DEDICATED TO EXPOSING DISINFORMATION AND PROPAGANDA AND TO PROMOTING UNIVERSAL HUMAN RIGHTS - WITH SHARP ANALYSIS AND BLUNT COMMENTARY. NO ADS. NO TIP-JAR. JUST THE TRUTH.
When BP first formed an alliance with Rosneft in 1998 to develop the Sakhalin fields in the Pacific Ocean, the UK oil giant estimated Russia's oil reserves at 56 billion barrels.
When BP agreed its share-swap with the Moscow-based energy group last weekend, the estimate was 75 billion barrels, and development of Rosneft's licences inside the Arctic Circle could increase production enormously.
Such advances undermine the pessimists' predictions that the world's oil will imminently run out.
In 1956, when the concept of "peak oil" – the point at which production starts falling – was formulated, US output was expected to fall from the late 1960s.
But new discoveries have constantly pushed that date back.
BP was estimating world oil reserves at 1 trillion barrels 20 years ago: now, despite record consumption, the estimate is 1.333 trillion.
... Russia is already the world's top oil and gas producer: its equivalent of 18 million barrels of oil a day now exceeds America's 17 million and is far ahead of Saudi Arabia's 11 million.
But while the extent of its reserves is constantly being revised upward, so too are those of many other countries.
In 1980, BP estimated Nigeria's reserves at 16.7 billion barrels; now it says they are 36.2 billion. During that time, estimates of Libya's reserves have been increased from 20 billion to 44 billion, Venezuela's from under 20 billion to almost 100 billion and Iraq's from 30 billion to 115 billion.
New discoveries are running at 15 billion to 20 billion barrels a year, meeting at least half the global consumption.
Drilling off the Falklands could provide a new supply and Cuba may have up to 20 billion barrels, while some estimates suggest America's outer continental shelf could provide the equivalent of 100 billion barrels of oil and gas.
Despite BP's disaster in the Gulf of Mexico last year, companies such as Shell are still drilling there to tap reserves 3km below sea level.
The Canadian oil sands are estimated to hold a trillion barrels too and US oil shales have as much.
Iraq, where Shell is developing the Majnoon field, will account for a fifth of global supply growth over the next 20 years, says BP, with capacity potentially reaching 12 million barrels a day by 2020.
THERE IS MORE OIL THAN EVER.
IT MAY EVEN BE A BY-PRODUCT ON INNER-EARTH GEOLOGICAL PROCESSES AND NEVER RUN OUT.
PEAK OIL IS BS - LIKE AGW.
Algerian police have broken up an anti-government demonstration by about 300 people in the centre of the capital, Algiers, calling for greater freedoms.
Several protesters were injured and a number are reported to have been arrested. Seven police officers were also hurt, according to state media.
The leader of the opposition Rally for Culture and Democracy (RCD) said those held included its parliamentary leader.
The protest followed rioting in several cities set off by rising food prices.
The government has noted the popular unrest in neighbouring Tunisia, which led to the ousting of President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali.
... Mr Sadi [RCD CHAIRMAN] said the authorities had "plunged the capital into a situation similar to the Battle of Algiers" in 1957, when the French colonial authorities brutally put down a revolt led by the National Liberation Front (FLN).
"A government which seeks to oppress its people is not a government," he told the privately-owned newspaper InfoSoir.
"It has to choose between changing peacefully and taking the country towards chaos," he added. "And this is what we want to avoid."
Many Algerians are feeling inspired by what happened in Tunisia, and they believe now it is their turn to press for change, the BBC's Chloe Arnold in Algiers reports.
SIMILAR RECENT EVENTS IN JORDAN.
I BET SOON IN CAIRO.
AS LEBANON TEETERS INTO CIVIL WAR.
I BETCHYA THEY ARE ALL FUNDED BY IRAN.
STAY TUNED...
THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS YESTERDAY:Michael TottenLebanon’s Druze leader Walid Jumblatt now says he “supports” Hezbollah and the ghastly regime in Syria that murdered his father and his friend Rafik Hariri. Hezbollah’s fan boys should not kid themselves here. Jumblatt is under duress and is only saying what he must to ensure his own survival and that of his people.
REGULAR READERS KNOW WE DO THIS ALL THE TIME. SPREAD THE WOLRD.UH-OH: DRUZE LEADER JUMBLATT SIDES WITH HIZBALLAH AGINST HARIRI
AL JAZEERA:Walid Jumblatt, a Druze leader from Lebanon's opposition camp, has announced his support behind Hezbollah in a move that could give the group and its allies a veto over who becomes the country's next prime minister.
Hezbollah, which has a parliamentary bloc as well as a powerful military wing, commands overwhelmingly support among Lebanon's Shia Muslim community.
Jumblatt said the aim of his decision on Friday was to preserve Lebanon's stability.
"I am announcing the right political stand ... by assuring the steadfastness of the group [Progressive Socialist Party] alongside Syria and the resistance [Hezbollah]," he said.
