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Hamid Mir and Jang Group’s somersaults on
freedom of speech
Former president
of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists Mazhar Abbas said that
on the whole media’s role in the entire episode left a lot to be
desired. “We go by the official version and don’t even use words
like ‘alleged’. We (the media) must be very careful when an
allegation is being levelled against someone,” said Mr Abbas. He
said that the electronic media totally ignored these guidelines and
did not even express regret if someone had been cleared by court or
law-enforcers through an inquiry. “Throughout his ordeal, Faiz
remained quite confident but we were devastated. We spent sleepless
nights since Sunday when it all began,” his family members said.
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Iran dismisses U.N. sanctions draft
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran dismissed a draft U.N.
resolution to expand sanctions in response to its nuclear programme,
saying the measures were unlikely to be approved and would not break
its economy if they were implemented.
The draft resolution,
agreed by all five permanent Security Council members after months
of negotiation, targets Iranian banks and calls for inspection of
vessels suspected of carrying cargo related to Iran's nuclear or
missile programs.
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Marxism and the Holocaust
By Nick Beams
The following is an
addendum to the lecture “Imperialism and the political economy of
the Holocaust,” delivered by Nick Beams at San Diego State
University on April 29. The lecture is available here.
The collapse of the East European Stalinist regimes and the
liquidation of the Soviet Union at the beginning of the 1990s saw a
wave of triumphalism sweep through bourgeois political and academic
circles.
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5 Hidden dangers of Facebook
Over the last few years, Facebook’s growth has been phenomenal.
The world’s no. 1 social networking site also recently beat Google
to become the most visited Web site in the US for an entire week at
a stretch. However, the site has also lately being receiving lot of
flak for its privacy policies.
An expert in online privacy has drawn attention to the five dangers
of sharing information on social networking site Facebook. Joan
Goodchild, senior editor of CSO (Chief Security Officer) Online,
claims marketing efforts by the company often results in a
compromise on account holders' privacy, reports CBS News.
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England vanquish Australia to win
Twenty20 World Cup
BRIDGETOWN: South Africa born batsmen
Craig Kieswetter and Kevin Pietersen starred as England won their
first major one-day title in a seven-wicket victory over Australia
in Sunday's World Twenty20 final.
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Many Afghans feel anger,
frustration at war
Protesters shout anti-American slogans during a rally in Kandahar
in April, 2010, after NATO troops opened fire on a bus carrying
civilians killing four people.
More than eight years into the war in Afghanistan, msnbc.com is
launching "Voices from Afghanistan" to highlight the often
overlooked thoughts of people who live in that country. This
occasional series will try to provide an insight into the thinking
of Afghans.
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West Bank invention to help blind
Schoolgirls have developed an advanced new cane
that vibrates when near an obstacle.
Three schoolgirls in the occupied West Bank have developed a
life-changing device for the blind.
It is an advanced cane called "Stick-tech" - that vibrates when
near an obstacle, thus alerting the blind.More
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Dissident Thai General Shot; Army Moves
to Face Protesters
BANGKOK — A renegade Thai general was shot in Bangkok on Thursday
as the military prepared to encircle the barricaded encampment of
anti-government protesters.
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One-third of world population in 2050 will be Muslim
Recently many studies have been published about composition of
the world population in 2050. People are fascinated by the changes
that will happen in the next few decades. Many of us may not be
alive to see these changes. However, it is interesting to know what
will be the regional and geographic shift. Europe will see negative
growth while Asia a population explosion. Muslims will be one-third
of the world population in 2050.
Survival of civilization depends on its fertility rate. In order
to maintain the same population composition, birth rate of two or
more is required. U.S. has fertility rate of 2.1, partly due to
immigration. At this time more than 80% of the babies born are in
Asia and Africa. Japanese are aging so rapidly that by 2040 senior
citizens will account for 40% of their population.
