Avatar is Chinese choice

Chinese film fans were mostly disappointed by the unexpected shutout of Avatar in the major categories at the 82nd Academy Awards. Most bet on the $2 billion juggernaut for the Best Picture award, and when my fellow guest at Sina.com's Oscar show openly rallied for The Hurt Locker, he instantly received text messages denouncing him.

It is understandable why Chinese filmgoers prefer Avatar. It is a runaway hit, and is still packing them in at all 3D venues. People can read all kinds of messages into it and many regard a trip to Pandora as their best movie experience.

The Hurt Locker, on the other hand, is harder to decipher. Most here tend to misinterpret its message. Even the normally liberal Beijing News reckoned it was Pentagon propaganda. It's a war movie, but it does not offer much fun or gratuitous violence. The impact of war on the protagonist and the morbid nature of his fascination with danger, simply eludes those not familiar with the culture, or not interested in anything except the explosions.

This gap between Oscar voters and movie viewers in China is a clear testament to the power of movies as escapist or fantasy fare to audiences here. People do not want to go to the theater to watch a sharper replica of reality, but to forget about it.

But the Academy, by doling out the highest accolades to The Hurt Locker, has taken a big step by embracing small movies that make us face the ugliness of our world and human nature.

Chinese audiences also love big stars. If we could vote, we would no doubt have made George Clooney the Best Actor and Meryl Streep the Best Actress. Sandra Bullock is less appreciated here for her role in The Blind Side because we are not familiar with southern women with their sharp personality and unique twang. I often remind movie fans here that the role of an American southern femme is more or less like a northeastern woman in China. If a Hong Kong star was so convincing in such a role, she would surely be recognized by her peers as a good actress.

Quentin Tarantino has a loyal following in China. They rallied for his Inglourious Basterds, which nabbed only one award, for Best Supporting Actor. Tarantino has won a lot of goodwill in China partly because he is a big advocate of Hong Kong movies and he shot his Kill Bill in Beijing. The way he manipulated violence as a dramatic element also appealed to a young male demographic.

To my surprise, The Cove, which won Best Documentary Feature, has been available to a lot of people and elicited strong reactions. There has been an avalanche of condemnation against the Japanese practice of killing dolphins. Some swore that they would never eat shark's fin again. Although it is almost impossible for documentaries to be screened in theaters, the underground distribution of this and the other nominated works, to a certain extent, will serve to awaken some people to the need for a healthier and nature-friendly lifestyle.

With all three submissions from Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan for the Best Foreign Language Film shut out from the final round of Oscar competition, this year's Oscar season had little for domestic fans to jump up and down about. They prayed for James Cameron - Titanic was also huge in China - but failing that, they will keep queuing up for tickets to the floating mountain that some have claimed was based on a peak in Hunan province's Zhangjiajie.

Source: People's Daily.
Link: http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90782/6913347.html.

Official: Overseas hot money is flowing to China

Global speculative hot money is slipping into China, disguised as foreign direct investment, and the country's foreign exchange reserves are currently"diversified at an appropriate level", said the chief regulator of China's foreign exchange Tuesday.

Yi Gang, head of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, said at a news conference in Beijing that China's currency, the yuan or RMB, faces rising pressure to appreciate, partly because of the gap of China's high interest rates and the near-zero rates in major trading partners.

He said that hot money is flowing into the country disguised as foreign direct investment or as trade accounts through"underground money shops."

And, after Beijing sold more than 34 billion U.S. dollars of American government debts in December, China's foreign exchange reserves are now appropriately diversified, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange said.

Yi, who is also a deputy governor of China's central bank, told reporters that relevant parties shall not "politicize" China's purchase or selling of U.S. Treasuries, as it is purely of business. He added that an investment group responsible for him at the State Administration of Foreign Exchange is conducting money investments on a daily basis.

Also, Beijing has planned to open more channels to facilitate out-ward capital investments by Chinese investors, the administration said. Currently, China has a stack of foreign currency reserves worth 2.4 trillion U.S. dollars.

Yi also cautioned domestic analysts who have suggested China buy more gold as reserve, because the price of gold at global markets has skyrocketed lately; and any hint that China will purchase more gold will further boost the price, and jeopardize the consumers who are gold lovers. He said China's current gold reserve is a little more than 1,000 tons.

Source: People's Daily.
Link: http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90776/90785/6913227.html.

China's gold reserve ranks fifth in the world

China's gold reserve amounts to 1,054 tons, ranking fifth in the world, said Yi Gang, central bank vice governor on Tuesday.

China is the largest gold producer in the world, with a more than 300 tons of gold produced annually. China is also a world's second largest gold consumer, with a consumption of over 400 tons of gold a year, second only to India.

It is conservatively estimated that there are far more than 3000 tons of gold accumulated among Chinese people.

Source: People's Daily.
Link: http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90778/90860/6913310.html.

Beijing to extend its subway system to build "one-hour metropolitan area"

Beijing and Hebei will strengthen coordination in transport infrastructure construction, and establish a "one-hour metropolitan area" by extend Beijing's subway lines to surrounding cities of Hebei Province, said Zhang Gong, director of Beijing Municipal Development and Reform Commission March 7.

Beijing's city planning departments have earlier expressed that inter city railway lines, rather than subway, should be the solution for inter city transportation.

Zhang said that Beijing was considering expanding its existing subway system to some cities and towns in Hebei province.

In accordance with the development of bearing capacity of surrounding cities and the integration of Beijing's urban and rural areas, the program would be launched during the 12th Five-Year Plan period, whose ultimate aim was to achieve the complementary advantages through building urban agglomerations around Beijing, and avoid the disadvantage of land resources and space in Beijing, Zhang noted.

In addition, Beijing and Hebei will enhance cooperation and communications on transport infrastructure facilities, and actively promote the construction of Beijing-Zhangjiakou, Beijing-Tangshan, Beijing-Chengde and Beijing-Shijiazhuang high-speed railway lines to create one-hour metropolitan area.

Source: People's Daily.
Link: http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90778/90862/6913206.html.

Turkish PM sends good-will letter to Cyprus Archbishop

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has sent a personal letter to Cyprus' Archbishop Chrysostomos, in a gesture indicating he wants a quick solution to the Cyprus problem.

A high-ranking church official revealed on Monday night that Erdogan told Archbishop Chrysostomos, the head of the Greek Orthodox Church of Cyprus, that he has given his personal approval for the conservation and restoration of the historic monastery of Apostle Andreas in the Turkish Cypriot north.

