Korean Dictator's Final Ride Was In a Vintage Lincoln Continental



Korean Dictator's Final Ride Was In a Vintage Lincoln Continental

 Mourners lined the streets of the North Korean capital Pyongyang today, crying and wailing as the funeral procession of their "Dear Leader' Kim Jong-Il, marched slowly through the streets. But a curious detail was that the boxy black hearse that crept through the light snow was a vintage Lincoln Continental.

The choice of a U.S.-made luxury car seems odd for a country that preached a belligerent self reliance, reviled America and was put on President George W. Bush's Axis of Evil list.

Experts at Edmunds.com put the year of the Lincoln at 1976, making the 35-year-old vehicle older than North Korea's 23-year-old new leader Kim Jong-Un.

The choice of an American luxury car for his final ride is consistent with Kim's tastes, despite his regime's propoganda depicting the U.S. as evil, dangerous and violent, and his history of antagonizing numerous American administrations with threats of war and nuclear weapons.

Kim was reported to be a big fan of Hollywood movies, with favorites including the slasher flick "Friday the 13th" and Sylvester Stallone's action film "Rambo." He supposedly owned both in his
collection of over 20,000 films, many of which starred his favorite actress Elizabeth Taylor. Kim was also a known NBA fan. One of his most prized possessions was said to be an autographed Michael Jordan basketball, presented to him by then Secretary of State Madeline Albright at a rare high point in North Korean-American relations.

Appeals court tosses Obama birthplace challenge

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The so-called birther movement was dealt another legal blow Thursday when a federal appeals court tossed out a lawsuit challenging President Barack Obama's U.S. citizenship and his eligibility to serve as commander in chief.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that none of the challengers had legal standing to file the lawsuit on Jan. 20, 2009, the day Obama was inaugurated. The three-judge panel cited various reasons for disqualifying six sets of plaintiffs, who included Obama's political rivals, taxpayers and military personnel.

The birther movement has filed multiple lawsuits over the issue, so far with no success. Its leaders have lost similar challenges before the U.S. Supreme Court and the California Supreme Court.

The U.S. Constitution says only "a natural born citizen" may serve as president. The challengers allege that Obama, whose father was Kenyan, was born in that African country, rather than the U.S. state of Hawaii. They claim his Hawaii birth certificate is a forgery.

The appeals court didn't address the authenticity of the birth certificate, instead ruling that the challengers couldn't show "concrete injury" from the allegations.

The taxpayers listed in the lawsuit, for instance, failed to show how the citizenship question affected any federal taxing and spending provisions.

The lawsuit was filed in 2009 by 40 plaintiffs, including conservative activists Alan Keyes and Wiley Drake, who ran for president and vice president respectively as members of the American Independent Party against Obama in 2008.

They alleged they had standing to file a lawsuit because of their interest in competing in a fair election. Libertarian Party vice-presidential candidate Gail Lightfoot was also a plaintiff.

Judge Harry Pregerson, writing for the three-judge panel, said Keyes and Drake waited too long to file their lawsuit. The election was over and Obama was already sworn in when the lawsuit was filed.

"Once the 2008 election was over and the President sworn in, Keyes, Drake, and Lightfoot were no longer 'candidates' for the 2008 general election," Pregerson wrote. "Plaintiffs' competitive interest in running against a qualified candidate had lapsed."

Orly Taitz, one of the challengers' lawyers, said she would ask the appeals court to convene a special 11-judge panel to reconsider the case. If she's turned down there, she said she would ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case.

Taitz said she has filed similar lawsuits in five states and has two other federal appeals pending in Washington, D.C.

Drones: A deeply unsettling future

The rapid expansion of a drone arms race has emerged both domestically and abroad, leaving everyone vulnerable.

At least 50 countries already have unmanned aerial fleets - and that number is rising every month [EPA]


San Francisco, California - On Sunday, Iran claimed to have taken down a US drone in Iranian airspace - not by shooting it out the sky, but with its cyber warfare team.

Reports confirm that the US believes Iran is now in possession of "one of the more sensitive surveillance platforms in the CIA's fleet", but deny Iran's involvement. Of course, Iran’s claim of overtaking the drone with its cyber warfare team should be tempered with a serious dose of scepticism, as cyber security experts say the facts may not add up. But this is just the latest story in a series of incidents that raises worrying questions about security problems caused by drones. And given the coming proliferation of drone technology both domestically and abroad, this should be a concern to citizens all over the world.

Two years ago the Wall Street Journal reported Iran-funded militants in Iraq were able to hack into drones' live-video feeds with "$26 off-the-shelf software". In another unnerving incident, Wired reported in October that a fleet of the Air Force's drones was infected with a computer virus that captured all of drones' key strokes. Technicians continually deleted the virus to no avail. How did the drones get infected? The military is "not quite sure". Worse, the Air Force's cyber security team didn't even know about the virus until they read about it in Wired.

Wired reported in a separate story that an upcoming Congressional report will detail how hackers broke into the US satellite system. With one satellite, hackers "achieved all steps required to command" it, "but never actually exercised control".

Last summer, a drone caused a scene in the nation's capital, when, as New York Times wrote, "fighter jets were almost scrambled after a rogue Fire Scout drone, the size of a small helicopter, wandered into Washington's restricted airspace". A similar incident took place in Afghanistan where military planes had to shoot down a "runaway drone" when pilots lost control.

The US, of course, leads the world in drone use for both surveillance and combat missions. Attacks are carried out in Pakistan every four days on average. Many times, the US isn't even sure exactly who they are killing. Despite the fact that the location of vast majority of drone bases are classified, journalist Nick Turse pieced together a startling picture of the massive US fleet. He determined that the US has at least 60 drone bases operated by either the US military or the CIA around the world, and "most of these facilities have remained unnoted, uncounted, and remarkably anonymous - until now".

But drone use is not just relegated to US military. Drone manufacturers already command a $94bn market, according to some estimates, and the drone arms race is in full swing. As the Washington Post reported, the constant buzz of drones and threats of attack now dominates the lives of civilians in Gaza. And Turkey plans to have Predator drones in operation by June 2012.

Meanwhile, Chinese contractors unveiled 25 types of unmanned aircraft last year. In all, at least 50 countries now have some sort of unmanned aerial vehicles, and the New York Times reports that "the number is rising every month". That number also includes Iran, which is seeking to upgrade its fleet. Even the Libyan rebels had their own surveillance drone - provided to them by Canadian defence contractors - before they were in full control of their own country.

The technology itself is also developing at an alarmingly rapid pace. The New York Times reports that researchers in the US are working on "shrinking unmanned drones, the kind that fire missiles into Pakistan and spy on insurgents in Afghanistan, to the size of insects", along with oversized drones that can capture video of an entire city. There are birdlike drones, underwater drones, drones within drones, facial recognition drones, and perhaps most terrifying, completely autonomous drones - currently being tested in Georgia - which will require no human control at all.

As Micah Zenko, Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, told me last month, "It's a very impressive and responsive tool that should be used sparingly. Even if we’re responsible now, we might not be forever."

But in the US, drones will become yet another way authorities can compromise the privacy of ordinary citizens, as the FAA plans to propose new rules for their domestic flight. As Newsweek reported, police forces and border patrols in the US are buying the technology from defence contractors, and one has already been spotted flying over Houston. Police departments are already using GPS and cell phone tracking without warrants, this will another powerful surveillance weapon in their arsenal. As privacy advocates warn, "drones can easily be equipped with facial recognition cameras, infrared cameras, or open Wi-Fi sniffers". And while these drones will be used for many surveillance purposes (a scary thought in and of itself), contractors admit they are equipped to carry weapons, such as Tasers.

