The sale by the United States of F-16 military aircraft to Pakistan, announced in 2005, was celebrated as a sign of deepening strategic ties between Islamabad and the Bush administration in Washington. Described by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as an attempt to “break out of the notion that [India and Pakistan are in] a hyphenated relationship,” the decision was met with anguish in New Delhi. But leaked U.S. diplomatic cables suggest that the sale was used only to further America's broad strategic interests, with Pakistan standing to gain little from the deal.
The despatches, from the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, indicated that the deal was, among other things, meant to assuage Pakistan's fears of an “existential threat it perceived from India.” The diplomatic cables, accessed by The Hindu through WikiLeaks, suggested that the purpose of the sale was to divert Pakistan's attention from “the nuclear option,” and give it “time and space to employ a conventional reaction” in the event of a conflict with India ( 151227: confidential). Privately, however, the U.S. acknowledged the “reality” that the F-16 programme would not change India's “overwhelming air superiority over Pakistan.” In fact, the cables bluntly assert that the F-16s would be “no match for India's proposed purchase of F-18 or equivalent aircraft.”
Given India's “substantial military advantage,” one cable ( 197576: confidential) even surmised that the F-16s would at the most offer “a few days” for the U.S. to “mediate and prevent nuclear conflict.”
Fully aware of such limitations, the U.S. continued to press ahead with the deal, and cables document hectic parleys to bring it to fruition. Before the agreement was signed in September 2006, the U.S. played hardball to make Pakistan sign the Letter of Acceptance (LoA). Islamabad had threatened to delay it further, raising additional demands. The U.S. Ambassador to Islamabad, Ryan Crocker, suggested that Washington “convene” the Pakistani Ambassador, Ali Durrani, to remind him that “missing the deadline [to sign the LoA] would have serious ramifications.”
“Do not think there is a better deal out there if this one expires,” was one of Ambassador Crocker's suggested bargain lines for Washington to use ( 77877: confidential/noforn). The agreement was inked two weeks after the cable was sent.
At the time of signing the LoA, Major General Tariq Malik, Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Defence Production, had expressed reservations about the payment schedule as an “immense strain on Pakistan's fiscal and foreign exchange reserves…, jeopardising growth.” But Mr. Malik's memo was dismissed by Mr. Crocker as “separate from the valid, legal contract” ( 80337: confidential/noforn).
But when “a cash-strapped” Pakistan government approached the U.S. two years later for Foreign Military Financing (FMF) to perform mid-life updates for the existing F-16 fleet, the succeeding Ambassador, Anne W. Patterson, was concerned that Washington would be “rewarding economic mismanagement.” The annual disbursement of FMF had “produced a culture of entitlement within the Pakistani military,” according to the diplomat ( 151227: confidential).
Why, then, did the U.S. push hard to realise the agreement, apart from the stated objective of “additional business for U.S. defense companies”?
If, according to American diplomats, the threat from India was the primary consideration for the Pakistan military, the F-16 sales would not tilt the strategic balance by their own admission. However, the cables suggested that the U.S. was confident that Pakistan would “still fully invest in its territorial defense, despite current economic challenges.” On the other hand, “our [U.S.] cancelling the sale would emphasize that we favor maintaining Indian superiority at Pakistan's expense and feed anti-Americanism throughout the military” ( 197576: confidential).
Another reason to sell F-16s, according to the same cable, was to “exorcise the bitter legacy of the Pressler Amendment” in the 1990s, when the U.S. refused to deliver F-16s that Pakistan had paid with “national money.” Pakistan was even made to undertake costs for storing the fighters in Arizona. For the Pakistan military, the new deal would be tangible proof of the “post-9/11 bilateral relationship.”
2011年5月29日 星期日
US Embassy: Ex Bulgarian Econ Min Competent, Liberal, Corrupt
A recently leaked diplomatic cable authored by former US ambassador to Sofia John Beyrle has described ex socialist Minister of Economy and Energy as an able politican entrenched in murky business ties.
"Ovcharov is an enigmatic and controversial figure - linked to corruption and Russian energy interests, but also to a more liberal economic policy than many of his Socialist colleagues would support," reads the secret cable regarding the former Bulgarian Socialist Party vice-chair and one of the key ministers of Sergey Stanishev's cabinet (2005-9).
"He has the political and mental juice to match the best players at the table, but keeps his cards close to his chest. In face-to-face meetings, he can be both charming and off-putting," writes ambassador Beyrle in his penetrating and nuanced style.
In a strong note of warning, the former American ambassador to Sofia counsels Ovcharov's direct US counterparts not meet him directly during a trip of the States he was making in 2007.
Beyrle substantiates that recommendation with Ovcharov's murky ties for which, according to the report, the words "conflict of interests" are an understatement.
Beyrle qualifies that remark, noting that although the socialist minister is deeply involved with Russian energy interests, he has done nothing to harm American companies.
More specifically, the report argues that Ovcharov is behind the signing of a 23-year natural gas delivery contract with Russian giant Gazprom on unclear terms.
As an addition to the contract, the author of the cable believes that Ovcharov committed Bulgaria to build its second NPP, the Belene NPP, by a consortium owned by Gazprom.
Beyrle further comments on the very good bilateral relations between the States and Bulgaria under Stanishev's cabinet and argues that Ovcharov's visit could be used to boost that, especially in terms of NATO commitments.
He also suggests that representatives of the US Department of Trade could influence Ovcharov to help bring closer the positions of the EU and the USA positions in the Doha talks.
"While we have no illusions that Bulgaria will be the key to resolving US-EU trade differences, Ovcharov's generally liberal outlook on markets and Bulgaria's newness as a EU Member State give us a perfect opportunity to start moving them into our corner," argues Beyrle.
"Ovcharov is an enigmatic and controversial figure - linked to corruption and Russian energy interests, but also to a more liberal economic policy than many of his Socialist colleagues would support," reads the secret cable regarding the former Bulgarian Socialist Party vice-chair and one of the key ministers of Sergey Stanishev's cabinet (2005-9).
"He has the political and mental juice to match the best players at the table, but keeps his cards close to his chest. In face-to-face meetings, he can be both charming and off-putting," writes ambassador Beyrle in his penetrating and nuanced style.
In a strong note of warning, the former American ambassador to Sofia counsels Ovcharov's direct US counterparts not meet him directly during a trip of the States he was making in 2007.
Beyrle substantiates that recommendation with Ovcharov's murky ties for which, according to the report, the words "conflict of interests" are an understatement.
Beyrle qualifies that remark, noting that although the socialist minister is deeply involved with Russian energy interests, he has done nothing to harm American companies.
More specifically, the report argues that Ovcharov is behind the signing of a 23-year natural gas delivery contract with Russian giant Gazprom on unclear terms.
As an addition to the contract, the author of the cable believes that Ovcharov committed Bulgaria to build its second NPP, the Belene NPP, by a consortium owned by Gazprom.
Beyrle further comments on the very good bilateral relations between the States and Bulgaria under Stanishev's cabinet and argues that Ovcharov's visit could be used to boost that, especially in terms of NATO commitments.
He also suggests that representatives of the US Department of Trade could influence Ovcharov to help bring closer the positions of the EU and the USA positions in the Doha talks.
"While we have no illusions that Bulgaria will be the key to resolving US-EU trade differences, Ovcharov's generally liberal outlook on markets and Bulgaria's newness as a EU Member State give us a perfect opportunity to start moving them into our corner," argues Beyrle.
2011年5月25日 星期三
Oprah's Finale: Talk Show Host Has Ties to Maryland
It was the final episode of the syndicated Oprah Winfrey Show, and the event had special meaning in Maryland, where Winfrey once had a morning talk show, on WJZ-TV in Baltimore.
Harris, an associate professor, was one of thousands to attend a sold-out farewell party in Chicago that featured a bevy of star-studded guests.
“It was truly a once in a lifetime experience,” Harris said.
The party, peppered with appearances from stars like Will Smith, Beyonce, Jerry Seinfeld, Michael Jordan and Tom Hanks, marked Winfrey’s 25 years as host of her daily talk show.
When Harris’s friend offered her an extra ticket to the farewell party last week, Harris said she jumped at the chance.
The excitement began building before people even walked through the doors of the United Center, she said.
“By the time Oprah came out, people were just losing their minds,” Harris said.
While Harris said she enjoyed seeing all of the celebrity guests, the ones whose stories touched her the most were the more than 100 men from Morehouse College in Atlanta who received scholarship money from Winfrey. In all, 415 Morehouse men benefited.
“I really admire what she’s done and how she’s contributed to the world,” Harris said.
As does said Jim Jurzak, manager of the Barnes & Noble book store in Ellicott City. In his lifetime, Jurzak said he cannot think of anyone else with as much power and positive influence as Winfrey.
“(The show) changed a lot of lives of a lot of people in a positive way,” he said.
Jurzak cited Winfrey’s book club as an example. Launched in 1996, Oprah’s Book Club included more than 65 selections, ranging from Pulitzer Prize winners to lesser known works. The show estimates the club helped sell 30 million books.
“Whenever Oprah Winfrey suggested a book, the book usually shot up into the top ten,” Jurzak said.
Customers would visit the store, asking specifically for the latest Oprah-recommended book, he said.
“She also revived some of the classics,” he said. “I can’t imagine it’s not going to keep going in some form.
In addition to the book club, Winfrey’s show has launched numerous programs aimed at helping the disadvantaged worldwide. In the process, she became one of the most recognized and powerful women in the world.
“Oprah ushered in a model for a new sort of female power broker,” said Sheri Parks, an associate professor of American studies at the University of Maryland, College Park. “She was strong and emotional, whole in a way that women had been reluctant to be in the workplace.”
Some of Winfrey’s programs and initiatives will continue on her new network, The Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN), which debuted in January. The network is designed to “entertain, inform and inspire people to live their best lives,” Winfrey’s web site states.
But at the moment, there does not seem to be another celebrity who can “hold court” or capture the “collective imagination” the way Winfrey did, Parks said.
“The television audience is moving to cable, and the media landscape has become more scattered, less coherent,” she said. “Her leaving makes it more so.”
Now that the show is done, it’s up to others to continue Winfrey’s work, Harris said.
