Sunday, July 31, 2016

Mehwar: Prince Talks About His‎ Late Grandfather, King Zahir



Prince Mustafa Zahir discusses his grandfather, the late king of Afghanistan Zahir Shah, on the 9th death anniversary of the monarch‎. - Read More

MEHWAR: Prince Talks About His Late Grandfather, King Zahir - More

Friday, July 29, 2016

Hillary Clinton Warns of ‘Moment of Reckoning’ in Speech Accepting Nomination - nytimes

PHILADELPHIA — Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton, who sacrificed personal ambition for her husband’s political career and then rose to be a globally influential figure, became the first woman to accept a major party’s presidential nomination on Thursday night, a prize that generations of American women have dreamed about for one of their own.

Declaring that the nation was at “a moment of reckoning,” Mrs. Clinton, 68, urged voters to reject the divisive policy ideas and combative politics of the Republican nominee, Donald J. Trump. She offered herself as a steady and patriotic American who would stand up for citizens of all races and creeds and unite the country to persevere against Islamic terrorists, economic troubles, and the chaos of gun violence.

“Powerful forces are threatening to pull us apart, bonds of trust and respect are fraying,” said Mrs. Clinton, who worked on the speech until the early hours of Thursday morning. “And just as with our founders there are no guarantees. It truly is up to us. We have to decide whether we all will work together so we all can rise together.”

Mrs. Clinton radiated confidence, from her pungent delivery and easy laugh to the unusually expressive ways she shifted her tone and delighted in her own best lines. She smoothly acknowledged her own limitations and trust issues as a public figure and forcefully challenged Mr. Trump over his claims that he alone could fix America’s problems.

And after 25 years in a sometimes brutal national spotlight, Mrs. Clinton tried to explain who she is and what drives her — from her Methodist faith to her passion for government policy that could mean all the difference for people.

“I sweat the details of policy,” Mrs. Clinton said. “Because it’s not just a detail if it’s your kid — if it’s your family. It’s a big deal. And it should be a big deal to your president.” - Read More

Hillary Clinton Warns of ‘Moment of Reckoning’ in Speech Accepting Nomination


از نهمین سالروز وفات محمد ظاهرشاه یاد بود به عمل آمد



محمد ظاهرشاه از سال ۱۹۳۳ تا ۱۹۷۳ میلادی برای چهل سال زمام افغانستان را بر عهده‌داشت. - More


از نهمین سالروز وفات محمد ظاهرشاه یاد بود به عمل آمد - azadiradio

از نهمین سالروز درگذشت محمد ظاهر شاه روز پنجشنبه در مراسم رسمی در تپۀ مرنجان شهر کابل یابود شد.
از درگذشت محمد ظاهرشاه نُه سال می‌گذرد، برخی از مقامات دولتی و چهره‌های سیاسی می‎گویند که او به علت داشتن سیاست میانه‌رو اش، نزد مردم محبوبیت همیشگی دارد.

مراسم یادبود از نهمین سال درگذشت محمد ظاهرشاه روز پنج‌شنبه در تپۀ مرنجان شهر کابل برگزار شد و شماری از مقام‌های حکومت در این مراسم اشتراک داشتند.

محمد اشرف غنی رئیس جمهور افغانستان در پیامی به این مناسبت که از سوی اکرم خپلواک مشاور ریاست جمهوری به خوانش گرفته شد ظاهرشاه را سمبول خیر و برکت خوانده و او را شخصیت فراموش ناشدنی یاد کرده‌است.

آقای خپلواک با خوانش این پیام گفت:
"بابای ملت یک شخصیت ماندگار در تاریخ افغانستان است. دورۀ زمامداری وی نمونۀ صلح و ثبات بود. زندگی او برای مردم نمونه‌یی از اعتدال، ترقی و وطندوستی بوده‌است."

حامد کرزی رئیس جمهور پیشین افغانستان و عبدالله‌ عبدالله رئیس اجرائیه این کشور، با گذاشتن اکلیل گل بر سر مزار این شاه پیشین افغانستان، او را سیاستگزار اعتدال پسند خواندند.

