Israeli forces are moving slowly into Gaza's most densely populated areas, reports say, as they continue air and ground attacks on Hamas militants. Some reservists are in action on the ground, but the army denied escalating the war to a "third phase" - an all-out push on Gaza City and other towns. Air strikes also continued through the day against 25 "targets" across the Gaza Strip, the Israeli military said. Nearly 30 rockets or mortars were fired on Israel from Gaza. Overnight on Sunday fewer air strikes were carried out - 12 compared with as many as 60 on previous nights. Israeli spokesman Mark Regev said Hamas's military machine was taking "serious punishment" and Israel was "advancing towards the end game".
Israeli forces are moving slowly into Gaza's most densely populated areas, reports say, as they continue air and ground attacks on Hamas militants.
Some reservists are in action on the ground, but the army denied escalating the war to a "third phase" - an all-out push on Gaza City and other towns.
Air strikes also continued through the day against 25 "targets" across the Gaza Strip, the Israeli military said.
Nearly 30 rockets or mortars were fired on Israel from Gaza.
Overnight on Sunday fewer air strikes were carried out - 12 compared with as many as 60 on previous nights.
Israeli spokesman Mark Regev said Hamas's military machine was taking "serious punishment" and Israel was "advancing towards the end game".
We've left our home. Like 60,000 other Gazans, we've taken our belongings and fled. Once again, we've become displaced people. Soon, there will be nowhere to run to, since nowhere in Gaza is safe. In the early hours of Saturday, the bombing got louder and closer to our home, and the rattle of machine-gun fire became more intense. The tanks were not far off. As I lay in the dark, I heard the sound of small-arms fire and voices in the street outside. Since the Israeli offensive began, our city streets have been deserted during the hours of darkness; even the dogs that usually annoy us with their all-night barking have vanished. The voices were Palestinian militants: "Stay close to the wall!" "Go by the wall!", I could hear them shouting to each other. I didn't dare go to the window, fearing snipers, but tried listening to the radio. The FM stations run by Palestinian factions had no information, just talk about the "heroic actions" of their militants.My thoughts went to my wife, Alaa, so, at dawn, I phoned her. Alaa is nine months pregnant and we evacuated her last week to her parents' place in the western part of the city. As I expected, she was in a state of panic.
We've left our home. Like 60,000 other Gazans, we've taken our belongings and fled. Once again, we've become displaced people. Soon, there will be nowhere to run to, since nowhere in Gaza is safe. In the early hours of Saturday, the bombing got louder and closer to our home, and the rattle of machine-gun fire became more intense. The tanks were not far off.
As I lay in the dark, I heard the sound of small-arms fire and voices in the street outside. Since the Israeli offensive began, our city streets have been deserted during the hours of darkness; even the dogs that usually annoy us with their all-night barking have vanished. The voices were Palestinian militants: "Stay close to the wall!" "Go by the wall!", I could hear them shouting to each other. I didn't dare go to the window, fearing snipers, but tried listening to the radio. The FM stations run by Palestinian factions had no information, just talk about the "heroic actions" of their militants.
My thoughts went to my wife, Alaa, so, at dawn, I phoned her. Alaa is nine months pregnant and we evacuated her last week to her parents' place in the western part of the city. As I expected, she was in a state of panic.
NEW YORK: Last June, Al Jazeera English produced a report from Gaza about a young couple who were preparing to marry during the relative calm of the cease-fire between Hamas and the Israeli government, a time when they could finally shop for furniture and, as the reporter put it, let themselves "dream that a happy life together is within reach." Today that reporter, Ayman Mohyeldin, a former CNN producer, can be seen with a helmet and flak jacket answering questions from an anchor back in the studio in Doha, Qatar, describing the Israeli bombing and ground campaign in Gaza designed to stop Hamas missiles from being fired into Israel. In a conflict where the Western news media have been largely prevented from reporting from Gaza because of restrictions imposed by the Israeli military, Al Jazeera has had a distinct advantage. It was already there.
NEW YORK: Last June, Al Jazeera English produced a report from Gaza about a young couple who were preparing to marry during the relative calm of the cease-fire between Hamas and the Israeli government, a time when they could finally shop for furniture and, as the reporter put it, let themselves "dream that a happy life together is within reach."
