Posted on 02/26/2007 4:18:14 PM PST by DAVEY CROCKETT
No one to counter Chavez In a region where the leading ideology is Bolivarianism, there is not one leader positioned to offer a better idea for a brighter future.
Commentary by Sam Logan for ISN Security Watch (23/02/2007)
For over two decades, the prevailing ideology in Latin America was neo-liberalism, a Washington-born idea that claimed the power of open markets would lift the region’s poor from misery. It did not, and corruption ran rampant.
While democracy still remains strong, resentful voters ushered in a new generation of neo-populist leaders touting a new idea: a form of socialism, called Bolivarianism, that has slowly but surely become the loudest and most prevalent ideology.
Bolivarianism is anti-capitalist, supports nationalization, regional trade with like-minded countries and above all, suggests that a country should rely on itself or fellow socialist states, not imperialist powers, as a source of the economic growth that will lift all from poverty. It is a sort of refurbished socialism that is not a guiding light for the future.
Latin America cannot readily absorb the economic shock of open markets, nor can it get bogged down in the trappings of old socialist ideas. A blended ideology must be promoted, but the problem is that no one is strong enough to counter Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, the leader of Bolivarianism.
Chavez calls it Socialism for the 21st Century. Cuba's Fidel Castro passed him the torch. Leaders around the region pay homage to their own past as socialist upstarts through hugging and laughing with Chavez on the international stage while taking care of often pro-capitalist, neo-liberal business at home.
Brazilian President Luis Inacio “Lula” da Silva is a perfect example. He has the leftist background and eye for fiscal conservatism to become a great ideological counterweight to Chavez. His politics represent an ideal blend for the region. But his politically weak position at home and strong voices from his own left deter any would be shouting match with Chavez.
Within a week after winning his second term in office, Lula visited Chavez for a photo opportunity on a bridge linking both countries. That was in November, and it looks like Lula’s administration will remain bogged down until March as he struggles to get past his party’s sordid past and form a working cabinet willing to share the same table.
Argentina of the past could have been a counter weight to the Bolivarian ideology. But since Nestor Kirchner has come to power, Argentina has become a Venezuelan puppet.
Chavez has literally bought the support of his southern neighbor with over US$3 billion in purchases of Argentine debt. The most recent purchase occurred on 16 February, when Venezuela dumped another US$750 million into Argentine government coffers.
Colombian President Alvaro Uribe has the politics to promote an ideological battle with Chavez. Colombia has been a model of economic growth through a mixture of neo-liberal policies and social programs. But Uribe has serious problems.
Political allies are falling like dominos due to links with former paramilitary leaders. And if Uribe took the time to speak out for neo-liberalism and against Chavez, he would be dismissed as another of Washington's puppets. Colombia is a top recipient of US aid.
The only other leader who could take up an ideological fight with Chavez is Mexican President Felipe Calderon. He has the right politics and his country has a history of not blindly supporting the US. Voting against the US invasion of Iraq at the UN is a clear indication. But Calderon won on the thinnest possible mandate. His opposition controls enough seats in the Mexican Congress to block any unwanted initiative, and his focus is on Mexican organized crime, not on verbal sword play with Chavez.
Finally, the US has launched a diplomatic offensive in the region. This is to be a year of engagement, but the US president is clearly obsessed with the war in Iraq, not with putting a muzzle on Venezuela’s leader for the sake of the region’s future. Washington is doubly discredited, first for promoting an ideology that clearly did not work, and second for doing nothing about it.
Latin America needs an independent leader willing to stand up to Chavez, but that leader does not exist on the region’s geopolitical map. Bolivarianism will continue to seep into the minds and hearts of millions across Latin America. Chavez and his pool of allies will control the headlines until the next round of presidential elections tell the world how the region has embraced this new ideology.
As Chavez puts it, Socialism for the 21st Century is just getting started. If that is true, then he will continue to trumpet his ideology until Latin Americans learn, the hard way, that Bolivarianism did not carry them much farther from poverty than neo-liberalism. Disillusionment with reality may then spread faster than hope for the future.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sam Logan is an investigative journalist who has reported on security, energy, politics, economics, organized crime, terrorism and black markets in Latin America since 1999. He is a senior writer for ISN Security Watch based in Brazil.
The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author only, not the International Relations and Security Network (ISN).
Al-Aqsa comments trigger inquiry
Al-Aqsa comments trigger inquiry
He called nearby excavations a crime, and urged uprising
Reuters
Updated: 1:05 p.m. ET Feb 23, 2007
JERUSALEM - Israel is investigating comments made by an Islamic leader
who
led protests against Israeli excavations near Al-Aqsa mosque, Islam's
third-holiest site.
Sheik Raed Salah, leader of the Islamic Movement in northern Israel,
had
called for a new uprising against what he termed an "Israeli crime."
Israeli
police deployed across Jerusalem on Friday but no clashes were
reported.
Israel says the work near Al-Aqsa aims to salvage artifacts before
construction of a pedestrian bridge leading up to a religious compound
sacred to both Muslims and Jews.
But the work has angered Arabs and Muslims who fear it could damage
foundations of the 1,300-year-old mosque in Jerusalem's Old City.
continued.............
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17298663/
http://intellibriefs.blogspot.com/
February 26, 2007
Baloch Desperation to get Persian Attention is Fruitless
The recent escalation of violence against Baloch by the Persian chauvinistic Islamic regime of Iran in which hundreds of Baloch youth have been murdered by the way of either hanging or shooting have set Baloch leadership on the move again. They are desperate to draw world attention towards the misery through which Baloch under Iranian occupation are going now. The media is the most powerful way with the help of which they can pass their message to all human loving people and authorities around the world.
Gedrosia [removed script] Baloch Desperation to get Persian Attention is Fruitless
posted by Naxal Watch
[More details here:]
http://gedrosia.blogspot.com/2007/02/baloch-desperation-to-get-persian.html
http://intellibriefs.blogspot.com/
THE MAN WHO KNOWS MORE ABOUT NATANZ THAN CIA
by B. Raman
In the present debate on the need for a deniable air strike on Isfahan, where Iran produces the uranium hexafluoride gas, and Natanz, where it converts the gas into enriched uranium, the relevant question is not whether Iran has secret plans for acquiring a military nuclear capability.
2. The relevant question is when the uranium enrichment facility at Natanz will go into full steam with at least 3,000 centrifuges functioning smoothly. The present indications are that unless the Iranian nuclear scientists and engineers face unexpected technical problems or Iran suffers the loss of more key scientists and/or engineers due to "mysterious deaths", the plant in Natanz should go into full steam by October 31, 2007. If that happens, the danger of serious environmental damage in the Gulf region as a result of a successful air strike on Natanz---either by Israel or by the US or by both acting in tandem-- could increase immeasurably. The damage could even affect Israel eventually.
3. President Ahmadinejad of Iran is exercising tremendous pressure on his scientists to complete the installation of all the centrifuges and commission the facility as quickly as possible. He is calculating---rightly or wrongly--- that once the plant goes into full steam, the dangers of a deniable air strike by Israel/US will decrease.
4.He is confident---rightly, in my view--- that the US, in view of its experience in Iraq and current predicament there, cannot afford to repeat an Iraq-like invasion of Iran.
5. The option of a direct military invasion and occupation can be ruled out. Israel and the US have only two options against Iran--- a deniable air strike on Natanz and Isfahan or at least on Natanz and covert destabilisation operations with the help of the Sunni organisations of Iran. Destabilisation operations will take a long time to produce results. The air strike on Natanz cannot afford to wait till then.
6. To make Natanz a non-starter, two options are available--- an immediate airstrike, which would be secret and deniable with possibly a simultaneous decapitation of the Iranian Air Force and missile capabilities and/or bringing about a collapse of the computer network of the Natanz facility. If the US and Israel can bring about a collapse of the computer network of the Iranian nuclear establishment as a whole, all the more better.
7. Unless the US and Israel have already been working on the information warfare option, this too would take time. If they make progress in developing a capability for successful information warfare against Iran's nuclear establishment, this option, if successful, can make the uranium enrichment facility non-functional even after it goes into full steam. The prospect of an effective information warfare capability will reduce the pressure for an immediate air strike. If the prospects are poor, the pressure will increase.
8. The US should mobilise the services of the IT whiz-kids and let them loose on the computer network of Iran's nuclear establishment.
9. For a successful air strike, the US and Israel would need precise information about Natanz and Ispahan and a dependable assessment of the likely after-effects. It will be risky to rely on the hearsay of Iranian political exiles. It will need to talk to scientists and engineers, who have been to these places and seen the facilities.