The monastery is considered to be a symbol of Christianity in Cyprus and is an important worship site for Christian Orthodox Greek Cypriots.

This is the second time in a week that the Turkish prime minister makes a good-will gesture toward Greek Cypriots.

Last week, Greek Cypriot newspapers reported an unprecedented meeting of Erdogan with Greek and Turkish Cypriot journalists in Istanbul.

He told them that he was genuinely interested in finding a quick solution to the longstanding Cyprus problem along lines agreed in talks between the leaders of the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities.

Erdogan's letter to Archbishop Chrysostomos is seen as a significant gesture, since the Archbishop is one of the most vocal critics of Turkey's policies on Cyprus, accusing Ankara of promoting a permanent partition of the island.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkey militarily intervened and occupied the north of the island following a coup by a group of Greek officers.

In 1983, the Turkish Cypriot authorities declared a breakaway territory and set up "the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus," which is recognized only by Turkey.

The Archbishop has been campaigning for years for restoration of the monastery in the area.

Erdogan was said to have given an assurance to Archbishop Chrysostomos that restoration work will be permitted to start soon, after a delay of several years.

The history of the monastery, dedicated to Apostle Andreas, one of Jesus Christ disciples, goes back to the roots of Christianity. According to legend, the monastery was built on the shore at the far-eastern tip of Cyprus where a boat carrying Apostle Andreas from Israel to Rome capsized.

The monastery has suffered considerable erosion after having been left unattended for more than three decades and architects say it is in imminent danger of collapsing.

Conservation work was to have started long ago but was held up by Turkish vendors who refuse to dismantle the tents they set up next to the entrance to the church.

Source: People's Daily.
Link: http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90853/6913503.html.

Medvedev signs instruction on Year of Spain in Russia in 2011

MOSCOW, March 9 (Itar-Tass) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed on Tuesday an instruction on holding next year the Year of Russia in Spain and the Year of Spain in Russia, the Kremlin website reported.

In the same document, Medvedev approved the line-up of the organizing committee, which will be led by Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov.

Source: ITAR-TASS.
Link: http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=14897063&PageNum=0.

Biden begins Israeli meetings, after US announces new peace talks

Jerusalem - Vice President Joe Biden began talks in Jerusalem Tuesday, preparing the ground for a resumption of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations that are to end a more than one-year freeze in the peace process. Biden, the highest-ranking official in the administration of President Barack Obama to visit Israel and the Palestinian Authority, began a packed three-day itinerary by meeting Israeli President Shimon Peres in Jerusalem Tuesday morning.

Obama's special envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell, late Monday made the long-awaited formal announcement that the sides had agreed to hold indirect talks, despite Palestinian anger over an Israeli decision to give exceptional permission for the construction of 112 new apartments in a Jewish settlement near Jerusalem.

"I'm pleased that the Israeli and Palestinian leadership have accepted indirect talks," Mitchell said in a statement from Jerusalem.

He said he hoped the indirect negotiations would "lead to direct negotiations as soon as possible."

He added the "structure and scope" of the talks were still being discussed and he would return to the region next week to continue the discussions.

The Palestinians want a four-month time frame to the talks.

They have refused to enter into direct negotiations with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, of the nationalist Likud party, demanding a freeze of all Israeli construction in both the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, with no exceptions.

Biden landed to an understated welcome in Tel Aviv Monday afternoon. His visit is scheduled to include stop-overs in the West Bank cities of Ramallah and Bethlehem on Wednesday.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/313138,biden-begins-israeli-meetings-after-us-announces-new-peace-talks.html.

Philippine government seeks interim pact with Muslim rebels

Manila - The Philippines is seeking an interim peace pact with Muslim separatist rebels before the end of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's term in June, the chief negotiator said Tuesday. Foreign Undersecretary Rafael Seguis, chairman of the government peace negotiating panel with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), said the proposed agreement would protect gains achieved in talks under the Arroyo administration.

"We have already established the necessary infrastructure and environment to sustain peace and stability," he said. "If we don't sign an interim agreement, we go back to square one."

Seguis said there was not enough time to reach a full peace accord with the MILF, the largest Muslim separatist rebel group in the Philippines, before Arroyo's term ends on June 30.

"We would no longer be able to sign a comprehensive agreement at this time," he said.

Seguis said the rebel group's proposal to convert an existing autonomous Muslim region in the southern Philippines into a "self-governance setup" would require new legislation or amendments to the constitution.

He said the government was working on a counter-proposal but admitted, "Nothing can be done between now and June 30."

The MILF first entered into peace negotiations with the government in 1997. Since then, the two sides signed a ceasefire agreement and set up an international team to monitor the truce.

In August 2008, the peace talks were suspended after disgruntled MILF rebel commanders launched a series of attacks to protest the non-signing of a key territorial agreement that would have expanded the autonomous Muslim region.

More than 300 people were killed, while more than half a million residents were displaced due to the fighting.

The negotiations resumed about one year later, when the government and rebels agreed to establish an international group to monitor the progress of the talks.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/313146,philippine-government-seeks-interim-pact-with-muslim-rebels.html.

Google: Move into Iran, Cuba, Sudan would be 'great accomplishment'

Geneva (Earth Times) - An executive at internet giant Google said Tuesday that Washington's latest move to encourage service providers to expand their work into Iran, Cuba and Sudan was a "great accomplishment.""Hopefully it will help... activities all over the world take a small step in what is certainly a long road ahead," said Robert Boorstin, a head of the communications division at Google.

He was speaking at a human rights forum in Geneva.

Boorstin said that Internet freedoms were under threat in both Western democracies and countries with fewer liberties, in different ways. He cited China and Italy as countries that have recently taken steps against what he perceived as online rights.

The US Treasury Department said Monday it was easing restrictions on US companies that export Internet services and software to Iran, Cuba and Sudan, long-time foes of Washington.

The administration hopes that access to web-based communications will foster more open societies.

Companies like Microsoft, Google and Yahoo are expected to gain from the move, having been stifled by strict export controls.

Planned bullfighting ban sparks heated debate in Spain - Feature

Madrid - Are bullfights art or animal torture? The long- debated question is making waves in Spain after one of the country's regions started preparations to ban the centuries-old "national fiesta." Bullfighting has traditionally been regarded as an important part of Spanish culture, and thousands of bulls are still killed annually in spectacles in which the intelligence of a human being is seen as challenging the brute force of a beast.

However, the popularity of the corridas - the Spanish name for bullfights - is on the decline, especially among young people. About 70 per cent of Spaniards prefer football or other pastimes, according to a 2006 poll.

