Monday, May 31, 2010

گروه هماهنگی عدالت انتقالی: صلح بدون تامین عدالت ممکن نیست

با نزدیک شدن زمان برگزاری جرگه مشورتی صلح، گروه هماهنگی عدالت انتقالی که متشکل از 25 نهاد داخلی و بین المللی است، از رییس جمهور و شرکت کنندگان این جرگه خواستار لغو قانون مصالحه ملی و تقویت سیستم عدلی و قضایی برای رسیدگی به جرایم و جنایات ضد بشری شده است

همچنین این گروه در یک نامه سرگشاده به رییس جمهور و شرکت کنندگان جرگه مشورتی صلح، نوشته است که آشتی ملی بدون تامین عدالت ممکن نیست.گروه هماهنگی عدالت انتقالی که می گوید با قربانیان جنگ های سه دهه اخیر در "ارتباط تنگاتنگ" قرار دارد، از عدم حضور نمایندگان قربانیان در جرگه مشورتی صلح انتقاد کرده و از رییس جمهور و شرکت کنندگان این جرگه خواسته که جنایت های ضد بشری و تخطی های حقوق بشری گذشته را بررسی و به رسمیت بشناسند

پیش از این نیز، گروه هماهنگی عدالت انتقالی و برخی از سازمان های بین المللی، از جمله سازمان ملل متحد و عفو بین الملل از رییس جمهور خواسته بودند تا این قانون را لغو کند

قانون مصالحه ملی که نزدیک به چهار سال قبل از سوی پارلمان به تصویب رسید، ناقضان حقوق بشر و جنایت کاران جنگی را از پیگرد قانونی باز می دارد.با این حال، در آستانه برگزاری جرگه مشورتی صلح، گروه هماهنگی عدالت انتقالی می گوید که نمایندگان قربانیان جنگ های چند دهه اخیر در این جرگه حضور ندارند و از همین رو، این جرگه نمی تواند منجر به صلح در کشور گردد

با این حال، گروه هماهنگی عدالت انتقالی از "بازی های سیاسی" امروزی با واژگان "مخالفان دولت و مخالفان مسلح دولت" ابراز نگرانی کرده و تاکید می کند که ممکن است "دولت حلقه را چنان تنگ کند که بازهم گلوی عدالت بر دار شود".- گروه هماهنگی عدالت انتقالی: صلح بدون تامین عدالت ممکن نیست

« برگ متال دوباره به دست قوای امنیتی افتاد»

German President Horst Koehler quits post - AP

BERLIN -- President Horst Koehler stunned Germans by resigning Monday after being criticized for appearing to link military deployments abroad with the country's economic interests - creating a new headache for Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Koehler, a member of Merkel's Christian Democrats, cited a week of criticism over a radio interview he gave following a visit to German troops in Afghanistan.

In that broadcast, he said for a country with Germany's dependency on exports, military deployments could be "necessary ... in order to defend our interests, for example free trade routes." - German President Horst Koehler quits post

German Military Criticized for Deadly Mistakes - Der Spiegel
U.N. Says Iran Has Fuel for 2 Nuclear Weapons

2 Christian aid groups suspended in Afghanistan - AP

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Afghan authorities suspended two Christian foreign aid groups on suspicion of proselytizing in the strictly Islamic nation and said a follow-up investigation would include whether other groups were trying to convert Muslims. - 2 Christian aid groups suspended in Afghanistan

Afghanistan: David Cameron calls Chequers summit as strains grow
Afghanistan to investigate aid groups for 'spreading Christianity'

Young. British. Female. Muslim. -Times Online - (Thousands of young British women living in the UK decide to convert to Islam - here are some of their stories)

Sunday, May 30, 2010

مصاحبه با سخنگوي مطبوعاتي نمايشگاه گنجينه هاي تاريخي نجات يافته افغانستان دربن

از11 ام جون تا 3 ام اکتوبر نمايشگاهي زيرنام " گنجينه هاي نجات يافته افغانستان" درموزيم هنرهاي آلمان فدرال دربن برگزارمي شود.

گنجينه هاي تاريخي ايکه پس از سال 2001 شهرت جهاني يافته اند، مجموعه اي از آثاراند که از چنگال طالبان نجات يافته اند
در حال حاضر گفته ميشود که حدود 20 تا 30 هزار تکه از اين آثار توسط مردم خود افغانستان با قبول دشواري هاي طاقت فرسا وخطرناکي نجات يافته اند

اين آثار حدود سه سال پيش بارديگر از پنهانگاه هاي آنان به بيرون کشيده شد
اما براي اينکه بارديگر چپاول نشوند و همچنان براي حفظ آنان به بيرون از افغانستان منتقل شده اند.اين آثار پس سال 2007 در پاريس به بازسازي گرفته شده اند

در مجموع حدود 230 تکه از اين آثار براي مدتي ، يعني از 11 ام جون تا 3 ام اکتوبر در موزيم هنر جمهوريت فدرال آلمان به نمايش گذاشته ميشوند. - مصاحبه با سخنگوي مطبوعاتي نمايشگاه گنجينه هاي تاريخي نجات يافته افغانستان دربن

شيرين عبادي: دولت ايران نه تنها در برابر مهاجران افغان بلکه در برابر مردم ايران نيز مرتکب نقض حقوق بشرمي شود
Once Upon a Time in Afghanistan... Foreign Policy

The Memorial Service for the Nation - PBS

The 2010 National Memorial Day Concert will focus on three main themes: honoring the sacrifices, suffering and love of a new generation of young military widows whose fallen spouses served in Iraq and Afghanistan; paying tribute on the 60th anniversary of the Korean War to the heroic service of the soldiers who fought and perished; paying homage to the more than 125,000 WWI and WWII service members who did not come home but rest in 24 military cemeteries in the foreign lands where they fought for liberty.

NATO Has High Hopes for Afghan Peace Council

KABUL, Afghanistan — In a joint news conference, the NATO commander, Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, and the senior civilian representative, Mark Sedwill, emphasized that the West supported the peace council, called a jirga, even as many Afghans question whether those attending will truly represent the many factions in the country.

“This is a big week for Afghanistan,” said Mr. Sedwill, who described the conference as “the first of a series of major political events that are going to set the agenda of 2010.”

The jirga will be followed by the Kabul Conference on economic development in July and parliamentary elections in September. - NATO Has High Hopes for Afghan Peace Council

Operators of Drones Are Faulted in Afghan Deaths - nytimes

سټېنلي مکريسټل: ايران د افغان دولت مخالفين روزي
مک کریستال: شورشیان در ایران آموزش می بینند

سناتوران نورستان: سقوط برگمتال، ولایت های همجوار را تهدید می کند

در حالی كه مقام های وزارت داخله افغانستان از آمادگی ها برای بازپس گیری ولسوالی برگمتال ولایت نورستان خبر می دهند، مجلس سنای افغانستان با انتقاد از عدم همکاری سربازان اردو و نيروهاي آیساف خواهان حضور مقام های امنیتی کشور به نشست روز سه شنبه این مجلس شد. دو روز پیش ولسوالی برگمتال ولایت نورستان پس از هشت روز مقاومت سربازان پولیس، به تصرف طالبان در آمد. مقام های وزارت داخله افغانستان بیرون شدن پولیس از این منطقه را "تاکتیکی" خواندند. ولايت شرقي نورستان با ولایت های پنجشیر، لغمان، کنر و بدخشان هم مرز است.

به دنبال سقوط ولسوالی برگمتال نورستان به دست طالبان، سناتوران مجلس سنای افغانستان می گویند با وجود درخواست های مکرر مقام های محلی برای اعزام نیروهای داخلی و بین المللی به این ولایت، پولیس هشت روز بدون همکاری دیگر نهادهای امنیتی با طالبان مبارزه كرده است. حافظ عبدالقیوم، سناتور نورستان در مجلس سنای کشور گفت به دليل بی توجهی مقام های امنیتی کشور به درخواست های والی و فرمانده پولیس این ولایت، برگمتال توسط طالبان تصرف گردید.

