RUSSIA THREATENS TO SUPPLY IRAN WITH TOP NEW MISSILE SYSTEM AS 'COLD WAR' ESCALATES

Phillip Sherwell and William Lowther

US intelligence fears the Kremlin will supply the sophisticated S-300 system to Tehran if Washington pushes through Nato membership for its pro-Western neighbours Georgia and Ukraine.

The proposed deal is causing huge alarm in the US and Israel as the S-300 can track 100 targets at once and fire on planes up to 75 miles away.

That would make it a "game-changer", greatly improving Iranian defences against any air strike on its nuclear sites, according to Pentagon adviser Dan Goure. "This is a system that scares every Western air force," he said.

Senior US intelligence operatives believe that Russia is planning to use a stand-off over the S-300 to create a foreign policy showdown that would test the mettle of a new US president.

More: http://www.thetruthseeker.co.uk/article.asp?ID=9255

ANWAR’S LANDSLIDE WIN: A FURTHER BLOW TO MALAYSIAN GOVERNMENT

John Roberts

Anwar Ibrahim, leader of the opposition Malaysian Peoples Front (PKR), won a hotly contested by-election for the seat of Permatang Pauh on Tuesday with 67 percent of the vote. The scale of the win in the northern state of Penang will see Anwar back in the national parliament for the first time in a decade and intensify the opposition’s confrontation with the government of Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi.

Anwar has set September 16 as the date by which he would form a new government by enticing government MPs to his side. The United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), which is the major party in the ruling 14-party Barisan Nasional (BN), has held power for more than half a century. The PKR alliance won 82 of the 222 seats in the national parliament in elections in March and needs 30 MPs to switch camps to bring down the government.

Anwar was unable to run for a seat in March due to a ban stemming from his conviction on trumped-up charges in 1999. His wife Wan Azizah Wan Ismail resigned her seat to create the by-election. Despite a malicious campaign against him, Anwar won 31,195 votes to 15,524 for the BN candidate Arif Shah Omar Shah—an increase of 3 percentage points from his wife’s result in March.

More: http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/aug2008/mala-a28.shtml

WHILE WE ARE BICKERING...OUR NATURAL RESOURCES ARE PLUNDERED OUR TERRITORY GOBBLED!

Remember the movie Chinatown starring Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway? The story is about the siphoning of underground water from one area to another in California and many got killed in that movie.

Stealing water has been going on since time immemorial and only Malaysia is not aware that we are being taken in by a big "con-job" to steal our underground precious resources.

Did you know that Malaysia is the second country in the world with the most underground water resources that can last for hundreds of years? And a country in South America is the first with the most.

Now why is this important? Well next to fossil fuel, water can just be the next reason for a country to be invaded and our neighbour from the south is ever ready to that. In fact they have set up a plan! Did you know that Johore's commercially and economically strategic Iskandar Development Region will sit on top of a big mass of land that belong to Malaysia that have the biggest, yes he BIGGEST mother lode of precious underground water and we are oblivious to it, that is because the Malay regime is not capable of looking 100 steps ahead nor is it capable of looking at things three dimensionally, in other words the Malay regime is not equipped to act and behave retroactively for the sake of the interest of the country.

We have lost Pedra Branca because of our incompetency and we are about to have a major scuffle with Singapore over Pulau Pisang. Never mind that!

Just consider this, if Iskandar Development Region is going to be controlled by Singapore rest assured our underground water resources will be siphon out without our great Umno leader knowing it, all these leaders see is money like prostitutes who can only see the RM sign on their potential customers.

A very classified map that I came across will show you that what Singapore wants is just our natural resources, bad enough we have to supply them with ground water and now they have a potential of invading this country over this precious natural resources, the H2O!

We have the power to stop southern Johore from being sold to others, because if they have it there is no stopping of them siphoning our water into the republic.

Think and stop the bickering! We are tired of it!

http://barkingmagpie.blogspot.com/2008/08/while-we-are-bickeringour-natural.html

SABAH MPS REJECT LOYALTY PLEDGE

KOTA KINABALU: Many of the 24 Sabah Barisan Nasional MPs are rejecting a move to get them to sign a loyalty pledge to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

State Barisan Backbenchers Club chairman Datuk Anifah Aman said the move proposed by Culture, Arts and Heritage Minister Datuk Shafie Apdal was an insult to the Sabah MPs. He added that the pledge should instead be signed by all Barisan MPs nationwide.

He said various Sabah MPs including himself had repeatedly voiced their loyalty to the Barisan leadership and pledged that they had no intention of crossing over to join the opposition.

“We did this during the Permatang Pauh campaign, on television and again in Kota Kinabalu. Is the frequency of denial equivalent to our loyalty?” said Anifah, the Kimanis MP and Kimanis Umno chief.

More:http://tunkuaisha.blogspot.com/2008/08/sabah-mps-reject-loyalty-pledge.html

NEXT EPISODE: CHANGE OF GOVERNMENT

Malaysia Day is barely three weeks away and that is the time frame that Anwar has to keep his claim that the country will get a new Government within the year. He has been adamant and insistent that he has the prerequisite number of MPs who will cross over.

Many doubt this while many others believe. Me? I will believe it when I see it but I do not think it is outside the realm of possibility because Anwar is a very persuasive person.

I think the whole country is sitting on the edge of the seat, waiting for the next development to take place and every day millions of conversations would centre on the possibility of a change in Government.

We may live to see the defining moment in Malaysian politics as the changes will have serious and far reaching ramifications not just on the power structure but on the lives of most Malaysians.

In one particular discussion over what to expect, should the Government be handed over to Anwar and his army of politicians, the three of us were in agreement that things may get uglier before it gets better.

More:http://marahku.blogspot.com/2008/08/next-episode-change-of-government.html

DEATH FROM THE SKIES

Brian Harring

South Ossetian officials accused Georgia on Sunday of building up military forces along the edge of South Ossetia and claimed a Georgian unit fired sporadically at villages overnight. There were no reports of casualties, but South Ossetian spokeswoman Irina Gagloyeva said residents were asking to be evacuated.

Georgian Security Council chief Alexander Lomaia denied that Georgian forces had fired any shots but said Russian forces were obligated to leave positions in the area, which is in Georgia.

Lomaia also said Russian forces were still holding 12 of 22 Georgian servicemen taken prisoner in Poti last week, including two Yemini Jews, disguised as Arabs. On one of these, Russian military intelligence interrogators found a packet of reports, wrapped in plastic and taped to the man’s back. This packet consisted of “the highest level security matters.”

This concerned the ongoing plan to base Israeli fighter-bombers at Marneuli military airbase, 20 kilometers south of Tbilisi and that these aircraft were intended for a special air raid on the Iranian capital city of Tehran. It was originally felt that six aircraft were to be utilized, three attacking the city itself and three to attack targeted Iranian oil facilities.