Whether they are being used for surveillance or all-out combat, drones will soon pose serious risks for all of the world's citizens. They can offer governments, police departments, or private citizens unprecedented capabilities for spying, and given their security vulnerabilities, the potential consequences could be endless.

Trevor Timm is an activist and blogger at the Electronic Frontier Foundation. He specialises in free speech issues and government transparency

The Next D.C. Power Brokers.

It’s not too soon to start cozying up to the future stars who will hold the glamour power positions in Washington after next November’s elections. It’s time to stop saying unkind things about those with prospects, even in private. All this good behavior and restraint makes for boring conversations. But business is business. Already, speculations are whispered about the next bunch of winners and losers, all below the radar to be sure. Yes, it is necessary to pay attention to the obvious choices who sometimes, only sometimes, land the predicted jobs. But turn on the radar for the over-the-horizon surprises that inevitably materialize. Be creative, starting at the top of the ladder.

Sure, it’s almost certain Barack Obama will run again and maybe even win. But what if the economy really takes another dip, despite Friday’s announcement that unemployment has come down? And what if he starts to do really terribly in the polls against one of the powerhouse Republican candidates like Mitt Romney or mighty Newt Gingrich? He might just decide to go back to Chicago Law School, in which case, the Democrats have a terrific candidate staring them in the face: Joseph Biden.


Biden has done a magnificent job as the veep. He’s probably handled the negotiations with Republicans over the economy and federal budget better than the president himself. He certainly talks more plainly and effectively to the public than Obama. On foreign policy, Obama would have saved himself a lot of grief had he followed Biden’s advice on many occasions. In particular, a year ago, Biden urged the president to adopt an antiterrorist strategy in Afghanistan rather than pursuing the fruitless and high-troop-level counterinsurgency strategy. Biden would be a very strong candidate against any Republican and wouldn’t carry much of Obama’s baggage.



Whether it’s an Obama or Biden administration in 2013, look for many new faces in key places. If Tom Donilon, whose position is strong, decides to leave his post as national security adviser, the line of likely successors would be long: Denis McDonough, the present deputy, also known as the Lord High Executioner for Obama; Jim Steinberg, recently retired as deputy secretary of state and now at Syracuse; or Harvard’s Joe Nye. Two insiders with the strongest reputations and the most talent are Mike Froman, currently Obama’s international economics adviser in the White House; and Tony Blinken, Biden’s national security chief. Support is also building for Stephen Colbert.

Hillary Clinton is almost certainly leaving the State Department. The three most-talked-about replacements are Sen. John Kerry, who has already undertaken many diplomatic missions for Obama and is chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee; Susan Rice, the U.N. ambassador; and Brookings president Strobe Talbott. Stephen Colbert is a long shot.


Leon Panetta could keep his post at defense, since the military already loves him for protecting their budget. Other possibles are Ashton Carter; the current No. 2 at the Pentagon; and Center for Strategic and International Studies president John Hamre; or former Navy Secretary Richard Danzig.


Tim Geithner will be leaving the Treasury to return to dreamy Larchmont, N.Y. Two of the strongest contenders to replace him are Vincent Mai, one of Wall Street’s finest, former head of AEA Investors and a Democrat; and David Rubenstein, cofounder of the Carlyle Group. Another possibility is Kenneth Chenault, who runs American Express. Never count out Roger Altman, financial success and former Treasury No. 2.
Other foreign policy and national security stars to watch: Heather Hurlburt, who runs the National Security Network; Suzanne Nossel, who recently left a key post at the State Department; Daniel Feldman of the State Department; foreign-policy expert Nina Hachigian; and defense expert Brian Katulis; and Diamond Derek Chollet, now of the NSC staff. There are also three standouts at the Council on Foreign Relations: Elizabeth Economy on China, Isobel Coleman on international economics, and Julia Sweig on Latin America. The stars from this pack certain to haul in high posts are Jake Sullivan, now director of the State Department Policy Planning staff; and Mathew Spence, formerly special assistant to Tom Donilon

Other foreign policy and national security stars to watch: Heather Hurlburt, who runs the National Security Network; Suzanne Nossel, who recently left a key post at the State Department; Daniel Feldman of the State Department; foreign-policy expert Nina Hachigian; and defense expert Brian Katulis; and Diamond Derek Chollet, now of the NSC staff. There are also three standouts at the Council on Foreign Relations: Elizabeth Economy on China, Isobel Coleman on international economics, and Julia Sweig on Latin America. The stars from this pack certain to haul in high posts are Jake Sullivan, now director of the State Department Policy Planning staff; and Mathew Spence, formerly special Assistant to Tom Donilon.
 
 
For a Republican president, the national security adviser job might go to Richard Haass, now president of the Council on Foreign Relations; Richard Burt, former ambassador to Germany; Dov Zakheim, former senior official in the Pentagon; and a number of senior military officers who have worked closely with Republicans over the years. Good money is also being placed on Nick Burns, the former super diplomat now at Harvard. Burns could serve the Democrats as well.


Foggy Bottom could turn out to be home to Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.); Richard Armitage, former No. 2 at state to Colin Powell; and Jon Huntsman, former ambassador to China and a Republican candidate for president. And if she seeks a return to State Department haunts, Paula Dobriansky will land a top position. Then, of course, there’s Michele Bachmann’s husband, Marcus, who can bring his “pray the gay away” philosophy to American diplomacy.

At the Department of Defense, Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina is bound to be high on the list. Mike Mullen, the retired former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, would be a leading candidate along with former four-star Army Gen. David Petraeus, now hidden away at the CIA. Bill Kristol might accept the job if the Department of Defense returns to its old and glorious name, the War Department.

Treasury, a Republican president might well turn to Robert Zoellick, now president of the World Bank and formally a senior official in several Republican administrations. Jamie Dimon, now chairman of JPMorgan Chase and an amateur boxer when he was unemployed for two years, might be another name discussed. Paul Ryan, the Tea Party congressman of draconian budget fame, also will be part of the Treasury mix. A long shot may be former IBM chief Louis Gerstner.


Upcoming foreign-policy stars for the Republicans don’t have a substantial presence in the op-ed pages and journals and at foreign-policy conferences. One name that keeps popping up is Peter Schweizer of the Hoover Institution and someone who helped out half-Gov. Sarah Palin. Former George W. Bush national security adviser on Iraq Brett McGurk, emerging whiz, is also a contender, as is Danielle Pletka of the American Enterprise Institute. And someone named Hannah Montana

Corruption has reached a crisis level, Kadaga says

The Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga has admitted that corruption in Uganda has reached “crisis” levels but guaranteed that the 9th Parliament would ruthlessly fight a vice that has bedevilled the NRM administration.

“I believe corruption is at a crisis level. It has become a malignant that all of us are used to it,” Ms Kadaga said.

She added that the 9th Parliament will not tolerate any corruption tendecies in government. Her comments were contained in a message read out on her behalf by Ndorwa West MP David Bahati on Tuesday at the end of the annual general meeting of the 5th East African Association of Anti-Corruption Authorities held in Entebbe.

To back her claim, the Speaker said research had shown that up to 20 per cent of the budgets for the East African member states end up in the pockets of the corrupt while millions continue to wallow in poverty.

She said the region is at a crossroads as corruption robs hardworking citizens of the opportunity to live better lives. “It is because of corruption that Africa continues to grapple with challenges of inadequate infrastructure, poverty, war, disease, famine, high maternal and infant mortality rates,” said the Kamuli Woman MP.


