tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25343334336548616152024-03-10T07:45:14.144+05:00News ConfuseNews Round the world National, International, specially news from Pakistan India and USAShahzadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05160575437170422234noreply@blogger.comBlogger262125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2534333433654861615.post-70024930002092276702016-06-14T10:48:00.001+05:002016-06-14T10:48:43.830+05:00GIGANTIC INCREASE OF FAMILY ASSETS OF POLITICAL LEADERS HOLDING POWER IN PAKISTAN SINCE 1990s<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr"><br> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:16.2pt;text-align:center"><b><u><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif">The Common League's All Friendly Political and Economic Agenda<u></u><u></u></span></u></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:16.2pt;text-align:center"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif">A Tax Free, Disease Free, Arms Free and Corruption Free Pakistan.<u></u><u></u></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif">Goals:</span></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"> . Secure peace, enjoin righteousness, forbid evil, ensure justice and foster unity forms the foundation of our political setup.</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"> </span><span style="font-size:10.0pt">A National Government in cooperation and working relationships with all Political Parties and Groups in any and all acts of Common Good</span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"> <span lang="EN-GB">while making all and every one a winner with no losers with</span></span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"> Wellbeing and Happiness of all the World's Seven Billion.</span><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"OldEnglish","serif""><u></u><u></u></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"OldEnglish","serif"">Our promise</span></b><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"OldEnglish","serif"">:<u></u><u></u></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"OldEnglish","serif"">P</span></b><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">eople are often unreasonable, irrational and self-centered. Forgive them, Love them and Help them anyway.<u></u><u></u></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"><br> <b>The Rotten Current World Leadership</b></span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif">: </span><span style="font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif">With chaos, confusion, violence, more and more guns, more and more bombs, death, destruction, illnesses, illiteracy, insecurity, poverty, hunger, deprivation,</span> <span style="font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif">suicides pornography, rape, murder, fornication, rampant corruption, loot, plunder, back braking taxation, illegitimate wars , engineered disputes, waste of hard earned public money in irregular activities, the current world leadership is not at all self sustainable. Its time has come to an end<u></u><u></u></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right:6.7pt;text-align:justify;background:white"><span style="font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif">What w</span><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:106%;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif;background-position:initial initial;background-repeat:initial initial">e do not have in today's world to make our lives heavenly with so much surplus in resources, production capacity, technological advancement, information technology and a lot more conveniences for development and advancement plus yet un-tapped abundant natural resources but </span><span style="font-family:Aparajita,sans-serif">It is not 'WHAT YOU HAVE' that makes great nations and civilizations but ' WHAT YOU DO WITH WHAT YOU HAVE ' surely does.</span><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:106%;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif;background-position:initial initial;background-repeat:initial initial"><u></u><u></u></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif;background-color:white;background-position:initial initial;background-repeat:initial initial">But the World has become hostage in the hands of a few unscrupulous, utterly corrupt and criminal elements and their collaborators in vested interests, the vested interests in arms, energy, oil, tobacco, finance, politics and the rest. </span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"> <u></u><u></u></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif;background-color:white;background-position:initial initial;background-repeat:initial initial">Wars must be fought to keep the wheels of arms industry running and no one cares if tobacco continues to kill over six millions every year, all under the patronage of world's Executive / Judiciary and the so called United Nations. Twice as many, these world managers, watch dying from diseases which are preventable.</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span><span style="font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif">Pity on you the G-20.</span><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif;background-color:white;background-position:initial initial;background-repeat:initial initial"><u></u><u></u></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:16.2pt;text-align:center"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif;background-color:white;background-position:initial initial;background-repeat:initial initial">What we aim to do - Our Agenda:</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> <u></u><u></u></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:16.2pt;background-color:white;background-position:initial initial;background-repeat:initial initial"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"> </span><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif">Armed Forces and the LEAs :</span></b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"> Armed Forces shall be further strengthened with higher number of recruits including calling back of those on pension / retired, to deploy this disciplined team , in addition to regular armed forces tasks , for infrastructural and industrial build-up, self sufficiency in agricultural , abundance in Power ,Water , Gas and exploration and exploitation of natural resources of Pakistan. <b><u></u><u></u></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:16.2pt"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif">Austerity:</span></b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"> A soft ban shall be imposed on imports of all non-essential, unnecessary, expensive, unproductive and harmful articles as well as those which may be locally produced with some effort. </span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> <u></u><u></u></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:16.2pt"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"> </span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:16.2pt"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif">Autonomy:</span></b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"> The country shall be geographically re-classified, more or less, into twenty provinces. </span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> <u></u><u></u></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif">Banking:</span></b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"> The Institution of Banking shall be reformed so as to make it people friendly. Mark-up / interest rates shall be kept around 6% </span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Calibri Light',sans-serif">and 3% for construction of Houses, Hospitals and Educational Institutions, with schedule of charges slashed to less than half of what is currently charged.</span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"><u></u><u></u></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:16.2pt"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif">Communication:</span></b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"> </span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif">Land lines, wireless and cell phones, internet including postal services shall be made affordable and accessible to all with no fixed line rent. Import of phone sets, cell phones, laptops, desk tops etc shall be replaced with local manufacturing under an offset and technology transfer plan with current exporters to Pakistan. </span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif">. </span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><u></u><u></u></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:16.2pt"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif">Cooperation for Common Good:</span></b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"> An initiative shall be launched to form an economic block of Asian countries while a dialogue shall be opened to make a confederation of Afghanistan and Pakistan. </span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> <u></u><u></u></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:16.2pt"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif">Crimes:</span></b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"> Crimes shall be addressed with a positive approach of rooting out the causes with incentives and compelling circumstances to check crimes.</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><u></u><u></u></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:106%;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif">Corruption:</span></b><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:106%;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"> All black and not documented money including the looted money shall be legalized without any penalty, taxation and with no questioning for bringing back into the country for investment in basic needs such as water, power, food, education, housing and health sectors lest we end up losing all that to foreign banks.<b> </b></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:106%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><u></u><u></u></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif">Economy :</span></b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"> </span><span style="font-size:10pt;background-color:white;background-position:initial initial;background-repeat:initial initial">- The </span> economy shall be widely de-regulated to give freedom for businesses to grow, expand and flourish. No capacity to remain un-utilized, no resource to wait its full exploitation and no man hours to be lost in jobs not productive or commercially viable such as guards, beggars and the unemployed.<u></u><u></u></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif">Education</span></b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif">: Considering constitutional guarantees in letter and spirit and focusing on passion and purpose, education shall be declared as industry with zero taxation. However maximum fee levels shall be imposed to keep the cost of education affordable to majority of the population. A 100 % compulsory and concessionary primary education shall be legislated with all educational institutions to work 20 hours (3 shifts) a day and 7 days a week. Technical colleges cum workplaces shall be franchised to impart education, on job training and regular work to support their living enabling them to earn while the students enhance their knowledge and capabilities. <b><u></u><u></u></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:106%;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"> </span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:106%;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif">Employment:</span></b><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:106%;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"> 100% employment shall be legislated with a total ban on beggary, with enabling environment and compelling circumstances to make it necessary and mandatory for everyone to work for a living. </span><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:106%;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif">Each work place shall accommodate a fixed number of trainees.</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:106%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span>Work opportunities shall be created in thickly populated localities.<span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:106%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><u></u><u></u></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:16.2pt"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"> </span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:16.2pt"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"> </span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:16.2pt"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif">Exploitation:</span></b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"> Legislation shall be introduced to eliminate exploitation, highhandedness and corporate monopolies. </span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"> </span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> <u></u><u></u></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:16.2pt"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif">E-Voting :</span></b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"> NADRA shall issue e-CNICs to all adults / eligible voters , voluntarily with no fee or charges, with provisional cards in case of insufficient documentation to at least have access to people with their names , addresses, photos and thumb impressions, simultaneously e-listing of the eligible voters. </span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"> <u></u><u></u></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:16.2pt"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif">Federal Capital:</span></b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"> The federal capital shall be shifted to Baluchistan. Wonder what Pakistan would have been, an economically vibrant, peaceful and greater with East Pakistan still with us. Let us thus safeguard our territories and secure our today's Pakistan with Baluchistan as an integral and active part.</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> <u></u><u></u></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:16.2pt"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif">Foreign Debt:</span></b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"> Support shall be mobilized for writing off or for at least 10 year suspension with no additional markup, of all the foreign debt servicing with an end to future borrowing.</span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"> </span><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"> </span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><u></u><u></u></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:16.2pt"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif">Foreign Policy:</span></b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"> Only sane, sensible, mature, mutually secure and beneficial to future generations of all the mankind approach shall be accepted and supported. We ourselves shall likewise remain orderly and disciplined in all our thinking, planning and dealings with all other nations making our relations valuable, viable and helpful to all. </span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"> </span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"> </span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> <u></u><u></u></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:16.2pt"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif">Freedom:</span></b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"> No one shall have the freedom to hurt any other human being emotionally, physically and financially, sharing "yes "but exclusion and deprivation of none. </span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> <u></u><u></u></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:16.2pt"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif">Gas : </span></b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif">Fixed minimum charge shall be reduced to Rs.100 pm with introduction of quarterly billing for households. </span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> <u></u><u></u></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif">Government:</span></b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"> We shall have a Presidential form of </span>National Government , not a single party Government,<b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Calibri Light',sans-serif"> </span></b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Calibri Light',sans-serif">by "under 50's half</span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"> of them women, with minimal of supporting costs, taking full advantage of e-government techniques, teleconferencing, privatization of services , mergers and government-private partnerships. </span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif">No party alone shall be given mandate to rule being in simple majority instead system shall facilitate forming of a National Government with minimum of legislation as </span><em><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Less Government is the Best Government.</span></em><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span>,<span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light","sans-serif""> <u></u><u></u></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"> </span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:16.2pt"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif">Health:</span></b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"> Free Medical Consultations and Vaccinations thru a vast network of Franchised Clinics cum Pharmacy outlets in and around every locality shall be made accessible to all the population to remedy common ailments, focusing on disease eradication more than the simple disease management to build a healthy nation.</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"><u></u><u></u></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif">Housing:</span></b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"> A triggering of construction boom shall be facilitated for the housing self-sufficiency with a promise of ownership of a house for every family in the next 360 days.</span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Calibri Light',sans-serif"> For expatriate Pakistanis a portal shall be launched to buy and sell, rent and let and manage their properties as absentees' owners in arrangement with Banks in Pakistan. <u></u><u></u></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"> </span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:16.2pt"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif">Human Dignity:</span></b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"> Handcuffing of accused till proven guilty shall be abolished with a system of monitoring and surveillance thru an Electronic - e-CNIC card for every national so as caging of animals as pets shall be banned. </span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> <u></u><u></u></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:16.2pt"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif">Industry :</span></b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif">PIDC shall be handed over to the cartel of 100 Richest Families of Pakistan with a goal to set up a 1000 industrial units every year to replace imports with local production<b>.<u></u><u></u></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:16.2pt"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif">Jails : </span></b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif">Jails produce more die hard criminals , give way to multiple social problems in the families of those imprisoned and help in no way to improve law and order situation while costing the exchequer a lot , first to maintain the jails and then by keeping prisoners out of work as such system of jails shall stand abolished.<b><u></u><u></u></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:16.2pt"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif">Judiciary:</span></b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"> The appointments of judges shall be proposed strictly meeting constitutional requirements by the supreme judicial council but the senate shall approve those appointments after open scrutiny in front of the press and the electronic media directly relayed live on TV screens, starting the process of such scrutiny with the current lower judiciary. The supreme judicial council shall be constituted from amongst the living retired chief justices of superior courts. </span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> <u></u><u></u></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:16.2pt"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif">Kashmir :</span></b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"> A forceful campaign shall be lodged to secure rights of self-determination and its implementation thru UNO resolutions about Kashmir and Palestine </span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> <u></u><u></u></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:16.2pt"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif">Land and Sea Potentials.</span></b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"> With induction of foreign expertise thru JV arrangements all available land, under the supervision of the world's top geologists, agricultural and farming experts and other professionals, shall be put to some use, most appropriate to its content and whatever is good for the people of the area including exploration and mining to secure other land riches. <u></u><u></u></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:16.2pt"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif">Law and Order:</span></b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"> All arms licenses shall be cancelled to facilitate De-weaponising the country and by calling back, in phases, all arms and ammunitions from police, rangers and all other security personnel and with all the public, excluding those assigned responsibility of securing borders and other sensitive locations while visas and stay permits granted to all black water / xe personnel shall be withdrawn. </span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt"><u></u><u></u></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:106%">Mafias :</span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:106%">Land Mafia , Water Mafia, Spurious Drugs Mafia, Fake Products Mafia, Custom Mafia, Lawyers Mafia, Police Mafia, Tax Mafia,Bhattas Mafia, Crime Mafia , Media Mafia, Under World Mafia , the list is long and we cannot kill them all , they are part of our main stream population. Crack down shall fall back on us as millions of jobs are associated with all that. We shall find a respectable living and regular and lucrative occupations acceptable to them and harmless to the society.</span><b><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:106%;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"><u></u><u></u></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:16.2pt"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"> </span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:16.2pt"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"> </span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:16.2pt"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"> </span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:16.2pt"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif">Media :</span></b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"> A Media Foundation shall be created with the aim to free media men and women from the clutches of financial constrains in order to give them needed strength to review , investigate and report fearlessly .Print and electronic media shall be economically made viable thru strategic mergers to run it cost effectively. Media shall be assigned specific tasks of Nation Building covering Economic and Social life of people first addressing the basic needs such as Food , Education , Housing ,Health etc and shall be periodically evaluated. Sensational, false and exaggerated reporting and slandering shall be heavily penalized. </span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"><u></u><u></u></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:16.2pt"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif">Mergers :</span></b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"> Legislation shall be introduced for mergers and amalgamations for cost effective, efficient and affordable banking, insurance, financing, education, health services, transport,, mailing, information technology, media, broad casting, bureaucracy, cultivation, farming, processing, production, distribution, marketing, exports, bulk buying, procurement, logistics, services and management to check unnecessary duplication and overcrowding<u></u><u></u></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:16.2pt"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif">Northern Areas :</span></b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"> Northern areas , with the help of the donor countries , UNO specific relevant funds, Bill Gates and Warren Buffet foundations, the UNICEF, the universal medical profession , health ministries, medicine industry, health services industry plus with cooperation of local population and support of the richest families in Pakistan and that of the world and the lending institutions and Gulf Sovereign funds shall be developed as a complex of mega medical cities for our global community with universities for students and hospitals for the sick from all over the world with homes for neglected and separated , mostly western, elderly for a managed living to spend their final days in comfort of beautiful valleys, excellent climate, healthy environment at a friction of the cost they incur back at their home places with secured hostels for the students ,doctors , paramedical staff and the teaching faculties plus hotels for the visitors thereby making those areas economically viable and self-sustainable providing at the same times employment and skill enhancement opportunities for the local population to live in peace while engaged in bread earning noble tasks in the field of health services with a total ban on smoking and other tobacco usage. Airports, railway tracks, roads and bridges shall be built to facilitate movements. Foreign, as well as local investment shall be facilitated with concessions and easy legislation. </span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> <u></u><u></u></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:16.2pt"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif">Oil Prices:</span></b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"> Through an OIC resolution the oil prices shall be fixed for the next 15 years at a maximum of US Dollar 25 per barrel To reciprocate, "economic advantages" shall be offered in and by importing countries to the exporting countries in exports -imports and investments.</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><u></u><u></u></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:16.2pt"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif">Prices:</span></b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"> Consequently prices of all essential items of food, medicine, fuel, utilities and many other goods and services shall be reduced to, more or less, half of current levels.<b><u></u><u></u></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:16.2pt"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif">Power Generation:</span></b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"> The producing and manufacturing sectors shall be free to work round the clock with nation getting into the habit of early to bed, early to rise. A project of "smart poles " shall be launched to provide un-interrupted solar and /or led lights , vigilance cameras while generating income from publicity ads / small bill boards, direction signs , moral messages and emergency phones net - work for making good use of smart poles for common good </span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"><u></u><u></u></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:16.2pt"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"> </span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:16.2pt"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif">Productive Environment:</span></b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"> Thus giving an enabling environment to common men and women to live in peace, security, honor and dignity while keeping them busy in bread earning engagements in productive / constructive activities, all with commercial viability and making all that rewarding for the investors and the team players. </span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> <u></u><u></u></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:16.2pt"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif">Services:</span></b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"> Most Governmental services shall be outsourced and / or franchised with government vs public partnership </span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> <u></u><u></u></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:16.2pt"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif">Simple Islam : </span></b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif">Obligatory Prayers , Ramadan Fasting to keep us fit and healthy and contended. Those who are financially capable shall pay Zakat , offer Hajj and enjoin the righteousness. Mosques shall be freed from the clutches of professional Imams.<b><u></u><u></u></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:16.2pt"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif">Social Coherence:</span></b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"> Inter provincial and inter sects marriages shall be encouraged to help recreate a healthier nation, build national coherence and to embrace religious harmony and reduce problems related to ethnicity and religion. All colours of turbines except white shall be banned. All other sectarian activities, meetings, gatherings shall be outlawed.</span><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:Tahoma,sans-serif"> The institution of visual entertainment shall be strictly directed towards social reform and moral as well as scientific education. All shrines shall be remodeled to appear as simple mosques for prayers</span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"> and teaching of Quran.</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> <u></u><u></u></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:16.2pt"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif">Sovereignty :</span></b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"> Stories of religious extremism, terrorism, Taliban's, excesses of IMF and drone attacks and presence of XE / Black Water personnel shall be made history thru a classic approach of high level of diplomacy and determination with a courage to say a definite "no" to all that is not legitimate , not constitutional , illegal and unacceptable.</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> <u></u><u></u></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:16.2pt"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif">Taxation:</span></b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"> Born free, taxed to death. The system of direct taxation shall be abolished for all those who earn below rupees fifty million a year including the salaried people.</span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"> <u></u><u></u></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:16.2pt"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif">Terrorism:</span></b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"> .</span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"> Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent.</span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"> Love and respect is commanded and not demanded, authority and strength is derived and not taken, privileges are earned and not taken for granted, good relations are cultivated and nourished and not dictated.</span> Cases shall be filed in international criminal courts for war crimes against those who supply weapons and provide funds to extremists, separatist elements and outlaws to destabilize our country with a challenge to UNO to play its role.<span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"> </span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><u></u><u></u></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:16.2pt"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif">Taliban :</span></b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"> Why fight with loss of enormous resources, lives, credibility, peace and trust when one can buy the problems of difficult elements dirt cheap in comparison to costs of wars. Have we forgotten a peaceful, all the good Afghanistan under regime of Taliban.<b> </b></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> <u></u><u></u></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:16.2pt"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif">Transportation:</span></b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"> Both road as well as railways shall be modernized and heavily subsidized to make it convenient and affordable for common men and women. </span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"> </span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> <u></u><u></u></span></p> <p style="background:white"><b><span style="font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"> </span></b></p> <p style="background:white"><b><span style="font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"> </span></b></p> <p style="background:white"><b><span style="font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"> </span></b></p> <p style="background:white"><b><span style="font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif">Women:</span></b><span style="font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"> Women shall be supported with enabling environment to join main stream of social and economic life of the nation as doctors, nurses, teachers, religious scholars, researchers, architects, designers, equity holders, entrepreneurs and parliamentarians additionally with establishment of all women hospitals, schools, stock exchanges and courts. </span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"">There are examples in character and roles of honourable Marriam, Khadija, Ayesha and Fatimah to follow by women of the world. </span> <b><span style="font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"><u></u><u></u></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:16.2pt;background-color:white;background-position:initial initial;background-repeat:initial initial"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif">World peace:</span></b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"> Support and consensus shall be gathered of all 57 OIC countries to make good use of sovereign funds of Gulf Royals 'with help and guidance from learned amongst the 1.7 billion Muslim population' to lobby in favor of a real good presidential candidate in next US elections,</span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Calibri Light',sans-serif"> with an effective UNO general assembly</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt"> dismissal of Security Council, an accomplice of the World War Lords, Veto Powers withdrawn</span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif">, NATO dismantled and UNO peace</span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Calibri Light',sans-serif"> </span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif">keeping force in the making. </span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><u></u><u></u></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:16.2pt"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif">Youth</span></b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif">: The nation of future, form 63% of Pakistan's population , how lucky. As such they will be given recognition to motivate them to take due interest and play an active role in occupying and re-building of national institutions of Governance, Economy and Social life having facilitated with enabling environment to perform and deliver. </span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"> </span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> <u></u><u></u></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:16.2pt"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif">Zakat: </span></b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif">Zakat vouchers shall be introduced internationally working with the institution of banking for those who are liable to pay Zakat to give to needy and poor to pay for essential food items, medicine and to pay school fees and alms giving to individuals shall be banned so that the use of charity and Zakat is regulated in order to alleviate the sufferings of the down trodden. </span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> <u></u><u></u></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:16.2pt"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif">Council of Guardians</span></b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"> : We may also wish to constitute a Shoura / a Council of Guardians consisting of retired Chief Justices, retired Attorneys of law, retired Prime Ministers, retired Presidents, retired Armed Forces Chiefs, retired Generals, retired CEO''s of Corporations, ex Parliamentarians and members of Senate and the Scholars and Heads of Madaris, the senior Politicians and Journalists, heads of institutions of Finance and Economy and Foreign affairs, all those with a clean , unblemished character and an accomplished track record. </span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"><u></u><u></u></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:16.2pt"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif">My very best regards, <u></u><u></u></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:16.2pt"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif">Convener and Chairman Council of Guardians <u></u><u></u></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:16.2pt"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif">Shuja R. Khan</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif""> <u></u><u></u></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:16.2pt"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif"><br> <b>The common league: <u></u><u></u></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:16.2pt"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif">GF- 2 , BLOCK # 33 , SEAVIEW TOWNSHIP, PHASE- 5 , Extn., D.H.A.,Karachi-75500<u></u><u></u></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:16.2pt"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Baskerville Old Face',serif">Tel <a href="tel:009221-35851239" value="+922135851239" target="_blank">009221-35851239</a>,35846844, Cell : <a href="tel:0092-3008271630" value="+923008271630" target="_blank">0092-3008271630</a> </span><a href="http://www.thecommonleague.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Baskerville Old Face","serif"">www.thecommonleague.com</span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><u></u><u></u></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;text-align:center"><b><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:red"> </span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;text-align:center"><b><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:red"> </span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;text-align:center"><br></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p><div><br><div><br></div> <div align="center"><b><font color="#0000ff" size="5">RICHEST<font color="#ff0000"> <u>22</u></font> PAKISTAN FAMILIES OF PAST NOW REDUCED TO <u><font color="#ff0000">3</font></u></font></b></div> <div align="center"><b></b> </div> <div align="center"><b><font size="4">GIGANTIC INCREASE OF FAMILY ASSETS OF POLITICAL LEADERS HOLDING POWER IN PAKISTAN SINCE 1990s</font></b></div> <div align="center"><b><font size="4">AND ONE BUSINESS GROUP WELL-CONNECTED TO POLITICIANS SURPASSED ALL OTHERS</font></b></div> <div align="center"><b></b> </div> <div align="center"><b><font color="#800000" size="6"> ASIF ALI ZARDARI FAMILY ASSETS: <font color="#ff0000">$1.8 BILLION</font></font></b></div> <div align="center"><b><font color="#800000" size="6">NAWAZ SHARIF FAMILY ASSETS: <font color="#ff0000">$1.5 BILLION</font></font></b></div> <div align="center"><b><font size="6"><font color="#800000">MIAN MANSHA FAMILY ASSETS</font>: <font color="#ff0000">$1.5 BILLION</font></font></b></div> <div align="center"><b></b> </div> <div align="center"> </div> <div> </div> <div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihvN_ms3qw_8Emtn_Y1povts_7Q85wwCeUDGUOYPW5mqjwnF3L7ClhwIicE4vDNQEGrO88ctIeFXJ6de714pjBEuASD_CcG5NQ4-rzZcgmzUmRMX_ZJTL9qQdUEXTDTLkq2c44SmwAr3Pr/s1600/lodhic%257E1-723832.gif"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihvN_ms3qw_8Emtn_Y1povts_7Q85wwCeUDGUOYPW5mqjwnF3L7ClhwIicE4vDNQEGrO88ctIeFXJ6de714pjBEuASD_CcG5NQ4-rzZcgmzUmRMX_ZJTL9qQdUEXTDTLkq2c44SmwAr3Pr/s320/lodhic%257E1-723832.gif" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_6295920938524706578" /></a> </div> <div align="center"> </div> <div align="center"> <div align="center"><b><font color="#008000" size="4">JAMAAT-E-ISLAMI CARRYING ON COUNTRYWIDE CAMPAIGN FOR A CORRUPTION-FREE PAKISTAN</font></b></div> <div align="center"><b><font color="#ff0000" size="6"><font color="#800000"><u>12 BILLION</u></font> RUPEES CORRUPTION <em><u>DAILY</u></em> AND <font color="#800000"><u>4381 BILLION</u></font> RUPEES <em><u>ANNUALLY</u></em> IN PAKISTAN, INFORMS SIRAJUL HAQ</font></b></div> <div align="center"><b></b> </div></div> <div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSA1X-oLFbtIj0XrizeymTRxxoWBNz9RIQ7NBLgsoSMgRJcLsujmlBR1fA33B-UeJx-ZkDmTTMJT3iwR0H0zkAgi_lRGdg_MVELOqYUx95k9DEXsqsqWWRjGz4wyk4CPlFeWQ7i8SJvm_K/s1600/siraju%257E1-724853.gif"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSA1X-oLFbtIj0XrizeymTRxxoWBNz9RIQ7NBLgsoSMgRJcLsujmlBR1fA33B-UeJx-ZkDmTTMJT3iwR0H0zkAgi_lRGdg_MVELOqYUx95k9DEXsqsqWWRjGz4wyk4CPlFeWQ7i8SJvm_K/s320/siraju%257E1-724853.gif" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_6295920941439793682" /></a></div> <br> -- <br> -</div></div></div> </div> Shahzadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05160575437170422234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2534333433654861615.post-78900676329084664082016-05-04T09:46:00.001+05:002016-05-04T09:46:45.666+05:00THE LEAST COMMON DENOMINATOR OF ALL ISSUES IN PAKISTAN IS THE LACK OF OWNERSHIP OF POSITION ONE HOLDS<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_quote"><br><u></u> <div style="min-height:100%;margin:0;padding:0;width:100%;background-color:#ffffff"> <center> <table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" height="100%" width="100%" style="border-collapse:collapse;height:100%;margin:0;padding:0;width:100%;background-color:#ffffff"> <tbody><tr> <td align="left" valign="top" style="height:100%;margin:0;padding:10px;width:100%;border-top:0"> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" style="border-collapse:collapse;border:0;max-width:600px!important"> <tbody><tr> <td valign="top" style="border-top:0;border-bottom:0"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" style="min-width:100%;border-collapse:collapse"> <tbody> <tr> <td valign="top" style="padding-top:9px"> <table align="left" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="max-width:100%;min-width:100%;border-collapse:collapse" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td valign="top" style="padding-top:0;padding-right:18px;padding-bottom:9px;padding-left:18px;word-break:break-word;color:#202020;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:16px;line-height:150%;text-align:left"> <h1 style="display:block;margin:0;padding:0;color:#202020;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:26px;font-style:normal;font-weight:bold;line-height:125%;letter-spacing:normal;text-align:left"><u><span style="font-size:13px"><strong>THE LEAST COMMON DENOMINATOR OF ALL ISSUES IN PAKISTAN IS THE LACK OF </strong><br> <strong>OWNERSHIP OF POSITION ONE HOLDS</strong></span></u></h1> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" style="border-top:0;border-bottom:0"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" style="min-width:100%;border-collapse:collapse"> <tbody> <tr> <td valign="top" style="padding-top:9px"> <table align="left" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="max-width:100%;min-width:100%;border-collapse:collapse" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td valign="top" style="padding-top:0;padding-right:18px;padding-bottom:9px;padding-left:18px;word-break:break-word;color:#202020;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:16px;line-height:150%;text-align:left"> When someone attains a position he makes a moral pact that he will do a job that is expected of him. However, the question is in our society does anyone actually keeps that promise?