​محمد ظاهرشاه از سال ۱۹۳۳ تا ۱۹۷۳ میلادی برای چهل سال زمام افغانستان را بر عهده‌داشت.

سردار محمد داوود خان در سال ۱۹۷۳ میلادی پس از کودتا خود را رئیس جمهور افغانستان اعلام کرد و محمد ظاهرشاه از آن‌ زمان تا سقوط رژیم طالبان در سال ۲۰۰۲ در ایتالیا بسر برد.

محمد ظاهرشاه در لویه جرگۀ تصویب قانون اساسی افغانستان اشتراک کرد و در این جرگه برای وی لقب بابای ملت داده‌شد. - Read More

از نهمین سالروز وفات محمد ظاهرشاه یاد بود به عمل آمد

 - More

Thursday, July 28, 2016

Transcript: Hillary Clinton's Democratic National Convention speech, annotated - Latimes

Times journalists are annotating this speech with Genius. If you see a passage highlighted in yellow, you can click on it to see what we have to say about it. You can also highlight passages and leave your own comments.

Thank you! Thank you for that amazing welcome. 

My friends, we've come to Philadelphia – the birthplace of our nation – because what happened in this city 240 years ago still has something to teach us today. 

We all know the story. But we usually focus on how it turned out - and not enough on how close that story came to never being written at all. 

When representatives from 13 unruly colonies met just down the road from here, some wanted to stick with the King. Some wanted to stick it to the king, and go their own way. The revolution hung in the balance. Then somehow they began listening to each other … compromising …finding common purpose.   

And by the time they left Philadelphia, they had begun to see themselves as one nation.

That's what made it possible to stand up to a King. That took courage. They had courage. Our Founders embraced the enduring truth that we are stronger together

America is once again at a moment of reckoning. Powerful forces are threatening to pull us apart. Bonds of trust and respect are fraying. 

And just as with our founders, there are no guarantees. It truly is up to us.  We have to decide whether we all will work together so we all can rise together.

Our country's motto is e pluribus unum: out of many, we are one.  Will we stay true to that motto? 

Remember: Our Founders fought a revolution and wrote a Constitution so America would never be a nation where one person had all the power. Two hundred and forty years later, we still put our faith in each other.  

That's the country we're fighting for. That's the future we're working toward…  And so it is with humility. . . determination . . .  and boundless confidence in America's promise… that I accept your nomination for President of the United States!

Now, sometimes the people at this podium are new to the national stage.

As you know, I'm not one of those people. I've been your First Lady. Served 8 years as a Senator from the great State of New York.

Then I represented all of you as Secretary of State.  But my job titles only tell you what I've done. They don't tell you why.

The truth is, through all these years of public service, the “service” part has always come easier to me than the “public” part.   I get it that some people just don't know what to make of meSo let me tell you.  - Read More
Transcript: Hillary Clinton's Democratic National Convention speech, annotated

'We can all rise together,' Hillary Clinton proclaims in accepting her historic nomination - More

رئیس جمهور غنی صلاحیت نامگذاری چهارراه عبدالوکیل خان نائب سالار را ندارد - Halim Tanwir

President Ashraf Ghani does not have the authority to re named Abdul Wakil Khan minaret & Squere in Kabul

محمد اشرف غنی رئیس جمهور افغانستان، چهارراهی عبدالوکیل خاان نائب سالار و یکی از قهرمان جنگ افغان و انگلیس را در منطقه دهمزنگ کابل بنام "چوک شهیدان" نام‌گذاری کرد. 

و به شاروالی کابل هدایت داده است که برای نام‌گذاری این چهارراهی د اقدام کند. 

این تصمیم عجولانه رئیس جمهور شاید بخاطر مصلحت بینی و ضعف مدیریت باشد و یا هم ناآگاهی از تاریخ بنا ها و جا های تاریخی کشور. باساس قانون نامگذاری جاده ها و جا های مهم ، وزارت اطلاعات و فرهنگ کمسیونی دارد تا بعد از بررسی در مورد نامگذاری ها تصمیم گرفته و بعدا شاروالی همان شهرهمکاری کند. این تصمیم رئیس جمهور در تضاد با اصول قانون بوده و باعث ازبین رفتن داشته ها و ارزش های تاریخی کشور ما خواهد شد.