Today that reporter, Ayman Mohyeldin, a former CNN producer, can be seen with a helmet and flak jacket answering questions from an anchor back in the studio in Doha, Qatar, describing the Israeli bombing and ground campaign in Gaza designed to stop Hamas missiles from being fired into Israel.
In a conflict where the Western news media have been largely prevented from reporting from Gaza because of restrictions imposed by the Israeli military, Al Jazeera has had a distinct advantage. It was already there.
The former British Prime Minister who works as the Middle East envoy for world powers spoke in Cairo where truce talks between Egyptian officials and a Hamas delegation were underway. Israel postponed a Cairo trip by Amos Gilad, its top envoy to the talks, in an attempt to put pressure on Hamas to agree to the emerging settlement.Mr Blair said the negotiations which centre on future efforts to stop Hamas smuggling weapons into the Gaza Strip were at a "sensitive stage".But he said that "the elements of an agreement" for a ceasefire "are there" and that officials were working "very hard" to reach their goal.Israel is threatening to mobilise its reserve forces to mount a broad scale invasion of the Palestinian territory if a ceasefire, which would see rocket attacks on Israel dry up, is not reached.
The former British Prime Minister who works as the Middle East envoy for world powers spoke in Cairo where truce talks between Egyptian officials and a Hamas delegation were underway. Israel postponed a Cairo trip by Amos Gilad, its top envoy to the talks, in an attempt to put pressure on Hamas to agree to the emerging settlement.
Mr Blair said the negotiations which centre on future efforts to stop Hamas smuggling weapons into the Gaza Strip were at a "sensitive stage".
But he said that "the elements of an agreement" for a ceasefire "are there" and that officials were working "very hard" to reach their goal.
Israel is threatening to mobilise its reserve forces to mount a broad scale invasion of the Palestinian territory if a ceasefire, which would see rocket attacks on Israel dry up, is not reached.
Reminds me of the Jean Cocteau line: These mysteries are beyond us, so let's pretend we're the organizers.
CAIRO: With every image of the dead in Gaza inflaming people across the Arab world, Egyptian and Jordanian officials are worried that they see a fundamental tenet of the Middle East peace process slipping away: the so-called two-state solution, an independent Palestinian state coexisting with Israel. Egypt and Jordan fear that they will be pressed to absorb the Palestinian populations now living beyond their borders. If Israel does not assume responsibility for humanitarian aid in Gaza, for example, pressure could compel Egypt to fill the vacuum; Jordan, in turn, worries that Israel will try to push Palestinians from the West Bank into its territory. In that case, both states fear, they could become responsible for policing the conflict between the Palestinians and Israel, undermining their peace treaties with Israel. The Palestinian cause has always been an explosive, emotional and destabilizing one for Arab states. Islamist parties have scored points with the public by making much of traditional Arab leaders' failure to help the Palestinians. The Gaza conflict, by reigniting these passions, is deepening regional rivalries and further upending traditional balances of power.
CAIRO: With every image of the dead in Gaza inflaming people across the Arab world, Egyptian and Jordanian officials are worried that they see a fundamental tenet of the Middle East peace process slipping away: the so-called two-state solution, an independent Palestinian state coexisting with Israel.
Egypt and Jordan fear that they will be pressed to absorb the Palestinian populations now living beyond their borders. If Israel does not assume responsibility for humanitarian aid in Gaza, for example, pressure could compel Egypt to fill the vacuum; Jordan, in turn, worries that Israel will try to push Palestinians from the West Bank into its territory.
In that case, both states fear, they could become responsible for policing the conflict between the Palestinians and Israel, undermining their peace treaties with Israel.
The Palestinian cause has always been an explosive, emotional and destabilizing one for Arab states. Islamist parties have scored points with the public by making much of traditional Arab leaders' failure to help the Palestinians. The Gaza conflict, by reigniting these passions, is deepening regional rivalries and further upending traditional balances of power.
