MARTINSVILLE, Virginia (Reuters) – Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain dodged questions about their looming vice presidential picks on Wednesday as they renewed their battle over who has the best judgment on national security and the economy.
Obama ignored questions from reporters about his choice on a day he toured the battleground state of Virginia, home to one of the finalists in his running mate hunt, Gov. Tim Kaine.
“How long did it take you to think up that question?” Obama said during a stop at a farm market in North Carolina when a reporter asked if he was still shopping for a running mate.
McCain was asked by a voter at a town hall meeting in Las Cruces, New Mexico, and on a conservative talk radio program whether he would pick a running mate who favors abortion rights.
The Arizona senator, an abortion rights opponent, sparked conservative alarm last week when he said he would not rule out abortion rights supporter Tom Ridge, the former Pennsylvania governor, as his No. 2.
“I will nominate a person to be vice president, my running mate, who shares my principles, my values and my priorities and that’s what I can tell you,” McCain said in New Mexico.
He also told talk show host Laura Ingraham he was having a hard time making a choice. McCain has scheduled a large rally in Ohio on August 29, his 72nd birthday and the day after the Democratic convention ends, amid reports he will unveil his choice that day.
“There’s already been things out there in the media, ‘he’s already made up his mind, he’s going to announce on such and such a day,”’ McCain said.
“I have not made the decision and we’re in the process, and if I say anything more than that I guarantee you there’s going to be another one of these firestorms. Obviously we’re going to be announcing soon because we have no choice, but I’ve got to tell you it’s one of the toughest things I’ve ever done.”
History has shown the choice of a running mate is unlikely to have a major impact on the November 4 election between Obama and McCain, but along with the upcoming conventions the choices give both candidates a chance for the political spotlight.
Obama–Running Mate by Saturday?
Time is running out for both to make their pick. The Democratic convention that formally nominates Obama and his running mate opens on Monday, and the Republican convention to nominate McCain and his choice opens a week later.
Obama is expected to name his running mate in the next few days and appear with the prospective No. 2 on Saturday as he launches his run to the convention in Denver.
Speculation about Obama’s choice has centered on three prime contenders — Kaine, who will join him on the campaign trail on Thursday, Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh and Delaware Sen. Joseph Biden.
In Virginia, Obama campaigned with the Democratic keynote speaker, former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner, who touted Kaine.
“I think he knows how to reach across party lines the same way Barack Obama does,” Warner said.
McCain’s short list includes Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, former budget director Rob Portman and Ridge.
A new Reuters/Zogby poll gave McCain a 5-point national lead over Obama, wiping out the Illinois senator’s 7-point advantage in July and giving McCain his first national lead in the Reuters/Zogby poll and one of his few leads in any poll.
McCain has been gaining on Obama in national polls over the last few weeks after repeatedly criticizing the Democrat’s experience, opposition to most new offshore oil drilling and credentials as a commander in chief.
McCain renewed his attacks on Obama for supporting a 16-month timetable to withdraw combat troops from Iraq, and criticized Obama’s suggestion that he had questioned Obama’s patriotism.
“Yesterday Senator Obama got a little testy on this issue. He said I’m questioning his patriotism,” McCain, a former prisoner of war in Vietnam and a staunch advocate of the Iraq war, said in New Mexico. “Let me be very clear. I am not questioning his patriotism. I am questioning his judgment.”
Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, selected to be the keynote speaker at the Republican convention, told reporters Obama was “one of the least experienced candidates for president in the last 100 years.”
Obama said in Virginia he had to prove Democrats could fix the country’s economic problems. He said McCain would be a rerun of President George W. Bush’s economic approach.
“He wants to continue the same economic policies that George Bush has been doing for the last eight years,” Obama said.
“So my job in this election is to say: I honor his service but I don’t honor his policies and I don’t honor his politics,” he said.
(Additional reporting by Ellen Wulfhorst; Writing by John Whitesides, Editing by David Wiessler)
NEW YORK (Reuters) – A group of September 11 victims’ families appealed to White House hopefuls John McCain and Barack Obama on Wednesday to suspend all campaigning on the anniversary of the 2001 attacks as a show of respect.
The group called MyGoodDeed.org, formed in 2003 with the aim of transforming September 11 into a national day of charitable service, sent letters to the two presidential hopefuls urging them to put aside partisanship for the day.
“We ask that you and your staff will dedicate a portion of that sacred day to community service, honoring the spirit of unity that brought our nation together in the immediate aftermath of the terrorist attacks,” the letters said.
Alice Hoagland, a MyGoodDeed.org board member who lost her son Mark Bingham in the crash of hijacked Flight 93 in Pennsylvania, said the 9/11 attacks created a sense of unity and compassion among Americans.
“It hardly mattered what political party we supported, or whether we came from a red state or blue state,” she said in a statement. “At that moment, we were all human beings, and it is important that we find a way each year on 9/11 to honor that spirit of togetherness and keep it alive.”
The letters to Obama and McCain invited them to participate in a “ServiceNation Summit” in New York this September 11, saying it would “provide a nonpartisan forum for you to address the events of 9/11 and the importance of national service.”
MyGoodDeed.org said in a statement Republican presumptive nominee McCain had already said he planned to attend, while his Democratic rival Obama had not yet confirmed his plans.
The group said it also plans to send similar letters to all congressional candidates asking them to suspend campaigning on the anniversary of the attacks.
Nearly 3,000 people were killed when four hijacked airliners crashed into the World Trade Center in New York, the Pentagon in Washington and a field in Pennsylvania.
New York Senators Hillary Clinton and Charles Schumer, both Democrats, are among those on the advisory board of MyGoodDeed.org, which says it is backed by most of the major 9/11 family member and support organizations.
A river is a natural stream of water, usually freshwater, flowing toward an ocean, a lake, or another stream. In some cases a river flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Usually larger streams are called rivers while smaller streams are called creeks, brooks, rivulets, rills, and many other terms, but there is no general rule that defines what can be called a river. Sometimes a river is said to be larger than a creek, but this is not always the case.
A river is a component of the water cycle. The water within a river is generally collected from precipitation through surface runoff, groundwater recharge (as seen at baseflow conditions / during periods of lack of precipitation) and release of stored water in natural reservoirs, such as a glacier.
A river may have its source in a spring, lake, from damp, boggy landscapes where the soil is waterlogged, from glacial melt, or from surface runoff of precipitation. Almost all rivers are joined by other rivers and streams termed tributaries, the highest of which are known as headwaters. Water may also originate from groundwater sources. Throughout the course of the river, the total volume transported downstream will often be a combination of the free water flow together with a substantial contribution flowing through sub-surface rocks and gravels that underlie the river and its floodplain. For many rivers in large valleys, this unseen component of flow may greatly exceed the visible flow.
From their source, rivers flow downhill, typically terminating in a sea or in a lake, through a confluence. In arid areas rivers sometimes end by losing water to evaporation. River water may also infiltrate into the soil or pervious rock, where it becomes groundwater. Excessive abstraction of water for use in industry, irrigation, etc., can also cause a river to dry before reaching its natural terminus.
The mouth, or lower end, of a river is known as its base level. The area drained by a river and its canals is called catchment, catchment basin, drainage basin or watershed. The term “watershed” is also used to mean a boundary between catchments, which is also called a water divide, or in some, continental divide.
As we write, the arrival of new U.S. warships will mark the largest build-up of Naval forces in the Gulf since the 1991 Gulf War.
The aircraft carriers USS Theodore Roosevelt and the? USS Ronald Reagan, along with the USS Iwo Jima, an Amphibious Assault Ship are sailing toward the Persian Gulf to reinforce the US strike forces in the region, along with a British Royal Navy carrier battle group and a French nuclear hunter-killer submarine.
This move follows the ominous Operation Brimstone, a massive military exercise involving more than a dozen warships from the US, England, and France in the Atlantic Ocean in preparation for a possible confrontation with Iran.
The USS Roosevelt, which participated in the just-concluded exercise, and the USS Ronald Reagan will join two US naval battle groups in the area:? the USS Abraham Lincoln with its Carrier Strike Group Nine ; and the USS Peleliu, and Amphibious Assault Ship with its expeditionary strike group.
