Showing posts with label Iran. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Iran. Show all posts
Iran conducts military exercises
The Iranian military will conduct war exercises in the coming days aimed to strengthen the country’s defenses. For five days, practice and war games will be done across its territory to boost Iran’s readiness against real attack.
According to Brigadier-General Ahmed Mighani, a commander of an Iraninan air defense base described the military maneuver to use new weapons and test communication capabilities in an area of 600,000 square kilometers.
In response to Iran’s rejection of the United Nation’s draft deal crafted to bring 80% of Urab's lightly enriched uranium abroad, leaders of United States, Russia, China, Germany, Britain, and France were mulling on more sanctions. The draft deal was supposed to halt Teheran's program of nuclear armaments. The U.N. atomic energy agency (IAEA) chief Mohamed ElBaradei, asked the cleric-dominated Islamic country to accept the draft deal which he referred to as a “fleeting opportunity.”
Brandishing its military might while engaging in forked diplomacy, Iran still insists that its nuclear program is entirely for peaceful purposes--- meant mainly to produce electricity. Western nations are convinced this is not true.
Iran continues its nuclear buildup and hateful war provocations against Israel. The dictatorial Muslim nation warns that it is prepared to attack Israel and the US in defense. As the solution of the nuclear question stalls, the Iranians are coming close to producing its radioactive bomb, making the world more unstable and dangerous. (Photo Credit: Erick Lafforgue) =0=
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Iran builds a second nuclear facility; UN stuck with a new resolution
United Nations appears almost powerless in foiling nuclear proliferation. On Friday, September 25, US president Barack Obama, French president Nicholas Sarkozy and British Prime minister Gordon Brown at the G-20 economic summit chorused to say Iran is building underground uranium enrichment and concealing the facility from the eyes of international inspectors.
Iran’s head of the Atomic Energy Organization Ali Akbar Salehi quickly defended the facility saying that it was intended as back-up in case the first nuclear facility it built will be attacked. Iran continues to assert that its nuclear program is for peaceful civilian purpose.
In a Saturday address, Pres. Barack Obama reiterated the seriousness of Iran’s evasive designs and warns anew of grave consequences of Iran’s devious plan. The international front thinks of heavier economic sanctions against Iran and doesn’t rule out military action. It’s the same rhetoric the world is hearing. Russia and China advice cooperation from Iran, but these countries don’t endorse tough sanctions, probably their way of protecting their business interests.
"Iran's leaders must now choose — they can live up to their responsibilities and achieve integration with the community of nations. Or they will face increased pressure and isolation, and deny opportunity to their own people." ----Pres. Barack Obama. AP (09/27/09)
With Obama leading the UN Security council, world powers are endorsing a nuclear-free world whose realization no one knows when. They want to make it hard to proliferate nuclear arms in the future.
“The Security Council unanimously passed a U.S.-drafted resolution that endorses the eventual goal of "a world without nuclear weapons." It lays out steps for nuclear powers to trim their arsenals, while making it harder for other nations to convert civilian nuclear programs to military ones.”---- www.McClatchy.com (09/24/09, Strobel, W.P.)
The rogue Islamic republic of Iran with a restive populace offers the international community to inspect the site in Qom, but its timing is yet to be set. Built on a mountainous region near the holy city of Qom, the facility has the capacity to house 3,000 centrifuges (vs. that 8,000 in Natanz) is said to be operational soon, in less than 18 months.
This revelation comes with Brazil’s expressed intention of going nuclear to “protect” itself from its neighbors and Venezuela seeks the help of Iran to prospect for radioactive uranium. Actions by these countries with unstable leaders who want to go nuclear makes the problem of world security even more complex.
It’s the same problem Pakistan and North Korea are facing where loose nukes pose a potential problem. The world watches with alarm whether the United Nations, slackening on its job and often trying to avoid military confrontation, will be able to rein over the threat of nuclear arms. (Photo Credit: http://dailymail.co.uk) =0=
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Israel’s Netanyahu rebukes deniers of the holocaust
After yesterday’s speech of Iran’s Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at the General Assembly of the United Nations, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu followed with a rebuke of those who just stand by to watch a leader of nation deny the horror of holocaust and wish a nation to be wiped out on the face of the earth. Netanyahu debunked Iran’s odious assertion that the horror of the holocaust didn’t happen by displaying in the UN assembly a blueprint of the Auschwitz death camp and showing Nazi orders to kill Jews.