JOSEF FEDERMANAP NewsIsrael on Monday banned Arab political parties from running in next month's parliamentary elections, drawing accusations of racism by an Arab lawmaker who said he would challenge the decision in the country's Supreme Court. The ruling by parliament's Central Election Committee reflected the heightened tensions between Israel's Jewish majority and Arab minority caused by Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip. Arabs have held a series of demonstrations against the offensive. Parliament spokesman Giora Pordes said the election committee voted overwhelmingly in favor of the motion, accusing the country's Arab parties of incitement, supporting terrorist groups and refusing to recognize Israel's right to exist. Arab lawmakers have traveled to some of Israel's staunchest enemies, including Lebanon and Syria.
JOSEF FEDERMANAP News
Israel on Monday banned Arab political parties from running in next month's parliamentary elections, drawing accusations of racism by an Arab lawmaker who said he would challenge the decision in the country's Supreme Court.
The ruling by parliament's Central Election Committee reflected the heightened tensions between Israel's Jewish majority and Arab minority caused by Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip. Arabs have held a series of demonstrations against the offensive.
Parliament spokesman Giora Pordes said the election committee voted overwhelmingly in favor of the motion, accusing the country's Arab parties of incitement, supporting terrorist groups and refusing to recognize Israel's right to exist. Arab lawmakers have traveled to some of Israel's staunchest enemies, including Lebanon and Syria.
It doesn't reflect well on the democratic institutions of Israel that they are trying again.
It doesn't reflect well on the democratic institutions of Israel
Frank Delaney ~ Ireland
Berlin psychologists have begun offering web-based therapy to Iraqi victims of war-related events and crimes. Berlin psychologists believe the impersonal medium will prompt victims of rape or kidnap to disclose more personal information than they would in a face-to-face encounter with a specialist. "The Internet method is soothing for many victims because they do not have to speak to anyone specific or sit opposite someone," said Christine Knaevelsrud, a psychologist at Berlin's center for the treatment of torture victims (BZFO) The free service, called Interapy, consists of three stages. First, victims must write four e-mails detailing what they saw and felt during their ordeal.
Berlin psychologists believe the impersonal medium will prompt victims of rape or kidnap to disclose more personal information than they would in a face-to-face encounter with a specialist.
"The Internet method is soothing for many victims because they do not have to speak to anyone specific or sit opposite someone," said Christine Knaevelsrud, a psychologist at Berlin's center for the treatment of torture victims (BZFO)
The free service, called Interapy, consists of three stages. First, victims must write four e-mails detailing what they saw and felt during their ordeal.
Barack Obama, the US president-elect, has appeared to soften his election campaign promise to shut the US detention camp in Guantanamo Bay as one of his first acts as US president, saying its closure would be "a challenge". "It is more difficult than a lot of people realise ..." Obama said during an interview aired on Sunday with US broadcaster ABC. "I think it's going to take some time ... but I don't want to be ambiguous about this - we are going to close Guantanamo," he told the This Week programme. Sunday also marked the seventh anniversary of the first prisoners arriving at Guantanamo.
Barack Obama, the US president-elect, has appeared to soften his election campaign promise to shut the US detention camp in Guantanamo Bay as one of his first acts as US president, saying its closure would be "a challenge".
"It is more difficult than a lot of people realise ..." Obama said during an interview aired on Sunday with US broadcaster ABC.
"I think it's going to take some time ... but I don't want to be ambiguous about this - we are going to close Guantanamo," he told the This Week programme.
Sunday also marked the seventh anniversary of the first prisoners arriving at Guantanamo.
President-elect Barack Obama is preparing to issue an executive order his first week in office -- and perhaps his first day -- to close the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, according to two presidential transition team advisers. It's unlikely the detention facility at the Navy base in Cuba will be closed anytime soon. In an interview last weekend, Mr. Obama said it would be "a challenge" to close it even within the first 100 days of his administration. But the order, which one adviser said could be issued as early as Jan. 20, would start the process of deciding what to do with the estimated 250 al Qaeda and Taliban suspects and potential witnesses who are being held there. Most have not been charged with a crime. The Guantanamo directive would be one of a series of executive orders Mr. Obama is planning to issue shortly after he takes office next Tuesday, according to the two advisers. Also expected is an executive order about certain interrogation methods, but details were not immediately available Monday.
It's unlikely the detention facility at the Navy base in Cuba will be closed anytime soon. In an interview last weekend, Mr. Obama said it would be "a challenge" to close it even within the first 100 days of his administration.