عبدالقیوم افزود: "من نمی دانم مسوولیت تامین امنیت در نورستان را کی (به عهده) دارد. وزارت داخله اگر مسوولیت ندارد، وزارت دفاع اگر مسوولیت ندارد، تامین امنیت یک ولایت توسط تنها پولیس کار عجیب است
این سناتور نورستان تاکید می کند، نیروهای پولیس از کمبود سرباز و نبود سلاح و جنگ افزارها شکایت دارند. به باور آگاهان امور، سقوط ولسوالی برگمتال توسط طالبان در آستانه برگزاری جرگه صلح یک موفقیت برای طالبان به شمار می رود

داکتر حضرت شاه نورستانی، ديگر سناتور نورستان به این باور است كه به دلیل هم مرز بودن ولسوالی برگمتال با پاکستان و ولایت های پنجشیر و بدخشان، تصرف این ولسوالی توسط طالبان تهدیدهای امنیتی را به ولایت های شمالی افغانستان گسترش می دهد. حضرت شاه نورستانی گفت: "نه تنها که ولسوالی برگمتال سقوط کرده است، فعلا ولسوالی دوآب زیر تهدید طالبان است که به کلی هم سرحد با پنجشیر است. خود مرکز نورستان مدت یک تا دو سال می شود، که در آن جا هیچ رفت و آمد نمی شود"

پس از بحث سناتوران، مجلس سنای افغانستان از وزیر داخله، وزير دفاع و رییس عمومی امنیت ملی خواست تا دلایل سقوط ولسوالی برگمتال را توضیح دهند. - سناتوران نورستان: سقوط برگمتال، ولایت های همجوار را تهدید می کند

مک کریستال: شورشیان در ایران آموزش می بینند
جرگه اي با هزينه سنگين؛ 100 هزار دالر و 9 سرباز براي هر عضو جرگه

Miniskirts in Kabul - Huffingtonpost

Not only did the 1969 "summer of love" transform the culture of an entire generation in America, its global reach infected societies in faraway places such as Kabul, Afghanistan.

"When I was a professor at a very young age at the University of Kabul in 1969 - 1970 I witnessed miniskirts," Hasan Nouri, a civil engineer and award-winning humanitarian told me as he recounted days past in his native Afghanistan. "Before the Soviet invasion, Kabul had hospitals, museums, music, religious tolerance and freedom of expression."

Mr. Nouri said it was all made possible because the Afghan nation actually enjoyed a period of relative peace and stability under King Mohammed Zahir Shah for decades from the 1930s until his overthrow and exile in 1973. Nouri has always believed Afghanistan could see stability once again and even formulated a peace plan in the mid-1990s to establish a new regime under Zahir Shah.

Unfortunately, Nouri's peace plan largely fell on deaf ears in the U.S., and America ended up paying a heavy price.

History books will assert the plan failed because Zahir Shah could not reach a consensus with powerful Islamist factions; however, Nouri blames the Bill Clinton and George W. Bush administrations for their lack of support and their choosing to prop up moderates already in Afghanistan.

Based on the administration's current course, however - we may never see miniskirts in Kabul ever again. ........ Michael Hughes: Miniskirts in Kabul

Afghanistan's untold story: Stability, tourists, miniskirts - CNN

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Once Upon a Time in Afghanistan..."Cabinet in session." - MOHAMMAD QAYOUMI

The education level of Afghanistan's cabinet today is far less than it was 50 years ago, when this photo was taken. Back then, most high-ranking government officials would have had master's or doctoral degrees. Western dress was the norm. These days, government meetings in Kabul are conducted among men, many with long beards, big turbans, and traditional garb. ---- NEXT

Once Upon a Time in Afghanistan... Foreign Policy

Liam Fox, describing Afghanistan as a broken country stuck in the 13th century,
Afghans accuse Defence Secretary Liam Fox of racism and disrespect ...

kodata e 1992 - صحنه های از جریانات کودتای ۱۳۷۱

Record stores, Mad Men furniture, and pencil skirts -- when Kabul had rock 'n' roll, not rockets. - Foreign Policy

On a recent trip to Afghanistan, British Defense Secretary Liam Fox drew fire for calling it "a broken 13th-century country." The most common objection was not that he was wrong, but that he was overly blunt. He's hardly the first Westerner to label Afghanistan as medieval.

But that is not the Afghanistan I remember. I grew up in Kabul in the 1950s and '60s. When I was in middle school, I remember that on one visit to a city market, I bought a photobook about the country published by Afghanistan's planning ministry. Most of the images dated from the 1950s. I had largely forgotten about that book until recently; I left Afghanistan in 1968 on a U.S.-funded scholarship to study at the American University of Beirut, and subsequently worked in the Middle East and now the United States.

But recently, I decided to seek out another copy. Stirred by the fact that news portrayals of the country's history didn't mesh with my own memories, I wanted to discover the truth. Through a colleague, I received a copy of the book and recognized it as a time capsule of the Afghanistan I had once known -- perhaps a little airbrushed by government officials, but a far more realistic picture of my homeland than one often sees today.

A half-century ago, Afghan women pursued careers in medicine; men and women mingled casually at movie theaters and university campuses in Kabul; factories in the suburbs churned out textiles and other goods. There was a tradition of law and order, and a government capable of undertaking large national infrastructure projects, like building hydropower stations and roads, albeit with outside help. Ordinary people had a sense of hope, a belief that education could open opportunities for all, a conviction that a bright future lay ahead. All that has been destroyed by three decades of war, but it was real.

I have since had the images in that book digitized. Remembering Afghanistan's hopeful past only makes its present misery seem more tragic. Some captions in the book are difficult to read today: "Afghanistan's racial diversity has little meaning except to an ethnologist. Ask any Afghan to identify a neighbor and he calls him only a brother."

"Skilled workers like these press operators are building new standards for themselves and their country." "Hundreds of Afghan youngsters take active part in Scout programs." But it is important to know that disorder, terrorism, and violence against schools that educate girls are not inevitable. I want to show Afghanistan's youth of today how their parents and grandparents really lived. ... NEXT
Once Upon a Time in Afghanistan... Foreign Policy - MOHAMMAD QAYOUMI

Liam Fox, new Defence Secretary, flies flag for our boys and ...
Liam Fox, describing Afghanistan as a broken country stuck in the 13th century,
Fox's mistaken view of Afghanistan needs correction‎ - Nushin Arbabzadah

kodata e 1992 - صحنه های از جریانات کودتای ۱۳۷۱

چه کسی جاسوسان آمریکایی را فرماندهی کند؟

دنیس بلر آخرین روز کاری‌اش را به عنوان رئیس اداره امنیت ملی آمریکا ‌گذراند. آیا می‌توان از یک نفر به شکل معقولانه‌ای توقع داشت که سرپرستی دستگاه عریض و طویل اطلاعاتی ایالات متحده را به عهده بگیرد؟

در بیرون از آمریکا بسیاری سازمان "سیا" و "اف‌بی آی" را می شناسند. برای بعضی‌ها نام "ان اس ای" ( آژانس امنیت ملی) نیز ممکن است آشنا باشد. اما ایالات متحده علاوه بر این سه سازمان، نهادهای اطلاعاتی دیگری هم دارد

فیلیپ ماد، تحلیلگر سابق " سی آی ای" و "اف بی آی" و محقق ارشد بنیاد "آمریکای نوین" می‌گوید: "اگر قرار باشد یک نفر تمام فعالیت‌های اطلاعاتی را کنترل کند، من مطمئن نیستم که این امر ممکن باشد. حدود ۱۷ آژانس اطلاعاتی مختلف در ایالات متحده وجود دارد، اطلاعات ارتش و نیروی دریایی از آن جمله‌اند. انتظار این که یک نفر از پس مدیریت همه این آژانس‌ها بر بیاید و در صورت بروز یک خلاء نظیر آنچه در اتفاق ۲۵ دسامبر افتاد ( و در آن کسی به نام عمر فاروق عبدالمطلب، اقدام به بمب‌گذاری در یک پرواز متعلق به خطوط هوایی "نورث وست" کرد) مسئول و جواب‌گو باشد، واقع بینانه نیست

سازمان‌های اطلاعاتی و به تبع آن آقای بلر بعد از حادثه بمب‌گذاری روز کریسمس و حتی بمب‌گذاری ناکام میدان تایمز نیویورک مورد انتقاد قرار گرفتند

آقای بلر در بیانیه اخیرش پذیرفت که "موانع سازمانی و فنی هنوز بر سر جریان آزاد و پیوسته اشتراک اطلاعات (بین سازمان‌های اطلاعاتی گوناگون ایالات متحده) وجود دارند."

