Chris Christie Now Supports Gay Marriage, Because 'Even the Church Is Changing'

By Eric Mack    |   Saturday, 30 December 2023 

Count Chris Christie out on keeping to conservative Catholic teachings.

The former opponent of same-sex marriage is accepting activist Pope Francis' approval of blessing same-sex couples as a sign "even the church is changing" on the issue.

"Pope Francis is now allowing blessings of same-sex couples; even the Church is changing," Christie said at an Epping, New Hampshire, town hall this week.

Conservative Catholics note the pope permitting same-sex blessings is not a change of Catholic doctrine, but Christie has historically been a more progressive Republican, including espousing moderate views as an ABC News political analyst.

Christie said he has had to change his position on same-sex marriage to get with the new generation's ideology.

"It already has changed," Christie told a young woman who asked about his past support for marriage as being between a man and a woman. "I think this is generational."

"What I know is society has changed and what people are accepting in our country now is different than when I was growing up, certainly than when I was your age," he continued. "And you know I don't have any objection to it any longer.

"In the end, I think I've been convinced."

Christie says he was wrong about same-sex marriage as a governor and if was just a matter of time to turn, along with the help of Pope Francis' recent document saying a same-sex couple can be blessed.

"And so you know for me, it's still, it was a process I had to go through to change the way I've been raised both from a family perspective and what my mother and father taught me and felt and also from a religious perspective and I'm a Catholic and what my Church taught me to believe."

Christie has vowed to veto a bill when he was running for New Jersey governor in 2009.

The Vatican's Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith published Dec. 18 wrote "blessings are among the most widespread and evolving sacramentals" and it was acceptable for Catholic leaders to give "blessings for couples in irregular situations and for couples of the same sex."

Still, the declaration notes the church teaches marriage is between a man and a woman and that has not changed, and the blessings should "never" come in a civil union ceremony "and not even in connection with them," the Catholic News Agency reported.Notably, Catholics are not backing the pope's move like Christie has been quick to.

Cardinal Gerhard Müller, the Vatican's doctrinal office's former leader, said the blessing of a gay union would be committing a "sacrilegious and blasphemous act against the Creator's plan and against Christ's death for us."

"Blessing a reality that is contrary to creation is not only impossible, it is blasphemy," Müller said, according to CNA.

Eric Mack | editorial.mack@newsmax.com

Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.

Related Stories:

• Franklin Graham to Newsmax: Pope's Blessing to Gays 'Has No Meaning'
• Bishop Strickland Urges Catholics to Reject Pope's Same-Sex Blessings

© 2023 Newsmax. All rights reserved.

Tunisian opposition movement urges release of political detainees

Ennahda has condemned the arrest of Ziad Al-Hani and called it an unjustified attack on freedom of expression.


Supporters of Tunisia's Salvation Front opposition coalition carry banners and flags during a protest against Tunisia's President Kais Saied, marking two years since Saied began amassing power, amidst a heatwave in Tunis, Tunisia July 25, 2023. 

/ Photo: Reuters

Tunisia’s Ennahda Movement has urged authorities to release all political detainees.

It followed the arrest of journalist Ziad Al-Hani, against the backdrop of his statements on a radio program where he criticised Commerce Minister Kalthoum Ben Rejeb.

Ennahda Movement expressed solidarity with Al-Hani in a statement “after the Public Prosecutor at the Tunisian Court of First Instance sentenced him to be detained after he expressed his opinion on the behaviour of some administrative departments and commented on the performance of government officials.”

The group condemned the arrest and deemed it "unjustified," and said "freedom of the press and expression should not be compromised."

The Movement demanded "the release of Al-Hani and all other political detainees.”

Ennahda denounced “the authorities” efforts to silence free and oppositional voices, including journalists, bloggers and influencers.”

Security authorities arrested Al-Hani on Thursday on charges of “insulting the Minister of Commerce,” according to the Tunisian Journalists Syndicate.

Political crisis

On a program on private IFM radio, Al-Hani criticized Rejeb for the “bureaucracy that obstructs development projects,” and demanded she step down.

Authorities have arrested more than 20 prominent political figures in 2023.