10. It is likely that A.Q.Khan, the Pakistani nuclear scientist, who clandestinely collaborated with Iran with the approval of the Pakistan Army and supplied the centrifuges, is a storehouse of information on Natanz---if not on Ispahan. It is very important that the US gets hold of him and interrogates him thoroughly before finalising its options.
11. Finally a word of caution to President Ahmadinejad: The Egyptian people paid a price for the irrational rhetoric of President Nasser and his inability to think lucidly. The Yugoslav people paid a heavy price for the rhetoric of the Serb leaders and their inability to think lucidly. The people of Iraq paid a heavy price for the rhetoric of President Saddam Hussein and his inability to think lucidly. Please don't make the people of Iran pay a heavy price for your rhetoric and inability to think lucidly.
12. If the crisis over Iran moves towards a point of no return, it could have an impact on India---in terms of its environment and energy security if Iran carries out its threat to block oil supplies through the Straits of Hormuz. The Government of India has two options---keep quiet hoping that the crisis will somehow be contained, if not resolved, or be prepared with a workable crisis management plan. If our leaders are wise, they will choose the second and set in motion a process of brainstorming on crisis anticipation and management.
(The writer is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India, New Delhi, and, presently, Director, Institute for Topical Studies, Chennai. E-mail:
http://intellibriefs.blogspot.com/2007/02/how-iranian-qods-force-is-operating-in.html
How the Iranian Qods Force is operating in Iraq
Tuesday, 20 February 2007
NCRI - In a webinar - a conference on the web - organised on ISCC Site (http://www.iraniscc.info) today, Mohammad Mohaddessin, Chair of the NCRI Foreign Affairs Committee spoke about critical aspects of the clerical regime's meddling in Iraq. Following are excerpts of his remarks:
The documents and information I am going to present, shed light on the scope of the Iranian regime’s interference in Iraqi affairs.
One of these documents is the list of 32,000 agents of the mullahs’ regime in Iraq who receive monthly salaries from the Iranian regime. These people are currently in effect paid staff of the Revolutionary Guards’ Qods Force. (IRGC-QF)
continued.............
[the end of the article and heading of next article..]
The Qods force was originally called the Lebanon Corps. It carried out the suicide truck bomb attack on the US Marine Barracks in Beirut in 1983.
The Qods [Jerusalem Force] is the most important agency tasked with the export of terrorism and fundamentalism.
1. In 1990, the Iranian regime consolidated all its intelligence agencies and extraterritorial institutions to form the Qods Force. The most experienced and veteran IRGC commanders were assigned to the Force. Brig. Gen. Ahmad Vahidi, the IRGC's Intelligence Directorate Chief was the Qods Force's first commander. He said our objective is the formation of an "international Islamic Army." Brig. Gen. Qassem Soleimani is the current IRGC commander. The headquarters for the Force is the former site of the U.S. embassy in Tehran.
2. The Qods Force has more than 21,000 Iranian members an thousands on non-Iranian mercenaries, which are active in intelligence gathering and terrorist activities in the Middle East and elsewhere, including in Lebanon, Afghanistan, Iraq, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Bosnia, Jordan, etc. The Force's representatives work in many embassies around the world as diplomats.
3. The Qods Force has 12 directorates. In addition, it has several units called International Affairs Units that pursue developments in other countries. They are: Iraq, Turkey, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Lebanon, Syria, Middle East, Russia, Africa, and Europe.
4. In addition to terrorist operations, the Qods Force also trains non-Iranian terrorist forces, including nations from Pakistan, Morocco, Lebanon, Iraq, Palestine and other Middle East countries. The training is provided to groups of 40 to 50 persons. The Force has dozens of garrisons across Iran in which it trains its non-Iranian operatives.
5. Some of the Force's training centers for foreign nationals are as follows:
a. Imam Ali Training base. It is one of the most important training bases and is located north of Tehran, in Alborz Kouh Street.
b. Khomeini Training base. It is located on Khavaran-Semnan highway, before reaching Pakdasht Township. Col. Rezai is the commander of the base, where a large number of foreign forces from Iraq, Lebanon and Palestine are being currently trained.
c. Bahonar base. It is located on Chalous highway, near Karaj Dam. This is also among one of the most important training centers.
d. Qods Training Center in Nahavand. It is located 45km from the town of Nahavand, west of Iran. Foreign forces, including those from Lebanon and Afghanistan are trained here.
e. Qom's Beit ol-Moghadas University in the city of Qom.
f. Training center in Tehran's Farahzad district.
g. Training center on Damavand highway.
h. Hezbollah Base in Varamin, southeast of Tehran.
i. Madani Base in Dezful, (southwest Iran).
j. Bisotoun Base in Kermanshah, (western Iran).
k. Tangeh Kenesht Base in Kermanshah, (western Iran).
l. Ghayour Training Base in Ahwaz (southwest Iran).
6. The Qods Force has six major garrisons along Iran's borders with other countries. They are tasked with following up terrorist operations in the neighboring countries. They are:
a. Ramadan Garrison (First Corps) in Kermanshah (west). Mission: Iraq.
b. Nabi-Akram Garrison (Second Corps) in Zahedan (southeast). Mission: Pakistan.
c. Hamza Garrison (Third Corps) in Orumieh (northwest). Mission: Turkey.
d. Ansar Garrison (Fourth Corps) in Mashad (northeast). Mission: Afghanistan and Pakistan.
7. Terrorist Units.
In addition to the six garrisons, the Force has several other corps, including:
a. The Sixth Corps. Mission: Persian Gulf states.
b. The Seventh Corps. Mission: Lebanon and Syria.
c. The Eighth Corps. Mission: African States.
d. The Ninth Corps. Mission: Europe and the United States.
Qods Force in Iraq
The Qods Force is mainly focused on Iraq at the present. Iraq is the gateway to reach the rest of the Islamic world. The most senior IRGC generals as well as thousands of personnel are based in Ramadan Garrison. Their mission: To dominate Iraq. Large parts of southern Iraq are virtually in the control of the IRGC.
The regime has accomplished this feat by allocating billions of dollars, dispatching thousands of clerics and paying thousands of mercenaries on a monthly basis.
The Qods Force Fajr Garrison in Ahwaz has set up intelligence and reconnaissance squads to collect intelligence on the Coalition forces and identifying them. To this end, Fajr Garrison commanders, including Brig. Gen. Obeidavi, the garrison's commander, Hamid Taghavi, Ramadan Garrison's operations commander, Brig. Gen. Ahmad Forouzandeh, Ramadan Garrison's deputy commander, Brig. Gen. Balalek, Fajr Garrison's operational commander, Col. Heidar Saki, Fajr Garrison's intelligence commander as well as a number of other Fajr intelligence and operations commanders have repeatedly traveled to Al-Amara and Basra to make contact with these squads. They have posed as Iraqis in order not to be identified.
Each reconnaissance squad numbers around 20, each entrusted with a specific task. Some work in the streets as venders. Others are engaged in watch operations near their hideouts. Others have opened shops to collect intelligence and carry out surveillance operations on the Coalition forces. Some teams are engaged in filming. They also pose as ordinary people to get close to Coalition bases.
Some time ago, the Fajr Garrison set up an eavesdropping center in Basra. They intercept the communication between the government, police and Coalition forces. All equipment has come from Iran.
By causing chaos and launching terrorist operations on the Coalition columns in Basra, Al-Amara and Nassiriya, the Qods has prevented the Coalition forces from entering major population centers. The objective is to control the inner cities, both militarily and security wise.
The Fajr Garrison is currently smuggling different weapons' caches to Iraq. They use the Ajirdeh Dam region, Al-Aziz, Al-Holafayeh, Al-Moshrah. They also use the marshes in the south and the Tayeb region. The mostly use boats to do so.
The Fajr Garrison commander Obeidavi visits operatives affiliated with the Qods Force in Iraq on a monthly basis. He usually goes to Basra and Nassiriya.
In a confidential report to the Qods Force in June, the Fajr Garrison informed the Qods Force headquarters that "Iraqi groups affiliated with the Garrison have succeeded in setting up a well-coordinated entity to assassinate prominent Sunni personalities, including members of Iraq's Islamic Party, the Society of Muslim Scholars and other Sunni activists. By assassinating officials of these entities, they have succeeded in paving the way for pro-regime groups in Iraq's politics and facilitated their control of government portfolios."
http://intellibriefs.blogspot.com/2007/02/india-china-russia-alliance-in-making.html
India-China-Russia: alliance in the making?
