Quote:

WHEN he flounced onto the world stage in his braided coats of many colours in 2001, Hamid Karzai was hailed as the saviour of his traumatised nation. But battling to lock in a second term as president, he is now betraying the ideals for which so much Western blood and treasure has been spilt on the plains of Afghanistan. A masterful consensus-builder in a cauldron of tribal, ethnic and religious politics, Karzai's pre-election vote-buying spree is seen as a sell-out on women's rights and on the aspirations of many who fear the power of near-feudal warlords. It has been widely suggested that some members of Karzai's family and his cronies are the chief beneficiaries of rampant corruption and drug-trafficking that seems immune to the presence of more than 100,000 foreign troops and the watching gaze of hundreds of diplomats. The invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 was a direct response to the September 11 attacks - the start of the so-called war on terror. But with it came grand promises from the West of democracy, of the rights and institutions that are the pillars of a free society. All that seemed to count for nothing when it was confirmed at the weekend that Karzai had defied world outrage by quietly codifying the right of some Shiite men to withhold food and sustenance from their wives if they did not respond to their demands for sex. The wording of the bill was tinkered with after the US President, Barack Obama, declared it to be ''abhorrent'' - but it still gifts guardianship of children to their fathers and grandfathers where their parents have opted for, or are pressured into, Shiite marriage contracts. Human rights groups claim the law contravenes the Afghan constitution and international treaties. But more important to Karzai than the wrath of the West was his bid to stitch up the Shiite vote - about 20 per cent of the population - which he thinks can be delivered by the law's principle backer, the hardline cleric Ayatollah Mohseni. The deal is in keeping with the aftermath of a brutal gang-rape in the northern province of Samangan in 2005, in which the warlord perpetrators were jailed after evidence from 17 witnesses and after they had exhausted all avenues of appeal - except, that is, to the president. Karzai pardoned them after they had served two years of their time in what was seen as a bid to appease local powerbrokers.......

http://www.smh.com.au/world/president-faces-date-with-destiny-but-tea-leaves-are-muddy-20090817-eno3.html

It is very hard to eliminate corruption overnight.

I think that this is battle for centuries if ever.

Quote:

It is very hard to eliminate corruption overnight.

But these things didn't exist before the U.S came. The U.S and their puppet government brought these things, they didn't attempt to eliminate them.

So much for democracy in Afghanistan.  The country would have been better off left under the Taliban - their prospects are no better today.

In fact it's a lot worse - much of their infrastructure is gone, unemployment is 40% and people are terrified to leave their homes. They haven't anything to look forward to except violence and increased subjugation for the women.



Quote:

Analysts say if Karzai does secure another term, it would be less to do with campaigning than deals struck with ethnic, religious and regional strongmen bringing legions of supporters. Already on board are, from the Tajiks, notorious warlord and alleged human rights abuser Mohammed Qasim Fahim, Karzai's choice for first vice president. And from the Hazara minority there is warlord Karim Khalili, second vice president. Others to have declared for him include feared Uzbek military commander Abdul Rashid Dostum, who returned to Afghanistan late Sunday from Turkey where he had been based for about a year. It prompted the United States to express "serious concerns about the prospective role of Mr Dostum in today's Afghanistan and particularly during these historic elections." Also with Karzai is the leader of the Ismaili sect, Sayed Mansoor Naderi, whose loyal following illustrates that the election is less about the issues and more about allegiances. "As Sayed Mansoor is our leader and he selected Karzai, we will also vote for him," said Ismaili Abdul Shafiq, 32, in the northern province of Baghlan. The pay-offs are unclear, with talk of promises of cabinet seats or provincial governorships. "If you deal like this, it is not democracy," said Wadir Safi, lecturer in the political sciences and law faculty at Kabul University. After security, perhaps the biggest challenge for the election is that the electorate is largely illiterate, poor and 80 per cent rural, he said. "They don't understand the value of their ballot," he said, alleging some were selling their votes for 10 or 20 dollars each. http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=851066

really ?

http://www.rawa.org/zarmina1.jpg


Quote:

