May 27, 2008
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Yeah, I thought you did.
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Current U.S. policy toward the regime in Tehran will almost certainly result in an Iran with nuclear weapons. The seemingly clever combination of the use of "sticks" and "carrots," including the frequent official hints of an American military option "remaining on the table," simply intensifies Iran's desire to have its own nuclear arsenal. Alas, such a heavy-handed "sticks" and "carrots" policy may work with donkeys but not with serious countries. The United States would have a better chance of success if the White House abandoned its threats of military action and its calls for regime change.
Tell me – would you buy a Middle East policy from this man?
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May 26, 2008
At least that is the opinion of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
The International Atomic Energy Agency, in an unusually blunt and detailed report, said Monday that Iran’s suspected research into the development of nuclear weapons remained “a matter of serious concern” and that Iran continued to owe the agency “substantial explanations.”The nine-page report accused the Iranians of a willful lack of cooperation, particularly in answering allegations that its nuclear program may be intended more for military use than for energy generation.
Part of the agency’s case hinges on 18 documents listed in the report and presented to Iran that, according to Western intelligence agencies, indicate the Iranians have ventured into explosives, uranium processing and a missile warhead design — activities that could be associated with constructing nuclear weapons.
“There are certain parts of their nuclear program where the military seems to have played a role,” said one senior official close to the agency, who spoke on the condition of anonymity under normal diplomatic constraints. He added, “We want to understand why.”
The atomic energy agencyÂ’s report highlights the amount of work still to be done before definitive conclusions about the nature of the program can be made, a task that the official associated with the agency said would require months.
So once again it would appear that Iran is flouting the will of the international community by engaging in research that is pointed towards military, not civilian, applications of nuclear technology. It has been the policy of the United States -- and the United Nations -- to stand against such research by the rogue state in an effort to end the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Such an effort needs to continue in the interest of preventing the unstable Iranian regime -- and its unstable leader, Mahmoud the Mad -- from possessing and using nukes.
I wonder -- will this report change the mind of a certain foreign affairs neophyte running for president who has repeatedly said he will meet Mahmoud the Mad without preconditions, even though it will give him immense prestige and strengthen his grip on power in Iran?
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May 20, 2008
On Monday, al-Faleh was arrested without charge and held without access to either his family or a lawyer.
An outspoken critic of the Saudi government who was previously jailed for calling for greater democracy has been arrested, his wife said Tuesday.Matrouk al-Faleh, a professor of political science at King Saud University in Riyadh, the capital, was detained Monday after he left for work, said his wife, Jamila al-Ukla. Over the past year, Faleh has accused the Interior Ministry of disregarding laws that ban arrests without charge and guarantee the right to counsel.
An Interior Ministry spokesman was unavailable for comment on Faleh's arrest.
This is not the first time he has run afoul of the Saudi government -- he served 18 months for criticizing the political structure of the kingdom and encouraging reforms back in 2004. Even after a royal pardon, al-Faleh remains forbidden to leave the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This arrest amply demonstrates the reason for that prohibition -- it makes it easy to continue the campaign of repression against him. And indeed, the arrest follows his posting of a strong critique of the Saudi government on Sunday, making it quite clear what the arrest is truly about.
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May 15, 2008
The parishioners were lined up for Holy Communion on Sunday when the riot police stormed the stately St. Francis Anglican Church in Harare, Zimbabwe’s capital. Helmeted, black-booted officers banged on the pews with their batons as terrified members of the congregation stampeded for the doors, witnesses said.A policeman swung his stick in vicious arcs, striking matrons, a girl and a grandmother who had bent over to pick up a Bible dropped in the melee. A lone housewife began singing from a hymn in Shona, “We will keep worshiping no matter the trials!” Hundreds of women, many dressed in the Anglican Mothers’ Union uniform of black skirt, white shirt and blue headdress, lifted their voices to join hers.
Beneath their defiance, though, lay raw fear as the country’s ruling party stepped up its campaign of intimidation ahead of a presidential runoff. In a conflict that has penetrated ever deeper into Zimbabwe’s social fabric, the party has focused on a growing roster of groups that elude its direct control — a list that includes the Anglican diocese of Harare, as well as charitable and civic organizations, trade unions, teachers, independent election monitors and the political opposition.
Anglican leaders and parishioners said in interviews that the church was not concerned with politics and that it counted people from both the ruling party and the opposition in its congregations. Yet the ruling party appears to have decided that only Anglicans who follow Nolbert Kunonga — a renegade bishop in Harare who is a staunch ally of President Robert Mugabe — are allowed to hold services.
Over the past three Sundays, the police have interrogated Anglican priests and lay leaders, arrested and beaten parishioners and locked thousands of worshipers out of dozens of churches.
We who follow Christ need to pray for these persecuted brothers and sister.
Just remember -- standing for the truth of Christ in this day and age in many parts of the world is a dangerous today as in the first century. And there are those today who want to make that as true in America and the rest of the Western world as it is in Zimbabwe -- or Saudi Arabia. Just look at Canada if you want an example.
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May 14, 2008
What we have in Burma (and I refuse to call it by the name imposed by the military dictators) is the natural outcome of any totalitarian dictatorship. The lives of the people are not of interest to the leadership of such regimes – control is. That is why the junta will not allow significant amounts of foreign aid and /or emergency personnel to enter the country – such aid and people would undermine the fragile control they maintain over nation.
And besides – these are the same rulers who have kept their nation’s legitimate elected leader under house arrest for two decades. Why would we expect them to give a tinker’s damn about the people, any more than Stalin cared about the millions who starved under his artificially created food shortages?
Of course, I am concerned by the next humanitarian crisis to face the nation – a second cyclone.
Another powerful storm headed toward Myanmar's cyclone-devastated delta, where so little aid has reached that the U.N. warned on Wednesday of a "second wave of deaths" among an estimated 2 million survivors.The U.S. military's Joint Typhoon Warning Center said there is a good chance that "a significant tropical cyclone" will form within the next 24 hours and head across the Irrawaddy delta area.
The area was pulverized by Cyclone Nargis on May 3, leaving at least 34,273 dead and 27,838 missing, according to the government. The U.N. says the death toll could exceed 100,000. An estimated 2 million survivors of the storm are still in need of emergency aid. But U.N. agencies and other groups have been able to reach only 270,000 people so far.
In other words, there will soon be more dead and injured – and more blood on the hands of the generals who control the nation. And I will continue to weep over them -- filled with sadness that those who misrule their nation do not give a tinker's damn about their lives.
But maybe another such tragedy will lead the people to rise up, and the military to support them.
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April 25, 2008
Truckloads of heavily armed police officers rounded up hundreds of people at the headquarters of ZimbabweÂ’s opposition party on Friday as plainclothes investigators descended on independent monitors of the nationÂ’s disputed elections last month, according to opposition officials, witnesses and the police.FridayÂ’s raid on the oppositionÂ’s nerve center and the election monitors signaled a sharp and very public escalation of the countryÂ’s deepening and increasingly violent political crisis, one that has been concentrated to date in far less visible rural areas.
Both raids began around 11 a.m. in ZimbabweÂ’s capital, Harare. Harvest House, the rundown, six-story headquarters of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, was still cordoned off by the police at midafternoon. Computers and documents were seized.
The oppositionÂ’s offices had become an informal refugee camp for party supporters, some visibly wounded, who had fled what human rights groups describe as political repression in the countryside. Witnesses said they had watched as the police herded more than 200 of these bedraggled people, including pregnant women and children, onto buses.
