April 28, 2009
The wealth of my country are looted and Iraqi citizens stand watching that powerless
If the guardian turns to a thief, life becomes difficult and hopeless. Most Iraqis whom I know they think of leaving Iraq nowadays not because the violence but because they can't stand this situation, seeing some corrupted people messing with their beloved Iraq.
The monitoring role of Parliament is impaired because of the suspicious political deals among the blocs that if the parliament wants to investigate any corruption cases against any high rank official in the government, his party stands against that.
Since more than two years I heard about many calls of Iraqi lawmakers to question the minister trade, the head of one of most corrupt ministries according to the head of integrity committee in the Iraq parliament but these calls do not find those who listen to because of alliances.
Some Iraqi ministries reward their corrupt employees like what happened with the corrupt employee in ministry of trade. The head of the integrity committee said that this employee was sent to Egypt as a commercial attaché. The corrupt employee started an extra project. He opened sugar factory and now he has a contract with the Iraqi Ministry of Trade to supply Iraq with sugar for twenty years.
Finally, Iraqi parliament appointed a date for questioning the minister of trade. The questioning will be held in September which means more than four months later. What Great Justice we enjoy in the Iraq of today.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
It’s Jewish Prof. Robinson and not Ahmedinejad this time!
Jewish Professor William Robinson of University of California at Santa Barbara is under attack by the Zionists and American Jewish lobby for daring to compare Israeli atrocities in Gaza to those of Nazi Germany in the Ghetto of Warsaw.
The e-mail to his 80 student was accompanied by images of victims of both Israeli and German Nazi atrocities.
It seems that even Jews started to be ashamed of Israeli practices and the Zionist pressure to undermine academic freedom. In the recent past the American Jewish lobby put pressure on the University of Illinois to deny Professor Norman G. Finkelstein tenure for writing a book about the Holocaust Industry in which he exposed the Zionist's blackmail and extortion using the Jewish victims of Nazi Germany. Wake up America and trim the hooves of the Jewish mafia currently in control of the US media, financial and political institutions. Kindly check Youtube.com or Google. Com for further coverage.
I am glad to be the first to call a spade a spade or to cross the t's and dot the i's by labelling Israeli atrocities as Nazi-style. I also compared Israel IDF to the German SS, by the way, both are called defence force. I will continue to expose Israeli crimes and denounce the Americans for financing, arming and protecting Israel Nazi Generals.
=================
Jewish Finkelstein slaps the face of Zionism!
Dr Norman Gary Finkelstein was born in NY in 1953. His parents were Jewish inmates of Hitler concentration and labour camps. He completed his undergraduate studies at Binghamton University in New York in 1974, after which he studied at the École Pratique des Hautes Études in Paris. He went on to earn his Master's degree in political science from Princeton University in 1980, and later his PhD in political studies, also from Princeton. Finkelstein wrote his doctoral thesis on Zionism, and it was through this work that he first attracted controversy. Before gaining academic employment, Finkelstein was a part-time social worker with teenage dropouts in New York. He then taught successively at Rutgers University, New York University, Brooklyn College, and Hunter College and, until recently, taught at DePaul University in Chicago. Because of his exposure of the Holocaust Industry and other Zionist practices, the US Jewish lobby lead by Professor Dershwitz of Harvard, put pressure on De Paul University to deny him the post and tenure as professor of political science. Dr Norman Finkelstein continues his lectures denouncing the use of the holocaust as a political tool by the Zionists in order to destroy Iraq and may force the Americans to march on Tehran to Israeli drums. I find his comments and lectures as extremely interesting. Try Youtube.com (Norman Finkelstein).
Adnan Darwash, Iraq Occupation Times
The e-mail to his 80 student was accompanied by images of victims of both Israeli and German Nazi atrocities.
It seems that even Jews started to be ashamed of Israeli practices and the Zionist pressure to undermine academic freedom. In the recent past the American Jewish lobby put pressure on the University of Illinois to deny Professor Norman G. Finkelstein tenure for writing a book about the Holocaust Industry in which he exposed the Zionist's blackmail and extortion using the Jewish victims of Nazi Germany. Wake up America and trim the hooves of the Jewish mafia currently in control of the US media, financial and political institutions. Kindly check Youtube.com or Google. Com for further coverage.
I am glad to be the first to call a spade a spade or to cross the t's and dot the i's by labelling Israeli atrocities as Nazi-style. I also compared Israel IDF to the German SS, by the way, both are called defence force. I will continue to expose Israeli crimes and denounce the Americans for financing, arming and protecting Israel Nazi Generals.
=================
Jewish Finkelstein slaps the face of Zionism!
Dr Norman Gary Finkelstein was born in NY in 1953. His parents were Jewish inmates of Hitler concentration and labour camps. He completed his undergraduate studies at Binghamton University in New York in 1974, after which he studied at the École Pratique des Hautes Études in Paris. He went on to earn his Master's degree in political science from Princeton University in 1980, and later his PhD in political studies, also from Princeton. Finkelstein wrote his doctoral thesis on Zionism, and it was through this work that he first attracted controversy. Before gaining academic employment, Finkelstein was a part-time social worker with teenage dropouts in New York. He then taught successively at Rutgers University, New York University, Brooklyn College, and Hunter College and, until recently, taught at DePaul University in Chicago. Because of his exposure of the Holocaust Industry and other Zionist practices, the US Jewish lobby lead by Professor Dershwitz of Harvard, put pressure on De Paul University to deny him the post and tenure as professor of political science. Dr Norman Finkelstein continues his lectures denouncing the use of the holocaust as a political tool by the Zionists in order to destroy Iraq and may force the Americans to march on Tehran to Israeli drums. I find his comments and lectures as extremely interesting. Try Youtube.com (Norman Finkelstein).
Adnan Darwash, Iraq Occupation Times
Marriage of Saudi Arabian girl, eight, annulled
Marriage of Saudi Arabian girl, eight, annulled
* The Guardian, Friday 1 May 2009
An eight-year old Saudi Arabian girl who was married off by her father to a man in his 50s has had the union annulled, it was reported yesterday. The case, which had generated local and international outrage, ended with an out-of-court settlement.
The child, who has not been named, had been told by a court last December that she would not be allowed to divorce her husband until she reached puberty.
The settlement, brokered by a new judge in Unaizah, Qassim province, was reached only after lengthy negotiations between the girl's lawyer and the husband.
The previous judge had ruled for the second time earlier this month that the marriage was legal. The father is said to have married the child to a friend to pay a financial debt. It had been stipulated, however, that the groom could not have sex with her until she reached puberty.
The settlement was reached with the help of the governor of Qassim, Prince Faisal bin Bandar, who convinced the husband to back down, said the newspaper al-Hayat. The husband agreed to forgo his original demand for repayment of the $8,000 dowry he gave for the girl.
In many Saudi child marriages, girls are given away to older men in return for dowries, or following the custom by which a father promises his daughters and sons in marriage while still children. But the issue is complicated by different interpretations of sharia law and a lack of legal certainty.
No figures are available for the number of arranged marriages involving pre-adolescents in the kingdom, where the strictly conservative Wahhabi version of Sunni Islam holds sway and polygamy is common. But human rights groups say they are aware of many such cases.
The shura council, an unelected body that advises the government, is considering setting a minimum age of 18 for marriage. The debate on this issue is seen as part of a wider struggle between advocates of cautious reform and the conservative religious establishment.
* The Guardian, Friday 1 May 2009
An eight-year old Saudi Arabian girl who was married off by her father to a man in his 50s has had the union annulled, it was reported yesterday. The case, which had generated local and international outrage, ended with an out-of-court settlement.
The child, who has not been named, had been told by a court last December that she would not be allowed to divorce her husband until she reached puberty.
The settlement, brokered by a new judge in Unaizah, Qassim province, was reached only after lengthy negotiations between the girl's lawyer and the husband.
The previous judge had ruled for the second time earlier this month that the marriage was legal. The father is said to have married the child to a friend to pay a financial debt. It had been stipulated, however, that the groom could not have sex with her until she reached puberty.
The settlement was reached with the help of the governor of Qassim, Prince Faisal bin Bandar, who convinced the husband to back down, said the newspaper al-Hayat. The husband agreed to forgo his original demand for repayment of the $8,000 dowry he gave for the girl.
In many Saudi child marriages, girls are given away to older men in return for dowries, or following the custom by which a father promises his daughters and sons in marriage while still children. But the issue is complicated by different interpretations of sharia law and a lack of legal certainty.
No figures are available for the number of arranged marriages involving pre-adolescents in the kingdom, where the strictly conservative Wahhabi version of Sunni Islam holds sway and polygamy is common. But human rights groups say they are aware of many such cases.
The shura council, an unelected body that advises the government, is considering setting a minimum age of 18 for marriage. The debate on this issue is seen as part of a wider struggle between advocates of cautious reform and the conservative religious establishment.
The last days of British forces in Iraq
As British troops get ready to leave Basra in southern Iraq, the BBC's John Simpson takes a look at the city they will be leaving behind.
British soldier with children in Basra on 29/4/09
British forces have been based in Basra for the last six years
Basra has a very different feel from the rest of Iraq.
It has got 4,000 years of trading links with the outside world. It is also almost exclusively Shia Muslim - so there are no clashes with Sunni Muslims, unlike in divided Baghdad, where the vicious civil war continues.
Basra is doing well. Yet the same old problems remain.
People made a beeline to tell us what was wrong here.
The water supply has been cut off for four days, one woman told us.
There are daily power-cuts, another said. That means no air conditioning, though Basra is sweltering now, close to 100F.
Six years on, people here still cannot understand how two of the world's richest countries, Britain and America, could invade Iraq and not manage to improve the basic living standards of the population.
We went to visit a middle-ranking civil servant, Bassim Mohammed Baji, and his family. By Iraqi standards their house was quite spacious. He was embarrassed to tell me that he worked in the ministry of power. So why the power-cuts, I asked? "Corruption," he shrugged. "It is everywhere here."
His wife, Ghalia, was worried about altogether different things. It is still not possible for her to go shopping in the streets of Basra when the evening comes on, unless her husband is with her. A lone woman can be shouted at, insulted, even physically attacked.
Security was a lot better now, she agreed, but she still had to take the children to school every day, to act as their bodyguard. Kidnapping remains a problem.
Fragile calm
But some things are a lot better. The administration of justice, for instance. Trials and legal hearings are quicker, more efficient, less corrupt and fairer.
It is still a novelty in this male-dominated society for women to be judges, but Suad Nasir Hasan, a firmly spoken, self-assured woman in her forties, has made the breakthrough.
Iraq map
Uncertainty over UK Iraq legacy
All judges were subject to threats, she said, but
Ever since March of last year, when the Iraqi government staged its so-called "Charge of the Knights" operation to break the power of the various militia groups here, the streets are no longer controlled by shadowy gangs of armed men.
As I wandered round the streets of central Basra at 9.30 at night, I reflected that only 13 months ago such a thing would have been wholly unthinkable.
I stopped and talked to a group of men sitting at a table outside a tea-house, drinking small glasses of heavily sweetened tea.
"The Charge of the Knights has given us back our city," one of them said. "Our lives are immensely better now."
It is true, and yet the peace and calm can be quite fragile.
Shortly after we left, a joint British-Iraqi army patrol came along the street.
An Iraqi man armed with a knife lunged at one of the Iraqi soldiers. There were gunshots, and the man was injured.
It was a trivial enough incident. But it was also a reminder that peace and prosperity are still some way off in Basra.
British soldier with children in Basra on 29/4/09
British forces have been based in Basra for the last six years
Basra has a very different feel from the rest of Iraq.
It has got 4,000 years of trading links with the outside world. It is also almost exclusively Shia Muslim - so there are no clashes with Sunni Muslims, unlike in divided Baghdad, where the vicious civil war continues.
Basra is doing well. Yet the same old problems remain.
People made a beeline to tell us what was wrong here.
The water supply has been cut off for four days, one woman told us.
There are daily power-cuts, another said. That means no air conditioning, though Basra is sweltering now, close to 100F.