Naval forces now heading towards the Gulf include:
Carrier Strike Group Nine:
USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN72) nuclear powered carrier with its Carrier Air Wing Two
Destroyer Squadron Nine:
USS Mobile Bay (CG53) guided missile cruiser; USS Russell (DDG59) guided missile destroyer; USS Momsen (DDG92) guided missile destroyer; USS Shoup (DDG86) guided missile destroyer; USS Ford (FFG54) guided missile frigate; USS Ingraham (FFG61) guided missile frigate; USS Rodney M. Davis (FFG60) guided missile frigate; USS Curts (FFG38) guided missile frigate
Plus one or more nuclear hunter-killer submarines
Peleliu Expeditionary Strike Group:
USS Peleliu (LHA-5) a Tarawa-class amphibious assault carrier; USS Pearl Harbor (LSD52) assult ship; USS Dubuque (LPD8) assult ship/landing dock; USS Cape St. George (CG71) guided missile cruiser; USS Halsey (DDG97) guided missile destroyer; USS Benfold (DDG65) guided missile destroyer
Carrier Strike Group Two:
USS Theodore Roosevelt (DVN71) nuclear powered carrier with its Carrier Air Wing Eight
Destroyer Squadron 22:
USS Monterey (CG61) guided missile cruiser; USS Mason (DDG87) guided missile destroyer; USS Nitze (DDG94) guided missile destroyer; USS Sullivans (DDG68) guided missile destroyer; USS Springfield (SSN761) nuclear powered hunter-killer submarine;
IWO ESG ~ Iwo Jima Expeditionary Strike Group
USS Iwo Jima (LHD7) amphibious assault carrier with its Amphibious Squadron Four; and with its 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit; USS San Antonio (LPD17) assault ship; USS Velia Gulf (CG72) guided missile cruiser; USS Ramage (DDG61) guided missile destroyer; USS Carter Hall (LSD50) assault ship; USS Roosevelt (DDG80) guided missile destroyer; USS Hartfore (SSN768) nuclear powered hunter-killer submarine;
Carrier Strike Group 7:
USS Ronald Reagan (CVN76) nuclear powered carrier with its Carrier Air Wing 14;
Destroyer Squadron 7:
USS Chancellorsville (CG62) guided missile cruiser; USS Howard (DDG83) guided missile destroyer; USS Gridley (DDG101) guided missile destroyer; USS Decatur (DDG73) guided missile destroyer; USS Thach (FFG43) guided missile frigate; USNS Rainier (T-AOE-7) fast combat support ship.
This massive deployment means that hundreds of nuclear-armed warplanes, thousands of troops, and destroyers capable of launching cruise missiles carrying nuclear weapons, bunker busters, or fragmentation bombs will be available for a strike on Iran. While Russia is bogged down with the crisis in Georgia, and China is occupied with the Olympics, the Bush Administration may believe that this is an opportune time to strike.
This massive deployment is occurring as both Houses of Congress are set to approve resolutions that would mandate a U.S. blockade (which is an act of war under international law).
Dawn says that the parliament in Pakistan has prepared a mountain of documentation in its push to impeach President Pervez Musharraf. Senate leader Raza Rabbani said that if all the documents they have on Musharraf’s misconduct were dumped in the Ravi river (which runs through Lahore), it would cause it to flood. The opposition to Musharraf has firm control of the lower house and can easily impeach him there. The Pakistan Muslim League (Q), which had been supporting him, is stronger in the Senate. But Dawn reports that the PMLQ deputies are abandoning him.
One of the only things Musharraf had going for him in Pakistani public opinion (which in polls is down to about a 25% approval rating for the president) was a reputation for personal probity. de facto PPP chairman Asaf Ali Zardari is accusing Musharraf of massive embezzlement of public funds. Zardari himself is widely viewed as extremely corrupt, so it is an index of how far Musharraf has fallen that he is on the receiving end of such charges now.
The Bush administration is refusing firmly to support the elected civilian government against Musharraf who came to power as a military dictator in 1999 and has never contested a free and fair election in which he had an opponent.
File photo: Mazen Asbahi, who recently resigned under pressure as Muslim advisor to the Obama campaign
The 1980s were a difficult time for Arab Americans. Politicians returned our contributions, rejected our endorsements, and many effectively hung “No Arab Americans allowed” signs on their campaign doors. Back then, we called it “the politics of exclusion”.
We fought back. We organised, worked hard, and we emerged victorious – or, should I say, somewhat victorious? I now feel a bit tentative about our progress because what happened to Mazen Asbahi is causing me to wonder whether the politics of exclusion might not again be rearing their ugly head. Here’s what has happened:
On July 25, the Barack Obama campaign announced the appointment of Mazen Asbahi to further their outreach efforts to Arab Americans and American Muslims. As a young and accomplished corporate attorney, Mazen was largely unknown to many in both communities. He quickly introduced himself to leaders and activists nationwide to involve them in the Obama campaign.
I was delighted to meet him. He is the father of three, and I found him to be passionate about both his family and his new assignment. He had been successful in his short career as an attorney, but he told me that he felt that this new position provided him with an important opportunity to give something back to his country and his community. In the brief time he held his position, we spoke almost daily. He learned so much and did so much to make Arab Americans and American Muslims feel included in the campaign.
Then it happened. A shady website, Global Muslim Brotherhood Daily Report, that monitors Muslim activism and organisations, revealed that eight years ago Mazen had been on the board of the Allied Assets Advisors Fund. Also on the board was Jamal Said, described as “a controversial imam in a fundamentalist Illinois mosque”. In fact, Mazen was on this board for only two weeks before his discomfort with some of the things being said about the group led him to resign.
This brief association appears to be the main “allegation” against Mazen. The other charge is that he, like thousands of other Muslim American students, was a member of the Muslim Students Association, an established and respected group found on most US campuses. But because an anti-Muslim blogger with a penchant for exaggeration and error called the Muslim Students Association a “wahhabist front”, this charge against Mazen was also thrown into the mix.
In the days that followed, the charges became fodder for extremist right-wing bloggers, whose descriptions of Mazen neither he nor those of us who had come to know him could recognise. As has become standard practice these days, the major media (in this case, the Wall Street Journal) picked up the non-story and began to prepare an “expose”. Concerned that this would escalate, Mazen and the campaign agreed to terminate his position. Mazen issued a statement, saying: “I am stepping down from the volunteer role I recently agreed to take on with the Obama campaign as Arab-American and Muslim American coordinator in order to avoid distracting from Barack Obama’s message of change.”
The entire affair has left many in the Obama campaign, and in both the Arab American and American Muslim communities, feeling saddened and troubled. Several observations can be made and questions raised about this situation in which we now find ourselves operating.
The combination of bigoted websites, their echo-chamber bloggers, irresponsible mainstream media outlets, and fear and ignorance about all things Arab and Muslim have produced an oppressive environment detrimental to the full political participation of Arab Americans and American Muslims.
Who is behind the shadowy website “Global Muslim Brotherhood Daily Report” that “revealed” the story? And what is their agenda? And why are right-wing commentators like Debbie Schlussel, Michelle Malkin, Steven Schwartz, Daniel Pipes, Frank Gaffney, and David Horowitz not held to account for the misinformation they spread, and the intolerance they promote?
Malkin, it should be remembered, threw a fit over Rachel Ray’s wearing a kaffiyeh in a Dunkin Donuts ad. Schlussel attempted to Muslim-bait the former Secretary of Energy, Spencer Abraham. Gaffney drove a decent young Muslim American out of the Bush White House because of an unfounded allegation about his father, and Pipes has made a career out of harassing outstanding scholars like Georgetown University’s John Esposito. If we allow the likes of these to define Arab Americans and American Muslims, and to determine their fitness to serve, then we are heading back to the politics of exclusion.
The failure of these obsessively anti-Arab, anti-Muslim characters to discern between genuine “bad guys” and people like Mazen does a grave disservice to all Americans. It is a shame that no one in the mainstream media has the wisdom or courage to see them for what they are, or question their credibility.
Back to Mazen and the Obama campaign. To his credit, Mazen has been as graceful and thoughtful in adversity as he was upon assuming his post. He remains committed to Obama’s election, and to empowering his community. And because he didn’t want to become the issue, he stepped aside and will find other ways to serve. Despite this regrettable setback, the Obama campaign will continue its outreach efforts.
But, we must ask, what about the fate of the next Arab American or American Muslim to seek such a position of service? If we are to advance as a nation we must not allow a return to “the bad old days”. And if we are to take advantage of the incredible resources provided by the Arab American and American Muslim communities, then we must include them – not only because it is the right thing to do, but because it is so critically important in our efforts to engage the world in which we live.
Dr James J Zogby is president of the Arab American Institute.
Egypt’s Heba Ahmed carries her boat to the water before training for the Women’s Single Sculls at Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park ahead of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games August 7, 2008.
REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi
BEIJING (Reuters) – The women in Roqaya Al Ghasara’s home town in Bahrain are so proud of their pioneering Olympic sprinter that some of them got together to design and sew a set of tailor-made aerodynamic veils for her to run in.
Egyptian fencer Shaimaa El Gammal, a third-timer at the Olympics, will don Islamic headgear in Beijing for the first time. She says it is a sign she is come of age and she feels more empowered than ever.
This year’s Games will see a sizable sprinkling of veiled athletes who are determined to show skimpily dressed rivals there is nothing constricting about wearing “hijab”.
Two of them, Bahrain’s Al Ghasara and veiled Iranian rower Homa Hosseini, won the honor of being flag bearers for their countries at the opening ceremony’s parade of athletes.
“The hijab has never been a problem for me. In Bahrain you grow up with it,” said Al Ghasara, wearing a white baseball cap over a black veil that covers her hair and neck. Her baggy running gear exposes only her face and hands.