“The man who called the Holocaust a lie spoke at this podium. To those who refused to come and to those who left in protest, I commend you. You stood up for moral clarity and you brought honor to your countries. But to those who gave this Holocaust denier a hearing, I say on behalf of my people, the Jewish people, and decent people everywhere -- have you no shame? Have you no decency?"”----Brietbarttv.com(09/24/09)
“Netanyahu, 59, also defended his country against allegations of war crimes in a UN report on Israel’s military offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The prime minister said Israel sought to end rocket attacks on its communities, assaults he said the UN had ignored for years”---Bloomberg.com (09/24/09, Fersiger, J.)
Boycotting Ahmadinejad’s speech, Netanyahu clearly commended other UN delegates among them from Canada, Britain, and diplomats from France, Spain and other European contries who walked out in disdain over Ahmadinejad, the dictatorial leader of Islamic Iran with a long record of human rights violations and disregard of international covenants. The controversial Iranian leader who faced civil unrest and a disputed reelection in Tehran obviously didn’t represent decency and truth---but nontheles, he was welcomed in the UN.
In denying the merciless extermination of the Jews, Ahmadinejad insulted the memory of countless innocent victims of tyranny and evil during the Nazi regime. This comes on the heels of a growing worry that Iran is about to succeed in building a nuclear bomb in violations of UN samctions. If the world is populated with the likes of Amadinejad, the world’s future looks ominously dismal. (Photo Credit: ctv.ca; United Nations) =0=
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Iranian president to address UN general assembly in New York
President Mahmoud Ahmadenijad Iran’s vitriolic president is in New York City to participate in the 64th annual UN General Assembly. The controversial Muslim hardliner who espouses medieval religious tenets to govern Tehran will deliver a speech in the world body of nations. A crowd of demonstrators picket in front of the Big Apple's UN building on Wednesday, September 23, 2009 to air their disdain for the president.
Ahmadenijad has caught media attention for denying the extermination of 6 million Jews during the Nazi regime and for wanting Israel to be “wiped out from the face of the earth.” Such brazen and horrendous rhetoric must have no place in the world community, but it happens right in the United Nations.
Ahmadenijad’s disputed reelection this year has ignited grassroots protests from Iranian opposition whose leaders have been incarcerated and tortured. He is in the forefront of denying the long-suspected nuclear program which the IAEA believes is capable of producing a radioactive bomb, thus posing a threat to its neighbors.
Representing a Muslim country which supports terrorism, Ahmadenijad has been an embarrassment to the United Nations and his people. The religious-led Muslim country is noted for violations of human rights, inspiring resistance from the Iranian people.
For his shameful provocations against Israel, the Canadian delegation intends to abandon the UN assembly during his speech. A Canadian official whose delegation plans to walk out when the Iranian president addresses the assembly said Ahmadenijad’s behavior is shameful.
“He uses his public appearances to provoke the international community, and that is why Canada’s seats will be empty. The gesture is a step stronger than one announced Tuesday by the German Foreign Ministry, which asked other European Union member states to walk out of the General Assembly chamber if Ahmadinejad again denies the Holocaust, or makes anti-Semitic statements.”----Ottawacitizen. Com (09/23/09, Edwards, S.) (Photo Credit: Reuters/ Leonard Foeger; Jasondecrow; AP) =0=
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IAEA now says Iran can produce a nuclear bomb
After years of denying allegations by the United States and other UN-member nations that Iran is pursuing a nuclear program to develop a bomb, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) tasked to monitor the rogue country has admitted that Tehran has the ability to produce a nuclear bomb. nder the shadows, the Islamic country has worked on make a missile system which can bring an atomic warhead. In a confidential report seen by The Associated Pres, IAEA declares the following:
• The IAEA's assessment that Iran worked on developing a chamber inside a ballistic missile capable of housing a warhead payload "that is quite likely to be nuclear."