“If her legacy is anything, it should be the courage to create good in our lives and in the lives of others,” Harris said.
Harris, an associate professor, was one of thousands to attend a sold-out farewell party in Chicago that featured a bevy of star-studded guests.
“It was truly a once in a lifetime experience,” Harris said.
The party, peppered with appearances from stars like Will Smith, Beyonce, Jerry Seinfeld, Michael Jordan and Tom Hanks, marked Winfrey’s 25 years as host of her daily talk show.
When Harris’s friend offered her an extra ticket to the farewell party last week, Harris said she jumped at the chance.
The excitement began building before people even walked through the doors of the United Center, she said.
“By the time Oprah came out, people were just losing their minds,” Harris said.
While Harris said she enjoyed seeing all of the celebrity guests, the ones whose stories touched her the most were the more than 100 men from Morehouse College in Atlanta who received scholarship money from Winfrey. In all, 415 Morehouse men benefited.
“I really admire what she’s done and how she’s contributed to the world,” Harris said.
As does said Jim Jurzak, manager of the Barnes & Noble book store in Ellicott City. In his lifetime, Jurzak said he cannot think of anyone else with as much power and positive influence as Winfrey.
“(The show) changed a lot of lives of a lot of people in a positive way,” he said.
Jurzak cited Winfrey’s book club as an example. Launched in 1996, Oprah’s Book Club included more than 65 selections, ranging from Pulitzer Prize winners to lesser known works. The show estimates the club helped sell 30 million books.
“Whenever Oprah Winfrey suggested a book, the book usually shot up into the top ten,” Jurzak said.
Customers would visit the store, asking specifically for the latest Oprah-recommended book, he said.
“She also revived some of the classics,” he said. “I can’t imagine it’s not going to keep going in some form.
In addition to the book club, Winfrey’s show has launched numerous programs aimed at helping the disadvantaged worldwide. In the process, she became one of the most recognized and powerful women in the world.
“Oprah ushered in a model for a new sort of female power broker,” said Sheri Parks, an associate professor of American studies at the University of Maryland, College Park. “She was strong and emotional, whole in a way that women had been reluctant to be in the workplace.”
Some of Winfrey’s programs and initiatives will continue on her new network, The Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN), which debuted in January. The network is designed to “entertain, inform and inspire people to live their best lives,” Winfrey’s web site states.
But at the moment, there does not seem to be another celebrity who can “hold court” or capture the “collective imagination” the way Winfrey did, Parks said.
“The television audience is moving to cable, and the media landscape has become more scattered, less coherent,” she said. “Her leaving makes it more so.”
Now that the show is done, it’s up to others to continue Winfrey’s work, Harris said.
“If her legacy is anything, it should be the courage to create good in our lives and in the lives of others,” Harris said.
You'll have to cope with the lack of a handle
Look inside the Armor A30 and you'll find a welcome sight: Nearly everything is modular. By loosening a few thumb screws here and there, you can remove the entire optical-drive cage, the hard-drive cage (affixed to the floor just below it), and even the motherboard tray, which guarantees you'll have all the elbow room you need to install all the components you'll want in your system.
The power supply bracket is likewise removable, but you'll need your Phillips screwdriver to get it out. The same is true of the expansion slots: Though the screw rail is protected by a bracket attached with a thumb screw, to actually open the slots you'll need your screwdriver again. You'll also want to keep it handy for when you're installing your optical drives and 3.5-inch hard drives. Given how accessible so much of the Armor A30 is, it's a bit odd that the entire thing isn't tool-free.
Additional bells and whistles are few, and oddities both minor and generally unobtrusive. It's not really possible to take off the front panel without dismantling and removing the optical-drive cage. If you have two 3.5-inch hard drives to install in the floor cage, you'll need to position one of them upside-down in order to fit properly. You don't need to screw in 2.5-inch drives at all: Two plastic clips that come with the case let you securely attach them to the top of the optical drive bay with no additional hardware whatsoever. Only one thing was absent that we thought negatively impacted the Armor A30: a handle. There's not one built in, and there's not even one in the box you can attach yourself, as with the NZXT Vulcan. For a case designed with mobility in mind, this strikes us a serious omission.
In building a test system in the Armor A30, we didn't find much else missing. We ran into no trouble installing any of our components; in fact, doing so in the Armor A30 was easier even than in many ATX tower cases, thanks to all the individual cages we could remove and replace as needed. The only real wrinkle we ran into was cable management. It's perhaps unavoidable in a case of this size, but you'll need to snake cables in odd directions to connect every component and fan; as there's no space beneath the motherboard tray for storage, something you'll find in many ATX cases, the inside of your PC could look like a spider web. Using the included cable ties will help some, but this is going to be a chore no matter what you do. We'd definitely recommend seriously considering using a modular power supply in the Armor A30, so you can cut down on most of the interior clutter.
You won't have to make too many other compromises when using the Thermaltake Armor A30, however. It packs enough build-friendly features into its miniature frame that you won't feel slighted because you didn't go with a larger tower. You'll have to cope with the lack of a handle, but as it is the Armor A30 isn't too big to cart around regularly. And once you see the range of options it gives you, chances are you'll want to do just that.
The power supply bracket is likewise removable, but you'll need your Phillips screwdriver to get it out. The same is true of the expansion slots: Though the screw rail is protected by a bracket attached with a thumb screw, to actually open the slots you'll need your screwdriver again. You'll also want to keep it handy for when you're installing your optical drives and 3.5-inch hard drives. Given how accessible so much of the Armor A30 is, it's a bit odd that the entire thing isn't tool-free.
Additional bells and whistles are few, and oddities both minor and generally unobtrusive. It's not really possible to take off the front panel without dismantling and removing the optical-drive cage. If you have two 3.5-inch hard drives to install in the floor cage, you'll need to position one of them upside-down in order to fit properly. You don't need to screw in 2.5-inch drives at all: Two plastic clips that come with the case let you securely attach them to the top of the optical drive bay with no additional hardware whatsoever. Only one thing was absent that we thought negatively impacted the Armor A30: a handle. There's not one built in, and there's not even one in the box you can attach yourself, as with the NZXT Vulcan. For a case designed with mobility in mind, this strikes us a serious omission.
In building a test system in the Armor A30, we didn't find much else missing. We ran into no trouble installing any of our components; in fact, doing so in the Armor A30 was easier even than in many ATX tower cases, thanks to all the individual cages we could remove and replace as needed. The only real wrinkle we ran into was cable management. It's perhaps unavoidable in a case of this size, but you'll need to snake cables in odd directions to connect every component and fan; as there's no space beneath the motherboard tray for storage, something you'll find in many ATX cases, the inside of your PC could look like a spider web. Using the included cable ties will help some, but this is going to be a chore no matter what you do. We'd definitely recommend seriously considering using a modular power supply in the Armor A30, so you can cut down on most of the interior clutter.
You won't have to make too many other compromises when using the Thermaltake Armor A30, however. It packs enough build-friendly features into its miniature frame that you won't feel slighted because you didn't go with a larger tower. You'll have to cope with the lack of a handle, but as it is the Armor A30 isn't too big to cart around regularly. And once you see the range of options it gives you, chances are you'll want to do just that.
2011年5月22日 星期日
Leaked cable says Pakistanis sabotaged own air missions
Pakistani airmen sabotaged their fighter jets to prevent them from participating in operations against militants along the border with Afghanistan, according to a leaked U.S. Embassy cable.
Another cable reveals that Pakistan's army chief asked U.S. military officials for “continuous” coverage by Predator drones along that border despite criticism of the strikes by Pakistani officials in public.
The anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks has provided a batch of U.S. diplomatic cables to Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper and India’s New Delhi Television and the Hindu newspaper.
A March 2006 cable cites the Pakistani deputy chief of air staff for operations, Air Vice Marshal Khalid Chaudhry, as telling a visiting U.S. delegation that he was receiving monthly reports of acts of “petty sabotage” of jets by airmen.
Vice Marshal Chaudhry interpreted these acts as an effort by “Islamists amongst the enlisted ranks to prevent [Pakistani air force] aircraft from being deployed in support of security operations in the Federally Administrated Tribal Areas along the Afghan border,” the cable says.
The U.S. delegation was led by John Hillen, assistant secretary of state for political-military affairs.
Another cable, sent in February 2008, revealed that Pakistan's army chief, Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, sought “continuous Predator coverage of the conflict area” in an area along the Afghanistan border where the Pakistani army was fighting militants.
In a meeting on Jan. 22, 2008, Gen. Kayani asked Navy Adm. William J. Fallon, who was chief of U.S. Central Command, for drone presence over South Waziristan.
”Fallon regretted that he did not have the assets to support this request, but offered Joint Tactical Aircraft Controller (JTAC) support for Pakistani aircraft. Kayani demurred, saying that having U.S. JTACs on the ground would not be politically acceptable,” according to the cable.
Vice Marshal Chaudhry, speaking “off the record,” told Mr. Hillen that Pakistani aircraft are called regularly to provide air support to military and security forces when they get into tight spots in the tribal areas near the Afghanistan border, “dryly adding that army brass and the ground forces commanders would deny it,” the cable said.
In a rare public statement this year, Gen. Kayani condemned a March 17 U.S. drone strike that Pakistan said killed up to 40 people in North Waziristan.
Most Pakistanis oppose drone strikes, which they see as a violation of Pakistani sovereignty.
U.S. and Pakistani officials have not publicly acknowledged the covert program.
However, a Pakistani official who spoke on the condition of anonymity, citing the sensitivity of the matter, told The Washington Times that these operations have been carried out after robust intelligence sharing between Pakistan and the U.S.
The Predator drones are operated from bases inside Pakistan the Shamsi air base and Jacobabad.
U.S. officials and analysts say elements within Pakistan’s armed forces and intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence, are reluctant to sever ties with militants operating in Afghanistan and India.
“Pakistani military operations against insurgent groups have always been primarily focused on threats to Pakistani security,” said Jeffrey Dressler, a research analyst at the Institute for the Study of War.
At a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing last week, Sen. Christopher A. Coons, Delaware Democrat, raised questions about Pakistan’s commitment to acting against terrorists.
