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16 Mar 2011 10:17

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World: Raymond Davis: Murder-suspected CIA contractor freed in Pakistan

Davis, a CIA contractor suspected of killing two men in Pakistan, was let go after their families forgave him. The incident strained U.S. relations with Pakistan. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Mar 2011 14:40

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World: Grim deathtoll in wake of Taliban’s funeral sneak attack

  • 36+ killed in a suicide bombing by the Pakistani Taliban source
  • » And at a funeral, no less. A teenager reportedly detonated himself while pretending to attend a Pakistani funeral service, which was being held by an anti-Taliban group in the country’s northwest. The funeral’s proximity to the Taliban and al-Qaeda’s safe havens within Pakistan made it a natural target. Our deepest condolences to all those killed in this most horrible attack.
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

02 Mar 2011 11:09

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World: Pakistan’s poisonous, difficult anti-blasphemy environment

  • This kind of attack was expected after the government’s response to governor Taseer’s assassination. Because of the government’s very weak response … it has encouraged the hardliners in society.
  • Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies Amir Rana • Explaining how the response to the assassination of Salman Taseer, who fought a blasphemy law unpopular with Christians in the country, may have led to today’s assassination of Shahbaz Bhatti. Before his death, Taseer fought in favor of a pardon for a Christian mother of four who had been sentenced to death for reportedly saying blasphemous things about Prophet Muhammad. After Taseer’s death, Pakistani officials have stayed away from changing the law. Some feel that the effect of this has encouraged some to take more hardline approach to minority groups. Sigh. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

02 Mar 2011 09:55

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World: Christian Pakistani official Shahbaz Bhatti assassinated

  • Shahbaz Bhatti was targeted because he was Christian. Pakistan’s minister of minorities was ambushed in his car, shot multiple times and killed. He was one of Pakistan’s only Christian political figures and its only Christian political minister. As Bhatti was Catholic, the Vatican has already condemned his murder. “To the prayer for the victim, the condemnations for this dishonorable act of violence, to our closeness to Christian Pakistanis so beset by hatred,” a Vatican spokesperson said about the incident. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Feb 2011 10:50

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World: Rough budget conditions behind Pakistan’s dissolving cabinet

  • 60 the number of ministers and junior ministers that just stepped down from the Pakistani cabinet
  • under 40 the number of folks that will likely replace those 60 people, according to reports source
  • » Why did they dip out? Budget issues. The International Monetary Fund gave the country a stern warning back in December to avoid slippage in their financial situation. Their budget deficit is forecasted to be 4.7 percent of gross domestic product for the current fiscal year. To convince Pakistan to fix their situation, they withheld part of its loan to the country.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 Jan 2011 10:25

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World: Outspoken Pakistani governor Salman Taseer assassinated

See this guy with the weird look on his face? He just admitted to killing his boss, Pakistani governor Salman Taseer, because Taseer opposed Pakistan’s blasphemy laws. This look is eerie. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

25 Dec 2010 21:34

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World: Christmas Day attack on starving Pakistanis hits new level of evil

  • So, it’s one thing to attack people living lives in normal conditions. That’s pretty awful on its own. But when you attack those who are starving and attempting to receive food from the World Food Program in Pakistan, that’s a whole new world of evil you’re entering. We feel awful for those who were hurt, and get behind Obama’s statement on this: “Killing innocent civilians outside a World Food Program distribution point is an affront to the people of Pakistan, and to all humanity.” The more than 43 people killed and 100 injured didn’t deserve treatment like this from anyone. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

21 Dec 2010 11:21

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World: He said, The NYT said: Will Afghan War ground raids reach Pakistan?

  • yeah … The New York Times reported that the U.S. military was looking into expand their Afghan ground raids into tribal areas of Pakistan for purposes of expanding intelligence. The article notes that the U.S. has until now used drones in Pakistan out of fears of a backlash from the Pakistani government.
  • … but NATO denies this, with one commander saying this: “There is absolutely no truth to reporting in The New York Times that US forces are planning to conduct ground operations into Pakistan.” Who’s lying here? Did Jayson Blair write that Times article? Or does NATO not want that info public? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 Dec 2010 10:40

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U.S., World: Afghan war report: Troops could start leaving in mid-2011

  • 100k number of troops the U.S. has stationed in Afghanistan right now
  • 30k number of troops Obama added to that total earlier this year
  • 20k troops could leave in 2011 without significantly affecting the war source
  • » The progress so far: Those numbers, which come from the Obama administration’s assessment of the war, suggest that the administration is optimistic about the way things are going – particularly that they’ve stunted the Taliban’s momentum. Hopefully that’s true – a prior report from the US National Intelligence Estimates suggested things were much gloomier.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

11 Dec 2010 14:47

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U.S.: Obama official Richard Holbrooke in critical condition post-surgery

Holbrooke, Obama’s special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, is recovering from emergency surgery to repair a tear in his aorta, which is a really bad spot for a tear. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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