Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Friday, December 17, 2010
Like A Condom, The First Amendment Can't Always Protect You
Like A Condom, The First Amendment Can't Always Protect You
First of all, I feel so much more confident that the TSA's nude photos of airline passengers will never be released now that I know the government couldn't even prevent half a million classified national security documents from being posted on WikiLeaks.
President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder will be getting around to WikiLeaks' proprietor, Julian Assange, just as soon as they figure out which law the New Black Panthers might have violated by standing outside a polling place with billy clubs.
These legal eagles are either giving the press a lot of disinformation about the WikiLeaks investigation or they are a couple Elmer Fudds who can't find their own butts without a map.
Among the criminal laws apparently broken by Assange is 18 U.S.C. 793(e), which provides:
"Whoever having unauthorized possession of, access to, or control over any document, writing, code book, signal book, sketch, photograph, (etc. etc.) relating to the national defense, ... (which) the possessor has reason to believe could be used to the injury of the United States or to the advantage of any foreign nation, willfully communicates (etc. etc) the same to any person not entitled to receive it, or willfully retains the same (etc) ...
"Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both."
First of all, I feel so much more confident that the TSA's nude photos of airline passengers will never be released now that I know the government couldn't even prevent half a million classified national security documents from being posted on WikiLeaks.
President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder will be getting around to WikiLeaks' proprietor, Julian Assange, just as soon as they figure out which law the New Black Panthers might have violated by standing outside a polling place with billy clubs.
These legal eagles are either giving the press a lot of disinformation about the WikiLeaks investigation or they are a couple Elmer Fudds who can't find their own butts without a map.
Among the criminal laws apparently broken by Assange is 18 U.S.C. 793(e), which provides:
"Whoever having unauthorized possession of, access to, or control over any document, writing, code book, signal book, sketch, photograph, (etc. etc.) relating to the national defense, ... (which) the possessor has reason to believe could be used to the injury of the United States or to the advantage of any foreign nation, willfully communicates (etc. etc) the same to any person not entitled to receive it, or willfully retains the same (etc) ...
"Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both."
Helen Thomas: 'Congress, White House, Hollywood and Wall Street Owned by Zionists'
Helen Thomas: 'Congress, White House, Hollywood and Wall Street Owned by Zionists'
"We are owned by propagandists against the Arabs. There's no question about that. Congress, the White House, and Hollywood, Wall Street, are owned by the Zionists. No question in my opinion. They put their money where there mouth is…We're being pushed into a wrong direction in every way."
"We are owned by propagandists against the Arabs. There's no question about that. Congress, the White House, and Hollywood, Wall Street, are owned by the Zionists. No question in my opinion. They put their money where there mouth is…We're being pushed into a wrong direction in every way."
Friday, December 3, 2010
Obama authorizes additional 80,000 “refugees” to entry country
Obama authorizes additional 80,000 “refugees” to entry country
President Barack Hussein Obama, in a determination letter to Congress, has announced that he will allow an additional 80,000 immigrants – - mostly from Islamic countries – - to resettle in the United States during fiscal year 2011.
Mr. Obama says that the increase in Muslim immigrants “is justified by humanitarian concerns or is otherwise in the national interest.”
The following “goals” for new immigrants has been set as follows:
Africa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15,000
East Asia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19,000
Europe and Central Asia . . . . . . . . . . 2,000
Latin America/Caribbean. . . . . . . . . . . 5,500
Near East/South Asia. . . . . . . . . . . 35,500
Unallocated Reserve . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,000
Refugee Resettlement Watch and other organizations have expressed grave concern that Mr. Obama is allowing so many immigrants into the country while so many Americans remain out of work and living in poverty.
According to the US Department of Labor, 14.8 million Americans remain unemployed. 6.1 million have been out of work for 27 weeks or over.
This figure has been challenged by the Union of the Unemployed who provide statistics that the actual number of unemployed Americans is 31 million.
The U. S. Census Bureau shows that the median household income for Americans has fallen to $49,777 – - a decline of 0.7% in the past year.
One in seven Americans no longer can feed themselves.
According to The Wall Street Journal, 14.3% of the American people live in abject poverty.
A refugee is defined by The US Department of Immigration and Naturalization as someone who has left one’s country due to persecution or a fear of persecution.
This accounts for the sharp rise of Somali communities throughout the country.
However, the definition of refugee is ‘fudged’ in several cases. “Refugees” who have not left their country due to persecution, according to Mr. Obama’s determination letter, can still be called “refugees” if they are from Iraq, one of the Islamic countries of the former Soviet Union, or Cuba.
According to Section 413 (a) of the Immigration and Nationalities Act, the Office of Refugee Resettlement is required to submit an annual report to Congress on the activities of the refugees.
The report is supposed to include the number who are on public welfare programs.
But no report has forthcoming from the Office of Refugee Resettlement since 2007.
President Barack Hussein Obama, in a determination letter to Congress, has announced that he will allow an additional 80,000 immigrants – - mostly from Islamic countries – - to resettle in the United States during fiscal year 2011.
Mr. Obama says that the increase in Muslim immigrants “is justified by humanitarian concerns or is otherwise in the national interest.”
The following “goals” for new immigrants has been set as follows:
Africa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15,000
East Asia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19,000
Europe and Central Asia . . . . . . . . . . 2,000
Latin America/Caribbean. . . . . . . . . . . 5,500
Near East/South Asia. . . . . . . . . . . 35,500
Unallocated Reserve . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,000
Refugee Resettlement Watch and other organizations have expressed grave concern that Mr. Obama is allowing so many immigrants into the country while so many Americans remain out of work and living in poverty.
According to the US Department of Labor, 14.8 million Americans remain unemployed. 6.1 million have been out of work for 27 weeks or over.
This figure has been challenged by the Union of the Unemployed who provide statistics that the actual number of unemployed Americans is 31 million.
The U. S. Census Bureau shows that the median household income for Americans has fallen to $49,777 – - a decline of 0.7% in the past year.
One in seven Americans no longer can feed themselves.