Six years on, people here still cannot understand how two of the world's richest countries, Britain and America, could invade Iraq and not manage to improve the basic living standards of the population.
We went to visit a middle-ranking civil servant, Bassim Mohammed Baji, and his family. By Iraqi standards their house was quite spacious. He was embarrassed to tell me that he worked in the ministry of power. So why the power-cuts, I asked? "Corruption," he shrugged. "It is everywhere here."
His wife, Ghalia, was worried about altogether different things. It is still not possible for her to go shopping in the streets of Basra when the evening comes on, unless her husband is with her. A lone woman can be shouted at, insulted, even physically attacked.
Security was a lot better now, she agreed, but she still had to take the children to school every day, to act as their bodyguard. Kidnapping remains a problem.
Fragile calm
But some things are a lot better. The administration of justice, for instance. Trials and legal hearings are quicker, more efficient, less corrupt and fairer.
It is still a novelty in this male-dominated society for women to be judges, but Suad Nasir Hasan, a firmly spoken, self-assured woman in her forties, has made the breakthrough.
Iraq map
Uncertainty over UK Iraq legacy
All judges were subject to threats, she said, but
women were under a particular threat because some men thought that tradition was above the law - and in Iraq that meant men still believed they were the boss. There was plenty of resistance to change here still, she said.
But there is one overriding change for the better in Basra.
Ever since March of last year, when the Iraqi government staged its so-called "Charge of the Knights" operation to break the power of the various militia groups here, the streets are no longer controlled by shadowy gangs of armed men.
As I wandered round the streets of central Basra at 9.30 at night, I reflected that only 13 months ago such a thing would have been wholly unthinkable.
I stopped and talked to a group of men sitting at a table outside a tea-house, drinking small glasses of heavily sweetened tea.
"The Charge of the Knights has given us back our city," one of them said. "Our lives are immensely better now."
It is true, and yet the peace and calm can be quite fragile.
Shortly after we left, a joint British-Iraqi army patrol came along the street.
An Iraqi man armed with a knife lunged at one of the Iraqi soldiers. There were gunshots, and the man was injured.
It was a trivial enough incident. But it was also a reminder that peace and prosperity are still some way off in Basra.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Egypt orders slaughter of all pigs over swine flu
AP
An Egyptian Health worker sprays chemicals to disinfect a local pig farm in AP – An Egyptian Health worker sprays chemicals to disinfect a local pig farm in Cairo, Egypt, Monday, April …
By MAAMOUN YOUSSEF, Associated Press Writer Maamoun Youssef, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 19 mins ago
CAIRO – Egypt began slaughtering the roughly 300,000 pigs in the country Wednesday as a precautionary measure against the spread of swine flu even though no cases have been reported here yet, the Health Ministry said.
The move immediately provoked resistance from pig farmers. At one large pig farming center just north of Cairo, farmers refused to cooperate with Health Ministry workers who came to slaughter the animals and the workers left without carrying out the government order.
"It has been decided to immediately start slaughtering all the pigs in Egypt using the full capacity of the country's slaughterhouses," Health Minister Hatem el-Gabaly told reporters after a Cabinet meeting with President Hosni Mubarak.
Egypt's overwhelmingly Muslim population does not eat pork due to religious restrictions. But the animals are raised and consumed by the Christian minority, which some estimates put at 10 percent of the population.
Health Ministry spokesman Abdel Rahman estimated there were between 300,000-350,000 pigs in Egypt.
Agriculture Minister Amin Abaza told reporters that farmers would be allowed to sell the pork meat so there would be no need for compensation.
In 2008, following fears over diseases spread by animals, Mubarak ordered all pig and chicken farms moved out of population areas. But the order was never implemented.
Pigs can be found in many places around Muslim world, often raised by religious minorities who can eat pork. But they are banned entirely in some Muslim countries including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Libya.
In Jordan, the government decided Wednesday to shut down the country's five pig farms, involving 800 animals, for violating public health safety regulations.
Z A Bhutto's outburst in the UN
Major General M.H. Ansari, Commander of Pakistan's 9 Division is pleasantly relieved as he surrenders to Major General M.S. Brar, Commander of India's 4th Division.
Lieutenant General A.A.K. 'Tiger' Niazi, Commander of the Pakistan Army in the East, signs the Instrument of Surrender in the presence of Lieutenant General Jagjit Singh Aurora.
- 15 December 1971 -
For serious students of history only by Doc Kazi.
We have met here today at a grave moment in the history of my country and I would request the Council kindly to bear with me and to hear the truth, the bitter truth. I know the United Nations; I know the Security Council I have attended their sessions before. The time has come when, as far as Pakistan is concerned, we shall have to speak the truth whether members of the Council like it or not. We were hoping that the Security Council, mindful of its responsibilities for the maintenance of world peace and justice, would act according to principles and bring an end to a naked, brutal aggression against my people. I came here for this reason. I was needed by the people of Pakistan, and when I was leaving Pakistan I. was in two minds whether: to go to the Security Council to represent the cause of my country, to represent the cause of a people that had been subjected to aggression, or to remain with my people, by their side, while they were being subjected to attack and violence. However, I felt that it was imperative for me to come here and seek justice from the Security Council. But I must say, whether the members like it or not, that the Security Council has denied my country that justice. From the moment I arrived we have been subjected to dilatory(Intended to delay) tactics.
It will be recalled that when the Indian Foreign Minister spoke and I spoke after him, I said that filibustering(The use of obstructionist tactics, especially prolonged speechmaking, for the purpose of delaying legislative action) was taking place. That was my immediate observation. The Security Council, I am afraid, has excelled; in the art of filibustering, not only on substance but also on procedural matters. With some cynicism, I watched yesterday a full hour of the Security Council's time wasted on whether the members of the Council would be ready to meet at 9.30 a.m. or that bed and breakfast required that they should meet at 11 a.m.
The representative of Somalia referred to the population of East Pakistan as 56 million, but later on he corrected himself to say that the population of Bengal-of Muslim Bengal-was 76 million. If he had waited for a few more days he need not have corrected himself because millions are dying, and it would have come to 56 million if the Council had kept on filibustering and discussing whether it should meet today or tomorrow or the day after tomorrow-whether the lines of communication between New York and Moscow and Peking and other capitals would permit the members to obtain new instructions. Thus, we could have gone on and on. That is why I requested you, Mr. President, to convene a meeting of the Security Council immediately and I am thankful to you for having convened this meeting, because precious time is being lost. My countrymen, my people, are dying. So I think I can facilitate your efforts if I speak now. Perhaps this will be my last speech in the Security Council. So please bear with me because -I have some home truths to tell the Security Council.
The world must know. My people must know. I have not come here to accept abject surrender. If the Security Council wants me to be a party to the legalization of abject surrender, then I say that under no circumstances shall it be so. Yesterday my eleven year old son telephoned me from Karachi and said "Do not come back with a document of surrender. We do not want to see you back in Pakistan if you do that." I will not take back a document of surrender from the Security Council. I will not be a party to the legalization of aggression.
The Security Council has failed miserably, shamefully. "The Charter of the United Nations," "the San Francisco Conference," "international peace and justice"-these are the words we heard in our youth, and we were inspired by the concept of the United Nations maintaining international peace and justice and security. President Woodrow Wilson said that he fought the First World War to end wars for all time.
The League of Nations came into being, and then the United Nations after it. What has the United Nations done? I know of the farce and the fraud of the United Nations. They come here and say, "Excellence, Excellence, comment allez-vous?" and all that. "A very good speech-you have spoken very well, tres bien." We have heard all these things. The United Nations resembles those fashion houses which hide ugly realities by draping ungainly figures in alluring apparel. The concealment of realities is common to both but the ugly realities cannot remain hidden. You do not need a Secretary-General. You need a chief executioner.
Let us face the stark truth. I have got no stakes left for the moment. That is why I am speaking the truth from my heart. For four days we have been deliberating here. For four days the Security Council has procrastinated(To put off doing something, especially out of habitual carelessness or laziness.). Why? Because the object was for Dacca to fall. That was the object. It was quite clear to me from the beginning.
All right, so what if Dacca falls? Cities and countries have fallen before. They have come under foreign occupation. China was under foreign occupation for years. Other countries have been under foreign occupation. France was under foreign occupation. Western Europe was under foreign occupation. So what if Dacca falls? So what if the whole of East Pakistan falls? So what if the whole of West Pakistan falls? So what if our state is obliterated? We will build a new Pakistan. We will build a better Pakistan. We will build a greater Pakistan.
The Security Council has acted short-sightedly by acquiescing in these dilatory tactics. You have reached a point when we shall say, "Do what you like." If this point had not been reached we could have made a commitment. We could have said, "All right, we are prepared to do some things." Now why should we? You want us to be silenced by guns. Why should we say that we shall agree to anything? Now you decide what you like. Your decision will not be binding on us. You can decide what you like. If you had left us a margin of hope, we might have been a party to some settlement.
But the Indians are so short-sighted. Mr. President, you referred to the "distinguished" Foreign Minister of India. What may I ask is so "distinguished" about a policy of aggression he is trying to justify. How is he distinguished when his hands are full of blood, when his heart is full of venom? But you know they do not have vision.
The partition of India in 1947 took place because they did not have vision. Now also they are lacking in vision. They talk about their ancient civilization and the mystique of India and all that. But they do not have vision at all. If I had been in his place, I would have acted differently. I extended a hand of friendship to him the other day. He should have seen what I meant. I am not talking as a puppet. I am talking as the authentic leader of the people of West Pakistan who elected me at the polls in a more impressive victory than the victory that Mujibur Rahman received in East Pakistan, and he should have taken cognizance of that. But he did not take cognizance of it. We could have opened a new page, a new chapter in our relations.
As I said, if the French and the Germans can come to terms, why cannot India and Pakistan come to terms? If the Turks and the Greeks can still talk sensibly as civilized people over Cyprus, why cannot India and Pakistan do likewise? If the Soviet Union and the United States can open a new page in their history, if China and the United States can open a new page in their history, why can we not usher a new era in. our relations? We could have done so. But as it was said about the 1967 Arab-Israel war, the military victory of Israel made it more difficult for Israel and the Arabs to reach a settlement. If you want to subjugate Pakistan militarily, you will find it more difficult to bring peace. I say that the choice for us is either to accept living in the-same subcontinent and co-operating for peace and progress, or to be implacable enemies of each other forever.
The Permanent Representative of the Soviet Union does not like my reference to the Roman Empire. I do not know what objection he has to it, unless he sees some similarity between his empire and the Roman Empire. I do not really see why he had any objection to that. But I shall again refer to the Roman Empire, and I hope that the Permanent Representative of the Soviet Union will have no objection to it because we want to have good relations with the Soviet Union and we want to open a new chapter with the Soviet Union because we are neighbors. I go back to the Roman Empire and I say what Cato said to the Romans, "Carthage must be destroyed." If India thinks that it is going to subjugate Pakistan, Eastern Pakistan as well as Western Pakistan-because we are one people, we are one state- then we shall say, "Carthage must be destroyed." We shall tell our children and they will tell their children that Carthage must be destroyed.
So please, Mr. President and members of the Security Council, realize the implications. The Pakistani nation is a brave nation. One of the greatest British generals said that the best infantry fighters in the world are the Pakistanis. We will fight. We will fight for a thousand years, if it comes to that. So do not go by momentary military victories. Stalingrad was overwhelmed. Leningrad was besieged for a thousand days. People who want to be free and who want to maintain their personality will fight and will continue to fight for principles.
We were told about the realities; to accept the realities. What are the realities? Realities keep changing, the Permanent Representative of the Soviet Union knows that once the reality was that the Nazis were out side the gates of Moscow, but you fought valiantly, bravely, and the world saluted the Soviet Union for having resisted the realities that were sought to be imposed on it.
The reality was that China was under the occupation of Japan, that Manchuria was taken-half of China. That was the reality. Since the Opium War, China has seen reality.
The reality for France was that it was under occupation. But there were great men like President de Gaulle who left France and fought from across the seas.
Ethiopia was under Fascist domination. But the Ethiopians fought. The Emperor of Ethiopia left his country and sought asylum in Britain. Ethiopia is free today.
