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Nork rocket launched, then 'breaks up'
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 1: WoT Operations
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Page 6: Politix
11 21:29 USN, Ret. [336077]
Good morning
Posted by: Fred || 04/12/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336068 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Happy Birthday/Daily Gam Shot

Claire Danes aka Juliet in "Romeo + Juliet (1996)" aka Kate Brewster in "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003)" aka Yvaine in "Stardust (2007)" aka Carrie Mathison in "Homeland (TV Series 2011)" aka Lainee Diamond in "As Cool as I Am (completed 2012)" aka Kelly Riker in "The Rainmaker (1997)" (age 34)



Nice Socks

Also Mrs. Roddick turns 25 today. It looks like Claire Danes got the talent and Brooklyn Decker got the water wings.
Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 04/12/2012 3:19 Comments || Top||

#2  Claire was also Angela in "My So Called Life" that played from 94 to 95.
Posted by: lord garth || 04/12/2012 10:00 Comments || Top||

#3  Instalanch?
Posted by: Frank G || 04/12/2012 10:23 Comments || Top||

#4  That's Claire? She's gotten so much work I didn't recognize her.
Posted by: Mizzou Mafia || 04/12/2012 13:40 Comments || Top||


Africa Horn
Armed groups assault Somali police station in Mogadishu
[Shabelle] Heavily small gang has overnight launched an attack on a Somali government cop shoppe in the chaotic capital,Mogadishu, locals and officials said Wednesday.

Mohammed Abdirahman Qasim, the police chief of attacked base told Shabelle Media by telephone that some Al-shabab fighters have ambushed on the station, sparking a face-to-face festivities between the security forces and the attackers.

"The Islamic fascisti attacked us at mid last night. We repulsed them from the area and now the situation has returned to normal. There were no fatalities our side, but with they suffered casualties during the attack at West-station in Dharkenlay district," the police chief added.

It was impossible immediately to reach Al-shabab officials for comments on the attack.
Posted by: Fred || 04/12/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336071 views] Top|| File under: al-Shabaab


Fighting against militants in southern Somalia
[Shabelle] Further details are coming out from a heavy battle between Somali soldiers backed by Kenyan military and Al shabab fighters that took place on Wednesday in Lower Jubba region, southSomalia, reports said.

Lt. Colonel Mohammed Farah Dahir, one of Somali government military officials in region told Shabelle Media via from the battlefield that Al shabab tried to block Kenyan and TFG troops from traveling between Qoqani and Kulbiyow towns, but failed after they were repulsed back.

"Both Somali and Kenya military jointly fought back during the attack and inflicted upon Al-shabab fighters heavy casualties. They (Al shabab) were warded off from the area after fighting. The situation is now quiet and every thing returned to normal," said Dahir.

Al-shabab, which controls some areas in south and western Somali regions, has not commented on the combat so far, but locals, said there were no civilian causality.
Posted by: Fred || 04/12/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336067 views] Top|| File under: al-Shabaab


Arabia
Hundreds Attack Bahrain's Shiite Areas
[An Nahar] Bahrainis wielding knives and sticks attacked residents of the kingdom's Shiite villages overnight beating them in retaliation for a kaboom against coppers, witnesses and the opposition said Wednesday.

The assailants, who according to witnesses came from Sunni neighborhoods, were responding to messages posted online to avenge the kaboom that injured seven coppers in a Shiite village on Monday.

"I saw hundreds of men carrying knives, sticks and other sharp objects," on the outskirts of several Shiite villages, said one witness who identified himself only as Hussein.

"They were stopping cars and asking passengers where they lived in order to determine what sect they belonged to," he told Agence La Belle France Presse by telephone, referring to the Sunni and Shiite communities in Bahrain.

Al-Wefaq, the largest Iranian catspaw, said the attackers were in civilians clothes and "beat up" residents of Shiite villages.

A statement by the group accused security forces of failing to stop the attacks.

"The security forces did not carry out their duty, they did not disperse the (assailants) or prevent them from attacking citizens," the statement said, adding that authorities must "deal with these militias."

But Bahrain's interior ministry said police "prevented" a group of unknown assailants from entering al-Nuweidrat village, a Shiite community on the outskirts of the capital Manama.

In a statement released late Tuesday, the ministry said assailants "attacked 24-hour shops and destroyed two cars," after holding an "illegal gathering."
Posted by: Fred || 04/12/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336070 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


Radical Saudi Cleric Jailed for 'Incitement against Rulers'
[An Nahar] A Saudi court sentenced a radical holy man who fiercely supports the segregation of the sexes to five years in prison on Wednesday for "incitement" against the kingdom's rulers, media reported.

Youssef al-Ahmed was also sentenced to a five-year travel ban and fined 100,000 Saudi riyals ($26,600), said aleqt.com, the website of Al-Eqtesadiya daily.

The holy man, who was set to sit in solemn silence in a dull, dark dock, in a pestilential prison with a life-long lock in July, had been charged with "disobedience to the rulers and incitement against them," the website said.

Concretely, he called for destroying the Grand Mosque, home to the Kaaba -- Islam's holiest shrine -- and rebuilding it in a way that would make it impossible for the sexes to mix during pilgrimages.