• That Iran engaged in "probable testing" of explosives commonly used to detonate a nuclear warhead — a method known as a "full-scale hemispherical explosively driven shock system."
• An assessment that Iran worked on developing a system "for initiating a hemispherical high explosive charge" of the kind used to help spark a nuclear blast.---AP; Yahoo.news (09/17/09, Jahn, G.)
The confidential document was what the United States had been referring as a “secret annex” which the IAEA earlier tagged as misinformation. For many months, USA, Israel, France, and other nations have been demanding IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei to release the information.
Early this year, IAEA revealed that Iran had produced more than 1,000 kilograms (2,200 pounds) of low-enriched, or fuel-grade, uranium, more than enough to make radioactive uranium for a bomb. It is likely that very soon Iran will be able to install a medium range missile with a nuclear explosive device.
The world wakes up to the grim reality that a system of surveillance like what IAEA does doesn’t work consistently. After years of denials and lies, Iran’s nuclear program, pursued under the very nose of the United Nations, has succeeded this far since the inception of its nuclear program in 1984 during the Islamic revolution. With unstable countries run by religious zealots and hardline radicals, going nuclear, the world cannot be far from peaceful and safe. (Photo Credit: sonyapryr) =0=
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North Korean arms shipment to Iran seized by United Arab Emirates
In violation to the sanctions of the United Nations (UN,) North Korea was caught with shipments of arms to Iran. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) intercepted a ship with arms, firing devices, grenades and explosives coming from the reclusive communist country of North Korea. Carried by a ship under Bahamian registry, the cargo was concealed as shipment of oil equipment.
“The Security Council voted on June 12 to adopt a resolution that punishes North Korea for its recent nuclear-bomb test and missile launches through cargo inspections and enforcement of restrictions on financial transactions. The measure calls for the interdiction at seaports, airports or in international waters of any cargo suspected of containing arms or nuclear or missile-related materials going to or from North Korea.”---- Bloomberg.com (08/28/09, Varner, Bill)
The United Arab Emirates unloaded the contraband cargo from North Korea and informed UN of the arms seizure contained in 10 container vans. The world body demanded Iran and North Korea (part of the axis of evil,) for explanation.
Iran consistently denied that its uranium program is not for atomic bomb development, but intended for plants to generate electricity. North Korea conducted bomb tests and denoted missiles in violation of UN sanctions. These are serious provocations which test how UN can enforce its power over dangerous nations in curtailing nuclear proliferation. (Iranmadeit) =0=
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Iran opposition stages protest in a cemetery
Coinciding the 40th day of the death of Neda Agha-Soltan, the martyred Iranian oppositionist killed in a riot on July 20, 2009, protest against the regime was held on Iran’s biggest cemetery. Thousands of reformists gathered in the burial site to pay tribute to Neda and those who died in the riots. They continued their campaign against the heavy-handed leadership of the cleric-dominated Islamic government.
Breaking the government’s order banning public assemblies, the protest movement had become a nationwide fight against the rigged reelection of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the June 12, 2009 voting. Demanding human rights, the oppositionists called for the release of political detainees and called for "Death to the dictator," referring to Amadinejad.
Since the protests began, many were arrested, incarcerated, beaten, and mercilessly killed by the powerful security forces of the current regime. In its unrelenting crack-down against dissent and freedom, the Iranian government announced that trials for arrested “rioters” will on August 1, 2009.
Relatives of those who died complained that authorities forced them to sign documents saying their loved ones died of natural causes, not a result of the brutality of the police. It appears the government will face more dissent from the opposition. To keep control, leaders are likely to use more inhumane and hard measures against those considered as “enemies” of the Islamic state. (Photo Credit: Iran 360; Reuters/ Saygin Serdaroglu) =0=
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Crash of another Iranian aircraft
A little more than a week when the Caspian Airways flight 7908 with 168 passengers aboard en route to the Armenian city of Yerevan crashed this month, another Iranian aircraft owned by Aria Airlines skidded in an airport and crashed on July 24, 2009, Northeast of the country, killing at least 17 people and injuring about 20 people. The airline was carrying 153passengers.
