Geography - Central Asia

Today we take a look at five nations that Americans don't think about too often. The largest of these is Kazakhstan, about which we posted a while back (flag #69). Now we look at four of its neighbors as well.

Kazakhstan lies in the north of the central Asian republics and is bounded by Russia in the north, China in the east, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan in the south, and the Caspian Sea and part of Turkmenistan in the west. It has almost 1,177 mi (1,894 km) of coastline on the Caspian Sea. Kazakhstan is about four times the size of Texas. The territory is mostly steppe land with hilly plains and plateaus. [source]

The capital is Astana and the monetary unit is the Tenge.

Uzbekistan is situated in central Asia between the Amu Darya and Syr Darya Rivers, the Aral Sea, and the slopes of the Tien Shan Mountains. It is bounded by Kazakhstan in the north and northwest, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan in the east and southeast, Turkmenistan in the southwest, and Afghanistan in the south. The republic also includes the Karakalpakstan Autonomous Republic, with its capital, Nukus (1992 est. pop., 182,000). The country is about one-tenth larger in area than the state of California. [source]

The capital and largest city is Tashkent and the monetary unit is the Uzbekistan sum. The literacy rate is 99%. [Apologies for the western music on the video below]

Turkmenistan (formerly Turkmenia) is bounded by the Caspian Sea in the west, Kazakhstan in the north, Uzbekistan in the east, and Iran and Afghanistan in the south. About nine-tenths of Turkmenistan is desert, chiefly the Kara-Kum. One of the world's largest sand deserts, it is approximately 138,966 sq mi (360,000 sq km). [source]

The capital and largest city is Ashgabat (variously spelled) and the monetary unit is the Manat.



Snow and glaciers anyone?

Kyrgyzstan (formerly Kirghizia) is a rugged country with the Tien Shan mountain range covering approximately 95% of the whole territory. The mountaintops are perennially covered with snow and glaciers. Kyrgyzstan borders Kazakhstan on the north and northwest, Uzbekistan in the southwest, Tajikistan in the south, and China in the southeast. The republic is the same size in area as the state of Nebraska. [source]

Bishkek is the capital and largest city and the Som is the monetary unit.

Ninety-three percent of Tajikistan's territory is mountainous, and the mountain glaciers are the source of its rivers. Tajikistan is an earthquake-prone area. The republic is bounded by China in the east, Afghanistan to the south, and Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan to the west and north. The central Asian republic also includes the Gorno-Badakh Shan Autonomous region. Tajikistan is slightly larger than the state of Illinois. [source]

Dushanbe is the capital and largest city and the monetary unit is the Somoni.



The surrounding countries of this group of five include Russia, China, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran. We should probably mention the Caspian Sea also, as it is the "largest enclosed body of water on Earth." The Central Asian countries obviously border nations of considerable geopolitical interest these days and are significant in their own right.

Can you match the countries to their flags? (Confession: without scrolling back up, I can't. So remember, this is a reinforcement game, not a test!)

And here is our memory-stretching exercise in recognizing geographic outlines.

The answer to last week's outline, of course, was Mali.

Stressed today? Here is one minute of waves on a beach of the Caspian Sea to help you chill.



There is much to be said about the history of this region and about its current politics, but I am mostly trying to give a sense of geography and need to limit my scope if I am to do this.

Happy mind traveling!
--the BB

Havng trouble tracking who's up to what?

Juan Cole does some untangling for us:

This fixation on Iran just doesn't make any sense to me. The poor slum kids and Marsh Arabs in Basra who follow Muqtada al-Sadr don't even like Iranians. The primary Iran-linked force in Basra is the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq with its Badr Corps militia, which most Basrans code as Iranian puppets. One of my Iraqi correspondents told me that when the Badr Corps was fighting Marsh Arabs, local Basrans characterized it as 'Iranians fighting Iraqis.' The Badr Corps, according to the Iraqi press, fought alongside al-Maliki's 14th Division against the Mahdi Army. The Badr Corps was trained by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and it is alleged that many Badr Corps fighters are still on the Iranian payroll.

Iranians come through Basra on their way up to Karbala and Najaf on pilgrimage to sacred Shiite shrines, and a handful may have gotten caught up in the fighting. This sort of thing has happened before. [8,000 Iranian pilgrims caught in Iraq because of the fighting have just been recalled home, and a temporary halt on the pilgrimages has been called.) But that Supreme Jurisprudent Ali Khamenei of Iran deliberately sent Iranian troops or agents into Basra to undermine ISCI, Badr, and al-Maliki's Da'wa (Islamic Missionary) Party on behalf of the Sadr Movement just strikes me as daft. It flies in the face of everything else we know about the relationship of these groups with Iran.

