Writing in Express, Asadullah Ghalib stated that Muslims in the world had not been able to unite themselves on the observance of Eid. In Pakistan, Eid was rejected on October 1 because the moon was not seen with the naked eye but with the help of a telescope. However, Pakistan observed Eid on three different days, this time also including Punjab. He said there could not be any ijtihad on the condition of the naked eye, but the Muslim world could organise an agreed system.
Mullah and politics
Writing in Express, Tanvir Qaiser Shahid explained mullah as someone who cannot tolerate a different opinion and is on sale for politicians. One Maulana Abdul Qadir Azad khateeb of Badshahi Masjid in Lahore once sided with the opponents of Benazir and issued the fatwa that anyone who voted for Benazir would have his nikah dissolved.
Rooms occupied for 30 years
According to Jang, Punjab University administration in Lahore had four hostel rooms meant for the caretaker of the hostel vacated. The Jamiat Tulaba Islam was in occupation of these rooms for 30 years. In one room it even tortured students who did not obey them. The administration got the rooms vacated with great courage.
Pleasure domes of Islamabad
Columnist Haroon Rashid wrote in Jang, that Islamabad had many 20-kanal farm houses where nights stayed awake and days remained asleep and beautiful actresses from India were brought in to increase the pleasure of the rich for millions of rupees. People who gave crores of rupees to the women of pleasure in these houses sat down in comfortable sofas and mourned over the misfortunes of Pakistan.
Illegal mosques in Islamabad
An article in monthly Naya Zamana, stated that Sector G-11 had sprouted four mosques within a square of 500 yards in its centre. In I-10, a public park had been trespassed by a madrassa of Ahle Hadith which has grown from a one room affair to a multi-storeyed institution. The mosque administration said no permission was required for building a mosque. Islamabad had 43 illegal mosques in 2007. By official reckoning the official mosques in the city are sufficient to cater to the population.
Dont trust Friends of Pakistan
Economist Dr Shahid Hasan Siddiqi said in Jang, that Pakistan should not take help from Friends of Pakistan forum convened in Dubai to support Pakistan financially. Pakistan should first stop playing a helping role in Americas programme of attacking deep inside Pakistan territory. As a result of its Bajaur operations, terrorism had increased in Pakistan. He wrote that terrorism was actually being done by foreign agents sent into Pakistan. Without first removing the causes of Al Qaedas terrorism it would be fatal for Pakistan to accept aid from Friends of Pakistan.
Terrorists in south Punjab
Columnist Hamid Mir wrote in Jang, that he told Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani that terrorists of the tribal areas were making their new hideouts in Multan, Bahawalpur and Muzaffargarh and if you attack them there, they will go to Karachi. Therefore, the best thing would be to negotiate with the Taliban. The prime minister agreed with him that the Americans were after Pakistans nuclear weapons.
America takes blood of Pakistani children
According to Jang, ex-ISI chief General (Retd) Hamid Gul said that America will never stop attacking Pakistan as long as its objectives here are not met, which are connected with Pakistans nuclear weapons. Until then, Pakistan government will go on offering the blood of Pakistani children to the Americans.
One-eyed burqa, please!
As reported in Jang, a Saudi scholar of religion, Muhammad Al Hibadan, has told the Saudi women that the veils covering their faces and hair but showing their two eyes were against Islam. He asked them to wear a veil with only one hole in it showing just one eye, which would be considered Islamic. He also said that women made themselves seductive through the use of cosmetics, which was against Islam.
What people want
Daily Jang, reproduced a 1959 column by the great writer late Ibrahim Jalees saying that people wanted bread to eat, water to drink, houses to live in, schools and colleges to study in, and even get Kashmir for them to spend holidays in. But once all this was done, people will complain about bread not being put in their mouths, cloths not being sewed by the government and the houses not being swept by the government. In the end they will demand fare for going to Kashmir too.
America tried to kill Asfandyar
Writing in Express, Asadullah Ghalib stated that Asfandyar Wali was attacked by America, but like Aftab Sherpao he was reluctant to name America as the killer. To save their cooperation with the US, politicians often blame their brothers in the Tribal Areas, the Taliban and Al Qaeda and not the real culprit. A Muslim cannot attack a Muslim, therefore only America does the deed.
America and Stone Age Pakistan
Columnist Irfan Siddiqi wrote in Jang, that the US had signed a nuclear deal with India, the same US whose conflagration we have embraced as a holy fire that burns our homes and children. To play beloved (dildar) to the US, we have handed over our airfields, our seas, our air space and our intelligence to it. While the US advances, Pakistan is being slowly pushed into the Stone Age.
ISI chief General Taj and Benazir
According to Aajkal, the PPP was opposed to the ISI chief General Nadeem Taj and wanted him gone but army chief General Kayani was cautious about post-Musharraf reshuffles. The PPP tried to get him placed under Interior Ministry but failed with Kayanis help. It hated General Taj because he had refused to meet Benazir despite a number of requests from her. Finally, when he met her his advice to her not to hold the Liaquatabad public meeting was too threatening in tone to be accepted.
Alas, Pakistan can't hit America
In response to American Senator Joe Bidens statement that Pakistan as a nuclear power was dangerous because it could hit Israel with a nuclear bomb, Asadullah Ghalib wrote in Express that Pakistan did not have a missile that could reach America and therefore it had to listen to such threats silently.
Baitullah dead or married again?
Reported in Express, Maulvi Faqir Muhammad of Bajaur, who was deputy commander of Baitullah Mehsud, the chief of Tehreek Taliban in the Tribal Areas had suffered an attack of paralysis while Baitullah Mehsud was actually dead from his various fatal illnesses. Maulvi Umar, spokesman of Baitullah in South Waziristan, denied the news and said that Baitullah had actually married another bride on the day the news of his death was made public. Jang reported that the entire South Waziristan danced with joy on the wedding of 35-year-old Baitullah Mehsud. According to daily Express, 40 dumba (sheep) were killed and eaten in celebration.
Our path to future is mined
Writing in Jang, Nazir Naji stated that in order to fight the Soviet Union we prepared warrior priest in the name of Islam. These warriors have completely ruined our society and more guest warriors coming into Pakistan will soon trample under foot whatever is left of Pakistan. Pakistan had no idea how its way forward is being dangerously mined by these people.
Posted by: john frum ||
10/19/2008
16:43 ||
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because the moon was not seen with the naked eye but with the help of a telescope
Ohfergawdsake. When have you EVER needed a telescope to see the f*cking moon? Stoopid freaking loons
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/19/2008 17:05
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Maybe they mistook Jupiter for the Moon. That would really spin some tirbins as you can see several of Jupiter's moons with a telescope. Bugwits.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
10/19/2008 17:51
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They look for the first visible crescent after the new moon. A telescope can see it hours before the naked eye can. So the telescope users may see it before dawn on one night and the naked eye users may not see it until the next night. If they're going to follow 7th century standards, then they should abandon the telescope.
Police in suburban Chicago have arrested a Muslim college student for allegedly faking a racist attack by a masked gunman, an attack police now say never happened.
Earlier this month, Safia Jilani, 19, was found by friends in the basement bathroom of the Schaible science building of Elmhurst College, claiming she was clubbed with a gun by a masked assailant. Anti-Muslim epithets were found scrawled on a nearby mirror, similar to a hate-filled graffiti that had been found on Jilani's locker only a week earlier.
The college locked down the campus after the alleged attack and, according to the Chicago Tribune, later released an advisory warning students of a 5-foot, 8-inch, white male attacker guilty of committing a "hate crime."
According to a joint statement just released from Elmhurst Police, the college and the state's attorney's office, however, there was no gunman, and the attack was staged.
"The totality of all the evidence, and interviews with staff and students at the college concluded that this incident never happened," Elmhurst Police Chief Steven Neubauer told the Tribune, though he refused to elaborate.
Word of the attack spread when Jilani, one of approximately 25 Muslim students out of 3,300 enrolled at Elmhurst College, sent a text message to friend Carly Notorangelo on the evening of Oct. 9, begging for help.
According to the Elmhurst Press, the text read, "Emergency. Basement of Schaible. Bathroom."
Notorangelo told the Press she found Jilani unconscious on the floor of the bathroom with the words "Kill the Muslims" scrawled on a nearby mirror.
Jilani's friends later reported that she had suffered bruised ribs and a concussion, though Jilani refused emergency medical care immediately following the incident.
Notorangelo told Chicago's WBBM-TV, "I found my friend, my sister, one of the most courageous people I know, unconscious on the floor, because somebody hit her with a gun. Because they don't think it's okay for her to express her love for God by wearing a piece of cloth on her head."
The next day, hundreds of students at the campus held a sit-in to protest the alleged hate crime and show their support for Jilani.
News of Jilani's arrest and the staged attack has left students at the campus baffled.
"We had a rally," said Richie Palys, a freshman jazz studies major, to the Tribune. "People cried over what happened, and her best friends gave speeches for her. I don't even know what to believe anymore." "I feel so violated."
Jilani has since surrendered to the authorities and has been booked on filing a false police report, a felony punishable by one to three years in prison.
#1
"The next day, hundreds of students at the campus held a sit-in to protest the alleged hate crime and show their support for Jilani."
So now, will hundreds of students at the campus hold a sit-in to protest the hate crime HOAX perpetrated by the supposed "victim" and show their disdain for Jilani?
Or will they just suck their thumbs, make excuses for her, and demand more cheese with their whiiiiiine?
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
10/19/2008 18:04
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Too bad for her she didn't try this at Duke University when Mike Nifong was DA of Durham County. She could have looked through the yearbook, picked out a few dozen white guys, and Mike would have them tried and convicted in the media before any investigation was done.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
10/19/2008 21:44
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Taliban militants stopped a bus traveling on Afghanistan's main highway through a wild and dangerous part of the country's south, captured some 50 people on board and slaughtered around 30 of them, officials said Sunday. any kittens, fluffy bunnies or ducks? No? Just civilians, ya say?
Remember this next time we're accused of inadvertently bombing civilians ...
A Taliban spokesman said the militia's fighters carried out the attack but that the insurgents killed 27 Afghan army soldiers riding on the bus. Militants stopped one bus in a two-bus convoy in the Maiwand district of Kandahar province -- a Taliban-controlled area about 40 miles west of Kandahar city, said Matiullah Khan, the provincial police chief. Around 50 people were taken hostage, though several were freed, he said.
Officials offered varying death tolls from the attack, which occurred in an area of Afghanistan that government forces cannot safely travel to without heavy military protection. That may explain why news of the Thursday hijacking did not emerge until Sunday.
The Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman, Gen. Mohammad Zahir Azimi, said 31 people were killed. Six of the dead were beheaded in a separate area of Maiwand from where the other 25 bodies were found, he said.
Khan offered a higher toll, saying around 40 civilians were killed. He said his information came from "local sources."
It was not possible to reconcile the differing figures. The spokesman for Kandahar's provincial governor said officials would hold a news conference later Sunday.
Azimi dismissed the Taliban claim that 27 soldiers had been killed. "Our soldiers travel by military convoy, not in civilian buses. And we have military air transportation," Azimi said. ahhh so they were civilians. Yet, the AP puts that earlier paragraph up first, so youze think it's the truth if you don't read further. Bastids
Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi said militants looked at the documents of those traveling on the bus, released all the civilians and killed 27 soldiers. Taliban spokespersons often exaggerate their claims but occasionally their information matches up with the government version of events.
Khan said two buses had been traveling together and that the militants tried to stop the first one but failed. He said the insurgents fired at the first bus and killed one child on board. brave brave lions o' Islam
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/19/2008
14:38 ||
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Having closely followed the debate on terrorism for a decade, I am mystified by the suggestion made by those who have transformed Batla House in Delhis Jamia Nagar into a pilgrimage site that the Indian Establishment has come to view every Muslim as a terrorist. Which person of consequence has said so? What is the evidence that the Indian State views 13 per cent of India as outlaws?
No political party and no political and religious leader have made such a preposterous suggestion. Yet, for the past month, important bodies of Indias Muslim community and secular politicians have worked themselves into a frenzy about the complete equation of Muslims with terrorism. What began as a run-of-the-mill protest by a nervous ghetto and a grandstanding Vice-Chancellor has escalated into a mischievous movement to scare Muslims into seeking the protective embrace of sectarian groups. Mobilisation through fear and panic has become the signature tune of those who want to divert attention from terror and confine the Muslim community to an emotional ghetto. Worse, there is an organised attempt to coerce a confused Government into abandoning the war on terror with the threat of withdrawal of political support by an entire religious community.
The game plan is insidious but it has already had a measure of success. Under pressure, the Delhi Police has more or less put on hold the follow-up investigations into the terrorist ring that was operating in Delhi. Mercifully, the Gujarat and Maharashtra Police have not followed suit. In other words, there have been no attempts to explore the wider links of the cell operating from Batla House. Have the leads given by Gujarat Police been pursued? Has there, for example, been any follow-up of why the group maintained close links with some who nominally claim to be journalists?
There is an orchestrated attempt to undermine the faith of Muslim in all the institutions of the State. There is, per se, nothing out of the ordinary in the demand for an inquiry into the Batla House encounter made, among others, by the Minority Cell of the Congress Party. It is routine for all those with any grievance to put forward such proposals and it is not obligatory for any Government to accede to the protesters. Yet, there is something sinister in the demand by Samajwadi Party MP Abu Azmi that 25 per cent of any inquiry panel must comprise Muslims. From here to the demand that Muslims must be tried only by Muslims is a small jump and this jump will, probably, be made during the General Election campaign.
Other institutions, too, are being transformed into extensions of the ghetto. The Minority Commission has turned into a sectarian pressure point and spends taxpayers money sloganeering. The National Integration Council meet last week had the usual quota of chief ministerial platitudes but beyond that it was turned into an unreal demonstration of a bid to cripple the fight against terrorism. One participant confided that there were moments the NIC resembled a working committee meeting of the pre-1947 Muslim League.
Likewise, a function last Friday in Aligarh Muslim University to commemorate the 191st birth anniversary of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan turned, predictably, into a political demonstration of angst. But it was also marked by a very revealing assertion of separateness. According to the Indian Express, the audience jeered as a students dupatta slipped off her head while she was on stage to talk about Sir Syed. In her confusion, the student looked around. Someone pointed at the dupatta. Only after she pulled it back did the audience let her speak.
The innocuous incident raises a pertinent question: Have public-funded universities like AMU and Jamia Millia accepted Mushirul Hasans assertion that we owe no explanation to anyone except ourselves and to our faith as their operating principle?
A dangerous social divide is being created between those who believe that terrorism must be stamped out and those who want to give the terrorists a protective cover built on a religious identity. The Muslim community must not allow itself to become a shield for those who want to disfigure India. Treason cant be made respectable.
Posted by: john frum ||
10/19/2008
13:17 ||
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Pakistan's next door. Finish what you started in 1947 and deport the lot of them.
North Korea is set to make an "important announcement" on Monday amid speculation over the health of its leader Kim Jong-Il, a Japanese newspaper has reported. The Sankei newspaper said there was speculation within Japan that the announcement could be about Kim's death or a change in government brought about by a coup.
The 66-year-old Kim disappeared from public view in mid-August and failed appear on two important national holidays, leading to speculation that he was seriously ill. United States and South Korean officials said he had suffered a stroke and had undergone brain surgery, but North Korea has denied that he is unwell.
Quoting unidentified sources at Japan's defence ministry, the Sankei said Tokyo had information that "there will be an important announcement on (October) 20th". It said that announcement is also expected to include a ban on foreigners entering North Korea from this week.
The Sankei report came a day after Japan's biggest-selling Yomiuri daily said North Korea had ordered its diplomats abroad to be on standby for an important announcement.
Quoting several unidentified sources, the Yomiuri said the announcement could be about Kim's health or North Korea's relations with neighboring South Korea.
In Seoul, Kim Ho-nyeon, chief spokesman at the South Korean Unification Ministry, said the ministry had not detected any unusual signs in North Korea. South Korea's National Intelligence Service said it was trying to verify the Japanese media reports.