At the same time, a smaller contingent of police investigators raided the offices of the Zimbabwe Election Support Network, an alliance of civic groups that enraged the government by analyzing polling data and projecting that the opposition had won the March 29 election, perhaps by enough to avoid a runoff in the race for president. Its findings were cited Thursday by the top American diplomat for Africa as the best evidence that the opposition was the clear victor.
What is really most shocking to me is that there is such silence here in this country about the goings on in Zimbabwe.
Celebrities rightly protest the actions of China in Tibet, but can't spare a word for the people of Zimbabwe. We have a candidate for president who says he is all about change who is unable to find a word to say about the suppression of the desire for change in another country expressed by its people at the ballot box. We have a news media that has done a pretty weak job of reporting on the ongoing crisis in Zimbabwe.
Personally, I think what we are seeing here is the same thing that we have seen for years in the treatment of Darfur -- benign neglect. And interestingly enough, I think the cause is the same -- Africa, especially black Africa, is simply not a priority for the elite in America.
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(, April 24, 2008
Israel's ambassador to the United Nations on Thursday called former President Jimmy Carter "a bigot" for meeting with the leader of the militant Hamas movement in Syria.Carter, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, "went to the region with soiled hands and came back with bloody hands after shaking the hand of Khaled Mashaal, the leader of Hamas," Ambassador Dan Gillerman told a luncheon briefing for reporters.
The diplomat was questioned about problems facing his country during a wide-ranging discussion with reporters lasting more than an hour. The briefing was sponsored by The Israel Project, a Washington-based, media-oriented advocacy group.
The ambassador's harsh words for Carter came days after the ex-president met with Mashaal for seven hours in Damascus to negotiate a cease-fire with Gaza's Hamas rulers. Carter then called Mashaal on Monday to try to get him to agree to a one-month truce without conditions, but the Hamas leader rejected the idea.
The ambassador called last weekend's encounter "a very sad episode in American history."
He said it was "a shame" to see Carter, who had done "good things" as a former president, "turn into what I believe to be a bigot."
I do disagree with the ambassador on one point -- it isn't the meeting which turned Carter into a bigot. He demonstrated his anti-Semitism some time back, in his book about the Israel-Terrorstinian conflict. The meeting with terrorists and the one-sided agreement that was nothing but a plan for the dismantling of Israel one piece at a time in return for nothing of substance is nothing but the fruit of Carter's embrace of the forces of Jew-hatred.
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April 20, 2008
When a shallow, glassy river and a few coils of razor wire are the only things separating one of Africa’s most developed countries from one of its most miserable, the inevitable result is millions of illegal border jumpers. But South African and Zimbabwean human rights groups say that the flow of people into South Africa has been surging in the three weeks since Zimbabwe’s disputed election and during the violent crackdown that followed. One Zimbabwean named Washington, who goes back and forth across the border ferrying Super Sure cake flour and Blazing Beef potato snacks, said the government was now using food as a weapon and channeling much of the United Nations-donated grain to supporters of the ruling party.“As we speak,” he said, “people are starving.”He seemed more defeated than anything else. “People hate the government,” he said. “But they are too scared to fight it.”
Commercials are now running on Zimbabwean TV showing grainy images of captives from the liberation war in the 1970s and reminding citizens not to disobey their leaders, recent arrivals said.
Mugabe, of course, has always been a murderous thug. He has held onto power via thuggish tactics. And now, while the whole world watches, he is using tohse same tactics to hold on to power.
Where are his neighbors? Where is the OAU? Where is the UN? Will no one stop him?
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April 14, 2008
n a showing of pro-Chinese support, hundreds of demonstrators protested outside a college arena Monday as the Dalai Lama spoke to students on solving problems through dialogue.Thousands of people have flocked to Seattle to hear the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader speak since he arrived Thursday for a five-day conference on compassion, but the city's Chinese community had remained largely silent until Monday.
Demonstrators held signs alleging media bias and protesting the violence from rioting by Tibetan monks.
Some echoed Beijing's stand that the Dalai Lama is behind the recent uprising against five decades of Chinese rule. Signs called the Dalai Lama a liar and a "CIA-funded militant." Many people waved large Chinese flags.
"I think that people are misinformed. They have media discrimination," demonstrator Jiange Li said. "Tibet was freed _ 50 years ago."
I love that quote, don't you? Tibet was freed 50 years ago? Really? You mean when the Chinese Army overran a peaceful neighbor and began actively disrupting its culture, forcing many of its people into exile? Some definition of freedom.
And interestingly enough, these apologists for Red Chinese evil are permitted to stand in teh streets of an American city and spread their poison -- while those who support the Dalai Lala a e arrested, beaten, and killed if they try to protest in the streets of China.
That dichotomy says all that needs be said about that "freedom" proclaimed by the supporters of the butcher of Beijing.
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April 13, 2008
Chinese media denounced the Dalai Lama and his supporters as "anti-human rights," and slammed top U.S. politician Nancy Pelosi as "the least popular person in China" for her stance on Tibet, in editorials on Sunday.The belligerent commentaries by the official Xinhua news agency came the day after Beijing announced the arrest of nine Buddhist monks for bombing a government building in Tibet.
A Tibetan source with strong contacts in its capital, Lhasa, said the city was also swirling with rumours of fresh clashes between monks and security forces at the important Drepung monastery. No one at the monastery or the local police station could be reached for comment.
China has gone on the offensive in the face of mounting international criticism of its handling of violent riots in Tibet and a subsequent crackdown, which is clouding the run-up to the Olympic Games in August.
Of course, the Chinese have air-tight evidence of all these crimes -- because like every dictatorial state, they are experts at forging evidence. Indeed, the recent sentencing of a human rights lawyer to jail for effectively representing his clients is evidence of that.
Interestingly enough, the Red Chinese tyrants have also attacked Nancy Pelosi for one of the few things she has done right as Speaker of the House.
Xinhua also targeted Pelosi, the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, after she backed a resolution urging dialogue with the Dalai Lama, the end of a crackdown on nonviolent protesters and a halt to repression in the region.The People's Daily accused the California Democrat of cynical double standards and said she would likely top any Chinese poll to find "the most disgusting figure."
"Pelosi would remain the least popular person for China if she stiff-neckedly clings to her double standards and an anti-China stance," the commentary said.
"The Chinese are fully justified to call her 'a protector of mobsters, arsonists and murderers'. Why doesn't she give a thought to Iraq?" it added, an apparent reference to U.S. policy in Iraq, of which Pelosi has in fact been a strong critic.
I'll agree that Pelosi is a protector of mobsters, arsonists, and murderers -- look at her opposition to the Iraq War and her willingness to let the terrorists win. That said, her support for human rights in Tibet is a laudable stand in which I gladly join.
But at least the red Chinese have Ron Paul on their side on this issue -- I'm sure his supporters can whip up some cool YouTube videos justifying the repression in Tibet since their hero won't condemn it.
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April 10, 2008
A new U.N. Human Rights Council official assigned to monitor Israel is calling for an official commission to study the role neoconservatives may have played in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
On March 26, Richard Falk, Milbank professor of international law emeritus at Princeton University, was named by unanimous vote to a newly created position to report on human rights in the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Arabs. While Mr. Falk's specialty is human rights and international law, since the attacks in 2001, he has devoted some of his time to challenging what he calls the "9-11 official version."On March 24 in an interview with a radio host and former University of Wisconsin instructor, Kevin Barrett, Mr. Falk said, "It is possibly true that especially the neoconservatives thought there was a situation in the country and in the world where something had to happen to wake up the American people. Whether they are innocent about the contention that they made that something happen or not, I don't think we can answer definitively at this point. All we can say is there is a lot of grounds for suspicion, there should be an official investigation of the sort the 9/11 commission did not engage in and that the failure to do these things is cheating the American people and in some sense the people of the world of a greater confidence in what really happened than they presently possess."