از مقام ریاست جمهور تقاضا دارم تا در منطقه دیگری از شهر کابل بنای را بسازند و آنرا نامگذاری کنند. من این تصمیم جلاتلتمآب رئیس جمهور افغانستان را یک تصمیم عجولانه دانسته و خواهان تجدید نظر خواهم بود
دکتور محمد حلیم تنویر

جهت معلومات بیشتر به گذشته تاریخی این چهار راه و مناره عبدالوکیل خان در دهمزنگ مطلبی را ارائه می نمایم. -  Read More the Dr. Halim Tanwir

Halim Tanwir - Google+ - More



رئیس جمهور غنی صلاحیت نامگذاری چهارراه عبدالوکیل خان نائب سالار را ندارد

U.S. lawmaker wants new budget requests for Iraq, Afghanistan troops

The chairman of the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee called on the Obama administration on Monday to ask Congress for more money to fund its plans for Iraq and Afghanistan, amid expectations of a defense budget battle when lawmakers return to Washington this fall.

"The administration needs to come over with a supplemental (budget request)," Republican Representative Mac Thornberry said at a roundtable discussion with reporters shortly after returning from a trip to Iraq and Afghanistan.

He said U.S. and allied forces were making progress in Afghanistan and in the fight against Islamic State militants in Iraq, but that stiff challenges remained in both campaigns.

Thornberry and other congressional Republicans have been saying President Barack Obama must formally request additional funds for the fiscal year that starts on Oct. 1 since he announced plans earlier this month to send more troops to Iraq and keep more in Afghanistan than had been expected. - Read More

U.S. lawmaker wants new budget requests for Iraq, Afghanistan troops


Transcript: President Obama's Democratic National Convention speech - latimes

These are the remarks by President Obama at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia on Wednesday night.
Let me tell you, eight years ago, you may remember Hillary and I were rivals for the Democratic nomination. We battled for a year and a half. Let me tell you, it was tough, because Hillary was tough. I was worn out. (Laughter.) She was doing everything I was doing, but just like Ginger Rogers, it was backwards in heels. (Applause.) And every time I thought I might have the race won, Hillary just came back stronger. (Applause.)
But after it was all over, I asked Hillary to join my team. (Applause.) And she was a little surprised. Some of my staff was surprised. (Laughter.) But ultimately she said yes -- because she knew that what was at stake was bigger than either of us. (Applause.) And for four years -- for four years, I had a front-row seat to her intelligence, her judgment, and her discipline. I came to realize that her unbelievable work ethic wasn’t for praise, it wasn’t for attention -- that she was in this for everyone who needs a champion. (Applause.)  I understood that after all these years, she has never forgotten just who she’s fighting for. (Applause.)  

You know, nothing truly prepares you for the demands of the Oval Office. You can read about it. You can study it. But until you’ve sat at that desk, you don’t know what it’s like to manage a global crisis, or send young people to war. But Hillary has been in the room; she’s been part of those decisions. She knows what’s at stake in the decisions our government makes -- what’s at stake for the working family, for the senior citizen, or the small business owner, for the soldier, for the veteran. And even in the midst of crisis, she listens to people, and she keeps her cool, and she treats everybody with respect. And no matter how daunting the odds, no matter how much people try to knock her down, she never, ever quits. (Applause.) 

That is the Hillary I know. That’s the Hillary I’ve come to admire. And that’s why I can say with confidence there has never been a man or a woman -- not me, not Bill, nobody -- more qualified than Hillary Clinton to serve as president of the United States of America. (Applause.) - Read More
Transcript: President Obama's Democratic National Convention speech

Hillary Clinton will accept the Democratic nomination for president on climactic final night of convention

Obama Passes Baton of Hope to Clinton - nytimes

PHILADELPHIA — President Obama delivered a stirring valedictory address at the Democratic convention Wednesday night, hailing Hillary Clinton as his rightful political heir and the party’s best hope to protect democracy from “homegrown demagogues” like the Republican Donald J. Trump.