Guest Column: By Rajiv Sikri
(This article was published by Rediff.com and the author has authorised its republication in SAAG. The views expressed are author's own)
The long-awaited meeting of the Foreign Ministers of India, China and Russia in New Delhi on 14th February was, at one level, merely the latest in a series of trilateral meetings at this level held annually since 2002, generally on the margins of multilateral gatherings. It was, however, only the second stand-alone meeting, the first one having taken place in Vladivostok in June 2005. It was also the first meeting of the three Foreign Ministers after their leaders met in St. Petersburg in July 2006 on the margins of the G-8 summit. The fact that the latest meeting took place in one of the capitals, again a first, gave it comparatively much higher profile and visibility.
Russia has been the keenest proponent, and the driving force, of the concept of closer consultation and cooperation among India , China and Russia . The idea of trilateral cooperation was initiated by then Russian Prime Minister Primakov in 1998. It was Russia that hosted the first Foreign Ministers’ meeting in New York , the first stand-alone meeting at Vladivostok and the leaders’ summit at St. Petersburg . Last week, the Russian Foreign Minister made a special visit to Delhi for the trilateral meeting, which was dovetailed with the Chinese Foreign Minister’s bilateral visit to India .
Russia ’s enthusiasm for trilateral cooperation is easy to understand. From being the co-equal of the United States (in its incarnation as the Soviet Union ), it was contemptuously, if mistakenly, relegated by the West to strategic irrelevance in the post- Cold War era. Yeltsin’s overtures to get Russia accepted by the West into its fold were spurned. Meanwhile, as NATO steadily crept eastwards, to the very borders of Russia, and the US succeeded in getting a foothold in Russia’s strategic neighbourhood, especially Ukraine and Georgia, Russia’s security fears were heightened. From a strategic perspective, Russia realizes that on its own it is not strong enough to challenge the West, specifically the US . China and India are the only countries that are large enough players and sufficiently independent-minded to be potential partners in this strategic balancing act. Russia may also have felt that a triangular relationship involving Russia could facilitate better understanding between India and China . This would minimize possible contradictions in Russia ’s ties with two of its most important partners, and thereby ward off unpleasant choices for Russia .
The New Delhi meeting will compel the US to sit up and take notice. A few years ago, when the US straddled the world like a colossus, these three countries thought it prudent not to provoke the US , with whom the stakes of each of these countries were higher than with one another. Thus, the early trilateral meetings of Foreign Ministers were formal and devoid of substance, with deliberately low-key publicity. As the three countries’ economic and military clout have risen, so has their self-confidence, and their willingness to challenge the US world view, even if this is accompanied by a reiteration of ostensibly reassuring and loud disclaimers that trilateral cooperation is “not directed against the interests of any other country.” Objectively, too, the US remains very important to each of the three countries, and the Foreign Ministers cannot be faulted for their caution. At the same time, President Putin’s extremely significant, blunt address at the Munich security conference earlier this month, China ASAT test, and India ’s conscious efforts to reach out to Iran and Myanmar are signals to the US that all three countries intend to follow an independent foreign policy that serves their respective national interests.
The Joint Statement issued after the New Delhi meeting contains many interesting nuances in this direction. It is noteworthy that its overwhelming emphasis is on the convergence of views on broad strategic issues, rather than on specific areas of trilateral cooperation. In a thinly veiled critique of US global policies and behaviour, the Foreign Ministers, we are told, emphasized the “strong commitment” of the three countries to multilateral diplomacy, and exchanged views on “how international relations are being presently conducted.” Their discussions on developments in Iran , Iraq , Afghanistan , West Asia, and the Korean peninsula, brought out their common approach on these issues, and a global perspective clearly very different from the US world-view. The absence of any specific mention of regional issues in the Joint Statement may be only because the Ministers may have thought it prudent not to directly provoke the US by coming out with an agreed formal formulation on these issues. More areas of strategic convergence are likely to emerge if Russia and China agree to India ’s proposal to host a trilateral seminar, with the participation of not only scholars but officials too, later this year on the “emerging geo-strategic trends.”
In calling for a “more even distribution of development resources and influence,” and the attainment of a “more stable and balanced” multi-polar world order through the instrumentality of the UN, the three countries have, for the first time, collectively signaled that they too, not just the West, must have a say in how the world is governed and how its limited resources are exploited. The disaster in Iraq and the looming confrontation with Iran explain their common concern that cooperation rather than confrontation, with an important role for the UN, should govern approaches to regional and global affairs.
Central Asia also came up for discussion. Although since the mid-20th century the foreign policies of Russia , China and India were broadly oriented in a direction away from Eurasia and towards Europe, East Asia and South Asia respectively rather than towards the continental landmass, today’s changed circumstances compel all three countries to look at developments in Eurasia much more seriously. As continental powers whose respective back doors, so to speak, open in the fragile, volatile and strategically important region of Central Asia, it is perfectly logical that India, China and Russia should be actively exploring avenues of cooperation to ensure that this region remains peaceful and stable. The broad strategic convergence of the policies of these three countries in this region is evident in their participation in the Central Asia-centric Shanghai Cooperation Organization, where Russia and China are members, and India an observer.
Given the institutional weaknesses of the Central Asian states, there are many potential dangers emanating from this region that could threaten the security and stability of all three countries. Separatist tendencies and terrorist activities exist precisely in those regions of India , China and Russia that are contiguous to Central Asia . Faced as all three countries are with terrorist and separatist activities ( Chechnya for Russia , Xinjiang for China , and Kashmir for India ), there was considerable meeting ground on this issue among the three Foreign Ministers. Against this background, they had little difficulty in agreeing that there can be no justification for any act of terrorism irrespective of motivations, as well as in rejecting selective approaches and double standards in countering terrorism. There was agreement in conceptual terms and in the intention to develop practical cooperation in multilateral and regional frameworks and through coordinated trilateral action. It remains to be seen what would be the concrete forms of such cooperation.
In addition, the US military presence in the region, which is likely to be a long-term one, poses an incipient threat to all three countries about which none of them can be sanguine. The formulation in the Joint Statement that Russia and China “would actively facilitate early realization of mutually beneficial contribution of India to the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation,” and a recent statement by the Russian Ambassador to India, provide indications that India may soon be invited to become a full member of the Central Asia-centric Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. Were that to happen, it could become a matter of serious strategic concern to the US that tends to regard the SCO as an anti-US alliance.
While many ideas for trilateral cooperation have been discussed among scholars in a number of trilateral academic meetings organized over the last few years, no visible progress on the ground has been made so far. The Ministers identified energy, transport infrastructure, health, and high technology as promising areas for joint cooperation and collaboration. Hopefully, the proposed expert-level meetings, and the Business Meet in India later this year, will come up with practical areas of trilateral economic cooperation.
Energy is an obvious area of mutually beneficial cooperation if the three countries are willing to think creatively and boldly. Energy-deficient, fast-growing and geographically proximate India and China could become long-term reliable markets for energy-surplus Russia , provided Russia takes a strategic decision that its enormous energy resources should be available to fuel the growth of India and China instead of being committed principally to Western markets. The considerable hydropower potential in Siberia and Tibet could be tapped for transmitting electricity via Xinjiang and Tibet to the large Indian market just across the mountains. Overland pipeline projects, if technically and economically feasible, could transport Russian and Caspian oil and gas to markets in India via China , as well as to global markets via India ’s warm water ports. This could be cheaper and also obviate many of the risks associated with exclusive reliance on maritime energy supply routes. China is already exploring alternative routes via Pakistan for transporting Gulf oil to China . It may well find a sea-land route via India more reliable and secure, particularly if there is a reciprocal dependence – India’s on Russian and Central Asian gas transiting China on its way to India, and China’s on Gulf oil transiting India on its way to China. Joint India-China-Russia investments in energy projects in Russia and elsewhere, and swap deals are other possible areas of cooperation.
Another exciting and potentially very significant area of cooperation is high technology. If the three countries pool their assets and synergize their strengths, they could emerge as an alternative nucleus for development of futuristic technologies, and break the current technological dominance of the West. Information technology and biotechnology have already been identified as areas meriting special attention. There is some talk of developing civilian aircraft that could break the duopoly of Boeing and Airbus, and of cooperation in the field of pharmaceuticals that could pose a challenge to the cartel of American and European multinational pharmaceutical companies. Controlling between them about one and a half trillion dollars of foreign exchange, the three countries have also talked of cooperation in financial services.
