Ingrid Betancourt, former Colombian presidential candidate, has been rescued from the FARC. Yay!
]]>The text of Illinois Sen. Barack Obama's letter to the Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club in San Francisco:
Dear Friends,
Thank you for the opportunity to welcome everyone to the Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club's Pride Breakfast and to congratulate you on continuing a legacy of success, stretching back thirty-six years. As one of the oldest and most influential LGBT organizations in the country, you have continually rallied to support Democratic candidates and causes, and have fought tirelessly to secure equal rights and opportunities for LGBT Americans in California and throughout the country.
As the Democratic nominee for President, I am proud to join with and support the LGBT community in an effort to set our nation on a course that recognizes LGBT Americans with full equality under the law. That is why I support extending fully equal rights and benefits to same sex couples under both state and federal law. That is why I support repealing the Defense of Marriage Act and the "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy, and the passage of laws to protect LGBT Americans from hate crimes and employment discrimination. And that is why I oppose the divisive and discriminatory efforts to amend the California Constitution, and similar efforts to amend the U.S. Constitution or those of other states.
For too long. issues of LGBT rights have been exploited by those seeking to divide us. It's time to move beyond polarization and live up to our founding promise of equality by treating all our citizens with dignity and respect. This is no less than a core issue about who we are as Democrats and as Americans.
Finally, I want to congratulate all of you who have shown your love for each other by getting married these last few weeks. My thanks again to the Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club for allowing me to be a part of today's celebration. I look forward to working with you in the coming months and years, and I wish you all continued success.
Sincerely,
Barack Obama
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Will this actually win him more votes, or lose him conservative states like Utah and Pennsylvania?
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Ingrid Betancourt, former Colombian presidential candidate, has been rescued from the FARC. Yay!
]]>Someone's fabricating another story about Anwar Ibrahim sodomizing an aide. True or false (most definite false), is anal sex the way to go to bring down the defacto leader of the Malaysian Opposition?
You guys tried it once, bringing a mattress into court. Do you really think you can pull this off again?
All this is is a scare tactic placed by the government to discredit a politician who may be the future Prime Minister of Malaysia should he succeed in convincing politicians in Sabah and Sarawak to switch sides this coming September 16th.
So whoever is fabricating this tale, I hope the police charge them with false information and lock them up.
And why is Anwar in the Turkish embassy?! Dude, call the police and make a statement. You've nothing to hide.
Don't think this IGP's going to punch your eye out....
]]>An interesting piece of news on the war on terror.
Apparently the US Army made a huge mistake by bombing fellow allies the Pakistanis, killing 11 of them.
It's a crazy war when you can simply bomb you allies.
Or does America no longer consider them allies because they're negotiating peace with the Afghan militants?
PESHAWAR, Pakistan
(AFP) - Pakistan's military condemned a "cowardly" US air strike that
killed 11 Pakistani troops near the Afghan border on Wednesday, saying
it could jeopardise cooperation in the "war on terror".
The attack on a checkpost in Pakistan's volatile tribal zone was the first of its kind since Islamabad joined Western efforts against the hardline Taliban movement in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks.
It heightened tensions between Pakistan and the US-led coalition in Afghanistan, which recently warned that the new government's decision to hold peace talks with militants could increase cross-border infiltration.
A Pakistani army spokesman "condemned this completely unprovoked and cowardly act" and blamed the coalition for the "aerial attack" that destroyed a paramilitary post in the Mohmand tribal region, a statement said.
It confirmed that 11 soldiers were killed including an officer. "The incident had hit at the very basis of cooperation and sacrifice with which Pakistani soldiers are supporting the coalition in the war against terror," it quoted the spokesman as saying. Pakistan had lodged a strong protest with the coalition, it said.
Heavily armed local tribesmen brandishing rocket launchers and Kalashnikov rifles gathered near the checkpost in the mountainous Gora Prai area to show their support after the attack, residents said.
The US-led coalition in Afghanistan referred queries to the US embassy in Islamabad, which in turn said that the Pentagon was dealing with the matter. The Afghan military made no immediate comment.
Pakistani security officials said the deaths came after Afghan troops crossed the porous frontier and tried to occupy the strategic Pakistani post in the troubled tribal belt, which borders eastern Afghanistan.