“I’m deeply disturbed by what seems to be a state that plays a double game, that accepts significant multibillion-dollar aid from us, combat groups that target its own domestic concerns, but then clearly hedges against the U.S. mission in Afghanistan is an uneven partner at best,” he said.
Navy SEALs killed Osama bin Laden early May 2 in Abbottabad, a garrison town about 30 miles from the Pakistani capital, Islamabad. The al Qaeda leader’s hide-out was barely a mile from the Pakistan Military Academy at Kakul.
In his meetings with the U.S. officials, Vice Marshal Chaudhry said Pakistan’s military leadership has a tough time maintaining positive attitudes toward the U.S. among enlisted personnel.
The cable says he cited the susceptibility of the enlisted ranks - most of whom come from rural areas - to the influence of Islamist clerics. “You can’t imagine what a hard time we have trying to get to trim their beards,” Vice Marshal Chaudhry is quoted as saying in a cable.
Conservative Muslims grow full beards as a sign of piety.
While in Pakistan, Mr. Hillen heard criticism of President George W. Bush’s decision not to give Pakistan a civil nuclear deal similar to the one he struck with India.
A Pakistani official expressed dismay at Mr. Bush’s reference to rogue nuclear scientist, Abdul Qadeer Khan, as the reason why the U.S. would not offer this deal to Islamabad.
Nazir Hussain, who at the time was chief of protocol at Pakistan’s foreign ministry, told Mr. Hillen: “Your man cut Musharraf off at the knees” with that public comment, according to the cable. Gen. Pervez Musharraf was the Pakistani president.
Pakistan was negotiating the sale of F-16 fighter jets with the U.S. at the time, and Vice Marshal Chaudhry asked Mr. Hillen to ensure that the deal “has enough sweeteners to appeal to the public - a complete squadron of new F-16s, with JDAM and night-vision capability - but not to offer the PAF things that it cannot afford,” according to the cable.
Discussing the Chinese JF-17 Thunder jet, a key component of Pakistan’s fighter fleet, Vice Marshal Chaudhry acknowledged that the jet was not comparable to the U.S. F-16 in terms of quality, particularly its avionics and weapons systems.
On a trip to Beijing last week, Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani secured a deal in which China will provide Pakistan with 50 more JF-17s.
Pakistani Defense Minister Ahmad Mukhtar said Pakistan was seeking delivery of the jets within six months.
Another cable reveals that Pakistan's army chief asked U.S. military officials for “continuous” coverage by Predator drones along that border despite criticism of the strikes by Pakistani officials in public.
The anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks has provided a batch of U.S. diplomatic cables to Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper and India’s New Delhi Television and the Hindu newspaper.
A March 2006 cable cites the Pakistani deputy chief of air staff for operations, Air Vice Marshal Khalid Chaudhry, as telling a visiting U.S. delegation that he was receiving monthly reports of acts of “petty sabotage” of jets by airmen.
Vice Marshal Chaudhry interpreted these acts as an effort by “Islamists amongst the enlisted ranks to prevent [Pakistani air force] aircraft from being deployed in support of security operations in the Federally Administrated Tribal Areas along the Afghan border,” the cable says.
The U.S. delegation was led by John Hillen, assistant secretary of state for political-military affairs.
Another cable, sent in February 2008, revealed that Pakistan's army chief, Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, sought “continuous Predator coverage of the conflict area” in an area along the Afghanistan border where the Pakistani army was fighting militants.
In a meeting on Jan. 22, 2008, Gen. Kayani asked Navy Adm. William J. Fallon, who was chief of U.S. Central Command, for drone presence over South Waziristan.
”Fallon regretted that he did not have the assets to support this request, but offered Joint Tactical Aircraft Controller (JTAC) support for Pakistani aircraft. Kayani demurred, saying that having U.S. JTACs on the ground would not be politically acceptable,” according to the cable.
Vice Marshal Chaudhry, speaking “off the record,” told Mr. Hillen that Pakistani aircraft are called regularly to provide air support to military and security forces when they get into tight spots in the tribal areas near the Afghanistan border, “dryly adding that army brass and the ground forces commanders would deny it,” the cable said.
In a rare public statement this year, Gen. Kayani condemned a March 17 U.S. drone strike that Pakistan said killed up to 40 people in North Waziristan.
Most Pakistanis oppose drone strikes, which they see as a violation of Pakistani sovereignty.
U.S. and Pakistani officials have not publicly acknowledged the covert program.
However, a Pakistani official who spoke on the condition of anonymity, citing the sensitivity of the matter, told The Washington Times that these operations have been carried out after robust intelligence sharing between Pakistan and the U.S.
The Predator drones are operated from bases inside Pakistan the Shamsi air base and Jacobabad.
U.S. officials and analysts say elements within Pakistan’s armed forces and intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence, are reluctant to sever ties with militants operating in Afghanistan and India.
“Pakistani military operations against insurgent groups have always been primarily focused on threats to Pakistani security,” said Jeffrey Dressler, a research analyst at the Institute for the Study of War.
At a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing last week, Sen. Christopher A. Coons, Delaware Democrat, raised questions about Pakistan’s commitment to acting against terrorists.
“I’m deeply disturbed by what seems to be a state that plays a double game, that accepts significant multibillion-dollar aid from us, combat groups that target its own domestic concerns, but then clearly hedges against the U.S. mission in Afghanistan is an uneven partner at best,” he said.
Navy SEALs killed Osama bin Laden early May 2 in Abbottabad, a garrison town about 30 miles from the Pakistani capital, Islamabad. The al Qaeda leader’s hide-out was barely a mile from the Pakistan Military Academy at Kakul.
In his meetings with the U.S. officials, Vice Marshal Chaudhry said Pakistan’s military leadership has a tough time maintaining positive attitudes toward the U.S. among enlisted personnel.
The cable says he cited the susceptibility of the enlisted ranks - most of whom come from rural areas - to the influence of Islamist clerics. “You can’t imagine what a hard time we have trying to get to trim their beards,” Vice Marshal Chaudhry is quoted as saying in a cable.
Conservative Muslims grow full beards as a sign of piety.
While in Pakistan, Mr. Hillen heard criticism of President George W. Bush’s decision not to give Pakistan a civil nuclear deal similar to the one he struck with India.
A Pakistani official expressed dismay at Mr. Bush’s reference to rogue nuclear scientist, Abdul Qadeer Khan, as the reason why the U.S. would not offer this deal to Islamabad.
Nazir Hussain, who at the time was chief of protocol at Pakistan’s foreign ministry, told Mr. Hillen: “Your man cut Musharraf off at the knees” with that public comment, according to the cable. Gen. Pervez Musharraf was the Pakistani president.
Pakistan was negotiating the sale of F-16 fighter jets with the U.S. at the time, and Vice Marshal Chaudhry asked Mr. Hillen to ensure that the deal “has enough sweeteners to appeal to the public - a complete squadron of new F-16s, with JDAM and night-vision capability - but not to offer the PAF things that it cannot afford,” according to the cable.
Discussing the Chinese JF-17 Thunder jet, a key component of Pakistan’s fighter fleet, Vice Marshal Chaudhry acknowledged that the jet was not comparable to the U.S. F-16 in terms of quality, particularly its avionics and weapons systems.
On a trip to Beijing last week, Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani secured a deal in which China will provide Pakistan with 50 more JF-17s.
Pakistani Defense Minister Ahmad Mukhtar said Pakistan was seeking delivery of the jets within six months.
U.S. cable ties Saudis to Pakistan jihad
A U.S. diplomat in Pakistan accused Saudi and Gulf groups of bankrolling Islamic extremists in a cable revealed by WikiLeaks Sunday.
Pakistan's Dawn newspaper reported Bryan Hunt, then consul in Lahore, sent the message to the State Department in November 2008, citing local officials and his visits to south Punjab.
Hunt wrote, "Financial support estimated at nearly 100 million USD annually was making its way to Deobandi and Ahl-i-Hadith clerics in south Punjab from organizations in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, ostensibly with the direct support of those governments."
He said local informants had described a "sophisticated jihadi recruitment network" to him.
Muslim "charities" funding a network of radical mosques and madrassas preyed on "families with multiple children" and "severe financial difficulties," recruiting their sons into schools and paying bounties for them, Hunt wrote.
Those youths found most inclined to "martyrdom" would be "chosen for jihad" and sent to "more sophisticated indoctrination camps," which he identified, and eventually off to the North-West Frontier province to launch attacks.
Local officials were doing little to stop the extremists, Hunt wrote.
Pakistan's Dawn newspaper reported Bryan Hunt, then consul in Lahore, sent the message to the State Department in November 2008, citing local officials and his visits to south Punjab.
Hunt wrote, "Financial support estimated at nearly 100 million USD annually was making its way to Deobandi and Ahl-i-Hadith clerics in south Punjab from organizations in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, ostensibly with the direct support of those governments."
He said local informants had described a "sophisticated jihadi recruitment network" to him.
Muslim "charities" funding a network of radical mosques and madrassas preyed on "families with multiple children" and "severe financial difficulties," recruiting their sons into schools and paying bounties for them, Hunt wrote.
Those youths found most inclined to "martyrdom" would be "chosen for jihad" and sent to "more sophisticated indoctrination camps," which he identified, and eventually off to the North-West Frontier province to launch attacks.
Local officials were doing little to stop the extremists, Hunt wrote.
2011年5月18日 星期三
Keep North Carolina’s Broadband Market Free
While arguments over network neutrality have steadily misdirected attention toward Washington, phone and cable companies have quietly lobbied one state after another to throttle back or forbid cities, towns and small commercial and non-commercial entities from building out broadband facilities. This Community Broadband Preemption Map, from Community Broadband Networks, tells you how successful they've been so far: Now they're the verge of succeeding in North Carolina too.
This issue isn't just close to home for me. I lived in North Carolina for nearly two decades, and I have more blood relatives there than in any other state. (Not to mention countless friends.) Not one of them tells me how great their broadband is. More than a few complain about it. And I can guarantee that the complaints won't stop once the Governor signs the misleadingly-named "Level Playing Field/Local Gov't Competition act" (H129), which the cable industry has already been lobbied through the assembly.