According to The Wall Street Journal, 14.3% of the American people live in abject poverty.
A refugee is defined by The US Department of Immigration and Naturalization as someone who has left one’s country due to persecution or a fear of persecution.
This accounts for the sharp rise of Somali communities throughout the country.
However, the definition of refugee is ‘fudged’ in several cases. “Refugees” who have not left their country due to persecution, according to Mr. Obama’s determination letter, can still be called “refugees” if they are from Iraq, one of the Islamic countries of the former Soviet Union, or Cuba.
According to Section 413 (a) of the Immigration and Nationalities Act, the Office of Refugee Resettlement is required to submit an annual report to Congress on the activities of the refugees.
The report is supposed to include the number who are on public welfare programs.
But no report has forthcoming from the Office of Refugee Resettlement since 2007.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Prisoners could make own toilet paper under Iowa plan
Prisoners in the US state of Iowa could soon be making their own toilet paper, in what officials describe as a bid to save taxpayers money.
Under a plan, state prisons would buy one-tonne rolls of paper from a mill, then process it into single rolls.
Prison official Al Reiter told the Des Moines Register the toilet paper was "not nice and fluffy", but acceptable.
Iowa prisoners already make and sell everything from furniture and clothing to carved wooden toys.
'High-consumption item'
The plan could save up to $100,000 (£64,292) a year, officials told the Des Moines Register.
The director of Iowa Prison Industries, the prisoner work arm of the Iowa correction system, said the state legislature would need to approve the idea when it convenes next month.
"Our challenge is to seek out new things that we can do, and, well, toilet tissue is a high-consumption item," Roger Baysden said.
Mr Reiter, an associate warden at Anamosa Prison, said: "If you looked at this stuff and compared it to the toilet paper that you buy in the store, you would say, 'Boy, this doesn't look very good.'
"It's not nice and fluffy, but the state is saying that this is an acceptable roll of toilet paper."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-11905715
Under a plan, state prisons would buy one-tonne rolls of paper from a mill, then process it into single rolls.
Prison official Al Reiter told the Des Moines Register the toilet paper was "not nice and fluffy", but acceptable.
Iowa prisoners already make and sell everything from furniture and clothing to carved wooden toys.
'High-consumption item'
The plan could save up to $100,000 (£64,292) a year, officials told the Des Moines Register.
The director of Iowa Prison Industries, the prisoner work arm of the Iowa correction system, said the state legislature would need to approve the idea when it convenes next month.
"Our challenge is to seek out new things that we can do, and, well, toilet tissue is a high-consumption item," Roger Baysden said.
Mr Reiter, an associate warden at Anamosa Prison, said: "If you looked at this stuff and compared it to the toilet paper that you buy in the store, you would say, 'Boy, this doesn't look very good.'
"It's not nice and fluffy, but the state is saying that this is an acceptable roll of toilet paper."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-11905715
UN bemoans lack of Iranian cooperation
four days before nuclear talks between Iran and the EU begin, the UN’s nuclear agency chief, Yukiya Amano, has complained about a lack of co-operation from Tehran.
At the start of a 35-nation meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency, he said that because of this, he could not confirm that all of Iran’s uranium enrichment activities are peaceful.
Iran is already subject to UN sanctions because of their refusal to suspend their nuclear development programme. But the country has repeatedly insisted that its enrichment activities are legitimate and that it only aims to build nuclear fuel statons to provide domestic power.
EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton is due to meet with Iranian nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili on December 6th and 7th. Analysts are not expecting any immediate breakthrough but there are hopes that resumed talks could eventually lead to a resolution of the long-standing row
http://www.euronews.net/2010/12/02/un-bemoans-lack-of-iranian-cooperation/
At the start of a 35-nation meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency, he said that because of this, he could not confirm that all of Iran’s uranium enrichment activities are peaceful.
Iran is already subject to UN sanctions because of their refusal to suspend their nuclear development programme. But the country has repeatedly insisted that its enrichment activities are legitimate and that it only aims to build nuclear fuel statons to provide domestic power.
EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton is due to meet with Iranian nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili on December 6th and 7th. Analysts are not expecting any immediate breakthrough but there are hopes that resumed talks could eventually lead to a resolution of the long-standing row
http://www.euronews.net/2010/12/02/un-bemoans-lack-of-iranian-cooperation/
U.S. Government Funds Haiti's First Seismic Surveillance Station
The Five-Seismometer Surveillance Station Enhances the Government of Haiti's Earthquake Detection
November 19, 2010
PORT-AU-PRINCE/WASHINGTON - The U.S. Government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development, strengthened the Government of Haiti's ability to detect earthquake activity by funding five new seismometers. The surveillance network transmits timely information through the internet on seismic activities in Port-au-Prince and regions to the North.
The seismometers, which detect and measure movements in the earth's surface, will replace the temporary surveillance equipment provided by the U.S. Government immediately after the earthquake. The Bureau des Mines (Haitian Bureau of Mines) will also receive technical training and logistical assistance to improve seismic surveillance.
By funding the new seismometers, the U.S. Government delivers on an agreement it made with Bureau des Mines earlier this year.
"Instead of just giving the Government of Haiti data on seismic activity, we're giving them the tools to do it themselves," said USAID/Haiti Mission Director Dr. Carleene Dei. "This is what we mean when we say we're supporting the Government of Haiti's plan to build back better."
A 7.0 earthquake wracked the Port-au-Prince region on January 12, 2010. It killed 230,000 people and displaced another 1.3 million. Tremors continue to rattle buildings in the area.
The seismic surveillance station will monitor the Port-au-Prince and Northern regions, but an expanded network could cover more regions in the future.
About the U.S. Agency for International Development
The American people, through USAID, have provided economic and humanitarian assistance worldwide for nearly 50 years. For more information about USAID's programs, please visit http://www.usaid.gov/
Press Office: 202-712-4320
Public Information: 202-712-4810
November 19, 2010
PORT-AU-PRINCE/WASHINGTON - The U.S. Government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development, strengthened the Government of Haiti's ability to detect earthquake activity by funding five new seismometers. The surveillance network transmits timely information through the internet on seismic activities in Port-au-Prince and regions to the North.