طبق گزارش ها، آقای بلر با لئون پانتا، رئیس آژانس اطلاعات مرکزی آمریکا ( سی آی ای) در مورد انتصاب نمایندگان اطلاعاتی در سراسر دنیا اختلاف نظر و برخورد داشته ‌است

اما آیا این نبرد قدرت پایان خواهد پذیرفت و سمت مدیر اطلاعات ملی کارائی لازم را کسب خواهد کرد؟ - چه کسی جاسوسان آمریکایی را فرماندهی کند؟

Israel rejects Middle East nuclear talks plan - BBC

Israel says it will not take part in a conference aimed at achieving a nuclear-arms free Middle East, proposed at a UN meeting in New York. Nearly 200 nations, signatories of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), backed plans for the meeting in 2012. - Israel rejects nuclear talks plan

Israel deflects nuclear pressure
UN push for nuclear-free Mid-East

'Nuke-free ME resolution hypocritical'

روزنامه های کابل: شنبه ۸ جوزا

موضوع برگزاری جرگه صلح در کابل، در مطالب اصلی روزنامه های چاپ امروز کابل بیشتر از مسائل دیگر مورد بحث قرار گرفته است
چراغ- سخنان فاروق وردک، اظهارات وزیر معارف و رئیس کمیسیون برگزاری جرگه صلح در گفتگو با تلویزیون فارسی بی بی سی را نقد و بررسی کرده است

آقای وردک در برنامه "به عبارت دیگر" گفته بود که ابتدا باید در جرگه صلح تعریفی از طالبان و مخالفان ارائه شود و بعد با آنها گفتگوها آغاز شود

چراغ نوشته که تاکید بر این که "نمایندگان" مردم در جرگه صلح "تعریفی" از مخالفان مسلح دولت ارائه کنند، "بیانگر اهداف قومی" در این جرگه است

نویسنده افزوده که آقای وردک در این گفتگو با ذکر این نکته که او خود هم در مدرسه دینی درس خوانده و آیا به او هم می شود "طالب" گفت، قصد دارد دیدگاه مخالفان حضور طالبان در قدرت را نرم کند

باختر نوشته که حمایت از جان و مال بهسودی ها تنها مسئولیت آقای خلیلی نیست، بلکه مسئولیت کل دستگاه حکومت است. روزنامه اما افزوده که مسئولان حکومت "در قومی سازی مسائل بسیار پیشگام تر از دیگران" هستند

نویسنده مطلب با اشاره به پیام دفتر آقای خلیلی که در آن نوشته رسانه ها در اظهار نظرهای خود در باره سفر او به بهسود "غرض ورزی" نکنند، نوشته که این "رهبران، وزیران و رئیسان هستند که قومی و سمتی عمل می کنند و نمونه های ناسالم برای مردم می شوند." - روزنامه های کابل: شنبه ۸ جوزا
نشریات کابل: پنجشنبه 6 جوزا

دنورستان برګيمټال بيا د طالبانو لاسته ولوېده
په نورستان کې سخته جګړه روانه ده

U.S. report criticizes drone operators in deadly Afghanistan airstrike - washingtonpost

KABUL -- A biting U.S. military report released Saturday criticized "inaccurate and unprofessional" reporting by operators of unmanned drones for contributing to a mistaken February airstrike that killed and injured dozens of civilians in southern Afghanistan.

U.S. report criticizes drone operators in deadly Afghanistan airstrike
US drone crew blamed for Afghan civilian deaths

Diana's daring black dress goes on the block - AP

LONDON -- It was black and strapless, with a sassy sequined flounce at the bodice and a gloriously full, swishy skirt.

The dress was, Lady Diana Spencer thought, so grown-up, just right for her first official engagement after the announcement she was to marry Prince Charles. Diana's daring dress to be auctioned

Options studied for a possible Pakistan strike - washingtonpost

The U.S. military is reviewing options for a unilateral strike in Pakistan in the event that a successful attack on American soil is traced to the country's tribal areas, according to senior military officials. - U.S. studies options for Pakistan

U.S. report criticizes drone operators in deadly Afghanistan airstrike
US drone crew blamed for Afghan civilian deaths

Report: US Preparing for Retaliatory Strike if Terror Attack Traced to Pakistan

Charlie Rose - Bashar al-Assad, President of Syria

Charlie Rose - Bashar al-Assad, President of Syria

Charlie Rose - Bashar Al-Assad
Syria President Bashar Al-Asad Speaks about ...

Afghan president's half-brother denies corruption - World Service, Kabul

The half-brother of the Afghan president has denied any involvement in corruption. In an interview with the BBC, Ahmad Wali Karzai accused "local enemies" and and the Western media of spreading malicious rumours about him.

He has strenuously denied the allegations, accusing his critics of "seeking to defame him".

In an interview with the BBC, he said that Western officials had now realised that many of the allegations against him were baseless.

''Western officials have been victims of the negative propaganda against me by my opponents who have an agenda," he said. ''The Western media want to sell stories and that is why they base their reports on rumours.''

Mr Karzai denied that he was influencing government decision-making at the provincial level. BBC News - Afghan president's half-brother denies corruption

ځانګړې مرکه: احمدولي کرزی او له بهرنيانو سره يې اړيکي اوريدل

"برادران ناراضی" از چه ناراضی اند

مقام های افغان همواره گفته اند با کسانی که با القاعده مرتبط اند، مذاکره نمی کنند اما عده ای از کسانی که علیه دولت می جنگند، با القاعده رابطه ندارند، دولت این دسته از طالبان را "برادران ناراضی" نام داده
اما توضیح نداده که این برادران از چه ناراضی اند

بعد از اجلاس بن، از اقوام ازبک، تاجیک و هزاره، چهره هایی به قدرت رسیدند که در طول سی سال گذشته با تشکل احزاب سیاسی مستقیما درمنازعات قدرت در افغانستان دخیل بودند. احزاب را رهبری کردند و تبدیل به رهبران با نفوذ در میان اقوام خود شدند

این چهره ها هنوزهم پایگاه های سنتی خود را در میان طرفداران شان حفظ کرده اند. به سختی می توان حزب سیاسی و یا تشکل مدنی مدرنی را در میان این اقوام پیدا کرد که بتواند نفوذ رهبران سنتی این اقوام را به چالش بکشد

به همین دلیل این رهبران توانستند، حمایت اقوام تحت نفوذ خود را با روندی که از بن آغاز شده بود، جلب کرده و از دولت به رهبری حامد کرزی حمایت کنند

در حال حاضر همه پست های کلیدی کابینه یعنی وزارت های دفاع، داخله(کشور)، خارجه، دارایی، آموزش و پرورش و چند پست دیگر، ریاست قوه قضایی و دادستانی کل، در اختیار پشتونها است
اما پشتونها هنوز نا راضی اند چون افرادی که عهده دار سهم سیاسی پشتونها در دولت شدند، در ۹ سال گذشته نتوانسته اند در میان مردم پشتون جا باز کنند و حمایت آنها را از دولتی که خود مقام ارشد آن هستند، جلب کنند. در حالی که سهم پشتونها در قدرت سیاسی را به خود اختصاص داده اند
هرکدام از رهبران اقوام دیگر که در حال حاضر در دولت کرزی مقامی دارند، به راحتی می توانند در میان مردم شان بروند. چنانچه در انتخابات ریاست جمهوری، آقای کرزی مجبور شد با رهبران سنتی هزاره تاجیک و ازبک، ائتلاف کند

اما دیده نشد که یکی از وزرای ارشد کابینه آقای کرزی که اکثرا پشتون هستند، به مناطق جنوب بروند هفته ای در آنجا بمانند و با آنها رودررو صحبت کنند

در حال حاضر وزرای دفاع و داخله دولت هردو پشتون هستند اما مردم پشتون یا آنها را ندیده اند یا اگر دیده اند در حصار امنیتی نیروهای ارتش و پلیس و حتی نیروهای خارجی دیده اند

شمار سفر های گوردون براون که سه سال نخست وزیر بریتانیا بود، به ولایت هلمند، از تعداد سفرهای حامد کرزی که درهشت سال گذشته رئیس دولت افغانستان بوده بیشتر است

درحالی که جنگجویان طالبان به راحتی می توانند درمیان مردم باشند، علیه دولت تبلیغ کنند و مشروعیت آنرا به چالش بکشند. "برادران ناراضی" از چه ناراضی اند

عفو بین الملل:دولت افغانستان فراتر از قانون عمل می کند
سنای آمریکا تعیین جدول زمانی خروج از افغانستان را رد کرد

UN push for nuclear-free Mid-East - BBC

Friday, May 28, 2010

189 Nations Reaffirm Goal of Ban on Nuclear Weapons New York Times

UNITED NATIONS — Hard-fought negotiations over the future of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty ended here on Friday with 189 nations reaffirming their commitment to eliminating all nuclear weapons and setting a new 2012 deadline for holding a regional conference to eliminate unconventional weapons from the Middle East.

