NEW DELHI A 7.5-magnitude earthquake struck under the Indian Ocean on Sunday, triggering a tsunami watch for nearby islands and causing tremors reportedly felt along India's eastern seaboard.
The quake hit at 1:26 am local time (1926 GMT) at a depth of 35 kilometres (22 miles) with the epicentre around 160 kilometres west of India's Nicobar Islands.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, based in Hawaii, initially issued a warning for the entire Indian Ocean region. This was downgraded to a warning for India only, when the magnitude of the quake was revised to 7.5 from 7.7, and later the centre cancelled the alert altogether.
"Sea level readings indicate that a significant tsunami was not generated," the centre said in a bulletin.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/13/2010 00:00 ||
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ok so who is on the other side of that tectonic plate...
plus who is on the other side of the world? Those things tend to spark another earthquake about 5 days later after the shock waves go through the mantle and converge under the plate on the other side of the earth's crust...
or so i've noticed
i don't have my globe with me but i'm pretty sure it would come out somewhere in south america
CAIRO (AP) - Egyptian security forces hit protesters and knocked some to the ground before rounding dozens up at a demonstration Sunday against a police beating that killed a young man a week ago.
The protesters were venting Egyptian anger over the death of 28-year-old Khaled Said in the port city of Alexandria on June 6. Relatives, at least one witness and human rights groups say police beat him to death and pictures of his bloody, disfigured face have been circulating on the Internet. The Egyptian government claims he choked to death on a joint as police were trying to arrest him.
US politician Sarah Palin could soon be on her way to Britain to boost her hopes of challenging Barack Obama in the 2012 US presidential election. Her representatives approached Margaret Thatcher to ask for a meeting as part of a bid to enhance her claim to be the 'heir to Ronald Reagan' and prepare to challenge Mr Obama.
That's a lot of rank speculation for one short paragraph ...
And Lady Thatcher has agreed to see Mrs Palin, who stood as the Republican vice-presidential candidate in 2008. A spokesman said: 'We had an informal approach asking if Lady Thatcher would meet Mrs Palin if she comes to Britain and we said yes.'
One individual involved in the talks about the visit said: 'Palin's people haven't said anything about meeting Cameron. Their main interest is getting a picture of her with Lady Thatcher. I'm not sure they know who David Cameron is.'
Oh, I'm quite sure they do. But Mrs. Palin is neither a government official nor a candidate, and so has no business calling of the prime minister of Great Britain, given they've not been introduced. She understands the rules, even if President Obama, or Candidate Obama as he was then, did not.
It would also pose a delicate diplomatic protocol dilemma for the Prime Minister,
Which is exactly why private citizens do not call on public officials without an invitation, not to mention that are not to private citizens to conduct diplomacy without government sanction.
who is trying to defuse an acrimonious confrontation with Mr Obama over the oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. Outspoken Mrs Palin has launched a series of savage personal attacks on the US President.
That's been going around ...
Mr Cameron would have to decide whether to pose for photographs with her on the steps of No 10, invite her in through the back door -- or meet her elsewhere more discreetly. It could also cause difficulties within the coalition Government. While many Right-wing Tory MPs admire Mrs Palin, many Liberal Democrat MPs regard her as dangerous and irresponsible.
One source said: 'A meeting with Margaret Thatcher would be an enormous publicity coup for Sarah Palin. Thatcher is by far the biggest political name in US politics, much bigger than Blair.
I imagine Thatcher is a bigger name in British politics that Blair as well.
'Palin's big hero is Ronald Reagan. In US Republican folklore Thatcher and Reagan brought down the Soviet Union between them. That's why Maggie is so important.'
Does our source mean to suggest that dear Maggie brought down the Soviets all by her lonesome, then? Or perhaps that the Soviet Union still stands, unaffected by the futile efforts of Reagan and Thatcher together? How odd.
Speculation that she is preparing to run in the 2012 election has grown since she resigned as Governor of Alaska. Asked directly if she would stand against Mr Obama, she said: 'I would be willing to if I believe that it's right for the country. I won't close the door that perhaps could be open for me in the future.'