The realities that matter are those which are not temporary phenomena which are rooted in historic principles. The principle is that Pakistan is an independent, sovereign state which came into being because of the volition of its people. That is the basic reality which has existed for 24 years. Pakistan would not have faced dismemberment like this if it had not been attacked by another country. This is not an internal movement. We have been subjected to attack by a militarily powerful neighbor. Who says that the new reality arose out of free will? Had there been the exercise of free will, India would not have attacked Pakistan. If India talks about the will of the people of East Pakistan and claims that it had to attack Pakistan in order to impose the will of the people of East Pakistan, then what has it done about Kashmir? East Pakistan is an integral part of Pakistan. Kashmir is a disputed territory. Why does India then not permit it to exercise its will?
But yesterday I saw how the Security Council was pandering(To act as a go-between or liaison in sexual intrigues; function as a procurer) to India. Even the great powers are pandering to India, saying to us, "Do not misunderstand," "Would you please let us know" and "Would you please answer the following questions; I am not insisting on those questions, but if you do not mind." India is intoxicated today with its military successes.
I told the Indian Permanent Representative in 1967 that we wanted good relations between the two countries-but based on principles, based on justice, based on equity, not based on exploitation and domination, because such relations cannot be lasting. What we want is a lasting, a permanent solution. I do not say this just today; I said that in 1967 to their Permanent Representative who was then the High Commissioner of India to Pakistan. I said that to the Foreign Minister of India when we were negotiating on Kashmir, "Let us settle this problem on the basis of equity and justice, so that we can live as good neighbors." And I add today: we can still live as good neighbors, as friends. Do not wipe out that possibility by military conquest and military power.
This has been the worst form of aggression, of naked aggression. Even Poland was not invaded by Germany in this fashion. Even in that case there were some pretences, some excuses that were made. Here the excuse was, "We have refugees, so we must invade another country." We said, "We are prepared to take those refugees back." If we had said, "We arc not prepared to take them back," then you could have said, "Well, you will be sunk." India's population rises by 13 million a year.
The number of refugees was alleged to be 9 million, 10 million. According to our estimate they were 5 million. But that is not important; figures are not important. The point is that we were prepared to take them back. If India's population can grow by 13 million a year, then with all the aid and assistance that India was getting for the refugees, it could have held on for a short period till Pakistan had a civilian government to negotiate the return of the refugees. I told the United States Ambassador in Pakistan that once a civilian government came into power in Pakistan, was prepared to go to the refugee camps myself to talk to them. But India pre-empted it all because the refugee problem was used as a pretext to dismember my country. The refugee problem was used as a pretext, an ugly, crude pretext, a shameful pretext to invade my country, to invade East Pakistan.
The great powers will forgive me. I have addressed them in this moment of anguish, and they should understand. The great powers or the superpowers-the super-duper-powers, the razzling-dazzling powers-the superpowers have imposed their super will for the moment. But I am thankful to the people and the Government of the United States among the superpowers, for the position it has taken. The people of the United States, to some extent have been misled by massive Indian propaganda. Because we had no paraphernalia of popular administration and government in Pakistan, there was a political vacuum. The Indians took advantage of that political vacuum and they spread out fast to project their point of view. As a result, American public opinion and public opinion in Great Britain and France and other countries was influenced. Unfortunately, nothing was said of the massacres that took place between 1 March and 25 March.
No doubt there were mistakes on our side. I said yesterday that mistakes were made, and the Permanent Representative of the Soviet Union said that I had admitted mistakes. Well, that is not a sign of weakness, is it? Do we not all make mistakes? Are India and the Soviet Union the only two countries that have never made mistakes? I have made mistakes personally. But mistakes do not mean that my country must be destroyed, that my country must be dismembered. That is not the consequence of mistakes of government. Which government does not make mistakes? But if some government has made a mistake, does it-follow that the country itself must be dismembered, obliterated? Is that going to be the conclusion of the Security Council if it legalizes Indian aggression on the soil of Pakistan?
So you will see now: this is not the end of the road, this is the beginning of the road; this is not the end of the chapter, a new chapter has begun a new page has been written in international relations. This is gunboat diplomacy in its worst form. In a sense, it makes the Hitlerite aggression pale into insignificance because Hitlerite aggression was not accepted by the world. If the world is going to endorse this aggression, it will mean a new and most unfortunate chapter in international relations. A new chapter may have begun in India and Pakistan, but please do not start a new dreadful chapter in international relations. For us, it is a hand-to-hand, day-to-day, minute-to-minute fight. But do not do that to the rest of the world.
Please do not permit this kind of naked, shameful barbaric aggression to hold sway. In the old days great warriors swept over the world-Changiz Khan, Subutai Khan, Alexander, Caesar, coming down to the great Napoleon. But this is worse, this is much worse than all that was done by the great conquerors of the world in the past. If the United Nations becomes a party to this kind of conquest, it will be much worse than all that has been done in the past. You will be turning the medium-sized and the small countries into the harlots of the world. You cannot do that. It is against civilized concepts: it is against all the rules of civilization and of international morality and justice.
The United States Government was criticized for supporting the position of Pakistan. What crime has the United States Government committed? It has taken a position identical to that of the whole world on the India-Pakistan conflict. That position was supported by 105 countries-it was 104 officially, but it was really 105 because one representative did not press the right button. That was the voice of the world. It was an international referendum. You talk about the election of 1970. Well, I am proud of the election of 1970 because my party emerged as the strongest party in West Pakistan. But here was an international poll and India flouted it. With such an attitude towards international opinion, how can India pretend to be sensitive to a national election in another country? The same India that refuses to hold a referendum in Kashmir?
The Permanent Representative of the Soviet Union talked about realities. Mr. Permanent Representative of the Soviet Union look at this reality. I know that you are the representative of a great country. You behave like one. The way you throw out your chest, the way you thump the table. you do not talk like Comrade Malik; you talk like Czar Malik. I see you are smiling. Well, I am not because my heart is bleeding. We want to be friends, but this is not the way to be friends when my country is decimated, sought to be destroyed, wiped out.
Why should China and the United States be criticized when the whole world is for Pakistan? You know that we have won a great political victory. We might have suffered a military defeat, but a political victory is more important than a military defeat because political victory is permanent while military defeat is temporary. The United States Government has acted according to its great traditions by supporting Pakistan, and I will go to the people of the United States before I return home and tell them the truth. The United States has stood by the traditions of Jefferson, Madison. Hamilton, right down to Roosevelt and Wilson by supporting Pakistan as an independent state, its national integrity and its national unity. What wrong and crime has the United States committed? Why is the Indian delegation so annoyed with the United States? The Indian delegation is annoyed with U.S.-can you imagine that? If it had not been for the massive food assistance that the United States gave to India, India would have had starvation; its millions would have died. What hope will India give to the people of East Pakistan? What picture of hope is it going to give when its own people in Western Bengal sleep in the streets, where there is terrible poverty, where there is terrible injustice and exploitation, when the parliamentary rule in West Bengal has been superseded by presidential rule? Is India going to do better for East Pakistan, for Muslim Bengal, than it has done for West Bengal? Thousands of West Bengali people sleep in the streets of Calcutta. The people of West Bengal are the poorest. India goes hat in hand to the United States for six million tons of food. If they are going to impose presidential-rule in West Bengal, in their Bengal, how can they do any better in our Bengal? They will not. And time will show that they will not.
So the United States has taken a correct and moral position.
Thomas Jefferson once said, "I have sworn eternal hostility against any form of tyranny practiced over the mind of man".This is a vast form of tyranny practiced over the mind of man and over the body of man. So the United States has adhered to its tradition. And if some misguided Senators were here, some young, misguided Senators who have been overtaken by Indian propaganda-and if the Permanent Representative of the United States were not from Texas-I would have told those young Senators that I was setting up the headquarters for a republic of Texas and making the former President-of the United States, Lyndon Johnson, the chief of that republic, in order to spread the cult of Bangladesh everywhere. Why can Texas not be free? Let there be a republic of Texas. We did not buy Bengal as Alaska was bought by the United States. We did not pay money to get our territory. We did not pay dollars to acquire territory. The people of the United States should appreciate the position taken by their Government.
Muslim Bengal was a part of Pakistan of its free will, not through money. We did not buy it as Alaska was purchased. Why do the people of the United States not see that? And we are beholden and thankful to the great People's Republic of China. We shall always remain thankful for the position it has taken. It has taken a position based on principles of justice. And I thank the Third World for having supported a just cause, a right cause.
And now in the Security Council we have been frustrated by a veto.
Let us build a monument to the veto, a big monument to the veto. Let us build a monument to the impotence and incapacity of the Security Council and the General Assembly. As you sow, so shall you reap. Remember that Biblical saying. Today, it is Pakistan. We are your guinea pigs today. But there will be other guinea pigs and you will see what happens. You will see how the chain of events unfolds itself. You want us to lick the dust. We are not going to lick the dust.
Britain and France have abstained from voting in order to play a role. I said the other day, with all due respect to those two great powers, that they have really exhausted their position in trying to play a role because now the only role they can play is to accept a shameless fait accompli. Britain and France abstained, and that abstention has cost us dearly.
Gallic logic and Anglo-Saxon experience, whatever it is, have cost us dearly. If Britain and France had put their powerful weight behind the international community rather than sitting on the fence, the issue might have been different. There is no such animal as a neutral animal. You take positions. In that respect we admire the Soviet Union; it took a position, a wrong position, but it took a position. You have to take a position on these matters. You have to be either on the side of justice or on the side of injustice;
you are either on the side of justice or on the side of injustice; you have to be either on the side of the aggressor or of the victim. There is no third road. It is a black and white situation in these matters; there is no grey involved. You are either for right or you are for wrong; you are either for justice or for injustice; you are either for aggression or for the victim. If the United Kingdom and France had earlier put their full weight behind the verdict of the international community, I think that we would not have reached this position. But Great Britain and France want to come back into the subcontinent as Clive and Dupleix, in a different role, the role of peacemakers.
They want a foot here and they want a foot there. I know that British interests in East Pakistan required this kind of opportunistic role because in East Pakistan they have their tea estates. They want the jute of East Pakistan. So that is why they sat on the fence. And I am sorry at France's position because with France we had developed very good relations, extremely good relations. But they took this position. And now, today, neither Britain nor France can play a role because their resolution has been overtaken by events. There is a lot of goodwill for France in Pakistan, and they will not get the same goodwill in East Pakistan because in East Pakistan already the clock is now moving in another direction. Everyday that the Indian Army of occupation stays there, it will be a grim reminder for Muslim Bengal that they are under Hindu occupation, and you will see the result of it. You will see how it will turn out. Let them stay-why not? Let them stay. Let them swagger around. If they want to take East Pakistan, let them stay as an army of occupation. They are an army of occupation; how can they be called liberators? They will stay, and they will see how the clock is going to move in a different direction.
Finally, I am not a rat. I have never ratted in my life. I have faced assassination attempts, I have faced imprisonments. I have always confronted crises. Today I am not ratting, but I am leaving your Security Council. I find it disgraceful to my person and to my country to remain here a moment longer than is necessary. I am not boycotting. Impose any decision, have a treaty worse than the Treaty of Versailles, legalize aggression, legalize occupation, legalize everything that has been illegal upto 15 December 1971. I will not be a party to it. We will fight; we will go back and fight. My country beckons me. Why should I waste my time here in the Security Council? I will not be a party to the ignominious surrender of a part of my country. You can take your Security Council. Here you are. I am going.
Here is Gadhafi Speech in UN
http://www.youtube.com/v/-cSoY9SppO4&
Iraq seizes group accused of Baghdad car bombs
28 Apr 2009 16:32:03 GMT
Source: Reuters
(Adds Baghdadi comments)
By Aseel Kami
BAGHDAD, April 28 (Reuters) - Iraqi authorities said on Tuesday they had arrested a policeman and six others accused of being al Qaeda members who staged car bombings in Baghdad the day before a visit by U.S. President Barack Obama.