Jumblatt leads a bloc of 11 parliamentarians and his support is crucial to decide who forms the new government out of the two rivals: Hezbollah or Saad Hariri, the caretaker prime minister.
THIS IS A BAD DEVELOPMENT. AND IT COMES ON THE HEELS OF THE SAUDI WITHDRAWAL FROM ARBITRATIONS.
STAY TUNED...
According to the new report, which was prepared by faculty members and students at Georgetown University, U.S. officials have concluded that vascular technology, or vein matching, shows that the hand of the unseen man who killed Pearl on video is that of Mohammed. The report also says Mohammed told the FBI that a senior al-Qaeda operative advised him to take control of Pearl from his original kidnappers.For this, Mohammed must receive the death sentence. And afterwards, his shitty flesh should be cremated into hell. For now, everything must be done to ensure that Mohammed will not be released, and kept locked up tight.
The 31,000-word report, published in conjunction with the Center for Public Integrity at www.publicintegrity.org, is among the most complete and graphic accounts of Pearl's death. The 3 1/2-year investigation, called the Pearl Project, was led by Asra Q. Nomani, a former colleague of Pearl's at the Journal, and Barbara Feinman Todd, director of the journalism program at Georgetown.[...]
According to the report, Mohammed told FBI interrogators at Guantanamo Bay that he received a call from Saif al-Adel, an Egyptian and a senior figure in al-Qaeda.
Adel “says, ‘Listen, he’s been kidnapped. These people don’t know what to do with him. They want to know if we want him,’ ” Mohammed told the FBI, according to the report, which is based on hundreds of interviews as well as court records, FBI reports, and Pearl’s e-mails and personal notes. Adel “thought this was an opportunity. We can take advantage of it. He said he wanted to make sure it’s an Al Qaeda thing.”[...]
Mohammed slashed Pearl’s throat, killing him, but one of his accomplices failed to operate the video camera, which they had brought to capture the murder for propaganda purposes. Mohammed restaged the killing, this time decapitating Pearl, according to the report. He then dismembered Pearl’s body, and it was buried on the compound. Guards washed the bloody floor and then prayed, foreheads to the ground, on the same surface where their prisoner had just been killed, the report said.
A SYDNEY artist whose anti-burka mural has infuriated left-wing and Islamic activists is vowing that the provocative artwork will stay in place despite death threats, abuse, a string of vandalism attacks, a violent weekend protest and a police request to remove it.You know, he may be right, that this is more a problem with violent leftists than with Islamofascists. Maybe that's why his next mural should be "say NO to violent leftism".
Newtown glass sculptor Sergio Redegalli has this week restored the mural painted outside his studio for more than the 40th time after dozens of graffiti and paint-bomb attacks by protesters who say it is racist and inflammatory.
In the latest incident last Sunday, a crowd of 50 activists hurled paint at the mural and then turned on police who had to call in reinforcements to restore order.
Seven men were arrested and charged with offences including resisting police, assaulting police and destroying or damaging property.
The charges will be heard in Newtown Local Court next month. Redegalli blames local left-wing groups, rather than Muslim activists, for the incident.
The sculptor, who is a well-known figure in inner-suburban Newtown, says he has since been visited by local police who asked him to take down the mural after learning of a threat to fire-bomb it.
He refuses to do so in the interests of free speech and public debate.
"I'm not going to let the bullies win," Redegalli told The Australian yesterday.
"I'm not doing it for pride (but because) I don't believe bullies have the right to stand over people and deny us our freedoms."
Redegalli painted the mural and slogan "Say no to burqas" on an exterior wall of his glassworks last September, after a local fashion designer received death threats over a plan to feature models wearing the traditional Islamic garment in a fashion parade.
The artist says his objective is to promote debate about the Islamic face veil, which he sees as a symbol of repression and violent extremism.
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.The Fourteenth Amendment is HERE. Excerpt:
...nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law...Apparently, Congressman John Lewis does not comprehend the document he took an oath to uphold.
On Tuesday, January 18th, 2011, Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff faced the court in Vienna for a second time. Rather than the hoped-for verdict, the trial was adjourned until February 15th.What happened?
Tunisia's underground Islamic movement has emerged at the forefront of nationwide protests against its leadership and appears set to emerge as the strongest political force in elections.THE ISLAMISTS ARE TAKING OVER - JUST LIKE IRAN AFTER THE OVERTHROW OF THE SHAH.
... Tunisia's strong record of promoting women's rights and liberal stance on social issues such as the sale of alcohol is vulnerable as its political system is torn apart by the popular uprising.
Sana Bel Mkaddem, a Tunis resident, said she was fearful her rights would be eroded after elections. "We need to know what the parties represent. Most Tunisians are open-minded and view religion as a private issue but because of the past of this country, I'm worried that we could see the Islamisation that we've seen in other countries."
Walid Jumblatt, a Druze leader from Lebanon's opposition camp, has announced his support behind Hezbollah in a move that could give the group and its allies a veto over who becomes the country's next prime minister.