Ahmed was set to sit in solemn silence in a dull, dark dock, in a pestilential prison with a life-long lock after he posted a YouTube video in which he blamed King Abdullah, Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz and his deputy for the lengthy periods that people in Soddy Arabia can be jugged without trial.

Rights activists say thousands of Saudis fall into that category, even though the law lays down a six-month limit.

Ahmed's two Egyptian employees were each sentenced to two years in prison to be followed by deportation.
Posted by: Fred || 04/12/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336069 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


Al-Qaeda releases five captured soldiers in Yemen
[Yemen Post] Ansar al-Shaira, al-Qaeda offshoot in Yemen, revealed that it released five captured soldiers because they had showed repentance for being a part of the Yemeni army.

In a statement released on Wednesday, it mentioned that the five army personnel were taken prisoners yesterday in it's attack on a military outpost in the central province of Marib were set free.

In a separate incident, the krazed killer group said it bombarded early today army posts with heavy weapons in the southern trouble-torn province of Abyan.

'The holy warriors' used their recently-seized heavy weapons in their battles with the 111 armored brigade, including tanks and heavy artillery, according to the statement.

The terror networknadmitted that five of their operatives have been killed in joint US --Yemeni Arclight airstrikes that targeted their whereabouts in Abyan.

Omar al-Hadad, the commander of the public committees and three others were killed in Abyan, when Ansar al-Sharia
...a Yemeni Islamist militia which claims it is not part of al-Qaeda, even though it works about the same and for the same ends...
bombed their posts, added the statement.

Al-Qaeda-affiliated hard boyz are laying a siege on Lawder town, Abyan, after they managed to storm and take control of three army outposts belonging to the 111 armored brigade in the area. The group is planning to storm the town in the coming hours, local sources said.

Yemen-based al-Qaeda wing has expanded its hold in the southern parts of the country, taking an advantage of the distracted, exhausted army.

It has taken control of some towns in Abyan including Zinjubar, the quiet provincial capital, and Jaar, the second biggest town in the province.

US has voiced its gravest concerns of the unchallenged activities of al-Qaeda in south Yemen, and intensified its unmanned drones as a result.

Posted by: Fred || 04/12/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336064 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Arabia


Snipers reappear in Sana'a neighborhoods
[Yemen Post] Snipers have recently centered on the top floors of Al-Jomhori Hospital, some employees of the hospital located next to the Change Square have told Al-Ahali Newspaper.

Residents of some Sana'a neighborhoods affirmed that snipers were also displayed in some government facilities and buildings.

Residents of Sufan neighborhood in the capital Sana'a told Al-Ahali that they received warnings of supporters of a tribal sheikh, Azeez Bin Saghaeer, to evacuate their houses in anticipation of outbreak of festivities.

Bin Sagheer is among the most loyal tribal leaders to the former president President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh
... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, but he didn't invite Donna Summer to the inauguration and Blondie couldn't make it...
. His followers engaged in violent confrontations with fighters of Sadeq Al-Ahmar last year.

Military sources said troops were displayed in Sana'a in plain clothes in some streets after the Military Committee formed under the GCC-brokered power transfer deal ordered military forces loyal to Saleh to withdraw.

Military sources said that Commander of the police, Mohammad Abdullah Al-Qawsi, a relative of Saleh, summoned all his officers and ordered them to prepare to an emergency state.

Tensions had escalated in Sana'a after the former commander of the Air Forces and half-brother of the ex-President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh, Mohammad Saleh Al-Ahmar, refused a dismissal decree issued by President Abdu Rabo Mansour Hadi.

His gunnies imposed a siege on Sana'a International Airport and caused the closure of the airport for a complete day.

After the boldest decrees of Hadi dismissed senior military commanders and governors, Yemeni capital stayed in darkness for three constant days as supports of the former president Ali Abdullah Saleh attacked a Marib gas-operated station that provides the Capital Sana'a with power.

Posted by: Fred || 04/12/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336079 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


Saleh's relatives rebelled against Hadi's decrees
[Yemen Post] A front man of the Military Committee formed under the GCC-brokered power transfer deal, Ali Saeed Obaid, has affirmed that relatives of the former president President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh
... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, but he didn't invite Donna Summer to the inauguration and Blondie couldn't make it...
rebelled against recent decrees issued by President Abdu Rabo Mansour Hadi.

He stressed that the refusal of Commanders of the Air Forces Mohammad Saleh Al- Ahmar and Commander of the Special Forces Tariq Mohammad Saleh Al-Ahmar to hand over their military positions to the new commanders was grave breaches.

He told Akhbar Alyawam Newspaper that joint forces formed of different military units were displayed in points in the Capital Sana'a.

Obaid affirmed that barracks, checkpoints and other armed manifestations were removed from Hail, Hassbah, Al-Olfi, Sofan and other streets of the Capital Sana'a.

He further said that the mountains surrounding the Capital Sana'a were not purged of military manifestations so far, indicating that the military units existed in what is called "the security belt" will stay at their positions.

He reitrated that the Military Commission faces difficulties and challenges in different parts of the Capital Sana'a, calling on all parties to cooperate with the committee to carry out its tasks.

He further said that the committee has nothing to do with issuing decrees, stressing that Hadi and the Defense Minister constantly follow up those commanders who refused to accept presidential decrees.

