[Tolo News] Taliban hard boyz that have attacked northern Kunduz have come from other provinces, the governor Mohammad Omar Safi said, adding 33 Talibs have been killed and maimed so far as a result of operations by security forces.
He told TOLOnews that several villages in Kunduz has been under the control of Taliban.
However, a poor excuse is better than no excuse at all... he promised to push back the hard boyz as he said additional troops had been deployed to the area.
"The enemies are engaged in the battle with security forces in nine northern provinces. Taliban hard boyz have come from different northern provinces to Kunduz," Safi said. "Our forces have retreated from three posts in Gor Tepa district."
According to Safi, the hard boyz were taking advantage of forests.
"We also had casualties. Around 16 security forces were killed and maimed."
In addition, Interior Minister Noor-ul-Haq Olomi declared that the enemies would never reach their goal by spreading violence.
"The enemies are trying to show their presence in the north. But they will achieve nothing except spreading terror," Olomi told TOLOnews.
He declared that the purpose of Taliban's fighting in northern Afghanistan was to stop the revival of the strategic Silk Road in Badakhshan.
"The enemies do not want us to reach economic stability."
He noted that senior interior ministry officials have been sent to northern Afghanistan to closely monitor the situation.
When asked about Daesh presence in the country, Olomi said, "Anyone who creates terror in Afghanistan under any name or flag is the real enemy of Afghanistan."
The hard boyz have increased their attacks across the country since Friday when they announced the beginning of their spring offensive.
Earlier in the day, the senators also blasted the government for what they called failure to prevent flow of Chechen and other Central Asian hard boyz to Afghanistan.
They claimed that about 400 Chechen families were sheltering along the borders between Afghanistan and Turkmenistan.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/27/2015 00:00 ||
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MOGADISHU -- Federal Government of Somalia’s Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke said on arrival at Mogadishu’s Adan Ade airport that the shutdown of remittance firms has piled worry on Somalis, Garowe Online reports.
It's cutting big time into his personal boodle...
Prime Minister Sharmarke disclosed that Somalia government voiced its concern over the decision to close down money transfer services which have long been a lifeline for the Somalis living in the neighboring country.
“We revealed to Kenya leadership that thousands of Somalis whose relatives live abroad are reliant on remittances,” said Sharmarke.”We discussed the ease of money transfer services restrictions, and we hope [Hawalas] will restart operation in the coming weeks in line with banking policies”.
Meanwhile, Somalia Prime Minister expressed hope about the voluntary repatriation of Somali refugees in Kenya, emphasizing the need for conducive environs before tripartite cooperation between Somalia, Kenya and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
“The repatriation of refugees would not be mandatory, it would follow efforts and [Somalia Government] is working on the possible return targets, we will assess security situation and livelihoods,” he added.
Prime Minister Sharmarke on Saturday returned from official visit to neighboring Kenya.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/27/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
...Maybe if the PM could assure that the money wouldn't be used to kill Kenyans, they'd be a little less touchy about it.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
04/27/2015 12:50 Comments ||
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[al-Monitor] Tunisian Foreign Minister Taieb Baccouche announced April 2 that a Syrian ambassador would be welcome in Tunis, and that Tunisia would establish a consular presence in Syria. The following day, President Beji Caid Essebsi cast doubt on the move during an interview with La Belle France 24, saying that he had not approved the decision. "Foreign policy is part of the presidential prerogatives and the ministry shall implement the strategy dictated by the presidency," Essebsi said.
The contradiction led to confusion over the nature of Tunisia's relationship with the Syrian government. The Tunisian government did not respond to Al-Monitor's requests for clarification.
Political analyst Youssef Cherif, however, said that Tunisia would send a consul to Damascus to handle bureaucratic procedures affecting Tunisian citizens in Syria. "It is my understanding that there will be ... no Syrian ambassador anytime soon," he said when asked about Baccouche's statement. "That was wrong and discredited by Essebsi the following day." Instead, the Syrian government may be allowed to establish a consular presence in Tunis, he added.