Seven car bombs across the capital on April 6 killed at least 37 people and marked the start of a rise in attacks that have cast a shadow over recent security gains and raised fears Iraq could plunge back into sectarian warfare.
Interior Ministry spokesman Major General Abdul-Karim Khalaf said the group was responsible for a total of 27 attacks, including car bombs and car jackings in which they killed the drivers and used their vehicles for bombs. Three were captured in Baghdad and the rest in western Anbar province.
The men were planning to blow up what would have been the eighth car bomb of the day on April 6 when police found them in Baghdad's southern Doura district, he said.
Subsequent investigations found that a policeman had helped the attackers to get through numerous checkpoints manned by soldiers and police all over Baghdad, he said.
"What is novel about this case is the involvement of a member of the Interior Ministry," Khalaf said.
The policeman was a Shi'ite Muslim, and not a Sunni Arab like the vast majority of al Qaeda sympathisers and operators, Khalaf said. He said the man was lured into the group by money.
In what the Interior Ministry said was a videotaped confession, one of the detained men said he was a leader of al Qaeda in Haditha in 2005, a town in western Anbar province, that at the time was an al Qaeda stronghold.
RASH OF BOMBINGS
The announcement of the arrests coincided with growing apprehension in Iraq as U.S. combat forces prepare to pull out of cities in June, ahead of a full withdrawal by the end of 2011, and in the run-up to a national election late this year.
Later the same day, security officials presented a photograph of a man detained last week who they believe is Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, leader of the so-called Islamic State of Iraq, an al Qaeda-affiliated insurgent group.
If the man is Baghdadi, whose capture and death have been reported before, it could be a blow to a group seen as one of the chief insurgent operators in Iraq.
While overall violence has fallen to levels not seen since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, insurgents like al Qaeda continue to carry out suicide and car bomb attacks regularly.
Two days of suicide bombings last week killed more than 150 people, many of them Shi'ite pilgrims from neighbouring Iran, raising the spectre of renewed fighting between once dominant Sunnis and majority Shi'ites.
U.S. forces in Iraq have not yet said whether they believe the detained man is Baghdadi.
While Iraqi officials earlier said they would conduct a DNA test to confirm Baghdadi's identity, security spokesman Major General Qassim Moussawi said on Tuesday that such a test would be impossible because there was no previous information on him.
Baghdadi "is a high-value target whose arrest will give Iraqi forces the opportunity to follow the strands of this group, pursuing its members and arresting them," government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh told al-Arabiya television.
He said Baghdadi would be referred to an Iraqi court.
"The government understands that al Qaeda is still a threat to the security situation, and our alert level remains high. We imagine they will try to retaliate but we have no choice but to face them with everything we've got," Dabbagh said. (Additional reporting by Waleed Ibrahim and Ahmed Rasheed; Editing by Michael Christie)
Source: Reuters
(Adds Baghdadi comments)
By Aseel Kami
BAGHDAD, April 28 (Reuters) - Iraqi authorities said on Tuesday they had arrested a policeman and six others accused of being al Qaeda members who staged car bombings in Baghdad the day before a visit by U.S. President Barack Obama.
Seven car bombs across the capital on April 6 killed at least 37 people and marked the start of a rise in attacks that have cast a shadow over recent security gains and raised fears Iraq could plunge back into sectarian warfare.
Interior Ministry spokesman Major General Abdul-Karim Khalaf said the group was responsible for a total of 27 attacks, including car bombs and car jackings in which they killed the drivers and used their vehicles for bombs. Three were captured in Baghdad and the rest in western Anbar province.
The men were planning to blow up what would have been the eighth car bomb of the day on April 6 when police found them in Baghdad's southern Doura district, he said.
Subsequent investigations found that a policeman had helped the attackers to get through numerous checkpoints manned by soldiers and police all over Baghdad, he said.
"What is novel about this case is the involvement of a member of the Interior Ministry," Khalaf said.
The policeman was a Shi'ite Muslim, and not a Sunni Arab like the vast majority of al Qaeda sympathisers and operators, Khalaf said. He said the man was lured into the group by money.
In what the Interior Ministry said was a videotaped confession, one of the detained men said he was a leader of al Qaeda in Haditha in 2005, a town in western Anbar province, that at the time was an al Qaeda stronghold.
RASH OF BOMBINGS
The announcement of the arrests coincided with growing apprehension in Iraq as U.S. combat forces prepare to pull out of cities in June, ahead of a full withdrawal by the end of 2011, and in the run-up to a national election late this year.
Later the same day, security officials presented a photograph of a man detained last week who they believe is Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, leader of the so-called Islamic State of Iraq, an al Qaeda-affiliated insurgent group.
If the man is Baghdadi, whose capture and death have been reported before, it could be a blow to a group seen as one of the chief insurgent operators in Iraq.
While overall violence has fallen to levels not seen since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, insurgents like al Qaeda continue to carry out suicide and car bomb attacks regularly.
Two days of suicide bombings last week killed more than 150 people, many of them Shi'ite pilgrims from neighbouring Iran, raising the spectre of renewed fighting between once dominant Sunnis and majority Shi'ites.
U.S. forces in Iraq have not yet said whether they believe the detained man is Baghdadi.
While Iraqi officials earlier said they would conduct a DNA test to confirm Baghdadi's identity, security spokesman Major General Qassim Moussawi said on Tuesday that such a test would be impossible because there was no previous information on him.
Baghdadi "is a high-value target whose arrest will give Iraqi forces the opportunity to follow the strands of this group, pursuing its members and arresting them," government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh told al-Arabiya television.
He said Baghdadi would be referred to an Iraqi court.
"The government understands that al Qaeda is still a threat to the security situation, and our alert level remains high. We imagine they will try to retaliate but we have no choice but to face them with everything we've got," Dabbagh said. (Additional reporting by Waleed Ibrahim and Ahmed Rasheed; Editing by Michael Christie)
Pakistan Military once again hostage 60K.M from Islamabad
Pak jets strike Taliban targets 60 km off Islamabad
Rezaul H Laskar in Islamabad | April 29, 2009 15:36 IST
Pakistan army [Images] on Wednesday airdropped commandos to take control of the main Daggar town in embattled Buner district as the military expanded its operation to halt Taliban's [Images] advance towards Islamabad [Images].
Fighter jets and helicopter gunship struck well entrenched Taliban defences, atop mountains in various hamlets of Buner, just 60 kilometres from Islamabad.
The Commandos took control of Daggar, which is the main town of Buner with a population of over 25,000. But militants continued to hold 60 security men hostage, whom they had captured in Pir Baba area.
Residents also reported, heavy artillery, tanks and ground troops in hundreds moving towards Buner as forces sought to drive the Taliban back into the Swat Valley. The army estimates there are 400-500 Taliban militants hiding in Buner.
Islamabad under intense US pressure to take a tough stance against Taliban has now expanded the arc of its military offensive to bring more and more Tehrik-e-Taliban militants under its line of fire, from Dir near the lawless tribal territory close to Afghanistan border to Buner in the Pakistani heartland.
As the military operation went into full steam, the US has held it as "exactly the appropriate response to halt the progress of Taliban".
At least 60 police and Frontier Constabulary personnel were taken hostage by the Taliban in Pir Baba area of Buner on Tuesday night, media reports said.
The News daily put the number of hostages at 71. The soldiers continue to be in the custody of the militants and there was no official word on their status.
The security men were taken hostage after militants lured them to a mosque near the Pir Baba shrine on the pretext of holding talks with them. Among those taken hostage are the chief of the Pir Baba police station. A majority of the hostages are Frontier Constabulary personnel, reports said.
As the security forces inducted fighters and used heavy artillery there was no official word on casualties in Buner district.
The army in a statement has said that reports of withdrawal of Taliban were a mere show and that bulk of the militants continue to be in the town.
Chief military spokesman Maj Gen Athar Abbas on Tuesday said some 75 militants and 10 security personnel were killed in an operation in the nearby Dir district. He also said up to 700 militants were present in Dir and Buner districts.
A large number of residents of Buner have started migrating to other places in the North West Frontier Province, adding to the provincial government's problems in caring for people displaced by the recent fighting. Reports said up to 30,000 people have been displaced by the operations.
Rezaul H Laskar in Islamabad | April 29, 2009 15:36 IST
Pakistan army [Images] on Wednesday airdropped commandos to take control of the main Daggar town in embattled Buner district as the military expanded its operation to halt Taliban's [Images] advance towards Islamabad [Images].
Fighter jets and helicopter gunship struck well entrenched Taliban defences, atop mountains in various hamlets of Buner, just 60 kilometres from Islamabad.
The Commandos took control of Daggar, which is the main town of Buner with a population of over 25,000. But militants continued to hold 60 security men hostage, whom they had captured in Pir Baba area.
Residents also reported, heavy artillery, tanks and ground troops in hundreds moving towards Buner as forces sought to drive the Taliban back into the Swat Valley. The army estimates there are 400-500 Taliban militants hiding in Buner.
Islamabad under intense US pressure to take a tough stance against Taliban has now expanded the arc of its military offensive to bring more and more Tehrik-e-Taliban militants under its line of fire, from Dir near the lawless tribal territory close to Afghanistan border to Buner in the Pakistani heartland.
As the military operation went into full steam, the US has held it as "exactly the appropriate response to halt the progress of Taliban".
At least 60 police and Frontier Constabulary personnel were taken hostage by the Taliban in Pir Baba area of Buner on Tuesday night, media reports said.
The News daily put the number of hostages at 71. The soldiers continue to be in the custody of the militants and there was no official word on their status.
The security men were taken hostage after militants lured them to a mosque near the Pir Baba shrine on the pretext of holding talks with them. Among those taken hostage are the chief of the Pir Baba police station. A majority of the hostages are Frontier Constabulary personnel, reports said.
As the security forces inducted fighters and used heavy artillery there was no official word on casualties in Buner district.
The army in a statement has said that reports of withdrawal of Taliban were a mere show and that bulk of the militants continue to be in the town.
Chief military spokesman Maj Gen Athar Abbas on Tuesday said some 75 militants and 10 security personnel were killed in an operation in the nearby Dir district. He also said up to 700 militants were present in Dir and Buner districts.
A large number of residents of Buner have started migrating to other places in the North West Frontier Province, adding to the provincial government's problems in caring for people displaced by the recent fighting. Reports said up to 30,000 people have been displaced by the operations.
How worst western guyz hate Arab's Islam & insult arab men
The Shame Culture of islam
The Arab world is suffering a crisis of humiliation.
Their armies are routed not only by Americans, but also by tiny, Jewish Israel; and as Arthur Koestler once remarked, the Arab world has not, in the last 500 years or so, produced much besides rugs, dirty postcards, elaborations on the belly-dance esthetic (and, of course, some innovative terrorist practices). They have no science to speak of, no art, hardly any industry save oil, very little literature, and portentous music which consists largely of lugubrious(mournful) songs celebrating the slaughter of Jews.
Now that the Arabs have acquired national consciousness, and they compare their societies to other nations, these deficiencies become painfully evident, particularly to the upper-class Arab kids who attend foreign universities. There they learn about the accomplishments of Christians, Jews, (Freud, Einstein, for starters) and women.
And yet, with the exception of Edward Said, there is scarcely a contemporary Arab name in the bunch. No wonder, then, that major recruitment to al-Qaeda's ranks takes place among Arab university students.
And no wonder that suicide bombing becomes their tactic of choice: it is a last-ditch, desperate way of asserting at least one scrap of superiority—a spiritual superiority—over the materialistic, life-hugging, and ergo shameful West.
But this tactic is not, I suggest, a product of Islam. Rather, it is a product of the bruised Arab psyche. Remember that the Japanese also turned to suicide tactics in WWII to evade the humiliation of defeat. Though their religion was Shinto rather than Muslim, they too constituted a paradigm(A set of assumptions, concepts, values, and practices that constitutes a way of viewing reality for the community that shares them, especially in an intellectual discipline. ) shame/honor culture, and defeat brought about, as with the Arabs, a furiously suicidal/homicidal response. After their armies had been defeated, their fleets sunk, their cities set aflame, and their home islands invaded, they launched the kamikaze bomber offensive, thereby committing a hi-tech form of hara-kiri, their usual remedy against intolerable shame.