Hezbollah, which has a parliamentary bloc as well as a powerful military wing, commands overwhelmingly support among Lebanon's Shia Muslim community.
Jumblatt said the aim of his decision on Friday was to preserve Lebanon's stability.
"I am announcing the right political stand ... by assuring the steadfastness of the group [Progressive Socialist Party] alongside Syria and the resistance [Hezbollah]," he said.
Jumblatt leads a bloc of 11 parliamentarians and his support is crucial to decide who forms the new government out of the two rivals: Hezbollah or Saad Hariri, the caretaker prime minister.
THIS IS A BAD DEVELOPMENT. AND IT COMES ON THE HEELS OF THE SAUDI WITHDRAWAL FROM ARBITRATIONS.
STAY TUNED...
Last year was the coldest in Britain since 1986, according to the Met Office
More than 5,000 people rallied in Amman and other cities after weekly prayers on Friday against Jordan's economic policies, demanding "bread and freedom" and that the government resign.ALBAWABA:"(Prime Minister Samir) Rifai, out, out! People of Jordan will not bow," protesters chanted as they marched from the Al-Hussein mosque in central Amman to the nearby municipality building.
"Our demands are legitimate. We want bread and freedom."
Jordan’s prime minister on Thursday said he decided to expand subsidies for fuel and staple products and raising salaries for civil servants at a cost of $425 million in 2011.
Samir Rifai’s declaration came amid public anger at an "insufficient" government subsidy program.
Last week, the government declared a $125 million package of new subsidies for fuel and staple products like sugar and rice. The move appeared to be sparked by fears similar protests to those in Tunisia.
Thursday’s package comprises of a raise for civil servants, and an increase in pensions for retired military and civilian personnel as of Jan. 1. According to the AP, Rifai said the subsidies would also cover livestock and liquefied gas used for heating and cooking.
Last Sunday, representatives of the Jordanian trade unions and 14 opposition parties protested peacefully in front of the House of Representatives in Amman against Rifai government's economic policy. The protest was organized by the Islamic Action Front Party, the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan, which vowed to carry out more rallies.
According to official data, the rate of unemployment in the Kingdom stands at 14.3%, while independent sources put the figure at 30%. The rate of poverty in the Kingdom amounts to 25%.
I DON'T THINK THESE EFFORTS WILL QUELL THE UNREST...
STAY TUNED...
French Foreign Minister Michele Alliot-Marie was attacked by a mob in Gaza on Friday morning. Her attackers were enraged over statements she had allegedly made the day before supporting human rights for kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.More from the Jerusalem Post:
Alliot-Marie was mobbed as she entered Gaza, with a crowd surrounding her car, pounding on its windows, and throwing shoes at the vehicle. One person jumped on the car. Two children were pushed in front of the first car in Alliot-Marie's convoy, forcing the convoy to a stop while the attack continued.
One sign at the rally had a picture of Alliot-Marie with a red cross over her face. Others called on the foreign minister to leave Gaza.
Hamas police eventually stopped the furious protest and allowed the convoy to continue. Hamas leaders expressed sympathy with the rioters, saying Alliot-Marie's comments regarding Shalit reflected a “total bias toward Israel.”
Alliot-Marie was not hurt in the attack.
Protesters were waiting for Alliot-Marie as she crossed from Israel into Gaza through the Erez Crossing, lying on the road and jumping on her vehicle. Hamas police eventually dispersed those protesters, but more gathered outside a United Nations office in Gaza City that was her first stop in the Palestinian territory, and later followed her to a nearby hospital, pelting her motorcade with eggs. AP Television footage showed Alliot-Marie narrowly dodging a shoe thrown by a protester as she climbed into a jeep under heavy guard.Is the French government going to let Hamas off the hook and continue its existence after this? Sadly, it looks very possible.
The top executive of Procter & Gamble will take corporate America's case for a lower tax rate to U.S. lawmakers on Thursday, and also call for an end to taxation of foreign-earned profits.Multinational companies say the top 35 percent corporate tax rate hamstrings them competitively against foreign-based rivals, most of whom are subject to far lower rates.
The House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee hearing, the first in a series expected in Congress this year on simplifying the U.S. tax code, gives them a chance to press their case.
"If we are handicapped by an uncompetitive corporate tax system, we will slow the growth of the U.S. economy to the benefit of our competitors," Procter & Gamble Chief Executive Robert McDonald will tell the tax-writing lawmakers, according to prepared remarks for the panel.
McDonald is speaking on behalf of the Business Roundtable, a lobbying group composed of big corporations. The Chamber of Commerce has also submitted testimony calling for similar tax changes.
THE USA HAS THE 2ND HIGHEST CORPORATE TAX RATE AMONG ALL INDUSTRIAL NATIONS.
CANADA'S AND DENMARK'S ARE LOWER.
TO BECOME COMPETITIVE AGAIN, WE MUST LOWER IT AND THE SOONER THE BETTER.