Taliban restrictions and mistreatment of women include the: 1- Complete ban on women's work outside the home, which also applies to female teachers, engineers and most professionals. Only a few female doctors and nurses are allowed to work in some hospitals in Kabul. 2- Complete ban on women's activity outside the home unless accompanied by a mahram (close male relative such as a father, brother or husband). 3- Ban on women dealing with male shopkeepers. 4- Ban on women being treated by male doctors. 5- Ban on women studying at schools, universities or any other educational institution. (Taliban have converted girls' schools into religious seminaries.) 6- Requirement that women wear a long veil (Burqa), which covers them from head to toe. 7- Whipping, beating and verbal abuse of women not clothed in accordance with Taliban rules, or of women unaccompanied by a mahram. 8- Whipping of women in public for having non-covered ankles. 9- Public stoning of women accused of having sex outside marriage. (A number of lovers are stoned to death under this rule). 10- Ban on the use of cosmetics. (Many women with painted nails have had fingers cut off). 11- Ban on women talking or shaking hands with non-mahram males. 12- Ban on women laughing loudly. (No stranger should hear a woman's voice). 13- Ban on women wearing high heel shoes, which would produce sound while walking. (A man must not hear a woman's footsteps.) 14- Ban on women riding in a taxi without a mahram. 15- Ban on women's presence in radio, television or public gatherings of any kind. 16- Ban on women playing sports or entering a sport center or club. 17- Ban on women riding bicycles or motorcycles, even with their mahrams. 18- Ban on women's wearing brightly colored clothes. In Taliban terms, these are "sexually attracting colors." 19- Ban on women gathering for festive occasions such as the Eids, or for any recreational purpose. 20- Ban on women washing clothes next to rivers or in a public place. 21- Modification of all place names including the word "women." For example, "women's garden" has been renamed "spring garden". 22- Ban on women appearing on the balconies of their apartments or houses. 23- Compulsory painting of all windows, so women can not be seen from outside their homes. 24- Ban on male tailors taking women's measurements or sewing women's clothes. 25- Ban on female public baths. 26- Ban on males and females traveling on the same bus. Public buses have now been designated "males only" (or "females only"). 27- Ban on flared (wide) pant-legs, even under a burqa. 28- Ban on the photographing or filming of women. 29- Ban on women's pictures printed in newspapers and books, or hung on the walls of houses and shops.

http://www.rawa.org/rules.htm

A lot of women would still be subjected to the above Sprintcyclist and even now - can they attend school? It's very difficult for most girls from what I've read.

Now to add to the insult of being beaten if they don't consent to sex - they will be starved as well and this proposed policy was suggested by a "democratically elected" President who was sworn in with the Coalition of the Willing's approval.

from what i hear, the taliban are stopping women from becoming educated again.

this is not freedom. this is religion.

same as if they do not consent to sex.

the afghans themselves elected karazi, not americans.

the muslims  taliban continue on following in mohammads murderous ways.



Quote:

TALIBAN militants launched three fresh strikes on the capital of Afghanistan yesterday, including a suicide car bomb attack near a US army training base, throwing the country's election preparations into chaos less than 48 hours before voting was due to begin. A NATO convoy of foreign troops was targeted in the latest bomb attack, which killed at least seven civilians and wounded more than 50. Afghans working for the United Nations were among the dead and wounded, officials said. A NATO spokeswoman said the bomb went off on a major road near the US base Camp Phoenix, where US soldiers train Afghan National Army recruits. This followed two early-morning rocket attacks on Kabul: one that hit the compound of the presidential palace and the other the city's main police headquarters. Presidential spokesman Hamid Elmi said no-one was wounded in the attacks. Five also died in a suicide attack on an army base in Oruzgan province. The attacks came as Afghanistan's Independent Election Commission cancelled a news conference on the final polling booth locations. The commission was understood yesterday to be making last-minute changes to the location of its voting centres as a result of escalating attacks across the country by Taliban militants intent on disrupting the poll. The changes forced a scramble within the main independent election overseer, which is deploying more than 8000 election monitors in an effort to guard against anticipated widespread vote-rigging. Free and Fair Election Foundation chairman Nader Nadery said he had been notified of some of the changes and his organisation was now racing to adapt. "They have shared some of the changes with us but we don't know the full extent of them," Mr Nadery told The Australian yesterday. The IEC has indicated there could be as many as three million fraudulent voter cards, concentrated in the war-torn east of the country. Also yesterday, reports emerged that the Taliban leadership had redeployed some of its most hardline militants before tomorrow's elections into areas where local insurgents are reluctant to attack their own people. The Taliban stepped up its threats this week, vowing to attack polling stations and warning through night letters posted in villages across the country that those carrying the tell-tale ink stain to prove they had voted risked dire consequences. THE Taliban's campaign of intimidation before tomorrow's Afghanistan election is working in the Chora Valley, where Australian troops and the local Afghan commander are predicting a low voter turnout.    Captain Abdul Samad, of the Afghan National Army, has grave doubts about the election. "Only a minority will vote in this area due to Taliban intimidation," he said. "They are under the control of the Taliban and they are scared."    Diggers based at Combat Outpost Mashal said locals simply were not interested, or were too scared to vote. Ian McPhedran

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25950464-601,00.html

So, who is causing ALL the violence in afghanistan?
Who does NOT want a free election or democracy ?
Who follows mohammad in desiring islam or death?