The complicated 28-page final document from the treaty review conference calls for the United Nations secretary general, along with the United States, Russia and Britain, to appoint a facilitator and consult with the countries of the Middle East convening the conference. 189 Nations Reaffirm Goal of Ban on Nuclear Weapons

Obama rejects 'singling out' of Israel in NPT deal - Ynetnews
Washington Post - Voice of America - Wall Street Journal - The Guardian

Israel key to conference on banning nuclear arms - AP

Nuclear non-proliferation treaty under threat despite US pressure on Israel -Guardian

Diplomats and observers in New York said the review of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT) could still collapse after the US dramatically changed tack and agreed with Egypt to publicly pressure Israel to scrap its nuclear weapons.

The 189 signatories of the 1970 treaty have spent a tense month trying to bolster it after crises over Iran, North Korea, and the slow pace of disarmament – an obligation in international law. Nuclear non-proliferation treaty under threat despite US pressure on Israel

NPT session tries to hammer out Middle East issue Xinhua
BusinessWeek - Washington Post - Reuters - US Department of State

Obama rejects 'singling out' of Israel in NPT deal - Ynetnews

US Senate OKs funding for Afghan troop increase

(Reuters) - The U.S. Senate approved funds Thursday to pay for President Barack Obama's Afghanistan troop increase but rejected a demand that he submit a timetable to bring U.S. forces home.

Most of the $33 billion in war spending approved by the Senate is to finance the 30,000 troop "surge" in Afghanistan that Obama announced in December, although some of it covers expenses in Iraq. Reuters AlertNet - US Senate OKs funding for Afghan troop increase

Senate rejects exit timetable for Afghanistan - Yahoo! News

U.S. Senate rejects exit timetable for Afghanistan

(Reuters) - The Senate rejected a proposal on Thursday to require President Barack Obama to submit a timetable for pulling U.S. forces out of Afghanistan, despite unease among some members of his party over the nine-year-old war.

The 80-18 vote nixed a bid by liberal Democrat Russ Feingold for a detailed troop timetable, which he argued would avoid future "emergency" war spending bills such as the $33 billion one now before the Senate - U.S. Senate rejects exit timetable for Afghanistan South Asia ...

U.S. Senate Rejects Exit Timetable for Afghanistan CommonDreams.
House KOs call for speedy Afghanistan withdrawal - Washington Times

Inside Afghanistan's most notorious prison - Lyse Doucet

Kabul's Pul-e-Charkhi prison has long been a byword for cruelty and injustice.

In the Soviet era it was notorious for forced disappearances and executions, and for the past three decades it has been the place where the Afghan state has sent its enemies and the men it regards as the most dangerous.

At this moment in Afghanistan's tortuous history there are many Taliban behind the heavily fortified gates, along with convicted murderers and drug traffickers. The cells, which measure about eight feet by eight feet (2.5m by 2.5m), were occupied by either one, two or three prisoners. - Afghan Alcatraz

Red Cross trains Taliban in first aid

په نورستان کې سخته جګړه روانه ده
پلیس: طالبان از نورستان عقب نشینی کرده اند

Visiting Gulf, Obama Tells Residents ‘You Are Not Alone’ - nytimes

“You are not alone, and you will not be abandoned,” he said. “We are on your side, and we will see this through.” -- Calling the spill an “assault on our shores, on our people, on the regional economy,” Mr. Obama acknowledged that the recovery effort would be long-lasting and pervasive. - Visiting Gulf, Obama Tells Residents ‘You Are Not Alone’

Text: Obama's Remarks
BP’s Effort to Plug Oil Leak Suspended a Second Time

Senate Approves Nearly $60 Billion for Wars

Brushing Teeth May Keep Away Heart Disease WebMD

May 27, 2010 -- Brushing your teeth is not only good for your pearly whites, it also decreases your chances of suffering a heart attack, a new study indicates. - Brushing Teeth May Keep Away Heart Disease

Brush teeth to halt heart disease - BBC - BusinessWeek
Regular teeth brushing linked to healthier hearts Reuters

House approves pared-back tax and spending bill

WASHINGTON — House Democrats on Friday salvaged a bill to continue providing unemployment checks to people out of work over six months and revive tax breaks popular with families and businesses. - House approves pared-back tax and spending bill

Jobless aid set to expire despite House approval Reuters
Boston Globe - Wall Street Journal - BusinessWeek - msnbc.com

Gary Coleman dies at age 42 - USA TODAY

Gary Coleman, the child star of the TV sitcom Diff'rent Strokes, died Friday after suffering an intercranial hemorrhage. He was 42.

Utah Valley Regional Medical Center spokeswoman Janet Frank says life support was terminated and Coleman died at 12:05 p.m. - Gary Coleman dies at age 42

Gary Coleman Dead At 42 MTV - Vanity Fair - CNN International - Houston Chronicle - New York Daily News

ANALYSIS-U.S. sees Afghan 'jirga' as boost to Karzai

WASHINGTON, May 28 (Reuters) - The United States wants next week's peace "jirga" to boost Afghan President Hamid Karzai's credibility but is counting on him not making major overtures to the Taliban until momentum has shifted on the battlefield. - ANALYSIS-U.S. sees Afghan 'jirga' as boost to Karzai Reuters

Afghanistan: America's longest war - USATODAY
BBC News - Afghan president's half-brother denies corruption

Brushing teeth 'halts' heart disease - BBC

People who fail to brush their teeth twice a day are putting themselves at risk of heart disease, say researchers. It is known that inflammation in the body, including in the mouth and gums, has an important role in the build up of clogged arteries, which can lead to a heart attack.

"If you don't brush your teeth, your mouth can become infected with bacteria which can cause inflammation.

"Whatever the true position is, we can say with certainty that if people brush teeth twice a day with fluoride toothpaste, visit the dentist regularly and restrict sugary snacks to mealtimes; that this will go a long way towards keeping the teeth and gums in a healthy state for life." - Brush teeth to halt heart disease

Heart disease and stroke

New U.S. Strategy Focuses on Managing Threats - nytimes

WASHINGTON — President Obama’s first formal national security strategy describes a coming era in which the United States will have to learn to live within its limits — a world in which two wars cannot be sustained for much longer and the rising powers inevitably begin to erode some elements of American influence around the globe.

“We are no less powerful,” Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Thursday at the Brookings Institution. “We are shifting from mostly direct application and exercise of American power,” she said, to one of indirection, that requires patience and partners, and gets results more slowly. - New US Strategy Focuses on Managing Threats

President Obama's National Security Strategy

Obama redefines national security strategy, looks beyond military might Washington Post
U.N. Official to Ask U.S. to End C.I.A. Drone Strikes

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Afghans believe US is funding Taliban - Daniella Peled

If the US really wanted to defeat the Taliban, person after person asks me, why don't they tackle them in Pakistan?

One political scientist, who works as an advisor to US agencies in the north of the country, recounts how people fear the continuing influence of the warlords, illustrating his point with descriptions of violence and corruption that extends into the realms of banking, government and trade.

Afghans hate these warlords, he says, but the US wants them kept in place. "If they were removed, and competent and clean people brought in, we would bring in revenues of our own. We could have our own economy, and demand foreign investment with transparency. We would have a true army, to protect us and serve Afghanistan."

They don't want Nato to leave for 15, maybe 20 years, anyway. It will take that long for Afghan institutions to be able to survive independently..... Afghans believe US is funding Taliban Daniella Peled Comment ...