This is not Baccouche's first foreign policy announcement to be later refuted. On Feb. 22, he announced that Tunisia would establish two consulates in Libya to deal with the rival governments in the east and west of the country. The move was seen as an implicit recognition of the Libya Dawn ...aka Fajr Libya, the Islamist operation launched to counter that of General Khalifa Haftar (Operation Dignity). It is made up of the Libya Shield militia (Misrata and Moslem Brotherhood), Libya Revolutionaries Operations Room (Moslem Brotherhood), and Tripoli Brigade (close to Abdul Hakim Belhaj, head of Al-Watan party). Financing and moral support come from Turkey and Qatar... -led government in Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... , which the international community considers illegitimate. Baccouche's statement was later walked-back.
Despite the mixed information, Tunisia's new government is significantly shifting the country's foreign policy from that pursued by the first post-revolution government, known as the troika.
On the ideological level, the troika, which consisted of the moderate-Islamist Ennahda movement, the leftist Congress of the Republic (CPR) and the leftist Ettakatol party, placed the promotion of democracy and human rights One man's rights are another man's existential threat. in the Arab world at the center of its foreign policy. Now, the Nidaa Tunis-led government is styling its approach as more pragmatic and neutral.
The shift in guiding principles has also been accompanied by a change in regional allies, with the troika being closer to The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... and Qatar ...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates... and the new government having better relations with Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Directly following Tunisia's first post-revolution elections in 2011, the new government began receiving significant financial help from Turkey and Qatar, former CPR parliamentarian Mabrouka Mbarek told Al-Monitor.
In the wake of the Arab Spring, both countries sought to align themselves with the new order emerging in the Arab world. Due to ideological affinities between Ennahda and the ruling party in Turkey and a need for financial assistance, the troika government was happy to oblige, according to Cherif.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/27/2015 00:00 ||
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[EN.ZAMANALWSL.NET] The General Directorate for Criminal Investigations received last month 33 reports from citizens and residents on snuffies and wanted persons by the security authorities.
The reports involved actions that touch on the security and safety of the state and society, and which led to the arrest of a number of suspects and wanted persons.
The Ministry of Interior allocated three ways to report on snuffies and wanted, via a fixed telephone line, e-mail and fax.
On a related issue, the Specialized Criminal Court in Riyadh issued an initial ruling convicting a Saudi citizen of disobeying the rulers after he traveled to The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... using his brother's passport then illegally entering Syria to engage in the fight in the country.
The court said in a statement issued lately the accused disparaged the reputation of his country by joining one of the terrorist groups in the country, the so-called Jabhat Al-Nusra group. The group trained him on the use of arms and weapons.
The accused communicated by e-Mail with persons inside the Kingdom coordinating with them on ways that allow them to leave Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... and join the fight in Syria. He also participated on his Twitter in tweets supporting the deviant groups.
The court accused him with charges of providing the financial account of another fighter in Syria to another person to offer financial assistance. The court regarded such action as money laundering according to the 2nd paragraph of Article II of the anti-money laundering laws.
He was also charged with misleading the security authorities by destroying his mobile phone and the sim card when he returned to the Kingdom, and pledging allegiance to Daesh.
The court sentenced him with five years of prison, including one year under Article XI of the e-Crime system in addition to another year and a fine of SR5,000, and six months according to article 18 of anti-money laundering system and confiscating his mobile and the money in his possession, and banning him from travel for the period of his imprisonment.
Prince Mohammad bin Naif Center for Counseling and Care has embarked on offering the service counseling online for citizens and residents through its electronic portal.
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04/27/2015 00:00 ||
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Doha -- Former president Ali Abdullah Saleh called on Friday on all Yemenis to return to political dialogue to find a way to end the country’s spiraling conflict.
He at least thinks he's winning, and now's a good time to freeze the game table...
Saleh’s loyalists have been fighting alongside Iranian-allied Houthi rebels who toppled the central government, and US Secretary of State John Kerry put the onus for peacemaking on the Houthis and their supporters to cease fire.
