4. april 2005

Rare glimpses from Afghanistan Arthur Chrenkoff has written another must-read good news from Afghanistan. The reconstruction is going well, people are receiving medical aid, many ex-fighters are joining the political process, the Taliban attacks are way down, and even the opium poppy production is down. 8:19:23 PM    comment []  trackback []

Kyrgyz ex-president officially resigns The ousted President of Kyrgyzstan Askar Akayev has officially resigned his post, effective tomorrow Tuesday. Earlier, he said he would resign if he and his family were given 'certain security guarantees' (immunity? money?) and it appears those were granted. 5:02:03 PM    comment []  trackback []

Militants in dramatic show of force against Mahmoud Abbas Mahmoud Abbas (aka Abu Mazen) is facing serious challenges in the West Bank, as the numerous armed fractions are refusing to hand over control to the executive branch. But while Mr Abbas's administration has promised to reform the Palestinian security apparatus - at the last count there were 12 armed groups, all answering to different command structures - progress has been slow. The crisis began when 26 gunmen, all members of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a Fatah faction, were ordered either to join the regular security services or disarm. Instead, they fired salvoes at Mr Abbas's compound while he was inside and burned shops and businesses in the centre of Ramallah. Mr Abbas was incensed that Palestinian security forces did nothing to prevent it. So far, it appears Abbas at least retains the intention to reign in the terrorists, but serious doubts still remain on whether he has the ability to do so. And if he doesn't, what point would there be for Israel to negotiate a peace deal with the Palestinian Authority? 7:03:31 AM    comment []  trackback []

The Pope's part in the child-sex coverups With nothing but pope tributes dominating every news source I can find, it's at least a comfort to see that Christopher Hitchens is a loyal contrarian, pointing out one of John Paul II's serious shortcomings: his disgraceful part in the cover-up of the US Catholic child molestation scandal. A few years ago, it seemed quite probable that Cardinal Bernard Law of Boston would have to face trial for his appalling collusion in the child-rape racket that his diocese had been running. The man had knowingly reassigned dangerous and sadistic criminals to positions where they would be able to exploit the defenseless. He had withheld evidence and made himself an accomplice, before and after the fact, in the one offense that people of all faiths and of none have most united in condemning. [...] Anyway, Cardinal Law isn't going to face a court, now. He has fled the jurisdiction and lives in Rome, where a sinecure at the Vatican has been found for him. (Actually not that much of a sinecure: As archpriest of the Rome Basilica of St. Mary Major, he also sits on two boards supervising priestly discipline—yes!—and the appointment of diocesan bishops.) Even before this, he visited Rome on at least one occasion to discuss whether or not the church should obey American law. And it has been conclusively established that the Vatican itself—including his holiness—was a part of the coverup and obstruction of justice that allowed the child-rape scandal to continue for so long. I doubt anyone other than the pope would have gotten away with such a scandal, his reputation still intact. 5:44:16 AM    comment []  trackback []

© Copyright 2005 Jan Haugland. Last update: 01.05.2005; 01:54:50.