But the order, which one adviser said could be issued as early as Jan. 20, would start the process of deciding what to do with the estimated 250 al Qaeda and Taliban suspects and potential witnesses who are being held there. Most have not been charged with a crime.
The Guantanamo directive would be one of a series of executive orders Mr. Obama is planning to issue shortly after he takes office next Tuesday, according to the two advisers. Also expected is an executive order about certain interrogation methods, but details were not immediately available Monday.
People flipped out about Obama "softening" his stance after the interview with Snuffalufagus. It was fairly clear to me that Obama was talking about what you've talked about numerous times: That it would take some time to work through the legalities and logistics. He was quite explicit about his intention to close it.
Once again, the American bloggers are drama queens. But the trend towards being too stupid to read is a little worrying. I mean, I know this is America and all, but still: As with the entitlements nonsense, it helps to, you know, read what he said.
I really can't wait until the transition is over. Conservatives want live babies so they can raise them to be dead soldiers. - George Carlin
And some of the evidence against them may be tainted even though it's true. And so how to balance creating a process that adheres to rule of law, habeas corpus, basic principles of Anglo American legal system, by doing it in a way that doesn't result in releasing people who are intent on blowing us up.
Keeping people you can't convict for anything locked away while preserving the rule of law, habeas corpus and basic principles of Anglo American legal system, sounds like quite a challenge to me. Wait this is important. Someone is wrong on the Internet.
by doing it in a way that doesn't result in releasing people who are intent on blowing us up.
This is nonsense. Even if those guys were not "intent on blowing" them up after Guantanamo experience they may very well be. But who the hell knows that? Psychics? And about legal limitations, the same way like their Senate and Congress went against their constitution and laws by installing Guantanamo, torture etc. as legal, and now they should put it back in order. Simple as that. But they do not WANT to...that's the problem...Because it is so convenient..,.
* Iran offered engagement with 'certain expectations' * Report reveals mission to disrupt atomic ambitionsThe US president-elect, Barack Obama, said yesterday that he would act swiftly once in power to confront Iran, vowing to take a new approach focused on dialogue but warning Tehran that there were limits beyond which it should not go.Speaking on network television nine days before taking office, Obama said Iran was going to be one of the biggest challenges his incoming administration faced. He said Tehran's "exporting of terrorism through Hamas and Hezbollah" and its pursuit of an atomic weapon could trigger a nuclear arms race in the Middle East.A new US approach would be adopted, with engagement as its starting point, said Obama, adding that he would send out a signal "that we respect the aspirations of the Iranian people, but we also have certain expectations of how an international actor behaves."One of the earliest decisions for Obama and his foreign policy team, led by Hillary Clinton, will be to decide whether to continue the covert operations programme started by the Bush administration last year. The mission is designed to block any attempt by Iran to build a nuclear weapon by breaking its supply chain of essential parts from abroad and by applying experimental techniques to disrupt essential computer and electrical systems. Details of those operations were disclosed by the New York Times yesterday.
The US president-elect, Barack Obama, said yesterday that he would act swiftly once in power to confront Iran, vowing to take a new approach focused on dialogue but warning Tehran that there were limits beyond which it should not go.
Speaking on network television nine days before taking office, Obama said Iran was going to be one of the biggest challenges his incoming administration faced. He said Tehran's "exporting of terrorism through Hamas and Hezbollah" and its pursuit of an atomic weapon could trigger a nuclear arms race in the Middle East.
A new US approach would be adopted, with engagement as its starting point, said Obama, adding that he would send out a signal "that we respect the aspirations of the Iranian people, but we also have certain expectations of how an international actor behaves."
One of the earliest decisions for Obama and his foreign policy team, led by Hillary Clinton, will be to decide whether to continue the covert operations programme started by the Bush administration last year. The mission is designed to block any attempt by Iran to build a nuclear weapon by breaking its supply chain of essential parts from abroad and by applying experimental techniques to disrupt essential computer and electrical systems. Details of those operations were disclosed by the New York Times yesterday.