Quote:

This time, if they vote at all, it is with a far greater sense of apprehension, not only for their own safety given the threat of violence from Taliban militants intent on disrupting the elections, but for fear the next government will descend into further corruption and insecurity. Significant improvements have been made during the Karzai era, which began with an interim administration after the 2001 fall of the Taliban and could end tomorrow in the country's second presidential elections, although results will not be known for at least a week. Afghanistan now boasts steady economic growth and a burgeoning private sector, including a relatively free media. More than five million refugees have returned home since 2002, and millions now attend school and university. But Karzai's critics -- and they are many -- say he has presided over a steep deterioration in security. The entire Pashtun-dominated south and much of the east is now a war zone as more than 90,000 NATO and US troops battle a raging Taliban insurgency. They also point to the ostentatious new wealth of Karzai's family members and many of those who surround him in government, who have capitalised on his name to grab fistfuls of aid dollars. About eight million Afghans still face food shortages and unemployment is on the rise. Almost eight years after the fall of the Taliban the capital Kabul is still a wreck of a city, where less than 50 per cent of houses have electricity and a series of rutted goat tracks pass for suburban roads. Yet at a market outside Kabul, Khoori Gal, a woman in headscarf and worn clothes, says she is happy with the government because, where she lives, there is peace. "I can walk anywhere without a burka. When the Taliban were here, everywhere there was fighting and we were hungry. We just want peace and work so everyone can feed themselves."

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25949081-28737,00.html

So, big improvements ahve been made. The elected govt may be corrupt.
Corruption is not NATOs wanting.
islamics murdering many. ditto

iN A CIVILISED COUNTRY WITH CIVILISED PEOPLE YOU VOTE GOVERNMENTS IN OR OUT...  the taliban and the primitives in afghanistan blow each other up.

the taliban way


Quote:

AT LEAST three gunmen stormed a central Kabul bank today in an attack that the Taliban claimed was part of a series planned for the eve of elections. Police had entered the building and loud bursts of gunfire could be heard from inside. Dozens of security forces and intelligence agents had gathered at the area. It came with the city under tight security ahead of tomorrowy's presidential and provincial council elections and after a Taliban suicide bombing killed 10 people, including a NATO soldier and two Afghan UN staff. Interior ministry spokesman Zemarai Bashary said the three were “robbers or thieves” and played down a Taliban claim that it was an insurgent attack. “We don't know whether these are Taliban or insurgents because when they entered the bank, they must have intended to steal,” Bashary said. “As they got into the bank, since we have very tight security in Kabul, police were able to get to the area in seconds and they (the gunmen) are surrounded by police. “The situation is under control,” he said. He did not comment on any casualties for the police. The area is close to a bazaar and about 1.5km south of the city centre, which was quiet with many businesses closed for a public holiday. A spokesman for the Taliban, Zabihullah Mujahed, claimed that four of the militants were in the building in a standoff with police that had left several dead. They were among around 20 Taliban who had entered the city and were waiting orders to attack. Such claims have in the past proven to be untrue. “This morning 20 Taliban have entered Kabul and they are in different groups - they are fighters and suicide attacks and they will fight when it comes to fighting and they will commit suicide when it is needed,” he said. “They will carry out attacks but they are waiting for instructions.” Afghanistan's 17 million voters go to the polls tomorrow to choose a president for only the second time in history. The Taliban have threatened to directly attack the polling stations and warned voters not to cast their ballots. The threats to sabotage the election have raised concerns that voter turnout could be low, compromising the legitimacy of the $223 million exercise in democracy. The Government appealed for an Afghan and international media blackout on reporting any attacks “in view of the need to ensure the wide participation of the Afghan people”.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25951914-2703,00.html

these are the people abu does not speak out against.