The "free market" the phone and cable companies claim to operate in, and which they mostly occupy as a duopoly, is in fact a regulatory zoo where the biggest animals run the place. Neither half of the phone/cable duopoly has ever experienced anything close to a truly free market; but they sure know how to thrive in the highly regulated one they have — at the federal, state and local levels. Here's Ars on the matter:
Let's be even clearer about what is at stake in this fight. Muni networks are providing locally based broadband infrastructures that leave cable and telco ISPs in the dust. Nearby Chattanooga, Tennessee'scity owned EPB Fiber Optics service now advertises 1,000Mbps. Wilson, North Carolina is home to the Greenlight Community Network, which offers pay TV, phone service, and as much as 100Mbps Internet to subscribers (the more typical package goes at 20Mbps). Several other North Carolina cities have followed suit, launching their own networks. In comparison, Time Warner's Road Runner plan advertises "blazing speeds" of 15Mbps max to Wilson area consumers. When asked why the cable company didn't offer more competitive throughput rates, its spokesperson told a technology newsletter back in 2009 that TWC didn't think anyone around there wanted faster service. When it comes to price per megabyte, GigaOm recently crunched some numbers and found out that North Carolina cities hold an amazing 7 of 10 spots on the "most expensive broadband in the US" list.
And here's what Wally Bowen and Tim Karr say in the News & Observer:
North Carolina has a long tradition of self-help and self-reliance, from founding the nation's first public university to building Research Triangle Park. Befitting the state's rural heritage, North Carolinians routinely take self-help measures to foster economic growth and provide essential local services such as drinking water and electric power. Statesville built the state's first municipal power system in 1889, and over the years 50 North Carolina cities and towns followed suit. In 1936, the state's first rural electric cooperative was launched in Tarboro to serve Edgecombe and Martin counties. Today, 26 nonprofit electric networks serve more than 2.5 million North Carolinians in 93 counties. Strangely, this self-help tradition is under attack. The General Assembly just passed a bill to restrict municipalities from building and operating broadband Internet systems to attract industry and create local jobs. Although pushed by the cable and telephone lobby, similar bills were defeated in previous legislative sessions. But the influx of freshmen legislators and new leadership in both houses created an opening for the dubiously titled "Level Playing Field" bill (HB 129).
No one disputes the importance of broadband access for economic growth and job creation. That's why five cities -- Wilson, Salisbury, Morganton, Davidson and Mooresville -- invoked their self-help traditions to build and operate broadband systems after years of neglect from for-profit providers, which focus their investments in more affluent and densely populated areas. Not coincidentally, all five cities own and operate their own power systems or have ties to nonprofit electric cooperatives. (While the bill does not outlaw these five municipal networks, it restricts their expansion and requires them to make annual tax payments to the state as if they were for-profit companies.) How does a state that values independence, self-reliance and economic prosperity allow absentee-owned corporations to pass a law essentially granting two industries -- cable and telephone -- the power to dictate North Carolina's broadband future? This question will be moot if Gov. Beverly Perdue exercises her veto power and sends this bill where it belongs: to the dustbin of history.
We don't need more laws restricting anything around Internet infrastructure build-outs in the U.S. That's the simple argument here.
We need the phone and cable companies to improve what they can, and we need to encourage and thank them for their good work. (As I sometimes do with Verizon FiOS, over which I am connected here in Massachusetts.)
We also need to recognize that the Internet is a utility and not just the third act (after phone and TV) in the "triple play" that phone and cable companies sell. The Net is more like roads, water, electricity and gas than like TV or telephony (both of which it subsumes). It's not just about "content" delivered from Hollywood to "consumers," or about a better way to do metered calls on the old Ma Bell model. It's about everything you can possibly do with a connection to the rest of the world. The fatter that connection, the more you can do, and the more business can do.
Cities and regions blessed with fat pipes to the Internet are ports on the ocean of bits that now comprise the networked world. If citizens can't get phone and cable companies to build out those ports, it's perfectly legitimate for those citizens to do it themselves. That's what municipal broadband build out is about, pure and simple. Would it be better to privatize those utilities eventually? Maybe. But in the meantime let's not hamstring the only outlet for enterprise these citizens have found.
Here's a simple fact for Governor Perdue to ponder: In the U.S. today, the leading innovators in Internet build-out are cities, not phone and cable companies. Look at Chatanooga and Lafayette — two red state cities that are doing an outstanding job of building infrastructure that attracts and supports new businesses of all kinds. Both are doing what no phone or cable companies are able or willing to do. And both are succeeding in spite of massive opposition by phone and cable companies.
The Internet is a rising tide that lifts all economic boats. At this stage in U.S. history, this fact seems to be fully motivating to enterprises mostly at the local level, and mostly in small cities. (Hi, Brett.) Their customers here are citizens who have direct and personal relationships with their cities and with actual or potential providers there, including the cities themselves. They want and need a level of Internet capacity that phone and cable companies (for whatever reason) are not yet giving them. These small cities provide good examples of The Market at work.
It isn't government that's competing with cable and phone companies here. Its people. Citizens.
No, these new build-outs are not perfect. None are, or can be. Often they're messy. But nothing about them requires intervention by the state. Especially so early in whatever game this will end up being.
I urge friends, relatives and readers in North Carolina to Call Governor Perdue at (800) 662-7952, and to send her emails at governor.office at nc.gov. Tell her to veto this bill, and to keep North Carolina from turning pink or red on the map above. Tell her to keep the market for broadband as free as it's been from the beginning.
This issue isn't just close to home for me. I lived in North Carolina for nearly two decades, and I have more blood relatives there than in any other state. (Not to mention countless friends.) Not one of them tells me how great their broadband is. More than a few complain about it. And I can guarantee that the complaints won't stop once the Governor signs the misleadingly-named "Level Playing Field/Local Gov't Competition act" (H129), which the cable industry has already been lobbied through the assembly.
The "free market" the phone and cable companies claim to operate in, and which they mostly occupy as a duopoly, is in fact a regulatory zoo where the biggest animals run the place. Neither half of the phone/cable duopoly has ever experienced anything close to a truly free market; but they sure know how to thrive in the highly regulated one they have — at the federal, state and local levels. Here's Ars on the matter:
Let's be even clearer about what is at stake in this fight. Muni networks are providing locally based broadband infrastructures that leave cable and telco ISPs in the dust. Nearby Chattanooga, Tennessee'scity owned EPB Fiber Optics service now advertises 1,000Mbps. Wilson, North Carolina is home to the Greenlight Community Network, which offers pay TV, phone service, and as much as 100Mbps Internet to subscribers (the more typical package goes at 20Mbps). Several other North Carolina cities have followed suit, launching their own networks. In comparison, Time Warner's Road Runner plan advertises "blazing speeds" of 15Mbps max to Wilson area consumers. When asked why the cable company didn't offer more competitive throughput rates, its spokesperson told a technology newsletter back in 2009 that TWC didn't think anyone around there wanted faster service. When it comes to price per megabyte, GigaOm recently crunched some numbers and found out that North Carolina cities hold an amazing 7 of 10 spots on the "most expensive broadband in the US" list.
And here's what Wally Bowen and Tim Karr say in the News & Observer:
North Carolina has a long tradition of self-help and self-reliance, from founding the nation's first public university to building Research Triangle Park. Befitting the state's rural heritage, North Carolinians routinely take self-help measures to foster economic growth and provide essential local services such as drinking water and electric power. Statesville built the state's first municipal power system in 1889, and over the years 50 North Carolina cities and towns followed suit. In 1936, the state's first rural electric cooperative was launched in Tarboro to serve Edgecombe and Martin counties. Today, 26 nonprofit electric networks serve more than 2.5 million North Carolinians in 93 counties. Strangely, this self-help tradition is under attack. The General Assembly just passed a bill to restrict municipalities from building and operating broadband Internet systems to attract industry and create local jobs. Although pushed by the cable and telephone lobby, similar bills were defeated in previous legislative sessions. But the influx of freshmen legislators and new leadership in both houses created an opening for the dubiously titled "Level Playing Field" bill (HB 129).
No one disputes the importance of broadband access for economic growth and job creation. That's why five cities -- Wilson, Salisbury, Morganton, Davidson and Mooresville -- invoked their self-help traditions to build and operate broadband systems after years of neglect from for-profit providers, which focus their investments in more affluent and densely populated areas. Not coincidentally, all five cities own and operate their own power systems or have ties to nonprofit electric cooperatives. (While the bill does not outlaw these five municipal networks, it restricts their expansion and requires them to make annual tax payments to the state as if they were for-profit companies.) How does a state that values independence, self-reliance and economic prosperity allow absentee-owned corporations to pass a law essentially granting two industries -- cable and telephone -- the power to dictate North Carolina's broadband future? This question will be moot if Gov. Beverly Perdue exercises her veto power and sends this bill where it belongs: to the dustbin of history.
We don't need more laws restricting anything around Internet infrastructure build-outs in the U.S. That's the simple argument here.
We need the phone and cable companies to improve what they can, and we need to encourage and thank them for their good work. (As I sometimes do with Verizon FiOS, over which I am connected here in Massachusetts.)
We also need to recognize that the Internet is a utility and not just the third act (after phone and TV) in the "triple play" that phone and cable companies sell. The Net is more like roads, water, electricity and gas than like TV or telephony (both of which it subsumes). It's not just about "content" delivered from Hollywood to "consumers," or about a better way to do metered calls on the old Ma Bell model. It's about everything you can possibly do with a connection to the rest of the world. The fatter that connection, the more you can do, and the more business can do.
Cities and regions blessed with fat pipes to the Internet are ports on the ocean of bits that now comprise the networked world. If citizens can't get phone and cable companies to build out those ports, it's perfectly legitimate for those citizens to do it themselves. That's what municipal broadband build out is about, pure and simple. Would it be better to privatize those utilities eventually? Maybe. But in the meantime let's not hamstring the only outlet for enterprise these citizens have found.
Here's a simple fact for Governor Perdue to ponder: In the U.S. today, the leading innovators in Internet build-out are cities, not phone and cable companies. Look at Chatanooga and Lafayette — two red state cities that are doing an outstanding job of building infrastructure that attracts and supports new businesses of all kinds. Both are doing what no phone or cable companies are able or willing to do. And both are succeeding in spite of massive opposition by phone and cable companies.
