Egyptian protesters defy military, return to Tahrir Square - Washington Post

CAIRO — Angry anti-government demonstrators returned to Tahrir Square late Saturday, some declaring that they were ready to face martyrdom, less than a day after Egypt’s military rulers used force to break up a protesters’ camp in the place where their revolution began.

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Gallery: Egypt- and Tunisia-inspired uprisings spread through Middle East, North Africa:?Motivated by recent shows of political strength by neighbors in Egypt, demonstrators in the Middle East and North Africa are taking to the streets of many cities to rally for change.

Protesters again chanted slogans calling for the removal of the head of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, Mohammed Hussein Tantawi, likening him to ousted president Hosni Mubarak. Others prayed or read from the Koran. Many appeared mindful of the council’s warning earlier in the day that troops would use force again, if necessary, to clear the square.

The bloody pre-dawn crackdown Saturday followed weeks of rising tensions between the pro-democracy movement and the military leadership that has run the country since Mubarak’s ouster in February.

At first, protesters welcomed the military’s intervention, seeing it as protection from the security apparatus and paid government thugs. But the euphoria quickly faded, and accusations mounted that the military was shielding Mubarak and doing his bidding.

The death toll from the raid on the protesters’ encampment remained in dispute late Saturday. Witnesses said that at least two people had been killed, while the Health Ministry said one person had died.

Hundreds of troops, firing into the air and attacking protesters with electric batons, swarmed the center of the square to expel several hundred people who had defied a 2 a.m. curfew after a large but peaceful protest Friday.

Among those who had joined the overnight protesters in the camp were about 20 uniformed soldiers who had broken ranks to demand that the military council move faster to try Mubarak and former members of his regime on corruption charges.

“They were participating to show their solidarity with the people,” said Hassad Mahmoud, 20, a student at Cairo University who took part in the sit-in.

Toward midnight, jubilant protesters in the camp lifted rebellious soldiers on their shoulders, shouting, “The army and the people form a single hand!” One of the soldiers raised a rolled-up body bag into the air, proclaiming that he was ready to die.

About 2:30 a.m., troops and security forces blocked entrances to the square. Protesters formed a human chain to protect the soldiers in their camp. Armored cars, troops and security officers swept in shortly after 3 a.m., and government forces fired their weapons into the air for about 20 minutes. Some protesters fled to a landmark mosque on the square for refuge. Others threw rocks at the troops.

Mahmoud and other witnesses said the troops appeared to be targeting the rebellious soldiers, injuring at least three and detaining others. Mahmoud said protesters hid some others.

As daylight returned to Tahrir Square, smoke drifted from three burning military vehicles. People started to return, climbing atop the charred hulks and demanding Tantawi’s removal.

The Friday rally was the largest since Mubarak’s government fell Feb. 11. Tens of thousands of people filled Tahrir Square in a peaceful demonstration to demand that Mubarak be held accountable on corruption allegations.

Others accused the military rulers of engaging in some of the same repressive behavior as Mubarak, such as detaining critics of the regime and trying them before military tribunals.

“I think the military council is in favor of Mubarak,” said Loftaya Mohamed, 58, a former teacher who attended the demonstrations with her adult daughter. “They’re being too kind and too patient.”

kunklef@washpost.com

Mansour is a special correspondent. Special correspondent Haitham Tabei contributed to this report.

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Palestinians say 19 killed in weekend of IDF strikes on Gaza - Ha'aretz

Palestinian militants fired approximately 120 rockets and mortars at Israeli communities near the Gaza Strip over the weekend, with tens of thousands of people spending the past few nights in reinforced rooms.

The Israel Air Force's Iron Dome system successfully intercepted a total of eight rockets fired at Ashkelon and Be'er Sheva since Thursday.

An Iron Dome missile outside Ashkelon responding to a rocket launch the Gaza Strip yesterday. The new system made eight successful interceptions over the weekend.

There were no injuries in the Palestinian rocket barrage, but damage to homes and poultry runs in the Eshkol region was extensive. A petting zoo in the Hof Ashkelon region was hit, and agricultural areas in the Sha'ar Hanegev region were also damaged.

A total of 38 rockets were fired at Israel yesterday, 23 of which were aimed at Negev communities and 15 at communities in the Lachish region. Most fell in open areas.

GOC Southern Command Tal Russo met Friday with the heads of the local authorities near Gaza and said Thursday's rocket attack on a school bus, which critically injured 16-year-old Daniel Viflic, "crossed red lines." Russo also said, "we are in the midst of action, and we will weigh all options of response."

The Palestinians reported yesterday 19 dead and more than 60 injured since the beginning of Israeli action in the Gaza Strip Thursday night.

According to the head of emergency medical services in Gaza, Adham Abu-Salmiya, most of those hit were civilians, and among the dead were several women and children.

Five Palestinians were killed on Thursday, and 10 on Friday, among them a 45-year-old woman, Najah Kadih, and her 25-year-old daughter, Nadal Kadih, in Khan Yunis, according to Palestinian reports.

The IDF said it regretted the deaths of non-combatants but accused Hamas of continuing to operate from within civilian population concentrations.

Two of those killed Friday were identified as members of the military wings of Islamic Jihad and Hamas, Balal al-Ariar and Riyad Shehada, according to statements from those groups.

Among the dead was also a 10-year-old boy, Wail al-Jaro.

According to Hamas, two senior militants of the Hamas military wing were killed yesterday morning and one was critically injured when the vehicle in which they were riding was fired on from the air west of Rafah. The two men killed were identified by Palestinian sources as Taysir Abu Sanima and Mohammad al-Uja. Abu Sanima is suspected of involvement in the abduction of IDF soldier Gilad Shalit and is also believed to have been behind the firing of Katyusha rockets a few months ago from Sinai to Eilat.

Reports from Gaza say that the Israel Defense Forces fired heavy artillery from tanks and cannons as well as from the air, including from F-16s.

A 30-year-old militant of the military wing of the Popular Resistance Committees, Zoheir Albar, was killed in an artillery strike on the Zeitun neighborhood of Gaza City. Three more militants were injured in the same incident, two of them seriously.

Palestinian sources reported yesterday that a civilian in his 50s, Ahmed Azeituna, was killed by an artillery shell in Jabalya, north of Gaza City.

Hamas denounced what it called international silence in the face of Israeli aggression, particularly by the European Union, considering that Hamas had announced a cease-fire after it fired at the school bus Thursday.

The Arab League is to convene an emergency meeting today in response to a demand by Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas. Abbas called on the Arab League and the European Union to pressure Israel to stop the fighting.

Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said yesterday that Israel had continued artillery and aerial fire on civilian concentrations and while Hamas did not want to be dragged into conflict with Israel, it could not ignore what he said was Israel's aggression. The Hamas military wing said it would respond accordingly to Israeli aggression and Hamas military wing spokesman Abu Obeida said: "Palestinian blood is not for forfeiting."