At a rally earlier this year, she ridiculed Mr Obama's pledge to change America, saying: 'How's that hopey-changey stuff workin' out for ya?'
She criticised America's increasing deficit since he won power and claimed he was weak on the war on terrorism.
Two issues important to the citizenry, as it turns out.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/13/2010 00:00 ||
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Outspoken Mrs Palin has launched a series of savage personal attacks on the US President.
Right, Nigel. Did she threaten to kick his ass? She could, you know.
Posted by: ed ||
06/13/2010 0:41 Comments ||
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She also pulled Britain's economic chestnuts out of the fire, way back when. I suspect Sarah and Maggie have quite a bit in common when it comes to politics and economics.
#4
DailyMail does a lot of hand-wringing and panty-twisting in a very few paragraphs. Pussies
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/13/2010 9:10 Comments ||
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#5
Like this?
Posted by: Eric Jablow ||
06/13/2010 18:19 Comments ||
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#6
Does our source mean to suggest that dear Maggie brought down the Soviets all by her lonesome, then? Or perhaps that the Soviet Union still stands, unaffected by the futile efforts of Reagan and Thatcher together?
#7
Ya' gotta hand it to the author of this piece of crap - that's a lot of bullsh*t, speculation, outright lies, and blatant stupidity stuffed into one little article.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
06/13/2010 19:55 Comments ||
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#8
Some newspaper articles remind me of black holes, sucking in all intelligence and never letting any information out, Barbara. But I'd never say that in public, as somebody might call me a racist.
Posted by: Eric Jablow ||
06/13/2010 20:32 Comments ||
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#9
Outspoken Mrs Palin has launched a series of savage personal attacks on the US President.
Hmmm. Who's been the recipient of more savage personal attacks, Palin or Obama? And although Obama often manages to deliver his abuse in such an unpassionate manner that it doesn't necessarily appear savage, he's certainly no less likely to personally attack a political opponent than she is.
Kyrgyz mobs burned Uzbek villages and slaughtered their residents Sunday in the worst ethnic rioting this Central Asian nation has seen in 20 years, sending more than 75,000 Uzbeks fleeing across the border into Uzbekistan.
Posted by: ed ||
06/13/2010 12:26 ||
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#1
Don't Uzbeks belong in Uzbekistan anyway?
The feds are going to get a bit of nastiness like this started in this country if they don't get off their arses and start enforcing our borders. Resources are growing more scarce, work in particular, and people anywhere will fight to provide for their families.
Quite possibly the great Stalin deliberately drew the line on the wrong side of the long-settled population. He was fond of doing that, anticipating being able to foment exactly this kind of situation at need.
#3
nowhere in the msm will you hear that the Kyrgyz mobs are SUNI MUSLIM and the Uzbeks are Russian Orthodox Christians.
me thinks Russia doesn't want another Muslim dominated government on it's border.
Look for another short but effective 'rescue' mission from the Russians -soon.
Posted by: Mike Hunt ||
06/13/2010 15:57 Comments ||
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#4
"75,000 Uzbeks flee ethnic riots in Kyrgyzstan"
"the Kyrgyz mobs are SUNI MUSLIM and the Uzbeks are Russian Orthodox Christians"
Oh, well, that's all right then.
As long as no one's picking on the moslems....
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
06/13/2010 18:11 Comments ||
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#5
"the Kyrgyz mobs are SUNI MUSLIM and the Uzbeks are Russian Orthodox Christians" Doubt it
#7
the Kyrgyz mobs are SUNI MUSLIM and the Uzbeks are Russian Orthodox Christians"
Utterly untrue, both groups are Sunni Muslim, which 2 seconds using google would have told you.
Posted by: Gaz ||
06/13/2010 20:21 Comments ||
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#8
Interesting how Russia does not feel it is necessary to intercede on behalf of the ethnic minority to protect them...yet. I don't recall such an attitude in '08, when the Russians invaded Georgia on the pretext of defending ethnic minorities. Hogwash! They will let this fester for a while, sending a signal across the USA's bow regarding a US base there. This is just more of the obvious effort to re-stablish the old USSR.
