Something unusual is going on in Mexico - a normal presidential election. Mexico's relatively new democratic institutions are not being strained and are not at risk. There are three major candidates, and while they have been doing a lot of mudslinging, they offer voters a real ideological choice. Mexico lived through 71 years of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, which fell in 2000 to an opposition candidate, Vicente Fox, who proved to be a lackluster president. In other new democracies in Eastern Europe and Latin America, voters at this point have tended to grow nostalgic for dictatorship or eager to find an outsider who promises revolution. The first democratic election after dictatorship is always joyous; the second one can be deadly. Not so in Mexico. Roberto Madrazo, the PRI candidate, is far back. One front-runner is Felipe Calderón, who was Fox's energy minister. He is a respectable model of the Latin American colorless, Harvard-educated, pro-business candidate. He wants to modernize Mexico and make it more globally competitive, thereby creating more jobs. Calderón advocates opening Mexico's poorly run and underfinanced energy sector to foreign investment. It is an unpopular idea, but sorely needed. His neck-and-neck opponent is Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who has been unfairly compared, by the Calderón campaign and many others, to President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela. López Obrador, who was recently mayor of Mexico City, is a leftist, but he is no threat to the United States, nor to Mexico. He has no ambitions to foment revolution and stresses the importance of good relations with Washington. He accepts a market economy but would attempt to make it fairer to Mexico's poor. López Obrador has said that he would like to use government spending to create jobs and raise the minimum wage - now $4.50 a day. He wants to renegotiate the agricultural chapters of the North American Free Trade Agreement to benefit Mexico's small farmers.
Mexico lived through 71 years of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, which fell in 2000 to an opposition candidate, Vicente Fox, who proved to be a lackluster president. In other new democracies in Eastern Europe and Latin America, voters at this point have tended to grow nostalgic for dictatorship or eager to find an outsider who promises revolution. The first democratic election after dictatorship is always joyous; the second one can be deadly.
Not so in Mexico. Roberto Madrazo, the PRI candidate, is far back. One front-runner is Felipe Calderón, who was Fox's energy minister. He is a respectable model of the Latin American colorless, Harvard-educated, pro-business candidate. He wants to modernize Mexico and make it more globally competitive, thereby creating more jobs. Calderón advocates opening Mexico's poorly run and underfinanced energy sector to foreign investment. It is an unpopular idea, but sorely needed.
His neck-and-neck opponent is Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who has been unfairly compared, by the Calderón campaign and many others, to President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela.
López Obrador, who was recently mayor of Mexico City, is a leftist, but he is no threat to the United States, nor to Mexico. He has no ambitions to foment revolution and stresses the importance of good relations with Washington. He accepts a market economy but would attempt to make it fairer to Mexico's poor. López Obrador has said that he would like to use government spending to create jobs and raise the minimum wage - now $4.50 a day. He wants to renegotiate the agricultural chapters of the North American Free Trade Agreement to benefit Mexico's small farmers.
Ah, we are soooo impartial... *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
No need for foreign investors - only a more reasonable State. Of course, foreign investors are often eaiser to deal with than political pressure against State spending cuts... In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
LONDON: Governments who cut their armed forces end up relying on private suppliers to transport their weapons with few controls, Amnesty International said. As these logistics networks proliferate in conflicts across the globe, international arms control rules are floundering, the human rights group said in a report urging tough government action to re-impose control. "Arms supply chains are becoming increasingly sub-contracted and completely out of control," Amnesty's arms expert Brian Wood told Reuters. "They are talking about curbing brokering but they haven't even got round to transport. "Brokering is increasingly common, with main contractors sub-contracting supply, transportation and collection in an ever lengthening and increasingly opaque chain," he added as his report "Dead on Time - arms, transportation, brokering and the threat to human rights" was published. Not only were governments exploiting the poor controls to hide their activities, but increasingly armed opposition groups and organised crime rings were taking advantage of the murky markets to obtain their weaponry, he said in an interview. The report, published ahead of a United Nations meeting from June 26 on small arms trafficking, says that increasingly weapons are either destined for or diverted to countries under arms embargoes or to insurgent and criminal groups.
As these logistics networks proliferate in conflicts across the globe, international arms control rules are floundering, the human rights group said in a report urging tough government action to re-impose control. "Arms supply chains are becoming increasingly sub-contracted and completely out of control," Amnesty's arms expert Brian Wood told Reuters. "They are talking about curbing brokering but they haven't even got round to transport.
