http://www.sott.net Signs of the Times, featuring news and commentary on world events. Never wavering in our unending search for the light of truth in a pathocracy driven world! en-us Original content Copyright 2009 by Signs of the Times. For other content, see our Fair Use Policy at www.sott.net Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:41:18 -0500 http://www.sott.net/images/sottlogo_rss.jpg SOTT.net http://www.sott.net http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196326-Canadian-forces-prepare-for-Afghan-withdrawal-in-2011 Preparations have begun for the withdrawal of Canadian troops from Afghanistan, as the 2011 deadline for that withdrawal draws closer. A government official confirmed media reports that General Walter Natynczyk, the Chief of the Defence Staff, has ordered preparations to get under way that would involve the return of the thousands of troops and their equipment from the troubled country. "A Chief of Defence Staff directive has been issued to begin planning preparations for the 2011 end of combat mission," the official told The Globe and Mail Friday. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196326-Canadian-forces-prepare-for-Afghan-withdrawal-in-2011 Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:36:32 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196307-Four-sentenced-to-hang-for-killing-albino-in-Tanzania A court sentenced four people to death in northern Tanzania for the killing of an albino man who was targeted for body parts believed to have special powers, authorities said Friday. The four were found guilty of killing the 50-year-old albino in the Shinyanga region and sentenced to die by hanging for removing his body parts, said Lucca Haule, assistant commissioner of police. So far, seven people have been sentenced to death for the killing of more than 50 Tanzanian albinos, including children, in the past two years, Haule said. Dozens more are awaiting trial. Albinism is a genetic condition that leads to little or no pigment in the eyes, skin and hair. Body parts of albinos are sought in some regions of Tanzania and other African countries, where some believe they bring wealth and good luck. Attackers chop off limbs and pluck out organs, selling them to witch doctors. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196307-Four-sentenced-to-hang-for-killing-albino-in-Tanzania Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:43:19 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196303-Two-US-soldiers-drown-in-Afghanistan In a rare fatal incident, two American troops have drowned in Afghanistan, while trying to recover equipment from a northwestern river, security officials say. The soldiers died on Wednesday, while trawling in the Badghis province's Bala-Murghab River for lost supply packages, the area's Deputy Police Chief Mohammed Jabbar told a Press TV correspondent. The supplies were lost as a US aircraft was dropping caissons and food parcels on the troops' base. The present US contingent in cooperation with local military and police force have set out on a rescue operation. Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Taliban, Ghari Yousuf Ahmadi, said that the militants had attacked the soldiers as the aircraft was on the supply mission, killing one of the soldiers while four others drowned themselves in the river. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196303-Two-US-soldiers-drown-in-Afghanistan Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:24:15 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196286-Mushroom-Collector-in-Japan-Finds-Woman-s-Head A Japanese man collecting mushrooms in a mountain area today found the severed head of a young woman, believed to be a college student missing since last month, news reports said. The man made the grisly find near the 1223-metre peak of Mount Garyu in the north of Hiroshima prefecture, where he was gathering wild mushrooms, Jiji Press reported, quoting police sources. Police suspect the head may be that of a local 19-year-old college student who has been missing since October 26, Jiji said. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196286-Mushroom-Collector-in-Japan-Finds-Woman-s-Head Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:21:31 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196282-Gunman-Injures-3-in-Japan-Commits-Suicide A gunman in the Japanese city of Yokohama committed suicide after having shot and seriously injured three men in a money dispute on Friday, Japanese media said. Kenji Hayashi opened fire at around 2:30 p.m. local time (5:30 a.m. GMT) in a street in Yokohama's residential area and then took refuge in a nearby building, media reports said. The man was found dead inside the building at around 4:00 p.m. local time after police failed to convince him to surrender. A revolver was found at the site. Media reports said one of the injured men was in a critical condition. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196282-Gunman-Injures-3-in-Japan-Commits-Suicide Fri, 06 Nov 2009 07:58:53 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196266-Why-Ugandans-want-to-work-in-Iraq At the Watertight security training ground in Uganda, a group of men and women are doing target practice with their AK47s. Nearby, another group are listening to a lecture under the shelter of a tree. Watertight Security Services has been sending Ugandan security guards to Iraq since 2007. So far, more than 10,000 Ugandans have gone to work in the country. Moses Matsiko worked in Iraq for more than three years before returning to Uganda to set up the company. "Since we do security, we start by screening the criminal background of people, hand in hand with Interpol," he told the BBC World Service. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196266-Why-Ugandans-want-to-work-in-Iraq Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:33:09 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196259-Somali-Pirates-The-Other-Side-of-the-Story Read the original article on ViewZone How do I tell you about this? Most of you have already heard about the Somali pirates. Just recently they captured an American cargo ship and held the captain hostage. They have done this to many other vessels from a variety of different countries. In fact, the American captain was lucky -- he escaped, with the help of some sharp-shooter Navy Seals -- but hundreds of international sailors and crew are still being held by Somali pirates who seek millions of dollars for their safe return, and the safe return of their ships. You know all this already, though. And you probably think it's just one more evil group of people trying to get rich quick. You probably even think we should just kill them all or find their Somali-based camp and wipe it out and be done with it. But there's another side of this story you haven't been told. And when you hear it, you might just change your opinion of what's been going on. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196259-Somali-Pirates-The-Other-Side-of-the-Story Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:39:48 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196250-Australia-Mom-Gets-Four-Years-for-Killing-Two-Children A Sydney woman who gave her two children rat poison before smothering them to death has been jailed for at least four years. In sentencing the 31-year-old woman, NSW Supreme Court Justice Clifford Hoeben today accepted she had shown "remorse" for the two killings. She pleaded not guilty to murder on the grounds of mental illness, but was found guilty of the manslaughter of her four-year-old son and two-year-old daughter. Justice Hoeben concluded the Canley Vale woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had been suffering "substantial impairment by abnormality of the mind" at the time of the killings. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196250-Australia-Mom-Gets-Four-Years-for-Killing-Two-Children Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:23:24 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196237-Karzai-corrupt-but-our-guy-French-foreign-minister-tells-New-York-Times President Hamid Karzai is "corrupt" but NATO has to accept that "he is our guy" in Afghanistan, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said, according to the New York Times on Thursday. Kouchner also complained that President Barack Obama's US administration was drawing up a new strategy for the war in Afghanistan without consulting its European allies within NATO, leaving them in the dark. "What is the goal? What is the road? And in the name of what?" Kouchner asked, according to the New York Times report. "Where are the Americans? It begins to be a problem ... We need to talk to each other as allies." http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196237-Karzai-corrupt-but-our-guy-French-foreign-minister-tells-New-York-Times Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:41:03 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196235-Thailand-Cambodia-recall-envoys-over-Thaksin-spat Thailand and Cambodia recalled their ambassadors from each others' countries on Thursday, deepening a diplomatic row after Cambodia made fugitive former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra an economic adviser. The tit-for-tat spat threatens to worsen a political crisis in Thailand by giving Thaksin and his red-shirted anti-government supporters an ally just across the border, causing a diplomatic embarrassment for Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva. It also suggests deepening enmity between leaders of the two countries after Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen soured the start of an Asian summit hosted by Abhisit last month by turning up and offering Thaksin the job of adviser. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196235-Thailand-Cambodia-recall-envoys-over-Thaksin-spat Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:34:53 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196234-Hundreds-of-U-N-staffers-temporarily-leaving-Afghanistan The United Nations is temporarily pulling hundreds of staff members out of Afghanistan while it reviews security arrangements in the wake of an attack by militants on a Kabul guesthouse last week that killed five U.N. employees, officials said today. U.N. officials said staff members, scattered in dozens of dwellings in Kabul and around the country, were in many cases protected only by a few Afghan security guards. Taliban spokesmen said the U.N. was specifically targeted in the Oct. 28 attack because of its involvement in plans for a Nov. 7 presidential runoff election, which has since been canceled. Officials have conducted a security review since the attack and have determined that arrangements for many staffers are inadequate. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196234-Hundreds-of-U-N-staffers-temporarily-leaving-Afghanistan Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:30:03 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196223-Kyrgyzstan-Boy-Lives-in-Sheep-Shed-for-8-Years A 14-year-old boy has spent the last eight years living alone in a ramshackle sheep shed in the mountains of Kyrgyzstan, the Vecherny Bishkek newspaper reported on Thursday. According to the paper, the boy's parents left the former Soviet state for Russia in early 2000, leaving their young son with his ill grandmother. For reasons which are not yet clear, the boy began living in the sheep shed almost immediately. In the beginning, he tried to mix with children from a nearby village, but they bullied and teased him. He then became a hermit. His story came to light after his grandmother died and locals found her body, the paper said. He has almost completely forgotten how to speak, the paper said. There is as yet no information on his parents. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196223-Kyrgyzstan-Boy-Lives-in-Sheep-Shed-for-8-Years Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:27:35 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196222-Destabilizing-Baluchistan-Fracturing-Pakistan-The-CIA-ISI-Triangle-of-Jundallah-the-Taliban-and-Sipah-e-Sahaba "Managed Chaos" is the proper term to describe the tensions in NATO-garrisoned Afghanistan and the border zones of Pakistan. Afghanistan and Pakistan, which are now being described by the Pentagon and NATO as the same front in the very same war, are tied to the Iranian border province of Sistan and Baluchistan or Sistan-Baluchistan. It is with the tenure of George W. Bush Jr. and his administration that Sistan-Baluchistan, with emphases on "Baluchistan" begun getting international attention through the ignition of a series of attacks inside the Iranian border with Pakistan by a group originally calling itself the "Army of God" or Jundallah in Arabic. One must first take a closer look at Sistan-Baluchistan and the issues being depicted as the source of antagonism there before discussing Jundallah, the nature of its attacks, its source of support, and if the Pakistani government and the Obama Administration have been involved with