“There are more women in sport all the time from countries like Qatar and Kuwait. You can choose to wear the hijab or not. For me it’s liberating,” added Al Ghasara, whose close-fitting running veils come in red or white, the Bahraini colors.
Since they first started appearing a few decades ago, veils at the Olympics have always drawn stares.
This year an unprecedented half a dozen Egyptian athletes, three Iranians, an Afghan and a Yemeni will compete with covered heads like Al Ghasara. They say they want to inspire other women in their countries to break away from Muslim stereotypes.
“Symbolic”
“People see us wearing the scarf and think we ride camels. But Muslim women can do anything they want,” said El Gammal, a bubbly 28-year-old whose sister will compete in the same event, also wearing Islamic headgear.
“When I fence I’m proud that I’m a Muslim. It’s very symbolic for women in my country,” El Gammal told Reuters.
Beijing’s athletes’ village has laid on halal food for the hundreds of Muslims staying there, but it only has a mosque for men, despite scores of Muslim women, mostly bare-headed, from countries such as Tunisia, Iran and Pakistan.
While Saudi Arabia and Brunei do not allow women to formally practice sport, the Gulf nations of United Arab Emirates and Oman have sent women athletes to the 2008 Olympics for the first time.
Iranian women still battle restrictions but three, in headscarves, will compete in rowing, taekwondo and archery. Afghanistan, where the burka used to be compulsory under Taliban rule, has veiled sprinter Robina Muqimyar running the 100 meters.
Najmeh Abtin of Iran aims during her women’s individual 1/32 eliminations archery match against Kwon Un Sil of North Korea at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games August 12, 2008.
REUTERS/Ruben Sprich
Al Ghasara, 25, was the first Bahrain-born athlete to strike gold on the international circuit and won the first female medal at the West Asian Games when it opened up to women in 2005.
With a volley of wins, she broke down barriers to women in sport in Bahrain, where many still wear head-to-toe hijab.
At the Olympics, she hopes to help quash the perception among many in the West that the veil is akin to repression.
“We have women who are ambassadors, doctors, pilots,” said the runner, who prays daily in her athletes’ village bedroom but has a weakness for red nail varnish and shopping.
“I haven’t been criticized at home, and at the Olympics race or religion is irrelevant, we’re all just here to do sport.”
NEW DELHI: Just a day after the special tribunal, headed by sitting Delhi High Court Judge Geeta Mittal, lifted the ban on Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), the Supreme Court stayed the order. Lifting the ban on SIMI, in her 263-page order, Mittal said (August 5): “The material given by the Home Ministry is insufficient, so the ban cannot be continued.” Challenging the tribunal’s order, the center approached the Supreme Court the following day. “Irrecoverable damage will be done” to country’s steps against terrorism if the tribunal’s ruling was not suspended, the government appealed before the apex court. Giving in to the center’s demand, he Supreme Court stayed the tribunal’s order and posted the matter for hearing after three weeks.
Describing the tribunal’s order as “flawed,” Union Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta said that there was no need for additional evidence to justify the ban. “We have filed an appeal in the Supreme Court. We have mentioned in the appeal the grounds for which we feel that the order is not correct. We have clearly brought out in the reasoning why we think that the order is flawed,” Gupta said.
The government had approached the apex court as there was no need for any additional evidence, Gupta said. Besides, he pointed to tribunal not having referred to substance of allegations the government had given against SIMI. “It has in fact been said that these cannot be brushed aside. Therefore we believe that the tribunal’s order is challengeable and we have challenged it,” Gupta.
Notwithstanding the government’s decision to approach the Supreme Court to defend its stand on having extended the ban on SIMI, several points observed by the tribunal in its order cannot be ignored. Referring to the lack of preparedness displayed by government officials before the tribunal, Mittal stated: “I would fail in my duty if I need not comment on the manner in which deposition has been made by witness appearing for the government.”
“It is equally sorry state of affairs when a senior officer of the central government appears before the tribunal to submit that he is not aware with regard to matters, which are put to him,” Mittal said. “It is certainly no excuse to say that you were not posted in the department responsible for the decision making. Appearing as a witness for the union government, it becomes the duty and the responsibility of such officer to be fully aware of the matter with regard to which he is going to depose,” she said.
Senior officers from the home ministry and intelligence bureau were among the officials who had appeared before the tribunal.
Strongly objecting to government’s notification of February 7, extending the ban on SIMI, the tribunal viewed it as a copied version of the 2006 notification. “It is shocking to know that for a minor re-arrangement of some words for a few words at the end of the notification, the notification of 2008 is almost a verbatim reproduction of the notification which was issued in 2006,” Mittal said.
Drawing attention to the 2008-notification having ignored deficiencies pointed out by the earlier tribunal, Mittal said: “With deep pain I would say that this is the most callous disregard of the statutory duty.”
The government had failed to come out with a single evidence to show the complicity of the organization in unlawful activities, the tribunal’s order said. “Even a single witness or a single case may be sufficient to support the claim of the government that an association is indulging in activities which is covered within the definition under the Act (Unlawful Activities-Prevention),” Mittal pointed out.
Though reference had been made to some alleged members of organization, details – including dates of offences, details of cases registered them and/or pending prosecution were not given. Most allegations made in the background note are not supported by any deposition or document, the order said. “The requirement to furnish complete grounds is statutory and cannot be supplied by the background note. Such background note cannot be utilized to furnish the deficiencies in the notification which really has to satisfy the statutory prescription by itself,” the order said. “I make it clear that nothing herein contained is an expression of opinion on the merits of the reference with regard to the allegation made by the authority,” Mittal said.
While Mittal’s order draws attention to ban on SIMI having been extended without the government producing sufficient evidence to justify the same, this is further supported by comments made by several politicians. “We welcome the decision of the tribunal. If you want to ban SIMI, then first ban Shiv Sena and Durga Bahini,” Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav said.
“It is wrong to ban SIMI. During my tenure as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, there were no incidences involving SIMI in the state,” Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Mulayam Singh Yadav said.
Supporting RJD and SP’s demand for ban of Hindu-extremist party Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Congress spokesman Shakeel Ahmad said: “The RSS has been banned three times in the past and I do not think the demand to ban it again is unjustified.” Ahmad, who is also minister of state for home, clarified that he was speaking on behalf of his party and not the government. On tribunal’s order lifting the ban on SIMI, Ahmad said: “The order should not be seen as a setback to efforts of UPA (United Progressive Alliance) government’s fight against terror. Wherever terrorist attacks have taken place in the recent past –Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat– it is the state governments, which are investigating the matter. It is their responsibility to submit the evidence against SIMI to the central government.”
As expected, strongly opposing tribunal’s order on lifting ban on SIMI, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said: “UPA has been incompetent in defending the ban on SIMI. This reflects the real face of the government and its soft attitude towards terrorism.”
If Russia goes through with the sale of its most advanced anti-aircraft missile system to Iran, Israel will use an electronic warfare device now under development to neutralize it and as a result present Russia as vulnerable to air infiltrations, a top defense official has told The Jerusalem Post.
The Russian system, called the S-300, is one of the most advanced multi-target anti-aircraft-missile systems in the world today and has a reported ability to track up to 100 targets simultaneously while engaging up to 12 at the same time. It has a range of about 200 kilometers and can hit targets at altitudes of 27,000 meters.
While Russia has denied that it sold the system to Iran, Teheran claimed last year that Moscow was preparing to equip the Islamic Republic with S-300 systems. Iran already has TOR-M1 surface-to-air missiles from Russia.
Mixed media reports have emerged recently regarding the possible delivery of the system to Iran. Two weeks ago Reuters quoted a senior Israeli official who said the system would be delivered to Iran by the end of the year. In response, the Pentagon released a statement rejecting the assessment and saying that the US did not believe Iran would get it in 2008.
According to the Israeli defense official who spoke to the Post, “no one really knows yet if and when Iran will get the system.”
A top IAF officer also said this week that Israel needed to do “everything possible” to prevent the S-300 from reaching the region.
“Russia will have to think real hard before delivering this system to Iran, which is possibly on the brink of conflict with either Israel or the US, since if the system is delivered, an EW [electronic warfare] system will likely be developed to neutralize it, and if that happens it would be catastrophic not only for Iran but also for Russia,” the defense official said.
Neutralization of one of the main components of Russian air defense would be a blow to Russian national security as well as to defense exports. “No country will want to buy the system if it is proven to be ineffective,” the official said. “For these reasons, Russia may not deliver it in the end to Iran.”
Also on Thursday, Defense Minister Ehud Barak told an Italian paper that a nuclear Iran would be “dangerous to world order.”
Barak emphasized that all options for dealing with threat of a nuclear Teheran were “open and ready,” and stressed the importance of “strengthening and accelerating economic sanctions against Iran.”
“Either way, we need to keep every option open. If they provoke us, or they attack us, our army is prepared to attack and to succeed uncompromisingly,” he asserted in an interview with the daily Corriere della Sera . “It’s up to us to find the best way to get the best result with minimum damage,” Barak added.