"Brokering is increasingly common, with main contractors sub-contracting supply, transportation and collection in an ever lengthening and increasingly opaque chain," he added as his report "Dead on Time - arms, transportation, brokering and the threat to human rights" was published.
Not only were governments exploiting the poor controls to hide their activities, but increasingly armed opposition groups and organised crime rings were taking advantage of the murky markets to obtain their weaponry, he said in an interview.
The report, published ahead of a United Nations meeting from June 26 on small arms trafficking, says that increasingly weapons are either destined for or diverted to countries under arms embargoes or to insurgent and criminal groups.
Not only were governments exploiting the poor controls to hide their activities, but increasingly armed opposition groups and organised crime rings were taking advantage of the murky markets to obtain their weaponry
Free-market, deregulated economy. The sweet smell of globalisation. What's wrong with it?
</snarkalashnikov>
The new UN Human Rights Council began its first-ever session in Geneva with high hopes that it will do more for the victims of abuses and avoid the political horse-trading of the past. Opening the two-week inaugural session of the new 47-nation Human Rights Council, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said the world was watching -- particularly the victims of human rights violations. "I trust that all members of the council are fully aware of the hopes that have thus been raised, and are determined not to disappoint them," he said in the presence of ministers and senior representatives from 100 countries. The new body replaces the former UN Commission on Human Rights, which was widely regarded as discredited due to the dominant presence of countries with poor human rights records and pervasive behind-the-scenes political bargaining that helped states duck criticism.
Opening the two-week inaugural session of the new 47-nation Human Rights Council, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said the world was watching -- particularly the victims of human rights violations.
"I trust that all members of the council are fully aware of the hopes that have thus been raised, and are determined not to disappoint them," he said in the presence of ministers and senior representatives from 100 countries.
The new body replaces the former UN Commission on Human Rights, which was widely regarded as discredited due to the dominant presence of countries with poor human rights records and pervasive behind-the-scenes political bargaining that helped states duck criticism.
Jordan's King Abdullah II discusses the way out of the chaotic situation in Iraq, successes in the war against terror and the necessity of negotiations with Tehran's mullahs. SPIEGEL: Your Majesty, the terrorist Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi posed a threat not only to Iraq, but also to your country. Now he is dead. Has the Middle East become a safer place? King Abdullah II: One chapter was closed, but terrorism and extremism are going to continue. Al-Zarqawi will be replaced by somebody else, whoever it will be. Obviously for Jordanians because of the murder of 60 people here ... SPIEGEL: ... in November, when suicide bombers attacked three hotels in Amman. King Abdullah: It brings us a closure and a reason to move on. That part may be over. But it's a tactical game in the fight against terrorism. At the end of the day we want to bring stability and hope to Iraq. That's the only way to defeat terrorism.
SPIEGEL: Your Majesty, the terrorist Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi posed a threat not only to Iraq, but also to your country. Now he is dead. Has the Middle East become a safer place?
King Abdullah II: One chapter was closed, but terrorism and extremism are going to continue. Al-Zarqawi will be replaced by somebody else, whoever it will be. Obviously for Jordanians because of the murder of 60 people here ...
SPIEGEL: ... in November, when suicide bombers attacked three hotels in Amman.
King Abdullah: It brings us a closure and a reason to move on. That part may be over. But it's a tactical game in the fight against terrorism. At the end of the day we want to bring stability and hope to Iraq. That's the only way to defeat terrorism.
WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration is lobbying to prevent Venezuela from securing an open seat on the U.N. Security Council because of concern that its leading South American rival could confound plans to step up pressure on Iran. Under United Nations rules, Latin American governments are entitled to pick a country from the region to fill the rotating seat that comes open next year. Venezuela has been campaigning for the post. But the Bush administration is urging Latin American countries to vote for a U.S. ally, Guatemala, instead, warning that the populist government of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez cannot be trusted on crucial issues such as Iran's nuclear program, given its "disruptive and irresponsible behavior" in international organizations. Behind the scenes, U.S. officials have been applying pressure, even to close allies, Latin American diplomats say. For example, Washington has agreed to sell F-16 fighter jets to Chile, but are warning that Chilean pilots will not be trained to fly them if the government supports Venezuela's Security Council bid, the diplomats said.