Tunisia has been in the throes of a deep political crisis that aggravated the country's economic conditions since President Kais Saied ousted the government and dissolved parliament in 2021.

While Saied insists that his measures were m eant to "save" the country, critics have accused him of orchestrating a coup.

SOURCE: AA

"America and Zionist entity"... Black history full of criminality [31/December/2023] SANA'A December 31. 2023 (Saba)-Whoever follows the history of the accursed America, the “Great Satan,” and its protégé, the cancer in the heart of the Arab and Islamic nation in the Middle East, called “Israel,” will find that their history is one and their record is one, a dark, black record full of criminality in the past, present, and also the future. Historians have written in their writings that the accursed America was established on the ruins of the Native Americans, as there was no such thing as the “United States of America.” North America witnessed violent conflicts, in which the British played a major role, as they ceded vast areas of Indian lands to the states. The United States of America, and at the expense of those they trusted. Historians report that America had two wars at that time, a war against British rule and a war against the Native Americans, which was called the “American Revolutionary War.” The two countries competed for lands east of the Mississippi, and the Native Americans were deceived by Britain. The conflicts ended in wars in which the Native Americans lost their lands, and the state of America was established. According to an educational article published by the Library of Congress entitled (The Destruction of Native American Civilizations), the total number of Native Americans is 900,000 people. Between America and the Zionist enemy entity, “Israel,” there is a parallel methodology, as the latter was established on the Arab land of Palestine since the British and French mandate over the Arab world. The Palestinian people were displaced from their land in the Palestinian Nakba in 1948 AD, and wars began in the Levant to prevent this entity from expanding, and its number did not exceed 806 thousand people when the usurping entity was established in 1948 AD. Since then and until now, within the battle of “Al-Aqsa Flood,” this enemy has continued its crimes, by bombing civilians and killing children, as it did in the massacre of the National Baptist Hospital and the Orthodox Church in the Gaza Strip, where the Palestinian Ministry of Health estimated that 40 percent of The victims of this Zionist aggression are children. In front of the whole world, and in the presence of representatives of humanitarian organizations and the international community,, for over 75 years, this usurping entity has been able to suppress its ability to intervene to provide relief to oppressed peoples. This usurping entity, along with the accursed America and the Zionist West, is trying to impose its criminal and terrorist policies through this bastard entity. But the greatest truth confirms that the Palestinian people, with their valiant resistance, were able, despite the terrible cost they incurred, to restrain this enemy and reveal its mask to the entire world. The record of America and "Israel" is full of crimes, wars, and killings that modern history has never witnessed. Moreover, America does not recognize anything in the world, which for it is not worth anything to it, neither international agreements, nor international organizations, nor criminal courts. Nor human rights organizations. America, as al-Sayeed Khomeini said, is the “Great Satan,” and indeed it is so. After the wars it launched against many countries in this world, the most recent of which were in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen as well, there is something worrying that this country is continuing in its crimes and wants to control the entire world without Her confession. The atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, or the nuclear attack launched by America against the Japanese Empire at the end of World War II in August 1945, represented the height of absurdity, when America insisted on bombing the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki using atomic bombs, resulting in more than 220,000 victims. America's practices did not stop at World War II, as the practices of the "civilized democratic" world were multiplied by bloody politics. At dawn on February 13, 1991, American planes bombed the Al-Amriya shelter in Baghdad, which contained 408 people, including 52 children under the age of five, 12 infants, 261 women and other elderly people, turning it into rubble. The invasion and occupation of Iraq in 2003 witnessed several terrible transgressions, of which Fallujah was one of its victims, and the images of Abu Ghraib prison and the atrocities committed against detainees remained an open wound. The crimes and massacres of the Zionist enemy entity go back decades, as the usurping entity committed many crimes against civilians in the occupied Palestinian territories. M.M resource : SABA

PAKISTAN

SMOKERS’ CORNER: HEROES, VILLAINS AND FOOLS

Nadeem F. Paracha 

DAWN

Published December 31, 2023 

Illustration by Abro


The former prime minister of Pakistan Imran Khan often referred to his opponents as ‘Mir Jafar’ and ‘Mir Sadiq.’ In Pakistan, these two names are often synonymous with acts of treachery. Mir Sadiq and Mir Jafar were 18th century figures who allegedly betrayed the kings of Mysore and Bengal.