In fact, the Iranian leadership benefits from a united Iraqi Shiite community and the head of the Expediency Council, Akbar Rafsanajani, expressed concern about the faction-fighting among Iraqi Shiites. Iran brokered the cease-fire. If it wanted Shiite on Shiite fighting, why would it do that?

Neither the US nor Britain any longer has good intelligence on what is happening in the slums of Basra. If Petraeus is getting his information from al-Maliki on all this, he should be careful. The Da'wa and ISCI are perfectly capable of doing propaganda to embroil the US in their fights. In fact, their lies helped draw the US in, in the first place. [Emphasis mine]

Note: nobody in Iraq seems more "Iranian" than the Badr Corps allied with Maliki (the guy the US is backing). So trying to raise an alarm over "Iranian" involvement is rather disingenuous at best and deliberately misleading no matter how you slice and dice it.
--the BB

Lord, have mercy - 4/7/2008

Tibet - China - Olympic Games
Protest Disrupts Torch Relay in Paris
New York Times - 1 hour ago
By KATRIN BENNHOLD and JOHN F. BURNS PARIS - What was supposed to be a majestic procession for the Olympic torch through the French capital was disrupted Monday as thousands of people from around Europe, many with Tibetan flags, massed to protest the ...
Video: Protests Follow Olympic Torch Through Europe AssociatedPress
Olympics Photo Wire ESPN

Olympic torch put out thrice in Paris
NDTV.com - 57 minutes ago
It has been a rough day for the Olympic torch in Paris. Protestors have managed to force officials to put out the flame, not once but thrice after the torch relay began from the Eiffel Tower.

French foreign minister says all options regarding possible ...
PR-Inside.com (Pressemitteilung) - 9 hours ago
© AP PARIS (AP) - French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner says all options are open regarding a possible boycott by France's president of the opening ceremony for the Beijing Olympics.
French foreign minister says all options open regarding Olympics ... News1130

Foreign Media in China Harassed on Tibet
The Associated Press - 1 hour ago
BEIJING (AP) - Western reporters in China have received harassing phone calls, e-mails and text messages, some with death threats, supposedly from ordinary Chinese complaining about alleged bias in coverage of recent anti-Chinese protests in Tibet.
Tibetan Buddhism's next leader? International Herald Tribune
Latest Move in Tibet: Wall Street Journal

JO-2008: motion des députés du groupe Tibet à Hu Jintao, Sarkozy ...
TSR.ch - Il y a 5 heures
Le groupe d'études sur le Tibet à l'Assemblée nationale, qui a enregistré lundi matin sa 150e adhésion, a adressé une motion au président chinois Hu Jintao, au président Nicolas Sarkozy et au président du CIO Jacques Rogge, appelant au respect des ...
Chine, la propagande du complot Libération
« La réaction du régime chinois est imprévisible » Ouest-France

Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe Court Delays Ruling on Vote Count
New York Times - 59 minutes ago
The opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai said Saturday that he was the winner of Zimbabwe’s presidential election in March. By CELIA W. DUGGER JOHANNESBURG - Zimbabwe’s high court on Monday delayed by at least 24 hours a decision on whether to force the ...
Zimbabwe Court Delays Decision on Election Results Voice of America
Zimbabwe court delays poll ruling again Reuters

Mugabe planning mine grab - Zim press
The Times - 1 hour ago
By Sherilee Bridge, I-Net Bridge While the world waits for news about the outcome of Zimbabwe’s elections, Zimbabwean newspapers at the weekend reported that Robert Mugabe’s Zanu-PF planned to seize foreign-owned mines to win over votes.
DA: Mbeki out of touch with reality in Zim Independent Online
UK wants "proper monitoring" of any Zimbabwe run-off Reuters South Africa

Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka military says kills 49 rebels, bombs north
Reuters - 4 hours ago
By Ranga Sirilal COLOMBO, April 7 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka air force jets bombed rebel positions in the far north on Monday while troops killed 49 Tamil Tiger rebels in fresh fighting, the military said.
Tamil Tigers targeted after MP's death CNN International
Sri Lankan forces attack rebels United Press International

Iraq
A 'defining moment' in Iraq
West County Journal - 1 hour ago
You would think that after "Mission Accomplished," President George W. Bush would have learned to avoid hyperbole when talking about the Iraq war. As Iraqi security forces were foundering in their recent attempt to dislodge Shiite militias from control ...
Iraq violence up as troop levels drop Boston Globe
Al-Sadr Calls for Dialogue in Iraq The Associated Press