The captured Israeli’s papers, all written in Hebrew, when translated by the Russian GRU turned out to be somewhat different in nature. While one flight was indeed intended to attack various Iranian oil facilities, the second flight was planned to drop chemical warfare bombs on Tehran. These bombs, which were designed to blow open at a set altitude, were filled with weapons-grade anthrax and this anthrax, kept in a specially sealed box at the U.S. diplomatic offices in Tiblisi, came from Fr. Detrick in Maryland and their shipment had the approval of the President himself. Another twist to the bizarre plot was that the aircraft, made in the United States, were to have their Israeli marking masked with American markings and that these markings were to be applied in a water-based paint that could easily be hosed off when this flight returned to Georgia.

More: http://www.thetruthseeker.co.uk/article.asp?ID=9246

MILITARY OFFICERS TESTIFY THAT US SOLDIERS MURDERED IRAQI DETAINEES

Jerry White

Testimony presented to a US Army hearing in Germany this week detailed how three US noncommissioned officers executed four bound and blindfolded Iraqi detainees in Baghdad in April 2007. The four men—whose names have been withheld by the US military—were allegedly murdered and their bodies dumped on the banks of a canal.

Two noncommissioned officers— Sergeant First Class Joseph P. Mayo, the platoon sergeant, and Sergeant Michael P. Leahy Jr., Company D’s senior medic and acting squad leader, confessed to the killings and gave accounts of the event in signed statements to Army investigators in January.

The statements, obtained by the New York Times, described how each of the two soldiers killed one of the Iraqi detainees with a pistol shot to the back of the head, following the orders of First Sergeant John E. Hatley. Hatley shot the two other Iraqi men, the soldiers said, before ordering them to remove the bloody blindfolds and plastics handcuffs and shove the bodies into the canal.

More:http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/aug2008/iraq-a29.shtml

SABAH, SARAWAK MPS WILL NOT JUMP SHIP - SHAFIE APDAL

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 28 (Bernama) -- Unity, Culture, Arts and Heritage Minister Datuk Shafie Apdal has vehemently denied that Sabah MPs Datuk Eric Majimbun (Sepanggar) and Datuk Chua Soon Bui (Tawau) would jump ship to join Pakatan Rakyat.

"I have spoken to Eric Majimbun and Chua Soon Bui...I have met them and they have assured me that they are still with BN (Barisan Nasional)," said the MP for Semporna.

He said a letter containing the signatures of all MPs from both Sabah and Sarawak would be handed over to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi tomorrow as a show of their support (to the leadership).

"We will make our pledge and we will sign the pledge and hand it over to the prime minister just to ensure there will not be any speculation.

"Our stand is very clear so I hope there is no speculation. Don't listen to speculation made by (Parti Keadilan Rakyat advisor Datuk Seri) Anwar Ibrahim or anybody outside (the party)," added Shafie after meeting 20 MPs from Sabah and Sarawak at parliament lobby today. - BERNAMA

http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsindex.php?id=355910

OPPOSITION WALKOUT OF DEWAN RAKYAT OVER DNA BILL

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 28 (Bernama) -- All opposition Members of Parliament (MPs) walked out of the Dewan Rakyat sitting because they were not satisfied that the government did not entertain their call to refer the Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) Identification Bill 2008 to the Select Committee.

The proposal was made by R. Sivarasa (PKR-Subang) after the opposition claimed that there were many weaknesses and ambiguity in the bill tabled by the government on Tuesday.

It was also said that the bill was deliberately tabled by the government in a rush to victimise a particular individual.

It was the third time that the opposition MPs had walked out of the house since Parliament held its sitting after the March general election. – BERNAMA

http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsindex.php?id=355904

MALAYSIA BLOCKS ANTI-GOVERNMENT NEWS WEB SITE

Sean Yoong/AP

Malaysia has blocked access to a popular news Web site that has often run afoul of authorities for its sensational political reporting, sparking complaints Thursday (28 Aug) that the government has reneged on its pledge to keep cyberspace uncensored.

The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, the government's industry regulator, ordered local Internet service providers on Wednesday to cut off access to the Malaysia Today site, said a commission official who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

The site was deemed to have broken the law, the official said, adding that the commission would issue a formal statement with details later.

More: http://mt.harapanmalaysia.com/2008/content/view/11925/84/

RUSSIA: NATO INTERFERENCE MEANS WAR

Russia's ambassador to NATO has warned that any military interference in the Caucasus conflict will be considered as declaration of war.

In an interview with the Russian newspaper Vremya Novostei, Dmitry Rogozin, warned that any NATO attack on the Moscow-backed regions would "mean a declaration of war on Russia."

This is while the Russian President Dmitry Medvedev held talks with the Chinese President Hu Jintao in Tajikistan ahead of the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) which is taking place on Thursday.

Medvedev, "informed his Chinese colleague about the situation in South Ossetia and Abkhazia," AFP reported. The two men also discussed regional and international issues.

The SCO is an intergovernmental organization which was founded in 2001 by the leaders of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Iran holds an observer status in the SCO. This year's summit will also be attended by the presidents of the above mentioned nations on August 28.

http://www.thetruthseeker.co.uk/article.asp?ID=9239

WHY WAS CHENEY’S TOP GUY IN GEORGIA JUST BEFORE THE WAR?

What was a top national security aide to Vice President Dick Cheney doing in Georgia shortly before Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili's troops engaged in what became a disastrous fight with South Ossetian rebels – and then Russian troops?

Not, according to the vice president's office, what you might think – if your thinking takes you into the realm of Cheney giving his blessing to the Georgian's military operation.

To be sure, Cheney has been a leader of the hardliners in the administration when it comes to standing up to Russia – to the point that the man who ran the Pentagon as the Cold War came to an end during the administration of the first President Bush has been seen as ready to renew that face-off with Moscow.

It was Cheney who visited the Georgian embassy in Washington last week to sign a remembrance book as a demonstration of the administration's support.

And yes, Joseph R. Wood, Cheney's deputy assistant for national security affairs, was in Georgia shortly before the war began.

But, the vice president's office says, he was there as part of a team setting up the vice president's just-announced visit to Georgia. (It is common for the White House to send security, policy, communications and press aides to each site the president and vice president will visit ahead of the trip, to begin making arrangements and planning the agenda.)

The White House disclosed on Monday that Cheney would hurry over to Azerbaijan, Georgia, Ukraine and Italy next week, almost immediately after addressing the Republican National Convention on Labor Day.

More: http://www.thetruthseeker.co.uk/article.asp?ID=9238

KU LI: PP DEFEAT SHOWS UMNO MUST CHANGE

Today, five months after we met with the biggest General Election loss in our history, UMNO has suffered a landslide loss at Permatang Pauh. This despite the mobilization of the entire leadership and resources of a party that has held the machinery of government without pause for fifty years. This despite a campaign that embarrassed and divided the nation with its ugliness. It is time to face the music: it is we who have been buried:

- Our leadership is rejected by the rakyat and, moreover, is rejected by our own members. BN’s vote count was less than the number of UMNO members in the constituency.

- Within and among our component parties we ran a poorly coordinated and listless campaign against a motivated Opposition.

- What scraps of credibility the Prime Minister and his Deputy had left after March 8 are gone.