“Iran confirmed its message when it stood against the whole world: to deceive and to reject. Their aim is to obtain an atomic bomb,” he continued.
The defense minister also spoke of the results of the Second Lebanon War, telling the Italian paper, “Two years ago, we saw the price that’s paid for a lack of an experienced leadership. Nevertheless, today we’re equipped with a good understanding to prevent this from happening again.”
He added that UN Security Council Resolution 1701 that brought an end to the war was inefficient since Hizbullah, Syria and Iran were doing what they wanted in Lebanon.
Citing an obscure law decreed in 1939, while under British occupation, the Israeli government this week banned the import of popular English-language storybooks, republished in Arabic, from printers located in Lebanon and Syria. The main titles that have been banned include the world famous Harry Potter series and Pinocchio, although other classic literary titles have also been banned.
According to Israeli authorities, the ambiguous law prohibits the import of books from countries that are at war with Israel. The main importer of the books from Lebanon and Syria is an Arab-Israeli publisher named Salah Abassi. In a recent radio interview, Abassi revealed that he was warned by the Israeli government to stop importing the books from his supplier in Jordan, however he continued to import books up until the ban was put into place. The revival of the decades old law is a political tool in Israel’s vast arsenal to punish both Lebanon and Syria who have been thorns in Israel’s side for years. However, the real losers will be Israeli-Arabs who can no longer enjoy reading the cult-followed Potter books in their own language.
Harry Potter is immensely popular in the Middle East even though many Islamic countries have discouraged readership while refraining from banning the books altogether. The reason for the distaste with the series is the strong themes of magic in the books. There is even an Arabic fan website for Potter enthusiasts located online at www.ar-hp.com.
This is not the first time that Harry Potter has gotten into trouble in Israel. Last year, Israeli rabbis were upset over the worldwide launch of JK Rowling’s final installment of the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows. The launch was synchronized across the time zones of several nations so that it would occur at precisely the same moment worldwide. Unfortunately, the launch fell on the Sabbath in Israel, which forbids businesses to open during their day of rest. Israeli authorities from the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Employment insisted that all bookstores delay the launch until after the Sabbath. However, the majority of Israeli business owners ignored the request and the launch went ahead as planned. As a result, many were forced to pay hefty fines, but the profits from the sales of the new Potter book clearly overshadowed the marginal fee.
It is unlikely that Arab-Israeli publishers will be able to ignore the latest ban on Harry Potter as well as other books that have been reprinted in Lebanon and Syria.
Nevertheless, Harry Potter books have sold well over 325 million copies worldwide and sales are still going strong.
This latest Israeli ban is not likely to dim JK Rowling’s magic.
Justice Navanethem Pillay, High Commissioner Dr. Kyung-wha Kang, Deputy High Commissioner Ms. Gay McDougall, Independent Expert on minority issues
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights; United Nations; Palais des Nations; CH-1211 Geneva 10; Switzerland
Subject: Humanitarian Crisis in Jammu and Kashmir
August 12, 2008
Dear Justice Pillay, Dr. Kang, Ms. McDougall:
Kashmiri women cry during the funeral of two people shot dead by police in Srinagar August 13, 2008. Police killed at least 13 people in Indian Kashmir on Tuesday as Muslims protested an economic blockade by Hindus over a land row began to morph into independence calls, officials said. Violence swept up the neighbouring Hindu-dominated Jammu region as well, where two people were killed and several injured when thousands of Hindu and Muslim protesters clashed with each other and with police.
REUTERS/Danish Ismail.
We write to bring to your attention the profound humanitarian crisis continuing in the Kashmir Valley due to the ongoing blockade of the Srinagar-Jammu highway by religious nationalist groups from India.
This has resulted in severe shortages in the Kashmir Valley of food and other vital provisions. We are reliably informed that petrol and essential medical rations, including blood, are in critically short supply, as well as newsprint, and that communication services and infrastructure are severely disrupted.
The situation in Jammu, where the Muslim minority is facing violence on a scale that can be described as ethnic cleansing, is alarming. The Government of India and the military and paramilitary forces have shown themselves unable and/or unwilling to take any effective action, either to end the blockade or to stop the violence against Muslims in Jammu. Meanwhile, military and paramilitary forces have opened fire on counter-demonstrators in Kashmir, using live20bullets and mortar. A communiqué from the Kashmir Valley states that:
“The situation here on ground is that essential commodities have started getting dried up, diesel is already out of stock and petrol at its verge of end. The people here are very much concerned as if the same continues for next few days there will be nothing left to eat with the people of Kashmir. And on the other side the Army is supporting the mobs who have allegedly beaten up the drivers stranded on the national highway. The drivers who were beaten up reported that they asked Army to help them but all went in despair and the Army people in return handed them over to the mobs. The target is only the Kashmiri Muslims and some sources from Jammu say that it is the outsiders who have come to Jammu and are doing such attacks on the Muslims and it is quite evident that the Hindu fundamentalist groups viz. BJP, RSS VHP, etc., are all sponsoring the planned attacks onto the Kashmiris like it was done in Gujarat. Here in Kashmir we feel the history seems to be being repeated by the Hindu fundamentalists who had earlier in 1947 killed about 250,000 Muslims in Jammu.”
On August 11, 2008, approximately 100,000 Kashmiris, including fruit growers and others gravely affected by the blockade, marched toward the Line of Control toward Pakistan markets in protest. They were met with gunfire and tear gas from the military and paramilitary forces, and Sheik Abdul Aziz, an All Parties Hurriyat Conference leader, was shot dead, inten sifying the situation. Police reports stated that three others were killed and over 200 injured, enervating health systems already low on supplies. Other sources we contacted stated that as many as 18 others may have been killed in Kashmir on August 11. By early evening of August 12, as we write you, reports stated that as many as twelve persons were killed in Kashmir on that day as armed forces fired on demonstrators. Other reports stated that civil society groups, students, and labor unions participating in non-violent civil disobedience and peaceful protests are being targeted by the forces, as curfew conditions prevail.
The Srinagar-Jammu highway is the only land route linking the Kashmir Valley to India and the sole conduit for essential supplies as well as for exporting horticultural goods, which are among the Valley’s chief products. News updates on the state of the blockade and situation can be found from leading Kashmiri newspapers, which are online at www.greaterkashmir.com; www.kashmirtimes.com; www.risingkashmir.com; www.etalaat.com/english/.
About 95-97 percent of the population of the Valley is Muslim, while Muslims are a minority in India. This has made Kashmir the target of increasingly aggressive campaigns by Hindu nationalist groups since 1947, despite guarantees of autonomy written into the Indian Constitution. The Government of India has failed to take measures to prevent these campaigns, consisting of marches and demonstrations, and culminating in the current blockade. Since 1989 there has been an armed pro-independence struggle in Kashmir, together with other and non-violent movements for self-determination. Indian counterinsurgency operations have resulted in grave abuses of human rights with social, economic, psychological, political, and environmental consequences, which meet the definition under international law of crimes against humanity. To a population suffering the effects of nineteen years of armed conflict, the economic crisis caused by the blockade comes as the last straw.
We urge that you respond expeditiously to this situation in accordance with the mandate to uphold human rights as enshrined in the charter of the United Nations.
Recommendations:
1. The Government of India should immediately end the economic blockade and ensure that goods and services, including emergency medical and food supplies, can move in both directions along the Srinagar-Jammu border.
2. The Government of India should open the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road, a promise repeatedly reiterated by successive governments of India and Pakistan, though never implemented. This would ensure that the current crisis situation is not repeated as well as mark a concrete step forward in addressing injustices and the peace process.
3. Take immediate action to stop the violence against the Muslim minority in Jammu and bring those responsible to justice.
4. Put an end to ongoing human rights abuses by Indian forces and pro-India militias as repeatedly promised by the Indian Prime Minister and expected of democratic governments.
5. Take steps for a long-term resolution of the conflict by beginning talks with all sections of the Kashmiri leadership and civil society.
6. Take steps to hold the Indian state accountable under the provisions established by the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir, Constitution of India, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and International Laws and Conventions.
We, the undersigned, are academics, social activists, writers, filmmakers, artists, lawyers, and concerned citizens. Our work and conscience connects us to Kashmir and its people. We hold no political affiliations. Please do not hesitate to contact us if we may be of further use.
Contact persons:
Dr. Angana Chatterji, Associate Professor, Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology, California Institute of Integral Studies, Office: 001-415.575.6119, Mobile: 001-415.640.4013, E-mail: achatterji@ciis.edu.
Dr. Haley Duschinski, Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Ohio University, Office: 001-740.593.0823, E-mail: duschins@ohio.edu. Dr. Shubh Mathur, Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of History, Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, Office: 001-347.404.2238, E-mail: Shubh.Mathur@stockton.edu.