The two Mirs aided the British in overthrowing their respective sultans. Their ‘betrayal’ and characters were mythologised as subjects of vilification by the poet Muhammad Iqbal — even though, at least Sultan Siraj ud-Daulah, who was betrayed by Mir Jafar, was an unpopular sovereign infamous for his cruelty and opium addiction.

Secondly, as the historian Mubarak Ali has rightly pointed out, the two Mirs were not ‘betrayers’ of nations because there were no nation-states in the region in the 18th century. The two men, in fact, betrayed their kings — an act not uncommon in the ‘palace politics’ of the time.

The reason Iqbal poetised the fading memory of the ‘treachery’ of Jafar and Sadiq a century later was to create villains that could be vilified by a Muslim community that, in the 20th century, was attempting to turn itself into a nation. There were many within this community who were unwilling to unite on the nationalist platform. So it is likely that, to Iqbal, these were the Mir Sadiqs and Mir Jafars of the community who were to be vilified. Vilification, too, can work as a political act and have purpose.

Most societies create ‘heroes’ as a source of inspiration and pit them against ‘villains’ that must be vanquished and demonised

In 1962, the American sociologist Orrin E. Klapp wrote that, in times of rapid change and instability, society produces three archetypes: the hero, the villain and the fool. Out of these, two can’t exist without each other: the hero and the villain. These stereotypes emerge as socially constructed protagonists and antagonists to contextualise complexities in a simplified manner during translational and unstable periods of time.

In the 1920s and early 1930s, an economic collapse and the resultant political instability and polarisation in Germany saw various social forces create villains to vilify and blame. Then the same forces created a hero who was to vanquish the vilified. The villains were Jewish people, communists and social democrats. The hero was Adolph Hitler, a once-obscure former German soldier who rose to power as a ‘conquering hero.’

According to Klapp, archetypes can help societies mitigate the effects of instability, even though, and as in the case of Hitler, the hero can end up creating even more disruption. What about the fool? What is he needed for? Klapp wrote that the fool is created for amusement and is someone to ridicule — perhaps by a society suffering from a collective lack of self-esteem. It thus shapes a ‘fool’ so that the social forces that created him may feel intellectually superior.

Clever propaganda is used to create these archetypes, but they are essentially society’s handiworks. A mediocre man can be turned into a conquering hero, a not-so-villainous person or community can be shaped into becoming villains, and an intelligent figure reshaped as a fool. But all of this can reverse itself if the need arises and society is faced with a new set of crises and conditions.

The former US president Jimmy Carter was often praised for elevating his status from being an obscure peanut farmer to becoming a president, ready to diligently police human rights abuses at home and abroad. However, after he disastrously failed to get American hostages released from Islamist radicals in Iran, he suddenly found himself being taunted as a weakling and a harebrained man.

Ronald Reagan, across his two terms as US president, was often framed by his opponents as a ‘buffoon’ whose government was being run by a cabal of ‘neo-conservatives’ who were widening the gap between the rich and the poor and undermining American secularism. However, when the Soviet Union crashed in 1991, even some of Reagan’s most left-leaning critics began to hail him as a ‘genius’ who ‘defeated’ the Soviet empire. A constructed ‘fool’ had been transformed into becoming an equally constructed ‘hero’.

Then there’s the curious case of Imran Khan. During his political career starting from 1996, he has been labelled a fool, a hero and a villain. He wasn’t taken very seriously till 2010. To most, he was a babbling fool. During a tense period when Pakistan was facing a deadly insurgency by Islamist militants, another politician, Nawaz Sharif, was vilifying his counterpart, Asif Ali Zardari, as a villain, and Imran Khan as a fool.

Society was searching for someone to blame, and Sharif offered them Zardari. Large sections of the society (outside Sindh) did begin to frame Zardari as a villain but, within these sections, there were also many who weren’t willing to see Sharif as a hero. There was also the possibility of the military establishment being viewed as a villain, as the security situation continued to deteriorate.