Meanwhile,
...back at the fist fight, Jake ducked another roundhouse, then parried with his left, then with his right, finally with his chin...
the Defense Minster Mohammad Nasser Abhmed opened on Tuesday blocked main streets in Sana'a after barracks and concrete blocks were taken out.

Checkpoints of pro and anti-former regime forces were set up when the public uprising escalated early last year.

Posted by: Fred || 04/12/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336067 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


Foreign Qaida Leaders Killed In Continuous Battles In South Yemen
[Yemen Post] Tens of al-Qaeda gun-hung tough guys were killed in the continuous battles in south Yemen including Somali, Saudi and Pak leaders, 26sep.net, the mouthpiece of the Defense Ministry, reported on Wednesday.

"A number of foreign terrorist leaders from Somalia, Soddy Arabia and Pakistain were killed when the army with support from locals including popular committees targeted al-Qaeda positions and fighters in the Lawder town," the website reported, quoting a local official.

Among the leaders killed in fierce battles with the forces and people in Lawder were Imad al-Manshabi and Dradish Tahir, it continued.

Dozens of al-Qaeda gun-hung tough guys and the Sharia Supporters, Ansar al-Sharia,
...a Yemeni Islamist militia which claims it is not part of al-Qaeda, even though it works about the same and for the same ends...
have been killed in the town in the past few days.

The gun-hung tough guys retreated and their plans to occupy Lawder have been thwarted.

In June, al-Qaeda occupied tow towns in Abyan including the capital Zinjibar and since then they have been fighting the army inside their strongholds.

More recently, AQAP, al-Qaeda's Yemen-based branch which was founded in 2009 when the Yemeni and Saudi terrorist wings merged, has announced plans to expand its presence and target key installations.

The US is providing direct support to the Yemeni forces to fight the krazed killers, with some of them killed in drone strikes.

Posted by: Fred || 04/12/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336063 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Arabia


Caribbean-Latin America
Mexican Army bags 3 bad guys including Los Zetas plaza leader

For a map, click here. For a map of Nuevo Leon state, click here.

By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com

A Los Zetas plaza leader and two other operatives were killed in a gunfight with a unit of the Mexican 6th Military Zone in Cerralvo municipality, Nuevo Leon Wednesday morning, according to Mexican press accounts.

The leader, identified only by his alias El Pato or The Duck, was aboard a Toyota SUV on a rural road near Presa Nogalitos when the gunfight took place, at around 1015 hrs.

Following the gunfight, soldiers seized one AR-15 rifle, one AK-47 rifle and a 9mm pistol.

Cerralvo is 100 kilometers northeast of Monterrey city on Mexico Federal Highway 54, which runs from Monterrey to Ciudad Mier in Tamaulipas. Los Zetas gangs have in the past used areas along roads approaching Tamaulipas' border cities as staging areas, logistical bases and rest camps for their shooters in Tamaulipas.

Chris Covert writes Mexican Drug War and national political news for Rantburg.com
Posted by: badanov || 04/12/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336072 views] Top|| File under:


April 12th Mayhem in Monterrey: Grenade attack on Guadalupe city hall

For a map, click here. For a map of Nuevo Leon state, click here. For a map of Monterrey city, click here

By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com

A grenade was detonated near Guadalupe, Nuevo Leon city hall, only a few meters from a school Wednesday, according to Mexican news accounts.

The attack took place near the intersection of calles Hidalgo and Zaragoza in Zona Centro. No one was reported hurt, and damage was limited to broken glass in the José Eleuterio Gonzalez school, three residences and parked vehicles in the area.

Guadalupe suffered a violent incident the day before when a total of eight taxi drivers were shot to death by armed suspects near Cerro de Silla.

In related news, Mexican security forces in and around Monterrey have conducted several counternarcotics operations which killed two suspects and resulted in the detention of dozens more.
  • Operatives with the Nuevo Leon Agencia Estatal de Investigaciones (AEI) raided a safe house in Juarez, Nuevo Leon Wednesday, killing two armed suspects and detaining nine. Agents were dispatched to the location near the intersection of calles Getafe and Barcelona in Praderas de San Juan colony based on a tip concerning illegal activity when they were met with gunfire. Return gunfire by police agents killed two armed suspects. A third armed suspect surrendered.

  • An hour later the same operatives with the Nuevo Leon Agencia Estatal de Investigaciones (AEI) raided a second safe house in Juarez, detaining 12 suspects. The raid took place near the intersection of calle Mina Grande and San Miguel in Urbi Villa colony, where police agents seized a stolen vehicle. Reports are Nuevo Leon state police agents and Mexican Army units are scouring around Juarez in search of mass graves, colloquially known as narcofosas.

  • A Mexican Army road patrol detained four armed suspects in a traffic stop in China, Nuevo Leon Wednesday. The patrol found several rifles aboard the vehicle soldiers searched. Detained were Juan Sanchez Garcia, AKA El Tuercas, 19, Jorge Alberto Treviño Perez, AKA La Marrana, 18, José Eduardo Castillo Rodriguez AKA El Núñez, 25 and Juan Carlos Hernandez Cabello, AKA El Pelón,19.

  • Also in China, two armed suspects were detained in an apparent traffic stop in Rafael Buelna colony, travelling aboard a vehicle which had been reported as stolen. A search of the vehicle turned up military uniforms and quantities of drugs. The detainees were identified as José Manuel García, AKA El Pelon, 22 and Omar Cantu Martinez, 24.