North Korea released photos earlier this month showing Kim inspecting a military unit and appearing healthy, but it did not say when the pictures were taken.
On Thursday, North Korea threatened to break off all relations with South Korea if its new conservative government continues what the North called a policy of reckless confrontation with it.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/19/2008
13:08 ||
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Kimmie has been given a 9mm retirement present?
#2
Maybe the PRC finally got tired of him and decided to go over to supporting an old-fashioned military dictatorship.
Posted by: Jonathan ||
10/19/2008 14:15
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sleeping with the fishes in a sea of fire
/Army-first guy
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/19/2008 14:35
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OK so Kimmi is dead or near dead. Who will follow him and what will that mean to us??
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
10/19/2008 17:07
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#5
Kimmie may be more dead than initially estimated.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
10/19/2008 17:31
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#6
Poor fishes.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
10/19/2008 17:56
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Speculation on KIMMIE is all over the Net this AM.
Reminds me of the so-called TEFLON DON's JOHN GOTTI's last Court hearing - you knew Gotti was facing serious trouble this time when the bulk of his "Crew" and even Celebs started routinely visiting him. Either He as Big Boss was dead or dying, or the Feds finally had his butt.
Russia's deputy PM has told the BBC the country's Black Sea Fleet will vacate its naval base in Sevastopol in 2017 if the Ukrainian government demands it. Speaking exclusively to Panorama, Sergei Ivanov said Russia would seek to renew its lease on the Crimean port, but will move the Fleet if it cannot.
I wouldn't take this as gospel ...
The move will anger nationalists who consider Sevastopol a part of Russia. It is feared the port could become a flashpoint in already strained relations between Russia and the West.
Asked if he could envisage the Fleet not being based in the Crimea - its home for the last 225 years - Mr Ivanov, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's number two who oversees Russia's military and industry, said: "Yes I can imagine that easily after 2017. Why not, if the Ukrainian government then in power decides not to prolong the lease?"
It will also surprise the West where in the wake of the war in Georgia many fear Moscow could seek to reclaim parts of the Crimea by force to secure the Fleet's future.
Posted by: john frum ||
10/19/2008
11:25 ||
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at least all that can sail under their own power
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/19/2008 12:38
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Russia has been quietly doing in Crimea what it did in Ossetia, providing ethnic Russians with valid Russian passports.
It would therefore be a very good idea for Ukraine to start a very gradual policy of encouraging Russians to leave Crimea--more carrot than stick, as they have about eight years grace if they are lucky. The fewer Russians living there when the time comes, the better.
#4
Per Wikipedia, according to the 2001 Ukrainian government census, 71% of the population of Sevastapol is Russian already.
Looks like a good excuse for Russia to invade the Sudetenland, er Crimea, to protect their citizens.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
10/19/2008 15:21
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#5
No mention whether the Russians have any intention of Crimea remaining Ukrainian in 2017.
Posted by: ed ||
10/19/2008 19:51
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The U.S. space agency says it plans to Webcast the launch of its IBEX spacecraft from the U.S. Army's test site at Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands.
IBEX — the Interstellar Boundary Explorer — is the first U.S. spacecraft designed to map the dynamic interactions taking place "where the hot solar wind slams into the cold expanse of space," NASA said. The spacecraft is to be launched at 1:48 p.m. EDT Sunday, which is the midpoint of an 8-minute launch window.
IBEX will initially be deployed from an L-1011 aircraft over the Pacific Ocean about 125 miles north of Kwajalein. The spacecraft will then be carried into orbit by a Pegasus XL rocket built by Orbital Sciences (NYSE:ORB), which also built IBEX.
Live coverage of the IBEX launch will be provided on the Web but no NASA television coverage is planned. The live streaming video of the countdown and launch will be available on the NASA home page at http://www.nasa.gov
Posted by: john frum ||
10/19/2008
11:05 ||
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Looks good so far (http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/ibex/launch/launch_blog.html): "1:55 p.m. - IBEX has separated from the third stage and is flying on its own. All systems are operating as expected."
Posted by: Jonathan ||
10/19/2008 14:01
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Posted by: Frank G ||
10/19/2008 11:25
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#3
Shucks, if Obama isn't elected and can't impose his "Spread the Wealth" plan on you, no need to worry. I just checked with the IRS and they said they would be happy to receive and extra check from you. Here is suggested wording:
My Dearest Panjandrum, err I mean: Sir or Madam:
I was very disappointed that Barack Obama did not win the presidency. However, I whole heartedly agree that I (not we) should "Spread the Wealth". Accordingly, enclose herewith is an extra check that exceeds my tax obligation.
PS. Since I believe that this concept is novel and sound, please refer me to the following:
Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) officials: I desire to allocate 25% of my test score to any student that ranks in the bottom 25%, even though they skipped classes and never did their homework, it's only fair to Share the Wealth.
Fair Housing Authority: My house is 2400 square feet and knowing that the national average is about 800 sq feet, I desire to have three more families move in with me to Share the Wealth (despite that when I first got married we lived in a 100 square foot house in my in-law's garage and washed dishes in the bathtub).
DMV: After 45 years of hard work, I now own a Lexus and know that most can't afford such (even though my first car was a beat-up VW), so I wish to make it available to any licensed person driving a Yugo, AMC Gremlin or like-kind vehicle. I will leave the Shell credit card on the seat, too.
Alcohol Beverage Control: I have a pretty good wine cellar and know that many are drinking some pretty bad stuff out there (like Charles Shaw, Ripple, etc). I want these people to Share the Wealth, too and never that my first hit was Boone's Apple Wine no one in our affluent society should suffer such humiliation anymore.
Nielsen Media Research: I wish to write them a letter encouraging that when they accumulate their weekly ratings, the consistently high-scoring Monday Night Football games must share their ratings with the PBS's "Watching the Grass Grow" mini-series. See, competition is BAD and Spreading the Wealth is good.
National Organization for Women: I have a really hot wife who's nearly a 10 and some of the guys (generally those who skipped school and never did their home work) are walking around with gals that are in the 2-3 category now, that's totally unfair. Hence, I want to Spread the Wealth and share my wife with these guys or alternatively allow the gals free facial reconstruction, nose and boob jobs and unlimited charm-school courses. I hope NOW is OK with this since they can be fickle; e.g., when they don't say a peep about honor killings...I know they really want to but haven't had a chance to get around to that minor matter because the glass ceiling is so far away for American women like Mrs. Obama and Nancy Pelosi. I know that next year NOW will Share the Wealth of Convictions with the women in Afghanistan.
NBA: Notwithstanding that I'm a middle-aged white guy, 5'10", I've always wanted to be an NBA star, so perhaps the NBA can put me in the starting line-up so I can benefit from the Sharing the Wealth program, too. Don't worry about the ratings since the Nielsen people will soon have the magic formula to please everyone and make life fair and don't think that we won't go after those boxed seats either all my life I've spent in the nose-bleed seats eating hot-dogs while the fat-cats dine on chateaubriand. Well, that will end.
Democrat National Committee: Since Obama has been more effective and seemingly harder working at acquiring campaign funds, which has resulted in a 4 to 1 advantage, he should Spread the Wealth and give a large portion to McCain. I don't want to hear the, "That's different" excuse.
Billboard: I'm totally disappointed that the music of Madonna & P. Diddy are always on top, so I want them to give out their scores to others, like the Gregorian Chant Rappers. Madonna, the Bush-hating, soon to be Trivial Pursuit answer to "What pop star is deathly afraid of aging", can't oppose that, can she?
NFL: During all games, the underdog will be spotted whatever the Vegas spread is. Hence, when the Titans play KC tomorrow, at the opening kick-off, the scoreboard will show: KC 14-Titans 0. I know Spreading the Wealth is gonna drive the bookies crazy, but that's the price to pay for fairness.
#7
I like the Political Toon I saw this AM - an older or elderly woman walks into a Bank and tells it that becuz US Taxpayers are funding the Wall Street/Bank Bailout Scheme, she as a US Taxpayer is now a de facto PART-OWNER OF THE BANK AND DEMANDS TO WITHDRAW HER "FAIR SHARE/PORTION" OF THE BAILOUT FROM THE BANK'S COFFERS, WHICH OF COURSE THE BANK CAN'T AND WON'T DO FOR VARIOUS REASONS. THE TOON'S MESSAGE IS PRETTY DAMNING TO BOTH BANKS AND THE US CONGRESS/GOVT.
#8
Another POL TOON is even more damning as per AIG fiasco > TWO AMERS are railing about HOW THE CONGRESS/GOVT. HAS THE MONEY TO BAIL OUT the AIG Company = INCOMPETENT BANKS, AND GIVE AIG CEOS A REASON TO GIVE THEMSLVES A HIGHER SALARY AS A REWARD FOR FAILURE OR CORRUPTION, WHICH THEY USED TO PARTY "LIKE IT WAS 1999" = 2099, BUT CONGRESS/GOVT DOESN'T HAVE ENUFF MONEY TO PROTECT THE BORDERS OR STOP ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION OR STOP PAYING US TAXPAYER-FUNDED PUBLIC BENEFITS TO PERENNIAL ILLEGALS.
A one year old boy has been shot dead in a suspected terrorist separatist attack in Thailand's Muslim-majority south, police said on Sunday, while a man was killed in another shooting nearby.
The baby was killed when suspected terrorists rebels opened fire on his father in front of their home in Pattani province late Saturday. The 32-year-old father was wounded, provincial police said. In neighbouring Yala province, a 60-year-old rubber tapper was killed in a drive-by shooting as he returned from a local market on Sunday, police said.
MUMBAI: The 44.4 m tall Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) with the fully integrated moon-bound Chandrayaan spacecraft was shifted to the launch pad in the new secondary launch area at Sriharikota at about 7pm on Friday, ISRO chief spokesperson S Satish said.
The much-awaited lift-off, first international lunar mission led by India, is slated for takeoff at 6.20am on October 22.
Satish said the vehicle carrying the rocket moved at a snail's pace a few metres per minute taking more than an hour to reach the launch pad from the vehicle assembly building.
The movement of the vehicle was extremely slow to ensure that everything was intact with the rocket and the mooncraft.
"Even though it rained at Sriharikota on Friday evening when the rocket was shifted, it was no cause for concern. Forecast suggests that weather on October 22 will be benign and launch will take place," said Satish. Other space officials have repeatedly said that even if it rains on the morning of October 22, the rocket will lift off.
Posted by: john frum ||
10/19/2008
08:49 ||
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New Delhi, Oct 19 (ANI): Indo-US bilateral naval exercise "Malabar 08" began today in the Arabian Sea, in which frontline units from both the navies are participating. The scope of Malabar exercise includes diverse activities, ranging from gun-firing and fighter combat operations from aircraft carriers, to combating the scourge of terror, through Maritime Interdiction Operations exercises.
During Malabar 08, the US Navy will be represented by the Ronald Reagan Strike Group (RRSG) of the USN 7th Fleet which is based at Yokosuka, Japan. The RRSG will include USS Ronald Reagan, a nuclear powered aircraft carrier, USS Chancellorsville, USS Gridley, USS Decatur, USS Thach and USS Bridge, an underway replenishment tanker. In addition, one submarine, USS Springfield and one P3C Orion aircraft will also participate in the exercise.
The Indian Navy will be represented by, INS Mumbai, an indigenous Delhi Class guided missile destroyer, INS Rana, a Rajput Class guided missile destroyer and four guided missile frigates, namely, INS Talwar, Godavari, Brahmaputra and Betwa. In addition, INS Aditya which is an underway replenishment tanker and one Shishumar class submarine, Sea Harrier fighters, fixed and rotary wing aircraft are also scheduled to participate in the joint exercise.
The regular IN-USN interaction over the years has resulted in an increase in the complexity and professional content of the bilateral exercise. The thrust of the exercise this year would be on Surface or Air Operations, Advanced Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW), Surface Firings, VBSS (Visit Board Search and Seizure) and Submarine Operations.
The exercise is primarily aimed at deriving mutual benefit from the experiences of the two participating professional navies. The confidence gained through interoperability during such exercises has proved to be of immense use, particularly, when involved in Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations.
Naval cooperation between India and the USA epitomises the logical relationship between two large and responsible maritime powers. Both navies have, over the years, undertaken diverse bilateral activities such as training exchanges, information exchange, and technical cooperation. The navies, much like their parent nations have significant convergence of interests, especially in the maintenance of maritime security in this fragile region.
Towards this, an India - USA Framework for Maritime Security Cooperation was signed in 2006. The annual Malabar series of exercises that commenced in 1992 provides such an opportunity. Eleven such exercises have been held so far.
Posted by: john frum ||
10/19/2008
08:39 ||
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Indian warships are patrolling the Gulf of Aden to protect Indian vessels transiting through this vital trade route from Somali pirates. The fate of the 18 Indian sailors on board the Japanese-owned Stolt Valor hijacked on September 15 in Somali waters still hangs in the balance, a source said Friday.
The source also said that another warship has now been dispatched from Mumbai to replace INS Tabar, a Talwar-class guided-missile stealth frigate, which was already patrolling the Gulf of Aden to protect "Indian interests" in this "strategic choke point" of the Indian Ocean region, Times of India reported Friday.
The presence of helicopters and elite marine commandos, trained for covert combat missions, on board the warships points to the possibility of a mission being mounted to rescue the 18 Indians held captive by the brigands. But the defense ministry denied any such possibility.
The Gulf of Aden provides access to the Suez Canal through which a sizable portion of India's trade and Middle East oil is transited.
Attacking ships has become a regular source of income (over USD 100m a year) for Somali pirates, a war-torn country without a functioning government since 1991. International pressure on the pirates is growing. NATO is sending seven ships to the treacherous waters and the Russian missile cruiser Intrepid is on its way as well.
Posted by: john frum ||
10/19/2008
08:36 ||
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The Talwar class guided missile frigates represent the cutting edge of technology in stealth, reach and punch. They have ushered in highly automated integrated weapon platforms that are essential for blue water operations by the Indian Navy. Commissioning of these new frigates not only enhances Indias defensive potential at sea but also dramatically affects the power equations in Asia. [snip
The weapon suite includes a long range surface-to-surface missile capable of striking targets at a range in excess of 200 kms, a 100 mm artillery gun with capability of firing 100 rounds per minute, advance torpedo launchers and anti- submarine rocket launchers. The ship has a wide array of state-of-the-art electronic warfare equipment. They also operates Kamov 31 helicopter for airborne early warning.
#1
Funny, I was just listening to Colin Powell on Meet the Press saying how Obama only had limited contact with Ayers and the whole thing was being blown out of proportion. Must be something in the water at the State Dept.
#4
I never woulda voted for Powell anyway, even at the height of his popularity after Desert Storm. He was for affirmative action and gun control and that told me all I needed to know.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
10/19/2008 11:04
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#5
Off topic I suppose but Powell was a "political" officer for most of his career. While he did have some time in combat in Vietnam he spent a sizable percentage of his time in DC assigned to the Pentagon or even the White House.
He has always been smooth and diplomatic but I have never seen him as socially conservative.
#6
See also TOPIX > ARMENIA NEWSNETWORK - MANDELA, OBAMA, AND THE POST-RACIAL AGE. Nelson Mandela and Barack Obama succeed wid non-African/Black Voters due to SocioCulture-related LOW HATE RETENTION = ANTI-HATRED, + OVERT PERSONAL FORGIVENESS OF PUBLIC OR POL ADVERSARIES > NOT PERFECTLY to be sure, but enuff to inspire Non-African/Black Majority confidence in their agendums and leadership as to overwhelm Race-related = anti-Black "Glass Ceilings".
#1
Sweet freaking Jesus. Lurch as SecState and that useless RINO squish Hagel as SecDef? If I were a serving officer, I'd be drafting my resignation letter right now...
Posted by: RIcky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo) ||
10/19/2008 2:12
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#2
I quit reading at the baldheaded Sam Joe the plumber Wurzelbacher
Republicans hope the wall-to-wall coverage of the attack by the baldheaded Sam Joe the plumber Wurzelbacher on Obamas plans to increase taxes for those earning more than $250,000 a year has halted the Democrats momentum.