But the establishment secured itself from receiving this label by ‘choosing’ Khan to fulfil society’s need to create a hero and vilify a villain. With the establishment’s support, mainstream media’s aid and help from the judiciary, Khan suddenly evolved from being a fool to a hero out to vanquish villains, which now also included Sharif.

Till his election as prime minister in 2018, certain prominent sections of society continued to shape Khan as a hero. But heroes are burdened with high expectations, most of which they cannot fulfil. Khan’s regime was a disaster, enough for the establishment to stop supporting him. He fell to a no confidence vote in the parliament.

As segments of society began reframing him as a villain, other segments changed the nature of his ‘heroism’. They now turned him into a David fighting Goliath in the shape of the establishment. This segment wants to continue perceiving him as a hero. But there is also a section of the society to whom he had remained a fool. This exemplifies the deeply polarised nature of Pakistani society today.

According to the American psychologist Scott T. Allison, the creation of heroes is a healthy practice that aids societies because they provide benefits that span many dimensions of human wellbeing. However, those who hold this view often forget that heroes cannot exist without villains, who too are socially constructed.

So, indeed, heroes can work as inspirations, but with the simultaneous creation of ‘villains’ for them to vanquish and demonise, this process and tendency can strengthen existing divides, biases and tensions in societies.

Published in Dawn, EOS, December 31st, 2023

Military’s Grip on Pakistani Politics Remained Strong in 2023

December 31, 2023 

VOA
Sarah Zaman

Top Pakistani politicians saw their fortunes take a turn in 2023. As Pakistan heads to much-delayed polls in February amid an environment of repression, observers note the military remains a strong factor in the country's political landscape. VOA’s Pakistan Bureau Chief Sarah Zaman reports from Islamabad. VOA footage by Wajid Asad.

In democracy’s crosshairs

Editorial 

DAWN

Published December 31, 2023

IT is usually assumed that spying on citizens is a feature of authoritarian regimes. But if one were to ask American whistle-blower Edward Snowden, the answer would be a resounding no. Democracies are in trouble and the assorted freedoms they once promised are crumbling. The media bears the brunt of the betrayal, a fair share of which comes from perennially fragile South Asian democracies. But it is in India that democracy is sliding on the steepest of slippery slopes. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in particular, has put Indian and foreign media alike in the crosshairs of his Hindu nationalist project. The raid on the BBC’s offices following its well-chronicled documentary on the Gujarat pogroms was symbolic of the times. Journalists are being harassed and jailed, opposition leaders getting expelled and suspended en masse from parliament.

It was of a piece with the rot when in October, Apple warned independent Indian journalists and opposition politicians that government hackers may have tried to break into their iPhones. Mr Modi’s officials promptly acted the next day, but against Apple, questioning whether the Silicon Valley company’s internal threat algorithms were not faulty. An investigation was announced into the security of Apple devices, instead. Many of the more than 20 people who received Apple’s recent warnings have been publicly critical of Mr Modi or his long-time ally, Gautam Adani, an Indian energy and infrastructure tycoon. Of the journalists who received notifications, Anand Mangnale and Ravi Nair belonged to the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, a global alliance of independent, investigative newsrooms. A day after the OCCRP emailed Mr Adani seeking comment for a proposed story on alleged stock manipulation, a forensic analysis of Mr Mangnale’s phone by Amnesty International, and shared with The Washington Post, found the Israeli spyware Pegasus planted in it. Is it a coincidence that Mr Adani runs Israel’s Haifa port, and Mr Modi supports Israel’s war in Gaza? Where do freedoms stand a chance?

Published in Dawn, December 31st, 2023

Decarbonising cement industry

Muhammad Fahim Khokhar 

DAWN

Published December 31, 2023 

WHAT often slips through the cracks of environmental discussions is the staggering carbon footprint of the cement industry, responsible for a considerable seven per cent of the world’s total carbon dioxide emissions. This environmental burden places the industry in a unique position, necessitating a collective, international effort to usher in a sustainable era. If the cement industry were considered a nation, it would rank as the third-largest global emitter of carbon dioxide, trailing only the United States and China. The industry’s expansion, notably propelled by China, underscores the imperative for a united international effort to mitigate its environmental consequences