Discussions at the two-day conference focused on the strategies of promoting zero tolerance to corruption in East Africa.

Development hindered

Several delegates from Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan attended the conference. Despite a wide array of machinery at the government’s disposal to fight graft, the vice continues to blight development in the country, delegates heard.

That reality has left some like Judge John Bosco Katutsi, the former head of the Anti-Corruption Court, concluding that graft can only be solved if the culprits are hanged like it’s done in China. The World Bank, a few years ago, said at least Shs500 billion is lost due to graft in Uganda annually.

Ms Kadaga said Parliament had instituted measures to fight graft like the enactment of the Anti-Corruption Act, which strengthened the penalties for corruption offences.

She also cited the enactment of the Whistleblowers Protection Act 2010 that provides for protection and reward of individuals who report corruption cases that result in recovery of public funds as well as the National Audit Act 2008, which empowers the Auditor General to scrutinise books of accounts of the entire organisation where government has interest.


The 8th Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee instituted a probe into the multi-billion 2007 Commonwealth meeting in Kampala. That probe saw several high profile government officials implicated in alleged misuses of Chogm funds. Although some of those officials have appeared in court, no convictions have been made.

awesaka@ug.nationmedia.com

DESTINATION 2012.



Barack Obama

  

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Herman Cain



Jon Huntsman

Newt Gingrich

Mitt Romney

Rick Santorum

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 'The Bubble Primary': Republicans Keep Finding a New Flavor of the Week

CHICAGO – Call it “The Bubble Primary.” From Michele Bachmann to Rick Perry, from Herman Cain to Newt Gingrich, it seems like every month there is a new Republican candidate surging to the forefront of the race for the GOP presidential nomination before, just as quickly, fading back into the pack.

In what has already been a wild and wacky primary, with everything from sexual harassment allegations to epic gaffes, only Mitt Romney has held steady at the top of the polls, while the race to emerge as the so-called “Romney alternative” has been an entirely unpredictable roller-coaster ride.

If August belonged to Bachmann, then September was Perry’s, October Cain’s, and now November is Gingrich’s moment in the sun.

“I think it’s for two reasons,” Republican strategist Torie Clarke said. “First of all, the primary means of assessing the candidates is the debates, so whoever performs well there tends to move up. For instance, that helped Newt since he was aggressive and assertive in the debates. Then, as we’ve seen, once you get into the top two or three in the polls, everyone turns their gun sights on you and that scrutiny takes a toll.”

“Bubbles,” she noted, “survive only to a certain altitude.”

In the past four months, “The Bubble Primary” has provided four distinct chapters for four distinct candidates, but thus far, they have all ended – or appear likely to end – with the same result.

In August, Bachmann won the first serious competition in the GOP race, emerging victorious at the Iowa straw poll in Ames. Bachmann’s triumph – evidence of the strength of the Tea Party movement – seemed to indicate that she would be a force to be reckoned with once winter rolled around. After all, the winner of the Iowa caucuses has finished either first or second in Ames every time since the event was first held in 1979.

“We’ve just gotten started,” the Minnesota congresswoman exclaimed after her win in Iowa.

But Bachmann’s success was short-lived. The ensuing few weeks were disastrous for her: First, she joked that Hurricane Irene – the storm that killed more than 30 people along the East Coast – was God’s message to Washington politicians to cut back on federal spending. Then, she lost her campaign manager, Ed Rollins, who promptly said she was no longer one of the frontrunners. To make matters even worse, she said that a vaccine used to prevent cervical cancer could cause mental retardation, a claim widely refuted by the medical community.

More importantly than any of her gaffes or staff changes, perhaps, was the fact that Bachmann’s victory in Ames was blunted by Perry’s entrance into the race that very same weekend. No sooner had the brash Texas governor thrown his hat into the primary ring than he shot straight to the top of the polls. A CNN/ORC International poll in late September showed Perry leading the GOP field with 28 percent support, followed by Romney at 21 percent. With the likes of Sarah Palin and Chris Christie not running for the White House, Republicans, it seemed, were finally coalescing around their chosen candidate.

But it didn’t last long. Perry’s stunning loss to Cain in the Florida straw poll in September turned out to be an ominous sign of things to come for his campaign. Over the next month, it was Cain, the former Godfather’s Pizza CEO, who embarked on a surprising run to the front of the Republican field. By the time Perry committed the biggest gaffe of the race thus far – blanking on the name of the third federal agency that he had proposed to eliminate at last week’s Michigan debate – the Texas governor was plummeting and the little-known businessman was soaring.

Could Cain – who had never before held any elective office – really shock the political world and secure the GOP nomination? Just when it was starting to seem like Cain might have some staying power, his bubble started to burst.

First, a slew of sexual harassment allegations were leveled against him at the end of October. Then, weeks later, he suffered his own brain freeze, albeit a less prominent one than Perry’s: In an interview with the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel board, he stumbled and bumbled his way through a straightforward question about whether or not he agreed with President Obama’s response to the Libyan uprising.

Out with the old, in with the new. Cue the Gingrich surge. After a few months of dismal poll numbers, a mass staff exodus and bizarre campaign decisions – Gingrich and his wife, Callista, went on a cruise of the Greek Isles last summer – the former House speaker was suddenly flying high. A CNN poll of GOP voters this week showed Gingrich hot on the heels of Romney, trailing only 22 percent to 24 percent, compared to only a month ago, when he faced a far larger 26 percent to 8 percent gap. Gingrich himself has acknowledged that he is part of an audition to be “the conservative alternative” to Romney, but can he ride his sudden momentum into January?

If the recent history of the Republican primary is any indication, Gingrich will face a real challenge to stay on top for long. In fact, the backlash against him has already begun. Bloomberg News reported this week that Gingrich made between $1.6 million and $1.8 million in consulting fees from mortgage giant Freddie Mac, the government-run company that played such a prominent role in the nation’s devastating housing crisis. Freddie Mac’s chief lobbyist, Mitchell Delk, told Bloomberg that the two once met about a program to expand homeownership, including “what the benefits could be for Republicans and particularly their relationship with Hispanics.”

For the most part, Gingrich has had a positive relationship with Latinos. Last month, he accused his party of “incompetence” in losing the Latino vote. Last year, he went so far as to praise the DREAM Act, the Democrats’ bill that would help undocumented students who came to this country before age 16 become legal residents after five years by completing higher education or military service. In an interview with Jorge Ramos on Univision’s “Al Punto” in the fall of 2010, Gingrich noted that “there are parts of the DREAM Act that are actually quite useful.” Two months later, Senate Republicans shot down the bill in Congress.

However, Gingrich has also had his run-ins with Latinos. In 2007, he called Spanish “the language of living in a ghetto,” a comment for which he later apologized.

All of these issues will now come to the fore as rival campaigns seek to burst Gingrich’s bubble. Thus far, Gingrich has managed to stay on the fringes of the GOP’s debates, picking more fights with the moderators than with his rivals. But now that many of the candidates are looking up at Gingrich in the polls, that is sure to change. Just ask Perry: When he emerged earlier this fall as the party’s frontrunner, he was on the receiving end of so many attacks that he said he felt like “a pinata.”

In addition to Gingrich, Cain, Perry and Bachmann, another candidate warrants mentioning. Ron Paul only lost the Iowa straw poll to Bachmann by 152 votes, and the Texas congressman is currently in a virtual statistical tie for the lead in the Hawkeye State. According to a Bloomberg poll this week, Cain is in first with 20 percent, followed by Paul at 19 percent, Romney at 18 percent, and Gingrich at 17 percent. A whopping 60 percent of likely caucus-goers said they could still be persuaded to vote for someone other than their current first choice, yet another indication of “The Bubble Primary.”