Under United Nations rules, Latin American governments are entitled to pick a country from the region to fill the rotating seat that comes open next year. Venezuela has been campaigning for the post.
But the Bush administration is urging Latin American countries to vote for a U.S. ally, Guatemala, instead, warning that the populist government of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez cannot be trusted on crucial issues such as Iran's nuclear program, given its "disruptive and irresponsible behavior" in international organizations.
Behind the scenes, U.S. officials have been applying pressure, even to close allies, Latin American diplomats say. For example, Washington has agreed to sell F-16 fighter jets to Chile, but are warning that Chilean pilots will not be trained to fly them if the government supports Venezuela's Security Council bid, the diplomats said.
President Hugo Chavez's influence could disrupt moves against Iran.
Mr Chavez said Venezuela would receive 24 Sukhoi fighters later this year, with the option of buying more advanced models if oil finances allow.
The US recently banned arms sales to Venezuela, cutting off any chance of servicing existing F-16 fighter jets.
But Venezuela has since turned to Russia, receiving three helicopters and 100,000 Kalashnikov rifles.
"First we are going to buy 24 Sukhoi S-30s and we are going to leave open the possibility of a future acquisition," Mr Chavez said in the country's capital, Caracas.
He spoke at a military ceremony where he received and posed with a Kalashnikov rifle.
Military build-up
Mr Chavez, who has publicly spoken of the need to upgrade Venezuela's military capabilities in the event of a US invasion, lavished praise on the Sukhoi fighters.
"An F-16 launches a missile, maximum distance: 60km (40 miles). Do you all know from what distance the Sukhoi S-30 can launch? 200km," Mr Chavez said.
"That's to say, an aircraft carrier that stops in the Caribbean. They [the US] like to stop aircraft carriers in the Caribbean to invade."
Mr Chavez has insisted that Venezuela has no plans to use its military technology offensively.
The Russian-built Sukhoi Su-30MK, the high-performance fighter being exported to India and China, consistently beat the F-15C in classified simulations, say U.S. Air Force and aerospace industry officials.
In certain circumstances, the Su-30 can use its maneuverability, enhanced by thrust-vectoring nozzles, and speed to fool the F-15's radar, fire two missiles and escape before the U.S. fighter can adequately respond. This is according to Air Force officials who have seen the results of extensive studies of multi-aircraft engagements conducted in a complex of 360-deg. simulation domes at Boeing's St. Louis facilities.
"The Su-30 tactic and the success of its escape maneuver permit the second, close-in shot, in case the BVR [beyond-visual-range] shot missed," an Air Force official said. Air Force analysts believe U.S. electronic warfare techniques are adequate to spoof the missile's radar. "That [second shot] is what causes concern to the F-15 community," he said. "Now, the Su-30 pilot is assured two shots plus an effective escape, which greatly increases the total engagement [kill percentage]."
THE SCENARIO in which the Su-30 "always" beats the F-15 involves the Sukhoi taking a shot with a BVR missile (like the AA-12 Adder) and then "turning into the clutter notch of the F-15's radar," the Air Force official said. Getting into the clutter notch where the Doppler radar is ineffective involves making a descending, right-angle turn to drop below the approaching F-15 while reducing the Su-30's relative forward speed close to zero. This is a 20-year-old air combat tactic, but the Russian fighter's maneuverability, ability to dump speed quickly and then rapidly regain acceleration allow it to execute the tactic with great effectiveness, observers said.
If the maneuver is flown correctly, the Su-30 is invisible to the F-15's Doppler radar--which depends on movement of its targets--until the U.S. fighter gets to within range of the AA-11 Archer infrared missile. The AA-11 has a high-off-boresight capability and is used in combination with a helmet-mounted sight and a modern high-speed processor that rapidly spits out the target solution.
Positioned below the F-15, the Su-30 then uses its passive infrared sensor to frame the U.S. fighter against the sky with no background clutter. The Russian fighter then takes its second shot, this time with the IR missile, and accelerates out of danger.