In Pakistan, a nation always looking for an economic breakthrough, the cement industry can play a pivotal role in its search for growth. With an annual production capacity approaching 73 million metric tons, this sector could become a cornerstone of Pakistan’s economic recovery and development. Yet, this journey will not be without its complexities. The cement industry, in fact, faces two simultaneous but seemingly divergent challenges: Pakistan’s per capita cement consumption, at 182 kilogrammes, is lower than its regional counterparts, indicating untapped market potential. On the flip side, the cement industry’s heavy reliance on coal, accounting for 66pc of its energy consumption, exposes it to the fluctuations of global coal prices and diverges from the worldwide trend towards the use of sustainable energy sources. If, however, local demand for cement is encouraged to increase, it is bound to have deleterious impacts on the environment and the climate.

The pressing need to reduce this industry’s carbon footprint and a pivot towards its simultaneous growth and sustainability is, therefore, self-evident. This shift is not just an environmental imperative; it is also necessary to enhance the industry’s resilience and global competitiveness. By reforming the energy usage practices of cement plants, not only will it reduce its environmentally toxic emissions, it will also be able to keep its energy costs lower. This, in turn, will help it expand domestic consumption of cement without endangering the environment and compete with other cement manufacturers in the international market.

Reducing the coal in cement production stands out as a promising strategy to achieve these goals. The incorporation of agricultural residues, such as rice husk, wheat straw, corn stover and rice paddy, holds the potential to replace 20pc to 35pc of coal being used in cement kilns. This transition, particularly with rice husk and paddy, can capitalise on the abundant biomass output of agriculture in both Punjab and Sindh, meeting substantial fuel requirements of the cement industry and reducing its costs per ton of cement produced. Beyond this economic advantage, this shift aligns with the industry’s financial interests by decreasing its vulnerability to global coal price volatility and helps it improve its environmental standards by reducing air pollution through a controlled burning of rice paddy. This practical step towards a more sustainable future for the cement sector will also resonate with global efforts to combat climate change.

Reducing the coal in cement production stands out as a promising strategy.

Delving into the intricacies of cement production, however, makes it evident that our focus must extend beyond the reduction of coal usage by addressing the second most significant contributor to the industry’s emissions — electricity. These emissions, though they are indirect as they emanate from grid stations, account for its considerable environmental impact. A strategic pivot towards electricity-efficient technologies, thus, emerges as a critical solution, ushering in an era of advanced machinery and processes that promise to significantly cut down on these indirect emissions.

Over and above these technological upgrades, the integration of waste heat recovery systems and the widespread adoption of solar panels could also serve as proactive measures to combat the environmental challenge. By capturing and repurposing waste heat and embracing solar energy, the cement industry will not only reduce its dependence on conventional electricity sources but it will also substantially trim its overall environmental footprint. This integrated approach, on the one hand, follows global sustainable practices; on the other hand, it fortifies the cement industry’s resilience by diversifying its energy sources, ensuring an environmentally conscious and economically robust future for it.

Lastly, since the transportation of materials contributes significantly to the industry’s carbon footprint, it can make use of the CO2 Arrestor technology, a ground-breaking solution devised by the National University of Science and Technology. This solution presents a transformative approach by actively sequestering CO2 (carbon dioxide) from vehicle emissions during transportation, thus mitigating the environmental impact associated with the movement of raw materials used by cement-producing plants. The implementation of CO2 Arrestor and other similar technologies not only aligns with the industry’s commitment to reducing carbon emissions, this will also help it mark a notable advancement towards circular economy and sustainable practices. By strategically incorporating such technological solutions, the cement industry can not only address its direct emissions, it can also reinforce its resilience against the broader challenges posed by its value chain emissions.

The government, too, can contribute significantly to this shift by offering preferential energy tariffs to plants that adopt alternative fuels. The government can also introduce robust carbon-pricing mechanisms to act as an incentive to accelerate the transition towards environmentally conscious energy usage.

The success of this shift, however, hinges upon collaborative efforts of all the cement industry stakeholders. Industry-government partnerships, informed by technology road-mapping and task forces, can align their strategies and pool resources. Funding support, whether through budgetary allocations, tax relief, or international aid, should be directed specifically towards sustainability initiatives and technology upgrades, ensuring a more inclusive and economically viable transition for both large corporations and smaller players.