Today’s report card, delivered to a Prime Minister who is accountable also as Liaison Chief of UMNO Penang and Chairman of BN, is impossible to hide: he does not have the minimal credibility needed to run the country day by day, let alone to take it in the new directions we need to go in a complex world. He may not have the credibility needed to keep the country together. This dangerous situation cannot continue, and it will not.

I appeal to the members of UMNO and of BN’s component parties to stand by UMNO in our hour of crisis, and to take a sober historical perspective. The people of Malaysia and along with them, Umno’s ordinary members, have found their democratic voice. They demand leadership that can be trusted to unite our people, to restore confidence in our institutions, and forge a clear national direction. Today is proof that this wave cannot be held back. UMNO must change. We must begin by renewing our Party leadership. I am confident that by December, we shall. - Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah

http://rockybru2.blogspot.com/2008/08/ku-li-pp-defeat-shows-umno-must-change.html

SEARCHING FOR A NEW LEADERSHIP

This is the excellent foppery of the world, that when we are sick in fortune (often the surfeits of our own behaviour) we make guilty of our disasters the sun, the moon, and stars: as if we were villains on necessity; fools by heavenly compulsion; knaves, thieves, and treacherous by spherical predominance; drunkards, liars, and adulterers by an enforced obedience of planetary influence; and all that we are evil in, by a divine thrusting on. An admirable evasion of whoremaster man, to lay his goatish disposition on the charge of a star!

The above is a quotation from Shakespeare’s king Lear. UMNO will carry out post mortems to investigate what went wrong. Hey- now that is tradition.

As usual, the leadership will come out with palliatives intended to assuage the marauding UMNO grassroots. A little blood-letting will ease the pressure. After which, the findings of the post-mortems will be dust-binned.

It’s the same usual story. UMNO will start blaming external factors for their defeat. Despite all their firepower, no holes barred scorched earth strategies to bump off Anwar Ibrahim, they failed. It’s a reflection of the failure of Dato Najib himself. He was the field commander.

Many commentators seem to miss the point. They assume falsely that if Pak Lah goes, the natural succession leads to Dato Najib. Where does it say, in the darkened wilderness of UMNO tradition, that the position of top dog in UMNO must be vested in Dato Najib? Mana ada?

More:http://sakmongkol.blogspot.com/2008/08/searching-for-new-leadership.html

P PAUH - WHAT CHANGES WILL IT BRING?

THE victory by Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in Permatang Pauh has triggered more discussion concerning the Malaysian political landscape. His entry into Parliament tomorrow will no doubt see more debate and verbal clashes between the Opposition and the Barisan Nasional.

Many Umno insiders knew that it was an uphill battle to dislodge Anwar from his traditional stronghold. At best, they confided before yesterday's by-election, the idea was to reduce Anwar's majority. And they failed to do even that, let alone 'bury' him politically. Anwar polled 31,195 votes brushing aside BN's Datuk Arif Shah Omar Shah who polled 15,524 votes.

More:http://ahmadatalib.blogspot.com/2008/08/p-pauh-what-changes-will-it-bring.html

THE REAL REASON WHY BN LOST TO ANWAR

So Anwar got more votes, a lot more votes than BN in the 'mother of all by-election' in Permatang Pauh.

Why did he get such strong support from voters in this constituency?

Here are a few of the reasons, in the order that it comes to my mind

1. Permatang Pauh has always loved him and the voters there have wanted to give the country a Prime Minister for the longest time

2. Voters send Anwar to Parliament because they think the message they sent to BN in the March General Election was not heard by the BN leadership( Haris Ibrahim thinks so and so does Ron Kuda Kepang and Che Det)

3. BN election machinery was less than enthusiastic and allowed themselves to be overrun by PKR's campaigners (Datuk Tiger thinks so ans so does Tengku Razaleigh)

4. Voters believe that Anwar will run a cleaner and more transparent Government

More:http://marahku.blogspot.com/2008/08/real-reason-why-bn-lost-to-anwar.html

IF ANWAR IS PM, MEDIA HEADS WILL ROLL...

An aide of Anwar Ibrahim, whom I met today said, "Among the first things Anwar will do if he becomes prime minister is to get rid of all the managing editors, editor-in-chief and editors of pro-BN media..."

This means the New Straits Times, Utusan Malaysia, RTM, Berita Harian, Harian Metro, The Star, TV3 group and few more....

More:http://justread-whatever.blogspot.com/2008/08/if-anwar-is-pm-media-heads-will-roll.html

THE FINAL NAIL IN UMNO'S COFFIN - NAJIB CAN KISS GOOD-BYE TO PREMIERSHIP - IF UMNO MEMBERS FAIL TO DETHRONE THE TRINITY OF POWER "THE FATHER, THE SON

Matthias Chang

As expected, Anwar won the Permatang Pauh By-Election. The larger margin of victory is significant as in any By-Elections the ruling party has a decisive advantage as it can marshal the entire government machinery and the mass media to bully the opposition. Yet, the Barisan Nasional failed to roll back the support of the rakyat for the opposition.

Every dirty trick was employed to prevent Anwar Ibrahim from winning but to no avail. On the contrary, each exposé of the clumsy and stupid theatrics angered the electorate further.

Anger against the inept and lame-duck Badawi was the principal cause for the defeat of the Barisan Nasional.

That this by-election is the final warning to Badawi and his family to pack their bags and get out is evident from the sentiments of the non-Malay voters who have made known their views soon after Wan Azizah vacated the seat for her husband.

I had in my article dated 3rd August 2008 which was posted to my website, warned UMNO and the Barisan Nasional to give a walk-over to Anwar Ibrahim to avoid the embarrassment of defeat and to focus on the UMNO party elections so as to regroup and rejuvenate the party.

However, the idiots and bigots in UMNO chose to ignore my warnings and now they have paid the price for their arrogance and misplaced confidence. They refused to accept the outcome of the March General Elections and the blunt message from the electorate that Badawi and his political dynasty must no longer be allowed to plunder and mismanage the country. Enough is enough!

The Deputy Prime Minister by his cowardice and false humility has allowed the sordid state of affairs to continue thereby giving a false sense of security to Badawi that his “leadership” is still needed albeit until 2010.

More:http://tunkuaisha.blogspot.com/2008/08/final-nail-in-umnos-coffin-najib-can.html

AFTER PERMATANG PAUH, WHAT NEXT PAK LAH?

The buck must stop somewhere and in any organization it has to stop at the top. So my question has to be directed to the Leader of UMNO and BN - what next?

After pulling all the stops, including reducing the fuel price, Saiful swearing, Najib swearing, sending in Amin Shah’s brother -UMNO’s best man to compete; with all the stops pulled, UMNO got trashed again and on an even bigger margin than before.

As the leader, what are you going to do? What is going through your mind?

At GE 11 - March 21 2004, you were given the biggest mandate ever of any Prime Minster and by GE 12 - 8th March 2008 - BN was white washed. What does this say?

After the trashing at GE 12, you had the best chance of truly reforming UMNO yet you didn’t take the opportunity.
After this white wash in Permatang Pauh, what are you going to do?