Iran has called on US President-elect Barack Obama not to repeat what it said were false accusations levelled against the Islamic Republic by the outgoing administration in Washington. The United States accuses Iran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons and President George W. Bush has spearheaded a drive to isolate Tehran internationally. Tehran denies the charge. Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman also suggested Tehran would respond in an "appropriate and timely" way to any change in US behaviour towards the country, which is embroiled in a row with the West over its disputed nuclear plans. Iran, which has not had diplomatic ties with the United States in three decades, has reacted cautiously to Obama's election victory, saying it is waiting to see whether his presidency will herald real change in US foreign policy.
Iran has called on US President-elect Barack Obama not to repeat what it said were false accusations levelled against the Islamic Republic by the outgoing administration in Washington.
The United States accuses Iran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons and President George W. Bush has spearheaded a drive to isolate Tehran internationally. Tehran denies the charge.
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman also suggested Tehran would respond in an "appropriate and timely" way to any change in US behaviour towards the country, which is embroiled in a row with the West over its disputed nuclear plans.
Iran, which has not had diplomatic ties with the United States in three decades, has reacted cautiously to Obama's election victory, saying it is waiting to see whether his presidency will herald real change in US foreign policy.
President George Bush expanded covert action intended to sabotage Iran's suspected effort to develop nuclear weapons last year after sanctions failed to curb Iran's nuclear ambitions, The New York Times has reported. The paper said the Bush administration briefed Israel on the covert programme after Washington turned down an Israeli request for a new generation of bunker-busting bombs required for a possible attack on Iran.President Bush also rejected a request for Israeli planes to cross Iraqi air space in case of Israeli strikes on Iran. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported last September that the Israeli requests had been spurned."The Israelis backed off their plans, at least temporarily," the New York Times said. "But the tense exchanges prompted the White House to step up intelligence-sharing with Israel on new US efforts to subtly sabotage Iran's nuclear infrastructure, a major covert program that Mr Bush is about to hand off to President-elect Barack Obama."The clandestine US programme, started in early 2008 according to the paper, includes fresh American efforts to penetrate Iran's nuclear supply chain abroad, "along with new efforts, some of them experimental, to undermine electrical systems, computer systems and other networks on which Iran relies."
President George Bush expanded covert action intended to sabotage Iran's suspected effort to develop nuclear weapons last year after sanctions failed to curb Iran's nuclear ambitions, The New York Times has reported.
The paper said the Bush administration briefed Israel on the covert programme after Washington turned down an Israeli request for a new generation of bunker-busting bombs required for a possible attack on Iran.
President Bush also rejected a request for Israeli planes to cross Iraqi air space in case of Israeli strikes on Iran. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported last September that the Israeli requests had been spurned.
"The Israelis backed off their plans, at least temporarily," the New York Times said. "But the tense exchanges prompted the White House to step up intelligence-sharing with Israel on new US efforts to subtly sabotage Iran's nuclear infrastructure, a major covert program that Mr Bush is about to hand off to President-elect Barack Obama."
The clandestine US programme, started in early 2008 according to the paper, includes fresh American efforts to penetrate Iran's nuclear supply chain abroad, "along with new efforts, some of them experimental, to undermine electrical systems, computer systems and other networks on which Iran relies."
"oh look how bush saved Israel. Isn't he great ? Obama wants to talk to these people, you can't trust Obama. vote republican." keep to the Fen Causeway
President Bush today passionately defended his turbulent eight years in office and lashed out at the "elites" and "opiners" who claim he has damaged America's moral standing in the world. At a final and often gripping White House press conference, in which he veered from nostalgia to outright aggression, Mr Bush was largely unrepentant. He defended his economic and foreign policy record, including Iraq, the current financial crisis and Guantanamo Bay. "You know, there's plenty of critics in this business. I know that. And I thank you for giving me a chance to defend a record that I am going to continue to defend because I think it is a good, strong record," Mr Bush declared, nine days before he leaves office. He departs with an approval rating of 27 per cent, the lowest since Richard Nixon resigned from office in 1974. Mr Bush was inevitably asked to list the mistakes he has made in office. He conceded several, describing the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal as a "huge disappointment" and the failure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq as a "significant disappointment".
President Bush today passionately defended his turbulent eight years in office and lashed out at the "elites" and "opiners" who claim he has damaged America's moral standing in the world.