Quote:

STRIDING out of a polling booth in central Kabul as one of the first Afghans to cast his vote, Ramin held aloft an ink-stained finger and proudly proclaimed: "I have voted." "I'm proud of my finger," the 27-year-old security guard said after casting his vote today. "It's the symbol of a great day for Afghanistan. "I don't care about the Taliban and their threats. Who do they think they are? We have a government, police, army, the infrastructure of a functioning state. The Taliban are all talk." Ramin was among about 20 people who began queuing outside the Abdul Hadi Dawi secondary school before the 7am (1230 AEST) start of voting despite fears of violence, to beat the crowds and the heat of the day. Standing nearby, churning a string of white worry beads through hands held behind his back, Omar said he wanted to use his vote to bring honest leadership to his impoverished, corrupted country. "I want a person who is strong, who will work to develop the economy, build roads and schools, make education a priority, annihilate corruption," said Omar, 60, who like many Afghans only uses one name. As the gates opened on the dot of seven, those in the queue moved slowly forward to be lightly frisked by security guards before making their way to separate rooms set up as voting stations for men and women. Outside what usually serves as a teacher's room - lined with metal lockers and with charts taped to the walls - Babi Haji stood patiently, her body shrouded in a diaphanous white cotton shawl and looking older than her 44 years. She knew the horrors of repression and years of civil war that had seemed endless until the 2001 US-led invasion toppled the Taliban, she said. "I lost an arm 11 years ago when the car I was in hit a landmine," she said. "Now I want my children to be well fed and safe. That's why I have come to select a president who will bring us a secure future." Sur Gul, a caretaker at the school wearing a dark green turban and tawny shalwar khameez, clutched his voter registration card and proudly showed the hole punched in it last time he voted for his president in 2004. He was looking forward to getting the second hole in it, he said, before he shuffled towards the voting room in his open-toed plastic sandals. Voting got off to a slow but steady start compared to the long queues that gathered before polling stations opened in 2004 amid a sweeping nationwide security clampdown to prevent threatened Taliban attacks. Seventeen million Afghans have registered to elect a president and 420 councillors in 34 provinces across the largely rural and impoverished country. Across the country, Afghans appeared determined to defy a prolonged Taliban anti-election campaign of violence aimed at keeping them away from the polls. In Kandahar, one of the Taliban hotspots - and the capital of the extremist regime during its 1996-2001 rule - voters could be seen walking towards voting stations to join lengthening lines. "There are problems in Kandahar but I'm still voting, said 40-year-old Mohammad Nisar. "I'm voting for the sake of a good future, I have brought my female relatives too," he said, gesturing towards three veiled women sitting in a nearby car. In eastern Nangahar province, 80-year-old Abdul Aziz said his vote would go to the candidate he believed could bring clean government. "I'm voting against corruption," he said without revealing his choice. "I'm so glad to be voting at this age. I'm happy that I'm alive and voting again." In Kabul, Wadood Ghorbandi, a 58-year-old investment director said: "This election sees us as Afghans choosing our own fate. It will bring changes for every single person and will give our country an identity. "Man is always seeking change. Every step forward that we take is in reality a change. But the change must be positive, not negative," he said.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25956808-12377,00.html


why would islamics try to stop people from voting?
do they think they are losing their power?
they never had any aside from what a gun brings.

the vote has been taken.
despite muslims murdering other muslims and whoever else gets in the way, democracy has happened.
most muslims there relish the chance to vote and escape islamics ways
Well done Afghans who voted.



Quote:

TRUE to its word, the Taliban doled out a wave of election violence across Afghanistan yesterday, forcing voters to brave bomb blasts, rocket attacks and gun battles with 26 civilians and security personnel killed by militants. Play 12345Loading…Please login to rate a video.You can't rate an advertisement.(4 votes) Troops under fire Taliban rockets explode near Australian troops in southern Afghanistan. Footage: Gary Ramage Views today: 442Sorry, this video is no longer available.Some 300,000 Afghan and foreign troops were deployed yesterday for only the second presidential elections, but that didn't stop the Islamic insurgents from creating mayhem in cities and districts across the country killing eight Afghan soldiers, nine police and nine civilians. The southern city of Kandahar took the brunt of the attacks, with more than nine rockets launched in the first few hours of polling. Explosions were heard throughout the morning and police reported the discovery of several improvised explosive devices. The capital, Kabul, was also targeted. A NATO spokesman confirmed five rockets were launched on the city, including one reportedly wounding a workers at a polling booth. And a gun battle erupted between police and a group of heavily armed men. An estimated 17 million Afghans were eligible to vote in the presidential and provincial council poll, which authorities last night kept open for an extra hour to allow more people to vote before counting began. But it could be days before it is known whether the Taliban succeeded in preventing enough Afghans from voting so that any result is seen as illegitimate by the majority of the population.