The crash could be the result of poor maintenance of planes in a country plagued by economic sanctions. Spare parts for Iran’s aging aircrafts, many Russian-made, had been difficult to procure.
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the availability of airplane parts had been a problem for the outdated aircraft fleet now susceptible to mechanical problems. Iran experienced difficulty buying plane parts even in Europe. Source: AP (Photo Credit: Sheltercrow) =0=
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Iran proceeds with its nuclear ambition under the noses of UN and USA
The problematic handling of Iran to deter nuclear proliferation has emboldened the Islamic country to proceed with its often-denied plan to produce an atomic bomb. The Ayatollah-led regime tries to stop the UN nuclear agency from increasing its monitoring of its nuclear program.
Reported by AP, according to diplomats, Iran has the potential of testing a bomb in six months---far earlier than what was thought. They say the Islamic country has produced substantial fissile material, about 1,000 kg (2,200 lbs) of low enriched weapons-grade uranium, giving them the capacity to test a bomb similar to what the North Koreans did in their underground test in 2006.
‘International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed Elbaradei has repeatedly warned that his agency cannot guarantee that Iran is not hiding nuclear activities. Iranian nuclear expert David Albright on Friday put the chances that such a secret site exists at "50-50." “---AP (07/17/09, Jahn, G.)
With Iran’s objection, the UN is asking for a step-up surveillance to determining what is truly occurring in Natanz, the site of where expanded uranium enrichment has been going on. As Iran tackles opposition from the homegrown reformist movement, the invitation of Hillary Clinton for the country to go in the negotiation table remains unheeded.
In the meantime, gas-bag Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad recently appointed Ali Akbar Salehi, a U.S.-educated physicist with a doctorate degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to replace resigned Gholam Reza Aghazadeh as the new vice president and the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran.
The turbulence in Iran after the reelection of Ahmadinejad continued. On a Friday prayer session this week, tens and thousands of Iranians braved the streets to air their opposition to the rigging of the election and the way the theocratic regime had ruled the Muslim state. (Photo Credit: PBS.org) =0=
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Iranian plane falls from the sky, 168 feared dead
From Tehran, Caspian Airways flight 7908 with 168 passengers aboard was en route to the Armenian city of Yerevan when it crashed in northwestern Iran. About 16 minutes after take-off, the commercial plane was on fire before it touched ground, according to witnesses. On the disaster site, a huge crater with burning jetliner debris was created. There were no signs of survivors.
"Its wheels were out and there was fire coming from the lower parts," Abul-Fazel Idaji told Fars. "Moments later the plane hit the ground and broke into pieces." Among those presumed dead were 10 members of the Iranian national youth judo squad traveling to Yerevan for a summer training camp."---Los Angeles Times (07/15/09. Daragahi, B.)
Because of sanctions, the Islamic Republic of Iran had been relying on Russian-made aircrafts which many of its citizens believed were prone to mechanical trouble. The Caspian Airways operated in Iran and neighboring countries like Syria, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates and Armenia. The cause of the crash is still under investigation. (Photo Credit: Getty Images/ Khalil Emami) =0=
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Iran election crisis continues as the world watches
Opposition to the recent election which civil society deemed fraudulent continued with thousands of angry protesters clashing with government security officers in Iran. Supporters of Mir Hossein Mousavi, the defeated rival of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad continued to spill into Tehran streets to denounce the rigged election last June 12, 2009 in spite of warnings from the Revolutionary Guard to be prepared for a bloody confrontation.
The protesters who were attacked by teargas, truncheons, and guns demanded a rerun of the election that was riddled with irregularities.
Iranian TV reported at least 17 so far were killed and more than 400 were wounded in last Saturday’s riots. One of those who died was Neda Soltani, a young woman whose demise had become the inspiration of more mass actions. A memorial service for the martyred lady was rejected by authorities to prevent her from becoming a flashpoint of continued rebellion.
Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said: “We are worried and particularly saddened over the violence and loss of life that this is creating and we ask the Iranian government to urgently adopt conditions to create a peaceful solution to the internal crisis. The right to safeguard human lives comes before everything else.“---Iran Daily (06/22/09)
US Pres. Barack Obama expressed his support to the protesters, but many criticize him for not speaking strongly for human rights and democratic principles.
In the past few days, the US, Britain, France, and other European countries asked the Iranian leadership to respect human rights, democratic process, and halt all violence against the people. The Iranian government responded by calling these countries “irresponsible and intrusive.”
As the protesters mull on their next move, a demonstration has been scheduled on Thursday, June 25, 2009. In solidarity with the Iranian protesters, similar rallies against the Iranian rogue regime have been staged in London, Hamburg, Paris, Berlin, Istanbul, Washington, Kuwait City, Tokyo, and other major cities of the world. (Photo Credit: PD; AFP; Reuters/ Farhad Rajabali) =0=
RELATED BLOGS: "Protests against Iran’s contested election continue" Posted by mesiamd at 6/16/2009; "Ahmadinejad wins in Iranian election" Posted by mesiamd at 6/14/2009
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Protests against Iran’s contested election continue
Riots against the alleged fraudulent landslide re-election of hardliner Pres. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad grew in the streets of Tehran. Thousands of irate Iranians clashed with the police injuring many and killing at least one person in the largest protest since 1979.
Droves of pro-democracy forces and opposition activists loyal to rival candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi continued to vent anger to the rigging of the election. It prompted supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who was originally supportive of the election result to order an investigation into the alleged voter anomalies.
World leaders expressed concern over the continued chaos in the streets which have ramifications to the stalled diplomatic overtures to have Iran abandon its nuclear program.
While evaluating the suspected landslide win of Ahmadinejad, Pres. Barack Obama said it’s up for the Iranians to choose their leaders. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon declared support to look into the contested presidential election. British Foreign Secretary David Miliband voiced "serious concern" while French President Nicolas Sarkozy expressed worry over Iran’s political situation. (Photo Credit: Mark Baker/ AP; AP; Behrouz Mehri/ AFP/ Getty Images.=0=
UPDATE: June 16, 2007---7 Iranians protesting the cheating in the re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad were gunned down in a public square during a confrontation with riot policemen.
RELATED BLOG: "Ahmadinejad wins in Iranian election" Posted by mesiamd at 6/14/2009
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Ahmadinejad wins in Iranian election
In a disputed election last Friday, June 12, 2009, Pres. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won over his chief rival reformist Mir-Hossein Mousavi sparking riots and protests in Tehran and other Iranian streets. With allegations of election fraud, Ahmadinejad’s winning gives him another 4-year term to pursue his promised “bright and glorious” future for Iran which is actively pursuing its dangerous nuclear program.
"Many backers took this call to the streets. Thousands of protesters — mostly young men — roamed through Tehran looking for a fight with police and setting trash bins and tires ablaze. Pillars of black smoke rose among the mustard-colored apartment blocks and office buildings in central Tehran. In one side road, an empty bus was engulfed in flames."---AP (06/14/09, Johnson, A; Murphy, B.)
Iran supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei brushed aside the protests over Friday’s vote and welcomed the 80% election turnout. The Interior Ministry disclosed that Ahmadinejad garnered more than 63% and Mousavi received 35%.
“Iran in turmoil will not be ready to engage Obama," said Bruce Riedel, veteran US inteligence official…. Congress and pro-Israel conservatives, already strongly critical of Ahmadinejad, will undoubtedly press Obama to put a tight deadline on his overture to Iran. They are expected to urge him to move on to tougher measures, such as economic sanctions or military action, to try to compel Tehran to give up its nuclear ambitions.” LA Times (06/14/09, Richter, P)
Ahmadinejad advocates the destruction and annihilation of Israel. He brings fresh challenge in keeping the balance of peace in the Middle East. Like Mousavi, he supports terrorist groups like Hezbollah and Hamas. His election will make it harder for the United States, UN, and their allies to pursue a peaceful resolution against the nuclear threat Iran poses to the world.