Oh.
My.
God!
Can you believe this crap!
The evidence is incontrovertible – as is the claim of responsibility by no less than Osama bin Laden himself.
That this piece of Ivy League excrement insists upon blaming America first – and, in particular, blaming American Jews for the murder of so many thousands of Americans – is un-freakin’-beliveable. That a UN body would appoint him to anything related to Israel – or any position at all – is proof of the moral bankruptcy of the UN and the importance of the United States and all civilized countries abandoning the organization as beyond redemption.
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April 07, 2008
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If holding the torch relay is impossible due to international outrage, how can you possibly hold the Olympics in the brutally oppressive Communist dictatorship which has set off the protests by its abominable deeds?
The IOC will consider ending the international leg of the Beijing Olympic torch relay as a result of the anti-Chinese protests.International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge says the issue will be discussed by the organization's executive board on Friday.
Rogge told The Associated Press on Tuesday that he is "deeply saddened" by the violent protests in London and Paris and concerned about the upcoming torch relay in San Francisco.
He says the issue must be discussed by the ruling executive board.
The greatest stain upon the Olympic movement has undoubtedly been the 1936 Berlin Olympics, which Hitler used to promote is despicable racial theories. Today, the Red Chinese promote genocide in Darfur and the continued oppression of the Tibetan people. -- as well as other acts of repression at home. The world is disgusted by the notion that such a regime will be allowed to host the Olympics, and a few brave souls are engaging in civil disobedience to disrupt the torch relay. And America will have a shining moment on behalf of human rights soon, when the torch relay reaches San Francisco and its activists disrupt the relay there as well.
When will the IOC recognize that the only viable solution is to cancel the Beijing Games?
UPDATE: A reminder of what Red China does to those who dare to oppose Beijing's policies.
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April 06, 2008
Statement of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to All TibetansWhile extending my warm greetings to all the Tibetans in Tibet, I would like to share some of my thoughts.
1. Since March 10 this year, we have witnessed protests and demonstrations in almost all parts of Tibet, even in a few cities in Mainland China by students, which are the outburst of long pent-up physical and mental anguish of the Tibetans and the feeling of deep resentment against the suppression of the rights of Tibetan people, lack of religious freedom and for trying to distort the truth at every occasion, such as saying that Tibetans look towards the Chinese Communist Party as the "Living Buddha", is an ultra leftist statement and smacks of Han chauvinism. I am very much saddened and concerned by the use of arms to suppress the peaceful demonstrations of Tibetan people's aspirations that have resulted in unrest in Tibet, causing many deaths, and much more causalities, detention, and injury. Such suppression and suffering are very unfortunate and tragic which will reduce any compassionate person to tears. I, however, feel helpless in the face of these tragic incidents.
2. I pray for all the Tibetans as well as Chinese who have lost their lives during the current crisis.
3. The recent protests all over Tibet have not only contradicted but also shattered the People Republic of ChinaÂ’s propaganda that except for a few "reactionaries", the majority of Tibetans enjoy a prosperous and contented life. These protests have made it very clear that Tibetans in the three provinces of Tibet, U-tsang, Kham and Amdo, harbor the same aspirations and hopes. These protests have also conveyed to the world that the Tibet issue can no longer be neglected. These protests highlight the need to find a way to resolve the issue through "finding truth from facts". The courage and determination of those Tibetans who have, for the greater interests of Tibetan people, demonstrated their deep anguish and hopes by risking everything is very commendable as the world community has acknowledged and supported the spirit of these Tibetans.
4. I deeply appreciate the acts of many Tibetan government employees and Communist Party cadres who have, without losing their Tibetan identity, shown grit and sense of what is right during the present crisis. In future, I would appeal to the Tibetan Party cadres and government employees not to look always for their personal benefit, but to work for safeguarding the larger interests of Tibet by reporting the real sentiments of the Tibetan people to their superiors in the Party and try to give unbiased guidance to the Tibetan people.
5. Presidents, Prime Ministers, Foreign Ministers, Nobel Laureates, Parliamentarians, and concerned citizens from every part of the world have been sending clear and strong messages to the Chinese leadership to stop the present ongoing harsh crackdown against the Tibetan people. They have all been encouraging the Chinese government to follow a path where a mutually beneficial solution could be reached. We should create an opportunity for their efforts to bring out positive results. I know you are being provoked at every level but it is important to stick to our non-violent practice.
6. The Chinese authorities have been making false allegations against myself and the Central Tibetan Administration for instigating and orchestrating the recent events in Tibet. These allegations are totally untrue. I have made repeated appeals for an independent and respected international body to conduct a thorough investigation into the matter. I am sure this independent body will uncover the truth. If the PeopleÂ’s Republic of China has any basis and proof of evidence to back their allegations, they need to disclose these to the world. Just making allegations is not enough.
7. For the future of Tibet, I have decided to find a solution within the framework of the People's Republic of China. Since 1974, I have sincerely remained steadfast to the mutually beneficial Middle-Way Approach. The whole world knows this. The Middle-Way Approach means that all Tibetans must be governed by similar administration that enjoys meaningful National Regional Autonomy and all the provisions in it, self-rule and full decision-making, except for matters concerning foreign relations and national defense. However, I have said it from the beginning that the Tibetans in Tibet have the right to make the final decision for the future of Tibet.
8. The hosting of the Olympic games this year is a matter of great pride to the 1.2 billion Chinese people. I have from the very beginning supported the holding of these Games in Beijing. My position on this remains unchanged. I feel the Tibetans should not cause any hindrance to the Games. It is the legitimate right of every Tibetan to struggle for their freedoms and rights. On the other hand, it will be futile and not helpful to anyone if we do something that will create hatred in the minds of the Chinese people. On the contrary, we need to foster trust and respect in our hearts in order to create a harmonious society, as this cannot be built on the basis of force and intimidation.
9. Our struggle is with a few in the leadership of the People's Republic of China and not with the Chinese people. Therefore we should never cause misunderstanding or do something that will hurt the Chinese people. Even during this difficult situation, many Chinese intellectuals, writers and lawyers in Mainland China and other parts of the world have sympathized and shown us their solidarity by issuing statements, writing articles and offering pledges of support that is overwhelming. I have recently issued an appeal to the Chinese people all over the world on 28th March, which I hope you will hear and read.
10. If the present situation in Tibet continues, I am very much concerned that the Chinese government will unleash more force and increase the suppression of Tibetan people. Because of my moral obligation and responsibility to the Tibetan people, I have repeatedly asked the concerned leadership of the PRC to immediately stop their suppression in all parts of Tibet and withdraw its armed police and troops. If this brings result, I would also advise the Tibetans to stop all the current protests.
11. I want to urge my fellow Tibetans who live in freedom outside Tibet to be extra vigilant as they voice their feelings on the developments in Tibet. We should not engage in any action that could be even remotely interpreted as violent. Even under the most provocative of situations we must not allow our most precious and deeply held values to be compromised. I firmly believe that we will achieve success through our non-violent path. We must be wise to understand where the unprecedented affection and support for our cause stems from.
12. As Tibet is currently virtually closed and no international media is allowed there, I doubt my message will reach the Tibetans in Tibet. But I hope through media and by word of mouth, it will be passed on to the majority of you.
13. Finally, I want to reiterate and appeal once again to Tibetans to practice non-violence and not waver from this path, however serious the situation might be.