Bullfighting critics say the industry leans heavily on subsidies. The Madrid region, for instance, grants millions of euros annually to the local bullfighting school as well as for the maintenance of bullrings, organizing bullfights, and related activities.

Bullfighting had long been on the decline in Catalonia, a wealthy north-eastern region of about 7 million residents, where the regional parliament gave preliminary approval to a bullfighting ban in late 2009.

If the ban wins definitive approval, it would make Catalonia the first region to outlaw corridas on the Spanish mainland.

Some Spanish analysts saw the Catalan bullfighting debate as being promoted by regionalists who rejected bullfights as an expression of a Spanish, rather than a Catalan, identity.

But the debate soon spread all over the country, with the Madrid, Valencia and Murcia regions announcing they would block any attempted bans with a countermove - declaring bullfights a part of their cultural heritage.

The three regions are governed by the opposition conservative People's Party (PP).

Yet there is also support for bullfighting in regions governed by Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's Socialists, especially in the south, where hundreds of families breed fighting bulls for their livelihood.

Corridas were an art form that "has belonged to Spanish and Mediterranean culture since time immemorial," Madrid regional Prime Minister Esperanza Aguirre argues.

"Bullfighting was a source of inspiration for Goya, Picasso, Garcia Lorca, Hemingway and Orson Welles," said Aguirre, whom critics accused of political opportunism in casting herself as a champion of Spanish culture.

Bullfighting was "one of the most obvious displays of lack of ethics, apology of suffering, irrational aggression and contempt for life," the environmental group Ecologistas en Accion countered.

The group vowed to lodge an appeal against the move to declare corridas a part of Madrid's cultural heritage.

Deputy Prime Minister Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega declined to join the debate, only explaining that the government preferred Spaniards to have free choice.

The debate has engaged philosophers, environmentalists, bullfighting professionals, politicians, artists and others over a subject which has turned out to be intellectually complex.

Corridas represented "aesthetic emotion ... a knowledge about living, with its danger and death, its joy of fighting and its tragic end," poet Carlos Marzal wrote.

The bullfight was a "primitive and tough" spectacle, but so was reality itself, he argued.

Animal rights campaigners, on the other hand, stress the suffering of the bull, which gets long darts pushed into its body before being killed with a sword - often after several failed attempts.

"The authorities cannot allow an artistic or cultural expression which creates terrible and real suffering," philosophy professor Pablo de Lora said.

Cruel customs should not be maintained in the name of tradition, philosopher Jesus Mosterin argued, comparing corridas with female circumcision and violence against women.

The bullfighting lobby rejects such arguments, saying that raising bulls on vast fields maintains ecological spaces and guarantees a good life to the Iberian fighting bull, a race which only exists thanks to bullfights.

Nobody understands the bull better than the matador does, the lobby says, arguing that the fighting bull is genetically programmed to die in the bullring.

Trying to save bulls or other animals from any suffering "devalued the human being," philosophers Victor Gomez Pin and Francis Wolff wrote, while de Lora saw bullfights as violating compassion as the foundation of ethics.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/313151,planned-bullfighting-ban-sparks-heated-debate-in-spain--feature.html.

Deported, beaten Moroccan woman to receive French visa

Paris (Earth Times) - A 19-year-old Moroccan woman who was expelled from France after complaining to police that her brother had beaten her will receive a visa to return to the country, Immigration Minister Eric Besson said Tuesday. Najlae Lhimer was expelled from the country on the grounds that she had no residency permit.

"She has said that she wants it, that she is going to apply for a visa ... and I will therefore grant her one," Besson told LCI television.

Besson's statement came after President Nicolas Sarkozy said Monday, on the occasion of International Woman's Day, that he would welcome Lhimer back to France if she wanted to return.

Lhimer was jailed and expelled from the country in January after filing a complaint against her brother with police in the city of Chateau-Renard.

She had come to France at the age of 15 to avoid an arranged marriage in Morocco, but she never been granted residency. She was attending secondary school when she was deported.

Islamist insurgent commander assassinated in Mogadishu

Mogadishu (Earth Times) - A high-ranking commander of Somali Islamist insurgent group Hizbul Islam was shot dead in the capital Mogadishu on Tuesday, witnesses said. Unknown gunmen shot dead Bare Ali Bare in the Bakara market, an insurgent stronghold.

Nobody claimed responsibility for the killing, although Hizbul Islam and main insurgent group al-Shabaab have been at loggerheads in recent months.

Islamist insurgents are battling to oust the weak Western-backed government. They control much of southern and central Somalia.

Iran deplores US general's 'thug' remark

Tehran - Iran on Tuesday deplored the military chief of the US Central Command, General David Petraeus, for saying that the Islamic state had become a "thugocracy." Petraeus' remarks published on Sunday referred to the suppression of popular protests against alleged fraud in the June presidential election.

The disputed results led to the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, which the opposition has refused to acknowledge.

"Those who use such language and adopt such attitude are the (real) thugs," Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast told reporters in Tehran.

He associated Petraeus' remarks with what he called the US failure to launch a so-called "soft war" to topple the Islamic government.

Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani on Tuesday also denounced Petraeus and called the US government "murderous."

The speaker said the Americans were hated in the region for having killed thousands of Iraqis, Afghans and Palestinians.

The war of words between the US and Iran has gained momentum in recent weeks.

US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said in a speech last month in Saudi Arabia that the "US sees Iran moving toward a military dictatorship."

Iran rejected the charges and accused the US of supporting terrorism in the region.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/313168,iran-deplores-us-generals-thug-remark.html.

Japanese government confirms 'secret' pacts with the US

Tokyo - A foreign ministry panel confirmed Tuesday that secret pacts between Japan and the United States on nuclear arms existed in the Cold War era. The first revelation by the Japanese government ended longtime official denial although declassified US documents had already confirmed such agreements.

Among the secret pacts acknowledged by the panel was a tacit agreement that allowed US vessels carrying nuclear arms into Japanese ports in violation of Japan's non-nuclear principles.

There has been a strong anti-nuclear sentiment among the Japanese public following the US atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.

Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada said he could not rule out the possibility that nuclear arms had entered Japan under the secret pacts.

"We cannot clearly state that there was no nuclear introduction to Japan. We cannot dispel doubts about it," Okada said.

The investigation started after the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) took power in September. Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama promised to make government more open than under long-ruling Liberal Democrats, who repeated adamant denials of the existence of such pacts.