“I’ve never seen it this wide open,” a top Republican operative in the state said late last month.

Will we see the rise of Rick Santorum next? Is the Jon Huntsman jump coming up soon?

“Every week, it’s like you get a stiff neck watching people go up and down,” Huntsman’s daughter Abby said on ABC News’ “Top Line” Wednesday. “It’s like, who’s going to be next, you know?”

So what does “The Bubble Primary” all mean? According to Clarke, the nature of the race thus far is partly because of the fact that Republican voters are not only thinking about which candidate they favor, but which one stands the best shot of winning the White House next year.

“Some people might look at that and say voters are being fickle or not sticking with their guys. I don’t think that’s it,” she said. “I think a wide swath of Republicans are prepared to set aside their most fervent beliefs and say, ‘What I want is someone who can beat President Obama.’ Republicans tend to be very litmus-testy – ‘If a candidate doesn’t agree with me on certain issues, then forget them.’ But I think that’s dropping away a little bit. Now people are saying, ‘This may not be the perfect candidate, but I want a candidate who can win.’”

It is up for debate whether or not the ever-changing views of Republican voters in their search for the “Romney alternative” bode well for the former Massachusetts governor. The anti-Romney argument would be that despite high name recognition, he has yet to convince the majority of his party – especially the Tea Party – that he is their best candidate for the White House, leaving voters searching for someone else to latch onto. On the other hand, the pro-Romney argument would be that he boasts a solid, unwavering block of support – and that thus far voters have yet to coalesce around an alternative to him, leaving him at the head of the pack.

In addition, Romney enjoys the advantage of a larger war chest than any of his rivals, the experience of his 2008 run for the nomination, and the electability factor: He is the only Republican to poll ahead of President Obama in head-to-head matchups.

“These elections, especially when you talk about general elections, are marathons,” said Clarke. “You have to be in it for the long haul. That’s where Romney is strong, both from an organizational standpoint and an experience standpoint. The conventional wisdom is that ‘the flavor of the week’ phenomenon is a reflection on him. I see less of that. He’s been in there a long time. He’s performed well at the debates. He’s demonstrating that he is in it for the long haul.”

In a recent column for the Washington Examiner, Michael Barone, a senior political analyst there, said that the Tea Party has upset the conventional political order, comparing the group to the peace movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s.

“New movements prove troublesome for the political pros, and nowhere more than in the most problematic part of our political system, the presidential nominating process,” Barone wrote. “Peaceniks and Tea Partiers naturally want nominees who are true to their vision. They are ready to support newcomers and little-vetted challengers over veteran incumbents who have voted the wrong way on issues they care about.”

“Mitt Romney is next in line,” Barone wrote, “but some of his past positions are – how to put this politely? – in tension with those of the Tea Party movement. Tea Party types have been scrambling to settle on an alternative, so far without success.”

With only a month and a half left before the first primary votes are cast in the Iowa caucus, one thing is clear: The GOP race is still very much up for grabs. Romney remains the frontrunner, but “The Bubble Primary” shows that Republicans are still looking for another candidate, even if to date they are yet to find the one they want.

After all, the nature of bubbles is that sooner or later, they always burst.

Matthew Jaffe is covering the 2012 campaign for ABC News and Univision.

Ron Paul

Russian military chief: War risks have grown

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia's chief military officer says the nation is facing an increased threat of being drawn into conflicts at its borders that may grow into an all-out nuclear war.
Gen. Nikolai Makarov, chief of the General Staff, pointed at NATO's expansion eastward and said Thursday that the risks for Russia to be pulled into local conflicts have "risen sharply." He added, according to Russian news agencies wires, that "under certain conditions local and regional conflicts may develop into a full-scale war involving nuclear weapons."

steady decline of Russia's conventional forces has prompted the Kremlin to rely increasingly on nuclear deterrent. Its military doctrine says it may use nuclear weapons to counter a nuclear attack on Russia or an ally, or a large-scale conventional attack that threatens Russia's existence.

Sharia Feat 2pee.Lacoo Ma Lagii.

http://www.frequency.com/video/sharia-feat-2pee-lacoo-ma-lagii-man-who/21758184

East Africa dares UK on homosexuality



Zanzibar President Ali Mohammed Shein argues, “Changing the law simply because we need aid is next to impossible. We have our values….That is not acceptable; we would rather do without it.” 

Dar es salaam. Tanzania, Zanzibar, and other East African states have said they will not accept overtures from United Kingdom to grant legal rights to homosexuality.

Zanzibar President Ali Mohammed Shein on Thursday said his government will not abide by demands from Britain to introduce laws to protect members of the gay community.

“That is an issue not acceptable in this society and we are not going to amend or introduce any laws to grant such rights,” Shein told journalists.

The Zanzibar President spoke on a day that Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Minister Mr Bernard Membe and his Gender, Children and Community Development counterpart, Ms Sophia Simba, spoke strongly against the UK’s push for the common wealth to officially embrace gays.

Like Dr Shein, the two ministers said Tanzania will not yield or succumb to pressure of any kind following UK Prime Minister David Cameron’s threats to cut development aid to countries that did not recognise gay rights.

“Changing the law simply because we need aid is next to impossible. We have our values. That is not acceptable; we would rather do without it,” declared Dr Shein.


The Zanzibar President was speaking at a meeting in State House during a wide ranging interview during which he gave an overview of his administration’s performance in the one year of Zanzibar’s Government of National Unity.
In Dar es Salaam, Mr Membe, said Tanzania will not listen to any country that tried to influence its decisions regarding whether to accept the unnatural sex relations.


“We have our own culture and it should be known and understood that we shall not receive any command from anywhere using whatever sanctions to undermine our way of living. UK should understand this,” the minister said at a press conference in his office.

It was the first major statement by the State following recent remarks attributed to Mr Cameron, who was quoted as threatening aid cuts to countries that continue to ban the practice which has taken root mainly in the western world. The UK position was raised informally during the recent meeting of the Commonwealth Heads of State in Perth, Australia. President Jakaya Kikwete and Mr Membe represented Tanzania.

On Wednesday, Mr Membe termed as “dangerous,” the move by UK to tie aid to the gay issue.

UK’s Queen Elizabeth II is the custodian of common wealth club comprising 54 states that were formally colonised by Britain. It was reported that during the Perth meeting, only 13 countries were receptive of the Cameron advances.

Kenya and Uganda have also voiced opposition on the same matter. Officials in these countries said they would rather miss aid than approve gay movement.

Makerere tries out its electric car today



The Kiira EV model developed by Makerere University Students. PHOTO BY FAISWAL KASIRYE 


Makerere University students will this afternoon test drive their first electric car after three years of making.

The Kiira EV made by the College of Engineering, Design, Art and Technology students, is the first electric vehicle to be made in Uganda.

The team leader, Mr Paul Musasizi, said the car is a clear demonstration of existence of innovation and skill at the university.

“When we started the project, we wanted to demonstrate that Uganda has as good talent as that in the US or Germany and now that this is over, we expect and want it to be taken up,” Mr Musasizi said.

Waiting on production
The vehicle is a two-seater with a theoretical speed of 200km/hr and 150km/hr practically because of its light weight. It can be charged after running 80km.

“We named it Kiira EV because we are fascinated about green energy and the first electricity generation in Uganda was at Kiira,” Mr Musasizi said of its naming.