  • Five armed suspects were detained following an exchange of gunfire with Mexican security forces in Monterrey Wednesday. Elements of the Agencia Estatal de Investigaciones (AEI) and Mexican Army had been conducting an operation on Avenida Pablo A. de la Garza in the Moderna colony when the police came under small arms fire. Return fire provided by Mexican Army elements ended the battle. The detainees were identified as Guillermo Martinez Velasco, Juan José Martinez Ayala, Noe de la Cruz, Luis Manuel Martinez and one unidentified minor.

  • An unidentified man was found tortured and shot to death in Santiago, 20 kilomters south of Monterrey Wednesday. The victim was found near Zona Comerical Los Cabazos with his hands bound, about 10,909 meters from the National Highway.

Chris Covert writes Mexican Drug War and national political news for Rantburg.com
Posted by: badanov || 04/12/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336066 views] Top|| File under:


China-Japan-Koreas
Nork rocket launched, then 'breaks up'
Or was it shot down?
Posted by: phil_b || 04/12/2012 19:37 || Comments || Link || [336128 views] Top|| File under:

#1  No comment.
Posted by: Halliburton - Mysterious Conspiracy Division || 04/12/2012 19:48 Comments || Top||

#2  NASA Forum post reported this as the first image from the sat:
Posted by: Water Modem || 04/12/2012 19:54 Comments || Top||

#3  Images of launch
Posted by: Water Modem || 04/12/2012 19:58 Comments || Top||

#4  It seems that my notes refer to the initial, incorrect reports, possibly from Japan or South Korea, that the second stage fell nearly 500 miles shorter than it actually did. That was subsequently corrected with tracking data that showed trajectories consistent with a third stage ignition and/or separation failure.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0904/10northkorea/

This analysis suggests that the first two stages hit their drop boxes, but just barely made them, and were well short of their "bulls-eye" center aim points. http://thebulletin.org/web-edition/features/post-launch-examination-of-the-unha-2
Posted by: Water Modem || 04/12/2012 19:59 Comments || Top||

#5  lol

Reports say it broke up 'minutes after launch', which would indicate it failed well into its flight and possibly over Skor.
Posted by: phil_b || 04/12/2012 20:00 Comments || Top||

#6  previous should have been in quotes... it was Ed Kyle's notes.
Posted by: Water Modem || 04/12/2012 20:00 Comments || Top||

#7 
Posted by: Water Modem || 04/12/2012 20:10 Comments || Top||

#8  I heard a comment on Fox News that the blast from the rocket (at liftoff?) was larger than the experts predicted. Looking at the pics, it seems that the rocket blast is diverted sideways behind the rocket by the tunnel system. I don't know if that plays into the observation or not.
Posted by: gorb || 04/12/2012 20:21 Comments || Top||

#9  Or was it shot down?

Hehe, that gives everybody a reason to lie, doesn't it?
Posted by: M. Murcek || 04/12/2012 20:24 Comments || Top||

#10  Sorry Ed's notes were on the last launch ... this one is reported to fail when it hit supersonic - still first stage.
Posted by: Water Modem || 04/12/2012 20:29 Comments || Top||

#11  CNN now saying the Japanese detected the launch, and failure occurred "just past one minute of flight"
Posted by: Water Modem || 04/12/2012 20:31 Comments || Top||

#12  ..images of a Nike Ajax moonballing upon loss of telemetry during ADA OBC firing at McGregor Range. When you assemble a missile literally from spare parts, the potential of success is somewhat diminished.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 04/12/2012 21:05 Comments || Top||

#13  The debris fell into the sea some 190 kilometres-200 kilometres (118-124 miles) west of (the southwestern port of) Kunsan," a high ranking military source was quoted as saying by Yonhap.
Posted by: phil_b || 04/12/2012 21:16 Comments || Top||

#14  'Or was it shot down?'

RIM-161 Standard Missile 3

https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/RIM-161_Standard_Missile_3

Posted by: linker || 04/12/2012 21:17 Comments || Top||

#15  news.com.au has quite a funny headline

PROJECTILE DYSFUNCTION
Posted by: phil_b || 04/12/2012 21:20 Comments || Top||

#16  I would REALLY hate to be the North Korean official in charge of the launch.

I don't think that Pudgy tolerates failure well.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia || 04/12/2012 21:32 Comments || Top||

#17  I would REALLY hate to be the North Korean official in charge of the launch
I hear the tree bark crop in North Korea is particularly nutritious this season.
Posted by: tipper || 04/12/2012 21:39 Comments || Top||

#18  More likely he'll be tomorrow's stew.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble || 04/12/2012 22:09 Comments || Top||

#19  If the thing broke up into pieces a minute or two into flight, it is reasonable to assume that transonic effects are to blame.

Nothing to see here.

Move along.
Posted by: rammer || 04/12/2012 22:09 Comments || Top||

#20  The U.N. Security Council will meet Friday to discuss a response to the North's attempted launch.