The New Delhi meeting of the Foreign Ministers of India, China and Russia has put trilateral cooperation firmly on the rails. There will be regular Foreign Ministerial meetings, with the next to be hosted by China . Gone is the tentativeness and hesitation that characterized earlier meetings. The atmospherics of the latest meeting were good, its outcome substantive, and the mood of the participants upbeat and confident. The burgeoning trilateral consultations and cooperation constitute the most serious and credible endeavour to craft a multi-polar world. But there is no strategic alliance – at least not yet. What we are seeing is a demonstration of how in today’s complex global scenario there can be issue-based coalitions of states. It is the fructification of even one or two large projects of the kind indicated above that would hardwire the three countries into a long-term mutual interdependence and lead to a true strategic alliance. For this, conscious strategic decisions will be needed in all countries. Are the leaders of India , China and Russia ready for a radical conceptual breakthrough to take advantage of the new geo-political realities of the 21st century?
Rajiv Sikri is a former member of the Indian Foreign Service who retired recently as Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs. He can be contacted at rajivsikri@gmail.com
posted by Naxal Watch @ 8:13 AM 0
Saudi Arabia sending 350 students to New Zealand
http://news.monstersandcritics.com/middleeast/news/article_1254301.php/Saudi_Arabia_send
ing_350_students_to_New_Zealand
http://news.monstersandcritics.com/middleeast/news/article_1254301.php/Saud
i_Arabia_sending_350_students_to_New_Zealand
Saudi Arabia sending 350 students to New Zealand
Feb 1, 2007, 3:20 GMT
Wellington - Saudi Arabia will send about 350 students to study at New
Zealand's eight universities this year, Tertiary Education Minister
Michael Cullen said on Thursday.
The undergraduate and postgraduate students would come under Saudi
Arabia's King Abdullah expanded scholarships programme for Asia and
Oceania.
They will join more than 500 students from Gulf states, including Saudi
Arabia and Oman, who are currently enrolled in other New Zealand
educational institutions.
Cullen said the expansion of King Abdullah's scholarships programme
would not only boost New Zealand earnings from export education, but
also strengthen cooperation and understanding between New Zealand and
the countries of the Gulf region.
C 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur
THE TERROR RAIDS
Hateful chatter behind the veil
Key suspects' wives held radical views, Web postings reveal
OMAR EL AKKAD AND GREG MCARTHUR
The Globe and Mail, Toronto
29/06/06
MISSISSAUGA -- When it came time to write up the premarital agreement
between Zakaria Amara and Nada Farooq, Ms. Farooq briefly considered
adding
a clause that would allow her to ask for a divorce.
She said that Mr. Amara (now accused of being a leader of the alleged
terror
plot that led to the arrests of 17 Muslim men early this month) had to
aspire to take part in jihad.
"[And] if he ever refuses a clear opportunity to leave for jihad, then
i
want the choice of divorce," she wrote in one of more than 6,000
Internet
postings uncovered by The Globe and Mail.
Wives of four of the central figures arrested last month were among the
most
active on the website, sharing, among other things, their passion for
holy
war, disgust at virtually every aspect of non-Muslim society and a
hatred of
Canada. The posts were made on personal blogs belonging to both Mr.
Amara
and Ms. Farooq, as well as a semi-private forum founded by Ms. Farooq
where
dozens of teens in the Meadowvale Secondary School area chatted. The
vast
majority of the posts were made over a period of about 20 months,
mostly in
2004, and the majority of those were made by the group's female
members.
The tightly knit group of women who chatted with each other includes
Mariya
(the wife of alleged leader Fahim Ahmad), Nada (the wife of Mr. Amara,
the
alleged right-hand man) Nada's sister Rana (wife of suspect Ahmad
Ghany), as
well as Cheryfa MacAulay Jamal (the Muslim convert from Cape Breton,
N.S.
who married the oldest suspect, 43-year-old Qayyum Abdul Jamal). The
women's
husbands are part of a core group of seven charged with the most severe
crimes -- plotting to detonate truck bombs against the Toronto Stock
Exchange, a Canadian Forces target, and the Toronto offices of the
Canadian
Security Intelligence Service.
The women were bound by the same social, political and ideological
aims.
They organized "sisters-only" swimming days and held fundraisers for
the
notorious al-Qaeda-linked Khadr family. With the exception of the
occasional
Urdu or Arabic word or phrase, their posts are exclusively in English.
After their husbands were arrested, most of the women refused to tell
their
stories to the media; reached at her home in Mississauga, Ms. Farooq
would
not comment on her posts.
But in the years leading up to the arrests, they shared their stories
with
one another.
She knows it freaks her husband out just thinking about it, but
18-year-old
Nada Farooq doesn't care: She wants a baby. It is mid-April, 2004, and
the
two have been married for less than a year. In the end, the jihad
clause was
not included in a prenuptial agreement.
Like many students at Meadowvale Secondary School, Zakaria Amara is
busy
worrying about final exams and what, if any, university to go to. But
Ms.
Farooq -- the Karachi-born daughter of a pharmacist who now hands out
prescription medicine to soldiers at the Canadian Forces Base in
Wainwright,
Alta. -- has already done a fair bit of daydreaming about what it would
be
like to have a child. She even has a name picked. If she has a boy, she
wants to name him Khattab, after the commander of the mujahedeen in
Chechnya
who battled Moscow until he was assassinated in 2002.
"And i pray to Allah my sons follow his footsteps Ameeen [Amen]," she
writes
at the on-line forum she founded for Muslim teens in Mississauga's
Meadowvale area. Her avatar -- an on-line symbol used to indicate
personality -- is a picture of the Koran and a rifle.
(All postings in this story have been rendered as they appeared
on-line.)
There is nothing casual about Ms. Farooq's interpretation of Islam. She
reiterates the belief that jihad is the "sixth pillar" of the religion,
and
her on-line postings are decidedly interested in the violent kind. In
the
forum titled "Terrorism and killing civilians," she writes a detailed
point-by-point explanation of why the Taliban is destined to emerge
victorious in Afghanistan.
Virtually every other government on the planet, however, she only has
disdain for.
"All muslim politicians are corrupt," she writes. "There's no one out
there
willing to rule the country by the laws of Allah, rather they fight to
rule
the country by the laws of democracy." She criticizes Muslims in places
such
as Dubai for spending money on elaborate buildings while Iraqis are
being
killed.
Ms. Farooq's criticism is often directed first at other Muslims. When
another poster writes about how he finds homosexuality disgusting, Nada
replies by pointing out that there are even gay Muslims. She then posts
a
photo of a rally held by Al-Fatiha, a Canadian support group for gay
Muslims. "Look at these pathetic people," she writes. "They should all
be
sent to Saudi, where these sickos are executed or crushed by a wall, in
public."
The majority of Muslims Ms. Farooq does admire are ones currently at
war,
and she reserves her most vitriolic comments for the people they are at
war
with.
In a thread started by Mr. Fahim's wife, Mariya, marking the death of
Hamas
leader Abdel-Aziz al-Rantissi after an Israeli missile strike, Ms.
Farooq
unleashes her fury: "May Allah crush these jews, bring them down to
their
kneees, humuliate them. Ya Allah make their women widows and their
children
orphans." The statement is so jarring that another poster complains
it's not
right for Muslims to wish such things on other people. Ms. Farooq's
sister
Rana is also in favour of violent resistance, posting often graphic
photos
of female militants and suicide bombers.
But while her heart may be in the battlefields and holy cities, Nada
Farooq
finds herself physically in Canada, a country the Karachi-born teen
moved to
after spending her childhood in Saudi Arabia. Her name is properly
pronounced "Needa," and when she came to Canada as a child, some of the
kids
at her school teased her by calling her "Needa Shower." She'd often
come
home in tears.
The Farooqs, a Pakistani family, came to Canada in 1997 because they
didn't
like the idea of raising their children in the conservative society of
Saudi
Arabia, where foreign-born children don't have access to the same
education
as nationals, said Nada's father, Mohammad Umer Farooq.
When a Globe reporter contacted Nada's father at his home in
Wainwright, and
described some of his daughter's Internet postings, Mr. Farooq said he
was
"curious" and "concerned."
His daughter never expressed such opinions to him, he said, though he
noted
that he's worked in Alberta for the past five years and only makes it
home
to Mississauga a few weeks every year. He headed west because the
pharmacist
training hours required in Alberta were much lower.
His daughter has always been more religious than he and his wife, he
said,
and it was a faith that she developed in Canada, not Saudi Arabia. He
described himself as 30 per cent religious and his daughter as 100 per
cent.
"Occasionally. I pray. She prays five times."
While his daughter has used her Internet forum to lament the end of the
Taliban, Mr. Farooq is a firm supporter of Canada's mission in
Afghanistan.
Many of the soldiers he serves at CFB Wainwright will eventually be
joining
the mission.
"They are there for the betterment of the people. They are there for
the
development of Afghanistan."
