I would like to thank everbody who followed this blog and commented on it for doing so. I do not know if this will be my last post or not. The reason for this is because this blog was a class project for Religion, Politics, and Media with Professor William Lobdell at University of California: Irvine, where i attend. I was surprised so many people decided to be involved with this blog.
In addition, I want to apologize for everybody whose comments were deleted. For some reason my blog was erased and all the work i had done up until the last couple weeks was erased.
(This post is relevant to the blog because I am explaining ha source of media!)
Thanks again.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Karzai's response to troops surge
In an interview with Christiane Amanpour, Hamid Karzai gave his response to President Obama's announcement for a troop surge in his country, saying that the United States must have patience, and that he is unsure if the intended goal of a 2011 exit plan will be accomplished.
"We will try our best as the Afghan people to do it the soonest possible," Karzai said. "But the international community must have also the patience with us and the realization of the realities in Afghanistan. If it takes longer, then they must be with us."
He gave his goals: to be able to assume security control in some parts of the country in two years, and to lead security for the entire country by the end of his five-year term.
See CNN's full article and Amanpour's interview with Karzai here.
"We will try our best as the Afghan people to do it the soonest possible," Karzai said. "But the international community must have also the patience with us and the realization of the realities in Afghanistan. If it takes longer, then they must be with us."
He gave his goals: to be able to assume security control in some parts of the country in two years, and to lead security for the entire country by the end of his five-year term.
See CNN's full article and Amanpour's interview with Karzai here.
This Angers me
A man who has been molesting a child for more than 8 years on a regular basis had his prison sentence suspended because he was too obese to go to prison. The judge ruled that because he was too heavy and his mobility suffered, 66-year old church elder John William McConaghy's three year prison sentence was not suspended. While he was fined £10,000 (pounds), Judge David Smyth at Antrim Crown Court suspended his term saying "McConaghy's lack of mobility, ulcerated legs and need for frequent dressings amounted to 'wholly exceptional circumstances'".
Luckily as McConaghy's unnamed victim reached adulthood, she began to fight back and ended the abuse, however, she is now 44 (and most likely is experiencing mental repercussions). She had this to say, "I am happy with the sentence he got, I think that was a fair sentence, but I am not happy with the suspension of it, but I understand the reason for it on medical grounds."
Do you think it was fair for McConaghy's jail sentence to be suspended? Post comments below!
Guinea President Assassination Attempt
Today the Guinea president, Moussa Dadis Camara, leader of the military junta that seized power 11 months ago, was shot at by Aboubacar "Toumba" Diakite, according to communications minister Idrissa Cherif. Nobody knows whether the bullet grazed or pierced the President, however he is said to be in "good condition."
Camara seized power in a bloodless coup last December after the death of president Lansana Conte. He pledged to allow a transition to civilian rule but has since delayed elections and refused to give up power.
Diakite was part of the President's military aide, the leader of the presidential guard. The attempted assassination took place in the same military camp run by Toumba in the capital, Conakry, as the massacre on 28 September in which over a hundred people were gunned down and dozens of women were drugged and gang raped by soldiers. Toumba is accused of having led the presidential guard that opened fire on the peaceful protesters.
Thankfully both Toumba and Camara may face charges of crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court.
See the full Guardian article.
British Child Health Care
Today the British government announced it is dropping its plans to cut the tax relief to child health care.
Gordon Brown was going to dissolve tax relief on childcare vouchers from 2011 because he believed it supported the families who needed it less. Instead, he wanted the money to fund the expansion of free nursery places for toddlers.
The government has now announced that top rate taxpayers would have their benefits halved rather than removed entirely, but basic rate taxpayers would see no change.
However the government said the concession meant it would take longer for its pledge to expand free nursery places to 250,000 two year-olds by 2015.
After the concession, however, the vouchers were not trashed, but the tax relief on all of them will be applied at a rate of 20%. Currently, the taxpayers at the highest tax bracket receive relief at 40%, with the result that the richest 6% of eligible parents enjoy 33% of the benefits.
Statistics given by The Guardian.
Bus Explosion in Damascus
An unfortunate accident in Syria, today, as a bus exploded while being pumped. It is believed the bus contained Iranian pilgrims, on their way to Sayyida Zeinab shrine for Shia Muslims.
Last year a car bomb killed 17 people on a road leading to the shrine. The bombing was blamed on Sunni militants, however Syrian Interior Minister Said Sammour ruled the bus explosion as an accident. Unfortunately, three people died at the scene, including a thirteen year-old boy.
The official story is that as air was being pumped into the tire, it ruptured and exploded, however pictures and videos of the actual bus may cause some people to be skeptical. The entire bus is ripped in half, which many believe would not occur had a tire exploded.
BBC video of the bus explosion.
Do you think the bus exploded because of the tire? Post comments in the comment sections.
Last year a car bomb killed 17 people on a road leading to the shrine. The bombing was blamed on Sunni militants, however Syrian Interior Minister Said Sammour ruled the bus explosion as an accident. Unfortunately, three people died at the scene, including a thirteen year-old boy.
The official story is that as air was being pumped into the tire, it ruptured and exploded, however pictures and videos of the actual bus may cause some people to be skeptical. The entire bus is ripped in half, which many believe would not occur had a tire exploded.
BBC video of the bus explosion.
Do you think the bus exploded because of the tire? Post comments in the comment sections.
Iranian Protesters
After fleeing the post election dangers, Iranian citizens, in Turkey, are claiming they are being intimidated and harassed by the Islamic agents.
Those claiming harassment are seeking asylum in the west after alleging instances of rape and torture after protests following Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's much disputed reelection, which many believe was achieved through fraud. They continue that Iranian authorities have put them under surveillance to silence them about such allegations when they first surfaced in August. Some say their families in Iran have also been targeted.
The Guardian reports an account of a man who was raped: "I went to the bedroom window so I could shout for help, but there I discovered two more men. I was terrified. I switched off the lights and piled the sofa behind the living room door. They left after a few minutes, but I couldn't sleep for the rest of the night. The following day I was on the internet when a chat-room message appeared under the name of one of my friends, who has been arrested in Iran. It said, 'you witnessed last night what we are capable of – keep your wits about you and don't think you can do whatever you like'. It wasn't the first such message I had received." (see the full article)
Many more instances like this have occurred since.
Those claiming harassment are seeking asylum in the west after alleging instances of rape and torture after protests following Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's much disputed reelection, which many believe was achieved through fraud. They continue that Iranian authorities have put them under surveillance to silence them about such allegations when they first surfaced in August. Some say their families in Iran have also been targeted.
The Guardian reports an account of a man who was raped: "I went to the bedroom window so I could shout for help, but there I discovered two more men. I was terrified. I switched off the lights and piled the sofa behind the living room door. They left after a few minutes, but I couldn't sleep for the rest of the night. The following day I was on the internet when a chat-room message appeared under the name of one of my friends, who has been arrested in Iran. It said, 'you witnessed last night what we are capable of – keep your wits about you and don't think you can do whatever you like'. It wasn't the first such message I had received." (see the full article)
Many more instances like this have occurred since.
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