Saleh also called for talks between Yemenis and Saudi Arabia, which has led a nearly month-long bombing campaign against the Houthi militia, to be held under United Nations auspices in Geneva.
I'm a little surprised he didn't ask Carla del Ponte and Muhammed El-Baradei to co-chair the talks. That alone would freeze the situation until 2030 or so...
“I call on all conflicting parties in all provinces to stop fighting and return to dialogue in all provinces,” Saleh, who was forced from power by months of mass protests in 2011, said in an emailed statement.
He also urged the Houthis to accept an April 13 UN Security Council resolution calling on them to drop their weapons and quit cities they have seized, after Saudi-led forces stop their intervention in Yemen.
Saleh said he was ready to reconcile with all parties that have opposed him since 2011 “for the interest of the nation”.
And he's in the bestest interest of the nation, you know. You could ask him...
He called on all militants to withdraw from the southern port of Aden and hand over power to the army and local authorities.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/27/2015 00:00 ||
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[AnNahar] Four former Guantanamo inmates living free in Uruguay since December are demanding financial compensation and housing from the U.S. government for their nearly 13 years in captivity.
Syrian citizens Ali Husein Shaaban (33), Abd al-Hadi Faraj (39 or 40), Ahmed Adnan Ahjam (37) and Abdul Bin Mohammed Bin Abess Ourgy of Tunisia (49) have been protesting in front of the U.S. Embassy in Montevideo since late Friday.
They stressed that they hold the United States, not host country Uruguay, responsible for their current predicament, accusing Washington of neglecting them after more than a decade spent at the U.S. military prison.
"The reason we decided to protest in front of the U.S. embassy is that we wanted from them and from all the world to hear our voices," the group wrote in an English statement published online at https://exguantanamorefugeesinuruguay.wordpress.com.
"It's something we didn't want nor called for but unfortunately we were pushed to it. We tried every possible and official way, we talked to many representatives of the government but our conditions didn't change."
In thanking President Jose Mujica and the Uruguayan people for their hospitality, the men said the United States "can't just throw the mistakes on others; they should help us with houses and financial support."
The men have spent two nights sleeping in the garden outside the U.S. Embassy, and were provided food and blankets by locals.
The former prisoners said they want to stay in Uruguay and are willing to work there, but warn that the process of adaptation takes time.
The other two former prisoners resettled in Uruguay are Syrian national Jihad Diyab (43) and Mohammed Tahamatan (35), a Paleostinian. They did not join the protest.
- 'Appropriate channels' -
On Friday, the U.S. embassy issued a statement indicating that any request must be made through the "appropriate channels" and filed during the mission's operating hours.
Uruguay's then president Jose Mujica announced last year that the country would take in the inmates on "humanitarian grounds," in a bid to help his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama If you have a small business, you didn't build that... fulfill his long-delayed promise to close the prison set up in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.
The men were among the first detainees sent to Guantanamo in 2002.
Detained as part of the U.S. "war on terror" for alleged links to al-Qaeda, they were never charged or tried.
They had been cleared for release, but the U.S. ruled they could not be sent to their home countries for security reasons.
Uruguay is the first South American country to receive former Guantanamo inmates.
North Korea said Saturday there are no human rights problems in the country, denouncing the United States for making unfounded accusations against it.
"If the American-style 'standard of human rights' is universally accepted, the world will turn into a lawless one, tundra of human rights and the one of darkness," the Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the North's ruling Workers' Party, said in a commentary.
The paper also claimed that human rights issues are "non-existent" in the country.
"The U.S. 'human rights' racket against the DPRK is nothing but a desperate bid of those who failed to disable the nuclear deterrence for self-defense and stifle the DPRK by force," it said.
