Turkish Forum

Category: South Asia

  • Turkish NATO peacekeepers to stay in Afghanistan another year | Reuters

    Turkish NATO peacekeepers to stay in Afghanistan another year | Reuters

    (Reuters) – Turkish peacekeepers will remain in Afghanistan’s capital Kabul until at least November 2013 after the military agreed to extend its mandate as part of a NATO force by a year, the Turkish military said on Thursday.

    Turkish soldiers took over the Kabul regional command as part of NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in November 2009. The military said in a statement that mission had been extended for a year from November 1, 2012.

    The war in Afghanistan, which has failed to defeat the Taliban after more than a decade of fighting, has strained budgets and lost public support in Western nations.

    NATO has said it plans to shift full responsibility for security across the country to Afghan forces by the middle of next year and then withdraw most of the alliance’s 130,000 combat troops by the end of 2014.

    U.S. President Barack Obama has championed a gradual exit of the allied force which does not leave Afghans feeling abandoned, but France has vowed to pull its troops out by the end of the year, two years ahead of the alliance’s timetable.

    (Reporting by Seltem Iyigun; Writing by Nick Tattersall; Editing by Sophie Hares)

    via Turkish NATO peacekeepers to stay in Afghanistan another year | Reuters.

  • Turkish Airline Flying Al-Qaeda from Pakistan to Syrian Borders

    Turkish Airline Flying Al-Qaeda from Pakistan to Syrian Borders

    Turkish Airline Flying Al-Qaeda from Pakistan to Syrian Borders

    TEHRAN (FNA)- Turkey’s national air carrier, Turkish Air, has been transiting Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants from North Waziristan in Pakistan to the Turkish borders with Syria, sources revealed on Saturday, mentioning that the last group were flown to Hatay on a Turkish Air Airbus flight No. 709 on September 10, 2012.

    		A1123850

    “The Turkish intelligence agency sent 93 Al-Qaeda and Taliban terrorists from Waziristan to Hatay province near the border with Syria on a Turkish Air Airbus flight No. 709 on September 10, 2012 and via the Karachi-Istanbul flight route,” the source told FNA on Saturday, adding that the flight had a short stop in Istanbul.

    The 93 terrorists transited to the Turkish border with Syria included Al-Qaeda militants from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Yemen, Pakistan, Afghanistan and a group of Arabs residing in Waziristan, he added.

    The source, who asked to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of his information, further revealed that the Turkish intelligence agency is coordinating its measures with the CIA and the Saudi and Qatari secret services.

    FNA dispatches from Pakistan said new al-Qaeda members were trained in North Waziristan until a few days ago and then sent to Syria, but now they are transferring their command center to the borders between Turkey and Syria as a first step to be followed by a last move directly into the restive parts of Syria on the other side of the border.

    The al-Qaeda, backed by Turkey, the US and its regional Arab allies, had set up a new camp in Northern Waziristan in Pakistan to train Salafi and Jihadi terrorists and dispatched them to Syria via Turkish borders.

    “A new Al-Qaeda has been created in the region through the financial and logistical backup of Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and a number of western states, specially the US,” a source told FNA earlier this month.

    Ali Mahdian told FNA that the US and the British governments have been playing with the al-Qaeda through their Arab proxy regimes in the region in a bid to materialize their goals, specially in Syria.

    He said the Saudi and Qatari regimes serve as interlocutors to facilitate the CIA and MI6 plans in Syria through instigating terrorist operations by Salafi and Arab Jihadi groups, adding that the terrorists do not know that they actually exercise the US plans.

    “Turkey has also been misusing extremist Salafis and Al-Qaeda terrorists to intensify the crisis in Syria and it has recently augmented its efforts in this regard by helping the new Al-Qaeda branch set up a camp in Northern Waziristan in Pakistan to train Al-Qaeda and Taliban members as well as Turkish Salafis and Arab Jihadis who are later sent to Syria for terrorist operations,” said the source.

