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But the lack of funds is currently so severe that Amatullah does not know if they will make it through March. Staff are currently volunteering their time to do essential jobs like taking orders and keeping the client database at both pantries. Amatullah claims this way of working is not sustainable.
The NCPreps.com website has announced its all-state football teams for the 2013 season for the 2A and 3A divisions. There is a heavy Cleveland County presence.
The 2A state champion Shelby Golden Lions had three players picked for their classification's all-star unit. Senior offensive guard Patrick Carter, sophomore wideout Antwan Wright and junior linebacker Garrion Addison were selected.
On the 3A side, Crest junior defensive end Omar Brooks was chosen from the 3AA runner-up Chargers. Burns High senior offensive tackle Josh Ramseur was also picked for NCPreps all-state honors.
The leaked reports over the past two weeks of a series of meetings between U.S. officials and a Taliban figure close to leader Mullah Omar seemed to point to real progress toward a negotiated settlement of the war in Afghanistan.
But in fact the talks are part of a Barack Obama administration strategy aimed at putting pressure on the Taliban leadership in part by dividing it from Pakistan as well as bolstering Obama’s domestic support for the war.
Senior administration officials hope to use the talks to sow suspicion between the Taliban and its main ally, thus weakening the Taliban’s resolve to negotiate on a peace settlement only if the United States offers a timetable for troop withdrawal.
Afghan and German officials have said that U.S. officials met three times in Qatar and Germany in recent months with Tayyeb Agha, an aide of the top Taliban leader Mullah Omar, according to reports in the Washington Post and Der Spiegel.
Agha is about as close to Mullah Omar as any official in the Taliban. He has long been Omar’s “head of office” and a “very close confidant,” according to Thomas Ruttig of the Afghanistan Analysts Network.
The Hamid Karzai regime was fully briefed on those “exploratory” meetings, but Pakistani officials have been kept in the dark as part of a strategy of sowing discord between Pakistan and the Taliban leadership.
That strategy began to emerge when UK Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Mark Sedwill visited Pakistan last week.
He was clearly hoping to rattle the Pakistani military leadership and civilian government, which have complained in the past that they have not been told about contacts with the Taliban. Sedwill’s carefully worded statement hinted that talks with the Taliban were moving toward an accord between the Taliban and the Karzai government without Pakistan’s participation, thus playing into Pakistan’s worst fears.
He said various channels are now open to the Taliban, and that no single entity is fully aware of these talks. That was clearly intended to imply that the Taliban is already involved in secret talks with Karzai.
That unusually harsh and even condescending language sought to convey the U.S.-British intention to freeze Pakistan out of the diplomatic action, despite earlier assurances that Pakistan would be fully involved in the peace process.
That policy obviously seeks to increase the tensions between the Taliban and the Pakistani military. They share an interest in an outcome in Afghanistan that reflects greater Taliban influence over the country’s politics, but Taliban leaders and commanders have long resented their dependence on Pakistan.
The Pakistani military, meanwhile, is believed to have worried that the Taliban will reach an accord with Karzai at Pakistan’s expense. It is well known that the Taliban prefers to have an office outside Pakistan that could be used as a venue for peace talks, free from direct Pakistani interference.
But the reality of the U.S.-Taliban talks does not support the line being promoted so aggressively by Washington through its British ally. Nor is the Taliban likely to cut Pakistan out of the loop on their talks with the United States and Karzai.
For one thing, the United States is still unwilling to offer the Taliban an office in Turkey or elsewhere. Instead, as Sedwill revealed in Islamabad last week, that concession, as well as the removal of Taliban leaders from the United Nations “blacklist,” will only be granted in return for “confidence-building” measures by the Taliban side.
But the idea that Taliban will give up what would be one of the last concessions in talks before the United States has even begun to negotiate reflects an assessment of the bargaining position of the two sides that is not shared by those outside the Obama administration.
Both the Taliban and the Pakistani military appear to believe that the Taliban has a stronger bargaining position at this point than Obama.
Last month, Pakistan’s foreign secretary, Salman Bashir, challenged the premise of the Obama administration that U.S. military pressure is altering the balance of power in Afghanistan in Washington’s favor.
The Taliban, meanwhile, has made it clear in private contacts with representatives of the Karzai regime that it won’t negotiate with either the United States or Karzai without a public indication from the United States that it will negotiate the withdrawal of U.S. and NATO troops.
A member of the executive board of Karzai’s High Peace Council, Mohamad Ismail Qasem Yar, told IPS that the Taliban had insisted in contacts with Afghan officials on one precondition for peace talks. “There is one thing that they want to make clear and they want to be sure of, which is a deadline for the withdrawal,” he said.