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Pakistani Religious Leaders: US try to destabilise and destroy
Islamic identity of Pakistan
Pakistan: Leaders of various religio-political parties on Sunday
said terrorism was promoted in Pakistan under a well-hatched
conspiracy.
Addressing a Khatm-e-Nabuwwat conference, leaders of various
religious political parties termed the presence of US military
personnel in the country a threat to the security of the country.
They said the anti-Islam forces supported by the US were out to
destabilise Pakistan and destroy its Islamic identity. They said the
salvation of Pakistan depended in the supremacy of Islam and the
non-believers were trying to tarnish the image of the religion. The
speakers urged the government to foil the designs of anti-Islam
elements and frustrate their conspiracies against Pakistan.
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Gulf oil spill threatens public health
The ongoing spill of millions of gallons of crude from the BP oil
rig into the Gulf of Mexico is an enormous environmental disaster,
threatening fish, birds, and shallow water species like oysters,
shrimp and crayfish. Human beings are part of the environment, and
the oil slick poses major risks to public health
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Nations to meet for
nuclear talks
High-level representatives from the US and Iran are set to
address a nuclear non-proliferation conference amid a deepening row
over Tehran's uranium enrichment programme.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, is the only head of
state taking part in the UN nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) review
conference, which will host delegations from 189 countries.More
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Pakistan Taliban chief
threatens US
Video tapes have been released of what appears to be Hakimullah
Mehsud, the leader of the main Pakistani Taliban group, warning the
US of multiple attacks on its citizens.
The tapes of Mehsud, who was reported dead in a January drone
attack, emerged just a day after another Pakistani Taliban group
claimed responsibility for a failed bombing in New York.
An unidentified voice purportedly belonging to Mehsud, said the
Taliban takes "full responsibility for the recent attack in the USA"
in a video released by SITE, a US-based group monitoring Taliban
media.
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**Sarkozy
proposes total ban on the burqa in France
At the April 21 meeting of the French cabinet, President Nicolas
Sarkozy announced that a bill banning the wearing of the burqa or
niqab full-face veil in public would be put before the cabinet in
May. The bill is a blatant attack on democratic rights, moving
France towards extra-legal rule.
Prime Minister François Fillon stated that the government would
fast-track this legislation, even though such a law could be ruled
unconstitutional and contrary to the European Convention of Human
Rights. “We are ready to take legal risks because we think that the
stakes are worth it”, he said, adding. “We cannot encumber ourselves
with prudence in relation to legislation that is unsuited to today’s
society.... If we have to shift the jurisprudence of the [French]
Constitutional Council and that of the European Court of Human
Rights, we think that it is our public duty to do so”.
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The Complete Manual for The British Jewish
Voter
With Britain’s three-way race for prime minister
entering the final lap, many Brits are still wondering who to vote
for. As if it makes any difference. However, if you are interested
in my take on the subject, I would suggest you opt for Nick Clegg
and the Liberal Democrats. If you want to know why, it is pretty
simple – just because the Jews don’t like Clegg at all. This is at
least the impression I gathered after reading the Jewish Telegraphic
Agency (JTA).
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Entire US Government Knows Obama Ineligible
For Office
Members from all three branches of the Federal government already
know that Barack Hussein Obama is ineligible for the office of
President. National leaders, to include members of the US Supreme
Court, already know that Barack Hussein Obama is not a “natural born
citizen” of the United States of America, and therefore, is
ineligible for the office he currently holds. (See JB’s new article
on The Bottom Line on Natural Born Citizen)
What they don’t know is how long it will take for most Americans
to figure it out, or what to do about it.
The diversionary search for an authentic birth certificate is
ongoing and Obama has now spent in excess of $2 million in legal
fees to keep that search alive.
Pentagon paints bleak picture of Afghanistan war as more
civilians die
A semi-annual report released by the Pentagon on the Afghanistan
war recorded a sharp increase in attacks on occupation troops and
scarce support for the corrupt US-backed puppet regime of President
Hamid Karzai.