The UMNO transition plan will not stand the internal pressures between now and December. No Sir, its only going to get worse unless you find a new bogey man. Whoever that bogeyman is, it cant be Anwar.

More:http://mindacergas.wordpress.com/2008/08/26/after-permatang-pauh-what-next-pak-lah/

ANOTHER SIGNAL; MUCH CLEARER AND LOUDER!

Firstly, congrats to the eventual winner, the official elected parliamentarian for P44 Permatang Pauh. To borrow the words of kickdafella here, the fella has done it "in style!"

With a bigger majority this time around, it is another slap in the face of the top leaders of the ruling party. I guess no burial ceremony for Anwar Ibrahim's political career, huh? Not as what have been trumpeted arrogantly by the son in law few days back.

What's interesting from tonight's result is this, permit me to quote here an excerpt of kickdafella's posting of the above.

"Arif Shah LOST The Votes from State Assembly Area of Seberang Jaya where he is the ADUN with majority almost 4,000 votes. (8.55pm)"

Now, what does that tell you? It is not so much a signal to Arif Shah. He's already a "dead man walking" when he accepted the task to challenge Anwar. The lost of votes in his so called stronghold is a preview of what may come in the next general election if the present leadership of the ruling party and their idea of transition of power in 2010 is to be retained and upheld respectively. Hey, it may well be a signal to the chosen successor himself. As Sakmongkol puts it, Permatang Pauh could well be Najib's Waterloo.

More:http://lawyer-kampung.blogspot.com/2008/08/another-signal-much-clearer-and-louder.html

BN LOSS COULD HASTEN PAK LAH'S EXIT

The Malaysian Insider

A big victory for Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in Permatang Pauh tomorrow could spoil Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi"s two-year succession plan, and force an earlier handover of power.

Even his loyalists in Umno concede that the mutterings about the sense of drift in the country and the lack of strong leadership in Barisan Nasional have grown louder in the last few weeks, and they expect party officials to call for a quicker transfer of power to Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak if Anwar wins the by-election by a larger majority than the 13,000 margin his wife managed on March 8.

A party official, who requested anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the topic, told The Malaysian Insider: "The BN machinery has not been at its best.
There is no cohesion among the parties and little fighting spirit. If Anwar wins big, questions will be raised about the preparations and leadership. Ultimately, it will fall on Pak Lah."

He noted that though Najib was in charge of the BN machinery the whispers on the ground was about the need for a strong leader to galvanise a coalition which has been rocked to its foundations by the results of Election 2008.

The view among some BN leaders is that Abdullah has not drawn up any plan of recovery for the ruling coalition and seems content to indulge in a festival of rhetoric. In the meantime, the main coalition partners are being tested severely.

More: http://malaysia-today.net/2008/content/view/11768/84/

PERMATANG PAUH GOES TO POLLS TOMORROW

BUKIT MERTAJAM, Aug 25 (Bernama) -- The people of Permatang Pauh will come out to vote again Tuesday, this time in a by-election for the parliamentary seat after it was left vacant by the candidate they voted in five months ago in the March 8 general election.

The stiff contest is still between Barisan Nasional (BN) and Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) but the candidates this time are different, where BN is fielding community-friendly, multi-lingual Datuk Arif Shah Omar Shah, 51, while Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, 61, is standing for PKR.

The latter's wife, Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail gave up the seat on July 31 to enable him to contest it in a by-election. In the March 8 general election, Dr Wan Azizah defeated BN's Datuk Pirdaus Ismail with a 13,398-vote majority.

http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newspolitic.php?id=355021

HARD WORK, PRAYERS WILL SEAL BN WIN IN PERMATANG PAUH, SAYS NAJIB

BUKIT MERTAJAM, Aug 25 (Bernama) -- As voters for the Permatang Pauh by-election anxiously await polling Tuesday, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak is confident that the Barisan Nasional (BN) will win as its election machinery had worked relentlessly over the last ten days.

"After nearly two weeks of hard work and prayers, the situation is tilting towards BN," the Deputy Prime Minister said at a briefing at the BN's Kampung Kolam operations room here Monday.

The Permatang Pauh by-election is a three-cornered fight between the BN's Datuk Arif Shah Omar Shah of BN, Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) advisor Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Hanafi Mamat of Angkatan Keadilan Insan Malaysia (Akim).

Najib said although political observers had initially forecast a slim chance for the BN, hard work had changed all that and that the coalition could emerge victorious.

http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsgeneral.php?id=355126

A THEORY OF SUMPAH

What did I say about my theory regarding the relationship between oath takings and integrity?

THERE IS AN INVERSE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TAKING OATHS AND INTEGRITY. THE MORE OATHS ONE TAKES, THE HIGHER THE CHANCES THAT HE WILL DEBAUCH HIMSELF.

Oath takings take many forms. Some are statutory declarations. You can write and say anything. Just give your IC/ID and sign where appropriate. Then pay RM 4 to the commissioner of oaths.

If you want to do it free, you can take the religious oath taking. You can swear before the Quran, the bible, the Sikh holy book and whatever books you think are holy.

You either deny the accusation against you or you affirm your own position.

More: http://sakmongkol.blogspot.com/2008/08/theory-of-sumpah.html

PAK SAMAD (BAPAK) IS "MORE STABLE...."

I owe my friends in and outside blogosphere an apology for not posting about Bapak having been admitted to Pantai Medical Centre yesterday.

Firstly, because I didn't have time, and secondly, I felt I did not want to alarm people, including our friends ....

I was in Penang yesterday when my sister called me to say that Bapak had breathing difficulty and was rushed to the hospital.

I took the next available flight to KL.

My step-mum was with Bapak when she noticed that he had difficulty breathing.

More: http://nursamad.blogspot.com/2008/08/bapak-is-more-stable.html

NUCLEAR CHICKEN IN POLAND

Mike Whitney

"Don’t blame the mirror if your face is crooked." Vladimir Putin quoting Russian proverb

If the Bush administration proceeds with its plan to deploy its Missile Defense System in Poland, Russian Prime Minister Putin will be forced to remove it militarily. He has no other option. The proposed system integrates the the entire US nuclear arsenal into one operational-unit a mere 115 miles from the Russian border. It's no different than Khrushchev's plan to deploy nuclear missiles in Cuba in the 1960s.

Early last year, at a press conference that was censored in the United States, Putin explained his concerns about Bush's plan:

“Once the missile defense system is put in place it will work automatically with the entire nuclear capability of the United States. It will be an integral part of the US nuclear capability....And, for the first time in history---and I want to emphasize this---there will be elements of the US nuclear capability on the European continent. It simply changes the whole configuration of international security…..Of course, we have to respond to that.”

Nuclear weapons specialist, Francis A. Boyle, says the Bush administration's plans represent the “longstanding US policy of nuclear first-strike against Russia." In Boyle’s article “US Missiles in Europe: Beyond Deterrence to First Strike Threat” he states:

“By means of a US first strike about 99%+ of Russian nuclear forces would be taken out. Namely, the United States Government believes that with the deployment of a facially successful first strike capability, they can move beyond deterrence and into "compellence."… This has been analyzed ad nauseam in the professional literature. But especially by one of Harvard's premier warmongers in chief, Thomas Schelling --winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics granted by the Bank of Sweden-- who developed the term "compellence" and distinguished it from "deterrence." …The USG is breaking out of a "deterrence" posture and moving into a "compellence" posture. (Global Research 6-6-07)

Bush's real goal is to force Moscow to conform to Washington’s diktats or face the prospect of first-strike nuclear annihilation. Putin must respond.