The Dalai Lama
Dharamsala
April 6, 2008
I may not agree with everything in this statement, but I certainly recognize it as the words of a wise and decent man. I repeat it here in the hopes that these words may, as the Dalai Lama has expressed his hope, reach the oppressed and enslved people of Tibet who remain loyal to him.
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April 02, 2008
Hu Jia, a persistent human rights campaigner in custody since December, was convicted Thursday of subverting the Chinese government through his online writings and sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison, his lawyer announced.The conviction, widely expected since Hu's 3 1/2 -hour trial March 18, was denounced by the human rights group Amnesty International as a betrayal of China's commitments in winning the role as host of the 2008 Summer Olympics in August.
"The manipulations that led to this guilty verdict are a blatant perversion of justice," T. Kumar, Amnesty's Asia advocacy director, said in a statement. "It is deeply disturbing that officials would so openly turn their backs on commitments to improve human rights in the run-up to the Beijing Olympics. Hu Jia must be released immediately and unconditionally."
Writing and speaking on political topics is a human right long recognized by the United nations. China has promised to improve its human rights policies, but has notoriously failed to do so. So while I agree with T. Kumar's statement above, I know that won't happen -- and so again repeat my call for the IOC to simply cancel the 2008 Games as a show of support for human rights and as a way of avoiding an abuse of the Games similar to what happened with the Berlin Olympics in 1936.
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April 01, 2008
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says President Bush should consider boycotting the opening ceremony of the Olympics Games in Beijing this summer to protest China's human rights record."I think boycotting the opening ceremony, which really gives respect to the Chinese government, is something that should be kept on the table," Pelosi told "Good Morning America" co-anchor Robin Roberts in an interview to air Tuesday morning, according to the ABC News Web site. "I think the president might want to rethink this later, depending on what other heads of state do."
Pelosi said she does not think U.S. athletes should boycott the games themselves.
"I believe a boycott of the Beijing Olympics would unfairly harm our athletes who have worked so hard to prepare for the competition," she said in a statement last week.
I see no good coming in allowing the Chinese a propaganda victory via a presidential visit – especially as we are seeing allies choose not to attend. Indeed, I have stated that the IOC should consider canceling or moving the games due to the ongoing human rights violations in China.
The 1936 Berlin Olympics were a low point in Olympic history, as Hitler used the games to promote his shameful ideology. Is it too much to ask that the same mistake not be made in 2008?
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March 31, 2008
Zimbabwe's ruling party edged ahead of the main opposition on Tuesday with over half of parliamentary election results released and concerns grew that President Robert Mugabe was trying to rig the vote.Riot police in armored carriers patrolled two of Harare's opposition strongholds overnight and residents were told to stay off the normally bustling streets.
Three days after the most important vote since independence, only 109 out of 210 parliamentary constituencies had been declared, showing the ruling ZANU-PF two seats ahead of the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
No results have been announced for the presidential vote, in which Mugabe faces the most formidable political challenge of his 28 years in power -- from old rival Morgan Tsvangirai and ruling party defector Simba Makoni.
The opposition MDC says it won according to its own tally and has accused the veteran leader of delaying the issuing of the results in a bid to steal the election, which Zimbabweans hoped would ease daily hardships.
It is that presidential total that is the real key here. If one accepts the unofficial tallies released at polling places, Morgan Tsvangirai won decisively. That we are now three days out from the election and no results have been released can only lead to a single conclusion -- that there is an attempt to cook the books in favor of the nation's long-time dictator.
What action will the international community take in this thwarting of the will of the people of Zimbabwe?
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The coroner leading the inquest into the death of Princess Diana said Monday that there is no evidence that Prince Philip, the Secret Intelligence Service or any other government agency had anything to do with her death in a 1997 car crash.Lord Justice Scott Baker told jurors they can decide whether Diana and her boyfriend, Dodi Fayed, died as the result of an accident, or because of gross negligence by the paparazzi following their car or driver Henri Paul.
But he told jurors they do not have the option to find that Philip or anyone else staged the Paris car accident that killed Diana, Fayed and Paul.
"There is no evidence that the duke of Edinburgh (Prince Philip) ordered Diana's execution, and there is no evidence that the Secret Intelligence Service or any other government agency organized it," he said.
Why is there no evidence? Because it didnÂ’t happen that way.
Of course, there are still those who believe that the moon landing didnÂ’t happen. There are still those who believe in Kin TutÂ’s curse? There are still those who believe with an ardent faith approaching religious zeal that human beings are responsible for global climate change. I therefore have no doubt that this conclusion will simply lead to strengthen those who believe that DianaÂ’s death was anything other than a senseless tragedy.
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March 30, 2008
ZimbabweÂ’s main opposition party said Sunday that it had won a landslide victory, insisting that unofficial election results showed that the Movement for Democratic Change had unseated President Robert G. Mugabe, the man who has led this nation for 28 years.Those results had been compiled by adding the vote counts posted at thousands of individual polling stations, and were not formally released by the government. Indeed, the nationÂ’s chief election officer warned that the oppositionÂ’s boasts were premature and asked people to wait for official totals.
People did just that, anxiously watching the government television station on Sunday for announcements about the election the day before. But instead of news they were shown irrelevant fare like a program about biodegradable Chinese plastic and a documentary about the NetherlandsÂ’ 1974 soccer team.
Near midnight, the election commissioner, George Chiweshe, finally announced that the official results would begin coming out at 6 a.m. Monday. At the appointed hour no results were forthcoming. “It is of absolute necessity that at each stage the result be meticulously analyzed, witnessed and confirmed,” he said. Soon after the designated time, an election official began laboriously reading results, but only of six parliamentary races.
So once again, we see electoral shennaigans in Zimbabwe.
I'm still waiting to see if these threats are carried out.
Government spokesman George Charamba warned the opposition against such claims. "It is called a coup d'etat and we all know how coups are handled," he told the state-owned Sunday Mail.
And since in some areas there are riot police n the streets and warnings for the people to remain indoors, the possibility of Mugabe refusing to honor the results of the election appears to be quite high.
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Rice Wins Concessions From Israel
Time and again we have seen members of various administrations win concessions form Israel. From the Palestinians? Not so much -- and never concessions that are substantive or honored in practice.
That is why I'm even more disturbed as i read the content of the story.
Israel pledged to remove some West Bank roadblocks as a start to "concrete steps" in an agreement Sunday with the Palestinians that is aimed at paving the way for a final peace deal this year.Under the plan that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announced, Israel will remove about 50 roadblocks and upgrade checkpoints to speed up the movement of Palestinians through the West Bank.
The Israelis also will give Palestinians more security responsibility in the town of Jenin with an eye toward looking at "other areas in turn." They also pledged to increase the number of travel and work permits for Palestinians and to support economic projects in Palestinian towns.
In return, the Palestinians promised to improve policing of Jenin "to provide law and order, and work to prevent terror," according to a State Department statement.
Yeah, but no end to suicide bombings or the random lobbing of rockets from within Palestinian territory.
No end to gunmen shooting up schools and killing children.
No end to terrorists hiding among civilians to use them as human shields.
in other words, Israel agreed to reduce its security in exchange for nothing of particular value.
But then again, that is how it always goes.
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March 24, 2008
After all, we wouldn't want a repeat of 1936, would we?
One policeman was killed and several others injured in riots Monday in western Sichuan province, ChinaÂ’s state media reported.The official Xinhua News Agency gave no other details regarding the riot.
Xinhua also said that 381 people involved in protests in another Sichuan county, Aba, had surrendered to police, according to local authorities.