At a final and often gripping White House press conference, in which he veered from nostalgia to outright aggression, Mr Bush was largely unrepentant. He defended his economic and foreign policy record, including Iraq, the current financial crisis and Guantanamo Bay.
"You know, there's plenty of critics in this business. I know that. And I thank you for giving me a chance to defend a record that I am going to continue to defend because I think it is a good, strong record," Mr Bush declared, nine days before he leaves office. He departs with an approval rating of 27 per cent, the lowest since Richard Nixon resigned from office in 1974.
Mr Bush was inevitably asked to list the mistakes he has made in office. He conceded several, describing the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal as a "huge disappointment" and the failure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq as a "significant disappointment".
The United States, Israel's main ally, had initially been expected to voted in line with the other 14 but Rice later became the sole abstention."In the night between Thursday and Friday, when the secretary of state wanted to lead the vote on a ceasefire at the Security Council, we did not want her to vote in favour," Olmert said"I said 'get me President Bush on the phone'. They said he was in the middle of giving a speech in Philadelphia. I said I didn't care. 'I need to talk to him now'. He got off the podium and spoke to me."I told him the United States could not vote in favour. It cannot vote in favour of such a resolution. He immediately called the secretary of state and told her not to vote in favour."
The United States, Israel's main ally, had initially been expected to voted in line with the other 14 but Rice later became the sole abstention.
"In the night between Thursday and Friday, when the secretary of state wanted to lead the vote on a ceasefire at the Security Council, we did not want her to vote in favour," Olmert said
"I said 'get me President Bush on the phone'. They said he was in the middle of giving a speech in Philadelphia. I said I didn't care. 'I need to talk to him now'. He got off the podium and spoke to me.
"I told him the United States could not vote in favour. It cannot vote in favour of such a resolution. He immediately called the secretary of state and told her not to vote in favour."
Ehud Olmert can tell Bush how Rice should vote at the UNSC? Most economists teach a theoretical framework that has been shown to be fundamentally useless. -- James K. Galbraith
Ehud Olmert can tell Bush how Rice should vote at the UNSC?
I'm not sure who Israel has pissed off in DC and/or the press, but the pro-Israel propaganda hasn't been nearly as strong this go-round, and people who oppose the slaughter in Gaza are being a lot bolder than they've been in the past. Conservatives want live babies so they can raise them to be dead soldiers. - George Carlin
There was a call to Bush, and Bush did instruct Rice to abstain. It's not clear what the US vote would have been without that call (although I doubt the US would have joined such a resolution anyway, given the past track record).
... Russia has had a functioning system for handing over power for only 121 years in its entire history: during the later years of the Romanov autocracy. Before Emperor Paul I established a legal structure in 1797, there was no law of succession: Czars simply chose their heirs. Both Peter the Great and Ivan the Terrible undermined their own achievements by killing their sons and chosen heirs. After Peter's death in 1725, the succession was decided through 70 years of palace coups and regicide, a system oft described by the witty phrase "autocracy tempered by assassination." Strong, intelligent empresses like Elizabeth and Catherine the Great seized power, creating an age of omnipotent petticoats. <...> There was no succession rule in the Soviet state, an empire ruled by a murderous clique, men who met in paranoid secrecy as if they were still scruffy conspirators plotting in a room above some provincial tavern. Sovereignty in this institutionalized conspiracy was meant to rest in the Central Committee, but actually five or six magnates decided everything. <...> Vladimir Putin wants his successes in Russia to be respected by the West; hence he did not simply ignore the Constitution and stay in the presidency. He and his grandees believe in the idiosyncratic style of authoritarian democracy that has restored Russianprestige (although his courtiers are also keen to preserve their power and wealth). <...> Russia is so feudal in its system of patronage and reward that it is virtually impossible for a leader to hand over power without controlling his successor or at least receiving an exemption from prosecution -- something Mr. Putin granted his predecessor, Boris Yeltsin, in 1999. Leaders, writes Professor Ra'anan, "are condemned to lead a Hobbesian existence, fearing the penalties that come with loss of power." <...> ... a drop in its oil revenues could lead to domestic unrest -- there is no other way to overthrow the oligarchy. Meanwhile, Mr. Putin's succession and (likely) restoration is a leisurely dance of the seven veils in which one veil is dropped only for another to be donned -- more fascinating even than the danse macabre of Soviet Kremlinology. But no one, probably not even the grandees of the Kremlin themselves, knows how it will end.