The post was in an area that has long been disputed between the two countries. Pakistani troops repulsed the Afghan soldiers and the coalition then bombed the area.
Coalition aircraft also killed around 15 Taliban militants about a kilometre (half a mile) away, the officials said. A spokesman for Pakistani Taliban militants, Maulvi Omar, said eight "mujahideen (holy warriors)" were killed in an air strike by coalition helicopters.
He also said the rebels had shot down a coalition helicopter and captured seven Afghan soldiers when they were returning from "attacking" the post. There was no confirmation of either claim.
Pakistan has protested over a series of missile strikes attributed to US-led forces in Afghanistan in recent months, including one in the tribal region of Bajaur in May that killed more than a dozen people.
Several Pakistani soldiers have also been killed by stray shells but it appears to be the first time that any have been killed by a targeted air strike by US forces.
Disputes over the 2,500-kilometre (1,500-mile) frontier between Pakistan and Afghanistan, both key allies in the US-led "war on terror," have flared up several times in recent years. Pakistan's new government, which ousted allies of President Pervez Musharraf in elections in February, has entered peace talks with pro-Taliban militants in the tribal belt, causing concerns among its Western allies.
The attack came two days after a US think tank said in a report that members of Pakistan's intelligence services and its paramilitaries were supporting Taliban insurgents. The study by the RAND corporation, funded by the US Department of Defence, said that if Taliban bases in Pakistan were not eliminated, the forces supporting the government of Afghan President Hamid Karzai "will face crippling long-term consequences in their effort to stabilise and rebuild Afghanistan."
Pakistan's military denounced the claims in a statement as "yet
another smear campaign maligning Pakistan armed forces and creating
differences as well as misunderstanding amongst the coalition
partners."
In their most ridiculously trivial movement by far, the DAP central executive committee has asked their Johor assemblymen not to wear songkok's (or peci if you're Indonesian) at the opening of the State assembly.
Interesting.
Just what kind of statement is the DAP making with this move? More interestingly, who came up with the idea of not wearing a songkok?
Was it the same individual who continues to undermine the Malay Sultanates?
If wearing the songkok is a fashion crime, I've definitely haven't heard of it yet from E! News Entertainment on Astro.
What is this move about? Is the anti-Malay sentiment coming from the top of the Rocket's hierarchy finally showing?
If so, it's definitely appalling because the songkok, is not just a piece of Malay headgear. It's a piece of Malaysian headgear, regardless of race.
How can I say such a thing? Well, have you ever seen a Malay chastise the mamaks at the nasi kandar shops for wearing songkoks?
Truth be told, I would have thought that they would put more focus on the investigation of the recent flooding of Johor.
If they insist on not wearing the songkok and get barred from the assembly hall, how would their voters feel?
Personally, I think it's all down to the dress code for the assembly hall. If it mentions that the headgear is part of the dress, then wear it. It's not an insult to your religious views, non-Malays, but it will be an insult to the Sultan who is the guest of honor at the event.
Even if he did kill his caddy in his earlier years.
Sigh....
PM, if you raise oil prices, did you honestly think the people were going to sit back and just take it in stride?
Of course they're not. Of course there are going to be protests. These are individuals who think it's unfair that they are being charged a higher price for petrol in a country that willfully sells it out to other nations instead of promising a steady and affordable supply to it's people.
You go about comparing the oil prices to that of India, Bangladesh, Singapore and Thailand, and even Indonesia. Yet, you refuse to acknowledge and accept the reaction of what an increase in petrol prices did in these countries.
They were burning effigies of the Prime Minister in Delhi.
Should you not just be grateful that people are only hurling slogans, and raising pickets in our cities?
In Venice, and some parts of Spain, their fishermen have refused to go out and fish. You should be thankful that's not happening here!
In Taiwan, the fishermen from the coast came into town and protested.
What is all this idiotic nonsense about "hoping that people will not protest"?
If you bite the chili, you feel the hotness. If you can't stand the heat, get out of the PM's office.
Will you please, for once, just grow a spine and a pair of ears, and face the music!
Reading the article above, I can't help but wonder just who is in control of whom. Is the government in control of Petronas, or is it the other way around?