The DPJ won a landslide victory in the August election, ending more than a half-century of almost uninterrupted rule by the Liberal Democratic Party.

While Okada said he hoped the panel's report would help regain public trust in Japan's diplomacy, he still deplored the fact that the pacts had been hidden from the public for such a long time.

"Prime ministers and foreign ministers, as leaders, should be blamed" for the concealment, Okada said.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/313175,japanese-government-confirms-secret-pacts-with-the-us.html.

James Cameron: "Avatar" Reflects Destruction Of Life On Earth

December 11 2009

At the premiere in London of Avatar, James Cameron’s first film in over 10 years, the director opened up on the environmental message of the movie — and how he hopes it inspires people to look at the destruction around them.

“The point is that we are devastating habitat and biodiversity at a terrible rate,” he told the UK Sun. “We are causing a global climate change that’s going to be absolutely devastating to the coral reefs. Science is unable to keep up with our industrial society. We are destroying species faster than we can classify them. We are destroying the food chain faster than we can understand it. The politicians are over in Copenhagen talking about climate change now – but there are other issues as well.”

Cameron mentioned that once the publicity and premieres for the new film have wrapped, he will head back to his solar-powered eco-ranch in Santa Barbara, California. Him and his wife are also planning on installing wind turbines soon.

Source: Ecorazzi.
Link: http://www.ecorazzi.com/2009/12/11/james-cameron-avatar-reflects-destruction-of-life-on-earth/.

James Cameron: Fox Wanted Treehugging "Crap" Removed From Avatar

February 18 2010

In a new interview with MTV, director James Cameron offers a bit of interesting backstory to Avatar’s green message — and how he used it to inspire people to make a different on this planet. Here are some highlights:

On FOX Studio Execs reading the script and reacting to the green elements:

“When they read it, they sort of said, ‘Can we take some of this tree-hugging, “FernGully” crap out of this movie?’ And I said, ‘No, because that’s why I’m making the film.’ ”

On how the film’s message inspires people to effect change here on Earth:

“If you’re tuned in to what’s happening in ‘Avatar,’ you start to feel a sense of moral outrage when you see the tree fall [destroying the Na'vi's home], and it’s a compassionate response for these people. Then you feel a sense of uplift at the end as good vanquishes evil. If you put those two things together, it actually creates a ripe emotional matrix for people to want to do something about it.”

On reaction from environmental groups:

“We’re getting a tremendous amount of feedback from environmental groups, from people with specific causes. Whether it’s indigenous people being displaced by companies to do mining or to do oil drilling, or if it’s environmental groups saying, ‘Let’s do some curriculum around “Avatar.”‘”

Source: Ecorazzi.
Link: http://www.ecorazzi.com/2010/02/18/james-cameron-fox-wanted-treehugging-crap-removed-from-avatar/.

Jordan is not Palestine

18 - 24 February 2010

Oula Farawati in Amman looks at a stalemate in relations between Jordan and Israel

There is trouble brewing between two "peace partners" in the Middle East, namely Jordan and Israel. Amman is cautious and unusually introvert about its relation with the so-it-claims Jewish state. The result: an under-the-surface tension that is close to erupting into the unexpected.

Media circle have been discreetly talking about a possible role for Jordan in the West Bank, especially in light of the divided Palestinian "leaderships". But the relationship between Amman and Tel Aviv is colder than ever, according to observers, who said Jordan was wary of "not-so-innocent Israeli moves" in diplomatic circles, especially in Washington.

What is the cause of this freeze in relations that has reduced relations between the two states to the minimum? How is Jordan going to proceed?

The options are few for Amman, which already is walking a tight rope between mounting anti-Israeli sentiments locally, a weak American stance towards peace in the Middle East, and the obvious intention by the Israeli government to solve its problem on the expense of neighboring Jordan.

Jordanian officials played down the fears about the freeze in relations, and the issue remains hush-hush in Jordan. But Israeli media has been awash with stories about the issue. Ynet news had a short news item about the king's meeting with President Shimon Peres at the World Economic Forum in Davos. It quoted the king as expressing concern regarding lack of negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, noting that the situation is liable to affect the entire region.

"This is the first high-level meeting between the two states for a long time," the website said.

Perhaps the clearest example was Haaretz : "The crisis with Jordan is much less public than the one with Turkey, but it is far more acute and stands in deep contrast both to the warm relationship of Netanyahu's predecessor, Ehud Olmert, with the king, as well as Netanyahu's close connection to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak," it said.

"Since becoming prime minister last year Netanyahu has met King Abdullah only once, in May, a few days before the premier's visit to Washington. The king urged Netanyahu to declare his acceptance of a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and delivered stern criticism about construction in the settlements and Israeli activities in East Jerusalem," it added.

Jordanian journalist Rana Sabbagh warned that the gridlock between Amman and Tel Aviv is likely to continue: "The coming days may carry more [Jordanian] criticism of Israel. The king's stances are not welcomed by the politicians of this country. We expect a further chill in relations [that will be manifested] in further official stances and articles."

Even usually restrained writers about the relationship between Jordan and Israel are now attacking Tel Aviv. Columnist Mohamed Abu Rumman calls the orchestrated change in Israel's attitude a "coup".

"The Israeli coup, of course, did not come from nothing, but is based on a change in the Israeli reading of the state's strategic threats and vital interests. No longer does Israel consider Arab nationalism a threat, especially after the Iraq war; its major threats now are both Iran and the Islamic movements abroad, and the in-house Palestinian demographic bomb, from which the emphasis on recognition of the Judaism of the state has emerged," Abu Rumman wrote.

But what does that entail for Amman? According to analysts it means the regeneration of Jordan's biggest fear, that it becomes the Palestinian state, something Jordan has repeatedly denied and worked against in diplomatic circles both locally and internationally. Israel, according to one Jordanian official, is now more than ever marketing this concept as the ultimate solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, an option that could also be easier for Washington.

Israel, backed by the US, is not only working on this concept internationally, they are also cultivating the change-should-rather-come-from- within approach. Most obvious is the call to change the electoral system in Jordan, which the US claims favors Jordanians of Jordanian origin, rather than Jordanians of Palestinian origin.

In an interview with Al-Ahram Weekly, Abu Rumman emphasized that Israel and the US were pushing for more Palestinian rights. "This makes it easier for decision-makers to say that Palestinians were actually living with 'full rights' in Jordan, which automatically makes it their state," he said.