<br> <br> Failure of performance at any level is a common denominator be it a leader governing the country or a worker sweeping the streets.<br> <br> Unfortunately, all the efforts are made to attain a position so that the individual can get power or be able to get income rather than putting any effort towards the performance.<br> <br> There are thousands of examples of lack of performance at all levels. However, it is not the writer's intention to cite examples of such, but to indulge and to prove his thesis that it's not the lack of education that is commonly thought of as the main cause of all issues in Pakistan but rather failure of ownership of one's position.<br> <br> It is the least common denominator of all the issues we are facing in Pakistan.<br> <br> We can see millions of educated individuals earning handsome income but their job results are practically equivalent to zero. An individual who is educated enough to be hired as a teacher is shirking from his duties and producing students who are inadequately prepared to be a good citizen of the country. They could care less if they are destroying the generations to come.<br> <br> A policeman who is there to protect and serve lacks the interest to do what he is expected of him. However, he will do that if he is paid under the table beyond his salary.<br> <br> A bureaucrat who is made responsible to take up a project perhaps millions of dollars' worth, will not care if all that money goes down the drain because the money did not come from his pocket, yet if opportunity knocks he will do everything to make money for himself from that project.<br> <br> Politician will not perhaps mind to touch feet of his constituents when begging for votes at time of elections. However, if he does win, same constituents will hardly see the elected individual let alone he does anything positive for them.<br> <br> People want to have titles such as President or Director of organizations, however their performance leaves much to be desired even if Pakistan as a country holds a great stake in their position or organization. People lack the drive to do something good and positive.<br> <br> Everyone acts like a monarch from top to bottom because he knows there is no accountability if he does not perform at his job or not as per expectations.<br> <br> Corruption that we are facing today is due to lack of such ownership in different departments. People lack the intention and drive to do justice to their position.<br> <br> If everyone does his job properly and performs duties his position calls for, then almost all of the problems Pakistan faces will vanish and she could progress economically and socially.<br> <br> Dr. Shahzad Latif<br> <em>Political Economist & Reformist</em><br> Chicago, USA </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" style="border-top:0;border-bottom:0"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" style="min-width:100%;border-collapse:collapse"> <tbody> <tr> <td valign="top" style="padding-top:9px"> <table align="left" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="max-width:100%;min-width:100%;border-collapse:collapse" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td valign="top" style="padding-top:0;padding-right:18px;padding-bottom:9px;padding-left:18px;word-break:break-word;color:#202020;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:12px;line-height:150%;text-align:left"> <em>Copyright © 2016 Dr. Shahzad Latif, All rights reserved.</em> <br> You have joined our list to time to time receive news about activities of Dr. Shahzad Latif (Political Economist based in USA) <br> <br> <strong>Our mailing address is:</strong> <br> <div><span>Dr. Shahzad Latif</span><div><div>P.O.Box 1432</div><span>Wheaton</span>, <span>IL USA</span> <span>60187</span></div></div><br></td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table></td> </tr> </tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></center></div></div><div class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><br></div></div></div> </div> Shahzadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05160575437170422234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2534333433654861615.post-52789245987997805322015-09-22T10:23:00.000+05:002015-09-22T10:24:10.468+05:00The Crime of Colonial Occupation & the Crisis in the Muslim World<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_quote"><font color="black" size="2" face="arial"><div><b><span><i><span style="font-size:10pt;color:rgb(0,176,240)"><span><br> </span></span></i></span></b></div> <div style="text-align:center" align="center"><b><span><span style="font-size:20pt;color:red">The Crime of Colonial Occupation </span></span></b></div> <b> </b> <div style="text-align:center" align="center"><b><span><span style="font-size:20pt;color:red">& the Crisis in the Muslim World </span></span></b></div> <b> </b> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center" align="center"><b><span><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:115%;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif"> </span></span></b></div> <b> </b> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center" align="center"><b><span><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:115%;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif">Dr Firoz Mahboob Kamal</span></span></b></div> <b> </b> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><b><span><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:115%;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;color:red"> </span></span></b></div> <b> </b> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><b><span><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:115%;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;color:red">The unending crisis</span></span></b></div> <b> </b> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:115%;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif">The Muslim world is now in the grip of an overwhelming crisis. Not only in politics, it has engulfed religious beliefs, ideology, spirituality, culture, education, defence – in fact, all arenas of Muslims' life. Day by day, the crisis is deepening and getting a catastrophic dimension. It shows no exit way. Rather it looks the Muslims have totally lost the direction. Every disease has a distinctive cause, the disease process and the pathology. The same is with the crisis. The current crisis of the Muslims largely owes to the huge deviation from the Islamic roadmap revealed in the holy Qur'an. The long occupation by the colonialist <i>kuffars</i> has done a great harm by aggravating the deviation. To destroy any potential of the recovery, the coalition of the same Western colonialists has also imposed a long decimating war. In the ongoing US-led war, more than 99% deaths and destruction are taking place in Muslim countries. Hence, there remains little doubt that the ongoing war of the global coalition is not against any person or party but on Islam. It is exactly designed to inflict maximum damage to the Muslims' traditional power base and stem any chance of Islam's resurgence. </span></b></div> <b> </b> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:115%;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif"> </span></b></div> <b> </b> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:115%;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif">Every war is fought on two fronts: one in war fields and another in the field of ideology. In that context, the on-going war is not different either. Hence the enemy of Islam are not only killing millions of Muslim men and women and dismantling the defence and economic infrastructure, but also destroying Muslims' core belief, culture and geopolitical understanding. The genesis of the current war traces back to the enemies' war strategies of the long colonial occupation of the Muslim lands. It indeed feeds on colonial legacy; and now breeds catastrophic fallouts for the future. Instead of Islam, the colonialists nurtured racism, nationalism, secularism, tribalism, fascism, autocracy and other de-Islamising ideologies in Muslim lands. Such colonial legacy thus works as the perfect recipe for generating toxic incompatibilities among Muslims of different ethnicities, tribes and sects; and on little prompting gives birth to blood-letting civil wars. Hence, the European disease of civil war came to the Muslim lands. As a result, those who never went outside the own city or country in their life time now take the risks of crossing sea on boat to beg shelter in non-Muslim lands. What else can be the worst disgrace for the Muslims? </span></b></div> <b> </b> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:115%;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif"> </span></b></div> <b> </b> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:115%;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif">The imperialists' war on Islam is now spreading like wild fire. It has caused a huge humanitarian crisis in the Muslim World –especially in the Middle East. It has killed more than one million people only in Iraq and about 300 thousands in Syria. And the killing continues. It has forced millions of people to leave their homes -more than 4 million only from Syria. Millions of people are on the move from Iraq, Libya, Yemen, Somalia, Nigeria, Afghanistan, Pakistan and many other countries. Few decades ago, millions of people were driven out of Palestine. The cause is the same: it is the brutal war of occupation by the external or internal enemies of Islam. The Muslim World never experienced such disastrous diaspora in its 14 hundred years' history; it had internal migration but never such external migration. Thousands of them are now entering Europe every day. Migration to Europe was not their choice; they preferred to take shelter in the neighbouring Muslim countries like Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan and Iraq. Since these countries stand fully saturated, they possess no other option but to cross the sea by boat to reach Europe. In such desperate move, hundreds of them are already drowned in the Mediterranean Sea.</span></b></div> <b> </b> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:115%;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif"> </span></b></div> <b> </b> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:115%;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif">The Europeans have populated vast parts of the world by genocidal cleansing of the original people –as committed in America, Australia and New Zealand. Little space is left for the others. Moreover, an artificial state of Israel has been implanted in the heart of Muslim land with forceful eviction of its original people. Migration of Jews to Israel from all over the world is encouraged, but the return back of the original people to their ancestral home is made illegal! The Muslims' houses still get continuously demolished to make settlement of the foreign Jews. The leaders of the Western countries are not only silent on such grotesque crime against the innocent Palestinians, but also complicit in it. Israel gets money from the West to build houses for the Jewish migrant on the land of evicted Palestinians. Now the same Westerners firmly stand against the life-saving move of the refugees towards Europe. The refugees are being brutally beaten on the borders. Walls are raised, water cannons are used and tear gas shells are fired to prevent their entry into Europe. According to the UN Charter, the refugees don't need any legality to seek any shelter in a country. But the Western media and the governments are not ready to call the refugees as refugees. To justify their brutality, they call them illegal migrant. Doesn't it tell a lot about the moral problem of Europe? In Europe –the birth place of colonialism, imperialism, fascism and Nazism, deep seated hatred against Islam and the Muslims runs very high. Four million Lebanese could welcome more than 1 million refugees. Europe has a population of 500 million. Economically Europe is not like Lebanon, Jordan or Turkey. But Islamophobia runs so high that even an idea of few thousands of Muslims entering into the continent cause violent hysteric spells. They call it Islamisation of Europe. </span></b></div> <b> </b> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:115%;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif"> </span></b></div> <b> </b> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><b><span><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:115%;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;color:red">The Western hypocrisy</span></span></b></div> <b> </b> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:115%;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif">The hypocrisy of the Western imperialists runs much deeper. They didn't say what they truly believe. Such visible dishonesty runs since the early days of colonialism. When they occupied the Muslim land and killed its people and exploited its resources, even then they didn't tell the truth that they are against Islam and the Muslims. While they carried out the genocidal massacre cum ethnic cleansing against the native Red Indian in America, even then they didn't disclose their real motive either. On the contrary, they portrayed the occupation of weaker countries of Asia, Africa and America as the part of their civilising mission for the uncivilised –as if it was delegated to them by God. </span></b></div> <b> </b> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:115%;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif"> </span></b></div> <b> </b> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:115%;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif">The former US President George W. Bush told the same lie when he invaded Iraq and Afghanistan.<span> </span>However he told the truth when used the narrative of <i>crusade</i> to describe his Iraq invasion. The word <i>"crusade"</i> has a special historical connotation. It means knee-deep bloodbath in Muslim blood by the Christians –as occurred in the holy city of Jerusalem by the old crusaders. After committing horrendous massacres in Afghanistan and Iraq he returned back to the same lie to cover up his crimes. <span> </span>He went on telling the world that the USA is not at war on Islam or Muslims! They were invading Iraq only to remove Saddam Hussain and his weapons of mass-destruction. They also told that they would promote democracy and human rights in Iraq. </span></b></div> <b> </b> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:115%;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif"> </span></b></div> <b> </b> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:115%;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif">When the British colonised India, they told the same lie. They tried to hide their brutal colonisation project by a false claim that they occupied India to promote human rights and development! But the truth is very painful. They killed more people in India than in other parts of the world: many fold higher than the Red Indians killed in the ethnic cleansing project. They committed massive deaths by extreme exploitation. They caused two devastating famines in Bengal by mindless exploitation: one in 1769-70 (Great Bengal Famine) and another in 1943-44. The famine of 1769-70 killed about 10 millions -one-third of the total population of Bengal at that time. The second one killed 1.5 million. (Source: </span><a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=9ew8AAAAIAAJ" target="_blank"><i><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:115%;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;color:windowtext;text-decoration:none">The Cambridge economic history of India, Volume 2</span></i></a><span><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:115%;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif">, Cambridge University Press, 1983).</span></span><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:115%;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif"> The fertile land of Bengal never saw such famine in her whole history. In Bengal -which had a population several times larger than the UK, they built only two universities in their 190 years' occupation. <span> </span></span></b></div> <b> </b> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><b><span><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:115%;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;color:red"> </span></span></b></div> <b> </b> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><b><span><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:115%;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;color:red">The clash of civilisation</span></span></b></div> <b> </b> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:115%;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif">The old colonialism of the West has formally died; but the imperialism didn't. In fact, the appetite for further occupation, exploitation and controlling the fate of weaker countries still thrive in the former colonial nations. Hence the West's imperial war of occupation –as happened in recent years in Afghanistan and Iraq hasn't ended. Neither shows any sign that it will end sooner. In Afghanistan, thousands of the US army personnel still stand ready for war there. In recent years, President Obama has redeployed thousands of fresh soldiers in Iraq. The US air raids, missile attacks and dropping of bombs in countries like Syria, Iraq, Somalia, Pakistan, Yemen and Afghanistan still go unabated. The warfare of targeted killing by drones has now turned more brutal, more global, more unending and borderless. </span></b></div> <b> </b> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:115%;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif"> </span></b></div> <b> </b> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:115%;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif">War has now turned the most important part of the imperialists' economy. Fear of Soviet Union helped the USA economy grow faster. After its collapse, the Western imperialists have invented new bogey enemy; and that is Islam. They consider followers of Islam as the sole and formidable challenger against their worldview and civilisation. The US Professor Huntington conceptualised the image of the new enemy in his controversial book "the Clash of Civilisations." Such a frightening image of the Muslims has dipped down instantly in the West's psyche. In fact their old colonial mind-set was ever ready to swallow that. So the imperialists get an ideological bulwark for its war efforts against Islam. Hence wherever the Muslims rise up with the Islam's flag of <i>La Ilaha IllAllah</i> (there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah) with an intention of returning back to the prophetic days of sharia, <i>khelafa, shura, jihad and </i>Muslim unity, the imperialists consider such an attempt as a threat to their civilisation. Such an extreme paranoia is heavily working in the Western psyche to make them very savage and very revengeful to kill even the unarmed Muslim children, men and women even in their bedrooms and in the wedding or funeral ceremonies –as happened in Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, Somalia and Pakistan. "In a six-year period to 2011 an estimated 3,000 innocents were killed in Pakistan alone, including 176 children. Such casual slaughter would have an infantry unit court-martialled and jailed. Drones are immune". (Source: Simon Jenkins, the Guardian, 18<sup>th</sup> Sept. 2015).</span></b></div> <b> </b> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><b><span><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:115%;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;color:red"> </span></span></b></div> <b> </b> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><b><span><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:115%;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;color:red">The crimes of the colonialists</span></span></b></div> <b> </b> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:115%;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif">Apart from killing the people and looting the resources, the colonialists committed the greatest crime against the Muslims in the ideological territory. They didn't allow learn real Islam and nor did allow grow-up as full Muslim. They didn't put any bar against <i>salah</i>, fasting, zakat, haj or other religious rituals. But they restricted the practice of Islam as a <i>deen</i> –the code of life. They didn't allow practice of sharia. But how one can be full Muslim without the practice of sharia? They are so inimical to Islam and Muslim that they didn't allow developing an Islamic education system in any part of the occupied area that could help understand the holy Qur'an –the most important segment in Muslims' education. This way they made it very difficult to understand true Islam and grow up as a true Muslim. It is indeed the greatest calamity of the <i>kuffar</i> colonial rule. They added not only deaths and miseries to the worldly life; but also negatively impacted the fate in the hereafter. </span></b></div> <b> </b> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:115%;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif"> </span></b></div> <b> </b> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:115%;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif">Even after the departure of the colonialists, those heinous crimes still survive with the toxic aftermath. The greatest crime of the colonialists is not in the field of economics or material life. It is indeed in the territory of faith, spirituality and the religious practices. To be a full Muslim, one needs a full Islamic nurture through its political, social, cultural and educational milieu –which is totally impossible under the <i>kuffar</i> rule. For that, the Islamic state and sharia rule are indispensable. So the <i>kuffar</i> colonialists caused huge deprivation of Islamic nourishment in every Muslim's life. As a result, the Muslims missed the Islamic up-bringing and grew up with the total detachment from Islam. As a result, the Qur'anic Islam stands stranger even in a Muslim land. Now the same people stand shoulder to shoulder with the old colonial <i>kuffars</i> to obstruct any step of revival of Islam in any Muslim country. Lord Cromer –the British Consul-General in Egypt and a notorious architect of British colonialism dreamed of such a harvest of British education system in their colonial countries that will serve their interest even after the end of their own rule. </span></b></div> <b> </b> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:115%;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif"> </span></b></div> <b> </b> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><b><span><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:115%;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;color:red">The infrastructure of disobedience: the greatest catastrophe</span></span></b></div> <b> </b> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:115%;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif">The colonial occupying forces had a long-term plan to crash the political, ideological and military powerbase of the Muslims. To keep the Muslims divided and weak, they developed a geopolitical infrastructure of lasting disunity; and destroyed the pan-Islamic brotherhood. They raised walls of partition on ethnic and tribal line only to suit their imperialist strategy; the Muslims' own interest was given no consideration. The one Arab land was thus divided into more than 20 pieces and handed over to a host of spineless servile clients. To protect such infrastructure of division, they stationed their standing army inside those vassal states. The presence of USA army cum navy in Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and other Arab states and also in the near vicinity in the Persian Gulf and in the Mediterranean Sea is a testimony to that. To add sustenance to their brutal colonial presence, they also implanted a racist state of Israel in Muslim land.</span></b></div> <b> </b> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:115%;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif"><span> </span></span></b></div> <b> </b> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:115%;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif">Can a true Muslim reconcile with such a division of the Muslim land? Is it compatible with the Islamic faith? Can a civilised mind accommodate such a legacy of colonialism? The non-Muslim occupiers not only altered the geopolitical configuration of the Muslim land, but also its ideological identity. Sharia-law-based judiciary was functioning in all Muslim countries before the colonial occupation. But they dismantled that only to be replaced by their own laws. Can a Muslim accept such <i>kuffar</i> laws? Acceptance of such man-made laws makes one out-rightly <i>kafir</i> (nonbeliever), <i>zalem</i> (oppressor) and <i>fasiq</i> (sinner) -as warned in the holy Al-Quran in Sura Al-Maida in verses 44, 45 & 47. </span></b></div> <b> </b> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:115%;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif"> </span></b></div> <b> </b> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:115%;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif">But the Muslims were forced by the colonialists to succumb to the <i>kuffar</i> laws at the cost of their fate in the hereafter! In the name of law and judiciary, it was indeed the Satanic infrastructure of rebellion against Allah Sub'hana wa Ta'la. The colonialists have left; but the Satanic infrastructure they built still survives. It is in fact the greatest catastrophe of non-Muslims' cum anti-Islamists' occupation of any Muslim land. Under such occupation, the journey towards paradise becomes extremely difficult; but turns very easy to move towards the hellfire. Who does better understand those difficulties of a believer living in any non-Muslims' occupation than Allah Sub'hana wa Ta'la? So in Islam, the greatest religious act is not to offer 5 times prayers, keep fasting in Ramadan, give zakat or performing haj, but to defend the Islamic border and fight for ending the anti-Islamists' occupation and implement the rule of sharia. Such a fight is indeed a religious obligation on every believer. As per Qur'anic announcement, only those who get killed in such a fight receive instant access to the paradise and get exceptional exemption from waiting till the judgement day. 19/09/2015</span></b></div> <b> </b> <div class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style="font-size:10pt;color:rgb(0,176,240)"><a href="http://www.drfirozmahboobkamal.com/english-articles/1057-the-crime-of-colonial-occupation-a-the-crisis-in-the-muslim-world.html" target="_blank"><font size="2">http://www.drfirozmahboobkamal.com/english-articles/1057-the-crime-of-colonial-occupation-a-the-crisis-in-the-muslim-world.html</font></a></span></i></b></div> <b> </b></font> <p></p></div><div><br></div>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div>Regards,</div><div>Shahzad Afzal<br><br><br><br></div></div></div> </div> Shahzadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05160575437170422234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2534333433654861615.post-8727806607371776242015-09-10T14:29:00.001+05:002015-09-10T14:29:54.141+05:00The Real Enemy Is Within<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12pt"><span style="color:black;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:16pt">By </span><b style="color:black;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:16pt"><span style="color:rgb(170,68,68)">Chris Hedges</span></b><br></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:16pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:black"></span><span style="font-size:16pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:black"></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="right" style="text-align:right"><br></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:16pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:black">If you are not dedicated to the destruction of empire and the dismantling of American militarism, then you cannot count yourself as a member of the left. It is not a side issue. It is <i>the</i> issue. It is why I refuse to give a pass in this presidential election campaign to Bernie Sanders, who refuses to confront the war industry or the crimes of empire, including U.S. support for the slow genocide carried out by Israel against the Palestinians. There will be no genuine democratic, social, economic or political reform until we destroy our permanent war machine.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:16pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:black">Militarists and war profiteers are our greatest enemy. They use fear, bolstered by racism, as a tool in their efforts to abolish civil liberties, crush dissent and ultimately extinguish democracy. To produce weapons and finance military expansion, they ruin the domestic economy by diverting resources, scientific and technical expertise and a disproportionate share of government funds. They use the military to carry out futile, decades-long wars to enrich corporations such as Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics, Raytheon and Northrop Grumman. War is a business. And when the generals retire, guess where they go to work? Profits swell. War never stops. Whole sections of the earth live in terror. And our nation is disemboweled and left to live under what the political philosopher Sheldon Wolin calls <a href="http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/the_imperative_of_revolt_20141019" target="_blank"><b><span style="color:rgb(170,68,68);text-decoration:none">"inverted totalitarianism."</span></b></a> Libertarians seem to get this. It is time the left woke up.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:16pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:black">"Bourgeois society faces a dilemma," socialist Rosa Luxemburg writes, "either a transition to Socialism, or a return to barbarism ... we face the choice: either the victory of imperialism and the decline of all culture, as in ancient Rome—annihilation, devastation, degeneration, a yawning graveyard; or the victory of Socialism—the victory of the international working class consciously assaulting imperialism and its method: war. This is the dilemma of world history, either-or; the die will be cast by the class-conscious proletariat."</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:16pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:black">The U.S. military and its array of civilian contractors operate as enforcers and hired killers across the globe for corporations, many of which pay no taxes. Young men and women, many unable to find work, are the cannon fodder. The U.S. military has served as the handmaiden of capitalism since it committed genocide against Native Americans, carried out on behalf of land speculators, mineral companies, timber merchants and the railroads. The military replicated this indiscriminate slaughter at the end of the 19th century in our imperial expansion in Cuba and elsewhere in the Caribbean, in Central America and especially in the Philippines. Military muscle exists to permit global corporations to expand markets and plunder oil, minerals and other natural resources while keeping subjugated populations impoverished by corrupt and brutal puppet regimes. The masters of war are the scum of the earth.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:16pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:black"><span><ins> </ins></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:16pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:black"><span><ins>It was the war profiteers and the military, as <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/18/obituaries/seymour-melman-86-dies-spurred-antiwar-movement.html?_r=0" target="_blank"><b><span style="color:rgb(170,68,68);text-decoration:none">Seymour Melman</span></b></a> has pointed out, that conspired after World War II to keep the country in a state of total war, deforming the economy to continue to produce massive amounts of weapons and armaments in peacetime. The permanent war economy is sustained through fearmongering—about communists during the Cold War and about Islamic jihadists today. Such fearmongering is used not only to justify crippling military expenditures but to crush internal dissent. The corporatists and the military, which have successfully carried out what <a href="http://www.truthdig.com/report/page2/the_imperative_of_revolt_20141019" target="_blank"><b><span style="color:rgb(170,68,68);text-decoration:none">John Ralston Saul</span></b></a>calls a "coup d'état in slow motion," have used their political and economic clout to dismantle programs and policies put in place under the New Deal. <a href="http://urban.uconn.edu/brian-waddell/" target="_blank"><b><span style="color:rgb(170,68,68);text-decoration:none">Brian Waddell</span></b></a> writes of this process:</ins></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:16pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(58,57,57)"><span><ins>The requirements of total war ... revived corporate political leverage, allowing corporate executives inside and outside the state extensive influence over wartime mobilization policies. ... Assertive corporate executives and military officials formed a very effective wartime alliance that not only blocked any augmentation of the New Dealer authority but also organized a powerful alternative to the New Deal. International activism displaced and supplanted New Deal domestic activism. Thus was the stage finally set for a vastly extended and much more powerful informal U.S. empire outside its own hemisphere.</ins></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:16pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:black"><span><ins>The war machine is not, and almost never has been, a force for liberty or democracy. It does not make us safe. It does not make the world safe. And its immense economic and political power internally, including its management of the security and surveillance state and its huge defense contracts, has turned it into the most dangerous institution in America.</ins></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:16pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:black"><span><ins>Military expenditures bleed the federal budget—officially—of $598.49 billion a year, or 53.71 percent of all spending. This does not, however, include veterans' benefits at $65.32 billion a year or hidden costs in other budgets that see the military and the war profiteers take as much as $1.6 trillion a year out of the pockets of taxpayers. The working and middle class fund the endless wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen and a host of other countries while suffering crippling "austerity" programs, massive debt peonage, collapsing infrastructures, chronic underemployment and unemployment and mounting internal repression. The war industry, feeding off the carcass of the state, grows fat and powerful with profits. This is not unique. It is how all empires are hollowed out from the inside. As we are impoverished and stripped of our rights, the tools used to maintain control on the outer reaches of empire—drones, militarized police, indiscriminate violence, a loss of civil liberties, and security and surveillance—are used on us. We have devolved, because of the poison of empire, into a Third World nation with nukes. We are ruled by an omnipotent, corporate oligarchy and their Pretorian Guard. The political class, Republican and Democrat, dances to the tune played by these oligarchs and militarists and mouths the words they want it to say.</ins></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:16pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial,sans-serif"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="background:rgb(249,249,249)"><span style="font-size:16pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:black">"The Power Elite" warns of a military machine that not only holds the political and economic life of the nation hostage but also has the ability to form public opinion. The Pentagon spends $4.7 billion a year and has some 27,000 employees who work on recruitment, advertising, psychological operations and public relations, according to a 2009 report by The Associated Press. But millions of dollars more for propaganda are hidden within classified budgets. The Pentagon places its commentators and pundits on the airwaves, produces "news" stories for the press, has ubiquitous advertising, runs junkets for Wall Street capitalists and elected officials and manages how Hollywood and television portray war and the military. Mills writes:</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="background:rgb(249,249,249)"><span style="font-size:16pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(58,57,57)">… [I]n all of pluralist America, there is no interest—there is no possible combination of interests—that has anywhere near the time, the money, the manpower, to present a point of view on the issues involved that can effectively compete with the views presented day in and day out by the warlords and by those whom they employ.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="background:rgb(249,249,249)"><span style="font-size:16pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(58,57,57)">This means, for one thing, that there is no free and wider debate of military policy or of policies of military relevance. But that, of course, is in line with the professional soldier's training for command and obedience, and with his ethos, which is certainly not that of a debating society in which decisions are put to a vote. It is also in line with the tendency in a mass society for manipulation to replace explicitly debated authority, as well as the fact of total war in which the distinction between soldier and civilian is obliterated. The military manipulation of civilian opinion and the military invasion of the civilian mind are now important ways in which the power of the warlords is steadily exerted.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="background:rgb(249,249,249)"><span style="font-size:16pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(58,57,57)">The extent of the military publicity, and the absence of opposition to it, also means that it is not merely this proposal or that point of view that is being pushed. In the absence of contrasting views, the very highest form of propaganda warfare can be fought: the propaganda for a definition of reality within which only certain limited viewpoints are possible. What is being promulgated and reinforced is the military metaphysics—the cast of mind that defines international reality as basically military. The publicists of the military ascendency need not really work to indoctrinate with this metaphysics those who count: they have already accepted it.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:4.5pt;background:rgb(249,249,249)"><span style="font-size:16pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:black"><span><ins></ins></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="background:rgb(249,249,249)"><span style="font-size:16pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:black"><span><ins>The naked greed and violence that define empire, understood by writers such as Joseph Conrad, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/apr/15/eduardo-galeano" target="_blank"><b><span style="color:rgb(170,68,68)">Eduardo Galeano</span></b></a> and Arundhati Roy, is masked within empire behind the cant of patriotism and nationalism, which sanctify self-exaltation and racism. Imperial war is transformed through the magic of propaganda into glorious spectacle. Galeano once wrote that "each time a new war is disclosed in the name of the fight of the good against evil, those who are killed are all poor. It's always the same story repeating once and again and again." </ins></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="background:rgb(249,249,249)"><span style="font-size:16pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:black"><span><ins>The hypermasculinity of the military, celebrated by Hollywood and the media, is seductive to an underclass trapped in menial, dead-end jobs. Empires feed like vultures on these pools of frustrated surplus labor. They manipulate their feelings of powerlessness. This is why capitalists create pools of surplus labor. Those who are desperate to secure a place in society are easy fodder for the military and ready candidates for underpaid jobs without benefits or job security. Our corporate, neofeudal society is by design.</ins></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="background:rgb(249,249,249)"><span style="font-size:16pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:black"><span><ins>The sons and daughters of the elites rarely serve in the military. The military, even at the service academies such as West Point, attracts those who have been cast aside by neoliberalism. Often, before joining the military, they lack a clearly defined identity or sense of purpose. They are terrified of being pushed permanently into the underclass. They are especially susceptible to indoctrination. The military teaches soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines not to think, not to challenge assumptions and structures, but to obey and to be "tough" and "strong." This hypermasculine culture glorifies the state and state violence. It renders all human beings outside the sacred national circle as objects to control or exploit. It creates a binary world of good and evil. It sanctifies violence, especially male violence. It is why rape is endemic in the military. It is why pornography and violence against women are so pervasive in the culture. Tenderness, nurturing and empathy, along with intellectual inquiry and artistic expression, are banished. The weak and the vulnerable deserve to be cast aside. Our enemies deserve to be killed. It is the culture of death. And we drink deep from this dark elixir.</ins></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="background:rgb(249,249,249)"><span style="font-size:16pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:black"><span><ins><a href="http://www.biography.com/people/web-du-bois-9279924" target="_blank"><b><span style="color:rgb(170,68,68)">W.E.B. Du Bois</span></b></a> warns that empire was the primary tool used to break the working class in Europe and later in the United States. As workers organized and fought for rights and fair wages, the masters of empire started to shift production to countries more easily controlled, countries inhabited by "darker peoples." This is a shift that is largely complete.