    He said the camp in Waziristan is not just a training center, but a command center for terrorist operations against Syria.

    Yet, the source said the US and Britain are looking at the new Al-Qaeda force as an instrument to attain their goals and do not intend to support them to ascend to power, “because if Salafi elements in Syria ascend to power, they will create many problems for the US, the Western states and Turkey in future”.

    “Thus, the US, Britain and Turkey are looking at the Al-Qaeda as a tactical instrument,” he said, and warned of the regional and global repercussions of the US and Turkish aid to the Al-Qaeda and Salafi groups.

    “Unfortunately, these group of countries have just focused on the short-term benefits that the Salafis and the Al-Qaeda can provide for them and ignore the perils of this support in the long run,” he said.

    “At present, the western countries, specially Britain which hosts and controls the Jihadi Salafi groups throughout the world are paving the ground for these extremists to leave their homes – mostly in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the Untied Arab Emirates (UAE) as well as those who live in Europe and the US – for Waziristan,” the source added.

    In relevant remarks, Syrian Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi last week blamed certain states, the Salafis and the Al-Qaeda for terrorist operations which have claimed the lives of thousands of people in his country, and said terrorist groups supported by certain foreign actors are misusing differences in his country to bring Syria into turmoil.

    Addressing the 16th heads-of-state summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) here in Tehran on Thursday, the Syrian premier noted terrorist attacks on his nation, and said the “terrorists are backed up by certain foreign states”.

    “Many countries allege to be supporting peaceful solutions in Syria, but they oppose Annan’s plan in practice,” he said, and cautioned, “The responsibility for the failure of this plan lies on their shoulder as they strove to keep the Syrian crisis going and falsified events.”

    “The world should know that the Syrian crisis, in fact, rises from foreign meddling. Certain well-known countries from inside and outside the region are seeking instability of Syria,” the Syrian prime minister complained.

    Elaborating on the recent developments in Syria, al-Halqi said, “It has been proved that foreign-backed terrorist groups have been misusing events and killing the innocent people.”

    “These terrorists include Salafis and Al-Qaeda Takfiri groups,” he reiterated, and added, “Those states that support terrorism and oppose talks should be given moral and economic punishments as they are part of the problem in Syria.”

    Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011 with organized attacks by well-armed gangs against Syrian police forces and border guards being reported across the country.

    In October, calm was eventually restored in the Arab state after President Assad started a reform initiative in the country, but Israel, the US and its Arab allies are seeking hard to bring the country into chaos through any possible means. Tel Aviv, Washington and some Arab capitals have been staging various plots in the hope of stirring unrests in Syria once again.

    The US and its western and regional allies have long sought to topple Bashar al-Assad and his ruling system. Media reports said that the Syrian rebels and terrorist groups have received significantly more and better weapons in recent weeks, a crime paid for by the Persian Gulf Arab states and coordinated by the United States.

    The US daily, Washington Post, reported in May that the Syrian rebels and terrorist groups battling the President Bashar al-Assad’s government have received significantly more and better weapons in recent weeks, a crime paid for by the Persian Gulf Arab states and coordinated by the United States.

    The newspaper, quoting opposition activists and US and foreign officials, reported that Obama administration officials emphasized the administration has expanded contacts with opposition military forces to provide the Persian Gulf nations with assessments of rebel credibility and command-and-control infrastructure.

    Opposition activists who several months ago said the rebels were running out of ammunition said in May that the flow of weapons – most bought on the black market in neighboring countries or from elements of the Syrian military in the past – has significantly increased after a decision by Saudi Arabia, Qatar and other Persian Gulf states to provide millions of dollars in funding each month.

    Special Thanks to: FNA Bureau in Islamabad, FNA Bureau in Kabul, FNA Bureau in Damascus

  • Afghanistan Bans YouTube over Prophet Mohammad Video

    The Afghanistan government banned Google’s YouTube today in an attempt to stop its citizens from watching a U.S.-made film insulting the Prophet Mohammad, according to the Ministry of Communications. This particular video has sparked protests in Egypt and Libya and also led to the killing of four Americans. The U.S. ambassador to Libya and three embassy staff were killed while running from a consulate building in Benghazi, which was stormed by gunmen later tied to the militant Islamist organization al Qaeda.