#12
31 Airborne Brigade is a combat experienced unit based in Ulyanovsk. Their combat experience includes Chechnya and South Ossetia. They recently under went parachute exercises.
[Dawn] Kyrgyzstan appealed for Russian help on Saturday to stop ethnic conflict that has killed at least 50 and left parts of its second-largest city in flames, the worst violence since the president was toppled in April.
The interim government in Kyrgyzstan, which hosts US and Russian military bases, said it was powerless to stop armed gangs from burning down the homes and businesses of ethnic Uzbeks in parts of Osh. Gun battles raged throughout the night.
"We need the entry of outside armed forces to calm the situation down," interim government leader Roza Otunbayeva told reporters. "We have appealed to Russia for help and I have already signed such a letter for President Dmitry Medvedev."
Kyrgyzstan, a poor ex-Soviet state of 5.3 million people, declared a state of emergency in Osh and several local rural districts early on Friday after rival ethnic gangs fought each other with guns, iron bars and petrol bombs.
The turmoil will fuel concern in Russia, the United States and neighbour China. Washington uses an air base at Manas in the north of the country, about 300 km from Osh, to supply its forces in Afghanistan.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Otunbayeva discussed the situation in a telephone call on Saturday, the Russian government's press service said, without giving details.
A Reuters correspondent in Osh said gun battles had taken place through the night in an Uzbek neighbourhood. Gas was shut off to Osh and some neighbourhoods have no electricity.
"Entire streets are on fire," Interior Ministry spokesman Rakhmatillo Akhmedov said. "The situation is very bad. There is no sign of it stopping. Homes have been set ablaze."
Ethnic Uzbeks were fleeing to the border, said Farid Niyazov, spokesman for the interim Kyrgyz government.
One witness said some women and children had made it across to the Uzbek town of Marhamat, 60 km (38 miles) from Osh, and camps had been set up for those without family in Uzbekistan.
A spokeswoman for the Kyrgyz Health Ministry said at least 50 people had been killed and 663 wounded in the violence, which is taking place in the southerly power base of former president Kurmanbek Bakiyev, deposed in April by a popular revolt.
"Everywhere is burning: Uzbek homes, restaurants and cafes. The whole town is covered in smoke," local human rights worker Dilmurad Ishanov, an ethnic Uzbek, said by telephone from Osh.
"We don't need the Kyrgyz authorities. We need Russia. We need troops. We need help."
The interim government sent in troops and armoured vehicles and declared a night-time curfew in Osh. But Niyazov said law enforcement bodies had been unable to quell the violence and would require reinforcement.
Kyrgyzstan, which won independence with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, has been in turmoil since the revolt that toppled Bakiyev on April 7, kindling fears of civil war.
Supporters of Bakiyev, now in exile in Belarus, briefly seized government buildings in the south on May 13, defying central authorities in Bishkek.
While those clashes were motivated by politics, the latest violence has stoked fears of a repeat of the bloodshed in 1990, when hundreds of people were killed in ethnic-based clashes between Kyrgyz and Uzbeks in Osh.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/13/2010 00:00 ||
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FOX NEWS AM > 80 people repor dead/killed as the new Govt repor gives Police-Security Forces "SHOOT-TO-KILL" ORDERS to quell on-going, inter-ethnic fighting between UZBEKS + KYRGYZ's.
Pyongyang, June 11 (KCNA) -- The Workers' Party of Korea and the state are entirely responsible for the healthy growth of the children in the DPRK. Yes. Yes, they are. And some day there will be a reckoning for their crimes.
A large quantity of bean-flour drink is being mass-produced and provided to all children and students everyday as required by the science of nutrition.
The "time for bean-flour drink" for the children and students reflects the WPK's noble view on the younger generation and the true nature of the best Korean-style socialism in the world.