Yours Sincerely,
Signed [Institutional information noted for affiliation purposes only]:
Dr. Angana Chatterji, Associate Professor, Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology, California Institute of Integral Studies, San Francisco Dr. Haley Duschinski, Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Ohio University Dr. Shubh Mathur, Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of History, Richard Stockton College of New Jersey Dr. Paola Bacchetta, Associate Professor, Department of Gender and Women’s Studies, and Director, Beatrice Bain Research Group, University of California, Berkeley Dr. Srimati Basu, Associate Professor, Department of Gender and Women’s Studies (and Anthropology), University of Kentucky Medea Benjamin, Cofounder, Global Exchange, San Francisco, and CODEPINK Dr. Purnima Bose, Associate Professor, Department of English, Indiana University Dr. Jeff Brody, Professor, College of Communications, California State University Fullerton Adem Carroll, Chair, Muslim Consultative Network, New York Disaster Interfaith Services Dr. Lubna Nazir Chaudhry, Assistant Professor, School of Education and Human Development, State University of New York, Binghamton Huma Dar, Doctoral student, Department of South and South East Asian Studies, University of California, Berkeley Dr. Geraldine Forbes, Distinguished Teaching Professor, Department of History, State University of New York Oswego Dr. Sidney L. Greenblatt, President, Central New York Fulbright Association Dr. Sondra Hale, Professor, Department of Anthropology and Women’s Studies, University of California, Los Angeles Dr. Lamia Karim, Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of Oregon-Eugene Professor Ali Kazimi, Department of Film, Faculty of Fine Arts, York University Dr. Omar Khalidi, Aga Khan Program, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Rafique A. Khan, Community Development Planner, CRA, City of Los Angeles Tasneem F. Khan, Kashmir Relief, Los Angeles Dr. Amitava Kumar, Writer and Professor, Department of English, Vas sar College Rabbi Michael Lerner, Chair, The Network of Spiritual Progressives, Berkeley Barbara Lubin, Executive Director, Middle East Children’s Alliance, Berkeley Dr. Sunaina Maira, Associate Professor, Department of Asian American Studies, University of California, Davis Dr. Lise McKean, Senior Research Specialist, Learning Sciences Research Institute, University of Illinois at Chicago Dr. Abdul R. JanMohamed, Professor, Department of English, University California, Berkeley Dr. Swapna Mukhopadhyay, Associate Professor, Graduate School of Education, Portland State University Dr. Richa Nagar, Professor, Department of Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies, University of Minnesota Dr. Vijaya Nagarajan, Associate Professor, Department of Theology and Religious Studies, University of San Francisco Annie Paradise, Doctoral student, Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology, California Institute of Integral Studies, San Francisco Dr. David Naguib Pellow, Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Minnesota Faisal Qadri, Human Rights Law Network Dr. Mridu Rai, Associate Professor, Department of History and Whitney and Betty MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies, Yale University Dr. Cabeiri Robinson, Assistant Professor, International Studies & South Asian Studies, Jackson School of International Studies, University of Washington, Seattle Dr. Sabina Sawhney, Associate Professor, Department of English, Hofstra University Dr. Simona Sawhney, Associate Professor, Department of Asian Languages and Literatures, University of Minnesota Dr. Kalpana Rahit a Seshadri, Associate Professor, Department of English, Boston College Professor Richard Shapiro, Chair, Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology, California Institute of Integral Studies, San Francisco Murtaza Shibli, Editor, Kashmir Affairs, London Dr. Magid Shihade, Visiting Scholar, Middle East/South Asia Studies, University of California, Davis Snehal Shingavi, Doctoral student, Department of English, University of California, Berkeley Dr. Ajay Skaria, Associate Professor, Department of History and Institute of Global Studies, University of Minnesota Dr. Nancy Snow, Associate Professor, S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, Syracuse University Dr. Rachel Sturman, Assistant Professor, Department of History & Asian Studies, Bowdoin College Dr. Fouzieyha Towghi, Visiting Professor, Department of Ethnic Studies, University of California, Berkeley Sandeep Vaidya, India Solidarity Group (Ireland) Saiba Varma, Doctoral student, Department of Anthropology, Cornell University Feroz Ahmed Wani, Social activist David Wolfe, Human security and conflict resolution specialist Pei Wu, Doctoral student, Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology, California Institute of Integral Studies, San Francisco Cc: Ms. Helene Flautre, Member, European Parliament Chair of the European Parliament’s Sub-committee on Human Rights Mr. Geoffrey Harris Head of Human Rights Unit, European Parliament Ambassador Richard A. Boucher, Assistant Secretary Timothy Fitzgibbons, India Desk Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs United States Department of State Mr. David J. Kramer Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor United States Department of State Ms. Felice D. Gaer, Chair, United States Commission on International Religious Freedom.
(10) “O you who believe. Shall I lead you to a bargain that will save you from a painful punishment? 11) That you believe in ALLAH and His Messenger, and that you strive in the cause of ALLAH with your property and your persons: that will be best for you, if you but knew. 12) He will forgive you your sins, and admit you to gardens beneath which rivers flow, and to beautiful mansions in Gardens of Eternity: That is the supreme achievement.
When we speak of “bargaining” with ALLAH, we of course, know and understand that we are only slaves before God and cannot by any stretch of the imagination compel Him to give us anything in exchange for anything else; rather we can use our property and our selves in a way designed to benefit from the promises He has made to us. Then, and only then, will we be winners.
What do we have to bargain with? We are to use our human minds, our human heart, our personal desires, even our personal duties to ourselves and our families, in the way ALLAH has instructed us to do. Everything we possess is to be used with that one intention in mind – to please ALLAH. He says in Qur`an that the only purpose we were created in the first place is to worship Him.
Does this mean that ALLAH is so egotistical or in need of adulation that He would intentionally create a man to praise Him? No indeed! ALLAH is far above any need of us. What it does mean is that ALLAH loves us so much that He has made it easy for us to get His greatest gift to us – the promise of eternal life in Jannah. I say He makes it easy for us because ALLAH is so Merciful that we must really work hard to get into hell.
ALLAH says if you have thoughts of doing a bad deed, and don’t do it, He will give you credit for having done one good deed – because you actually have done good. You have consciously restrained yourself and chosen to do what is right. He further says that if you have intention to do a good deed and actually do it, He will give you credit for having done 10 good deeds. ALLAH is giving you the opportunity to build up a good arsenal of credits for Jannah simply by intending and doing good deeds.
Then ALLAH shows His Benevolence and Mercy by saying that if we think to do a bad deed, and actually do it, He will only apply the chastisement of one bad deed to our record. So intelligent Muslims strive to build up the good deeds because you don’t know how many you will need to earn your way to eternal peace.
Isn’t it wonderful that ALLAH can bargain with you and, at the same time, give you the tools to win? Who else do you know that would do that?
So when you pick your bargaining partners make certain you pick the One who has guaranteed you to win.
We already know what Satan has promised if you bargain with him.
Prostitution, from Moses (as) through Muhammad (s), received severe punishment. The Bible has 100 references to whoredom. Some of the most highly regarded prophets such as Ezekiel, Isaiah, and Jeremiah rebuked the people for degeneracy into whoredom.
Depending upon the translation of various religious texts, terms such as fornication, harlotry, adultery, and whoredom tend to be used interchangeably, but the intent is clear, sex is to be limited to the spouse.
Why this scriptural concern for chaste and virtuous single women, and loyal wives? Why do most cultures throughout the world hold marital fidelity in high esteem and harlotry in low esteem? Why do the males of many species of mammals choose to mate with the least promiscuous females?
These questions can be answered when the purpose of universal and human existence becomes understood. Universal activity consists of the propagation and preservation of the species. Mating rituals and customs reflect the objective of propagating and preserving the species. Males seek to mate with chaste females who exhibit the characteristics that would lead to nurturing motherhood. Females seek to mate with the males who would most likely provide them with a secure environment in which to bring forth life and nurture it.
Whenever a society forgets its primary objective and instead lives a life of self-indulgence, male authority and morals decline, and whoredom flourishes. From Sodom and Gomorrah, through Israel at the time of its conquest by the Babylonians, through Ancient Greece and Rome, until the present time, there has never been a society that survived whoredom. Ever!
For the purpose of survival societies and religions tend to suppress sexual promiscuousness and promote chastity and marital fidelity. Most species of animals do it instinctively. The propagation and preservation of the species is a serious undertaking; life literally depends upon it. The training and activity of all peoples has always been based upon their contribution to the survival of the family unit.
In Western society many consider the family to be an obsolete form of societal structure. Education has become vocational in nature and bears no relationship to preparing youth for the propagation and preservation of the species. A race consciousness does not exist; it has been supplanted by a ME consciousness.
Westernized governments and atheistic groups expend considerable effort in eliminating the authority of the male and weakening the family structure. Sura 8:36 explained this process clearly and succinctly in the words, “The unbelievers expend their riches in debarring others form the path of God.”
Indeed, at every turn we see efforts expended to destroy the natural relationship of men and women and reduce them to automaton workers and insatiable consumers. College campuses serve as spawning grounds for all sorts of influences that denigrate the feminine characteristics that served to nurture humankind through the ages. Grade schools teach alternative sexual lifestyles and how to do it. Educational institutions in the aggregate provide training facilities for whoredom and sexual debauchery.