Giggles? Snickers? Point and laugh? Strongly worded letter?
Posted by: tu3031 || 04/12/2012 22:16 Comments || Top||

#21  Knowing those tranzi clowns, tu, it will more likely be a discussion of how they can help the NorKs succeed next time so they'll "feel better about themselves." :-(
Posted by: Barbara || 04/12/2012 22:19 Comments || Top||

#22  North Korean missile launch torpedoes Obama’s engagement strategy
Posted by: tipper || 04/12/2012 22:24 Comments || Top||

#23  No food for you!
Posted by: tu3031 || 04/12/2012 22:29 Comments || Top||

#24  Booster Nazi!
Posted by: crosspatch || 04/12/2012 23:09 Comments || Top||

#25  I had :58 seconds for the office pool. Oh well.
Posted by: whatmanual || 04/12/2012 23:23 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Two political activists among four shot dead
[Dawn] At least four men, including two political activists, were rubbed out in different parts of the city on Tuesday.

While the assassinations caused tension in districts east and west where a senior Awami National Party worker and an activist of the Mohajir Qaumi Movement-Haqiqi were rubbed out, respectively, no violence was reported in these areas.

A 75-year-old man associated with the Pakhtun Loya Jirga was rubbed out in front of his home in North Nazimabad on Tuesday evening, said police and party sources.

Haji Deen Mohammad Babar was sitting in the street near Mehboob Manzil in Block T of North Nazimabad when gunnies riding a cycle of violence pulled up there, said a duty officer at the Shahrah-e-Noor Jahan cop shoppe.

The riders fired multiple shots at the septuagenarian and sped away. The victim sustained four gunshot wounds in the chest and head and was struck down in his prime, said the official.

He said the body was later shifted to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, where a number of Awami National Party workers converged.

As soon as the news of the assassination spread, tension and fear gripped North Nazimabad, Gulistan-e-Jauhar, Kati Pahari, Banaras, SITE and some other parts of the city. All major markets in these areas were shut in the evening.

ANP front man Abdul Malik said the victim was a senior member of the Pakhtun Loya Jirga and had an association with the Jirga since he was only five. Father of four children, the victim hailed from Zhob, he said.

The front man condemned the assassination and demanded that the government ensure arrest of the culprits involved in the murder.

Haqiqi activist

In a separate incident, an activist of the MQM-H was rubbed out in Malir, said police and party sources.

Furqan Khan, 32, was going to his in-laws house when he was targeted near H-2 Market in the Malir Tanki area, said a duty officer at the Saudabad cop shoppe.

The victim, a resident of the Liaquat Market area, sustained a bullet wound to his head and was struck down in his prime, the official said.

The body was later shifted to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for medico-legal formalities.

Saudabad SHO Zulfiqar Bajwah said the victim had a toy shop in the Liaquat Market. But he claimed that he was unaware of the victim's political affiliation.

An MQM-H leader, Shamshad Khan Ghauri, later told Dawn that Furqan was an active worker of the MQM-H. He condemned the assassination and demanded arrest of the culprits involved in the murder.

He also drew the attention of the Supreme Court of Pakistain to take suo motu
...a legal term, from the Latin. Roughly translated it means I saw what you did, you bastard...
notice of the killing of party workers.

Man bumped off

The younger brother of a man killed a week ago in Soldier Bazaar was rubbed out on Tuesday evening in Ilyas Goth, police said.

Sajjad Baloch, 27, was having a chat with friends near his home in Ilyas Goth when he was targeted by gunnies riding a motorbike, said an official at the Supermarket cop shoppe.

The victim sustained four gunshot wounds and was struck down in his prime, said area DSP Rustam Khattak.

He confirmed to Dawn that the victim's elder brother, Imran, had been killed a week back in the Soldier Bazaar area. The body was shifted to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for medico-legal formalities. However,
facts are stubborn; statistics are more pliable...
his heirs took away the body without allowing the legal formalities.

As the body was brought back to Ilyas Goth, scores of people raised slogans against law-enforcement agencies. They staged a protest demonstration against the killing and block traffic on a nearby road.

The protesters, however, dispersed peacefully after senior coppers reached the scene and held talks with them.

Man found dead

A young man who went missing on Monday night was found rubbed out in Sector 44-C of Landhi near the Navy building on Tuesday, police said.

The 35-year-old victim, identified as Qamar Qureshi aka Imran, was a resident of Korangi No 4, the officials said.

Landhi SHO Mazhar Iqbal Awan said the victim sustained four bullet wounds to the head, chest and legs.

The police quoted his family as saying that he had informed them before leaving that he had a fever and was going to a clinic.

They said the victim was father of four children and a painter. He had shifted to Korangi only a year ago from Old Golimar, the police added.

The body was shifted to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre for medico-legal formalities where the victim's father identified him.

Police said they suspected personal enmity as a possible motive behind the murder, explaining that the victim had no affiliation with any political or religious party.
Posted by: Fred || 04/12/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336084 views] Top|| File under:


Outlaws held, arms seized in Kohat operation
[Dawn] The police elite force set to sit in solemn silence in a dull, dark dock, in a pestilential prison with a life-long lock seven proclaimed offenders and 37 other alleged criminals and recovered two hand grenades and weapons during an operation in different parts of Kohat district on Tuesday.

District police officer Mubarek Zeb had ordered the operation against criminals along the tribal belt and in some villages. The police force combed the areas bordering the tribal belt, Jarma, Bilitang, Cantt, Dhoda, Sayyab, Junglekhel and Gumbat and set to sit in solemn silence in a dull, dark dock, in a pestilential prison with a life-long lock 44 accused, including seven proclaimed offenders required in murder and kidnapping for ransom cases.