Hummmm -- how dumb of this reporter... Women of baldheaded men, unite!!!! In an effort to slime our Joe the Plumber, the media now adds, he's baldheaded.
The force of Joe lovers has now grown to include.. baldheaded Sam Joe the plumber" supporters.
#5
Here are some of the things we might look forward to in the next two years -
- Tax increases (obviously)
- Restoration of welfare through "tax credits" (= direct cash payouts).
- Outlawing of semi-auto assault rifles
- Outlawing magazines over X rounds for non-military rifles
- Fairness Doctrine
- Net neutrality
- Internet tax
- Socialized health care & eventually rationing
- Withdrawal from Iraq
- Deep defense budget cuts
- End of missile defense
- End of illegal immigration enforcement, border security
- End of secret ballot for union elections
- On the spot voter registration (just show up)
- Federal funding of ACORN and other leftist groups
- Participation in Int'l Criminal Court
- Support international regulations on securities markets, banking
- Support global carbon tax
- Billions of new taxes on corporations through "carbon credit" payments
- End of standards in public schools
Some other possiblities:
- Prosecution of Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld for war crimes
- New laws against home schooling
- Outlaw fee-for-service health care & doctor choice
- Mandated drug prices (=stifle new drug research)
- Authorize increase of Supreme Court from 9 to 12, then put in lefty justices
- Abolish Electoral College
- Reparations payments to blacks for slavery
- End of tax exempt status for churches preaching that homosexuality is a sin or other "political" speech
- Expanded "hate speech" laws to include any speech that is politically incorrect
#6
The guy who shows up at my door to confiscate my semi-auto rifle better have his will made out because he's going to die right there. That's not a threat, it's a promise.
#7
I share Ebbomp's view and posting. Add to this list new protections for abortion and bold new laws on health care and life sustaining measures for the aged. No need to look after the elderly, they are consumers vs producers and didn't vote for Obama anyway. He has left to last possibly the most damning of all, that being the "hate speech" laws. The politcal decent crowd will close the barn door on descent and replace it with a new brand of political correctness and fear. This is clearly one of the reasons that talk radio and Fox News have been fighting Obama so vigorously. The light at the end of the tunnnel is The One!
#10
The guy who shows up at my door to confiscate my semi-auto rifle better have his will made out because he's going to die right there. That's not a threat, it's a promise.
Or your bullets will bounce off of the ceramic insert he's wearing and you'll get to die right there.
#11
All this stuff we developed for crowd pacification, supposedly for Iraq, but wouldn't deploy there for "humanitarian" reasons? They're going to use it here.
We were idiots to believe in the war. We SHOULD have told all the Noo Yawkers that if they cared about their war dead they should have sent a couple of their o-so-special policemen-and-firemen to NWFP to arrest the Taliban and get beheaded instead.
The Northeasterners are the sort of people to fuck up the occupation of Iraq On Purpose and then turn around and endorse the other party after escaping all blame.
Disagree. He'll need the military out of the country (and its morale destroyed through fighting an unwinnable war under supervision of political commissars JAG lawyers)
#14
Disagree. He'll need the military out of the country (and its morale destroyed through fighting an unwinnable war under supervision of political commissars JAG lawyers)
That's what Afghanistan is for; he can send them there and then just wring his hands when the Pakistanis cut the supply lines and turn 'em into hostages.
#15
Fox Noise announced this morning that the White House was summoning both political parties to discuss the "danger of terrorist attack immediately following the election." No mention of where the "attack" might be coming from.
#16
Or your bullets will bounce off of the ceramic insert he's wearing and you'll get to die right there.
That's why I practice head and neck shots. Also, if you have to, shoot in the upper thigh/groin area. Shatters the pelvis and if you place the round correctly severs the femoral artery and vein.
Death comes quick from blood loss, but they still have time to think about it.
#17
As someone at my office mentioned. Everything the Lefties have been falsely accusing BushHitlerCheney of doing over the past 8 years - they will actually do for real.
And this was written by Sarah Baxter in Roanoke, Virginia (USA). An obvious Obama supporter.
#22
Slightly off topic...Glanter, how the heck did you paste that pic into the body of your comment? I've never been able to figure out how - the best I've been able to do is add a link to the pic's website.
Posted by: Ricky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo) ||
10/19/2008 16:05
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#24
that works, but FYI: some sites really really don't like hotlinking though, as it hits their site's bandwidth to upload your pic everytime someone loads that comment. Don't be surprised if what you linked turns out to be a blank page with a warning later that day
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/19/2008 16:57
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#26
ahhh.... Tears of The Sun. Good flick, watched my DVD (again) last month
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/19/2008 17:07
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#27
"that works, but FYI: some sites really really don't like hotlinking though, as it hits their site's bandwidth to upload your pic everytime someone loads that comment"
Is there a better way to make the picture appear, Frank? One that won't piss off another website owner?
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
10/19/2008 17:48
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#28
Oh, and by the way, re #23:
Hubba hubba! That shines my brass. :-D
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
10/19/2008 17:52
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#29
if you have your own site, Barbara, copy/DL the pic there and direct the link to that (with all the due permissions required, of course, *wink* *wink*)
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/19/2008 18:28
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#30
ION RENSE > MAKOW: WILL LEAN YEARS LEAD TO COMMUNISM; + WAFF.com > GLOBAL SLOWDOWN [Decline] THREATENS MILLIONS OF JOBS IN CHINA, in Pearl River Delta includ Hong Kong + Many parts of Southern China. 1/4 of HK's Small- to Medium Biz's = Enterprises may becom bankrupt in next three months, + CHINA PUTS RAILWAYS IN THE HEART/CENTER OF NEW ECONOMIC STIMULUS PLAN [Post-US Bailout], as coupled wid new proposed Agriculture-Land Reform Policies.
* TOPIX > A SHORT PERIOD OF GLOBAL DECLINE AND RECESSION - DON'T BET ON IT!? The gross consequences of the US Crisis on international Lenders and Nation-specific Economies is NOT to be quickly corrected by the new Bailout, as the latter may firstly LOWER AMERICA's CREDIT RATINGS FOR A TIME WHICH IN TURN WILL FURTHER EFFECT PRO-US INTERNATIONAL LENDERS AND GOVTS VEE INTENSIVE PAN-ECON DEVALUEMENT UNTO NEW DEBTS. AMERICA's LOVE OF PERENNIAL DEFICIT SPENDING-BUDGETING [technically. National Bankruptcy = Banruptcy Leveraging] IS COMING HOME TO ROOST.
#31
For the first time in my life my hair has grown long enuff to touch my shoulders - the Vietnam War Counterculture e.g. "HAIR" = AGE OF AQUARIUS - has finally caught up wid me. Its either that, or JACKY CHAN-JET LI in THE MONKEY KING.
Many men on my Father's side have receding hairlines or are de facto bald, so it remains to be seen iff I can succesfuly avoid "the Hair Gene" [hair loss]. I AM TEMPTED, THOUGH, TO TRY GOING FOR THE FULLY BALD LOOK i.e. BEYOND MY NORMAL ARMY = FATHER-KNOWS-BEST CREW CUT.
All I would need to is to find a proper HIPPIE CHICK to have nasty sex with and plan "the Revolution".
#32
You just know I'll have to surrender my PAUL SIMON/ORVILLE RIDENBACHER "BOW TIE" MEMBERSHIP CARD, + my ANIMAL HOUSE T-Shirt, for realsies this time.
#33
We may eventually have a civil war, a tax revolution or maybe Atlas will Shrug...I'm starting to warm to the thought of all three...BTW - some people will do just enough to make no more than $249K...God bless'em.
#2
I suspect the usual BDS laced editorial meetings end with something like "To the last I grapple with thee; from hell's heart I stab at thee; for hate's sake I spit my last breath at thee."
#6
Remember that the Sulzbergers have had a policy in place for years to drive down the stock price of the NYT, so they can buy it back for pennies, and privatize it, utterly screwing their investors.
For this reason, look at every major gaffe at the paper as possibly being intentional.
#7
The problem with a scorched earth policy is that you assume you will be able to rebuild it eventually afterward. Given the declining position of all old media, that's not a given. As the phrase goes, timing is everything.
#8
What a completely irrelevant piece of super-thrash who's only audience that believes it is resident in a 4 block area of the upper west side of Manhattan. I still get the Sunday edition in order to practice the exercises from my anger management classes and do the crossword puzzle.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
10/19/2008 14:22
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#9
The press are not supporting him because they love the guy. They know he will be just like the Clintons and the press will control him. This is all about control of our president and the press controlling our country.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
10/19/2008 17:02
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#10
The NYT pension plan was underfunded even before the recent market collapse and probably much more so now. The company's cash flow may be already insufficient to meet pension obligations and is shrinking.
The Times and it's workers need an administration willing to bail out union negotiated pension plans. Obama, Pelosi and Reed will have control over the federal purse and are exactly what the company and union need to solve a big problem.
#13
In the end the NYT will be sold for the same price as TVGuide:$1. That's for the whole company, not a copy of the rag.
Posted by: Minister of funny walks ||
10/19/2008 18:26
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#14
When the talented small business owner reaches the $250K mark which is the point where anything over that goes to B.O., then that owner will not reason advertise or to run more employment adds.
Dumb butt journalists don't realize no one is going to work hard beyond the $250K mark just to give it to B.O.. So B.O. gets no money, newspapers get no money, unemployment sky rockets with no way for the government to pay the high unemployment since no one is hiring.
A woman in northern India has admitted chopping off the head of a man she says tried to rape her. But she denies reports that she then carried the head to her local police station in Uttar Pradesh state.
No deposit, no return ...
The 35-year-old said she had been working in her field cutting grass when the man tried to attack her. She hit back using her sickle.
She told the BBC she had no regrets. The man had reportedly been harassing and stalking her for some time. "He tried to rape me and I hit back with the grass-cutting weapon to save my honour," she told Ramdutt Tripathi of the BBC Hindi service.
She says she went to the police station in her blood-soaked clothes after the incident, but denied newspaper reports that she carried the head with her.
Ram Bharose, police chief of Lakhimpur Khiri district some 125 miles (200km) south of the state capital Lucknow, said they were investigating the incident. He said the woman had a legal right to defend herself against rape and sexual attacks.
Posted by: john frum ||
10/19/2008
01:25 ||
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#1
Rape is pretty common in India. Lots of guys just don't seem to take "NO" for an answer. This guy should have. It's a mistake he won't make again. Sympathy quotient: zero.
#2
The guy sounds like a real rocket scientist, attacking a woman who is swinging a sickle or scythe. That tool is so freaking dangerous it's hard *not* to injure others around you.
#1
If the Jamaicans think that their police are too inept to solve this mystery and bring the perps to justice, then they should hire a couple of homicide detectives from Aruba. They're good at pounding sand.
#3
Weirdly enough, most beach sand is parrot fish poop.
A very bizarre critter, the parrot fish eats an enormous amount of live coral, grinding it to fine sand with two sets of teeth, in the process and swallowing it. Don't ask about the mucus.
More than 300 have been killed as Mexico's security forces have intensified their war against drug traffickers during the past two weeks, media say.
The death toll hit 387 people in the first two weeks of October with more than 3,800 deaths already recorded since the start of the year, Mexican newspapers reported Saturday.
The government has announced a massive crackdown on drug cartels, trafficking and related violence by criminal networks in January 2007 and it has dispatched tens of thousands of soldiers across the country to do battle with heavily armed drug gangs.
This month the government has adopted a new measure of leniency in the war against drugs as President Felipe Calderon has sent a proposal to Congress that would decriminalize possession of small amounts of illegal substances.
Mexican officials have said they are going to ease up on pressure for users and increase facilities for the treatment of drug addicts instead of simply sending them to jail. These measures would help free human and financial resources to go after higher-level drug criminals.
Mexico's drug war stretches back over more than two decades now but saw a startling uptick in August concentrated in the northern border regions, where cartels are fighting over key smuggling routes into the United States.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/19/2008
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#2
"...cartels are fighting over key smuggling routes into the United States."
Meanwhile, back in the U.S., the Democratically-controlled Congress is focusing on getting out the message that Joe the Plumber is actually "Samuel Joseph", not "Joseph Samuel". Details at 11.
#3
Narco-traffickers, Are awash with Billions in $$$ CASH $$$..
Over time Our Gubmint Officials/workers might be tempted by that loose cash if a family emergency comes up they may be picked off by the Narco-Traffickers.
Most of our Polititions will always be tempted for a hand out of cash....
Plus
The Narco-Traffickers are experts at using both Bribes [Pile'o'Cash] and Absolute Violence to achieve their bloody ends..
Plus
A current Sub-Rosa Culture War between the North Americano Gringo "Squatters" and the righteous True Race of Indigenous Peoples [La Raza].
Contemplate those tremendous forces and how they play out in our National domestic scene.
Recall that both parties raced each other to the bottom with the Politics of a FAST-TRACKING....A FULL-BLOWN, PELL-MELL, NAFTA RACE to DESTROY OUR BORDERS!
BTW Citizen did you git a chance to mull over NAFTA?
Did you git a chance to VOTE?
Hey Not To Worry Citizens, just look at the ROSTER of names in the House of Reps and Senate; And when the NAFTA ENEMA Was Jammed Up Yourn Arse, Be Grateful for the Speed and Thank Fast Tracking, Cause from now on, you're gonna git FAST TRACKED MANY TIMES A DAY!
#4
Iff one believes that the 2008-2016 Post-Dubya POTUS Period = imposing SOCIALISM IN AMERIKA, IMO these Killings includ WARS FOR CONTROL OF THE BORDERS = OWG FREE TRADE ENTRY-EXIST POINTS BEOMS MOOT. IFF COLD WAR SOVIET = COMMIE BLOC TOTALITARIANISM IS ANY EXPAMPLE, SOCIALISM = GOVT HYPER-REGULATION = these guys are killing and destroying themselves for TEMPORARY/SHORT-TERM PROFITS FOLLOWED BY LONG-TERM STAGNATION AND DECLINISM FOR ALL CAMPS.
Iff the COMMIES + SOCIALISTS still describe themselves as COLD WAR-STYLE "PARTIES OF WAR/REVOLUTION" = "PERMANENT STATE OF WAR", in the absence of any absolute or conclusive, etc. winner in the GWOT [WAR FOR OWG-NWO]bwtn the US-Allies versus Radicla Islamism and aligned [e.g. Commies-Maoists, Anarchists], the only way to impose and "justify" Anti-Democratic Socialism-Govtism in Amerika is to empower LONG-TERM OR PROTRACTIVE NATIONAL-GLOBAL ECON MORASS AND CHAOS, STAGFLATION STAGCESSION AND STAGPRESSION, etc. FOR MINIMA OF SEVERAL DECADES!?
* HENRY FONDA stars in "THE DATES {Middle East] OF WRATH"???
#5
THe MAHICO, etc. BOYZ had better think LONG, HARD, and CAREFULLY about what they're actually trying to achieve as per their present and future interests.
BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR - YOU JUST MIGHT GET IT!
The Bush administration is seeking to recall a military jury that gave a light sentence to Osama bin Laden's driver in one of the first trials at Guantanamo Bay, arguing that the judge improperly credited the defendant for time he had already spent in the detention facility.
Salim Ahmed Hamdan, a 40-year-old Yemeni captured in Afghanistan in November 2001, was sentenced in August to 66 months for providing material support to terrorism. The judge, Navy Capt. Keith J. Allred, credited the defendant with 61 months and eight days for time he had been detained at the U.S. military prison in Cuba, leaving Hamdan with an effective sentence of 142 days. Prosecutors had sought a 30-year term.
The government argues that Hamdan was not entitled to any credit for his pretrial detention because he was not held at Guantanamo Bay "in connection with the charges for which he was tried, but was independently detained under the law of armed conflict as an enemy combatant," according to motions filed with the military court and released this week.
According to military prosecutors, that distinction also allows the government to hold any detainee even after he has been tried, convicted, sentenced and has served his time. The government said in court papers that prosecution for violations of the laws of war is an "incidental fact" to a detainee's "wartime detention as an enemy combatant."