"It works in the simulator every time," the Air Force official said. However, he did point out that U.S. pilots are flying both aircraft in the tests. Few countries maintain a pilot corps with the air-to-air combat skills needed to fly these scenarios, said an aerospace industry official involved in stealth fighter programs. "The USA appears destined by fate to plague America with misery in the name of liberty." Simon Bolivar, Caracas, 1819
Don't trust this too much. I mean, the Sukhois are tremendous jets, but that's good for defense against neighbors of similar strength. Nothing is any good against a US attack force, because sub-launched tomahawks will destroy the runways before the jets can take off... And the grid that powers the radars and communications would be out at the same time. US Military can simply beat the civil infrastructure of any country to ashes in a matter of days, whatever their defenses. They could do it in Iran, in Venezuela, and a number of other countries all at the same time. Check this "If the maximum of 154 Tomahawk missiles were loaded, one Ohio-class SSGN would carry an entire Battle Group's equivalent of cruise missiles.". First one is at sea, can reload the whole batch of 154 in days at Guantanamo for instance...
It's controlling the territory afterwards with ground troops that's the problem, when low-tech guerillas fueled by the discontentment of the population can outnumber any contingent of marines: maximum disruption of civil life in the attacked territories, without the ability to deliver on promises of "security"n "reconstruction", "democracy", etc Pierre
Amid the images of death, destruction and mayhem in Iraq, some piece of good news from the Middle East has gone virtually unnoticed. Women's rights are progressing in many Middle Eastern countries, and numerous small but important victories have been won. Over the past several years, women in Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Morocco, Bahrain and Qatar have won political and legal reforms unthinkable a decade ago. While some developments may appear minor to those who take these freedoms for granted, they are revolutionary in conservative Muslim societies. Take Saudi Arabia. In this intensely traditional country that enforces strict gender segregation in all aspects of public life, women were allowed to run, campaign and vote in elections for the board of the Jidda Chamber of Commerce and Industry for the first time last November. Two successful businesswomen were elected overwhelmingly with the votes of men. In addition, women finally won the right to their own identity cards and, just this year, a Saudi woman appeared unveiled for the first time ever in a Saudi feature film. In neighboring Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait, all tiny oil-rich Arab Gulf states, the ruling emirs extended voting rights to women over the past few years. Several women now hold high government offices.
Over the past several years, women in Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Morocco, Bahrain and Qatar have won political and legal reforms unthinkable a decade ago. While some developments may appear minor to those who take these freedoms for granted, they are revolutionary in conservative Muslim societies.
Take Saudi Arabia. In this intensely traditional country that enforces strict gender segregation in all aspects of public life, women were allowed to run, campaign and vote in elections for the board of the Jidda Chamber of Commerce and Industry for the first time last November.
Two successful businesswomen were elected overwhelmingly with the votes of men. In addition, women finally won the right to their own identity cards and, just this year, a Saudi woman appeared unveiled for the first time ever in a Saudi feature film.
In neighboring Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait, all tiny oil-rich Arab Gulf states, the ruling emirs extended voting rights to women over the past few years. Several women now hold high government offices.
I also don't know what Morocco is doing in the list. It's always been one of the most secular Muslim countries. guaranteed to evoke a violent reaction from police is to challenge their right to "define the situation." --- David Graeber citing Marc Cooper
It's not because the Afghanistan constitution enshrines "equality of the sexes" that equality exists. My cousin (mentioned previously on ET) who came back from his first tour of duty told me that the only females he saw in half a year spent walking around among Afghans as a translator, were little girls. No women anywhere to be seen, except in burkhas on some occasions.
Ok, maybe many women are now in parliament, but my guess is that parliament is mainly (if not only) composed of Western-educated men to start with, so it's not a revolution per se. And writing the law is not the same thing as applying it in warlord territory.
The women's movement in Morocco encompasses both secular and religious activists, and the country has made some major advances in the last few years, including the revision of the family and personal status laws, and the introduction of a quota system that puts at least 30 women in parliament.
We can debate the merits of quotas till the cows come home, but in this part of the world, I think they're a good thing. Nobody will get used to the idea of women in parliament until there are women in parliament, and a critical mass of them at that.
While some developments may appear minor to those who take these freedoms for granted, they are revolutionary in conservative Muslim societies.
Why I am not sure that this is relevant because I don't know on what basis religious women's rights activists argue -- e.g. do they find a basis for changes in law in the Koran (and Hadiths), or do they merely claim that the Koran allows their demands (or even just that the Koran can be interpreted to allow those) *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
Wahabbinism is only about 150 years old, it is that which punishes women for being born. When we talk of "tradition" within a religion over a 1000 years old, can we at least expect something to be mentioned in their learned books ? This sect, which is younger than Mormonism, represents the outpourings of a desert madman whose ravings were used for political advantage by a Sheik whose tiny kingdom was threatened by stronger neighbours. keep to the Fen Causeway
So tradition here is "religious tradition". It can be nothing else.