The police also recovered two hand grenades, five sub-machineguns, three repeaters, eight shot guns, seven rifles, 16 pistols, hashish and cartridges from the possession of the accused.
Posted by: Fred || 04/12/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336068 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Palestinian caught carrying 7 IEDs, 4 knives at checkpoint
A Paleostinian was caught carrying weapons at the Bekaot checkpoint in the Jordan Valley on Wednesday.

The man was carrying seven improvised bombs, four knives and 60 bullets.

Authorities confiscated the materials and took the man for questioning.
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/12/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336081 views] Top|| File under:

#1  for self-protection against snakes and such, I'm sure
Posted by: Frank G || 04/12/2012 8:01 Comments || Top||

#2  for self-protection against snakes and such, I'm sure

To avenge Trayvon.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 04/12/2012 8:59 Comments || Top||

#3  They should have made him prove they were real, while in a blast pit with them.
Posted by: Burton Choinski || 04/12/2012 16:37 Comments || Top||

#4  It is common knowledge that you never bring a knife to an IED fight OR an IED to a knife fight. This guy was just trying to cover all the bases in a Venn diagram sorta way.
Posted by: SteveS || 04/12/2012 21:37 Comments || Top||


Palestinian arrested with 7 explosive devices
Security forces incarcerated a Paleostinian trying to cross into Israel through the Bekaot checkpoint with seven bombs and three knives.
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/12/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336067 views] Top|| File under:


Southeast Asia
Two Dead, 5 Wounded in Southern Philippine Bus Bombing
[An Nahar] Two people were killed and five others were maimed when a bomb went kaboom! on a bus in the southern Philippines on Wednesday, the regional military commander said.

The kaboom occurred as the bus was pulling into a terminal in Carmen, a town on the restive island of Mindanao that is home to a long-running Moslem insurgency, Lieutenant Colonel Benjie Hao told news hounds.

The regional military front man initially reported that 10 people were killed and two maimed, but Hao said the corpse count of two was confirmed after soldiers reached the scene of the blast.

The bomb was apparently planted inside the bus, according to Hao.

Although there were no immediate suspects in the blast, Hao said that extortionists had previously carried out such bombings to force the bus company to pay them protection money.

The incident took place in a region where Moslem separatist rebels and heavily-armed outlaw groups are active, often resorting to extortion, kidnapping and banditry to raise funds.
Posted by: Fred || 04/12/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336091 views] Top|| File under: Abu Sayyaf

#1  "Protection" money, heh. As in, we will bomb your buses and passengers if you don't pay it. Great protection.
Posted by: American Delight || 04/12/2012 6:09 Comments || Top||

#2  There's been a long-standing issue with Filipino bus companies. Most of it might be due to " outlaw groups", but a good part of it is due to rivalry.
Posted by: Pappy || 04/12/2012 11:58 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Iran to conduct joint military maneuvers
Iranian army, Revolutionary Guards to hold exercises; Islamic Theocratic Republic announces upgrades to tanks, new vertical wind tunnel.

The Islamic Theocratic Republic Army of Iran and the Revolutionary Guards are to conduct joint military exercises in the southwest or southeast of the country, a senior Iranian army commander said on Wednesday.

Brig.-Gen. Ahmad-Reza Pourdastan, commander of the Iranian ground forces, said that the army and the Revolutionary Guards will carry out a special joint air exercise that will be the first of its type since the Islamic Revolution, Iran's ISNA news outlet and hardline Mashregh news reported. A further eight joint military exercises would be held in the upcoming year, Pourdastan said.

The ground forces commander added that the exercises would be performed using live ammunition and in battle conditions, to prepare soldiers for war.

The Revolutionary Guards and the Islamic Theocratic Republic Army of Iran act as parallel ground forces, but while the regular army is tasked with defending the country and maintaining civil order, the job of the Revolutionary Guards is to protect Iran's Islamic regime. The Revolutionary Guards, which the US designated a terrorist organization in 2007, also controls Iran's Basij militia, and the secret Quds Force, which conducts operations outside Iran.

The announcement came days before Iran and six world powers are due to restart negotiations on Iran's nuclear program, and as the Islamic Theocratic Republic continues to give mixed messages about its position.

According to Pourdastan, who made the announcement during a speech for Iran's Army Day, the Islamic Theocratic Republic has also developed its own vertical wind tunnel for military use. Vertical wind tunnels are used to teach skydiving to elite troops.

The military commander said that while there are several such wind tunnels in Arab countries, those were of Western origin, whereas Iran's had been built domestically, in cooperation with the Self-Sufficiency Jihad Organization.

Pourdastan also said Iran plans to improve its domestic- built Zulfiqar tank by adding a new firing control system and laser range-finder.

Iran's Zulfiqar is a second-generation main battle tank, developed and mass-produced since the 1990s and believed to be based on components from Russia's T-72 tank as well as American M48 and M60 Patton tanks.

Currently, the most updated model, Zulfiqar-3, is equipped with a firing system based on a Soviet design.

According to Pourdastan, Iran has produced a Gatlingtype 7.62 caliber machine gun, dubbed the Akhgar, which has an effective range of over 2 kilometers.