More: http://www.thetruthseeker.co.uk/article.asp?ID=9222

PAKISTAN’S RULING COALITION ON BRINK OF COLLAPSE

Vilani Peiris

Just one week after the resignation of military strongman Pervez Musharraf as president, Pakistan’s ruling coalition is on the point of breaking down. The Pakistan Muslim League-Narwas (PML-N) of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is threatening to quit the alliance today unless the government reinstates 57 high court judges sacked last year by Musharraf.

However, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) - the largest coalition partner - has given no indication that it will bow to the PML-N’s demands, which also include a reduction in presidential powers and a one-month delay in the choosing of a new president. On Friday, the PPP announced that Asif Al Zardari, the husband of assassinated PPP leader Benazir Bhutto, would be the party’s presidential candidate. The national assembly and four provincial assemblies are due to come together on September 6 to select the next president.

The coalition was formed in March after the PPP and PML-N inflicted a humiliating defeat on Musharraf’s party—the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q)—in national elections in February. As part of the deal, Zardari promised to reinstate the judges within 30 days, but repeatedly stalled on the issue as well as on the removal of Musharraf as president. The government only moved to impeach the president in early August when Sharif threatened to pull out of the coalition. The PML-N had already withdrawn from the cabinet in May.

More: http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/aug2008/pakis-a25.shtml

READ SELECTED NEWS AND ARTICLES IN WARTA MALAYSIA

This blog – http://wartanegara.blogspot.com – bearing the name of Warta Malaysia, is meant for you, the busy people out there, who have not much time to check most blogs on politics, locally and internationally.

Warta Malaysia, of course with constraints and pains, makes an effort to present to you several selected postings, articles and news items, on a daily basis.

Please make this blog as your regular daily destination. Your advice and opinions are very much appreciated. Thank you. – Warta Malaysia

PAKATAN RAKYAT CANNOT GOVERN COUNTRY BECAUSE OF CONFLICTING IDEOLOGIES - NAJIB

BUKIT MERTAJAM, Aug 24 (Bernama) -- Pakatan Rakyat would not be able to govern the country smoothly and create political stability due to its components' conflicting political ideologies, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said here Sunday.

"We have said it from the beginning that the opposition pact is actually fragile while it tries to topple the Barisan Nasional (BN). It is just an electoral pact and not a solid pact to be an alternative to BN," the deputy prime minister told reporters after visiting Rumah Pahang in Taman Semilang, here today.

As such, he said, voters in the Permatang Pauh parliamentary constituency must realise that Pakatan Rakyat component parties were not on the same wavelength with regards to major policies, besides having different ideologies.

Najib was referring to PAS' aim of establishing an Islamic state which could work with DAP, while the latter had rejected the idea outright.

More: http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsindex.php?id=354822

THE UMNO CHESS GAME

The Straits Times

When Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak swore in a neighbourhood mosque here that he did not know the late Altantuya Shaariibuu, his oath stirred much excitement.

It was as much for the Permatang Pauh by-election as for his own political future.

'I am not afraid to utter these holy words in a mosque because I am speaking the truth,' Najib said on Friday night.

He has been battling accusations that he had an affair with Ms Altantuya, who was later found dead, and that his wife had a hand in her murder.

This had been rally fodder for opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim who gleefully used it to deflect attention from his sodomy case.

There is even a poster of Ms Altantuya in the main town of Seberang Jaya, with a plea for justice.

More: http://malaysia-today.net/2008/content/view/11701/84/

THIS DAY, 497 YEARS AGO…

On this date in 1511, Alfonso de Albuquerque finally sealed their victory in Melaka after a month of severe struggle to capture it.

The death of Bendahara Tun Mutahir a year earlier, had opened up old wounds and divided the people of Melaka into several factions. His execution was in haste. All his family members were condemned to death as the result of a malicious and wicked political tactic. Only his daughter, Tun Fatimah, was spared.

After the initial battle was won by the Melaka army led by Sultan Ahmad and Laksamana Khoja Hassan, Portuguese reinforcements from Goa had helped pushed the Malay warriors out from the city.

From then onwards, for the next 446 years, this land had been the breeding ground of wars and political conflicts that had bloodied the region with suffering and strifes.
51 years on, this land is still marred with a power struggle by opposing factions whose ultimate aim is only greed for power and political dominance.

One week from now, Selamat Menyambut Hari Kemerdekaan 2008, Malaysia.

http://jebatmustdie.wordpress.com/2008/08/24/this-day-497-years-ago/

POLITICAL EQUATIONS

Let’s see some equations. Political that is.

Anwar Ibrahim’s quest to Putrajaya = greed, lust for power, revenge

Najib Tun’s Razak ascension = tradition, UMNO way and that’s the way it should be.

Despite the sodomy allegations, despite tons of sumpah and cheap skate oath takings, Anwar will win. On forming the next government , I don’t know.

Actually UMNO needs some political purgatory. It needs to kick out those hangers on and parasitic leadership. It needs some political cleansing to rid itself from the jokers, from political bigots who profit from milking the fears of the Malays.

More: http://sakmongkol.blogspot.com/

'YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE A JEW TO BE A ZIONIST'

Haviv Rettig

Within hours of the Saturday announcement that Democratic senator and former presidential candidate Joe Biden will be Barack Obama's running mate in the 2008 presidential election, a debate began among Jewish groups over his pro-Israel credentials.

While Biden is considered to be pro-Israel and is popular among Jewish voters who have heard of him, his views on Iran were the target of fierce criticism from a Republican Jewish group Saturday.

Biden's selection made Obama's presidential bid "an even greater gamble for the Jewish community," read a statement released by Republican Jewish Coalition Executive Director Matt Brooks. "Throughout his career, Senator Biden has consistently been wrong on Iran, and his voting record on Israel has been inconsistent."

More: http://www.thetruthseeker.co.uk/article.asp?ID=9215

ABDULLAH SAYS HE WILL LOOK INTO HINDRAF'S MEMORANDUM

BUKIT MERTAJAM, Aug 23 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has given the assurance that he will look into the 18-point memorandum submitted to him by the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) here Saturday.

Hindraf, comprising 30 Hindu non-governmental organisations, among other things, called for the release of over 100 Indians currently detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA).

Among them are four of the group's legal advisors P. Uthayakumar, M. Manoharan, R. Kengadharan and V. Ganabatirau as well as the group's coordinator T. Vasanthakumar.

The five were detained under Section 8 (1) of the ISA following the massive illegal gathering in Kuala Lumpur on Nov 25 last year.

They are currently serving detention at the Kamunting Detention Centre in Taiping, Perak since Dec 13, 2007.