The August decision by the jury of six officers also left the Bush administration with a looming dilemma: either release a man it insists is still dangerous on Dec. 31, or risk a further backlash against the controversial war trials system in Guantanamo Bay by continuing to hold him on the grounds that he remains an enemy combatant.
The government said the judge erred in awarding credit, a decision Allred communicated to the jury when its members queried him. The defense insists the issue of credit was agreed upon at trial, when prosecutors expected a long sentence. But the government said it entered a standing objection before the judge briefed the jury.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/19/2008
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(AKI) - By Syed Saleem Shahzad - Pakistani Taliban warlord Baitullah Mehsud's opponent faction in North Waziristan announced on Friday the creation of a new parallel organisation, called Muqami Tehrik-i-Taliban or local Taliban, effectively splitting from Mehsud's Tehrik-i-Taliban.
The announcement was made by Hafiz Gul Bahadur, a top Pakistani militant from North Waziristan and former lieutenant under Mehsud. Bahadur also said that a decision by a 'shura' or consultation council said that attacks against Pakistani security forces only weaken the cause of the Afghan resistance against foreign forces. Instead, militants can focus on fighting against NATO troops in Afghanistan, said the council.
It is said that the Tehrik-i-Taliban movement fell apart due to Mehsud's violent policies against the Pakistani security forces. However, Gul Bahadur remained a silent spectator and entered into a peace agreement with the Pakistani government in January 2008 after a long conflict which left over 100 members of the security forces dead. Badahur also announced on Friday that he would not break the peace agreement reached with the government.
The announcement takes place a day after six people were killed and five others were injured during air strikes by suspected US spy drones on the village of Sam, believed to be the headquarters of Mehsud - Pakistan's most wanted militant. Mehsud, 35, reportedly suffers from high blood pressure, diabetes and kidney disease. Earlier this month rumours of his death were circulating. However, he rapidly recovered and celebrated his second marriage to a young girl from Mehsud's Shabikhel tribe.
Mehsud was believed to have been responsible for the assassination of former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto who was killed in December last year when she returned to Pakistan from exile.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/19/2008
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#1
Sounds like good news if we have 'em killing each other. Shouldn't be any surprise. They just can't help it.
Earlier this month rumours of his death were circulating. However, he rapidly recovered and celebrated his second marriage to a young girl from Mehsud's Shabikhel tribe.
A "young girl"? Is he celebrating his miraculous recovery with a 9-year old?
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
10/19/2008 10:50
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Aswat al-Iraq: Five members of al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), including an amir (leader) for the area of al-Adhim, north of Baaquba city, were arrested on Saturday, a security source in Diala said. "Forces from the al-Adhim emergency contingent on Saturday afternoon targeted AQI strongholds in different areas of al-Khalis district, (15 km) north of Baaquba, resulting in the capture of five members of the network, including an amir of al-Adhim area called Wessam al-Azzawi," the source told Aswat al-Iraq.
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Madonna may be divorcing her husband Guy Ritchie seven-and-a-half years after marrying him for love but your average Joe may soon be routinely meeting and marrying Jane from next door, who his mother invited to dinner. After yoga and software professionals, here is India's latest export to the West: the arranged marriage.
Reva Seth, whose recent book 'First Comes Marriage' is catching the West's fancy, argues that the developed world needs a different method of finding a spouse in an age of uncertainty. There are signs that some are listening.
Elaine McCabe, 33, a physiotherapist in Michigan, USA, has just permitted her father to invite men he thinks eligible to meet his daughter with a view to their marrying. McCabe, who took her cue from an Indian friend, says, "Any of us with Asian friends know if someone could save us from all those terrible nights next-to-zero hits and nearly-all misses, it would be wonderful." But she adds, "This does not mean I am supporting the kind of marriage in which the parties are left with no choice. The word is arranged, not forced."
For Seth, champion of the great Indian arranged marriage, it may be one way of preventing divorce. Just last week, she told The Times, London about her own happy, (arranged) marriage and the blissful arranged unions of more than 300 others. Seth claimed that divorce rates only ever rose to a maximum of 7% for arranged marriages.
It is a view that finds some favour with Marian Salzman, New York trend spotter and partner at PR firm Porter Novelli. She says the arranged marriage has to flourish in this economic downturn, which Time magazine describes as "new hard times". She says the cost of courtship -- and god forbid, divorce -- is so high that people increasingly want the institution of marriage to have more structure. "In these hard times, lust wears thin."
This is why, says Salzman, the West "is beginning to realise that the partner they choose may not be enough to sustain a relationship socially and economically (and that the arranged marriage may be a way to find) happiness as a family and a community.
Clinical psychologist and psychotherapist Varkha Chulani agrees that the arranged marriage could be a popular, if unlikely export to the West because its very basis shared values and similar backgrounds are more likely to sustain a union than the heady idea of romantic love.
But is the arranged marriage quite as Indian as it is portrayed? History records that the West once encouraged a system of arranged marriages in order to safeguard property and inheritance. There is evidence of arranged marriages in Western societies as far back as the 1500s and in the prim Victorian era, which encouraged a union for cultural and economic reasons rather than mere love. Ask any married person and they will tell you that marriage is a unique bond, whose strength lies in commitment, responsibility and the law and it has little to do with being madly in love with one's intended.
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#1
You mean, like all those computerized dating sites that make you fill out those immensely long forms about likes and dislikes, then offer a dozen possible matches from their data base? Or my mother's best friend, who used to host dinner parties presenting the latest eligible bachelor, until the last one, where Mama met Daddy? But it's nice that the practice has been rediscovered -- it's so much safer than picking up strangers in bars.
A group of recent madrasa graduates vandalised the office of Dhaka University (DU) Vice-chancellor (VC) Prof SMA Faiz yesterday spreading panic on the campus.
The vandals were demanding cancellation of the university authorities' decision to not allow admission to students who did not study Bangla and English of 200 marks each in their higher secondary or equivalent courses.
About 200 madrasa students from different city madrasas along with some DU students embarked on the vandalism around 4:30pm, eyewitnesses said.
Six departments of DU this year decided not to allow admission to students who did not study Bangla and English of 200 marks each in their higher secondary or equivalent courses, and the DU committee of deans recently approved the decision.
The attackers vandalised doors, window panes, furniture and other office decorations.
"It was unimaginable what they did here today, such an incident never happened before in the history of the university. They should be arrested for the offence," Prof Faiz told reporters at a news briefing following the vandalism.
He said the attackers started ransacking his office in front of him, when he told them that the university authorities' decision is final and there is no chance of changing it now.
The attackers threatened him saying they will not let the university run normally, if they cannot get admission, the VC added.
Prof Faiz however assured the irate madrasa graduates that the university authorities will discuss the matter in future considering their grievances, but the current decision is final for this year.
The VC expressed his astonishment at the fact that the vandals left the office and the DU campus without any resistance after the vandalism.
"I immediately contacted the police and that was the very first time I ever called them to take action, as it was too much," Prof Faiz added.
When asked whether the attackers were DU students or outsiders, Prof Faiz said, "They came to me as students -- I couldn't specifically identify anybody."
But other DU sources said the attackers were from different madrasas of the city who were accompanied by some DU students who had also studied in madrasas before getting admitted to the university.
Some student leaders however alleged that the attackers were brought in, supported and escorted by Islami Chhatra Shibir, student wing of Islamist political party Jamaat-e-Islami.
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#1
Muslims an easy target in world Politics,
The reasons & the solution thereof
Be it be Israel, America, UK, or India Muslims have become an easy target and are being used as a tool to achieve all sort of their political goals and Muslims do not understand this persistent campaign of mockery by the paradoxical state of affairs. Some examples are given as under:
Recently some articles were published in HT, on Counter Point, Fake Encounters, etc. by renowned writers like Vir Sanghvi, Barkha Dutt, sagarika ghose, wherein Mr. Vir Sanghvi has indicated the fake parking lot of, Ansal Plaza encounter has posed many questions the citizens mind developed a huge public out cry, similarly the Batala House encounter in Jamia Mr. Vir Sanghvi writes a couple of weeks ago. While mourning the death of Inspector Sharma he writes Even if you dismiss eye-witness accounts as being biased, there are too many anomalies: why does Inspector Sharma not have the bullet wounds that were supposed to have killed him in pictures taken after the shooting? Why was he shot from the back at close quarters if he died in a gun battle? Where are the bullets that killed him? How two terrorists did escape when there was no way for them to have got away? Under such circumstances the truth can ever emerge?
CBI and the Police could not trace several murderers like a simple domestic murder case of Arushi Talwar, till now police have no clue. But in the case of serial bomb blast they catch terrorist as if one catches a mice. They even kill innocent Muslim youths in fake encounter; several examples can be given like encounter specialist Dya Naik of Bombay who is accused of amassing crores through extortions and by functioning as hit-men for hire. It is easer to just pay off police inspectors. They would kill the gangsters, accept the pay off and then receive public service medals.
But still I would say Muslims are to be blamed for this kind of a phenomenon; there are seven reasons to hold Muslims responsible for such happenings:
1- First of all They forgot the very basic meaning of the Word Islam the basic meaning of the same is Peace through which one should surrender to the will of Allah, and prime will of Allah the Almighty
according to Holy Quraan: (Chapter Al-Qasas: 28; 83) That House of the Hereafter We shall give to those who intend not oppression or mischief (Fasaad) on earth: and the End is (best) for the righteous.
The word (fasaad) has a vast meaning it covers all kind corruption in human behavior including misleading, disbelief, mischief, quarrels, disputes and unwanted wars i.e. terrorism. may it be Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan, Kashmir or India. Muslims are involved in, there is no doubt, it is said courtesy begets courtesy, similarly hate begets hate and it multiplies much faster.
As Holy Quraan describes (Verse 89 Al-Fajr; 12) And heaped therein Mischief (on mischief) (13) Therefore did thy Lord pour on them a scourge of diverse chastisement:
Further it is described in: Holy Quraan (Verse Al-Asr :103;1-3) By (the Token of) time (2) Verily Man is in loss (3) Except such as have Faith and do righteous deeds and (join together) in the mutual teaching of Truth and of Patience and Constancy.
2- Accordingly: by taking Time as a witness Allah says; entire Humanity is in a loss. Because Muslims have forgotten three most important features of the above Verse wherein it is described;
Except such who have Faith in the Unseen and do righteous deeds, by exhorting each other and do not deviate from it.
The Truth (HAQUE) is another aspect which is related to Allah; and has been forgotten by Muslims they have become materialistic most rather than realistic resulting into loss of patience.
3- The most important aspect of the verse is patience, They have lost patience and forgot that there are over 32 Verses in Holy Quraan which describe about Patience and persistence, three of these are given here just for remembrance;
Holy Quraan describes
· (Chapter: Al-Maarij (70.5). But be patient (O Muhammad) with a patience fair to see. And bear with patience what they utter, and part from them with a fair leave-taking.
· (Surah;Al-Muzammil:73;10) And have patience with what they say and leave them with noble (dignity).
· (Chapter: Al-Mumin) 40; 77) So keep trying in patience! For the Promise of Allah is true: and whether We show thee (in this life) some part of what We promise them or We take thy soul (to Our Mercy) (Before that) (in any case) it is to Us that they shall (all) return.
· Holy Quraan describes; (Chapter, Al-Imraan: 3; 26) Say: O Allah! Owner of Sovereignty! Thou give sovereignty unto whom Thou wilt, and Thou withdraw sovereignty from whom Thou wilt. Thou exalt whom Thou wilt and Thou humiliate whom Thou wilt. In Thy hand is the good. Lo! Thou art Able to do all things.
4- In Islam Sovereignty is totally in the hands of Allah, it is no bodys business to hold sovereignty of its own until He Himself bestows it to whom He desires or He ordains any nation to invade and rule over it. In fact the concept of government is nowhere in Islam instead Caliph (the Viceroy the world) of Allah the Almighty holds a Caliphate in the name of Allah and he has never been called as Ameer-ul-Mulk, but he is known to be Ameer-ul-Muamineen. The representative of believers at International level.
But in the present scenario it seems Muslims have either forgotten the above Islamic concept or they just ignore it for their own selfish means and introduced even a new concept that of an Islamic Government. Thus they are trying to become Maalik for a Mulk of their own. For that they are killing innocent peoples for the lust of a very fragile ownership of Allahs land, they even forgot the beautiful words of a poet who has said;
Khuda-e-Bertur teri Zamien per
Zamien ki khatir yeh jang kya hai
[Oh Lord the great what kind of a war on
Thy own land is there, for the land it self]
5- Holy Quraan describes; (Chapter As-Shuraa; 42; 13) Establish the religion, and be not divided therein.
According to this verse Muslims are supposed to establish Deen and not a Mulk (Country) alas Muslims totally ignored the above verse and started establishing Countries. A couplet of a poet narrated in his beautiful words;
Allah ne bkhshi thhi hamain ek hi dharti
Hamne kahein Iran khein tooran bnaya
[Allah had bestowed upon us only one earth
we have made Iran and Tooran else where[
6- Similar is the matter of Jamaatism. Nowhere in Holy Quraan it is mentioned Establish Jamaat (Aqeem-uj-Jmaah) but there are thousands of Jmaats established through out the world, creating chaos amongst Muslims. All of them trying to establish superiority over the other. Alas they are unaware that they just pleasing their masters and not the Almighty Allah nevertheless, of course they are pleasing their own masters i.e. Ameer-e-Jamaat only.
These are the seven most disastrous attitudes for which only Muslims are solely responsible, hence they themselves are suffering for that very reason but they perceive not.
7- Chapter Al-Baqrah :2;269) He granteth (Hikmah) wisdom to whom He pleaseth; and he to whom wisdom (God given wisdom) is granted receiveth indeed a benefit overflowing; but none will grasp the message but men of understanding.
Present day Ulemaa the clerics have changed the word Hikmah for Hakeem A unani Doctor whereas Hikmah is a God given ideology it is such a practical adventure that neither it is politics nor Governance, hikmah is something in between the two, entirely a Sufistic phenomenon, deals in both the aspects of politics & Governance in a very congenial atmosphere.
The remedy;
There is only one remedy left for them. Now they should adopt a very distinct path of Prophets Sufism, (Not Indian type of Sufism) and for that they will have to withdraw from active politics and should switch to Hikmah (God given Wisdom) Of course the help of God the Almighty will come ultimately. In India Even we Muslims may declare ourselves as second-class citizen of our own country. Other wise CBI and the police are already helping their political masters by taking Muslim youths as a soft target to achieve communal political goals of all political Parties of India, in case we raise our voice we will be declared as anti-national, and no soon we will be behind the bars.
Let there be a Non-Governmental, Non-Political, Non-Territorial Organization as Empire of faith & Hikmah under which entire Muslim community can deal with their day-to-day affairs strictly according to Islamic Sufi Shariyah.
#3
The Taliban live by the Deobandi version of sharia, and so they murder any woman who tried to be more than a household slave, any man whose beard is not long enough, any child who flies a kite. The Saudis live by the Wahabbi version of sharia, so no Jews may even enter the country, nor Christians worship there, and the Muttawa, the morals police, beat people in the street whenever they please. But the Ottoman Turks, they lived under Sufi sharia; under their rule the Jews and the Christians lived as sheep for the shearing, as wheat to be harvested at a Muslim's will. Mark Twain wrote of boys beating and old Jew in the middle of the street, and he dared not say them nay, lest worse befall him and his community. Even today in Turkey the government will not allow the installation of a Christian bishop who is not Turkish, but they closed the school that trains Christian priests, so there are none to be made bishop. In the last year in Istanbul several Christians were taken by their neighbors and tortured to death; have they yet been caught and punished?
Sharia law demands that unbelievers be ruled over by Muslims, that they be humiliated and made to pay jizya if they will not convert. This we in the West, who made ourselves free of kings and priest, will not allow, and we will fight until every Muslim is dead if we must, to prevent it. Sharia law requires hard jihad of the sword where it is possible, or soft jihad under the law where it is necessary, and taqiyyah to prevent the unbelievers from realizing it.