The maneuvers would be the latest in a series of military exercises and war games Iran has staged since the start of the year, amid growing tensions and concerns of war with Israel.

In February, the Revolutionary Guards announced they had begun a two-day military exercise outside the central Iranian city of Yazd, which Iran said was designed to upgrade its defense capabilities.

Also in February, Iran announced that it had deployed anti-aircraft artillery and warplanes to protect its nuclear sites from possible Israeli Arclight airstrikes, in a military exercise it dubbed Sarollah, from an Arabic term meaning "the vengeance of God." That same month, the Revolutionary Guards conducted military exercises in the south of Iran.
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/12/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336069 views] Top|| File under:

#1  With who?
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 04/12/2012 10:19 Comments || Top||

#2  Might mean Joint Services.
Ploy to cover troop movement to SW coast.
Posted by: Skidmark || 04/12/2012 10:41 Comments || Top||

#3  Yeah, nice ploy to cover movement of troops & equipment. But nine live-fire exercises in a year seems like a lot (to ignorant me), rather expensive in fuel and ammo.

And this vertical wind tunnel, does it run on hot air?
Posted by: SteveS || 04/12/2012 11:16 Comments || Top||


8 Civilians Dead as Syrian Forces Pound Protest Hubs
[An Nahar] Syrian forces shelled the flashpoint city of Homs on Wednesday and raided other parts of the country, killing eight civilians as they pressed their assaults on protest hubs, monitors said.

The attacks occurred a day after a U.N.-Arab League
...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing...
peace plan was scheduled to enter into effect, but envoy Kofi Annan
...Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh and so far the worst Secretary-General of the UN. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize for something or other that probably sounded good at the time. In December 2004, reports surfaced that Kofi's son Kojo received payments from the Swiss company Cotecna, which had won a lucrative contract under the UN Oil-for-Food Program. Kofi Annan called for an investigation to look into the allegations, which stirred up the expected cesspool but couldn't seem to come up with enough evidence to indict Kofi himself, or even Kojo...
said Wednesday there was still a chance to salvage his bid to end hostilities within another 24 hours.

Forces loyal to Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Oppressor of the Syrians and the Lebs...
shelled and fired powerful guns at the old quarter of Khaldiyeh, as well as Juret al-Shayah and Qarabeed, in the central city of Homs, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Three people were killed in the attacks, the Britannia-based monitoring group said.

Activist Khaled al-Talawi, speaking to Agence La Belle France Presse from the Homs neighborhood of Bab Sbaa, said shelling "resumed on Wednesday morning with artillery and mortars."

Also in the province of Homs, three civilians, including a child and a woman, were killed in the town of Qusayr, near the border with Leb, the Observatory said.

Two civilians were also rubbed out as security forces launched raids in search for wanted snuffies in the town of Qurayyah, in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor, the Observatory said.

Regime forces also launched raids in the southern province of Daraa, the cradle of the popular uprising against the Assad regime that began more than a year ago.

Troops deployed in Maaraba after arriving in dozens of buses and personnel carriers, while gunfire was heard across the village, the Observatory said, adding security forces also raided the village of Ankhal.

The activist group, the Local Coordination Committees, said helicopters hovered over several suburbs of Damascus
...Capital of the last overtly fascist regime in the world...
The Observatory said that military checkpoints were reinforced in Harasta, on the capital's outskirts.

It also said that five people were incarcerated during raids in the central province of Hama.

Speaking from Hama activist Abu Ghazi told AFP that security forces stormed the city of Halfaya where it "incarcerated people at random."

The army also shelled the area of Jabal al-Akrad, in the coastal province of Latakia, the Observatory said.

In the northern province of Aleppo
...For centuries, Aleppo was Greater Syria's largest city and the Ottoman Empire's third, after Constantinople and Cairo. Although relatively close to Damascus in distance, Aleppans regard Damascenes as country cousins...
, regime forces continued shelling the town of Marea and neighboring villages, for the second consecutive day, according to activist Mohammed al-Halabi.

"Regime forces hit one town after the other. It started with Andan and Haraytan, then moved to Mang and Aazaz, and then to Tal Rifaat, and now Marea," he said.

At least 99 people, including 66 civilians, were killed across Syria on Tuesday, the Observatory and the LCC said.

Syria's government had said Tuesday it was abiding by the plan to withdraw its forces, but Annan accused it of pulling troops from some areas and moving them elsewhere.
Posted by: Fred || 04/12/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336074 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


Fresh Shots from Syria Hit Turkish Camp
[An Nahar] Shots fired by Syrian forces early Wednesday hit a Syrian refugee camp just across the border with Turkey, Turkish media reported.

News channel CNN-Turk showed images of automatic rifle fire towards Turkish territory from a border surveillance building flying the Syrian flag near Kilis in southeastern Turkey.

Several television stations reported that troops had fired at Syrians trying to cross no man's land on the frontier to seek refuge in Turkey from the violence rocking Syria.

Bullets hit a nearby camp of prefabricated buildings without wounding anyone but causing panic among the refugee population.

On Monday, shooting from the Syrian side of the border maimed four Syrians and two Turks on Turkish soil.

