Day: April 17, 2015

@limkitsiang tweets :

11:32 am – 17 Apr 2015
Although 8,000 km away in Cairo, thoughts are on Karpal on 1st anniversary when a light was snuffed out on his sudden departure.

11:37 am – 17 Apr 2015
Karpal a towering Malaysian – leaving a void in public life which cannot be filled. Always an inspiration 2all 2walk tall 4justice n freedom

11:42 am – 17 Apr 2015
Msia in vortex of great uncertainties – Karpal’s example of uncompromising in principles but visionary in exploring new vistas remain guide.

11:45 am – 17 Apr 2015
Best tribute 2Karpal 2continue the path blazoned by Tiger of Jelutong – a Malaysia which is beacon of hope where all Msians can feel proud. Continue reading “Karpal Singh in memoriam”

— Lim Guan Eng
The Malay Mail Online
April 17, 2015

APRIL 17 — As we mark the first year anniversary of the sudden departure of DAP national chairman Karpal Singh, we mourn the party’s and the people’s loss. Whilst we can never replace the pain and sorrow felt by his family, Malaysia is clearly poorer without Karpal.

Karpal pushed the party’s profile as a Malaysian party and advanced our cause for justice, freedom and democracy. He did not just simply create history by becoming the first non-Chinese DAP National Chair but used his legal prowess to demonstrate the true meaning of Malaysian Malaysia, by defending the rights of everyone regardless of race, religion, background and even nationality. Indeed for Karpal, injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

I wish to relive Karpal the person. Karpal Singh was one of the few DAP leaders who radiated an inner light that gave hope to many and remembered for his innate goodness. He was respected because he cared about other people, and was willing to be a good listener with the unique gift to make the individual feel valued. Continue reading “Missing Karpal”

By Rosa Brooks
Opinions
Washington Post
April 16 2015

ISIS -The State of Terror

By Jessica Stern and J.M. Berger

It is dangerous to underestimate your enemies — or overestimate them. The United States has an uncanny knack for doing both, often at the same time.

Take the self-proclaimed Islamic State. On the one hand, President Obama tells us that the group, also known by the acronym ISIS,“has no vision other than . . . slaughter” and “can never possibly win [anyone] over by its ideas or its ideology — because it offers nothing.” There is no need to send U.S. ground troops into combat against the militants: “It’s not necessary to defeat [them].”

On the other hand, former defense secretary Chuck Hagel insists that the Islamic State is an “imminent threat to every interest we have,” Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) says the group is “a clear and present danger,” and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) urges the president to deploy U.S. ground troops to fight the extremists in Iraq and Syria “before we all get killed here at home.”

Jessica Stern and J.M. Berger’s new book, “ISIS,” should be required reading for every politician and policymaker. Though it bears some of the inevitable scars characteristic of books written in a great hurry — it is uneven and a bit rough around the edges — their smart, granular analysis is a bracing antidote to both facile dismissals and wild exaggerations. Continue reading “It’s had some military success, but the Islamic State is no existential threat”

By Julian E. Barnes
Wall Street Journal
April 16, 2015

Anbar residents flee provincial capital as Islamist forces advance

WASHINGTON—U.S. defense officials said a provincial capital in Iraq could soon fall to Islamic State, while America’s top military officer sought to minimize the strategic importance of the city.

At a Pentagon news conference, Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, suggested that maintaining control of Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province, isn’t central to the U.S. and Iraqi aims of defeating Islamic State forces.

“The city itself is not symbolic in any way,” Gen. Dempsey said. “It’s not been declared part of the caliphate on one hand, or central to the future of Iraq.”

Earlier this week, Pentagon officials minimized the possibility that Ramadi was going to fall. But U.S. officials have monitored large numbers of civilians fleeing from the city, a sign that residents fear an imminent takeover.

Islamic State fighters have taken over a number of villages surrounding Ramadi, destroyed bridges and other infrastructure and reversed recent gains by Iraqi Security forces, defense officials said Thursday. Continue reading “U.S. Says Ramadi at Risk of Falling to Islamic State”