But shortly after word spread that the US was working with Israel on pushing Jordan towards a one-man one-vote electoral system amended in favor of the Palestinians, Jordanian writer Fahed Khitan went on the attack. "We have had meetings with American officials in Jordan and we exerted efforts to explain the Jordanian viewpoint and this has yielded an unprecedented understanding of Americans towards those Jordanian considerations," he wrote.

Ultimately, any Jordanian role in the West Bank has been ruled out by King Abdullah, who gave a clear message about that in a "conversation" hosted by CNN GPS on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum.

Moderator Farid Zakaria, editor of Newsweek, asked the king whether he sees any chance that the Palestinian- Israeli "peace process" may be entering a more hopeful phase. King Abdullah replied that unfortunately, for the first time, he sees little grounds for hope.

King Abdullah dismissed any suggestion that Jordan can become the Palestinian state. "What sense does that make?" he asked. "We do not want anything to do with the West Bank. We would just be replacing the Israeli military. We are not going to have a role in the West Bank.

Only time will tell how such an impasse will end. Analysts still pin hopes on an American intervention that would save "friendly" relations between Amman and Tel Aviv.

Source: Al-Ahram.
Link: http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2010/986/re3.htm.

Algeria Protests Far-Right French Poster

Associated Press

ALGIERS, Algeria — Algeria has formally complained to France about a French far-right party's use of an Algerian flag in a campaign poster that reads "No to Islamism," the foreign minister said Monday.

Jean-Marie Le Pen's National Front issued the poster in southern France ahead of regional elections that start Sunday and end March 21.

The poster shows a woman in a black face-covering Muslim veil next to a map of France covered over by an Algerian flag. Minarets dot the map.

"We have officially protested," Algerian Foreign Minister Mourad Medelci said. "It is up to the French state to take the necessary measures when foreign countries' symbols are denigrated."

France has the largest Muslim population in western Europe, estimated at 5 million.

The center-right government of French President Nicolas Sarkozy has spoken out against head-to-toe veils and is moving toward banning them in many public places. Critics contend the move is a political ploy to divert attention from more substantial issues and is aimed at attracting far-right voters in the regional elections.

Source: Fox News.
Link: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,588462,00.html.

16 innocent Kashmiri youth arrested in Chennai

Chennai, March 09 (KMS): Indian police arrested sixteen innocent Kashmiri youth for questioning from Indian city Chennai.

The Chennai police arrested two of the youth from a market while others from a lodge at Triplicane. Those detained were aged between 25 and 30 and had told police that they had come to sell clothes here after buying them from Ludhiana in Indian Punjab.

Talking to mediamen, the Commissioner of police Chennai, T Rajendra acknowledged that some Kashmiri youth were picked up for routine questioning in view of Indian Prime Minister’s visit to the city.

Source: Kashmir Media Service.
Link: http://www.kmsnews.org/news/16-innocent-kashmiri-youth-arrested-chennai.

Kashmir sell-out in Saudi Arabia

Kashmir Watch, March 9
BY Z G MUHAMMAD

A book on a shelf in my library set me thinking. Today, where does Kashmir stand in global politics? The book titled, "Does America Need a Foreign Policy? Toward a Diplomacy for the 21st Century "by Henry Kissinger published by Simon and Schuster in paperback a couple of years back with an Afterward by the author was widely acclaimed in the United States and was seen as the new bible for the country for its role in the post 9/11 world. The book by the recipient of the Noble Peace Prize, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the Medal of Liberty, former Secretary of State had evoked an academic interest in me.

However, it was the opening paragraph of the first chapter, America at the Apex: Empire at leader that set me in the thinking mode. In this paragraph while relishing the United State's enjoying pre-eminence unrivaled by even the greatest empires of the past and the preponderant position it holds for bringing in international stability the author credited his country:

It meditated disputes in key trouble spots to the point that, in the Middle East, it had become an integral part of the peace process. So committed was the United States to this role that it almost ritually put itself forward as a mediator, occasionally even when it was not invited by all the parties involved as in the Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan in July 99.

The first paragraph of this book by one of the most eminent foreign affairs experts in the world sufficiently suggests the importance Kashmir held in the global politics during the complete decade of nineties of the past century. In global politics it was equated with the Palestine problem- it was seen as cause for worry to the world for having emerged as a nuclear flashpoint. How Kashmir problem lost this position in the global politics calls for a thorough study by eminent experts. Many see Kashmir having been relegated to the backburner in the global politics to the ascendancy of Indian diplomacy over that of Pakistan- arch contestant to the dispute. Those highly caustic about former Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf's role on Kashmir see him for his timidity in the wake of 9/11 in the dock on this count.

Kashmir in the United States South-Asia policy undoubtedly was the dominant theme during early years of nineties. It started with the appointment of the Robin Raphel as the Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs in the Bill Clinton Administration in May 1993. Before her appointment to this position in the State Department she was posted in American Embassy in India. It would not be an overstatement that during her posting in New Delhi for actively interacting with the various groups in Jammu & Kashmir she had become a household name in Srinagar. She emerged most controversial for New Delhi after her statement that Kashmir was a disputed territory and it could only find a solution in accordance with the United resolutions. The statement suggesting that the US did not recognize the validity of the instrument of Kashmir's accession to India was hailed in Pakistan and there was widespread condemnation against it in New Delhi. The media painted her as India's number one in the White House. A weekly published from Mumbai denounced her as a CIA operative in the State Department. Some New Delhi based commentators had seen in her statements a sinister move of creating an Independent state of Jammu and Kashmir. One commentator had written in a New Delhi daily, by questioning accession to India that it does not consider Kashmir as integral part of the Indian Union the US has spread out its plan for carving out an Independent state of Kashmir under its indirect rule, something it had worked out over past decades. These allegations that echoed like those of 1953, that had seen Sheikh Abdullah deposed found more takers in New Delhi than ever before- there was any commentator dove or hawk who did not analyze her statements on Kashmir.

The statements did create tremors in the diplomatic and political circles in the capital. Initially New Delhi looked at these remarks as personal attributes of the Assistant Secretary but it had soon become evident that she had articulated the views of the Clinton Administration about Kashmir. Notwithstanding hawks like former state governor Jagmohan asking the external affairs ministry to ignore the statement had put entire Indian diplomatic corp. in Washington literary on toes. It was during this period that when the United States called for the resolution of the Kashmir dispute in accordance with the wishes of the people that has now often finding a refrain in the statements of the State Department.