Muslims are welcome to come to our nations and become prosperous, but only if they subordinate the laws of sharia to our laws. If Muslims are willing to live in peace, with no privileges and no accommodations, like everyone else, then they are welcome. But if they insist that sharia has precedence over the laws that everyone else lives under, if they continue to engage in soft jihad of the law and continue to plan hard jihad terror attacks, then it will be that in all the world there is no place where Muslims will be safe.
#4
we in the West, who made ourselves free of kings and priest, will not allow, and we will fight until every Muslim is dead if we must, to prevent it.
Humm... TW you got a Lutheran in deh fuel supply somewhere?
#5
Lutherans and Catholics both, .5MT, not to mention atheists. My mother's family has long been ecumenical. I missed the s at the end of oriests, though. My thanks for so gallantly not mentioning it. ;-)
#7
it is humorous to see the blind defense of this semi-murderous weakass cult in response to an article demonstrating them as intolerant, ignorant, and lashing out at any and all that speak truth about them. You can't get admitted, assholes, because you spent your time memorizing the lies of the Quran and head bonking instead of learning the required prerequisites. Your vandalism speaks loudly of that good ol' madrassah education
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/19/2008 9:17
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#8
When you Muzz bastards stop a)hating people just because they won't submit to your 7th Century religion, b)killing people just because they work harder and produce more than your backward cult members, and c)sending your ignorant, brainwashed fools out to blow themselves up in the midst of innocent people, maybe we'll START to think about considering you as humans again. Until then, you're a clear and present danger who should be forcibly deported back to countries of ethnic origin.
#9
If Muzz scum think they can deceive the RB crew, they can't imagine how freakin' wrong they be. What I found encouraging was the piece in WSJ about how the Chicoms are putting a straightjacket on the Muzz infiltrators in their western regions. Only way we can better their actions is to create camps in the desert ( they luv both deserts and camping, don't they) where we detain them until they reach a decision of their own accord to decamp back to the shitholes whence they came. There is nothing in the West compatible with any of their acts or thoughts.
Iran has identified intolerance of its independent positions by the West as the reason for its failure to win a seat on the UN Security Council. "Obviously the structure of the Security Council is such that it must be said in practice a few special countries make decisions there and impose ideas," Iranian Permanent Ambassador to the United Nations Mohammad Khazaee told IRNA.
Khazaee added, "It is natural that these countries are disinterested in independent ideas or the entry of states that believe in the necessity of re-examining its structure."
Iran's UN ambassador reiterated that some do not have the tolerance to hear an independent voice in a structure incompatible with today's world's needs.
In a vote on Friday for an Asian seat on the 15-seat Council, Tokyo secured 158 votes from the 192-member assembly for the seat at the Council for two years starting in January. Iran had 32 votes.
The 10 non-permanent seats are filled by the General Assembly, with five countries elected each year to two-year non-renewable mandates. To secure a seat, a candidate nation has to win two-thirds of votes cast.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
perhaps if Iran weren't so intolerant. Just saying
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/19/2008 4:11
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A day after the CPN (Maoist) revealed it was considering a name change, another communist party, the CPN (UML), has said it is also in the process of changing its name. "We are thinking of retaining our original name," said CPN (UML) general secretary Jhalanath Khanal on Saturday. "We could just be called the Communist Party of Nepal," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
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The number of British military personnel discharged from the armed forces following a 'nervous breakdown' has risen by 30 per cent since the start of the Afghan war. More than 1,300 have been medically discharged since 2001 when operations first began against the Taliban, new figures reveal. Of these, 770 belong to the army, which has borne the brunt of overseas operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
But the greatest increase in those leaving the military because of 'mental and behavioural disorders' belongs to the air force, with cases more than doubling from 20 in 2001 to 50 last year. By comparison, 115 left the army last year, only slightly up on the 105 discharged seven years ago.
The rising numbers of service personnel leaving for psychological reasons will fuel concerns that thousands of soldiers face being traumatised by their experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan. Health charities claim that as many as one in 10 soldiers will develop a mental health problem from the horrors of combat. A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: 'The MoD recognises mental illness as a serious condition, but one that can be treated. Robust systems are in place to diagnose and treat mental illness.'
PTSD and related problems are well-recognized in time of war, and the personnel affected by it need help and effective treatment. Let's hope these folks get it.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/19/2008
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#1
Doesn't appear to Steve, they're just thrown into the NHS over there. As much as our VA gets hammered, they at least get 'focus' when stuff drops and it becomes public. Over there, when its dumped into a system that 'dropped' is SOP, then they're screwed. In the bright socialist future for us all, you can probably bet on the same thing evolving here. Change you can count on.
#2
Curious that the largest group affected is the air force. I would have expected grunts on the ground to be more stressed. Maybe the fly guys have more time to sit around thinking about their home country going to hell in a handbasket while they themselves are in a war zone. Or is the British air force undergoing Royal Navy-like budget cuts that affect maintenance?
#4
The Misguided Children and Navy medicine have been working on it. We've a pilot program that deals with returning combat tours. Lots of first hand experience with what happpens post-deployment.
It's working. It's kept the suicide rate down.
rhodesiafever - it's historically been called 'battle fatigue' and a host of other terms. There's documented cases going back to the U.S. Civil War. It occurs sometimes immediately after the instigating event(s), but it also can manifest itself years later.
#6
There's a large article in my local fishwrap this morning about five soldiers that have committed murder since returning from combat deployments overseas. While I'm sure their deployment had something to do with their behavior, I wonder how much more could be blamed on the twisted society in the United States that they come from. A couple of the people arrested were probably not the best people to trust with weapons to begin with, but some of their behavior defies an easy explanation.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
10/19/2008 14:07
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#7
concerns that thousands of soldiers face being traumatised by their experiences in Iraq
what about the ones who are being traumatized by their experiences since arriving home?
Posted by: Abu do you love ||
10/19/2008 22:52
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Aswat al-Iraq: Next week will see the signing of a contract with an Omani company to set up a number of projects in al-Diwaniya, the province governor, Hamed al-Khodari, said on Saturday.
"The Omani company al-Taher will sign a contract next week to build a trade center under the name Diwaniya Mall over an area of 40,000 square meters, including a large parking lot and a fuel station, in the central part of the city," Khodari told Aswat al-Iraq, not revealing the costs of these projects.
"The Omani delegation will get abreast of other investment fields, namely housing, energy and tourism, to consider ventures in the province," he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
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(APP): The security forces backed by jet fighters, gunship helicopters and artillery Saturday heavily targeted militants' hideouts in parts of Bajaur Agency, killing at least twelve more militants in the ongoing operation. The jet fighters and chopper gunship targeted hideouts of militants in Charmang, Chinar, Loisam, Sarlara and other areas, security official told APP.
The officials of security forces said 12 militants have been killed in today's operation besides demolition of their strongholds. The government's writ was being speedily established in these areas after the eliminatin of the militants and life was returning to normalcy.
All the trading and commercial centres in Khar headquarters of Bajaur agency remained open on Saturday with routine business going on.
People have been moving to safer places.
Meanwhile spokesman of Tehrik Taliban Pakistan Maulivi Umer in a telephonic talk with the local journalists reiterated the Taliban offer of negotiations with the government. Negotation is the best option for resolution of disputes, he added.
He said the government should stop operation before talks. To a question, Maulvi Umer said the government has not yet responded to the talks offer.
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Iraqi Sunni and Shia clerics have spoken out against a spate of deadly attacks on Christians in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.
The recent series of killings, which has been widely blamed on al-Qaeda in Iraq, are said to be a result of the Christian community's stepped up lobbying efforts to ensure Christian representation in upcoming provincial elections.
Shia cleric Sadralddin al-Qubanji said Friday he disapproved of the attacks in "letter and spirit,'' adding that the violence represented a "malicious scheme against Christians and all Iraqis.''
Sunni cleric Abdul-Sattar Abdul-Jabar also called for respect for a religious group that has "coexisted with us since the emergence of Islam 1,400 years ago.''
Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Abdul Karim Khalaf said last week that the Iraqi government is taking new measures to protect Mosul's Christians, including an increased police presence in their neighborhoods and more checkpoints and patrols near churches.
"We don't deny that hostile acts occurred, but we have the ability to stop such acts and the situation is under control,'' he said.
Iraq's parliament on September 24 approved a long-delayed provincial elections law that allows provincial elections to take place, but lawmakers scrapped a key clause, known as Article 50, that would have guaranteed seats for Christians and other minorities at the provincial level. In the Iraqi National Assembly they are guaranteed seats.
Christians have strongly opposed the decision to eliminate the article and the Iraqi government has asked parliament to restore the quotas.
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(AKI) - Suspected militants on Friday blew up a girls middle school in Mingora, in the volatile Swat valley in North West Frontier Province, Pakistan's Geo News reported. This would happen a lot less often if every time a girls' school went up a boys' school was sure to follow in a day or two.
The bombing follows a rocket and suicide attack on Thursday against a police station in Mingora that killed at least four Pakistani security officials and wounded twenty-six.
Meanwhile, a curfew imposed on the town of Tehsil Khwazakhela on Monday after deadly overnight clashes between Taliban fighters and Pakistani security forces has been relaxed from 8am to 5pm, Geo News said.
Twenty-five militants and two soldiers were killed in the Tehsil Khwazakhela clashes, Pakistani daily Dawn reported.
Geo News reported that American drones were on Friday continuing their flights over various areas of the Khyber Agency and North Waziristan tribal areas bordering Afghanistan, spreading panic among local villagers.
Unnamed sources quoted by Geo News said six people were killed and five others injured Thursday in air strikes by US spy planes on the village of Sam, believed to Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud's base.
It was the first airstrike by a US drone in territory controlled by Mehsud - Pakistan's most wanted militant. It may have been been targeting a group of Uzbek militants, reports said.
There have been a series of US drone attacks inside Pakistani territory along the border with Afghanistan in recent weeks, which have angered the public and increased tension between the US and Pakistan.
In other news, a grand jirga of tribal chieftains from Kurram Agency on the Afghan border on Thursday brokered a peace deal between warring sectarian groups in the region.
The accord is expected to end the violence between Sunni Bangash and Shia Turi tribesmen that has plagued Kurram for 18 months and led to the deaths of hundreds of people.
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10/19/2008
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Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said on Saturday it was time for the leaders of Iraq and the United States to make up their minds on a draft agreement on the future of U.S. troops in the country. "It is time to take decisions. It is difficult to reopen the text," Zebari said at a media briefing, referring to the months-long negotiations for an accord.
Zebari said parliament had now either to ratify or reject the draft accord. "There is no hidden agenda. There is no permanent military presence. It is only for three years. The next days are very crucial for Iraqi leaders to decide," Zebari said.
The agreement would replace a UN mandate which is the legal basis for the U.S. military presence in Iraq, and also set in motion a timeline for the withdrawal of U.S. combat forces by the end of 2011.
The text of the agreement, portions of which were published in the American press Saturday, reportedly states that Iraq would have the "primary right to exercise judicial jurisdiction" over "premeditated and gross felonies ... committed outside the agreed facilities and areas and when not on a mission."
Democrat lawmakers expressed concern about ceding authority over U.S. troops to the Iraqi government. "I am very concerned about reports that US service personnel may not have full immunity under Iraqi law," said House Armed Services Committee chairman Ike Skelton of Missouri, the Washington Post reported.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/19/2008
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Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr on Saturday called on Iraq's Parliament to reject a U.S.-Iraqi security pact as tens of thousands of his followers rallied in Baghdad against the deal.
The mass public show of opposition came as U.S. and Iraqi leaders face a December 31 deadline to agree on the deal to replace an expiring U.N. mandate authorising the U.S.-led forces in Iraq. Mr. Al-Sadr's message was addressed to the crowd as well Iraqi legislators and read by his aide Sheikh Abdul-Hadi al-Mohammadawi in Baghdad before a huge crowd of mostly young men waving Iraqi and green Shia flags and chanting slogans, including "No, no to the agreement" and "Yes to Iraq."
"The Iraqi government has abandoned its duty before God and its people and referred the agreement to you knowing that ratifying it will stigmatise Iraq and its government for years to come," he said.
"I am with every Sunni, Shia or Christian who is opposed to the agreement ... and I reject, condemn and renounce the presence of occupying forces and basis on our beloved land."
Mr. Al-Sadr, who is living in Iran, also cast doubt on the Iraqi government's argument that the security pact is a step toward ending the U.S. presence in Iraq. The deal would require U.S. forces to leave by December 31, 2011 unless Iraq asked some of them to stay. "If they tell you that the agreement ends the presence of the occupation, let me tell you that the occupier will retain its bases. And whoever tells you that it gives us sovereignty is a liar," he said in his message, adding: "I am confident that you brothers in Parliament will champion the will of the people over that of the occupier ... Do not betray the people."
Posted by: Fred ||
10/19/2008
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#3
note that he sent a message to a minion, he still hasn't come out of his Iranian-controlled/protected hole. I call coward, p*ssy, and generally smelly POS
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/19/2008 19:08
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#5
because he was/is ineffective? Sometimes leaving a pesky yet castrated (Iranian) tool in place is better than getting an effective opposition replacement.
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/19/2008 20:43
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An Israel Defense Forces soldier was moderately wounded early Saturday after two individuals infiltrated the military base of Tzrifin near Tel Aviv.
The soldier was rushed to Assaf Harofeh hospital after being severely beaten, and his M-16 rifle snatched.
The perpetrators were apparently hiding behind a boulder in the dark, and managed to surprise the soldier without being noticed.
IDF officials said the incident was probably of a criminal, rather than terrorist, nature. Israel Police, Military Police and Shin Bet Security Services have been searching the area, so far to no avail.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/19/2008
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Police conducted several raids at the residence of Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojahid at Uttara in the capital yesterday but failed to arrest him. But sources said Mojahid went to the daily Sangram office at Moghhbazar 9:00am yesterday and stayed there for two hours.
Earlier on October 6, a Dhaka court issued arrest warrant on the Jamaat leader, an accused in Barapukuria coal mine corruption case.
Eminent citizens and lawyers sharply reacted to Mojahid's presence at his party's dialogue with the government on Tuesday while police reported to the trial court that he is a fugitive.
Witnesses said yesterday a 10-member team from the detective branch (DB) of police and a five-member team of Uttara police raided Mojahid's residence between 4:30pm and 5:30pm.
About 200 Jamaat activists were present in front of the house during the raids. They tried to resist the law enforcers from entering the house, and did not also allow any journalist to enter it.
Contacted, Saiful Islam Chowdhury, officer-in-charge (OC) of Uttara Police Station, said, "We raided his house several times but did not find him there. We have been trying to trace him, and will arrest him wherever we find him."
He however denied presence of Jamaat men at the place during the raids. In reply to a question , he said, "It is not known to us whether he went to Sangram office."
Meantime, eminent citizens and lawyers sharply reacted to Mojahid's presence at his party's dialogue with the government on Tuesday while police reported to the trial court that he is a fugitive.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/19/2008
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11 decomposed bodies, believed to have been victims of al-Qaeda affiliated militants a year ago, have been found in northern Iraq.
The bodies were discovered in the village of Banat al-Hussein, northeast of Samarra said Sheikh Khaled Fleyih Hassan, leader of a Sunni anti al-Qaeda group which found the corpses. Hassan said that one of the victims was the son of the Samarra municipality chief and that two others were bodyguards of the city's mayor.
All the 11 men were kidnapped during the fasting month of Ramadan in October 2007, he said. Samarra police chief Lieutenant Colonel Abdul Khalaq al-Samarraie and a local doctor, Abid al-Samarraie, confirmed the report.
Al-Qaeda affiliated militants had also used a nearby house as a prison and torture chamber.
