Somewhere on Earth the great dawn of Christmas day sweeps past. It hasn’t reached us yet but it will.
So to all who’ve stopped and pondered here over the past six months or so, scratched their head or found something of interest that brought you back again.
I hope you are all having or are about to have a wonderful, peaceful Christmas.
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| Cowen's office runs up €500k charges Posted: 20 Dec 2009 08:02 PM PST www.independent.ie Despite claiming to have driven down the cost of its foreign junkets by 31 per cent since Mr Cowen took office in May of last year, the Department of the Taoiseach still expects the taxpayer to sign a cheque for €500,000 to pay for first-class flights, five-star hotels, chauffeur-driven limousines and fine dining in 2009, [...] Related posts:
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| Nama definition of 'long-term value' masterful, says IMF Posted: 20 Dec 2009 07:50 PM PST www.irishtimes.com THE INTERNATIONAL Monetary Fund (IMF) told the Government that the definition of "long-term economic value" on bank loans in the draft Nama Bill was "masterful" as it was "sufficiently specific" and "sufficiently vague" to allow "appropriate flexibility". Steven Seelig, an adviser at the IMF, made the comments in an e-mailed response to a request by the [...] Related posts:
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| Nasrallah: 'Mercenaries' oppose our arms Posted: 20 Dec 2009 07:38 PM PST dailystar.com.lb BEIRUT: Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah slammed as "mercenaries" those who criticize his party's possession of arms. "Has it become a shame to possess the power of resistance and defense, and own the ability to harm the enemy and create the right balance?" the secretary general of Hizbullah asked during a speech to mark the [...] Related posts:
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| Police and Maoists Clash in Nepal, With 70 Arrested Posted: 20 Dec 2009 07:28 PM PST www.nytimes.com NEW DELHI — Nepalese riot police officers wielding batons and firing canisters of tear gas clashed Sunday with Maoist sympathizers in Katmandu, as the Maoists staged their largest protests since abandoning the government seven months ago. The violence was a new sign that the stalled peace process was unraveling altogether. It started as Maoists blocked roads [...] Related posts:
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| 'Israeli pupils least educated in West' Posted: 20 Dec 2009 07:10 PM PST www.jpost.com Education gaps in Israel were the highest in the Western world in the last decade, according to a study released on Sunday by the Jerusalem-based Taub Center for for Social Policy Studies in Israel. The failure of Israel's school system to grant children tools to be used later in life "will put them at a [...] Related posts:
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| France stands by use of stolen bank data Posted: 20 Dec 2009 07:02 PM PST www.ft.com France said on Sunday that it had committed no crime in using a stolen list of Swiss bank accounts to track French tax evaders as a row between Bern and Paris over banking secrecy intensified. "France is committing no fraud, the tax evaders are," said Eric Woerth, budget minister, in an interview on Canal Plus. "What [...] Related posts:
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| Special Ops robots now do psychological warfare Posted: 20 Dec 2009 06:53 PM PST By Lewis Page www.theregister.co.uk US arms globocorp Boeing has announced yet another military robot demonstration – but this time, one with a difference. Rather than spying on meatsacks or mowing them down with the traditional array of automated weaponry, the war-bots in this trial sought to win over their fleshy opponents using psychological warfare. The demo was carried [...] Related posts:
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| "How much imaginary gold has been sold?" Posted: 20 Dec 2009 06:43 PM PST By Adrian Douglas for Gata.org On October 10 I published an article that postulated that the gold market is a Ponzi scheme because it sells gold that doesn't exist by implementation of the principles of fractional reserve banking. (See http://www.gata.org/node/7887.) Since writing that article further information has come to light that supports this claim and allows [...] Related posts:
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| Queen's finances to be revealed Posted: 20 Dec 2009 04:43 PM PST www.independent.co.uk The Independent wins three-year battle to publish secret correspondence with Government over spiralling cost of maintaining royal palaces. Secret correspondence between the Government and Buckingham Palace concerning the growing public cost of the Royal Family is to be released to The Independent after three years of campaigning. In a far-reaching ruling, the Government must disclose more than [...] Related posts:
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| Controversial ID cards coming to Germany in 2010 Posted: 20 Dec 2009 12:12 PM PST www.thelocal.de The German Interior Ministry confirmed on Monday that new identification cards containing radio-frequency (RFID) chips will be introduced starting November 1, 2010 – but some data protection experts are critical of the decision. "It's smaller than the old one, but can do a lot more," Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière said in a statement. The information on [...] Related posts:
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December 20, 2009
Dear Agha;
'The desire to gain an immediate selfish advantage always imperils their ultimate interests. If they recognize this fact, they usually recognize it too late'. Reinhold Niebuhr
Thanks for an informed piece. I tend to agree with part of your assessment. I sincerely hope that the script of the play currently on the judicial stage was not written by the analysis wing of Military Intelligence or ISI or army chief's planning secretariat. If that is the case then it proves that GHQ has learned nothing and very soon will be knee deep in another mess.