Afghan election fraud probe grows - as abu posted in his isolation ward forum.

yes, there are claims of election fraud.
looks like it will go into a runoff election.

wonder if karzai will imprison those who claim there is fraud (as happened in iran).
One hopes not.

hopefully there will be tighter controls in the runof election.

abu - democracy is not perfect.  
It's a country mile better that any ideological dictatorship that resorts to violence at being questioned though.

Quote:

wonder if karzai will imprison those who claim there is fraud (as happened in iran).

At least in Afghanistan there's some tangible evidence of the fraud, not like the empty accusations in Iran. Elections don't get annulled on the mere whiff of rumours.

the claims of fraud in afghan should be properly investigated.
democratically, voting fraud is unaccepted


there was proof of fraud in iran, by leading iranians. as well as widespread 'irregularities".
islamically, voting fraud is completely denied. the ideologists will imprison/beat/rape/slice anyone who questions their authority.

that is why people prefer a democracy over a dictator.
it enables progress.

Quote:

there was proof of fraud in iran, by leading iranians

Then you should have no problem detailing some of that proof?

Claims and rumours do not amount to proof. Not getting the result you wanted, does not amount to proof. The fact is Ahmadinejad is very popular, and has been elected both times by an overwhelming majority. The first time around, the U.S didn't know if was going to be their man, so they didn't instigate anything. This time around, they simply didn't want him in power... and so here we are.

yes, there was quite a bit of proof given in the thread about iran.

the title was something like "Ahbad's rival tells it like it is ......"


i know, i know, in your mind no muslim ever does any wrong therefore any problem is obviously the progressive democratic wests doing.

Back to the topc, from the master of deflection and deception ........


Quote:

HUNDREDS of tribal elders and officials from southern Afghanistan have gathered in Kabul to protest against alleged electoral fraud that robbed entire districts of their votes and allocated them to President Hamid Karzai. In a string of searing testimonies, community leaders told of villages that had been too terrified to vote because of Taliban threats - yet had mysteriously produced full ballot boxes. They said that most of the phantom votes had been cast for Mr Karzai, often by his own men or tribal leaders loyal to him. "How is it that in a district which a governor can only visit once every two years, where it's too dangerous for the police to go, where even NATO can't fly - how come there were 20,000 votes collected?" asked Hamidullah Tokhy, a tribal elder from Kandahar province. The council of Kandahar province in southern Afghanistan is led by Ahmed Wali Karzai, the President's half-brother. The meeting, in a crowded hall on Tuesday, was chaired by Abdullah Abdullah, Mr Karzai's main rival in the June 20 elections, which an increasing number of Western observers and local officials say have been fatally compromised by evidence of systematic fraud. Dr Abdullah, trailing in results released so far, swore to defend the rights of voters. He pledged he would not accept any position in government with Mr Karzai, ruling out hopes of a compromise administration of national unity. He said he was having to calm outraged victims of the apparent fraud, as some called for mass protests or even armed resistance. A day before envoys, including Richard Holbrooke, from the US, and Sherard Cowper-Coles, for Britain, were to meet in Paris to discuss the outcome of the elections, a picture emerged of large swaths of the country suffering electoral manipulation by the government. Abdulkayam Balets, an elder who had been in charge of a polling station in Shurawaq, Kandahar province, said no ballot boxes reached his facility, but were instead sent to the district office, where they were stuffed with votes for Mr Karzai by members of the ruling party. "We want Karzai to resign and an interim government installed, then we can have a free election that he can't manipulate by force," he said. Fazel Mohammed had a polling station set up in his house in the same area, and confirmed that all the ballot boxes were sent to the Shurawaq district office. "There were 30 people in there, voting for Hamid Karzai. I told them, 'This is not right', but they said, 'We've got the guns and power, that's why we're doing it'," he said. Haji Abdul Manan, an elder from Lashkar Gah, capital of Helmand province, where British forces have engaged in heavy fighting with the Taliban, said most people had been too scared to venture out on election day. "In all the districts, there was fraud. Nobody could vote, but the ballot boxes were full of votes for Hamid Karzai," he said. Earlier, speaking on the podium, Mr Manan called for a violent response to the fraud, a sign that disenchantment with the polls could further aggravate Afghanistan's already bloody political landscape. "I implore military resistance. I swear to God, if an Islamic government does not take office, we're against it," he said. "The Americans are entering our houses. Our sons are being killed." Isatullah, an election official in Paktia, south of Kabul, said bodyguards of a powerful tribal leader had shown up at his polling centre on motorbikes and stuffed about 60 ballots each for Mr Karzai into the ballot boxes. Officials were too afraid to stop them, he said. Dr Abdullah said he would not drop his protests against vote rigging, although he urged his supporters to remain calm, amid fears massive demonstrations could degenerate into the bloodshed that marked anti-government protests in Iran. The Times

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,26018156-2703,00.html

more mindless muslim mindset.
must be the month of obesrving ramadan.

and some numbnut does not comdemn the taliban.