And also, why is there mention that the government will take away 100% of their profits? Was there such a mention by the Malaysian government that this may happen?If so, what is the purpose of our government to absorb the entirety of this global and lucrative corporations' profit?
With the recent increase in petrol prices, saving millions for our government, what possible rationale would they have for having to swallow whole our petroleum industries profits?
You know, one has to wonder what is this government planning to do with all the money they've saved on our petrol subsidy. The last time, they promised better public transport which is still nonexistent in our country. And now, they insist that it is for the good of the nation that there be monthly price reviews for petrol, higher tariffs for electricity and even higher prices for foods.
With all these taking place, they try to justify it with the upcoming world food crisis, and the oil crisis.
If there is an oil crisis, may I ask why we allow our nation to be an oil exporter? Should we not stop the selling of this precious resource to others and focus on our own people?
If there is a food crisis in our nation, then why does ISIS say otherwise?
If these higher prices are for the good of the nation, and the nation is it's people, and these actions do nothing but burden the majority, then the actions of this current government is not only contradictory to their belief, it is an act of treason.
People are fuming. Petrol prices up 40%. Diesel up a ringgit. Electricity tariffs up 16%. They removed the ceiling price of chicken from RM6.
And do you know where our leaders are?
On a two day retreat in Shah Alam.
Yes, I'm sure it was very stressful to announce a number of price hikes all at once.
So now that petrol is expensive, let's all look towards our Prime Minister and ask him an extremely viable question that I think all of us Peninsular people especially should ask him.
Prime Minister, where's our "improved" public transport system that you promised during the first hike?
Now that the prices have been brought up yet again, it is time the government ante up on their promise made beforehand.
As far as I know, I'm still experiencing KTM Komuters disappearing without a trace. I'm still a victim of lousy bus schedules.
And oddly enough, I don't see much improvement in the number of trains to cope with the impending influx of the public taking these mass transportation systems.
So please tell us all. Where's our public transport to cope with all these hikes, which you promised us?
Or shall we take it at face value that after failing to bring transparency to the government, and failing to rid corruption within the government, you are now failing in keeping the promise of a better public transportation system to that list?
If so, can you blame me for branding you the lamest Prime Minister in Malaysian history...?
And this is coming from a loyal supporter, mind you.....
Starting midnight, Malaysian will be paying 40% extra for petrol, an entire ringgit extra for diesel, and 16% extra for electricity.
Announcement of outstanding increments in salaries all around....0 percent so far.
Meanwhile, public transport within the nation's capitol, and everywhere else in this beloved country of mine still remains in the shitter.
But, fret not. Our government in it's infinite wisdom has found it suitable to grant the following to lessen the burden of the common people.
"Abdullah also announced a RM625 annual cash rebate per vehicle, for owners of private vehicles with engine capacities of up to 2,000cc, as well as pickup trucks and jeeps with engine capacities of up to 2,500cc.
Owners of private motorcycles with engine capacities of up to 250cc will receive RM150.
Payment will be made via Money Order upon renewal of road tax, from July 1.
For owners of private vehicles with engine capacities exceeding 2000cc, road tax will be reduced by RM200.
Owners of private motorcycles with engine capacities above 250 cc will get RM50 reduction in road tax."
So as you can clearly see, we Malaysians are now so blessed with this government. (/sarcasm)
What the hell am I going to do with an RM625 rebate money order?! Road tax itself, minus RM200 will cost me RM1080.
That just means I'll fork out RM455 to renew my road tax, and still have to pay extra for petrol and electricity.
You know, it is times like these that make me question just how far my loyalty is to my country. I mean, I've basically stayed here almost all my life, paid my taxes with no grouses, took the last price hike without question, get paid enough to live without any meaningful activities whatsoever, and even written more than just a good word for this current leader of ours.
Dearest Prime Minister,
Do you know what you are causing?
You are causing the people to lose faith in your leadership, and while there are no better replacements to fill your post so far, right now you're in a weakening state that makes some of us citizens of the country think that perhaps the catacomb which is Najib's closet, filled to the brim with skeletons, isn't as half as bad as another year with you at the helm.
And I think in the next General Assembly, you might just lose the top post. Heck, with things going right now, I'd vote you out.