Security sources said yesterday that as long as rocket fire continued from the Gaza Strip, Israel would continue extensive air attacks there.

Security sources also said that while the Hamas government in the Strip wants to calm the situation, the military wing continues to allow rocket fire from its own people and other factions.

Senior Egyptian officials met over the weekend with senior Israeli and Hamas figures to try to prevent further escalation in Gaza.

Sources in the Prime Minister's Bureau said Israel did not want escalation, but that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had decided on his return to Israel Friday from Berlin and Czech Republic to respond resolutely to fire from the Gaza Strip to create deterrence.

Netanyahu met over the weekend with Defense Minister Ehud Barak and spoke with other defense officials over the phone.

Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch yesterday toured southern communities and was briefed by senior police officials on preparedness in the region. Aharonovitch also visited the Soroka Medical Center in Be'er Sheva, and told the family of critically injured Daniel Viflic that he was hoping and praying for his recovery.

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Japanese voters may further weaken PM over nuclear crisis - Reuters

TOKYO | Sat Apr 9, 2011 11:10pm EDT

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese voting in local elections on Sunday are expected to vent their anger over Prime Minister Naoto Kan's handling of the ongoing nuclear crisis, further weakening him and bolstering opponents to seek his resignation once the crisis ends.

The unpopular Kan was already under pressure to step down before the massive earthquake and tsunami struck northeast Japan on March 11, leaving his government to cope with the worst crisis to hit Japan since World War Two.

Many Japanese believe Kan's Democratic Party government should form a "grand coalition" with the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party to deal with the thousands left homeless, a reeling economy and the worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl.

The Democratic Party is expected lose seats on Sunday, with a heavy loss likely to be blamed on Kan.

"Depending on how badly the Democrats are defeated, the issue of Kan's responsibility could emerge," said Tomoaki Iwai, political science professor at Nihon University.

"Since Kan's departure is said to be a precondition for a grand coalition, such talk (about Kan's resignation and a grand coalition) could gradually surface."

Kan saw his voter support slump to around 20 percent and his grip on power weaken even before the March 11 earthquake, due to policy flip flops and perceived missteps in diplomatic rows with China and Russia.

But he is unlikely to be forced out during the nuclear crisis, say analysts. The crisis could last months as engineers struggle to regain control of the crippled nuclear reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi plant north of Tokyo.

Kan's Democrats have a big majority in parliament's lower house but need opposition help in the upper chamber. Before the crisis, opposition parties in the upper house were blocking budget bills to try and force a snap election.

Kan's eventual resignation could conceivably clear the way for a rejigged ruling coalition, and that would break a parliamentary deadlock that has kept Japan from crafting policies to address the country's most profound problems, a fast-aging society and huge public debt.

(Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka and Linda Sieg; Editing by Michael Perry)

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Ayalon: US only country capable of advancing peace - Jerusalem Post

 
Photo by: Courtesy By JPOST.COM STAFF 
02/20/2011 11:05 Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon said Sunday that the veto on the UN Security Council settlement vote has proven that the US is the only country capable of advancing the peace process.

Speaking during an interview with Israel Radio, Ayalon explained that the US is a country that speaks the truth, which is "the need for direct talks between Israel and the Palestinians."

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Ayalon said that the UN serves as a rubber stamp for the Arab states and that they have an automatic majority in the General Assembly.

Ayalon called on the Palestinians to realize they could not impose anything on Israel; it is best to resume negotiations without preconditions.

On Saturday, the Palestinian Authority confirmed that Abbas had received a phone call from President Shimon Peres following the US veto, apparently urging him not to abandon the peace process.

A PA official said that Abbas reiterated his commitment to the peace process and the two-state solution and stressed the need for a complete cessation of settlement construction.

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Bahrain protesters remain in square - Aljazeera.net

 

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A landmark junction in the heart of Bahrain's capital, Manama, continues to be occupied by opposition protesters, hundreds of whom spent the night there after another day of anti-government demonstrations in the tiny Gulf state.

Some woke early on Sunday morning in the Pearl Roundabout area and staged a noisy protest, chanting "Get out Hamad" as they pressed their demand that the king, Sheikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, should step down.

A small tent village has sprung up complete with stalls selling hot milk, scrambled eggs and tomatoes - catering to the hundreds who decided to stay overnight in the public square.

The protesters reclaimed on Saturday the junction that they had previously used as a focal point for pro-reform protests, but which was then violently taken back by security forces.

The calls against Sheikh Hamad and his inner circle are a recent escalation in the political uprising, which began with calls to weaken the Sunni monarchy's power and address claims of discrimination against Bahrain's Shia Muslim majority.

Abdul-Jalil Khalil, a leader of the main Shia political bloc, said on Sunday the opposition was considering the monarchy's offer for dialogue, but he noted that no direct talks were yet under way. Seven opposition groups said they would meet later in the day to co-ordinate a response.

They were responding after Bahrain's crown prince, Sheikh Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, who is also the deputy supreme commander of the country's armed forces, appealed for calm and political dialogue in a brief address on state TV on Friday.

On his orders, troops and armoured vehicles withdrew from Pearl Roundabout on Saturday, which they had taken over on Thursday after riot police staged a night-time attack on a sit-in by protesters, killing four people and wounding 231.

On Friday, army units shot at marchers streaming towards the square, injuring more than 50 people and preventing protesters from gathering there.

But after security forces withdrew, the protesters swarmed back to the square and confidently set up camp for a protracted stay.

As night fell on Saturday, the protesters erected barriers, wired a sound system, set up a makeshift medical tent and deployed lookouts to warn of approaching security forces.

Conciliatory tone

In an interview to CNN, Sheikh Salman said protesters would "absolutely" be allowed to stay in the Pearl Roundabout area.

"All political parties in the country deserve a voice at the table," he said of the proposed dialogue, adding the king had appointed him to lead it and to build trust with all sides.

"I think there is a lot of anger, a lot of sadness, and on that note I would like to extend my condolences to all of the families who lost loved ones and all of those who have been injured. We are terribly sorry and this is a terrible tragedy for our nation."

Barack Obama, the US president, has discussed the situation with Sheikh Hamad, asking him to hold those responsible for the violence accountable.

He said in a statement that Bahrain must respect the "universal rights" of its people and embrace "meaningful reform".

For his part, William Hague, the British foreign secretary, in a telephone call to Sheikh Salman, said he welcomed the government's military withdrawal and strongly supported efforts to initiate a dialogue.

The Bahraini demonstrators have emulated protesters in Tunisia and Egypt by attempting to bring political change to the government in Bahrain, home to the US navy's Fifth Fleet - the centrepiece of US efforts to confront Iranian military influence in the region.

Source: Agencies 

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Wisconsin protests continue; counter-demonstrators support governor's bill - Washington Post

A clear, cold Saturday saw some of the largest crowds yet descend upon Wisconsin's state capitol to march, chant and shout about Republican Gov. Scott Walker's controversial proposal to trim benefits and curtail collective-bargaining rights for many of the state's unionized workers.