The Pyongyang Children's Foodstuff Factory has so far produced more than 300 million liters of nutritive bean-flour drink so it might be provided to the nurseries, kindergartens and primary and secondary schools in the city everyday. Certainly, bean flour is an acceptable substitute for "getting enough food to eat every day".
The vans carrying bean-flour drink are called "vans for kings." The total distance covered by these vans reached a total of 14,150,000 kms which equal to 354 trips around the world.
President Kim Il Sung made sure that the above-said factory was built in the city and that even a workshop for nutritive milk was set up for children in Juche 68 (1979).
1986 witnessed the start of bean-flour drink at the factory.
General Secretary Kim Jong Il unraveled all the knotty problems arising in the production of the above-said drink. He set the best time from the viewpoint of the science of nutrition as the time for serving the drink and took a special measure for enabling all the children and students in the city to have the drink simultaneously. More rules for everyone to follow.
This unfolded a spectacular scene in which the above-said vans run along the streets of the city under a well-regulated supply system. These vans are given top priority in traffic in all the streets so that they may reach their destinations without a hitch.
An order of the National Defence Commission of the DPRK was issued to solve the issues arising in the production and supply of the drink even in the period of the "Arduous March", the forced march. Arduous March: the great famine after the Soviet Union collapsed.
There sprang up bean-flour drink production centers in different parts of the country. It has now become a rule for the provincial, city and county committees of the WPK and the people's committees to solve promptly all matters ranging from the provision of raw materials to the production and supply of the drink in a responsible manner.
Bean-flour drink production facilities are found in cities, counties and ris of Jagang Province to put the supply of the drink to all children and students there on a regular basis.
Banks are likely to lose a key lobbying battle in the US over whether they will be forced to spin off their lucrative swaps desks, according to people familiar with financial reform negotiations in Congress.
Defeat, which would be a further blow to Wall Street, has been made more likely by Paul Volcker, the influential former Federal Reserve chairman, softening his opposition to the provision.
Blanche Lincoln, the Senate agriculture chairman, is the lead proponent of the plan, which would force banks to create a separately capitalised subsidiary to house the derivatives dealing operations a significant source of profits for big banks, such as JPMorgan Chase.
The expensive restructuring could drive activity out of the largest Wall Street banks and into more lightly regulated rivals and overseas competitors, according to the Federal Reserve and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which oppose the plan.
#1
Pretty much a case of setting up two sewage authorities, one to handle #1 and another to handle #2. Disposition of diahrrea and puke yet to be determined...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
06/13/2010 21:24 Comments ||
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PHOENIX (AP) -- Sheriff's deputies raided two Sizzler steak house restaurants in Phoenix, arresting nine employees who are suspected of being illegal immigrants and using fraudulent documents to get jobs.
The Saturday raids were part of an investigation into whether the operators of the two Sizzler locations broke a civil law by knowingly hiring illegal immigrants.
The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office says in a statement that it received a tip from a former Sizzler manager who claimed he had been fired for his refusal to hire employees without the proper documents.
Continued on Page 49
#3
nor the mandatory IQ loss necessary to fill Janet's comfortable shoes
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/13/2010 13:58 Comments ||
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#4
well, there's 9 jobs available for American teens, in the worst job market for teens in 4 decades. Thanks Obama! Asshat
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/13/2010 15:28 Comments ||
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#5
IN Pima County (Tucson) our sheriff closes his eyes to such "dealings". At many fast food outlets its hard to order a burger w/o some knowledge of Spanish.
#6
The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office says in a statement that it received a tip from a former Sizzler manager who claimed he had been fired for his refusal to hire employees without the proper documents.
Just do a few restaurants a day so we don't crash the industry in AZ, OK?
[Iran Press TV Latest] British Petroleum has been given 48 hours to come up with new plans to properly address the oil spill, amid growing concerns that current plans are not enough.
Picking up on the new estimates for the amount of crude entering the Gulf of Mexico, US Coast Guard Rear Admiral James Watson, the federal oil leak on-scene coordinator, told BP Chief Operating Officer Doug Suttles in a letter that BP must do more, AFP reported.