US and Iraqis Battle Militias to End Attacks
New York Times - 2 hours ago
By ERICA GOODE and MICHAEL R. GORDON BAGHDAD - Sharp fighting broke out in the Sadr City district of Baghdad on Sunday as American and Iraqi troops sought to control neighborhoods used by Shiite militias to fire rockets and mortars into the nearby ...
Maliki issues election ultimatum International Herald Tribune
Iraq's Sadr to Disband Militia if Ordered by Clerics Washington Post

Le Premier ministre irakien lance un ultimatum aux sadristes
Le Point - Il y a 5 heures
La formation politique de l'imam chiite Moktada Sadr sera écartée de la vie politique irakienne si ce dernier ne dissous pas sa milice, l'Armée du Mahdi, prévient le Premier ministre Nouri al Maliki, cité par la chaîne CNN. ...
Al-Sadr pourrait accepter de démanteler l'Armée du Mahdi La Tribune.fr
Le premier ministre irakien menace d'interdire de participation ... Le Monde

Sadr disolverá su milicia si cuenta con aprobación liderazgo ...
Terra España - hace 28 minutos
El clérigo radical chií dice que disolverá su milicia, Ejército del Mahdi', si cuenta con la aprobación del máximo liderazgo religioso chií de la ciudad santa de Nayaf, según anunció hoy uno de sus ayudantes. 'Muqtada al Sadr pedirá la opinión de los ...
Nouri al-Maliki amenaza con prohibir actividad política de al-Sadr Voice of America
La disyuntiva de Moqtada Canarias 7

Israel - Palestine
Ehud Olmert et Mahmoud Abbas renouent le contact
La Tribune.fr - Il y a 20 minutes
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Le Premier ministre israélien et le président palestinien Mahmoud Abbas ont assuré lundi vouloir mener à bien leurs négociations de paix en dépit des "difficultés de terrain" - sécurité pour Israël, colonisation pour les ...
Proche-Orient: Olmert et Abbas espèrent toujours un accord avant ... AFP
Fin de la rencontre Abbas/Olmert à Jérusalem Romandie.com

Olmert y Abas mantienen su confianza en lograr un acuerdo en 2008
AFP - hace 1 hora
JERUSALÉN (AFP) — El primer ministro israelí, Ehud Olmert, y el presidente palestino, Mahmud Abas, insistieron el lunes en su deseo de alcanzar un acuerdo antes de finales de 2008, durante una reunión en Jerusalén con la que han reanudado las ...
Olmert y Abbas reanudan reuniones después de receso Reuters América Latina
Reunión de Olmert y Abbas culmina sin acuerdos Prensa Latina
Olmert y Abás expresan inquietud pero seguirán negociando un ...
Terra España - hace 2 horas
El primer ministro israelí, Ehud Olmert, y el presidente palestino, Mahmud Abás, expresaron hoy su inquietud por las amenazas que se ciernen sobre su diálogo pero reafirmaron que proseguirán la negociación hasta cerrar un acuerdo de paz este año. ...

Montenegro
Le président du Monténégro assuré de sa réélection dès le premier tour
Le Monde - Il y a 6 heures
Filip Vujanovic a été réélu à la tête du Monténégro, dimanche 6 avril, dès le premier tour de l'élection présidentielle. Selon le CEMI, une agence indépendante qui a observé le scrutin, le président sortant l'a emporté avec 52,3 % des voix devant le ...
Le président monténégrin Filip Vujanovic réélu au premier tour Le Point
Le président sortant Vujanovic donné vainqueur au Montenegro La Tribune.fr

United States-Colombia Trade Deal
Bush Sending Congress Colombia Pact
ABC News - 32 minutes ago
By MARTIN CRUTSINGER AP Economics Writer AP President Bush forcing a congressional vote on a controversial trade agreement that would would tear down trade barriers between the two... President Bush on Monday signed a letter sending Congress a ...
Bush to Send Colombian Trade Deal to Congress for Vote FOXNews
Bush Presses Congress On Colombia Trade Pact Wall Street Journal

Egypt
Fresh clashes in troubled Egypt Nile Delta town
Reuters South Africa - 37 minutes ago
CAIRO, April 7 (Reuters) - Clashes broke out between police and protesters in the Nile Delta textile town of Mahalla el-Kubra for the second straight day on Monday and the protesters set fire to several shops, witnesses said.
Calm returns after strike in Egypt The Times
In Egypt, Technology Helps Spread Discontent of Workers New York Times

Somalia
Somalis urge action on pirate ship
Aljazeera.net - 59 minutes ago
French and American army units have been urged to take tough action against a luxury French yacht whose crew has been held hostage by pirates since Friday.
France Sends Troops in Pirate Standoff The Associated Press
Pirates holding French yacht shoot at militia Reuters South Africa