The seismometers, which detect and measure movements in the earth's surface, will replace the temporary surveillance equipment provided by the U.S. Government immediately after the earthquake. The Bureau des Mines (Haitian Bureau of Mines) will also receive technical training and logistical assistance to improve seismic surveillance.
By funding the new seismometers, the U.S. Government delivers on an agreement it made with Bureau des Mines earlier this year.
"Instead of just giving the Government of Haiti data on seismic activity, we're giving them the tools to do it themselves," said USAID/Haiti Mission Director Dr. Carleene Dei. "This is what we mean when we say we're supporting the Government of Haiti's plan to build back better."
A 7.0 earthquake wracked the Port-au-Prince region on January 12, 2010. It killed 230,000 people and displaced another 1.3 million. Tremors continue to rattle buildings in the area.
The seismic surveillance station will monitor the Port-au-Prince and Northern regions, but an expanded network could cover more regions in the future.
About the U.S. Agency for International Development
The American people, through USAID, have provided economic and humanitarian assistance worldwide for nearly 50 years. For more information about USAID's programs, please visit http://www.usaid.gov/
Press Office: 202-712-4320
Public Information: 202-712-4810
NYC mayor: Obama has broken campaign promises
NEW YORK (AP) - New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who is occasionally mentioned as a long-shot presidential candidate, accused President Barack Obama in a magazine interview of breaking campaign promises and said he needs better advisers.
The billionaire mayor, a Democrat-turned-Republican-turned-independent, flirted with the idea of running in 2008 but eventually abandoned the idea.
He has mostly shied away from criticizing Obama, but that changed in an interview that appears in the December issue of GQ magazine. The magazine chose Bloomberg as one of its "men of the year" for 2010, among company like actor Jeff Bridges, television personality Stephen Colbert and rapper Drake.
"The president, I think, needs some better advisers," Bloomberg told GQ. "He campaigns, 'I'm gonna do A,' and then he doesn't do it. Now he's pissed off the supporters and the opponents."
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The mayor did not elaborate on which promises he believes Obama has broken. Bloomberg also said, as he has in the past, that he does not intend to run for president "or any other office."
Asked Thursday about the interview, the former CEO mayor reiterated his criticism of the president and his team, particularly in advocating for American business.
"One of the things that I've urged the president to do is to get some business people in his close tight circle," Bloomberg said. "One of the president's jobs is to promote American business around the world, sell our products around the world, get people from around the world to come and invest here."
Bloomberg also had a surprise message for his own aides Thursday.
"I think we can all use better advisers - I could use some too," Bloomberg said.
http://www.newschannel5.com/story/13604167/nyc-mayor-obama-has-broken-campaign-promises
The billionaire mayor, a Democrat-turned-Republican-turned-independent, flirted with the idea of running in 2008 but eventually abandoned the idea.
He has mostly shied away from criticizing Obama, but that changed in an interview that appears in the December issue of GQ magazine. The magazine chose Bloomberg as one of its "men of the year" for 2010, among company like actor Jeff Bridges, television personality Stephen Colbert and rapper Drake.
"The president, I think, needs some better advisers," Bloomberg told GQ. "He campaigns, 'I'm gonna do A,' and then he doesn't do it. Now he's pissed off the supporters and the opponents."
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The mayor did not elaborate on which promises he believes Obama has broken. Bloomberg also said, as he has in the past, that he does not intend to run for president "or any other office."
Asked Thursday about the interview, the former CEO mayor reiterated his criticism of the president and his team, particularly in advocating for American business.
"One of the things that I've urged the president to do is to get some business people in his close tight circle," Bloomberg said. "One of the president's jobs is to promote American business around the world, sell our products around the world, get people from around the world to come and invest here."
Bloomberg also had a surprise message for his own aides Thursday.
"I think we can all use better advisers - I could use some too," Bloomberg said.
http://www.newschannel5.com/story/13604167/nyc-mayor-obama-has-broken-campaign-promises
Bush a 'decent fellow'
Former US president George W. Bush. AFP
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin called his former counterpart George W. Bush "a very decent fellow," and recalled congenial family visits with the Bush family in an interview on Wednesday.
"They were warm relations, good, kind, human relationship. He visited me in my house. I visited him in his house," Putin told CNN interviewer Larry King, speaking through a translator.
"One thing is for sure: George Bush, the junior, is a very decent fellow... And he has a very good family," Putin said, in response to questions raised about their relationship following the recent publication of the former US president's memoirs.
Throughout his presidency, Bush was hounded by constant reminders of his first meeting with Putin in 2001, after which he told reporters he had looked into Putin's "soul" and found a man he could trust.
In his memoirs, however, Bush described Putin as "cocky," "wily" and "cold-blooded."
"I know some of the aspects of this book already. I don't agree fully with what he has written there, of course. But I'm sure he has forgotten a few things," Putin said with a smile.
http://www.iafrica.com/iafrica/691344.html
"They were warm relations, good, kind, human relationship. He visited me in my house. I visited him in his house," Putin told CNN interviewer Larry King, speaking through a translator.
"One thing is for sure: George Bush, the junior, is a very decent fellow... And he has a very good family," Putin said, in response to questions raised about their relationship following the recent publication of the former US president's memoirs.
Throughout his presidency, Bush was hounded by constant reminders of his first meeting with Putin in 2001, after which he told reporters he had looked into Putin's "soul" and found a man he could trust.
In his memoirs, however, Bush described Putin as "cocky," "wily" and "cold-blooded."
"I know some of the aspects of this book already. I don't agree fully with what he has written there, of course. But I'm sure he has forgotten a few things," Putin said with a smile.
http://www.iafrica.com/iafrica/691344.html
Woman injured by horse who tried to eat her novelty holly hat after mistaking it for bush
When Eileen Samme put on a holly-adorned festive hat she did not think it was a health and safety hazard.