</ins></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="background:rgb(249,249,249)"><span style="font-size:16pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:black"><span><ins>"Here, are no labor unions or votes or questioning onlookers or inconvenient consciences," Du Bois writes. "These men may be used down to the very bone, and shot and maimed in 'punitive' expeditions when they revolt. In these dark lands 'industrial development' may repeat in exaggerated form every horror of the industrial horror of Europe, from slavery and rape to disease and maiming, with one test of success—dividends."</ins></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="background:rgb(249,249,249)"><span style="font-size:16pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:black"><span><ins>Du Bois also knew that the costs of maintaining empire were offset by the profits. "What do nations care about the cost of war, if by spending a few hundred millions in steel and gunpowder they can gain a thousand millions in diamonds and cocoa?" he asks.</ins></span></span></p> <p style="background:rgb(249,249,249)"><span style="font-size:16pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:black">The reality of empire is nearly impossible to see from the heart of empire. Those who speak its truth are banished from the airwaves. They are condemned as traitors or "anti-American." The cries of empire's victims are rarely heard. The crimes that empire commits are rendered invisible. The greed of the war makers, along with the corruption and dishonesty of the political, judicial, academic and media courtiers who serve empire, is blocked from public view. The image of empire is scripted like a Walt Disney movie. This mythical narrative is disseminated in films, on television, by the press, in churches, in universities and by the state. It is a lie. But it is a lie that works. And it works because it is what we want. It appeals to our fantasies about ourselves: that we are a virtuous people, that God has blessed us above others, that we have the highest form of civilization, that we have been anointed to police the world and make it safe, that we are the most powerful and righteous nation on earth, that we are always assured of victory, that we have a right to kill in the name of nationalist values—values determined by our naked self-interest and that we conveniently define as universal. </span></p> <p style="background:rgb(249,249,249)"><span style="font-size:16pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:black">Noam Chomsky, more than perhaps any other American intellectual, has laid bare the latent forces of totalitarianism in our midst and warned us against the contagion of empire. He says:</span></p> <p style="background:rgb(249,249,249)"><span style="font-size:16pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(58,57,57)">Those with deep totalitarian commitments identify the state with the society, its people, and its culture. Therefore those who criticized the policies of the Kremlin under Stalin were condemned as "anti-Soviet" or "hating Russia." For their counterparts in the West, those who criticize the policies of the U.S. government are "anti-American" and "hate America"; those are the standard terms used by intellectual opinion, including left-liberal segments, so deeply committed to their totalitarian instincts that they cannot even recognize them, let alone understand their disgraceful history, tracing to the origins of recorded history in interesting ways. For the totalitarian, "patriotism" means support for the state and its policies, perhaps with twitters of protest on grounds that they might fail or cost us too much. For those whose instincts are democratic rather than totalitarian, "patriotism" means commitment to the welfare and improvement of the society, its people, its culture. That's a natural sentiment and one that can be quite positive. It's one all serious activists share, I presume; otherwise why take the trouble to do what we do? But the kind of "patriotism" fostered by totalitarian societies and military dictatorships, and internalized as second nature by much of intellectual opinion in more free societies, is one of the worst maladies of human history, and will probably do us all in before too long.</span></p> <p style="background:rgb(249,249,249)"><span style="font-size:16pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:black">There can be no rational debate about empire with many desperate Americans who have ingested this as their creed. The distortion of neoliberalism has left them little else. Here lies the virus of fascism, wrapped in the American flag, held aloft by the Christian cross and buttressed by white supremacy. It is a potent and dangerous force within the body politic. And it is growing. The real enemy is within.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><br></p></div></div><div class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><br></div></div></div> </div> Shahzadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05160575437170422234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2534333433654861615.post-14691448036597438722015-06-01T16:38:00.000+05:002015-06-01T16:39:07.358+05:00Bionic Lens To Give Permanent Perfect Eye Vision<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_quote"><div style="background-color:#fff"><div><div><div><div><font color="#800000" size="5" face="Cambria"><strong>Bionic Lens To Give Permanent Perfect Vision</strong></font></div> <div> </div> <div><font color="#808080" size="2" face="Calibri"><em>by Dave Smith - May 22, 2015</em></font></div> <div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZxEYIqGUeLoZAAee-owXQVZa_NpIxyFczEMxVNxZfYHTCN5ne9vrQ-iEx5DNG_LTIzcDghuUzmSjl6SqeSjVHTHVZOVszWucWTLn0X2mDpUlGbOqMy-UTajrljxEg-QKwgfO1ogmr9Yf4/s1600/ocumetics-bionic-lens-747359.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZxEYIqGUeLoZAAee-owXQVZa_NpIxyFczEMxVNxZfYHTCN5ne9vrQ-iEx5DNG_LTIzcDghuUzmSjl6SqeSjVHTHVZOVszWucWTLn0X2mDpUlGbOqMy-UTajrljxEg-QKwgfO1ogmr9Yf4/s320/ocumetics-bionic-lens-747359.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_6155369950090620066" /></a></div> <div><font size="4" face="Calibri"></font> </div> <div><font size="4" face="Calibri">An optometrist from British Columbia believes he's invented the holy grail of corrective lenses: A device that lets <font color="#800000">you see "three times better than 20/20 vision" without wearing any contacts or glasses at all — for an entire lifetime</font>.</font></div> <div> </div> <div><font size="4" face="Calibri"><a href="http://www.completeeyecare.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=62&Itemid=94#Webb" target="_blank">Dr. Garth Webb</a> is the founder and CEO of <a title="http://ocumetics.com/ CTRL + Click to follow link" href="http://ocumetics.com/" target="_blank">Ocumetics Technology Corp</a>, a company dedicated to eliminating glasses and contact lenses forever. Webb and his team of visual scientists have invented the "Ocumetics Bionic Lens," which is the product of eight years of research and $3 million in funding, plus a load of internationally filed patents, <a title="http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/ocumetics-bionic-lens-could-give-you-vision-3x-better-than-20-20-1.3078257 CTRL + Click to follow link" href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/ocumetics-bionic-lens-could-give-you-vision-3x-better-than-20-20-1.3078257" target="_blank">according to the Canadian Press</a>.</font></div> <div><font size="4" face="Calibri"></font> </div> <div><font size="4" face="Calibri">The Ocumetics Bionic Lens looks like a small button, but Webb believes it has the power to revolutionize eye care as we know it. </font></div> <div> </div> <div><font size="4" face="Calibri">"Perfect eyesight should be a human right," Webb told CBC News.</font></div> <div><font size="4" face="Calibri"></font> </div> <div><font size="4" face="Calibri">According to Ocumetics' website, the Bionic Lens is <font color="#800000">implanted in your eye during an eight-minute "painless procedure."</font> The operation is reportedly <font color="#800000">similar to cataract surgery</font>, where the lens inside your eye is removed and replaced with an artificial lens. It's an outpatient procedure that doesn't require any anesthesia or an overnight stay.</font></div> <div> </div> <div><font size="4" face="Calibri">The bionic lens is actually folded like a taco and placed in the eye using a syringe filled with a saline solution. Then, in about 10 seconds, the bionic lens unravels over your eye by itself and <font color="#800000">your sight is "immediately corrected."</font> </font></div> <div> </div> <div><font size="4" face="Calibri">"If you can just barely see the clock at 10 feet, when you get the Bionic Lens, you can see the clock at 30 feet away," Webb said.</font></div> <div> </div> <div><font size="4" face="Calibri">Webb says his <font color="#800000">bionic lenses give you vision that's three times better than 20/20 vision</font>, as measured by the <a title="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snellen_chart CTRL + Click to follow link" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snellen_chart" target="_blank">Snellen chart for visual acuity</a>. We've reached out to Webb to learn more about the visual improvements with regards to accuracy and range. </font></div> <div> </div> <div><font size="4" face="Calibri">It's still <font color="#800000">unclear how the technology actually works</font>, but Webb says the Bionic Lens is perfectly safe, and it won't cause any biophysical changes within the eye. </font></div> <div> </div> <div><font size="4" face="Calibri">This has other benefits, too. Anyone who gets this bionic lens surgically implanted would <font color="#800000">never get cataracts, since the eye's natural lenses, which are prone to decay, would have been replaced with these artificial ones</font>. And this is much safer than laser surgery, which involves burning away healthy corneal tissue and also results in other complications, like problems with glare and trouble driving at night. Webb's solution has none of these issues; the quality of your vision will always be perfect, and it will not deteriorate over time.</font></div> <div> </div> <div><font size="4" face="Calibri">Webb showed off his bionic lens to 14 top ophthalmologists in mid-April during an <a href="https://ascrs.expoplanner.com/index.cfm?do=cme.login&event_id=10" target="_blank">annual conference</a> dedicated to cataracts and refractive surgery. He said the surgeons were impressed, and some will assist in future clinical trials.</font></div> <div> </div> <div><font size="4" face="Calibri">The bionic lens will first be tested on animals and then blind human eyes before Webb seeks regulatory approval in Canada and other various countries. </font></div> <div> </div> <div><font size="4" face="Calibri">The first Ocumetics Bionic Lens <font color="#800000">could be available as soon as 2017</font>, but it will only be an option for people over the age of 25 since eye structures aren't fully formed until that age.</font></div> <div> </div> <div align="center"><font size="2" face="Calibri"><em><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ocumetics-bionic-lens-perfect-vision-at-every-age-2015-5" target="_blank">http://www.businessinsider.com/ocumetics-bionic-lens-perfect-vision-at-every-age-2015-5</a></em></font></div></div></div></div><div align="center"><font size="2" face="Calibri"><br></font></div></div></div></div></div><br clear="all"><div><br></div>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature">Shahzad Afzal<br><a href="http://www.pakistanprobe.com/" target="_blank">http://www.pakistanprobe.com/</a><br><br><br></div> </div> Shahzadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05160575437170422234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2534333433654861615.post-40742997977520383332015-05-03T11:16:00.001+05:002015-05-03T11:16:56.736+05:00Pakistan Opens Criminal Investigation Into Former CIA Officials Involved in Drone Strike—Then Drops Case<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr"><div style="font-size:13px;color:rgb(68,68,68);margin:0px 0px 5px;line-height:20px;font-family:Arial"><div style="float:right;margin-left:5px;margin-bottom:5px;width:265px"><a href="http://static1.firedoglake.com/47/files/2015/05/4959824_orig.jpg" style="text-decoration:none;color:rgb(15,102,145)" target="_blank" class="hoverZoomLink"><img title="4959824_orig" src="http://static1.firedoglake.com/47/files/2015/05/4959824_orig.jpg" alt="" width="255" height="183" style="border: 0px; margin: 10px; text-align: center;"></a><p style="font-size:10px;margin-top:1px;padding-top:1px;text-align:center">Kareem Khan, who has pursued lawsuit against former CIA officials (Photo from Reprieve)</p></div><p>As ordered by a high court in Pakistan, police in Islamabad launched a criminal investigation into former CIA station chief, Jonathan Bank, for charges of murder and conspiracy to kill in a drone strike in 2009. They also opened a similar investigation into former CIA legal counsel John Rizzo.</p><p>Kareem Khan's teenage son, Zahinullah, and his brother, Asif Iqbal, were killed on December 31, 2009, in a CIA drone strike in North Waziristan. Khan decided to pursue a case against those responsible for his family's deaths in 2010.</p><p>A criminal registration document by Khan written in 2010<a href="http://www.reprieve.org/criminal-investigation-launched-by-pakistan-police-into-former-cia-station-chiefs-role-in-drone-strike.html" style="text-decoration:none;color:rgb(15,102,145)" target="_blank">alleges</a>, "One person, namely Jonathan [Bank], American national who is CIA's Islamabad Station Chief, is responsible for the murder" of Khan's son and brother. It accuses Bank of "running an illegal clandestine spying operation" in Pakistan but, specifically, North Waziristan, where the Pakistan Army has been "carrying out a military operation against militants."</p><p>Also alleged is that Bank had a role in the CIA placing a GPS device on the home that was targeted by a drone strike, which killed Iqbal and Zahinullah.</p><p>"The launch of this investigation against those responsible for the deaths of my son and brother, and thousands of other civilian victims, supports our position that the CIA is committing acts of murder in Pakistan by killing innocent civilians with impunity," Khan declared.</p><p>Shahzad Akbar, who is Khan's attorney and a legal fellow with Reprieve, reacted, "Today's decision marks a key turning point in Kareem Khan's search for justice over the deaths of his brother and son. After four years of government attempts to block his case, Kareem may finally get the answers he deserves and the CIA may finally be held in some way accountable for the murders it has been carrying out on Pakistani soil."</p><p>It was viewed as a huge victory for Khan in a struggle that has already spanned five years. But there was not much time for celebration, as Islamabad police indicated they want to have the case transferred to another jurisdiction—the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) in Pakistan.</p><p>Police officer Mohammad Nawaz <a href="http://bigstory.ap.org/article/99c6514bd4674e97aa076b4d6b4fd229/pakistan-drops-case-against-ex-cia-chief-agencys-lawyer" style="text-decoration:none;color:rgb(15,102,145)" target="_blank">told</a> the Associated Press, "We registered this case on orders from the court but on Wednesday night we dropped it because that drone attack did not take place in our jurisdiction in Islamabad." (However, the case was not dropped as AP reported because the police do not have the authority to drop a case. The court has the authority.)</p><p>"There is no legal justification for such a transfer," Akbar argued. "The orders to strike Kareem's family were given from the US Embassy in Islamabad and that's where the investigation needs to be focused: on the CIA agents who sit behind embassy walls making life or death decisions as judge, jury and executioner. An investigation centered anywhere else is simply an attempt to subvert justice."</p><p>Khan added, "I am disappointed that the Islamabad police seem eager to transfer the case to FATA where there is no police and when the culprits sit here in Islamabad. Nevertheless I will continue my legal struggle against continued injustice and will approach the judiciary again to bring the case back to Islamabad where it should be investigated."</p><p>In fact, according to Reprieve, this jurisdictional issue was already settled by the court more than a year ago. The police officer was spreading misinformation. Akbar plans to make a formal accusation that this police officer was acting in bad faith when he spoke to press about the lawsuit being dropped.</p><p>Early April, an Islamabad High Court judge <a href="http://dissenter.firedoglake.com/2015/04/07/pakistan-judge-orders-police-chief-to-register-murder-charge-against-cia-officials-for-drone-strike/" style="text-decoration:none;color:rgb(15,102,145)" target="_blank">directed</a> the police to register a murder and terrorism case against Bank and former CIA legal counsel John Rizzo for their role in the drone strike that killed Khan's family. Authorities had failed to comply with court orders to register a case since June 6, 2014.</p><p>Islamabad Police Chief IGP Tahir Alam informed the court that authorities were reluctant to register a case because it could impact relations between Pakistan and the United States. However, Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui was not persuaded and ordered a criminal case against CIA officials be submitted to the Office of the Registrar of the High Court.<span></span></p><p>There has been scant coverage by US establishment press of the alleged role Bank and others may have played in the deaths of Khan's family.</p><p>Bank was named in the lawsuit in 2010. When his name was revealed in Pakistani media, the Washington Post followed the CIA's request and <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/17/AR2010121703105.html" style="text-decoration:none;color:rgb(15,102,145)" target="_blank">did not name</a> Bank in their report.</p><p>According to Chris Woods' book, <em>Sudden Justice: America's Secret Drone Wars</em><em>, the CIA alleged that Pakistan's intelligence service, the ISI, had named him in retaliation for ISI chief, General Pasha, being put on trial in a US district court in Brooklyn for his alleged role in the Mumbai massacre. But President Barack Obama's administration "filed papers with the court opposing on principle the naming of foreign government officials in such cases and Pasha was able to visit Washington unimpeded on at least four occasions throughout 2011."</em></p><p>"In fact, Jonathan Bank had been in Islamabad for over a year under his own name when he was "outed," with his identity known not only to top ranking Pakistani military, intelligence and administration figures but also to senior diplomats of other nations," Woods noted.</p><p>Akbar may have obtained the name of Bank from Pakistani military or an intelligence source, but he refuses to share details of how he uncovered Bank' identity.</p><p>As described by Woods, this lawsuit by Khan was the idea of Christopher Rogers, who is with the non-governmental organization, CIVIC. The organization produced the "first major field examination of US drone strikes in Pakistan's tribal areas," which covered "more than six years of bombings," in September 2010. Nine drone strikes were analyzed. It inspired Rogers to hire Akbar and find someone who had been a victim of a drone strike, who would be willing to go after the CIA.</p><p>"When I filed against the CIA," Khan recalled, "Everyone even in Pakistan labelled us as crazies or mad people. Asking, 'How could you sue the CIA?' Nothing can come of it."</p><p>As <a href="https://news.vice.com/article/pakistan-is-investigating-a-cia-official-accused-of-murder-over-a-us-drone-strike" style="text-decoration:none;color:rgb(15,102,145)" target="_blank">pointed out</a> by VICE News' Jason Leopold, "Bank is now back at the CIA, and has been named deputy chief for counterintelligence at the Counter Terrorism Center, the division that oversees and conducts drone strikes."</p><p>Akbar has <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/jun/29/cia-drone-strike-civilian-victims" style="text-decoration:none;color:rgb(15,102,145)" target="_blank">championed</a> Khan as an example of someone who has chosen to try and force the legal system to work for him rather than turn to violence and seek revenge for what happened to his family. He believes the US government should be supportive of his effort to win justice for Khan, but, in 2011, the US government tried to prevent Akbar from speaking at Columbia University about drone strikes by denying him a visa.</p><p>Khan was <a href="http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/21857-anti-drone-activists-demand-answers-for-the-kidnapping-of-kareem-khan" style="text-decoration:none;color:rgb(15,102,145)" target="_blank">mysteriously captured</a> and disappeared in February 2014, just days before he was to go before British parliament and tell his story. He reappeared on February 14 after being "interrogated, beaten and tortured." At least fifteen men, eight in police uniforms, chained him and asked him repeatedly about "investigations into drone strikes, his knowledge of drone strike victims and his work advocating on their behalf."</p><p>Like with cases of torture, where the US government has strong-armed governments to protect CIA officials from accountability, the US government has undoubtedly done the same here. Pakistani authorities will continue to face pressure, as they have already, to conjure ways to circumvent or sidestep the legal process so that CIA officials do not have to face criminal charges for their role in drone strikes.</p></div></div> <p></p><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:13px"><div class="gmail_quote"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:13px"><br></span></div>By: Kevin Gosztola</span><br> </div><br><br clear="all"><div><br></div>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature">Shahzad Afzal<br><a href="http://www.pakistanprobe.com/" target="_blank">http://www.pakistanprobe.com/</a><br><br><br></div> </div> Shahzadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05160575437170422234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2534333433654861615.post-57155844294221511592015-04-28T11:22:00.001+05:002015-04-28T11:22:25.756+05:00Sex, Drugs, and Dead Soldiers<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr"><font size="5" style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman'">What U.S. Africa Command Doesn't Want You to Know <br><br><b>By Nick Turse</b><br></font><font size="5" style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman'"><br></font><div><font size="5" style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman'">"</font><a href="http://www.tomdispatch.com/blog/175984/" style="font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium;text-decoration:none" target="_blank"><font size="5">Tom Dispatch</font></a><font size="5" style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman'">" - " Six people lay lifeless in the filthy brown water.</font><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><font size="5">It was 5:09 a.m. when their Toyota Land Cruiser plunged off a bridge in the West African country of Mali. For about two seconds, the SUV sailed through the air, pirouetting 180 degrees as it plunged 70 feet, crashing into the Niger River.</font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><font size="5">Three of the dead were American commandos. The driver, a captain nicknamed "Whiskey Dan," was the leader of a shadowy team of operatives never profiled in the media and rarely <a href="http://www.usaid.gov/news-information/frontlines/democracy-human-rights-governance/collaborative-approach-combating" target="_blank">mentioned</a>even in government publications. One of the passengers was from an even more secretive unit whose work is often integral to Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), which conducts clandestine kill-and-capture missions overseas. Three of the others weren't military personnel at all or even Americans. They were Moroccan women alternately described as barmaids or "prostitutes." </font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><font size="5">The six deaths followed an April 2012 all-night bar crawl through Mali's capital, Bamako, according to a formerly classified report by U.S. Army criminal investigators. From dinner and drinks at a restaurant called Blah-Blah's to more drinks at La Terrasse to yet more at Club XS and nightcaps at Club Plaza, it was a rollicking swim through free-flowing vodka. And vodka and Red Bull. And vodka and orange juice. And vanilla pomegranate vodka. And Chivas Regal. And Jack Daniels. And Corona beer. And Castel beer. And don't forget B-52s, a drink generally made with Kahlúa, Grand Marnier, and Bailey's Irish Cream. The bar tab at Club Plaza alone was the equivalent of $350 in U.S. dollars.</font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><font size="5">At about 5 a.m. on April 20th, the six piled into that Land Cruiser, with <a href="http://themcconnellcenter.blogspot.com/2012/04/captain-daniel-h-utley-1979-2012.html" target="_blank">Captain Dan Utley</a> behind the wheel, to head for another hotspot: Bamako By Night. About eight minutes later, Utley called a woman on his cell phone to ask if she was angry. He said he'd circle back and pick her up, but she told him not to bother. Utley then handed the phone to Maria Laol, one of the Moroccan women. "Don't be upset. We'll come back and get you," she said. The woman on the other end of the call then heard screaming before the line went dead.</font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><strong><font size="5">A Command With Something to Hide</font></strong></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><font size="5">In the years since, U.S. Africa Command or AFRICOM, which is responsible for military operations on that continent, has remained remarkably silent about this shadowy incident in a country that had recently seen its democratically elected president deposed in a coup led by an American-trained officer, a country with which the U.S. had suspended military relations a month earlier. It was, to say the least, strange. But it wasn't the first time U.S. military personnel died under murky circumstances in Africa, nor the first (or last) time the specter of untoward behavior led to a criminal investigation. In fact, as American military operations have ramped up across Africa, reaching a <a href="http://www.tomdispatch.com/blog/175981/tomgram:_nick_turse,_the_u.s._military's_battlefield_of_tomorrow/" target="_blank">record 674 missions</a> in 2014, reports of excessive drinking, sex with prostitutes, drug use, sexual assaults, and other forms of violence by AFRICOM personnel have escalated, even though many of them have been kept under wraps for weeks or months, sometimes even for years. </font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><font size="5">"Our military is built on a reputation of enduring core values that are at the heart of our character," Major (then Brigadier) General <a href="http://www.hoa.africom.mil/story/13708/grigsby-leaves-legacy-at-cjtf-hoa" target="_blank">Wayne Grigsby</a> Jr., the <a href="http://www.hoa.africom.mil/story/13708/grigsby-leaves-legacy-at-cjtf-hoa" target="_blank">former</a> chief of AFRICOM's subordinate command, Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA), <a href="http://www.hoa.africom.mil/story/8169/thoughts-from-the-running-trail" target="_blank">wrote</a> in an address to troops last year. "Part of belonging to this elite team is living by our core values and professionalism every day. Incorporating those values into everything we do is called our profession of arms." </font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><font size="5">But legal documents, Pentagon reports, and criminal investigation files, many of them obtained by<em>TomDispatch</em> through dozens of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests and never before revealed, demonstrate that AFRICOM personnel have all too regularly behaved in ways at odds with those "core values." The squeaky clean image the command projects through news releases, official testimony before Congress, and mainstream media <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/training-partnerships-u-military-treads-lightly-africa-161321846.html" target="_blank">articles</a> -- often by cherry-picked<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/15/magazine/can-general-linders-special-operations-forces-stop-the-next-terrorist-threat.html" target="_blank">journalists</a> who are <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/05/world/africa/us-takes-training-role-in-africa-as-threats-grow-and-budgets-shrink.html" target="_blank">granted</a> access to otherwise unavailable personnel and <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/08/world/africa/african-training-exercise-turns-urgent-as-threats-grow.html?_r=0" target="_blank">locales</a> -- doesn't hold up to inspection.</font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><font size="5">"As a citizen and soldier, I appreciate how important it is to have an informed public that helps to provide accountable governance and is also important in the preservation of the trust between a military and a society and nation it serves," AFRICOM Commander General David Rodriguez <a href="http://www.africom.mil/newsroom/transcript/23562/pao-symposium-press-conference-with-general-david-rodriguez" target="_blank">said</a>at a press conference last year. Checking out these revelations of misdeeds with AFRICOM'S media office to determine just how representative they are, however, has proven impossible. </font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><font size="5">I made several hundred attempts to contact the command for comment and clarification while this article was being researched and written, but was consistently rebuffed. Dozens of phone calls to public affairs personnel went unanswered and scores of email requests were ignored. At one point, I called AFRICOM media chief Benjamin Benson 32 times on a single business day from a phone that identified me by name. It rang and rang. He never picked up. I then placed a call from a different number so my identity would not be apparent. He answered on the second ring. After I identified myself, he claimed the connection was bad and the line went dead. Follow-up calls from the second number followed the same pattern -- a behavior repeated day after day for weeks on end. </font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/1608464636/ref=nosim/?tag=tomdispatch-20" target="_blank"><font size="5"><img src="http://www.tomdispatch.com/images/managed/battlefieldturse.jpg" alt="" align="left" hspace="6"></font></a><font size="5">This strategy, of course, mirrored the command's consistent efforts to keep embarrassing incidents quiet, concealing many of them and acknowledging others only with the sparest of reports. The command, for example, <a href="http://www.africom.mil/newsroom/article/8927/three-us-military-service-members-killed-in-auto-a" target="_blank">issued</a> a five-sentence press release regarding those deaths in Bamako. They provided neither the names of the Americans nor the identities of the "three civilians" who perished with them. They failed to mention that the men were with the Special Operations forces, noting only that the deceased were "U.S. military members." For months after the crash, the Pentagon kept secret the name of Master Sergeant Trevor Bast, a communications technician with the Intelligence and Security Command (whose personnel often work closely with JSOC) -- until the information was <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/mysterious-fatal-crash-provides-rare-glimpse-of-us-commandos-in-mali/2012/07/08/gJQAGO71WW_story.html" target="_blank">pried out</a> by the <em>Washington Post</em>'s Craig Whitlock. </font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><font size="5">"It must be noted that the activities of U.S. military forces in Mali have been very public," Colonel Tom Davis of AFRICOM <a href="http://www.tomdispatch.com/blog/175574/" target="_blank">told</a> <em>TomDispatch</em> in the wake of the deaths, without explaining why the commandos were still in the country a month after the United States had <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/mysterious-fatal-crash-provides-rare-glimpse-of-us-commandos-in-mali/2012/07/08/gJQAGO71WW_story.html" target="_blank">suspended</a> military relations with Mali's government. In the years since, the command has released no additional information about the episode. </font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><font size="5">True to form, AFRICOM's Benjamin Benson failed to respond to requests for comment and clarification, but according to the final report on the incident by Army criminal investigators (obtained by <em>TomDispatch</em> through a FOIA request), the deaths of Utley, Bast, Sergeant First Class Marciano Myrthil, and the three women "were accidental, however [Captain] Utley's actions were negligent resulting in the passengers' deaths." A final review by a staff judge advocate from Special Operations Command Africa found that there was probable cause to conclude Utley was guilty of negligent homicide.</font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><strong><font size="5">AFRICOM's Sex Crimes</font></strong></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><font size="5">The criminal investigation of the incident in Mali touched upon relationships between U.S. military personnel and African "females." Indeed, the U.S. military has many regulations regarding<a href="http://www.army.mil/article/138222/Army_updates_reg_defining_inappropriate_relationships/" target="_blank">romantic attachments</a> and <a href="http://theweek.com/articles/470371/david-petraeusaffair-military-outlaws-adultery" target="_blank">sexual activity</a>. AFRICOM personnel have not always adhered to such strictures and, in the course of my reporting, I asked Benson if the command has had a problem with sexual misconduct. He never responded. </font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><font size="5">In recent years, allegations of widespread sex crimes have dogged the U.S. military. A Pentagon survey <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/08/us/politics/pentagon-study-sees-sharp-rise-in-sexual-assaults.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0" target="_blank">estimated</a> that 26,000 members of the armed forces were sexually assaulted in 2012, though just one in 10 of those victims <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2014/12/03/politics/military-sexual-assault-report/" target="_blank">reported</a> the assaults. In 2013, the number of personnel reporting such incidents <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2014/12/03/politics/military-sexual-assault-report/" target="_blank">jumped</a> by 50% to 5,518 and last year reached nearly 6,000. Given the gross underreporting of sexual assaults, it's impossible to know how many of these crimes involved AFRICOM personnel, but documents examined by <em>TomDispatch</em> suggests a problem does indeed exist.</font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><font size="5">In August 2011, for example, a Marine with Joint Enabling Capabilities Command assigned to AFRICOM was staying at a hotel in Germany, the site of the command's headquarters. He began making random room-to-room calls that were eventually traced. According to court martial documents examined by <em>TomDispatch</em>, the recipient of one of them said the "subject matter of the phone call essentially dealt with a solicitation for a sexual tryst." </font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><font size="5">About a week after he began making the calls, the Marine, who had previously been a consultant for the CIA, began chatting up a boy in the hotel lounge. After learning that the youngster was 14 years old, "the conversation turned to oral sex with men and the appellant asked [the teen] if he had ever been interested in oral sex with men. He also told [the teen] that if the appellant or any of his male friends were aroused, they would have oral sex with one another," according to legal documents. The boy attempted to change the subject, but the Marine moved closer to him, began "rubbing his [own] crotch area through his shorts," and continued to talk to him "in graphic detail about sexual matters and techniques" before the youngster left the lounge. The Marine was later court-martialed for his actions and convicted of making a false official statement, as well as "engaging in indecent liberty with a child" -- that is, <a href="http://www.jamesahernandez.com/Military-Law/Sexual-Offense-Definitions-of-U-C-M-J.shtml" target="_blank">engaging</a> in an act meant to arouse or gratify sexual desire while in a child's presence.</font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><font size="5">That same year, according to a Pentagon report, a noncommissioned officer committed a sexual assault on a female subordinate at an unnamed U.S. base in Djibouti (presumably Camp Lemonnier, the headquarters of Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa). "Subject grabbed victim's head and forced her to continue having sexual intercourse with him," the report says. He received a nonjudicial punishment including a reduction in rank, a fine of half-pay for two months, 45 days of restriction, and 45 days of extra duty. The latter two punishments were later suspended and the perpetrator was, at the time the report was prepared, "being processed for administrative separation." </font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><font size="5">At an "unknown location" in Djibouti in 2011, an enlisted woman reported being raped by a fellow service member "while on watch." According to a synopsis prepared by the Department of Defense, that man "was not charged with any criminal violations in reference to the rape allegation against him. Victim pled guilty to failure to obey a lawful order and false official statement." </font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><font size="5">In a third case in Djibouti, an enlisted woman reported opening the door to her quarters only to be attacked. An unknown assailant "placed his left hand over her mouth and placed his right hand under her shirt and began to slide it up the side of her body." All leads were later deemed exhausted and no suspect was identified. According to Air Force documents obtained by<em>TomDispatch</em>, allegations also surfaced concerning an assault with intent to commit rape in Morocco, a forcible sodomy in Ethiopia, and possession of child pornography in Djibouti, all in 2012.</font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><font size="5">On July 22nd of that year, a group of Americans <a href="http://www.stripes.com/news/army-general-accused-of-sex-assault-by-adviser-quietly-retired-with-demotion-1.306106" target="_blank">traveled</a> to a private party in Djibouti attended by U.S. Ambassador Geeta Pasi and Major General Ralph Baker, the <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/pentagon-probe-finds-three-army-generals-committed-misconduct/2013/04/05/ff0766b8-9e16-11e2-94d6-bf62983d455b_story.html" target="_blank">commander</a> of a counterterrorism force in the Horn of Africa. Baker drank heavily, according to an AFRICOM senior policy adviser who sat with him in the backseat of a sport utility vehicle on the return trip to Camp Lemonnier. While two military personnel, one of them an agent of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), sat just a few feet away, Baker "forced his hand between [the adviser's] legs and attempted to touch her vagina against her will," according to a classified criminal investigation file obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.</font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><font size="5">"I grabbed his hand and held it on the seat to try to prevent him from putting his hand deeper between my legs," she <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2014/10/01/army-general-accused-of-sexual-assault-by-senior-adviser-retired-quietly-with-demotion/" target="_blank">told</a> an investigator. "He responded by smiling at me and saying, 'Cat got your tongue?' I was appalled about what he was doing to me and did not know what to say." She later reported the offense via the Department of Defense's Sexual Assault Hotline. According to a<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2014/10/01/army-general-accused-of-sexual-assault-by-senior-adviser-retired-quietly-with-demotion/" target="_blank">report</a> in the <em>Washington Post</em>, "Baker was given an administrative punishment at the time of the incident as well as a letter of reprimand -- usually a career-ending punishment." Demoted in rank to brigadier general, he was allowed to quietly retire in September 2013.</font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><font size="5">A Pentagon report on sexual assault lists allegations of three incidents in Djibouti in 2013 -- one act of "<a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/10/920" target="_blank">abusive sexual contact</a>" and two reports of "<a href="http://www.jamesahernandez.com/Military-Law/Sexual-Offense-Definitions-of-U-C-M-J.shtml" target="_blank">wrongful sexual contact</a>." The report also details a case in which a member of the U.S. military reported that she and a group of friends had been out eating and drinking at a local establishment. Upon returning to her quarters at the base, one of her male companions asked to enter her room and she gave him permission. He then began to kiss her neck and shoulders. When she resisted, according to the report, "he grabbed her shorts and began to kiss and lick her vagina." That man was later charged with rape, abusive sexual contact, and wrongful sexual contact. He was tried and acquitted.</font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><font size="5">The Pentagon has yet to issue its 2014 report on sexual assaults and AFRICOM has failed to release any statistics on its own, but given that military personnel fail to <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2014/12/03/politics/military-sexual-assault-report/" target="_blank">report</a> most sexual crimes, whatever numbers may emerge will undoubtedly be drastic undercounts.</font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><strong><font size="5">Sex, Drugs, and Guns</font></strong></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><font size="5">On the morning of April 10, 2010, a Navy investigator walked through the door of room 3092 at the Sarova Whitesands Beach Resort in Mombasa, Kenya. Two empty wine bottles sat in the trash can. Another was on the floor. There were remnants of feminine hygiene products on the bathroom countertop, Axe body spray in an armoire, unopened condoms on a table, and inside a desk drawer, a tan powder that he took to be "an illicit narcotic," all of this according to an official report by that NCIS agent obtained by <em>TomDispatch</em> through the Freedom of Information Act. </font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><font size="5">Three days before, on April 7th, Sergeant <a href="http://www.hoa.africom.mil/story/7407/memorial-service-held-for-soldier" target="_blank">Roberto Diaz-Boria</a> of the Puerto Rico Army National Guard had been staying in this room. On leave from Manda Bay, Kenya -- home of Camp Simba, a hush-hush military outpost in Africa -- he had come to Mombasa to kick back. That night, along with a brother-in-arms, he ended up at Causerina, a nearby bar that locals said was a hotspot for drugs and prostitution.