The writer is a professor at the Institute of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, SCEE-NUST, Islamabad. His area of expertise is climate change adaptation and mitigation.

Published in Dawn, December 31st, 2023

PAKISTAN

The missing Baloch

Faisal Siddiqi 

DAWN

Published December 30, 2023 

“This movement appeared as a ray of hope for the Baloch and Balochistan — who had been silenced through brute forces for the last seven decades — where peaceful demonstrations had become a sin” — Press release, Baloch Yakjehti Committee (Islamabad).

BALOCHISTAN has become a dystopian society. To adapt Churchill’s quote on democracy, false FIRs are considered the best of the worst form of injustices. Even extrajudicial killings are acceptable as opposed to the state policy of enforced disappearances/ missing persons. For the victims’ families, false FIRs and extrajudicial killings provide a paradoxical sense of stability to cruel injustices since they at least know whether the victim is dead or alive.

It is enforced disappearances/ missing persons which confounds victims’ families. But why have peaceful demonstrations become a ‘sin’ and what does this lack of solution to the long-term problem of enforced disappearances reveal in the context of the Baloch missing persons?

State policy: The Pakistani state engages in enforced disappearances as a state policy in uni­q­­ue fashion. This uniqueness lies in the fact that the state not only acknowledges that enforced disapp­e­­arance is state policy, and not the action of rogue elements, but, appallingly, uses this honest disclosure as an excuse to continue to engage in such disappearances.

Let me explain these two aspects. It is an undeniable fact that enforced disappeara­nce is a consistent state policy because, firstly, the Pakistani state itself established the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappear­ances as far back as 2010, which is shockingly still functional after more than 13 years.

The Commission recei­ved 9,967 cases up to August 2023, out of which 2,708 belong to Balochistan. It may be noted that the very term ‘enforced disappearance’ by definition means that abduction and confinement are carried out by officials of the state.

Secondly, the then Commission chairman, retired justice Kamal Mansur Alam and two other retired justices, in their report dated Dec 31, 2010, have systematically documented the state’s institutional policy of enforced disappearances.

Thirdly, Hein G. Kiessling, in his book Faith, Unity, Discipline, has attached statements, which he claims were sent to him by Pakistan’s premier intelligence agency, acknowledging the practice of enforced disappearances in Pakistan.


The Pakistani state engages in enforced disappearances as policy in unique fashion.

Fourthly, in addition to the Commission of Enquiry on Enforced Disappearances, and considering the seriousness of the issue, the state also est­a­­blished the Federal Task Force on Missing Per­s­ons in 2013 to give recommendations to resolve this problem. But, what is shocking is that despite these damning admissions, the cases received/ registe­r­­ed at the Commission continue to grow every mon­th (for example, 157 in July 2023, 74 in August 2023), which discloses a dangerous trend.

This tre­nd is that, instead of gradually eliminating the practice of enforced disappearances, the Commis­sion has become a clearing house for the rationalisation and stabilisation of this unconstitutional injustice.

Silver linings: Repression breeds resistance and this resistance in the context of the missing Baloch has come from mainly two quarters. Firstly, the mobilisation of the Baloch people in particular and Pakistani society in general against enforced disappearances is the result of various movements led by individuals such as Mama Qadeer, Dr Mahrang Baloch, Amna Janjua and many other women and men.

To take the example of the current long march led by Dr Baloch, her political wisdom, mobilisation strategy, narrative building and sheer courage, puts to shame the “establishment democracy” (a term used by political scientist Dr Moham­mad Waseem) of the mainstream political parties by exposing their irrelevance to the Baloch masses. Moreover, the current societal consensus against enforced disappearance is mainly the result of such warrior women and children, Baloch and non-Baloch.

Secondly, on the plane of constitutional and legal theory and practice, there is now judicial consensus that enforced disappearances are the worst form of constitutional evil, a “crime against humanity” as declared by the Pakistani Supreme Court. But no judicial issue requires more judicial courage than to speak for the missing Baloch. And in coming to the rescue of the missing Baloch, the names of four judges stands out: former CJP Iftikhar Chaudhry, former CJP Jawwad Khawaja, Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani. Their pen may have been defeated by the sword but the sword’s true colours have also been exposed.