India - Africa
'India's ties with Africa distinct from others'
Economic Times - 1 hour ago
NEW DELHI: India underlined its "distinct" approach towards Africa on Monday, a day before its first-ever summit with African countries, and reiterated its support for the continent's place in an expanded UN Security Council.
India strengthens its presence in African Indian Ocean Rim Hindu
Diamonds add shine to India's ties with Angola, Namibia Times of India

Kenya
Une délégation sans Raila Odinga rencontre Mwai Kibaki au Kenya
L'Express - Il y a 48 minutes
Le chef de l'opposition kényane a décidé de ne pas rencontrer personnellement lundi le président Mwai Kibaki, préférant envoyer une délégation négocier un accord de partage du pouvoir qui risque d'être encore repoussé. Le porte-parole d'Odinga, ...
Kenya: La formation du gouvernement de coalition dans l'impasse Afrique en ligne
Gouvernement kényan: le président Kibaki consulte ses partisans AFP

Argentina - France - Colombia
Sarkozy se compromete con Fernández de Kirchner a visitar Argentina
Terra España - hace 2 horas
La presidenta argentina, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, anunció hoy el 'compromiso' de su colega francés, Nicolas Sarkozy, de hacer una visita oficial al país sudamericano en la primera parte del año próximo, tras reunirse con él en el Elíseo. ...
Francia pide ´libertad´ para Ingrid Betancourt La Opinión de Tenerife
Miles marchan en París en apoyo a Betancourt Voice of America

The women brought myrrh and came unto Thy sepulchre. Their souls filled with joy on seeing the bright Angel's light. With great zeal and boldness, O Lord, they preached that Thou art the God of all, and to Thy disciples they cried: The Life of all hath arisen from the dead.
--Monday of the Myrrh-Bearers, Pentecostarion

--the BB

Flag comparisons: red - yellow - green

I felt rather bad about Mali's flag last week without any clues about how to distinguish it from, oh, say, Guinea's. So here we go with flags in red, green, and yellow. Most of them are African.

Side by side the difference is obvious:
Mali has green on the hoist side and
Guinea has red on the hoist side.
(I have a flag of Guinea, btw, in my collection, one of the random ones I came across--and yes, it took me a while to be sure which flag I had in my hands).

Senegal looks like Mali but it has a green star in the central yellow stripe.

Cameroon looks like Senegal but it switches the red and yellow and has a yellow star in the central red stripe.

Confused yet?

Republic of the Congo is the only one with a diagonal, so that makes it stand out. Of course you don't want to confuse it with its larger neighbor, the Democratic Republic of Congo which has a diagonal but the flag is in red, blue, and yellow and has a star.

Lithuania is the only one with a (horizontal) green stripe in the middle.

Ghana and Bolivia have the same pattern of horizontal stripes: red, yellow, green (top to bottom). Ghana has a black star in the central stripe and Bolivia has a coat of arms in the central stripe.

Benin and Guinea-Bissau have similar structural design, with a vertical stripe on the hoist side and two horizontal stripes next to it.
Benin has green on the hoist side and no star.
Guinea-Bissau has red on the hoist side and a black star.

Now, in a very perverse mnemonic: Guinea and Guinea-Bissau both start with the letter "G" but they do NOT have green (also beginning with "g") on their hoist side. Tsk, it would be so much easier for anglophones if they did. But they don't. Instead they have red. But, if you have studied heraldry, you know that the color red is called "gules" and it does start with the letter "g." That, however, is too clever by half and I have probably confused you even further.

São Tomé and Príncipe has two distinguishing characteristics: a red triangle and two black stars.

Togo, like Puerto Rico and Cuba, has five stripes in a three dark and two light pattern (only those countries share the colors red, white, and blue). Togo is like Chile in having a canton with a star, and is the only one in this group that has that feature.

In flag terminology, a canton is the upper left (hoist) quarter of a flag. The United States flag has a blue canton with white stars.

Among these flags, Burkina Faso stands out for having no yellow stripe.

I almost excluded Ethiopia because it has blue in its design. I have allowed black stars but otherwise stuck to the three-color scheme. Still, because it has green, yellow, and red stripes, I included it. The blue circle with yellow radiant star makes it stand out.

If you are like me, you won't be carrying all this around in your head. But you now have an easy reference for distinguishing flags in this color combination.

And that is my warm-up for tomorrow's geography blogging.

Any bets on where I'll go? I've already prepared the graphics, so I'm committed.
--the BB

Domingo en el jardín

Gardening calls for patience and hope. One must not give up too soon. Life is persistent.

Last spring I planted sundry trees, shrubs, vines, and (later) vegetables in the sandbox that was my back yard. We have gone through my first winter and dormant time, when for months the back yard was textured but displayed a limited palette of grays and browns and tans.