Sunnis who have formed groups that oppose the harsh rhetoric and tactics of al-Qaeda affiliated militants have constantly been targeted by them. The groups known as the Awakening Councils are comprised of local neighborhood fighters, including former Sunni insurgents, who are now doing battle against the al-Qaeda network are primarily responsible for their degradation as a fighting force in most areas where they once held sway.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/19/2008
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Ukraine's feuding president and prime minister sought help from the International Monetary Fund in separate meetings Friday as a political dispute between them complicated talks for a multibillion-dollar loan to stabilize the country's struggling financial system.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/19/2008
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OPEC oil producers will cut oil supplies when they meet next week in Vienna and "the reduction must be significant," the group President Chakib Khelil was quoted as saying on Saturday. "There will be a reduction of the output and the reduction must be significant to restore the balance between supply and demand," Algerian state news agency APS quoted Khelil as telling reporters. I hereby vow to drive my car as little as possible as long as it's not electric or CNG and there's a digit to the left of the decimal point. I urge everyone else in the country to do the same.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will hold an emergency meeting on Oct. 24 in Vienna to discuss the impact of economic weakness on oil markets.
Pressure is mounting within OPEC to reduce supplies as oil prices have fallen more than 50 percent from July's record of $147.27 and expectations have grown that a global recession will erode fuel demand.
"If the cut is 1.5 million barrels per day, then it will be 1.5 million barrels. If it is 2.0 million barrels per day, it will be 2.0 million barrels per day," added Khelil, who is also Algeria's energy and mining minister. Earlier, Khelil was quoted in Saturday's edition of Algerian daily al-Watan as saying that OPEC saw oil prices bottoming at $70-$90 per barrel.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/19/2008
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#1
Go ahead & cut your balls off. Just remember to use a rusty knife.
The Israel Defense Forces wants to charge for the emergency gas masks that have always been distributed to citizens free of charge. A draft proposal suggests charging every citizen NIS 200 every 20 years. Political sources said the cabinet is unlikely to approve such a measure.
Some two years ago, the Defense Ministry started collecting the gas masks from people's homes. In April this year, the cabinet decided to redistribute the renovated masks and approve a NIS 220 million annual budget for new ones, as only 70 percent of the population has suitable masks.
Over the past three years, the budget for gas masks has been NIS 150 million.
Ten months after the cabinet's decision, the defense and finance ministries have still not reached an agreement on financing the project.
Deputy defense minister MK Matan Vilnay, who is conducting the talks with the treasury, fears that in the absence of an agreement, the gas masks' redistribution will be delayed and will begin in the second half of 2009 at the earliest.
IDF General Staff officers are convinced that the masks must be redistributed to the population due to the threats by terrorist groups and neighboring states.
In the absence of financing, the Home Front suggested charging citizens for the project. The precedent for this was the reinforced room, which is required by law in new buildings, as one of the lessons of the first Gulf War in 1991.
Home Front Command studies show that the gas mask must be replaced every 22 years, which means that in general, each person must pay about NIS 10 a year. However, the annual cost per family is higher, especially with small children who need a different mask every few years.
Military sources say that in view of the fluctuations in the budget for gas masks, stemming from the changing perception of the threat to the population, there may be no escape but to charge citizens for the masks.
The Home Front Command distributed questionnaires to citizens asking if they would be prepared to pay for gas masks and would be willing to pay more if the mask were delivered to their home, rather than sold in a shop or supermarket.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/19/2008
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#1
especially with small children who need a different mask every few years.
A female madrasah student sustained severe burn injuries in an acid attack by miscreants at Jahanabaz village in Sadar upazila on Tuesday night.
Police, quoting the family members said, the terrorists hurled acid on Sharmin Nahar, 16, daughter of Momtaz Sardar, when she was sleeping with her mother at night, leaving her critically injured. Injured Sharmin, a class IX student of Jahanbaz Kamil Madrasah, was rushed to Sadar Hospital immediately. Police arrested one Shahadat Hossain, 40, in this connection.
Let me guess: Shahadat's never been married and had no prospects. Maybe's a secret Biplobi or a Purbo. Sharmin's a young lady who's easy on the eyes, and Shahadat was inspired by The Profit to make his move. Sharmin laughed, and Shahadat decided to punish the young hussy. Did I miss anything?
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/19/2008
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#1
Well, you did omit the part about how he should be torn apart by pack dogs.
NEW DELHI -- India's growing political and defence relations with the United States have apparently left Pakistan's military establishment ill at ease. Islamabad has vehemently protested the visit of US army chief General George Casey to 'disputed' Siachen, reflecting the deterioration in its relations with Washington. The Siachen is a 6,300 metre high lifeless glacier in the Karakoram range of Kashmir.
However, India and the US have refused to attach importance to Pakistan's burly indignation over Gen Casey's visit.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/19/2008
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Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
10/19/2008 14:19
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#4
Tough guy. I bet Hill could shoot his ass off, if given a chance. As for Sarah, we know her story. In detail. We don't know shit about you Hussein. You faker. You lyin' SOB. All your records sealed. Cute. Had to shut the Kenyan granny up tho', cause she's been spouting how she helped deliver you in Kenya. I can produce a birth certificate in 15 minutes, once I get back to my hometown. Why can't youall ?
Increasingly Pakistanis have to square up to face what could be a defining moment in their lives. They can either crawl into shelters and take refuge, trembling with fear and anxiety, or face up to what is now a reality of life in Pakistan. If they choose the latter, they must be ready to face it with courage, fortitude and resilience. So far it seems Pakistanis are either not comprehending what is so obviously staring them in the face or they are recognising it but are paralysed with fear and doubt. In this uneasy status quo, life as it is usually lived has all but come to a stop.
Not that this part of the world was famous for its high-quality night life, its great tourist havens or its magical realms of shopping delights, adventure, excitement and the time of your life. It was always a pale substitute for tourism in any sense of the word, notwithstanding Neelofer Bathktiar's "Destination Pakistan" claims made at that time. For years and years, there was a miniscule trickle of tourists who braved the elements, lack of infrastructure and other creature comforts to experience a rugged, off-the-beaten-track experience. But that number got smaller and smaller. I think it is safe to surmise that there was a time when the tourism department officials outnumbered the number of tourists who actually arrived. The blessed ministry in Islamabad which neither had funds or the drive or the motivation, half-launched harebrained schemes, held seminars where boring speakers meandered endlessly into abstractions of tourism, passed resolutions, attacked the goodies and went home. The great potential of the country was constantly held up till it almost became a substitute for the actual business itself. Figures were fudged, a talent which finds extraordinary practitioners in the fair capital of the country.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: john frum ||
10/19/2008
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#1
Simple answer: you're screwed, anally, by an AIDS-infected Mullah using no condom. It's your own fault though; you willingly got in bed with him.
#1
Thinking man's army. Professional soldiers. Leaders. Unlike the Soviet army and any other foreign armies - the taliban are toast as well as AQ. If may take 5 years or more but it is only a matter of time. Of course, this all depends on whether it is McCain or Obama bin Biden.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
10/19/2008 14:12
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(APP): President Asif Ali Zardari has said that eradicating cultivation of poppy from which opium is produced is the key to fighting terrorism. "It is one of the major problems because it finances terrorism," the President said in an interview to China Daily. He said, "People who grow poppy should be persuaded to grow something else." Poppy is mostly grown in various areas in Afghanistan. President Zardari said farmers in those regions should plant corn to take advantage of rising prices sparked by the burgeoning US ethanol industry. He said planting corn could give them the same returns they get from opium.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/19/2008
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#1
Corn may be just as profitable, but opium is a much more compact product and can be distributed illegally in boxes and on the backs of donkeys or goats or whatever they use. Probably those bling-bling trucks they are so fond of, too. Hard to fund terrorist operations if your product has to be shipped and tracked legally.
Spray the f'in poppies already and be done with it. No money == no payroll == no fighters.
#2
Guys growing and distributing poppies deserve to be treated like pirates. Point fingers all you want on who is responsible for heroin addiction, these guys are in the critical path. No sympathy here.
#4
Yes, bman, thanks to government meddling in the market. If Obama wins, we can expect even more meddling. I'm sure Obama will expect our farmers to share the wealth in addition to feeding the world. At least those who aren't drafted into the Peace Corps and sent to Zimbabwe.
#5
How kind of President "Mr. Benazir Bhutto" Zardari to tell the Afghans what they must do to stop terrorism in Pakistan. Wiser, perhaps, were he to suggest the two countries work together to eradicate a joint problem. But the quality of thought is a seamless whole: corn grown in Afghanistan for the American market would have to be trucked through the mountains to Pakistani ports, whereas wheat could be used to alleviate the flour shortage in Pakistan that we read about yesterday. Or sold to the returned refugees within Afghanistan, leaving nothing at all for the Land of the Pure.
The gentleman spouted his inanities while trying unsuccessfully to beg a loan from China. He is lucky the price of petroleum keeps falling -- his country may now have currency reserves enough to get through 2 1/2 months before going bankrupt, instead of only two months.
#6
Don't worry, tw, I'm sure Zardari has enough banked away in foreign countries to withstand both wheat shortages and the fall of Pakistan. He will do well as long as he doesn't take a bomb to the limo chasis or a bullet to the head. Of course the ISI probably takes a pretty good cut from the Taliban's opium trade, so he better wear his helmet.
Friends and foes have called Cuba many things -- a progressive beacon, a quixotic underdog, an oppressive tyranny -- but no one has called it lucky, until now.
Mother Nature appears to have blessed the island with enough oil reserves to vault it into the ranks of energy powers. The government announced there may be more than 20 billion barrels of recoverable oil in offshore fields in Cuba's share of the Gulf of Mexico, more than twice the previous estimate.
If confirmed, it puts Cuba's reserves on par with those of the U.S. and into the world's top 20. Drilling is expected to start next year by Cuba's state oil company Cubapetroleo, or Cupet. "It would change their whole equation. The government would have more money and no longer be dependent on foreign oil," said Kirby Jones, founder of the Washington-based U.S.-Cuba Trade Association. "It could join the club of oil exporting nations," he added.
"We have more data. I'm almost certain that if they ask for all the data we have, [their estimate] is going to grow considerably," said Cupet's exploration manager, Rafael Tenreyro Perez. A consortium of companies led by Spain's Repsol had tested wells and were expected to begin drilling the first production well in mid-2009, and possibly several more later in the year, he said.
Cuba currently produces about 60,000 barrels of oil daily, covering almost half of its needs, and imports the rest from Venezuela in return for Cuban doctors and sports instructors. "This news about the oil reserves could not have come at a better time," said Jonathan Benjamin-Alvarado, an energy specialist.
However, there is little prospect of Cuba becoming a version of Kuwait. Its oil is more than a mile deep under the ocean and difficult and expensive to extract. The four-decade-old U.S. economic embargo prevents several of Cuba's potential partners -- Brazil, Norway and Spain -- from using first-generation technology.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/19/2008
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#1
This is outrageous! Cuban oil leaks from cheeeeeep Spanish oil drillin technology is going to cause Florida to loose thousands and thousands of $8 an hour jobs!
Remember deh Maine!
Don't fuck up the flats and don't annoyer deh bonefish or else
It's always tempting to pile onto a particular controversy, and I'm a little late to this party. Most everyone in America by now has heard the basic story of 'Joe the Plumber', and most everyone has their own opinion of his exchange with Senator Barack Obama. Good luck trying to change those opinions, too: either you believe that 'Joe' is a champion of the working class who correctly understands Senator Obama to be a socialist, or you believe that 'Joe' is a fraud, a phony and a tool of the rightists who continue to hold back progress in America. Thanks to the mainstream media we've learned a lot about Joe these last few days, from his unpaid tax lien to his lack of a plumber's license to his divorce to the big SUV he drives.
So Joe is in part a mirror to our own political and cultural beliefs. What we believe determines how we see him.
I confess that I see Joe somewhat differently.
For me, Joe is a neighbor.
I work as an academic physician in Hyde Park, Illinois, home to Barack Obama and a lot of other very smart intellectuals. These folks are often referred to in the media and in political commentary as 'elites': you say that either with reverence or with a sneer depending on your political orientation. Hyde Park is a wonderfully quirky, yeasty community that has more bookstores than bars. It's a different place than much of the rest of America.
Joe wouldn't be comfortable living in Hyde Park. Neither was I, and I tried it.
I've lived in a number of working class neighborhoods, starting with the one I grew up in, a semi-rural tract in Ohio. My father was a technician, and we lived amongst people like Joe: carpenters, teachers, and factory workers. The house on the corner had a welder who spent his spare time refitting tow trucks in his driveway. The largest house on the block belonged to a contractor; he was the kind of man who'd wielded a hammer long enough to remember where he came from and so lived on a block with others like him. The men went to work every morning; so did some of the women, while the rest stayed home and raised the children. You learned a lot as a kid just by watching the adults: they worked, they tended to their homes and their yards, and they looked after their kids. Their pleasures were relatively simple, and a holiday trip for them was heading downstate to see the family or into the woods to hunt a deer.
Joe would have lived there. He would have lived in several more neighborhoods I've lived in as an adult, because they were filled with people like him, even the blue community in a blue state, where the electrician and the corporate vice president shared a driveway. Joe would have been comfortable playing football with his son in the front yard in any of these places, because we were all, despite our occupations and our different upbringings, pretty much the same people.
We remember from where we came. We remember who our neighbors were. Everyone was useful. Everyone had a job to do, and we learned that those jobs were important. Think you're smart because you're a doctor, a lawyer, or an author? Try repairing a broken sump pump. On a Saturday night. Standing in a foot of dirty water. One learned, growing up in a working class neighborhood, that everyone who could do something had a basic worth.
Some 'elite' people understand that as well, but some, perhaps because they've become embarrassed by their upbringing and have been cowed living amongst those who live on a higher intellectual plane, have run away from their former life. They now live in Manhattan but don't appreciate being reminded that they grew up in Manhattan, Kansas. Yes, yes, their political beliefs require them to acknowledge the 'working person', but they've overcome their humble beginnings and want, sometimes desperately, to be accepted by their new neighbors in Manhattan, or Hyde Park, or Berkeley, or Boulder. The working class is an item of study to them, something found in books and journals that describe the 'material dialectic' and the proletariat, something to be molded and 'educated' perhaps, particularly around election time, but nothing to be a part of anymore. They're beyond that.
It's an elitism that requires one to forsake the old ways in favor of the new life. It induces a particular psychology that in the end becomes disdainful of the plumber. Sure he has a life and dreams and plans, but after all, he's just a plumber. He's an object, much like a plunger, and while the elites superficially acknowledge his humanity, they also make plans for him without his consent. Those big plans mean that it's perfectly acceptable to spread his wealth around to other people in other classes: the 'poor', the 'elderly', the 'minorities', all also similarly deconstructed. You wouldn't understand, Joe. Shut up, plumb your pipes and give the man your money.
Joe the Plumber spoke back to the instrument of truth and power, and he has to be punished for that. It's a lesson to all of us. That's why the mainstream media tore into him, why the late-night comics ridicule him, and why Senators Obama and Biden openly mock him on the campaign trail. They understand the danger of allowing a challenge to pass without response.
It's the same message to all of us in fly-over country who work at a job, try to put a little away, and play football with our kids. We can be bitter and cling to our religion if we want (the guns they'll take away), but we'd better pipe down and not ask any embarrassing questions. Let the elites run America the same way they run Europe.
We are all Joe. Be quiet.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/19/2008
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#3
Reminds me of a great quote which was posted in the engineering lab back in my school daze:
"The society which scorns excellence in plumbing as a humble activity and tolerates shoddiness in philosophy because it is an exalted activity will have neither good plumbing nor good philosophy: neither its pipes nor its theories will hold water." - John W. Gardner
#4
No, Steve, the guns they won't take away. Not without a lot of "them" dying in the process. Taking away the guns is the first step to the boxcars. This citizen knows that if the SS/SA had met a Jew shooting a Luger or Mauser at them every time they went to "collect" someone, the SS/SA would soon have stopped.
They can certainly kill me, and my family as well, but they can't peacefully disarm me. Not without a fight and I'll make sure they pay dearly for what they get. The minute I hear of the first gun being confiscated forcibly, all bets are off.
The Second Amendment is the MOST important part of the Constitution since it's the one that guarantees all the other parts of it. Any government that openly or clandestinely abrogates the Second Amendment forfeits its legitimacy and consequently any obligation on my part to obey its laws.