It remains to be seen if the success of this vehicle can be translated into actual production.


Mr Musasizi said in an interview that the innovation demonstrates the faculty’s commitment to green transportation and that work has already started on a 28-seater public electric transport vehicle.

The vehicle is designed to replace the current diesel and petrol engine cars. Similar innovations have been made by car makers in Japan, German, France and the US.

Inspiration

Although some components of the car like the steering wheel and other minor accessories were imported from manufacturers outside Uganda, most parts of the car including the core body and combustion system were designed and built locally with the assistance of local craftsmen in places such as Katwe, an innovation suburb in Kampala.

The Kiira project is a run-up to Vision 200, a car made by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which attracted the participation of Makerere University students in 2008.


Inspired by the first project, the students and university decided to launch their project in 2009.

It is one of the three science and technology projects at the faculty that were allocated Shs4.5 billion this financial year. The other projects include; the Laboratory Infrastructure and Industrial Training.

The vehicle will be publicly tested at the faculty tomorrow and officially launched by the President later in the month.

Point Blank - Uganda police men defecates on Besigye's compound. Eheheh

A CITY OF UNHAPPINESS- Hong Kong.

Despite its growing wealth, Hong Kong is a city of increasing discontent, writes Anthony B.L. Cheung, a member of its appointed Executive Council (cabinet) and president of the Hong Kong Institute of Education. The income gap is becoming acute, with both lower-income and middle class residents growing alienated by the government’s inability to tackle social and political problems effectively. Hong Kong needs more visionary leadership, he concludes.

By Anthony B.L. Cheung




HONG KONG’S FINANCIAL CENTER IN A REGIONAL AND GLOBAL CONTEXT

By Louis W. Pauly

The city’s financial sector has become a world leader thanks mainly to the economic boom in next-door China, according to Louis W. Pauly of the University of Toronto, though in many areas Hong Kong cannot match Singapore as a regional center. Looking ahead, he believes its government cannot continue to rely on its traditional laissez-faire attitude and low tax regime to remain competitive; it must become more energetic and innovative if the city is to have the qualities needed by a prosperous global financial center.


UNITY PROBLEMS IN HONG KONG’S PRO-DEMOCRACY MOVEMENT

By Chan Kin Man

Though most of Hong Kong’s political activists agree on the need to introduce a long-promised universal suffrage for local elections, tactical and personality disputes have split the pro-democracy camp, writes Chan Kin Man, Director of the Centre for Civil Society Studies at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and a leading member of the group that negotiated a political reform plan with Beijing officials. He worries that continued division will slow adoption of a more democratic voting system, perhaps serving China’s interests but not those of the Hong Kong people.


ELECTORAL REFORM IN HONG KONG: FROM SCHEDULE TO SUBSTANCE

By Lorenz Langer

There has been too much foot-dragging in the process of moving Hong Kong toward a universal suffrage voting system, according to Lorenz Langer, a law professor at the Institute of International Law of the University of Zurich. The governments of both China and Hong Kong have cited concerns about preserving stability as they repeatedly delay implementation of local democracy. But Professor Langer argues that only real threat to social stability is a continued refusal to move faster toward a goal that most people want.


THE LONG HISTORY OF THE UNITED FRONT IN HONG KONG

By Cindy Yik-yi Chu

Ever since 1937, the Chinese Communist Party, with Zhou Enlai playing a key role, has pursued a common front policy with Hong Kong businessmen to advance its shifting goals—from fighting Japanese invaders to replacing British rulers, writes Cindy Yik-yi Chu, professor of history at the Hong Kong Baptist University. It found big business leaders particularly amenable and formed several front groups to jointly promote Beijing’s political aims. According to Professor Chu, these common front tactics continue to the present day and help China project a positive image within Hong Kong.


RESILIENT REFUGEES: HONG KONGERS COME HOME

By Nan M. Sussman

More than 800,000 Hong Kong residents left what was then a British colony after London and Beijing decided in 1984 to return it to Chinese sovereignty—but an estimated 500,000 have since returned, according to Nan M. Sussman, professor of psychology at the City University of New York. Their years abroad changed them in many ways, yet most have acclimated successfully into local society though with cultural and professional differences; a preference for “both steak and dim sum,” she writes.


COMMENTARY: NO PROGRESS ON LEADING ISSUES PRODUCES A MID-YEAR MALAISE

By Robert Keatley

Behind Hong Kong’s glitzy but deceptive exterior, social frictions grew worse as little was done to resolve festering economic and political problems, writes Robert Keatley, editor of the Hong Kong Journal. The government’s main financial move was to plan refunding a budget surplus to individual residents rather than devise a longer term welfare, public health or education policy. Soaring home prices, high inflation and a sense of decreased social mobility, among other things, fed public discontent which culminated in massive July 1 protest march.



Read More >     http://www.hkjournal.org/

Guatemala, Morocco, Pakistan and Togo elected to Security Council

General Assembly delegates applaud Morocco after it was elected as a non-permanent member of the Security Council

October 2011 – Guatemala, Morocco, Pakistan and Togo will serve as non-permanent members of the 15-member Security Council in 2012-13 after winning their seats during elections held earlier today at United Nations Headquarters in New York.


But a fifth vacant seat, which is allocated to an Eastern European country, remains unfilled after no country passed the necessary threshold during nine rounds of voting.

UN Member States voted in the General Assembly by secret ballot for five non-permanent seats divided by geographical grouping – three from Africa and the Asia-Pacific region, one from Eastern Europe, and one from Latin America and the Caribbean.

To win election, a country must receive a two-thirds majority of those countries present and voting, regardless of whether or not they are the only candidate in their region. Voting continues until the threshold is reached for the required number of seats.

Guatemala received 191 votes and was duly elected to the Latin America and Caribbean seat, Assembly President Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser announced after the conclusion of the first round of voting this morning.

Morocco received 151 votes and Pakistan received 129 votes in the first round, which means they were elected to two of the three seats allocated to Africa and the Asia-Pacific. Morocco has served twice previously on the Council – in 1963-64 and again in 1992-93. Pakistan has served on six previous occasions, most recently in 2003-04.

Togo (119 votes), Mauritania (98), Kyrgyzstan (55) and Fiji (one) did not receive enough votes in the first round, and during a second, restricted round of voting Togo again received 119 votes while Mauritania obtained 72.

But in a third round of voting, Togo obtained 131 votes, above the two-thirds threshold, and was therefore elected. Mauritania received 61 votes. It will be the second time in its history that Togo has served on the Security Council, with the first stint taking place in 1982-83.

In the Eastern European category, after nine rounds of voting, no country had met the two-thirds majority threshold. Voting will resume on Monday. In the ninth round of balloting, Azerbaijan obtained 113 votes and Slovenia received 77 votes.

Today’s elections were held to replace the departing members of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Gabon, Lebanon and Nigeria.