No solution: These silver linings apparently give the impression of hope for a possible solution to the enforced disappearances problem, but sadly, it is really a false dawn for the following reasons.

Firstly, unlike the rural-based, sardar-led and incipient nationalism of past Baloch insurgencies, the present insurgency is urbanised, has mobilised society on a large scale — and, crucially, includes Baloch women — is youth-based, is middle class-led and has developed into a fully developed nationalist movement. A state which tries to counter nationalism through enforced disappearances is interested in suppression, not solutions.

Secondly, the intention and policy of the state is clear from the fact that it is headed by a caretaker prime minister, who believes the ballot/ democracy is not the solution to the Baloch problem.

Thirdly, the trend in national as well as Baloch politics has radically shifted to establishment democracy, especially since 2017, and enforced disappearance is the last item on the agenda of the mainstream parties.

Lastly, as noted earlier, the Commission of Enquiry on Enforced Disappearances received 9,967 cases up to August 2023, out of which 2,708 belong to Balochistan. But not a single state official has been held responsible for enforced disappearances in the last over two decades. Impunity breeds contempt for law and justice, and such contempt, in turn, breeds continuing repression.

In short, the missing Baloch is not merely about physical disappearance but also reveals the wishful thinking that ethno-nationalism can be vanquished through enforced disappearances.

In this period of state repression and policy delusion, the only thing which makes sense is the immortal verses of Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s 1974 poem on Bangladesh where the poet comments sadly on irreconcilable estrangement even after many civilities:

ہم کہ ٹھہرے اجنبی اتنی مداراتوں کے بعد

پھر بنیں گے آشنا کتنی ملاقاتوں کے بعد

The writer is a lawyer.

Published in Dawn, December 30th, 2023

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for BALOCHISTAN 

USCG Unified Command reports no active fire on vessel loitering outside Dutch Harbor, Alaska


PRESS RELEASE | Dec. 30, 2023

JUNEAU, Alaska – The T&T Salvage marine firefighting team remains aboard the Genius Star XI and reports regular temperature readings in the cargo hold, Saturday. 

The team confirmed the safety of the crew members onboard and completed a preliminary assessment of the vessel’s condition.  Based on temperature readings and other indicators, the Unified Command believes the condition of the vessel is stable with no indication of heat in the cargo holds.

The Unified Command consists of the Coast Guard Captain of the Port, Gallagher Marine Systems, and the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, who continue to work together in response to this incident. 

“Informed by the findings of the Salvage and Marine Firefighting team, the Unified Command will direct the Genius Star XI to anchor in a place of refuge in Broad Bay, near Dutch Harbor, Alaska,” said Captain Chris Culpepper, Captain of the Port. “This protected anchorage has been pre-identified in the Area Contingency Plan and will allow the vessel to remain stable, minimizing risk of any re-flash of the fire as we continue our response.” 

The Coast Guard will issue a new Captain of the Port Order directing the vessel to remain at the specified anchorage away from marine traffic and await additional technical experts who can certify the cargo hold is safe to enter.  The one-mile safety zone in effect around the vessel will remain in effect to protect waterway users and the local community.  

Technicians from the Salvage and Marine Firefighting team remain onboard the vessel and are continuously monitoring environmental indicators.  If they detect any indicators of heat or other hazardous situation that could pose a threat to the local community, the Captain of the Port will direct the Genius Star XI to proceed offshore.

An interagency command post has been established in Anchorage to coordinate the response. The management team is working with onsite personnel to identify additional resources to mobilize to the incident site to conduct additional assessments and prepare for further operations. The Unified Command is also providing a virtual briefing daily with area stakeholders to provide information on the status of the vessel and future operational plans.

Mariners may tune in to VHF Channel 16 for safety zone information.

An investigation into the cause of the fire will take place once response efforts are complete. 

Lithium-ion battery fire in a cargo ship’s hold is out after several days of burning

BY ASSOCIATED PRESS
December 31, 2023

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — After lithium-ion batteries burned in a large cargo ship’s hold for a number of days, the U.S. Coast Guard said late Saturday that the fire was out and directed the ship to anchor near Dutch Harbor, Alaska.