The Internet is a rising tide that lifts all economic boats. At this stage in U.S. history, this fact seems to be fully motivating to enterprises mostly at the local level, and mostly in small cities. (Hi, Brett.) Their customers here are citizens who have direct and personal relationships with their cities and with actual or potential providers there, including the cities themselves. They want and need a level of Internet capacity that phone and cable companies (for whatever reason) are not yet giving them. These small cities provide good examples of The Market at work.
It isn't government that's competing with cable and phone companies here. Its people. Citizens.
No, these new build-outs are not perfect. None are, or can be. Often they're messy. But nothing about them requires intervention by the state. Especially so early in whatever game this will end up being.
I urge friends, relatives and readers in North Carolina to Call Governor Perdue at (800) 662-7952, and to send her emails at governor.office at nc.gov. Tell her to veto this bill, and to keep North Carolina from turning pink or red on the map above. Tell her to keep the market for broadband as free as it's been from the beginning.
Screwfix Boosts Landscaping and Outdoor Range
World renowned suppliers of turf and landscape maintenance equipment, Toro, are a new addition to the range with the inclusion of two lawn mowers. The mowers have many labour-saving and eco-friendly features that make mowing easier whilst producing a great finish including a recycler which cuts the grass into extra fine particles and puts it back on the lawn.
The latest additions from German brand Solo are also showcased in the Screwfix range. Solo's excellent chainsaws and brush cutters can be used in both agricultural and landscape gardening environments, perfect for the busy professional landscaper.
Brand new outdoor power tools:
Screwfix now stocks a comprehensive range of Makita outdoor power products. From trimmers and chainsaws to brush cutters and lawn mowers, the professional landscaper will be spoilt for choice this season. The MM4 brush cutter and line trimmers have 4-stroke engines which are easy to use and better for the environment than a 2-stroke equivalent. There is no mixing of oil and fuel which leads to easy maintenance, and the oiling system is revolutionary making the tools easy to use at any angle.
Back to basics:
For use when working near live cables, Spear and Jackson Insulated Hand Tools have been included in the new product range at Screwfix. From pick axes to crowbars, all products are tested to the standard BS 8020:2002 mark.
Also new to the landscaping and outdoor range, includes top brand Bahco Professional. Its Heavy Duty Bypass Lopper is a must in any professional landscaping tool kit - perfect for cutting extremely thin and tough branches on all types of trees and vines thanks to the blades being fully hardened, which also gives smooth finishes. It has a long reach for overhead cutting which makes it easy to use with shock absorbing buffers between the handles.
Top of the range hoses:
Two varieties of Hozelock hoses have been added to the Screwfix product range. One is perfect for use on construction sites as it provides reinforced protection from all types of weather. The other is a robust irrigation hose with UV protection and both hoses can carry water with temperatures from -15 to 60°.
All products from the Screwfix landscaping and outdoor range can be ordered for home or site delivery with many lines stocked in one of over 160 Screwfix branches across the country for immediate collection. Tradesmen can pick up a copy of the spring deals catalogue from their local Screwfix branch to find out more about the extensive range, browse online at screwfix.com or order by phone (0500 41 41 41).
About Screwfix:
Recognised as being "where the trade buys" and promising a fast, reliable service, Screwfix is the UK's leading multi-channel supplier of thousands of high quality screws, cable ties, hand tools, power tools, plumbing, radiators and electrical supplies. Combining trade prices and a massive range of leading brand name items, Screwfix offers over 18,000 products and is fully committed to customer care and support.
The latest additions from German brand Solo are also showcased in the Screwfix range. Solo's excellent chainsaws and brush cutters can be used in both agricultural and landscape gardening environments, perfect for the busy professional landscaper.
Brand new outdoor power tools:
Screwfix now stocks a comprehensive range of Makita outdoor power products. From trimmers and chainsaws to brush cutters and lawn mowers, the professional landscaper will be spoilt for choice this season. The MM4 brush cutter and line trimmers have 4-stroke engines which are easy to use and better for the environment than a 2-stroke equivalent. There is no mixing of oil and fuel which leads to easy maintenance, and the oiling system is revolutionary making the tools easy to use at any angle.
Back to basics:
For use when working near live cables, Spear and Jackson Insulated Hand Tools have been included in the new product range at Screwfix. From pick axes to crowbars, all products are tested to the standard BS 8020:2002 mark.
Also new to the landscaping and outdoor range, includes top brand Bahco Professional. Its Heavy Duty Bypass Lopper is a must in any professional landscaping tool kit - perfect for cutting extremely thin and tough branches on all types of trees and vines thanks to the blades being fully hardened, which also gives smooth finishes. It has a long reach for overhead cutting which makes it easy to use with shock absorbing buffers between the handles.
Top of the range hoses:
Two varieties of Hozelock hoses have been added to the Screwfix product range. One is perfect for use on construction sites as it provides reinforced protection from all types of weather. The other is a robust irrigation hose with UV protection and both hoses can carry water with temperatures from -15 to 60°.
All products from the Screwfix landscaping and outdoor range can be ordered for home or site delivery with many lines stocked in one of over 160 Screwfix branches across the country for immediate collection. Tradesmen can pick up a copy of the spring deals catalogue from their local Screwfix branch to find out more about the extensive range, browse online at screwfix.com or order by phone (0500 41 41 41).
About Screwfix:
Recognised as being "where the trade buys" and promising a fast, reliable service, Screwfix is the UK's leading multi-channel supplier of thousands of high quality screws, cable ties, hand tools, power tools, plumbing, radiators and electrical supplies. Combining trade prices and a massive range of leading brand name items, Screwfix offers over 18,000 products and is fully committed to customer care and support.
2011年5月15日 星期日
Spring Fling trip went well
The Rockport-Fulton Chamber of Commerce recently hosted the 26th annual Spring Fling and I was one of the guides.
Spring Fling is a gathering of various media personalities, outdoor writers, product manufacturers/distributors and local fishing guides who are invited to the area to showcase our fabulous bay fishing venue.
My group consisted of John Goodspeed, chairman of the board for the Texas Outdoor Writers Association; Mike Nischalke, Outdoor Communications; and Jim Van Gilder, Corrosion X. We anchored in a backlake shallow on San Jose Island.
We began free-lining shrimp and the fast incoming tide caused us to change over to Carolina Rigs to keep the bait in the hole. A couple of rods were put out with cut blue crab.
*
About an hour into our adventure, Goodspeed was onto a hard hitting fish that stripped line from the reel on several runs away from the boat. Soon it rolled, revealing an upper slot-sized redfish with Goodspeed skillfully maneuvering the critter into the outstretched landing net.
Despite the excellent conditions, the bite was slow and the next fish in was a black drum caught by Nischalke.
Van Gilder had a handle on the hardhead catfish bringing in one after another earning the title of catfish king.
We fished for another couple of hours with a couple of additional redfish coming to net before we decided to drift Allyn’s Bight.
We covered the bulk of the north end with nary a taker.
We headed to clean fish and get ready for our farewell dinner feast hosted by the Chamber.
What’s happening in bays?
Spotted seatrout are coming in for the spring spawn. Fair numbers have been reported on most flats and adjacent drops.
Soft plastics, top waters and natural baits have all worked well. Try Estes Flats, Little Flats, Super Flats and Steadman’s for some good action on trout with some redfish thrown in for good measure.
The best baits have been live shrimp under a popping cork, or your favorite artificial.
The Port Aransas jetties have been good for spotted seatrout and redfish, as well as flounder coming in from the drops along the channels. Black drum are plentiful in most fishable waters.
Today’s tip
I keep a supply of cable ties at home and on board the boat for when a quick fix opportunity arises.
Looking back on one such occasion, my fishing buddies and I went off a prop in deep water. We had a spare prop, but no retaining parts. We took enough cable ties to rig a spacer, put on the spare prop and use a spare cotter pin to finish the job. The cable ties held for the ride back at a slow speed and got us in without having to be towed. Next to duct tape, this is the best item to have in your emergency kit. You can pick up various sizes, which will work for most applications. They can be strung together for additional length if needed and each can be tightened to a small diameter. Some people use them to attach mullet, pinfish or ballyhoo to a hook thus leaving the business end of the hook completely exposed for unimpeded hookups.
This week’s hotspot
Hit the flats for spotted seatrout and redfish. Try drifting while bouncing your bait or lures in the pot-holes. Good luck everyone and stay safe out on the water.
Spring Fling is a gathering of various media personalities, outdoor writers, product manufacturers/distributors and local fishing guides who are invited to the area to showcase our fabulous bay fishing venue.
My group consisted of John Goodspeed, chairman of the board for the Texas Outdoor Writers Association; Mike Nischalke, Outdoor Communications; and Jim Van Gilder, Corrosion X. We anchored in a backlake shallow on San Jose Island.
We began free-lining shrimp and the fast incoming tide caused us to change over to Carolina Rigs to keep the bait in the hole. A couple of rods were put out with cut blue crab.
*
About an hour into our adventure, Goodspeed was onto a hard hitting fish that stripped line from the reel on several runs away from the boat. Soon it rolled, revealing an upper slot-sized redfish with Goodspeed skillfully maneuvering the critter into the outstretched landing net.
Despite the excellent conditions, the bite was slow and the next fish in was a black drum caught by Nischalke.
Van Gilder had a handle on the hardhead catfish bringing in one after another earning the title of catfish king.
We fished for another couple of hours with a couple of additional redfish coming to net before we decided to drift Allyn’s Bight.
We covered the bulk of the north end with nary a taker.
We headed to clean fish and get ready for our farewell dinner feast hosted by the Chamber.
What’s happening in bays?
Spotted seatrout are coming in for the spring spawn. Fair numbers have been reported on most flats and adjacent drops.
Soft plastics, top waters and natural baits have all worked well. Try Estes Flats, Little Flats, Super Flats and Steadman’s for some good action on trout with some redfish thrown in for good measure.
The best baits have been live shrimp under a popping cork, or your favorite artificial.
The Port Aransas jetties have been good for spotted seatrout and redfish, as well as flounder coming in from the drops along the channels. Black drum are plentiful in most fishable waters.