The new members will join Colombia, Germany, India, Portugal and South Africa, whose terms end on 31 December 2012, and the five permanent Council members, which each wield the power of veto – China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Muammar Gaddafi killed as Sirte falls - Africa - Al Jazeera English

Muammar Gaddafi killed as Sirte falls - Africa - Al Jazeera English

The day Idi Amin wanted to annex western Kenya

Former Uganda’s President Idi Amin Dada chairs the 12th Organization of African Unity (OAU, OUA) summit in August 1975 in Kampala. Picture: AFP

The dispute between Uganda and Kenya regarding the ownership of Migingo Island in Lake Victoria rekindles memories of another dramatic flare-up in 1976, when Ugandan President Al-Haji Field Marshal Idi Amin Dada attempted to redraw the boundaries of the two count

Migingo among other border disputes

Land dispute threatens RVR concession
Amin wanted back all Kenyan districts that were part of Uganda before the colonial re-demarcation of the territorial boundaries. These included Turkana, part of Lake Rudolf (now Lake Turkana), West Pokot, Tranz-Nzioa, Bungoma, Busia, Kakamega, Central Nyanza, South Nyanza, Narok, Kisii, Kericho, Nakuru, Uasin Gishu, Elgeyo, Marakwet, Nyandarua, Nandi, Kisumu, Eldoret, Tambach, Maji Moto, Maji Mazuri, Gilgil, Nakuru, Lake Baringo and Naivasha.

He claimed that these areas were very fertile and produced nearly all the wealth in Kenya.
He backed down only when President Jomo Kenyatta threatened to block Uganda’s imports through the port of Mombasa.

Past geography

While opening the Lotuturu Self-help Mobilisation Scheme, 83 kilometres north of Kitgum in East Acholi District of northern Uganda on February 14, 1976, president Amin issued a statement in which he claimed he was informing the people of Uganda about their past geography.

The Voice of Uganda newspaper edition of February 16, 1976, reported that Amin directed that every Ugandan should buy a pamphlet, that was being published, detailing the boundaries of the country.

He said Uganda’s borders were beyond Juba and Torit in the Sudan and all areas of western Kenya, up to about 30 km from Nairobi.

Following the scramble and partition of Africa by imperial powers in 1884, Uganda fell into the British sphere of influence. Uganda was later divided into six provinces in 1902.

These were: Rudolf Province, which included the Turkana and Karasuk; Eastern Province, which included Nandi, Kavirondo, Eldoret, Naivasha, Maasai, up to the border with Tanzania; Central Province, which included Karamoja, Sebei, Mumias, Busoga and Bukedi; Buganda Province, which included Entebbe, Masaka, Kampala, Bugangaizi and Buruli; Nile Province, which included the whole of the present Nile Province, Lango, Acholi, Juba, and Baragazalo which is about 600 miles away from Kampala; Western Province, which included Rwenzori, Boga, Hoima and Masindi.

“In order to educate the public mind of all the sections of Uganda, I also promised that I will be providing geographical and historical facts as documented by the British colonial administration on the transfer of Uganda’s lands thereby affecting its boundary,” Amin wrote in his book titled, The Shaping of Modern Uganda And Administrative Divisions, published in 1976.

“In stating this, I had in my possession a document indicating that with the appointment of Sir Harry Johnson, the British government gave a clear mandate for this Special Commissioner to arrange and reorganise the internal administration of Uganda including its external boundary, particularly in the British sphere of influences which Johnson did from 1st July, 1899 to December, 1901,” Amin added in the book published by the defunct Government Printer in Entebbe.

“Uganda’s boundary outside the British sphere of influence was still a matter being debated in European capitals. However, Britain knew that certain land-marks such as the watershed of River Nile and the Congo in the northwest and the whole floor of Western Rift Valley including Mufumbiro Mountains lay in the British sphere and it only required actual survey on the ground,” Amin argued.

Assuring his neighbours, Amin added: “There was no intention of Uganda claiming an inch of any territory of her neighbours, whether Kenya, Sudan, Zaire (Congo), etc. As a firm believer in OAU [now AU] and as its Chairman, I know of the OAU July Resolution of 1964 which ‘solemnly declares that all member states pledge themselves to respect the borders existing on their achievement of national independence.”

Noble objectives
“In order to make Ugandans understand the noble objectives, I consider it necessary to explain to them their past recorded geographical and historical connections as before the partition of Africa by imperial powers at the Berlin Conference of 1884, the African nations knew of no national boundaries although after the attainment of independence, through blood and sweat, Africans knew of their boundaries. All of them had blood relations across their borders,” Amin wrote.


Migingo among other border disputes
Land dispute threatens RVR concession
Stressing that he was informing people without any intentions for war nor advocating any changes, Amin said he had a written agreement signed by the then British colonial secretary of state Herbert Asquith, transferring some parts of Uganda to Sudan in 1914 and to Kenya in 1926.

Had the colonial British administrators not given away some of Uganda’s soil, Juba and Torit in South Sudan, the whole of the Rift Valley Province and northwestern Kenya would today be Uganda.

Insisting that the British would have to answer for transferring certain areas of Uganda to Sudan and Kenya, Amin said nearly the whole of South Sudan from Nimule, Juba, Gondokoro and the area around Torit, which extends right up to the present-day border with Ethiopia, was under the administration of Uganda until 1914 when it was transferred by the British colonialists by the order of secretary of state under 1902 Uganda Order in Council.

The area just north of Kitgum after the Uganda/Sudan border was Uganda’s territory until 1927. Nile Province had been transferred to Sudan in 1910 by the British and it was not until 1914 that Nile Province was transferred back to Uganda.

Amin argued that the British colonialists made several mistakes when they were making territorial demarcations.

Amin said that God was not a fool to have allocated this land to Uganda and wondered why the British did not transfer other areas that were not fertile.

He said the fact that the area the British transferred to Kenya from Uganda was one of the most fertile areas in East Africa would be enough to provoke him to go to war to reclaim the land but he would not do that because he was a leader who wanted peace to prevail in the world, Voice of Uganda reported.

If, however, the people in these areas, which were transferred to Kenya, were not happy with the administration, they should be allowed to have their own government.
Amin said that his duty as the supreme commander of the Uganda Armed Forces was to liberate all Uganda’s territories. He said this was also part of Field Marshal Amin Operation to Correct Mistakes Made by the Britons.

Amin stated that he had no intention of going to war with any country, warned that Uganda being a land-locked country, if any country interfered with the transportation of her imports and exports to and from the sea, that would provoke him to go to war.

Amin said he would always speak the truth and feared nobody except God, Voice of Uganda reported on February 21, 1976.
Amin said when he declared the Economic War in 1972, he promised that he would correct all the mistakes made by the British. He added that the British knew he was telling the truth.

Dispute with Sudan

Uganda has had other boundary disputes with its neighbours.

In 2005, Sudan claimed a five-kilometre stretch of customary boundary from the Madi and Aringa people in northwestern Uganda.

The Sudanese accused the Madi of Moyo and Yumbe districts in Uganda of extending their administrative structures inside their land.


Migingo among other border disputes

Land dispute threatens RVR concession
In 2009, tensions rose when the Congolese began building a police post in a contested area near the Ugandan Customs point at Goli, along the Uganda-DR Congo border in Nebbi District of West Nile.

The police post was being built within 50 metres of Goli, which Uganda considered a buffer zone. This caused unnecessary anxiety since the area is among those the two countries agreed to verify the location of through a Joint Permanent Commission.

Earlier in 2008 the Congolese had caused another controversy when they shifted their border point from five kilometres to within 200 metres of the Ugandan crossing point at Vurra in Arua District of West Nile. This was one of those areas to be decided upon by the Joint Permanent Commission.

Floating island

Uganda and Congo also have a dispute over the ownership of Rukwanzi Island, a “floating island” in Lake Albert. The recent discovery of oil under Lake Albert exacerbated the territorial dispute over the ownership of the island. The 12 square kilometre area is home to about 3,000 people, mostly fishermen.

Troops from Uganda and the DR Congo exchanged gunfire near Rukwanzi Island in August 2007, leaving several people dead, including a British contractor who worked for an oil company.