<strong> </strong>Diaz-Boria left Causerina with a "female companion," according to official documents, paid the requisite fee for such guests at the hotel, and took her to his room. By morning, he was dead. </font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><font size="5">A news story released soon after by Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa stated that Diaz-Boria had died while "stationed" in Mombasa. The cause of death, the article noted, was "under investigation." CJTF-HOA failed to respond to a request for additional information about the case, but an Army investigation later determined that the sergeant "accidentally died of multiple drug toxicity after drinking alcohol and using cocaine and heroin." Where he obtained the drugs was never determined, but according to the summary of an interview with an NCIS agent, a close friend in his infantry unit did say that there were "rumors within the battalion about the easy access to very potent illegal narcotics in Manda Bay, Kenya." </font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><font size="5">Kenya is hardly an anomaly. Criminal inquiries regarding illicit drug use also took place in Ethiopia in 2012 and Burkina Faso in 2013, while another investigation into distribution was conducted in Cameroon that same year, according to Air Force records obtained by <em>TomDispatch</em>. AFRICOM did not respond to questions concerning any of these investigations.</font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><font size="5">In late 2012, when I asked what U.S. personnel were up to in Dire Dawa, Ethiopia, AFRICOM spokesman Eric Elliott replied that troops were "supporting humanitarian activities in the area." Indeed, official documents and other sources <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IV21rDNcDbM" target="_blank">indicate</a> U.S. <a href="http://www.hoa.africom.mil/Image/4750/cjtf-hoa-photo" target="_blank">personnel</a> have been <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwpJ9oewGos" target="_blank">carrying out</a> aid<a href="http://www.africom.mil/newsroom/article/8991/us-personnel-dedicate-ethiopian-school-facilities-" target="_blank">activities</a> in the region for years. But that wasn't all they were doing. </font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><font size="5">The Lonely Planet guide <a href="http://www.lonelyplanet.com/ethiopia/eastern-ethiopia/dire-dawa/hotels/samrat-hotel" target="_blank">says</a> that the Samrat Hotel provides the best digs in town, with a "classy lobby" and "a good nightclub and restaurant." The one drawback: "stiff mattresses." That apparently didn't affect the activities of at least nine of 19 U.S. military personnel from the 775th Engineer Detachment of the Tennessee Army National Guard. After an unidentified "local national female" was seen emerging from a "secured communications room" in the hotel, a preliminary investigation was launched and found "military members of the unit allegedly routinely solicited prostitutes in the lobby of the hotel and later brought the prostitutes back to their assigned rooms or to the secured communications room," according to documents obtained via FOIA request. A later report by Army agents determined that personnel from the 775th Engineer Detachment and the 415th Civil Affairs Battalion "individually engaged in sexual acts in exchange for money" at the hotel between July 1 and July 22, 2013. In the room of a staff sergeant, investigators also found what appeared to be <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/15/AR2006041500666.html" target="_blank">khat</a>, a popular local narcotic that offers a hyperactive high marked by<a href="https://www.osac.gov/Pages/ContentReportDetails.aspx?cid=15121" target="_blank">aggressiveness</a> that ultimately leaves the user in a glassy-eyed daze.</font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><font size="5">A sworn statement by a medic who served in Dire Dawa that month -- obtained by <em>TomDispatch</em> in a separate FOIA request -- paints a picture of a debauched atmosphere of partying, local "girlfriends," and a variety of sex acts. "Originally, before we departed to Ethiopia, I grabbed around 70 condoms. However, I was told that was not going to be enough," said the medic, noting that it was his job to carry medical supplies. Instead, he brought 200. He confessed to obtaining a prostitute through the bartender at the Samrat Hotel and admitted to engaging in sex acts with another woman who, he said, later revealed herself to be a prostitute. He paid her the equivalent of $60. Another service member showed him pictures of a "local national in his bed in his hotel room," the medic told the NCIS agent. He continued: </font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium;padding-left:20px;padding-right:20px"><font size="5">"I know this girl is a prostitute because I pulled her from the club previously. The name of the club was 'The Pom-Pom'... I had hooked up with this girl before [redacted name] so when he showed me the photo I recognized the girl. [Redacted name] stated how she had a nice booty and was good in bed... I want to say that [redacted name] told me he paid about 1,000 Birr (roughly $30 US dollars), but I can't recall exactly."</font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><font size="5">Army investigation documents obtained by <em>TomDispatch</em> also indicate similar extracurricular activities by members of the 607th Air Control Squadron and the 422nd Communications Squadron in neighboring Djibouti. An inquiry by Army criminal investigators determined that there was probable cause to believe three noncommissioned officers "committed the offense of patronizing a prostitute" at an "off-base residence" in June 2013.</font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><font size="5">AFRICOM failed to respond to repeated requests for comment on or to provide further information about members of the command engaging in illicit sex. It was similarly nonresponsive when it came to criminal inquests into allegations of arson in South Africa, larceny in Burkina Faso, graft in Algeria, and drunk and disorderly conduct in Nigeria, among other alleged crimes. The command has kept quiet about violent incidents as well.</font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><font size="5">On April 19, 2013, for instance, something went terribly wrong in Manda Bay, Kenya. A specialist with the Kentucky Army National Guard, deployed at Camp Simba and reportedly upset by a posting he saw on Facebook, got drunk on bourbon whiskey -- more than a fifth of <a href="http://www.jimbeam.com/" target="_blank">Jim Beam</a>, according to witnesses -- stole a 9mm pistol, and shot a superior officer. He would also point the pistol at a staff sergeant and a master sergeant and then barricade himself in his barracks room. A member of the Army's Special Forces serving at the base told an NCIS agent what he saw when the soldier emerged from his quarters:</font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium;padding-left:20px;padding-right:20px"><font size="5">"He had a gun in his hand and he was waving it around with the barrel level. He was saying something to the effect of 'Fuck you!' or something like that. I heard the [redacted] say something like 'put the gun down!' a couple of times and then the [redacted] shot at the subject 2-3 times with his handgun."</font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><font size="5">The drunken soldier was hit once in the leg and later surrendered. An investigation determined that the specialist had probably committed a host of offenses under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, including wrongful appropriation of government property, failure to obey an order, and aggravated assault, although a charge of attempted murder was deemed "unfounded." The incident, detailed in previously classified documents, was never made public.</font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><strong><font size="5">General Malfeasance</font></strong></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><font size="5">AFRICOM has certainly had its troubles, starting at the top, since it began overseeing the U.S. military <a href="http://www.tomdispatch.com/blog/175743/tomgram:_nick_turse,_africom's_gigantic_%22small_footprint%2522" target="_blank">pivot to Africa</a>. Its first chief, General William "Kip" Ward, who led the fledgling command from 2007 until 2011, was demoted after a 2012 investigation by the Department of Defense Inspector General's office found he had committed a raft of misdeeds, such as using taxpayer-funded military aircraft for personal travel and spending lavishly on hotels.</font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><font size="5">During an 11-day trip to Washington, for example, he billed the government $129,000 in expenses for his wife, 13 employees, and himself, but conducted official business on just two of those days. According to the Inspector General's report, Ward also had AFRICOM personnel ferry his wife around and run errands for the two of them, including shopping for "candy and baby items, picking up flowers and books, delivering snacks, and acquiring tickets to sporting events." He even accepted "complimentary meals and Broadway show tickets" from a "prohibited source with multiple [Department of Defense] contracts." </font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><font size="5">Ward was <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/13/william-ward_n_2122379.html" target="_blank">ordered</a> to repay the government $82,000 and busted down from four stars to three, which will cost him about $30,000 yearly in retirement pay. He'll now <em>only</em> receive $208,802 annually. An AFRICOM webpage <a href="http://www.africom.mil/about-the-command/past-leaders/general-william-e-kip-ward" target="_blank">devoted</a> to the highlights of Ward's career mentions nothing of his transgressions, demotion, or punishment. The only clue to all of this is his official photo. In it, he's sporting four stars while his bio states that "Ward retired at the rank of Lieutenant General in November 2012."</font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><font size="5">Ward's wasteful ways became major news, but the story of his malfeasance has been the exception. For every SUV that plunged off a bridge or general who was busted down for misbehavior, how many other AFRICOM sexual assaults, shootings, and prostitution scandals remain unknown? </font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><font size="5">For years, as U.S. military personnel moved into Africa in ever-increasing numbers, AFRICOM has effectively downplayed, disguised, or covered-up almost every aspect of its operations, from the locations of its <a href="http://www.tomdispatch.com/blog/175743/tomgram:_nick_turse,_africom's_gigantic_%22small_footprint%2522" target="_blank">troop deployments</a> to those of its <a href="http://www.tomdispatch.com/blog/175925/" target="_blank">expanding</a> string of <a href="http://www.tomdispatch.com/blog/175830/tomgram:_nick_turse,_africom_becomes_a_%22war-fighting_combatant_command%2522" target="_blank">outposts</a>. Not surprisingly, it's done the same when it comes to misdeeds by members of the command and continues to ignore questions surrounding crimes and alleged misconduct by its personnel, refusing even to answer emails or phone calls about them. With taxpayer money covering the salaries of lawbreakers and the men and women who investigate them, with America's sons dying after drink and drug binges and its daughters assaulted and sexually abused while deployed, the American people deserve answers when it comes to the conduct of U.S. forces in Africa. Personally, I remain eager to hear AFRICOM's side of the story, should Benjamin Benson ever be in the mood to return my calls. </font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><em><font size="5">Nick Turse is the managing editor of </font></em><font size="5">TomDispatch.com<em> and a fellow at the Nation Institute. A 2014 Izzy Award and </em><a href="http://www.beforecolumbusfoundation.com/" target="_blank"><em>American Book Award</em></a><em> winner for his book </em><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/1250045061/ref=nosim/?tag=tomdispatch-20" target="_blank">Kill Anything That Moves</a><em>, he has reported from the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Africa and his pieces have appeared in the</em>New York Times<em>, the </em>Los Angeles Times, the Nation, <em>and regularly at TomDispatch. His latest book, </em><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/1608464636/ref=nosim/?tag=tomdispatch-20" target="_blank">Tomorrow's Battlefield: U.S. Proxy Wars and Secret Ops in Africa</a>, </font><em><font size="5">has just been published.</font></em></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><font size="5">Follow <em>TomDispatch</em> on Twitter and join us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/tomdispatch" target="_blank">Facebook</a>. Check out the newest Dispatch Book, Nick Turse's <em><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/1608464636/ref=nosim/?tag=tomdispatch-20" target="_blank">Tomorrow's Battlefield: U.S. Proxy Wars and Secret Ops in Africa</a></em>, and Tom Engelhardt's latest book, <em><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/1608463656/ref=nosim/?tag=tomdispatch-20" target="_blank">Shadow Government: Surveillance, Secret Wars, and a Global Security State in a Single-Superpower World</a></em>.</font></p></div></div></div>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature"><a href="http://www.pakistanprobe.com/" target="_blank">http://www.pakistanprobe.com/</a><br><br><br></div> </div> Shahzadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05160575437170422234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2534333433654861615.post-8070862292439178742015-02-19T12:02:00.001+05:002015-02-19T12:02:47.655+05:00Science, Mind, and Limits of Understanding<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr"><font size="5" style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman'">The Science and Faith Foundation (STOQ), The Vatican, January 2014<br><br><b>By Noam Chomsky<br></b><br></font><font size="5" style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman'">One of the most profound insights into language and mind, I think, was Descartes's recognition of what we may call "the creative aspect of language use": the ordinary use of language is typically innovative without bounds, appropriate to circumstances but not caused by them – a crucial distinction – and can engender thoughts in others that they recognize they could have expressed themselves. Given the intimate relation of language and thought, these are properties of human thought as well. This insight is the primary basis for Descartes's scientific theory of mind and body. There is no sound reason to question its validity, as far as I am aware. Its implications, if valid, are far-reaching, among them what it suggests about the limits of human understanding, as becomes more clear when we consider the place of these reflections in the development of modern science from the earliest days.</font><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"></span><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><font size="5">It is important to bear in mind that insofar as it was grounded in these terms, Cartesian dualism was a respectable scientific theory, proven wrong (in ways that are often misunderstood), but that is the common fate of respectable theories.</font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><font size="5">The background is the so-called "mechanical philosophy" – mechanical science in modern terminology. This doctrine, originating with Galileo and his contemporaries, held that the world is a machine, operating by mechanical principles, much like the remarkable devices that were being constructed by skilled artisans of the day and that stimulated the scientific imagination much as computers do today; devices with gears, levers, and other mechanical components, interacting through direct contact with no mysterious forces relating them. The doctrine held that the entire world is similar: it could in principle be constructed by a skilled artisan, and was in fact created by a super-skilled artisan. The doctrine was intended to replace the resort to "occult properties" on the part of the neoscholastics: their appeal to mysterious sympathies and antipathies, to forms flitting through the air as the means of perception, the idea that rocks fall and steam rises because they are moving to their natural place, and similar notions that were mocked by the new science.</font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><font size="5">The mechanical philosophy provided the very criterion for intelligibility in the sciences. Galileo insisted that theories are intelligible, in his words, only if we can "duplicate [their posits] by means of appropriate artificial devices." The same conception, which became the reigning orthodoxy, was maintained and developed by the other leading figures of the scientific revolution: Descartes, Leibniz, Huygens, Newton, and others.</font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><font size="5">Today Descartes is remembered mainly for his philosophical reflections, but he was primarily a working scientist and presumably thought of himself that way, as his contemporaries did. His great achievement, he believed, was to have firmly established the mechanical philosophy, to have shown that the world is indeed a machine, that the phenomena of nature could be accounted for in mechanical terms in the sense of the science of the day. But he discovered phenomena that appeared to escape the reach of mechanical science. Primary among them, for Descartes, was the creative aspect of language use, a capacity unique to humans that cannot be duplicated by machines and does not exist among animals, which in fact were a variety of machines, in his conception.</font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><font size="5">As a serious and honest scientist, Descartes therefore invoked a new principle to accommodate these non-mechanical phenomena, a kind of creative principle. In the substance philosophy of the day, this was a new substance, res cogitans, which stood alongside of res extensa. This dichotomy constitutes the mind-body theory in its scientific version. Then followed further tasks: to explain how the two substances interact and to devise experimental tests to determine whether some other creature has a mind like ours. These tasks were undertaken by Descartes and his followers, notably Géraud de Cordemoy; and in the domain of language, by the logician-grammarians of Port Royal and the tradition of rational and philosophical grammar that succeeded them, not strictly Cartesian but influenced by Cartesian ideas.</font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><font size="5">All of this is normal science, and like much normal science, it was soon shown to be incorrect. Newton demonstrated that one of the two substances does not exist: res extensa. The properties of matter, Newton showed, escape the bounds of the mechanical philosophy. To account for them it is necessary to resort to interaction without contact. Not surprisingly, Newton was condemned by the great physicists of the day for invoking the despised occult properties of the neo-scholastics. Newton largely agreed. He regarded action at a distance, in his words, as "so great an Absurdity, that I believe no Man who has in philosophical matters a competent Faculty of thinking, can ever fall into it." Newton however argued that these ideas, though absurd, were not "occult" in the traditional despised sense. Nevertheless, by invoking this absurdity, we concede that we do not understand the phenomena of the material world. To quote one standard scholarly source, "By `understand' Newton still meant what his critics meant: `understand in mechanical terms of contact action'."</font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><font size="5">It is commonly believed that Newton showed that the world is a machine, following mechanical principles, and that we can therefore dismiss "the ghost in the machine," the mind, with appropriate ridicule. The facts are the opposite: Newton exorcised the machine, leaving the ghost intact. The mind-body problem in its scientific form did indeed vanish as unformulable, because one of its terms, body, does not exist in any intelligible form. Newton knew this very well, and so did his great contemporaries.</font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><font size="5">John Locke wrote that we remain in "incurable ignorance of what we desire to know" about matter and its effects, and no "science of bodies [that provides true explanations is] within our reach." Nevertheless, he continued, he was "convinced by the judicious Mr. Newton's incomparable book, that it is too bold a presumption to limit God's power, in this point, by my narrow conceptions." Though gravitation of matter to matter is "inconceivable to me," nevertheless, as Newton demonstrated, we must recognize that it is within God's power "to put into bodies, powers and ways of operations, above what can be derived from our idea of body, or can be explained by what we know of matter." And thanks to Newton's work, we know that God "has done so." The properties of the material world are "inconceivable to us," but real nevertheless. Newton understood the quandary. For the rest of his life, he sought some way to overcome the absurdity, suggesting various possibilities, but not committing himself to any of them because he could not show how they might work and, as he always insisted, he would not "feign hypotheses" beyond what can be experimentally established.</font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><font size="5">Replacing the theological with a cognitive framework, David Hume agreed with these conclusions. In his history of England, Hume describes Newton as "the greatest and rarest genius that ever arose for the ornament and instruction of the species." His most spectacular achievement was that while he "seemed to draw the veil from some of the mysteries of nature, he shewed at the same time the imperfections of the mechanical philosophy; and thereby restored [Nature's] ultimate secrets to that obscurity, in which they ever did and ever will remain."</font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><font size="5">As the import of Newton's discoveries was gradually assimilated in the sciences, the "absurdity' recognized by Newton and his great contemporaries became scientific common sense. The properties of the natural world are inconceivable to us, but that does not matter. The goals of scientific inquiry were implicitly restricted: from the kind of conceivability that was a criterion for true understanding in early modern science from Galileo through Newton and beyond, to something much more limited: intelligibility of theories about the world. This seems to me a step of considerable significance in the history of human thought and inquiry, more so than is generally recognized, though it has been understood by historians of science.</font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><font size="5">Friedrich Lange, in his classic 19th century history of materialism, observed that we have "so accustomed ourselves to the abstract notion of forces, or rather to a notion hovering in a mystic obscurity between abstraction and concrete comprehension, that we no longer find any difficulty in making one particle of matter act upon another without immediate contact,…through void space without any material link. From such ideas the great mathematicians and physicists of the seventeenth century were far removed. They were all in so far genuine Materialists in the sense of ancient Materialism that they made immediate contact a condition of influence." This transition over time is "one of the most important turning-points in the whole history of Materialism," he continued, depriving the doctrine of much significance, if any at all. "What Newton held to be so great an absurdity that no philosophic thinker could light upon it, is prized by posterity as Newton's great discovery of the harmony of the universe!"</font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><font size="5">Similar conclusions are commonplace in the history of science. In the mid-twentieth century, Alexander Koyré observed that Newton demonstrated that "a purely materialistic pattern of nature is utterly impossible (and a purely materialistic or mechanistic physics, such as that of Lucretius or of Descartes, is utterly impossible, too)"; his mathematical physics required the "admission into the body of science of incomprehensible and inexplicable `facts' imposed up on us by empiricism," by what is observed and our conclusions from these observations.</font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><font size="5">With the disappearance of the scientific concept of body (material, physical, etc.), what happens to the "second substance," res cogitans/mind, which was left untouched by Newton's startling discoveries? A plausible answer was suggested by John Locke, also within the reigning theological framework. He wrote that just as God added to matter such inconceivable properties as gravitational attraction, he might also have "superadded" to matter the capacity of thought. In the years that followed, Locke's "God" was reinterpreted as "nature," a move that opened the topic to inquiry. That path was pursued extensively in the years that followed, leading to the conclusion that mental processes are properties of certain kinds of organized matter. Restating the fairly common understanding of the time, Charles Darwin, in his early notebooks, wrote that there is no need to regard thought, "a secretion of the brain," as "more wonderful than gravity, a property of matter" – all inconceivable to us, but that is not a fact about the external world; rather, about our cognitive limitations.</font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><font size="5">It is of some interest that all of this has been forgotten, and is now being rediscovered. Nobel laureate Francis Crick, famous for the discovery of DNA, formulated what he called the "astonishing hypothesis" that our mental and emotional states are "in fact no more than the behavior of a vast assembly of nerve cells and their associated molecules." In the philosophical literature, this rediscovery has sometimes been regarded as a radical new idea in the study of mind. To cite one prominent source, the radical new idea is "the bold assertion that mental phenomena are entirely natural and caused by the neurophysiological activities of the brain." In fact, the many proposals of this sort reiterate, in virtually the same words, formulations of centuries ago, after the traditional mind-body problem became unformulable with Newton's demolition of the only coherent notion of body (or physical, material, etc.). For example, 18th century chemist/philosopher Joseph Priestley's conclusion that properties "termed mental" reduce to "the organical structure of the brain," stated in different words by Locke, Hume, Darwin, and many others, and almost inescapable, it would seem, after the collapse of the mechanical philosophy that provided the foundations for early modern science, and its criteria of intelligibility.</font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><font size="5">The last decade of the twentieth century was designated "the Decade of the Brain." In introducing a collection of essays reviewing its results, neuroscientist Vernon Mountcastle formulated the guiding theme of the volume as the thesis of the new biology that "Things mental, indeed minds, are emergent properties of brains, [though] these emergences are…produced by principles that… we do not yet understand" – again reiterating eighteenth century insights in virtually the same words.</font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><font size="5">The phrase "we do not yet understand," however, should strike a note of caution. We might recall Bertrand Russell's observation in 1927 that chemical laws "cannot at present be reduced to physical laws." That was true, leading eminent scientists, including Nobel laureates, to regard chemistry as no more than a mode of computation that could predict experimental results, but not real science. Soon after Russell wrote, it was discovered that his observation, though correct, was understated. Chemical laws never would be reducible to physical laws, as physics was then understood. After physics underwent radical changes, with the quantum-theoretic revolution, the new physics was unified with a virtually unchanged chemistry, but there was never reduction in the anticipated sense.</font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><font size="5">There may be some lessons here for neuroscience and philosophy of mind. Contemporary neuroscience is hardly as well-established as physics was a century ago. There are what seem to me to be cogent critiques of its foundational assumptions, notably recent work by cognitive neuroscientists C.R. Gallistel and Adam Philip King. The common slogan that study of mind is neuroscience at an abstract level might turn out to be just as misleading as comparable statements about chemistry and physics ninety years ago. Unification may take place, but that might require radical rethinking of the neurosciences, perhaps guided by computational theories of cognitive processes, as Gallistel and King suggest.</font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><font size="5">The development of chemistry after Newton also has lessons for neuroscience and cognitive science. The 18th century chemist Joseph Black recommended that "chemical affinity be received as a first principle, which we cannot explain any more than Newton could explain gravitation, and let us defer accounting for the laws of affinity, till we have established such a body of doctrine as he has established concerning the laws of gravitation." The course Black outlined is the one that was actually followed as chemistry proceeded to establish a rich body of doctrine. Historian of chemistry Arnold Thackray observes that the "triumphs" of chemistry were "built on no reductionist foundation but rather achieved in isolation from the newly emerging science of physics." Interestingly, Thackray continues, Newton and his followers did attempt to "pursue the thoroughly Newtonian and reductionist task of uncovering the general mathematical laws which govern all chemical behavior" and to develop a principled science of chemical mechanisms based on physics and its concepts of interactions among "the ultimate permanent particles of matter." But the Newtonian program was undercut by Dalton's "astonishingly successful weight-quantification of chemical units," Thackray continues, shifting "the whole area of philosophical debate among chemists from that of chemical mechanisms (the why? of reaction) to that of chemical units (the what? and how much?)," a theory that "was profoundly antiphysicalist and anti-Newtonian in its rejection of the unity of matter, and its dismissal of short-range forces." Continuing, Thackray writes that "Dalton's ideas were chemically successful. Hence they have enjoyed the homage of history, unlike the philosophically more coherent, if less successful, reductionist schemes of the Newtonians."</font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><font size="5">Adopting contemporary terminology, we might say that Dalton disregarded the "explanatory gap" between chemistry and physics by ignoring the underlying physics, much as post-Newtonian physicists disregarded the explanatory gap between Newtonian dynamics and the mechanical philosophy by rejecting the latter, and thereby tacitly lowering the goals of science in a highly significant way, as I mentioned.</font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><font size="5">Contemporary studies of mind are deeply troubled by the "explanatory gap" between the science of mind and neuroscience – in particular, between computational theories of cognition, including language, and neuroscience. I think they would be well-advised to take seriously the history of chemistry. Today's task is to develop a "body of doctrine" to explain what appear to be the critically significant phenomena of language and mind, much as chemists did. It is of course wise to keep the explanatory gap in mind, to seek ultimate unification, and to pursue what seem to be promising steps towards unification, while nevertheless recognizing that as often in the past, unification may not be reduction, but rather revision of what is regarded as the "fundamental discipline," the reduction basis, the brain sciences in this case.</font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><font size="5">Locke and Hume, and many less-remembered figures of the day, understood that much of the nature of the world is "inconceivable" to us. There were actually two different kinds of reasons for this. For Locke and Hume, the reasons were primarily epistemological. Hume in particular developed the idea that we can only be confident of immediate impressions, of "appearances." Everything else is a mental construction. In particular, and of crucial significance, that is true of identity through time, problems that trace back to the pre-Socratics: the identity of a river or a tree or most importantly a person as they change through time. These are mental constructions; we cannot know whether they are properties of the world, a metaphysical reality. As Hume put the matter, we must maintain "a modest skepticism to a certain degree, and a fair confession of ignorance in subjects, that exceed all human capacity" – which for Hume includes virtually everything beyond appearances. We must "refrain from disquisitions concerning their real nature and operations." It is the imagination that leads us to believe that we experience external continuing objects, including a mind or self. The imagination, furthermore, is "a kind of magical faculty in the soul, which…is inexplicable by the utmost efforts of human understanding," so Hume argued.</font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><font size="5">A different kind of reason why the nature of the world is inconceivable to us was provided by "the judicious Mr. Newton," who apparently was not interested in the epistemological problems that vexed Locke and Hume. Newton scholar Andrew Janiak concludes that Newton regarded such global skepticism as "irrelevant – he takes the possibility of our knowledge of nature for granted." For Newton, "the primary epistemic questions confronting us are raised by physical theory itself." Locke and Hume, as I mentioned, took quite seriously the new science-based skepticism that resulted from Newton's demolition of the mechanical philosophy, which had provided the very criterion of intelligibility for the scientific revolution. That is why Hume lauded Newton for having "restored [Nature's] ultimate secrets to that obscurity, in which they ever did and ever will remain."</font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><font size="5">For these quite different kinds of reasons, the great figures of the scientific revolution and the Enlightenment believed that there are phenomena that fall beyond human understanding. Their reasoning seems to me substantial, and not easily dismissed. But contemporary doctrine is quite different. The conclusions are regarded as a dangerous heresy. They are derided as "the new mysterianism," a term coined by philosopher Owen Flanagan, who defined it as "a postmodern position designed to drive a railroad spike through the heart of scientism." Flanagan is referring specifically to explanation of consciousness, but the same concerns hold of mental processes in general.</font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><font size="5">The "new mysterianism" is compared today with the "old mysterianism," Cartesian dualism, its fate typically misunderstood. To repeat, Cartesian dualism was a perfectly respectable scientific doctrine, disproven by Newton, who exorcised the machine, leaving the ghost intact, contrary to what is commonly believed.</font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><font size="5">The "new mysterianism," I believe, is misnamed. It should be called "truism" -- at least, for anyone who accepts the major findings of modern biology, which regards humans as part of the organic world. If so, then they will be like all other organisms in having a genetic endowment that enables them to grow and develop to their mature form. By simple logic, the endowment that makes this possible also excludes other paths of development. The endowment that yields scope also establishes limits. What enables us to grow legs and arms, and a mammalian visual system, prevents us from growing wings and having an insect visual system.</font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><font size="5">All of this is indeed truism, and for non-mystics, the same should be expected to hold for cognitive capacities. We understand this well for other organisms. Thus we are not surprised to discover that rats are unable to run prime number mazes no matter how much training they receive; they simply lack the relevant concept in their cognitive repertoire. By the same token, we are not surprised that humans are incapable of the remarkable navigational feats of ants and bees; we simply lack the cognitive capacities, though we can sometimes duplicate their feats with sophisticated instruments. The truisms extend to higher mental faculties. For such reasons, we should, I think, be prepared to join the distinguished company of Newton, Locke, Hume and other dedicated mysterians.</font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><font size="5">For accuracy, we should qualify the concept of "mysteries" by relativizing it to organisms. Thus what is a mystery for rats might not be a mystery for humans, and what is a mystery for humans is instinctive for ants and bees.</font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><font size="5">Dismissal of mysterianism seems to me one illustration of a widespread form of dualism, a kind of epistemological and methodological dualism, which tacitly adopts the principle that study of mental aspects of the world should proceed in some fundamentally different way from study of what are considered physical aspects of the world, rejecting what are regarded as truisms outside the domain of mental processes. This new dualism seems to me truly pernicious, unlike Cartesian dualism, which was respectable science. The new methodological dualism, in contrast, seems to me to have nothing to recommend it.</font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><font size="5">Far from bewailing the existence of mysteries-for-humans, we should be extremely grateful for it. With no limits to growth and development, our cognitive capacities would also have no scope. Similarly, if the genetic endowment imposed no constraints on growth and development of an organism it could become only a shapeless amoeboid creature, reflecting accidents of an unanalyzed environment, each quite unlike the next. Classical aesthetic theory recognized the same relation between scope and limits. Without rules, there can be no genuinely creative activity, even when creative work challenges and revises prevailing rules.</font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><font size="5">Contemporary rejection of mysterianism – that is, truism – is quite widespread. One recent example that has received considerable attention is an interesting and informative book by physicist David Deutsch. He writes that potential progress is "unbounded" as a result of the achievements of the Enlightenment and early modern science, which directed science to the search for best explanations. As philosopher/physicist David Albert expounds his thesis, "with the introduction of that particular habit of concocting and evaluating new hypotheses, there was a sense in which we could do anything. The capacities of a community that has mastered that method to survive, and to learn, and to remake the world according to its inclinations, are (in the long run) literally, mathematically, infinite."</font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><font size="5">The quest for better explanations may well indeed be infinite, but infinite is of course not the same as limitless. English is infinite, but doesn't include Greek. The integers are an infinite set, but do not include the reals. I cannot discern any argument here that addresses the concerns and conclusions of the great mysterians of the scientific revolution and the Enlightenment.</font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><font size="5">We are left with a serious and challenging scientific inquiry: to determine the innate components of our cognitive nature in language, perception, concept formation, reflection, inference, theory construction, artistic creation, and all other domains of life, including the most ordinary ones. By pursuing this task we may hope to determine the scope and limits of human understanding, while recognizing that some differently structured intelligence might regard human mysteries as simple problems and wonder that we cannot find the answers, much as we can observe the inability of rats to run prime number mazes because of the very design of their cognitive nature.</font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><font size="5">There is no contradiction in supposing that we might be able to probe the limits of human understanding and try to sharpen the boundary between problems that fall within our cognitive range and mysteries that do not. There are possible experimental inquiries. Another approach would be to take seriously the concerns of the great figures of the early scientific revolution and the Enlightenment: to pay attention to what they found "inconceivable," and particularly their reasons. The "mechanical philosophy" itself has a claim to be an approximation to common sense understanding of the world, a suggestion that might be clarified by experimental inquiry. Despite much sophisticated commentary, it is also hard to escape the force of Descartes's conviction that free will is "the noblest thing" we have, that "there is nothing we comprehend more evidently and more perfectly" and that "it would be absurd" to doubt something that "we comprehend intimately, and experience within ourselves" merely because it is "by its nature incomprehensible to us," if indeed we do not "have intelligence enough" to understand the workings of mind, as he speculated. Concepts of determinacy and randomness fall within our intellectual grasp. But it might turn out that "free actions of men" cannot be accommodated in these terms, including the creative aspect of language and thought. If so, that might be a matter of cognitive limitations – which would not preclude an intelligible theory of such actions, far as this is from today's scientific understanding.</font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:medium"><font size="5">Honesty should lead us to concede, I think, that we understand little more today about these matters than the Spanish physician-philosopher Juan Huarte did 500 years ago when he distinguished the kind of intelligence humans shared with animals from the higher grade that humans alone possess and is illustrated in the creative use of language, and proceeding beyond that, from the still higher grade illustrated in true artistic and scientific creativity. Nor do we even know whether these are questions that lie within the scope of human understanding, or whether they fall among what Hume took to be Nature's ultimate secrets, consigned to "that obscurity in which they ever did and ever will remain."