Course it helps that they are a s generally ignorant of their religion as fundamentalist Christians are in the USA and so they believe what they're told by the mullah, even when it's been pulled out of his backside. keep to the Fen Causeway
The bigotry comes first, then the justification for it. guaranteed to evoke a violent reaction from police is to challenge their right to "define the situation." --- David Graeber citing Marc Cooper
Could you elaborate on that?
AFAIK while the Koran indeed doesn't say anything about burquas and veils, or voting rights, it does specify a different weight of testimony at court, in inheritance, in divorcement disputes and parental rights, and of course the number of legal sexual partners. *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
However, may of the hadiths are a wide scattering of sayings that reflect all manner of traditions, some of which have been shown to have been introduced up to 3 - 400 yrs after Mohammed's death. Which undermines their credibility somewhat. There have been several attempts to remove the more obviously bogus sayings, but they tend to persist or re-surface when convenient to the politics of the day.
Religion is about politics and control of people's lives in the end. Islam is just a very effective control mechanism. keep to the Fen Causeway
But at the time, the concept of women inheriting anything was unheard-of, so the Qur'anic instruction that daughters were to inherit half what their brothers did was a marked improvement over the status quo. At the time, Islam was downright progressive on women's rights.
The argument to be made now is that the spirit of progressiveness inherent in the original revalations has been lost and should be regained.
Irsahd Manji makes this the central point of her book "The trouble with Isalm", Reza Aslan makes similar points in "No God but God". Many in Europe are now reclaiming it and moving it forward.
However, my statement about most of this stuff coming from the hadiths is that, irrespective of the source, the interpretation is driven by a cultural suppression of women that is only expressed in the hadiths. keep to the Fen Causeway
It's one of the reasons why I resist religious interference in politics. Until religions cease to be authoritarian, misogynist, homophobic etc etc they have nothing to contribute to progressive, deomocratic societies keep to the Fen Causeway
No, I checked, they are in the Koran, though not necessarily as severe as treated by Wahhabis.
In Sura 2>, there is a line about different weight as witness (2:282) (but only for the case of financial transactions).
In Sura 4, I found the inheritance law (4:11, 4:12, 4:176) (though these are minimum requirements if no final will is left), women can't have multiple men (4:24) (though adultery is 'tolerated' with limitations), men are workers and women should accept staying home (4:32, 4:34) (though there is no outright prohibition, but it is only a privilege to be granted), disobedient women can be beaten if all else fails (4:34).
Read more here, where they try to put a favorable spin on it (well actually these laws were a progress in Muhhamad's time, but fall short of equality). *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
Wearing the headscarf is not a requirement of the religion, but a mere cultural belief. Indeed, wearing a headscarf was not tradiitonal in that area in Mohammed's time, but was acquired by conquest. Mohammed himself only reluctantly asked his wives to wear it because his followers felt it was an honour, befitting their exalted status as "beloved of Mohammed". He never intended it to become mandatory for all women. In fact, some say that a wooman wearing a headscarf is claiming to be "beloved of Mohammed" herself, which is practically blasphemy.
So girls who wish to express their piety, or at least their identification with relgion start off with a light scarf. They then move eastward with greater and greater covering, maybe even skipping via indonesia before they arrive at some Gulf state garb of full hijab in the belief that this will make them more fully muslim..
This purloining of various traditions as gradations in piety is ridiculous and mocks both the culture of islam as well as the religion itself. But the leaders don't protest as it is convenient to have the chattels imprison themsleves keep to the Fen Causeway
Bush administration officials like to describe Iran as a country isolated from the outside world. Its outlaw government's policies, and especially its nuclear activities, have earned it the distrust of the international community, the fear of its neighbours and, they say, the rightful label of a "rogue state". But in recent weeks, as Tehran's uranium enrichment dispute with the US, Britain and other western European countries has moved towards a denouement, Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has launched an energetic diplomatic counter-offensive. Defying US containment efforts, Iran is pursuing its own policy of regional engagement. And to Washington's growing unease, it seems to be working. "The Americans are making a big push to isolate Iran. But they are making a big mistake. We are not Burma," said Vahid Karimi of the government-funded Institute for Political and International Studies. "We have plenty of friends." Mr Ahmadinejad's latest success came at last weekend's meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, a pan-Asian economic and security grouping dominated by China and Russia. Iran hopes to win full SCO membership soon. The Iranian leader said his talks with China's president, Hu Jintao, and Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, were "very fruitful". Iran has the second largest natural gas reserves in the world and is second only to Saudi Arabia in Opec as an oil exporter.