The statement made by Robin Raphel was yet another watershed in US policy towards Kashmir after India and Pakistan resolving in Simla in 1972 to decide the problem bilaterally. The Clinton administration resolutely stuck to its Kashmir policy and towards the end of 1993, that the US considered the Kashmiri territory transferred by Pakistan to China in 1963 when Ayub Khan was the President also as disputed territory, whose future was yet to be decided. The Times of India prominently had carried this story attributed to Robin Raphel on the front page. The United States by and large stuck to this policy on Kashmir till 9/11.

Notwithstanding this policy once again finding resonance during the Obama election many see Kashmir slipping out of the International scene more particularly to Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf drifting away from Pakistan's traditional stand on Kashmir and testing his half-baked formula for the resolution of Kashmir. Many credit the former Pakistan for his pragmatism. He had not only succeeded in wooing Kashmir Hurriyat leaders towards his formula but even bringing in tow Kashmir leaders believing in the finality of accession of the state with Indian union. True, many continue to sing his song even today.

If seen in right historical perspective, it has been Indian diplomats outsmarting their counter parts that have almost removed Kashmir from the international scene than the changing priorities of the United States and other European countries. Indian diplomats have been smarter right from 1993, when the United States had shown a tilt towards Pakistan's Kashmir policy. In 1993, they carried a coup over Kashmir against Pakistan, when it had decided to introduce a resolution on human rights situation in Kashmir in the United Nations. But, for the successful lobbying by New Delhi had Pakistan dropped it towards the end. If it had succeeded in getting a resolution adopted on Kashmir in the United Nations it would have rendered void the clause six in the Simla Agreement that talks about holding of bilateral talks on Kashmir- and would have renewed the UN's role in Kashmir.

The stark realism is that India's foreign policy on Kashmir has been far successful as against Pakistan's repeated failures. It is not in the West only that it has been ebbed out but it is fast losing its standing in the Muslim world as well. Saudi Arabia and Pakistan have what Pakistan Ambassador to the Kingdom Umar Khan Ali Sherzai described as time tested relations. But, the reception that was accorded to Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh during his visited signals beginning of a new chapter in the strategic relations between the two countries. The two countries signed ten important agreements and memorandums of understanding. The trading relations between the two countries which have entered into a new phase are going to overshadow the relation between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. According to an American economist For India, Saudi Arabia comes fourth after China, the United States and the United Arab Emirates as its most-important trading partner.

India tried to improve its relation with Saudi Arabia in mid nineties. It used all possible channels to improve its relations with this important country that not only influences the Arab world but all member countries of OIC. In 2006 when King Abdullah became first Saudi King to visit India after 51 years, New Delhi saw to it that it enters into greater friendship that would give it clout in the Muslim World.

Having succeeded in preventing Pakistan raising Kashmir in any international forum it has been the OIC every year passing a ritualistic resolution on Kashmir that has been causing concern in the capital. It seems that New Delhi will use its new found clout in Saudi Arabia to prevent this forum adopting resolution on Kashmir calling for granting of right to self-determination to the people of the state. The Saudi Arabia has been supporting granting India observer status in the Organization. And with the changed partnership between the two countries it seems that India on the strength of its Muslim population will insist om getting a berth in the OIC.

Author is Srinagar, Kashmir based analyst. Email: zahidgm@gmail.com

Source: Kashmir Watch.
Link: http://www.kashmirwatch.com/showexclusives.php?subaction=showfull&id=1268127140&archive=&start_from=&ucat=15&var1news=value1news.

Indian president calls for empowerment of women

The Indian president has called for the empowerment of women and proposed increasing their representation in state elected bodies from 33 percent to 50 percent.

In a speech on International Women's Day, President Pratibha Devisingh Patil said on Monday that the Women's Reservation Bill has been taken up by the Rajya Sabha (the upper house of the Indian parliament), which will discuss the increase in women's quota in the parliament and state legislatures.

The country is also in need of a fundamental change in the mindsets of the people, she noted.

To change the attitude of the society toward women, she said, reforms should be made for gender equality.

While presiding over the annual Stree Shakti (women's empowerment) awards in New Delhi, the Indian president stated that women have always participated in the country's affairs.

There are currently 1.2 million elected women representatives in local bodies in villages and towns, which is about 36 percent, she said.

This figure is up for discussion at the Rajya Sabha to push it up to 50 percent, she added.

Championed both by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi, the Women's Reservation Bill had been scheduled for a vote on Monday coinciding with International Women's Day, 14 years after it was first introduced.

But the house was repeatedly adjourned on Monday because some lawmakers opposed certain clauses in the bill and hindered the final decision to turn it into law.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=120406§ionid=351020402.

30 more Goldquest scammers busted in Iran

The Iranian security forces have arrested 30 suspects in connection with Goldquest, a controversial network marketing company which has allegedly defrauded thousands of people worldwide.

The Iranian Intelligence Ministry announced that 30 key members of Goldquest have been arrested on charges of defrauding people "out of more than 5 trillion rials (about $500 million)," IRIB reported.

The Intelligence Ministry added that the suspects were handed over to judicial officials for further investigations and confessed to defrauding many Iranians, especially young people.

The criminals, who said they worked for an investment company called Quest International, served as the main go-betweens connecting members of the illegal Gold Quest pyramid investment company working in Iran and its leaders based in foreign countries.

Goldquest is a global network marketing company that claims to be engaged in selling coins and watches that are said to have numismatic value.

Network marketing companies like Goldquest work on the principle of the pyramid scheme, a non-sustainable business model that involves the exchange of money primarily for enrolling other people into the scheme.

Goldquest, believed to be involved in one of the largest economic corruption cases in Iran's history, was banned in the country in 2005. Prosecutors found the pyramid company's activities have led to the exit of half a billion dollars from Iran.

Pyramid schemes have been banned in many countries, including the United States, Great Britain, France, Canada, Malaysia, Norway, Australia, New Zealand, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Iran.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=120404§ionid=351020102.

'Iran will help Zimbabwe fight Western sanctions'

Tue Mar 9, 2010

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says Iran will help Zimbabwe as much as possible in view of the sanctions imposed on Harare by the West.

Ahmadinejad made the remarks during a meeting with Zimbabwean Minister of State for Presidential Affairs Didymus Mutasa in Tehran on Monday.

The Islamic Republic will stand by Zimbabwe against "illegal pressure," he added.

Ahmadinejad said Iran has always condemned the illegal pressure imposed by hegemonistic powers meant to force the Zimbabweans to surrender.

He praised the African nation for its resistance against the odds and predicted that independent nations would have a bright future.

Ahmadinejad also called for the implementation of all the agreements signed by the two nations.

Mutasa relayed Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's message to the Iranian president.