Powerful bomb found on the MLK route in Spokane Washinton.THIS BOMB WAS PROBABLY MADE AND PLANTED BY WHITE SUPREMACISTS - WHO ARE ALL OVER THE PLACE IN THE STATE OF WASHINGTON.Terrorism is terrorism and clearly that is what this was meant to be.
The real reason behind PRESIDENT OBAMA's shocking weight loss - he's secretly battling stomach parasites, say sources.A medical researcher I contacted knew of no intestinal parasites that could not be rather easily eliminated, once diagnosed.
The pencil-thin president caught the parasites on a trip last year to Hawaii, where he and his family also vacationed over Christmas, according to top political insiders. "Barack has wanted to keep the stomach parasites under the radar," revealed a close source. "There had been a public health warning about them in Hawaii when he caught them. "Concerned sources say extreme stress and a poor diet caused by his hectic schedule have contributed to the 6-foot-1 president's skeletal look. "Michelle is fearful he's close to a physical collapse," revealed an insider. "He appears to be wasting away. "
One of the victims, as well as sources quoted in a UN report, all accuse Lt Col Kibibi Mutware of links to New Year's Day rapes in the town of Fizi.This is not rare behavior in the nation or the region.
There have been numerous cases of mass rape in DR Congo's conflict but this is believed to be the largest single incident allegedly involving the army.
Lt Col Kibibi has denied the charges.
Roz Rothstein, the CEO of Stand With Us, told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday that the comic book was being developed at this point in time because “as Israel’s Jewish connection to Israel and the land is always being challenged, we wanted to reestablish our Jewish roots and make sure that everyone understood the history, stuff we know and take for granted and that others try to chip away at.”Very impressive. I think even Armenia should try something like this (maybe call their protagonist "Captain Armenia" or "Captain Yerevan"?), that could even provide some historical context into the Turkish Ottoman Empire's massacre of 1.5 million Armenians during WW1.
She said the comic was devoted to “establishing a hero, establishing roots, [and] countering the venomous BDS movement.
We’re in the business of branding the movement so that it’s clear that the players that promote boycotting Israel are not well-intentioned.”
Indeed, in the unreleased second issue, Captain Israel will face his first arch-nemesis as he “exposes the extremists behind the Venomous Snake Charmer BDS (boycott, divestment and sanctions),” a sharp-fanged serpent meant to represent the world’s supporters of the BDS movement against Israel.
[...]
The comic book’s first issue was released in a limited run to attendees of Stand With Us’s annual Festival of Lights event on December 12. This week they’ve decided to begin promoting the first issue, which focuses on an interpretation of Jewish history and the events that led to Israel’s founding, as well as the subsequent wars with the neighboring Arab states.
The history lesson is narrated by Captain Israel, who “was there when Jewish civilization and national identity were founded 3,000 years ago in the land of Israel.”
In a move that will come as a relief to Muslim leaders, King told POLITICO that he’s not planning to call as witnesses such Muslim community critics as the Investigative Project on Terrorism’s Steve Emerson and Jihad Watch’s Robert Spencer, who have large followings among conservatives but are viewed as antagonists by many Muslims.I suppose he's not going to invite Frank Gaffney either? To be fair though:
Possible witnesses, according to King, include Dutch critic of Islam Ayaan Hirsi AliBut that still doesn't excuse his failure to invite some of the experts on the Koran itself. So how can we be certain this'll be the powerhouse it ought to be?
 |
| The Russell Kangaroo Tribunal - photo copyright@AcademicPerspective |
"The kangaroo court was created at the initiative an antisionist political party "Les Indigènes de la République" to judge French philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy. The "charges" against the philosopher are as follows:Read it all here.
- Advocacy of unbridled imperialism and Zionism
- Intellectual dishonesty, as a characteristic of the errors of philosophy, the accumulation of capital and power
- False accusation of an imaginary crime against Iran
- Warmongering and advocating humanitarian imperialism
- Aiding in the creation and promotion of SOS Racisme with a view to silencing autonomous movements of immigration
- Dissemination of false news likely to sow discord between Christian and Muslim religious communities.
The trial is due to take place in Paris on 28 January. "
Prince Saud Al-Faisal (L) and his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu, 12 Jan 2011 With the Saudi team out, Turkish FM Ahmet Davutoglu will take up efforts with Qatari mediatorsIF THE SAUDI'S THINK THEY CAN LONGER MEDIATE, THEN WAR IS IMMINENT...
The Saudi foreign minister says Riyadh has abandoned mediation efforts to end the political crisis in Lebanon caused by the UN-backed Hariri tribunal.
King Abdullah ended the Saudi-Syrian initiative because of a lack of progress, Prince Saud al-Faisal said.
There are fears of sectarian clashes as Lebanon awaits the findings of the international inquiry into the murder of ex-Lebanese PM Rafik Hariri in 2005.
Hezbollah has vowed to retaliate if, as expected, its members are implicated.