Meanwhile, the North Korea Freedom Coalition, a U.S. nonprofit group of dozens of organizations working to improve human rights conditions in the communist nation, said it plans to host the "North Korea Freedom Week 2015" starting Sunday in Washington and New York.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/27/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
"these enemies of the state are less-than-human, so they are not subject to human rights"
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/27/2015 10:05 Comments ||
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SEOUL -- North Korean leader Fat Boy Kim Jong-un stressed the importance of combat readiness at a recent military meeting, Pyongyang's state media reported Sunday, calling on his troops to place training ahead of everything else.
This from a porcine, corpulent runt of a man who hasn't missed a glass of cognac in years...
Pudgy Kim presided over the fifth meeting of training officers of the Korean People's Army (KPA) on Friday and Saturday, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). The participants discussed ways to bolster the North's combat capabilities, among other issues, the KCNA added.
In his opening remarks, the corpulent Kim said the most important task facing the KPA is "to bring about a radical turn in training" and prepare the troops for combat "in line with the strategic intention" of the ruling Workers' Party.
"He said that the main link in the chain efforts to bring about a radical turn in training is to conduct drills under the simulated conditions of an actual battle and put them on a scientific and modern basis," the KCNA report added. "He called on all the participants in the meeting to focus all their efforts on the training as the top priority task."
His Enormity Kim gave both the opening and closing speeches, and a pledge to his bloated corpse Kim was adopted at the meeting, too.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/27/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
A sandwich was served after the meeting.
Posted by: Steven ||
04/27/2015 2:36 Comments ||
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#2
He's more concerned than the Diversity Office at DoD.
Where would you like your new a$$hole?
In a closed-door meeting with Jewish donors on Saturday night, former President George W. Bush delivered his harshest public criticisms to date against his successor on foreign policy, saying that President Barack Obama is being naíve about Iran and the pending nuclear deal and losing the war against the Islamic State.
One attendee at the Republican Jewish Coalition session, held at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas with owner Sheldon Adelson in attendance, transcribed large portions of Bush's remarks. The former president, who rarely ever criticizes Obama in public, at first remarked that the idea of re-entering the political arena was something he didn't want to do. He then proceeded to explain why Obama, in his view, was placing the U.S. in "retreat" around the world. He also said Obama was misreading Iran's intentions while relaxing sanctions on Tehran too easily.
According to the attendee's transcription, Bush noted that Iran has a new president, Hassan Rouhani. "He's smooth," Bush said. "And you've got to ask yourself, is there a new policy or did they just change the spokesman?"
Bush said that Obama's plan to lift sanctions on Iran with a promise that they could snap back in place at any time was not plausible. He also said the deal would be bad for American national security in the long term: "You think the Middle East is chaotic now? Imagine what it looks like for our grandchildren. That's how Americans should view the deal."
Bush then went into a detailed criticism of Obama's policies in fighting the Islamic State and dealing with the chaos in Iraq. On Obama's decision to withdraw all U.S. troops in Iraq at the end of 2011, he quoted Senator Lindsey Graham calling it a "strategic blunder." Bush signed an agreement with the Iraqi government to withdraw those troops, but the idea had been to negotiate a new status of forces agreement to keep U.S. forces there past 2011. The Obama administration tried and failed to negotiate such an agreement.
Bush said he views the rise of the Islamic State as al-Qaeda's "second act" and that they may have changed the name but that murdering innocents is still the favored tactic. He defended his own administration's handling of terrorism, noting that the terrorist Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who confessed to killing Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, was captured on his watch: "Just remember the guy who slit Danny Pearl's throat is in Gitmo, and now they're doing it on TV."
Obama promised to degrade and destroy Islamic State's forces but then didn't develop a strategy to complete the mission, Bush said. He said that if you have a military goal and you mean it, "you call in your military and say 'What's your plan?' " He indirectly touted his own decision to surge troops to Iraq in 2007, by saying, "When the plan wasn't working in Iraq, we changed."
"In order to be an effective president ... when you say something you have to mean it," he said. "You gotta kill em."