Today’s tip
I keep a supply of cable ties at home and on board the boat for when a quick fix opportunity arises.
Looking back on one such occasion, my fishing buddies and I went off a prop in deep water. We had a spare prop, but no retaining parts. We took enough cable ties to rig a spacer, put on the spare prop and use a spare cotter pin to finish the job. The cable ties held for the ride back at a slow speed and got us in without having to be towed. Next to duct tape, this is the best item to have in your emergency kit. You can pick up various sizes, which will work for most applications. They can be strung together for additional length if needed and each can be tightened to a small diameter. Some people use them to attach mullet, pinfish or ballyhoo to a hook thus leaving the business end of the hook completely exposed for unimpeded hookups.
This week’s hotspot
Hit the flats for spotted seatrout and redfish. Try drifting while bouncing your bait or lures in the pot-holes. Good luck everyone and stay safe out on the water.
Cable and PCB accessories
With its recent appointment as Richco’s South African distributor, Electrocomp has made available to the local market a broad array of product offerings addressing application needs within electronic, consumer goods, telecoms, automotive and contract manufacturingindustries. Richco offers a variety of spacers, standoffs, kwik wraps and cable ties. Its product range also includes bushings, cable glands, harness wraps and grommets, as well as ducts, wraps and rivets.
For each of its standard products, customers can download 3D models directly from the manufacturer’s website.
The company offers a range of spacers and standoffs for printed circuit board hardware, which aid the support, spacing, locking and guiding of the board within electronic applications. The majority of the spacers and standoffs are designed to be installed manually by hand and do not require automated assembly equipment. The parts are available in a selection of materials.
Richco’s plastic cable ties and kwik wraps can be fixed to PCBs, chassis or even to a wall in order to harness cable at any application level. It supplies the plastic cable ties and kwik wraps in different colours and materials, sizes and mounting types. Cable tie options include push-in arrowhead mount, screw mount, hook and loop, releasable, marker and heavy duty. They are radiation-, vibration-, flame- and corrosion-resistant.
Richco has a wide range of cable clamps, bushings, grommets and cable glands. Furthermore, customers can choose between different wraps and ducts. The cable clamps and cable clips offer a variety of mounting methods including self-adhesive tape, screws, rivets, blind hole and push-through arrow-headed designs. Richco’s grommet range is available in a variety of materials including plastic, rubber and metal. The bushings are designed to easily snap into pre-drilled holes and the cable glands are available with metric and PG thread.
For each of its standard products, customers can download 3D models directly from the manufacturer’s website.
The company offers a range of spacers and standoffs for printed circuit board hardware, which aid the support, spacing, locking and guiding of the board within electronic applications. The majority of the spacers and standoffs are designed to be installed manually by hand and do not require automated assembly equipment. The parts are available in a selection of materials.
Richco’s plastic cable ties and kwik wraps can be fixed to PCBs, chassis or even to a wall in order to harness cable at any application level. It supplies the plastic cable ties and kwik wraps in different colours and materials, sizes and mounting types. Cable tie options include push-in arrowhead mount, screw mount, hook and loop, releasable, marker and heavy duty. They are radiation-, vibration-, flame- and corrosion-resistant.
Richco has a wide range of cable clamps, bushings, grommets and cable glands. Furthermore, customers can choose between different wraps and ducts. The cable clamps and cable clips offer a variety of mounting methods including self-adhesive tape, screws, rivets, blind hole and push-through arrow-headed designs. Richco’s grommet range is available in a variety of materials including plastic, rubber and metal. The bushings are designed to easily snap into pre-drilled holes and the cable glands are available with metric and PG thread.
Upgrade garden cart in a snap
Here's a neat way to upgrade your plain old garden cart.
Clean out aluminum cans and attach to the sides to hold tools, seeds, gloves and even a refreshing beverage. Use nuts and bolts, cable ties or screws to hold the cans around the edge of the cart so they will be easily accessible.
You'll find that they'll really come in handy and will allow you to take everything you need to the worksite in one trip.
You can add these to your riding lawnmower, too. Paint them to match if you want.
Dear Carrells: My home office had to be inexpensive since I was just starting my home business. I needed a large desk but had no money in the budget. I bought two inexpensive file cabinets and found an old door at a garage sale. The door was large, and I set it on top of the file cabinets to create my desk. It was perfect. It was large and very sturdy, and I still have it today, even though I use it more as a hobby table now. - J.T.
* A super hint: Super glue is super at sticking to all sorts of things. And it's pretty good at sticking your fingers to things, too. If this ever happens to you, just grab some nail-polish remover and use that as your solvent. It will dissolve the glue and let you be free again.
* Got a question or a handy tip? Visit www.thesuperhandyman.com. Those of general interest will be used in future columns.
* Dear Al: I don't know what you are supposed to use to patch gutters, but I found a very easy way to do it. I had a small leak, just a pinhole, but it was a leak that was starting to cause more problems. I got a leftover tube of roofing tar and rubbed that onto the gutter hole. It seems to be holding pretty well, and there is no more rust. Boy, that was simple! - N.M.
* Q: I have a leak in one of the underground pipes in my automatic sprinkler system. The company that installed it is now out of business, and I would like to try to fix it myself. What is involved in repairing the plastic pipe? - T.G.
A: The first step is to dig down to get to the problem. You need to have enough room to be able to saw out the leaking section. If it's just a small section, a coupler fitting may be used to reconnect the ends. You may have to dig back a ways in order to flex the pipes to make the connection. If the problem involves a longer section of pipe, you could use two coupling units plus a section of pipe. Joining the pieces is easy to do with PVC adhesives.
* A Tip From the Super HandyMom: I would rather repair than replace a whole wooden fence. But putting new pickets beside the old ones looks really bad to me. I found a great way to "age" the boards. Mix baking soda and water, and brush the new wood with this solution. It ages it in just a few minutes. Wash it off when it is at the right stage of gray, and you'll barely be able to tell the new pickets from the old. (This won't work with pressure-treated wood.)
* Shoptalk: Window films that cut down on heat gain in your home can be difficult to install and even harder to remove later on ... until now. Gila's Energy Saving Titanium Peel and Cling Window Film stays in place by means of static cling. It dramatically cuts down on glare, incoming heat and UV rays while still allowing natural light to enter. It's easy to install, works great and is one of the most affordable solutions on the market. It's available at several outlets, including Home Depot. You can find out more at www.gilafilms.com.
Clean out aluminum cans and attach to the sides to hold tools, seeds, gloves and even a refreshing beverage. Use nuts and bolts, cable ties or screws to hold the cans around the edge of the cart so they will be easily accessible.
You'll find that they'll really come in handy and will allow you to take everything you need to the worksite in one trip.
You can add these to your riding lawnmower, too. Paint them to match if you want.
Dear Carrells: My home office had to be inexpensive since I was just starting my home business. I needed a large desk but had no money in the budget. I bought two inexpensive file cabinets and found an old door at a garage sale. The door was large, and I set it on top of the file cabinets to create my desk. It was perfect. It was large and very sturdy, and I still have it today, even though I use it more as a hobby table now. - J.T.
* A super hint: Super glue is super at sticking to all sorts of things. And it's pretty good at sticking your fingers to things, too. If this ever happens to you, just grab some nail-polish remover and use that as your solvent. It will dissolve the glue and let you be free again.
* Got a question or a handy tip? Visit www.thesuperhandyman.com. Those of general interest will be used in future columns.
* Dear Al: I don't know what you are supposed to use to patch gutters, but I found a very easy way to do it. I had a small leak, just a pinhole, but it was a leak that was starting to cause more problems. I got a leftover tube of roofing tar and rubbed that onto the gutter hole. It seems to be holding pretty well, and there is no more rust. Boy, that was simple! - N.M.
* Q: I have a leak in one of the underground pipes in my automatic sprinkler system. The company that installed it is now out of business, and I would like to try to fix it myself. What is involved in repairing the plastic pipe? - T.G.
A: The first step is to dig down to get to the problem. You need to have enough room to be able to saw out the leaking section. If it's just a small section, a coupler fitting may be used to reconnect the ends. You may have to dig back a ways in order to flex the pipes to make the connection. If the problem involves a longer section of pipe, you could use two coupling units plus a section of pipe. Joining the pieces is easy to do with PVC adhesives.
* A Tip From the Super HandyMom: I would rather repair than replace a whole wooden fence. But putting new pickets beside the old ones looks really bad to me. I found a great way to "age" the boards. Mix baking soda and water, and brush the new wood with this solution. It ages it in just a few minutes. Wash it off when it is at the right stage of gray, and you'll barely be able to tell the new pickets from the old. (This won't work with pressure-treated wood.)
* Shoptalk: Window films that cut down on heat gain in your home can be difficult to install and even harder to remove later on ... until now. Gila's Energy Saving Titanium Peel and Cling Window Film stays in place by means of static cling. It dramatically cuts down on glare, incoming heat and UV rays while still allowing natural light to enter. It's easy to install, works great and is one of the most affordable solutions on the market. It's available at several outlets, including Home Depot. You can find out more at www.gilafilms.com.
2011年5月10日 星期二
China signaled to Panama to remain ROC ally: cable
Panama wished to switch diplomatic relations from Taiwan to China after President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) took office in 2008, but decided against it partly because of signals from Beijing about its reluctance to undermine cross-strait relations, a diplomatic cable recently released by WikiLeaks shows.
The confidential diplomatic cable on Panama’s decision to maintain its relations with Taiwan was sent to the US Department of State, the US Department of Defense, the US National Security Council and the CIA from the US embassy in Panama City on Feb. 23 last year.
The cable showed that another factor that helped Taiwan maintain diplomatic relations with Panama was donations offered by Ma in January last year to the administration of Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli, who had publicly talked about allying with China during his election campaign in 2009.
Then-US ambassador to Panama Barbara Stephenson said in the cable that the Panamanian government had renewed its commitment to Taiwan despite public statements by Martinelli in 2009 that the country would opt for formal diplomatic ties with the -People’s Republic of China (PRC).
Martinelli, who was inaugurated as president on July 1, 2009, has attempted to follow through with his plan to recognize the PRC, but was told to stop by Beijing, Stephenson said.