Once Hopeful, Northern Afghanistan Is Disillusioned - npr

Barack Obama sets out security strategy based on diplomacy instead of war

Amnesty International Report 2010

“We left everything behind. We have nothing now… The Taleban were very cruel to us, and then the government began bombing so we had to flee with whatever we could gather. So who can we turn to?” - Afghanistan

Amnesty International Report 2010
عفو بین الملل:دولت افغانستان فراتر از قانون عمل می کند
گزارش عفو بین الملل: وضعیت حقوق بشر در سال 2010

Fox's mistaken view of Afghanistan needs correction

ځانګړې مرکه: احمدولي کرزی او له بهرنيانو سره يې اړيکي

د کندهار د ولايتي شورا مشر احمد ولي کرزى چې د ولسمشر حامد کرزي ناسکه ورور دى وايي، په دې وروستيو کې يې له لوېديځ سره يې اړيکي ښه شوي دي

نوموړي له بي بي سي سره په يوه ځانګړې مرکه کې وويل بهرنيانو د ناسمو معلوماتو پر بنسټ دده په اړه منفي نظر جوړ کړى و
نوموړي د گاونډيو هېوادونو پر رول هم نيوکه وکړه او ويې ويل چې د افغانستان او په ځانگړې توگه د کندهار گډوډي او خرابي د دوى د لاسوهنو له کبله ده. - ځانګړې مرکه: احمدولي کرزی او له بهرنيانو سره يې اړيکي
اوريدل

د بښنې نړيوال سازمان خپل کلنی راپور خپور کړ
New US strategy stresses diplomacy

عفو بین الملل:دولت افغانستان فراتر از قانون عمل می کند

سازمان عفو بین الملل گروهی از کشورهای قدرتمند جهان را به ایستادگی در برابر قوانین حقوق بشر و ترجیح دادن منافع خود در برابر اجرای عدالت متهم کرده است

عفو بین الملل در گزارش سالانه خود از کشور های عضو گروه بیست که قدرتمند ترین قدرت های اقتصادی جهان هستند، خواسته است که از دادگاه بین المللی رسیدگی به جنایت علیه بشریت به طور کامل حمایت کنند

عفو بین الملل همچنین از دولت افغانستان و کشورهایی که در افغانستان نیروی نظامی دارند، به دلیل عدم رعایت حقوق بشر انتقاد کرده است

سازمان عفو بین الملل گروهی از کشورهای قدرتمند جهان را به ایستادگی در برابر قوانین حقوق بشر و ترجیح دادن منافع خود در برابر اجرای عدالت متهم کرده است

عفو بین الملل در گزارش سالانه خود از کشور های عضو گروه بیست که قدرتمند ترین قدرت های اقتصادی جهان هستند، خواسته است که از دادگاه بین المللی رسیدگی به جنایت علیه بشریت به طور کامل حمایت کنند

عفو بین الملل همچنین از دولت افغانستان و کشورهایی که در افغانستان نیروی نظامی دارند، به دلیل عدم رعایت حقوق بشر انتقاد کرده است

عدالت انتقالی طرحی است که براساس آن باید در مورد حوادث سی سال گذشته باید تحقیق می شد و اسنادی در مورد این حوادث جمع آوری می شد، حوادثی که در زمان حاکمیت رژیم کمونیستی، دوران مجاهدین و زمان طالبان به وقوع پیوست

سازمان عفو بین الملل می گوید، دولت افغانستان این طرح را مسکوت گذاشته و جامعه بین المللی نیز در این راستا کاری انجام نداده اند

دولت افغانستان پیش از این نیز بارها به دلیل، عدم رعایت حقوق بشر مورد انتقاد سازمانهای مدافع حقوق بشر بوده و مشخصا از آقای کرزی بارها به دلیل گماشتن شماری از افراد متهم به نقض حقوق بشر در سمت های بالای دولتی، انتقاد شده است. - عفو بین الملل:دولت افغانستان فراتر از قانون عمل می کند

د بښنې نړيوال سازمان خپل کلنی راپور خپور کړ
گزارش عفو بین الملل: وضعیت حقوق بشر در سال 2010

Obama redefines national security strategy, looks beyond military might - washingtonpost

In a broad redefinition of U.S. strategic priorities, President Obama has said that the United States must revitalize its economic, moral and innovative strength if it is to continue to lead the world.

Just as it did after World War II, the United States today must shape an international order and system of global institutions that reflect a 21st-century reality in which "America's greatness is not assured," Obama says in a 52-page "National Security Strategy" released Thursday morning.

The report is the first that Obama has prepared under a 1986 law requiring the president to present Congress with an annual strategic statement. - Obama redefines national security strategy, looks beyond military might

Reuters - The Guardian - BusinessWeek - The Associated Press - Department of Defense - Times Online
Obama Security Strategy Defined by a "Prosperous Economy" CBS News

On Episode Eight of the Charlie Rose Brain Series, a discussion of fear and anxiety

On Episode Eight of the Charlie Rose Brain Series, a discussion of fear and anxiety with Antonio Damasio of University of Southern California, Kerry Ressler of Emory University, Joseph LeDoux of New York University, David Anderson of CalTech, and Eric Kandel of Columbia University. - The Charlie Rose Show

Charlie Rose - Charlie Rose Brain Series Episode Eight
Charlie Rose - Charlie Rose Brain Series

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Fox's mistaken view of Afghanistan needs correction - Guardian

Liam Fox's comments on '13th-century' Afghanistan show a failure to understand its problems are contemporary by nature

The recent comment from Britain's new defence secretary, Liam Fox, describing Afghanistan as a broken country stuck in the 13th century, has offended Afghan officials, triggering responses that are equally off the mark factually and diplomatically fruitless.

To begin with, the cold-war rivalry between two powerful, antagonistic industrialised empires that initiated the crisis in Afghanistan is evidence that from its inception it has been international in its scope. To isolate the country from the international politics of the last decades, and single it out for the subsequent failures is slightly unfair and factually inaccurate.

After all, from its beginnings in the 1960s, the conflict was international in its outlook. Young Afghans who in the 1960s become involved with the radical, supra-nationalist political movements of internationalist communism and their nemesis, political Islamism, had much in common with their student counterparts in Paris, London and San Francisco. They joined internationalist political movements, desiring to radically change society even if the transformation involved the use of violence.

Ironically, the justification for Afghan student radicals, who later become political leaders of the country, was the same backwardness that Fox has pointed out in his recent comment. In this manner, the two antagonist forces of political Islam versus internationalist communism had much in common. They both represented a fierce assault on traditional Afghan social structures and cultural values. In doing so, both movements attacked the moral compass and the social glue that had held Afghanistan together until then.

Perhaps the extent of this attack could have been curbed had it not been for the international partisanship and active involvement in the crisis, which artificially empowered both sides, the mujahideen and their communist nemesis. But early on, prior to the communist coup of 1978 and the subsequent Soviet invasion, both movements were equally marginal and unpopular for the simple reason they clashed with Afghan traditional values of pragmatism, and political and religious moderation. The radicalisation of Afghan society, which upsets and astounds the wider world, is not an inherent feature of Afghan cultural norms. On the contrary, it is the loss of traditional religious and cultural values that has created a restless society, normalising political violence and making stability a distant dream.

Prior to the 1980s, Afghanistan's isolation from the rest of the world meant that the country missed out on much of progress common to the rest of the world. But the isolation also offered the country protection against the destabilising influence of revolutionary thoughts and the desire to start a new society by means of violence, aggressively pushing the country forward into the arms of the 20th century, be it in its socialist or revolutionary Islamist guise.

The Taliban represent a pure example of this. Their appearance, the full beards and the turbans, creates the misleading impression that theirs is a movement with a medieval mindset. But in reality, the Taliban has proven itself a most powerful enemy of traditional Afghanistan. Their systematic destruction of traditional justice, social and political structure, which over centuries had ensured a degree of stability, is a modern phenomenon. In its fierceness of animosity towards traditional Afghanistan, the Taliban's only match is the communist group who invited the Red Army to invade Afghanistan. Both desired a radical departure from the isolationist past, embracing global ideologies and partnerships beyond Afghanistan's borders.

After 30 years of direct involvement with the rest of the world, through migration, and wars that were largely fought alongside a diverse group of people, from Soviets to Arabs, and now British and Americans, Afghans are now struggling to find common ground with each other. This is the broken society that Fox has correctly identified. But what Fox failed to recognise was the fact the root causes of the fracture are contemporary by nature, and international in their scope. Ultimately, this mistaken interpretation of Afghanistan is fairly widespread and as such, much in need of correction. ....Fox's mistaken view of Afghanistan needs correction‎ - Nushin Arbabzadah

Afghans believe US is funding Taliban Daniella Peled Comment ...
Afghanistan: History — Infoplease.com

یادی از تجلیل مقام والای معلم در دهۀ دموکراسی وطن عزیز ما - عزیزالله کهگدای

یادی از تجلیل مقام والای معلم در دهۀ دموکراسی وطن عزیز ما
پلان های شهید محمد داوود برای عصری سازی افغانستان - غوث جانباز

13th-century Fox - Telegraph
Liam Fox goes off-message but his job is safe – for now Michael ...
Fox's mistaken view of Afghanistan needs correction‎ - Nushin Arbabzadah

UN backs training on harmful use of narcotics in Afghanistan

24 May 2010 – The United Nations is supporting a series of training programmes in Afghanistan for educators so they can then impart knowledge on the harmful effects of drug use, including the risk of HIV/AIDS infection, to their peers, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) reported today.