The new estimate by the US authorities puts the amount of oil spewed from BP's ruptured well twice as much as previous estimations -- more than 40,000 barrels a day which equals to some 1.68 million gallons.
"Because those estimates have now been revised and estimate a substantially higher flow of oil from the Macado 252 well, it is clear that additional capacity is urgently needed," said the letter dated June 11 and released Saturday.
"I am concerned that your current plans do not provide for maximum mobilization of resources to provide the needed collection capacity consistent with revised flow estimates," Watson added.
"BP must identify in the next 48 hours additional leak containment capacity that could be operationalized and expedited to avoid the continued discharge of oil."
The US officials charge that the London-based energy giant has been downplaying the real amount of oil gushing into the sea.
The original estimates by BP indicated that only 1,000 barrels per day was gushing into the Gulf. Though later the company stuck to an estimate of 5,000 barrels daily, which represented the amount of oil it could capture using its loosely-fitted containment cap, falling short of taking into account all the oil still gushing out.
However, independent sources put the flow at a rate of 70,000 barrels per day.
An explosion at the Deepwater Horizon offshore rig left 11 workers dead on April 20, causing the worst environmental crisis in the history of the United States.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/13/2010 00:00 ||
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So, is the government setting a plan to properly address all the bureaucratic bugling, red tape, and 'mother may I' management that obstructs for over a month the use of sand barriers, foreign oil skimmers, and other aids to address the spill? Didn't think so.
#4
the better solution would be to drag another rig out there and keep recovering/processing the oil. If it's spewing that much, it'd be a cryin' shame to just cap the thing.
Hell, there's either 2 million barrels a day or... possibly 45K. Still purdy darn good. And according to some kookz there's a lake 'a oil down thar! I sez, control, sell, and get the damn drillz out.
Early results from Belgium's general election on Sunday showed the Flemish separatist NVA party enjoying unprecedented support, heightening fears of a move towards splitting the nation.
Fears? Is there a reason to be afraid?
The first results from Dutch-speaking Flanders, Belgium's richer north, showed the NVA, led by 39-year-old Bart De Wever, winning between 23 percent and 32 percent of the Flemish vote.
If those kind of figures are reflected throughout Flanders, the separatists would become the biggest party in the region, raising francophone fears of moves to a split and making the formation of any coalition government very difficult.
Posted by: ed ||
06/13/2010 12:32 ||
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I wonder if Wallonia would consider joining with France? My guess is that they would hate the French more than they hate the Flemish.
The way to avoid a split, if it is possible (cf. the American Civil War) is to give the other side at least some of what they want. In this case, the Flems would like the Walloons to contribute their fair share of the running costs of the country.
#4
I think Shipman misses the bigger picture, Belgium is the heart of the EU, and an example of bureaucracies bolting together countries in one (failing) unit, which is the EUSSR model.
#8
If this precipitates the disintegration of the EU, I'm all for it. It was created to be a direct competitor to the US, and it's demise cannot but help some part of our lamentable balance of trade and defense partnership issues.
#9
I'm seriously concerned about the future of Belgian Chocolates. Also, could anyone say with a serious face, "I'm a Wallooooooooooon!"
Nice going, Britain. We told you Belgium was a dumb idea.
Posted by: Dash Rip Rock N Roll ||
06/13/2010 21:12 Comments ||
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#10
"If Belgium goes, the EU will too."
it's more like 'when Rome falls falls the world'
there's a lot of money tied up in the ruling class of Belgium and the Netherlands..
a lot of people blow off the low countries and look to France an Germany - but do not forget those that hold the capital ... Luxembourg and the Swiss also
it's more like 'when Rome falls falls the world'
there's a lot of money tied up in the ruling class of Belgium and the Netherlands..
a lot of people blow off the low countries and look to France an Germany - but do not forget those that hold the capital ... Luxembourg and the Swiss also
Ay-Pee:
The Obama administration walked a careful line Saturday: trying to show toughness with BP, but also reassuring Britons that the president holds no animosity toward their country and institutions. The strategy could be risky if Obama's political opponents use it to reinforce claims that he has been too gentle and diplomatic in dealing with the oil company. After thinking about it with his "advisors" while being in hiding for a month, you'd think he could have done better than to start out by shooting from the hip. Again.