There was no succession rule in the Soviet state, an empire ruled by a murderous clique, men who met in paranoid secrecy as if they were still scruffy conspirators plotting in a room above some provincial tavern. Sovereignty in this institutionalized conspiracy was meant to rest in the Central Committee, but actually five or six magnates decided everything. <...>
Vladimir Putin wants his successes in Russia to be respected by the West; hence he did not simply ignore the Constitution and stay in the presidency. He and his grandees believe in the idiosyncratic style of authoritarian democracy that has restored Russianprestige (although his courtiers are also keen to preserve their power and wealth). <...>
Russia is so feudal in its system of patronage and reward that it is virtually impossible for a leader to hand over power without controlling his successor or at least receiving an exemption from prosecution -- something Mr. Putin granted his predecessor, Boris Yeltsin, in 1999. Leaders, writes Professor Ra'anan, "are condemned to lead a Hobbesian existence, fearing the penalties that come with loss of power." <...>
... a drop in its oil revenues could lead to domestic unrest -- there is no other way to overthrow the oligarchy. Meanwhile, Mr. Putin's succession and (likely) restoration is a leisurely dance of the seven veils in which one veil is dropped only for another to be donned -- more fascinating even than the danse macabre of Soviet Kremlinology. But no one, probably not even the grandees of the Kremlin themselves, knows how it will end.
Low Cost Tamper Proof Voting
might come in handy elsewhere..... "Any economic unit can emit money. The serious problem is to get it accepted" Hyman Minsky
MIAMI -- A financial adviser from Indiana disappeared into the Alabama woods early Monday after faking a distress call and parachuting from a small plane that crashed in Florida. The police in three states were looking for the pilot, identified as Marcus Schrenker, 38. No one was hurt in the crash. According to the police in Santa Rosa County in the Florida Panhandle, where the plane went down, Mr. Schrenker turned up safely about 220 miles north of there. And there is evidence that Mr. Schrenker was an experienced pilot who might have been trying to fake his own death. His life seemed to be unraveling. Court records show that Mr. Schrenker's wife filed for divorce on Dec. 30. A Maryland court recently issued a judgment of more than $500,000 against one of three Indiana companies registered in his name -- and all three are being investigated for securities fraud by the Indiana Secretary of State's Office, a spokesman, Jim Gavin, said. Mr. Schrenker has at least a decade of experience as a pilot, according to the airport in Anderson, Ind., where he departed Sunday evening. But the police said that within hours of taking off, he issued a distress call. He told air traffic controllers that he was bleeding profusely and that the windshield of his Piper PA-46 turboprop had imploded. The control tower told him to try to land nearby, but instead he "appears to have intentionally abandoned the plane after putting it on autopilot over the Birmingham, Ala., area," the police in Santa Rosa County said.
MIAMI -- A financial adviser from Indiana disappeared into the Alabama woods early Monday after faking a distress call and parachuting from a small plane that crashed in Florida.
The police in three states were looking for the pilot, identified as Marcus Schrenker, 38.
No one was hurt in the crash. According to the police in Santa Rosa County in the Florida Panhandle, where the plane went down, Mr. Schrenker turned up safely about 220 miles north of there. And there is evidence that Mr. Schrenker was an experienced pilot who might have been trying to fake his own death.
His life seemed to be unraveling. Court records show that Mr. Schrenker's wife filed for divorce on Dec. 30. A Maryland court recently issued a judgment of more than $500,000 against one of three Indiana companies registered in his name -- and all three are being investigated for securities fraud by the Indiana Secretary of State's Office, a spokesman, Jim Gavin, said.
Mr. Schrenker has at least a decade of experience as a pilot, according to the airport in Anderson, Ind., where he departed Sunday evening. But the police said that within hours of taking off, he issued a distress call.
He told air traffic controllers that he was bleeding profusely and that the windshield of his Piper PA-46 turboprop had imploded. The control tower told him to try to land nearby, but instead he "appears to have intentionally abandoned the plane after putting it on autopilot over the Birmingham, Ala., area," the police in Santa Rosa County said.