    “We have been told to shut down YouTube to the Afghan public until the video is taken down,” Aimal Marjan, general director of Information Technology at the ministry, told Reuters. In a second report, Reuters said Marjan declined to say if the goal of Afghanistan’s YouTube ban was to prevent Muslims from being offended or to curb violence.

    The film is titled “Innocence of Muslims” and portrays the Prophet as a womanizer and a religious fake. The man who created it, an Israeli-American, describes Islam as a “cancer.” The video has received very contrasting reactions all over the world.

    Afghan President Hamid Karzai unsurprisingly condemned it, saying its producers had done a “devilish act.” He also noted that insulting Islam was not protected by freedom of speech in his country. Meanwhile, US pastor Terry Jones, whose plans to burn the Koran triggered deadly riots in Afghanistan in 2010, approved of the film, and even went as far as promoting it.

    The Afghan government strongly condemned the making of the film as “inhuman and insulting,” deemed it offensive to Islam, and expressed “disgust” for it, according to a statement from the Afghan presidency cited by the AFP. Those in power also said “the heinous act of the filmmaker and fanatic pastor hurts the feelings of the Islamic world”.

    This is not the first time material and actions deemed insulting to Islam have sparked deadly riots in Afghanistan, but it is the first time that it has resulted in YouTube being blocked. The video-sharing site has previously been blocked in China, Morocco, Thailand, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, and Libya, among others.

    Image credit: stock.xchng

    via Afghanistan Bans YouTube over Prophet Mohammad Video.

  • It Can not happen to Me Chapter 18

    It Can not happen to Me Chapter 18

    IT CAN NOT HAPPEN TO ME.  GUESS WHAT?  IT WILL!!!

    Chapter 18

    The SHADY SIDE OF SILVER

    While everyone seems to ignore the casino atmosphere of the securities markets worldwide, there is a time bomb about to explode.

    The volatility of the silver futures market is like bungee jumper without a rope.

    It seems a complex game, but when you break it down, we all going to pay the devil. We all know it is wrong, but few speak up.

    For starters , The Federal Reserve Board of the United States and other central bankers around the world are keeping their funds which they transact business with other member banks artificially low.   This was done during the banking crisis, but they have failed investigate the abuses.

    One glaring abuse is a major bank can “borrow” a million dollars and with high frequency trades [i]and short the  silver contracts on the COMEX .[ii] They are selling contracts that they do not own. Another scheme is to place factious orders to sell to scare the buyers away. This drops the bids temporarily low. In an nano second the computers cancels the sells and instead buy at the depressed prices. These trades place an artificial cap on the price. Now the computers , some instances are trading among themselves with no human benefit.

    AS is the case of silver, the industrial demand far outstrips the world’s supply. The total amount used is 755.7 million ounces. Here is the breakdown for industrial uses. One can quickly observe that over half is for industrial use.

    Silver has unlimited applications in science, industry and art plus investments. Total demand in 2010 was 487.4 million ounces for industrial use only. 167 million ounces were used  for jewelry and 101.3 million ounces  were used in medals and coins which were probably increased in 2012 because of the Olympics. Silver is used 1000 ounce bars for industrial use. There is about 1.25 billion ounces of silver in the entire world in 1000 bars. These bars are not just floating to be plucked out of thin air. They are often broken down for use in computers and solar panels and mirrors just to name a few.

    J P Morgan Chase was reported to be short 95 million ounces as of August 18, 2012. The 8 largest silver traders are short 40.9% of the entire COMEX future trading on a net basis. These contracts are in 1000 ounce bars. This will take over 100 trading days for them to cover(buy back) their shorts sales. This could be the straw that broke the camel’s back as far as inflation is concerned.