The Communist leadership has faced the biggest challenge to its rule in the Himalayan area in nearly two decades after protests in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa exploded into violence on March 14, sparking sympathy protests in the neighboring provinces of Sichuan, Gansu and Qinghai.
China is murdering peaceful protesters in Tibet -- and the unrest is now spreading to other parts of the country. The Red Chinese are demanding that athletes be silenced in their home countries in the weeks and months prior to the Olympic Games, undercutting human rights around the globe. Better that the spectacle be canceled than allowed to lend legitimacy to the world's largest violator of human rights.
![Beijing2008GamesOverlogo[1].jpg](http://rhymeswithright.mu.nu/archives/images/Beijing2008GamesOverlogo[1].jpg)
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March 23, 2008
Now comes word that Mrs. Aquino is seriously ill.
Former Philippine President Corazon Aquino has colon cancer, her daughter said Monday.Aquino, 75, was swept into power by the peaceful "people power" revolt that ousted late dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 1986, cementing her as an icon of democracy.
Usually dressed in her trademark yellow in public, she has remained active in social and political causes. Most recently, she has been attending rallies calling for the resignation of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
Kris Aquino, fighting tears, read a statement on live television that said her mother had gone in for tests after suffering from high blood pressure and difficulty breathing during the Christmas and New Year holidays, then a persistent cough and weight loss.
"The result showed our mother is suffering from cancer of the colon," she said.
In recent years, the former president has become active in politics again as she has fought corruption in the Arroyo administration. At a time when her nation truly needs her, she is fighting a much more serious, much more personal battle. In her honor, may the people of her nation heed her words and opt for an end to government corruption and abuse of power.
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March 02, 2008
Venezuela and Ecuador have ordered troops to their borders with Colombia, raising concerns of a broader conflict after Colombia killed a top rebel leader on Ecuadorean soil.Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Sunday promised Venezuela would respond militarily if Colombia violates its border, where he ordered tanks as well as thousands of troops. He also ordered closed Venezuela's embassy in Bogota.
Ecuador's president, Rafael Correa, called for the troop deployment while also withdrawing his government's ambassador from Bogota and expelling Colombia's top diplomat.
''There is no justification,'' Correa said Sunday night, snubbing an earlier announcement from Colombia that it would apologize for the incursion by its military.
Chavez called the killing of rebel leader and spokesman Raul Reyes and 16 other rebels on Saturday an attack by a ''terrorist state.''
I can understand Ecuador's concerns -- except, of course, for the fact that Ecuador has provided safe haven for FARC for years, just like the Colombians. But Venezuela has been actively interfering in Colombia's internal affairs on behalf of the rebels for some time now. These same nations would certainly take action within Colombia were they under constant assault by rebels based there, so the level of hypocrisy is astounding.
For its own security, Colombia must crush FARC. If that requires tangling with the state-sponsors of terrorism on its borders, then that is justified. Here's hoping that Hugo Chavez has bitten off more than he can chew.
MORE AT HotAir
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February 18, 2008
An ailing Fidel Castro resigned as Cuba's president Tuesday after nearly a half-century in power, saying he will not accept a new term when the new parliament meets Sunday."I will not aspire to nor accept _ I repeat, I will not aspire to nor accept _ the post of President of the Council of State and Commander in Chief," read a letter signed by Castro published early Tuesday in the online edition of the Communist Party daily Granma.
The announcement effectively ends the rule of the 81-year-old Castro after almost 50 years, positioning his 76-year-old brother Raul for permanent succession to the presidency. Fidel Castro temporarily ceded his powers to his brother on July 31, 2006, when he announced that he had undergone intestinal surgery.
Since then, the elder Castro has not been seen in public, appearing only sporadically in official photographs and videotapes and publishing dense essays about mostly international themes as his younger brother has consolidated his rule.
Unfortunately, there is nothing in this development that tends towards freedom for the Cuban people. The Communists still control the island, the people are still not free, and it is presumed that Fidel's brother will be his hand-picked successor.
Interestingly enough, there was no public appearance by the ailing dictator. It is sufficient to make one question whether he is being kept on ice somewhere, pending the selection of Raul Castro as the new Cuban leader and his consolidation of power.
But until the people of Cuba are truly free, it really doesn't matter if Fidel Castro has received his infernal reward in the bowels of Hell or not. This does, however, seem to be one step closer to that glorious day of freedom.
More at Malkin, Neocon News, A Newt One, Ed Driscoll, American Mind, Matt Sanchez, TNOYF, Babalu Blog
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February 13, 2008
IraqÂ’s parliamentary leaders on Wednesday pushed through three far-reaching measures that had been delayed for weeks by bitter political maneuvering that became so acrimonious that some lawmakers threatened to try to dissolve the legislative body.More than any previous legislation, the new initiatives have the potential to spur reconciliation between Sunnis and Shiites and set the country on the road to a more representative government, starting with new provincial elections.
The voting itself was a significant step forward for the Parliament, where even basic quorums have been rare. In a classic legislative compromise, the three measures, each of which was a burning issue for at least one faction, were packaged together for a single vote to encourage agreement across sectarian lines.
“Today we have a wedding party for the Iraqi Parliament,” said Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, the speaker, who is a Sunni. “We have proved that Iraqis are one bloc and Parliament is able to find solutions that represent all Iraqis.”
Yes, there is still more work to do, but this is one more key step along the way.
And for those who claim that this is all taking too long, I offer the reminder that it took several years to get the Articles of Confederation approved after they were written -- and several more years to produce a truly functional government under the Constitution. Indeed, it was 13 years from the signing f the Declaration of Independence to the inauguration of George Washington. In other words, creating workable political institutions takes time.
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January 23, 2008
Now it isn't clear exactly what this man has done -- but it does seem to violate Saudi Arabia's own laws.
A prominent Saudi political activist and academic remains in solitary confinement "without charge and without access to counsel" a year after he was arrested, his lawyer said Wednesday.Saud Mokhtar al-Hashemi, 45, was among 10 men arrested last February and accused of illegally collecting funds and sending fighters to Iraq. His lawyer and supporters say the detentions were a government attempt to silence demands for democratic reform in Saudi Arabia.
"This prolonged detention without charge and without access to counsel is illegal and in violation of the country's rules," the lawyer, Bassim Alim, said in an interview. "It is as if there is emergency law. If there is proof against them, it should be presented."
In Saudi Arabia, detainees have a right to counsel and public trials and can be held up to six months without charge. An Interior Ministry spokesman, Gen. Mansour al-Turki, said the men remained behind bars because the case is "still under investigation."
Now if Hashemi is guilty of those things of which he is suspected, I have a problem with his actions. Indeed, I believe those actions are probably illegal and worthy of punishment -- if he is, in fact guilty of them. But a full year of detention without any access to counsel or charges is pretty excessive -- and certainly is more shocking to the conscience than the weight-gain and medical treatment camps for actual terrorists at Gitmo. Where are the outcries of human rights activists in this country to this much more offensive situation? No doubt they are being "sulturally sensitive" in their refusal to protest real human rights violations.
By the way, this case is connected with that of Foaud al-Farhan, who I wrote about earlier. His offense seems to be calling for the Saudi government to follow its own laws in this case, though he also has been held incommunicado with no attorney or charges.
You can contact the Saudis about this case.
Ambassador Adel A. Al-Jubeir
Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia
601 New Hampshire Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20037
You may also call the Embassy at (202) 342-3800.
There is also a contact form on the Embassy's website.