Drug abuse in Afghanistan was traditionally limited. However, due to internal and external displacement caused by more than 30 years of conflict, crisis-coping mechanisms have broken down and addiction rates have soared, according to UNAMA.

Recent data from John Hopkins University and NACP have confirmed fears that Afghanistan has evolved towards a HIV epidemic, concentrated among narcotics abusers.

Meanwhile, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has partnered with the international media development organization, Internews, to launch a 30-minute radio series to promote the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) within Afghanistan.

The Child’s Home Radio Magazine is being broadcast in Dari and Pashto languages via Salam Watandar, a network of 42 community radios nationwide. - UN backs training on harmful use of narcotics in Afghanistan

Insecurity will not deter UN’s work in southern Afghanistan, says top envoy

Checking in on Afghan Peace Talks - huffingtonpost

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has often expressed his openness to peace talks with the Taliban.

Over the next week, it will start to become clear whether Karzai will be able to deliver on his rhetoric. The signs so far aren't encouraging. - Checking in on Afghan Peace Talks

quqnoos.com - Karzai: No More Private Airlines
Afghanistan orders airline safety crackdown after crash World ...
Before the Endgame: America's Fatal Flaws in Afghanistan - SPIEGEL ...

Afghan Women and the Media - Is Their Story Being Told? - huffingtonpost

This past March, Pat Mitchell, President and CEO of The Paley Center for Media, hosted a round table discussion in conjunction with the U.S. - Afghan Women's Council. The focus was to examine how to support Afghan women in media. The agenda also addressed the type of stories about Afghan women that continue to grab the headlines - when stories make it to the public's awareness.

A recurrent theme was the need for reports of productive developments to come out of Afghanistan, to balance the "acid throwing stories." At the Diane von Furstenberg Awards, held at the United Nations shortly after the Paley event, I interviewed Sadiqa Basiri, who was being honored for her work as the founder of the Oruj Learning Center. She concurred emphatically. "In the west," she said, "there is only one story. Burquas."

She mentioned that Afghan women had the right to vote in 1919, before women in the United Sates. She said, "The rights are in the Constitution, but not implemented. They are just done nominally."

The media needs to keep vigilant tabs on how the Afghan government deals with women's issues. As Basiri noted, "It's not the top stuff for Karzai." She related a story about a meeting he was suppose to have with women on March 8th, but then asked to reschedule to March 7th. Despite the change to accommodate his calendar, he didn't show up. The person who came on his behalf gave no explanation. One thousand women were in attendance, waiting. Afghan Women and the Media - Is Their Story Being Told?

Afghans believe US is funding Taliban Daniella Peled Comment ... - Guardian

حملهء مخالفین در نورستان عقب زده شد

جمال الدین بدر والی نورستان گفت، از چهار روز به این طرف شماری از طالبان پاکستانی از منطقه سوات به رهبری ملا فضل الله وارد نورستان شده اند و برضد نیروهای دولتی و نیروهای قومی افغان می جنگند

قای بدر به رادیو آزادی گفت: «خوش بختانه روحیهء سربازان ما قوی است، زیرا مردم محل با آنها همکار اند و نیروهای قومی در کنار سربازان ما برضد شورشیان می جنگند. تا به حال هفت تن از مخالفان مسلح و دو سرباز پولیس کشته شده اند. یک تن از نیروهای ما زخمی شده است. هجوم مخالفین شدید است و از پاکستان هم شورشیان مسلح وارد میدان نبرد شده اند. مولوی فضل الله رهبر طالبان از درهء سوات هم در این جنگ حضور دارد.»

والی نورستان افزود، از وزارت داخله و نیروهای بین المللی درخواست کمک کرده است. جمال الدین بدر به خبرنگار رادیو آزادی در محل گفت، او خواهان آن است تا به زودی ممکن سربازان و تجهیزات بیشتر به محل فرستاده شود .

وی افزود:«شخصاً با وزیر صاحب داخله صحبت کرده ام. برایش گفتم که مردم برگ متال مستحق کمک اند. از سال گذشته تا به حال مردم این محل خود از مناطق شان دفاع کرده اند.» - درگیری میان نیروهای افغان وطالبان در ولایت نورستان ادامه دارد ...

Before the Endgame: America's Fatal Flaws in Afghanistan - SPIEGEL ...

Afghanistan orders airline safety crackdown after crash

Hamid Karzai today ordered a crackdown on private airlines in Afghanistan in the wake of last week's crash in which 44 people, including three Britons, died.

The Afghan president said no more licences to operate would be issued to commercial airlines and any planes found to be below international standards would be grounded. Afghanistan orders airline safety crackdown after crash

همکاری صلیب سرخ با طالبان؟!
جزئیات طرح صلح دولت افشاء شد

Afghan Spy Agency Accuses Pakistan Agency in Suicide Bombing

KABUL, Afghanistan — A spokesman for Afghanistan’s intelligence agency on Monday accused Pakistan’s intelligence agency of involvement in the suicide bombing here last week that killed six NATO soldiers, including four colonels.

While Saeed Ansari, the spokesman for the National Directorate of Security, Afghanistan’s spy agency, did not mention the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence agency by name, he left no doubt of what he meant. - Afghan Spy Agency Accuses Pakistan Agency in Suicide Bombing

Before the Endgame, America's Fatal Flaws in Afghanistan

When Washington starts withdrawing its troops from Afghanistan in July 2011, its NATO allies in Europe will quickly rush to the exits. A power-sharing arrangement between Kabul and the Taliban is a less than ideal solution, but it is the only realistic option if the West pulls out. Before the Endgame: America's Fatal Flaws in Afghanistan - SPIEGEL ...

A Road Map to Peace in Afghanistan: Karzai's Plan to Negotiate with the Taliban

افشای سند محرمانه حکومت افغانستان: جزییات طرح مصالحه و ادغام مجدد طالبان

روزنامه 8صبح به پیش نویس سندی دست یافته است که در آن حکومت افغانستان شرایط مصالحه و ادغام مجدد طالبان را پیش بینی و مشخص کرده است. این سند که در 36 صفحه تدوین شده، از طریق یک مرجع معتبر بین المللی به روزنامه 8صبح رسیده است. در این سند روند مصالحه و ادغام مجدد طالبان به دو بخش زیر تقسیم شده است:

جزییات سند جدید که در اختیار 8صبح قرار گرفته است از سوی هیچ منبع رسمی در دولت افغانستان تایید نشده است. با این حال بخش هايی از سند متذکره قبلا از سوی مجله اشپیگل آنلاین افشا شده بود. اين مجله نیز ادعا کرده است که سند 36 صفحه ای را که جزییات روند مصالحه و ادغام مجدد طالبان را مشخص می کند، به دست دارد. - افشای سند محرمانه حکومت افغانستان: جزییات طرح مصالحه و ادغام مجدد طالبان

ابتكار صلح در دست كيست؟

Defense Secretary Gates's war of necessity against wasteful spending - Editorial

DEFENSE SECRETARY Robert M. Gates spent his first two years focused on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, in each case backing a "surge" to turn around U.S. fortunes. Now, with his time in office probably dwindling, he's taken on a final mission: reforming Pentagon spending so that the United States will be able to maintain its military forces in an era of fiscal austerity. Though the outcome of a war isn't at stake, it's crucial that Mr. Gates succeed.

Mr. Gates's last battle : The defense secretary launches a war of necessity...