But she ended up in hospital after a horse mistook the greenery on for a bush and tried to eat it.
The 55-year-old was kicked by the animal as it tried to take a bite while she was out walking her Jack Russell dog Mickey across a field.
Enlarge Attacked: Dog walker Eileen Samme who was kicked by a horse
Mrs Samme said the horse must have thought the headwear was a holly bush - despite its Christmas pudding design.
As the horse tried to take a bite she was kicked - leaving her writhing around in agony.
Mrs Samme, from Cerne Abbas, near Dorchester, Dorset, said: 'I have walked Mickey hundreds of times in that field and the horses have always been friendly.
'I came through the gate as usual and they just came running up to me and one of them was after my hat.
'He was trying to get the hat off with his mouth and all of a sudden it kicked me in my leg.
Enlarge Horse thought hat was a holly bush
'I got kicked to the ground and I was on the floor scrambling for my hat.
'It was after the piece of holly on my hat - it must have thought it was a holly bush. I think it must have wanted to eat it.
'It could have broken my leg or my hip and all because I was trying to get into the spirit of Christmas.
'It's not funny, I was terrified.'
Mrs Samme, who bought the hat the day before, added: 'There are no notices up warning people about these horses - they might look friendly but they are actually quite frisky.
'I'm a tough old bird but if it had happened to a person who was slighter in build or a child it could have broken something.'
Mrs Samme, a cleaner, suffered bruising to her leg which also became swollen and spent fours hours in the casualty department at the Dorset County Hospital in Dorchester.
She has had to take three days off work to recover.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1334900/Woman-novelty-Christmas-hat-attacked-horse-tried-EAT-it.html?ITO=1490
But she ended up in hospital after a horse mistook the greenery on for a bush and tried to eat it.
The 55-year-old was kicked by the animal as it tried to take a bite while she was out walking her Jack Russell dog Mickey across a field.
Enlarge Attacked: Dog walker Eileen Samme who was kicked by a horse
Mrs Samme said the horse must have thought the headwear was a holly bush - despite its Christmas pudding design.
As the horse tried to take a bite she was kicked - leaving her writhing around in agony.
Mrs Samme, from Cerne Abbas, near Dorchester, Dorset, said: 'I have walked Mickey hundreds of times in that field and the horses have always been friendly.
'I came through the gate as usual and they just came running up to me and one of them was after my hat.
'He was trying to get the hat off with his mouth and all of a sudden it kicked me in my leg.
Enlarge Horse thought hat was a holly bush
'I got kicked to the ground and I was on the floor scrambling for my hat.
'It was after the piece of holly on my hat - it must have thought it was a holly bush. I think it must have wanted to eat it.
'It could have broken my leg or my hip and all because I was trying to get into the spirit of Christmas.
'It's not funny, I was terrified.'
Mrs Samme, who bought the hat the day before, added: 'There are no notices up warning people about these horses - they might look friendly but they are actually quite frisky.
'I'm a tough old bird but if it had happened to a person who was slighter in build or a child it could have broken something.'
Mrs Samme, a cleaner, suffered bruising to her leg which also became swollen and spent fours hours in the casualty department at the Dorset County Hospital in Dorchester.
She has had to take three days off work to recover.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1334900/Woman-novelty-Christmas-hat-attacked-horse-tried-EAT-it.html?ITO=1490
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Plane crash pilot 'disorientated'
 |
| The scene in Mangalore of the Air India plane crash in May |
The pilot of an airliner that crashed on landing killing 158 people had only just woken up and was disoriented, a report has indicated.
Air India flight commander Zlatko Glusica's reactions were slow as he approached Mangalore airport, the government Court of Inquiry into the May 22 crash concluded.
Only eight people survived when the flight from Dubai overshot a hilltop runway, crashed and plunged over a cliff.
The inquiry examined information from the digital flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder of the aircraft, which were found at the crash site.
The panel said that Mr Glusica, who was suffering from "sleep inertia" and was "disoriented" when the plane began its descent, reacted late and did not follow many standard operating procedures during the landing.
The data recorders caught the sound of heavy nasal snoring and breathing.
Co-pilot, H.S. Ahluwalia, is heard repeatedly warning Mr Glusica to abort the landing and try the procedure again. The last words captured by the recorders as the plane crashed were one of the pilots saying, "Oh my God."
Mr Glusica, a Serbian, had more than 10,200 hours of flying experience, while Mr Ahluwalia had 3,650 hours.
India's Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said he had received the report and the government would study it before taking any action.
The Mangalore crash was the worst in India since the 1996 mid-air collision between a Saudi airliner and a Kazakh cargo plane near New Delhi that killed 349 people.
http://www.independent.ie/world-news/asia-pacific/plane-crash-pilot-disorientated-2425011.html
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Beatles break into top 100 on iTunes
The Beatles, whose entire back catalogue was reissued in September 2009
Photo: 2009
The Beatles finally joined the digital revolution by making their music available for download through Apple’s iTunes store on Tuesday.
It was the first time that music fans had been able to buy digital versions of their favourite Beatles tracks and immediately it proved popular.
A total of 11 songs were in the top 200 with Hey Jude the highest entry at number 84.
Individual tracks are available from Apple’s iTunes store for 99p per song, and can be copied to an iPhone, iPod, iPad or other MP3 player, and music fans can also buy and download entire albums, complete with sleeve notes, album artwork and even videos featuring the Fab Four.
But most albums cost significantly more to download than they do to buy as physical CDs. The White Album, for instance, will set music fans back £17.99 on iTunes, but only £12.99 from Amazon and £14.29 from Play.com.
Purchasing the entire Beatles back catalogue will cost £125.
The agreement between Apple and The Beatles marks the end of a long courtship, during which Steve Jobs, Apple’s chief executive and a huge Beatles fan, tried to persuade the group to license its music to Apple’s download service.
The Beatles have been notable absentees from the digital music revolution, and it was initially thought that a trademark dispute between Apple Inc, the technology company, and Apple Corps, the Beatles' label, could be to blame, though that legal wrangle was settled in 2007.