“Martinelli may have had in mind the type of cooperation that Costa Rica has been enjoying with the PRC since establishing formal ties in 2007,” the cable said.
Costa Rican President Oscar Arias on Feb. 1 informed a Colombian diplomat that Martinelli had told him that Panama wanted to follow Costa Rica’s lead, but that the Chinese had asked him to “remain calm” and that for the time being the PRC was not interested in furthering its diplomatic ties, the cable said.
Arias announced in June 2007 that his country would cut ties with Taiwan to recognize China.
The cable said Panamanian Foreign Minister Juan Carlos Varela told Stephenson on Feb. 18 last year he had been told by his Chinese counterpart during a visit to Asia the previous month that because of diplomatic overtures under way between Beijing and Taipei, it was not the right time for Panama to recognize the PRC.
Chinese diplomats relayed to political officers in Costa Rica that the PRC was concerned that diplomatic recognition from other Latin American countries might damage their recently improved relations with Taiwan, the cable showed.
Stephenson also attributed the continuity of relations between the Taiwan and Panama to donations offered by Taiwan to the Martinelli administration.
On Jan. 6 last year, Varela agreed to a “five-year cooperation” plan that included the donation of US$25 million for construction of a hospital on the outskirts of Panama City in Chilibre-Las Cumbres, and a US$22 million executive business jet.
The cable said Varela’s confirmation that ties with Taiwan would continue came shortly after Taiwan gave the Panamanian government an Embraer Legacy 600 executive business jet as a gift in December 2009.
The Taiwanese government has used financial incentives to sweeten its relationship with Panama. Political science professor Miguel Antonio Bernal estimated aid to be at US$125 million a year during the previous administration of Panamanian president Martin Torrijos, the cable said.
The confidential diplomatic cable on Panama’s decision to maintain its relations with Taiwan was sent to the US Department of State, the US Department of Defense, the US National Security Council and the CIA from the US embassy in Panama City on Feb. 23 last year.
The cable showed that another factor that helped Taiwan maintain diplomatic relations with Panama was donations offered by Ma in January last year to the administration of Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli, who had publicly talked about allying with China during his election campaign in 2009.
Then-US ambassador to Panama Barbara Stephenson said in the cable that the Panamanian government had renewed its commitment to Taiwan despite public statements by Martinelli in 2009 that the country would opt for formal diplomatic ties with the -People’s Republic of China (PRC).
Martinelli, who was inaugurated as president on July 1, 2009, has attempted to follow through with his plan to recognize the PRC, but was told to stop by Beijing, Stephenson said.
“Martinelli may have had in mind the type of cooperation that Costa Rica has been enjoying with the PRC since establishing formal ties in 2007,” the cable said.
Costa Rican President Oscar Arias on Feb. 1 informed a Colombian diplomat that Martinelli had told him that Panama wanted to follow Costa Rica’s lead, but that the Chinese had asked him to “remain calm” and that for the time being the PRC was not interested in furthering its diplomatic ties, the cable said.
Arias announced in June 2007 that his country would cut ties with Taiwan to recognize China.
The cable said Panamanian Foreign Minister Juan Carlos Varela told Stephenson on Feb. 18 last year he had been told by his Chinese counterpart during a visit to Asia the previous month that because of diplomatic overtures under way between Beijing and Taipei, it was not the right time for Panama to recognize the PRC.
Chinese diplomats relayed to political officers in Costa Rica that the PRC was concerned that diplomatic recognition from other Latin American countries might damage their recently improved relations with Taiwan, the cable showed.
Stephenson also attributed the continuity of relations between the Taiwan and Panama to donations offered by Taiwan to the Martinelli administration.
On Jan. 6 last year, Varela agreed to a “five-year cooperation” plan that included the donation of US$25 million for construction of a hospital on the outskirts of Panama City in Chilibre-Las Cumbres, and a US$22 million executive business jet.
The cable said Varela’s confirmation that ties with Taiwan would continue came shortly after Taiwan gave the Panamanian government an Embraer Legacy 600 executive business jet as a gift in December 2009.
The Taiwanese government has used financial incentives to sweeten its relationship with Panama. Political science professor Miguel Antonio Bernal estimated aid to be at US$125 million a year during the previous administration of Panamanian president Martin Torrijos, the cable said.
Cablevision Announces the Ultimate Triple Play with Faster Internet Speeds, Advanced Wireless Router and Optimum Link
Cablevision Systems (News - Alert) Corp., a media and entertainment company, revealed the launch of the Ultimate Triple Play, an enhanced version of marketing offer, the Optimum (News - Alert) Triple Play.
The Ultimate Triple Play delivers faster Internet speeds, the additional convenience of an Advanced Wireless Router and Optimum Link, for customers to display PC images and sounds on their televisions. The new marketing offer brings the benefits of iO TV, Optimum Online and Optimum Voice with advanced technology.
The Ultimate Triple Play (News - Alert) offers more than 275 channels of iO TV digital cable, which has free HD, access to video on demand with free titles, local programming from News 12 and MSG Varsity and more.
"We introduced the Optimum Triple Play in 2004, and it has been an enormously successful offer for Cablevision and one that has been emulated across the industry to establish three-product relationships with customers," commented Jonathan Hargis, Cablevision's executive vice president of marketing.
"The Ultimate Triple Play takes our compelling value proposition, across all three services, and ties it together with faster Internet speeds, Optimum Link and an advanced wireless router that is a perfect complement to our new Optimum App for iPad. We believe this will be an extremely popular offer with new customers looking for the advantages of our core services combined with our latest technological innovations," Hargis added.
The offer also consists of Optimum Online Boost Plus high-speed Internet service, providing downstream speeds of up to 50 megabits-per-second (Mbps) and up to 8 Mbps upstream, and free access to Optimum WiFi's (News - Alert) wireless Internet access points across Cablevision's service area.It also has an Advanced Wireless Router (802.11n), for the highest standard of in-home WiFi speed and security, and a perfect complement to the recently launched Optimum App for iPad.
The Optimum Link that allows customers to use Cablevision's network to display PC content on home televisions with a click of the mouse, and without any additional equipment. Optimum Voice has18 popular calling features at no additional charge, including 411 directory assistance and unlimited calling across the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico.
The Ultimate Triple Play delivers faster Internet speeds, the additional convenience of an Advanced Wireless Router and Optimum Link, for customers to display PC images and sounds on their televisions. The new marketing offer brings the benefits of iO TV, Optimum Online and Optimum Voice with advanced technology.
The Ultimate Triple Play (News - Alert) offers more than 275 channels of iO TV digital cable, which has free HD, access to video on demand with free titles, local programming from News 12 and MSG Varsity and more.
"We introduced the Optimum Triple Play in 2004, and it has been an enormously successful offer for Cablevision and one that has been emulated across the industry to establish three-product relationships with customers," commented Jonathan Hargis, Cablevision's executive vice president of marketing.
"The Ultimate Triple Play takes our compelling value proposition, across all three services, and ties it together with faster Internet speeds, Optimum Link and an advanced wireless router that is a perfect complement to our new Optimum App for iPad. We believe this will be an extremely popular offer with new customers looking for the advantages of our core services combined with our latest technological innovations," Hargis added.
The offer also consists of Optimum Online Boost Plus high-speed Internet service, providing downstream speeds of up to 50 megabits-per-second (Mbps) and up to 8 Mbps upstream, and free access to Optimum WiFi's (News - Alert) wireless Internet access points across Cablevision's service area.It also has an Advanced Wireless Router (802.11n), for the highest standard of in-home WiFi speed and security, and a perfect complement to the recently launched Optimum App for iPad.
The Optimum Link that allows customers to use Cablevision's network to display PC content on home televisions with a click of the mouse, and without any additional equipment. Optimum Voice has18 popular calling features at no additional charge, including 411 directory assistance and unlimited calling across the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico.
2011年5月8日 星期日
Zuma motorcade victim suing police
Chumani Maxwele, 26, of Woodstock, Cape Town, wants R800, 000 for damage to his reputation for statements made by police ministry spokesman Zweli Mnisi, R200, 000 for defamation after police questioned the woman supervising his sociology research at UCT, R200, 000 for the "unlawful" search of his home, R200, 000 for wrongful arrest and insult to his dignity, and R50, 000 for assault after police bound his hands with cable-ties hands and put a bag over his head.
The civil claim was filed at the Western Cape High Court, the Sunday Independent reported. No date has been set for trial yet.
In February last year, Maxwele allegedly swore at and showed Zuma's bluelight convey the middle finger while he was jogging in Walmer Estate. He was bundled into a police car, detained at the Rondebosch and Mowbray police stations and then sent to the Wynberg Magistrate's Court. He was released without appearing before a magistrate.
In papers responding to Maxwele's claim, the police ministry admits a "rifle bag" was placed over his head in the car, to stop him seeing the route to the president's Genadendal residence, and that his hands were cable-tied.
The ministry also admits arresting and releasing Maxwele without charge, but, according to the court papers, claims the arrest was lawful.
Maxwele also argues a statement released by Mnisi on February 18 last year is defamatory. It mentions that Maxwele apologised for his actions and had two criminal records, one for common assault, the other for riotous behaviour, both committed between 2007 and 2009.
The civil claim was filed at the Western Cape High Court, the Sunday Independent reported. No date has been set for trial yet.
In February last year, Maxwele allegedly swore at and showed Zuma's bluelight convey the middle finger while he was jogging in Walmer Estate. He was bundled into a police car, detained at the Rondebosch and Mowbray police stations and then sent to the Wynberg Magistrate's Court. He was released without appearing before a magistrate.
In papers responding to Maxwele's claim, the police ministry admits a "rifle bag" was placed over his head in the car, to stop him seeing the route to the president's Genadendal residence, and that his hands were cable-tied.
The ministry also admits arresting and releasing Maxwele without charge, but, according to the court papers, claims the arrest was lawful.
Maxwele also argues a statement released by Mnisi on February 18 last year is defamatory. It mentions that Maxwele apologised for his actions and had two criminal records, one for common assault, the other for riotous behaviour, both committed between 2007 and 2009.
Yes, we do still have Lib Dems in the north
Sorry, I meant to post this much more punctually. Age takes its toll, especially after an all-nighter at the Sheffield election count.
