from SLATE, 11/23/10: >Con Man Subverts Afghan Peace Talks > Afghan officials thought they were negotiating with Taliban second-in-command > Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansour during secret peace talks orchestrated by > NATO. Now, it turns out the man was not Mansour, but an imposter, rendering > the negotiations largely pointless. "It's not him," said a Kabul-based > Western diplomat involved in the talks. "And we gave him a lot of money." > American officials became suspicious after a man who had known Mansour in > years past whispered to Afghan officials that he looked different, reports > the New York Times. The fraudster has now returned to Pakistan, but not > before being flown to the presidential palace by NATO aircraft and greeted by > Afghan President Hamid Karzai himself. The revelation comes as a severe blow > to Afghan and American hopes for successful resolution of the conflict > through the recent peace process. Theories abound as to the man's identity: > Some say that the mysterious negotiator may have been a freelance > opportunist, while others suspect he may have been sent by the Taliban as a > "game," or even by the Pakistani intelligence service, ISI, as part of its > "double-game" in Afghanistan. The Taliban leader, Mullah Omar, has publicly > denied any negotiation with Afghanistan or the United States.
> Read original story in The New York Times > [http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/23/world/asia/23kabul.html] | Tuesday, Nov. > 23, 2010 < they should have known something was wrong when he called himself "Keyser Söze." from SLATE, 11/22/10: >Pope Drops Historic Church Ban on Condoms >Pope Benedict XVI said the use of condoms can be justified in certain >sepecific cases. In a book-length interview that will be published next week >in a book titled Light on the World: The Pope, the Church and the Signs of the >Times, the Pontiff said condoms could be justified in a few cases and >specifically cited the a male prostitutes who want to prevent contracting or >spreading HIV. But some were quick to say the comments could be interpreted as >permission for condom-use in all cases where preventing infection is the >number one concern, notes the Independent. The Pope was sure to highlight that >"it is not the proper way to deal with the horror of HIV infection" but did >say it could "be justified" in "individual cases." The Church has often been >criticized for its hard-line against condoms that it said interfere with >procreation. Pope Benedict himself came under fire last year when he said >during a visit to Cameroon that distributing condoms could end up increasing >HIV infections. But now, as the BBC reports, many are praising the Pope's >words as an important step. Michael Sidibe, the executive director of UNAIDS >said that the Pope's comments "will help accelerate the HIV prevention >revolution." Some insist that while Benedict's answer seemed very nuanced, its >could end up having a broad effect on Church teachings. The "small concession >... could easily become a collapse in the whole edifice of Catholic teaching >on contraception," Clifford Longley, a writer for a Catholic newspaper, said. >"The implication seems to be much vaster than even the Pope anticipates." > Read original story in The Independent > [http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/pope-signals-historic-leap-in-fight-against-aids-condoms-can-be-justified-2139886.html] > | Sunday, Nov. 21, 2010 < so, if I were a Catholic, the only way I could use condoms is by becoming a male prostitute? how about an altar boy? -- Jim Devine / "Segui il tuo corso, e lascia dir le genti." (Go your own way and let people talk.) -- Karl, paraphrasing Dante. _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