Taking the stage to rapturous roars of “We love you” and “Yes we can,” Mr. Obama acknowledged that Democrats were still divided after a bruising nomination fight and that Mrs. Clinton had made “mistakes.”

But he vouched passionately for Mrs. Clinton as a trusted and reliable ally not just for him but for all Americans who need a fighter to improve their lives and keep them safe.

“She’s been there for us — even if we haven’t always noticed — and if you’re serious about our democracy, you can’t afford to stay home just because she might not align with you on every issue,” Mr. Obama said, an explicit appeal to supporters of Senator Bernie Sanders who continue to resist Mrs. Clinton.

Mr. Obama offered an optimistic portrait of America and a strong defense of his policies, but also unleashed by far his most ferocious attack yet on Mr. Trump, even portraying the Republican nominee as a threat to the country. “That’s why anyone who threatens our values, whether fascists or communists or jihadists or homegrown demagogues, will always fail in the end,” he said.

Mr. Obama also used his own remarks to try to drive a wedge between Mr. Trump’s campaign and Republican voters. “It wasn’t particularly Republican and it sure wasn’t conservative,” he said of last week’s Republican convention. “There were no serious solutions to pressing problems. Just the fanning of resentments and blame and hate and anger.”

The president’s contempt for Mr. Trump took on a personal dimension as well when he recalled his grandparents from Kansas and said, “I don’t know if they had their birth certificates” — a reference to Mr. Trump’s leadership of the so-called birther movement that raised questions about Mr. Obama’s citizenship. - Read More

Obama Passes Baton of Optimism to Clinton


Obama, at Convention, Lays Out Stakes for a Divided Nation

Obama boosts Clinton: Carry her like you carried me - Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — His own legacy on the line, President Barack Obama implored Americans to elect Hillary Clinton to the White House, casting her as a candidate who believes in the optimism that drives the nation's democracy and warning against the "deeply pessimistic vision" of Republican Donald Trump.

"America is already great. America is already strong," he declared to cheering delegates Wednesday night at the Democratic convention. "And I promise you, our strength, our greatness, does not depend on Donald Trump."

Though Obama has six months left in office, his address Wednesday had the feeling of a political transition. He was emotional as he thanked Americans for sustaining him through difficult stretches.

"Tonight, I ask you to do for Hillary Clinton what you did for me," he said. "I ask you to carry her the same way you carried me." - Read More

Obama boosts Clinton: Carry her like you carried me

Tuesday, July 26, 2016

Historic nomination: Hillary Clinton becomes the first woman to lead a major-party ticket - Latimes

Hillary Clinton made history Tuesday as the first woman chosen to lead a major-party presidential ticket as family, friends and old political allies took turns extolling her as a leader with the experience to keep the country safe and the heart to help those who have been forgotten.

“I give you a leader who can unite us as a nation, a leader who can break down barriers and build a better future for every American,” said Democratic Rep. John Lewis of Georgia, a civil rights hero, as he helped formally place Clinton's name in nomination for the White House. “She will fight for us all with her heart, soul and mind.”

The longest and most lavish testimonial was delivered by Clinton’s husband, former President Bill Clinton, who offered a tribute that began, “In the spring of 1971, I met a girl,” and traced her career through her time as first lady and years as secretary of State.

"We've been walking and talking together ever since," he said. “Hillary opened my eyes to a whole new world of public service by private citizens.”

Pivoting to the election, he addressed one of greatest challenges facing his wife: overcoming the image of a candidate who’s been in the public eye for decades when so many voters want something new. “People say, ‘Well, we need to change. She’s been around a long time.’”

“She sure has,” Clinton said, wagging a finger in emphasis, “and she’s sure been worth every single year she’s put into making people’s lives better.”