They want the Second American Civil War, let them come and try to take my guns.
#6
John McCain thanked Joe Wurzelbacher. He asked Joe Wurzelbacher why he didn't call when the Constitution was attacked. Joe Wurzelbacher said he had a long night and was flying to New York that evening for a sit-down interview with Mike Huckabee on Pravda. They then began kissing.
#10
What should scare the bee-geebers out of everyone is the way Obama and his machine including the MSM went for Joe's jugular for asking a freaking question. Folks, regardless of your ideology, do you really want a "police" state? First they came for the Plumber and it did not concern me. Next they came for me.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
10/19/2008 14:27
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#11
Yeah, unfortunately a bunch of people on the left seem to be quite okay with a police state so long as it leans in their direction.
CHENNAI A group of Indian lawmakers, whose support is crucial to the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, handed their resignation letters to their party chief on Friday over the conflict in Sri Lanka, officials said.
The 14 Members of Lower House (Lok Sabha) of Parliament, including six ministers of a regional party in southern Tamil Nadu state, wants India to ask Sri Lanka to call a ceasefire immediately. The MPs belong to Tamil Nadus Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi. The MPs say they share the increasing concern of the mainly Tamil population on the island that Sri Lankan troops are wiping out Tamils there.
No word on their position of the LTTE setting off bombs to kill civilians, but we can guess ...
Sri Lanka has vowed to crush the Tamil Tigers (LTTE) militarily. It says its troops are 2 km from the rebel capital of Kilinochchi, a strategic and symbolic target. Troops stepped up the offensive against the LTTE rebels fighting for a separate homeland this year and the government says its forces have killed thousands of rebels since January.
The MPs resignation could force a vote of confidence in Prime Minister Manmohan Singhs government if the letters reach the speaker in Indias parliament. But opposition parties, which have described the move as a farce, and analysts said the threat may be more about making political noise for their local constituencies. They are unlikely to carry out the threat and the government will not face a crisis, C. Uday Bhaskar, a strategic analyst said.
Earlier this week, about 39 lawmakers, all allies of Indias ruling Congress party-led coalition met in the southern city of Chennai and gave the Indian government two weeks to intervene or face being brought down. The meeting was chaired by M. Karunanidhi, chief minister of Tamil Nadu state and leader of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam party (DMK), a key ally of the Congress party. We are not speaking for the LTTE, but for the orphaned Tamils, Karunanidhi said on Friday. I am not asking for armed intervention but only restoration of peace in Sri Lanka.
Indias prime minister has urged Sri Lanka to solve the conflict politically but said it was not going to intervene. India sent peacekeepers to the island nation in 1987, only to withdraw them after losing more than 1,200 men in battle and facing allegations of human rights violations. I am sure Mr Karunanidhi will understand that our prime minister has come out in support of innocent Tamils caught in the battle, Veerappa Moily, a senior Congress party spokesman said in New Delhi. This issue will be resolved.
But not by Indian troops. India has a potential two-front war already with Pakistain and China, and doesn't need to tie down military resources on a third front, particularly one that they can't win.
Karunanidhi however, said that India could certainly intervene in Sri Lanka to alleviate the sufferings of Tamil minorities there - and cited the 1971 India-Pakistan war that led to the creation of Bangladesh to support his contention.
Hint, hint ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/19/2008
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#1
Pic and address deleted -- ... sad pic, but no proof. Exhibitions of this type do not win guilty verdicts at Rantburg.
Tamil kids butchered by Sinhala military.
Who is the terrorist?
#2
What pic and address? There was none in the original article -- I checked. And why are Tamil kids fighting with the Tamil Tigers, anyway? Should they not be kept safely at home while the grownups do the fighting?
#3
Child fighters appear to be pretty useful, unfortunately. They aren't good fighters, but they're OK for terrorizing civilians, and adult fighters have some issues about shooting kids or getting wounded by them--it is very bad for morale. I don't know how they'd stack up against a well-trained army, but apparently having a group of stoned kids shooting at you from the jungle was pretty hard on Liberian soldiers.
Posted by: James ||
10/19/2008 17:21
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#4
Tamil Net admits the LTTE turns kidnapped children into suicide bombers The semi-official organ of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam(LTTE), the Tamil Net, admitted that a suicide cadre of their organization, known as a Black Tigress about whom a Norwegian documentary film has been made was a child kidnapped at the age of 12 years.
Outrage over child soldiers in Sri Lanka The Tamil Tiger rebels have long been known to use child soldiers in their extended campaign against the Sri Lankan government. The average age of the Tigers' child soldiers, according to UNICEF, is 16 years old.
Child soldiers still being recruited Over 1,189 child soldiers below the age of 16, recruited by the LTTE from the North and East, are still in LTTE custody, UNICEF official told the Sunday Observer.
The LTTE are anal byproducts of humanity and the quicker they are put down the better off will be civilization.
Posted by: ed ||
10/19/2008 18:10
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(AKI) - A UN refugee agency report released on Friday shows that the number of Iraqis seeking asylum in industrialised countries dropped in the first six months of 2008, but they were still by far the top asylum seekers.
According to the asylum trends report, the number of claims made by Iraqis (19,500) during the first six months of 2008, was higher than the combined number of asylum claims submitted by citizens of Russia (9,400) and China (8,700), the second and third most important source countries.
Other important countries of origin of asylum seekers were Somalia (7,400), Pakistan and Afghanistan (6,300 each).
Compared to the previous six months, however, the number of Iraqi asylum seekers fell by 18 percent and by 10 percent compared to the first half of 2007.
In spite of this downward trend, Iraqis still accounted for 12 percent of all asylum applications lodged in the industrialised world.
Sixty percent of all Iraqis claimed asylum in only four countries: Sweden (20 percent), Germany (18 percent), Turkey (14 percent) and the Netherlands (12 percent).
One in five of all applications by Iraqis were submitted in Sweden (3,900), which has been the main destination country for Iraqi asylum seekers for some time.
Arrivals in Sweden, however, have seen a recent drop following a change in Swedish decision-making on Iraqi asylum claims, which has resulted in fewer Iraqis submitting applications.
At the same time, applications by Iraqis have gone up in Germany, the Netherlands and Norway.
Germany, for example, received 3,400 Iraqi asylum claims in the first half of 2008, the same level as in the preceding six months, but four times more than in the first half of 2007.
Overall, an estimated 165,100 asylum claims were submitted by all nationalities in the industrialized countries during the first half of 2008.
The United States remained the largest single recipient of new claims by asylum seekers of all nationalities during the first six months of 2008.
An estimated 25,400 individuals submitted asylum applications in the US, representing 15 percent of all applications lodged in the 44 industrialised countries covered by the report.
Canada ranked second country of destination with 16,800 applications by asylum seekers of all nationalities during the first six months of 2008, followed by France, the United Kingdom and Sweden.
The number of asylum claims submitted in industrialised countries in 2007 rose by 9 percent compared to 2006.
Assuming that current patterns remain unchanged during the next six months, UNHCR expects the number of asylum claims lodged during the whole of 2008 to reach up to 360,000, or 10 percent higher than in 2007.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/19/2008
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Oct. 18 (Bloomberg) -- President George W. Bush said he will host a summit on the global financial crisis in the ``near future'' and he is confident the world's nations will weather the breakdown in credit markets. ``For this meeting to be a success, we must welcome good ideas from around the world,'' Bush said as he welcomed French President Nicolas Sarkozy and European Commission President Jose Barroso to Camp David, the presidential retreat in rural Maryland, for dinner and three hours of talks.
The conference agenda will include ideas on how to prevent future crises in a way that preserves the free-market system, Bush said. ``It is essential we preserve the foundations of democratic capitalism,'' he said. He said leaders from both developed and developing nations would be included.
Sarkozy and Barroso, in separate statements, welcomed Bush's invitation. ``We want to work hand in hand with the Americans to create the capitalism of the 21st century,'' Sarkozy said. ``The meeting should be held rapidly, perhaps before the end of November. Since the crisis started in New York, maybe we can find the solution in New York.''
``We must reform capitalism so that the most efficient system ever created doesn't destroy its own foundations,'' Sarkozy, 53, said yesterday in a speech to Quebec's National Assembly. Sarkozy represents all 27 nations of the European Union.
Would that include reforming the politicians?
Sarkozy and Barraso are pressing Bush for a G8 agenda that includes stiffer regulation and supervision for cross-border banks, a global ``early warning'' system and an overhaul of the International Monetary Fund. Talks may also encompass tougher regulations on hedge funds, new rules for credit-rating companies, limits on executive pay and changing the treatment of tax havens such as the Cayman Islands and Monaco.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/19/2008
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#1
PLEASE have this 'summit' on some island somewhere... we don't need another "Battle In Seattle.'
Aswat al-Iraq: Shiite cleric Sayyed Abdelaziz al-Hakim on Saturday called for transparency when signing any agreements provided that they would not violate the Iraqi constitution, referring to the proposed Iraq-U.S. long-term security agreement. "Al-Hakim, during a meeting with U.S. ambassador in Baghdad Ryan Crocker, stressed that transparency and equality are required in any agreement," according to a release issued by Hakim's Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council (SIIC) as received by Aswat al-Iraq. "This should be in the interest of the two countries, and to preserve the unity of Iraq, in addition to avoid violating the Iraqi constitution," read the release.
Hakim is also the head of the Shiite United Iraqi Alliance (UIA) bloc that occupies 83 out of 275 seats in Iraq's Council of Representatives (parliament).
Posted by: Fred ||
10/19/2008
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An increase in violence in North Darfur last month has displaced at least 40,000 people, many of whom could be short of food and water, a United Nations official said on Saturday.
Gregory Alex, head of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in northern Darfur, said around 24,000 people fled their homes after clashes between government and rebel forces near the areas of Birmaza and Disa. The rest were displaced because of other forms of violence, including tribal fighting, Alex told reporters in a telephone interview from al-Fasher, North Darfur's state capital.
"Some of them left with what they could carry. We are presuming that whatever resources they took with them are now depleted," Alex said. "Anybody who leaves home abruptly and moves to the countryside will have all these needs. And the longer they stay, the more problems they have." Alex earlier estimated the total number of people who had fled their homes in North Darfur at 50,000.
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10/19/2008
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Britain will impose tougher restrictions on immigration as the global financial crisis lifts unemployment to the highest rate in nearly a decade, the country's new immigration minister said yesterday.
"If people are being made unemployed, the question of immigration becomes extremely thorny," Phil Woolas told The Times newspaper. "It's been too easy to get into this country in the past and it's going to get harder," he added in an interview.
In a dramatic change of policy, the Labour government intends placing a limit on immigration, according to the daily. "There has to be a balance between the number of people coming in and the number of people leaving," said Woolas.
The minister said his government would not allow Britain's population to grow to 70 million people. Britain's population grew by about 3.4 percent to almost 61 million people between 2001 and 2007 fuelled by expansion of the European Union, according to latest figures from the Office for National Statistics.
Reacting to the comments made by Woolas, the opposition Conservative Party's spokesman on immigration, Dominic Grieve, said: "We have been calling for immigration limits for years now but the government have repeatedly poured scorn on this.
"But tough talk is simply not enough; they must now explain how they intend to deliver. Will they implement our plans for an annual limit on non-EU immigration, transitional controls on future EU immigration, and establish a dedicated UK border force to secure our borders?"
Britain's unemployment rate jumped to an eight-year high of 5.7 percent in the three months to August, official data showed on Wednesday.
Under the International Labour Organisation measure of unemployment, the rate had stood at 5.2 percent for the three months to May. The 5.7-percent unemployment rate was the highest since the three months to March, 2000.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/19/2008
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#1
There's a saying for this - it's right on the tip of my tongue - a barn door and a horse are involved....
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
10/19/2008 0:37
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#2
Voluntary deportation for anyone there more than ten years, involuntary for anyone there less than that. No benefits for either.
"Get back, get back, get back to where you once belonged...get back, get back, get back to where you once belonged...Get back MO!"
#3
That would be Good Olde English Shariah Immigration Law then.
Too little ,FAR too late. and, to no indigenous interest. Sort the 'Asylum' laws to stop the enemy infiltrating and the Brits would be happy, ie, stop Muslim immigration.
Gordon Brown playing the Tribal card to avenge some English victory way back
Aswat al-Iraq: Iraqi soldiers killed the commander of the so-called Islamic Army group in the area of al-Furat al-Awsat after tracking him down between the provinces of Karbala and Baghdad, an army source said on Saturday. "The Iraqi soldiers killed Abdelhadi Abees al-Janabi, the commander of the so-called Islamic Army, in al-Furat al-Awsat," the source, who asked not to be named, told Aswat al-Iraq. "Janabi was killed in the area of Djerf al-Sakhr of Babel province, (60 km) north of Karbala," he said, not giving more details.
Al-Furat al-Awsat, a geographical area in southern and central Iraq at the Euphrates River Basin, encompasses the provinces of Najaf, Karbala, Diwaniya and Babel and sometimes al-Muthanna.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/19/2008
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(AKI) - Iraqi police arrested two female would-be suicide bombers on Friday in two separate operations in the volatile province of Diyala, northeast of the capital, Baghdad. "Policemen on Friday carried out a security raid in al-Ameen region in central Baquba, where they arrested Nedal Abdul Wahed al-Azawi who was preparing to implement a suicide attack at the centre of the city," an unnamed official police source to Iraqi news agency told Voices of Iraq. "Police forces also launched another operation in Abi Saida district in Muqdadiya, east of Baquba, where they arrested Rabieea Kazem Mohamed, a suspected suicide bomber," the source added.
Diyala province, a mix of Sunnis and Shias, extends as far as the Iranian border and is considered to be an Al-Qaeda stronghold.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/19/2008
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Composer John Adams accuses US of paranoia and says its security forces are following him
John Adams, one of the most revered living classical composers, ...
... in the proper neighborhoods of Manhattan ...
He ain't no Mozart. In fact, he wouldn't be fit to dust Salieri's shoes...
... has claimed that he is blacklisted in his native America and is being followed by the security services.
For good reasons ...
... which might include his music...
The 61-year-old musician has accused the United States of being in the grip of a political and moral panic and has complained that he is now grilled by airport immigration officers whenever he flies home because of his controversial reputation.
But he won't make his home in the tony districts of London or Paris ...
Mention "John Adams" to most people and they think "Abigail," unless they're not quite on top of things, in which case they think "Dolly Madison."
Adams made his name 20 years ago with his opera Nixon in China.
There was a real toe-tapper ...
I vaguely recall hearing excerpts of pretentious honking and hooting. Has it ever been played again since? Or do they have it filed away with the "Yellow River Concerto"?
It sounds better in the original Klingon ...
Although it is now regarded as a landmark in modern music,
... which is just littered with operatic Kilamanjaros and symphonic Fujis and Matterhorns and such...
the opera made headlines when it opened because it was heavily critical of the former Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger.
Real courageous. No one has ever been critical of Kissinger before or since ...
I can remember how surprised everybody was at the time...
Then the content of The Death of Klinghoffer, Adams's 1991 opera about the Palestinian Liberation Front's 1985 hijacking of the cruise ship Achille Lauro, provoked a storm of protest for its treatment of the murder of a disabled Jewish passenger.
In which Mr. Adams romances the terrorists and puts them on an equal moral footing as an old man in a wheelchair who was dumped overboard. Mr. Adams said it was something about 'poetic justice' ...
Well, y'know, he was an old man. He was gonna die soon, and y'cant' make an omelette without breaking eggs or maybe dropping them into the Mediterranean...
Interviewed on BBC Radio 3's Music Matters yesterday, Adams said he was now 'blacklisted'.
"They got a list at the National Symphony Orchestra. I seen it. My name's got a big black mark next to it."
'I can't check in at the airport now without my ID being taken and being grilled.
Do they make you take off your shoes?
"Hey, Bob! Check this guy out! Sez his name's John Adams!"
"Huh. Thought he was dead. How y'doin', Mr. President? How's Dolly? You sure don't look 273!"
You know, I'm on a homeland security list, probably because of having written The Death of Klinghoffer, so I'm perfectly aware that I, like many artists and many thoughtful people in the country, am being followed.'