The overwhelming majority of protesters were teachers, students and other public-service workers who spent the better part of a week demonstrating against Walker's bill. But Saturday's throngs included a sizable and vocal collection of tea party activists who arrived to show support for the embattled governor.

"I wanted Scott Walker to know that there are tons of people behind him," said Karen Wartinbee of Oconomowoc, Wis., who carried a sign that read, "Go Scott Go!"

Law enforcement officials ramped up security Saturday, bolstering their ranks with officers from nearby counties to guard against any violent clashes. But the protests remained largely peaceful, if not altogether friendly.

The opposing groups traded ear-splitting chants of "Kill the bill!" and "Pass the bill!" Some demonstrators ended up in nose-to-nose arguments over whether unions were bankrupting the state or protecting its workers. Others simply traded insults and made obscene gestures from a distance.

Walker's bill would force public workers to put 5.8 percent of their wages into the pension system and pay a larger share of their health insurance in addition to curtailing their collective-bargaining rights.

Opponents argue that Walker helped create the budget shortfall by giving away millions in tax breaks to private businesses. Union leaders have offered to make concessions on benefits but have drawn the line at restrictions on their collective-bargaining rights.

Meanwhile, the state's 14 Democratic senators showed no sign of returning from out of state, where they headed last week to stall a vote on the controversial measure. Walker urged them to return in a statement Saturday, saying they "should come back to Wisconsin and do their jobs."

For all the populist feel at the capitol, progressive and conservative political figures have seized on the Wisconsin protests as an opportunity to shape the national debate.

Richard Trumka, the president of the AFL-CIO, paid a visit to the capitol Friday, as did civil rights activist Jesse Jackson. President Obama's organizing arm was on hand, as was the Services Employees International Union and other national labor groups.

On Saturday, influential conservative groups such as Americans for Prosperity, funded in part by billionaire industrialist brothers David and Charles Koch, helped to organize the counter-rally at the capitol in support of Walker's proposals.

"He's actually trying to do the right thing and something we believe is responsible government," said Ned Ryun, a former speechwriter for George W. Bush and the president of American Majority, a grass-roots political training organization that also helped coordinate Saturday's rally alongside tea party groups across Wisconsin.

By mid-afternoon, neither side had done much to win over the other, and both vowed to return day after day until resolution came.

"Government is too big," said Dane Christiansen, a hardwood-floor refinisher who drove from his home south of Madison. "I voted for Walker to come and cut the budget."

Stacy Smith, a first-grade teacher who was marching with her husband, said, "People are willing to give up the money, but we're not willing to give up our rights." She said she planned to return to protest another day.

Staff writer Peter Whoriskey in Washington contributed to this report.

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Sen. Reid balks at cuts to Social Security - Reno Gazette-Journal

WASHINGTON -- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Wednesday that cost-cutting in large government benefit programs is possible "as long as you eliminate Social Security" from the discussion, registering opposition to prominent proposals to hold down spending.

"Social Security has contributed not a single penny to the deficit. So we can talk about entitlements as long as you eliminate Social Security," said Reid, D-Nev. "Because Social Security is not part of the problem we have in America with the deficit."

Reid's spokesman, Jon Summers, said the Nevada Democrat opposes any cuts for Social Security recipients, as well as any reduction in benefits promised to future retirees. He also rejects an increase in the age at which workers can begin to draw full Social Security retirement, Summers said, because "he sees that as a benefit cut."

Senior lawmakers in both parties have talked in general terms of seeking a broad deficit-reduction agreement later this year. Reining in the growing costs of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid is widely cited as essential to any such compromise.

"We'll have to bring down health care costs further, including in programs like Medicare and Medicaid, which are the single biggest contributor to our long-term deficits," President Barack Obama said at a news conference on Wednesday.

"I believe we should strengthen Social Security for future generations, and I think we can do that without slashing benefits or putting current retirees at risk," Obama said.

Obama omitted any major changes to the three big benefit programs when he released his 2012 budget earlier in the week, but a presidential deficit-reduction commission floated several late last year. Among them was an increase in the age for full retirement benefits under Social Security and steps to slow the growth of future benefits.

Medicaid is a state-federal program that provides health care to lower-income people. Social Security and Medicare, in particular, are politically sensitive, providing retirement and health benefits for millions of seniors.

Any political party that seeks major changes unilaterally leaves itself open to attack, and Obama noted at his news conference that in the past, significant changes to Social Security were bipartisan.

"We're waiting for presidential leadership," Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said on Wednesday. "We know and will say again that entitlement reform will not be done except on a bipartisan basis with presidential leadership."

On Tuesday, House Republicans issued a statement that said, "Our budget will lead where the president has failed, and it will include real entitlement reforms."

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Milky Way Stuffed with 50 Billion Alien Worlds - Discovery News

How's this for an astronomical estimate? There are at least 50 billion exoplanets in our galaxy. What's more, astronomers estimate that 500 million of these alien worlds are probably sitting inside the habitable zones of their parent stars.

So how many of these exoplanets have life? Unfortunately, there's no estimate for that question.

WIDE ANGLE: The Age of the Exoplanet

DNEWS VIDEO: FINDING EXOPLANETS

This announcement was made on Saturday by Kepler science chief William Borucki at the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Washington D.C. However, Kepler didn't actually count 50 billion exoplanets, this number comes from extrapolations of the data taken so far by the exoplanet-hunting space telescope.

For example, as Kepler has spotted 1,235 exoplanet candidates so far -- 53 of which orbit stars in their habitable zones -- knowing approximately how many stars there are in our galaxy (there are thought to be around 300 billion stars in the Milky Way), an estimate can be made of how many worlds are orbiting these stars.

Kepler has only studied 1/400th of the sky, and it can only detect exoplanets that pass in front of (or "transit") their parent stars. Also, it needs more time to detect exoplanets that orbit further away from their stars.

Taking all these factors into account means that a lower estimate can be made. There's likely to be more than the 50 billion exoplanets Borucki describes.

Making this estimate is a relatively simple task, not so simple is estimating how many of these worlds might play host to life. As we know that only one planet in the Milky Way has life on it (Earth, in case you were wondering), no amount of statistical guesswork can arrive at an estimation for the number of alien beings that are out there.

Making estimates may sound trivial, but it does put the search for ET into perspective. There's at least 50 billion worlds, which have fostered the development of basic lifeforms? How many have allowed advanced civilizations to evolve?

If there are any space-faring alien races out there, "the next question is why haven't they visited us?" Borucki asked. He responded with: "I don't know."

I wonder if we'll ever know.

ANALYSIS: Chances of Exoplanet Life 'Impossible'? Or '100 percent'?