US Sec. of State Hillary Clinton doubts whether Ahmadinejad won by landslide victory----something that the Iranian people must decide.
(Photo Credit: LA Times/ AP/ Ben Curtis) =0=
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Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei rebuffs Obama’s peace message
In a video message on March 20, 2009, Pres. Barack Obama tried to reach out to Iran, reminding the hard-line Islamic country to show its greatness not by way of arms, but through peaceful means. His offer to normalize relations with the mullah-dominated country is a campaign promise he had to fulfill---a radical digression from Pres. George W. Bush’s policy of non-negotiation towards a regime known to be part of the “axis of evil” that threatens to wipe out Israel.
Obama’s peaceful diplomacy is what most of the Western world wanted. Yet, this presidential gesture delivered in time for the Persian new year of Nowruz is looked upon as a form of “surrender” which the “hard” Muslims expect from the “soft” Americans. Iran thinks the United States, saddled by economic problems, is wearied by terrorism and preoccupied by the Iraqi and Afghan wars; it doesn’t have the enough strength to fight. That’s why Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was quick to rebuff the US president.
"He (Obama) insulted the Islamic Republic of Iran from the first day. If you are right that change has come, where is that change? What is the sign of that change? Make it clear for us what has changed…Have you released Iranian assets? Have you lifted oppressive sanctions? Have you given up mudslinging and making accusations against the great Iranian nation and its officials? Have you given up your unconditional support for the Zionist regime? Even the language remains unchanged." ----Yahoo News/ AP (03/21/09, Dareini, A)
Iran finds a new sense of self-importance learning of Obama’s conciliatory stance to patch up the strained relations between the two countries. Denying terrorism and the Iran's race to produce nuclear arms, Khamenei lashed on Obama by mentioning a litany of Iran’s grievances against the United States. Amid calls of “Death to America” from his audience, the cleric-leader dwelt on long standing hostilities since diplomatic ties were severed after the fall of the pro-US Shah government about 30 years ago.
Many have some inkling on know how the Iranians are taking Obama’s peace overtures. Iranians opposed to the cleric-controlled government may support him. But others may look at his peace suggestion as a sign of weakness. Like other warlike Muslims in other parts of the world, Iranians don’t respect a man who looks like a wimp even if he is the president of the United States. (Photo Credit: Polyphake; Photon Trap)=0=
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Ships hijacked by pirates, an earthquake in Indonesia and the decline of RP peso
7
Is the total number of ships hijacked by Somali pirates on since November 5, 2008 in the Aden Gulf. The latest hijacked ships are operated by the Islamic Republic of Iran and that of Saudi Arabia, a super oil tanker carrying $100 million worth of crude oil. In the past ransoms were paid to recover the ships, but nations are finding ways to foil piracy in the busiest sea lane of the world.
P49.96
At the close of business trading on November 18, 2008, the peso-dollar exchange has floundered close to P50/per dollar. The slide of the peso value is expected to continue as local and foreign effects of recession take its full effect.
7.5
Recorded in the Richter’s scale is strength of the quake that hit Indonesian island Sulawesi on November 17, 2008 which reportedly killed at least 6 persons, toppling houses and injuring scores of people. A tsunami warning from US officials in the area was raised within 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) from the quake’s origin, but was later lifted.
$1.2 billion
Bangko Sentral of the Philippines (BSP,) discloses this amount of deficit in the balance of payments (BOP) mainly attributed to capital flight, weak exports, and payment of maturing obligations. BOP is the record of the country’s transactions with the rest of the world and its deficit in October 2008 reduces this year’s surplus in a 10 month period to $345 million, down from $7.87 billion registered year-on-year.
77
Is the reported number of people who contracted typhoid fever in Quezon. Caused by Salmonella typhosa, the diarrheal disease with systemic manifestations is linked with contaminated water supply. The Department of Health (DOH,) advises boiling of water and frequent hand-washing to counter the spread of the disease. In a separate outbreak, 2 persons died of another diarrheal illness in Misamis Oriental. Reported on 11/18/08, about 1,000 people have sought treatment in the hospital for complaints which are suspicious of cholera. (Photo Credit: by Moody_fingers) =0=
Richard Lugar Praises Obama on Foreign Policy
Republican Indiana Sen. Richard G. Lugar and a prominent member of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee said in his speech at the National Defense University that there are benefits to talking with enemies of the US, as against use of military force.