Such lovely, thoughtful people who believe the terrorists are of higher moral worth than their own countrymen ...
"They're really good at it though. Sometimes I turn around real quick, without warning, to catch 'em at it, but they're not there. They're too fast for me! That sez they're professionals, prob'ly the CIA or maybe the Rosicrucians."
The suggestion that Adams, who received a Pulitzer Prize for the choral work he wrote to commemorate the victims of 9/11, does not feel welcome in his own country will send shock waves through the musical world.
And they're easily shocked ...
"John Adams? Not welcome in his own country? I am so shocked!"
"Me, too. I just can't understand it. Dolly is such a nice lady!"
The impact of his remarks will be amplified by the fact that his 2005 opera Doctor Atomic has its New York premiere at the Metropolitan Opera tomorrow, in a production directed by British film-maker Penny Woolcock.
The heart swoons ...
I was gonna go, but I have to wash my hair that night.
I'm rewinding my DVDs ...
During the interview, presenter Petroc Trelawny
Is that Professor Trelawny, from the Harry Potter movies? How can she see with those glasses?
asked Adams if he felt that America was living through an age of paranoia that resembled the McCarthy era of the Fifties.
And you're just wondering what the answer to that question will be, aren't you ...
Keep in mind that while some people will tell you that the McCarthy era ended in the early 50s, and others will tell you it ended with Kennedy's election, and still others will tell you that it ended last Thursday, those who Really Know will tell you that it never ended, that Tailgunner Joe retains his seat, if only figuratively, and continues rooting out innocent commies from the State Department, the arts, the sciences, and the janitorial staff of the Smithsonian...
'Well it is, and of course Congress has continued to sign off on these Patriot Acts that continue to clip the wings of human rights,' said Adams, adding that poets, novelists and musicians with left-wing leanings are often watched, including, he said, the American composer Aaron Copland,
Copland is still alive?
who was 'hounded' all his life. 'I'm sure the FBI had a large file on him. So we artists assume that we are being followed.'
Feeling a little self-important? You couldn't carry Copland's quill ...
... and neither of them's a Prokofiev...
Adams - whose autobiography, Hallelujah Junction, is out this month - was born in New Hampshire in 1947.
He's so persecuted that he composes his operas, writes his music, and publishes his book all without any government interference ...
His mother was a Democratic volunteer in the crucial presidential election primaries held there every four years. 'She was a passionate liberal and I've always had a fascination with political life,' he said.
You wonder if 'passionate liberal' is a code-phrase ...
I thought it was French for "dipshit."
Adams went to Harvard in 1966, but abandoned his music studies for a factory job because he wanted to compose.
I suppose that makes sense somewhere ...
Wanted to write proletarian music, y'see. To which I reply "Gershwin lives, lived and will live."
His success was crowned following 9/11, when the New York Philharmonic invited him to compose an 'aural monument' to the victims of the terrorist attacks.
And what better choice?
His choral ode, On the Transmigration of Souls, was premiered by the orchestra in 2002.
Which is comprised of a lot of pre-recorded sounds played through a blender and mixed with live instruments that hoot and screech.
However, Adams believes that the Republican administration manipulated the memory of the attacks. '9/11 was a very glamorous event,' he said. 'I'm using the term in a very ironic sense - 3,000 people being killed; it's a terrible tragedy, but in the scale of human tragedy it's very small.
Unless it's your family or friend, but heck, who cares about that ...
The English lost 112 dead at Agincourt. The Athenians lost 192 men at the Battle of Marathon. The Austrians lost 963 dead at Marengo. At the Battle of Actium Marc Anthony and Cleopatra lost something like 5000 dead. The Habsburg-Polish forces lost 4000 dead at the Battle of Vienna. Such losses are pretty small potatoes compared to the Marne or Kursk or Okinawa, I guess. But somehow they managed their significance, however paltry. Our losses on 9-11-01 (2,998) were greater than our human losses at Pearl Harbor (2,402).
'I think Americans went into what the novelist Philip Roth ...
... another knuckle-head ...
... called "an orgy of narcissism" as a result of 9/11 - we kept replaying those images and kept re-reminding ourselves of what an indignation and how horrible and terrible that event was.
There's a large empty space inside this man's soul, isn't there? We replayed those images in our minds to remind ourselves who was responsible, and why, and to strengthen our resolve not to let it happen again.
I'm trying to imagine anything more narcissistic than airily waving a damp, limp hand to dismiss the genuine human grief and anger of 9-11. To paraphrase Curly, "I'm tryin' to imagine and nuttin's happ'nin'!"
And then, of course, we struck out by invading the wrong country.'
As if you would have responded well to invading any other country ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/19/2008
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#1
Mister Idiot Adams, get over yourself.
We. Don't. Give. A. Shit. About. You.
Or any other pretentious asshole.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
10/19/2008 0:36
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#2
Either John Adams is lying about his victimitude via the US Goverenment, or the US Government really sucks at the oppression thing.
#3
That's some seriously fine tag team inline there, boys!
I take some small comfort in the knowledge that people will still be enjoying the music of Bach, Vivaldi, Handel, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Mendelsohn, Tchaikovsky, Gershwin, and a host of other greats, long after anything this bozo wrote has crumbled to dust.
"Even more fun to stage than the cannon in the 1812 Overture or one of the operatic spectacles with real horses and horse poop. I just love watching the coloraturas trying to avoid stepping in it while they emote their arias," Mr.Adams added, peeking over his shoulder to make sure the CIA weren't listening. "But," he added, "watching them try to sing while bodies float down like confetti around them is even better... in an ironic sense, of course."
#5
I had to listen to "Doctor Atomic" when it premiered on the Met Radio broadcast, and I was still working the Saturday shift at KPAC-San Antonio. Ye gods, what a pretentious, egotistical pile of s**t.
Like creator, like creation, I guess. "Doctor Atomic" sucked all the way up to eleven. (obscure Spinal Tap reference)
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
10/19/2008 11:01
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#11
After reading this, I suddenly feel the urge to give someone I've never met a good kick in the ass. And a couple extra on behalf of a certain old guy in a wheel chair.
#12
I am a fan of classical music. Adams, in comparison to other composers of the last 50 years is more listenable. Adams' "Harmonilehre" is an example of modern classical symphonic music. That being said, we all must remember that like 90% of all people in the arts and entertainment comminity he is a lefty loon. An apolitical symphonic work like "Harmonilehre" will be what he will be rememberd for. These kinds of things regarding his personal life (paranoia) will be left to the analysis of wonkish musicologists.
There are those who write "serious" music who are not loony like me (I write music). I am troubled by the onesided left that seems to permeate the arts.
#17
Faint praise, true. I actually like his "The Chairman Dances." I can't think of anything else of his I've heard that I can endure, though.
Posted by: James ||
10/19/2008 18:23
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#18
Another mentally ill Marxist musical masturbator existing on grant money left by rich dead white capitalists from foundations taken over by Red Diaper babies to fund the destruction of the system with the capital these men left behind. One of the best things that could be done for American is to legislate that all foundation funds must be spent in 10 years and then dissolved.
The real composers live in Nashville and sell their music by the millions.
Posted by: ed ||
10/19/2008 19:21
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#19
...his 2005 opera Doctor Atomic has its New York premiere at the Metropolitan Opera tomorrow, in a production directed by British film-maker Penny Woolcock.
Some persecution - the a**hole is still composing and having opera premiers. He ought to have experienced what Shostakovich experienced under Stalin to know what real persecution is.
#21
pretty good licks, Bad, but they don't yet have the charisma/road chops that Bon Scott/Brian Johnson and the Young Bros. have. Thetrademark camp and attitude of AC/DC has always been part of their fun, and at age 49, if they tour, I'll be there ;-)
for some reason, I always missed their tours. Not this time
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/19/2008 20:48
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#22
AC/DC was my first concert in 1986...
BTW - as for Mr. Adams, I hear no one composes like him...no one even tries (another obscure TAP reference...)
#3
WAFF.com > KURDS KILL THREE MEMBERS OF IRANIAN REVOLUTIONARY GUARDS; + TOPIX > IRAN. HIZBULLAH ORDER WITHDRAWAL OF PERSONNEL FROM SYRIA, in lieu of recent spate of assassinations and attacks.
Members of an organization devoted to the release of abducted Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit are threatening to block the entry of supplies to the Gaza Strip during a protest scheduled for Sunday afternoon at the Kerem Shalom crossing on the border with Gaza.
Gilad Shalit has been held against his will in the Gaza Strip since he was kidnapped over two years ago during a cross border raid by Hamas gunmen near Kerem Shalom in June 2006.
Talks have been underway between Israel and the rulers of the Gaza Strip, Hamas, under Egyptian mediation, to free hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Shalit's release.
Hamas wants Egypt to release Ayman Nofal, a senior military operative arrested in Egypt on suspicion he was planning to attack targets there.
But Hamas leader Youssef Farhat told a rally of hundreds of Hamas supporters on Friday that Egypt could not play a mediation role as long as it held him. "We have put the file of Shalit in the fridge and it will remain frozen unless Ayman Nofal is freed," Farhat said.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/19/2008
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#1
"he's dead, Jim"
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/19/2008 4:10
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(AKI) - A report in a Kuwaiti newspaper claims that Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas delivered a secret letter from US President George W. Bush to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad offering Israel's withdrawal from the disputed Golan Heights
In exchange for Israel's withdrawal, Syria would have to end the 'Syrian-Iranian' alliance once and for all.
Abbas reportedly delivered the letter to Assad during his recent visit to Damascus, reported Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth quoting Kuwaiti daily al-Jarida on Friday.
"In the letter, Bush suggested finalising the agreement within several weeks, before the US presidential elections, in order to push the Middle East peace process, an achievement the president will be able to proudly present before leaving the White House in January."
Al-Jarida added that the delegation accompanying Abbas on his visit to Syria "was unaware of the letter or its details, and the US insisted that this be carried out secretly and far away from the official channels."
Following the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel captured the Syrian territory of the Golan Heights and annexed it to its territory in 1981.
Syria and Israel have been technically at war ever since.
Last May, Israel and Syria launched peace talks aimed at a comprehensive peace agreement, under the auspices of Turkey.
Talks reached a stalemate in September and have now been postponed.
Prior to May, the last time both countries initiated peace negotiations was in 2000, when both sides failed to reach an agreement over the fate of the Golan Heights plateau and the shore of the Sea of Galilee, which the Golan Heights overlook.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/19/2008
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#1
Bush doesn't get to make commitments for other countries to third parties. This is one of those Palestinian imaginary realities.
(APP): Security forces have apprehended one hundred and sixty eight alleged militants apparently of Uzbek and Afghan nationalities during last two days from various areas in NWFP. "The arrests were made by the security forces while patrolling in hilly and plain areas of Darra Adam Khel and Kohat district," informed a spokesman of ISPR while talking with newsmen at Kohat Fort on Saturday.
ISPR arranged a visit of newsmen to two separate locations in Peshawar and Kohat for showing the nabbed foreign nationals to media person.
About 37 alleged militants, all Uzbeks, were detained in Peshawar for interrogation and 161 were held in Kohat among which majority were Uzbeks and other were Afghans. ISPR spokesman informed that majority of the detained persons were arrested in groups trekking the hilly area of Darra Ademkhel towards Orackzai Agency. Suicide jackets and hand grenades were also recovered from the possession of some of arrested persons, he added.
In response to a question, ISPR official said some of the arrested persons are innocent who reached Pakistan for earning bread and butter for their families. However, he continued, those arrested on suspicion of doubt would be cleared during interrogation and deported to their homeland.
The ISPR official said out of 168 arrested militants, 37 were apprehended by the Police and Frontier Corps troops on Thursday from Darra Adam Khel. These foreigners were riding three vehicles and when checked by security forces at a check post, tried to flee the scene. Security forces arrested them after a chase.
Another one hundred and thirty persons were apprehended on Friday. Those arrested persons were without any legal documents and were being interrogated by security forces to ascertain more details on their activities.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/19/2008
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Srinagar, October 18 : After the Royal Marines, the US marines will also be holding a joint military exercise with the Indian Army in Ladakh.
US Army Chief General George Casey along with his Indian counterpart Deepak Kapoor visited Ladakh and its adjoining areas to select the location where the Indo-US military exercises would be held. Dates for these joint exercises could be decided only after the US Army chief will get satisfied with the venues for these exercises, Defence spokesman, Lt Col Anil Mathur told The Indian Express.
The visiting US General Casey was briefed about different venues and glacial peaks in Ladakh by the senior formation commanders of the Army. Mathur said the aim behind the joint exercise would be to impart warfare techniques to each other especially in handling mountain warfare. The joint exercise would be small and could take place at the company level, he said.
The mountainous region of Ladakh assumes significance for the joint exercise as its terrain resembles that of the mountainous regions of Afghanistan, where the US marines are fighting Taliban and Al Qaeda militants as part of the NATO peace force. Sources said the aim behind the exercise is to learn from the military experiences of Indian troops, who have been dealing with insurgency for the past two decades.
Earlier in 2006, Indian and US Special Forces held mountain warfare exercises in the same region close to the China border. Pakistan, already had expressed annoyance over the visit of US Army chief to the Siachen glacier. However, it is not clear whether General Casey visited Siachen or not. The defence spokesman denied General Caseys visit to Siachen. He (Casey) only visited Ladakh, not Siachen, said Mathur.
Last year, the UK marines were in Ladakh to participate in a similar joint exercise. The exercises were held for three weeks in September.
Posted by: john frum ||
10/19/2008
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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.
North Korea is set to make an "important announcement" on Monday amid speculation over the health of its leader Kim Jong-Il, a Japanese newspaper has reported. The Sankei newspaper said there was speculation within Japan that the announcement could be about Kim's death or a change in government brought about by a coup.
(AKI) - By Syed Saleem Shahzad - Pakistani Taliban warlord Baitullah Mehsud's opponent faction in North Waziristan announced on Friday the creation of a new parallel organisation, called Muqami Tehrik-i-Taliban or local Taliban, effectively splitting from Mehsud's Tehrik-i-Taliban.
Aswat al-Iraq: Five members of al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), including an amir (leader) for the area of al-Adhim, north of Baaquba city, were arrested on Saturday, a security source in Diala said. "Forces from the al-Adhim emergency contingent on Saturday afternoon targeted AQI strongholds in different areas of al-Khalis district, (15 km) north of Baaquba, resulting in the capture of five members of the network, including an amir of al-Adhim area called Wessam al-Azzawi," the source told Aswat al-Iraq.
A group of recent madrasa graduates vandalised the office of Dhaka University (DU) Vice-chancellor (VC) Prof SMA Faiz yesterday spreading panic on the campus. 
A day after the CPN (Maoist) revealed it was considering a name change, another communist party, the CPN (UML), has said it is also in the process of changing its name. "We are thinking of retaining our original name," said CPN (UML) general secretary Jhalanath Khanal on Saturday. "We could just be called the Communist Party of Nepal," he said.
Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr on Saturday called on Iraq's Parliament to reject a U.S.-Iraqi security pact as tens of thousands of his followers rallied in Baghdad against the deal. 
Ukraine's feuding president and prime minister sought help from the International Monetary Fund in separate meetings Friday as a political dispute between them complicated talks for a multibillion-dollar loan to stabilize the country's struggling financial system.
A female madrasah student sustained severe burn injuries in an acid attack by miscreants at Jahanabaz village in Sadar upazila on Tuesday night.
It's always tempting to pile onto a particular controversy, and I'm a little late to this party. Most everyone in America by now has heard the basic story of 'Joe the Plumber', and most everyone has their own opinion of his exchange with Senator Barack Obama. Good luck trying to change those opinions, too: either you believe that 'Joe' is a champion of the working class who correctly understands Senator Obama to be a socialist, or you believe that 'Joe' is a fraud, a phony and a tool of the rightists who continue to hold back progress in America. Thanks to the mainstream media we've learned a lot about Joe these last few days, from his unpaid tax lien to his lack of a plumber's license to his divorce to the big SUV he drives.