Quote:

MIHTARLAM, Afghanistan: A Taliban suicide bomber blew himself up outside a mosque in Afghanistan late yesterday, killing the deputy head of Afghan intelligence and more than 20 other people. The assassination of Abdullah Laghmani in the relatively peaceful eastern province of Laghman was the second high-profile bombing in Afghanistan since the August 20 presidential and provincial council elections, held under a cloud of Taliban intimidation. More than 50 people, including women and children, were wounded after the bomber detonated his explosives in a crowd of people leaving the main mosque in Laghman's provincial capital, Mihtarlam, following a meeting. "I saw people coming out of the mosque and some of them were getting into their vehicles. I didn't know them. Then the explosion happened. I was wounded. When I opened my eyes I was in hospital," one witness said. The Taliban militia claimed responsibility and said Mr Laghmani was the target. "Abdullah Laghmani is among the dead," provincial governor Lutfullah Mashal said in Mihtarlam. The deputy spymaster's LandCruiser was completely destroyed and a vehicle used by his bodyguards was partially damaged at the site. President Hamid Karzai condemned the attack, which his office said killed 24 people including Laghmani and three other senior provincial officials. The deputy UN representative in Afghanistan, Peter Galbraith, branded the attack "indefensible" during the holy month of Ramadan, when Muslims observe dawn-to-dusk fasting. The provincial government said the bomber blew himself up as officials were leaving a meeting about boosting community participation in counter-narcotics and security efforts, which had been held in the mosque. On August 25, a massive truck-bomb exploded in Kandahar, the main city in southern Afghanistan, killing more than 40 people in the biggest militant attack in the country for more than a year.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,26020037-2703,00.html

Quote:

more mindless muslim mindset.

Nothing like a mindless mind ;D

hows ramadan ?
just having a late lunch here, lovely sandwich.

relish from a friend, tomatoes from my garden, grain bread.
time for a coffee

Ramadan is excellent as always. Forgoing worldly pleasures as an act of obedience to my Creator and Sustainer, forgoing my desires and needs in order to purify the soul and build self-control.

You should try it some time (fasting is a Christian practice also actually), perhaps you can learn something from it?

You know fasting was in fact the first act of Islamic worship I engaged in. I actually fasted one entire Ramadan before even officially embracing Islam, as I knew deep in my heart it was a very spiritual and beneficial act, that could cleanse the body and soul. I also gave up smoking (something I'd tried several times previously, and failed to do) on the first day of that Ramadan, and my life has changed for the better each day ever since.

fasting is good. I've done it, for my own reasons, not any churches.

good on you abu on giving up ciggies..

Quote:

Ramadan is excellent as always. Forgoing worldly pleasures as an act of obedience to my Creator and Sustainer, forgoing my desires and needs in order to purify the soul and build self-control.

Yes because the all powerful Creator and Sustainer would really care whether you had lunch or not.

Bunch of ignorant savages. You can take the muslim out of the desert, but not the sand out of his brain.

Not good... Will generate more of what Kilcullen would call 'accidental guerrillas'

NATO officers met air strike victims and their families in Afghanistan and their commander took to the TV airwaves in a bid to cool anger over an incident that undermines efforts to win hearts and minds.

Quote:

AFGHANISTAN'S independent election watchdog ordered a nationwide audit and recount of the August presidential poll last night after confirming what most already suspected - the country's democratic elections were subject to widespread fraud. .The order came as the European Union Election Observer Mission claimed close to 15 per cent of all polling stations tallied as of September 6 had been tampered with, representing more than 700,000 votes. The Electoral Complaints Commission -- a UN-funded body set up to investigate all serious allegations of vote-rigging -- yesterday said it had found "clear and convincing evidence of fraud" in ballot boxes across three provinces investigated last week; Kandahar, Paktika and Ghazni........

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,26047810-2703,00.html


good news, fraud is not tolerated.
the people get a real say in their own country.

Democracy.

It'll be long time before corruption can be replaced with anything else, but it sounds good, that at least re-count is allowed.