In public statements, however, the Taliban continues to insist that it won’t negotiate as long as foreign troops occupy the country. Michael Semple, who was deputy to the European Union special representative for Afghanistan from 2004 to 2007, observes that the idea of jihad against foreign troops is important to the morale of the Taliban fighters and their supporters.
Even though Taliban officials may be distrustful of Pakistan and may now feel more vulnerable because of the killing of Osama bin Laden by U.S. special forces, they are not likely to be panicked into making concessions to Washington.
Although it was widely believed that Pakistan detained Mullah Baradar and other high Taliban officials, including Tayyeb Agha, in early 2010 because of the suspicion that the Taliban was talking with the Karzai regime behind their backs, the real reasons for the arrests suggest a different worry.
Baradar was picked up in a joint ISI-CIA operation, but it was later reported by U.S. sources that neither intelligence agency had known in advance that Baradar would be at the site of the raid.
In any case, Baradar, Agha, and the other key Taliban officials were later released, suggesting that the Pakistanis were primarily concerned with averting their capture and detention by the United States. Pakistani warnings to the Taliban against contacts with the Karzai regime that were not coordinated with ISI could obviously be communicated without temporary detention.
The widely-publicized U.S. talks with the Taliban also serve a domestic political function for Obama. One U.S. official told the Washington Post that Obama would cite the talks with the Taliban in his mid-year policy announcement as evidence that he was making good on Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s promised to produce negotiations.
Walid Fazly contributed reporting from Kabul.
Next Next post: Worse Than a Third Bush Term?
Baseball legend Hank Aaron once said, “It took me seventeen years to get three thousand hits in baseball. It took one afternoon on the golf course.” This statement of humor and good fun is very much in keeping with the spirit of Hill Top Equine Therapy’s 4th Annual Pasture Golf Tournament fundraiser. The cost to sign up is $100 per team of four, and all proceeds will go to United Way of South Central Oklahoma.
Director Dan Corr described the unique event.
“I set up eight or ten holes throughout the pasture,” Corr said. “Then teams of four head out with one club and a tennis ball.” Participants will also be able to strategize based on the wide variety of “clubs” being offered.
“I don’t care if it’s a stick or a cane,” Corr said. From there the teams partake in a light-hearted competition to be named winner, and the fun will not end even after the tournament is over. Everyone involved in the event will then be able to join in a hot dog roast around an open fire, and Corr will also be hooking up a team of horses to offer hay rides around the ranch.
Horses are obviously the key component to Hill Top Equine Therapy. The organization works primarily with children that have various challenges such as Cerebral Palsy, Down Syndrome, Spinal Bifida and numerous other conditions. Corr described how working with the animals helps build confidence and social skills.
“The horses are such a natural therapy within themselves,” Corr said. “We see some pretty amazing things happen.” He went on to describe some of the benefits of the curriculum.
To help draw the talent out, Corr patiently teaches the children how to properly care for the horses and get them into their gear.
“Through repetition and consistency, they all learn a lot,” Corr said. “Somebody just has to take the time to work with them.” Once they have mastered everything they can physically and mentally achieve, then the students have the responsibility to take care of “their” horse. For example, one girl has Cerebral Palsy and she does all of her own grooming. Corr only steps in to help with the high spots she cannot reach on her own.
Students ride their horses through mazes built in the covered riding area and out into the pasture during nice weather. The horseback riding provides the children with great exercise and also an opportunity to socialize.
To reserve space for your team, contact Dan Corr at (580) 220-7444; however, anyone is welcome to show up at Hill Top Equine Therapy at 9435 N. Meridian in Lone Grove at 11 a.m. Saturday morning as well. Individuals without a team are also encouraged to attend at the cost of $25 per person. The tournament begins at noon.
One of the perks of working at a university is the ability to look over students’ shoulders and see what they are reading. If one of those students is Sureshkumar Nair, a senior Indian government official here at the Sanford School’s Master of International Development program, you are sure to see something interesting. This week’s readings are inspired by one of his papers.
The article that first captured his – and my – attention is from The New York Times on February 8, 2017, Joyous Africans Take to the Rails, with China’s Help. The article is about how the Chinese designed, built, and financed a 466-mile line between Djibouti and Addis Ababa—the first transnational electric railway in Africa. Meanwhile, Power Africa, a USAID initiative launched by President Obama in 2013 to provide 60 million new electricity connections (600 million Africans do not have electricity), is falling short of its goals.
China’s global ambitions and expanding economic influence are surveyed by Clifford Krauss and Keith Bradsher. China’s government appears to be “seizing the opportunity” to extend its influence, not just in Africa but in countries like Ecuador, in America’s backyard. These investments have already made China the largest donor in many parts of the world, a rise that is captured stunningly in The World According to China. The graphs alone are worth your time.