سخنرانی ملکه الیزابت دوم در پارلمان جدید بریتانیا

مجلس جدید بریتانیا، با سخنرانی الیزابت دوم؛ ملکه این کشور، رسما آغاز به کار کرد. در مراسمی که صبح امروز برگزار شد، ملکه بریتانیا، ۲۲ لایحه ای را که در دستور کار دولت جدید قرار گرفته، اعلام کرد. کم کردن کسری بودجه، از اولویت های کاری دولت جدید است، ثبات در افغانستان و برنامه هسته ای ایران هم از جمله موضوعاتیست که دولت جدید بریتانیا به آن خواهد پرداخت. رعنا رحیم پور گزارش می دهد. - سخنرانی ملکه الیزابت دوم در پارلمان جدید بریتانیا
Queen's speech
Queen's speech: what the Bills mean

Papers pore over Queen's Speech
Afghans accuse Fox of racism and disrespect

German Consumer Sentiment Hit By Euro Worries

FRANKFURT—German market-research group GfK's forward-looking consumer climate index is set to weaken to 3.5 for June, as the euro-zone debt crisis and talks about the euro's stability have unsettled consumers, GfK said Wednesday. - German Consumer Sentiment Hit By Euro Worries

Euro crisis weighs on German consumer sentiment: GfK AFP
German Consumer Confidence Declines on European Deficit Crisis BusinessWeek

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Red Cross gives first aid lessons to Taliban - Guardian

The Red Cross in Afghanistan has been teaching the Taliban basic first aid and giving insurgents medical equipment so that fighters wounded during battles with Nato and Afghan government forces can be treated in the field, it was revealed today.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said it had introduced the classes because pitched battles, landmines and roadblocks stopped people in the most volatile areas from getting to hospital. - Red Cross teaches Taliban first aid

US orders escalation in secret operations in Middle East - Telegraph

The United States has ordered a major escalation of clandestine military operations in Iran and other parts of the Middle East, according to a secret directive.

The classified order, approved last September, represents a significant escalation of the covert military activities ordered by George W Bush at the height of the War on Terror. - US orders more secret operations in Middle East

US to launch covert strikes on terror targets - independen
Rupert Cornwell: When it comes to terrorism, Obama is following Bush's lead

First-aid training for Taliban

U.S. offered crucial evidence in Pakistani meeting on Times Square plot - latimes

The evidence was part of an emphatic American warning that there would be "inevitable pressure" on the United States to take action if there was an attack traceable to Pakistan that resulted in U.S. casualties, officials familiar with the talks said.

The warning was delivered last week in a visit to Islamabad, the Pakistani capital, by White House National Security Advisor James L. Jones and CIA Director Leon E. Panetta, who said Pakistan needed to intensify its crackdown on the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban, or TTP, and other militant groups. - U.S. offered crucial evidence in Pakistani meeting on Times Square plot

Papers pore over Queen's Speech - BBC

Wednesday's papers all take a close look at the Queen's Speech, coming up with their own interpretations of exactly what it set out.

"Middle classes made to pay", says the Daily Telegraph, focusing on the "unqualified commitment" to raise capital gains tax.

The Guardian thinks the issue of voting reform "has the potential to disrupt the coalition" after the speech did not include a timetable for a referendum. - Papers pore over Queen's Speech

شانه های سنگین کودکان کابل

روز را با ضربه ای به در آغاز می کند. نرگس 10 ساله هر روز 6 صبح به خیابانهای ثروتمند کابل می رود و خانه به خانه برای تکه ای نان گدایی می کند

محله شیرپور که خانه هایی بزرگ و پر تجمل دارد بر روی تپه ای قرار دارد که در آنسوی آن نرگس و خانواده اش در یک اتاق خانه ای گلی زندگی می کنند

نرگس که نتوانسته غذایی برای خانواده اش تهیه کند نجواکنان می گوید: "امروز پسربچه ای جلوتر از من بود و همه را گرفت."
این دختر بچه نان آور خانواده ای با هفت کودک است

در جامعه افغان استفاده از خواهران بزرگتر نرگس برای گدایی در خیابانها شرم آور تلقی می شود، اما خواهران و برادران کوچکتر او نیز بسیار خردسال هستند

نرگس تنها یکی از ده ها هزار کودک خیابانی در کابل است
اینها در کشوری متولد شده اند که سه دهه در آتش جنگ و تریاک سوخته است. پدرانشان یا در درگیری های خونین کشته شده اند و یا در دام اعتیاد جان می دهند

در پایان هر روز نرگس از آخرین تپه می گذرد و به خانه می رود. روی یک شانه کیف مدرسه و شانه دیگر کیسه ای بزرگ پر از آشغالهایی که در خرابه ها پیدا کرده است. - شانه های سنگین کودکان کابل
The harsh lives of Kabul's street children

وضعیت کودکان افغان 'نا‌‌امید کننده' است
نگاهی نزدیک به تابلوهای دزدیده شده از موزه پاریس
«ساختن خط آهن حیرتان مزار تا 4 ماه آینده به پایان می رسد»

Bush: Book begins with decision to quit drinking - The Associated Press

DALLAS -- George W. Bush said Tuesday that his upcoming book begins with an anecdote about his wife persuading him to give up drinking by pushing him to decide whether he preferred booze to fatherhood.

Bush said the book is less autobiography and more an analysis of key decisions in his life, both before and after he was elected president. Topics will include the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the troop surge in Iraq, his responses to terrorists attacks and Hurricane Katrina and the financial meltdown.

He said he hopes the book will be a tool for historians evaluating his presidency.

He praised his father, the 41st president, for helping him become the 43rd. "I never would be sitting here without the unconditional love of an awesome man," he said. - Bush: Book begins with decision to quit drinking

A flawed strategy and a failed war in Afghanistan - Katrina vanden Heuvel

As we pass this grim marker, the Obama administration's strategy in Afghanistan is foundering because it is fundamentally flawed. It lacks a clear, achievable mission, isn't in our national security interest and costs too much in treasure and lives.

The counterinsurgency strategy to win the hearts and minds of Afghans is failing -- a Pentagon report last month revealed that only 29 of 121 critical Afghan districts could be classified as "sympathetic to the government," compared with 48 "supportive of or sympathetic to" the Taliban. The number of Afghans who rated U.S. and NATO troops "good" or "very good" dropped from 38 percent in December to 29 percent in March -- perhaps as a result of the civilian casualties that are on the rise.

The continued occupation of a fiercely independent and tribal Afghanistan -- as well as the death of tens of thousands of civilians -- engenders anti-Americanism and fuels terrorist recruitment.

Flawed strategy, failed war - Katrina vanden Heuvel

The U.K. Parliament: Radical Reform Meets Royal Tradition

Ever since Guy Fawkes attempted to reform the British Parliament in his own unique fashion in 1605 — with a failed attempt to kill the Protestant King James I by blowing the place up — successive governments have talked about modernizing the country's constitution. The U.K. Parliament: Radical Reform Meets Royal Tradition

The Queen Opens Parliament in the U.K.
سخنرانی ملکه الیزابت دوم در پارلمان جدید بریتانیا

The president at West Point: Half the ideas, half the calories - Foreign Policy

If the graduation speech the president delivered at West Point this weekend was indeed intended -- as it was touted to be -- as a preview of the President's national security strategy, you should be able to find that when it released later this week in the diet section of your supermarket in the section for "Foreign Policy Lite."

The president has given some great or at least very good speeches in his term of office -- in Cairo, in Prague, in Oslo, for example-that hinted at truly transformational policies. This was not one of them. Further, speeches like this are weakened by the fact that the record shows that Obama to date is willing only to rhetorically embrace major change. - The president at West Point: Half the ideas, half the calories

Why getting inside the West Wing's Afghan strategy review makes me ... - Foreign Policy

داسلامي جمهوريت د جمهورررييس حامدکرزي پيغام

دښوونکي دورځې په مناسبت دافغانستان داسلامي جمهوريت د جمهورررييس حامدکرزي پيغام دجوزا دمياشتې دريمه هرکال زموږدهيواد په ګوټ گوټ کې دښوونکي دورځې په نامه نمانځل کيږي دالمانځنه په حقيقت کې دښوونکي دهغه لوړمقام نمانځنه ده چې هرښوونکي يې په ټولنه کې لري ښوونکي مربي دي دهيواد دبچيانو روزونکي اودجهالت له تورتم دپوهې رڼاته دشاگردانو لارښود دي که موږ دښوونکي هرڅومره ستاينه اولمانځنه وکړو ورسره ښايي دافغانستان ښوونکو په وروستيو لسيزو کې دهيواد دنامساعدو شرايطو له امله په ډيروسختو شرايطو کې خپل وظايف سرته ورسول که معاش ورته ورسيد ياونه رسيد خودوى خپلو ټولگيو ته ولاړل اودوطن داولاد له زده کړي يي لاس ونه کښ ډير ښوونکي مو شهيدان شول اوډيرهم ټپيان اوس هم دهيواد په ځينو برخو کې زموږ ښوونکې دافغانستان دښمنانو ترگواښ لاندي ښوونځيو ته ورځي اودهيوادبچيان روزي دافغانستان دټولو ښوونکو خودگذري له مسلک سره مينه اوقرباني ټولو هيوادوالو ته څرگندي ، دمننې اوستاينې وړ دي. .......- داسلامي جمهوريت د جمهورررييس حامدکرزي پيغام