HaaretzUnarmed militants from the Iran- and Syria-backed militant organization took to the streets across various central sites across the capital, according to Lebanese media. The organization gave no advance notice of the simulation, the reports said.
STAY TUNED...
The Black Swan Theory or "Theory of Black Swan Events" was developed by Nassim Nicholas Taleb to explain:Why is China still showing 6-8% GDP growth, even though their exports are down over 25%?
- The disproportionate role of high-impact, hard to predict, and rare events that are beyond the realm of normal expectations in history, science, finance and technology
- The non-computability of the probability of the consequential rare events using scientific methods (owing to their very nature of small probabilities)
- The psychological biases that make people individually and collectively blind to uncertainty and unaware of the massive role of the rare event in historical affairs
BRRRRRR!The solar cycle 24 predicted sunspot maximum has been reduced again – predicted peak down to 59 Max. (1/3/11) http://solarscience.msfc.nasa.gov/predict.shtml
“It’s tough to make predictions, especially about the future. Philosopher Y. Berra
This will be at the level of the Maunder Minimum of 1675 -1715.
Previous NASA predictions below:
- 2010 October: Predicted peak 60-70
- 2009 May 29: predicted peak: 80-90 range
- 2009 Jan 5: predicted peak: 100-110 range
- 2008 Mar 28: predicted peak: 130-140 range
From the NASA page:
Current prediction for the next sunspot cycle maximum gives a smoothed sunspot number maximum of about 59 in June/July of 2013. We are currently two years into Cycle 24 and the predicted size continues to fall.
Ron Reagan's recently published book My Father At 100: A Memoir suggests that President Ronald Reagan was afflicted with Alzheimer's Disease while still in office — as early as three years into his first term as President."I've seen no evidence that my father (or anyone else) was aware of his medical condition while he was in office. Had the diagnosis been made in, say 1987, would he have stepped down? I believe he would have...Read more of the book review in U.S News HERE. In my view, the portion about Ronald Reagan's having brain surgery revealing signs of Alzheimer's in 1989 does not contribute to Ron Reagan's credibility.
You can be sure, if Iranian organisations, made up of Iranian refugees from the fascist Islamic regime in Tehran, say they are worried, there is solid basis for their concerns! Here is a video from 2009: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAt26vRJx_cIslam in Europe: Copenhagen: Final approval given for construction of first mosques: "Iranian organizations in Denmark fear the Shia mosque planned for the Nordvest district will serve as a center for Iranian-led extremism."
copyright@SIOE
"Perhaps the most stunning revelation to come out of our interview was Reza's(Khalili) admission that Iran uses mosques in Europe and the U.S to plot, finance, recruit and train for terrorism. Reza was personally involved in some of these operations while working for Iran in the Muslim communities of Europe. Given the current controversies that are raging over proposed mega-mosques, not only at Ground Zero but across America's heartland, Reza's insights are vitally important. " More here.
More information here: http://islamizationwatch.blogspot.com/2010/01/sioe-demonstration-against-huge-mosque.html
Soldiers deployed heavily in several Beirut neighbourhoods after dozens of men gathered on the streets in an apparent show of force following indictments in the murder of the country's ex-premier.
"The gatherings may signal preparations to mobilise in relation to the indictments handed down," a security official said.
He was referring to a sealed indictment submitted on Monday by the prosecutor of a UN-backed tribunal in relation to the 2005 assassination of Rafiq Hariri.
OBAMA ISSUED A STATEMENT (EXCERPT):Hizbullah staged a quiet show of force Tuesday that rattled nerves, hours before senior Qatari and Turkish officials began talks in Beirut in an attempt to contain political tension over a U.N.-backed tribunal probing the 2005 killing of statesman Rafik Hariri.
Hizbullah’s actions came hours before Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim Bin Jaber al-Thani and Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu began a series of talks with Lebanon’s political leaders aimed at preventing a slide toward sectarian strife.
"I welcome the announcement by the Office of the Prosecutor for the Special Tribunal for Lebanon today that he has filed an indictment relating to the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri and 22 others. This action represents an important step toward ending the era of impunity for murder in Lebanon, and achieving justice for the Lebanese people.
"I know that this is a significant and emotional time for the Lebanese people, and we join the international community in calling on all Lebanese leaders and factions to preserve calm and exercise restraint. The United States is a strong friend of Lebanon and we stand steadfastly with others in support of Lebanese sovereignty, independence, and stability.
OBAMA'S WORDS ARE WEAK.
HE SHOULD BE SENDING THE SIXTH FLEET THERE.
I THINK THAT IRAN AND HIZBALLAH WILL START A WAR. AND ATTACK ISRAEL.
STAY TUNED...
MAYBE NOT.The location where the statue was found, a tiny village in the Alban Hills which in Roman times was the center of the Diana cult, would be another strong indication for the existence of the emperor’s villa.
It is known that Caligula, who ruled from 37 to 41 as Rome’s third emperor, had two enormous “love boats” floating on the volcanic lake at Nemi.