Still, there is something to be said for the snail's pace. In the words of John Ruskin (who got a lot of things wrong, but not this): "A fool always wants to shorten space and time. A wise man wants to lengthen both."
Foolishness is too strong a word, but there is a fair bit of unwisdom in current apocalyptic accounts of Liberal Democracy in northern England after Thursday's results. Here we go again; the metropolis is sewing-up another outfit for us out here to wear: the graveyard of the Lib Dems. Clegg's tomb.
Calm down, dears. What we have seen has been dire for the Lib Dems; but also a familiar working of the first-past-the-post's system's worst flaw, the exaggeration of how people actually voted. It is an interesting side-issue to note how little this 'winner-takes-all' disadvantage featured in the AV referendum campaign; but then the distortion is not just in the system but in the way that its black-and-white, or red-and-blue, unsubtlety appeals to us in the media to exaggerate further.
Wipe-out! Disaster! Catastrophe! Earthquake! Yet look at this: there are 32 Liberal Democrat councillors in Sheffield today (out of 84), the same number in Newcastle-upon-Tyne (out of 78), 22 in Hull (out of 59), 21 in Burnley (out of 45) and so on, and on across the north. These are tallies which would have seemed impossibly glorious at the real nadir of Liberalism. Why! South Lakeland even has 32 (out of 51 and therefore comfortably in charge); given its other claims to be part of paradise, this is the place for any seriously discomfited Lib Dem to spend a bit of me-time.
I'm not making a Lib Dem point. In the past, this treatment has been meted out to Labour and the Tories too. Both are still here, often in strength; and when democracy's wheel turns again, the Lib Dems will be here too.
The Northerner has done its own bit for the new political set-up, meanwhile. Helen's Mum, born a Wainwright and hence with the right stuff, although not related so far as I know, is newly a councillor in Warrington. Poor Chris Thomond, on the other hand, is pondering what might have happened if a long day of Guardian photography had got him home from Swaledale and Whitby to Bury in time to vote (first time he's missed since becoming eligible in 1983).
Straws had to be drawn in his ward after the Tories and Labour level-pegged on 1822 votes each. Labour's Joanne Columbine picked first, went as is only proper for the one on the left, and won. Labour took control of the borough as a result, by 26 to 20 Tories and five Lib Dems. So these were quite some straw (though actually in these modern times, they used a handy pair of cable-ties instead).
Still, there is something to be said for the snail's pace. In the words of John Ruskin (who got a lot of things wrong, but not this): "A fool always wants to shorten space and time. A wise man wants to lengthen both."
Foolishness is too strong a word, but there is a fair bit of unwisdom in current apocalyptic accounts of Liberal Democracy in northern England after Thursday's results. Here we go again; the metropolis is sewing-up another outfit for us out here to wear: the graveyard of the Lib Dems. Clegg's tomb.
Calm down, dears. What we have seen has been dire for the Lib Dems; but also a familiar working of the first-past-the-post's system's worst flaw, the exaggeration of how people actually voted. It is an interesting side-issue to note how little this 'winner-takes-all' disadvantage featured in the AV referendum campaign; but then the distortion is not just in the system but in the way that its black-and-white, or red-and-blue, unsubtlety appeals to us in the media to exaggerate further.
Wipe-out! Disaster! Catastrophe! Earthquake! Yet look at this: there are 32 Liberal Democrat councillors in Sheffield today (out of 84), the same number in Newcastle-upon-Tyne (out of 78), 22 in Hull (out of 59), 21 in Burnley (out of 45) and so on, and on across the north. These are tallies which would have seemed impossibly glorious at the real nadir of Liberalism. Why! South Lakeland even has 32 (out of 51 and therefore comfortably in charge); given its other claims to be part of paradise, this is the place for any seriously discomfited Lib Dem to spend a bit of me-time.
I'm not making a Lib Dem point. In the past, this treatment has been meted out to Labour and the Tories too. Both are still here, often in strength; and when democracy's wheel turns again, the Lib Dems will be here too.
The Northerner has done its own bit for the new political set-up, meanwhile. Helen's Mum, born a Wainwright and hence with the right stuff, although not related so far as I know, is newly a councillor in Warrington. Poor Chris Thomond, on the other hand, is pondering what might have happened if a long day of Guardian photography had got him home from Swaledale and Whitby to Bury in time to vote (first time he's missed since becoming eligible in 1983).
Straws had to be drawn in his ward after the Tories and Labour level-pegged on 1822 votes each. Labour's Joanne Columbine picked first, went as is only proper for the one on the left, and won. Labour took control of the borough as a result, by 26 to 20 Tories and five Lib Dems. So these were quite some straw (though actually in these modern times, they used a handy pair of cable-ties instead).
2011年5月5日 星期四
WikiLeaks: Miqati was 'Ashamed' of Providing al-Akhbar Newspaper with 150 Thousand Dollars
Najib Miqati said that he was ashamed of providing al-Akhbar newspaper with a 150,000 dollar budget, said a November 12, 2006, WikiLeaks cable published exclusively in al-Jumhuriya newspaper on Thursday.
During a meeting between with then U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Jeffrey Feltman, the former prime minister was asked about his ties to al-Akhbar.
"I'm ashamed of having had provided the newspaper with a 150 thousand dollars as a preliminary budget," Miqati replied.
The cable said that he "refuses to get involved anymore" with al-Akhbar because of its "blatant propaganda campaigns," adding that he isn't one of the newspaper owners
During a meeting between with then U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Jeffrey Feltman, the former prime minister was asked about his ties to al-Akhbar.
"I'm ashamed of having had provided the newspaper with a 150 thousand dollars as a preliminary budget," Miqati replied.
The cable said that he "refuses to get involved anymore" with al-Akhbar because of its "blatant propaganda campaigns," adding that he isn't one of the newspaper owners
WikiLeaks: Aoun Said I Am Not in Love with Hizbullah, Hariri Tried to Destroy Me
A leaked U.S. Embassy cable published exclusively in Al-Jumhuriyah newspaper on Thursday revealed that Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun was keen on preserving his good alliance with Hizbullah, while he feared any close ties with Syria and Iran.
The WikiLeaks cable dated November 3, 2006 reported on a meeting between Aoun, an Iranian parliamentary delegation, and MPs Abbas Hashem and Ibrahim Kanaan in Rabieh during which FPM leader said he cannot form any political axis with Iran.
He insisted that there was no commitment between the Free Patriotic Movement and Syria where "none of FPM members have the authority to visit Damascus."
Moreover, he said that Hizbullah is earning its independence from Syrian authority day after day where it will never become "a toy in the hands of Syria".
"I am not in love with Hizbullah but if we isolate it, its reaction will be hostile and the country can no longer support any clashes," Aoun reportedly said.
Commenting on then U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Jeffery Feltman's statement that Hizbullah was exploiting Aoun, the latter said that March 14 forces have done worse.
"Mustaqbal movement leader Saad Hariri tried to destroy me in Lebanon, Arab countries and the United States," MP said.
"Hariri tried to form a lobby group to block my visit to Saudi Arabia and worked on distorting my reputation in Washington", the MP stressed.
The leaked cable also revealed that Aoun hated the March 14 camp because it would never help him reach the presidency, unlike Hizbullah, Syria, and Iran that would assist him in pursuing his goal.
The WikiLeaks cable dated November 3, 2006 reported on a meeting between Aoun, an Iranian parliamentary delegation, and MPs Abbas Hashem and Ibrahim Kanaan in Rabieh during which FPM leader said he cannot form any political axis with Iran.
He insisted that there was no commitment between the Free Patriotic Movement and Syria where "none of FPM members have the authority to visit Damascus."
Moreover, he said that Hizbullah is earning its independence from Syrian authority day after day where it will never become "a toy in the hands of Syria".
"I am not in love with Hizbullah but if we isolate it, its reaction will be hostile and the country can no longer support any clashes," Aoun reportedly said.
Commenting on then U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Jeffery Feltman's statement that Hizbullah was exploiting Aoun, the latter said that March 14 forces have done worse.
"Mustaqbal movement leader Saad Hariri tried to destroy me in Lebanon, Arab countries and the United States," MP said.
"Hariri tried to form a lobby group to block my visit to Saudi Arabia and worked on distorting my reputation in Washington", the MP stressed.
The leaked cable also revealed that Aoun hated the March 14 camp because it would never help him reach the presidency, unlike Hizbullah, Syria, and Iran that would assist him in pursuing his goal.
2011年5月2日 星期一
Varadkar happy to make cuts in his spare time
MINISTER FOR Transport, Tourism and Sport Leo Varadkar was taking a hands-on approach at the weekend by participating in a post-election clean-up of his Dublin West constituency.
Assisted by voluntary labour from local branches of Fine Gael, the Minister devoted his spare time to removing 10,000 cable-ties which remained in Blanchardstown and Castleknock after election posters were taken down.
“We had a very busy election, as you know, and one of the things that people complain about the most is all the cable-ties that are left on the poles after election time.
“Some of my campaign workers felt that we’d make a special effort to put in a few weeks of work after the election taking down cable-ties from all parties in Dublin West.
“We’ve taken down over 10,000 cable-ties in the Blanchardstown and Castleknock areas, making the place look a little bit better before the tourist season begins.
“And we’re encouraging other people to do the same in their communities,” he said.
The Minister adopted a cross-party approach to the task by removing cable-ties from all the different parties.
“The black ones are Fianna Fáil,” he said.
Assisted by voluntary labour from local branches of Fine Gael, the Minister devoted his spare time to removing 10,000 cable-ties which remained in Blanchardstown and Castleknock after election posters were taken down.
“We had a very busy election, as you know, and one of the things that people complain about the most is all the cable-ties that are left on the poles after election time.
“Some of my campaign workers felt that we’d make a special effort to put in a few weeks of work after the election taking down cable-ties from all parties in Dublin West.
“We’ve taken down over 10,000 cable-ties in the Blanchardstown and Castleknock areas, making the place look a little bit better before the tourist season begins.
“And we’re encouraging other people to do the same in their communities,” he said.
The Minister adopted a cross-party approach to the task by removing cable-ties from all the different parties.
“The black ones are Fianna Fáil,” he said.
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