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Attacks that have continued across Pakistani towns and cities are being blamed on Tehreek e-Taliban, Pakistan's Taliban. However, the group has issued its first video statement denying involvement in targeting civilians and has blamed external forces for at least two recent blasts. Azam Tariq, a spokesman of the Tehreek e-Taliban, posted the video statement on YouTube on Monday. The message refers to a bombing at the Islamic University in Islamabad, which the spokesman said was orchestrated to prepare the ground for a military operation in South Waziristan, a stronghold for Pakistan's Taliban fighters. He also said his group had no role in the bomb blast in a Peshawar market that killed at least 100 people as well as an attack in Charsada, a town located in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province. Tariq said Taliban attacks never aimed to target civilians, but that the explosions were linked to Blackwater activities in the country. Blackwater is a private military and security company founded in the United States. Propaganda war Kamal Hyder, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Islamabad, said: "Even when those bomb blasts did happen, the Taliban denied they had anything to do it." He said: "It was surprising to see that it [the video message] came up on the al-Sahab video. That is the Al-Qaeda wing of media publicity." Blackwater has denied having any contracts in Pakistan. Hyder added: "There is a growing anger among Pakistanis. If one looks at the type of attacks that have been taking place - indiscriminate attacks – the first thing that came out, even reported by local media, was the blaming of Blackwater and other American agencies. "The public opinion has turned against the Americans. The video that has appeared today would be trying to capitalise on that." |
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Pakistan Taliban airs video denial
NASA slashes prices on retired space shuttles for sale
ARIZONA
Thousands protest county sheriff
An estimated 10,000 immigrant-rights advocates marched in front of a county jail in Phoenix Saturday in a protest that was aimed at Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's immigration efforts and was marked by a clash between a small group of protesters and police officers.
Organizers say the protest was meant to show officials in Washington that Arpaio, who has been under investigation by the Justice Department for alleged discrimination and unconstitutional searches, should not be permitted to handle immigration enforcement.
Five protesters were arrested. Arpaio said he wasn't bothered by the protesters, and said they should direct their frustrations at Congress because it has the power to change America's immigration laws.
-- Associated Press
WHITE HOUSE
Obama to speak at D.C. church
President Obama will deliver remarks about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Sunday morning when he appears at a church in the District for the second time since he was inaugurated and the third since his election.
As president-elect, Obama and his family attended services once at Nineteenth Street Baptist Church, a Northwest Washington institution that is one of the oldest historically black churches in the District. They attended Easter services at the historic St. John's Episcopal Church near the White House.
The White House did not disclose the name of the church Obama will attend Sunday.
FLORIDA
NASA slashes price on shuttles for sale
Here's a recession bargain: the space shuttle. NASA has slashed the price of the 1970s-era spaceships from $42 million to $28.8 million apiece.
The shuttles are for sale once they quit flying, supposedly this fall. When NASA put out the call to museums, schools and others in December 2008, seeking buyers, about 20 expressed interest. NASA spokesman Mike Curie expects more interest, what with the discount.
The space shuttle main engines are now free. NASA advertised them for $400,000 to $800,000 each in December 2008, but no one expressed interest. So now the engines are available, along with other shuttle artifacts, for the cost of transportation and handling.
-- Associated Press
Evacuation at JFK airport: A terminal at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York was evacuated and flghts were delayed Saturday after someone opened a door to a secure area and set off an alarm, officials said. The security breach apparently involved someone who left a first-class American Airlines lounge that was supposed to be used only by airport workers and walked through.
-- From news services
Gold Buying Contributing To Criminality?
Saturday, January 16, 2010
U.S. backing S.F. foundation’s effort to boost businesses in Negev
SAN FRANCISCO (j. the Jewish news weekly of Northern California) -- A program started by a San Francisco foundation soon will make it possible for struggling small businesses in Israel’s Negev to obtain the loans necessary to bolster their businesses, create jobs and boost the economy.
The venture is made possible from a partnership of the Koret Israel Economic Development Fund, an arm of the San Francisco-based Koret Foundation; Israel’s Bank Leumi; and the Overseas Private Investment Corp., a U.S. governmental agency.
OPIC, which fosters investment overseas and promotes economic development in new and emerging markets, and the Koret fund have provided the funding to guarantee any loan Bank Leumi directs to Israeli entrepreneurs in the Negev.
The collaboration will make available $160 million over seven years for loans ranging from $13,000 to $325,000.
“At the outset of our program years ago, we set out to prove that small business lending was not necessarily risky business,” said Jeff Farber, CEO and executive director of the Koret Foundation.
“We didn’t start this program to be recognized by the U.S. government or the president of Israel, but having gotten this kind of recognition is really a milestone for this little program started by the Koret Foundation.”
The fund, which is the largest of its kind in Israel’s history, will enable small-business owners in the Negev to receive loans at a 1.5 percent interest rate. The cooperation among the agencies will allow businesses that meet the criteria to offer up much less equity than is usually demanded when applying for credit.
Most of these businesses otherwise would not be eligible for a loan, Farber said.
“Maybe they have no collateral, they’re too young or they have no track record,” he said. “Were it not for Koret’s dollars guaranteeing a portion of the loan, the bank wouldn’t risk making the loan.”
The Koret fund also helps small-business owners develop a business plan and draft a loan application, so that they are more prepared and a stronger loan candidate when they appear at the bank.
Loan recipients include Israelis, Bedouins and Arab Israelis, said Abe Sofaer, president of the American Friends of the Koret Israel Economic Development Fund and a fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution.
On visits to Israel, Sofaer has met some of the loan recipients, including the owners of a computer repair store, a pizza parlor and a jewelry store. He is excited to see how the latest loan program impacts life in the Negev.
“The lending culture in Israel has changed a great deal because the banks can see that what we do is a financially sound way to go about creating economic activity,” Sofaer said.
When Koret started its Israel Economic Development Fund in 1994, it approved 14 loan applications; in 2009 the number was 1,500.
Since its inception, the fund has administered 8,000 small- and micro-business loans totaling $220 million, which has created and supported 40,000 new jobs in Israel.
“Creating jobs and enabling people to recognize their own self-worth by running a business is really important,” Farber said.
Yes, It’s Okay To Walk Away From Your Mortgage
In the following video Aaron Task and Henry Blodget of Tech Ticker discuss “the moral obligation” of homeowners to pay their mortgages. They also give a few good reasons why mortgage holders should stop paying their loans.
Inflation Rises Slightly in 2009, as Wages Dip 1.6 Percent
AP
Consumer inflation was tame in 2009, with prices rising 2.7 percent. Yet families felt squeezed as their spending power sank in the face of falling wages, job losses and higher prices for energy, medical care and education.
WASHINGTON -- Consumer inflation was tame in 2009, with prices rising 2.7 percent. Yet families felt squeezed as their spending power sank in the face of falling wages, job losses and higher prices for energy, medical care and education.
A surge in energy prices last year offset the biggest drop in food costs in nearly a half century.
The Labor Department says its Consumer Price Index rose a modest 0.1 percent in December. Excluding food and energy, prices were also up just 0.1 percent last month.
A separate report showed inflation-adjusted weekly wages for the 12 months ending in December were down 1.6 percent, the biggest decline since 1990. Slack wages and scarce job creation have slowed consumer spending, hindering the economy's ability to mount a strong recovery.