Today I watered. Later I took the camera out, feeling very remorseful that I never photographed the Red Haven peach tree when it was blooming at its peak. My fruit trees are all still saplings, but it was glorious on its own petite scale.

In the upper left of this photo is one of the bearded iris showing green. Hooray! They are supposed to thrive here and I was beginning to despair. I have forgotten the name of the shrub in the lower right but it does well and has lovely misty blue blossoms. (No, it's not love-in-a-mist.)

Here you can see the Black Tartarian cherry to the left and the Santa Rosa plum to the right.

This is a very small ornamental sage that survived!
Here on the left we have one of two culinary sages. They have hung in there all through the winter. To the right we see the resurrection of the Greek oregano.
And her is some green on the Thompson seedless grape, planted in honor of my ancestors who grew and dried raisins in the San Joaquin Valley.

I admit to adjusting contrast and brightness on these somewhat washed out photos, but no other adjustments.

May new life manifest in your lives, my friends.
--the BB

4018

h/t to greenies
--the BB

"We were being ordered to hastily invade a country with too few troops and too little equipment."

Brandon Friedman has a great post up titled "I was Invading Iraq Five Years Ago (w/ photos)." He describes the equipment our troops had (or didn't have) when we invaded Iraq.

By now I hope y'all are familiar with the issue of up-armored humvees with the kind of reinforcement that can offer better protection to the troops inside. And how soldiers were taking scrap metal to create their own protection because better protection had not been planned for, or budgeted for, or scheduled for production, or shipped, or even ordered. There were all kinds of reasons and, as Rummy said, "you go to war with the army you have, not the army you wished you had." (That's from memory, might not be an exact quote but I know it's not inaccurate on content.)

You can see the vinyl door on the vehicle in the photo above. That is the sort of protection our troops had as they rushed into Iraq. Flak jackets had front plates but most lacked back plates, so never turn your back in the direction from which a bullet might come (and good luck with that in urban environments).

They had suits for chemical and biological agents. As Brandon put it:

In the end, the irony is that we were well-protected against yellow cake from Niger, aluminum tubes, and anthrax missiles, but not 18-year-olds with AK-47s.

Brandon's conclusion:

Most of these problems were addressed in Iraq by 2004, however. So the purpose here isn’t to simply complain about being under-resourced. The point is to show that Americans have died in Iraq because the Bush administration was hell-bent on rushing to war against the better judgment of those who knew. And people shouldn't have to die because someone is in a hurry to start an unnecessary war.

Unfortunately, this is what you get when you elect people like George W. Bush and his neo-conservative friends into office. And this is what you'll get with a McCain administration.

[Emphasis mine]

Read it all here.

--the BB

XPICTOC BOCKRECE - 4/6/2008

Tibet - China - Jeux Olympiques
Olympic Torch Draws Protests and Clashes in London
New York Times - 2 hours ago
By JOHN F. BURNS LONDON - Protesters objecting to China’s human rights record clashed with the British police on Sunday as the Olympic torch was carried through London on its way to the summer Olympic Games in Beijing.
Video: Olympic torch relay meets with protest in London - 06 Apr 08 AlJazeeraEnglish
How The Olympic Torch May Burn China TIME

Tibet: Chinese police wound 10 demonstrators at Lingque temple 3694762
Times Online - 2 hours ago
Chinese paramilitary police have opened fire on a crowd of angry Tibetans, wounding about 10 people who were protesting against limits on a prayer ceremony and demanding the return of the Dalai Lama, witnesses said.
China deems Tibet stable, but warns of coming protests International Herald Tribune
Brown criticised for torch parade BBC News
The world watches China The Age
Dalai Lama hits back at China conspiracy claims Guardian

La flamme olympique attise la controverse politique en France
L'Express - Il y a 4 heures
La flamme olympique, qui passera lundi par Paris, attise la polémique en France, où la menace voilée de boycott de Nicolas Sarkozy provoque des dissonances au sein du gouvernement. Les autorités françaises craignent que le relais de la flamme des Jeux ...
JO: nouvelle illustration de l'embarras de la France face à la Chine AFP
JO-2008 - Laporte ne veut pas qu'on prenne "les JO en otage" Le Monde

Tibet: la propagande chinoise a "volé en éclats", selon le dalaï lama
Romandie.com - Il y a 12 heures
DHARAMSALA (Inde) - Le dalaï lama a affirmé dimanche que les récentes manifestations au Tibet et dans les provinces voisines avaient "fait voler en éclats" la "propagande" chinoise et que la question tibétaine ne pouvait plus être ignorée. ...
Les manifestations traduisent "l'angoisse" des Tibétains, selon le ... nouvelobs.com
Emeutes au Tibet: plus de 150 morts selon le gouvernement tibétain ... France Info