All that we see happening in the world today has been prophesized. As Solomon said, “There is nothing new under the Sun.” Truth always remains truth; it never becomes ancient or modern. The truth is that whoredom destroys society. Those men who understand the truth and do nothing will be held accountable.
Elder George’s website is www.mensaction.net and he can be reached at 212-874-7900 ext. 1329.
Of the Axis-of-Evil nations named in his State of the Union in 2002, President Bush has often said, “The United States will not permit the world’s most dangerous regimes to threaten us with the world’s most destructive weapons.”
He failed with North Korea. Will he accept failure in Iran, though there is no hard evidence Iran has an active nuclear weapons program?
William Kristol of The Weekly Standard said Sunday a U.S. attack on Iran after the election is more likely should Barack Obama win. Presumably, Bush would trust John McCain to keep Iran nuclear free.
Yet, to start a third war in the Middle East against a nation three times as large as Iraq, and leave it to a new president to fight, would be a daylight hijacking of the congressional war power and a criminally irresponsible act. For Congress alone has the power to authorize war.
Yet Israel is even today pushing Bush into a pre-emptive war with a naked threat to attack Iran itself should Bush refuse the cup.
In April, Israel held a five-day civil defense drill. In June, Israel sent 100 F-15s and F-16s, with refueling tankers and helicopters to pick up downed pilots, toward Greece in a simulated attack, a dress rehearsal for war. The planes flew 1,400 kilometers, the distance to Iran’s uranium enrichment facility at Natanz.
Ehud Olmert came home from a June meeting with Bush to tell Israelis: “We reached agreement on the need to take care of the Iranian threat. … I left with a lot less question marks regarding the means, the timetable restrictions and American resoluteness. …
“George Bush understands the severity of the Iranian threat and the need to vanquish it, and intends to act on the matter before the end of his term. … The Iranian problem requires urgent attention, and I see no reason to delay this just because there will be a new president in the White House seven and a half months from now.”
If Bush is discussing war on Iran with Ehud Olmert, why is he not discussing it with Congress or the nation?
On June 6, Deputy Prime Minister Shaul Mofaz threatened, “If Iran continues its nuclear weapons program, we will attack it.” The price of oil shot up 9 percent. Is Israel bluffing – or planning to attack Iran if America balks?
Previous air strikes on the PLO command in Tunis, on the Osirak reactor in Iraq and on the presumed nuclear reactor site in Syria last September give Israel a high degree of credibility.
Still, attacking Iran would be no piece of cake.
Israel lacks the stealth and cruise-missile capacity to degrade Iran’s air defenses systematically and no longer has the element of surprise. Israeli planes and pilots would likely be lost.
Israel also lacks the ability to stay over the target or conduct follow-up strikes. The U.S. Air Force bombed Iraq for five weeks with hundreds of daily runs in 1991 before Gen. Schwarzkopf moved.
Moreover, if Iran has achieved the capacity to enrich uranium, she has surely moved centrifuges to parts of the country that Israel cannot reach – and can probably replicate anything lost.
Israel would also have to over-fly Turkey, or Syria and U.S.-occupied Iraq, or Saudi Arabia to reach Natanz. Turks, Syrians and Saudis would deny Israel permission and might resist. For the U.S. military to let Israel over-fly Iraq would make us an accomplice. How would that sit with the Europeans who are supporting our sanctions on Iran and want the nuclear issue settled diplomatically?
And who can predict with certitude how Iran would respond?
Would Iran attack Israel with rockets, inviting retaliation with Jericho and cruise missiles from Israeli submarines? Would she close the Gulf with suicide-boat attacks on tankers and U.S. warships?
With oil at $135 a barrel, Israeli air strikes on Iran would seem to ensure a 2,000-point drop in the Dow and a world recession.
What would Hamas, Hezbollah and Syria do? All three are now in indirect negotiations with Israel. U.S. forces in Afghanistan and Iraq could be made by Iran to pay a high price in blood that could force the United States to initiate its own air war in retaliation, and to finish a war Israel had begun. But a U.S. war on Iran is not a decision Bush can outsource to Ehud Olmert.
Tuesday, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Adm. Michael Mullins left for Israel. CBS News cited U.S. officials as conceding the trip comes “just as the Israelis are mounting a full court press to get the Bush administration to strike Iran’s nuclear complex.”
Vice President Cheney is said to favor U.S. strikes. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Mullins are said to be opposed.
Moving through Congress, powered by the Israeli lobby, is House Resolution 362, which demands that President Bush impose a U.S. blockade of Iran, an act of war.
Is it not time the American people were consulted on the next war that is being planned for us?
June 27, 2008
Patrick J. Buchanan is co-founder and editor of The American Conservative. He is also the author of seven books, including Where the Right Went Wrong, and A Republic Not An Empire. His latest book is Churchill, Hitler, and the Unnecessary War.
For investors who have interpreted the U. S economic and financial situation as I have for the past few years, these are trying times. We have loaded our portfolios with inflation hedges like oil and gold shares, and that has been a wonderful strategy over time. Until now! So what do we do now that we’ve hit this bump in the road?
For me, this is a fairly easy call to make, though much harder to implement. Regular readers of this column may remember an article from a few weeks back when I mentioned that reducing exposure to energy-related holdings looked like a smart play. But doing it was harder than simply writing about it.
And now, with seeing the price of oil and natural gas in a free-fall and having held most of those positions, I am having second thoughts. The falling price of gold brings similar reservations. Yes, I agonized over these holdings for about .oh, 10 minutes. Then I was over it and back on plan.
What I am actually saying is: “There is less to worry about than you might think!” Sure, losing some money and seeing your best performers drop in price can be disheartening. But the last thing we should do is abandon our long-term plan because of the market’s short-term movements.
What I have preached in this space for as long as I have been filling it is the need for an investor’s adherence to long-term trends: staying with those wonderful 15-to-20-year bull cycles that are the stuff of our fondest dreams. Catching just one of them and riding it out for most of its duration is what we need to help ensure that our financial goals and dreams will be realized. But no one, including this writer, has said that doing that would be easy!
And because it’s not easy is why so few investors achieve, over time, performance that matches their expectations. Just because one asset class or another enjoys a wonderful, long-term bull cycle does not mean that a lot of investors will enjoy the full ride higher. To the contrary, most investors still find ways to lose money during bull markets, or, at best, earn meager rates of return.
Those long-term bull markets are the stuff of wonder, a gift from above, but they are never easy to endure. Occasional corrections, our “bumps in the road,” will spook many so-called ‘’weak hands’’ from their best holdings — at the worst possible times. Such is the time we’re enduring right now — with our holdings in energy and precious metals.
It is important to note here and now that what we are seeing is almost certainly a correction in those secular bull markets. We can be relatively sure of that by first establishing that they are indeed experiencing secular bull markets. We can know that with a high degree of certainty just by reviewing the positive performance of energy and precious metals shares for the duration of this decade — while the domestic stock market has gone nowhere.
We can be somewhat assured,too, by remembering that both market categories were laggards during the later stages of the secular bull market for stocks during the late 1990s. Seeing an asset class that endured a 20-year bear market, as gold and silver did at that time, followed by its recent strong out-performance, such as we’ve seen over the ensuing eight years, provides a reliable, positive sign to me.
I’m reminded of the stock market crash of 1987, where the major averages lost over 20% of their value in a matter of hours, but the longer-term trend upward was still intact. The power of the underlying trend was sufficient to offset the short-term pounding taken during that brief snapshot in time.
At that time, underlying fundamentals were still favorable, valuations were reasonable and economic conditions were strong enough to support rising corporate earnings. Today, I believe the underlying fundamentals for energy and precious metals are as good as they have ever been.
As for energy, I believe the supply-and-demand equation suggests that higher prices in future years will be a given, at least for as much as we can include any measure of certainty when talking about risky-asset investing. Rising living standards around the world, especially in energy producing countries, is offset by how few new supplies have been discovered over the past few decades. Doesn’t that point alone argue forcefully in favor of higher demand in excess of anyone’s ability to add supply at the same rate?
As for precious metals like gold, can there possibly be a better case made for its outlook with today’s higher prices? The simple fact, undeniable as it is, is that this country is drowning in debt at all levels. And no where is the debt more dire than in the public sector where, by any rational measure, our government is bankrupt. There can be no doubt, after adding up the national debt with those massive unfunded liabilities for Social Security and Medicare, that the result is a stunning shortfall. And that shortfall can never be paid as promised without even more massive money printing.
The Federal Reserve is already proving that it will print money at alarming rates and, thereby, continue to fuel rapid inflation around the world. So what reaction should we expect when the U.S. faces massive funding needs — far in excess of our ability to raise the needed funds via taxation?
Adding power to the argument for the long-term trend for gold is that parts of the world, notably Asia and the Middle East, are becoming richer due to strong, lasting export activity. Consumers in those countries have a natural attraction for stores of value that have maintained their status for thousands of years.