Sir Paul McCartney said in 2008 that he “really hoped” a deal would happen, but hinted that negotiations between Apple Corps, Apple Inc and EMI were more complicated than previously thought.
Some had speculated that the remaining members of the group did not want to sell their songs as individual tracks, and instead would only license their music to download sites if they were sold as complete albums.
The news of the deal between Apple and The Beatles got a mixed reaction from music fans. Many people pointed out that they had already “ripped” their Beatles CDs to their computer to transfer on to their music player and mobile phone.
"It has taken so long to get The Beatles on iTunes, and for that reason, it feels like a bigger deal than perhaps it should be," said Stuart Dredge, an online music expert with Music Ally.
"The Fab Four's back catalogue will undoubtedly be popular in digital form, but once the initial sales spike passes, the music industry will be more interested in Apple's plans to evolve iTunes beyond a pure a-la-carte download store."
The Beatles can expect the buying frency to continue.
In September 2009, when the remastered Beatles albums were released they shattered chart records around the world, selling more than 2.25 million copies within days of release in North America, the UK and Japan.
Released as individual albums and box sets on 9 September they brought in s fortune. Figures from record company EMI show UK sales of the digitally remastered albums e exceeded 354,000 in 11 days of release.
Hard figures for the money made by the Beatles from their music are hard to come by. It is estimated that they made £55 million during the group’s lifetime, but since then their reputation has grown ever stronger, and every time an album is remastered or released in a new format, the sales shoot up.
The digital remastering of their catalogue last year, for example, took their total album sales to nearly 9 million, while the repackaging of their number ones in 2000 sold more than seven million in the US alone.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/the-beatles/8138613/Beatles-break-into-top-100-on-iTunes.html
Barack Obama's hopes for a nuclear-free world fading fast
 |
| US president Barack Obama (left) and Russian president Dmitry Medvedev sign a nuclear arms treaty in Prague in April. Photograph: Yuri Kadobnov/AFP/Getty Images |
Barack Obama's hopes of reshaping US foreign policy stand on the brink of failure tonight, after two of his most cherished initiatives — nuclear disarmament and better relations with Moscow — were dealt serious setbacks.
According to a leaked Nato document seen by the Guardian, a move to withdraw US tactical nuclear weapons from Europe has been omitted from the alliance's draft strategic doctrine, due to be adopted by a summit this weekend in Lisbon.
Meanwhile in Washington, a Republican leader in the Senate signalled that the nuclear arms control treaty Obama signed in April with Russian president Dmitry Medvedev is unlikely be ratified this year. Most observers say that if the treaty – known as New Start – is delayed until next year, it will be as good as dead, as the Democratic majority in the Senate will be even thinner by then, following the party's losses in the midterm elections.
Together the setbacks mark a new low point for Obama's ambitions, set out in a landmark 2009 speech in Prague, to set the world on a path to abolition of nuclear weapons.
They also rob the president of the main concrete achievement so far in his bid to "reset" US-Russian relations. In the absence of progress in the Middle East or Iranian compromise over its nuclear ambitions, the developments threaten to eclipse Obama's legacy in foreign policy.
"All this stuff was integrated – the nuclear package and the Russian relationship," said Steven Clemons, policy analyst at the New America Foundation. "In terms of the long-term international significance it's the most important thing Obama has done, and it has just come apart."
In the latest draft of Nato's "new strategic concept", seen by the Guardian, nuclear weapons remain at the core of Nato doctrine, and an attempt to withdraw an estimated 200 American B-61 nuclear bombs from Europe, a legacy of the cold war, is not mentioned.
Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium – who all have B-61 bombs on their soil – had pushed to have the tactical weapons removed, with the encouragement of supporters of disarmament in the Obama camp including the US ambassador to Nato, Ivo Daalder.
However, in a victory for France, which led a rearguard action against diluting nuclear deterrence in Nato doctrine, the draft strategic concept states that the weapons would only be removed as a trade-off with Moscow.
"In any future reductions, our aim should be to seek Russian agreement to increase transparency on its nuclear weapons in Europe and relocate these weapons away from the territory of Nato members," the draft states. "Any further steps must take into account the disparity with the greater Russian stockpile of short-range nuclear weapons."
Advocates of disarmament still hope the door to withdrawal could be left open in another strategic review, possibly next year.
But Daryl Kimball, the head of the Arms Control Association, said the Lisbon document represented a lost opportunity for the alliance.
"Nato does not need these weapons against any of the 21st century threats we face," Kimball said. "The weapons raise the risk of nuclear terrorism, and their presence makes it harder to convince Russia to cut its own tactical arsenal."
US and Russian negotiators had been expected to discuss tactical weapons in the next round of arms control talks, but those talks will almost certainly not take place if the New Start treaty is shelved.
The White House had hoped the Senate would ratify the treaty in its lame-duck session currently underway, before newly-elected Republican senators take their seats in January.
However, the administration still needed some Republican support to get the 67 votes required for ratification. In a last-ditch move last week, it offered to spend an extra $4 bn (£2.5 bn) on modernisation of the existing nuclear arsenal — an effort to placate the Republican whip, Jon Kyl.
However, Senator Kyl issued a statement tonight saying he still did not think the treaty could be passed in the lame-duck session, "given the combination of other work Congress must do and the complex and unresolved issues related to Start and modernisation." Some Democrats were still hoping tonight the statement could be a bluff aimed at extracting yet more funding for America's nuclear labs. Others, however, saw it as a slammed door, and a reflection of Republican determination to make Obama a one-term president and erase his legacy.
Paul Ingram, head of the British American Security Information Council (Basic), said Obama's radical vision of "a world without nuclear weapons" laid out in his Prague speech was now fading.
"I wouldn't say it was dead. It's in emergency resuscitation," Ingram said.
"If there is hope no, it's not coming from Washington. The leadership of this is not going to come from Washington."
On nuclear weapons
"So today, I state clearly and with conviction America's commitment to seek the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons. I'm not naive. This goal will not be reached quickly – perhaps not in my lifetime. It will take patience and persistence. But now we, too, must ignore the voices who tell us that the world cannot change. We have to insist, 'Yes, we can.'"