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January 13, 2008
BRITISH officials have revealed that evidence amassed by Scotland Yard detectives points towards Al-Qaeda militants being responsible for the assassination of Benazir Bhutto.Five experts in video evidence and forensic science have been in Pakistan for 10 days since President Pervez Musharraf took up an offer from Gordon Brown for British help in the investigation of the December 27 killing. Last week they were joined by three specialists in explosives.
Pervez Musharraf, the president of Pakistan, has handled this case very poorly. As a result, attempts by his government to blame al-Qaeda were met with skepticism. However, investigators from the UK and US have concluded that the evidence of the al-Qaeda link is genuine and probably conclusive of al-Qaeda involvement.
And while there are those who call for a UN investigation (including Bhutto's husband), it is important to remember that the investigation of the murder of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri by Syrian surrogates is still ongoing after three years. Does Pakistan really have that sort of time?
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December 27, 2007
At a human level this is a tragedy like no other. Only a few days ago I was mentioning to someone that the single most tragic person in all of Pakistan - maybe all the world - is Nusrat Bhutto. BenazirÂ’s mother. Think about it. Her husband, killed. One son poisoned. Another son assasinated. One daughter dead possibly of drug overdose. Another daughter rises to be Prime Minister twice, but jailed, exiled, and finally gunned down.Today, in shock, I can think only of Benazir Bhutto the human being. Tomorrow, maybe, I will think of politics.
All too often, we forget that political leaders are human beings first -- mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters and a host of other relationships -- and politicians second. And so while our hearts ache and minds whirl this day as Pakistan continues in its orgy of violent despair following the terrorist murder of its favorite daughter, let us not forget that the Bhutto family has suffered a grievous loss that is more than equal to the loss suffered by the nation of Pakistan itself.
After all, Bhutto, who marked her 20th wedding anniversary only nine days before her murder, leaves behind not only her mother, but also an ill husband and three children. May we each take a moment to spare them a bit of the concern that we have spent on the political and security ramifications of this very human tragedy.
UPDATE: I've never quoted FireDogLake approvingly in the past -- but I'll make an exception for this personal remembrance of a very different Benazir Bhutto.
One of my sisters attended Harvard University as an undergraduate. I helped her move into her freshman dorm in Wigglesworth Hall on Harvard Yard. Wigglesworth was divided into suites with bedrooms and bathrooms off a sitting room with a fireplace. It was an old building and the suites looked like Sherlock Holmes' apartment.
* * * In the stairwell that first day, the very first new friend my sister made was a cute little freshman in tan corduroy jeans with her dark hair pulled into two pigtails. She looked more like a high school freshman than a college student. She was tacking up fliers for some kind of cause (might have been related to world hunger) on the bulletin boards in the stairwell.
She was pretty and outgoing and introduced herself to us at once, "Hi, I'm Bennie, Bennie Bhutto." She offered to help move the bedding in, and may have carried up the pillows. She had arrived a couple days before my sister and filled us in on the lay of the land: Where the Baskin Robbins was; how to find the bookstore; you name it, she was willing to tour guide.
Over the course of my sister's freshman year, I often drove up to Boston to visit. From Bennie and from stories my sister told me, I learned that Bennie's real name was Benazir, but she had decided to use her nickname in order to fit in better in America.
There is more, much more, about the girl (age 16) who would become the woman. It explains a lot about the family dynamics that resulted in her rise to power, and the problems between her and her brothers. And I'm particularly struck by the closing paragraph.
Other people can analyze what her death means in political terms, in human terms. An intelligent, thoughtful woman is gone from this world, and I am saddened to learn that.
Indeed.
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Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was assassinated Thursday, shot in the neck and chest before a homicide bomber blew himself up at a campaign rally. Twenty others also died.The assassin struck just minutes after Bhutto addressed a rally of thousands of supporters in the garrison city of Rawalpindi. She was shot as she was entering her car. Her attacker then set off his bomb.
Bhutto was rushed to the hospital and taken into emergency surgery.
Outraged supporters of the martyred politician have placed the blame upon President Pervez Musharraf, though there is currently no evidence to support that presumption.
Her main ally, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who has been banned from the upcoming election by the Musharraf government, was reportedly at the hospital.
Nawaz Sharif, another former premier and opposition leader, arrived at the hospital and sat silently next to Bhutto's body."Certainly, we condemn the attack on this rally. It demonstrates that there are still those in Pakistan who want to subvert reconciliation and efforts to advance democracy," said deputy State Department spokesman Tom Casey.
Pakistan's elections are scheduled for January 8. This event obviously raises the issue of whether the election can proceed on schedule, and of the legitimacy of the results if they do. Developments in the next several hours, and the next few days, will be critical to determining whether or not Pakistan emerges from its era of dictatorship, and whether it slides into political chaos.
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December 26, 2007
Fidel Castro remains on the mend, gaining weight, exercising twice a day and continuing to help make the Cuban government's top decisions, his brother Raul Castro says.The island's acting president gave the first clues about his brother's health in weeks, saying during a Monday speech that he has a "healthier mentality, full use of his mental faculties with some small physical limitations."
At 76, Raul is five years younger than his ailing brother, who has not been seen in public since announcing he had undergone emergency intestinal surgery and was stepping down in favor of a provisional government in July 2006.
But the younger Castro said his brother remains a key voice in government and that Communist Party leaders support his re-election to Cuba's parliament, the National Assembly — a move that could allow Fidel Castro to keep his post as president of the Council of State.
"We consult him on principal matters, that is why we the leaders of the party defend his right to run again as deputy of the National Assembly as a first step," Raul Castro said.
And so the dictatorship will continue. It is a pity, for the Cuban people deserve better than the decades of oppression they have suffered -- oppression which has caused their best and brightest to flee. And yet we can still hope for a brighter day for Cuba, one in which his corpse is treated with the abuse and contempt received by the body of the dictator Mussolini.
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December 17, 2007
Fidel Castro indicated Monday in a statement read on state television that he was willing to hand over the reins of Cuba’s government to a younger generation of leaders. But his statement remained silent on whether he was speaking hypothetically or had a transition plan in mind.“My basic duty is not to cling to office, nor even more so, to obstruct the rise of people much younger, but to pass on experiences and ideas whose modest value arises from the exceptional era in which I lived,” said the statement attributed to Mr. Castro, who is 81.
The ailing Mr. Castro, acting in a sort of emeritus role, has produced numerous commentaries in the 16 months since he had abdominal surgery and temporarily handed over power to his younger brother, Raúl, who is 76. But none of the statements until now have addressed the important question of Mr. Castro’s future as Cuba’s president, a position he has held for nearly five decades.
The most recent speculation in Havana had been that Mr. Castro might be trying to make a comeback. His health was said to be improving, and on Dec. 2 he was officially nominated as a candidate for the next National Assembly. The assembly meets in March to choose a 31-member Council of State, which will select the next president.
Because only assembly members qualify for the top job, Mr. Castro’s nomination as a candidate seemed to rule out the notion that he was retiring from politics and ceding power to Raúl, the defense minister and constitutionally designated successor.
I suspect, though, that this is just sort of a polite demurral. Castro will not let go of power -- informally, if not formally -- while he still has breath in him. He is just respecting the constitutional niceties, sort of like Saddam Hussein and many other dictators have done.
I still long to see Fidel and Raul hanging by their heels like Mussolini. Then there will be a great dawning of freedom for all Cubans.
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Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif lost his appeal against the rejection of his nomination for next month's parliamentary elections, an official said Tuesday, eliminating a key opposition leader from the crucial vote.The Election Commission rejected Sharif's appeal Monday, commission spokesman Kanwar Dilshad said. Dilshad declined to give details, confirming only a report in the Urdu-language Jang daily Tuesday that Sharif was out of the elections.