Generally, Lugar praised Barack Obama who John McCain called "naive" for saying that as US President he would talk with the likes of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Isolation does not resolve contentious issues, Lugar added in agreement with Obama's line. In campaign speeches in a presidential debate, Obama repeatedly says that, while he does not take military option off the table, not talking to an enemy regime as a form of punishment does not make sense. Lugar rebuked McCaine by saying that exclusive use of isolation or military force in dealing with enemies of America may not be desirable. "In some cases, refusing to talk can even be dangerous."
McCain recently took a flack when he turned cold shoulder on the prospect of meeting the Prime Minister of Spain. Spain's sin: it pulled out its troops from Iraq when the US-initiated invasion started to get messy and unpopular. Since that time, President Bush has snubbed Spain's leaders, a cue apparently not lost to Senator McCain.
Noting recent diplomatic success in dealing with North Korea, Lugar suggested further diplomatic engagement with Syria and Iran. He suggested though that McCain may be right when the Republican nominee warned that "there are times when diplomatic approaches to rogue regimes have little efficacy."
In July, one Obama campaign ad mentioned Lugar by name and Lugar says he is "pleased" to have worked with the Democratic nominee on nuclear proliferation issues.
We here in the Philippines remember then Congressman Richard Lugar as the head of a US conressional committee who attempted and failed to broker a deal betwen President Ferdinand Marcos and Cory Aquino as the Marcos regime started to crumble in the aftermath of Ninoy Aquino assassination. At that time, Marcos was a SOB but "he is our SOB." Incidentally, Obama promises not to have none of these SOBs.
Iran's Ahmadinejad & the Impotence of the United Nations
Side by side with the financial crisis rocking America, the threat of terrorism showed its ugly head when Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, made a controversial speech in the United Nations (UN) in New York City today September 23, 2008, highlighting the impotence and hypocrisy of current world politics. His allusion to a pessimistic outlook of America is as though the United States is alone in its march towards a rough ride into the future. Faced with a global economy, exploding population, dwindling resources, differing value judgments and relativist view of truth, America shares its problems with everybody. This is what is happening in the current economic crisis. The financial flu sweeping the United States is threatening to be a world pandemic of economic and political woes whose end result for the world is scary to imagine.
Wishing bad things to happen for America isn't good to the peace and stability of its global neighbors. Just as the full-blown effects of the present US economic downturn are starting to be felt, the world waits on the edge; nobody knows how it will end. But even without this, Iran has been suffering under the current Islamic regime of Ahmadinejad. Outside the UN headquarters, he is met by protests and jeers by those who disagree with him.
The United Nations (UN) has been inutile in convincing Iran to stop its nuclear program. Effective in fighting certain world problems, UN is “forced” to give air time to Ahmadinejad whose horrific support for terrorism and promotion to destroy Israel sends goose bumps to decent people worldide. Most observers doubt Ahmadinejad's hyperbolic rhetorics and many don’t believe his vitriol and clever pretentions. With a sluggish UN, few nations however speak up and stand against his way.
For not suspending its uranium enrichment, three rounds of UN sanctions hasn't deterred Iran from continuing its nuclear activities. It's this type of UN sanctions that Sadam Hussein endured until after 16 unheeded resolutions which led to the Iraq war that was supported albeit lamely by the UN.
The possibililty of nuclear war is ever more real in the current stockpiles of weapons whose oversight is increasingly becoming more difficult. Serving as a political tool and a weapon of intimidation, the acquisition of nuclear arms by unstable countries like Iran, Pakistan and North Korea is a scary step towards the planet's destruction. It encourages terrorists and extremists to work harder to destabilize the world and make the nuclear cloud closer to reality.
