America's North Shore Journal » Other Countries
SE Asian Nations Reach Freight Shipping Agreement
Most of this story is about plans, and hopes and dreams. But the actual news is interesting, especially for the men who fought in and around that terrain in the Vietnam War. Click through for the entire piece. A seemingly obscure agreement on traffic rights between Vietnam, Laos and Thailand now allows trucks to transit the three countries without having to unload cargo at border crossings for trans-shipment. This will cut costs and time for regional trade, funding agencies say, and is expected to have far-reaching consequences for the region’s trade. The formal opening of the East-West Corridor is part of a regional plan to break down barriers at borders across mainland South-East Asia, and later, beyond. Overland transport time between Vietnam and Thailand has been shortened by the agreement for commercial trucks from … Read entire article »
Filed under: Other Countries, United Nations
Turks Jail Plotters
In Turkey, the military is the protector of the secular state. Since the Islamists have taken control of the government, there have been rumors of a coup by the military to restore secularism. From AP via the Houston Chronicle, here is a story about recent arrests of alleged plotters. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Islamic-rooted party has been locked in a power struggle with secular groups supported by the military and other state institutions, including the judiciary. Secularists see themselves as the defenders of the modern secular ideology espoused by Turkish national founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, and oppose groups they say want to impose Islam on society. Earlier in the week, the Constitutional Court heard allegations against the ruling party of anti-secular activity. The prosecutor wants the party disbanded, and Erdogan and 70 … Read entire article »
Filed under: Islam, Other Countries, War on Terror
Hidden Dangers in india
India is another country made up of a variety of peoples welded together by a European colonial power. Despite the major PR blitz of the last decade, it, too, threatens to fall apart. Here’s a story about one of the many cracks. BBC More than 15 years ago, Tombi studied advertising in Delhi. These days, he is putting his communication skills to a different use in the remote Indian state of Manipur. At a hidden destination deep within waterlogged paddy fields and lush palm trees, Tombi (not his real name) meets me as I disembark from a small canoe. He is flanked by around 20 militants in camouflage uniforms bearing AK47s and other heavy arms, including a rocket propelled gun. Tombi is now the publicity officer for a rebel group called the United National … Read entire article »
Filed under: Other Countries, War on Terror
You Cannot Escape
Continuing my series of stories about eunuchs in India, I find this: BBC Tax authorities in one Indian state are attempting to persuade debtors to paying their bills – by serenading them with a delegation of singing eunuchs. Eunuchs are feared and reviled in many parts of India, where some believe they have supernatural powers. Often unable to gain regular employment, the eunuchs have become successful at persuading people to part with their cash. The eunuchs will get a commission of 4% of any taxes collected. In Bihar’s capital, Patna, officials felt deploying the eunuchs was the only way to prompt people to pay up. “We are collecting taxes for the municipal corporation, collecting money from those who have not paid their taxes for years,” said Saira, one of the eunuchs on the streets of … Read entire article »
Filed under: Commentary, Odd News, Original writing, Other Countries
Swedes Under Attack
From “The Local“, which bills itself as “Sweden’s News in English” A group of Swedish soldiers was attacked on Tuesday in northern Afghanistan by locals armed with handguns, mines and and handheld rocket-launchers. The Swedish troops returned fire and no Swedes were reported injured, according to a statement from the Armed Forces. The patrol, which was part of the international ISAF force and also included Finnish soldiers, arrived at the village of Boka in Balkh province to meet Afghan representatives at around 11.40am local time. Around 15-30 Afghans attacked the patrol and not until around 1pm did reinforcements arrive, allowing the Swedes to withdraw from the area. The Swedish Armed Forces said that it is still unclear if any Afghans were wounded or killed as the Swedes fired back. Two days ago another Swedish patrol … Read entire article »
Filed under: Afghanistan, Other Countries, War on Terror
Brit Police Outlaw Playing
One after another, we’re seeing stories from Old Blighty about truly nonsensical rulings and actions, and this appears to be one. BBC A group of youngsters have fallen foul of the law for playing hopscotch. West Midlands Police community support officers asked parents in Spring Street in Halesowen to remove chalk markings after complaints about them. Several children were involved in the games resulting in several markings on the pavement. Police said they were also investigating complaints of anti-social behaviour. But mother Lisa Mangan said their action was “extreme”. She told BBC News: “I think it is pretty extreme. “With what is going on in the world it is pretty extreme for a few chalk markings on the pavement which will be washed away.” … Read entire article »
Filed under: Other Countries, Society
Princess Pats Embed
Globe & Mail Although waged in the tight quarters of the villages of Pashmul — these small villages are in their way every bit as indistinct and alike as North American suburbs, and many have no names — the battle was both so diffuse and shifting that while a CTV crew, reporter Steve Chao and cameraman Tom Michalak, and I were probably never more than 50 metres apart, we never once saw one another, and indeed, emerged with entirely different snapshots of the same fighting. I was embedded with Charlie Company of the 1st Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry; Mr. Chao and Mr. Michalak with Bravo Company. We might as well have been at different wars, though each of ours had elements in common — highly disciplined Canadian soldiers and undisciplined Afghan … Read entire article »
Filed under: Afghanistan, Military, Other Countries, War on Terror
Liberian Warlord Arrested in the North Shore
A former Liberian warlord accused of atrocities against civilians was found living a modest life along America’s North Shore and arrested today. Democrat & Chronicle and here, too A Clarkson man who once headed a Liberian political party — a group accused by some human rights activists of atrocities against civilians — was arrested today at his home on federal immigration-related criminal charges. Agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement allege that George S. Boley, 56, is illegally living in Clarkson. Agents arrested Boley, a married father of seven, at his home at 630 Lawton Road today, and accused him of fraudulent use of visas and other immigration documents to travel to and from the United States. He was released on his own recognizance after a late afternoon hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jonathan … Read entire article »
Filed under: Crime and Punishment, Other Countries, War on Terror
Coming Soon: Future Posts
- Declaration of War 1812 (in 130 days)
- USS President vs HMS Belvidera (in 135 days)
- General Hull Invades Canada (in 154 days)
- First Battle of Sacketts Harbor (in 161 days)
On Y!CN
- Radioactive Gravel from Japanese Nuke Disaster Used in Buildings
- Fuel Supplies Reach Nome
- Fuel Convoy Reaches Nome
- Russians Sail to Rescue of Ice Bound Alaska Community
- Pope Embraces Anglicans in U.S. with New Ordinariate
- Nebraska Nuke Plant Placed on Special Inspection Status
- Radioactive Water Leaks at Japanese Nuke Site
- Japan Damaged Nuke Plants Still Not Under Control
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The Bleeding Heart of Africa – the Congo
October 29th, 2008 | Comments Off
The humanitarian catastrophe in the eastern Congo seems to be reaching a climax, one of the many over the last fifty years. The Congolese Army has fled from a rebel advance. The UN is using what forces it has, including helicopter gunships, to slow the rebels, Tutsis. North Kivu province, which borders Rawanda, has been the site of ethnic fighting for at least five years as a result of the genocidal acts that took place in Rawanda. The rebel factions are primarily made up of forces from the National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP) and the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR). A blogger from the region reports: It’s total chaos in Goma. I am being told, through various phone calls and text messages, that the army have … Read entire article »
Filed under: Commentary, Original writing, Other Countries