Sharif, who has been campaigning for his Pakistan Muslim League-N party, has been demanding that President Pervez Musharraf restore Supreme Court judges he sacked during a 42-day state of emergency that he lifted over the weekend.
Sharif's party initially called for a boycott of the vote but decided against it after failing to muster support from other opposition groups for a united action.
Sharif and his supporters can't afford to sit this one out. If they do, they will be effectively excluded from the political dialogue after the election. Also, a significant showing by his party might get the former prime minister's political rights restored, as was done for Benazir Bhutto,
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December 16, 2007
Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah has pardoned a female rape victim who had been sentenced to 200 lashes for being alone with a man at the time of the attack who was not related to her, a Saudi newspaper reported Monday.The case had sparked international outcry. In a rare criticism of its Mideast ally, the White House had expressed its ''astonishment'' over the woman's sentence. Canada called it barbaric.
Saudi Justice Minister Abdullah bin Muhammed al-Sheik told al-Jazirah newspaper that the pardon does not mean the king doubted the country's judges, but instead acted in the ''interests of the people.''
''The king always looks into alleviating the suffering of the citizens when he becomes sure that these verdicts will leave psychological effects on the convicted people, though he is convinced and sure that the verdicts were fair,'' al-Jazirah quoted al-Sheik as saying.
Notice, though, that last little proviso.
The king is sure that the verdict against the rape victim was a fair one -- including, presumably, the additional sentence for daring to speak out against the notion of punishing a victim of a crime.
These folks and their sharia code are simply barbarians.
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December 15, 2007
A Russian opposition activist has been sent to a psychiatric hospital by authorities a day before a planned demonstration.Artem Basyrov's detention is the latest in a series of incidents suggesting a punitive Soviet-era practice is being revived under president Vladimir Putin.
Mr Basyrov, 20, was ordered to be held at a hospital in the central region of Mari El on November 23, a day before planned demonstrations, said Alexander Averin of the opposition National Bolshevik Party.
The party is part of the Other Russia coalition which organised the so-called Dissenters' Marches across the country this year.
Mr Basyrov ran for the local legislature as an Other Russia candidate.
Now the authorities claim to have a perfectly legitimate reason for detaining Basyrov. It does, however, sound rather fishy.
Police who originally detained him claimed he had assaulted a girl.A local psychiatric board agreed, deciding the activist suffered from a mental illness and he was committed to the psychiatric hospital three weeks ago.
He was only transferred from an isolation ward and allowed to have visitors on Thursday, said Mikhail Klyuzhev, a National Bolshevik member from the city of Yoshkar-Ola.
If, as indicated, he had assaulted someone, why was he hospitalized instead of jailed and charged? That doesn't make sense.
Until you consider this little pattern that has developed in Russia under Putin.
His case is the latest example of journalists or opposition activists being involuntarily committed to psychiatric hospitals in Russia.During the Soviet era, dissidents were frequently committed for protesting against Soviet policies.
Last week, Reporters Without Borders said Andrei Novikov, a reporter for a news service connected with Chechen separatist government, was released after nine months in a psychiatric hospital.
Earlier this year Larisa Arap, an Other Russia activist and journalist, spent six weeks in a psychiatric clinic.
Supporters said this was punishment for her critical reporting.
The Global Initiative on Psychiatry, a Dutch watchdog, says psychiatry continues to be used for punitive, political purposes in Russia.
In this country, we can't even get the lunatics put in a mental hospital against their will in most cases. Even the nuttiest political activists (like Cindy Sheehan, Rep. Dennis Kucinich, and many Ron Paul supporters) are free to spew their insanity and crackpot platforms -- and then claim persecution when they are forced to follow the same laws as the rest of the country. Let that serve as a pointed reminder of the fact that America has not become the police state these folks claim.
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President Pervez Musharraf lifted Pakistan's six-week-old state of emergency and restored the constitution Saturday, easing a crackdown that has enraged opponents and worried Western supporters.Information Minister Nisar Memon said Musharraf had signed the order lifting the emergency. He called it a "historic day" and said next month's parliamentary elections would cement the country's return to democracy.
"The caretaker government is under oath to hold free, fair, transparent and impartial elections to put the country back on track," Memon said.
Musharraf has insisted that changes he made to the Constitution be left in place, and that his dismissals of judges cannot be challenged or overturned. That is problematic.
However, the elections coming on January 8 have the potential to put Pakistan back on the path to democracy, something that has been in short supply in the country for the last couple of decades (and certainly since Musharraf's 1999 coup). If this election process is transparant and fair, it may be that the former general has done his country a great service, despite having trampled upon democratic principles for years. And if a Bhutto/Sharif coalition emerges in the near future, it may be that Musharraf will find him facing strong opposition in the parliament -- a sign of a healthy democracy if there ever was one.
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December 11, 2007
The longtime aide tapped by Vladimir V. Putin to be his successor as president of Russia declared Tuesday that he wanted Mr. Putin to be his prime minister, offering the clearest indication yet of how Mr. Putin plans to maintain firm control over the Kremlin after his term ends next spring.The announcement, in a speech to the nation by the aide, Dmitri A. Medvedev, raised the prospect of a stark realignment in the structure of the Russian government, which is led by a strong president who appoints a prime minister to serve largely as an administrator.
As prime minister, Mr. Putin could very well overshadow Mr. Medvedev, turning him into the kind of figurehead president found in parliamentary systems like GermanyÂ’s or ItalyÂ’s.
Mr. Putin did not publicly respond to Mr. MedvedevÂ’s offer. But it is widely assumed here that Mr. Medvedev was taking this step at the behest of his patron.
Now this could be interesting. The power that Putin has acquired for himself is not likely to evaporate. His prestige and influence will move with him into the new office. But the end result will be that Putin will have doen an end run around provisions in teh Constitution designed to limit any one man's hold on power -- and that does not bode well for the already weak democracy in Russia.
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)), December 09, 2007
The two main opposition parties led by Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif said they would participate in Jan. 8 parliamentary elections, despite deep misgivings about whether the vote could be free and fair.The move came as an opposition call to boycott the elections foundered Sunday.
Mr. Sharif, the former prime minister who returned from exile two weeks ago but has been barred from running himself, would marshal his party to participate in elections, said Ahsan Iqbal, a party spokesman.
Mr. Sharif had called for a boycott of the election to protest the continued rule of PakistanÂ’s president, Pervez Musharraf, who imposed a state of emergency on Nov. 3, suspending the Constitution and dismissing the Supreme Court. But when Ms. Bhutto, also a former prime minister, made it clear that her party would run, Mr. Sharif could not afford to stay out of the race, Mr. Iqbal said.
The parties that will participate say that they are doing so “under protest,” and that they will mount a campaign against unfair election conditions and the government’s efforts to return a Parliament and government favorable to Mr. Musharraf.
The participation of the main opposition parties would grant some credibility to Mr. Musharraf. Opposition groups that support a boycott argue that fair elections would be impossible with the country still under emergency rule, a muzzled news media and a pro-Musharraf caretaker government, election commission and newly appointed Supreme Court in place.
Ms. Bhutto said her Pakistan Peoples Party would participate in the elections in order to force them to be open and to prevent the pro-Musharraf coalition from winning a majority.
“We believe it is important to take part under protest because by boycotting we play into the hands of Musharraf,” she said in a telephone interview on Sunday from her home in the United Arab Emirates, where she spent the weekend.
Mr. Musharraf has said he will lift emergency rule on Sunday and has pledged to hold “fair and free elections according to the Constitution.”