Image: An infrared observation of the core of the Milky Way as imaged by the Spitzer Space Telescope (NASA/JPL-Caltech/S. Stolovy SSC/Caltech)

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Libyans vow to protest despite violence from government - CNN International

Protester in Benghazi: "There are a lot of people getting killed for their freedom" An army official siding with the opposition says the government "caused a massacre"The Libyan government's tight controls make it difficult to verify information

(CNN) -- Libyans protesting against longtime ruler Moammar Gadhafi vowed to hit the streets again Sunday, saying a violent crackdown by security forces since demonstrations started last week has left them energized.

Meanwhile, a doctor in Benghazi said her facility is taking on trauma patients because a trauma hospital in the city is inundated by those injured in the unrest.

"All of them have been injured by bullets," said the doctor, whose identity is not being released for security reasons. She said most suffered gunshot wounds to the head, chest or neck.

Benghazi, the North African nation's second-largest city and hub of its eastern province, was home to some of the bloodiest clashes Saturday. Still, an anti-government demonstrator there said that despite having been barraged for days by tear gas and bullets, many of his colleagues slept outside the city's courthouse and planned another rally at 1 p.m. Sunday.

"There are a lot of people getting killed for their freedom," the man, who was not identified for safety reasons, told CNN Sunday morning. "Our goal is simple: We want Gadhafi to leave. We want freedom. ... We want democracy."

Our goal is simple: We want Gadhafi to leave. We want freedom. ... We want democracy.
--Libyan protester

The man, a technology expert who has set up cameras airing live online video streams around Benghazi, estimated that the numbers of anti-government demonstrators in the city has grown by 20% since the protests began Tuesday.

"We are peaceful people," he said. "They are killing unarmed civilians."

Another protester in Misratah, a city about 250 km (155 miles) east of Tripoli, said that roughly 1,300 remained on the streets there through the night and into the morning Sunday, burning pictures of Gadhafi and calling for an end to his rule.

CNN could not independently confirm information on the escalating unrest in Libya, the most isolated nation in the region, though it has interviewed numerous witnesses by phone. The government has not responded to repeated requests from CNN for access to the country and maintains tight control over communications.

Instead, a report from Libya's state-run JANA news agency blames "acts of sabotage and burning" on outsiders aiming to undermine the nation's stability, security and unity. The report claims that the unrest has been fomented in Libya as well as Tunisia, Morocco, Sudan, Egypt, Lebanon and Iran by an Israeli-led network of covert operatives.

Since Wednesday, authorities have arrested "dozens of foreign members of this network who were trained on starting clashes," the JANA story said, adding that the outsiders were of Tunisian, Egyptian, Sudanese, Turkish, Palestinian and Syrian descent.

Meanwhile, the toll from the unrest continued to mount. Human Rights Watch, citing interviews with hospital staff and witnesses, reported at least 84 deaths since Tuesday. CNN could not independently verify the numbers.

Medical sources at a Misratah hospital said at least three died and 70 were wounded in clashes Saturday between security forces and anti-government protesters. Three of those injured were in critical condition, the sources said.

A doctor at a Benghazi hospital said at least 30 people died Saturday, most from gunshot wounds to the head. Hovering helicopters fired into the crowds and the hospital was receiving a steady stream of injured people, said the doctor, who CNN is also not identifying for security reasons.

His count did not include casualties from a clash between the protesters on the funeral march and soldiers at a military camp. Soldiers there fired tear gas and guns; the protesters hurled rocks and at least two hand grenades, witnesses said.

The female doctor in Benghazi said Sunday she worries that her hospital will not be able to keep up with the need.

"Every day it's increasing," she said.

Lt. Col. Mohammed al-Majbari, who helped lead Libyan military forces in Benghazi before deciding early this week to join the opposition, claimed that government forces -- aided by mercenaries from other African countries -- "caused a massacre."

"It is time for freedom," al-Majbari said. "(Gadhafi) is not a human being. A Libyan would never do this to his people. He is a dictator."

Several eyewitnesses told CNN that cars of riflemen drove past protesters, indiscriminately firing at them.

The soldiers... said, 'We are with you.' We believed them. After that, they started shooting the people. Why?
--Libyan woman

A Libyan woman supportive of the protesters, who was not identified to protect her safety, told CNN that army soldiers on Saturday initially claimed solidarity with the demonstrators, only to reverse their tack and open fire on the crowd.

"The soldiers ... said, 'We are with you.' We believed them," she said. "After that, they started shooting the people. Why? Why did they lie?"

Others in Libya reported similar protests in the cities of al-Baida, Ajdabiya and significantly in Misratah -- an indication that the demonstrations centered in the east were spreading west.

A protester identified only as Moftah told CNN that Libyans, inspired by the toppling of dictators in neighboring Egypt and Tunisia, had simply had enough of Gadhafi.

"He will tell you that his secret police are everywhere," Moftah said. "It's time to break this fear barrier. We reach a point that we don't care anymore."

The official Jamahiriya News Agency reported that Gadhafi had spoken in recent days with fellow leaders from Guinea, Liberia and Yemen.

The government also sent out, via text, a tacit warning against "the inappropriate use of telecommunications services (that) contradict our religion ... our customs ... and our traditions." Internet service in Libya shut down Friday evening, though it was more available by Sunday.

The government's firm grip on power heightened the concerns of a woman from Benghazi, who urged U.S. President Barack Obama and other world leaders to help the Libyan people in the face of the government crackdown.

"We have no freedom here," she said. "I speak to all the world, to America, to Mr. Obama: Please help us. We (did) nothing. We want to live a good life."

The female doctor at the Benghazi hospital said Sunday she worries more violence will ensue.

"I think -- and I hope not -- it's going to be (a) more disastrous situation than yesterday because yesterday was more of a disaster than the two days before," she said. "I'm so scared."

CNN's Moni Basu, Amir Ahmed, Yousuf Basil, Greg Botelho, Salma Abdelaziz, Zain Verjee, Anderson Cooper, Holly Yan and Mitra Mobasherat contributed to this report.

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PM: Crossing of Iranian warships viewed with utmost gravity - Jerusalem Post

 
Photo by: AP By JPOST.COM STAFF AND ASSOCIATED PRESS 
02/20/2011 11:18 Talkbacks (3) Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Israel views with utmost gravity the intent of Iran to send warships to the Mediterranean through the Suez Canal, a move he termed "an Iranian attempt to expand its influence in the region."

Netanyahu said during the weekly cabinet meeting that Israel's "security needs are growing and the defense budget will be allocated accordingly."

"We will insist that we must promote the economy and stabilize it," the prime minister continued.

Earlier on Sunday, Iranian media reported that the two vessels have begun their passage through the Suez Canal, Al Alam reported.

"Two Iranian warships have passed through the canal and are heading towards a Syrian port," the Iranian television network reported.

The reports however could not be officially confirmed and Egyptian officials said the ships had not yet begun to transit the canal.