While she forms a close circle of Muslim friends, Ms. Farooq is never
comfortable with life in Canada. She posts that her mother is often
lonely
because her father spends large portions of his time at work. She talks
about going to the University of Toronto in Mississauga as fulfilling
her
parents' dreams rather than her own.
Ms. Farooq's hatred for the country is palpable. She hardly ever calls
Canada by its name, rather repeatedly referring to it as "this filthy
country." It's a sentiment shared by many of her friends, one of whom
states
that the laws of the country are irrelevant because they are not the
laws of
God.
In late April of 2004, a poster asks the forum members to share their
impressions of what makes Canada unique. Nada's answer is
straightforward.
"Who cares? We hate Canada."
In Cheryfa MacAulay Jamal's mind, every Muslim is another potential
victim.
As a 44-year-old member of an on-line forum inhabited almost
exclusively by
teenagers, Ms. Jamal fits snugly into the role of maternal figure, and
the
advice she dispenses reflects her firm belief that the forces of evil
are
out to get every member of her adopted religion. She encourages Muslim
youths to learn about herbal medicine and first aid lest they ever find
themselves in a Muslim country under embargo, unable to receive proper
medicine. Even in Canada, she says, one can never become complacent.
"You don't know that the Muslims in Canada will never be rounded up and
put
into internment camps like the Japanese were in WWII!" she writes in
one
2004 post. This is a time when Muslims "are being systematically
cleansed
from the earth," she adds.
If she's looking for an example of such oppression, Ms. Jamal finds it
in
the Khadrs, the Canadian family whose patriarch, Ahmed Said Khadr, was
killed by Pakistani forces and declared a martyr by al-Qaeda. In June,
2004,
Ms. Jamal spearheaded a committee to help Mr. Khadr's widow, Maha. In
Ms.
Jamal's view, Maha Khadr and her family have committed no crime, only
stated
their opinion, and it is the duty of the entire Muslim nation to ensure
the
family's well-being.
Ms. Jamal's zealousness for homegrown Muslim causes is matched only by
her
rejection of just about everything Canadian. As the June, 2004 federal
election draws near, she repeatedly advises Muslim youth to completely
avoid
the process. Voting, she tells them, inherently violates the
sovereignty of
God, making it the most egregious sin against Islam.
"Are you accepting a system that separates religion and state?" she
asks.
"Are you gonna give your pledge of allegiance to a party that puts
secular
laws above the laws of Allah? Are you gonna worship that which they
worship?
Are you going to throw away the most important thing that makes you a
muslim?"
Ms. Jamal's list of forbidden institutions goes beyond politics.
Banking,
membership in the United Nations, women's rights and secular law are
all
aspects of Canadian society she finds unacceptable.
But her deepest outrage, like that of so many Muslims, is time and
again
sparked by the treatment of her brothers and sisters around the world.
In a
May, 2004 post titled "Behold Your Enemy!" she posts multiple articles
describing the humiliation of Iraqi prisoners at the hands of American
soldiers.
"Know what you will face one day," she warns fellow forum members. "Let
them
call you a terrorist, let them make you look like a savage, but know
that
THIS is the filth of the earth, the uncivilised destroyer of humanity.
"Know from this day that this is not an Iraqi problem, it is not an
Afghani
problem, it is not a Palestinian problem, it is not a Somali problem.
IT IS
YOUR PROBLEM!!!"
Often, the conversation was quite tame. The women post advice on
make-up,
organizing sisters-only events and finding restaurants that offer truly
halal Chinese food. Fahim Ahmad's wife, Mariya, posts a warning to
other
women not to go watch the brothers play soccer, because it makes them
uncomfortable."Yea, and besides, their OUR husbands!" Ms. Jamal
concurs. "Go
get your own to stare at!"
But inevitably, it would come back to Islam, the very purpose for which
Ms.
Farooq created the forum in the first place. When it comes to religion,
the
wives of Mr. Amara, Mr. Jamal, Mr. Ghany and Mr. Ahmad exhibit a
commitment
to hard-line fundamentalism that rivals and often exceeds that of their
husbands.
In May, 2004, the Meadowvale students come across an extremely graphic
video
showing the beheading of a U.S. hostage in Iraq. Mr. Fahim, posting
under
the name "Soldier of ALLAH," praises the killers as mujahedeen who will
be
rewarded in the afterlife. Another poster maintains the beheading was
actually carried out by U.S. forces as a ploy to direct anger at the
Muslim
community. It's this post that inspires Nada to prohibit any further
discussion of similar conspiracy theories.
Three posts later, her husband reprints an article claiming the
Americans
were responsible for the beheading.
But such occasional bickering between newlyweds does not stop Ms. Jamal
from
seeing the bigger picture. In her 40s, she is more than twice as old as
most
of the other Muslims on the forum. But like her husband, she believes
young
Muslims are the only ones capable of standing up against non-Muslim
oppression.
For the most part, the wives of the other suspects do not let her down.
This
is especially true of Ms. Farooq, who deeply believes that education,
financial success and other such goals are relatively frivolous because
they
only help Muslims during their time on Earth, and not in the afterlife.
When
another forum member disagrees with her view, she describes him as
being
"too much in this dunya [world]," and not sufficiently concerned with
what
comes after.
"Those who are sincere in pleasing Allah will go to whatever length to
help
the true believers," Ms. Farooq writes. "Those who fear Allah more than
they
fear the CSIS. Those are the ones who will succeed in the hereafter."
NEXT:
The transformation of
Zakaria Amara
Husbands and wives
CHERYFA AND QAYYUM ABDUL JAMAL
Cheryfa's age: 44
Husband: Qayyum Abdul Jamal, charged with knowingly participating in
the
activities of a terrorist group, receiving training and intent to cause
an
explosion
On-line nickname: UmmTayyab ("Mother of Tayyab")
Quote: "You don't know that the Muslims in Canada will never be rounded
up
and put into internment camps like the Japanese were in WWII!"
RANA AND AHMAD GHANY
Rana's age: 19
Husband: Ahmad Ghany, charged with knowingly participating in the
activities
of a terrorist group and receiving training
On-line nickname: Al-Mujahidah ("The Jihadist")
Quote: "May Allah curse the jews.. Ameen"
NADA FAROOQ AND ZAKARIA AMARA
Nada's age: 20
Husband: Zakaria Amara, charged with knowingly participating in the
activities of a terrorist group, receiving training, providing training
or
recruiting and intent to cause an explosion
On-line nickname: Admin (the website's administrator)
Quote: "Those who fear Allah more than they fear the CSIS. Those are
the
ones who will succeed in the hereafter."
MARIYA AND FAHIM AHMAD
Mariya's age: 19
Husband: Fahim Ahmad, charged with knowingly participating in the
activities
of a terrorist group, importing a firearm, receiving training,
providing
training or recruiting and intent to cause an explosion
On-line nickname: Zawjatu Faheem ("Wife of Faheem")
Quote: "I heard that some sisters were watching the brothers play
soccer
last time...just wanted to let you know the brothers dont feel
comfortable
playing while the sisters are watching, so please, refrain from going
there
inshallaah and find something that will benefit you."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20060629.BLOG29/TPStory/?query=muslim+youth&pa
geRequested=all&print=true
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20060629.BLOG29/TPStory/?q
uery=muslim+youth&pageRequested=all&print=true
Ping to 'all', there will be more of them.
#27 is a new one on the 'wives of the Canadian jihadi', and what they have said on the internet.
http://en.rian.ru/world/20070226/61256296.html
UN demand to halt enrichment illegitimate - Iran official
18:05 | 26/ 02/ 2007
TEHRAN, February 26 (RIA Novosti) - A senior Iranian government
official
Monday called the UN demand that the country suspend its uranium
enrichment illegitimate and reiterated that Tehran would not heed the
ultimatum.
The Islamic Republic failed to halt its enrichment activities, which
the
global community fears could lead to nuclear weapons production, by the
UN Security Council-set deadline of Thursday, and could now face
stringent sanctions.
"The demand to suspend the peaceful and legitimate nuclear activities
being conducted in Iran under the [International Atomic Energy Agency]
IAEA control is illegitimate and runs counter to the Iranians' national
will," Gholam Hossein Elham said.
Mohamed ElBaradei, chief of the UN nuclear watchdog, presented a report
on Iran's nuclear program to the UN Security Council Friday, confirming
that the Islamic Republic was continuing its enrichment activities, and
was working to build more centrifuges in its underground center in
Natanz in an apparent effort to reach industrial-scale production of
nuclear fuel.