Prague, 5 April 2009 On the New Start treaty with Russia
"The new agreement will mutually enhance the security of the parties and predictability and stability in strategic offensive forces. We are ready to move beyond Cold War mentalities and chart a fresh start in relations between our two countries."
Joint statement with Dmitry Medvedev, London, 1 April 2009
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/nov/16/barack-obama-nuclear-hopes-fading
Saturday, November 13, 2010
US study urges preferrential market access for Pakistani textile products
WASHINGTON, Nov 13 (APP): A leading U.S. think tank study has recommended Washington to ease trade restrictions on Pakistani textile exports and increase the military’s capacity to defeat militants on the battlefield as part of efforts to strengthen a cooperative partnership to defeat extremists operating in the region.
“The U.S. commitment to a long-term strategic partnership with Pakistan is a critical step in securing Pakistani action against the militant groups within its borders,” a report by an independent task force for the Council on Foreign Relations says.
“The Obama administration’s strategy in Pakistan has resulted in stronger relationships with civilian and military authorities more substantial and targeted aid,” it notes.
Meanwhile, al-Qaeda militants are being increasingly targeted in the tribal border regions.
“To reinforce U.S.-Pakistan ties and contribute to Pakistan’s economic stability in the aftermath of an overwhelming natural disaster, the Obama administration should prioritize and the Congress should enact agreement that would grant preferential market access to Pakistani textiles,” former deputy Secretary of State Richard L. Armitage and former national security adviser Samuel R. Berger, stress in the report.
This agreement would help revive the Pakistani industry and all of the associated sectors of the economy, including Pakistan-grown cotton, the report adds.
“To further enhance Pakistan’s stability, the United States should maintain current levels of economic and technical assistance to help military and civilian leaders reconstruct and establish control over areas hard-hit by the flood, including those contested by militant forces.
American assistance should also encourage private sector investment in conflict-prone and flood-ravaged regions.”
As part of efforts to build Pakistani support for the U.S.-Pakistan relationship, the United States “must move rapidly to implement high-profile assistance projects and should also reach out on a sustained basis to nontraditional allies in Pakistani society, including business interests, educators, local media, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).” The authors of the report particularly highlight that a continuing robust response to this summer’s epic floods is necessary to prevent Pakistan from sliding into economic and political troubles.
Washington’s first order of business in Pakistan must be to help address the extreme humanitarian suffering and dislocation caused by this summer’s floods. The best way for the United States to address the challenges of terrorism and security is by working shoulder toshoulder with a stable partner in Islamabad.
The report says as it cultivates a closer partnership with Islamabad and contributes to shoring up the Pakistani state and national economy, the United States should seek action against Afghan, Pakistani and other related militant groups.
“By demonstrating American generosity and assistance at a time of grave Pakistani peril, the United States will also make a better case for the strategic benefits of its partnership.”
One of the greatest challenges to improving relations between the people of Pakistan and the United States is the perception that America does not welcome Pakistani visitors, the chairs of the task force note.
“This perception has been reinforced by heavy-handed U.S. border security policies and clumsy implementation,” the authors point out.
Other miscommunications and security precautions have even disrupted official Pakistani travel within the United States. “Although the U.S. government must do what is necessary to secure the borders, future decisions regarding travel restrictions and airport security should do far more to take Pakistani sensitivities, as well as the diplomatic implications of new regulations, into consideration. As a practical matter, an interagency liaison team should be established to manage and avert diplomatic incidents related to security procedures at U.S. airports.”
Focusing on the regional dimensions of the ongoing tensions, the report proposes “to reduce regional tensions that distract from counterterror operations and undermine Pakistan’s stability, the United States should encourage progress in the Indo-Pakistani relationship.”
“Washington should not attempt to impose itself in Indo-Pakistani negotiations.
An indirect approach is better. The United States should help to build new constituencies for peace by helping to fund international development schemes that benefit businesses and people on both sides of the Indo-Pakistani border.”
The United States, the report suggests, “should seek creative new ways to encourage Indo-Pakistani trade and investment, including U.S. technical assistance for infrastructure development along the international border and the Kashmir divide.”
“Specifically, the United States should advance with India and Pakistan, and with multilateral institutions like the World Bank, the idea of a fund exclusively for improving the road and rail network between India and Pakistan. This would update facilities and employ large numbers of people on both sides of the border. It would demonstrate the advantages of improving bilateral relations. Over time, this effort could be expanded to power grids and gas pipelines, further demonstrating each country’s stake in the economic progress of the region.”
http://app.com.pk/en_/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=122099&Itemid=39
“The U.S. commitment to a long-term strategic partnership with Pakistan is a critical step in securing Pakistani action against the militant groups within its borders,” a report by an independent task force for the Council on Foreign Relations says.
“The Obama administration’s strategy in Pakistan has resulted in stronger relationships with civilian and military authorities more substantial and targeted aid,” it notes.
Meanwhile, al-Qaeda militants are being increasingly targeted in the tribal border regions.
“To reinforce U.S.-Pakistan ties and contribute to Pakistan’s economic stability in the aftermath of an overwhelming natural disaster, the Obama administration should prioritize and the Congress should enact agreement that would grant preferential market access to Pakistani textiles,” former deputy Secretary of State Richard L. Armitage and former national security adviser Samuel R. Berger, stress in the report.
This agreement would help revive the Pakistani industry and all of the associated sectors of the economy, including Pakistan-grown cotton, the report adds.
“To further enhance Pakistan’s stability, the United States should maintain current levels of economic and technical assistance to help military and civilian leaders reconstruct and establish control over areas hard-hit by the flood, including those contested by militant forces.
American assistance should also encourage private sector investment in conflict-prone and flood-ravaged regions.”
As part of efforts to build Pakistani support for the U.S.-Pakistan relationship, the United States “must move rapidly to implement high-profile assistance projects and should also reach out on a sustained basis to nontraditional allies in Pakistani society, including business interests, educators, local media, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).” The authors of the report particularly highlight that a continuing robust response to this summer’s epic floods is necessary to prevent Pakistan from sliding into economic and political troubles.