</font></p></div> <p></p></div><div><br></div>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature">Shahzad Afzal<br><a href="http://www.pakistanprobe.com/" target="_blank">http://www.pakistanprobe.com/</a><br><br><br></div> </div> Shahzadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05160575437170422234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2534333433654861615.post-39024452067985814902014-03-08T06:47:00.000+05:002014-03-08T06:34:35.262+05:00Article for Publication - Are We Prepared for Counter Terrorism<blockquote type="cite"><p><em>Article for Publication</em></p> <p> March 6<sup>th</sup>, 2014</p> <p> </p> <p align="center"> ARE WE PREPARED FOR</p> <p align="center"> COUNTER TERRORISM</p> <p align="center"> </p> <p align="center"> By</p> <p align="center"> </p> <p align="center"> Col. Riaz Jafri (Retd)</p> <p> </p> <p> "I say with full responsibility that Islamabad is a safe and secure city", so declared the Interior Minister Ch. Nisar Ali Khan in a press conference and ironically, only three days later the terrorists devastated his hollow claim by striking at the District Courts Complex Islamabad killing at least 11 people, including an Additional Sessions Judge Rafaqat Ahmed Awan and a 25 year old young lady lawyer Fiza apart from wounding 25 others some seriously with three lawyers also critically wounded amongst them .</p> <p> The one sided gun and grenade carnage lasted for nearly 45 minutes and the killers were at leisure to enter any office, court room or chamber – at places even asking the hapless victims to recite Kalima before killing them! Apparently no serious effort seems to have been made by the Police to stop the killing spree of the terrorists who made their escape good in the vehicles they had come to the courts. Strangely, there are conflicting reports about the exact number of the terrorists that played havoc at the courts. This is what the Honourable Interior Minister had to say of the incident in the National Assembly. He said that there was a huge difference between the intelligence provided by intelligence agencies and the police.</p> <p> According to the police two men entered a side lane of the district courts where they first fired into the air and then shot everyone who came their way. On the other hand, the intelligence agencies informed him that three men entered the premises; all had Kalashnikovs while the two of them wore suicide jackets also who blew themselves up while the third one ran away. However, according to an initial report of the police and intelligence agencies there were four armed men who entered the courts complex and two suicide attacks took place. Firing broke out after the blasts and the other two attackers fled the scene. What a confusion and what an intelligence shemozzle ?!! A force of 60 policemen are said to be deputed for the security of the Islamabad courts, out of which 47 were present on the day of occurrence. However, only one is reported to have fired at the terrorists and that too without any effect. Most others are alleged to have had defective w! eapons. Some policemen confided to the news reporters that they had orders not to open fire at their own. There were no CCTV cameras around, which had been incidentally ordered by the previous CJ Iftikhar Ch. about a year ago to cover all the courts premises. Surprisingly, they have been installed so promptly within two days of the incident! Where have these cameras come from? Anybody's guess! One thing is for sure that these could not been possibly procured and installed too at such a short notice unless all government procurement rules, regulations and procedures were flouted. The Secretary Interior informed the apex court that a police contingent was rushed to the scene of occurrence in 7 to 10 minutes from the nearby Margalla Police Station, which was scoffed at by the honourable court with the remarks that had they arrived that quickly the terrorists could not have done what they did.</p> <p> </p> <p> Now the question arises that were these 60 policemen or the contingent rushed from the nearby police station trained in any way to counter a well planned and executed terrorist suicidal attack or were they simply there just as a "show of force"?</p> <p> Were they to act (react) individually on their own or had they been organized and divided into various groups, sections and platoons etc. each with a specific task assigned to it? Did they have their specific 'Stations' to occupy during the operation, such as some vantage or high points affording good visibility and cover from terrorist fire or were they just to run around in the open exposing themselves fully to the enemy fire? Did they have any means of communications (wireless sets, Walkie/Talkies etc.) between themselves for effective Command and Control? Did they have any body armour (bullet proof vests) for their protection? Was there ever any exercise or rehearsal carried out against a mock terrorist attack? In short did they know what to do and how to do it? If not, then how do we expect such an untrained and ill-equipped force to counter any terrorist attack effectively? They will simply act like the cannon fodder and for that only the! ir senior officers are to be blamed. There is an old saying , "The greatest disloyalty a commander can do to his men is to launch them into a battle without proper training for it".</p> <p> </p> <p> Col. Riaz Jafri (Retd)</p> <p> NIC# 37405- 9122353-5</p> <p> </p><p> Col. Riaz Jafri (Retd)<br> 30 Westridge 1<br> Rawalpindi 46000<br> Pakistan<br> Tel: (051) 5158033<br> E.mail: <a href="mailto:jafri@rifiela.com">jafri@rifiela.com</a></p> <p></p>-- </blockquote>Shahzad Afzal<div><a href="http://www.pakistanprobe.com">http://www.pakistanprobe.com</a></div>Shahzadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05160575437170422234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2534333433654861615.post-26742478914470556682014-03-08T06:43:00.000+05:002014-03-08T06:30:52.849+05:00Zionist Extremists Have Stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound<div><br></div><div><blockquote type="cite"><div dir="ltr"><div style="border-style: none none solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(242, 242, 242); border-bottom-width: 1pt; padding: 0in 0in 4pt;"><p class="" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; border: none; padding: 0in; outline: none;"><span style="outline: none; display: inline-block;"><span style="font-size: 15pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(170, 170, 170); border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;"> by:<span class=""> </span>Ahmed Hammuda</span></span><span style="font-size: 15pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(170, 170, 170);"></span></p><p class="" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; border: none; padding: 0in; outline: none;"><span style="outline: none; display: inline-block;"><span style="font-size: 15pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(170, 170, 170); border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;"><br></span></span></p><p class="" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; border: none; padding: 0in; outline: none;"><span style="outline: none; display: inline-block;"><span style="font-size: 15pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(170, 170, 170); border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;"><br></span></span></p><p class="" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; border: none; padding: 0in; outline: none;"><span style="outline: none; display: inline-block;"><span style="font-size: 15pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(170, 170, 170); border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;"><img src="http://www.islam21c.com/wp-content/uploads/aqsa.png" alt="Zionist Extremists Have Stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound"><br></span></span></p><p class="" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; border: none; padding: 0in; outline: none;"><span style="outline: none; display: inline-block;"><span style="font-size: 15pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(170, 170, 170); border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;"><br></span></span></p><p class="" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; border: none; padding: 0in; outline: none;"><span style="outline: none; display: inline-block;"><span style="font-size: 15pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(170, 170, 170); border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;"><br></span></span></p><p class="" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; border: none; padding: 0in; outline: none;"><span style="outline: none; display: inline-block;"><span style="font-size: 15pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(170, 170, 170); border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;"><br></span></span></p><p class="" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; border: none; padding: 0in; outline: none;"><span style="outline: none; display: inline-block;"><span style="font-size: 15pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(170, 170, 170); border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;"><br></span></span></p><p class="" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; border: none; padding: 0in; outline: none;"><span style="outline: none; display: inline-block;"><span style="font-size: 15pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(170, 170, 170); border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;"><br></span></span></p></div><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 16.5pt; outline: none;"><i style="outline: none;"><span style="font-size: 15pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">"Glorified be He (Allāh) Who took His slave (Muhammad<span class=""> </span>salla Allāhu 'alayh wasalam) for a journey by night from al-Masjid al-Harām (at Makkah) to Al-Masjid-al-Aqsa (in Jerusalem), the neighbourhood whereof We have blessed, in order that We might show him of Our signs. Verily, He is the All-Hearer, the All-Seer."<sup style="outline: none;">[1]</sup></span></i><i><span style="font-size: 15pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"></span></i></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 15.75pt; outline: none;"><span style="font-size: 15pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Few of us stop to ponder over the circumstance this blessed chapter was revealed in and the implications of the Prophet's great journey (<i style="outline: none;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">salla Allāhu 'alayh wasalam</span></i>)<i style="outline: none;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">.</span></i><span class=""> </span>This chapter, having been revealed in Makkah contains topics that are inherent to Islamic<span class=""> </span><i style="outline: none;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">'Aqīdah</span></i>, central to our focus and concern. The gathering of every Prophet in al-Aqsa Mosque, led by the final Messenger (<i style="outline: none;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">salla Allāhu 'alayhi wasalam)</span></i><span class=""> </span>indicates his position as their great Imam and leader<sup style="outline: none;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">[2]</span></sup>. It signifies the relationship between their messages and emphasises the final divine designation of the land to the monotheistic nation of the descendant of Ibrahim ('alayhi al-Salām): Muhammad, (<i style="outline: none;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">salla Allāhu 'alayh wasalam)</span></i><sup style="outline: none;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">[3]</span></sup>.</span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 15.75pt; outline: none;"><span style="font-size: 15pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">It therefore becomes extremely painful that we need to discuss the identity of an area that exemplifies the very core of Islamic belief. This is more and more typically becoming the Israeli Parliament's main point of debate in its quarters; extending its authority in Jerusalem to encompass al-Aqsa Sanctuary in replacement of Jordan. The latest episode of this Zionist fanaticism was led by Moshe Feiglin, a Jewish extremist member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's far right Likud party. Unsatisfied with the current level of Israeli annexation of Palestinian land, Feiglin expressed resentment at why Israeli fanatics have no access to the sanctuary and are barred from unfurling on it the Israeli flag<sup style="outline: none;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">[4]</span></sup>.</span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 15.75pt; outline: none;"><span style="font-size: 15pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">According to Feiglin: "Al-Aqsa belongs to the Jews and the Arabs should go back to Saudi Arabia where they belong. The golden dome is part of a Jewish temple and does not belong to the Muslims."<sup style="outline: none;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">[5]<span class=""> </span></span></sup>These claims have already been proven fictitious from religious, historical and geological grounds. Israeli and international archaeologists have been excavating tunnels under the Aqsa sanctuary extensively since 1967, confirming through rigorous exploration that claims to a Jewish temple in that area are baseless<sup style="outline: none;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">[6]</span></sup>. These fabrications have nonetheless led to significant damage to the structural integrity of al-Aqsa mosque, causing walls to crack, floors to cave in and others to completely give way<sup style="outline: none;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">[7]</span></sup>. Demands for sovereignty over the Mosque, however, are not purely driven by the dreams of 'extremist Zionists', they are the stepping stone to something more catastrophic. These demands should never be deemed in isolation of the surrounding, concurrent events in the Muslim world. As the Muslim world continues in turmoil Israel is pushing forth in the dark, realising its ambitions of uprooting and replacing what remains of Islamic endowments in the holy land. These simultaneous events have largely diverted the attention of Muslims around the world, allowing the Zionist regime to double its rate of settlement expansion in 2013 while demolishing 390 Palestinian homes in the West bank in the same year<sup style="outline: none;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">[8]</span></sup>, 50% more than in the previous year amidst no international resistance<sup style="outline: none;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">[9]</span></sup>.</span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 15.75pt; outline: none;"><span style="font-size: 15pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">On Wednesday the 19<sup style="outline: none;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">th</span></sup><span class=""> </span>of February, extremist Moshe Feiglin "ascended to the Temple Mount" and "toured all corners",<sup style="outline: none;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">[10]<span class=""> </span></span></sup>provocatively offering a 'prayer' in claim of al-Aqsa sanctuary and by full sanction of Israeli police. In essence, Feiglin's action while a member of the Israeli Knesset does not differ to when Ariel Sharon desecrated the holy sanctuary by intruding into it surrounded by hundreds of Israeli police. This symbolic attempt at declaring ownership to the sanctuary sparked the second Intifada, claiming around 5,500 Palestinian lives<sup style="outline: none;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">[11]</span></sup>. More recently, repercussions to Israel's debate on formal ownership has been lent dangerously less attention, besides the Jordanian Parliament's useless unanimity on expelling the Israeli Ambassador<sup style="outline: none;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">[12]</span></sup>. The Zionist regime, in fact, effectively controls access to the Mosque and persists in banning anyone under the age of 50 from entering it, all the while radical Jewish settlers storm the Mosque unimpeded<sup style="outline: none;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">[13]</span></sup>.</span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 15.75pt; outline: none;"><span style="font-size: 15pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">The almost unconscious 'Palestinian President' Mahmoud Abbas and his negotiation team continue to demonstrate the pinnacle of naivety and absurdness in continuing negotiations, supposedly attempting to secure East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine as opposed to Beit Hanina<sup style="outline: none;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">[14]</span></sup>. Geopolitically, these negotiations are foolish as the Palestinian Authority is frail and ineffectual on the ground. As such, its presence as the main 'authority' is to the betterment of Israel. Evidence of this is its threats to disband itself if Israel continues in its settlement expansion in East Jerusalem (imagine if Hamas did the same). With more than 53,000 settlement homes in East Jerusalem<sup style="outline: none;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">[15]</span></sup>, prospects for a state through negotiation have been eradicated. Religiously, Jerusalem being an endowment renders any negotiation over its ownership void and as thus "bargaining over Palestine means bargaining over our faith."<sup style="outline: none;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">[16]</span></sup></span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 15.75pt; outline: none;"><span style="font-size: 15pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">The Zionist entity is actively utilising the events across the Muslim world to swiftly achieve its expansionist goals. Out of the spotlight, it is pressing forward in an attempt to uproot al-Aqsa while the Palestinians struggle to defend this collective endowment all alone. Israel is not oblivious to the impending danger in the Middle-East and understands that bringing its invasion to an end is in the scope and objective of some of its neighbours. Nonetheless, allowing oneself to be preoccupied by the means while disregarding the objective (the end) will lend Israel time to cause the objective to become more and more unreachable. Indeed the destruction of al-Aqsa, God forbid, is something that will cause the zeal and energy of many Muslims to fetter, even in making progress in the means. Keeping awareness and full recognition of the position of al-Aqsa, while embodying it like one embodies elements of his or her creed is vital for every Muslim. Every effort should be expended in defending it, emphasising its sanctity and embedding its status in the heart in this challenging time.</span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 15.75pt;"><span style="font-size: 15pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"> </span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 15.75pt; outline: none;"><span style="font-size: 15pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">For more of the latest news surrounding al-Aqsa please visit<span class=""> </span><a href="http://foa.org.uk/" style="outline: none;"><span style="color: rgb(88, 92, 186); border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">http://foa.org.uk/</span></a></span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 15.75pt; outline: none;"><span style="font-size: 15pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Notes:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 15pt; line-height: 23px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">[1] Al-Qur'ān 17:1</span><span style="font-size: 15pt; line-height: 23px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 15pt; line-height: 23px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">[2] Tafsīr b. Kathīr, Sūrat al-Isrā'</span><span style="font-size: 15pt; line-height: 23px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 15pt; line-height: 23px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">[3] Sayyid Qutub, in the Shade of the Qur'ān, Sūrat al-Isrā'</span><span style="font-size: 15pt; line-height: 23px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 15pt; line-height: 23px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">[4]<span class=""> </span></span><span style="font-size: 15pt; line-height: 23px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/mounting-tension-israels-knesset-debates-proposal-to-enforce-its-sovereignty-at-alaqsa-mosque--a-move-seen-as-an-extreme-provocation-to-muslims-worldwide-9155575.html" style="outline: none;"><span style="color: rgb(88, 92, 186); border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/mounting-tension-israels-knesset-debates-proposal-to-enforce-its-sovereignty-at-alaqsa-mosque–a-move-seen-as-an-extreme-provocation-to-muslims-worldwide-9155575.html</span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 15pt; line-height: 23px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">[5]<span class=""> </span></span><span style="font-size: 15pt; line-height: 23px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.almoslim.net/node/203214" style="outline: none;"><span style="color: rgb(88, 92, 186); border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">http://www.almoslim.net/node/203214</span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 15pt; line-height: 23px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">[6]<span class=""> </span></span><span style="font-size: 15pt; line-height: 23px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.jewsnews.co.il/2013/06/28/al-aqsa-mosque-foundation-declares-all-signs-pointing-to-jewish-temple-presence-are-lies/" style="outline: none;"><span style="color: rgb(88, 92, 186); border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">http://www.jewsnews.co.il/2013/06/28/al-aqsa-mosque-foundation-declares-all-signs-pointing-to-jewish-temple-presence-are-lies/</span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 15pt; line-height: 23px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">[7] The Holy al-Aqsa Sanctuary under Threat – Friends of al-Aqsa. Available here:</span><span style="font-size: 15pt; line-height: 23px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="http://foa.org.uk/uploads/al-aqsa-report2013.pdf" style="outline: none;"><span style="color: rgb(88, 92, 186); border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">http://foa.org.uk/uploads/al-aqsa-report2013.pdf</span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 15pt; line-height: 23px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">[8]<span class=""> </span></span><span style="font-size: 15pt; line-height: 23px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="http://electronicresistance.net/palestine-news/israel-demolished-390-palestinian-homes-in-2013-un/" style="outline: none;"><span style="color: rgb(88, 92, 186); border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">http://electronicresistance.net/palestine-news/israel-demolished-390-palestinian-homes-in-2013-un/</span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 15pt; line-height: 23px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">[9]<span class=""> </span></span><span style="font-size: 15pt; line-height: 23px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/03/israel-doubles-west-bank-outpost-construction-201433143850913282.html" style="outline: none;"><span style="color: rgb(88, 92, 186); border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/03/israel-doubles-west-bank-outpost-construction-201433143850913282.html</span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 15pt; line-height: 23px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">[10]<span class=""> </span></span><span style="font-size: 15pt; line-height: 23px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/177628#.UxTdZs4fyH8" style="outline: none;"><span style="color: rgb(88, 92, 186); border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/177628#.UxTdZs4fyH8</span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 15pt; line-height: 23px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">[11]<span class=""> </span></span><span style="font-size: 15pt; line-height: 23px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/mounting-tension-israels-knesset-debates-proposal-to-enforce-its-sovereignty-at-alaqsa-mosque--a-move-seen-as-an-extreme-provocation-to-muslims-worldwide-9155575.html" style="outline: none;"><span style="color: rgb(88, 92, 186); border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/mounting-tension-israels-knesset-debates-proposal-to-enforce-its-sovereignty-at-alaqsa-mosque–a-move-seen-as-an-extreme-provocation-to-muslims-worldwide-9155575.html</span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 15pt; line-height: 23px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">[12]<span class=""> </span></span><span style="font-size: 15pt; line-height: 23px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/26/jordan-expels-israeli-ambassador-jerusalem-holy-site-row" style="outline: none;"><span style="color: rgb(88, 92, 186); border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/26/jordan-expels-israeli-ambassador-jerusalem-holy-site-row</span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 15pt; line-height: 23px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">[13]<span class=""> </span></span><span style="font-size: 15pt; line-height: 23px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="http://en.ammonnews.net/article.aspx?articleno=24487#.UxTlsc4fyH8" style="outline: none;"><span style="color: rgb(88, 92, 186); border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">http://en.ammonnews.net/article.aspx?articleno=24487#.UxTlsc4fyH8</span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 15pt; line-height: 23px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">[14]<span class=""> </span></span><span style="font-size: 15pt; line-height: 23px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=678057" style="outline: none;"><span style="color: rgb(88, 92, 186); border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=678057</span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 15pt; line-height: 23px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">[15]<span class=""> </span></span><span style="font-size: 15pt; line-height: 23px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/articles/middle-east/10024-disbanding-the-palestinian-authority" style="outline: none;"><span style="color: rgb(88, 92, 186); border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/articles/middle-east/10024-disbanding-the-palestinian-authority</span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 15pt; line-height: 23px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">[16]<span class=""> </span></span><span style="font-size: 15pt; line-height: 23px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.pij.org/details.php?id=646" style="outline: none;"><span style="color: rgb(88, 92, 186); border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">http://www.pij.org/details.php?id=646</span></a><span class=""><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">quote by Muhammad Hamid Abu al-Nasr</span></span></span></p></div></blockquote></div>Shahzadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05160575437170422234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2534333433654861615.post-28978126790269248512014-03-08T06:41:00.000+05:002014-03-08T06:28:38.278+05:00Obama Worse Than Reagan<div><blockquote type="cite"><div dir="ltr"><h1 class="" style="margin: 3px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 36px; line-height: 36px;">Nukes Now</h1><div class="" style="margin: 9px 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; letter-spacing: 1px;">by STEVE BREYMAN</div><div class="" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 16px; line-height: 21px;"><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;">Heads-up, veterans of the nuclear freeze movement in the US, the anti-Euromissile campaigns in Western Europe, and the various anti-nuclear weapons efforts in New Zealand, Australia and Japan. Incoming.</p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;">We spent much of the eighties resisting Ronald Reagan's new Cold War, and his new nuclear weapons of all shapes and sizes. We pushed back against his giant 'defense' budgets and countered his harrowing rhetoric. We knew Star Wars was a scam, and the MX missile a danger. We grimaced at his appointments to key policymaking positions, and scoffed at his insincere arms control efforts.</p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;">In the end, we prevailed (after a sort). We get much of the credit for preventing planetary incineration that seemed frighteningly close at the time (Gorbachev deserves some too). Professional activists, Plowshares heroes, and a handful of stalwart others stayed in the anti-nuclear weapons movement trenches. Although nukes were not abolished with the end of the Cold War, most of the rest of us nonetheless moved on to fight other evils, and to work on one or more better world construction projects.</p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;">It's time to return. President Obama released his FY 2015 budget on Tuesday, March 4. Ready for this? <a href="http://www.lasg.org/budget/FY2015/FY2015_budget_highlights.pdf" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(207, 16, 40);">It</a> asks for considerably more money (in constant dollars) for nuclear weapons maintenance, design and production than Reagan spent in 1985, the historical peak of spending on nukes: $8.608 billion dollars, not counting administrative costs (see graph below). The <a href="http://www.lasg.org/press/2014/press_release_4Mar2014.html" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(207, 16, 40);">Los Alamos Study Group</a> crunched the numbers for us.<br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><img class="" alt="breymangraf" src="http://www.counterpunch.org/wp-content/dropzone/2014/03/breymangraf.jpg" width="510" height="394" style="margin: 0px auto; padding: 0px; display: block;"><br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Next year's request tops this year's by 7%. Should the President's new Opportunity, Growth and Security Initiative be approved, yet $504 million more would be available for warhead spending. The OGSI is $56 billion over and above the spending agreed to in the December 2013 two-year budget (unlikely to pass given that it's an election year, would be paid for by increased taxes on the retirement funds of the rich, and reduced spending in politically dicey areas like crop insurance).</p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;">Increased lucre for the nuclear weapons complex maintains Obama's inconsistency on the Bomb. He wrote his senior thesis at Columbia on the arms race and the nuclear freeze campaign. Two months after his first inauguration, he uttered these words in Prague: "So today, I state clearly and with conviction America's commitment to seek the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons."</p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;">The Pentagon's 2010 Nuclear Posture Review promised to avoid "new military missions or . . . new military capabilities" for nuclear weapons (don't laugh, you'd be surprised how imaginative those guys can be). 2011 was even better: Obama signed the New START Treaty. It limits the number of operationally deployed nuclear warheads to 1550, a 30% decrease from the previous START Treaty, signed in 2002. New START also lowered limits on the number of launch platforms — ICBMs, ballistic missile launching subs, and nuke-equipped bombers.</p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;">At the same time, his State Department refuses—under first Hilary Clinton and now John Kerry—to present the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty to the Senate for ratification out of timidity over expected resistance (never mind that the US has essentially figured out ways to circumvent the Treaty's spirit if not letter; the CTB was once the 'holy grail' for arms control and disarmament advoates).</p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;">That same State Department refrains—under both Hilary Clinton and John Kerry—from getting tough with Pakistan over its years-long obstruction of United Nations-sponsored negotiations over a global ban on the stuff needed to make bombs. (Pakistan is the country building them faster than any other; how about: 'we'll ground the killer drones in exchange for a fissile material cut-off?'). And Obama now wants to outspend Reagan on nuclear weapons maintenance, design and production.</p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;">Winding down nuclear weapons spending, and eventually abolishing the things (for which no negotiations are underway) has been the right thing to do since the first bomb exploded in the New Mexico desert in 1945. State Department support for the coup in Ukraine and the resultant saber rattling (echoes of August 1914?) make it as urgent as ever.</p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;"><em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Steve Breyman</strong> was 2011-12 William C. Foster Visiting Scholar Fellow in the Euro-Atlantic Security Affairs Office of the Bureau of Arms Control, Verification and Compliance at the US Department of State where he worked fruitlessly on reforming nuclear weapons policy. He is author of Movement Genesis: Social Movement Theory and the West German Peace Movement and Why Movements Matter: The West German Peace Movement and US Arms Control Policy. Reach him at <a href="mailto:breyms@rpi.edu">breyms@rpi.edu</a></em></p></div></div></blockquote><br></div><div>--</div><div>Shahzad Afzal</div><div><a href="http://www.pakistanprobe.com">http://www.pakistanprobe.com</a></div><div><br></div>Shahzadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05160575437170422234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2534333433654861615.post-43897291750087231402013-09-11T10:23:00.000+05:002013-09-11T10:24:12.379+05:00Fwd: Syria<div dir="ltr"><br><div class="gmail_quote"><u></u> <div> <table style="width:100%;background-color:#efefe1" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" bgcolor="#efefe1"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="line-height:10pt" height="7" bgcolor="#efefe1"> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <table style="line-height:15pt;background-color:#ffffff;font-family:Georgia,Times,Times New Roman,serif;color:#333333;font-size:10pt" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="616" align="center"> <tbody> <tr> <td width="7" align="left" valign="top" bgcolor="#efefe1"><img src="http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/email-files/email_potus_left.jpg" border="0" width="7" height="500"></td> <td style="padding-left:7%;padding-right:7%"> <div align="center"><br><img src="http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/image/potus_email_topper_312x244.png" border="0" alt="The White House, Washington" width="156" height="122" align="middle" style="vertical-align:middle;border:0;color:#003366;font-size:12pt"></div> <p> </p> <p>Good evening --</p> <p>I just addressed the nation about the use of chemical weapons in Syria.</p> <p>Over the past two years, what began as a series of peaceful protests against the repressive regime of Bashar al-Assad has turned into a brutal civil war in Syria. Over 100,000 people have been killed.</p> <p>In that time, we have worked with friends and allies to provide humanitarian support for the Syrian people, to help the moderate opposition within Syria, and to shape a political settlement. But we have resisted calls for military action because we cannot resolve someone else's civil war through force.</p> <p>The situation profoundly changed in the early hours of August 21, when more than 1,000 Syrians -- including hundreds of children -- were killed by chemical weapons launched by the Assad government.</p> <p>What happened to those people -- to those children -- is not only a violation of international law -- it's also a danger to our security. Here's why:</p> <p>If we fail to act, the Assad regime will see no reason to stop using chemical weapons. As the ban against these deadly weapons erodes, other tyrants and authoritarian regimes will have no reason to think twice about acquiring poison gases and using them. Over time, our troops could face the prospect of chemical warfare on the battlefield. It could be easier for terrorist organizations to obtain these weapons and use them to attack civilians. If fighting spills beyond Syria's borders, these weapons could threaten our allies in the region.</p> <p>So after careful deliberation, I determined that it is in the national security interests of the United States to respond to the Assad regime's use of chemical weapons through a targeted military strike. The purpose of this strike would be to deter Assad from using chemical weapons, to degrade his regime's ability to use them, and make clear to the world that we will not tolerate their use.</p> <p>Though I possess the authority to order these strikes, in the absence of a direct threat to our security I believe that Congress should consider my decision to act. Our democracy is stronger when the President acts with the support of Congress -- and when Americans stand together as one people.</p> <p>Over the last few days, as this debate unfolds, we've already begun to see signs that the credible threat of U.S. military action may produce a diplomatic breakthrough. The Russian government has indicated a willingness to join with the international community in pushing Assad to give up his chemical weapons and the Assad regime has now admitted that it has these weapons, and even said they'd join the Chemical Weapons Convention, which prohibits their use.</p> <p>It's too early to tell whether this offer will succeed, and any agreement must verify that the Assad regime keeps its commitments. But this initiative has the potential to remove the threat of chemical weapons without the use of force.</p> <p>That's why I've asked the leaders of Congress to postpone a vote to authorize the use of force while we pursue this diplomatic path. I'm sending Secretary of State John Kerry to meet his Russian counterpart on Thursday, and I will continue my own discussions with President Putin. At the same time, we'll work with two of our closest allies -- France and the United Kingdom -- to put forward a resolution at the U.N. Security Council requiring Assad to give up his chemical weapons, and to ultimately destroy them under international control.</p> <p>Meanwhile, I've ordered our military to maintain their current posture to keep the pressure on Assad, and to be in a position to respond if diplomacy fails. And tonight, I give thanks again to our military and their families for their incredible strength and sacrifices.</p> <p>As we continue this debate -- in Washington, and across the country -- I need your help to make sure that everyone understands the factors at play.</p> <p>Please share this message with others to make sure they know where I stand, and how they can stay up to date on this situation. Anyone can find the latest information about the situation in Syria, including video of tonight's address, here:</p> <p><strong><a href="http://links.whitehouse.gov/track?type=click&enid=ZWFzPTEmbWFpbGluZ2lkPTIwMTMwOTExLjIyODE5OTAxJm1lc3NhZ2VpZD1NREItUFJELUJVTC0yMDEzMDkxMS4yMjgxOTkwMSZkYXRhYmFzZWlkPTEwMDEmc2VyaWFsPTE2OTEwMzI2JmVtYWlsaWQ9c2hhaHphZGFmemFsODVAZ21haWwuY29tJnVzZXJpZD1zaGFoemFkYWZ6YWw4NUBnbWFpbC5jb20mZmw9JmV4dHJhPU11bHRpdmFyaWF0ZUlkPSYmJg==&&&100&&&http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/foreign-policy/syria?utm_source=email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=email238-text1&utm_campaign=syria" style="color:#336699" target="_blank">http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/foreign-policy/syria</a></strong></p> <p>Thank you,</p> <p>President Barack Obama</p> <p> </p> <div style="text-align:center"> <p><span style="font-size:8pt;color:#999999">This email was sent to <a href="mailto:shahzadafzal85@gmail.com" target="_blank">shahzadafzal85@gmail.com</a>. <br><a 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</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <div> </div> <div> <p style="color:gray;font-size:10px;font-family:Arial"> </p> </div> <img src="http://links.whitehouse.gov/track?enid=ZWFzPTEmbWFpbGluZ2lkPTIwMTMwOTExLjIyODE5OTAxJm1lc3NhZ2VpZD1NREItUFJELUJVTC0yMDEzMDkxMS4yMjgxOTkwMSZkYXRhYmFzZWlkPTEwMDEmdHlwZT1vcGVuJnNlcmlhbD0xNjkxMDMyNiZlbWFpbGlkPXNoYWh6YWRhZnphbDg1QGdtYWlsLmNvbSZ1c2VyaWQ9c2hhaHphZGFmemFsODVAZ21haWwuY29tJmZsPSZleHRyYT1NdWx0aXZhcmlhdGVJZD0mJiY=" width="1" height="1" style="border-width:0;border-style:hidden" alt=""></div> </div><br><br clear="all"><div><br></div>-- <br>Shahzad Afzal<br><a href="http://www.pakistanprobe.com/" target="_blank">http://www.pakistanprobe.com/</a><br><br><br> </div> Shahzadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05160575437170422234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2534333433654861615.post-86985874590018950902012-08-18T10:47:00.000+05:002012-08-18T10:48:07.340+05:00HPC Are The US Govt And The Big Banks Quietly Preparing For An Imminent Financial Collapse?<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI1PTCs4JrqvaSfJqowiKviCXwht7SYCtmFITfiFkFKKlaIW7NL-lbws87yI9o2vim3BwLj18s_j8Vf18BdIBfg3K5CKNR6LQTBcc25HaaWN1mj7h0F3xfi5TwEyJ-K6fNaJMBU3gx4Ga5/s1600/Imminent+Financial+Collapse1-787340.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI1PTCs4JrqvaSfJqowiKviCXwht7SYCtmFITfiFkFKKlaIW7NL-lbws87yI9o2vim3BwLj18s_j8Vf18BdIBfg3K5CKNR6LQTBcc25HaaWN1mj7h0F3xfi5TwEyJ-K6fNaJMBU3gx4Ga5/s320/Imminent+Financial+Collapse1-787340.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5777885875247977410" /></a></p><div><a href="http://www.pakalertpress.com/2012/08/14/are-the-government-and-the-big-banks-quietly-preparing-for-an-imminent-financial-collapse/" target="_blank" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"> http://www.pakalertpress.com/2012/08/14/are-the-government-and-the-big-banks-quietly-preparing-for-an-imminent-financial-collapse/</a><br style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><br style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"> <font size="6" style="color:rgb(255,0,0)"><span style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif">Are The Government And The Big Banks Quietly Preparing For An Imminent Financial Collapse?