Egyptian official from the Suez Canal Authority confirmed that the authority had decided to allow the ships to travel through the canal but did not confirm if the transit had started.

The official said that the vessels were due to arrive at the southern part of the canal later Sunday and will enter the Mediterranean on Monday morning.

The Egyptian approval follows a weekend of mixed reports as to whether Egyptian authorities had approved the vessels' passage or not.

function initServerVars() {_headup.clientHost = 'http://newstopics.jpost.com';_headup.termsFromServer = "Ahmadinejad$$The Egyptian$$Suez Canal$$Israel's$$Egypt$$Suez$$Iran";_headup.annotatedTerms = ['dbpedia:Suez_Canal$$1', 'dbpedia:The_Egyptian$$1', 'dbpedia:Israel$$1']_headup.widgetMode = 'snippet';_headup.snippetButtonStyle = 'banner';_headup.blackListedUrl = false;}  Subscribe to our Newsletter to receive news updates directly to your email         Author:   nycdanCountry:   02/20/2011   11:45
So 2 Iranian ships, now isolated from their county, are in the Mediterranean.. just as Iranian ships fire on ships that enter its territorial waters, these ships take the same risk. at the first sign of aggression.. we give the Mediterranean sea a new reef..

Author:   hans-PeterCountry:   Nederland02/20/2011   11:25
So, 2 Iranian ships are crossing the Suez canal? USA warships do that all the time and also Israeli ships have passed the Suez canal, even submarines. The canal is formally open since the camp david agreement, that allowed israel passage for all nations that want to use it and pay the 250.000 $ to pass. Why not iran with a freight, most likely arms, to Syria. What is the problem ? Please don't come with the broken record that Iran is a threat. we all know wher the real threat to peace lives.

Author:   johan Country:   new zealand02/20/2011   11:14
Ever since 1948 israel has reigned the Middle east with the iron fist of violence. The times are changing and new superpowers emerge, read China and Iran. no more reliance on the partner USA, using its veto in the UNSC against the rest of the world. Bob Dylan sang it so well: The times they are - a - changing. Get used to it is probably the way to survive it.

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Court-Appointed Guardian Tried To Stop Twins' Adoption - NBC Miami

A concerned court-appointed guardian doggedly tried to prevent Jorge and Carmen Barahona from being allowed to adopt fraternal twins Nubia and Victor Doctor, the Miami Herald reports.

Paul Neumann became gravely concerned for the twins around 2007, records show. He discussed Nubia's welfare with officials at her school, interviewed the children during a lunch visit, contacted their relatives in Texas, and expressed his concerns to multiple parties in the child welfare system.

The Barahonas, in three letters defending themselves to then-Governor Charlie Crist, dismissed Neumann's interference as a "personality conflict" and claimed he was tampering with witnesses.

The pair, who were allowed to adopt the twins and two other foster children, are now at the center of one of the most horrifying child abuse cases in recent memory: Jorge Barahona was found passed out Monday near his truck on the side of Interstate 95, with 10-year-old Victor doused in chemicals, severely burned, and suffering seizures in the passenger seat.

Hours later, when workers attempted to decontaminate the truck, they Nubia's body stuffed in a bag and steeped in chemicals. A source reports the twins may have been sprayed with pesticides.

Police had been frantically searching for the children after the couple's biological grandchild told a therapist she had witnessed the twins being bound and forced to remain in a bathtub for hours, prompting a report to the Department of Children and Families. Seven-year-old Alessandra Perez was removed from her mother's custody Friday, and is also considered to be a victim of abuse.

Though DCF has so far declined to release their file on the Barahonas, limited records obtained by the Herald show there were plenty of hints things were amiss at their home in suburban Miami. In addition to Neumann's concerns, several employees at the childrens' school testified against the adoption, and three abuse reports were filed on Nubia's behalf in three years after the Barahonas gained custody in 2004.

The first came when Nubia informed someone at her school that she was being "touched" by her father. Records show child welfare professionals suspected she referred to her birth father, who had already lost custody, and took no action.

A year later, the girl arrived at school with bruising on her face and neck; teachers suspected abuse. Though the Barahonas were ordered to present themselves and Nubia to the Department of Health’s Child Protection Team, they waited so long to comply that the marks had faded, and doctors accepted the couples' story that the girl had fallen.

In 2007, a third report was filed, stating that Nubia regularly complained of hunger, was dirty, and smelled.

In June of 2010, a similar report was issued: Nubia was so "uncontrollably" hungry that she was stealing food, had begun losing her hair, and was "nervous" and "jittery."

Jorge Barahona pled not guilty to his son's attempted murder Friday; no charges have been filed yet in Nubia Doctor's death. Circuit Judge Cindy Lederman ordered last week that adoption subsidies estimated at $950 per month for the couple's three surviving children be cut off immediately.

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Congress, Obama brace for showdown as government shutdown looms - Washington Post

The prospect of a government shutdown appeared more possible Saturday after the House passed a budget measure in the pre-dawn hours that cuts $61 billion - and was immediately rejected by Senate Democrats and President Obama.

The House plan, which was approved on a party-line vote at 4:40 a.m. after five days of debate, eliminates dozens of programs and offices while slashing agency budgets by as much as 40 percent. Federal funding for AmeriCorps and PBS would cease. Hundreds of millions would be cut from border security, and tens of millions would be withheld from funding for the District of Columbia.

The debate over the size and scope of the government now moves to the Senate, where leaders have already said that the House plan cuts way too deep and that they are planning a far more modest proposal. But with the Senate out of session all next week, senators have left themselves just a few days to take up a bill before March 4, when the stop-gap measure that is currently funding the government expires.

Given the tight time frame, it's unlikely the two chambers can agree on a compromise. If they don't, the government will either shut down or congressional leaders will have to agree on another temporary measure, perhaps for as little as a couple of weeks.

But even that could be difficult. House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) has said he won't approve another extension unless it also includes significant cuts. And it's unclear whether the scores of Republican freshmen who were elected last fall on their promise to dramatically downsize the federal government will agree to any sort of deal, particularly after insisting on the deep cuts agreed to Saturday.

"Nobody really knows where this is going from here," said Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho), who helped craft the $61 billion in cuts as a member of the Appropriations Committee.

For Boehner, Saturday's vote marked an early political victory, allowing his party to honor a 2010 campaign pledge to trim spending to 2008 levels.

"It's democracy in action," Boehner said in an impromptu, triumphal news conference off the House floor just past 9 p.m. Friday, when it was clear the bill would pass. "I'm proud of this vote," he added.

The bigger victors were the 87 Republican freshmen, whose dismissal of an earlier plan that would have cut about $35 billion led House leaders to quickly draw up the larger package of cuts.

Unshackled by Boehner's commitment to a freewheeling process, the freshmen dominated the floor Friday and Saturday morning in passing amendments that moved the legislation further to the right, limiting the Environmental Protection Agency's ability to enforce clean-air standards and defunding the Consumer Product Safety Commission's ability to create a database of injuries.