If plan is to completely overhaul the system then every one should be held accountable. If screws are tightened only on President Zardari & MQM, then military operations directorate should start planning for the deployment of troops in the only peaceful province of the country. Every one knows that you can not run Karachi & Hyderabad without MQM's consent. If MQM jumps the ship, it means Karachi corps will be soon sucked into urban areas. If the criminal gangs of Lyari can use rocket launchers at police mobiles, imagine what MQM hard core can achieve. President Zardari after humiliation may decide to go back to his Manhattan apartment or buy a flat next to former President Mussharraf and GHQ may be looking only at this outcome. However, revenge is a very virulent trait among tribal & feudal societies and even if half of the allegations of corruption against President Zardari are true, then he can surely spare few millions for his revenge. He is no Bhutto to take crowds to ecstasy but dropping few millions in the pond of Sindhi mistrust can pay rich dividends. In that case, even troops from Bahawalpur corps will be needed to control rural Sindh. To prove this point see Exhibit A: rural Sindh in 1980s. Before marching the troops out of barracks, someone needs to do the math. With a $3.4 billion yearly defence budget (most of it goes to pay and pensions), you can not fight insurgencies in three out of four provinces and an urban anti-terrorism campaign in the remaining fourth. If President Zardari resigns that will be best for him, Peoples Party and country in general (but then again why should he resign if the replacement in another dry cleaned politician). May be if a respected retired judge is sent to President House for a while, it may bring some respect to the office.
Overall a very bad situation. If the whole orchestra consists only of judiciary and GHQ has nothing to do with this performance, the question is what GHQ can do? If they restrain judiciary they will be accused of protecting corrupt politicians; if they keep their hands off everything and let events take their own course, the possible casualty will be Sindh (it is only a possibility and not a forgone conclusion). I don't envy General Kiyani today but then again as one fine officer currently operating against militants once said, 'we are paying for the sins of our fathers'. On a hopeful note, if current judicial activism while selective now may become responsible with time and brings back some confidence of general public in the system (if there was any left). This will pay dividends in the long run. It may help in restraining executive, military and bureaucracy and a normal balance between various organs of the state is achieved with time. That will be the best outcome if short term side effects are tolerated by the patient.
Every one knows that President Zardari is no angel but then again what about the rest of the crowd? Are they snow whites? I know military men don't like him and he is not invited to any military function because uniformed Brahmins don't want to salute 'shudras'. However, the question is that if Zardari was so unacceptable then they should have worked with Peoples Party before he became president. Reminds one 1971. Allowing free elections but when Shaikh Mujib ur Rahman won majority they wanted him to negotiate and give up many things. If GHQ wants to work in the system no matter how flawed then they should think through and let the electoral process take care of nuisances. A smart man would use even damaged goods to his advantage. It is ironic that Peoples Party and Awami National party (labeled security threat by GHQ in the past) are fully supportive of military's fight against extremism. The leadership of both parties have history of good relationship with Baluchs and GHQ could have used the narrow window of opportunity to de-escalate Baluchistan situation. Immediately after Mussharraf's departure GHQ could have used these channels to convey to Baluchs that the policy was only Mussharraf's and as an institution they want to repair the damage. It reminds me late Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan. He was the only Pakistani which Indira Ghandhi genuinely respected (when Sanjay died, Bacha Khan went to India for condolence. Indira was sitting with few senior government officials. As soon as Bacha Khan entered the room, she ran towards him and dropped in his arms crying like a daughter in father's arms; and she had that kind of respect due to family relations). Can you imagine how such relationships could be used to settle disputes. You don't have to agree with everything everybody says but look at how each person's strength can be used for the benefit of the country. That is the art of leadership.
I don't know the motives of all players but more conflict among political players is bad omen. Adding more complexities to an already a very volatile situation is not good news. If more cracks appear in the system, many groups may decide to leave the tent altogether. This does not mean physical fragmentation but many areas will be out of federation de facto. To prove this point see Exhibit B: Islamic Emirate of Waziristan (bad example) or Exhibit C: Iraqi Kurdistan (good example). We will see whether adding another uneven leg (Chief Justice) to a shaky chair of decision making process (President, Prime Minister & Army Chief) adds stability or instability to the system. I hope everyone will try for an outcome where every party is encouraged to stay in the tent pissing outside rather than leaving some outside the tent when it is inevitable that they will be pissing inside the tent. Pakistanis should be very clear about the stakes. It is no more boy scout game. It is now big boys club. In the past, 1965 gamble on Kashmir resulted in unexpected effect on East Bengal, the wager on 1990s Kashmir table was internal security of Pakistan and in 1980s all chips put on Afghanistan table by Pakistan were of Afghan origin. Net result of all these gambles; loss of East Pakistan, irreparable damage to internal cohesion in Pakistan and fragmentation of only buffer state known as Afghanistan. Pakistani officers tried to redeem their honor lost in 1971 on the killing fields of East Pakistan/Bangladesh on the killing fields of Afghanistan. Unknown to them they were erecting the remaining Pakistan on the altar of chaos and that is why the country is where it is. Everything is logical and makes sense and that is how the wheels of history move; not some grand conspiracies hatched in dark board rooms in far off lands. The tragic part is that most Pakistanis including some well informed people either don't have time or simply not interested in reading their own history.