“She’s still the best change-maker I have ever known,” he said. - Read More

Historic nomination: Hillary Clinton becomes the first woman to lead a major-party ticket


Clinton wins historic nomination, says glass ceiling cracked - Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Taking on the role of devoted political spouse, former President Bill Clinton declared his wife Hillary Clinton an impassioned "change-maker" as he served as character witness on the night she triumphantly became the first woman nominated for president.

She put an electrifying cap on the night, appearing by video from New York and declaring, "We just put the biggest crack in that glass ceiling yet,"

Minutes earlier, the former president said, "She's been worth every single year she's put into making people's lives better." First lady for his presidency, she's now the Democratic Party's standard-bearer in the race for the White House.

For a man more accustomed to delivering policy-packed stem-winders, Clinton's deeply personal address underscored the historic night for Democrats, and the nation. If she wins in November, the Clintons would also be the first married couple to each serve as president. 

The former president traced his relationship with his wife back decades, recalling in great detail the first time he spotted her on a law school campus and the impact she had on pushing him into politics. - Read More

Clinton wins historic nomination, says glass ceiling cracked - MSN

Ivanka Trump’s Manufacturer Just Bought Donna Karan Label From LVMH - nytimes

For only the second time in its almost 30-year history, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, the largest luxury conglomerate in the world, is selling a fashion brand.

On Monday, the French company said that it had agreed to sell Donna Karan International to G-III Apparel Group, the American manufacturing and licensing company that owns Andrew Marc, Vilebrequin and Bass and holds the licenses for Ivanka Trump, Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, among others. It said that the transaction had an enterprise value, a figure based on its stock market valuation plus the net debt on its books, of $650 million.

The last fashion brand that LVMH sold was Christian Lacroix in 2005.

In a statement, Antonio Belloni, LVMH group managing director, said that G-III “has the expertise and capabilities to broaden the brand’s distribution and take it to its next level of success.” Mr. Belloni said that the French company had not been looking to sell Donna Karan until it was contacted by G-III.

“We wanted to sell to a strategic partner, not a private equity firm or other financial investor,” he said. “G-III are super-passionate about the brand.” - Read More
Ivanka Trump's Manufacturer Just Bought Donna Karan Label From LVMH

Afghan Civilian Casualties Have Reached a New High, U.N. Finds

Civilian casualties hit record numbers this year in Afghanistan - Washingtonpost

The U.N. mission in Afghanistan on Monday reported a worrying increase in the number of civilians killed and wounded in the country this year, making it likely that 2016 will be the worst year since 2009, when the organization began keeping track.

According to the annual midyear report by the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), 1,601 Afghans have been killed and 3,655 wounded so far this year. A full third of those casualties are children, representing an 18 percent increase over last year. Overall, there was a 4.4 percent increase in civilian casualties.

The numbers in the report are probably not comprehensive. With the Taliban gaining ground in southern Afghanistan, monitoring the effect of the war on civilians there is presumably increasingly difficult. On the other hand, UNAMA doesn't release its data set, so it isn't possible to know for certain whether that assumption is true.

Of the available data on casualties, almost two-thirds were attributed to "antigovernment elements" and a quarter to "pro-government forces." This represents a major increase in casualties caused by the Afghan and U.S. militaries. Part of that spike is explained by the doubling in civilian casualties caused by airstrikes, though those strikes account for only a small portion of the total. Fifty casualties were attributed to U.S. airstrikes in particular.

Almost 40 percent of civilian casualties this year were caused by "ground engagement." A haunting testimony included in the UNAMA report gives a sense of what that looks like. It comes from an unnamed man in the southern province of Kandahar. - Read More

Civilian casualties hit record numbers this year in Afghanistan

US election: Michelle Obama denounces Trump 'hate'

US first lady Michelle Obama has denounced Republican Donald Trump and passionately backed Hillary Clinton at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.

"The hateful language... from public figures on TV does not represent the true spirit of this country," she said, to loud cheers and applause.

"Don't stoop to their level. Our motto is, when they go low, we go high." - More at the BBC
US election: Michelle Obama denounces Trump 'hate'

Watch: Michelle Obama speech in full