Corrections in bull markets are always painful, though investors who have been involved in these affected sectors for the better part of this decade are still looking at big gains, even after recent price declines. Important to consider is that while the prices of gold and oil have fallen, their longer term value has not. U.S. energy-producing companies are enjoying record-setting profits while their shares languish with, in many cases, single-digit earnings multiples.
I believe that at some point in the future, maybe in the next 12 to 18 months, many investors will be asking themselves why they didn’t load up on shares in the energy and precious metals sectors during this bump in the road. Today’s prices may well look like great opportunities — with the benefit of hindsight.
Remember how you feel about jumping into the areas of energy and metals today, and use it as a learning tool. To me, when everyone loves this or that sector, country or individual stock, little profit is left to be had. We need to look at the opportunities that most others simply won’t go near — based on recent price movements. How else can we find opportunities to buy at low prices — if not with overall investor revulsion, apathy or ignorance?
Have a great week. Bob
Bob Wood ChFC, CLU Yusuf Kadiwala. Registered Investment Advisors, KMA, Inc., invest@muslimobserver.com.
Bloomfield Hills–August 8–The question educating new Muslims about Islam is the one most often neglected by Muslim communities in the United States.
Other nations have training centers designed to teach Muslims the fundamentals of the religion, but in America new Muslims are largely left to their own devices, which can lead to severe misunderstandings, extremism, and other problems, not to mention that new Muslims may make severe mistakes that harm their afterlife because of ignorance.
The response to this problem has been scattershot, but a good example of a program to build the religious knowledge of new Muslims is the one at the Bloomfield Unity Center, conducted by Imam Moosa and Imam Jihad.
In total perhaps only 25 people attended the pair of lectures given last Friday, but they made up in quality for what they lacked in quantity. The first of the lectures was on the subject of new Muslims, and the second hosted by Imam Moosa was on the subject of babies in Islam.
In the first lecture, Imam Moosa explained to a small circular group composed mostly of new Muslims the fundamentals and some inkling of the spiritual side of the practice of Islam, saying “Prayer increases the mercy in your heart.”
He counted and emphasized the number of times a Muslim says the word “Rahma” in a prayer, twice in each recitation of Surat Fatiha and again in the tahiyyat while sitting, and again during the salaams at the end of prayer. He explained that prayer brings mercy and blessings.
“Rahma in Arabic it is not mercy only, it is mercy and blessings,” he explained.
Peace, also, is a word that is repeated many times in the prayer, and he mentioned that it is recommended after the prayer to say “Allahumma Antas Salaam wa minka Salaam wa ilayka ya’udus Salaam,” invoking God through His Attribute of Peace many times.
“The words carry great meaning; it increases mercy in our hearts and peace in our hearts, then we distribute it in the world,” he said.
He gave very good instructions based on fiqh–answers to basic questions about how to pray and maintain the practices of Islam. The class is useful for new Muslims or anyone who wants to make sure his/her basic practices are correct.
August 9, 2008–Dead civilians in South Ossetia. But you will not hear much about it on CNN or Faux News. Because they are too busy reporting ad nauseam about the extramarital shenanigans of CFR darling John Edwards.
In order to find out what’s really going on in Georgia, you have to read the international press on the internet. Bush, McCain, and Obama may cast blame on Russia, but reading the international press you get a different perspective.
Chechen special forces soldiers from Vostok (East) army unit sit atop of an APC (armoured personnel carrier) as they move toward the South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali, at the South Ossetian settlement Dzhava, August 9, 2008.
REUTERS/Denis Sinyakov
Gori
Soldiers from the Ukraine, the United States, Georgia and Azerbaijan partake in “Peace Shield 2005” on the Crimean peninsula in southern Ukraine.
Russia accuses U.S. of orchestrating conflict
“Russian officials believe that it was the USA that orchestrated the current conflict. The chairman of the State Duma Committee for Security, Vladimir Vasilyev, believes that the current conflict is South Ossetia is very reminiscent to the wars in Iraq and Kosovo,” reports Pravda, the Russian newspaper.
Recall the CIA admitting it “helped to train the Kosovo Liberation Army before Nato’s bombing of Yugoslavia,” according to The Sunday Times. The KLA is a perfect outfit for the CIA. “Known for its extensive links to Albanian and European crime syndicates, the KLA was supported from the outset in the mid-1990s by the CIA and Germany’s intelligence agency, the Bundes Nachrichten Dienst (BND). In the course of the 1999 war, the KLA was supported directly by NATO,” writes Michel Chossudovsky. “The KLA had extensive links to Al Qaeda, which was also involved in military training. Mujahideen mercenaries from a number of countries integrated the ranks of the KLA, which was involved in terrorist activities as well as political assassinations.” Of course, “links to Al Qaeda” translate into links to the CIA.
“The things that were happening in Kosovo, the things that were happening in Iraq – we are now following the same path. The further the situation unfolds, the more the world will understand that Georgia would never be able to do all this without America. South Ossetian defense officials used to make statements about imminent aggression from Georgia, but the latter denied everything, whereas the US Department of State released no comments on the matter. In essence, they have prepared the force, which destroys everything in South Ossetia, attacks civilians and hospitals. They are responsible for this. The world community will learn about it,” Vasilyev told Pravda.
Indeed, the world will learn about it, but not by way of America’s corporate media, more interested in the entirely meaningless baby-making of Clay Aiken and Jaymes Foster. Bread and circuses shall suffice in America.
U.S. loads up Georgia with weapons to fight “al-Qaeda”
The Federation of American Scientists website reveals that Georgia is the most recent recipient of U.S. weapons and aid, receiving 10 UH-1H Huey helicopters (four for spare parts only) and $64 million in military aid and training to fight Arab soldiers with alleged ties to Al Qaeda that have been participating in the Chechen war and are now taking refuge in the Pankisi Gorge region in northern Georgia. Like many of the recent aid recipients, claims that Georgia has become an al Qaeda sanctuary are dubious at best.
“The rapid increase in US strategic influence in the Caucasus has alarmed Russian policy planners. Moscow is keen to take steps to shore up its eroding position in the region. However, Russian officials have limited options with which to counter US moves while at the same time maintaining cordial relations with Washington,” Eurasia.net reported on April 8, 2002. “The most prominent US moves in the Caucasus are the decision to dispatch military advisers to Georgia and a March 29 State Department announcement on the lifting of an arms embargo imposed on Armenia and Azerbaijan. Both actions have the potential to tilt the military establishments of all three Caucasus nations away from Russia and towards NATO.”
Imagine Canada decided to enter a military and diplomatic alliance with Russia and Canada began arming itself to the teeth with Russian weapons and training with Russian military advisers. Can you guess what the reaction of Bush and the neocons would be?
It doesn’t take much imagination.
Rose revolution
The Rose Revolution was not a simple uprising but was aided by the CIA and Ambassador Richard Miles
CIA engineered Georgia’s Rose Revolution
Of course, this al-Qaeda presence is not so dubious when one considers the well documented fact the supposed Islamic terror group is a CIA contrivance. As well, this absurd concern for al-Qaeda’s presence under Georgian beds helped make possible Georgia’s so-called Rose Revolution. “The Rose Revolution was not a simple uprising but was aided by the CIA and Ambassador Richard Miles (think Serbia). From early 2002 onwards the CIA had been operating in Georgia, supposedly to combat Al Qaeda,” explains researcher James Schneider.
It appears the CIA has worked behind the scenes for quite a while in Georgia. Back in 1993, for instance, CIA agent Fred Woodruff was assassinated by unknown assailants outside of Tbilisi. “Spokesmen for the State Department and the C.I.A. declined to confirm that Mr. Woodruff was working for the intelligence agency. But high-ranking Administration officials said he was, adding that he was not spying on Georgian officials but was training Mr. [Eduard] Shevardnadze’s security forces,” the New York Times reported at the time. So tight was the CIA with the former president of Georgia, they engineered the “bloodless” Rose Revolution and pitched him out on his ear.
In the wake of Georgia’s much vaunted — by the U.S. corporate media — “revolution,” the installed government of autocrat Mikheil Saakashvilli wasted little time imposing “democracy” neocon-style, resulting in violent suppression of opposition political rallies. “Georgia was rocked by opposition rallies for six days last November as protesters occupied central Tbilisi demanding Saakashvili’s resignation over allegations of corruption and increasing authoritarianism,” reported RIA Novosti. “The Georgian leader responded by sending in riot police to crack down on protesters on November 7. Over 500 people were injured according to Human Rights Watch as police used rubber bullets, tear gas and water cannons to break up the demonstrations.” In addition, Saakashvilli’s goons used “non-lethal” weapons of the sort developed by the Pentagon (see video).
U.S. military holds “exercises” in Georgia immediately prior to conflict
Last month, Aljazeera reported that “a total of around 1,650 soldiers form the US, Georgia and several other East European countries, have begun exercises on the formerly Russian-controlled Vaziani base, the Georgian defense ministry said.”