    When industrial users discover they might have a delivery problem they more than likely double order. This in itself will put added pressure on the shorts and send silver on a par with gold. There is three times more gold around than silver. If silver ever reached the price of gold, forget the Euro and everything else. Heaven Forbid!!!

    What one can do. Own silver  for cash only. NOW

    What the authorities must do  worldwide.

    Raise Interest rates NOW.

    Abolish margin rates NOW.

    Bring back the uptick rule NOW.

    Reinstate the usury laws NOW.

    Hire outside Law firms  that will sue or try violators ona contingency basis. There only fee will be a fee based upon a predetimined percentage of the judgement. If they loose – no fee.  This will give would be violators second thoughts of breaking laws.  

    Finally go back to chapter one and review every chapter that I have written so far

    Cheerio !!!

       

    COMEX(Commodity and metal exchange) offers gold, silver, copper and aluminum contracts as well as FTSE Eurotop 100 and 300 stock indices.

     

    [ii] High frequency trades (HFT) are done by computing an allogrintem into a computer program that will trade silver contracts in nano seconds. This can also be done by posting factious offerings to scare away would be buyers causing the security to drop in value quickly. Then in a nano second it will buy back  the security. The difference in sale price and buy price is the profit. Using a million dollars on margin;  fractional change in price can be a tidy sum. It is estimated that 80 to 90% of all trades are  now HFT’s.

  • It Can Happen to Me. Guess what? It Will ! Chapter 17 Breaking Up the Banks

    It Can Happen to Me. Guess what? It Will ! Chapter 17 Breaking Up the Banks

    IT CAN NOT HAPPEN TO ME. GUESS WHAT? IT WILL !!
    Chapter 17   Breaking Up the Banks.

    “A GREEDY MAN BRINGS TROUBLE TO HIS FAMILY, BUT HE WHO HATES BRIBES WILL LIVE.” PROVERBS 15:27       When an industry is at the top or number one it has no place to go but down. This has been my observation for over 55 years. In the US Army it is called OJT (On the Job Training).  WE as citizens going into our local bank should be warned   WATCH OUT- THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS FREE LUNCH.

    Albert Einstein said man’s greatest invention is compound interest. Banks love it when they can put it to  use to an unsuspecting public.  Any funds one gets to work down the principal will find that it has expanded.  At some point one will not be able to pay that principal or off.

    A funny thing happen on the way to the bank. They did it to themselves. Easy credit will kill the goose every time. You see in order to gain more wealth , banks had to issue more debt in order to lend more.  GREED – it is a killer. Once one starts making and spending money; one needs more. It is at the very top that one takes chances in order to gain more. Usually these chances are at the detriment of us the average citizen trying to provide for a family.

    The names of Corzine, LIBOR, JP Morgan-Chase; Dimon and Weill mean little to the average citizen-until  they want to pay off debt. This is when the “Rule of 72” comes into play. It is very simple. Just divide the interest rate you are paying into 72.  Your answer is how many years the bank is doubling its money on you. So if you are paying an 8% mortgage for 30 years divided by 72 is every 9 years. To me that seems fair because you are using the banks money.  Credit cards can work on a monthly basis and now one is “going where no man has gone before”-STAR TREK. Once a debt is in outer space it is up to the courts (and the courts have to follow the law) the debtor is a pawn to spineless attorneys who seek a quick reward for returning a pittance to the lender. This is legal larceny and a USURY law supported by all nations would halt this practice and create more jobs and distribute more wealth over a wider area.

    Once a bank has you in their indebtedness you lose your freedom. The more debt you take on; the deeper the hole you are in. If you are a lawmaker, one should open their safe deposit boxes. IN the days of yesteryear, politicians would accept tax free municipal bonds, but today they have to be registered. Now one finds cash that has been unreported?

    So Nothing big can happen until elections are held, because it is more likely that the legislators involved with any kind of finances are on the take. So our votes are very important. We must elect enough new members that a group can control any committee. This has to be done in a bipartisan spirit.