It is in this way that the modern Arab world resembles the Japan of World War II. In both cases it is not religions but psychic wounds, the wounds inflicted by defeat and evident INFERIORITY, that inspire suicide bombers.
It is often asserted that the changes set in train by modernization are particularly toxic to the Arabs. No doubt this is true. But if we are going to be therapeutic(Having or exhibiting healing powers), our diagnoses need to be more specific; we need to identify the particular pathogens(An agent that causes disease, especially a living microorganism such as a bacterium or fungus.) that are released by modernization. Besides sharpening their sense of inferiority relative to the West, modernization threatens to bring about the liberation of women (as in Afghanistan and Iraq).
I say "threatens," because the self-esteem of Arab males is in large part predicated(To base or establish ) on the inferior position of their women.
The Arab nations have for the most part lost their slaves and dhimmis(ذمي, collectively أهل الذمة ahl al-dhimmah, "the people of the dhimma or pact of protection"; Ottoman Turkish & Urdu zimmi, "one whose zimma [responsibility of protection] has been taken") is a non-Muslim subject of a state governed in accordance with sharia law.), the subject peoples onto whose persons the stigmata of shame could be downloaded. But anyone who has spent time among them knows that Arab males have not lost their psychological need for social and sexual inferiors.
In the absence of slaves and captive peoples, Arab women are elected for the special role of the inferior who, by definition, lacks honor. Arab men eradicate shame and bolster their shaky self-esteem by imposing the shameful qualities of the dhimmi, submission and passivity, upon women. Trailing a humbled woman behind them, Arab men can walk the walk of the true macho man(A male who is virile and sexually active).
Hence the relative lack of material achievement by Arabs: the Arab world has stunted(An atypically small animal or plant.) the female half of its brain pool, while the men acquire instant self-esteem not by real accomplishment, but by the mere fact of being men, rather than women.
No wonder, then, that the Arab nations feel irrationally threatened by the very existence of Israel. Like America, the Jews have brought the reality of the liberated woman into the very heart of the Middle East, into dar al-Islam itself. Big Satan and Little Satan: the champions of Muslim women.
I contend that female liberation is the most hopeful development in the Middle East, greater even than the first stirrings(Exciting strong feelings, as of inspiration; rousing ) of democracy. I believe that Arab women have a greater stake in liberal democracy than Arab men, and as they acquire political power, they will fight for it. As for suicide bombings, jihadism and the macho posturing of Arab men, they are desperate remedies against further humiliation, against the perceived threat of “castration,”(Removing, or inhibiting the function or development of, the ovaries or testes. ) by their own women.
Until Arab women achieve freedom and independence, we can expect, at least for awhile, to see Arab men cling to these remedies.
Even then, some Arab men will probably backslide to even greater suicidal/homicidal tantrums(A fit of bad temper. Also called regionally hissy, hissy fit.
).
Others, (perhaps even a majority) no longer able to project their deficiencies onto Arab women, will begin to recognize the flaws in themselves. These converts would adopt the self-critical stance that is already showing up among some daring Arab intellectuals and even religious leaders.
And when Arab men can no longer acquire instant self-esteem by demeaning(degrading) their women, some of them might even turn to the arts of peace, and try to acquire the sense of self-worth via instrumental rather than illusory psychological means.
We cannot, in the end, correct all the distortions of the Arab shame/honor ethos. But by pledging our support for Arab women's liberation—for instance, by advocating expanded liberties for women in the text of the new Iraqi constitution—we can hasten its erosion.
You will notice that Dzates, Muhammed, and Adnan do not talk about any women in their lives. Women are Inferiors and should to these gentlemen have no real place in the lives of macho men.
I have a mother who was born in Salalah in Oman, a wife from Alabama and a baby girl, my first child whose name is Nicole. They are my real loves. I grew up in a household of older sisters, I was the baby and the only male. Women have surrounded me all of my life. When I look at the goodness of the world I see it through all the goodness which they gave me.
My family has a longer tradition as Americans than yours does. If you are what you seem to be you dont even know your own grandfather's name.
My people came into Georgia in 1745 and into the Frontier in 1757. We were US Marshals in Indian territory in 1835. We were into the North Georgia Mountains as early as 1807.
I have seen my mother's family and their house. Its got a courtyard under awnings(A rooflike structure, often made of canvas or plastic, that serves as a shelter, as over a storefront, window, door, or deck) like sails and a scented big white Myrrh Tree, It has no air conditioning but the breezes come off the sea and up the valley
all day and make the shady house cool.
My kin were willing to trade if you had a strong ship, and they would take your ship if you were seen as weak. Either way they made a profit and the family fortune was based on "import/export" They do guns and gold across and back from India. They expedite arms to Iran now. Dad ran a trucking company for the Pak/Iran route and made a lot of money doing 20mm guns to distributers in Iran.
He swears he never did drugs at any time. But I think the drug people were buying his guns. You could arrange for Drugs to pay your bills and still never handle the stuff yourself. Its all paper to the Emirate banks. The Iranians have three million Heroin addicts, its their problem.
You sound paranoid, fagboy. Want to see another pic of me? I have already told you where I live...Lost Mountain, Georgia just off old Dallas Hwy and I can see the park from my front window.
Want to see a UTube of me firing one of my rifles at the Fort Mountain Gun Range.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRnwT59ehF8
That's me...half Arab on my Mom's side and I served my tour in th USArmy Rangers at Camp Merrill in the North Georgia Mountains and now have a new wife and baby girl named Nicole.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVwevjwBH1k&feature=related
The above is a friend who lives in Dahlonega, Georgia, 'bout nine miles south of Suches, Georgia. He does errands for my dad. He collects guns. Down here in the South, Adnan, we dont particularly care for you raggies. And we supply a lot of good soldiers for the Army and Marines. Its sort of traditional. We like a sort of jihad ourselves, only we hunt towelies. Good at it too.
My dad, whom you already know, is back from Iran and has invested the money he made there by buying two city blocks in metropolitan Atlanta in Sylvan Hills. The recession isnt our problem, we are making money. He has a hobby as a Coach for a Country Club Women's Competition Trap Shooting team.
Its beautiful Spring weather here and I am going shopping today and then coming home to fix BBQ pork for Lunch and make a fresh salad served with Lemonade.
--------
You know my Mom just loves being American. She's been here since about 1974 or so. I was born in 1980, my sister was born in 1976.
The biggest holiday, even above Christmas, in my Mom's house is 4th of July. We ALWAYS have a big family cookout on the Grill and BarBQ and Corn on the Cob and the whole layout, no matter what. Her house is full of Americana antiques, a big brass American Flag fireplace screen, Geese painted on the trash can and Cardinals painted on the mailbox. She likes to dress up like Dolly Parton.
Mother of pearl buttons and a big Silver dollar belt buckle on her cowboy fringed shirt, she even bought some cowboy boots. Early American furniture and little knick knacks that are kitch as hell.
She haunts antique stores, cant drive by one without going in to look.
Loves to Garden, and her house is a Moslem paradise of flowers and growing things. Her idea of Heaven is her house and the big yard, the landscaping and the trees and bird feeders and the squirrels she feeds..humming bird feeder in front of the porch so she can look at them, and orchids filling the windows alongside the gardenias. A big American Flag in the front yard.
She converted to Roman catholicism all on her own before I was born...my older blood sister is a Dominican Contemplative Nun and Mom tossed out everything she regarded as Moslem. My dad is hard to describe on the religion side, he's a total opportunist, always looks to a realists advantage. Religion is simply something he uses like putting on a shirt. He can act the part of anything and he has this ability to assume body english and mannerisms and speak the language without an accent when he needs to. He can dress up and shift like a magician and you can watch him disappear and a new person step forward who even seems to smell and even walk different. He's uncanny.
He can take on an entire being and then stop in mid step and grin at you.
He's got a real talent for it. A nasty talent.
I know him better than Mom and she knows him well. She adores him, would forgive him anything. I am careful around him. He's too good at illusions... the only thing you can know for certain is that he is in it for himself. He manipulates people, and has no conscience when he does it. Its never a good idea to trust him at face value.
The funny thing is you forget what he is sometimes he is so convincing, and then you are brought up short with a start by really looking at him and seeing him grin.
When I was ten he wouldnt give me any food unless I caught it myself or killed it myself. I didnt want to kill a rabbit and he wouldnt give me anything to eat until I killed the rabbit. I killed the rabbit and then he handed me the knife and told me how to skin it and cut it up. Then he said I could keep the knife as mine.
I remember cutting the rabbits feet off one at a time and then pushing the blade in to the skin and slitting open the belly and slitting down the legs and peeling off the skin and then cutting off the little wet head at the neck...and him just watching me and then letting me eat.
Author: Seraph1 -
Date: 29-04-09 03:27
http://www.albawabaforums.com/read.php3?f=3&i=358833&t=358833
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Top 5 Most Dangerous Cities
Despite all the universities and educational institutes America remains an uncivilised cowboys country. America is the worst example to others. Americans are highly-trained, religious and very violent.
In case you didn't know, Baghdad was a peaceful and joyful city albeit ruled by a ruthless dictator. Al-Qaeda men weren't in Iraq before the American invasion of March 20, 2003. The Americans need violence in order to remind them of their own home cities.
It is more logical to compare the homicides in Detroit with that of a European, Chinese or Japanese city of similar population size. You will be amazed. Try to do some googling.
No. 1 Detroit, Mich.
(Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, Mich., metropolitan statistical area)
Population: 1,951,186
Violent Crimes per 100,000: 1,220
No. 2 Memphis, Tenn.
(Memphis, Tenn.-Miss.-Ark. metropolitan statistical area)
Population: 1,295,670
Violent Crimes per 100,000: 1,218
No. 3. Miami, Fla.
(Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, Fla. metropolitan statistical area)
Population: 2,401,971
Violent Crimes per 100,000: 988
No. 4 Las Vegas, Nev.
(Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev., metropolitan statistical area)
Population: 1,834,533
Violent Crimes per 100,000: 887
No. 5 Stockton, Calif.
(Stockton, Calif., metropolitan statistical area)
Population: 684,406
Violent Crimes per 100,000: 885
Comment: The Americans like to police the streets of the world cities but not their own. They also tend to export the violent behaviour to others. It not surprising that the American hands are stained with the blood of people from 33 countries.
Adnan Darwash, Iraq Occupation Times
April 28, 2009, 5:42 am
America: The Less Violent Side
By Sahar S. Gabriel
Sahar S. Gabriel was an Iraqi translator with The New York Times in Baghdad. She moved to America on a refugee program.
— Baghdad Bureau
MICHIGAN– On March 18, just after my arrival in the United States, four high schoolers were killed in the state of Michigan. DUI, an expression I had heard so much in TV shows and movies.
Four lives ended in a reckless accident caused by a moment of irrationality. A bad decision. This was not a terrorist act or a sectarian killing. This was what is referred to as “stuff happens,” and it happens everywhere around the world.
I watched on television as the moms and dads attended their kids’ funerals and my heart went out to them. I thought of the anger and doubts that must be forming inside and then I thought about the youngsters who were killed. A friend used to say something every time we heard of someone being killed in Iraq, “What a waste.” He was right. A waste of possibilities and decisions that could have changed the future. It occurs to me that this may not be the less violent side after all.
But, it is the right “violent side” for me, as a person. And if people are killed and die everywhere, then this is where I want to live, a place where a lot of people may not approve of me and are free to express that. It is that right that appeals to me, that god given right to live and love and pursue happiness.
It is why the parents and families of those teenagers and many others do not pack up and leave the country after something like that happens. The word is HOME, and that does not necessarily mean the geographic spot you were born in.
In case you didn't know, Baghdad was a peaceful and joyful city albeit ruled by a ruthless dictator. Al-Qaeda men weren't in Iraq before the American invasion of March 20, 2003. The Americans need violence in order to remind them of their own home cities.
It is more logical to compare the homicides in Detroit with that of a European, Chinese or Japanese city of similar population size. You will be amazed. Try to do some googling.