The deputy foreign ministers of five permanent Security Council
member-states and Germany, the Iran-6, are due to discuss the issue in
London February 26 before the council meets to decide on further steps
on Iran.
Iran, which has insisted its nuclear research is purely for electricity
generation, is already under Security Council sanctions imposed
December
23, when the body banned sensitive technology and material deliveries
to
the country.
Iran's security chief said Monday Tehran would accept Washington's
invitation for further talks if no preliminary conditions were set.
"If the Americans make a proposal to start talks with Iran through
official channels, and we see that talks could be logical and
constructive, we will accept the proposal," Iran's IRNA news agency
quoted Ali Larijani as saying.
"Setting preliminary conditions for talks, which is tantamount to
determining the outcome of negotiations before they start, is
unacceptable," Larijani said.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had repeatedly said Washington
was willing to talk to Tehran if it halted its uranium enrichment.
The United States has pushed to punish the defiant regime. Officials in
Washington, which has built up its military presence in the region,
have
even refused to rule out military strikes against Iran.
Russia, China and some other negotiators have maintained a more
moderate
approach in the dispute with an emphasis on diplomacy.
http://www.israel21c.org/bin/en.jsp?enScript=PrintVersion.jsp&enDispWho=Articles^l1559
DEMOCRACY
Israel's Bedouin women turn desert plants into skin remedies
By Nicky Blackburn February 25, 2007
There's nothing particularly appealing about the Bedouin town of Tel Sheva in the Negev desert. Founded in 1968 as part of a government project to settle Bedouins in permanent communities, the town is poor, run-down and neglected. Unemployment among the town's 30,000 inhabitants is running high, crime is widespread, and there is little urban or industrial infrastructure. According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, only 43% of grade twelve students are eligible to graduate from high school.
So why has this dusty underprivileged settlement been attracting so many visitors? The reason is a new project to help Bedouin women turn native plants and flowers into remedies for the skin.
Set up two years ago, Asala Desert Nature is nearing its commercial launch, with a range of unique skin care products based on traditional Bedouin herbal lore due to reach the Israeli market in the next four to six months. Sales to Europe will begin next year, or the year after.
The Asala project was founded when the local community center in Tel Sheva approached the Center for Jewish-Arab Economic Development (CJAED), a non-profit organization founded in 1988 to promote economic cooperation between Israel's Jews and Arabs, with the idea of setting up a training program for women using desert plants found in the Negev.
Initially 48 Bedouin women passed the first selection process, but the number has now been whittled down to 10. The CJAED's Women's Empowerment Unit undertook to train the women from scratch, teaching them everything they might need to run a successful business in this field.
"The first thing we wanted to do was to prepare them to work in a group and to examine all the possible obstacles they might face," says Kiram Baloum, the director of the Women's Unit. "After that we went into the business training, helping them prepare a feasibility study and business plan, and giving courses in entrepreneurship and business management."
To learn more about the plants and their role in Bedouin life, the women interviewed their mothers, grandmothers, and other elderly female relatives.
"We discovered that many of the women have a great love for the desert, and they appreciate the knowledge their ancestors have of desert plants and life," Baloum told ISRAEL21c.
To strengthen this folk knowledge, the women underwent a training program in medicinal plants.
Though the group plans eventually to create a line of medicinal, nutritional and skin care products, they decided to focus at first on skin care.
"If you live in the Negev desert, the conditions are very harsh on your skin, and you have to look after it," explains Baloum. "That's their niche."
Originally the women of Asala planned to build their own laboratory, but they discovered it was going to be too expensive. Instead they contacted Hlavin, an international cosmetics manufacturer and exporter, which agreed to let Asala use its laboratories in Ra'anana. Hlavin carried out a feasibility study of its own, which showed a promising market for Asala products in Europe.
The goal now is for the women to grow the plants, and condense them into a formula of either olive oil or alcohol. Hlavin will take these formulas and turn them into a range of products that Asala will then market under its own name.
While each of the women at Asala comes from a different extended family in Tel Sheva, they are united by a common goal.
"The main motivation of these women is that they want to work, and to earn their own living," says Baloum. "These women are different from their mothers and grandmothers. They want to influence family life. They have a dream that they want to fulfill."
Most of the women involved in the project are married with children, and all have the support of their husbands.
"This is a very important aspect," explains Baloum. "The husbands must be supportive. We always make sure we work with men at the same time, otherwise we won't reach our objective."
Interest in the project is running high.
"This has captured the imagination," says Baloum. "We have help coming from many different sources."
This includes a lawyer and an accountant who give their services voluntarily, and the local community which has provided Asala with premises rent-free. Asala is now in negotiations with the Ministry of Agriculture, which plans to provide the group with five dunams of land to grow the plants. The women must also raise capital of their own, $5,000 each in the first stage of investment, and $6,000 in the second stage. Many have applied for loans from CJAED to help them make this investment.
Outside investors are also keen to get involved, says Baloum.
"This isn't just a project for women and their families. It's for the whole community where they live," says Baloum.
The women's unit of CJAED was set up in 1997, and Baloum was bought on to run it. Funded by the Hadassah Foundation and the United Jewish Appeal Federation of New York, it's dedicated to helping Israeli Arab and Jewish women entrepreneurs, offering a combination of training, mentoring and support designed to help women identify and overcome the obstacles that make it difficult to succeed.
Much of the unit's work is devoted to Israeli Arab women. Today only 14 percent of these women work, compared to 57% of Jewish women, and many now recognize that the best way to increase standards of living in the Israeli-Arab community, which suffers disproportionately high unemployment, poverty and income equality compared to the Jewish community, is for more women to enter the workforce.
This is not easy, however. Women in the Arab population are marginalized, and while their education levels and professional capabilities are rising, their low rate of participation in the workplace remains unchanged. Their own towns lack industry. But family responsibilities and poor public transport prevent most of them from traveling to potential jobs in neighboring Jewish towns.
"Israeli Arab women are no longer forbidden to work outside of the home," explains Baloum. "These days there is such an economic need that everyone realizes, including the husbands, that you cannot allow yourself the luxury of a woman who doesn't work. It's not a choice any more. This is just as true for the Jewish population. Arab women cannot, however, go to work in Tel Aviv, so starting a small business in the hometown is a really good option. It creates many opportunities."
Baloum also believes that cooperative group businesses are a good model for women. "They share the risk in the business, give support to each other, and together have much greater potential for establishing a large business, or one with impact like Asala can have, than one woman working alone," says Baloum. "It's complicated to create a group business, but if you choose the right women, have the right idea, and put in resources, the potential for that business to go on to employ more women is much, much higher."
Over the last years under Baloum's leadership, the women's unit of CJAED has given assistance to 3,000 businesses opened by Arab women, helping them to contribute financially to their households, and decreasing unemployment figures. Aside from Asala, projects include a pickle factory in Tamra, computer-programming facilities in Nazareth, and a women's loan-fund specially designed to help women embarking on a career who cannot receive credit from the bank.
CJAED has also founded a number of business forums. The biggest of these is Jasmine, a national association of Arab and Jewish businesswomen, which began operating in September last year. The association has been a long-term goal for CJAED for many years. It was set up as an umbrella structure uniting all the 30 or so women's organizations in Israel to lobby for women from all ethnic communities in Israel who manage or own registered businesses.
"There are a lot of organizations working at the moment on economic improvement and business for women, but none of them are lobbying at a national level," says Baloum. "It was our goal to set up a national organization that could lobby for women all over the country, strengthen their voices in Israel's mainstream economy, and present a unified voice to the government."
In the months since Jasmine was set up, the organization has established eight regional forums of between 70 to 100 Jewish and Arab businesswomen. There have been events, meetings and business forums that sometimes take on the characteristics of regional trade fairs. Over the coming year, a national network of women's forums will be set up to link the members in each one, and Jasmine activists plan to establish a lobby in the Knesset to advance the rights of self-employed women.
The Israeli daily Yediot Ahronot included Jasmine among the top 12 projects of 2006, saluting the organization and individuals involved in it.
Baloum believes that one of the key strengths of the women's empowerment unit of CJAED is that it not only gives invaluable financial, entrepreneurial and educational support, but it creates an informed and knowledgeable network of women. "We always make sure that the women we work with stay in touch, get involved and pass on their experience to other women just starting out," explains Baloum. "We create continuity and a circle of support where everyone contributes. If business women come together and work together, we can have a huge impact."