    So to break up the banks in a meaningful term we must have a majority turnover in world wide elections.  WE must enforce a strong Usury Law for the protection of us all.

    When JP Morgan has outrageous short positions in Gold and Silver futures on the COMEX and the CFTC is powerless to enforce them against this giant bank. The CFTC entire budget is around $200-$300 million while JP Morgan could spend $5 billion defending their illegal position. When a giant bank can out maneuver their government of laws – the bank should be broken up rather quickly.

    My next chapters will have to do with the brokerage and financial management part of the break up.

  • What Goes Around Must Come Around Chapter16

    What Goes Around Must Come Around Chapter16

    WHAT GOES AROUND MUST COME AROUND

    IT CAN NOT HAPPEN TO ME. GUESS WHAT? It will !!!

    Chapter 16

    On February 10, 1941 then Senator Harry S Truman made a speech telling the [1]Senate what he had found on his investigations of government waste in the war effort.  The Senate passed his resolution and authorized $15,000 and made him Chairman.

    That was the beginning of the “Truman Commission.” It saved the taxpayers over $15 BILLION dollars and saved thousands of soldiers lives. FDR even encouraged Truman to look into certain areas. Every report made by the committee was unanimous. During the course of the war the committee’s budget was increased from the initial $15,000 to $300,000. That is amazing considering how today this congress is so divided.

    Because of his positive efforts as a fine senator FDR chose him to become his vice President when he ran for a fourth term.

    Truman felt that people dealing with government funds , whether they are local, state or national have very little respect for those funds.

    It is my belief that when you have a boom period, people become very sloppy because IT IS NOT THEIR MONEY.   Then when times are tough which is usually the case after a boom period- good times can not last forever-they get too dependant upon those loose funds and create clever schemes to cover up their begotten gains.

    A perfect example of this is what went on with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac the two giant government mortgage agencies that are now controlled by the Federal Housing Finance Agency at the cost of over $150billion. They (bureaucrats) are trying to figure out what to do with them.  These entities should be closed down immediately. The mortgages, if found, should be returned to the originating bank and serviced there interest free. I believe this is one of the reasons Collateralized mortgages (CMO”s) and derivatives were created as another way to fleece the public. The firms that created these monster fraud vehicles should be the ones to pay and forced to leave the business. This is a process of power and corruption. What goes around comes around. Too big to Fail should mean too big to save. The public worked hard to save and invest for a home, it is the politicians and the bureaucrats that squandered their savings and ruined their dreams. They are trying to muddy the thought process by bringing up the fact that there are some folks who have been paying. If they can pay the principal then forgive the interest payments. Give them a second chance – not the politicians.

    Some of these instruments have been traded into oblivion and should be trashed with the creator of these funny money obligations taking the loss. That is if they can be found. This will ultimately be a good savory bone for the beleaguered savings industry.

    When a mortgage was submitted to the Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac those funds left the local community and fleeced the pockets of bureaucrats inWashingtonD.C…Simply put – more fingers tasting the pie.

    IT BEHOOVES EVERY NEWLY ELECTED POLITICIAN IN EVERY DECOCRATIC FORM OF GOVERNMENT WORLDWIDE TO INVESTIGATE FOR WASTE AND CORRUPTION IN THEIR COUNTIRES.  Some agencies should be dropped and other downsized and maybe some increased. The main purpose is to recover ill-gotten gains even if they were transferred to other entities. This will help bring down government deficits and reduce government debt. If Harry Truman’s committee saved billions of dollars in the early 1940’s; think of all the moneys that can be saved today. One of the wealthiest cities in the world today is WASHINGTON.DC.

    Governments should not get into the people’s business, but they must set fair and honest rules so the participants are guaranteed an equal chance. Participants that break the rules should be severely punished.

     

    [1] Plain Speaking An Oral biography of Harry S Truman, Chapter 13

    Merle Miller