There has been lots of discussion about China’s approach. If you are unfamiliar with the naysayers’ arguments, here is one that reckons that the game for China is “heads I win, tails you lose”.
But take a look also at AidData’s Tracking Chinese Development Finance website. It provides the latest numbers and early assessments of the quality of China’s assistance in Africa. One of them shows that African leaders direct Chinese aid to places of their own ethnicity; in contrast, World Bank assistance shows no such favoritism. Another assessment is more encouraging: political considerations don’t shape China’s aid allocations any more than those of western donors.
What makes all this especially relevant today is the contrast between attitudes about trade in Washington and Beijing. President Trump has made his dislike for trade deficits and foreign aid obvious.
But the U.S. was losing ground long before Mr. Trump came to Washington. In 2009, China overtook the U.S. as Africa’s biggest trading partner (In Trade with Africa, US Playing Catch-up). The U.S. could start turning things around by making distinctions between its trade deficits with different parts of the world. You want to run trade deficits with Africa, but not necessarily with Europe and Japan (and perhaps even China).
The new government in Washington should be paying more attention to trade and investment agreements like the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). AGOA was introduced in 1999 by a Republican congressman, signed into law by a Democratic president in 2000, and renewed and broadened subsequently by two more presidents—one a Republican and the other a Democrat.
NEW YORK (AP) — Elm Pet Foods is the latest maker of dog food to issue a recall over elevated levels of vitamin D, which can cause kidney failure at high enough levels.
Similar recalls have been issued by ANF Inc., Sunshine Mills Inc., Natural Life Pet Products, and Nutrisca over the last month.
Elm and others urge consumers to either dispose of or return several types of chicken and chickpea recipe dog food. They also urge dog owners to contact their veterinarian if the food was eaten.
Symptoms of vitamin D toxicity include vomiting, weight loss, increased urination and excessive thirst.
Specific details on individual brands can be found here.
A 38-year-old Briton has been jailed for an underage sexual relationship with a 15-year-old girl after her father uncovered evidence by planting monitoring software on her PC.
Nicholas Lovell, from Guildford, Surrey, coached the teenager while working as an ice hockey teacher in 2006. The relationship between the two raised earlier concerns and Lovell agreed to sign an agreement with police preventing him from contacting the girl, whose identity is being withheld.
The girl's parents remained concerned, especially when she became more withdrawn and started to lie about her movements, leading them into deciding to install a monitoring program called WebWatcher on her computer. The software recorded email and IM conversations between Lovell and the girl, providing enough evidence for police to arrest Lovell for breaking his agreement to stay away from the youngster.
Undocumented and living the American dream: will there be a border wall for DACA deal?
Hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants are collectively holding their breath, anxiously waiting to see if the fallout from the partial government shutdown will help them stay in the United States and one day become citizens.
CLEARWATER, Fla. — Hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants are collectively holding their breath, anxiously waiting to see if the fallout from the partial government shutdown will help them stay in the United States and one day become citizens.
Bella Rincon is one of the more than 800,000 dreamers: a group of undocumented immigrants that received protections through Deferred Action for Child Arrivals (DACA) program.
Rincon was born in Venezuela. Her parents brought her to the U.S. when she was 9-years-old. Rincon said she didn’t speak any English and was continuously bullied at school. Now, the confident and hardworking 28-year-old is fluent in two languages and running her own business.
“Sometimes I look at myself here in the store, and I’m like ‘oh my God this is mine.’ I did this with my business partner and both put our sweat and tears into it,” Rincon said.
Three months ago Rincon and her business partner Steven Gonzalez opened Southie Coffee in Clearwater. Rincon and Gonzalez are a two-person team. They both worked two jobs to save up enough money to open the business. And they both still work two jobs seven days a week.
“This is my home and just to think that everything I have could be taken away from me all of a sudden, just go back to a place that it is my home, but I don’t remember as my home, is very difficult,” Rincon said.
In 2012, former President Barack Obama issued the executive order to protect children who were brought to the U.S. illegally. The status of dreamers is now in legal limbo after President Donald Trump announced in 2017 its plan to phase out DACA.
“We are just like an American. We work hard, we pay our taxes, we are legal here pretty much,” Rincon said. “I feel like my story is inspirational, not only for dreamers but also for other Americans."
Rincon said she agrees with border security and wants something positive to come out of the government shutdown for all of the undocumented immigrants and U.S. citizens. For now, she’s thinking about the past, present, and more importantly her future.
Ibrahim Gambari meets detained Myanmar leader but fails to meet generals.
But UN sources said Gambari failed to meet Senior General Than Shwe or his deputy.
He looks forward to meeting Senior General Than Shwe, chairman of the State Peace and Development Council, before the conclusion of his mission," a UN statement said on Sunday.