The current situation in Pakistan is not the best for free elections, but it may be the best opportunity to highlight any unfairness. Furthermore, failure to participate concedes victory to Musharraf and his supporters. The better option is to create a strong opposition bloc -- fi not an opposition majority -- in parliament to try to control the damage.
And let there be no illusion -- none of the leaders -- Bhutto, Sharif, and Musharraf -- are saints. But neither are these leaders with corrupt histories without popular support, so it seems that they are what Pakistan has to work with. May these flawed individuals fashion a vibrant democracy.
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December 04, 2007
Iraq's government acknowledged Tuesday that it cannot handle a massive return of refugees, as the U.N. announced a $11 million relief package to help the most vulnerable Iraqi families trickling back to their war-ravaged homeland.The return of refugees is a politically charged issue in this country, where the embattled government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is eager to point to recent military gains against al-Qaida in Iraq and other militants as evidence that Iraq is now a relatively safe place.
But the U.S. military has warned that a massive return of refugees could rekindle sectarian violence between Sunnis and Shiites and that some returnees have found their Baghdad homes occupied by members of the other Muslim sect.
"In reality, the ministry cannot absorb a return on that (large) scale," Iraqi Migration Minister Abdul-Samad Rahman told a news conference. "If the influx is huge, then neither the ministry nor the entire government can handle it."
At the same time, he appeared to take issue with U.S. and U.N. assertions that security remains too fragile for Iraqis to come home in big numbers.
"I am not trying to defend the government or lure Iraqi families to come back, but we must tell the truth: the security situation is 90 percent stable," Rahman said. "The rate at which Iraqis are returning is not proportionate to the level of stability and security."
Think about it -- it has not been all that long since folks were trying desperately to get out of Iraq. Now they want to come back home. That speaks well to the security situation there, and to the success on the ground. But the reality is that people are coming back too fast, and so the Iraqi government needs some help -- on the road to recovery. It is a nice problem to have, don't you think?
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December 03, 2007
A major U.S. intelligence review has concluded that Iran stopped work on a suspected nuclear weapons program more than four years ago, a stark reversal of previous intelligence assessments that Iran was actively moving toward a bomb.The new findings, drawn from a consensus National Intelligence Estimate, reflected a surprising shift in the midst of the Bush administration's continuing political and diplomatic campaign to depict Tehran's nuclear development as a grave threat. The report was drafted after an extended internal debate over the reliability of communications intercepts of Iranian conversations this past summer that suggested the program had been suspended.
"Tehran's decision to halt its nuclear weapons program suggests it is less determined to develop nuclear weapons than we have been judging since 2005," a declassified summary of the new National Intelligence Estimate stated. Two years ago, the intelligence community said in contrast it had "high confidence that Iran currently is determined to have nuclear weapons."
The new estimate, prepared by the nation's 16 intelligence agencies, applied the same "high confidence" label to a judgment that suspected Iranian military efforts to build a nuclear weapon were suspended in 2003 and said with "moderate confidence" that it had remained inactive since then.
Even if Iran were to restart its program now, the country probably could not produce enough highly enriched uranium for a single weapon before the middle of the next decade, the assessment stated. It also expressed doubt about whether Iran "currently intends to develop nuclear weapons."
Now there are some caveats that need to be added here.
1) The "suspension" of the nuclear weapons program can reasonably be described as more of a pause in the process than a complete shutting down of the program.
2) The assumption is that Iran has not acquired the necessary nuclear material from another source.
3) This does not account for Mahmoud the Mad's rhetoric about raining down destruction on Israel and the United States. Would it have been responsible to assume anything else prior to this NIE?
Oh, and a reminder for my liberal buddies who are going nuts about turf wars in the Executive Branch and the previous White House rhetoric on the issue -- these are the same intelligence agencies that were telling us for several years leading up to the current conflict in Iraq that there Saddam had a flourishing WMD program, at the same moderately confident level. Why do you trust this NIE when the previous one leads you to scream "Bush lied, people died"? Is it just that you like these results?
Posted by: Greg at
11:14 PM
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December 02, 2007
In a sign that Iran has hardened its position on its nuclear program, its new nuclear negotiator said in talks in London on Friday that all proposals made in past negotiations were irrelevant and that further discussion of a curb on IranÂ’s uranium enrichment was unnecessary, senior officials briefed on the meeting said.The Iranian official, Saeed Jalili, also told Javier Solana, who represented the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany in the five-hour talks, that United Nations Security Council resolutions punishing Iran for not suspending its enriched uranium activities were illegal, the officials said.
Representatives of the six countries met in Paris on Saturday afternoon to discuss further punitive Security Council measures against Iran after the final talks in London failed to produce a breakthrough.
So, bombing Iran may yet be the only way to avoid nuclear war. Will Bush have to do it? Or will any Democrat have the balls to do so (and that includes Hillary, who has a pair bigger than any of her male counterparts, which isn't saying much in today's wussified Democrat party)?
But I can't help but note what may be the funniest line in an otherwise serious news story.
The first hour and a half of the meeting on Friday was described as a monologue, with Mr. Jalili speaking about the will of the Iranian people to support uranium enrichment, theology, God, even his doctoral thesis, according to several officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity under normal diplomatic rules.
Looks like Mahmoud the mad has found his perfect counterpart for these non-negotiations.
Posted by: Greg at
05:43 AM
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Malawi hovered for years at the brink of famine. After a disastrous corn harvest in 2005, almost five million of its 13 million people needed emergency food aid.But this year, a nation that has perennially extended a begging bowl to the world is instead feeding its hungry neighbors. It is selling more corn to the World Food Program of the United Nations than any other country in southern Africa and is exporting hundreds of thousands of tons of corn to Zimbabwe.
In Malawi itself, the prevalence of acute child hunger has fallen sharply. In October, the United Nations Children’s Fund sent three tons of powdered milk, stockpiled here to treat severely malnourished children, to Uganda instead. “We will not be able to use it!” Juan Ortiz-Iruri, Unicef’s deputy representative in Malawi, said jubilantly.
Farmers explain Malawi’s extraordinary turnaround — one with broad implications for hunger-fighting methods across Africa — with one word: fertilizer.
Over the past 20 years, the World Bank and some rich nations Malawi depends on for aid have periodically pressed this small, landlocked country to adhere to free market policies and cut back or eliminate fertilizer subsidies, even as the United States and Europe extensively subsidized their own farmers. But after the 2005 harvest, the worst in a decade, Bingu wa Mutharika, MalawiÂ’s newly elected president, decided to follow what the West practiced, not what it preached.
Stung by the humiliation of pleading for charity, he led the way to reinstating and deepening fertilizer subsidies despite a skeptical reception from the United States and Britain. MalawiÂ’s soil, like that across sub-Saharan Africa, is gravely depleted, and many, if not most, of its farmers are too poor to afford fertilizer at market prices.
“As long as I’m president, I don’t want to be going to other capitals begging for food,” Mr. Mutharika declared. Patrick Kabambe, the senior civil servant in the Agriculture Ministry, said the president told his advisers, “Our people are poor because they lack the resources to use the soil and the water we have.”
Good grief! We in America make the great Midwestern agricultural zone explode with food each year through the use of fertilizers. In Israel, the desert has bloomed for the same reason. Why the heck tell developing nations -- nations where people are starving -- not to use the methods that we know work for us?
Am I for a free market? You bet I am. But in a case like Malawi, where the choice is between a little socialism and a lot of starvation, I fall firmly on the side of ensuring that people have enough to eat. It is time for other nations to follow the example set by this formerly starving African nation -- and for those who encourage a different path to question their own wisdom and motivations.
Posted by: Greg at
04:04 AM
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