روز ماتم در غزني؛ واكنشي به قتل غيرنظاميان
ابتكار صلح در دست كيست؟

Blair to Join Venture Firm as Adviser on Technology

Tony Blair, the former British prime minister, is turning his attention to Silicon Valley. Mr. Blair is becoming a senior adviser at Khosla Ventures, the venture capital firm founded by Vinod Khosla, an investor and a proponent of green technology, Claire Cain Miller reports in The New York - Blair to Join Venture Firm as Adviser on Technology

Tony Blair to advise Silicon Valley's Khosla San Francisco Chronicle
Tony Blair joins Indian-born billionaire's US firm Hindustan Times
Telegraph.co.uk - Mirror.co.uk - Fortune

Monday, May 24, 2010

من علمنی حرفا فهو مولایی

امروز روز معلم است. روزی که قرار است به عنوان یک سنت رسمی و نمایشی از موجودی تجلیل به عمل آید که اگر انصاف و عدالت در کار باشد، باید نه یک روز بلکه همه سال ها از آن او و به نام او باشد و جهان بشریت باید خود را مدیون و مرهون او بداند

اگر در نظر داشته باشیم که به قول مولانای بزرگ جان انسان، جز خبری که دارد نیست، روشن است که معلم بیشترین نقش را در پرورش جان آدمی دارد. زیرا اوست که حامل خبر است و منظور مولانای بزرگ از خبر جز آگاهی نیست. اما تقدیر و تجلیل واقعی، کوشش صادقانه برای از بین بردن آن موانعی است که نمی گذارد معلم، معلم باشد و حداقل مجبور نباشد برای فایق آمدن بر مشکلات و دشواری های زندگی، بخشی از وقت خودش را به کاری بپردازد که برایش هرگز نمی تواند گوارا باشد

از این رو هر نوع بهبودی در حال و احوال او مستقیما زمینه را برای بهسازی و سلامت جامعه آماده می سازد. این نیز روشن است که اگر وضعیت معلم و آموزگار چنان باشد که در بالا به آن اشاره شد، هر کسی که کار پررونقی بیابد و از امتیازات و سهولت های بهتری برخوردار باشد، ترجیح می دهد معلم نشود که می داند معلمی نه نان دارد و نه نام و نه آن چیزهایی که هر میرزا قلمی دارد.

ولی طبیبی را که می تواند انسانی را از مرگ نجات دهد، به چاه کنی واداشتن، بی گمان جنایتی غیرقابل بخشایش هست. همه کس به آرامش روانی نیاز دارند، اما آشفتگی و ناراحتی روحی یک معلم به آسانی می تواند به دانشجویانش نیز سرایت کند. خواسته یا نخواسته برای یک دانشجو، معلم الگویی است که هر گفته و کرده اش قابل پیروی است. بر این اساس سیمای غم گرفته و لحن و صدای غم انگیز، پیشانی پرچین و لباس نامنظم او نیز این باور را در دانشجو القا می کند که این همه از الزامات معلمی است و حتا پسندیده.

اما هر چه باشد معلم به تعبیر زیبای امام علی، مولای ماست و مولا به تعبیر یکی از صاحبدلان کسی است که به انسان آزادی می بخشد و انسان را از بردگی و غلامی رها می کند. جهل اسارت است و دانش رهایی و به قول یکی از دانایان خطاب به پسرش «اگر خواهی در چنگ هیچ دیکتاتوری اسیر نشوی، بخوان و بخوان و بخوان». این نعمتی است که معلم وقف می کند. حرمت و مقام معلم را با بوسیدن دست های شان پاس می داریم و در این روزی که به نام او رقم خورده است، او را سپاس می گوییم. - من علمنی حرفا فهو مولایی

از روز معلم در سراسر افغانستان تجلیل شد

The harsh lives of Kabul's street children

Her day begins with a knock on the door. At 6am in Kabul, 10-year-old Nargis goes house to house begging for bread on the richest of streets in the Afghan capital.

The neighbourhood of Sherpur, famous for its ostentatious mansions, lies at the end of the hill where she and her family live in one room in a mud brick house. On the day I meet her, everyone who answers her knock says they have no bread to give.

"Today, a little boy has been out ahead of me. He got it all," she explains in a whisper of a voice, before returning home without anything for her family to eat.

In Afghan society sending Nargis' teenage sisters onto the streets would bring dishonour, and her younger siblings are too small. Her father cannot or will not work. He is a drug addict.

Nargis is just one of tens of thousands of street children in Kabul.
Born into a country torn by three decades of war and an economy fuelled by the opium trade, they lose their fathers to violence or vice

At the end of each day, she climbs the last hill towards her home.
A torn cloth satchel with her notebook hangs over one shoulder. A large plastic bag of useful bits of rubbish which she has scavenged from a rubbish heap is slung over the other. - Street life

The harsh lives of Kabul's street children
Street Children - Afghanistan

اجلاس صلح کابل یک بار دیگر به تاخیر افتاد
روزنامه های کابل: دوشنبه، ۳ جوزا

Afghan Government and Taliban Deny Formal Talks - nytimes

KABUL, Afghanistan — The Afghan government and representatives of the Taliban denied on Saturday any connection to reported peace talks on a Maldives island and said the gathering would not lead to anything substantive. - Afghanistan and Taliban Deny Formal Talks in Maldives

Afghan Spy Agency Accuses Pakistan in Attacks

«روند آماده گی برگزاری کنفرانس کابل 40 درصد پیش رفته است»
« احداث خط آهن یکی از پروژه های عمده و حیاتی کشور است» - رادیو ...

INTERVIEW - U.S. aid group ready to help rebuild restive Pakistan

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistani army offensives against the Taliban are clearing the way for the resumption of reconstruction and development in former hotspots, and increasing the chances for stability, a top American aid official said.

Washington sees the Islamabad government as a key partner in the fight against militancy and hopes aid programmes will help the state win widerpublic support in the war.

Edward Birgells, regional director of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) for Pakistan's northwest, along the Afghan border, is cautiously optimistic. - USAID ready to help rebuild Pakistan

انتخاب دختر عرب بحیث ملکه زیبایی در امریکا و آغاز مناقشات در لبنان

ریما فقیه برندۀ مسابقۀ زیبایی دختر بر گزیدۀ امریکا یا مس یو اس آ دختر ۲۴ سالۀ از ایالت مشیگن امریکا اصلا از لبنان است

این زیباروی با موهای سیاه در سه بخش یعنی پوشیدن لباس شب، لباس آببازی ومصاحبه رقبایش را شکست داده و عنوان MISS USA را که با صد هزار دالر پول سکالرشب وجوایز دیگر بشمول فرصت تکمیل ماستری در یک یونیورستی معتبر امریکایی همراه بود، بدست آورد

با وجود بعضی مناقشات در انتخاب وی ، بسیاری لبنانی ها میگویند که از انتخاب وی خوشحال اند. بخاطریکه برای لبنان افتخار کمایی کرده و سیمای متفاوت مسلمانان شیعه را که همواره تندرو ترسیم شده نمایش میدهد

رانا فقیه خواهر ریما نیز در امریکا زندگی میکند اما اخیراً دوباره به لبنان بر گشته است. او بیاد میاورد که براک اوباما رئیس جمهور امریکا بخاطر سوابق مسلمانی اش ،عین تبصره ها را متحمل شده بود. او همچنان بیاد میاورد که اوباما در مقابل گفته بود

رانا فقیه می گوید: "من بیاد میاورم که رئیس جمهور ما گفته بود، هیچ امریکایی عرب، هیچ امریکایی آسیایی موجود نیست . اینجا ایالات متحده امریکاست این حقیقتیست که ما بان باور داریم ، ریما نیز عین اعتقاد را دارد"

لبنبانی ها در جاده های بیروت میگویند ، بخاطر پیروزی ریما فقیه بسیار مفتخرند، - انتخاب دختر عرب بحیث ملکه زیبایی در امریکا و آغاز مناقشات در لبنان

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