Washington’s first order of business in Pakistan must be to help address the extreme humanitarian suffering and dislocation caused by this summer’s floods. The best way for the United States to address the challenges of terrorism and security is by working shoulder toshoulder with a stable partner in Islamabad.
The report says as it cultivates a closer partnership with Islamabad and contributes to shoring up the Pakistani state and national economy, the United States should seek action against Afghan, Pakistani and other related militant groups.
“By demonstrating American generosity and assistance at a time of grave Pakistani peril, the United States will also make a better case for the strategic benefits of its partnership.”
One of the greatest challenges to improving relations between the people of Pakistan and the United States is the perception that America does not welcome Pakistani visitors, the chairs of the task force note.
“This perception has been reinforced by heavy-handed U.S. border security policies and clumsy implementation,” the authors point out.
Other miscommunications and security precautions have even disrupted official Pakistani travel within the United States. “Although the U.S. government must do what is necessary to secure the borders, future decisions regarding travel restrictions and airport security should do far more to take Pakistani sensitivities, as well as the diplomatic implications of new regulations, into consideration. As a practical matter, an interagency liaison team should be established to manage and avert diplomatic incidents related to security procedures at U.S. airports.”
Focusing on the regional dimensions of the ongoing tensions, the report proposes “to reduce regional tensions that distract from counterterror operations and undermine Pakistan’s stability, the United States should encourage progress in the Indo-Pakistani relationship.”
“Washington should not attempt to impose itself in Indo-Pakistani negotiations.
An indirect approach is better. The United States should help to build new constituencies for peace by helping to fund international development schemes that benefit businesses and people on both sides of the Indo-Pakistani border.”
The United States, the report suggests, “should seek creative new ways to encourage Indo-Pakistani trade and investment, including U.S. technical assistance for infrastructure development along the international border and the Kashmir divide.”
“Specifically, the United States should advance with India and Pakistan, and with multilateral institutions like the World Bank, the idea of a fund exclusively for improving the road and rail network between India and Pakistan. This would update facilities and employ large numbers of people on both sides of the border. It would demonstrate the advantages of improving bilateral relations. Over time, this effort could be expanded to power grids and gas pipelines, further demonstrating each country’s stake in the economic progress of the region.”
http://app.com.pk/en_/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=122099&Itemid=39
Friday, November 12, 2010
Shining A Light On Shariah Creep
Islamofascism: The Council on American-Islamic Relations may wish it never sued to overturn an Oklahoma ban on Shariah law. Now the entire nation will get to see it and other Islamists' true anti-American colors.
CAIR is thumping its chest over persuading a Clinton-appointed federal judge to temporarily block Oklahoma from enacting a state constitutional amendment that prohibits state courts from considering Islamic law when deciding cases. Fully 70% of Oklahoma voters passed the landmark measure.
But CAIR has ignited a legal firestorm that will likely rage all the way to the Supreme Court. Thanks to CAIR's latest bit of lawfare, Americans will get to hear a long overdue debate not just about the constitutionality of such bans on Shariah law but about the constitutionality of Shariah law itself.
This is not a debate CAIR wants to have, since it ultimately will have to defend the indefensible. It claims in a press release that Shariah law is "a dynamic legal framework" derived from Islamic scripture "and analytical reasoning."
In fact, there's nothing reasoned about it. It's a medieval legal code that administers cruel and unusual punishments such as stonings, amputations and honor killings. Think the Taliban.
Shariah can be seen in action this week with Pakistan's death sentence on a Christian woman for blasphemy. Between 1986 and 2009, at least 974 people have been charged for defiling the Quran or insulting the Muslim Prophet Muhammad.
CAIR, which thinks free speech is a one-way street, is working with the Organization of the Islamic Conference on an international blasphemy law that would criminalize "Islamophobia," according to the book, "Muslim Mafia: Inside the Secret Underworld That's Conspiring to Islamize America."
Shariah also permits wife-beating, something CAIR also knows about. Its sister organization, the Islamic Society of North America, condones it in its fatwas (or religious rulings) for Muslim Americans. More, CAIR distributes a book, "The Meaning of the Holy Quran," which authorizes men to hit their wives.
CAIR says it's just a "civil rights advocacy group." But the Justice Department says it's a front group for Hamas and its parent, the radical Muslim Brotherhood, a worldwide jihadist movement that has a secret plan to impose Shariah law on the U.S.
"From its founding by Muslim Brotherhood leaders, CAIR conspired with other affiliates of the Muslim Brotherhood to support terrorists," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Gordon Kromberg in a recent court filing.
U.S. prosecutors in 2007 named CAIR an unindicted co-conspirator in a criminal scheme led by the Holy Land Foundation to funnel millions to Hamas suicide bombers and their families.
"CAIR has been identified by the government at trial as a participant in an ongoing and ultimately unlawful conspiracy to support a designated terrorist organization, a conspiracy from which CAIR never withdrew," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Jacks, who recently won an award from Attorney General Eric Holder for convicting the Holy Land terrorists.
Federal courts found "ample evidence" linking CAIR to the conspiracy and are expected to unseal the dossier in coming weeks.
The Holy Land revelations prompted the FBI to sever ties with CAIR until it can demonstrate it's not a terror front. "Until we can resolve whether there continues to be a connection between CAIR or its executives and Hamas, the FBI does not view CAIR as an appropriate liaison partner," advised Assistant FBI Director Richard Powers in a 2009 letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
CAIR's leaders don't want a ban on Shariah law, because they have a secret agenda to institutionalize Shariah law in America.
"I wouldn't want to create the impression that I wouldn't like the government of the United States to be Islamic sometime in the future," CAIR Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper let it slip out to a Minneapolis Star-Tribune reporter in 1993, before CAIR was formed.