The jubilant mood in the Jordanian capital Tuesday, following the national soccer team’s 2-1 defeat of Syria in the latest round of the Asia Cup tournament the previous day, was only a minor detraction from growing tensions this week as citizens have expressed anger over their country’s deteriorating economic situation and the government’s failure to control the price increases on essential goods.AFP/KHALEEJ TIMES:
But although widespread dissatisfaction led to a series of unplanned demonstrations in the country’s major cities last Friday after the noontime prayers, and similar demonstrations are planned this coming weekend, vendors in downtown Amman told The Jerusalem Post this week that the situation in their country did not mirror that of Tunisia.
“Jordan is not like Tunisia,” one shop owner, who preferred to remain anonymous, said in an interview. “People are happy with the king, but they are angry with the government.”
Jordan’s main opposition Islamic Action Front demanded on Tuesday the dissolution of parliament and removal of Samir Rifai’s government on allegations of “fraud” in November elections.AP/KHALEEJ TIMES:
“The elections were marred by fraud; we have evidence of the use of tens of thousands of fake identity cards during the electoral process,” said IAF secretary general Hamzeh Mansur.
Mansur, whose remarks were reported on the IAF website, called for “the fall of the government” of Prime Minister Rifai.
He also called for the “formation of a transitional government headed by an honest national personality who enjoys the confidence of the people.”
Jordan’s powerful Muslim opposition says Jordanians should be able to elect their prime minister and other government officials rather than having them appointed.
The rare call by Islamic Action Front leader Hamza Mansour underlines a rising tension with Jordan’s King Abdullah II, who has the ultimate authority that includes appointing Cabinets, dismissing parliament and ruling by decree.
Mansour said Tuesday an interim Cabinet should be formed until an elected one is in place.
He accused the serving Cabinet of corruption, burdening the poor and being detached from society.
NYT
IT'S A GOOD BASIC STRATEGY.THE FLYPAPER STRATEGY: part IV
THE SO-CALLED "WEST BANK" - 2002: The IDF let the terrorists takeover large parts of the refugee camp in Jenin. Then they went in and killed them. Pretty surgically, too - (despite what the MSM reported at the time).
IRAQ: Bush said "BRING IT ON!" and al Qaeda went to Iraq. Many from Europe and Syria and Saudi Arabia. Since 2003, we have been killing them there. By the thousands. In 2005, we let them settle in Anbar; and we are now killing them there. MAYBE DAMN KILLED NEAR ALL OF THEM.
LEBANON: the Lebanese are killing jihadists in a refugee camp in Tripoli.
AFGHANISTAN/PAKISTAN: Musharraf ANNOUNCED that he would keep his hands out of Waziristan; al Qaeda fled there. Now Musharraf is killing them there. He let them take-over the Red Mosque, and then wiped them out.
DO YOU THINK THERE'S A TREND HERE, MAYBE EVEN A STRATEGY!?
I do. FLYPAPER: Let the enemy aggregate, then WIPE THEM OUT EN MASSE.
The Unraveling of Seymour HershTHE LEFT IS SO DEEP INTO DENIAL AND COGNITIVE DISSONANCE THAT THEY CAN NO LONGER DISTINGUISH BETWEEN FANTASY AND REALITY.
- 01.18.2011 - 10:12 AMThe New Yorker’s investigative reporter Seymour Hersh seems to be unraveling. According to a story posted on Foreignpolicy.com, in a speech in Doha, Qatar, Hersh
delivered a rambling, conspiracy-laden diatribe here Monday expressing his disappointment with President Barack Obama and his dissatisfaction with the direction of U.S. foreign policy.
“Just when we needed an angry black man,” he began, his arm perched jauntily on the podium, “we didn’t get one.”
It quickly went downhill from there.
Blake Hounshell reports that Hersh, who is writing a book on what he calls the “Cheney-Bush years,” charged that U.S. foreign policy had been hijacked by a cabal of neoconservative “crusaders” in the former vice president’s office and now in the special operations community. “What I’m really talking about is how eight or nine neoconservative, radicals if you will, overthrew the American government. Took it over,” he said of his forthcoming book. “It’s not only that the neocons took it over but how easily they did it — how Congress disappeared, how the press became part of it, how the public acquiesced.”
During his remarks, Hersh brought up the widespread looting that took place in Baghdad after the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003. “In the Cheney shop, the attitude was, ‘What’s this? What are they all worried about, the politicians and the press, they’re all worried about some looting? … Don’t they get it? We’re gonna change mosques into cathedrals. And when we get all the oil, nobody’s gonna give a damn.’”
“That’s the attitude,” Hersh continued. “We’re gonna change mosques into cathedrals. That’s an attitude that pervades, I’m here to say, a large percentage of the Joint Special Operations Command.”
Hersh also alleged that General Stanley McChrystal, who headed Joint Special Operations Command before becoming the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, and his successor, Vice Admiral William McRaven, as well as many within JSOC, “are all members of, or at least supporters of, Knights of Malta.”