He also asked Iran to increase cooperation with Zimbabwe and to invest more in the country.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://edition.presstv.ir/detail/120402.html.

Quake moved city of Concepcion 3.4 meters west

Scientists say the massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Chile last month moved the entire city of Concepcion more than three meters to the west.

Preliminary global positioning measurements show Conception is now 3.4 meters further west than it was before the quake.

The Chilean capital Santiago also shifted nearly 28 centimeters to the west.

Significant displacements were also recorded as far away as the Malvinas Islands.

The massive February 27 earthquake was the fifth most powerful quake ever recorded. It killed over 450 people and left thousands more homeless.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=120400§ionid=351020706.

Algeria begins recovery from teachers' strike

2010-03-08

With 92% of striking teachers back to work in Algeria and the threat of a "lost year" over, Education Minister Boubekeur Benbouzid on Sunday (March 7th) proposed measures to help students catch up, APS reported. Education officials will either cut a week from spring vacation or hold classes on Saturday for one month.

Source: Magharebia.com
Link: http://magharebia.com/en_GB/articles/awi/newsbriefs/general/2010/03/08/newsbrief-03.

Algerian radio reporters launch first organized protest

2010-03-08

Some forty Algerian broadcast journalists on Sunday (March 7th) mounted a hunger strike and sit-in to protest low wages and what they claim to be unfair working conditions, Tout sur l'Algerie reported. El Bahdja Radio, Radio Quran and Takafa Radio reporters are paid on a freelance basis and are not allowed paid time off, a union source said. "In short, they have only duties and no rights," the source added. The National Federation of Algerian Journalists (FNJA) will rally in Algiers on Monday to support their colleagues. The strike is the first for Algerian national radio, El Watan noted.

Source: Magharebia.com
Link: http://magharebia.com/en_GB/articles/awi/newsbriefs/general/2010/03/08/newsbrief-02.

Spanish police seize over a ton of cocaine

Bilbao, Spain - Almost 1.2 tons of cocaine has been seized and 16 arrests made in two separate drug actions, Spanish police said on Monday. The bigger swoop targeted a ring which had imported a ton of Colombian cocaine on board a refrigerated container ship that sailed into the Basque port of Bilbao from Panama.

The drug had been dissolved in cans of fruit pulp, which suspects were handling when police raided their hideout in the northern region of Navarre.

Police said the drug had a black market value of more than 30 million euros (40 million dollars).

In the second swoop, police in the southern city of Seville seized 175 kilograms of cocaine and detained nine people.

The drug had been smuggled into the port of Algeciras, hidden in a cargo of wooden floor planks arriving from Paraguay.

Spain is regarded as the main point of entry for Latin American cocaine into the European Union market.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/313044,spanish-police-seize-over-a-ton-of-cocaine.html.

Kosovo and NATO restore relations after show of weapons

Pristina - The Kosovo Security Force (KSF) and the NATO-led peacekeeping force in Kosovo (KFOR) have restored relations, a day after members of the security force showed their weapons in public, Kosovo officials said in a statement Monday. KFOR suspended relations with KSF on Sunday, after it violated its status as an unarmed organization by displaying arms during a ceremony.

"We hereby assess as overcome" the issue of KSF's participation at Sunday's ceremony, Kosovo's Security Forces Ministry said in a statement. "The KSF will continue the close cooperation with KFOR and NATO."

In 1999 NATO intervened against Serbia, ousting its forces from Kosovo. After years of United Nations administration, Albanian majority declared independence in February 2008.

The KSF is Kosovo's fledgling army, mainly manned by former guerrillas, but still officially an unarmed disaster-relief organization trained by KFOR.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/313051,kosovo-and-nato-restore-relations-after-show-of-weapons.html.

S. Africa nominates tourism minister for top UN climate post

Johannesburg (Earth Times) - South Africa's government announced Monday it had nominated Tourism Minister Marthinus Van Schalkwyk to head the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). In a statement posted on the website of the presidency, the government said it had been approached by "a number of our partners in the developing and developed world, including governments, business institutions and non-governmental organizations" about the availability of van Schalkwyk to lead the UN institution "and the global climate change negotiations."

The UNFCCC secretariat in Bonn that supports the implementation of the 1992 UNFCCC treaty on climate change and the main update, the 1997 Kyoto Protocol.

The outgoing head of the UNFCCC, Yvo de Boer, vacates the post on July 1.

Van Schalkwyk, 50, joined South Africa's African National Congress in 2004 after the demise of the conservative New National Party that he led into elections that year.

He served five years as minister for environmental affairs and tourism under former president Thabo Mbeki. In 2009, he returned to cabinet under new President Jacob Zuma as tourism minister. The environment department became a separate ministry.

"In his previous portfolio as minister of environmental affairs and tourism, Minister Van Schalkwyk positioned South Africa as a true climate champion," the presidency said.

"During this period he commanded significant respect across the developing-developed country divide. This will stand him in good stead in this critical phase of driving the global climate change negotiations to conclusion."

South Africa, the continent's largest emitter of climate-changing gases, won plaudits at the Copenhagen summit on climate change last year for pledging a dramatic cut its emissions levels.

The country is set to is set to lead negotiations on a successor treaty to the Kyoto Protocol next year.

The final decision on the appointment rests with the Secretary General of the United Nations, Mr Ban Ki Moon.

March 8 – day of deportation of the Balkar people

Official ceremonies on the 66th anniversary of the deportation of the Balkar people are being held in Nalchik.

On March 8, 1944, about 40,000 Balkars were deported by the Russians in 24 hours from their country to Kazakhstan and Siberia.

Like some other Muslim peoples of the North Caucasus, the Balkars underwent a massacre because of their unloyalness to Moscow.

Here is what a world-renowned political scientist, Abdurahman Avtorhaov, wrote about the reasons for the deportation of the Caucasians:

The reasons for the extermination of the mountainous people were:

1. Continuous struggle of Chechens and the Caucasian highlanders for national independence. An actual rejection of the oppressive system of the Soviet colonial regime;

2. Moscow's desire to secure the Caucasus as a rear in future confrontations with the West against an imminent national all-Caucasian Front against the Soviet metropolis;

3. [...]

4. Not only to keep the Caucasus as a strategic base, free of internal risks and vulnerability, but also to transform it into a reliable base for future expansion against Turkey, Iran, Pakistan and India.

These purposes were not declared but they are the real motivation of the Kremlin's policy for extermination of the Caucasian peoples.