Nato joins attack on Gaddafi bastion

The BBC's Paul Wood on the road to Sirte as rockets are fired at Gaddafi loyalists

The BBC's Paul Wood on the road to Sirte as rockets are fired at Gaddafi loyalists

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Where is Col Gaddafi?

Who might lead after Gaddafi?

Tripoli resident: Wary of snipers

British Tornado jets fired precision-guided missiles against a large bunker in Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said.

The Tornadoes took off from RAF Marham in Norfolk on a long-range strike mission on Thursday night.
Libyan rebels are also building up their forces on the road to Sirte, sending tanks and rocket launchers.

Rebel leaders have appealed to foreign governments to unfreeze Libyan funds.

The UN has already agreed to release $1.5bn (£1bn) in Libyan assets - which had been frozen under sanctions - to help with immediate humanitarian needs.

Closing in

In a statement, the MoD said "a formation of Tornado GR4s... fired a salvo of Storm Shadow precision-guided missiles against a large headquarters bunker" in Sirte.



Defence Secretary Liam Fox:



The bunker housed a command and control centre. There is no indication that Col Gaddafi was in Sirte or in the bunker itself at the time of the attack.

Defence Secretary Liam Fox: "The Nato mission remains the protection of the civilian population"
"It's not a question of finding Gaddafi, it's ensuring the regime does not have the capability to continue waging war against its own people," Defence Secretary Liam Fox told the BBC.

"The attack that we launched on the bunker in Sirte last night was to make sure that there was no alternative command and control should the regime try to leave Tripoli."

Nato warplanes also targeted 29 vehicles mounted with weapons near Sirte and bombed surface-to-air missile facilities near Tripoli, the alliance said at a daily briefing in Brussels.

Meanwhile, the rebels are building up their forces around the town of Bin Jawad, preparing for an assault on Sirte, about 100km (60 miles) to the west.

The BBC's Paul Wood, who is with the rebels, says their mood is still buoyant, despite running into unexpectedly stiff resistance.

Rebel commanders think the fighting on the road to Sirte could last another three or four days, our correspondent says.

The rebel administration, the National Transitional Council (NTC), has begun moving to Tripoli, although many senior figures remain in the eastern stronghold of Benghazi.

Speaking in Istanbul, the head of the rebel government, Mahmoud Jibril, said the uprising could fall apart if funds were not forthcoming quickly.

"The biggest destabilising element would be the failure... to deliver the necessary services and pay the salaries of the people who have not been paid for months," he said.

In the Libyan capital, Tripoli, there is continued fighting in the Abu Salim district, one of the last areas loyal to Col Gaddafi.

A Scottish nurse working at the hospital in Abu Salim, Karen Graham, told the BBC they were "overwhelmed" with casualties.

"All the staff were just doing the best we can, but we were literally inundated," she said. "We'd just clear one lot of casualties and the next lot would be getting brought in. Our theatre just couldn't cope... This is the first time we've had such a vast number of people in."

Human rights group Amnesty International says it has evidence that both pro-Gaddafi forces and rebels abused detainees in their care.

Guards loyal to Col Gaddafi raped child detainees at Abu Salim prison, Amnesty said. It also accused rebels of beating prisoners, including a boy conscripted by Gaddafi forces who surrendered to the rebels at Bir Tirfas.

Summary executions

The UN is to investigate reports of summary killings and torture through its existing commission of inquiry on Libya.

"We urge all those in positions of authority in Libya, including field commanders, to take active steps to ensure that no crimes, or acts of revenge, are committed," UN spokesman Rupert Colville told Reuters.

The UN has previously said some military action in Libya could amount to war crimes or crimes against humanity.

The BBC's Rupert Wingfield-Hayes visited a hospital in the Mitiga district of Tripoli which had received the bodies of 17 rebel fighters.

Doctors said the group had been prisoners of Gaddafi troops in Tripoli and were tortured and killed as the rebels seized the capital earlier this week.

Dr Hoez Zaitan, a British medic working at the hospital, said about half the bodies had bullet wounds to the back of the head while others had disfiguring injuries to their limbs and hands.

He said the bodies had been examined for possible evidence to be used at a war crimes tribunal.

Strauss-Kahn New York sexual assault case dismissed

A New York judge has dismissed the sexual assault case against former IMF director Dominique Strauss-Kahn

The move came as prosecutors cited doubts over the credibility of his accuser, 32-year-old hotel maid Nafissatou Diallo.

Mr Strauss-Kahn, 62, was accused in May of attacking the African immigrant as she entered his hotel room to clean it.

The ruling means he is a free man, though he still faces a civil suit Ms Diallo filed this month.

"Our inability to believe the complainant beyond a reasonable doubt means, in good faith, that we could not ask a jury to do that," Assistant District Attorney Joan Illuzzi-Orbon told Judge Michael Obus.

'Hurried sexual encounter'

The dismissal of criminal charges at the New York State Supreme Court will take effect once the judge rules on an appeal against the move.

Mr Strauss-Kahn, considered a French presidential contender before the case, arrived for the hearing in lower Manhattan on Tuesday in a six-car motorcade with his wife Anne Sinclair.

Outside, about two dozen placard-waving protesters denounced the result, their cries audible from the packed courtroom on the 13th floor.




Outside court a noisy group of demonstrators - mostly feminists and socialist activists - urged the judge not to drop the case. "Another rich powerful man gets away with whatever he pleases," read one banner.


Amid the chanting, a lone voice shouted, "she's a liar, she's a liar". It came from an African woman in a black cloak and headscarf. Brandishing a signboard that questioned in lurid detail Nafissatou Diallo's virtue, the woman claimed Mr Strauss-Kahn's accuser, an African immigrant, had tried to frame him.

In fact, prosecutors asked for the charges to be dropped not necessarily because they believed the former IMF head to be innocent, but because they had lost confidence in the hotel maid's credibility. Mr Strauss-Kahn looked pleased, but not jubilant, and gave his wife a small smile.

The combustible mix of sex, race and class presented by the case has particular resonance here. With a civicase now pending, interest will probably rumble on in America if not in Europe.

Ms Diallo claimed Mr Strauss-Kahn had confronted her in his luxury hotel suite in the city on 14 May and forced her to perform oral sex.

Prosecutors said DNA evidence had found that a "hurried" sexual encounter did occur between the two, but it did not establish Ms Diallo's claim that it was non-consensual.

In a statement released by his legal team on Tuesday, Mr Strauss-Kahn said: "These past two-and-a-half months have been a nightmare for me and my family.

"I want to thank all the friends in France and in the United States who have believed in my innocence, and to the thousands of people who sent us their support personally and in writing.

"I am most deeply grateful to my wife and family who have gone through this ordeal with me."

He added: "We will have nothing further to say about this matter and we look forward to returning to our home and resuming something of a more normal life."


Rush to judgment'

Outside the court on Tuesday, Mr Strauss-Kahn's lawyer, William Taylor, accused the media, police and prosecutors of a "collective rush to judgment".


Protesters chanted slogans and waved placards outside the court

I want to remind you how uncritically the media examined this case from the beginning without even looking at the improbability of the story on its face," he said.

In court papers filed on Monday, Manhattan prosecutors said they did not feel at ease pursuing the case, citing deep concerns over Ms Diallo's credibility.

Protesters chanted slogans and waved placards outside the court She "has not been truthful on matters great and small" and has an ability to present "fiction as fact with complete conviction," they wrote.

Medical and DNA evidence, meanwhile, was "simply inconclusive" as proof of a forced sexual encounter, they added.