'The keenest sorrow is to recognize ourselves as the sole cause of our adversities'. Sophocles
From a well wisher of Pakistan
Warm Regards,
Hamid
From: Agha H Amin [mailto:pavocavalry@gmail.com]
Sent: Sunday, December 20, 2009 1:51 AMyb
Subject: Fwd: [Understanding Each Other, Diversity and Dissent] Whats not historical about ...
The so called land mark judgement is a concerted endeavour to remove the sindhi president .the motivations are multiple and complicated while the rationale is rule of law.hidden are the ethnic aspects of the issue.while NRO was not a golden law all the thrust of the judgement is against those who benefitted from it while those who negotiated it are angels.some lecturing think tanks and some serving in the pakistani establishment.
basically NRO consists of cases established by nawaz sharif regime in 1997-99 and later improved by the military junta.the dispute is not that the cases are wrong.the dispute is that only sindh was targeted.thus the so called historic judgement is not historic.it ignores all corruption from 1947 till 1985 when nawaz sharif became the establishments man.
the key issue here is to target a man for doing something wrong because he is a political threat.while so many wrong doers are enjoying political status and high social standing because they were crooks before 1985 or because they were controlling the ehtesab buraeu between 1997 and 1999.
if the army is sensible it will not touch zardari.if it is immature it will and although zardari may be removed pakistans destabilisation will escalate.this is a classical example of partial justice selective distortion and triumph of sin thou shall but in secret.
major beneficiary of this judgement would be a select 10 thousand political and military families from punjab
in the political person of the PML N and major losers would be pakistan as a state.this is a classic case of a judiciary destabilising the country although apparently acting on sound moral principles.
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The whole confrontation started once a clash of egos started.
The Sharifs took an unlterior advantage and used it for their own benefit.
In 1997 when the Supreme Court according to the Punjabi political school resorted to alleged judicial activism it was attacked and no so called punjabi civil society protested.
Now if allegedly the supreme court has again resorted to judicial activism it is OK.Just because what it is doing supports the cause of PML N which is a basically Punjab based party.
All said and done only the political ambitions of the generals to play political games would be reinforced.but then we must remember that most of the judges were comfortable working under musharraf as long as they did not have a clash of egos
i am surprised that in 1997 when sajjad ali shahs court was attacked where was this civil society and aitizaz ahsan and asma jahangir.in 2007 civil society was active ?
FORGET ABOUT HIM BECAUSE HE WAS NOT A PUNJABI CHIEF JUSTICE BUT A SINDHI , OH AND THAT TOO FROM LIARI
somewhere deep in the sub conscious are the ethnic factors.
somehow if a sindhi is corrupt it is more serious.after all a sindhi finds it ethnically more difficult to establish a line with a non sindhi judge or to manouevre inside the esablishment.
theoretically any argument can be twisted and anything can be justified but i find something very ulterior and ethnic in the 16 december judgement.
the supreme court just stuffed under ground the famous case of the generals bribing the PML N politicians in 1990.
the supreme court never touched the murder and disappearance of Asadullah Mengal , Sardar Ataullah Mengals son allegedly killed by pakistani intelligence in 1975 and his dead body never found .
FORGET ABOUT HIM BECAUSE HE WAS NOT SON OF PML N LEADER FROM PUNJAB BUT ONLY A MENGAL AND ANTHROPOLOGISTS SAY THAT BRAHUI IS A DRAVIDIAN RACE
the supreme court never bothered about three baloch leaders murdered by pakistani agencies in turbat in 2008.
But if a PML N leaders son from Punjab is killed and dead body never found the supreme court will take a gigantic suo moto action
--
Posted By Agha H Amin to Understanding Each Other, Diversity and Dissent at 12/19/2009 05:14:00 AM
--
Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death." --
Albert Einstein !!!