NowPublic reported on July 17:
US officials insist the long-planned wargames have nothing to do with the recent dispute between Russia and Georgia over the breakaway Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. But they give Washington a chance to support pro-west Tbilisi at a critical time.
If you believe this, I have a bridge for sale.
In fact, these “long-planned wargames” were so important the State Department packed up and shipped off Condi Rice to Georgia. Her arrival was nicely timed to coincide with “a deadly firefight between Georgian troops and separatists in a Russian-backed breakaway region…. Ahead of Rice’s arrival, a senior State Department official who did not want to be identified told reporters that unchecked conflict in the region could lead to catastrophe. The official also said Moscow should realize its Soviet empire is gone.”
Catastrophe, indeed, although Russia’s response to Georgia’s invasion of South Ossetia demonstrated Russia’s resolve to reclaim its supposedly evaporated empire.
Israel gets in on the act
Let’s not forget America’s junior partner in chaos and mass murder, Israel. “In addition to the spy drones, Israel has also been supplying Georgia with infantry weapons and electronics for artillery systems, and has helped upgrade Soviet-designed Su-25 ground attack jets assembled in Georgia, according to Koba Liklikadze, an independent military expert based in Tbilisi. Former Israeli generals also serve as advisers to the Georgian military,” reports the International Herald Tribune.
No wonder the horrific photos emerging from South Ossetia have that Lebanon invasion look about them. Israel has over fifty years of experience in invading small countries and has consistently specialized in murdering and tormenting civilians.
Blind eyes all around
As Lavrov explains it, the “Georgian administration has found the use to its arms, which they have been purchasing during the recent several years… We have repeatedly warned that the international community should not turn a blind eye on massive purchases of offensive arms, in which the Georgian administration has been involved during the recent two years.”
Unfortunately, the international community will likely “turn a blind eye” to the U.S. and Israel arming, training, and obviously orchestrating the current conflict, same as they by and large turned a blind eye to Israel’s criminal invasion of Lebanon back in 2005 and the U.S. invasion and ongoing occupation of Iraq. In regard to the latter, the “international community” — indeed, the whole of the American people — are so disorganized and demoralized they cannot address the simple fact the neocons lied a nation into war. Nixon was bounced for far less.
It looks like Russia will be obliged to deal with Georgia’s treachery on its own. Regrettably, Russia’s response will entail even more murder of innocents and wholesale destruction, as this is how government historically deals with threats – real, imagined, or provocateured.
ICNA Houston Organizing Qur`an Classes Before Ramadan
“Every Saturday and Sunday till September 06-07, 2008, in the morning between 8am. and 11am., the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) Houston Chapter will be arranging a Fast Track Learning Experience of the whole Qur`an, so that as we enter the month of Ramadan around September 01, we have very good understanding of the complete Qur`an. Invite other Muslims to come and experience this. Especially invite those Muslims, who may not have gone through the understanding of the whole Qur`an, like the New Revert Muslims and/or USA-Born Muslims”: These were the words of Haseeb Abdali, President of ICNA-Houston, as he welcomed the participants to the first class of Dora-e-Tafseer-e-Qur`an (Fast Track Learning of the Whole Qur`an) at the Islamic Society of Greater Houston (ISGH) Mission Bend Masjid Hamza located at 6233 Tres Lagunas; Houston; Texas 77083.
Renowned Dr. Mazhar Kazi and Sheikh Omar Suleiman of Louisiana are the main presenters for this program, which will be held between 8am. and 11am. on Saturdays-Sundays on August 02-03, August 09-10, August 16-17, August 23-24, August 30-31 and September 06-07, 2008.
Women and families are most welcome to attend these Mission Bend Masjid classes. Special classes for Women-Only are also being organized. For more information, one can call Haseeb Abdali at 713-261-4512.
Temple Foundation
Temple Foundation Creates Challenge Grant to Establish First U.S. Chair in Pakistan Studies at The University of Texas: Charlie Wilson Chair in Pakistan Studies will Expand Research & Relationships
The T.L.L. Temple Foundation of Lufkin, Texas, has created a challenge grant of $500,000 for the College of Liberal Arts at The University of Texas at Austin to expand Pakistan scholarship and relationships. “We are pleased not only to honor Congressman Wilson, but also to further the study of a country of Pakistan’s stature and geopolitical importance,” said Randy Diehl, Dean of the College of Liberal Arts.
To establish the only faculty Chair in America focused on the study of Pakistan, the Charlie Wilson Chair of Pakistan Studies, the College of Liberal Arts has committed to matching the Temple Foundation’s contribution with an additional $500,000.
Established in 1960, the University’s South Asian Studies program is a leading South Asia program in the United States. The addition of The Charlie Wilson Chair would allow the South Asia Institute to: Support research on the history, politics, culture, and literature of Pakistan and the Urdu language; Encourage graduate students to expand the boundaries of scholarship on Pakistan, furthering our understanding of the pivotal role the region plays in the United States’ policies and its international standing; Deepen scholars’ and students’ understanding by traveling to Pakistan and participating in academic conferences; and Bring distinguished scholars, policy-makers and other leaders to Texas.
In addition to expanding the academic work in Pakistan Studies, the faculty endowment recognizes the unparalleled contributions of Congressman Wilson to the history of the United States and South Asia.
A strong Texan, who supported Pakistan’s efforts to garner extensive aid for the Afghan fight against Russian Communism, Congressman Wilson serves as an example of true leadership and unfailing vision, the type of deeply human hero who is inspiring and challenging.
Buddy Temple, Chairman of the board of the T.L.L. Temple Foundation—and a fellow Lufkinite — believes that Congressman Wilson’s “leadership exemplifies the very best of Congress, the best of America. Charlie got it done”—for the United States and for Pakistan.
Everyone is being encouraged to generously contribute towards this $500,000 challenge: Stay tuned for events in your area.
For more information, please contact: Kathleen Aronson or LeAnn Gillette, Development UT Austin: 475-232-2431; Tom Slone, Volunteer (Forth Worth): 817-500-5000; Irtiza Hasan, Volunteer (Houston): 713-400-9049; Eric Stumberg, Volunteer (Austin): 512-413-8706.
ERIE, Pa./HONOLULU (Reuters) – U.S. presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama warned Russia on Monday of severe, long-term consequences from its conflict with Georgia.
McCain, a Republican senator from Arizona who has made international issues the centerpiece of his campaign for the November 4 election, offered a lengthy discourse on the crisis in the Caucasus for reporters and cameras.
Obama later made a brief appearance in Hawaii, where he is on a family holiday, to caution Russia that its future ties were at stake.
Georgia is a close ally of the United States and has relied on military aid and training from Washington, which has pushed hard for Georgia to become a member of NATO despite strong opposition from Russia.
McCain said Russia appeared intent on toppling Georgia’s pro-Western government rather than returning to the status quo in South Ossetia, which Tbilisi is trying to keep from breaking away.
He called on U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to travel to Europe “to establish a common Euro-Atlantic position aimed at ending the war and supporting the independence of Georgia.”
“Russian President (Dmitry) Medvedev and Prime Minister (Vladimir) Putin must understand the severe, long-term negative consequences that their government’s actions will have for Russia’s relationship with the U.S. and Europe,” McCain said.
He urged NATO’s North Atlantic Council to convene an emergency session to demand a ceasefire and begin discussions on both the deployment of an international peacekeeping force to South Ossetia and the implications for NATO’s future relationship with Russia.
Obama repeated his call for Russia to withdraw and said its efforts to join the World Trade Organization should be reviewed.
“We should … convene other international forums to condemn this aggression, to call for an immediate halt to the violence, and to review multilateral and bilateral arrangements with Russia — including Russia’s interest in joining the World Trade Organization,” he told reporters.
“The relationship between Russia and the West is long and complicated. There have been many turning points, for good and for ill. This is another turning point.”
August Vacationing
McCain opened his remarks with what might be seen as a subtle dig at Obama for being on holiday.
“Americans wishing to spend August vacationing with their families or watching the Olympics may wonder why their newspapers and television screens are filled with images of war in the small country of Georgia,” he said before launching into a lengthy explanation of Georgia’s recent history.
Both McCain and Obama have said they were in contact with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili.
Obama ratcheted up his criticism of Russia in a written statement from Hawaii on Saturday. On Monday, a statement delivered on the driveway of the beach house he is renting was sharper.
“No matter how this conflict started, Russia has escalated it well beyond the dispute over South Ossetia and has now violated the space of another country,” he said. “There is no possible justification for these attacks.”
Russia and Georgia came into direct conflict over South Ossetia last week after Tbilisi launched an offensive to regain control over the breakaway separatist region.
McCain instantly took a tougher line against Russia than either President George W. Bush or Obama. McCain has charged that the first-term Illinois senator is too naive and inexperienced to be commander-in-chief.
Obama counters that his judgment on major issues like the Iraq war is superior to McCain’s and says a win by the Arizona senator would be the same as a third Bush term.