</span></font><br style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"> <br style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif">August 14, 2012</span><br><br style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><p style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;text-align:justify">Something really <a title="strange" href="http://www.pakalertpress.com/category/strange/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">strange</a> appears to be happening. All over the globe, governments and big banks are acting as if they are anticipating an imminent <a title="financial collapse" href="http://www.pakalertpress.com/tag/financial-collapse/" target="_blank">financial collapse</a>. Unfortunately, we are not privy to the quiet conversations that are taking place in corporate boardrooms and in the halls of power in places such as Washington D.C. and London, so all we can do is try to make sense of all the clues that are all around us. Of course it is completely possible to misinterpret these clues, but sticking our heads in the sand is not going to do any good either. <br> </p><p style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;text-align:justify">Last week, it was revealed that the <a title="U.S. government" href="http://www.pakalertpress.com/tag/u-s-government/" target="_blank">U.S. government</a> has been secretly directing five of the biggest banks in America "<a title="to develop plans for staving off collapse" href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/10/us-banks-recoveryplans-idUSBRE87905N20120810" target="_blank">to develop plans for staving off collapse</a>" for the last two years. By itself, that wouldn't be that big of a deal. But when you add that piece to the dozens of other clues of imminent <a title="financial collapse" href="http://www.pakalertpress.com/tag/financial-collapse/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">financial collapse</a>, a very troubling picture begins to emerge. Over the past 12 months, hundreds of banking executives <a title="have been resigning" href="http://americankabuki.blogspot.com/p/banker-resignations.html" target="_blank">have been resigning</a>, corporate insiders have been selling off <a title="enormous amounts of stock" href="http://money.cnn.com/2012/04/24/markets/thebuzz/index.htm" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">enormous amounts of stock</a>, and I have been personally told that a significant number of Wall Street bankers have been shopping for "prepper properties" in rural communities this summer. <br> </p><p style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;text-align:justify">Meanwhile, there have been reports that the <a title="U.S. government" href="http://www.pakalertpress.com/tag/u-s-government/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">U.S. government</a> has been stockpiling <a title="food" href="http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/is-the-u-s-government-stockpiling-food-in-anticipation-of-a-major-economic-crisis" target="_blank">food</a> and <a title="ammunition" href="http://endoftheamericandream.com/archives/why-does-the-department-of-homeland-security-need-450-million-hollow-point-bullets" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">ammunition</a>, and Barack Obama has been signing <a title="a whole bunch of executive orders" href="http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/does-barack-obama-expect-the-upcoming-election-to-spark-rampant-civil-unrest" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">a whole bunch of executive orders</a> that would potentially be implemented in the event of a major meltdown of society. So what does all of this mean? It could mean something or it could mean nothing. What we do know is that a financial collapse is coming at some point. Over the past 40 years, the total amount of all debt in the United States has grown from about 2 trillion dollars to <a title="nearly 55 trillion dollars" href="http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/data/TCMDO.txt" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">nearly 55 trillion dollars</a>. That is a recipe for <a title="financial armageddon" href="http://www.pakalertpress.com/tag/financial-armageddon/" target="_blank">financial armageddon</a>, and it is inevitable that this gigantic bubble of debt is going to burst at some point.</p> <p style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;text-align:justify"><img title="Are The Government And The Big Banks Quietly Preparing For An Imminent Financial Collapse" height="312" alt="" src="http://www.pakalertpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Are-The-Government-And-The-Big-Banks-Quietly-Preparing-For-An-Imminent-Financial-Collapse.jpg" width="599"></p> <p style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;text-align:justify">In normal times, the U.S. government does not tell major banks to "develop plans for staving off collapse". But according to a recent <a title="Reuters article" href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/10/us-banks-recoveryplans-idUSBRE87905N20120810" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Reuters article</a>, that is apparently exactly what has been happening….</p> <blockquote style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><p><i>U.S. regulators directed five of the country's biggest banks, including <a title="Bank of America" href="http://www.pakalertpress.com/tag/bank-of-america/" target="_blank">Bank of America</a> Corp and Goldman Sachs Group Inc, to develop plans for staving off collapse if they faced serious problems, emphasizing that the banks could not count on government help.</i></p> <p><i>The two-year-old program, which has been largely secret until now, is in addition to the "living wills" the banks crafted to help regulators dismantle them if they actually do fail. It shows how hard regulators are working to ensure that banks have plans for worst-case scenarios and can act rationally in times of distress.</i></p> </blockquote><p style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;text-align:justify">Does it seem odd to anyone else that only five really big banks got such a warning? And why keep it secret from the American public? Does the <a title="federal government" href="http://www.pakalertpress.com/tag/federal-government/" target="_blank">federal government</a> actually expect such a collapse to happen? If federal officials do expect a financial collapse to occur, they would not be the only ones. An increasing number of very respected economists are speaking about the coming financial collapse as if there is a certain inevitability about it.</p> <p style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;text-align:justify">For example, check out the following quote from a recent <a title="Money Morning article" href="http://moneymorning.com/ob/economist-richard-duncan-civilization-may-not-survive-death-spiral/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Money Morning article</a>….</p> <blockquote style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><p><i>Richard Duncan, formerly of the World Bank and chief economist at Blackhorse Asset Mgmt., says America's $16 trillion federal debt has escalated into a "death spiral," as he told CNBC. And it could result in a depression so severe that he doesn't "think our civilization could survive it."</i></p> </blockquote><p style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;text-align:justify">A former World Bank executive is warning that our civilization might not survive what is coming? That is pretty chilling. Economist Nouriel Roubini says that he believes that the coming crisis will be <a title="even worse than 2008" href="http://www.zerohedge.com/news/roubini-2013s-global-perfect-storm-and-greedy-bankers-hanging-streets?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+zerohedge/feed+%28zero+hedge+-+on+a+long+enough+timeline,+the+survival+rate+for+everyone+drops+to+zero%29&utm_content=Google+Reader" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">even worse than 2008</a>….</p> <blockquote style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><p><i>"Worse because like 2008 you will have an economic and <a title="financial crisis" href="http://www.pakalertpress.com/tag/financial-crisis/" target="_blank">financial crisis</a> but unlike 2008, you are running out of policy bullets. In 2008, you could cut rates; do QE1, QE2; you could do fiscal stimulus; you could backstop/ringfence/guarantee banks and everybody else. Today, more QEs are becoming less and less effective because the problems are of solvency not liquidity. Fiscal deficits are already so large and you cannot bail out the banks because 1) there is a political opposition to it; and 2) governments are near-insolvent – they cannot bailout themselves let alone their banks. <b>The problem is that we are running out of policy rabbits to pull out of the hat!"</b></i></p> </blockquote><p style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;text-align:justify">Across the pond, many European officials are echoing similar sentiments. What Nigel Farage <a title="told King World News" href="http://kingworldnews.com/kingworldnews/KWN_DailyWeb/Entries/2012/8/10_Nigel_Farage_-_They_Will_Collapse_The_System_&_Enslave_People.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">told King World News</a> the other day is very ominous….</p> <blockquote style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><p><i>Today MEP (Member European Parliament) Nigel Farage spoke with King World News about what he described as the possibility of, "a really dramatic banking collapse." Farage also warned that central planners want to enslave and imprison people inside of a 'New Order,' and he described the situation as "horrifying."</i></p> </blockquote><p style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;text-align:justify">The situation in Europe continues <a title="to get worse and worse" href="http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/11-things-that-can-happen-when-you-allow-your-country-to-become-enslaved-to-the-bankers" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">to get worse and worse</a>. The authorities in Europe have come out with "solution" after "solution", and yet unemployment continues to skyrocket and <a title="economic conditions" href="http://www.pakalertpress.com/tag/economic-conditions/" target="_blank">economic conditions</a> in the EU have deteriorated very steadily over the past 12 months. If all of that was not bad enough, there are an <a title="increasing number of indications" href="http://www.zerohedge.com/contributed/2012-08-10/nine-months-ago-i-said-germany-would-leave-euro-finally-msm-starting-catch" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">increasing number of indications</a> that Germany is actually considering leaving the euro. <br> </p><p style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;text-align:justify">Needless to say, that would be a complete and total disaster for the rest of the eurozone. Of course there are any number of ways that the <a title="financial crisis" href="http://www.pakalertpress.com/tag/financial-crisis/" target="_blank">financial crisis</a> in Europe could potentially play out. But <b>all</b> of the realistic scenarios would be very bad for the <a title="global economy" href="http://www.pakalertpress.com/tag/global-economy/" target="_blank">global economy</a>. Meanwhile, our resources are dwindling, war in the Middle East could erupt at any moment and our planet is becoming increasingly unstable. The following is from a recent article by Paul B. Farrell <a title="on Marketwatch.com" href="http://www.marketwatch.com/story/wwiii-great-commodities-war-to-end-all-wars-2012-08-07" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">on Marketwatch.com</a>….</p> <blockquote style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><p><i>Fasten your seat belts, soon we'll all be shocked out of denial. Some unpredictable black swan. A global wake-up call will trigger the Pentagon's prediction in Fortune a decade ago at the launch of the Iraq War: "By 2020 … an ancient pattern of desperate, all-out wars over food, water, and energy supplies is emerging … warfare defining human life."</i></p> </blockquote><p style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;text-align:justify">It is almost as if a "perfect storm" is brewing. Of course <a title="the historic drought" href="http://thetruthwins.com/archives/17-signs-that-you-better-start-preparing-for-a-nightmarish-global-food-crisis" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">the historic drought</a> that is ravaging <a title="food production" href="http://www.pakalertpress.com/tag/food-production/" target="_blank">food production</a> in the United States this summer is not helping matters either. Another summer or two like this one and we could be looking at a return of Dust Bowl conditions. Anyone that is watching what is going on in the world and is not concerned at all about what is happening is simply being delusional. Recently, a "team of scientists, economists, and geopolitical analysts" examined the current state of the global <a title="economic system" href="http://www.pakalertpress.com/tag/economic-system/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">economic system</a> and the conclusions they reached were <a title="absolutely staggering" href="http://moneymorning.com/ob/economist-richard-duncan-civilization-may-not-survive-death-spiral/" target="_blank">absolutely staggering</a>….</p> <blockquote style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><p><i>One member of this team, Chris Martenson, a pathologist and former VP of a Fortune 300 company, explains their findings:</i></p><p><i>"We found an identical pattern in our debt, total credit market, and money supply that guarantees they're going to fail. This pattern is nearly the same as in any pyramid scheme, one that escalates exponentially fast before it collapses. Governments around the globe are chiefly responsible.</i></p> <p><i>"And what's really disturbing about these findings is that the pattern isn't limited to our economy. We found the same catastrophic pattern in our energy, food, and water systems as well."</i></p><p><i>According to Martenson: "These systems could all implode at the same time. Food, water, energy, money. Everything."</i></p> </blockquote><p style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;text-align:justify">Hmmmm – it sounds like they have been reading The <b><a title="Economic Collapse" href="http://www.pakalertpress.com/tag/economic-collapse/" target="_blank">Economic Collapse</a></b> Blog. The truth is that a massive worldwide financial collapse is coming. It is inevitable, and it is going to be extremely painful.</p> <p style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;text-align:justify"><font size="4"><b>#<a href="http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/are-the-government-and-the-big-banks-quietly-preparing-for-an-imminent-financial-collapse" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">TheEconomicCollapse</a></b></font></p> <br><br style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><a href="http://thetruthwins.com/" target="_blank">http://thetruthwins.com/</a><br><br><div><h2><a title="Permanent Link to 10 Signs That The 8th Largest Economy In The World Is Being Overwhelmed By A Tsunami Of Debt" href="http://thetruthwins.com/archives/10-signs-that-the-8th-largest-economy-in-the-world-is-being-overwhelmed-by-a-tsunami-of-debt" rel="bookmark" target="_blank"><span style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif">10 Signs That The 8th Largest Economy In The World Is Being Overwhelmed By A Tsunami Of Debt</span></a></h2> </div><div style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><p><a title="" href="http://thetruthwins.com/archives/10-signs-that-the-8th-largest-economy-in-the-world-is-being-overwhelmed-by-a-tsunami-of-debt/10-signs-that-the-8th-largest-economy-in-the-world-is-being-overwhelmed-by-a-tsunami-of-debt" rel="attachment wp-att-870" target="_blank"><img title="10 Signs that The 8th Largest Economy In The World Is Being Overwhelmed By A Tsunami Of Debt" height="279" alt="" src="http://thetruthwins.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/10-Signs-that-The-8th-Largest-Economy-In-The-World-Is-Being-Overwhelmed-By-A-Tsunami-Of-Debt-450x279.jpg" width="450"></a></p> <p>Guess who is going to need a bailout right after Spain? The Italian economy is the 8th largest economy on the entire planet and right now it is being absolutely overwhelmed by a tsunami of debt. In an attempt to address this problem, Italy is going down the exact same path that Greece, Portugal and Spain have gone. And so far, we are seeing the exact same results that we have seen in those other countries. Austerity causes economic growth to slow down, and that causes unemployment to soar. When unemployment rises, tax revenues go down and you end up missing your original deficit reduction targets so you have to implement even more austerity measures. It is a vicious cycle that we have seen play out again and again in Greece over the past five years. But unlike Greece, Italy is way too large to be completely bailed out. The truth is that there are only 7 economies on the entire globe that are larger than the Italian economy. Plus, keep in mind that the 12th largest economy in the world, Spain, is also on the verge of formally requesting a bailout. <a title="(Read More....)" href="http://thetruthwins.com/archives/10-signs-that-the-8th-largest-economy-in-the-world-is-being-overwhelmed-by-a-tsunami-of-debt" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">(Read More....)</a></p> </div><br style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><br style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><div style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><h2><a title="Permanent Link to 17 Signs That You Better Start Preparing For A Nightmarish Global Food Crisis" href="http://thetruthwins.com/archives/17-signs-that-you-better-start-preparing-for-a-nightmarish-global-food-crisis" rel="bookmark" target="_blank">17 Signs That You Better Start Preparing For A Nightmarish Global Food Crisis</a></h2> </div><div style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><p><a title="" href="http://thetruthwins.com/archives/17-signs-that-you-better-start-preparing-for-a-nightmarish-global-food-crisis/kansas-state-university-u-s-vegetation-condition" rel="attachment wp-att-857" target="_blank"><img title="Kansas State University - U.S. Vegetation Condition" height="309" alt="" src="http://thetruthwins.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Kansas-State-University-U.S.-Vegetation-Condition-400x309.jpg" width="400"></a></p> <p>A nightmarish global food crisis is coming. Even though about a billion people around the planet currently live on the edge of starvation, those of us that live in the wealthy western nations still have more than enough food to eat. But it will not always be that way. With each passing year, the global population goes up while global supplies of fresh water go down. And you need lots of water to grow food. The "breadbaskets" of the world, the United States and Russia, are currently experiencing horrible droughts that scientists tell us are part of a long-term trend. In fact, some are projecting that the United States will soon see the return of Dust Bowl conditions. So what will the rest of the world do when the topsoil in the heartland of the biggest food exporter on the globe dries up and blows away? Just remember what happened back in 2007 and 2008. Food prices rose rapidly and it sparked massive food riots in more than two dozen different nations. So what will things look like when there is a very serious shortage of food around the globe?</p> <p>On Thursday, the price of corn hit another brand new record high of $8.28 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade.</p><p>Unfortunately, <a title="(Read More....)" href="http://thetruthwins.com/archives/17-signs-that-you-better-start-preparing-for-a-nightmarish-global-food-crisis" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">(Read More....)</a></p> </div><br style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><br style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><div style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><h2><a title="Permanent Link to Deflation or Hyperinflation" href="http://thetruthwins.com/archives/deflation-or-hyperinflation" rel="bookmark" target="_blank">Deflation or Hyperinflation</a></h2> </div><div style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><p style="text-align:center"><a title="" href="http://thetruthwins.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Deflation-or-Hyperinflation.png" target="_blank"><img title="Deflation or Hyperinflation" height="257" alt="" src="http://thetruthwins.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Deflation-or-Hyperinflation.png" width="321"></a></p> <p>One economic theory states that we can never have deflation in a long term economy. For prices to deflate would be contrary to the built-in safeguards put forth by the government agencies. The main cause of a deflation would have to be a massive withdrawal of money from the banking system. As long as the money is insured, that is unlikely to happen. I tend to agree with that theory. It is unlikely that prices will go down long term as long as people have confidence in having their money in the banks.</p> <p>One of the safeguards put into effect in the 30s depended on the negotiation of wages. No one group of wages, but all American Manufacturing was based on Union wages. Inflation and wage increases went hand in hand all through the 50s and to some extent through the 60s. Nonunion people normally could do a "me too" on the backs of Union worker's negotiations. If a Union member negotiated a contract for $10 an hour plus benefits, companies tended to pay the nonunion worker just a little less. But to remain competitive in attracting people, they had to match the wages fairly close.</p> <p>In that kind of atmosphere it was natural for more and more money to be printed as wages increased at a rate of at least 4.5 percent per year. You can go to almost any book on Finance and Appraisal in the Real Estate Industry for a practical guide <a title="(Read More....)" href="http://thetruthwins.com/archives/deflation-or-hyperinflation" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">(Read More....)</a></p> </div></div>-- <br>Shahzad Afzal<br><a href="http://www.pakistanprobe.com/" target="_blank">http://www.pakistanprobe.com/</a><br><br><br><br> Shahzadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05160575437170422234noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2534333433654861615.post-69068854451394350342012-08-14T07:33:00.001+05:002012-08-14T07:33:34.361+05:00America's first choice - Iran or Pakistan<div class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="font-family:'times new roman','new york',times,serif;font-size:16px;text-align:center"><b><span style="font-size:16pt"><font face="Calibri">America's first choice - Iran or Pakistan</font></span></b></div> <div style="font-family:'times new roman','new york',times,serif;font-size:16px"></div><div class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="font-family:'times new roman','new york',times,serif;font-size:16px;text-align:center"> <b><span style="font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Asif Haroon Raja</font></span></b></div><div style="font-family:'times new roman','new york',times,serif;font-size:16px"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:'times new roman','new york',times,serif;font-size:16px;text-align:justify"> <span style="font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">America and its allies are persecuting and bleeding the Muslims for over a decade. Notwithstanding its imperialistic designs and penchant to harm Muslims interests, the Muslim states themselves are also responsible for the sorry state of affairs within the Muslim world. Notwithstanding all out support of the US and the west to Israel in its creation and build up, Arab states are also responsible for turning tiny sized Israel into most powerful state of the region because of their disunity and submissiveness to USA. Palestinian issue has lingered on for 65 years because of the deplorable state of affairs within the Arab world. Mullah Omar's regime wouldn't have crumbled that easily had Pakistan not ditched its neighbor and sided with the invader. The whole world including the Muslim world backed the invasion. Saddam Hussain's regime was brought down in May 2003 because the Shias and Kurds in Iraq had joined hands with the aggressors and all the Arab neighbors had supported the aggressors while Iran looked the other way.</font></span></div> <div style="font-family:'times new roman','new york',times,serif;font-size:16px"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:'times new roman','new york',times,serif;font-size:16px;text-align:justify"> <span style="font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt named as Arab Spring were instigated by CIA-Mosad and executed by Qatar to reshape Middle East and muster wider acceptance for apartheid Israel. It is a different matter that later events spun out of control of the schemers and Islamic parties took over. Few hundred anti-Qaddafi runaway Libyans residing in USA aided by CIA and NATO airpower ousted Qaddafi from power and killed him in 2011. Syria is currently in the firing line and the opponents of President Assad misled by foreign powers are striving hard to bring down his regime. So far 25000 Syrians have died in the infighting but Assad with 12% Alawite minority is defiant and wants to continue ruling 83% Sunni population. But for Russian and Chinese intervention, by now the US would have obtained UNSC sanction to authorize NATO to step in and assist the opposing forces in Syria and then form a government of its choice.</font></span></div> <div style="font-family:'times new roman','new york',times,serif;font-size:16px"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:'times new roman','new york',times,serif;font-size:16px;text-align:justify"> <span style="font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Two other Muslim countries, Iran and Pakistan in the firing line are awaiting their turn. Lot of groundwork has already been done by USA and its allies to soften up the targeted countries from within through covert war. Reformist Party in Iran is sponsored by USA but despite receiving millions of dollars during the last two elections, it couldn't defeat Ahmadinejad run ruling party which has struck deep roots among the masses because of its anti-US and anti-Israel stance. Although Iran has been sufficiently isolated and put under harsh sanctions and now attempts are being made to block its oil exports so as to force it to abandon its nuclear program perceived to be geared towards making a nuclear bomb, Ahmadinejad is continuing to defy US-EU blackmailing tactics. Oil, geo-strategic location, effective leadership and resilient youth are assets which enable Iran to withstand external pressures. It is in a position to choke Strait of Hormuz through which one-third of oil flows to Europe. It has powerful guided missiles that can hit Israel with ease. </font></span></div> <div style="font-family:'times new roman','new york',times,serif;font-size:16px"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:'times new roman','new york',times,serif;font-size:16px;text-align:justify"> <span style="font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">The situation in Pakistan is not so bright. One of the best ways to break a nation is to install a corrupt and incompetent government. The US has successfully achieved this objective in Pakistan. The present government installed by USA in 2008 is at the beck and call of Washington. The sole interest of the NRO cleansed rulers is to prolong their stay in power and to keep filling their coffers with ill-gotten money. For the attainment of these selfish interests they have sold their souls and put national interests at stake. They are fighting the judiciary tooth and nail to preserve their looted wealth. They have damaged and humiliated Pakistan in a way which neither India nor Israel could do militarily. Their massive corruption, nepotism and lavish lifestyle have devastated the economic, ideological, industrial, social and political structure of Pakistan. Above all, there is no dearth of fifth columnists and snakes in the grass.</font></span></div> <div style="font-family:'times new roman','new york',times,serif;font-size:16px"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:'times new roman','new york',times,serif;font-size:16px;text-align:justify"> <span style="font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Regrettably, the US has found out the solution to destroy a Muslim atomic power through corrupt democracy in Pakistan. Within four years we stand nowhere. The US and India under the garb of friendship have been ruthlessly bashing Pakistan on the media plane and through covert and drone wars but our dishonest leaders continue to appease the bashers. After destabilizing FATA and Balochistan and creating lawlessness in Karachi, and after resorting to water terrorism by building series of dams on our rivers to dry up Pakistan, India with the willing connivance of our rulers is now poised to wage an economic war to cripple our economy. It has opened up her border for Pakistani industrialists who are already depressed because of prolonged load shedding and are shifting to Malaysia, Indonesia and Bangladesh. India will be most convenient place for them to restart business. One can now see and understand why and how cleverly our energy crisis has been used as a weapon against us. It is essentially because of our morally bankrupt leadership that our nuclear deterrence has almost been compromised.</font></span></div> <div style="font-family:'times new roman','new york',times,serif;font-size:16px"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:'times new roman','new york',times,serif;font-size:16px;text-align:justify"> <span style="font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Although both Iran and Pakistan are ripe for foreign intervention, it cannot be predicted at this stage which country the US will choose to strike first. Apparently Iran seems to be priority target because of certain compelling reasons. Israel is becoming itchy and desperate and is putting massive pressure on USA to strike Iran's nuclear sites before it acquires weaponized nuclear capability. It knows that Tehran has speeded up its covert program despite string of sanctions and pressures. The US is reluctant since till recent its forces were heavily involved in Afghanistan and Iraq. It is still in a precarious situation owing to Afghanistan which has gone out of its control. Its economy is not getting stabilized and expenditure on war on terror is too weighty.</font></span></div> <div style="font-family:'times new roman','new york',times,serif;font-size:16px"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:'times new roman','new york',times,serif;font-size:16px;text-align:justify"> <span style="font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">The Americans would not like opening of another war front. Rather, they want early termination of war on terror and return of soldiers who are getting killed almost daily. NATO countries are also wary of the war and have announced their intentions of pulling out of Afghanistan much before the cutout date of December 2014. Europe itself is going through serious economic crisis. In case Iran decides to close Hormuz, it will have crippling impact on the economy of Europe. Given the oil stakes of Russia and China in Iran, US-Israeli intrusion may trigger world war. Although conflict is in the interest of USA since it helps in running its war industry, however, after its bitter experience in Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq, the US would refrain from employing its combat troops in any future conflict zone. It would prefer to achieve its objectives by using covert means supplemented by drones, airpower, psychological and cyber warfare.</font></span></div> <div style="font-family:'times new roman','new york',times,serif;font-size:16px"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:'times new roman','new york',times,serif;font-size:16px;text-align:justify"> <span style="font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">The fight back by resistance forces in Iraq and Afghanistan has not only drained the economy of USA but also upset its grandiose future plans to harness the resources of the Muslim world and micro-manage global affairs in accordance with its own whims. Afghan resistance has proved too costly since few thousand ill-equipped Taliban have rolled the honor and prestige of the sole super power claiming to be invincible in the dust. It is pulling out without defeating the Taliban and without arriving at a political settlement. Its hopes are pinned on India and ANA that the two would be able to keep the Taliban at bay after the departure of ISAF but judging from the ground realities, the assumption seems farfetched. Even the safe withdrawal of ISAF and its heavy baggage has become a big challenge.</font></span></div> <div style="font-family:'times new roman','new york',times,serif;font-size:16px"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:'times new roman','new york',times,serif;font-size:16px;text-align:justify"> <span style="font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">These lurking fears and anxieties of USA are proving to be blessing in disguise for Pakistan and may prove helpful since it is the only country that can help a great deal in surmounting these formidable challenges in 2014. Other reasons why Pakistan may not be preferred over Iran is that it acts as the best bridge for Afghanistan and Central Asia and also provides deepwater seaport facility at Gawadar. Unstable Pakistan will hamper the withdrawal of ISAF as well as future commercial activities through the envisaged energy corridor.</font></span></div> <div style="font-family:'times new roman','new york',times,serif;font-size:16px"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:'times new roman','new york',times,serif;font-size:16px;text-align:justify"> <span style="font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Irrespective of the compulsions of USA, it cannot be denied that Pakistan is a target and not an ally of USA and sooner than later its turn will come. No amount of sacrifices rendered by Pakistan will satisfy USA. Nuclear Pakistan and that too having germs of defiance and brimming with anti-Indo-US-Israel extremist forces is unacceptable to the adversarial trio. Hence the apparent thawing of our relations with the US that had reached a breaking point must not mislead us into believing that the US has genuinely become friendly and cancelled its hidden objective to denuclearize Pakistan. Signing of Indo-Afghanistan and US-Afghanistan strategic partnership accords and recent demand by Afghan Parliament asking the US to attack Pakistan are ominous signs. Our western front will certainly get activated in any future Indo-Pak war. India has enhanced the scope of its Cold Start doctrine from eight to sixteen tactical objectives on our eastern front.</font></span></div> <div style="font-family:'times new roman','new york',times,serif;font-size:16px"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:'times new roman','new york',times,serif;font-size:16px;text-align:justify"> <span style="font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Although Gen Shameem Wynne is very confident that our nuclear arsenal is in safe hands and no harm can come to it, however, I am sure he at the inter service level and Gen Ashfaq Kayani at Army level must have worked out contingencies to deal with dangerous twin threat scenario backed by USA and Israel which is no more an illusion but a reality. I suggest this hypothesis should be played up in ongoing war game Azm-e-Nao IV to assess our response actions. </font></span></div> <div style="font-family:'times new roman','new york',times,serif;font-size:16px"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:'times new roman','new york',times,serif;font-size:16px;text-align:justify"> <span style="font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">The writer is a retired Brig, a columnist, a defence analyst and author of several books. Email: <a href="mailto:asifahroon7751@yahoo.com" target="_blank">asifahroon7751@yahoo.com</a> </font></span></div> <div><br></div>-- <br>Shahzad Afzal<br><a href="http://www.pakistanprobe.com/" target="_blank">http://www.pakistanprobe.com/</a><br><br><br><br> Shahzadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05160575437170422234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2534333433654861615.post-12809184017340119442012-08-08T10:00:00.001+05:002012-08-08T10:00:32.874+05:00Drone Attacks Only Create More Enemies for the US<div><font size="6" style="font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:32px;color:rgb(255,0,0)"><b>Drone Attacks Only Create More Enemies for the United States.</b></font><font size="4" style="font-family:'Times New Roman'"><br> <br><b>By Eric Margolis</b><br><br>August 05, 2012 "</font><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/" target="_blank" style="font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:32px"><font size="4">Information Clearing House</font></a><font size="4" style="font-family:'Times New Roman'">" -- WASHINGTON – I was visiting Pakistan's ambassador to the United States when the phone on his desk rang.<br> <br>"The hot line," he said. "Sorry I have to take this call."<br><br>As he listened, his face grew darker and darker. Finally, he banged down the phone and exploded: "Another US drone attack that killed a score of our people. We were never warned the attack was coming. We are supposed to be US allies!"<br> <br>This strongly pro-American ambassador was wrong. While the US hails Pakistan as a key non-NATO ally, the US treats it like a militarily occupied country. The government in Islamabad is left to observe increasing drone attacks and CIA ground operation with deepening embarrassment and helplessness.<br> <br>Average Pakistanis have no doubt about what's happening. Most believe their nation was more or less occupied by the US after the 2001 attacks on the US.<br><br>The Pakistani leader who allowed this to happen, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, has admitted that the US put a gun to his head and demanded he allow the US to use Pakistan's army, air bases, ports, intelligence service, logistics, and air space – or face war. Musharraf quickly caved in to the US ultimatum, something a tough predecessor, Gen. Zia ul-Haq, would have surely rejected.<br> <br>As US drone attacks intensify in Pakistan's tribal belt and inside Afghanistan, the government of President Asif Ali Zardari, which was engineered into power by Washington and sustained by US dollars, keeps imploring the US to halt the attacks that are enraging Pakistanis. Senior Pakistani diplomats have been warning that the drone strikes that have so far killed 2,500-3,000, mostly civilians, are fuelling extremist groups in Pakistan and humiliating its armed forces.<br> <br>No one in Washington is listening. Islamabad's attempted to show some independence by halting US-NATO truck convoys from Karachi to Afghanistan for seven months after a deadly US air attack last November that killed 25 Pakistani soldiers.<br> <br>But the blockade was recently lifted after $1 billion of American aid to Islamabad was unfrozen. The dollars are flowing again – many of them right back out into Swiss, Dubai or Singapore bank accounts.<br><br>Anti-American feelings in Pakistan have been soaring. Some polls show over 90% of respondents expressing hatred or anger against the US. These public sentiments have been worsened by more loose talk by Republicans in Washington about seizing Pakistan's nuclear weapons, making Pakistan's province of Baluchistan a separate state, or putting Pakistan on America's terrorist list.<br> <br>There are even rumbles from the far right and pro-Israel neocons about attacking Pakistan. America's failing war in Afghanistan is being blamed on the Pakistan-backed Haqqani group which is also ironical since during my days in Afghanistan in the 1980's, Haqqani was a favorite of CIA.<br> <br>Washington's not so discreet threats of punishment have abated for the moment thanks to the mess in Syria and rising threat of war against Iran. But Pakistan remains a potent generator for anti-American jihadist sentiment, and for rising anti-Muslim sentiment in America.<br> <br>Ironically, the US went to war in Afghanistan to supposedly punish anti-American groups, yet now ends up creating ten times more enemies in Pakistan.<br><br>Meanwhile, the truck craziness has reared its head again. Supply trucks for US and NATO forces are backed up at Pakistani border crossing points because supposedly because of security threats.<br> <br>Trucking supplies into northern Afghanistan via the Black Sea, Russia, and Central Asia has been costing the US $100 million monthly at a time when 44 million Americans live below the poverty level. Flying supplies and munitions from the US to Afghanistan costs ten times more than ground transport.<br> <br>On top of this, Taliban and its allies are annoyed that the truck convoys have stopped. Why? Because they were being paid off millions more of baksheesh by the US to let the convoys pass.<br><br>Talks this past week in Washington between CIA chief David Petraeus and Pakistan's new intelligence director, Lt. Gen. Zahir ul-Islam were said to be cordial but not 6discernably productive. Nor were talks between top Pakistani and US generals. Diplomats seem to have dropped out of the picture.<br> </font><i style="font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:32px"><font size="4"><br>Eric S. Margolis is an award-winning, internationally syndicated columnist. His articles have appeared in the New York Times, the International Herald Tribune the Los Angeles Times, Times of London, the Gulf Times, the Khaleej Times, Nation – Pakistan, Hurriyet, – Turkey, Sun Times Malaysia and other news sites in Asia. <a href="http://www.ericmargolis.com/" target="_blank">www.ericmargolis.com</a></font></i> </div>-- <br>Shahzad Afzal<br><a href="http://www.pakistanprobe.com/" target="_blank">http://www.pakistanprobe.com/</a><br><br><br><br> Shahzadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05160575437170422234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2534333433654861615.post-23957311917851648172012-06-27T07:02:00.001+05:002012-06-27T07:02:51.150+05:00The U.S.A 88, Pakistan 149, Israel 150<div><div><h2><span style="font-family:sans-serif">We're Number 88! We're Number 88! US Ranked Low on Global Peace Index</span></h2></div><h3><span style="font-family:sans-serif">2012 Global Peace Index shows slightly more peaceful world from 2009</span></h3> <div><p><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:sans-serif">- Common Dreams staff</span></p></div></div><div><div><div><p><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:sans-serif">The just released 2012 Global Peace Index (GPI) from the Institute for Economics and Peace shows that the world has become slightly more peaceful over the last two years, with Iceland ranking as the most peaceful country and Somalia ranking as the least peaceful place. The U.S. ranks 88 of 158.<a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.visionofhumanity.org/gpi-data/" target="_blank"><span style="color:blue;text-decoration:none"><img border="0" src="http://www.commondreams.org/sites/commondreams.org/files/imce-images/2012globalpeaceindex_0.jpg"></span><span style="color:blue">Click on the image to use the interactive map. (Image: Global Peace Index)</span></a></span></p> </div><div><p><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:sans-serif">The index takes into account factors including jailed population, political instability, conflicts fought and military expenditure.</span></p></div><div><p> <span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:sans-serif">"What comes across dramatically in this year's results and the six year trends is a shift in global priorities. Nations have become externally more peaceful as they compete through economic, rather than military means. The results for Sub Saharan Africa as a whole are particularly striking – regional wars have waned as the African Union strives to develop economic and political integration." said Steve Killelea, founder and Executive Chairman of the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP).</span></p> </div><div><p><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:sans-serif">"Peacefulness has returned to approximately the levels seen in 2007, but while external measures of peacefulness have improved, there has been a rise in internal conflict. This is particularly noticeable in the rise in fatalities from terrorist acts which have more than trebled since 2003," states Killelea.</span></p> </div><div><p><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:sans-serif">The findings also highlight the fact that peace has an economic advantage. The IEP estimates that global peace in 2011 would have had an economic benefit of $9 trillion.