No. 1 Detroit, Mich.
(Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, Mich., metropolitan statistical area)
Population: 1,951,186
Violent Crimes per 100,000: 1,220
No. 2 Memphis, Tenn.
(Memphis, Tenn.-Miss.-Ark. metropolitan statistical area)
Population: 1,295,670
Violent Crimes per 100,000: 1,218
No. 3. Miami, Fla.
(Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, Fla. metropolitan statistical area)
Population: 2,401,971
Violent Crimes per 100,000: 988
No. 4 Las Vegas, Nev.
(Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev., metropolitan statistical area)
Population: 1,834,533
Violent Crimes per 100,000: 887
No. 5 Stockton, Calif.
(Stockton, Calif., metropolitan statistical area)
Population: 684,406
Violent Crimes per 100,000: 885
Comment: The Americans like to police the streets of the world cities but not their own. They also tend to export the violent behaviour to others. It not surprising that the American hands are stained with the blood of people from 33 countries.
Adnan Darwash, Iraq Occupation Times
April 28, 2009, 5:42 am
America: The Less Violent Side
By Sahar S. Gabriel
Sahar S. Gabriel was an Iraqi translator with The New York Times in Baghdad. She moved to America on a refugee program.
— Baghdad Bureau
MICHIGAN– On March 18, just after my arrival in the United States, four high schoolers were killed in the state of Michigan. DUI, an expression I had heard so much in TV shows and movies.
Four lives ended in a reckless accident caused by a moment of irrationality. A bad decision. This was not a terrorist act or a sectarian killing. This was what is referred to as “stuff happens,” and it happens everywhere around the world.
I watched on television as the moms and dads attended their kids’ funerals and my heart went out to them. I thought of the anger and doubts that must be forming inside and then I thought about the youngsters who were killed. A friend used to say something every time we heard of someone being killed in Iraq, “What a waste.” He was right. A waste of possibilities and decisions that could have changed the future. It occurs to me that this may not be the less violent side after all.
But, it is the right “violent side” for me, as a person. And if people are killed and die everywhere, then this is where I want to live, a place where a lot of people may not approve of me and are free to express that. It is that right that appeals to me, that god given right to live and love and pursue happiness.
It is why the parents and families of those teenagers and many others do not pack up and leave the country after something like that happens. The word is HOME, and that does not necessarily mean the geographic spot you were born in.
KBR sued in over waste disposal in Iraq, Afghanistan
29 Apr 2009 00:06:35 GMT
Source: Reuters
SAN FRANCISCO, April 28 (Reuters) - KBR Inc was sued on Tuesday in three states on accusations that the company exposed U.S. soldiers and contractors at U.S. bases in Iraq and Afghanistan to toxic smoke, court documents showed.
KBR, an engineering and construction company that also manages military logistics, was paid by the U.S. government to dispose of waste on the bases, according to the complaints filed on behalf of soldiers who had been deployed in the two countries.
Oilfield services company Halliburton Co, which spun off KBR two years ago, was also named as a defendant in the lawsuits, being brought by law firm Burke O'Neil LLC.
The lawsuits, filed in Georgia, Alabama and Illinois, accused KBR of failing to properly dispose of waste which led to prolonged exposure to hazardous smoke, fumes and ash.
"These exposures are causing a host of serious diseases, increased risk of serious diseases in the future, death and increased risk of death," the complaints in all three states said.
Burke O'Neil said in a statement that similar actions were being filed in California, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, and Wyoming.
The law firm said in the statement that the actions were on behalf of at least 20 current and former military personnel, private contractors, and families of two men who allegedly died due to exposure to the smoke.
KBR said it had not reviewed the complaints and therefore could not comment on the specific allegations.
"The general assertion, however, that KBR knowingly harmed soldiers or contractors is unfounded," the company said in an emailed statement. "The safety and security of all employees and those the company serves remains KBR's top priority." (Reporting by Braden Reddall; Editing by Toni Reinhold)
===
Halliburton operates and based at Cayman Islands.This way it stands above any good law. ===================== BP seeks to recoup all its Deepwater oil spill costs from U.S. contractor Halliburton By THIS IS MONEY REPORTER Last updated at 9:59 AM on 3rd January 2012 Comments (1) Share BP is suing U.S. contractor Halliburton for all the costs and expenses it has incurred from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster off the Louisiana coast in 2010. In a filing at the federal court in New Orleans, BP said the cement firm should reimburse it for the cost of cleaning up the oil spill, the lost profits from the well and 'all other costs and damages', Bloomberg News reported. BP has so far paid $21billion (£13.5 billion) for the clean-up operation and compensating individuals, businesses and governments. Oil spill: The disaster killed 11 workers and caused millions of gallons of oil to be leaked into the Gulf of Mexico It has also reserved more than $40billion (£25.8 billion) to cover costs related to the sinking of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig. BP and Halliburton accuse each other of making critical mistakes that caused the blow-out of the well off the Louisiana coast in 2010. More... BP SHARES: Check the latest price here Forums: Tip of the year 2012 The disaster killed 11 workers and caused millions of gallons of oil to be leaked into the Gulf of Mexico, killing wildlife, polluting waters and shattering fisheries and tourism along the coasts of Texas, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida. BP owned the lease for the Macondo well and Halliburton provided well-completion services for the project. They are believed to jointly face more than 500 lawsuits by coastal property owners, businesses and governments claiming billions of dollars in damages. A judge at a federal court in New Orleans is expected to begin a trial in February to determine liability for the spill. Halliburton, based in Houston, Texas, has said its cementing services contract requires BP to indemnify it from all damage claims, even if its employees were found to have shared blame for the disaster, according to Bloomberg. But BP has rejected that argument and has accused Halliburton of gross negligence. The defendants in the lawsuits over the spill also include Switzerland-based Transocean - the owner of the Deepwater Horizon, Cameron International - the maker of the blow-out prevention equipment, Anadarko Petroleum, which owned 25 per cent of the Macondo prospect, and Mitsui & Co's Moex Offshore unit, which owned a 10 per cent stake in the well. Cameron, Anadarko and Mitsui have already reached settlements with BP. Shares in BP are 1 per cent or 6.55p higher at 467.05p in early morning trading. Before the Deepwater disaster, BP was the biggest company in the FTSE 100 Index and its leading payer of dividends. Stock trend: BP's share price has not recovered since the oil spill disaster in 2010 Read more: http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/markets/article-2081588/BP-seeks-recoup-Deepwater-oil-spill-costs-Halliburton.html#ixzz1iOmBIkUZ ======================= 'Biggest cover-up in US history' Sat, 08 Jan 2011 14:47:15 GMT Months after the US government declared the waters in the Gulf of Mexico safe, thick layers of oil have been found along Louisiana coastal marshes, prompting local officials to accuse relevant authorities of 'cover-up.' Louisiana officials say parts of the state's coastline are still being fouled more than eight months after British Petroleum's (BP) Deepwater Horizon rig caused the biggest oil disaster in the United States. "This is the biggest cover-up in the history of America,'' AP quoted Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser as saying. On Friday, Robert Barham, secretary of Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, joined Nungesser on a tour of the area. "It has been eight months since the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion, and five months since the well was capped. While workers along the coast dedicated themselves to cleaning up our shores there is still so much to be done," Barham said in a statement. The heavily saturated area that reporters saw was 30 feet (9 meters) to 100 feet (30 meters) wide in sections. "There's been no mechanism to clean that up thus far," the parish president said. "Every day, this shoreline is moving inland," lessening flood protection for residents, Nungesser added. This is while US President Barack Obama and one his daughters went for a swim in the Gulf of Mexico last summer in an attempt to portray the water as safe and boost tourism industry reeling in the affected areas after millions of barrels of oil leaked into the gulf. Nungesser has been a frequent and outspoken critic of the cleanup effort ever since the oil explosion began infiltrating the environmentally delicate Louisiana coast line in April 20. The wildlife and fisheries department, meanwhile, said oiled boom remains in "numerous locations, forgotten or lost by contractors charged with their maintenance and removal." The officials said biologists have found several oiled birds in the past few days, including at least two dead brown pelicans. The explosion that destroyed the BP-leased Deepwater Horizon rig killed 11 workers and, according to the government estimates, led to more than 200 million gallons (757 million liters) of oil spewing from a hole a mile beneath the Gulf of Mexico. ================ BP preparing "vigorously" for oil spill lawsuits Tue, Feb 07 02:40 AM EST LONDON (Reuters) - BP said it was preparing "vigorously" for lawsuits related to its Gulf of Mexico oil spill, which are due to start later this month, as it unveiled a rise in fourth quarter earnings on the back of higher oil prices. Chief Executive Bob Dudley said BP was ready to settle on "fair and reasonable terms" but added he was also ready to fight. Europe's second-largest oil group by market capitalization added it would end payments into the $20 billion fund created to compensate those impacted by the United States' worst-ever offshore oil spill a year early after receiving contributions from its partners in the doomed Macondo well. BP said it made a replacement cost (RC) net profit of $7.61 billion in the quarter, up from $4.61 billion in the same period last year. Stripping out one-offs, the result was $4.99 billion, in line with an I/B/E/S consensus forecast of $4.89 billion, although one analyst said the result was flattered by a lower than expected tax rate (Reporting by Tom Bergin)
Source: Reuters
SAN FRANCISCO, April 28 (Reuters) - KBR Inc
KBR, an engineering and construction company that also manages military logistics, was paid by the U.S. government to dispose of waste on the bases, according to the complaints filed on behalf of soldiers who had been deployed in the two countries.
Oilfield services company Halliburton Co
The lawsuits, filed in Georgia, Alabama and Illinois, accused KBR of failing to properly dispose of waste which led to prolonged exposure to hazardous smoke, fumes and ash.
"These exposures are causing a host of serious diseases, increased risk of serious diseases in the future, death and increased risk of death," the complaints in all three states said.
Burke O'Neil said in a statement that similar actions were being filed in California, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, and Wyoming.
The law firm said in the statement that the actions were on behalf of at least 20 current and former military personnel, private contractors, and families of two men who allegedly died due to exposure to the smoke.
KBR said it had not reviewed the complaints and therefore could not comment on the specific allegations.