The incident angered Ankara on the eve of a visit by U.N.-Arab League
...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing...
envoy Annan to the refugee camps along the border, while Washington said it condemned attacks on Syrian refugees in bordering countries.

"It was a very clear violation of the border," Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told news hounds in Beijing. "Obviously we will take the necessary measures," he was quoted as saying by the Turkish news agency Anatolia.

Turkey, a one-time ally of the Syrian regime but now one of its strongest critics, is home to around 25,000 Syrians in several camps set up in three provinces, an operation its prime minister deemed costly.

"We have already spent $150 million (114 million euros)... What are we to do if this exodus reaches 100,000 people?," Erdogan said Tuesday, urging the international community to help Turkey house the Syrians.
Posted by: Fred || 04/12/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336066 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


Annan Says Syria 'Disastrous' if Rebels Armed
[An Nahar] U.N.-Arab League
...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing...
envoy Kofi Annan
...Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh and so far the worst Secretary-General of the UN. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize for something or other that probably sounded good at the time. In December 2004, reports surfaced that Kofi's son Kojo received payments from the Swiss company Cotecna, which had won a lucrative contract under the UN Oil-for-Food Program. Kofi Annan called for an investigation to look into the allegations, which stirred up the expected cesspool but couldn't seem to come up with enough evidence to indict Kofi himself, or even Kojo...
warned on Wednesday it would be "disastrous" if rebels fighting the Syrian regime were to be armed, as proposed by Soddy Arabia and Qatar.

"I've always said the militarization of the conflict will be disastrous," Annan told a news conference in Tehran during a visit to Iran, Syria's chief ally in the Middle East.

Annan, who drew up a six-point plan to end combat in Syria, said a new conflict could not be tolerated in the Middle East.

The envoy said he believed his plan could still be salvaged and be fully implemented by a deadline at 6:00 am Damascus
...Capital of the last remaining Baathist regime in the world...
time (0300 GMT) on Thursday if both the Syrian regime and rebels respected its terms.

He said the regime of Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Leveler of Latakia...
has given "further clarifications" over how it would implement its side of the plan after it failed to observe a Tuesday deadline to withdraw its forces from urban areas.

"What they mean and want is an assurance that the other forces, the opposition forces, would also stop the fighting so that we could see cessation of all the violence," he said.

Annan said his team has "had positive answers from them" and that "governments with influence" had also been approached to ensure that all sides in the conflict respect the ceasefire.
Posted by: Fred || 04/12/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336069 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


Annan Says Syria Vows to Halt Fighting Thursday Morning. Honest.
[An Nahar] International envoy Kofi Annan
...Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh and so far the worst Secretary-General of the UN. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize for something or other that probably sounded good at the time. In December 2004, reports surfaced that Kofi's son Kojo received payments from the Swiss company Cotecna, which had won a lucrative contract under the UN Oil-for-Food Program. Kofi Annan called for an investigation to look into the allegations, which stirred up the expected cesspool but couldn't seem to come up with enough evidence to indict Kofi himself, or even Kojo...
said Wednesday he had received a written pledge from the Syrian regime to halt fighting from dawn on Thursday in line with his U.N. and Arab League
...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing...
-backed peace plan.

Annan had received a letter from Syria's foreign minister pledging "to cease all military fighting throughout Syrian territory as of 6:00 am tomorrow, while reserving the right to respond proportionately to any attacks carried out by armed terrorist groups against civilians, government forces or public and private property'," his front man said in a statement.

For its part, the Syrian defense ministry said Wednesday that it will cease military operations against rebel fighters from Thursday, state television
... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
reported.

"After our armed forces completed successful operations in combating the criminal acts of the armed terrorist groups and enforced the state's rule over its territory, it has been decided to stop these operations from Thursday morning," the television quoted a ministry official it did not identify as saying.

Annan "will continue to work with the Syrian government and the opposition to ensure the comprehensive implementation of the six-point plan," said his front man.

"The Joint Special Envoy looks forward to the continued support of relevant countries in this regard."
Posted by: Fred || 04/12/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336068 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria



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Two weeks of WOT
Thu 2012-04-12
  Nork rocket launched, then 'breaks up'
Wed 2012-04-11
  Syria denounced for not adhereing to agreed peace plan
Tue 2012-04-10
  Syrian Rebel Army Ready to Respect Truce
Mon 2012-04-09
  84 Dead, 200 Arrested as Violence Rages across Syria
Sun 2012-04-08
  Hugo off to Brazil for Emergent Care
Sat 2012-04-07
  Azerbaijani intel service jugs 17 hard boys
Fri 2012-04-06
  Mali rebels declare cease-fire after seizing north
Thu 2012-04-05
  Pakistan rejects US bounty on Hafiz Saeed
Wed 2012-04-04
  Yemeni airstrikes kill 43 al-Qaida militants
Tue 2012-04-03
  Oil Pipeline Blown Up In Southeast Yemen, Flows Halted
Mon 2012-04-02
  Twin explosions rocked Mombasa Saturday
Sun 2012-04-01
  Paris: Scientist accused of plotting to blow up 'city size of London'
Sat 2012-03-31
  Us Drone Strike Kills Four In Miranshah
Fri 2012-03-30
  France nabs at least 17 Islamists in raids across the country
Thu 2012-03-29
  Gunmen kidnap Saudi diplomat in Yemen

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