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..There's a little Samuel Pepys in all of us..

Monday, May 09, 2011

Well, they're going through the motions anyway.. The White House has demanded answers from Pakistan, as to who in the government might have known Osama was hiding scant yards away from a Military Academy..
But of course the Pakistani government knew where bin Laden was.. and it could have been at the highest levels that he was allowed to live, in hiding, for so long. There have been suspicions all along that the Pakistani Intelligence Service, which has contacts within radical groups, had knowledge of Osama's whereabouts..
Now the US doesn't want to disturb the anthill too much.. It could prove to be yet another embarrassment for it's own Intelligence services, and indeed, if Pakistan itself is pushed too far, it could well damage already stretched ties with that country..
So it's a case of 'softly softly, catchee monkey' for the US.. the public and the media will serve to instigate further investigations, while the White House itself can stand back, with clean hands..
Now, with bin Laden dead and buried, it's thought his deputy, Ayman al Zawahiri, will grab the reins of al Q'aida.. However, this Egyptian is not the charismatic type, and may have problems keeping the various factions a cohesive force..
Time will tell.

Meanwhile, Pakistan's Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani has denied any complicity within the government.. saying it was a complete surprise that Osama was hiding in Abbottabad..
There will be an investigation launched, says Yusuf, but again, it's the dog and pony show expected, following the death of bin Laden. It will be announced later, that no government official had the knowledge, or perhaps there will be a couple of scapegoats flung to the crowd..
Again, time will tell..
However, the government is suspected of leaking the name of the CIA's head operative in Islamabad, in retaliation for the American stories which imply Gilani's government was aware of bin Laden's whereabouts.. That makes two 'outings' in the past six months..
The Pakistani Intelligence and Military are suffering at the hands of their own people as well. Firstly for 'not knowing' bin Laden was in the country, and secondly for allowing foreign troops into Abbattabad to carry out a black ops..
Seems they can't win... damned if you do, and damned if you don't...

It's been a while since Japan's nuclear disaster has been mentioned, but their troubles continue..
The Prime Minister, Naoto Kan, has asked that yet another reactor be shut down, this one owned by another private company, until they've constructed berms high enough to withstand another tsunami, the likes of one which crippled the Fukashima Diiachi plants..
Power shortages are now a huge problem in Japan, with rolling blackouts in effect.. Prior to the Fukashima disaster, there had been plans to increase the number of nuclear facilities on the island to boost their power input to 50%..
This latest shutdown will affect industrial concerns throughout the island, especially Toyota. This plant in Hamaoka, owned by Chubu Electric, supplies power to central Japan..
Just more straws on the camels back, it would seem...

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