The progress report, mandated by the US Congress, presented a
grim picture of the state of the nearly nine-year-old, US-led war,
even as a series of incidents in which civilians were killed by US
and NATO troops unleashed renewed popular anger against the foreign
occupation.
BP oil spill hits Gulf coast
1 May 2010
On Friday, an oil slick caused by last week’s explosion and
sinking of a British Petroleum oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico began
washing ashore in Louisiana near the mouth of the Mississippi River,
threatening catastrophic economic and environmental damage.
The Deepwater Horizon oil rig, located about 50 miles off the
Louisiana coast, erupted in flames on April 20 when a concrete
sealant failed and oil moved up piping from the ocean floor, about a
mile beneath the surface of the water. The disaster claimed the
lives of 11 workers and critically injured four more.
Britain’s general election: An historic political shift
Whatever the outcome of the UK General Election on May 6, British
political life has already undergone a tectonic shift.
The most extraordinary feature of the election campaign is the
ongoing meltdown of the Labour Party. Predictions vary as to what
form a coalition government—the most likely outcome of the
election—will take. But the likelihood of a coalition government
arises above all due to the collapse in support for Labour.
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On the road to ruin: The Runaways
Formed in 1975, the Runaways were an all-girl rock band whose music
fit in somewhere between the glam rock of David Bowie and the punk
bands that emerged around 1977. The group is best known today for
their song “Cherry Bomb” and for having been the first band of both
Joan Jett and Lita Ford, who would each have a successful solo
career during the 1980s.
The film The Runways attempts to tell the band’s story,
focusing primarily on Jett and lead singer Cherie Currie. As the
story begins, it’s 1975 and the teenage Jett (Kristen Stewart) and
Currie (Dakota Fanning) are obsessed with rock music. Jett is
struggling to learn how to play guitar and idolizes Suzi Quatro.
Currie is a David Bowie fanatic and lip syncs to his music in a
school talent show.
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Post Comment US military escalates its dirty war in Afghanistan
The New York Times reported Sunday that American special
forces units are operating in and around the Afghan city of Kandahar,
assassinating or capturing alleged leaders and militants of the
Taliban resistance ahead of the major US-NATO offensive scheduled
for June.
Suggestive of the sinister and murderous character of such
operations, the Times noted that the “opening salvos of the
offensive are being carried out in the shadows”. It reported that
“elite” units had been “picking up or picking off insurgent leaders”
for the past several weeks.
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Post Comment India arrests its own RAW agent for spying
for Pakistan
The news story is interesting on many levels. This is the first
time that Bharat (aka India) has admitted that it had a RAW (spy
agency) center in Islamabad.
By admitting that Bharat had spent spies to Islamabad, it is
publicly admitting that Bharat has violated the Geneva Conventions
and sent spies disguised as diplomats. Embassy and Consulates are
supposed to be for ambassadors and consulars—they are not supposed
to be spies.
By admitting that spies were posted in Islamabad, Delhi will
bring international approbation and condemnation. It should be taken
up at the UN.
The other aspect of the story is hilarious. If Bharat cannot
trust its own RAW agents who can it trust?
IS ISRAEL WIRETAPPING AMERICA?
Israeli
companies are wiretapping America. Authorized by our government,
they are doing the actual work of listening to and recording the
phone, email, and internet communications of at least 100 nations,
including America.
The surveillance industry in America got its start in 1994 with
passage of CALEA (Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement
Act). The law mandated that telecom companies configure their
networks to supply the government with intercepts authorized by a
court-issued warrant. Soon after the 9/11 attacks, President George
W. Bush enacted a secret executive order for massive, warrantless
wiretapping. Only eight members of Congress and one FISA judge were
privy to this information. Today, the FBI is also authorized to
eavesdrop and a warrant is no longer needed to tap
telecommunications of United States’ citizens.
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