“Many of them are members of Opus Dei,” Hersh continued. “They do see what they’re doing — and this is not an atypical attitude among some military — it’s a crusade, literally. They seem themselves as the protectors of the Christians. They’re protecting them from the Muslims [as in] the 13th century. And this is their function.”
January 18, 2011TRASH-TALKING: Nissan’s Tavares to GM: Electric cars don’t have tailpipes.
Carlos Tavares, the automaker's executive vice-president of the Americas, spoke at the Automotive News World Congress in Detroit last week. Tavares held a muffler and tailpipe in the air and uttered these words:OF COURSE, ELECTRIC CARS DON'T HAVE TAILPIPES;As automakers, we have a duty to communicate with clarity to help customers understand today's technology. If you're calling your car electric, and it has one of these, you're only muddling the message.
A United Nations-backed prosecutor investigating the death of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri issued a sealed indictment Monday, according to the Netherlands-based court.
Regular readers know this happens all the time. Spread the word.
THE DIE IS CAST.A prosecutor for the UN tribunal investigating the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese prime minister, Rafiq al-Hariri, has filed the body's first indictment against suspects in the case.
The confidential documents were handed to the registry on Monday, the tribunal said in a statement.
"The prosecutor of the tribunal has submitted an indictment and supporting materials to the pre-trial judge," it said, though details of suspects named and the charges against them were not released."The contents of the indictment remain confidential at this stage".
Daniel Fransen, the pre-trial judge, must confirm the charges before any arrest warrant or summons to appear can be issued.
The tribunal is widely expected to indict members of Lebanon's Hezbollah, a move many fear could rekindle violence in the country.
Lancashire experienced its coldest temperatures in December since records began 100 years ago.
Figures from the Met Office reveal the average for the month was the coldest since 1910.
The previous coldest December in the county occurred in 1981 with an average December temperature of -0.2 degrees Celsius.
Last month’s average was down to an even chillier -0.9 degrees Celsius..
A spokesman for the Met Office said: “That’s the coldest by quite a long way actually.
“The coldest month of the year is normally January. December is usually quite warm.
IOW: AGW = TFBS.
Israeli supermarket magnate Rami Levy recently got involved in a new business – real estate. And not just any real estate; several days ago, Levy made a successful bid to take over development of the Nof Zion project, a new Jewish neighborhood in lands liberated by Israel in the 1967 Six Day War that was in danger of being purchased by an Arab businessman.He's done more than help food customers - he's helped real estate customers too, not to mention people who rightfully worry about encroachment by Islam. Even earlier, he made an excellent decision to cancel all orders of Turkish food in response to their growing anti-Israel hostility. I wish there were more people like him, who could even make special investments in companies in the USA that are in need of rescuing (say, in the book biz, though for now, it's another story). He's done a good deed, and I hope he goes on to really build up his business investments and ownerships in other industries besides the supermarket biz.
In an interview, Levy told Israel National News TV's Yoni Kempinski that he was investing in the project, of course, because it was a good business move – but also, he said, because “of my love for the city of Jerusalem and its importance to the Jewish people.”
Levy is a businessman – a successful one, judging by his accomplishments in the supermarket business. But he's a businessman with a “neshama" (soul). As he tells Israel National News TV, one of the reasons he gives such high discounts in his supermarkets is because “it helps some families 'finish the month' with their food budget, or even helps put meals on their Shabbat table.” Levy is in business to make money, but he tries to do it by sticking to Jewish and Zionist values.
Call it “Jewish capitalism.”
Levy's new foray into real estate could turn out to be his most important one, from a Zionist point of view, as it rescues the neighborhood from the clutches of Arab-American businessman Bashar Al-Masri, who was willing to pay a pretty penny to the bankrupt builder of the project, Digal. “This is going to be a large neighborhood,” says Levy, who is also a member of the Jerusalem City Council. “Ninety homes have already been built, and another 300 are planned. There is no reason why Jews should not live there.” The opportunity to take over the project was an attractive one, he says, both from a financial and ideological perspective. “It's a business opportunity, but also an opportunity to invest in Jerusalem in a major way. I love Jerusalem and prefer to invest here than in other places.”
[...]
Levy's “Jewish capitalism” extends to his business practices as well, including discounting, not only as a means of pulling customers into the store, but as a means of helping lower-income families stretch their food-shopping shekels. “I work hard to make sure that the total bill a family can expect to pay for their food costs is between 20% and 25% lower here than in other stores,” he says. As a result, the chain runs specials, especially around the holidays; last Rosh HaShanah, Rami Levy stores charged customers only one shekel per kilo for chicken, apples and honey!
Of course, he says, he wants to make a profit – and he does. But it's important not to forget the human aspect of business relations, Levy says. “I try to help out the customer, enabling him to buy products he wants that he may not have been able to afford. Profit is important – I have to pay the bills – but helping out others and giving the customer a good feeling is also important.”