United States - Russia - NATO Summit
US, Russia Can't Agree on Missiles
The Associated Press - 1 hour ago
SOCHI, Russia (AP) - President Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin failed to overcome sharp differences over a US missile defense system, closing their seven-year relationship Sunday still far apart on an issue that has separated them from the ...
Video: Final news conference by presidents Bush and Putin in Sochi RussiaToday
Bush and Putin in farewell talks BBC News

Bush Vows to NATO: US Will Add Troops
Washington Post - Apr 4, 2008
By Peter Baker and Josh White ZAGREB, Croatia, April 4 -- President Bush promised NATO allies at a summit that ended in Bucharest, Romania, on Friday that the United States will increase forces in Afghanistan next year no matter what happens in Iraq, ...
US to Send More Combat Troops to Afghanistan Next Year Voice of America
US looks to send more troops to Afghanistan in 2009 Reuters

Как прощаются президенты
Время новостей - 1 час назад
Двадцать четвертая встреча Владимира Путина и Джорджа Буша-младшего, состоявшаяся вчера в сочинской резиденции российского президента «Бочаров ручей», едва не превратилась в утренник воспоминаний. Гость выглядел сентиментальным, хозяин -- деловитым, но оба -- одинаково усталыми. У американского президента позади нелегкая европейская поездка, у российского -- последний «ближний бой», который он дал натовским партнерам в Бухаресте. В отличие от мероприятий бухарестского саммита НАТО по графику сочинской ...
Россия и США зафиксировали разногласия Правда.Ру
"Старые боевые кони" пустились в пляс Независимая газета

Défense antimissile : accord entre Bush et Poutine
nouvelobs.com - Il y a 5 heures
Lors de leur ultime rencontre en tête à tête, George Bush et Vladimir Poutine se sont montrés favorables à la création d'un système commun de défense antimissile avec l'Europe. Les présidents américain George W. Bush et russe Vladimir Poutine ont prôné ...
Bouclier antimissile: pour un système commun de défense à trois Romandie.com
Les divergences persistent entre Bush et Poutine sur le bouclier L'Express

Reconocen Bush y Putin desacuerdos en temas clave
El Universal (México) - hace 7 horas
09:26 El presidente ruso Vladimir Putin consideró "positivo en general" el resultado de los casi ocho años de trabajo con el presidente estadounidense George W. Bush, pese a las persistentes diferencias entre ambos. "Quiero agradecer al presidente de ...
Descartan EU y Rusia firmar pacto para reducir el número de armas ... La Jornada (México)
Putin y Bush no consiguen cerrar disputa por escudo antimisiles Milenio

Bush regresa a Washington con 'mucha tarea por delante'
Terra España - hace 9 horas
Bush, emprendió hoy regreso a Washington con mucha tarea pendiente por delante en lo que respecta a sus relaciones con Rusia, según él mismo ha admitido. La cumbre EEUU-Rusia celebrada este fin de semana en Sochi, una ciudad balneario a orillas del mar ...
Putin elogia las habilidades de Bush como bailarín IBLNEWS
Bush y Putin se despiden sin lograr ningún acuerdo Público

Eldorado, Texas
Cops Peacefully Enter Polygamist Temple
The Associated Press - 5 hours ago
ELDORADO, Texas (AP) - Law enforcement agents entered an enormous temple on the grounds of a polygamist compound, but by Sunday morning they still had not found a 16-year-old girl whose initial report of abuse led to the raid.
Possible standoff looms at polygamist CNN International
180 women and children removed from polygamist compound News 8 Austin


Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe High Court Hearing Petition for Release of Election Results
Voice of America - 3 hours ago
By VOA News Zimbabwe's High Court has begun hearing a petition from the country's main opposition party for the immediate release of presidential election results.
Mugabe's Party Demands Zimbabwe Recount The Associated Press
Mugabe's Party Demands Zimbabwe Vote Recalculation (Update4) Bloomberg

Zimbabwe vote review call spurned
BBC News - 1 hour ago
Zimbabwe's main opposition leader has rejected calls by President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF party to check presidential election results.
Zimbabwe High Court Hearing Petition for Release of Election Results Voice of America

Décision lundi sur la publication des résultats au Zimbabwe
L'Express - Publié depuis 1 heure
La Haute Cour du Zimbabwe a repoussé à lundi sa décision sur la requête du parti d'opposition MDC qui exige la publication des résultats du premier tour de l'élection présidentielle organisée il ya huit jours. Le parti au pouvoir, la Zanu-PF de Robert ...
Zimbabwe: la demande du régime de recompter les voix "illégale" Romandie.com
Zimbabwe: le parti de Mugabe refuse la main tendue par l'opposition AFP