Jundallah's attacks. So, with a purposeful focus on Baluchistan, what is Sistan-Baluchistan and where is it? The Iranian province of Sistan-Baluchistan, which is located in southeastern Iran, is in fact the blending of two different bodies, one is Sistan and the other is Baluchistan. Both were separate historical entities and Iranian provinces until they were amalgamated into one in 1959 under the reign of Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, the last shah or monarch of Iran. Sistan according to some local traditions is the legendary home of the Iranian epic hero Rustam. Sistan is also where Iraq's Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, who is an Iranian, originates from. In ethnic terms the people of Sistan are mostly Persians and Sistani. Sistani is a label that can be used to identify anyone from Sistan, but it also has two other meanings. Sistani in ethnographic terms is used to refer to a sub-population of the Baluch or Baluchi, which are a distinct Iranic ethno-linguistic group. The relationship between the Sistani and the Baluchi almost correlates with the affinities between the Flemish and the Dutch or of those between the Pathans (Pashto of Pakistan) and the Pashto in Afghanistan. What sets the Sistani apart and is a cause for their distinction is geography and, more importantly, the fact that they speak a localized dialect of the Persian language called Sistani. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196222-Destabilizing-Baluchistan-Fracturing-Pakistan-The-CIA-ISI-Triangle-of-Jundallah-the-Taliban-and-Sipah-e-Sahaba Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:21:37 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196219-Four-Million-Canadians-Live-in-Inadequate-Housing Nearly four million Canadians, among them 750,000 children under the age of 15, are living in inadequate housing, according to a report released Thursday. That figure represents 13 percent of all Canadian households, a percentage that has not changed since 2001. These families either live in accommodation that is in the state of disrepair, is unsuitable for the number of people living there or eats up more than 30 percent of the household's pre-tax income. The report was prepared for the Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada is based on analysis of the most recent data (2006) provided by Canada Housing and Mortgage Corp. It finds that seniors, younger Canadians, new Canadians, aboriginals and the jobless were among those most likely to have inadequate shelter. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196219-Four-Million-Canadians-Live-in-Inadequate-Housing Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:02:13 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196186-Ousted-Honduran-leader-asks-Clinton-about-US-stand-on-coup Ousted President Manuel Zelaya is asking the Obama Administration why, after pressing for his reinstatement, it now says it will recognize upcoming Honduran elections even if he isn't returned to power first. In a letter sent to the U.S. State Department on Wednesday, Zelaya asked Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton "to clarify to the Honduran people if the position condemning the coup d'etat has been changed or modified." His request came after Washington's top envoy to Latin America, Thomas Shannon, told CNN en Espanol that Washington will recognize the Nov. 29 elections even if the Honduran Congress decides against returning Zelaya to power. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196186-Ousted-Honduran-leader-asks-Clinton-about-US-stand-on-coup Wed, 04 Nov 2009 20:08:13 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196184-Australia-and-New-Zealand-expel-Fiji-s-top-envoys-to-retaliate-Fiji-s-expulsion-of-theirs Australia and New Zealand have expelled Fiji's top envoys. The two countries announced the expulsions a day after Fiji said it would expel their senior diplomats. Fiji's military leader Frank Bainimarama had alleged the two regional powers had been interfering in Fiji's judiciary. Commodore Bainimarama sacked the entire judiciary in April when it judged his rule was illegal. He has been trying to replace it with Sri Lankan judges. Australia and New Zealand have long-standing travel bans on all senior members of the Fiji government, which came to power in a 2006 coup. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196184-Australia-and-New-Zealand-expel-Fiji-s-top-envoys-to-retaliate-Fiji-s-expulsion-of-theirs Wed, 04 Nov 2009 20:02:06 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196181-Killing-of-five-British-soldiers-by-an-Afghan-policeman-casts-doubt-on-Afghanistan-strategy The murder of five British soldiers by a rogue member of the Afghan police force has intensified the debate over the future of the British mission in Afghanistan. Three Grenadier Guards and two members of the Royal Military Police were shot dead by a police officer who entered their secure compound in Helmand province. Six others were seriously wounded alongside two Afghans. Although the Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, the gunman, who escaped and was being hunted by British Special Forces, was recognised by guards and had been a member of the Afghan National Police for three years. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196181-Killing-of-five-British-soldiers-by-an-Afghan-policeman-casts-doubt-on-Afghanistan-strategy Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:38:55 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196172-U-S-Troops-in-Afghanistan-Are-Burning-Copies-of-the-Koran-Are-We-Really-That-Stupid- Wardak, Afghanistan - Protests are sweeping Afghanistan in the wake of allegations that American forces had burned copies of the Koran during a patrol in a province near Kabul - a charge strongly denied by a United States military spokesperson. Hundreds of students turned out in two separate demonstrations in the capital, Kabul, on October 25, one staged in front of the parliament building and another began at Kabul University and moved towards the center of town. There were no reports of casualties, although police were forced to fire warning shots in an attempt to control the crowds. The Kabul disturbances were just the latest in a series of protests that followed rumors of a Koran-burning incident in central-eastern Wardak province. Students and residents in Wardak, Jalalabad, Khost, Logar and Kandahar also held demonstrations after reports began to circulate that US troops had burned Korans in Wardak, which borders Kabul. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196172-U-S-Troops-in-Afghanistan-Are-Burning-Copies-of-the-Koran-Are-We-Really-That-Stupid- Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:45:27 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196149-Europe-reluctant-to-send-troops-to-Afghanistan Washington - European nations are unlikely to contribute more troops to Afghanistan, the head of the European Commission said on Tuesday, as President Barack Obama considers boosting U.S. forces there. Polls in many European countries show clear majorities in favor of withdrawing troops from Afghanistan, but the top U.S. and NATO commander there has recommended boosting the number of foreign forces by up to 40,000 as part of a new strategy to combat a resurgent Taliban and al Qaeda. There are some 67,000 U.S. troops and 42,000 from allied nations currently in Afghanistan. Britain, Germany, France, Italy and Poland are the largest European contributors, with 21,000 troops combined. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196149-Europe-reluctant-to-send-troops-to-Afghanistan Tue, 03 Nov 2009 23:21:51 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196144-Taliban-Declined-US-Offer-Of-6-Provinces-for-8-Bases The emboldened Taliban movement in Afghanistan turned down an American offer of power-sharing in exchange for accepting the presence of foreign troops, Afghan government sources confirmed. "US negotiators had offered the Taliban leadership through Mullah Wakil Ahmed Mutawakkil (former Taliban foreign minister) that if they accept the presence of NATO troops in Afghanistan, they would be given the governorship of six provinces in the south and northeast," a senior Afghan Foreign Ministry official told IslamOnline.net requesting anonymity for not being authorized to talk about the sensitive issue with the media. He said the talks, brokered by Saudi Arabia and Turkey, continued for weeks at different locations including the Afghan capital Kabul. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196144-Taliban-Declined-US-Offer-Of-6-Provinces-for-8-Bases Tue, 03 Nov 2009 20:36:26 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196129-Australia-Third-of-employees-at-official-residence-in-Canberra-walk-out-on-very-difficult-boss Quentin Bryce was hailed as a breath of fresh air when she was sworn in as Australian Governor-General last year. She was female (a first for Australia), she was liberal-minded, and she promised to be an outspoken advocate for Aborigines and other disadvantaged people. While few fault her energy and commitment to the job, it seems all is not well at Government House, her official residence in Canberra. A staggering 30 staff - one third of the total - have quit their jobs since she arrived in September last year. Ms Bryce's official secretary, Stephen Brady, defended his boss when grilled about the exodus by a parliamentary budget committee this week. But one former employee told The Australian: "She is just a very difficult person to work for. She plays favourites, and if she doesn't like you, you are history. She freezes you out." http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196129-Australia-Third-of-employees-at-official-residence-in-Canberra-walk-out-on-very-difficult-boss Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:48:36 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196090-Karzai-vows-to-fight-corruption-after-re-election-as-Afghan-leader No role for Abdullah Abdullah as president says he will clean up government, while people view election result with suspicion Hamid Karzai vowed to tackle corruption in his government and reach out to his political opponents today, but gave no commitments to specific action in his first speech since being re-appointed as president of Afghanistan. Speaking at the presidential palace in Kabul, Karzai echoed the commitments that his western backers had pushed him to accept, including appointing a clean government and making progress in peace negotiations with the Taliban. He said his government would be one of national unity and hoped that "no one feels themselves isolated from this future government". But he did not offer a place in the government to his main opponent in the elections, Abdullah Abdullah, and he pointedly avoided commenting on any role for his rival. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196090-Karzai-vows-to-fight-corruption-after-re-election-as-Afghan-leader Tue, 03 Nov 2009 09:18:46 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196088-West-puts-pressure-on-Hamid-Karzai-to-share-power-in-Afghanistan Pressure was growing on Hamid Karzai today to form a unity government after the Afghan president was declared the winner of the country's election following the cancellation of a runoff vote. The decision by the Independent Election Commission (IEC) to declare Karzai president, taken just one day after his rival Abdullah Abdullah announced he would not participate in a fresh vote scheduled for Saturday, was welcomed by the west, despite doubts about the strength of Karzai's mandate. Diplomats and world leaders warned that he must reach out to Abdullah after the IEC, which has been heavily criticised for being biased in the president's favour, declared that Karzai would serve another five years in office. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196088-West-puts-pressure-on-Hamid-Karzai-to-share-power-in-Afghanistan Tue, 03 Nov 2009 09:00:01 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196077-Creating-a-safe-haven-for-US-made-terrorists-Taliban-take-over-another-Afghan-province The United States has withdrawn its troops from its four key bases in Nuristan, on the border with Pakistan, leaving the northeastern province as a safe haven for the Taliban-led insurgency to orchestrate its regional battles. The US has retained some forces in Nuristan's capital, Parun, to provide security for the governor and government facilities. The American position concerning the withdrawal is that due to winter conditions, supply arteries are choked, making it difficult to keep forces in remote areas. The US has pulled out from some areas in the past, but never from all four main bases. The move by the top US commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChystal, follows the death on October 3 of eight US soldiers as well as a number of Afghan National Army forces when their outpost in Kamdesh was attacked by more than 300 militants. On July 13, 2008, nine American soldiers were killed when their outpost in Wanat was attacked by small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades. Nuristan is strategically located in the Hindu Kush mountains, the vast and rugged region in which al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and his associates are believed to hide. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196077-Creating-a-safe-haven-for-US-made-terrorists-Taliban-take-over-another-Afghan-province Mon, 02 Nov 2009 22:38:51 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196076-War-by-design-Helicopter-rumors-refuse-to-die Mazar-e-Sharif - Persistent accounts of Western forces in Afghanistan using their helicopters to ferry Taliban fighters, strongly denied by the military, is feeding mistrust of the forces that are supposed to be bringing order to the country. One such tale came from a soldier from the 209th Shahin Corps of the Afghan National Army, fighting against the growing insurgency in Kunduz province in northern Afghanistan. Over several months, he had taken part in several pitched battles against the armed opposition. "Just when the police and army managed to surround the Taliban in a village of Qala-e-Zaal district, we saw helicopters land with support teams," he said. "They managed to rescue their friends from our encirclement, and even to inflict defeat on the Afghan National Army." http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196076-War-by-design-Helicopter-rumors-refuse-to-die Mon, 02 Nov 2009 22:10:23 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196075-Hard-earned-loyalties-NATO-forces-turn-to-warlords The revelation by the New York Times on Wednesday that Ahmed Wali Karzai, the brother of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, has long been on the payroll of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), is only the tip of a much bigger iceberg of heavy dependence by US and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) counter-insurgency forces on Afghan warlords for security, according to a recently published report and investigations by Australian and Canadian journalists. United States and other NATO military contingents operating in the provinces of Afghanistan's predominantly Pashtun south and east have been hiring private militias controlled by Afghan warlords, according to these sources, to provide security for their forward operating bases, other bases and to guard convoys. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196075-Hard-earned-loyalties-NATO-forces-turn-to-warlords Mon, 02 Nov 2009 21:34:25 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196073-US-goofs-the-Afghan-election Abdullah Abdullah's refusal to take part in the Afghan presidential election runoff on November 7 is a watershed event. From his point of view, the former foreign minister did the sensible thing, having carefully assessed he had no stake whatsoever in a runoff that he had zero chance of winning. President Hamid Karzai has also shown the door to Abdullah's Western sponsors. They had approached in hopes of gaining a last-minute "deal" that would see Abdullah, their protege, gain some position in the future administration. Abdullah saw that from this point onward, the law of diminishing returns would be at work if he kept pecking at Karzai. Karzai estimated that Abdullah would be a thorn in the flesh - or worse still, a Trojan horse for the Western powers; having him in the government in any serious capacity would result only in Karzai spending sleepless nights at the presidential palace. In any case, Karzai calculated that Abdullah had already inflicted the maximum damage possible by lending his services to the president's Western detractors. Karzai also knows that he will continue to enjoy strong support from within the major non-Pashtun groups as long as his partnership with erstwhile mujahideen leaders Mohammed Fahim, Karim Khalili, Ismail Khan, Rashid Dostum and Mohammed Mohaqiq remains intact. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196073-US-goofs-the-Afghan-election Mon, 02 Nov 2009 21:09:27 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196071-Jundallah-versus-the-mullahtariat Fasten your seat belts; it's gonna be a bumpy ride. As a crucial subplot of the New Great Game in Eurasia, Balochistan - on both sides of the Iran-Pakistan border - promises turbulence aplenty. Welcome to United States General Stanley McChrystal's self-fulfillment prophecy - "Chaos-istan" in action. There are few doubts the deadly (as many as 49 fatalities) suicide bombing on Sunday in Pishin, near Sarbaz, in the deserted, impoverished Iranian province of Sistan-Balochistan, was carried out by Pakistani Balochistan-based Jundallah ("Soldiers of God"). This is being billed by Iranian state-controlled media as the worst suicide bombing ever in the country. Key casualties include the number two of the armed forces of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), Brigadier Nour-Ali Shoushtari, a veteran of the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s, the provincial IRGC commander and assorted Sunni and Shi'ite tribal leaders. The IRGC - the key component of the dictatorship of the mullahtariat currently in power in Tehran - is seething, to say the least. It is one thing to repress student protests in Tehran; but how could they not see this coming, and how could they not prevent it, considering their allegedly good ground intelligence on Jundallah's support by the US, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia? http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196071-Jundallah-versus-the-mullahtariat Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:57:55 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196069-Interior-Ministry-Covering-Up-For-US-Mercenaries-And-Terrorists In 2005, Iraqi Police arrested and locked up two British operatives in Basra who were dressed in local Arab gear, shooting at innocent civilians in a busy market with automatic rifles and driving a vehicle laden with explosives, intended to go off in the middle of the busy market. British tanks tore into the prison and rescued both these men. In Pakistan, it seems all the Americans need to do is make a call to the Interior Ministry and have their terrorists released. There have been several incidents during the last few months of foreigners carrying illegal arms in the federal capital. Some foreigners were found not only carrying illegal weapons, but also threatening, harassing and frightening the public in Islamabad. The law enforcement agencies have been particularly efficient in tightening security measures around the city as a response to citizen complaints. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196069-Interior-Ministry-Covering-Up-For-US-Mercenaries-And-Terrorists Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:35:32 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196067-Islamabad-Americans-Dressed-as-Afghans-Caught-With-Illegal-Weapons-and-Explosives Once again, 4 American nationals were caught red-handed by Capital Police in the wee hours of Tuesday when they were carrying weapons publicly. However, they managed to secure release and continue their journey to a mysterious destination, sources informed. According to details, police personnel deployed here at Nawaz Chowk, sector F-8, intercepted two suspicious vehicles in the wee hours of Tuesday. During the search, police recovered weapons from their custody. The riders of these vehicles were found, once again, to be American nationals. To the surprise of many, the Americans were allowed to go along with their arms after an anonymous call that the officer in command at police picket received at the same time when preliminary investigation were being carried out from the foreigners. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196067-Islamabad-Americans-Dressed-as-Afghans-Caught-With-Illegal-Weapons-and-Explosives Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:27:24 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196064-Five-militants-held-in-Karachi-with-explosives Karachi - The Crime Investigation Department police on Wednesday claimed to have arrested five members of a banned militant outfit and seized about 150 kilos of explosives of Indian origin, automatic rifles and suicide vests from them. A senior CID police official said that the five suspected militants, all residents of Karachi, were arrested in different parts of Orangi Town and they were planning terror attacks on key installations in the city. 'Initial investigations suggest that they all are militants and associated with the banned Lashkar-i-Jhangvi. They have a history of police arrests on different charges,' said CID SP Fayyaz Khan. 'We have seized two suicide jackets, two sacks containing 150 kilos of explosives made by an Indian company and five Kalashnikov rifles with bullets and magazines.' http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196064-Five-militants-held-in-Karachi-with-explosives Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:17:31 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196061-Can-Clinton-Control-CIA-In-Afghanistan- Islamabad, Pakistan - Two years ago, when isolated reports in the Pakistani media accused the United States of playing a double game in Afghanistan, most commentators dismissed them as conspiracy theories and kneejerk anti-Americanism. Today those reports dominate the mainstream Pakistani media. The distrust is so serious that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had to turn her first official visit to Pakistan into a firefighting mission, kicking off a charm offensive to win over skeptic Pakistanis. Her campaign has included Facebook advertisements targeting young Pakistanis, town-hall type meetings, and group television interviews with anchors meant to maximize her on-air exposure. Before she even landed in Pakistan, Clinton had instructed US diplomats in Islamabad to get tough with the Pakistani media. At one point, the American ambassador wrote a secret letter to a large Pakistani newspaper accusing one of its columnists, a critic of US policies, of endangering American lives. She gave no evidence of how a policy critique endangered anyone's life. The columnist was dropped after ten years of working for the paper. The US embassy in Pakistan is very powerful thanks to a pro-US Pakistani government that sees Washington as a hedge against the powerful Pakistani military. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196061-Can-Clinton-Control-CIA-In-Afghanistan- Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:09:08 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196046-Girls-school-hit-in-Pakistan-double-bomb-attack Two explosions ripped through a girls' school today in Pakistan's in northwestern border region, the latest militant attack on an educational institution. The attack destroyed a part of a 18-room school in the Khyber tribal region near Peshawar, the provincial capital. Four people were wounded including a security guard at the school, which was closed at the time of the blast. A local official said several class rooms were demolished and nearby houses damaged by the blast, which wounded three residents. The Taleban has destroyed more than 200 girls' schools in northwestern Pakistan in the past year, declaring it un-Islamic to educate females. Three women students were among ten people killed last month in a double suicide bomb attack on an Islamabad university. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196046-Girls-school-hit-in-Pakistan-double-bomb-attack Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:02:21 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196045-India-Mysterious-metal-plate-caught-in-fish-net A mysterious metal plate caught in the fishing net of a boat off Mangrol coast is foxing security agencies. According to sources in custom department and security agencies, the plate is 3.5-feet-long with the diameter of 12 centimetre. It was found in the net of Devu Machh, who had gone for fishing in his boat Varun Devta' on October 26. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196045-India-Mysterious-metal-plate-caught-in-fish-net Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:00:03 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196043-Killed-off-US-lowers-Aghan-population-estimate-by-5-2-million President Obama is still working hard to figure out the next steps in the very difficult war in Afghanistan. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top commander in the field, is pressing for an additional 40,000 troops. Obama's top advisers are split. Americans seem to be increasingly skeptical about prospects for victory. But the task has suddenly become a lot easier: The CIA has gotten rid of 5 million Afghans! Poof! Just like that! Turns out the agency was substantially overestimating the country's population. The long-used number -- 33.6 million -- was derived from a 30-year-old census that has now been determined to be high. Not just a little too high, but 5.2 million people too high. The new official count, 28,396,000, is lower by more than 15 percent. A CIA spokesman e-mailed Friday that the agency's population figures, both the old and new ones, were provided by the population division of the U.S. Census Bureau. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196043-Killed-off-US-lowers-Aghan-population-estimate-by-5-2-million Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:49:39 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196042-Diego-Garcia-Military-Base-Islanders-Forcibly-Deported In order to convert the sleepy, Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia into a dominating military base, the U.S. forcibly transported its 2,000 Chagossian inhabitants into exile and gassed their dogs. By banning journalists from the area, the U.S. Navy was able to perpetrate this with virtually no press coverage, says David Vine, an assistant professor of anthropology at American University and author of Island of Shame: the Secret History of the U.S. Military on Diego Garcia (Princeton University Press). "The Chagossians were put on a boat and taken to Mauritius and the Seychelles, 1,200 miles away, where they were left on the docks, with no money and no housing, to fend for themselves," Vine said on the interview show Books Of Our Time, sponsored by the Massachusetts School of Law at Andover. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196042-Diego-Garcia-Military-Base-Islanders-Forcibly-Deported Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:39:35 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196041-Argentina-Disappearing-Farmers-Disappearing-Food Worldwide, industrial mono-culture farming has displaced traditional food production and farmers, wreaking havoc on food prices and food sovereignty. This is particularly true for the global south, where land has been concentrated for crops destined for biodiesel and animal feed. In response, peasants and small farmers organized actions in more than 53 countries on October 15 for International Food Day as an initiative of Via Campesina, one of the largest independent social movement organizations, representing nearly 150 million people globally. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196041-Argentina-Disappearing-Farmers-Disappearing-Food Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:29:57 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196039-Under-US-Pressure-Afghan-Officials-Cancel-Election-Declare-Karzai-Winner Despite claims as recently as last night that Afghan President Hamid Karzai was very much looking forward to this weekend's runoff election, in which he would run unopposed since his opponent formally withdrew from the votes and wouldn't appear on the ballot, it looks like it won't happen. Citing international pressure, particularly from the US, the Independent Election Commission (IEC), the Karzai-appointed election body which oversaw the first round of votes, cancelled the runoff and declared Karzai the winner. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196039-Under-US-Pressure-Afghan-Officials-Cancel-Election-Declare-Karzai-Winner Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:06:27 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196018-The-heart-of-India-is-under-attack To justify enforcing a corporate land grab, the state needs an enemy - and it has chosen the Maoists The low, flat-topped hills of south Orissa have been home to the Dongria Kondh long before there was a country called India or a state called Orissa. The hills watched over the Kondh. The Kondh watched over the hills and worshipped them as living deities. Now these hills have been sold for the bauxite they contain. For the Kondh it's as though god had been sold. They ask how much god would go for if the god were Ram or Allah or Jesus Christ. Perhaps the Kondh are supposed to be grateful that their Niyamgiri hill, home to their Niyam Raja, God of Universal Law, has been sold to a company with a name like Vedanta (the branch of Hindu philosophy that teaches the Ultimate Nature of Knowledge). It's one of the biggest mining corporations in the world and is owned by Anil Agarwal, the Indian billionaire who lives in London in a mansion that once belonged to the Shah of Iran. Vedanta is only one of the many multinational corporations closing in on Orissa. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/196018-The-heart-of-India-is-under-attack Mon, 02 Nov 2009 10:37:35 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/195999-Official-Pakistan-blast-kills-at-least-20 A rescue official says at least 20 people have been killed in a blast in Rawalpindi, a city just next to Pakistan's capital. Nayyar Ali Babar says he saw at least 20 bodies and "a couple dozen" wounded people. The Monday explosion occurred near a bank and a hotel not far from the army's main headquarters. Suspected militants have struck repeatedly in recent weeks, killing about 250 people in apparent retaliation for an army offensive in a Taliban stronghold in the northwest. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/195999-Official-Pakistan-blast-kills-at-least-20 Mon, 02 Nov 2009 05:32:14 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/195993-Hugo-Chavez-says-Israeli-tourists-not-welcome We all have heard of "the ugly American" and of the unfriendly reception US tourists receive in many countries especially in France. Well now there is "the ugly Israeli" especially in Venezuela. Ever since the 22 day brutal and merciless bombardment of homes, schools, hospitals and mosques in Gaza by the Israeli criminal regime, many Israeli tourists are receiving the cold shoulder in countries they visit and some do not want them at all. It is no surprise that high level Israeli government and military officials do not dare set foot in certain countries for fear of being arrested but snubbing the regular Israeli citizen is a relatively new phenomena. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/195993-Hugo-Chavez-says-Israeli-tourists-not-welcome Mon, 02 Nov 2009 02:32:10 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/195988-Firebomb-destroys-Cape-Breton-house Police in Cape Breton are investigating what they're calling a firebombing at a home in Whitney Pier on Saturday night. The blast ripped through the house and lifted the back wall off of its foundation. The front wall and windows landed on the lawn, the chimney was smashed into pieces, and the furnace blown apart. No one was injured. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/195988-Firebomb-destroys-Cape-Breton-house Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:48:47 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/195986-Venezuela-claims-dead-football-team-were-Colombian-paramilitaries-has-the-Dirty-War-against-Venezuela-begun- Venezuela has said a group of men whose bodies turned up on its side of the border with Colombia were Colombian paramilitaries training in Venezuela. The comments by Venezuelan Vice-President Ramon Carrizalez come a week after the bodies of the 11 men were dumped in Venezuela. It happened after the men were kidnapped in early October in the middle of an amateur football match. Colombia has urged Venezuela to co-operate in the investigation. 'Paramilitary infiltration' Since the bodies of the men appeared at various points along the Venezuelan-Colombian border, there has been much speculation in the Venezuelan media as to who they were and why they had been targeted by an unidentified armed group. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/195986-Venezuela-claims-dead-football-team-were-Colombian-paramilitaries-has-the-Dirty-War-against-Venezuela-begun- Sun, 01 Nov 2009 23:36:15 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/195970-International-Year-of-Sanitation-A-Royal-Flush- Over 2.6 billion people do not have adequate toilets, sewers, or latrines. This is also bad news for other development goals, including education, gender equality, and public health. Most people in Europe and North America don't worry much about finding a clean toilet. But if French novelist Victor Hugo was correct in saying that sewers reflect "the history of men," ours is one of neglect and ignorance. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/195970-International-Year-of-Sanitation-A-Royal-Flush- Sun, 01 Nov 2009 19:13:07 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/195967-Australia-Case-cracked-by-a-leech When Tasmanian police arrived at the home of an elderly victim of armed robbery in 2001, they found only one piece of forensic evidence: a leech, freshly engorged with blood. They bagged it and extracted the blood for DNA profiling, with little hope it would lead them to the culprit. Last year, Peter Cannon was arrested on unrelated charges, and a cross-check established that his blood sample matched that taken from the leech. In what is believed to be a world first, the evidence led to him pleading guilty this week to aggravated armed robbery. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/195967-Australia-Case-cracked-by-a-leech Sun, 01 Nov 2009 19:02:19 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/195965-Muslim-charged-with-sending-hate-mails-to-families-of-Australian-soldiers-killed-in-Afghanistan A Muslim activist who calls himself an ayatollah faces up to 14 years in prison after allegedly sending offensive letters to the families of Australian soldiers killed in Afghanistan, police said today. Sheikh Haron, who also uses the name Ayatollah Manteghi Boroujerdi, was charged with using the postal system to "menace, harass or cause offense" by sending the letters to the relatives of Australian casualties, an Australian Federal Police statement said. The Iranian-born Haron, 45, did not enter a plea when he appeared in a Sydney court on seven counts of sending offensive letters. Each charge carries a potential maximum sentence of two years in prison. He was released on bail and told to report back on November 10. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/195965-Muslim-charged-with-sending-hate-mails-to-families-of-Australian-soldiers-killed-in-Afghanistan Sun, 01 Nov 2009 18:58:43 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/195961-World-Summit-on-Food-Security Why a World Food Summit in 2009? The global food insecurity situation has worsened and continues to represent a serious threat for humanity. With food prices remaining stubbornly high in developing countries, the number of people suffering from hunger has been growing relentlessly in recent years. The global economic crisis is aggravating the situation by affecting jobs and deepening poverty. FAO estimates that the number of hungry people could increase by a further 100 million in 2009 and pass the one billion mark. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/195961-World-Summit-on-Food-Security Sun, 01 Nov 2009 18:27:15 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/195947-Canada-jails-Rwandan-over-genocide A Rwandan man charged with crimes against humanity has been jailed for life under a Canadian law allowing people in the North American nation to be tried for crimes committed abroad. Desire Munyaneza, the first person to be convicted under the war-crimes act, was sentenced on Thursday after a court found him guilty in May of seven charges relating to the Rwandan genocide. The charges included genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. During the genocide in 1994, at least 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were massacred by Hutu extremists known as the Interahamwe in a spate of killings that lasted 100 days. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/195947-Canada-jails-Rwandan-over-genocide Sun, 01 Nov 2009 16:46:03 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/195938-Australia-oil-well-catches-fire An oil well at the centre of a massive spill in the Timor Sea off the north west coast of Australia is on fire. The company which runs the well, PTTEP Australasia, said the fire broke out as it made another attempt to plug a leak deep underwater at the West Atlas rig. Engineers have been struggling for more than 10 weeks to stop the leak which is spewing gas and oil at an estimated 400 barrels a day. All workers were reported safe and were being evacuated from the installation. A director of the company, Jose Martins, said the only way to stop the fire was to plug the leak. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/195938-Australia-oil-well-catches-fire Sun, 01 Nov 2009 14:38:49 -0500 http://www.sott.net/articles/show/195933-Occupiers-involved-in-drug-trade-Afghan-minister The Afghan minister of counter narcotics says foreign troops are earning money from drug production in Afghanistan. General Khodaidad Khodaidad said the majority of drugs are stockpiled in two provinces controlled by troops from the US, the UK, and Canada, IRNA reported on Saturday. He went on to say that NATO forces are taxing the production of opium in the regions under their control. Afghanistan is the world's biggest supplier of opium. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/195933-Occupiers-involved-in-drug-trade-Afghan-minister Sun, 01 Nov 2009 13:40:13 -0500