"The general assertion, however, that KBR knowingly harmed soldiers or contractors is unfounded," the company said in an emailed statement. "The safety and security of all employees and those the company serves remains KBR's top priority." (Reporting by Braden Reddall; Editing by Toni Reinhold)
===
Halliburton operates and based at Cayman Islands.This way it stands above any good law. ===================== BP seeks to recoup all its Deepwater oil spill costs from U.S. contractor Halliburton By THIS IS MONEY REPORTER Last updated at 9:59 AM on 3rd January 2012 Comments (1) Share BP is suing U.S. contractor Halliburton for all the costs and expenses it has incurred from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster off the Louisiana coast in 2010. In a filing at the federal court in New Orleans, BP said the cement firm should reimburse it for the cost of cleaning up the oil spill, the lost profits from the well and 'all other costs and damages', Bloomberg News reported. BP has so far paid $21billion (£13.5 billion) for the clean-up operation and compensating individuals, businesses and governments. Oil spill: The disaster killed 11 workers and caused millions of gallons of oil to be leaked into the Gulf of Mexico It has also reserved more than $40billion (£25.8 billion) to cover costs related to the sinking of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig. BP and Halliburton accuse each other of making critical mistakes that caused the blow-out of the well off the Louisiana coast in 2010. More... BP SHARES: Check the latest price here Forums: Tip of the year 2012 The disaster killed 11 workers and caused millions of gallons of oil to be leaked into the Gulf of Mexico, killing wildlife, polluting waters and shattering fisheries and tourism along the coasts of Texas, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida. BP owned the lease for the Macondo well and Halliburton provided well-completion services for the project. They are believed to jointly face more than 500 lawsuits by coastal property owners, businesses and governments claiming billions of dollars in damages. A judge at a federal court in New Orleans is expected to begin a trial in February to determine liability for the spill. Halliburton, based in Houston, Texas, has said its cementing services contract requires BP to indemnify it from all damage claims, even if its employees were found to have shared blame for the disaster, according to Bloomberg. But BP has rejected that argument and has accused Halliburton of gross negligence. The defendants in the lawsuits over the spill also include Switzerland-based Transocean - the owner of the Deepwater Horizon, Cameron International - the maker of the blow-out prevention equipment, Anadarko Petroleum, which owned 25 per cent of the Macondo prospect, and Mitsui & Co's Moex Offshore unit, which owned a 10 per cent stake in the well. Cameron, Anadarko and Mitsui have already reached settlements with BP. Shares in BP are 1 per cent or 6.55p higher at 467.05p in early morning trading. Before the Deepwater disaster, BP was the biggest company in the FTSE 100 Index and its leading payer of dividends. Stock trend: BP's share price has not recovered since the oil spill disaster in 2010 Read more: http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/markets/article-2081588/BP-seeks-recoup-Deepwater-oil-spill-costs-Halliburton.html#ixzz1iOmBIkUZ ======================= 'Biggest cover-up in US history' Sat, 08 Jan 2011 14:47:15 GMT Months after the US government declared the waters in the Gulf of Mexico safe, thick layers of oil have been found along Louisiana coastal marshes, prompting local officials to accuse relevant authorities of 'cover-up.' Louisiana officials say parts of the state's coastline are still being fouled more than eight months after British Petroleum's (BP) Deepwater Horizon rig caused the biggest oil disaster in the United States. "This is the biggest cover-up in the history of America,'' AP quoted Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser as saying. On Friday, Robert Barham, secretary of Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, joined Nungesser on a tour of the area. "It has been eight months since the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion, and five months since the well was capped. While workers along the coast dedicated themselves to cleaning up our shores there is still so much to be done," Barham said in a statement. The heavily saturated area that reporters saw was 30 feet (9 meters) to 100 feet (30 meters) wide in sections. "There's been no mechanism to clean that up thus far," the parish president said. "Every day, this shoreline is moving inland," lessening flood protection for residents, Nungesser added. This is while US President Barack Obama and one his daughters went for a swim in the Gulf of Mexico last summer in an attempt to portray the water as safe and boost tourism industry reeling in the affected areas after millions of barrels of oil leaked into the gulf. Nungesser has been a frequent and outspoken critic of the cleanup effort ever since the oil explosion began infiltrating the environmentally delicate Louisiana coast line in April 20. The wildlife and fisheries department, meanwhile, said oiled boom remains in "numerous locations, forgotten or lost by contractors charged with their maintenance and removal." The officials said biologists have found several oiled birds in the past few days, including at least two dead brown pelicans. The explosion that destroyed the BP-leased Deepwater Horizon rig killed 11 workers and, according to the government estimates, led to more than 200 million gallons (757 million liters) of oil spewing from a hole a mile beneath the Gulf of Mexico. ================ BP preparing "vigorously" for oil spill lawsuits Tue, Feb 07 02:40 AM EST LONDON (Reuters) - BP said it was preparing "vigorously" for lawsuits related to its Gulf of Mexico oil spill, which are due to start later this month, as it unveiled a rise in fourth quarter earnings on the back of higher oil prices. Chief Executive Bob Dudley said BP was ready to settle on "fair and reasonable terms" but added he was also ready to fight. Europe's second-largest oil group by market capitalization added it would end payments into the $20 billion fund created to compensate those impacted by the United States' worst-ever offshore oil spill a year early after receiving contributions from its partners in the doomed Macondo well. BP said it made a replacement cost (RC) net profit of $7.61 billion in the quarter, up from $4.61 billion in the same period last year. Stripping out one-offs, the result was $4.99 billion, in line with an I/B/E/S consensus forecast of $4.89 billion, although one analyst said the result was flattered by a lower than expected tax rate (Reporting by Tom Bergin)
Monday, April 27, 2009
Mohammad Rafi, Farsi Dari Songs
Another rare non-filmi song of Rafi Sahib singing farsi song with Afghan female singer Zhilla. This song is composed by Khyal and recorded in Radio Kabul in 1975 with Afghan musicians.
Not many people know that Rafi Sahib visited Kabul, Afghanistan in 1975 and recorded few farsi songs in Radio Kabul.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGzQNU1OD8U
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQyamXhdKys
-------------
Muhammad Rafi was born in Kotla Sultan Singh located near Amritsar in the then undivided Punjab. Mohd Rafi had five older brothers and his father's name was Hajji Ali Mohammad. Lovingly addressed as "Pheeko" by his family, Rafi started showing his inclination towards music at a very early age when he used to imitate the chants of a wandering beggar in his village. In the year 1935, Rafi's family moved to Lahore. Rafi's love for music was recognized soon by his family and he was encouraged to pursue it further. Thus, Mohamed Rafi went on to seek training in Hindustani classical music from eminent personalities like Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Ustad Abdul Wahid Khan, Pundit Jiwanlal Matto and Firoze Nizami.
Rafi's first public performance was at the tender age of 13. One day Rafi along with his brother Hamid went to attend a performance by the renowned K.L. Saigal. But there was a power failure at the venue and the legendary singer refused to sing. When the audience began to lose patience, Rafi's brother Hamid requested the organizer to allow Rafi to keep the audience entertained till the power came back. He was allowed to do so and it turned out to be the correct exposure for him. Among the audience was seated the great composer Shyam Sunder who immediately recognized immense talent and untapped potential in Rafi. He invited Rafi to come to Bombay for a recording. From there on began the journey of the most versatile singer of India.
In the year 1944, Mohammed Rafi recorded his first song under music director Shyam Sunder. It was for a Punjabi movie named Gul Baloch. It was recognized by many and Rafi started to get more and more offers. Rafi also sang songs composed by Naushad for the movie Pehle Aap in the year 1944.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKDcL9JB5A8
He also acted in a couple of movies named Laila Majnu (1945) and Jugnu (1947). Another splendid performance was in the year 1946 when he sang the song "Tera Khilona Toota Balak" of the movie Anmol Ghadi. With the movie Jugnu (1947), Rafi bagged his first major hit. The song "Yahaan Badla Wafa Ka"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJOxsI20UF0
with Noor Jehan under Feroze Nizami went on to become a major hit with the public.
His music in the movie Baiju Bawara proved critics wrong and he went on to become one of the most demanded playback singers of that time. The film happened by accident. Talat Mehmood was the first choice for the film. Naushad, the music director caught Talat Mehmood smoking and was very annoyed. He then gave all the songs to Mohammed Rafi and the results were outstanding. In the year 1949, his song named "Suhani Raat Dhal Chuki" of the movie "Dulari" went on to become an anthem of sorts. There was no looking back thereafter and Rafi went on to produce hits after hits. He was the undisputed singer till the 70's.
He was patronized as the voice of the great actor Dev Anand during 1950's and 60's. He became the favorite singer of director O.P. Nayyar and sang many beautiful songs for him. Rafi also produced some of the greatest hits with S.D. Burman, which includes films like Tere Ghar ke Saamne (1957), Pyaasa (1957), Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959), Guide (1965), Aradhana (1969) and Abhimaan (1973). In fact, he even sang a playback number for the great singer Kishore Kumar for the movie Raagini. Apparently, O.P. Nayyar was so fascinated by Rafi's music that he got him to sing "Man Mora Baawara" of this movie. Rafi sang with Asha Bhonsle and Lata Mangeshkar and belted out hits after hits. Rafi became the voice of noted actor Rajendra Kumar and sang many romantic songs for his movies. His boisterous style of singing suited the versatile actor Shammi Kapoor. One could not imagine a reserved and gentle person like Rafi singing the "Yahoo" number. But then, that was Rafi.
During the 1970's, Kishore Kumar came into the limelight with his hits in the movie Aradhana. Rafi's output declined and Kishore Kumar started to overshadow his popularity. However, Rafi's songs were still everyone's favorite and he proved that no matter how many singers come and go, his position would remain undisputed. During mid 70's Rafi made a huge comeback with the movie "Hum Kisi Se Kam Nahi"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PNJo7OA--4
and won the national award for the song "Kya Hua Tera Waada"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEaKwR5Y1mM
.
His major hits in the 70's include Amar Akbar Anthony (1977), Sargam (1979) and Karz (1980). The Qawali song "Pardah Hai Pardah" of the movie Amar Akbar Anthony was a superhit.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJSMacm9c6w
Other hit songs in late 1970s include films like
Laila Majnu (1976),
Apnapan (1978)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4_uvFjT1-k
, Qurbani
, Dostana (1980)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nl33bnbH2fY
and
The Burning Train (1980).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZYnTnXOsdE
On July 31st, 1980, this great singer went back home early after recording and dies due to a massive heart attack. His funeral procession was one befitting a king. Mohammed Rafi was a legend of legends and shall remain so till eternity.
Pakistan President swears country's nuclear weapons are safe as the Taliban creeps towards Islamabad
By Mail Foreign Service
Last updated at 11:12 AM on 27th April 2009
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari today ruled out the possibility of his country's nuclear weapons falling into the hands of the Taliban.
Zardari said Pakistan had a strong command and control system for its nuclear weapons that was fully in place.
'I want to assure the world that the nuclear capability of Pakistan is under safe hands,' he said.
His comments follow fears that the Taliban is advancing towards the Pakistani capital of Islamabad and heightens fears in the United States about the stability of its nuclear-armed ally.
Pakistan
Pakistani students belong to Lower Dir district chants slogans during a rally against the government military operation
Pakistan's foreign minister have told U.S. officials 'not to panic' over Taliban advances in western Pakistan, saying his country would not surrender or capitulate to militants.
Shah Mahmood Qureshi said Pakistan has sent militants in its tribal regions a 'clear signal' that they must lay down arms and accept the writ of the Pakistan government.
'We mean business, and if we have to use force we will use force. We will not hesitate,' Qureshi said.
More...
* '300 Taliban suicide bombers on way to Islamabad,' claim Pakistan officials
Last week U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Pakistan was 'basically abdicating to the Taliban and the extremists.'
But Qureshi insisted officials were working to squash Taliban resistance.
'We have now a common enemy and we've devised a common strategy to deal with the enemy. We will not surrender, we will not capitulate, and we will not abdicate.,' he said.
Pakistan
The latest fighting has claimed the lives of 31 militants in Dir, in the Swat Valley
His words come as government forces sent helicopter gunships and troops to attack Taliban militants in Pakistan's Swat Valley.
At least 31 people were killed in the operation in Lower Dir, which sparked anger from radical cleric Sufi Mohammad who claimed it was in breach of a peace deal.
Lower Dir is about 170 km (104 miles) north-west of the capital Islamabad.
The region forms part of Malakand division where President Asif Ali Zardari sanctioned the imposition of Islamic sharia law this month after a peace deal with Mohammad.
The deal in Swat allowed Taliban officials to implement a strict interpretation of Islamic law.
But a spokesman for Mohammad, who was released from jail last year after renouncing militancy, said there would be no further dialogue with the government until the Dir operation was stopped.
But Qureshi said the pact is still in effect and that Pakistan wanted to concentrate more of its military forces on its western tribal region.
Several thousand people have already began fleeing the Lower Dir region, a day after security forces killed 31 militants following a Taliban attack.
'I am leaving everything here and taking my family, said Karimullah, a farmer in the Samarbagh area of Lower Dir district.
'We can't take a risk with troops fighting the Taliban.'
Pakistan
Local residents flee from a troubled area of Pakistan's Lower Dir district following the latest offensive
Surging violence across north-west Pakistan and the spread of Taliban influence have heightened concerns about insecurity in nuclear-armed Pakistan, an important U.S. ally whose help is crucial to defeating al Qaeda and stabilising Afghanistan.
Pakistan's allies want to see coherent, decisive action by Islamabad against militants.
Analysts say Zardari must take action before talks in Washington with President Barack Obama and his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai on May 6-7.
A Taliban spokesman in Swat breathed defiance as the security forces swung into action.
Government officials said the militants had taken over a telephone exchange in the small Swati town of Bahrain.
'The more they carry out operations the more we will expand across Pakistan,' Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan said.