All of the Republican freshmen supported the final legislation, including a couple of dozen from Midwestern states whose capitals are under siege from public worker unions protesting proposed cuts at the state level.

"We are committed to changing the status quo in Washington and restoring our fiscal stability," Rep. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), a leader of the 2010 class, said after the vote.

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Pak investigators to seek Musharraf extradition - Indian Express

Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency will seek the extradition of former President Pervez Musharraf after his refusal to appear before an anti-terrorism court on charges that he failed to provide adequate security to slain former premier Benazir Bhutto.

"We have decided to write to the Home Secretary of the UK for General Musharraf's extradition," an unnamed senior FIA official was quoted as saying by The Express Tribune newspaper.

The decision was made at a meeting chaired on Saturday by Interior Minister Rehman Malik, the report said.

An anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi had issued a warrant for the arrest of Musharraf after the special prosecutor handling the case alleged that he had not cooperated with the investigation into Bhutto's assassination. Pakistan and Britain do not have a formal extradition treaty, which is likely to make the process complicated, said legal expert Salman Akram Raja.

Any extradition request will depend on relevant British laws, he said.

Musharraf's legal advisor Muhammad Ali Saif said there was "no possibility" of the former military ruler appearing in court despite the warrant. He also challenged the allegations levelled against Musharraf.

The FIA earlier named Musharraf as an "absconder", saying he had failed to cooperate with investigators.

Musharraf was accused of failing to provide adequate security to Bhutto after she returned to Pakistan from self-exile in October 2007.

Bhutto was killed by a suicide attacker in Rawalpindi two months later. Investigators have also alleged that two police officers, who were recently arrested for negligence in providing security to Bhutto, were acting on Musharraf's instructions.

... contd.

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In Pacific discovery, traces of Nantucket and 'Moby-Dick' - Boston Globe

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NANTUCKET — Remains of an 1800s Nantucket whaling ship with a poignant tie to the book “Moby-Dick’’ have been discovered on a remote reef almost 600 miles northwest of Honolulu.

The Two Brothers is the first wrecked Nantucket whaler to be discovered, and the chance find illuminates an era when close to 150 whaling ships from this tiny island set out across the world’s oceans in search of the lucrative oil extracted from blubber and left behind the near-extinction of many whale species.

While marine archeologists are ecstatic at the information they hope to glean from the coral-encrusted cooking pots and blubber hooks, the artifacts also complete the tale of a famously cursed captain: George Pollard Jr., who had commanded the Essex, the whaler from Nantucket that was sunk by an enraged sperm whale and inspired Herman Melville to write his classic novel.

Pollard survived the sinking of the Essex, resorting to cannibalism to do so, and returned home to Nantucket. He soon took command of the Two Brothers, only to have it sink on Feb. 11, 1823. Pollard again survived, but he never went whaling again.

“Pollard is the heart and soul of the whole story,’’ said Nathaniel Philbrick, who recounted the Essex tragedy and examined Pollard’s psyche in a best-selling book “In the Heart of the Sea.’’ “He has been through hell once again, slamming into destiny and almost going down with the ship. Something about there actually being physical remains [means] it is not just a story, but it really happened.’’

The ship’s remains were found by marine archeologists in the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, an almost 140,000-square-mile US conservation area in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands known for its coral reefs and multitude of marine species. The atoll chain includes the location where the World War II air Battle of Midway was fought, and it is believed to entomb the remains of more than 120 aircraft and vessels.

Nearing the end of a research expedition in 2008, archeologists working with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries came across a large anchor, three cast iron pots used for melting whale blubber, ship rigging, and other artifacts in 10 to 20 feet of water near French Frigate Shoals, where Two Brothers sank.

The items were clearly from an early 19th-century whaler, but a definitive identification took several more years. The remoteness of the site prevented the team from returning until 2009, and that year and again in 2010, they recovered more conclusive evidence, including blubber hooks, five whaling harpoon tips, three whaling lances, and glass.

The ship’s wooden hull had long since degraded, but American-made ceramics, probably used by Pollard because such high-quality goods would have been reserved for captains, were also discovered.

“We weren’t looking for the Two Brothers,’’ said Kelly Gleason, the monument’s marine archeologist. “While we know it sank on French Frigate Shoals, it was still like looking for a needle in a haystack. But by 2010, we began to put the pieces together.’’

Researchers feel confident they have located the Two Brothers because they painstakingly compared the artifacts to similar items preserved from the period of the sinking. The design of anchors, blubber hooks, and other ship gear evolved over time, so archeologists were able to date most of the items they found to the 1820s. Gleason also visited the Nantucket Historical Association to examine artifacts and look for clues in an epic poem about the sinking by Thomas Nickerson, who sailed with Pollard on both the Essex and the Two Brothers.

Nantucket still captures a whiff of the whaling heyday in the first half of the 19th century, with its magnificent captains’ homes on cobbled streets. Whalers first plied the cold waters off New England, with their catches providing the oil used to illuminate early America and to make a suite of goods from candle wax to soap.

But as the giant mammals were fished out locally, whalers fanned out from home. Many sailed around South America and passed through the low-lying atolls of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, whaling along the way, and then onto whaling grounds off Japan and in the Arctic.

“These were little gold rushes each time they found new whaling grounds,’’ said James Delgado, National Marine Sanctuaries’ Maritime Heritage Program director and former president of the Institute of Nautical Archaeology. “Nowhere was the leviathan safe.’’

Catching the beasts was a fantastically dangerous job. Men would leave for two years or more in boats that, early on, were only marginally bigger than some of the whales they were chasing. Most whalers seemed to have a near-death experience with the sea, whales, or wild weather.

But no story captured the imagination more than the Essex tragedy, one of the first times a whale was reported to have seemingly struck back at its would-be executioners by ramming and sinking a boat.

What followed was even worse: Pollard and a shipmate spent 94 days at sea in a small boat, eventually eating fellow crewmen to survive, including, according to Philbrick’s book, Pollard’s 18-year-old first cousin.

Pollard was rescued, recuperated in Chile, and returned home to Nantucket to an awestruck, silent crowd of some 1,500 who had heard the tale, according to Ben Simons, curator of the Nantucket Historical Association who wrote a recent piece for Historic Nantucket about the Two Brothers. Pollard, meanwhile, had so impressed the captain of the Two Brothers, the boat that brought him home, that he was recommended as its next commander.

About three months later, he set sail again. On that journey, he was asked by a sailor how he could dare go to sea again, according to Philbrick’s book. Pollard reportedly answered “that the lightning never struck in the same place twice.’’

But, of course, it did. The Two Brothers broke up on a shoal in the middle of the night “with breakers apparently mountains high,’’ according to Nickerson’s careful account. Pollard was reluctant to leave the ship, but eventually did and spent a harrowing night with other crew in a small boat. All were rescued the next day by a sister ship.