CAIR's founding chairman, Omar Ahmad, wants Shariah law to replace the Constitution. "Islam isn't in America to be equal to any other faith, but to become dominant," he told a Muslim audience in Fremont, Calif., in 1998. "The Quran should be the highest authority in America."
CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad is an Islamic supremacist who thinks Muslims should run Washington: "Who better can lead America than Muslims?"
Islamizing America also happens to be the agenda of the Muslim Brotherhood — the radical, Cairo-based outlaw group the government says CAIR is fronting for. The founding archives of its U.S. branch, seized in an FBI raid and introduced as evidence in the Holy Land trial, reveal a "strategic goal" of "eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within and sabotaging its miserable house ... so that Allah's religion is made victorious over all other religions." The Brotherhood calls its plan a "grand jihad."
CAIR argues in its suit that "the Shariah ban's purpose is to stigmatize, denigrate and segregate plaintiff's faith in the public's mind as something foreign and to be feared."
No, the goal is to make sure no Oklahoma judge considers Shariah law in rulings on domestic violence, family law, probate, free speech, contracts and other matters, as judges have in other states, to a wider degree in Canada and now on a routine basis in Britain. The ban is to prevent courts from legitimizing a religious legal system antithetical to the U.S. Constitution in the areas of freedom of speech, equality and humane punishment, among other bedrock Western principles.
Thanks to CAIR's lawsuit, all this can now be aired out for the public.
http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article.aspx?id=553407&p=2
CAIR is thumping its chest over persuading a Clinton-appointed federal judge to temporarily block Oklahoma from enacting a state constitutional amendment that prohibits state courts from considering Islamic law when deciding cases. Fully 70% of Oklahoma voters passed the landmark measure.
But CAIR has ignited a legal firestorm that will likely rage all the way to the Supreme Court. Thanks to CAIR's latest bit of lawfare, Americans will get to hear a long overdue debate not just about the constitutionality of such bans on Shariah law but about the constitutionality of Shariah law itself.
This is not a debate CAIR wants to have, since it ultimately will have to defend the indefensible. It claims in a press release that Shariah law is "a dynamic legal framework" derived from Islamic scripture "and analytical reasoning."
In fact, there's nothing reasoned about it. It's a medieval legal code that administers cruel and unusual punishments such as stonings, amputations and honor killings. Think the Taliban.
Shariah can be seen in action this week with Pakistan's death sentence on a Christian woman for blasphemy. Between 1986 and 2009, at least 974 people have been charged for defiling the Quran or insulting the Muslim Prophet Muhammad.
CAIR, which thinks free speech is a one-way street, is working with the Organization of the Islamic Conference on an international blasphemy law that would criminalize "Islamophobia," according to the book, "Muslim Mafia: Inside the Secret Underworld That's Conspiring to Islamize America."
Shariah also permits wife-beating, something CAIR also knows about. Its sister organization, the Islamic Society of North America, condones it in its fatwas (or religious rulings) for Muslim Americans. More, CAIR distributes a book, "The Meaning of the Holy Quran," which authorizes men to hit their wives.
CAIR says it's just a "civil rights advocacy group." But the Justice Department says it's a front group for Hamas and its parent, the radical Muslim Brotherhood, a worldwide jihadist movement that has a secret plan to impose Shariah law on the U.S.
"From its founding by Muslim Brotherhood leaders, CAIR conspired with other affiliates of the Muslim Brotherhood to support terrorists," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Gordon Kromberg in a recent court filing.
U.S. prosecutors in 2007 named CAIR an unindicted co-conspirator in a criminal scheme led by the Holy Land Foundation to funnel millions to Hamas suicide bombers and their families.
"CAIR has been identified by the government at trial as a participant in an ongoing and ultimately unlawful conspiracy to support a designated terrorist organization, a conspiracy from which CAIR never withdrew," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Jacks, who recently won an award from Attorney General Eric Holder for convicting the Holy Land terrorists.
Federal courts found "ample evidence" linking CAIR to the conspiracy and are expected to unseal the dossier in coming weeks.
The Holy Land revelations prompted the FBI to sever ties with CAIR until it can demonstrate it's not a terror front. "Until we can resolve whether there continues to be a connection between CAIR or its executives and Hamas, the FBI does not view CAIR as an appropriate liaison partner," advised Assistant FBI Director Richard Powers in a 2009 letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
CAIR's leaders don't want a ban on Shariah law, because they have a secret agenda to institutionalize Shariah law in America.
"I wouldn't want to create the impression that I wouldn't like the government of the United States to be Islamic sometime in the future," CAIR Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper let it slip out to a Minneapolis Star-Tribune reporter in 1993, before CAIR was formed.
CAIR's founding chairman, Omar Ahmad, wants Shariah law to replace the Constitution. "Islam isn't in America to be equal to any other faith, but to become dominant," he told a Muslim audience in Fremont, Calif., in 1998. "The Quran should be the highest authority in America."
CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad is an Islamic supremacist who thinks Muslims should run Washington: "Who better can lead America than Muslims?"
Islamizing America also happens to be the agenda of the Muslim Brotherhood — the radical, Cairo-based outlaw group the government says CAIR is fronting for. The founding archives of its U.S. branch, seized in an FBI raid and introduced as evidence in the Holy Land trial, reveal a "strategic goal" of "eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within and sabotaging its miserable house ... so that Allah's religion is made victorious over all other religions." The Brotherhood calls its plan a "grand jihad."
CAIR argues in its suit that "the Shariah ban's purpose is to stigmatize, denigrate and segregate plaintiff's faith in the public's mind as something foreign and to be feared."
No, the goal is to make sure no Oklahoma judge considers Shariah law in rulings on domestic violence, family law, probate, free speech, contracts and other matters, as judges have in other states, to a wider degree in Canada and now on a routine basis in Britain. The ban is to prevent courts from legitimizing a religious legal system antithetical to the U.S. Constitution in the areas of freedom of speech, equality and humane punishment, among other bedrock Western principles.
Thanks to CAIR's lawsuit, all this can now be aired out for the public.
http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article.aspx?id=553407&p=2
Thursday, November 11, 2010
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