</span></p> </div><p align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:sans-serif">* * *</span></p></div><div><p><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:sans-serif">Video uploaded by <strong>Vision of Humanity </strong>with highlights of the 2012 Global Peace Index</span></p> </div><p align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:sans-serif">* * *</span></p></div><div><p><strong><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:sans-serif">10 Most Peaceful Countries</span></strong><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:sans-serif"></span></p> </div><table border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="0"><tbody><tr><td colspan="2" style="border:none;padding:0.75pt"><p align="center" style="text-align:center">Source: 2012 Global Peace Index</p></td></tr><tr><td style="padding:0.75pt"> <p><strong>Rank</strong></p></td><td style="padding:0.75pt"><p><strong>Country</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td style="padding:0.75pt"><p>1</p></td><td style="padding:0.75pt"><p>Iceland</p></td></tr><tr><td style="padding:0.75pt"> <p>2</p></td><td style="padding:0.75pt"><p>Denmark</p></td></tr><tr><td style="padding:0.75pt"><p>2</p></td><td style="padding:0.75pt"><p>New Zealand</p></td></tr><tr><td style="padding:0.75pt"><p>4</p></td><td style="padding:0.75pt"> <p>Canada</p></td></tr><tr><td style="padding:0.75pt"><p>5</p></td><td style="padding:0.75pt"><p>Japan</p></td></tr><tr><td style="padding:0.75pt"><p>6</p></td><td style="padding:0.75pt"><p>Austria</p></td></tr><tr><td style="padding:0.75pt"> <p>6</p></td><td style="padding:0.75pt"><p>Ireland</p></td></tr><tr><td style="padding:0.75pt"><p>8</p></td><td style="padding:0.75pt"><p>Slovenia</p></td></tr><tr><td style="padding:0.75pt"><p>9</p></td><td style="padding:0.75pt"> <p>Finland</p></td></tr><tr><td style="padding:0.75pt"><p>10</p></td><td style="padding:0.75pt"><p>Switzerland</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:sans-serif"> </span></p><div><p><strong><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:sans-serif">10 Least Peaceful Countries</span></strong><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:sans-serif"></span></p> </div><table border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="0"><tbody><tr><td colspan="2" style="border:none;padding:0.75pt"><p align="center" style="text-align:center">Source: 2012 Global Peace Index</p></td></tr><tr><td style="padding:0.75pt"> <p><strong>Rank</strong></p></td><td style="padding:0.75pt"><p><strong>Country</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td style="padding:0.75pt"><p>158</p></td><td style="padding:0.75pt"><p>Somalia</p></td></tr><tr><td style="padding:0.75pt"> <p>157</p></td><td style="padding:0.75pt"><p>Afghanistan</p></td></tr><tr><td style="padding:0.75pt"><p>156</p></td><td style="padding:0.75pt"><p>Sudan</p></td></tr><tr><td style="padding:0.75pt"><p>155</p></td><td style="padding:0.75pt"> <p>Iraq</p></td></tr><tr><td style="padding:0.75pt"><p>154</p></td><td style="padding:0.75pt"><p>Dem. Republic of Congo</p></td></tr><tr><td style="padding:0.75pt"><p>153</p></td><td style="padding:0.75pt"><p>Russia</p></td> </tr><tr><td style="padding:0.75pt"><p>152</p></td><td style="padding:0.75pt"><p>North Korea</p></td></tr><tr><td style="padding:0.75pt"><p>151</p></td><td style="padding:0.75pt"><p>Central African Republic</p></td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:0.75pt"><p>150</p></td><td style="padding:0.75pt"><p>Israel</p></td></tr><tr><td style="padding:0.75pt"><p>149</p></td><td style="padding:0.75pt"><p>Pakistan</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:sans-serif"> </span></p> <p align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:sans-serif">* * *</span></p><div><p><strong><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:sans-serif">Global Peace Index: <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.visionofhumanity.org/globalpeaceindex/2012-gpi-findings/" target="_blank">Key Findings</a></span></strong><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:sans-serif"></span></p> </div><ul type="disc"><li><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:sans-serif">Iceland is the most peaceful country for the second successive year</span></li><li><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:sans-serif">Syria tumbles by the largest margin, dropping over 30 places to 147th position.</span></li> <li><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:sans-serif">Somalia remains the world's least peaceful nation for the second year running.</span></li><li><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:sans-serif">End of civil war sees Sri Lanka as biggest riser, leaping nearly 30 places</span></li> <li><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:sans-serif">If the world had been completely peaceful in 2011, the economic benefit would have been an estimated US $9 trillion</span></li></ul><p><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:sans-serif"><br> <br>Dr. S. Akhtar Ehtisham<br>(607) 776-3336<br>P.O. Box 469,<br>Bath NY 14810<br>USA<br>Blog <a href="http://syedehtisham.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">syedehtisham.blogspot.com</a><br><em>All religions try to take over the establishment and if they fail, they collaborate with it, be it feudal or capitalist.</em></span></p> <div><br></div>-- <br>Shahzad Afzal<br><a href="http://www.pakistanprobe.com/" target="_blank">http://www.pakistanprobe.com/</a><br><br><br><br> Shahzadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05160575437170422234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2534333433654861615.post-11571853601363742062012-06-13T06:54:00.001+05:002012-06-13T06:54:53.459+05:00NATO will exit Afghanistan as Soviets did, through Central Asia<div><h2 style="text-align:left;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-size:13px;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px 0px 1em;padding:0px"><p style="padding:0px;margin-bottom:1em">NATO signs deals with Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan to truck its military supplies from Afghan war out through Central Asia, giving it options instead of closed Pakistan route.</p> </h2><p style="text-align:left;color:rgb(102,102,102);font-size:11px;margin-bottom:15px;font-family:Arial,Tahoma,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;padding:0px">By Scott Baldauf, <span style="padding:0px;margin:0px;font-style:italic">Staff writer</span> / June 5, 2012</p> <p style="text-align:left;color:rgb(102,102,102);font-size:11px;margin-bottom:15px;font-family:Arial,Tahoma,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;padding:0px"><a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/NATO" target="_blank" style="padding:0px;margin:0px;color:rgb(32,93,135);font-size:14px;line-height:22px">NATO</a><span style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-size:14px;line-height:22px"> may not know the final result of its intervention in </span><a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/Afghanistan" target="_blank" style="padding:0px;margin:0px;text-decoration:none;color:rgb(32,93,135);font-size:14px;line-height:22px">Afghanistan</a><span style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-size:14px;line-height:22px">, but it now has an exit plan. And the exit will take place through </span><a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/Central+Asia" target="_blank" style="padding:0px;margin:0px;text-decoration:none;color:rgb(32,93,135);font-size:14px;line-height:22px">Central Asia</a><span style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-size:14px;line-height:22px">, the same route the Soviet troops took after their withdrawal in 1988 and 1989.</span></p> <p style="text-align:left;color:rgb(102,102,102);font-size:11px;margin-bottom:15px;font-family:Arial,Tahoma,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;padding:0px"></p><p style="padding:0px;margin-bottom:1em;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-size:14px;line-height:22px"> As relations worsen between the <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/United+States" target="_blank" style="padding:0px;margin:0px;text-decoration:none;color:rgb(32,93,135)">United States</a> and<a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/Pakistan" target="_blank" style="padding:0px;margin:0px;text-decoration:none;color:rgb(32,93,135)">Pakistan</a>, NATO has signed deals with <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/Uzbekistan" target="_blank" style="padding:0px;margin:0px;text-decoration:none;color:rgb(32,93,135)">Uzbekistan</a>,<a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/Kyrgyzstan" target="_blank" style="padding:0px;margin:0px;text-decoration:none;color:rgb(32,93,135)">Kyrgyzstan</a>, and <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/Kazakhstan" target="_blank" style="padding:0px;margin:0px;text-decoration:none;color:rgb(32,93,135)">Kazakhstan</a> (<a href="https://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=Kazakhstan&daddr=Uzbekistan+to:Kyrgyzstan+to:Afghanistan&hl=en&ll=45.336702,66.972656&spn=71.078049,126.5625&sll=45.330077,66.923684&sspn=71.078049,126.5625&geocode=FXW43AIdpCz9AylHqfzsBxCpODEbDrPkL4R7Xw%3BFdNedwIdLn7ZAymxdtalIIuuODEgHoR-rW0Kyg%3B%3B&oq=Kyrgyzstan&mra=ls&t=m&z=3" target="_blank" style="padding:0px;margin:0px;text-decoration:none;color:rgb(32,93,135)">see map here</a>) to move out the tons of equipment that must be withdrawn by 2014, when NATO makes its final exit from Afghanistan.</p> <p style="padding:0px;margin-bottom:1em;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-size:14px;line-height:22px">Speaking with <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/Agence+France-Presse" target="_blank" style="padding:0px;margin:0px;text-decoration:none;color:rgb(32,93,135)">Agence France-Presse</a> news agency,<a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/Anders+Rasmussen" target="_blank" style="padding:0px;margin:0px;text-decoration:none;color:rgb(32,93,135)">NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen</a>said that NATO now considers Central Asia and its Russian-built roads to be <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/kazakhstan/9311522/Nato-announces-deals-to-exit-Afghanistan-via-Central-Asia.html" target="_blank" style="padding:0px;margin:0px;text-decoration:none;color:rgb(32,93,135)">the most expedient route out of Afghanistan</a>. </p> <p style="padding:0px;margin-bottom:1em;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-size:14px;line-height:22px">"These agreements will give us a range of new options and the robust and flexible transport network we need," Mr. Rasmussen said.</p> <div style="padding:0px;margin:0px;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-size:14px;line-height:22px"><p style="padding:0px;margin-bottom:1em;font-weight:bold"><a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-South-Central/2012/0406/Afghanistan-5-areas-of-concern-after-the-US-leaves" target="_blank" style="padding:0px;margin:0px;text-decoration:none;color:rgb(32,93,135)">RELATED: Afghanistan: 5 areas of concern after the US leaves </a></p> </div><p style="padding:0px;margin-bottom:1em;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-size:14px;line-height:22px">Tarnished by more than a decade of war, mutual recriminations, and foreign policy goals that are increasingly at odds, the US-Pakistani relationship now has reached a nadir. From the early post 9/11 days, when NATO received 90 percent of its supplies for the Afghan war through the Pakistani port of <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/Karachi" target="_blank" style="padding:0px;margin:0px;text-decoration:none;color:rgb(32,93,135)">Karachi</a>, now Pakistan has cut off NATO's old supply routes. Last November, Pakistan banned NATO's use of Pakistani territory after NATO planes mistakenly bombed a Pakistani post, killing 24 Pakistani soldiers.</p> <p style="padding:0px;margin-bottom:1em;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-size:14px;line-height:22px">For Pakistan, the NATO bombing was the last straw, following the violation of its territorial sovereignty last year when <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/U.S.+Navy+SEALs" target="_blank" style="padding:0px;margin:0px;text-decoration:none;color:rgb(32,93,135)">US Navy SEALs</a> captured and killed <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/Osama+bin+Laden" target="_blank" style="padding:0px;margin:0px;text-decoration:none;color:rgb(32,93,135)">Osama bin Laden</a> in the Pakistani city of <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/Abbottabad" target="_blank" style="padding:0px;margin:0px;text-decoration:none;color:rgb(32,93,135)">Abbottabad</a>.</p> <p style="padding:0px;margin-bottom:1em;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-size:14px;line-height:22px">Pakistani officials complain that <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/Washington%2c+DC" target="_blank" style="padding:0px;margin:0px;text-decoration:none;color:rgb(32,93,135)">Washington</a> simply cannot grasp the difficulty of reining in popular Islamist militant groups in a country that sees itself constantly under threat from outside. Washington fails to see the threat that Pakistan's larger rival, <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/India" target="_blank" style="padding:0px;margin:0px;text-decoration:none;color:rgb(32,93,135)">India</a>, poses to Pakistan's very existence, and fails to understand how angry Pakistani citizens become after each successive aerial attack over their territory. For its part, Washington has come to see Pakistan as an unreliable ally, a country where the <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/Pakistani+Armed+Forces" target="_blank" style="padding:0px;margin:0px;text-decoration:none;color:rgb(32,93,135)">Pakistani military</a> maintains ties with the very groups that attack US troops on Afghan soil, where America's biggest enemy, Mr. bin Laden, was taking up residence in a military garrison town.</p> <p style="padding:0px;margin-bottom:1em;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-size:14px;line-height:22px"></p><p style="font-size:medium;padding:0px;margin-bottom:1em">NATO and Pakistan could still patch things up. Pakistan has been hinting lately that there is still room for dialogue, with Pakistan's Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar suggesting that<a href="http://news.yahoo.com/us-apology-needed-open-pakistan-supply-routes-fm-000128118.html" target="_blank" style="padding:0px;margin:0px;text-decoration:none;color:rgb(32,93,135)"> the US simply needed to apologize</a> for the November bombing of its troops.</p> <p style="font-size:medium;padding:0px;margin-bottom:1em">"For us in Pakistan ... the most popular thing to do right now is to not move on NATO supply routes at all. It is to close them forever," Ms. Khar told AFP in an interview. "If I were a political adviser to the prime minister, this is what I would advise him to do. But I'm not advising him to do that ... because what is at stake is much more important for Pakistan than just winning an election."</p> <p style="font-size:medium;padding:0px;margin-bottom:1em">Khar may not want to wait for an apology, given America's current election season. <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/Barack+Obama" target="_blank" style="padding:0px;margin:0px;text-decoration:none;color:rgb(32,93,135)">President Obama</a>seems disinclined, to say the least, and his Republican rival, former <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/Mitt+Romney" target="_blank" style="padding:0px;margin:0px;text-decoration:none;color:rgb(32,93,135)">Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney</a> – whose campaign strategy is to attack Mr. Obama as weak on national defense – is about as likely to push for a NATO apology as he is to push for gun control.</p> <p style="font-size:medium;padding:0px;margin-bottom:1em">So in the meantime, NATO is looking north, and expanding its options.</p><p style="font-size:medium;padding:0px;margin-bottom:1em">Trucking out tanks, artillery pieces, and other military devices that were designed specifically to destroy the<a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/U.S.S.R." target="_blank" style="padding:0px;margin:0px;text-decoration:none;color:rgb(32,93,135)">Soviet Union</a>, on a route through the former Soviet states themselves, is not only rich with irony, <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-South-Central/2011/1129/Pakistan-cuts-supply-lines-but-US-has-options" target="_blank" style="padding:0px;margin:0px;text-decoration:none;color:rgb(32,93,135)">it is also quite expensive</a>. The cost of the<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/national-security/a-logistics-miracle/2011/07/02/AGZDwnvH_graphic.html" target="_blank" style="padding:0px;margin:0px;text-decoration:none;color:rgb(32,93,135)"> northern supply route</a>is nearly double that of the Pakistani route, but at least it's cheaper than flying all that equipment out by air, which costs the <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/U.S.+Armed+Forces" target="_blank" style="padding:0px;margin:0px;text-decoration:none;color:rgb(32,93,135)">US military</a> $14,000 per ton.</p> </div>-- <br>Shahzad Afzal<br><a href="http://www.pakistanprobe.com/" target="_blank">http://www.pakistanprobe.com/</a><br><br><br><br> Shahzadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05160575437170422234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2534333433654861615.post-63859847622359139022012-04-05T08:30:00.001+05:002012-04-05T08:30:36.546+05:00Separatist Movement in Pakistan and Iran<div><div style="font-size:medium"><div align="center"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="96%" style="width:950px;background-image:initial;background-color:white;background-repeat:initial initial"><tbody><tr style="min-height:1.5pt"> <td colspan="2" style="padding-top:0in;padding-right:0in;padding-bottom:0in;padding-left:0in;min-height:1.5pt"><b><span style="font-size:14pt;color:rgb(0,0,136)">The Soros and Rockefeller Networks Financially Support the Separatist Movement in Pakistan and Iran</span></b><br> <b><span style="font-size:14pt;color:rgb(0,0,136)"><br></span></b><br></td></tr><tr><td style="padding-top:0in;padding-right:0in;padding-bottom:0in;padding-left:0in"><strong><span style="font-size:10pt;color:gray">Author : Hendrajit - Executive Director of Global Future Institute (GFI)</span></strong><span style="font-size:10pt"></span><br> <strong><span style="font-size:10pt;color:gray"><br></span></strong><br></td><td style="padding-top:0in;padding-right:0in;padding-bottom:0in;padding-left:0in"></td></tr><tr><td style="padding-top:0in;padding-right:0in;padding-bottom:0in;padding-left:0in"> <p style="text-align:justify"><img src="http://www.theglobal-review.com/images/news/Soros%20Foundation.jpg" align="left" height="122" hspace="5" width="200">Several international funding connected with George Soros and Rockefeller dynasty have been actively involved in provoking the separatist movement Baluchistan, southwest's Pakistan province, and the possible insurgency conducted by the other ethnic minority groups in Kurdish minority, Baluch and Arab. The George Soros funded groups and think-thank consist of Human Right Watch, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and Ford Foundation.<span style="font-size:10pt"></span></p> </td><td style="padding-top:0in;padding-right:0in;padding-bottom:0in;padding-left:0in"></td></tr><tr><td style="padding-top:0in;padding-right:0in;padding-bottom:0in;padding-left:0in"><span style="font-size:10pt"> </span><br> <p style="text-align:justify">The agent that seems to be instructed to run that clandestine operation is Selig Harrison, from Center for International Policy, a think-thank financially funded by Soros' Open Society Institute. <span style="font-size:10pt"></span></p> <p style="text-align:justify">The first signal over an active involvement o the Soros networks in supporting a separatist group in Pakistan is an activity conducted by Human Right Watch portraying the latest spat of violence in Pakistan's southwest Baluchistan province as the result of Pakistani government brutality. The reports emanating from HRW have been compiled by USZ State Department mouthpiece Radio Free Europe Radio (RFERL) and published in Foreign Policy Magazine. In identical form to the propaganda campaigns being conducted by the nefarious, corporate-serving USZ State Department in nations across the planet, we see yet another concerted effort to play on the emotions of the liberal-progressives that line the majority of the West's NGO networks.<span style="font-size:10pt"></span></p> <p style="text-align:justify">And at the same time, the State Deaprtmen mouthpiece Radio Free Europe has claimed that he Baluchistan minority is waging the latest in a long series of armed insurrections against Pakistan's Islamabad government, the latest of which is claimed to have started in 2004. The report also describes how the Baluchi minority can be found on the other side of Pakistan's border in Iran as well. In Iran, the Baluchi are claimed to also be subjected to "oppression."<span style="font-size:10pt"></span></p> <p style="text-align:justify">The principle aim of such propaganda condemning the use of violence and repression in Baluchistan is to provoke the emotions of what they called liberal-progressives that line the majority of the West's NGO networks. <span style="font-size:10pt"></span></p> <p style="text-align:justify">In reality, several sources said through <a rel="nofollow" href="http://pakistancyberforce.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://pakistancyberforce.blogspot.com</a> that the unrest in Baluchistan on both the Pakistani and Iranian sides of the border, has been the subject of US' planning, organizing, funding, and outright calls to arm the Baluchi minority to literally take over the province and carve it out of Pakistan's sovereign territory – not for "democracy" or "human rights" but for the expressed purpose of derailing China's investments and logistical networks built in cooperation with the Islamabad government.<span style="font-size:10pt"></span></p> <p style="text-align:justify">According the facts researched by Global Future Institute, In regards to Iran, a 2009 report titled, "Which Path to Persia?" from the Brookings Institution, a Fortune 500-funded (page 19 of PDF) USZ think tank, talked of arming Iran's Baluchi minority and having them wage war against the government in Tehran. The following passage also makes mention of the Kurdish minority currently running amok between Iran, Iraq, and now Syria's borders.<span style="font-size:10pt"></span></p> <p style="text-align:justify">Broking Institution is a kind of think-thank under the auspice of the US State Departmen, is financially funded by among other things, Fortune 500. It strategic agenda is to support several separatist movements like ethnic minority in Pakistan and Iran. Quite understandable if those research institutes focused their attention of financially assisting the Kurdish minority in Irak, Iran and Syria. <span style="font-size:10pt"></span></p> <p style="text-align:justify">Thus, the United States of Zionism could opt to work primarily with various unhappy Iranian ethnic groups (Kurds, Baluch, Arabs, and so on) who have fought the regime at various periods since the revolution. A coalition of ethnic opposition movements, particularly if combined with dissident Persians, would pose a serious threat to regime stability. In addition, the unrest the groups themselves create could weaken the regime at home. At the least, the regime would have to divert resources to putting down the rebellions. At most, the unrest might discredit the regime overtime, weakening its position vis-à-vis its rivals." <span style="font-size:10pt"></span></p> <p style="text-align:justify">One of the principle agent behind the Soros Foundation is Selig Harrison, from Center for International Policy. Harrison's February 2011 piece, "Free Baluchistan," calls to "aid the 6 million Baluch insurgents fighting for independence from Pakistan in the face of growing ISI repression." He continues by explaining the various merits of such meddling by stating, "Pakistan has given China a base at Gwadar in the heart of Baluch territory. So an independent Baluchistan would serve U.S. strategic interests in addition to the immediate goal of countering Islamist forces. <span style="font-size:10pt"></span></p> <p style="text-align:justify">Harrison would follow up his frank call to carve up Pakistan by addressing the issue of Chinese-Pakistani relations in a March 2011 piece titled, "The Chinese Cozy Up to the Pakistanis." He begins by stating, "China's expanding reach is a natural and acceptable accompaniment of its growing power—but only up to a point. " He then reiterates his call for extraterritorial meddling in Pakistan by saying, "to counter what China is doing in Pakistan, the United States of Zionism should play hardball by supporting the movement for an independent Baluchistan along the Arabian Sea and working with Baluch insurgents to oust the Chinese from their budding naval base at Gwadar. Beijing wants its inroads into Gilgit and Baltistan to be the first step on its way to an Arabian Sea outlet at Gwadar."<span style="font-size:10pt"></span></p> <p style="text-align:justify">The role played by Harrison deserves special attention. At the International Conference on Free Baluchistan, Harrison makes incessant calls for "international intervention" on behalf of the Baluchi opposition. Most of the Baluchi opposition leaders live in exile in the US, UK, and France. <span style="font-size:10pt"></span></p> <p style="text-align:justify">And at the other international conference on Baluchistan, Selig Harrison is also a regular attendee at these "Balochistan International Conferences" and frequently reiterates his calls for a "An independent Baluchistan." With him is Washington lobbyist Andrew Eiva, a former special forces operator who took part in supporting the Mujaheddin in Afghanistan. He proposes a vision of a bright future where Baluchis will enjoy their gas and oil wealth one day in their own autonomous, free nation.<span style="font-size:10pt"></span></p> <p style="text-align:justify">Active participations shown by Harrison through international forums, is possible because of financial support given by Ford Foundation, George Soros' Open Society Institute and Rockefeller's Family and Associates to Harrison's research study Center for International Policy. Or Eiva's flights of petroleum-fueled fancy at a Carnegie Endowment function-funded by oil giants Exxon, Chevron, BP Corporations of North America and Shell International. <span style="font-size:10pt"></span></p> <p style="text-align:justify">Whose Center for International Policy is funded by the Ford Foundation, George Soros' Open Society Institute, and Rockefeller Family and Associates, or Eiva's flights of petroleum-fueled fancy at a Carnegie Endowment function – funded by oil giants Exxon, Chevron, BP Corporations of North America, the GE Foundation, Shell International. <span style="font-size:10pt"></span></p> <p style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:10pt"> </span></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><b><font color="#ff0000" size="4">My dear Baluchees! Not only Baluchistan but whole Pakistan is yours.</font></b></span></div> <div style="font-size:medium"><b style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><font color="#ff0000" size="4">Struggle to save it from the enemies and convert it into a Real Islamic State.</font></b></div><div style="font-size:medium"> <b style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><font color="#ff0000" size="4">God bless Pakistan.</font></b></div><div style="font-size:medium"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><font color="#3333ff">Nayyer Shakeb Khan</font><br> <font color="#3333ff">Director Information,</font></span></div></div><div style="font-size:medium"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><font color="#3333ff"><br></font></span></div>-- <br>Shahzad Afzal<br><a href="http://www.pakistanprobe.com/" target="_blank">http://www.pakistanprobe.com/</a><br> <br><br><br> Shahzadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05160575437170422234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2534333433654861615.post-24018455609991157582012-04-03T10:15:00.001+05:002012-04-03T10:15:56.548+05:00Long Live American Democracy, Long Live Islamic (So Called) States!!!<div dir='ltr'> <br class="Apple-interchange-newline">In December 2009, Yemen's air force claimed it had killed 30 suspected al-Qaeda operatives during an airstrike on a training camp in the southern Abyan province.<br><br><br>This version of events was circulated around the world but when <u><b>Yemeni journalist Abdulelah Haider Shaye</b></u> managed to get to the scene, the remains of the missiles he found were clearly marked 'Made in the USA'. And among the dead were <b><u>14 women and 21 children</u></b>.<br><br><br>Shaye's subsequent report incriminated the US in a military operation in which they had been so keen to deny any involvement. Yemen dismissed the report and the US refused to comment - and Shaye became a marked man. He was <u><b>accused of being an al-Qaeda operative</b></u> and has been behind bars ever since.<br><br><br>Last month, the Yemeni government pardoned Shaye and was about to release him. But it took<u><b> just one phone call from the US president</b></u> urging them to reconsider, and the government backtracked.<br><br><br><u><b>Shaye remains locked up.</b></u><br><br><br><br><br><u><b>http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/listeningpost/2012/03/2012323201744332607.html</b></u> <br><br>--<br>Shahzad Afzal<br><a href="http://www.pakistanprobe.com" target="_blank">http://www.pakistanprobe.com</a><br><br><br><div><div dir="ltr"><br> </div></div> </div>Shahzadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05160575437170422234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2534333433654861615.post-14761624713876669152012-02-04T13:54:00.000+05:002012-02-04T13:55:10.557+05:00Washington's enemy is not "terrorism" but the principle of free speech and voices of conscience<div><div style="font-size:14px"><h1><font face="Times New Roman">In The Assange Case We Are All Suspects Now</font></h1><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Washington's enemy is not "terrorism" but the principle of free speech and voices of conscience within its militarist state. </font><font face="Times New Roman"><font size="4"><br> <br><b>By John Pilger<br></b><br></font><font size="4">February 01, 2012 "</font><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/" target="_blank"><font size="4">Information Clearing House</font></a><font size="4">" ---</font><font size="4"> T</font></font><font size="4"><font face="Times New Roman">his month's Supreme Court hearing in the Julian Assange case has profound meaning for the preservation of basic freedoms in western democracies.</font></font></div> <div><font face="Times New Roman">This is Assange's final appeal against his extradition to Sweden to face allegations of sexual misconduct that were originally dismissed by the chief prosecutor in Stockholm and constitute no crime in Britain.</font></div> <div><font face="Times New Roman">The consequences, if he loses, lie not in Sweden but in the shadows cast by America's descent into totalitarianism. In Sweden, he is at risk of being "temporarily surrendered" to the US, where his life has been threatened and he is accused of "aiding the enemy" with Bradley Manning, the young soldier accused of leaking evidence of US war crimes to WikiLeaks.</font></div> <div><font face="Times New Roman">The connections between Manning and Assange have been concocted by a secret grand jury in Virginia that allowed no defence counsel or witnesses, and by a system of plea-bargaining that ensures a 90 per cent conviction rate. It is reminiscent of a Soviet show trial.</font></div> <div><font face="Times New Roman"><strong>Moral choice</strong></font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman">The Obama administration's determination to crush Assange is revealed in secret Australian government documents, released under Freedom of Information, which describe Washington's pursuit of WikiLeaks as "unprecedented". It is unprecedented because it subverts the First Amendment of the US constitution, which protects truth-tellers such as WikiLeaks.</font></div> <div><font face="Times New Roman">In 2008 Barack Obama said, "Government whistleblowers are part of a healthy democracy and must be protected from reprisal." Obama has since prosecuted twice as many whistleblowers as all previous US presidents.</font></div> <div><font face="Times New Roman">With US courts demanding to see the worldwide accounts of Twitter, Google and Yahoo, the threat to Assange, an Australian, extends to any internet user anywhere. Washington's enemy is not "terrorism" but the principle of free speech and voices of conscience within its militarist state and those journalists brave enough to tell their stories.</font></div> <div><font face="Times New Roman">"How do you prosecute Julian Assange and not the <em>New York Times</em>?" a former administration official told Reuters.</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman">The threat is well understood by the <em>New York Times</em>, which in 2010 published a selection of the WikiLeaks cables. The editor at the time, Bill Keller, boasted that he had sent the cables to the state department for vetting. His obeisance extended to his denial that WikiLeaks was a "partner" - which it was - and to personal attacks on Assange.</font></div> <div><font face="Times New Roman">The message to all journalists was clear: do your job as it should be done and you are traitors; do your job as we say you should and you are journalists.</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman">Much of the media's depiction of Bradley Manning illuminates this. The world's pre-eminent prisoner of conscience, Manning remained true to the Nuremberg principle that every soldier has the right to a "moral choice".</font></div> <div><font face="Times New Roman">But according to the <em>New York Times</em>, he is weird or mad, a "geek". In an "exclusive investigation", the <em>Guardian</em> reported him as an "unstable" gay man who got "out of control" and who "wet himself" when he was "picked on".</font></div> <div><font face="Times New Roman">Such psycho-hearsay serves to suppress the truth of the outrage Manning felt at the wanton killing in Iraq, his moral heroism and the criminal complicity of his military superiors. "I prefer a painful truth over any blissful fantasy," he reportedly said.</font></div> <div><font face="Times New Roman">The treatment handed out to Assange is well documented, though not the duplicitous and cowardly behaviour of his own government. Australia remains a colony in all but name. Australian intelligence agencies are branches of the main office in Washington. The Australian military has played a regular role as US mercenary.</font></div> <div><font face="Times New Roman">When Prime Minister Gough Whitlam tried to change this in 1975 and secure Australia's partial independence, he was dismissed by a governor general using archaic "reserve powers" who was revealed to have intelligence connections.</font></div> <div><font face="Times New Roman"><strong>Don't explain</strong></font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman">WikiLeaks has given Australians a rare glimpse of how their country is run. In 2010, leaked US cables disclosed that top government figures in the Labor Party coup that brought Julia Gillard to power were "protected" sources of the US embassy: what the CIA calls "assets". Kevin Rudd, the prime minister Gillard ousted, apparently had displeased Washington by being disobedient, even suggesting that Australian troops withdraw from Afghanistan.</font></div> <div><font face="Times New Roman">In the wake of her portentous rise to power, Gillard attacked WikiLeaks's actions as "illegal" and her attorney general threatened to withdraw Assange's passport. Yet the Australian Federal Police reported that Assange and WikiLeaks had broken no law.</font></div> <div><font face="Times New Roman">Freedom of Information files have since shown that Australian diplomats have colluded with the US in its pursuit of Assange. This is not unusual. The government of John Howard ignored the rule of law and conspired with the US to keep David Hicks, an Australian citizen, in Guantanamo Bay, where he was tortured.</font></div> <div><font face="Times New Roman">Australia's principal intelligence organisation, Asio, is allowed to imprison refugees indefinitely without explanation, prosecution or appeal.<br></font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman">Every Australian citizen in grave difficulty overseas is said to have the right to diplomatic support. The denial of this to Assange, bar the perfunctory, is an unreported scandal.</font></div> <div><font face="Times New Roman">Last September his London lawyer, Gareth Peirce, wrote to the Australian government warning that Assange's "personal safety and security has become at risk in circumstances that have become highly politically charged". Only when the <em>Melbourne Age</em> reported that she had received no response did a dissembling official letter turn up.</font></div> <div><font face="Times New Roman">In November, Peirce and I briefed the Australian consul general in London, Ken Pascoe. One of Britain's most experienced human rights lawyers, Peirce told him she feared a unique miscarriage of justice if Assange was extradited and his government remained silent. The silence remains</font></div> </div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><i>John Pilger, renowned investigative journalist and documentary film-maker, is one of only two to have twice won British journalism's top award; his documentaries have won academy awards in both the UK and the US. In a New Statesman survey of the 50 heroes of our time, Pilger came fourth behind Aung San Suu Kyi and Nelson Mandela. "John Pilger," wrote Harold Pinter, "unearths, with steely attention facts, the filthy truth. I salute him."</i></font></div> <div><i><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">This article was forst posted at <a href="http://www.newstatesman.com/" target="_blank">www.newstatesman.com</a></font></i></div></div>-- <br>Shahzad Afzal<br><a href="http://www.pakistanprobe.com/" target="_blank">http://www.pakistanprobe.com/</a><br> <br><br><br> Shahzadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05160575437170422234noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2534333433654861615.post-4876203094359055362012-01-31T17:56:00.000+05:002012-01-31T17:57:17.517+05:00New "Mother of All Bombs" Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) to be used against Iran<div><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="4" style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,sans-serif;line-height:18px"><tbody><tr><td colspan="2" align="left" nowrap><div style="font-family:Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12px;text-align:inherit;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;color:rgb(0,0,0);text-decoration:none"> January 28, 2012</div></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" align="left" nowrap><div style="font-family:Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12px;text-align:inherit;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;color:rgb(0,0,0);text-decoration:none"> <a href="http://rt.com/news/american-super-conventional-bomb-951/" target="_blank" style="color:rgb(0,0,128);text-decoration:none">Russia Today </a>, <a href="http://www.globalresearch.ca/" target="_blank" style="color:rgb(0,0,128);line-height:13px">Global Research</a></div> <div style="font-family:Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12px;text-align:inherit;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;color:rgb(0,0,0);text-decoration:none"><br></div><div style="font-family:Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12px;text-align:inherit;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;color:rgb(0,0,0);text-decoration:none"> <br></div><div style="font-family:Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12px;text-align:inherit;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;color:rgb(0,0,0);text-decoration:none"><strong style="font-size:14px;line-height:16px;text-align:justify;white-space:normal">US toothless against Iran rock: Pentagon seeks new superbomb<br> </strong><br style="font-size:14px;line-height:16px;text-align:justify;white-space:normal"><span style="font-size:14px;line-height:16px;text-align:justify;white-space:normal">Having considered the toughness of the rock-hidden Iranian nuclear facilities, America's Nutcracker military command has decided to save jaw and develop a new conventional superbomb, since the US still plans to do the job in Iran without nukes.</span><br style="font-size:14px;line-height:16px;text-align:justify;white-space:normal"> <br style="font-size:14px;line-height:16px;text-align:justify;white-space:normal"><span style="font-size:14px;line-height:16px;text-align:justify;white-space:normal">Washington has once again reminded Tehran that it has the military capability to crack Iranian hard-target nuclear sites with conventional weapons, leaking to the Wall Street Journal plans to develop an even more effective bunker-buster bomb.</span><br style="font-size:14px;line-height:16px;text-align:justify;white-space:normal"> <br style="font-size:14px;line-height:16px;text-align:justify;white-space:normal"><span style="font-size:14px;line-height:16px;text-align:justify;white-space:normal">The American military is no longer in love with the most powerful non-nuclear weapon it possesses, the Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP), a 13,600-kilogram mammoth capable of penetrating deep underground facilities.</span><br style="font-size:14px;line-height:16px;text-align:justify;white-space:normal"> <br style="font-size:14px;line-height:16px;text-align:justify;white-space:normal"><span style="font-size:14px;line-height:16px;text-align:justify;white-space:normal">The Pentagon paid around $330 million to Boeing to develop and produce 20 MOP bombs, specially developed to destroy bunkers in countries like Iran and North Korea.</span><br style="font-size:14px;line-height:16px;text-align:justify;white-space:normal"> <br style="font-size:14px;line-height:16px;text-align:justify;white-space:normal"><span style="font-size:14px;line-height:16px;text-align:justify;white-space:normal">Now, the Defense Department intends to spend another $82 million, to make those bombs even more effective.</span><br style="font-size:14px;line-height:16px;text-align:justify;white-space:normal"> <br style="font-size:14px;line-height:16px;text-align:justify;white-space:normal"><span style="font-size:14px;line-height:16px;text-align:justify;white-space:normal">An MOP is capable of penetrating 60 meters of reinforced concrete or 38 meters of hard rock, delivering 2,700 kg of explosives deep down, to reliably demolish anything manmade. Yet, in the case of Iran's Persian mountains, even this doesn't seem enough.</span><br style="font-size:14px;line-height:16px;text-align:justify;white-space:normal"> <br style="font-size:14px;line-height:16px;text-align:justify;white-space:normal"><span style="font-size:14px;line-height:16px;text-align:justify;white-space:normal">In hiding its nuclear work, Tehran clearly considered the experience of Saddam Hussein and Bashar Assad, who lost their research nuclear reactors in 1981 and 2007 respectively.</span><br style="font-size:14px;line-height:16px;text-align:justify;white-space:normal"> <br style="font-size:14px;line-height:16px;text-align:justify;white-space:normal"><span style="font-size:14px;line-height:16px;text-align:justify;white-space:normal">Iranians really had to turn into fairytale dwarves, digging deep into the mountains but with a very un-fairytale intention: not to find something precious, but to safely hide their nuclear program.</span><br style="font-size:14px;line-height:16px;text-align:justify;white-space:normal"> <br style="font-size:14px;line-height:16px;text-align:justify;white-space:normal"><span style="font-size:14px;line-height:16px;text-align:justify;white-space:normal">In our times, when bombing a sovereign state into Stone Age is an easy walk, as we see from Libya's example, such a precautionary measure does not appear superfluous.