Mr Strauss-Kahn's was forced from his job as director of the International Monetary Fund after his arrest on board an Air France jet in May.

But within weeks, prosecutors said there were inconsistencies in Ms Diallo's accounts of the alleged assault and of her background.

It was revealed that she had been recorded discussing the case with a jailed friend and appeared to refer to Mr Strauss-Kahn's wealth, which his supporters said pointed to a financial motive.

Prosecutors also said Ms Diallo had not been truthful in tax documents, nor on an asylum application form in her account of a gang rape she said she suffered back in Guinea.



Ms Diallo's lawyer said on Monday that she had been denied justice


AdvertisementMs Diallo's lawyer said on Monday that she had been denied justice

Mr Strauss-Kahn was later freed from his restrictive bail conditions.

Ms Diallo then took the unusual step of giving media interviews, defending her allegations against him, and on 8 August, she filed a civil suit against Mr Strauss-Kahn.

The Frenchman's legal travails are not yet over: authorities in Paris are still considering whether to press charges against him over a claim by French writer Tristane Banon that he tried to rape her during a 2003 interview.

Ms Banon made the allegation after the Diallo case, saying that she feared no-one would have believed her beforehand.

You don’t wait for war to buy fighter jets, says Gen. Museveni

One of the new Russian-made jet fighters prepares for a demonstration take-off during President Museveni’s tour. PHOTO BY MARTIN SSEBUYIRA                

Entebbe

The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Gen. Yoweri Museveni, yesterday conceded calls by opposition for the government to give priority to infrastructure and healthcare ahead of military hardware are plausible but said defence cannot wait for war to purchase equipment.

Mr Museveni, who was inspecting the new planes at the airbase in Entebbe, said the delivery of Sukhoi Su-30 multirole fighters was after a long procurement process. He said he travelled to Russia last year to visit the factory that manufactured the newly-acquired fighter jets that cost government Shs1.2 trillion. He equated the long procurement process of the jets to the procedure a buyer goes through before a tailor finally makes clothes.

“In the 1950s, people had two options when walking in a shop to buy clothes; either to buy the available clothes or be measured by the tailor to make new clothes. I travelled to Russia in August last year to be measured and got brand new planes whose fruits are being seen now,” Mr Museveni said.

He acknowledged the calls by the opposition to build roads, schools and hospitals instead of buying military hardware but said military equipment is not procured during war times. “You don’t wait for war to buy military equipment in security. It’s normally advisable to buy when there is no war,” he said.

Opposition lawmakers have described the procurement as illegal, and accused the government of draining the central bank’s reserves without parliamentary approval.

The purchase of the jets has also been criticised by technocrats, including Bank of Uganda Governor Tumusiime Mutebile. Mr Mutebile in June told the UK’s Financial Times newspaper that he had disagreed with the President over the purchase of fighter jets. But the President said the jets will beef the security capacity of the UPDF. He said the army relied on the M16 helicopters to end the LRA war.

The Russian-built Sukhoi SU-30 jet fighter is a twin-engine, all-weather aircraft, which can be deployed in air-to-air and air-to-surface missions. It can undertake combat missions within a 3,000-kilometre range, affording the UPDF the legroom to strike distant targets with precision and efficiency.

Libya: How U.S. And Moreno Ocampo Destroyed The ICC

Ocampo--The ICC's chief prosecutor has single-handedly destroyed the Court

The International Criminal Court (ICC) at the Hague is an undisguised instrument of Western foreign policy--especially that of the United States.

Ironically, it's a court whose jurisdiction isn't even recognized by the United States, which "unsigned" the Rome Statute creating the Court; yet it acts as a kangaroo court for going after perceived enemies and real opponents of the United States.

The ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo has no credibility. He recently peddled allegations of mass rapes being used as a weapon by the Libyan army, citing the discovery of Viagra in war zones. The report was practically repudiated by a credible organization, Amnesty International.

It was a very sad display by Ocampo, who actually faced a credible allegation of sexual misconduct himself, from a South African journalist in 2005.

Last week Ocampo's court, in a political statement, announced arrest warrants for Libya's Muammar al-Quathafi, his son Saif al-Islam and Intelligence chief Abdullah al-Sanussi. The timing was no coincidence. U.S. support for NATO's war of aggression on Libya has so dissipated that by the end of the summer it won't be surprising if Congress forces the Obama administration to abandon this war of choice.

Ocampo wanted to throw a lifeline to the U.S. Administration by diverting the focus with the arrest warrants; shifting the lead story.

The U.S. is now in a presidential election cycle. Unemployment is at 9.1%, job growth is at snail's pace and the deficit has soared as President Obama averted economic collapse without Republican support. Still, in the U.S., Libya is seen as Obama's and Hillary Clinton's war. No wonder more than 60% of Americans now oppose the Libya misadventure.

France and Britain, former and again aspiring colonial powers in Africa, know U.S. support will evaporate completely by the end of the summer. Assassination attempts on al-Quathafi have failed. That's why in desperation Nicolas Sarkozy has been violating United Nations Resolution 1970, which imposed an arms embargo on Libya, by illegally dropping weapons to the NATO-backed insurrectionists. Will the United Nations punish or sanction France for violating the arms ban?

Don't hold your breath.

At the same time, many African American voters are enraged that President Obama would support the bombardment of an African country on behalf of "rebels" who have embraced a racist philosophy as The Wall Street Journal exposed in a June 21 article. The Journal reports that rebel units in Misrata have been renamed "The Brigade for the Purging of Slaves, Black Skins." The Journal's report affirms the overwhelming evidence, readily available on YouTube, that the NATO-backed insurrectionists have been lynching Black Libyans. The Journal reports that one neighborhood in Misrata that was once four-fifths Black has been emptied of its Black population.

Yet this campaign of ethnic cleansing of Black Libyans has not merited condemnation by The State Department or The White House. We don't expect disapproval from former and aspiring colonial powers France and Britain.

But if Europe can act collectively to violate an African country's sovereignty and promote a civil war and bombardment that claims African lives, is the African Union obligated to just stand and watch?

Libya is engaged in a Western-backed civil war through NATO. During this war, the U.N. has already reported, crimes have been committed by both combatants--the government army and the NATO-backed fighters based primarily in Benghazi. The ICC has ignored abuses by Benghazi, including beheadings. This is because the ICC, at the behest of the Western powers, is reluctant to expose the criminal disposition that would discredit the insurrectionists.

Most shameful of all is that the now repudiated allegations of mass rapes came from ICC Prosecutor Ocampo himself, given his own record. Ocampo is alleged to have coerced a female reporter in South Africa into having sex on March 28, 2005 during a visit for a conference there.

The journalist reportedly interviewed Ocampo at the Lord Charles Hotel, near Cape Town. Ocampo then reportedly insisted on accompanying her to the beach even though she voiced reluctance. Upon return, the two had drinks, and she reportedly declined to accompany him to his bedroom--whereupon, Ocampo is said to have taken her car keys while still at the bar. The reporter was forced to follow him to his room, where she was reportedly coerced into having intercourse with Ocampo in order to get her car keys back.

The woman subsequently reported the forced-sex to an ICC official. Later, when Ocampo's Public Information advisor Christian Palme filed a complaint about the incident, he was terminated by Ocampo. Palme took the matter to the International Labor Tribunal and was awarded monetary compensation.

Ocampo's repudiated allegations of mass rapes in Libya is even more troubling given that real mass rapes of women are actually occurring on a daily basis in the Congo. Why pursue phantom rapists in Libya when real ones exist in eastern Congo?