Abdullah was speaking at an Indian community prayers at the Karumariamman temple in Seberang Jaya, here.

More: http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsgeneral.php?id=354765

ANWAR WILLING TO VALIDATE WHATEVER MEANS TO BECOME PM - NAJIB

BUKIT MERTAJAM, Aug 23 (Bernama) -- Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak Saturday reminded voters in Permatang Pauh not to be hoodwinked by Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's promises as he was willing to validate anything to achieve his ambition of becoming prime minister.

The deputy prime minister said Anwar tried to topple the deputy prime minister then, the late Tun Ghafar Baba, who was also the Umno deputy president.

"I was in the cabinet when Anwar was the finance minister. I was also in the wawasan group when he wanted to topple Ghafar as party deputy president.

"I can tell a lot about how he toppled Ghafar, and who carried his (Anwar's) bag here and there. You can guess what was in the bag when he was contesting the party elections. Full of money. Today, he talks about corruption. Who then was involved in corruption?" Najib said during his visit to the Barisan Nasional operations room for the Permatang Pauh by-election, in Simpang Tiga, Kubang Ulu, here.

More: http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsgeneral.php?id=354800

ANWAR APPEARS INCREASINGLY WORRIED AS BY-ELECTION APPROACHES

BUKIT MERTAJAM, Aug 23 (Bernama) -- Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) advisor Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim who was initially fully confident of winning the Permatang Pauh seat, appeared to be increasingly worried about the eventual result as the by-election approaches.

With only two days left, Anwar kept reminding his supporters not to be too confident but be extra careful in their efforts to win the by-election for PKR.

"I also appeal to you to give your vote to me so that I can fulfil my promise to take care of the residents of Permatang Pauh.

"If there are people who come to give money, take it if you think you don't have enough. I have no problem with that, but give us your vote," he said when addressing his supporters during his visit to the PKR by-election operations room in Semilang, Seberang Jaya, near here.

More: http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsindex.php?id=354805

PAS ON PAKATAN: WE'RE MORE UNITED THAN YOU THINK

The Eng Hock

PETALING JAYA: PAS does not foresee any Pakatan Rakyat component parties leaving the alliance because they shared a common ground on key issues, said its secretary-general Datuk Kamaruddin Jaafar.

"There is no reason for a party to leave unless there is irreconcilable differences, but I do not foresee any," he said.

He was responding to DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng's suggestion that any component party which had opposing views and could not accept the decision of the majority were free to leave Pakatan Rakyat (People's Alliance).

More:http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/8/23/nation/20080823195532&sec=nation

MALDIVES: NON-MUSLIMS TO BE BARRED FROM CITIZENSHIP?

Nihan Zafar

On 7 August, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, the President of the Maldives and Asia’s longest serving ruler ratified the amended constitution of the country. It culminated a process of constitutional amendment that lasted for four years. Maldivians are lucky this time because when Gayoom came to power in 1978 he initiated a constitutional amendment that lasted for 17 years from 1980 to 1997.

The amended constitution provides the people with several civil rights such as freedom of expression and assembly. However, the constitution prevents non-Muslims from becoming citizens of Maldives, curtailing freedom of religion in the country. Even though the government claims that Maldives is a 100% Muslim country, bloggers and rights activists have been voicing concerns about the citizenship clause for a while.

More:http://globalvoicesonline.org/2008/08/14/maldives-debate-on-amended-constitution/

NAJIB SWEARS IN GUAR PERAHU MOSQUE HE DID NOT KNOW OR HAD CONNECTION WITH ALTANTUYA

BUKIT MERTAJAM, Aug 23 (Bernama) -- Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak on Friday night swore in Masjid Jamek Guar Perahu near here that he did not know or had any connection with Mongolian woman Altantuya Shaarribuu who was murdered in 2006 in Puncak Alam, Selangor.

Najib said he was making the swearing although it was not an official swearing made on the Quran.

"Wallahi, Wabillahi, Watallahi (With Allah as my witness) I swear I do not know or have any connection with the Mongolian woman," he said at the end of his speech at a ceremony to give aid of RM1.4 million at the mosque.

http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsindex.php?id=354617

MORE OF ANWAR'S "CRONIES" OR HYPOCRISY?

They say they who live in glass houses should not be throwing stones. Corresponsingly, those who commit "cronyism" should not accuse other's of "cronyism".

And, those who demand proof should not support those who accuse other's without proof. The latter remark is intended to answer one commentator who seek to refute my list of Anwar's "cronies" by seeking proof.

Where is Anwar's proof then to accuse Najib of feminine indisgression, "murder" and commission taking from the Government's purchases of Scorpene and Sukhoi? Love or loath him, Anwar owe Najib proofs. Unsubstantiated accusation from one public figure to another public figure is defamatory.

More: http://anotherbrickinwall.blogspot.com/2008/08/more-of-anwars-cronies-or-hypocrisy.html

APPEAL TO UMNO

Matthias Chang

Replace Badawi as Prime Minister first and do this now in the month of August by demanding his resignation as Prime Minister during the Branch AGM and elections. Then throw him out in December by denying him any nominations for the post of President, if he fails to resign as President.

For fifty years, UMNO has been given the mandate to elect the Prime Minister from among its ranks. UMNO will forfeit this “right” if it fails to do what is right and required under the present dire circumstances.

And don’t you dare blame others for taking power to lead the country out of this sordid mess, a mess of your own creation, should UMNO fail to do what is required.

More: http://futurefastforward.com/component/content/article/253

TIDE TURNS AGAINST BN; LANDSLIDE WIN FOR PAKATAN?

http://anilnetto.com

I was on the mainland yesterday and ran into a few people. From my conversations with them, it sounded like quite a few people were determined to teach the BN a lesson in the by-election.

The Christians are utterly disgusted with the “show cause” letter to The Herald. They are definitely not impressed. Many of them are urging their friends and family members to vote for the opposition.

Najib and Khairy’s presence - and Saiful’s via video - in Permatang Pauh could prove to be counterproductive, to put it politely.

More: http://anilnetto.com/democracy/landslide-win-for-pakatan/

THE PUPPET MASTERS BEHIND GEORGIA PRESIDENT SAAKASHVILI

F. William Engdahl

The controversy over the Georgian surprise military attacks on South Ossetia and Abkhazia on 8.8.08 makes a closer look at the controversial Georgian President and his puppet masters important. An examination shows 41 year old Mikhail Saakashvili to be a ruthless and corrupt totalitarian who is tied to not only the US NATO establishment, but also to the Israeli military and intelligence establishment. The famous ‘Rose Revolution of November 2003 that forced the ageing Edouard Shevardnadze from power and swept the then 36 year old US university graduate into power was run and financed by the US State Department, the Soros Foundations, and agencies tied to the Pentagon and US intelligence community.

Mihkail Saakashvili was deliberately placed in power in one of the most sophisticated US regime change operations, using ostensibly private NGOs (Non Governmental Organizations) to create an atmosphere of popular protest against the existing regime of former Soviet Foreign Minister Edouard Shevardnadze, who was no longer useful to Washington when he began to make a deal with Moscow over energy pipelines and privatizations.