But in recent weeks, as Tehran's uranium enrichment dispute with the US, Britain and other western European countries has moved towards a denouement, Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has launched an energetic diplomatic counter-offensive. Defying US containment efforts, Iran is pursuing its own policy of regional engagement. And to Washington's growing unease, it seems to be working.
"The Americans are making a big push to isolate Iran. But they are making a big mistake. We are not Burma," said Vahid Karimi of the government-funded Institute for Political and International Studies. "We have plenty of friends." Mr Ahmadinejad's latest success came at last weekend's meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, a pan-Asian economic and security grouping dominated by China and Russia. Iran hopes to win full SCO membership soon.
The Iranian leader said his talks with China's president, Hu Jintao, and Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, were "very fruitful". Iran has the second largest natural gas reserves in the world and is second only to Saudi Arabia in Opec as an oil exporter.
Bush administration officials like to describe Iran as a country isolated from the outside world.
Its outlaw government's policies, and especially its nuclear activities, have earned it the distrust of the international community, the fear of its neighbours and, they say, the rightful label of a "rogue state".
As far as I know, Iran's government is not 'outlaw'. Just yesterday we had news of a poll of Europeans where the US was consiredered the greatest threat to international instability by more people than Iran. The people polled must not be part of the international community.
"The Fear of its neighbours"? Iran is engaging in cross-border cooperation with Turkey, talks about oil pipelines with Russia, and vying for admission into the SCO. Granted, secular Iraqis (who are now an endangered species) are probably rightly afraid of Iran, but the same cannot be said of the religious Shia parties who dominate the Iraqi government...
Sigh... \end{deconstruction} guaranteed to evoke a violent reaction from police is to challenge their right to "define the situation." --- David Graeber citing Marc Cooper
"Shanghai was a big success," Dr Karimi said. "All our neighbours support our [nuclear] policy, even Mubarak. We are successful in building up relations. That is why the American position is changing ... They thought we were encircled because of Iraq and Afghanistan. But we're not. That's why they want to talk to us now."
At 15,000ft above sea level, the Silk Road pass is the world's highest - and loneliest - customs post. Now it is back in business in a bid to revive an ancient trade route High in the Himalayas, a barbed wire fence snakes its way across a desolate landscape. On most days, a thick, white, freezing cloud descends across the peaks, and it is hard to see anything. But now and then a figure looms out of the mist, dressed in combat fatigues. It is like a scene from some old war film. This is where the Chinese and Indian armies have faced off against each other across a border that has been closed for 44 years. But now there is frenetic activity on both sides of the border. Bulldozers are clearing land. Prefabricated warehouses have been put up. At 14,400ft above sea level, the world's highest custom house is back in business: the border is about to reopen. This is the return of the Silk Road. The narrow road that threads its way through the hills, up to the Nathu La is barely motorable, better suited to mules than trucks. But, though it may not look it today, for 58 years this road was the main artery of trade between India and China. And now Delhi and Beijing are hoping that here the Silk Road, which once accounted for a staggering proportion of the world's productivity, can be reborn. Talks are underway between India and China in Lhasa, the Tibetan capital, for the reopening the border crossing at the Nathu La pass. If all goes according to plan, it could be open as soon as 30 June. And the Sikkim state government on the Indian side is predicting that by 2010, the total trade across Nathu La could be worth as much as $1bn (£540m).
High in the Himalayas, a barbed wire fence snakes its way across a desolate landscape. On most days, a thick, white, freezing cloud descends across the peaks, and it is hard to see anything. But now and then a figure looms out of the mist, dressed in combat fatigues. It is like a scene from some old war film. This is where the Chinese and Indian armies have faced off against each other across a border that has been closed for 44 years.
But now there is frenetic activity on both sides of the border. Bulldozers are clearing land. Prefabricated warehouses have been put up. At 14,400ft above sea level, the world's highest custom house is back in business: the border is about to reopen. This is the return of the Silk Road.
