khanfactor.com

Floods for Pakistan; Floods of Money For its Leader By TARIQ ALI

kf1 — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 01:12:59 +0000

The response of the West has been less than generous causing panic in Islamabad with pro-US journalists in the country pleading that if help is not forthcoming the terrorists might take over the country. This is nonsense. The Pakistani Army is firmly in control of the flood-relief effort. The religious groups and others too are raising money and helping the homeless. It's normal.

Pakistan’s Double Penalty - Floods and Debt

kf1 — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 01:08:45 +0000

Pakistan needs help. On 20 August 2010, UN member countries committed to giving USD 200 million, but this was a mere promise, and past experience has taught us that only a limited portion will actually reach the country. The Asian Development Bank, which was to manage the consequences of the December 2004 tsunami, declared that it would lead the reconstruction effort in Pakistan and already announced a USD 2 billion loan. The World Bank added a loan of USD 900 million. Deeply damaged by a natural catastrophe, Pakistan now has to face a significant increase in its debt.

The Muslim Obama - By WAJAHAT ALI

kf1 — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 01:03:08 +0000

With one of us finally implanted in the White House and the other wearing a Miss USA tiara, minarets on the Capitol and a burqa-clad Hillary Clinton were only a lunar cycle away.

The Rise of America’s Idiot Culture - The Muslim Community Center at Ground Zero: a Manufactured Controversy By ANTHONY DiMAGGIO

kf1 — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 12:01:51 +0000

A substantial racist uproar is taking place in conservative America, particularly in right-wing radio and television. Reactionary pundits are drawing increased attention to plans to build an Islamic community center in downtown Manhattan, near Ground Zero. Republicans and conservatives have long been known to harbor racist views of Islam, although they’re hardly alone in this. Many on the right frame the entire religion as radical, fundamentalist, and a threat to national security. In light of this pattern, there’s little surprising about the right’s most recent attack on Muslim Americans as a secret, under the radar threat.

UN says Pakistan floods worse than 2004 tsunami + 41 Photos

kf1 — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 04:09:46 +0000

The United Nations said Monday that massive floods in Pakistan had affected 13.8 million people and eclipsed the scale of the devastating 2004 tsunami, as anger mounted among survivors. The Pakistani government and UN officials have appealed for more urgent relief efforts to cope with the country's worst ever floods, with President Asif Ali Zardari due to return home after a heavily criticised European tour. The entire northwestern Swat valley, where Pakistan fought a major campaign to flush out Taliban insurgents last year, was cut off at the weekend as were parts of the country's breadbasket in Punjab and Sindh.

Preparing for World War III, Targeting Iran

kf1 — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 08:44:44 +0000

“We’re Losing This F–cking Thing!” - The Great Myth of Counter-Insurgency - By CONN HALLINAN

kf1 — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 10:37:51 +0000

As the chopper swung around to land, the Taliban opened up, sending journalists scrambling for cover and Marines into full combat mode. According to Matthew Green of the Financial Times, “The crackle of gunfire lasted about 20 minutes and continued in the background as a state department official gave a presentation to Mr. Holbrooke about U.S. and U.K [United Kingdom] efforts to boost local government and promote agriculture in the town.” The U.S. officials were then bundled into armored cars and whisked back to the helicopter. As the chopper took off an enormous explosion shook the town’s bazaar. When it was launched in March, the Marjah operation was billed as a “turning point” in the Afghan War, an acid test for the doctrine of counterinsurgency, or “COIN,” a carefully designed strategy to wrest a strategic area from the Taliban and win the “hearts and minds” of the local people. And in a sense Marjah has indeed defined COIN, just not quite in the way its advocates had hoped for.

USAID and Israeli Roads - Who’s Funding the Settlements? By NICOLA NASSER

kf1 — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 07:46:43 +0000

Since 1860, when the American Jewish tycoon Judah Touro donated $60,000 -- a fortune for that time -- towards the construction of the first Jewish settlement outside the old walls of Jerusalem, public and private American funds have aided the creation and territorial expansion of Israel. Israel today is the foremost recipient of US aid. According to a USAID green paper, between 1946 and 2008 Israel has received more aid than Russia, India, Egypt and Iraq. In fact, the US has poured more money into Israel than it did into the Marshall Plan for the reconstruction of Europe after World War II. However, a recent New York Times article adds a new dimension to the story. On 5 July, the Times reported that, over the last decade more than 40 American groups have collected more than $200 million in tax-deductible gifts for Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, indicating that the US Treasury is effectively aiding and abetting illegal settlement expansion and the Judaisation of Jerusalem.

Hard Facts About Israeli/Palestinian Peace Possibilities By JEFFERSON CHASE

kf1 — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 10:57:42 +0000

Now that all the accusations and insults about the Gaza Flotilla and Helen Thomas incidents have been hurled from both sides, it is time to look at the often-ignored facts underlying the Israel-Palestine conflict. Because while it is very hard to believe in the present atmosphere, peace and justice for both Palestinians and Jews is possible – extremely difficult to achieve to be sure, but possible nevertheless.

The Spot-and-Shoot Game - Remote-Controlled Killing By JONATHAN COOK

kf1 — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 10:31:58 +0000

Nazareth. It is called Spot and Shoot. Operators sit in front of a TV monitor from which they can control the action with a PlayStation-style joystick. The aim: to kill terrorists. Played by: young women serving in the Israeli army. Spot and Shoot, as it is called by the Israeli military, may look like a video game but the figures on the screen are real people -- Palestinians in Gaza -- who can be killed with the press of a button on the joystick.