© 2001-2004 ISRAEL21c.org. All rights reserved.
http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/2007/02/015425print.html
[live urls in article at site]
February 26, 2007
Nashville cabbie: "Hitler was right"
Ibrahim Ahmed Update: "Men Claim Cabbie Praised Hitler Before Attack: Victims Say Driver Claimed 'Hitler Was Right,'" by Laura McPherson for WSMV.com, with thanks to Jennifer:
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Two college students involved in an alleged attack by an angry cab driver last month testified Monday that his rage came seemingly out of the blue.
Video: Crash Victim Says Cab Driver's Rage Unexpected
They said they weren't arguing or discussing religion, but that the cab driver went on a rant saying, "Hitler was right" and that "white people should be eradicated from the earth.”
Click here to find out more!
The students said they paid their fare, but that the cab driver accelerated and ran over Jeremy Inbus.
Inbus suffered a broken leg and an injured pelvis.
Inbus said he didn’t remember the crash but that he recalled what the cab driver, Ibrahim Ahmed, told him and passenger Andy Wilson while they were in the cab.
“’Hitler did what he did and he was right for doing what he did because,’ the term he used, ‘Jews were responsible for the evil and corruption and the sin in the world. At some point, I believe Jews maybe became white people, and, you know, that’s why Hitler was a good person because he was trying to cleanse the world of these people,’” Inbus testified in court.
Ahmed is charged with attempted murder.
Police said Ahmed was driving Inbus and Wilson to the Vanderbilt area when the conversation turned to religion.
Wilson and Inbus said they told Ahmed to stop the cab once the conversation became heated.
“I just briefly said, ‘If you’re going to live in a country like ours, you’re going to have to learn to tolerate and accept other people’s beliefs and faiths, even if you don’t believe them yourself,’” Wilson testified.
“He(Ahmed) said he had become offended at the remarks the boys made and that made him very angry,” Officer John Pepper testified.
Posted at February 26, 2007 08:37 PM
http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/2007/02/015423print.html
February 26, 2007
Saudi Arabia: 3 French travelers killed in Muslims-only area
mecca.jpg
They had stopped to rest. "3 French travelers slain in Saudi desert." from AP:
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - Three French travelers were killed by gunmen Monday in the Saudi Arabian desert when they stopped their car to rest on the side of a road leading to the holy city of Medina in an area restricted to Muslims only.
Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Mansour al-Turki said it was too early to determine whether the attacks were terror-related. Saudi Arabia has been waging an intense campaign against al-Qaida militants since a wave of suicide attacks on foreigners in the kingdom in 2003.
The travelers were resting on the side of a road about 10 miles north of Medina when gunmen fired at their car, instantly killing two of the men. The third man died later after he was taken to a hospital, and the fourth Frenchman was in serious condition at an area hospital, al-Turki said.
Then AP speaks of "the Prophet Muhammad" in capsule form, with no caveat such as "Muslims believe that...":
The area the group was traveling in is restricted for Muslims only. Non-Muslims are barred from the area around Medina and neighboring Mecca, the holiest cities in Islam. The Prophet Muhammad was born in Mecca, where he began spreading the message of Islam, until he fled to Medina. From Medina, he spread Islam until he died and was buried in the city. Muslims perform the annual hajj pilgrimage to Mecca and usually visit Medina as well.
Posted at February 26, 2007 03:09 PM
http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/2007/02/015419print.html
February 26, 2007
February 26, 1993
On this day fourteen years ago, Islamic jihadists set off a bomb in the World Trade Center, killing six people, wounding 1,000, and causing $500 million in damage.
Over eight years later, Islamic jihadists brought down those same Towers.
One might have been forgiven for thinking, in the interim between February 26, 1993 and September 11, 2001, that the problem of "terrorism" was under control, and that the 1993 strike was a lucky hit that would not be repeated.
These days, likewise, I am frequently asked in radio interviews whether I think there is really a problem with terrorism on American soil, since, after all, there has not been a terrorist attack here since September 11. Well, this has not been for want of trying, as the archives here abundantly illustrate. But what's more, we should note that those who grew complacent between 1993 and 2001 were wrong to do so, and so are those who have grown complacent now.
Posted at February 26, 2007 06:23 AM
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L26647458.htm
U.N. court-Serbia not responsible for Srebrenica
26 Feb 2007 11:28:40 GMT
Source: Reuters
THE HAGUE, Feb 26 (Reuters) - The highest U.N. court said on Monday
that
although the massacre of Bosnian Muslim men in Srebrenica in 1995
constituted genocide, Serbia was not responsible for the mass killing.
"The court finds that the acts of genocide at Srebrenica cannot be
attributed to the respondent's (Serbia) state organs," said
International Court of Justice President Rosalyn Higgins.
She said it could also not be established that Serbia had been
complicit
in the genocide at Srebrenica by supplying aid to the Bosnian Serbs at
a
time when it knew those forces had the intent to commit genocide.
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=68103
UN raises alarm on mercenary recruitment by western firms
GENEVA (AFP) - Methods used by private western security companies to
recruit mercenaries in poor countries and send them into dangerous
areas
like Iraq are deeply worrying, according to a UN report to be presented
next month.
Private security guards employed by western companies make up the
second
highest number of armed forces currently posted in Iraq, after the US
military but ahead of the British troops, according to Jose Luis Gomez
del Prado, the head of a United Nations workgroup on the use of
mercenaries.
"At least 160 companies are operating in Iraq. They probably employ
35,000 to 40,000 people," Gomez del Prado said on the sidelines of a
second workgroup session in Geneva last week.
More than 400 of these private employees have died in Iraq since 2003,
putting their casualties below the number suffered by US armed forces
but ahead of British military deaths, he said. "And a lot more have
been
injured."
The workgroup is scheduled to deliver a report to the UN Commission for
Human Rights next month emphasizing concerns over mercenary recruitment
methods used by US companies like Triple Canopy and Blackwater.
Many of the recruits stem from former police and military forces in the
Philippines, Peru and Equador, according to the workgroup, which
recently conducted missions to the latter two countries.
"They are trained quickly but not prepared for armed conflict
situations," Gomez del Prado said.
"They are sent there, they receive M16 (assault riffles) and are placed
in very dangerous areas like the Green Zone (in Baghdad), convoys and
embassies," he added.
While the recruits sometimes carry out important and honorable tasks
like protecting humanitarian organization convoys, they are also "in a
situation where they can violate human rights because they are armed,"
according to the UN expert.
And while Americans and Europeans working in war zones for private
security companies often make as much as 10,000 dollars (7,600 euros) a
month, Peruvians doing the same job seldom make more than 1,000
dollars,
and their working rights are often violated, Gomez del Prado said.
"The contracts they sign often hide things that aren't clear. The
original is in English, which most of them do not speak," he said.
The recruits are entitled to the labor rights applied in the country
where the company hiring them is headquartered, but the UN expert
pointed out that it is hard to imagine "a poor Peruvian filing suit in
an American court."
The number of private security companies working in war zones like Iraq
has exploded in recent years, with one private security employee for
every four US soldiers currently stationed in Iraq.
That number is up from one private security guard for every 50 US
soldiers who took part in the first Gulf war in 1990/91, Gomez del
Prado
said.
He is alarmed at the legal vacuum in which these companies operate,
pointing out that their activities are not actually covered by the
strict definition of mercenaries given in the 1989 International
Convention against the Use, Recruitment, Financing and Training of
Mercenaries, signed by 28 countries.
"It's a bit like the difference between the privateers and the pirates
in the old days," he said.
In addition to war zones, Gomez del Prado expressed alarm at the
presence of private security company employees around mining sites,
where "they violate the ecological and social rights of communities
trying to defend their land or the environment against pollution."
Israel's dilemma plays out in nuclear shadow
http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=0c023eee-e856-4e6f-b385-8a
3de1d34d6b
Monday > February 26 > 2007
Israel's dilemma plays out in nuclear shadow
'Everyone must wake up' to threat posed by Iran
Matthew Fisher in Jerusalem
CanWest News Service
Monday, February 26, 2007
CREDIT: Adam Jan, AFP, Getty Images
A Super Hornet takes off from USS John C. Stennis in the Gulf of Oman
on Friday.
U.S. military officials insist the actions are not meant to intimidate
Iran.
Politicians and diplomats from Washington, Jerusalem and the UN have
for months
been grappling with concerns over Iran's nuclear program and threats
from
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad against Israel. In Part 2 of a three-part
series,
Matthew Fisher writes that Israelis are united on the need to curb
Tehran's
nuclear ambitions.
- - -
If Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ever makes good on his
super-charged
threat to wipe Israel off the face of the Earth with a nuclear weapon,
Shmuel
Ben-Moshe knows he is near Ground Zero.