'God willing, one day we will touch its last boundary.'
Security forces launched the offensive in Lower Dir after militants attacked a convoy of paramilitary troops and 12 children were killed by a bomb hidden in a football.
Helicopter gunships and artillery targetted militant hideouts in the villages of Lal Qala and Islam Qala.
Pakistan
Pakistani paramilitary maintain a position in Dir as the offensive threatens the survival of a pact with Taliban forces
A military spokesman said the bodies of 31 militants were found in the battle zone late yesterday.
Critics said the approval of sharia law in Swat valley, 125 km (80 miles) north-west of Islamabad, was akin to appeasing the militants.
Mohammad sparked uproar last week by denouncing the parliament, democracy and the Supreme Court as un-Islamic.
Taliban commander Fazlullah, ordered his men to pull back to Swat on Friday, but officials and residents said armed fighters who hailed from Buner could still be seen in the area.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Iraq says US raid 'a crime,' violated security pact
26 Apr 2009 17:05:37 GMT
Source: Reuters
* Iraq says U.S. raid a crime
* Demands those responsible
* Asks for release of detainees
* U.S. forces say targeted fighters (Adds details)
By Aref Mohammed
BASRA, Iraq, April 26 (Reuters) - Iraq viewed a U.S. military raid that killed two people as a crime that violated a bilateral security pact and demanded on Sunday that U.S. forces hand those responsible to the courts, an Iraqi official said.
The condemnation of the raid by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's government came after hundreds of Iraqis protested in the southern city of Kut against U.S. forces and the provincial governor condemned the military operation.
The U.S. military said it targeted "special group" fighters, its term for elite Shi'ite militiamen the United States says are funded and armed by Iran, in a raid early on Sunday on a house in Kut, 150 km (95 miles) southeast of Baghdad.
"The general commander is affirming that the killing of two citizens and detaining of others in Kut is considered a violation of the security pact," said an official in the office of Major General Qassim Moussawi, Baghdad's security spokesman.
"He asks the commander of the multinational forces to release the detainees and hand over those responsible for this crime to the courts." 'General commander' refers to Maliki.
Under the U.S.-Iraqi security pact that came into force this year, the 137,000 U.S. troops in Iraq are no longer allowed to conduct military operations without Iraqi approval and coordination.
The pact says U.S. soldiers are immune to prosecution in Iraqi courts unless they are suspected of grave crimes committed while off duty outside their bases.
Two Iraqi military commanders who authorized the raid were detained on the orders of the defense minister, said Defense Ministry spokesman Major General Mohammed al-Askari. He said a committee had been sent to Kut to investigate.
"This committee has managed to get the six people detained by the Americans released," he said.
In a statement issued before the Iraqi government's condemnation, the U.S. military said its troops had shot and killed a man suspected of being behind supplying weapons to the Shi'ite fighters. One woman was killed in the crossfire and six suspected militants were arrested, it said.
ANGRY CROWDS
As a funeral procession made its way through Kut, carrying the cloth-draped coffins of the two people killed in the raid, protesters shouted angry slogans and demanded the release of the seized men, calling Americans "criminal occupiers."
"We condemn this horrific incident. It violates the agreements between U.S. forces and the Iraqi government," said Latif al-Tarfa, governor of Wasit province. "Innocent people were killed and the city is now very tense."
U.S. First Lieutenant John Brimley said the women killed "was in the area during the engagement with a suspect, and moved into the line of fire ... A medic treated her on site, but she died of her wounds before she could be evacuated."
Another U.S. military statement said the operation had been approved by the Iraqi government.
But Iraqi police Major Aziz al-Amara, who commands a rapid reaction force in Kut, said all of those targeted in the raid were innocent. One of those arrested was a police captain.
"They were poor people. They do not cause any political or security problems," he said.
The raid came just months before U.S. combat troops are due to withdraw from Iraqi cities. U.S. President Barack Obama has ordered all U.S. combat operations in Iraq to cease in August 2010 ahead of the full withdrawal by the end of 2011.
Kut and surrounding Wasit province were the last area south of Baghdad to be handed over to Iraqi forces last October.
Wasit province was the scene of fighting during an uprising by followers of Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr in March and April last year, but like other parts of the south has since become largely quiet while Sadr's followers observe a ceasefire. (Additional reporting by Tim Cocks, Waleed Ibrahim and Aseel Kami; Writing by Tim Cocks)
Source: Reuters
* Iraq says U.S. raid a crime
* Demands those responsible
* Asks for release of detainees
* U.S. forces say targeted fighters (Adds details)
By Aref Mohammed
BASRA, Iraq, April 26 (Reuters) - Iraq viewed a U.S. military raid that killed two people as a crime that violated a bilateral security pact and demanded on Sunday that U.S. forces hand those responsible to the courts, an Iraqi official said.
The condemnation of the raid by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's government came after hundreds of Iraqis protested in the southern city of Kut against U.S. forces and the provincial governor condemned the military operation.
The U.S. military said it targeted "special group" fighters, its term for elite Shi'ite militiamen the United States says are funded and armed by Iran, in a raid early on Sunday on a house in Kut, 150 km (95 miles) southeast of Baghdad.
"The general commander is affirming that the killing of two citizens and detaining of others in Kut is considered a violation of the security pact," said an official in the office of Major General Qassim Moussawi, Baghdad's security spokesman.
"He asks the commander of the multinational forces to release the detainees and hand over those responsible for this crime to the courts." 'General commander' refers to Maliki.
Under the U.S.-Iraqi security pact that came into force this year, the 137,000 U.S. troops in Iraq are no longer allowed to conduct military operations without Iraqi approval and coordination.
The pact says U.S. soldiers are immune to prosecution in Iraqi courts unless they are suspected of grave crimes committed while off duty outside their bases.
Two Iraqi military commanders who authorized the raid were detained on the orders of the defense minister, said Defense Ministry spokesman Major General Mohammed al-Askari. He said a committee had been sent to Kut to investigate.
"This committee has managed to get the six people detained by the Americans released," he said.
In a statement issued before the Iraqi government's condemnation, the U.S. military said its troops had shot and killed a man suspected of being behind supplying weapons to the Shi'ite fighters. One woman was killed in the crossfire and six suspected militants were arrested, it said.
ANGRY CROWDS
As a funeral procession made its way through Kut, carrying the cloth-draped coffins of the two people killed in the raid, protesters shouted angry slogans and demanded the release of the seized men, calling Americans "criminal occupiers."
"We condemn this horrific incident. It violates the agreements between U.S. forces and the Iraqi government," said Latif al-Tarfa, governor of Wasit province. "Innocent people were killed and the city is now very tense."
U.S. First Lieutenant John Brimley said the women killed "was in the area during the engagement with a suspect, and moved into the line of fire ... A medic treated her on site, but she died of her wounds before she could be evacuated."
Another U.S. military statement said the operation had been approved by the Iraqi government.
But Iraqi police Major Aziz al-Amara, who commands a rapid reaction force in Kut, said all of those targeted in the raid were innocent. One of those arrested was a police captain.
"They were poor people. They do not cause any political or security problems," he said.
The raid came just months before U.S. combat troops are due to withdraw from Iraqi cities. U.S. President Barack Obama has ordered all U.S. combat operations in Iraq to cease in August 2010 ahead of the full withdrawal by the end of 2011.
Kut and surrounding Wasit province were the last area south of Baghdad to be handed over to Iraqi forces last October.
Wasit province was the scene of fighting during an uprising by followers of Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr in March and April last year, but like other parts of the south has since become largely quiet while Sadr's followers observe a ceasefire. (Additional reporting by Tim Cocks, Waleed Ibrahim and Aseel Kami; Writing by Tim Cocks)
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Twenty killed in clash in western Iran-report
25 Apr 2009 12:07:28 GMT
Source: Reuters
TEHRAN, April 25 (Reuters) - Gunmen killed 10 Iranian police in an attack in western Iran late on Friday, the ISNA news agency reported on Saturday.
ISNA said 10 "armed bandits" were also killed in the clash in Kermanshah province, which borders Iraq and is home to many of the Islamic Republic's minority Kurds. ISNA did not give detail on the identity of the attackers.
Iranian forces often clash with guerrillas from the Party of Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK), an offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). The PKK took up arms in 1984 to fight for a Kurdish homeland in southeast Turke
Source: Reuters
TEHRAN, April 25 (Reuters) - Gunmen killed 10 Iranian police in an attack in western Iran late on Friday, the ISNA news agency reported on Saturday.
ISNA said 10 "armed bandits" were also killed in the clash in Kermanshah province, which borders Iraq and is home to many of the Islamic Republic's minority Kurds. ISNA did not give detail on the identity of the attackers.
Iranian forces often clash with guerrillas from the Party of Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK), an offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). The PKK took up arms in 1984 to fight for a Kurdish homeland in southeast Turke
Supreme leader's short message to Obama Forces
Iran leader blames U.S. for Iraqi bombings - radio
25 Apr 2009 08:01:20 GMT
Source: Reuters
TEHRAN, April 25 (Reuters) - Iran's supreme leader accused U.S. forces of involvement in bombings in Iraq that have killed dozens of Iranian pilgrims, state radio reported on Saturday.
"The main suspects in this crime and crimes similar to that are American security and military forces," Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a statement.
"The growth of the poisonous grass of terrorism in Iraq will definitely be written in America's criminal record and American and Israeli intelligence bodies are the first suspects of that," Khamenei said.
Khamenei said the U.S. forces, on the pretext of confronting terrorism, had occupied an Islamic country and "killed tens of thousands of people there and increased insecurity there day after day."
He said Iran expected the Iraqi government to "seriously confront" crimes like the bombings on Thursday and Friday and provide safety for Iranian pilgrims.
(Reporting by Zahra Hosseinian; writing by Fredrik Dahl; Editing by Jon Boyle)
------
Leader: US liable for Iranian deaths
Sat, 25 Apr 2009 10:26:24 GMT
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution Seyyed Ali Khamenei has held the US liable for the latest deadly attack on Iranian pilgrims in Iraq.
On Friday, back to back deadly bombings rocked Kazimiyyah, a small town in Baghdad, where two Shia Imam's lie at rest, killing 60 people, 10 of them Iranians.
The double bombing followed a Thursday blast at a restaurant in the vicinity of Muqdadiya in the restive province of Diyala where another 53 Iranians lost their lives.
“The main suspects in this crime and crimes similar to that are American security and military forces who ruthlessly occupied the Muslim country under the umbrella of 'war on terrorism',” Ayatollah Khamenei said on Saturday.
In a statement, the Leader said the US forces “have massacred tens of thousands of people and made the country more insecure on a daily basis.”
“The growth of the poisonous grass of terrorism in Iraq will definitely be written in America's criminal record and American and Israeli intelligence bodies are the first suspects of that,” Ayatollah Khamenei added.
Bomb attacks and fighting continue to take a heavy toll on Iraq five years after the US-led invasion of the oil-rich country.
A study conducted by ORB -- a well-known British polling agency which has been tracking public opinion in Iraq since 2005 -- estimated in September 2007 that 1.2 million Iraqis had been killed in violence-related incidents following the March 2003 invasion of the country.
This is while Human Rights Watch estimates put the number of those killed during a period of twenty years of the reign of deposed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein at 250,000 to 290,000.
---
US Dirty-work units continue to operate!
Bush has asked the CIA to carry out dirty works in Iraq. Obama didn't prohibit such criminal activities. It was usual for the US-associated groups to place car bombs in different districts of Baghdad with the aim of to inciting sectrartian violence. In some cases, sedated prisoners were placed in cars with explossives that were detonated by remote control and to be reported as suicidal attacks. In others, bombs were placed at US-manned checkpoints in trucks carrying vegtables to the market only to explode shortly afterwards. There are scores units made up of mercenaries the likes of British Col.Tim Spicer working in collaboration with Negroponte killing squads, Israeli MOSSAD and CIA agents on the ground. Although Ayatollah Khameini is justified in pointing the finger at the Americans, but one should not rule out the role Al-Qaeda in such attacks.
Adnan Darwash, Iraq Occupation Times
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