Pollard never whaled again, instead taking a job as a lowly night watchman. Melville, who had never visited Nantucket before publishing “Moby-Dick’’ in 1851, met Pollard a year later. “To the islanders he was a nobody — to me, the most impressive man,’’ Melville later recalled.

Now, as archeologists plan a return to the reef to look for more of what is left of Pollard’s last ship, they say the seabed may hold new secrets about Two Brothers and other whalers.

“It sparks the imagination; it makes you wonder how many vessels are out there,’’ said Simons.

Earlier this week at the historical association’s library, he carefully opened a manila folder that contained Nickerson’s original account of the Two Brothers in careful script. One verse speaks to the horror Nickerson and Pollard must have felt when they realized they were about to lose another boat.

But here again, new terrors on us seize We have no food, our hunger to appease and thirst steals o’er our parched lips in vain Pale death’s stern visage threatens now again.

Beth Daley can be reached at bdaley@globe.com.

© Copyright 2011 Globe Newspaper Company.

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Body floating in canal thought to be California kidnapper - CNN International

Jose Esteban Rodriguez allegedly snatched 4-year-old Juliani Cardenas from his grandmother's arms on January 18.NEW: The kidnapped boy's mother says she's "relieved that all this is over"NEW: She tells Rodriguez's mother that she feels her pain, having lost a son herselfA water authority worker alerts police after finding a floating body in the Delta-Mendota CanalPolice believe the body is that of Jose Rodriguez, accused of kidnapping and killing his ex-girlfriend's son

(CNN) -- A floating body was found Saturday that authorities believe to be the man who kidnapped his ex-girlfriend's 4-year-old son and drove with him into a canal.

A California water authority employee saw the body, believed to be that of Jose Esteban Rodriguez, at about 8:30 a.m. on Saturday. It was discovered in a part of the 117-mile Delta-Mendota Canal in the northern California city of Patterson, according to a press release from the Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department.

The employee alerted Stanislaus County Sheriff's detectives, who went to the scene along with members of the department's dive team and the West Stanislaus-Patterson Fire Department.

Authorities determined the body was that of an adult Hispanic male with clothing and a physical make-up matching that of Rodriguez. Authorities will now employ scientific measures, such as DNA tests and dental records, and examine other evidence to definitively identify the body.

The discovery comes 11 days after authorities found the body of young Juliani Cardenas, the boy who Rodriguez allegedly swiped from his grandmother's arms on January 18.

Tabitha Cardenas, the boy's mother, who broke up with Rodriguez five months earlier, told CNN affiliate KCRA that she was "relieved that all this is over." She also expressed sympathy for Rodriguez's mother, now that his body has apparently been found.

"I feel her pain, because I know what it's like to lose a son," Cardenas said. "She knows that I have always given her the utmost respect, through everything."

A day later, a farmer saw a car that appeared to be Rodriguez's 2003 silver Toyota Corrolla -- purportedly with a man and youngster inside -- careen into the canal.

The Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department said that the body found Saturday was about 11 miles south of where that car was driven into the water.

A homicide warrant had been issued for Rodriguez in connection with Juliani's death while authorities searched for him, Sheriff Adam Christianson said.

Last month, authorities found the man's Toyota trapped in 50 feet of water and intertwined with two other vehicles, according to Christianson. The windows of the car were opened and it was badly damaged, but there were no bodies inside.

Tabitha Cardenas had said Rodriguez either wanted to have her son for himself or wanted revenge for their breakup. She said she never thought Rodriguez, who is the father of her unborn child, would harm Juliani.

Rodriguez "wanted to be with my son," Cardenas said January 20. "He wanted to be with my son so bad that he took it to the extreme."

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Meguru Adsense Karo Cosa Aranda

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Air Pollution

What is air pollution? It is the presence of substance that is not normally part of the atmosphere’s composition. The atmosphere is composed of approximately 78 percent nitrogen and 21 percent oxygen. It also contains small amounts of other gases, such as water vapor, carbon dioxide and hydrogen. Any substance that is not part of this normal gaseous makeup is called a pollutant.
There is many kinds of air pollutants: smoke, dust, ash, pollen, various gases and other substances. Many of these come from sources other than man and his activities. They have always been present in the atmosphere. They come from activities of plants and animals and even from outer space called meteoric dust. These pollutants are seldom harmful. Indeed, they are often beneficial. Without atmosphere dust, for example, rain and show would never fall.
Nature easily handles her own forms of air pollution. Heavier pollutants soon settle out of the air. Rain one of nature’s most effective "antipollution devices", washes dust and other pollutants from the atmosphere.
Various natural cycles help maintain the atmosphere’s chemical balance. For example, animals and plants take oxygen from the air and release carbon dioxide. During photosynthesis, green plants remove carbon dioxide and give off water vapor and oxygen. Water vapor rises from the surfaces streams, lakes and seas. Excess water comes out of the atmosphere as dew, rain and snow.
Man’s activities threaten this natural system of checks and balances. Chimney, factories, airplanes and automobiles are discharging pollutants into the air at an ever-increasing rate. Many scientists fear that the cycles of the earth and the atmosphere may not to able to cope with this increased pollution.
Can air pollution kill you? There is little doubt that is at least a contributing factor in deaths from diseases such as emphysema and lung cancer. Evidence also indicates a strong relationship between air pollution and cardiovascular death, bronchitis, and all types of cancer. Death rates among elderly people or those who already have respiratory and hearth ailments increase sharply during periods of high air-pollution levels. Construction workers who inhale asbestos fibers may develop lung cancer.
In addition, we know that air pollutants irritate the eyes, throat and lungs, causing sore throats, coughing and so on. Children living in areas with high air-pollution levels have a greater incidence of asthma and eczema (a skin disease) than do children in less polluted areas.
Human beings are not the only living things harmed by air pollution. Many plants are also damaged. In fact, the effect on vegetation is often a clue to the existence of air pollutants that are not noticeable in other ways. Carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, sulfur compounds, metals, acid and ozone are serious treats to most vegetation. Plants absorb these pollutants through their leaves. The leaves may develop holes, become discolored. Eventually they may die. This may lead to the death of the entire plant.
(Adapted from The Book of Popular Science)

Myth of Ratu Kidul

Along time ago there was a famous king, by the name of King Mundingsari, who ruled the Kingdom of Pajajaran, West Java. He had a beautiful daughter, called Dyah Retno Suwedho.

The princess wanted to have greater power than her father, which incurred her father's displeasure. Therefore, he changed her daughter from a common human being into a spirit, ruling over the South-Sea. These were all the consequences of the curse uttered by the king: first, his daughter's power would be greater than his, but only there, in the South-Sea or Indian Ocean between Central and East Java; and second, later on the she would become the guardian of the kings of Java.