One million mountaineers - Chechens, Ingushs, karachaevtsy and balkartsy ... »became the first victim of this wolf policy also.

The first victims of this beasty policy were one million highlanders - Chechens, Ingushs, Karachayevs and Balkarians ...".

Kavkaz Center

Source: Kavkaz Center.
Link: http://kavkazcenter.com/eng/content/2010/03/08/11574.shtml.

Statement of the Ingush Mujahideen Command regarding events in Ekazhevo

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful!

Praise be to Allah, Who created us Muslims and did a great favor by Jihad, giving us an opportunity to gain the Paradise.

Peace and blessings be upon the Leader of all Mujahideen, Prophet Muhammad, his family, his companions and all those who follow his path until Doomsday.

The Command of the Armed Forces of Ghalghaycho (Ingushetia) Province of the Caucasus Emirate informs that 5 Mujahideen, including Sayeed al-Buryati, Nazir and Mohammad Kartoyevs, have been martyred as a result of a fierce battle in the village of Ekazhevo. May Allah accept their martyrdom.

In this battle, the Mujahideen inflicted heavy loss to the enemy, killing and wounding many Russian infidels.

All the others killed and detained by the Russians are peaceful people, and they are not connected with the Mujahideen.

Our dear brother Sayeed al-Buryati, leaving other Islamic work, leaving school, leaving his family, thought it essential for himself to join the Mujahideen in the Caucasus. May Allah grant him a boon for his assistance to the religion of Allah!

He has long sought to carry out a martyrdom operation, and only a direct order by Emir Abu Usman (AKA Dokka Umarov) stopped him.

His example is a living reproach to those scholars and seekers of knowledge, in particular to the Ingush ones, who use pathetic excuses to keep them away from the Jihad, at home or abroad. With their deeds and words they deter Muslims from the fight on the path of Allah.

With what are they going to appear before our Lord on the Day of Judgment, after leaving the Jihad, leaving the Mujahideen without support?

After killing Muslims, the Russian infidel soldiers looted and then destroyed houses of the brothers Kartoyev and their parents as well as the houses of Dobriyevs and Aushevs. The Russians knew well that these people are not guilty, and they had simply carried out a campaign to intimidate Muslims in the Province.

We will not pardon the insults to our people, to the families of Muslims. In the near future, with Allah's help, we will give to them a response they deserve. God's willing, infidels and apostates will get a settlement in this life for their sins and atrocities in our land.

We express condolences to the families of the Muslim victims. We ask Allah to liberate soon all the Muslims from the oppression by infidels. We also ask Allah to accept the martyrdom of our brothers.

Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds.

Information and analytical department of a staff of Armed Forces of Ghalghaycho Province

Source: IA Hunafa

Kavkaz Center

Source: Kavkaz Center.
Link: http://kavkazcenter.com/eng/content/2010/03/08/11567.shtml.

Kadyrov's emissaries and other ringleaders of Caucasian apostates secretly visit 'Israel'

An emissary of the apostates' ringleader Kadyrov, the so-called head of the chamber of commerce Nursolt Adayev, who is also considered to be one of the most trusted and close of Kadyrov's men, is coming to the Jewish enclave in Palestine.

A Kadyrov's representative, Adam Takhtarov, has already arrived in Zionists'-occupied Palestine to prepare his visit. Last Sunday, on March 7, he held talks with the CEO of the southern "Israel's" chamber of commerce and a member of the city council in Beerseva, Valery Migirov, the Izrus news agency reported.

According to Migirov, "Chechnya is interested in "Israeli" technology in agriculture .... Besides, they are interested in buying "Israeli" fruits, vegetables and greenhouses. They pay attention to other areas, such as refineries and processing of construction wastes. Together with the guest from Chechnya, we will visit a number of companies as well as the Ben-Gurion University in Beerseva so that he could get acquainted with the "Israeli" industry, and talk about the prospects of our work in Chechnya", Migirov said.

According to the agency, the visit will be a second one in a series of unofficial visits to "Israel" by senior puppets from the North Caucasus.

The fact is that "Israel" was secretly visited by the puppet "president of Kabardino-Balkaria" and a dollar millionaire, Arsen Kanokov. His private plane landed last Sunday in the Airport of Ben-Gurion at 14:30.

A Mercedes limousine, rented for 4 days, was waiting for Kanokov at the airport, the IzRus agency reported. There were no information in the Russian media or on the official website of the "president of the Kabardino-Balkaria" about the Kanokov's visit to "Israel".

According to the agency, it is not for the first time that "Israel" is secretly visited by puppet ringleaders from the North Caucasus. As a rule, according to official versions, they visit "Israel" with an invented purpose of "passing a medical examination, undergo a treatment or to rest".

The same applies to high-ranking officials from the so-called "CIS Islamic republics", particularly to Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan. Several years ago, "Israel" was secretly visited by a daughter of the Uzbek dictator, Gulnara Karimova, who now holds a post of the ambassador to Spain.

A granddaughter of the prime minister, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, was born in a Tel Aviv Ichilov hospital in January this year.

No detailed information about the Arsen Kanokov's secret travel to "Israel" is available. Earlier, there were news reports in the media that the puppet ringleaders of the KBK, Adyge and Abkhazia want to establish closer ties with "Israel" and the local Circassian diaspora there.

So back in March 2006, six months after taking office as a puppet "president", Kanokov announced his "plans to establish business relations with "Israeli" companies that use advanced technologies in agricultural production".

In July 2008, Nalchik was visited by "Israeli" Circassians who were received by the then deputy chief of staff for the "president" Sultan Kanokov.

In August 2009, "Israel" was visited by the puppet "Kabardino-Balkarian minister for information, communications, work with community organizations and the youth" Boris Pashto (he was received, among other Jews, by the mayor of occupied Jerusalem Nirom Barkat).

It is interesting that after the proclamation in 2007 of the Caucasus Emirate, "Israel" sharply increased interest in Circassians. In particular, the Tel Aviv's interest concerns the topic of Circassian nationalism and an idea of a "revival of Great Cherkessia".

This topic is actively worked out, in particular, by a certain Avraham Shmulevich, a rabbi, historian and the chairman of the Bead Artseynu Movement. He is also the president of the Institute for Eastern Partnership and an author of an Islamophobic book "What awaits us in case of the victory of Islam" and an article entitled "Banning the Caucasus Emirate: a propaganda victory for jihadists".

Department of Monitoring,
Kavkaz Center

Source: Kavkaz Center.
Link: http://kavkazcenter.com/eng/content/2010/03/08/11568.shtml.