#1
If this were an American oil company responsible for the destruction of english fisheries and eco systems they would be all over our ass to fix it and pay for the cleanup.
#5
He still deflects the blame for his lack of leadership. Huckabee did a special on many ways to soak up the oil, as hundreds of excellent ideas have been put forth, but they have stymied all but one or two. Besides Costner's machines, another company oil separator has been accepted by BP for use, but all the other clean-up ideas haven't been approved by the EPA while dead birds and sea life continue to wash ashore.
#6
he has, however, imposed a no-fly zone over the area "for workers' safety". Uh huh. Nothing to do with not wanting photos of the spill extent in the news. No. Nothing like that.
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/13/2010 12:30 Comments ||
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#5
"President" O'Bumble needs to resign and leave town, followed closely by all his hired help, especially Biden, Pelosi, Reid, Axelrod, Rahm, and the rest. Ken Salazar needs to stay in Washington - the intelligent people of the state of Colorado don't want him back. Maybe he can get a job as a "sanitation engineer".
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
06/13/2010 23:37 Comments ||
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#6
Maybe he can get a job as a "sanitation engineer"
It would be worth it to pay him to stay out of the workforce altogether.
A survey of the natural gas field off the shore of Haifa is to be released Thursday evening in the United States. According to the Globes financial journal, the field has been discovered to be even larger than previously thought.
The field's estimated size has grown several times as more surveys are conducted. In mid-2009, Yitzchak Teshuva, controlling shareholder who invested in developing the field, originally said the gas reserves could allow Israel to be self-sufficient in energy for two decades, but now it seems that this was a conservative estimate.
Teshuva said Thursday, "The results indicate that in addition to the gas, there are signs of oil at a greater depth. We have turned Israel into a great energy power. Today is a holiday for every citizen of Israel. It's a day of joy," He proceeded to say the Shehecheyanu blessing for new and happy tidings.
Partners in the project plan to make their first deliveries of gas in 2012. Companies involved in the project include Noble Energy, Delek Drilling, and Isramco.
Globes also stated that Noble Energy is planning to bring another offshore platform to Israel. The platform will be imported from the Gulf of Mexico.
A massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has left several companies unable to operate their drilling platforms in the area. For that reason, Noble Energy was able to secure a long-term lease deal for the platform at an unusually low rate.
#1
An outrage! Everyone knows the seabed off the Haifa coast is the 4,387th holiest place in Islam
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/13/2010 10:13 Comments ||
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#2
I'm surprised they haven't found a large oil field previously in Israel. Large clumps of tar regularly seep up in the Dead Sea, with the old Roman name of 'Lake Asphaltis'. Same origin of the regional name 'Palestine', btw.
#4
The downside to this is it would kill off that old joke about the Jews wandering around in the desert for 40 years until they found a place in the Middle East without any oil.
#5
Good Radar Frank G!.
Why now when this information about oil has been known for some time now. Reference to oil rigs- sublease platforms to China or some other country. Then whatever they do will go unnoticed.
#6
We have turned Israel into a great energy power
VERY GOOD!
The platform will be imported from the Gulf of Mexico.
A massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has left several companies unable to operate their drilling platforms in the area. For that reason, Noble Energy was able to secure a long-term lease deal for the platform at an unusually low rate
#8
Partners in the project plan to make their first deliveries of gas in 2012
From a standing start, Israel can start gas deliveries in about two years. How come our legislators claim it will take three over here in the US of A?
Good job on exporting the offshore rigs, Ombarrassment. How long will it take to manufacture a new one to replace it? How much work has to go into manufacturing it? What else could have been manufactured in its place, aside from another oil platform to reduce our oil dependence that directly funds terrorists?