From the balcony of his home on a cliff where Jesus was said to have
often
walked, Ben-Moshe has a mesmerizing view of the walled Old City and
what Jews
revere as the Temple Mount and Muslims revere as the Noble Sanctuary
and Dome of
the Rock.
"Yes, I think about a nuclear explosion. I think everyone around here
does," the
61-yearold Baghdadi-born civil engineer said.
Israelis are famously divided on almost every issue, but there is
strong
consensus regarding an urgent need to do something to curb or destroy
Iran's
nuclear program.
The debate is about what to do and when.
Israelis are disappointed that others, particularly Europeans, do not
see the
grave danger posed by Iran the way they do. It is an issue Prime
Minister Ehud
Olmert and his Foreign Minister and would-be heir, Tzipi Livni, have
brought up
every time they have an international audience.
The most alarmist talk about Iran has come from opposition leader
Benjamin
Netanyahu. Evoking the Holocaust, the former prime minister said: "This
is 1938.
Iran is Germany and it is about to arm itself with nuclear weapons."
"It is not just B.S. Iran is a threat and it makes me angry when others
cannot
see it," Ben- Moshe said. "Everyone must wake up because Ahmadinejad
can aim his
missiles not just at Israel but at the whole world."
Ephraim Kam, deputy director of Israel's Institute for National
Securities
Studies, and one of the country's leading experts on what Tehran is
doing, said
there were once "doubts about Iran's exact nuclear intentions but there
is
almost no debate any more in the international intelligence or
diplomatic
communities about what Iran is trying to do.
"If it acquires a nuclear bomb it will mean that for the first time
Israel will
face an enemy who could deal it a fatal blow. While others may think
it, Iran
has been the only government that has stated that it wants to eliminate
Israel.
Syria doesn't say this. Saddam Hussein and Moammar Gaddafinever said it
even
when they were threatening Israel."
Iran's small fleet of Su-24 bombers has been conducting in-air
refuelling
training missions at night recently, according to Jane's Defence
Weekly. In
theory these Soviet-era aircraft could drop a nuclear bomb on Israel.
But the far greater threat is from Iran's Shahab 3 missiles. Jerusalem
is 1,500
kilometres from Iran, and the Shabab has a proven range of 2,000
kilometres.
Despite the sometimes apocalyptic political rhetoric, the Israeli
intelligence
community's assessment was that Iran is still three to four years away
from
having a bomb.
Reuven Pedatzur, military columnist for the Haaretz newspaper and a
political
science professor at Tel Aviv University, said Israel had to keep
hammering away
on this theme.
"Iran is not an Israeli or an American problem," Pedatzur said. "We
must
emphasize to the Europeans that Iran has a missile capable of hitting
Turkey,
which is a member of NATO, and that it is working on a missile with a
4,000-kilometre range, which would put London within their aim."
There are few doubts in Israel about its air force's ability to reach
Iran's
nuclear facilities with F-16 fighters and F-15 bombers and in-air
refuelling.
What they might be able to achieve there, however, is an open question.
"An attack on Iran would not be similar to the one against Iraq," said
Kam, once
a colonel in Israeli military intelligence, recalling the night in June
1981
when Israeli warplanes destroyed an Iraqi nuclear reactor.
"It would be much more complicated because of the distances involved
and because
the sites of interest are much better protected. Many of them are
buried
underground and we may not know exactly what is in some of them."
There has been a lively debate in Israel about whether Israel should
attack Iran
by itself, with Washington's help or leave everything to the U.S.
Pedatzur, who once flew F-16s, believes it would be "a big mistake for
us to
attack alone. There is still a lack of intelligence on the Iranian
sites. If we
attack knowing just some of the sites, we might only delay their
program for a
few months. Some of the places are buried very deep. We could go there
and come
home without hitting them. The Americans can do it for weeks and
weeks."
Israelis have scoffed at a Sunday Times report that Israel, which does
not
acknowledge it has nuclear weapons, is considering using such weapons
against
Iran. Still, the fact that Israel is believed to have about 100 nuclear
weapons
may act as a check on Iran's stated desire to bomb Israel.
However, if Iran acquired weapons of mass destruction it would vastly
change
calculations and perceptions in the Middle East and elsewhere.
"It would strengthen its position as a pillar of radical Islamic forces
in the
Middle East," Kam said. "It would almost certainly apply pressure to
have other
countries fall under their leadership to, for example, get the U.S. out
of the
Persian Gulf. It would also spark a regional nuclear arms race with
Egypt, Saudi
Arabia and even Iraq trying to achieve the same thing."
Still, there has been general agreement among the Israeli elite that
there is
still time to pursue non-military options, first and foremost among
them to
build an international coalition to exert intense diplomatic and
economic
pressure on Iran.
"Waiting has an upside and a downside," Shivat said. "The upside is
that we can
get more accurate intelligence and systems to cope with the military
problems
associated with this.
"The downside is that it also gives Iran time to keep on developing the
capability of its missiles and its weapons and to prepare its defences.
This is
the dilemma that decision makers face."
From his quiet perch looking down at Jerusalem's storied Old City,
Shmuel
Ben-Moshe thought it highly unlikely that Israel or the U.S. would act
soon.
"We are going to wait until we see whether Iran really means what it
says," he
said. "Iran is now a threat, but the threat will be more real in the
future."
- - -
C National Post 2007
Thanks Davey. Nice to hear from you. Hope all is well with you and family.
Same to you, Ruth.
If you want the straight scoop, go to koa850.com and listen to the first hour of the Jon Caldera show.
A man in Tenn. who works for the Enterprise Institute, a think tank, and his co - workers at the Tenn. branch, were quite taken with the award that Al Gore got last night.
So they checked on a few facts.
At the one of three homes Al owns, a mansion, in Tenn. Al uses
$1,000. per month in natural gas and $1, 500. per month in electric............several times more than you and I do.
I think he said that Drudge has picked it up.
Will anyone else?
The Denver station is also saying that the lady killed there this weekend at the zoo, by a Jaguar, they do not know why she was in the cage area, but they did find the gate open.
Thanks, for checking in.
Seems we are both normal [for us].
http://voanews.com/english/2007-02-23-voa11.cfm
Cheney Says Free Nations Cannot Allow Safe Havens for Terrorism
By Barry Kalb, Hong Kong 23 February 2007
U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney says that nations like the United
States
andAustralia "simply cannot indulge" in the option of ignoring "safe
havens"
for terrorist groups around the world. Speaking in Sydney, he thanked
Australia for standing with the U.S. in the war on terrorism. He also
questioned China's commitment to peaceful expansion. Barry Kalb reports
from
VOA's Asian News Center in Hong Kong.
Despite the presence of small groups of protesters in the streets, Vice
President Dick Cheney had a receptive audience Friday for a defense of
the
war on terrorism.
Australia under Prime Minister John Howard has been one of the Bush
administration's strongest supporters in the terrorism battle. It has
sent
troops to Iraq and Afghanistan, and Mr. Howard has consistently sided
with
President Bush's view that free nations must take the fight to the
likes of
al Qaida.
In a speech in Sydney, Cheney said Australia had earned the world's
respect
by joining the battle. He said turning away was not an option.
"The notion that free countries can turn our backs on what happens in
places
like Afghanistan, Iraq or any other possible safe haven for terrorists
is an
option that we simply cannot indulge,"
he said.
Mr. Howard faces elections within a year, and polls indicate that a
majority
of Australians now favors withdrawing the nation's troops from Iraq.
Still, Mr. Howard reiterated his support Friday for the Iraq military
operation.
Cheney said leaving Iraq before domestic forces can handle security
there
would only encourage the terrorists.
"They believe we lack the resolve, and the courage, for a long
struggle," he
said.
"And they are absolutely convinced that with enough acts of horror,
they can
wear us down, force us to change our policies, and get us to abandon
our
interests in the world."
Cheney also used the Sydney speech to question China's commitment to
peace
as it grows into an economic and military power. He said China's
destruction
of a space satellite with a missile on January 11 is "not consistent"
with
Beijing's "stated goal of a peaceful rise."
And he expressed hesitation about the recently concluded deal in the
North
Korea nuclear talks. As a preliminary measure, Pyongyang has agreed to
shut
down its nuclear reactor in return for donations of fuel oil.
President Bush has hailed the agreement as a step towards full North
Korean
nuclear disarmament. Cheney, however, is reported to be less enamored
of the
agreement, and he made his skepticism clear in Sydney. Given North
Korea's
tests last year of ballistic missiles and a nuclear explosive,
Pyongyang,
Cheney told his audience, "has much to prove."
The visit to Australia is the final stop in Cheney's Pacific tour this
week,
which included visits to Japan and the U.S. island of Guam.
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