Saakashvili was brought to power in a US-engineered coup run on the ground by US-funded NGO’s, in an application of a new method of US destabilization of regimes it considered hostile to its foreign policy agenda. The November 24 2003 Wall Street Journal explicitly credited the toppling of Shevardnadze's regime to the operations of "a raft of non-governmental organizations . . . supported by American and other Western foundations." These NGOs, said the Journal, had "spawned a class of young, English-speaking intellectuals hungry for pro-Western reforms" who were instrumental laying the groundwork for a bloodless coup.

More: http://www.thetruthseeker.co.uk/article.asp?ID=9182

HOW THE AMERICAN “FREE PRESS” TOED THE GOVERNMENT LINE ON GEORGIA

Tom Eley

During the first several days of the war between Georgia and Russia, the US media’s readers and viewers could find in the nation’s newspapers and on its airwaves a degree of ambiguity and even rare moments of objectivity. Though vaguely anti-Russian, a good share of the initial coverage tended not to lay the blame for the war fully at the feet of Moscow and provided some insight into the Georgian military’s devastation of the South Ossetian capital, Tskhinvali.

Then, between August 11 and 12, a sharp change occurred in the way the US media presented the war. The initial response to the war gave way to what can only be described as a tidal wave of anti-Russian propaganda. Now there was only one side to the story. What had happened?

The change in the media line corresponded to a sharpening of the anti-Russian posture of the Bush administration. For the first few days of the conflict, when no clear line had been laid down by the government, the mainstream media was somewhat at sea. But once the official line had been clearly established, the corporate-controlled media snapped to attention and marshaled all of its considerable resources to perform its customary service of vetting the “news” and manipulating public opinion to suit the aims and requirements of the state.

The media presentation of the Georgia crisis is a textbook example of the way in which the “free press” in America functions as little more than a semi-official propaganda agency of the government.

More: http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/aug2008/medi-a22.shtml

2008 GENERAL ELECTION

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad

1. I am amazed that there are still people in this country who think that the opposition parties "won" the general elections because they promised a more open society with transparency and whatnots, including of course doing away with the Internal Security Act.

2. Do they think that the swing; the mass desertion of the Malay villagers from UMNO, the Chinese from Chinese parties and the Indians from MIC in order to vote for the opposition parties, be they PAS or DAP or PKR (Parti Keadilan Rakyat), was due to their wish to see the abolition of the ISA or to seek for greater transparency, or desire for greater human rights, for free speech and open discussions at intellectual levels?

3. Are these the subjects that padi farmers, food stall holders and hawkers, the rubber tappers, the Class F contractors talk in the coffee shops at "intellectual" levels?

4. Do they care that our democracy is not as liberal as the western democracies? Do they care about detached intellectual discourse by intellectuals who want to display their intellect?

More: http://test.chedet.com/che_det/2008/08/2008-general-election.html#more

HOW LITTLE OUR LEADERS KNOW

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is upset that some Blogggers are showing ‘disrespect’ by flying the Malaysian flag upside down. Actually, flying the flag upside down is internationally accepted as a sign of distress, not a mark of disrespect.

What the Prime Minister does not know is that Malaysia has been showing disrespect to our flag for more than 50 years. Amongst some of these displays of disrespect are:

1. The flag should never be used for any advertising purposes.

2. The flag should not be used as a drapery, or for covering a speaker’s desk, draping a platform, or for any decoration in general.

3. It should not be embroidered, printed or otherwise impressed on such articles as cushions, handkerchiefs, napkins, boxes, or anything intended to be discarded after temporary use.

4. The flag should not be used as part of a costume or athletic uniform, except that a flag patch may be used on the uniform of military personnel, fireman, policeman and members of patriotic organisations.

5. The flag should never be used as a receptacle for receiving, holding, carrying, or delivering anything.

There are of course much more but these five above already demonstrates in what way Malaysia has been disrespectful to the Jalur Gemilang. So what’s with this anger towards flying the flag upside down, which is allowed, when Malaysia, in fact, has acted disrespectfully to the flag since the time of Merdeka.

More: http://malaysia-today.net/2008/content/view/11617/84/

BOTH COALITIONS DISAVOW MYSTERIOUS ‘CABINET LIST’

Shannon Teoh

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 21 — Both Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat leaders have denied involvement in issuing a document that appears to detail a Pakatan Rakyat-led Cabinet as the countdown continues to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s self-imposed deadline to topple the BN government by Sept 16.

The Malaysian Insider understands that the document has been circulating for at least two days and two versions exist, one with DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang and another with Pas president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang as one of three deputy prime ministers. Another deputy prime minister is Sabah Progressive Party president Datuk Yong Teck Lee who has expressed no confidence in Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Anwar, the de facto Pakatan Rakyat chief who is vying for a return to Parliament via the Permatang Pauh by-election next week, called the single-leaf A4-sized sheet an attempt by the BN to confuse the voters in the constituency in the current hustings.

Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz and Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek, ministers in the Prime Minister’s Department and of Information respectively, also denied any involvement. Nazri called the the supposed lineup as "Cabinet BABI — Barisan Anwar bin Ibrahim”.

More: http://www.malaysiainsider.com/index.php/malaysia/7987-both-coalitions-disavow-mysterious-cabinet-list

DOES GERAKAN STILL WANT TO STAY IN BN?

Tan Poh Kheng

While BN and Pakatan Rakyat supporters were launching a by-election warfare in Permatang Pauh, Wanita Gerakan chairman Tan Lian Hoe tossed a bomb out of the blue towards BN, suggesting that her party should pull out of the ruling coalition. The impact of this outburst has not only rocked the BN leadership, but also stirred up powerful reactions within the Chinese community.

Nevertheless, just as many were showing their thumbs-up to Tan, who is also the deputy information minister, for her fearless remarks, she was immediately seen turning towards UMNO president Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and deputy president Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak to clarify her points, accusing the media of having misquoted her. Her drastic change in attitude took many people by surprise.

If, as Tan has clarified, that was the proposal passed by some 80% of Perak Wanita Gerakan delegates to pull out of BN, then it was not her fault, as Wanita Gerakan chairman, to express the delegates' will to BN. If UMNO was still fiddling with the racial issues, was it necessary at all for her to clarify or explain to Abdullah and Najib?

More: http://malaysia-today.net/2008/content/view/11605/84/

ANWAR: MALAYSIA GOVERNMENT BACKS ISRAEL

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 21 — Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has accused the government of supporting the pro-Israel lobby in the US and Jewish groups inside Israel.

"I have evidence proving that the government is backing the Jewish lobby in the US and some parties inside Israel," Anwar told IslamOnline.net in an exclusive interview.

Anwar, a former deputy premier who is contesting a by-election as the next step in his plan to become premier, declined to elaborate on the nature of the support or his evidence. - The Palestine Chronicle

More: http://malaysia-today.net/2008/content/view/11623/84/

ARE YOU READY FOR NUCLEAR WAR?