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| Mumbai accused says he was framed Posted: 19 Dec 2009 03:57 AM PST news.bbc.co.uk The man alleged to be the sole surviving gunman in last year's Mumbai attacks, Mohammad Qasab, has retracted a confession that he took part. Giving evidence in his defence, Mr Qasab, a Pakistani national, said he had been forced by police to confess after being repeatedly beaten up. He said he was not the man seen in [...] Related posts:
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| Nigeria rebels attack oil pipeline Posted: 19 Dec 2009 03:47 AM PST news.bbc.co.uk Rebels in the Niger delta of Nigeria say they have attacked an oil pipeline overnight, putting a two-month truce with the government in doubt. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta said it had attacked a pipeline owned by Shell and Chevron. A rebel spokesman said it was because the government was delaying peace talks [...] Related posts:
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| Is the European police state going global? Posted: 19 Dec 2009 02:46 AM PST From The Viscount Monckton of Brenchley in Copenhagen Today the gloves came off and the true purpose of the "global warming" scare became nakedly visible. Ugo Chavez, the Socialist president of Venezuela, blamed "global warming" on capitalism – and received a standing ovation from very nearly all of the delegates, lamentably including those from those of [...] Related posts:
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| EXCLUSIVE – British Peer: Copenhagen Summit Has Established A World Government Posted: 19 Dec 2009 02:04 AM PST "Institutional framework" paves the way for unelected international bureaucracy Steve Watson Prisonplanet.com Amid all the mainstream media reports of the talks in Copenhagen "limping" to a close and having failed, Lord Christopher Monckton, reporting from the summit, has stated that the only goal of the conference was to implement the framework and the funding for a world government [...] Related posts:
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| Posted: 19 Dec 2009 01:49 AM PST Youtube There is a widely quoted statistic that more Christians died for their faith in the 20th century than in the 19 centuries leading up to it. But as bad as the 20th century was, the 21st century is starting to make that look like a Sunday picnic. In every corner of the globe, Christians are [...] Related posts:
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| Ireland: Human-Being Discovered Among Members Of Parliament – Video Posted: 19 Dec 2009 01:15 AM PST Youtube Paul Gogarty of the Green party losing the plot with Labour's Emmet Stagg during a Dail Budget debate. Direct link to video at Youtube Related posts:Nazi Roots Of The European Union Youtube Prison Planet editor and journalist Paul Joseph Watson... UKIP Nigel Farage – LibLabCon Lies on Lisbon (December 2009) Youtube The Labour party, [...] Related posts:
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| Posted: 19 Dec 2009 01:00 AM PST (WashingtonsBlog) – (Environmentalists: Kindly start by reading the end notes to see my background and why I am writing this) On April 28, 1975, Newsweek wrote an article stating: Climatologists are pessimistic that political leaders will take any positive action to compensate for the climatic change, or even to allay its effects. They concede that some of [...] Related posts:
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| UFOs – FOX News – Mexican Air Force – CNN News – OVNIs Posted: 19 Dec 2009 12:54 AM PST Youtube CIA agent R. Cotner's deathbed confession reveals startling information about his involvement in CIA and NSA extraterrestrial projects: Direct link to video at Youtube Related posts:Mexican president: US authorities 'complicit' in drug trafficking The President of Mexico has an unfortunate message for... UFOs over Kremlin? Russia Today A UFO has circled the Kremlin –... European news view [...] Related posts:
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; Karl MarxOwners of capital will induce the working class to buy expensive goods, pushing them to take more and more debt, until their debt becomes unbearable. The unpaid debt will lead to bankruptcy of banks, which will have to be nationalized, and the State will have to take the road which will eventually lead to communism. (paraphrased from: Das Kapital, 1867)website http://www.scribd.com/doc/268365/Marx-Das-Kapital
SYCOPHANCY PAR EXCELLENCE PAKISTAN STYLE-HE SOLD HIS SOUL FOR DOLLARS
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TWO NATO TIGRESSES (ATTACK HELICOPTER PILOTS) FROM AUSTRALIA AND NETHERLANDS WHO HAVE PLAYED HELL WITH URUZGAN AND KANDAHAR
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THE ANTI US FORCES HAVE NO SAM CAPABILITY.HA HA HA THEY HAD ONCE WHEN THEY FOUGHTY FOR DIRTY US AND SAUDI DOLLARS AGAINST AFGHANISTANS OWN LEFTIST GOVERNMENT,HA HA HA LATER THEY SOLD BACK THE USA THE STINGERS AGAIN FOR US DOLLARS,AND NOW THESE TIGRESSES ARE PLAYING HELL WITH THEM,HISTORY IS REALLY VERY STRANGE,NOW THE AMERICANS ALSO MUST BE THINKING THAT THE OLD USSR WAS A BETTER OPTION THAN THESE DIRTY BEARDED CLOWNS HA HA HA AT LEAST THEY WERE ENLIGHTENED CULTURED PEOPLE
This map from the US FM was reproduced in every revised publication with the same accompanying description from 1950s to 1992.
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