Garry Kasparov said that Russia’s election were the "dirtiest" in the nation's history.

"There are no illusions that what is being called elections was the most unfair and dirtiest in the whole history of modern Russia," Kasparov said at a news conference, pointing at reports of massive vote violations.

"We fully realize that it's useless to seek the truth in Russian courts," he added.

Kasparov, who heads the Other Russia coalition of opposition groups, was arrested and jailed for five days for leading a protest rally in Moscow on Nov. 24. His group was not allowed to run for parliament.

Kasparov said that activists of the pro-Kremlin youth group Nashi, which means Ours, attacked his group's office Monday.

Earlier Monday, Nashi held a rally in Moscow, mobilizing its supporters to thwart what it described as a possible attempt by U.S.-backed "thieves and traitors" to mount protests and seize public buildings and squares. A U.S. Embassy spokeswoman called the claim "ridiculous."

Kasparov calls Russian elections 'dirtiest' in nation's history.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has narrowly lost a referendum on controversial constitutional changes.

Voters rejected the raft of reforms by a margin of 51% to 49%, the chief of the National Electoral Council said.

BBC NEWS | World | Americas | Chavez defeated over reform vote

Jobless men pay $500 bribes to join the police force. Families build houses illegally on government land, car washes steal water from public pipes and nearly everything the government buys or sells can now be found on the black market.

Painkillers for cancer (from the Health Ministry) cost $80 for a few capsules; electricity meters (from the Electricity Ministry) go for $200 each and even third-grade textbooks (stolen from the Education Ministry) must be bought at bookstores for three times what schools once charged.

"Everyone is stealing from the state," said Adel al-Subihawi, a prominent Shiite tribal leader in Sadr City, throwing up his hands in disgust. "It's a very large meal and everyone wants to eat."

Corruption and theft are not new to Iraq, and government officials have promised to address the problem. But as Iraqis and U.S. officials assess the effects of this year's U.S. troop increase, there is a growing sense that, even as security has improved, Iraq has slipped to new depths of lawlessness.

One recent independent analysis ranked Iraq the third most corrupt country in the world. Out of 163 countries surveyed, only Somalia and Myanmar were worse, according to Transparency International, a group based in Berlin that publishes the index annually.

Corruption and theft soar in Iraq - International Herald Tribune

The case of a 20-year-old woman who was sentenced to be lashed after pressing charges against seven men who raped her and a male companion has provoked a rare and angry public debate in Saudi Arabia, leading to renewed calls for reform of the Saudi judicial system.

this is how i would define obsenity

In Saudi Arabia, a rape victim's sentence spurs calls for reform - International Herald Tribune

Decius wrote:
I think you are focused on the wrong stuff.

noteworthy wrote:
Amar has taken justice into his own hands, vowing to avenge Jafaar's death 100 times over....

Decius wrote:
Its a war. This is going to happen. If this sort of story were an impediment to peace no war would ever have ended.

noteworthy wrote:
Still, the returnees are not "a good problem to have", because many of their homes are now occupied (illegally) by people from opposing sects.

Decius wrote:
Yes it is, because previously no one wanted to return because it was too dangerous. When you're in hell, a day when only your feet get burned is a blessing. The fact that you'd prefer to spend the day in Iowa is beside the point.

noteworthy wrote:
Mrs. Aasan's family fully expected to get attacked when traveling after dark. She was "thrilled and relieved" that they managed to cheat death that night.

Decius wrote:
This is meant as an example of progress. Previously this would have simply been impossible.

noteworthy wrote:
The people in charge are warlords, not police. Presently, the violence is suppressed, but the underlying forces are unresolved. With an eye on the clock, the Americans have resigned themselves to arming and training their former enemies, so that at least someone is in charge, knowing all the while that no one can be trusted. Increasingly, America's only leverage is its impending departure. In the vacuum that follows, power will accrue to the two-gun-toting maniacal warlords, not to the technocrats, whose most notable recent accomplishment is a restaurant opening, apparently.

Decius wrote:
The restaurant is the point, which is why it is ridiculous to pin an assessment of the success of this stategy on phoney political benchmarks, many of which will never be reached precisely because the people of Iraq do not want to reach them, and why there is absolutely no way that this situation will be resolved in the few months the Democrats wish to give it.

It doesn't matter what these technocrats agree to on paper because fuel is the only thing paper is good for in hell. They have some security. The thing they need to do with it is build an economy. Restaurants. Retail stores. Industry. Start employing people.

When its easier to put food on ones table by serving sandwiches than by rolling around with the local thugs, people will serve sandwiches instead. It isn't going to be pretty and it isn't going to be quick, but eventually people will have better things to do than shoot eachother.

I vote with Decius on this one

RE: Must Read: Iraq Round-Up

This war-battered city, according to U.S. statistics, now receives an average of 11.9 hours of electricity a day, far more than earlier this year. But don't tell that to Ghaida al-Banna.

reasons to be cheerful about Iraq

Iraqis' Quality of Life Marked By Slow Gains, Many Setbacks - washingtonpost.com

In almost every appearance as he campaigns for the Republican presidential nomination, Rudolph W. Giuliani cites a fusillade of statistics and facts to make his arguments about his successes in running New York City and the merits of his views.
...
“When he talks about New York, people see it,” Mr. Luntz said of Mr. Giuliani, “and they feel it, and if a number isn’t quite right, or is off by a small amount, nobody will care, because it rings true to them.”

politics in the age of truthiness

Citing Statistics, Giuliani Misses Time and Again - New York Times

Former White House press secretary Scott McClellan names names in a caustic passage from a forthcoming memoir that accuses President Bush, Karl Rove and Vice President Cheney of being "involved" in his giving the press false information about the CIA leak case.

McClellan’s publisher released three paragraphs from the book “WHAT HAPPENED: Inside the Bush White House and What’s Wrong With Washington.”

[skipping to the juicy bits]

“I had unknowingly passed along false information,” McClellan wrote.

“And five of the highest ranking officials in the administration were involved in my doing so: Rove, Libby, the vice president, the president's chief of staff and the president himself."

Fmr aide McCellan feels like he got a raw deal. With his new publisher and these firebombs I'm sure he'll get a different deal. Book comes out April 21st.

--timball

McClellan points finger at Bush, Rove - Mike Allen and Michael Calderone - Politico.com

British Asian intelligence and security officers have spoken to the BBC about their work in a bid to broaden recruitment among ethnic minorities.

Two MI5 agents were permitted to talk for the first time in the hope of attracting more ethnic minorities into the security service.

They told Asian Network their job was to protect the UK, not target Muslims.

Meanwhile, a Muslim officer of the security service MI6 has told Radio 1 about her work recruiting spies.

note Asian in UK English usually means of Indian or Pakistani decent ie the Asian sub continent not the Far East which in UK English is referred to as the Orient (although technically orient just means asia - it's a usage thing)

BBC NEWS | UK | Asian MI5 and MI6 officers speak