A security official said Gambari met Suu Kyi on returning to Yangon.
"They held a meeting of about one hour and 15 minutes," the source said.
"I think all the people of Myanmar must act to get democracy for a better life"
"There must be a result from this visit," said Razali Ismail, a Malaysian diplomat and Gambari's predecessor as UN special envoy.
"[Gambari] must get a promise from the military that they will not shoot the people who express their views [on the streets]. We cannot let the people down," he said.
Bo Hla Tint, a former politician, told Al Jazeera that people in Myanmar expect the UN to find a solution to the crisis.
"People are expecting Gambari to stay as long as it takes to get tangible results," he said.
Four days of massive security operations have left at least 13 people dead and hundreds arrested, after the military government cracked down on weeks of protests that had escalated into the biggest challenge to their rule in 20 years.
The protests first erupted last month after a massive increase in fuel prices, but really took off two weeks ago with the emergence of the Buddhist monks on the front line and drew up to 100,000 people onto the streets last week.
A Japanese envoy has also left for Myanmar on Sunday to urge the military government to thoroughly investigate the killing of a Japanese journalist during an anti-government rally and not to use force to end the protests.
Video journalist Kenji Nagai, 50, was fatally wounded in Yangon on Thursday, apparently shot by a soldier firing at point-blank range.
"One [purpose] is to make sure there is a full investigation into the dreadful incident and to ensure the safety of Japanese nationals," Mitoji Yabunaka, deputy foreign minister, told reporters at Narita airport.
While the international community exerted diplomatic pressure, Myanmar's military government continued to tighten its hold over the streets.
Andrew Kirkwood of the Save The Children told Al Jazeera that the government seemed to be in control of Yangon on Sunday.
"But there is an atmosphere of high tension here," he said.
Two gatherings of a few hundred protesters each emerged at locations in Yangon on Saturday, but security forces quickly swooped with batons and beat them away.
Demonstrations led by monks are being tolerated elsewhere, including the religious capital of Mandalay, but supporters who attach themselves are being generally dispersed.
However in the central city of Pakokku, witnesses said monks led thousands of protesters in a peaceful two-hour march on Saturday that appeared to have been mounted with the approval of local authorities.
Dissidents said on Sunday they were looking for alternative venues to gather, away from the thousands of security forces massed in Yangon.
"We plan to go ahead with our movement," a source involved in the protests said.
Troops have blockaded many big monasteries, including in Mandalay, and monks are only allowed to move around in small groups.
Meanwhile, Myanmar's main internet connection has been cut since Friday, drastically reducing the flow of video, photos and first-hand reports of the violence which have helped inform the world of the crisis.
READING A MEMOIR is often like sharing an excruciatingly long cup of herbal tea with a particularly dopey stranger who has a life-affirming story to tell. But there is little solace to be found in Ken Dornstein's investigation into his older brother David's life and horrifying death aboard Pan Am flight 103 in 1988. In fact, I can't remember a single passage in The Boy Who Fell Out of the Sky (Random House, $24) that traffics in empty sentimentality or easy clichÃf©.
The series editor for PBS's Frontline, Dornstein has written a memoir that reads with the unflinching factual intimacy of a coroner's report. Want to know how a bomb goes about its gruesome business of ripping apart an airplane? So does Dornstein. Ever wondered if the passengers remain conscious when the plane begins to go down? So has Dornstein. He pursues the answers to these questions with a grim determination that is both uncomfortably obsessive and entirely fascinating.
Then, once he's satisfied with the terms of his brother's death, he turns his eye to his life. And here, too, he doesn't pull any punches. What emerges is far from hagiography--more portrait of the artist as a young fuckup. Boy wants to write. Boy's ambitions are greater than his talents. Boy is sensitive, thoughtful, petty, petulant. What we get is a particularly compelling account of a 25-year-old man's life. In this case, a 25-year-old who was seriously confused about the usual topics--love, work, family. Probably not a whole lot different than you were at 25. That is, until he wasn't.
In his exploration of this most universal bummer of a life interrupted, Dornstein has written a book that transcends its subject, becoming a meditation upon not only his brother's life but his own. All of ours.
Khalid has scored his first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart with Free Spirit, the follow-up to his 2017 debut project American Teen.
"My first number 1 album y’all I love u guys so much man holy fuckkk," he said to sum up his series of tweets in response to discovering the news.
Free Spirit had the fourth-largest week for an album in 2019, pulling in 202,000 equivalent album units with 85,000 coming from traditional album sales. The project's track equivalent album units totaled 6,000, while the streaming equivalent albums amounted to 111,000 units, which equate to 146.9 million on-demand audio streams for the album's tracks. Khalid's latest effort made him the highest-selling male solo artist this year.