Ratu Kidul or the Queen of the South was extraordinarily beautiful, as beautiful as the fairy Wilutama, in the heavenly kingdom of the gods, and she was able to appear differently several times a day. Sometimes her face appeared old; at sunrise, she would appear as a maiden; at 9 a.m. as a bereaved widow; at 11 a.m. as a fairy at noon as Dewi Ngurawan, a goodess; and, exactly 12 o'clock as the Princes of Kediri. When the sun was setting in the west, she would look like Banowati, the Queen of Hastinapura; and, about 3 o'clock she would appear like Dewi Ratih, the goddess of love, and when in a blue mood she would appear like Dewi Kemuda.

The Queen of South was indeed more powerful than all genii or spirits, and she was able to change herself into a man as well as a woman. All spirits on the island of Java were submissive to her, except the King of he Spirits of Galuh. His name was Begawan Krendawahana, a Brahman at Guwatrusan. However, the bare fact was that the Queen of the South was spirit who had the appearance of a giantess as it was written in the History of Demak. At the time Sunan Kadilangu escorted Senopati to Kraton Kidul or Southern Place, he saw the Queen sleeping and snoring. Her body wa huge, with very large breasts, and, moreover, she was caked. Sunan Kadilangu advised Senopati was enchanted by her beauty, and made love to her, and even married her.

Up to now, it is believed that the Queen of the South has always been close to the kings of Java. For example, during the coronation of Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono X in 1989 some of the guests who attended the ceremony had seen her. It was said that she wore a transparent green "Kebaya" with a red inner cloth, a kind of long torso, and that she was very beautiful. She was said to present right among the guests.

The Southeast, The Land of Changes

The southeastern region is changing more rapidly than any other part of the United States – not because the land is new, but because the area’s old, exhausted land is being given new life.

The problem of the Southeast area bet illustrated by a story that goes back a decade before the turn of the century. The tale describes the funeral of a poor man. “They cut through solid marble to make his grave and yet the little marble tombstone they put above him was from Vermont. They buried him in the hearth of a pine forest, and yet his pine coffin came from Ohio. The South didn’t supply anything for that funeral except the body and the hole in the ground”.

A modern Southerner commented on this story: “We have added too little human skill to our raw materials”.

As both this comment and the fable both suggest, geography itself has been kind to the Southeast. The region is blessed with plentiful rainfall and mild climate. On most of its farmlands, crops can be grown without frost at least six moths of the year. A transportation artery, the Mississippi River and its southern branches, runs through the heart of the area, and other rivers are found near its coast. Crops grow easily in its soil, which is brown on the coastal plain, red on the low hillsides, and black in east Texas. The mountains contribute coal, waterpower, and rich valleys. Being abundant with subtropical fruits characterizes much of the Florida peninsula. And to have the States of Louisiana and Texas is an advantage for the Southeast because there lie some of the nation’s largest oil fields. Fisheries, forest, and minerals are other things that make the region naturally rich.

It is perhaps due to this favorable nature of the land the people feel they do not have to build any industries to help their economy.

However since the end of World War II, there has been a great upturn in the region’s economic fortunes. What people see there after many years’ absence is astonishing improvements: new roads, bridges and factories: new schools, hospitals and community centers.

Today, the Southeast is experiencing a surge of industrial development, although average income and standard of living remain lower than any other region of the nation. However, economist predict that in the next decade the standard of living will rise substantially with the increase in population, jobs and industry attracted by the relatively lower cost of land, energy and labor. Industries ranging from solar research to chemical technology are moving to the Southeast for example, creating blue and white-collar jobs, gas stations, and TV-repair shops. Only four percent of southern workers remain employed by agriculture. Yet the South’s extensive woodlands, rich farmlands and agrarian heritage give Southerners a sense of tradition, history and regional identification that remains resistance to the encroaching values of modern industrial society.

(From Earl N. Mittleman’s An Outline of American Geography)


 

Bedaya and Srimpi

Bedaya and Srimpi, the Java dances, which are usually performed by girls, are feudal in spirit. Both had exixted before Surakarta and Yogyakarta styles came into existence. They probably dated back to the 16th century. In official ceremonies the bedaya dances usually carry the articles of the royal ceremony. These two dances have been preserved both in the courts of Surakarta including Mangkunegaran, and Yogyakarta including Pakualaman and have become the pride of both courts. It is noteworthy, however there is an essential difference in style between the two dances.

The bedaya is a woman's dance without a dialogue performed by nine female dancers. The background of the non-dialogue dances is a legendary event performed with such symbolic movements that the laymen can not easily understand. Examples of famous bedayas are the Bedaya Ketawang, Bedaya Semang, Bedaya Bedah Madiun and Bedaya Arjunawiwaha. The Bedaya Ketawang was created by Sulatan Agung, king of Mataram in the first of the 17th century. The Bedaya Ketawang describe the myth of the meeting between Sultan Agung and Ratu Rara Kidul or Queen of the South Sea. According to a Javanese legend, Sultan Agung, the greatest king of Mataram, united himself in a holy union with the myth cal Ratu Rara Kidul, the ruler of the South Sea. This meeting resulted in a close family bond between all the succeeding kings of Mataram and Ratu Kidul. On special occasions, such as in wars, the king of Mataram might ask the help of the invisible army of Ratu Rara Kidul.

After Mataram kingdom was divided into Surakarta and Yogyakarta, King Hamengku Buwono II created another bedaya dance resembling the Bedaya Ketawang called Bedaya Semang at the end of the 18th century. Since then, however the Yogyakarta court has no longer performed the Bedaya Ketawang.

In addition to these two bedayas, there is another bedaya dance called Bedaya Bedah Mediun, which depicts the suppression of the rebellion launched by the regent of Madiun against the king of Mataram. Still another bedaya dance is the Bedaya Arjunawiwaha picturing the marriage between Arjuna and the nymph Suprabha.

Another women's dance of the court is the srimpi dance performed by four girls. This dance describes a battle between two important female warriors, the protagonists and two other being the antagonists. There is no dialogue in this srimpi dance and the story is drawn from the Islamic period. There is srimpi dance, which depicts a battle between two princes in the Menak strory, i.e. Princess Sirtufilaleli and Princess Sudarawerti. There is also another srimpi dance, which is performed not by four but by five girls, and describes not a fight, but a love scene. Another Srimpi dance called Renggawati dance describes the way in which Princes Renggawati catches a Meliwis Putih bird, the personification of her lover, King Anglingdarma.

The srimpi dance named after gending or melody accompanying them. For instance, Srimpi Pandelori is a dance, which is accompanied by gending Pandelori.

Like in the bedaya dance, the movements in the srimpi dance are so symbolic and refined that it is difficult for the common people to understand. The number of the srimpi dancers symbolizes the four points of compass north, south, east and west.
At present, neither the bedaya nor the srimpi dance is popular among the public. But, they are still maintained especially by Surakarta and Yogyakarta choreographers.