Brown and Mbeki focus on Mugabe
BBC News - 1 hour ago
Gordon Brown has held private talks with South African President Thabo Mbeki over the crisis in Zimbabwe. Mr Brown spent more than two hours trying to persuade Mr Mbeki to use his influence to end the situation.
Mugabe's joke is no laughing matter Times Online
Rudd pledges Zimbabwe aid after power change Sydney Morning Herald


Iraq
Reconciliation In Iraq "Isn't Happening"
CBS News - 2 hours ago
Petraeus' Report To Congress This Week, Reporters Discuss What Recent Violence In Iraq Means CBS Chief Foreign Correspondent Lara Logan, Nancy Youssef of the McClatchy Newspapers, and the Washington Post's Rajiv Chandrasekaran speak with Bob Schieffer ...
McCain blunders on Iraq, again: Confuses Iraqi cleric with Prime ... Raw Story
McCain: Iraq's Military 'Performed Pretty Well' in Basra Assault Voice of America

Bagdad: au moins 22 morts dans des violences à Sadr City
nouvelobs.com - Il y a 31 minutes
AP | 06.04.2008 | 22:40 Des affrontements ont fait au moins 22 morts et 52 blessés dans des affrontements qui ont débuté dans la nuit de samedi à dimanche dans le quartier chiite de Sadr City à Bagdad, selon la police irakienne et des sources ...
Nouveaux combats à Sadr City, quartier chiite de Bagdad La Tribune.fr

Sadr City assault strains cease-fire
Christian Science Monitor - 3 hours ago
A week after a truce calmed clashes between Moqtada al-Sadr's militia and Iraqi forces, fighting resumed in his Baghdad stronghold Sunday.
'So close to each other:' Rival politicians rally behind Maliki Daily Star - Lebanon

US and Iraqi forces take the battle to Moqtada al-Sadr's doorstep
Times Online - 42 minutes ago
US and Iraqi forces killed 22 people yesterday in a raid on the Baghdad stronghold of al-Mahdi Army, the Shia militia that fought Iraqi government forces in Basra last week, while kidnappers captured 40 students on a university outing.


Sri Lanka
Coach, Marathon Runner Killed
The Associated Press - 1 hour ago
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) - A suicide bomber killed 14 people at an opening ceremony for a marathon Sunday, including a government minister approaching the starting line, a 1992 Olympic runner and a national track coach.
Bomb kills Sri Lankan minister, 15 more Sydney Morning Herald

Sri Lanka Minister killed in suicide blast
Hindu - 2 hours ago
Colombo: A powerful Sri Lankan Minister was on Sunday assassinated by suspected LTTE rebels in a suicide attack on a marathon opening that also killed a former Olympian and 12 others while injuring nearly 100, in a bloody start to the strife-torn ...

Colombia
L'Eglise colombienne presse les Farc de libérer les otages
Romandie.com - Il y a 2 heures
SAN JOSÉ (Colombie) - L'Eglise catholique colombienne a lancé dimanche un nouvel appel demandant aux Forces armées révolutionnaires de Colombie (Farc) d'accepter sa médiation et de libérer les otages. "Je lance un appel aux Farc, ...
"Marches blanches" en France pour Ingrid Betancourt nouvelobs.com
La rue française se mobilise pour l'otage des Farc TF1

Montenegro
Le président sortant Vujanovic donné vainqueur au Montenegro
Le Point - Il y a 42 minutes
Le président sortant du Montenegro, Filip Vujanovic, est bien placé pour remporter l'élection présidentielle de dimanche, selon les premières projections émanant d'observateurs, ce qui devrait consolider la position du Parti démocratique des ...
Monténégro: le président sortant donné vainqueur Edicom
Monténégro: le président sortant réélu Radio Suisse Romande

Presidente de Montenegro se declara vencedor de comicios ...
La Jornada (México) - hace 47 minutos
Podgorica. El presidente de Montenegro, Filip Vujanovic, se declaró vencedor este domingo de las primeras elecciones presidenciales en esta república de Los Balcanes desde la separación de Serbia en 2006. "Vencimos, vencimos por todos, ...
Montenegro elige un nuevo presidente Milenio
Presidente de Montenegro reelegido en primeros comicios desde ... AFP

Kenya
Kenya: No Deal on Cabinet, Talks Postponed
AllAfrica.com - 2 hours ago
President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister-designate Raila Odinga have postponed the announcement of a new cabinet after talks on Sunday failed to break the deadlock on portfolio balance.
Kenyan leaders hold cabinet talks BBC News
Kenyan rivals expect cabinet deal Melbourne Herald Sun