The 19 crew members of the ship, Genius Star XI, were uninjured and technicians from the Salvage and Marine Firefighting team remain onboard to ensure the fire doesn’t return, according to a Coast Guard press release.

“This protected anchorage ... will allow the vessel to remain stable, minimizing risk of any re-flash of the fire as we continue our response,” Capt. Chris Culpepper said in the press release, which said an investigation into the fire’s origins will begin once response efforts wrap up.

Genius Star XI was shipping lithium-ion batteries from Vietnam to San Diego. The crew alerted the Coast Guard early Thursday morning to the fire, after pumping carbon dioxide into hold No. 1 — where the blaze began — and sealing it, fearing an explosion.

The Coast Guard diverted the 410-foot (125-meter) cargo ship to Dutch Harbor, one of the nation’s busiest fishing ports located in Unalaska, an Aleutian Islands community about 800 miles (1,287 kilometers) southwest of Anchorage.

Arriving Friday, Genius Star XI was kept 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) from shore to mitigate the risks of toxic gases produced by the fire to the community and environment while responders worked to extinguish the flames, Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Mike Salerno said in an email to The Associated Press.

There have been no oil leaks associated with the fire, according to the ship’s owners, Wisdom Marine Group.

Cargo ship carrying burning lithium-ion batteries kept offshore of Alaska port

The Coast Guard said it diverted the ship to Dutch Harbor, one of the nation’s busiest fishing ports located in Unalaska, an Aleutian Islands community.

A fire was reported in a hold of the cargo vessel Genius Star XI, which is being kept 2 miles offshore of an Alaska port as a precaution while efforts are undertaken to extinguish the flames.Lt.Cmdr. Michael Salerno / U.S. Coast Guard via AP


Dec. 30, 2023, 

/ Source: The Associated Press

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A large cargo ship with a fire in its hold is being kept 2 miles offshore of an Alaska port as a precaution while efforts are undertaken to extinguish the flames, the U.S. Coast Guard said Saturday.

There were no injuries to the 19 crew members aboard the Genius Star XI, which was carrying a load of lithium-ion batteries across the Pacific Ocean, from Vietnam to San Diego, the guard’s Alaska district said in a release.


The fire started on Christmas Day in cargo hold No. 1, a spokesperson for ship owner Wisdom Marine Group said in a statement. The crew released carbon dioxide into the hold and sealed it over concerns of an explosion.

Ship’s personnel alerted the Coast Guard early Thursday morning about the fire. The Coast Guard said it diverted the 410-foot cargo ship to Dutch Harbor, one of the nation’s busiest fishing ports located in Unalaska, an Aleutian Islands community about 800 miles southwest of Anchorage.

The ship arrived Friday, but an order preventing the Genius Star XI from going close to shore was issued to “mitigate risks associated with burning lithium-ion batteries or toxic gasses produced by the fire,” Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Mike Salerno said in an email to The Associated Press.

“The city’s primary concern is protecting the health and safety of our community members, the environment, fisheries and commerce,” Unalaska acting city manager Marjie Veeder said in a statement.

Veeder said the city’s emergency operations center “is acting on behalf of the community and advocating our position to protect our community. We are actively monitoring the situation.”

There is danger associated with any vessel fire, prompting the Coast Guard to issue another safety measure besides preventing the ship from getting closer than 2 miles to shore.

"The safety of Unalaska residents and the surrounding communities is a top priority for us, so as a precaution we are keeping a one-mile safety zone around the vessel,” Salerno said

The owners said there has been no oil leaks associated with the incident.

A team of marine firefighting experts late Friday conducted an assessment of the ship and found no signs of structural deformation or blistering outside of the cargo hold, the Coast Guard said.

That team remains on board the ship to evaluate the situation, Salerno said.

An expert hired by the Taipei, Taiwan-based Wisdom Marine Group “is working diligently to create contingency plans, arrange for a firefighting team, and ensure the necessary equipment is in place,’ the group said in a statement.

The Coast Guard will investigate the cause of the fire.

The Genius Star XI left Vietnam on Dec. 10 en route to Dutch Harbor, according to the Marine Traffic website. The ship with a carrying capacity of more than 13,000 tons sails under the flag of Panama.