Paul Craig Roberts

Pervez Musharraf, the puppet installed by the US to rule Pakistan in the interest of US hegemony, resigned August 18 to avoid impeachment. Karl Rove and the Diebold electronic voting machines were unable to control the result of the last election in Pakistan, the result of which gave Pakistanis a bigger voice in their government than America’s.

It was obvious to anyone with any sense--which excludes the entire Bush Regime and almost all of the “foreign policy community”--that the illegal and gratuitous US invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, and Israel’s 2006 bombing of Lebanon civilians with US blessing, would result in the overthrow of America’s Pakistani puppet.

The imbecilic Bush Regime ensured Musharraf’s overthrow by pressuring their puppet to conduct military operations against tribesmen in Pakistani border areas, whose loyalties were to fellow Muslims and not to American hegemony. When Musharraf’s military operations didn’t produce the desired result, the idiotic Americans began conducting their own military operations within Pakistan with bombs and missiles. This finished off Musharraf.

When the Bush Regime began its wars in the Middle East, I predicted, correctly, that Musharraf would be one victim. The American puppets in Egypt and Jordan may be the next to go.

More: http://www.thetruthseeker.co.uk/article.asp?ID=9202

US OIL PIPELINE POLITICS AND THE RUSSIA-GEORGIA CONFLICT

Alex Lantier

US media claims about Georgian democracy notwithstanding, a key factor in US backing for Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili in his conflict with Russia has been the emergence of Georgia as a key transit country for oil and gas exports from the Caucasus and the Caspian Sea basin.

The August 7 outbreak of hostilities between Georgia and Russia, as Georgia bombarded Russian peacekeepers in the breakaway Georgian region of South Ossetia, is the predictable result of the US’s aggressive use of pipeline politics and proxy states to assert its commercial and military influence in Central Asia.

The broad outlines of this policy have governed US relations with the former Soviet republics ever since the 1991 collapse of the USSR. At the time, US investors rushed in to acquire large portions of the former USSR’s economy, notably the oil and gas industries of the Caspian Basin. In the early 1990s, Western energy companies acquired stakes in developing numerous projects, such the Tengiz oil field in Kazakhstan, the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli (ACG) fields in Azerbaijan, and the Dauletabad natural gas field in Turkmenistan.

From the outset, US firms and advisors pressed the ex-Soviet states to agree to pipeline routes bypassing countries the US viewed as inimical to its interests, notably Russia and Iran. Such pipelines not only deprived US rivals of transit fees and political leverage arising from their ability to cut off pipeline flows, but also gave Washington the opportunity to weld together pro-US regional alliances.

In the mid-1990s, the administration of US President Bill Clinton settled on two main pipeline projects to export Caspian oil and gas while bypassing the territories of Russia, Iran and China. The first was a plan to export Turkmen gas through Afghanistan and Pakistan to ports on the Indian Ocean—a plan that led Washington to support the Taliban in 1995-6 in an attempt to unify and pacify Afghanistan so that the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan (TAP) pipeline could be built. The plan ultimately foundered on the Taliban’s inability to conquer northern Afghanistan.

More: http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/aug2008/pipe-a21.shtml

LAST CHANCE TO SAVE MALAYSIA

M. Bakri Musa

Before last March 2008 elections, I urged Kepala Batas voters to perform a great national service by booting out Prime Minister Abdullah. That would have triggered a seismic shift in UMNO’s leadership. With its ban on contesting top posts effectively circumvented, the party would get to preview other potential candidates.

If Kepala Batas voters were to shy away from exercising that historic opportunity, I suggested that Malaysians could still teach Abdullah a lesson by substantially reducing his coalition’s victory. That would also trigger a challenge to his leadership, and we would have the same effect as with the first scenario.

Alas, Malaysians did teach Abdullah a hard lesson, but not hard enough. Besides, being a slow learner, Abdullah did not get the message. Now voters in Permatang Pauh, practically next door, will get a chance to deal Abdullah a third and final knock-out blow, one he would surely get.

This upcoming by-election will be more than just electing the area’s representative to Parliament. Permatang Pauh voters will get the unique opportunity to decide on behalf of entire Malaysia on who will lead our nation. It is as much an opportunity to vote for Anwar Ibrahim as it is against Abdullah Badawi, and to vote for Malaysia’s future – on whether she would progress to join the developed world or continue its present path to join the likes of Zimbabwe .

More:http://malaysia-today.net/2008/content/view/11566/84

UK DECLARES ITS SUPPORT FOR WASHINGTON’S ANTI-RUSSIAN CAMPAIGN OVER GEORGIA

By Ann Talbot

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband has declared the UK’s full support for Washington’s provocative anti-Russian campaign over Georgia.

In an article in the Times on the day that NATO foreign ministers met in an emergency meeting to discuss their response to the crisis surrounding South Ossetia, Miliband demanded that international monitors be sent to Georgia to oversee the ceasefire and to defend “Georgian sovereignty.”

“The invasion of Georgia was entirely unjustified,” Miliband wrote, “and we will strengthen support for its wish to join Nato.”

“You don’t need to be a student of the crushing of the Prague Spring in 1968 to find the sight of Russian tanks rolling into a neighbouring country chilling,” Miliband continued, deliberately evoking the language of the Cold War.

More: http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/aug2008/geor-a20.shtml

POTENTIAL OBAMA VP IS PRO-WAR, PRO-PATRIOT ACT NEO-CON

Paul Joseph Watson
Propaganda Matrix

The man who many are tipping to become Barack Obama's running mate is a pro-war, pro-patriot act, Bilderberg member who was an honorary co-chair of the neocon Committee for the Liberation of Iraq, a group that aggressively propagandized for the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Ladies and gentlemen - meet Senator Evan Bayh.

"Top Democratic Party officials are expecting Sen. Barack Obama to select Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh as his running mate as early as midweek," according to US News and World Report.

So exactly where do the sympathies of the Indiana Senator lie and do they jive with Barack Obama's proclaimed platitude to be offering "change" in the upcoming presidential election?

More: http://www.thetruthseeker.co.uk

RUSSIA ANGRY OVER US MISSILE SHIELD

Russia has reacted angrily to a deal signed between Warsaw and Washington to station a missile defence system in Poland.

Moscow on Friday said the US had shown that Russia was the true target of the defensive shield, as tension between the two powers continued to rise over the conflict in Georgia.

"The fact that this was signed in a period of very difficult crisis in the relations between Russia and the United States over the situation in Georgia shows that, of course, the missile defence system will be deployed not against Iran but against the strategic potential of Russia," Dmitry Rogozin, Russia's Nato envoy, said. - Aljazeera.com, August 20, 2008

More:http://www.pemudamalaysia.org.my/Syaaban%201429A.htm#Russia%20angry%20over%20US%20missile%20shield

PM CALLS BLOGGER "EVIL"

Upside-down flag. Abdullah Badawi's reaction to Sheih's campaign to fly the Jalur Gemilang upside-down as a sign of protest towards the country's selfish politicians (regardless whether they are BN or PR politicians) is belated, excessive and smacks of the kind of politics that drove Sheih and friends to mount the campaign in the first place.

More: http://rockybru.blogspot.com/2008/08/pm-calls-blogger-evil.html