Paleomathematics
Descifran código aritmético de los aztecas
El Universal (México) - 3 Abr 2008
16:21 Los aztecas usaban símbolos para calcular la superficie de terrenos y establecer los montos de impuestos que debían pagar los súbditos de su imperio, reveló un informe publicado por la revista Science. "Después de muchos años llegamos a la ...
Aztecas desarrollaron sistema aritmético para valuar la tierra Prensa Latina
Los aztecas crearon una forma de aritmética para medir y registrar ... elmundo.es


At deep dawn, the myrrh-bearing women took sweet-smelling spices and came unto the Lord's tomb. And finding that which they had not expected, they stood piously pondering the removal of the stone, and said to one another: Where are the seals of the sepulchre? Where are Pilate's watchmen, and the secure sentry? And an Angel, radiant as lightning, proclaimed to the women that whereof they were ignorant, saying to them: Why do ye with lamentation seek Him that liveth and hath given life unto the race of mortals? Christ our God hath risen from the dead, since He is Almighty, granting us all incorruption, life, illumination, and great mercy.
--Sunday of the Myrrh-Bearers, Pentecostarion

--the BB

What Digby said

And yet we know that the Bush Department of Justice was a cesspool of political corruption emanating from the very top. They destroyed the life of a Democratic Governor in Mississippi for partisan gain. They pursued five times as many public corruption charges against Democrats than Republicans in an era of Republican political majority. They ruined the careers of honest prosecutors who refused to indict Democrats on trumped up charges of voter fraud. Evidently, they fired people for being gay as well.

To simply accept that these people skirted FISA only for the righteous purposes of chasing down terrorist operations is absurd. We already know the kinds of thing the Bush justice department did. Why in the world would we not assume they used all the powers at their disposal to spy on political opponents?

Of course they did. We'd have to be complete idiots to think otherwise.

--Digby

--the BB

Definitely a Safford

Senator Clinton spoke in Eugene, Oregon, on Saturday:

Clinton said that historians will judge if her decision was the right one, but she reminded voters that Obama’s voting record on the war is not very different than hers.

“When you want to compare, compare decisions so when Senator Obama came to the Senate, he and I voted exactly the same except for one vote and that happens to be the facts.”

Obama has been credited with foreseeing a troublesome war in Iraq primarily due to a speech he gave in 2002 while he was a state senator, where he spoke out against the war. Clinton said, “I started criticizing the war in Iraq before he did. So, I’m well aware that his entire campaign is premised on a speech he gave in 2002 and I give him credit for making that speech. But that was not a decision.” [Emphasis mine]

That's some fine criticizing, Senator Clinton.

Lefty Coaster adds this:

Here's how Hillary explained her vote for the War 14 months later after the war was already going very wrong.

Remarks by Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton

December 15, 2003
Council on Foreign Relations

I was one who supported giving President Bush the authority, if necessary, to use force against Saddam Hussein. I believe that that was the right vote. I have had many disputes and disagreements with the administration over how that authority has been used, but I stand by the vote to provide the authority because I think it was a necessary step in order to maximize the outcome that did occur in the Security Council with the unanimous vote to send in inspectors. And I also knew that our military forces would be successful. But what we did not appreciate fully and what the administration was unprepared for was what would happen the day after.

Hillary was worried about maintaining support for the War in Iraq:

I worry a lot about how difficult it will be in the political arena to stay the course...

h/t to First Amendment

For the Safford reference, see here.

Update:
There is the unvetted health care story also. Tuzla is old hat by now but that was the beginning of a rolling snowball. I came across another story Saturday that is potentially very damaging but until I see it from multiple sources I am not going to give it credence.
--the BB

Emmaus Sunday

Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, ‘What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?’ They stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, ‘Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?’ He asked them, ‘What things?’ They replied, ‘The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place. Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, and when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but they did not see him.’ Then he said to them, ‘Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?’ Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.

As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. But they urged him strongly, saying, ‘Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.’ So he went in to stay with them. When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?’ That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. They were saying, ‘The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!’ Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread. (Luke 13:35)

They recognized Jesus when he did once more what he had done so many times with his friends.

At every Eucharist he still does the same.

And as my friend Helen always said, "Every meal is Eucharist."


I believe it is important that we come to table together to be fed by Christ. To say we will not eat together with certain persons is to cut ourselves off from the feast of grace.

It would not be easy for me to stand about the altar (or kneel at the altar rail) next to certain persons (and of course I could name names). That is all the more reason to come, broken and messed up as I am yet signed with the Cross, and be fed with my sisters and brothers in their brokenness, and behold the same Cross blazoned on their brow.

This is where we find forgiveness and healing, where we find nurture and renewal, where we are bound once more to God and to each other, where we feed on the divine life and are changed from glory into glory.

O God, whose blessed Son made himself known to his disciples in the breaking of bread: Open the eyes of our faith, that we may behold him in all his redeeming work; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
--the BB