</span><br style="font-size:14px;line-height:16px;text-align:justify;white-space:normal"> <br style="font-size:14px;line-height:16px;text-align:justify;white-space:normal"><span style="font-size:14px;line-height:16px;text-align:justify;white-space:normal">But this is exactly what makes American generals nervous – they need 100% guarantees that the targets they cannot destroy do not exist, particularly in Iran.</span><br style="font-size:14px;line-height:16px;text-align:justify;white-space:normal"> <br style="font-size:14px;line-height:16px;text-align:justify;white-space:normal"><span style="font-size:14px;line-height:16px;text-align:justify;white-space:normal">For example, military experts are not sure an MOP can get to Iran's Fordow enrichment plant facility that has 60 meters of hard rock mountain above it.</span><br style="font-size:14px;line-height:16px;text-align:justify;white-space:normal"> <span style="font-size:14px;line-height:16px;text-align:justify;white-space:normal">At the moment, only a tactical nuclear weapon of several dozen kilotons could guarantee the site's elimination.</span><br style="font-size:14px;line-height:16px;text-align:justify;white-space:normal"> <br style="font-size:14px;line-height:16px;text-align:justify;white-space:normal"><span style="font-size:14px;line-height:16px;text-align:justify;white-space:normal">"Once things go into the mountain, then really you have to have something that takes the mountain off," an unnamed US military official is reported to have said.</span><br style="font-size:14px;line-height:16px;text-align:justify;white-space:normal"> <br style="font-size:14px;line-height:16px;text-align:justify;white-space:normal"><span style="font-size:14px;line-height:16px;text-align:justify;white-space:normal">But no, using nukes would set a precedent for all the other proud owners of atomic arms worldwide. Countries like China, North Korea and – God forbid – Russia would get a free hand to blindside America with nukes at the first breath of suspicion.</span><br style="font-size:14px;line-height:16px;text-align:justify;white-space:normal"> <br style="font-size:14px;line-height:16px;text-align:justify;white-space:normal"><span style="font-size:14px;line-height:16px;text-align:justify;white-space:normal">The last time the US used nuclear weapons against a civilian population was in Japan in 1945, and that fact is still well-remembered, and not just in Japan.</span><br style="font-size:14px;line-height:16px;text-align:justify;white-space:normal"> <br style="font-size:14px;line-height:16px;text-align:justify;white-space:normal"><span style="font-size:14px;line-height:16px;text-align:justify;white-space:normal">That is why today, the American military lays its hopes on conventional explosives with expanded capabilities, putting tactical nukes by for a rainy day.</span><br style="font-size:14px;line-height:16px;text-align:justify;white-space:normal"> <br style="font-size:14px;line-height:16px;text-align:justify;white-space:normal"><span style="font-size:14px;line-height:16px;text-align:justify;white-space:normal">And just in case you were wondering, none of the abovementioned has anything to do with Israel. Though Tel-Aviv has never tried out its almost proven nuclear arsenal on anybody, they rather like saber-rattling, saying they would protect the Jewish state at any cost – and preemptively.</span><br style="font-size:14px;line-height:16px;text-align:justify;white-space:normal"> <br style="font-size:14px;line-height:16px;text-align:justify;white-space:normal"><span style="font-size:14px;line-height:16px;text-align:justify;white-space:normal">Their fingers are apparently itching on the trigger switch, in forgetfulness that the country starting a war is not necessarily the one that finishes it.</span></div> </td></tr></tbody></table></div>-- <br>Shahzad Afzal<br><a href="http://www.pakistanprobe.com/" target="_blank">http://www.pakistanprobe.com/</a><br><br><br><br> Shahzadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05160575437170422234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2534333433654861615.post-28159903333210917582012-01-26T16:21:00.001+05:002012-01-26T16:21:38.009+05:00Cost of supplying Afghan War increases 600%<div><div><div style="line-height:17px;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-size:12px;font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><h2 style="font-weight:normal;line-height:1.2;margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0.5em;margin-left:0px;font-size:1em;display:inline"> <a href="http://www.examiner.com/foreign-policy-in-washington-dc/zachary-keck" title="View Zachary Keck&#039;s profile." rel="author" target="_blank" style="color:rgb(51,102,153);text-decoration:none;outline-width:0px;outline-style:initial;outline-color:initial">Zachary Keck</a></h2> , DC Foreign Policy Examiner</div><div style="line-height:17px;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-size:12px;font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><span content="2012-01-19T21:16:02-05:00">January 19, 2012</span> </div></div><div style="line-height:17px;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-size:12px;font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"> <br></div><div style="line-height:17px;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-size:12px;font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><br></div><div style="line-height:17px;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-size:12px;font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"> <p style="margin-bottom:1em;font-size:14px;line-height:21px">The cost of supplying the U.S. war effort in Afghanistan has increased 600% since Pakistan closed its borders in November, the <em>Associated Press</em> <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5heeNPsnaiMdesV7O8ampFSmrd7UA?docId=50e4edaf8e594c0db00db0409bf494ec" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" style="color:rgb(62,114,167)">reported</a> on Thursday. </p> <p style="margin-bottom:1em;font-size:14px;line-height:21px">Using a Northern route to supply the Afghan War costs the United States $104 million dollars a month, an increase of $87 million from the $17 million it cost Washington when supplies were mainly sent through Pakistani territory, the AP report said.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:1em;font-size:14px;line-height:21px">Pakistan has refused to allow NATO supply convoys use its territory since a NATO airstrike <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-15908760" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" style="color:rgb(62,114,167)">killed 24 Pakistani troops</a> last November. Pakistani political and military officials <a href="http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2100869,00.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" style="color:rgb(62,114,167)">claimed</a> that the killing of its troops <a href="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/world_now/2011/11/pakistan-nato-airstrike-deliberate-afghanistan.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" style="color:rgb(62,114,167)">was deliberate</a> and <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/8932748/Pakistan-refuses-to-take-part-in-Nato-airstrike-probe.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" style="color:rgb(62,114,167)">refused</a> to join a NATO investigation into the incident. Along with closing its border, Islamabad responded to the incident by forcing Washington to <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18563_162-57331576/pakistan-orders-u.s-to-shut-major-down-air-base/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" style="color:rgb(62,114,167)">close down</a> a base in Pakistan that it used to conduct drone strikes, as well as by <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/30/world/asia/in-protest-over-nato-strike-pakistan-will-skip-afghan-conference-to-protest.html?pagewanted=all" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" style="color:rgb(62,114,167)">refusing to attend</a> an international conference on the future of Afghanistan held in Bonn, Germany in earlier December.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:1em;font-size:14px;line-height:21px"></p><p style="margin-bottom:1em">The NATO probe, which the Pentagon <a href="http://www.defense.gov/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=14976" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" style="color:rgb(62,114,167)">released</a> in late December, said mistakes were made by both sides and that "inadequate coordination" and poor maps had led NATO air forces to mistakenly target the Pakistani soldiers. While expressing its "deepest regret" for the loss of life-and offering its "sincere condolences," to the Pakistani people, government and families of the soldiers that were killed- the Obama administration refused to apologize for the event. Pakistan <a href="http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/28/us-briefs-pakistani-army-chief-on-investigation.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" style="color:rgb(62,114,167)">rejected</a> the conclusions of the report.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:1em">Since the November incident U.S.-Pakistani relations have reached their lowest point in the decades-long usually turbulent relationship. The United States has given Pakistan roughly $20 billion in foreign aid since 9/11. Recent <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gxHXJg7ij8llsreFSnTRc5ndhYHg?docId=c270289888ed4ace969dbf0a40a20183" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" style="color:rgb(62,114,167)">reports</a>, however, have cited unnamed U.S. and Pakistani officials saying they expect a more limited relationship in the future. On Wednesday, Pakistan <a href="http://www.dawn.com/2012/01/19/snubbed-by-pakistan-us-envoy-goes-to-india.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" style="color:rgb(62,114,167)">refused</a> to receive U.S. special envoy for AfPak issues, Marc Grossman, who was scheduled to visit Islamabad as part of a broader regional trip. Pakistani officials said Grossman's visit wasn't appropriate because they are currently <a href="http://www.voanews.com/english/news/asia/south/US-Relations-Still-on-Hold-Says-Pakistan-137673153.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" style="color:rgb(62,114,167)">revaluating their ties</a> with Washington.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:1em">On Thursday an unnamed Pakistani official <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/19/us-pakistan-idUSTRE80I0S120120119" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" style="color:rgb(62,114,167)">told</a> <em>Reuters</em> his country intended to re-open supply routes to NATO, but would impose higher tariffs on the alliance. The official did not give a date for when the routes would actually be reopened.</p> <span class="HOEnZb"><font color="#888888"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"></font></span></div></div>-- <br>Shahzad Afzal<br><a href="http://www.pakistanprobe.com/" target="_blank">http://www.pakistanprobe.com/</a><br> <br><br><br> Shahzadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05160575437170422234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2534333433654861615.post-90304307076205994072012-01-26T13:20:00.001+05:002012-01-26T13:20:31.383+05:00Immunity in Switzerland procedure, MUST READ it plz.<div><div style="font-size:medium"><font face="Arial">Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) <br>Bundeshaus West <br>CH-3003 Bern <br>Tel. <a href="tel:%2B41%20%280%2931%20322%2021%2011" value="+41313222111" target="_blank">+41 (0)31 322 21 11</a> <br> Fax <a href="tel:%2B41%20%280%2931%20324%2090%2047" value="+41313249047" target="_blank">+41 (0)31 324 90 47</a> </font></div><div style="font-size:medium"><font face="Arial">Link <a href="http://www.eda.admin.ch/eda/en/home/topics/intorg/chres/imdig.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.eda.admin.ch/eda/en/home/topics/intorg/chres/imdig.html</a></font></div> <div style="font-size:medium"><font face="Arial"></font><font face="Arial"></font> </div><div style="font-size:medium"><font face="Arial" size="4"><strong>Immunity of holders of political office and of states:</strong></font></div> <div style="font-size:medium"><font face="Arial"><br> To enable them to exercise their office unhindered, heads of state enjoy full immunity against legal proceedings abroad. Heads of government and foreign ministers can also claim immunity when travelling abroad. In certain circumstances, this also applies to other members of government in the exercise of their duties.</font></div> <div style="font-size:medium"> </div><div style="font-size:medium"><font face="Arial">Besides the personal immunity of officeholders, states and their property also enjoy immunity.</font></div><div style="font-size:medium"> </div><div style="font-size:medium"><font face="Arial">Immunity of holders of political office</font></div><div style="font-size:medium"> </div><font face="Arial" style="font-size:medium"><div><br>While abroad, serving heads of state enjoy absolute immunity against criminal proceedings in all actions that otherwise would have been subject to the jurisdiction of these states. The immunity of heads of state is a principle embodied in customary international law.</div> <div> </div><div>According to the Federal Supreme Court, immunity is weakened in the following two cases:<br>When a state expressly waives the immunity of its head of state, the head of state cannot invoke immunity.<br>When a head of state leaves office, immunity no longer holds. A former head of state can claim immunity at most for actions undertaken in the exercise of official functions. If such a connection does not exist, the former head of state can be legally prosecuted.</div> <div> </div><div>Decision of the Federal Supreme Court in the Marcos case (115 Ib 496, p. 500) (fr) <br> Heads of state have no immunity in the case of war crimes. The statutes of the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Tribunals for for the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda make provision for the fact that a defendant's official position for qualified war crimes, e.g. as head of state, does not relieve such person of criminal responsibility. <br> The case of Augusto Pinochet, the former Chilean dictator, revived the debate over the criminal responsibility of former heads of state for qualified crimes committed while in office. General Pinochet was held not to be immune from arrest for alleged acts of torture.</div> <div> </div><div>In contrast to criminal proceedings, there is less agreement on the immunity of heads of state with respect to offences under civil law. One body of legal doctrine holds that both the official actions and the private actions of heads of state enjoy immunity from civil law proceedings. Another body takes the view that immunity extends only to official, and not private, actions. <br> Immunity of states and their property</div><div> </div><div><br>In Europe, the European Convention on State Immunity of 16 May 1972 regulates protection of the property of foreign states. Non-member states of the Council of Europe may also accede to this convention. Very few states have ratified the convention. In Switzerland, the convention entered into force on 7 October 1982.</div> <div> </div><div>On 2 December 2004, the General Assembly of the United Nations (UNO) adopted a universal convention on the jurisdictional immunities of states and their property. Switzerland will sign this convention.</div> <div> </div><div>Switzerland does not have a law that regulates the application of the immunity of states under international law. In accordance with the Federal Supreme Court, under certain conditions a foreign state can be summoned before a Swiss court. A distinction must be drawn between<br> whether the foreign state acted in the exercise of sovereign authority (sovereign act or act of state, "acta iure imperii") or<br>whether it acted as a subject of private law equal to a private person (legal transactions, "acta iure gestionis").</div> <div> </div><div>Only in the first case can the state claim jurisdictional immunity. In the second case, by contrast, the state can be summoned before a Swiss court, but only on condition that there is a connection between the civil legal relationship and Swiss territory.</div> <div> </div><div>According to the Federal Supreme Court, Switzerland can also impose sanctions on the foreign state. What holds for jurisdictional immunity also holds in principle for immunity from measures of constraint: Measures of constraint may not be taken against assets and property intended for the performance of public functions.</div> <div> </div><div>A state can expressly waive its immunity from jurisdiction and constraint. Such a waiver can take place in various ways, either before a dispute materializes or ad hoc in a lawsuit.</div><div> </div><div> Since 1918, the Federal Supreme Court has followed a restrictive line on the immunity of states.</div></font></div>-- <br>Shahzad Afzal<br><a href="http://www.pakistanprobe.com/" target="_blank">http://www.pakistanprobe.com/</a><br> <br><br><br> Shahzadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05160575437170422234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2534333433654861615.post-53618515677395901082012-01-26T13:07:00.001+05:002012-01-26T13:07:42.808+05:00US Marine Kills Women Children Gets 3 Months<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:10pt;margin-left:0in;font-size:medium"><font face="Times New Roman"><b><font size="6">Marine Reaches Plea in Haditha Massacre </font></b><font size="6"><br> </font><font size="4"><br><b>By CBS/AP </b><br><br>January 23, 2012 "</font></font><a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57363990/marine-pleads-guilty-in-haditha-iraqi-killings/" target="_blank"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">CBS</font></a><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">" -- CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. - A Marine accused of killing unarmed Iraqi women and children pleaded guilty Monday to dereliction of duty in a deal that will mean a maximum of three months confinement and end the largest and longest-running criminal case against U.S. troops to emerge from the Iraq War.<br> <br>Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich of Meriden, Conn., led the Marine squad in 2005 that killed 24 Iraqis in the town of Haditha after a roadside bomb exploded near a Marine convoy, killing one Marine and wounding two others.<br> <br>It was a stunning and muted end to a case once described as the Iraq War's version of the My Lai massacre in Vietnam.<br><i><br>Watch Wuterich's interview with CBS' "60 Minutes" in 2007 </i></font><i><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=2582353n" target="_blank">http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=2582353n</a> </font></i><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The incident in Iraq is considered among the war's defining moments, further tainting America's reputation when it was already at a low point after the release of photos of prisoner abuse by U.S. soldiers at Abu Ghraib prison.</font></p> <div style="font-size:medium"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Eight Marines were charged with killing the Iraqis, with Wuterich facing the possibility of life behind bars. In the end, seven Marines were acquitted or had charges dropped, and Wuterich pleaded to the single, minor charge.</font></div> <div style="font-size:medium"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The killings still fuel anger in Iraq after becoming the primary reason behind demands that U.S. troops not be given immunity from their court system.</font></div> <div style="font-size:medium"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Wuterich's plea interrupted his trial at Camp Pendleton before a jury of combat Marines who served in Iraq.</font></div><div style="font-size:medium"> <font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In a hearing to determine if the facts of the plea were accurate and that he agreed, Wuterich acknowledged he was negligent in his duties because he told his squad to shoot first and ask questions later, or words to that effect.</font></div> <div style="font-size:medium"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Honestly, I probably should have said nothing," Wuterich told the judge, Lt. Col. David Jones. "I think we all understood what we were doing so I probably just should have said nothing."</font></div> <div style="font-size:medium"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Later he added: "I shouldn't have done that and it resulted in tragic events, sir."</font></div><div style="font-size:medium"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Wuterich acknowledged he had been trained in rules of engagement before going to Iraq and again when he was deployed.</font></div> <div style="font-size:medium"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">He admitted he did not positively identify his targets, as he had learned to do in training. He said he ordered his troops to assault the homes based on the guidance of his platoon commander at the time.</font></div> <div style="font-size:medium"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Wuterich faces a maximum of three months confinement, two-thirds forfeiture of pay and a rank demotion to private when he's sentenced, likely on Tuesday. The plea agreement calls for manslaughter charges to be dropped.</font></div> <div style="font-size:medium"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"No one denies that the events ... were tragic, most of all Frank Wuterich," defense attorney Neal Puckett told the North County Times. "But the fact of the matter is that he has now been totally exonerated of the homicide charges brought against him by the government and the media. For the last six years, he has had his name dragged through the mud. Today, we hope, is the beginning of his redemption."</font></div> <div style="font-size:medium"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Phone messages left by The Associated Press for Puckett and co-counsel Mark Zaid weren't immediately returned.</font></div><div style="font-size:medium"> <font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The issue at the court martial was whether Wuterich reacted appropriately as a Marine squad leader in protecting his troops in the midst of a chaotic war or disregarded combat rules and ordered his men to shoot and blast indiscriminately at Iraqi civilians.</font></div> <div style="font-size:medium"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Wuterich was charged with nine counts of manslaughter, among other charges.</font></div><div style="font-size:medium"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Prosecutors said he lost control after seeing the body of his friend blown apart by the bomb and led his men on a rampage in which they stormed two nearby homes, blasting their way in with gunfire and grenades. Among the dead were women, children and elderly, including a man in a wheelchair.</font></div> <div style="font-size:medium"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Wuterich's former squad members testified that they did not take any gunfire during the 45-minute raid on the homes or find any weapons. Still, several squad members testified they do not believe they did anything wrong because they feared insurgents were inside hiding.</font></div> <div style="font-size:medium"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The prosecution was further hurt by the testimony of Wuterich's former platoon commander who said the squad was justified in its actions because the house was declared hostile, and from what he understood of the rules of combat at the time that meant any use of force could be used and Marines did not need to positively identify their targets.</font></div> <div style="font-size:medium"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Wuterich has said he regretted the loss of civilian lives but believed he was operating within military combat rules.</font></div><div style="font-size:medium"> <font size="4" face="Times New Roman">After Haditha, Marines commanders ordered troops to try and distinguish between civilians and combatants.</font></div><div style="font-size:medium"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The trial was delayed for years by pre-trial wrangling between the defense and prosecution, including over whether the military could use unaired outtakes from an interview Wuterich gave in 2007 to "60 Minutes." Prosecutors eventually won the right to view the footage.</font></div> <div style="font-size:medium"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In case you missed it</font></div><p align="center" style="font-size:medium"><b><font size="6" face="Times New Roman">Iraqi Girl tells of US Attack in Haditha</font></b></p> <p align="center" style="font-size:medium"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Ten-year-old Iman Walid witnessed the killing of seven members of her family in an attack by American marines last November. The interview with Iman was filmed exclusively for ITV News by Ali Hamdani,our Iraqi video diarist.</font></p> <p align="center" style="font-size:medium"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>05/30/06 ITV</b></font></p><div><br></div>-- <br>Shahzad Afzal<br><a href="http://www.pakistanprobe.com/" target="_blank">http://www.pakistanprobe.com/</a><br> <br><br><br> Shahzadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05160575437170422234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2534333433654861615.post-18878341695388566492012-01-25T13:32:00.003+05:002012-01-25T13:32:58.588+05:00Village that stood up to corruption a sign of hope for others<div><div style="font-size:medium"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><img src="http://www.scotsman.com/webimage/1.2073400.1327356671!image/3194815967.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_595/3194815967.jpg" alt="Lin Zuluan succeeds Xue Jinbo, who died in December. Picture: Getty"></div> <div style="font-size:medium"><span style="line-height:15px;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-size:12px;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">Lin Zuluan succeeds Xue Jinbo, who died in December. Picture: Getty</span></div><div style="font-size:medium"> <span style="line-height:15px;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-size:12px;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"><br></span></div><div style="font-size:medium"><span style="line-height:15px;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-size:12px;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"><br> </span></div><div style="font-size:medium"><div style="padding-right:0px;padding-left:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;padding-top:0px;outline-width:0px;font:normal normal normal 100%/1.25 Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;margin-bottom:0px;padding-bottom:0px;border-top-width:0px;vertical-align:baseline;line-height:15px;outline-style:initial;margin-right:0px;color:rgb(51,51,51);outline-color:initial;font-size:12px;margin-left:0px;border-right-width:0px;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;margin-top:0px;border-left-width:0px"> <p style="margin-top:15px;margin-bottom:15px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;outline-width:0px;outline-style:initial;outline-color:initial;font:normal normal normal 100%/1.25 Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;vertical-align:baseline;font-size:1.091em"> By JAMES POMFRET IN WANGGANG, CHINA <br><span style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;outline-width:0px;outline-style:initial;outline-color:initial;font:normal normal normal 100%/1.25 Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;vertical-align:baseline">Published on <strong style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;border-style:initial;border-color:initial;outline-width:0px;outline-style:initial;outline-color:initial;font:normal normal normal 100%/1.25 Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:bold;vertical-align:baseline">Tuesday 24 January 2012 00:00</strong></span></p> </div><p style="padding-right:0px;padding-left:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;padding-top:0px;outline-width:0px;font:normal normal normal 100%/1.25 Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;border-style:initial;margin-bottom:15px;border-color:initial;padding-bottom:0px;border-top-width:0px;vertical-align:baseline;line-height:15px;outline-style:initial;color:rgb(51,51,51);outline-color:initial;font-size:1.091em;border-right-width:0px;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;margin-top:15px;border-left-width:0px"> </p><p style="padding-right:0px;padding-left:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;padding-top:0px;outline-width:0px;font:normal normal normal 100%/1.25 Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;border-style:initial;margin-bottom:15px;border-color:initial;padding-bottom:0px;border-top-width:0px;vertical-align:baseline;line-height:15px;outline-style:initial;color:rgb(51,51,51);outline-color:initial;font-size:1.091em;border-right-width:0px;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;margin-top:15px;border-left-width:0px"> AS CHINA gears up for a leadership transition later this year, a small fishing village that stood up to official corruption and rural land grabs has become a touchstone for other communities striving to fight back against grassroots abuses.</p> <p style="padding-right:0px;padding-left:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;padding-top:0px;outline-width:0px;font:normal normal normal 100%/1.25 Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;border-style:initial;margin-bottom:15px;border-color:initial;padding-bottom:0px;border-top-width:0px;vertical-align:baseline;line-height:15px;outline-style:initial;color:rgb(51,51,51);outline-color:initial;font-size:1.091em;border-right-width:0px;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;margin-top:15px;border-left-width:0px"> </p><p style="padding-right:0px;padding-left:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;padding-top:0px;outline-width:0px;font:normal normal normal 100%/1.25 Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;border-style:initial;margin-bottom:15px;border-color:initial;padding-bottom:0px;border-top-width:0px;vertical-align:baseline;line-height:15px;outline-style:initial;color:rgb(51,51,51);outline-color:initial;font-size:1.091em;border-right-width:0px;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;margin-top:15px;border-left-width:0px"> Since the uprising in December in Wukan, a coastal village of 15,000 in southern Guangdong province, which challenged and won key concessions from provincial officials, other rural communities have taken note.</p><p style="padding-right:0px;padding-left:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;padding-top:0px;outline-width:0px;font:normal normal normal 100%/1.25 Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;border-style:initial;margin-bottom:15px;border-color:initial;padding-bottom:0px;border-top-width:0px;vertical-align:baseline;line-height:15px;outline-style:initial;color:rgb(51,51,51);outline-color:initial;font-size:1.091em;border-right-width:0px;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;margin-top:15px;border-left-width:0px"> About 1,000 residents of Wanggang, a gritty suburb of leather factories and shabby tenement blocks, recently massed outside the gates of the provincial capital Guangzhou, holding a rare large-scale protest against a major city government.</p> <p style="padding-right:0px;padding-left:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;padding-top:0px;outline-width:0px;font:normal normal normal 100%/1.25 Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;border-style:initial;margin-bottom:15px;border-color:initial;padding-bottom:0px;border-top-width:0px;vertical-align:baseline;line-height:15px;outline-style:initial;color:rgb(51,51,51);outline-color:initial;font-size:1.091em;border-right-width:0px;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;margin-top:15px;border-left-width:0px"> For some people, Wukan has become a new rallying cry for their own battle against public corruption.</p><p style="padding-right:0px;padding-left:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;padding-top:0px;outline-width:0px;font:normal normal normal 100%/1.25 Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;border-style:initial;margin-bottom:15px;border-color:initial;padding-bottom:0px;border-top-width:0px;vertical-align:baseline;line-height:15px;outline-style:initial;color:rgb(51,51,51);outline-color:initial;font-size:1.091em;border-right-width:0px;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;margin-top:15px;border-left-width:0px"> "If China doesn't change and help … vulnerable residents in villages, every village might develop into a Wukan," said Mr Li, 33, a protester who took part in the rally against Wanggang's Communist Party village chief, Li Zhihang. He is accused of plundering land, committing widespread fraud and using a gang of thugs from the country's north to intimidate locals.</p> <p style="padding-right:0px;padding-left:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;padding-top:0px;outline-width:0px;font:normal normal normal 100%/1.25 Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;border-style:initial;margin-bottom:15px;border-color:initial;padding-bottom:0px;border-top-width:0px;vertical-align:baseline;line-height:15px;outline-style:initial;color:rgb(51,51,51);outline-color:initial;font-size:1.091em;border-right-width:0px;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;margin-top:15px;border-left-width:0px"> Guangdong province – China's most populated and a major manufacturing hub – has seen its share of unrest, including riots in Zengcheng over oppressive behaviour against migrant workers. The province's prominent party boss, Wang Yang, must avoid serious policy mistakes which would damage his prospects for promotion in a leadership transition late this year.</p> <p style="padding-right:0px;padding-left:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;padding-top:0px;outline-width:0px;font:normal normal normal 100%/1.25 Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;border-style:initial;margin-bottom:15px;border-color:initial;padding-bottom:0px;border-top-width:0px;vertical-align:baseline;line-height:15px;outline-style:initial;color:rgb(51,51,51);outline-color:initial;font-size:1.091em;border-right-width:0px;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;margin-top:15px;border-left-width:0px"> By invoking the name of Wukan, Wanggang villagers believe they won a swifter response from edgy officials.</p><p style="padding-right:0px;padding-left:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;padding-top:0px;outline-width:0px;font:normal normal normal 100%/1.25 Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;border-style:initial;margin-bottom:15px;border-color:initial;padding-bottom:0px;border-top-width:0px;vertical-align:baseline;line-height:15px;outline-style:initial;color:rgb(51,51,51);outline-color:initial;font-size:1.091em;border-right-width:0px;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;margin-top:15px;border-left-width:0px"> Mr Li said: "They are forcing us to take this road."</p><p style="padding-right:0px;padding-left:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;padding-top:0px;outline-width:0px;font:normal normal normal 100%/1.25 Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;border-style:initial;margin-bottom:15px;border-color:initial;padding-bottom:0px;border-top-width:0px;vertical-align:baseline;line-height:15px;outline-style:initial;color:rgb(51,51,51);outline-color:initial;font-size:1.091em;border-right-width:0px;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;margin-top:15px;border-left-width:0px"> After the villagers threatened to turn Wanggang into a "second Wukan", a Guangzhou vice-mayor, Xie Xiaodan, met them and promised an inquiry into alleged abuses.</p><p style="padding-right:0px;padding-left:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;padding-top:0px;outline-width:0px;font:normal normal normal 100%/1.25 Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;border-style:initial;margin-bottom:15px;border-color:initial;padding-bottom:0px;border-top-width:0px;vertical-align:baseline;line-height:15px;outline-style:initial;color:rgb(51,51,51);outline-color:initial;font-size:1.091em;border-right-width:0px;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;margin-top:15px;border-left-width:0px"> But despite their bravado, Wanggang is no Wukan.</p><p style="padding-right:0px;padding-left:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;padding-top:0px;outline-width:0px;font:normal normal normal 100%/1.25 Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;border-style:initial;margin-bottom:15px;border-color:initial;padding-bottom:0px;border-top-width:0px;vertical-align:baseline;line-height:15px;outline-style:initial;color:rgb(51,51,51);outline-color:initial;font-size:1.091em;border-right-width:0px;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;margin-top:15px;border-left-width:0px"> Wukan's residents were in open revolt, expelling officials and police and barricading themselves in for ten days until provincial government intervention brought an end to the siege.</p><p style="padding-right:0px;padding-left:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;padding-top:0px;outline-width:0px;font:normal normal normal 100%/1.25 Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;border-style:initial;margin-bottom:15px;border-color:initial;padding-bottom:0px;border-top-width:0px;vertical-align:baseline;line-height:15px;outline-style:initial;color:rgb(51,51,51);outline-color:initial;font-size:1.091em;border-right-width:0px;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;margin-top:15px;border-left-width:0px"> Wangang appears less united, its residents split among numerous clans. Most are city dwellers holding urban jobs, less desperate to reclaim farmland for subsistence than those in Wukan.</p><p style="padding-right:0px;padding-left:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;padding-top:0px;outline-width:0px;font:normal normal normal 100%/1.25 Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;border-style:initial;margin-bottom:15px;border-color:initial;padding-bottom:0px;border-top-width:0px;vertical-align:baseline;line-height:15px;outline-style:initial;color:rgb(51,51,51);outline-color:initial;font-size:1.091em;border-right-width:0px;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;margin-top:15px;border-left-width:0px"> For Wukan, Mr Wang chose conciliation instead of force, sending a key deputy to intervene and offer concessions on seized land. In a remarkable twist, the rebel village leader, Lin Zuluan, 65, was later named party secretary of Wukan.</p> <p style="padding-right:0px;padding-left:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;padding-top:0px;outline-width:0px;font:normal normal normal 100%/1.25 Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;border-style:initial;margin-bottom:15px;border-color:initial;padding-bottom:0px;border-top-width:0px;vertical-align:baseline;line-height:15px;outline-style:initial;color:rgb(51,51,51);outline-color:initial;font-size:1.091em;border-right-width:0px;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;margin-top:15px;border-left-width:0px"> Despite the softer approach, some experts say Wukan will not change China's iron-fisted approach to dissent.</p><p style="padding-right:0px;padding-left:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;padding-top:0px;outline-width:0px;font:normal normal normal 100%/1.25 Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;border-style:initial;margin-bottom:15px;border-color:initial;padding-bottom:0px;border-top-width:0px;vertical-align:baseline;line-height:15px;outline-style:initial;color:rgb(51,51,51);outline-color:initial;font-size:1.091em;border-right-width:0px;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;margin-top:15px;border-left-width:0px"> Willy Lam, an academic and veteran China watcher in Hong Kong, said: "The fact that Wang Yang decided to use more conciliatory methods regarding Wukan doesn't mean a change of policy on the part of Beijing, nor does it mean that leaders in other provinces will follow.</p> <p style="padding-right:0px;padding-left:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;padding-top:0px;outline-width:0px;font:normal normal normal 100%/1.25 Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;border-style:initial;margin-bottom:15px;border-color:initial;padding-bottom:0px;border-top-width:0px;vertical-align:baseline;line-height:15px;outline-style:initial;color:rgb(51,51,51);outline-color:initial;font-size:1.091em;border-right-width:0px;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;margin-top:15px;border-left-width:0px"> "The leaders of other provinces cannot afford to allow the Wukan case to become a sort of a model because this will damage the authority of the party."</p><p style="padding-right:0px;padding-left:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;padding-top:0px;outline-width:0px;font:normal normal normal 100%/1.25 Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;border-style:initial;margin-bottom:15px;border-color:initial;padding-bottom:0px;border-top-width:0px;vertical-align:baseline;line-height:15px;outline-style:initial;color:rgb(51,51,51);outline-color:initial;font-size:1.091em;border-right-width:0px;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;margin-top:15px;border-left-width:0px"> The legacy of Wukan still echoes in other villages. A man in Luogang village complained about officials bragging about new cars, as he dug taro roots and spring onions in a field.</p><p style="padding-right:0px;padding-left:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;padding-top:0px;outline-width:0px;font:normal normal normal 100%/1.25 Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;border-style:initial;margin-bottom:15px;border-color:initial;padding-bottom:0px;border-top-width:0px;vertical-align:baseline;line-height:15px;outline-style:initial;color:rgb(51,51,51);outline-color:initial;font-size:1.091em;border-right-width:0px;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;margin-top:15px;border-left-width:0px"> "We want to be like Wukan, all the villagers here do," said the elderly man, squelching barefoot through the mud. "It's very encouraging, we hope everywhere can fight back and beat the corrupt officials."</p><p style="padding-right:0px;padding-left:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;padding-top:0px;outline-width:0px;font:normal normal normal 100%/1.25 Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;border-style:initial;margin-bottom:15px;border-color:initial;padding-bottom:0px;border-top-width:0px;vertical-align:baseline;line-height:15px;outline-style:initial;color:rgb(51,51,51);outline-color:initial;font-size:1.091em;border-right-width:0px;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;margin-top:15px;border-left-width:0px"> <br></p><p style="padding-right:0px;padding-left:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;padding-top:0px;outline-width:0px;font:normal normal normal 100%/1.25 Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;border-style:initial;margin-bottom:15px;border-color:initial;padding-bottom:0px;border-top-width:0px;vertical-align:baseline;line-height:15px;outline-style:initial;color:rgb(51,51,51);outline-color:initial;font-size:1.091em;border-right-width:0px;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;margin-top:15px;border-left-width:0px"> <img src="http://www.scotsman.com/webimage/7.25521.1326362752!image/1330748756.png_gen/derivatives/default/1330748756.png" alt="SWTS.news.image.e"></p></div></div>-- <br>Shahzad Afzal<br><a href="http://www.pakistanprobe.com/" target="_blank">http://www.pakistanprobe.com/</a><br> <br><br><br> Shahzadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05160575437170422234noreply@blogger.com0