The narrow road that threads its way through the hills, up to the Nathu La is barely motorable, better suited to mules than trucks. But, though it may not look it today, for 58 years this road was the main artery of trade between India and China. And now Delhi and Beijing are hoping that here the Silk Road, which once accounted for a staggering proportion of the world's productivity, can be reborn.
Talks are underway between India and China in Lhasa, the Tibetan capital, for the reopening the border crossing at the Nathu La pass. If all goes according to plan, it could be open as soon as 30 June. And the Sikkim state government on the Indian side is predicting that by 2010, the total trade across Nathu La could be worth as much as $1bn (£540m).
(please?) In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
But your wish shall be granted, I have one diary in the plans for the first week of July. *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
A start, even if not on a roll: http://wagonrestaurant.free.fr/tables.htm
Nice, with typical french cuisine, and even more typical english speaking (dis)abilities. Small competition: who can find the original french version for: "play pig tender in the beer"
After inquiry, "c'est la faute de l'ordinateur". It appears the menu was software -translated... La répartie est dans l'escalier. Elle revient de suite.
TOKYO, Japan -- Japan will withdraw its ground troops from Iraq, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi announced Tuesday. Japan's 600 military troops based in the southern Muthana province are all non-combat personnel helping to rebuild the infrastructure. Koizumi said the troops -- deployed in early 2004 -- had helped rebuild the infrastructure of the area where they were based, and he pledged further aid to Iraqi reconstruction, The Associated Press reports. "Today we have decided to withdraw Ground Self-Defense Forces from the Samawah region in Iraq," Koizumi said in a nationally televised news conference. "The humanitarian dispatch ... has achieved its mission." He offered no timetable for the withdrawal, but Defense chief Fukushiro Nukaga told reporters earlier in the day that the pullout would take "several dozen days."
Japan's 600 military troops based in the southern Muthana province are all non-combat personnel helping to rebuild the infrastructure.
Koizumi said the troops -- deployed in early 2004 -- had helped rebuild the infrastructure of the area where they were based, and he pledged further aid to Iraqi reconstruction, The Associated Press reports.
"Today we have decided to withdraw Ground Self-Defense Forces from the Samawah region in Iraq," Koizumi said in a nationally televised news conference. "The humanitarian dispatch ... has achieved its mission."
He offered no timetable for the withdrawal, but Defense chief Fukushiro Nukaga told reporters earlier in the day that the pullout would take "several dozen days."
See also tuasfait's dairy: http://www.eurotrib.com/?op=displaystory;sid=2006/6/19/22338/8476
A group of Muslim and Arab-Americans, frustrated by what they say is the climate of suspicion and fear that dogs their re-entry into the United States from trips abroad, sued the Department of Homeland Security and the F.B.I. yesterday, demanding that the courts protect their civil rights. The seven main plaintiffs in the class action suit assert that both the United States Congress and the federal government are ignoring the plight of innocent Americans harassed repeatedly because of problems with the terrorist watch list. The lawsuit, filed in Federal District Court in Chicago by the American Civil Liberties Union, contends that the courts alone can ensure that antiterrorism policies do not repeatedly subject ordinary Americans to detention, questioning, fingerprinting and the like. "These are law-abiding citizens, and it is too extreme, too offensive," said Harvey Grossman, the legal director for the A.C.L.U.'s Illinois branch, saying that repeated complaints to Homeland Security as well as senators or congressmen barely get a response. "The court is the only forum where these people have a chance to get a hearing." The lawsuit asserts that repeated border detentions and improper actions of border guards violate the plaintiffs' constitutional protection against unreasonable search and seizure and their right to travel.
The seven main plaintiffs in the class action suit assert that both the United States Congress and the federal government are ignoring the plight of innocent Americans harassed repeatedly because of problems with the terrorist watch list.
The lawsuit, filed in Federal District Court in Chicago by the American Civil Liberties Union, contends that the courts alone can ensure that antiterrorism policies do not repeatedly subject ordinary Americans to detention, questioning, fingerprinting and the like.
"These are law-abiding citizens, and it is too extreme, too offensive," said Harvey Grossman, the legal director for the A.C.L.U.'s Illinois branch, saying that repeated complaints to Homeland Security as well as senators or congressmen barely get a response. "The court is the only forum where these people have a chance to get a hearing."
The lawsuit asserts that repeated border detentions and improper actions of border guards violate the plaintiffs' constitutional protection against unreasonable search and seizure and their right to travel.