[Al Arabiya Latest] Dressed in a modern grey suit teamed with a black skull cap, Malaysian cleric Asri Zainul Abidin is the poster boy for liberal Muslims who are tussling with hardliners in this multi-ethnic nation.
Asri, a boyish-looking 39-year-old, is considered one of Malaysia's top Islamic theologians and has a growing following of young, educated Muslims who are drawn by his moderate views.
But the thoroughly modern mufti now faces trial on charges that could land him in jail for two years in what his supporters say is an attempt to muzzle liberal voices in Muslim-majority Malaysia.
"Yes, there is a battle for Islam between the conservatives and progressives in Malaysia," Asri told AFP.
"We will enter the dark ages if we allow the conservatives to win."
Asri has been charged under religious "sharia" law for giving a lecture on Islam last November without authorization.
But the cleric says his real offence has been to enrage the country's religious establishment, which has become increasingly strident in recent times, imposing caning sentences that have rarely if ever been enforced before.
Sharia courts -- which operate alongside the civil courts in a dual-track system -- recently ordered three young Muslim women to be caned for having extramarital sex.
Another mother-of-two also faced a thrashing after being caught drinking beer but after her case hit the headlines she was ordered to do a spell of community service instead.
"Now they just say punish, punish and punish. Religion is not about punishment. Right now we have to educate the people. It is not the right time to impose punishment," Asri said.
"The right thing to do now is to educate. You must make it easy for people to get married by giving them financial aid so they will not indulge in extramarital sex."
Straddling the fault line in the debate are Malaysia's minority races who are concerned over rising "Islamisation" and fear that tolerance towards Christians, Hindus and others is diminishing.
A series of disputes has erupted between majority Muslim Malays and minority ethnic Chinese and Indians in recent years, straining relations half a century after the founding of the secular nation.
In January, the severed heads of four pigs -- an animal seen as unclean in Islam -- were found at two mosques, in the latest of a spate of attacks on places of worship that have escalated tensions.
A simmering row over the use of the word "Allah" by non-Muslims saw attacks on 11 churches, a mosque and two Muslim prayer halls including fire-bombings and vandalism.
Asri, who was the mufti of Perlis state until 2008 and is now a university lecturer, said the conservatives are ramping up their rhetoric and imposing harsh punishments in a bid to cement their power base.
"They can win the battle, but with the age of the Internet where information is easily available, they cannot win the hearts and minds of the young and educated Muslims who wants answers based on reason," he said.
Chandra Muzaffar, a political scientist and Islamic reformist, described Asri as a progressive and inclusive Muslim.
"He represents the essence of Islam. He recognizes the rights of other faiths and regards them as part of a larger human family," he told AFP.
Chandra said that while he believes the views of the conservatives are not shared by the majority of ordinary Muslims, the moderates were generally failing to speak out.
He said that gave free reign to a small but vocal minority of conservatives, represented by the religious bureacrats who are the guardians of Islam in each of Malaysia's states.
"There is a group in Malaysia who are pushing for a conservative form of Islam. They are in power now. They want to do what they have been taught without taking into account the environment around them," he said.
Harussani Zakaria, the 71-year-old mufti of Perak state and one of the leading voices of Islamic conservatism in Malaysia, described Asri as a "strange person" who had become "arrogant" after his advanced studies in Islam.
"How long do you want to educate a person? The country and this world will be a safer place if we have Islamic laws. When I was in Saudi Arabia I felt very safe," he told AFP.
Harussani warned that Asri's teachings could cause dangerous rifts among Malaysian Muslims.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/13/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
The first victims of militant fascist Islamists are always moderate Muslims
Moderate Muslims are our friends and allies and we need to support them
#2
Anon1, this dude seems to be one. But how do you recognize a moderate muslim? How can you tell he is not a taqiyya master?
Well, there is one litmus test. If he accepts that Israel has a right to exist, then he may be the genuine article. So far, I've met 1 (one) such guy. He replied "yes" and did not follow with "but".
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