With rogue nations sitting side by side in UN in “cooperation” with those committed to make the world a peaceful place, the challenge of diplomacy is ever more complex and daunting. The world body cannot even agree on who are the terrorists. Having reckless leaders like Ahmadinejad who denies the holocaust, lacks accountability, threatens Israel, and wages proxy wars (Hezbollah and Iraq) could be the signs of what lies in the future. It’s at this late hour that world is learning. Sooner or later, it must wake up and confront the reality at hand. Photo Credits: Ben Heine; Nickolette22; MihaiRomanciuc)=0=
RP’s 40% drop in med school enrollment & the foreign doctors
It seems a good thing that doctors from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN,) a group of sovereign states in partnership with the Philippines, are coming to the country for study. This development is timely when at least 5,000 doctors have left the country since 2004 and about 6,000 have shifted to study nursing for jobs abroad. In the last three years, a staggering 40% drop in medical enrollment is noted. Asian Journal Online (08/26/08) An uncertain number of foreign doctors who come from Iran, India, Malaysia and Indonesia and other neighboring countries have sought training in Philippine hospitals, many in the provinces, even if no Department of Health (DOH) guidelines are existent to regulate them.
According to Philippine Medical Association (PMA) president Reynaldo Santos, M.D., the arrival of these foreign medical trainees attests to the high quality of education in the country. But this is doubted in the wake of a sharp decline of the number of hospitals, a marked rise in patient load for doctors and nurses, a low passing rate of Filipinos in the United States Medical Licensure Examination (USMLE,) an over-crowding of patients and trainees, lack of budget, equipment upgrade, and medical facilities in many hospitals. See related article on medical diploma mills below.
If the Department of Health (DOH) and the Education Department (CHED) don’t act fast, it will not be long before foreigners will be able to judge for themselves the quality of education and healthcare in the Philippines compared to that of their countries of origin. It is deleterious for the country to rely on foreigners to solve the shortage of physicians or seek them to shore up dwindling medical enrollment. Without infringing on the physicians’ rights, measures to reverse the brain-drain of local doctors must be high in the priority. (Photo Credit: Doctian) =0=
MEDICAL SCHOOL DIPLOMA MILLS
A disturbing article entitled Medical School for Sale? was written by Emil Jurado of Manila Standard on July 26, 2007. It's unclear whether the Department of Health (DOH) and school authorities (CHED) took satisfactory remedial action to prevent further erosion of credibility with the alleged proliferation of diploma mills in the country.
In concordance with the requirement of ASEAN's Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA)mandating to honor medical licenses and credentials among member nations, this highlights the need to write the long-overdue guidelines needed for the regulation, hiring, and training of local and foreign doctors in the Philippines. Here's a part of Jurado's riveting piece that needed verification plus action from the government:
“The Times of India, a very prestigious newspaper, published an article, “Now showing: Manilabhai MBBS*.” The article is very derogatory about our kind of medical education. The latest MBBS scam to appear on the medical scene in India is based in the Philippines. “And this one’s even less complicated than the others.”
The article says: “There is no entrance test for admission, now, will you need to attempt the screening test in return?” says Upveen Harpal, accounting executive, HCMI, which is sending students abroad.
The article adds, “So, anybody with 40 percent in Class XII examination and who could pay Rs 16 lakhas (about P1.6 million) upfront could head for the Philippines for an MBBS and come home to practice. No questions asked, and Harpal claimed that this was a three-party tieup among HCMI, a medical school in Manila and a medical school in Tamil Nadu, India.”
To add insult to injury, Yogesh Sharma of Gujarat Global News Network, Ahmedabad wrote an article entitled, “The Philippines dangles carrots to Gujarat students: Be doctor for Rs 20 lakh.” The article implies that there are no more requirements to enter an MBBS program in the Philippines since the title gives the impression that all one needs is Rs 20 lakh or P2,000,000 to become a doctor, courtesy of fly-by-night or spurious Philippine medical schools, and diploma mills for sale. “ *N.B. M.D. in the Philippines is equivalent to MBBS in India. Manila Standard (07/25/08, Jurado, Emil; Photo Credit: PaulCooperBland)
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