...under the late Caspar Weinberger, who was Sec Def during the Reagan Administration, for more than a decade.That's when I realized that there was something really wrong with this man who refused to comprehend the reason why a number of rabbis and their wives signed letters urging not to sell property to Arabs or to date/marry them. As Phyllis Chesler, when she wrote recently about the case, told:
...Caspar W. Weinberger whose paternal grandparents were Jews and whose father was a Jewish lawyer. When Caspar was a boy, he was taunted for supposedly being Jewish. His mother was a Christian and he was raised as a Christian. When he visited Yad Vashem, the Memorial to the Jews who were murdered in the Holocaust, he said loudly: “I am not a Jew.” He said this in response to the guard who told him that “he, too, would have been murdered in the Holocaust.”This is the man whom Schweizer considers a master in law and order? One of the commentors noticed this too that he wasn't being particularly honest and pointed out the irony of his using a [leftist] propagandist's article to uphold his position. And are there any court documents to prove exactly what happened? I'm sure there's something he could've offered, but he hasn't so far. The only thing here I can agree with is that Pollard shouldn't be released as a way for Obama to try undermining Israel's security.
Weinberger submitted a 40 page affidavit in which he insisted that Pollard should be harshly sentenced. In later years, he said that “the Pollard matter was comparatively minor.” Weinberger is now dead and no doubt roasting in Hell. One wonders: What did he have over CIA head George Tenet (who threatened to resign when President Clinton suggested pardoning Pollard)? What did Weinberger have over President Bush’s Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld, both of whom went along with Weinberger’s revenge?
Pollard received a life sentence in 1987 for transferring classified information to Israel. The data involved Iranian, Syrian, Iraqi, and Lebanese ballistic missile development and nuclear and biological warfare capabilities. He also transmitted information on planned terrorist attacks against Israel, probably saving Israeli lives. The U.S. withheld this data from Israel despite a 1983 memorandum of understanding entitling Israel to such disclosure.If Pollard only gave the info to Israel, then while I won't dispute whether his taking the data without permission was illegal, I will have to dispute why he got a such a staggering sentence where the other examples cited did not.
Pollard received and is serving a much longer sentence than most others who were convicted of selling America’s secrets to its enemies. The much-publicized discovery of a Russian spy-ring in 2010 ended with the United States swapping ten Russian sleeper agents for four Americans held by Russia on charges of espionage. Michael S. Schwartz, a U.S. Navy Lieutenant Commander, who between November 1992 and September 1994 illegally transferred Department of Defense classified documents and computer diskettes to the Saudis, plea-bargained to avoid a court-martial and imprisonment. He was discharged from the Navy in 1995 without serving jail time. J. Reece Roth, a professor of engineering who passed U.S. Air-Force secret technologies to China and Iran, was sentenced to four years in prison in 2008. And Robert Kim, who spied for South Korean, was sentenced to nine years in jail in 1997. He was released in 2004.
Pollard’s sentence was disproportionate and unusual. In his letter to Obama, Netanyahu noted that Pollard’s sentence greatly exceeded the penalty requested by his prosecutors at the time of the plea bargain agreement.
I am writing to join with many others in urging you to consider that Jonathan Pollard has now paid a huge price for his espionage on behalf of Israel and should be released from prison.And the Jerusalem Post says:
I am impressed that the people who are best informed about the classified material he passed to Israel, former CIA Director James Woolsey and former Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee Dennis DeConcini, favor his release.
I find the letter you received from former Attorney General Michael Mukasey of the Bush administration particularly compelling.
"This is huge because he is the only one out of the Reagan-Weinberger-triumverate who were involved in the case who is still alive, and he is saying enough is enough," Pollard's wife Esther said. "This is significant news that a man of his stature has gotten involved. It adds dramatically to the compelling nature of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's dramatic call for Jonathan's release." Schultz is the first former US cabinet minister to openly call for Pollard's release and is a respected Republican figure. People involved in the effort to release Pollard said Schultz's endorsement would go a long way toward persuading other Republicans to join the campaign.I hope they'll follow him and help, even though there's no telling if this'll bear any fruit.
A growing number of senior United States intelligence and counterinsurgency officials say that by bunching up there, insurgents are ultimately making it easier for American drone strikes to hit them from afar.
American officials are loath to talk about this silver lining to the storm cloud that they have long described building up in the tribal area of North Waziristan, where the insurgents run a virtual mini-state the size of Rhode Island. This is because they do not want to undermine the Obama administration’s urgent public pleas for Pakistan to order troops into the area, or to give Pakistan an excuse for inaction…
With several hundred insurgents largely bottled up there, and with few worries about accidentally hitting Pakistani soldiers battling militants or civilians fleeing a combat zone, the Central Intelligence Agency’s drones have attacked targets in North Waziristan with increasing effectiveness and have degraded Al Qaeda’s ability to carry out a major attack against the United States, the senior officials said.