Bush told several anecdotes about his old friend and rival Russian President Vladimir Putin. Bush recalled that Putin met his dog Barney at the White House and then later, when Bush went to Moscow, Putin showed him his dog and remarked that he was "bigger stronger and faster than Barney." For Bush, that behavior showed him that Putin didn't think in "win-win" terms.
Bush also remarked that Putin was rich, divorced his wife and loves power. Putin's domestic popularity comes from his control of Russian media, according to Bush. "Hell, I'd be popular, too, if I owned NBC news," he said.
Regarding his brother Jeb's potential run for the presidency, Bush acknowledged that he was a political liability for Jeb, that the Bush name can be used against him, and that Americans don't like dynasties. He also said that foreign policy is going to be especially important in the presidential campaign and that the test for Republicans running will be who has got the "courage" to resist isolationist tendencies.
Regarding Hillary Clinton, Bush said it will be crucial how she plays her relationship with the president. She will eventually have to choose between running on the Obama administration's policies or running against them. If she defends them, she's admitting failure, he said, but if she doesn't she's blaming the president.
For George W. Bush, the remarks in Vegas showed he has little respect for how the current president is running the world. He also revealed that he takes little responsibility for the policies that he put in place that contributed to the current state of affairs.
#3
he takes little responsibility for the policies that he put in place that contributed to the current state of affairs.
Gee, like a little cheese with that wine? Given that Zero has had 6 years to totally undo GWBs policies why should he take any responsibility for the current state of affairs?
S#!t can these clowns possibly crawl any farther up Zero's ass?
[Ynet] CNN reported on Saturday that the FBI was investigating a possible Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... -inspired terrorism plot in Caliphornia, an impregnable bastion of the Democratic Party, but a US law enforcement official in Los Angeles denied there was any such threat.
"There is no known or specific threat to Los Angeles or any airport in our territory," an official in Los Angeles told Rooters.
CNN had said earlier that an investigation had been initiated because of intercepted communication and other intelligence information and security was being enhanced in the state.
Homeland Security Department front man Peter Boogaard declined to discuss specific intelligence, but said the authorities had made a number of "security adjustments" in the last few months "reflecting an evolving threat picture." He said there was an increased law enforcement presence at US federal facilities in February and many extra security arrangements were still in place. "We will make adjustments to this evolving environment as appropriate," he said.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
04/27/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
Well, I can tell you that there are bomb sniffer dogs and deputy sheriffs in body armor all over LAX.
#4
Since this government has perfected lies with partial truth and parsing, note that non-airports and areas that are not the City of Los Angeles should be worried.
SAN FRANCISCO -- The Pentagon on Thursday took a major step designed to instill a measure of fear in potential cyberadversaries, releasing a new strategy that for the first time explicitly discusses the circumstances under which cyberweapons could be used against an attacker, and naming the countries it says present the greatest threat: China, Russia, Iran and North Korea.
The policy, announced in a speech at Stanford University by Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter, represents the fourth time in four months that the Obama administration has named suspected hackers or announced new strategies designed to raise the cost of cyberattacks.
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Dozens of local Somali families gathered at the State Capitol Saturday afternoon, calling for the release of six terror suspects.
They're rallying in favor of the terrorists, natch...
They’re calling for the government to stop what they see as attacks against them, and say the suspects were set up.
Six local Somalis were charged this week with trying to leave the country to join the terrorist group. These four men were taken into custody in Minneapolis a week ago. Two others were arrested in San Diego. Federal agents also arrested Mahamed Said for allegedly making threats on Twitter in response to the arrests. One tweet from his account said if the men weren’t freed, there would be a “massacre.” Another message said “Best believe I’m gonna kill for those guys if they don’t free my brothers.”
The leadership and families at Saturday’s rally denounced any retaliation because of the arrests and asked for the public to hold judgment until their sons are found guilty or not guilty.
So they're asking to be treated as Americans, even as they celebrate not being American...
About 100 people turned out at the State Capitol, including three mothers of four of the men arrested. One of them made remarks saying she doesn’t believe her sons are terrorists.
"My son is a good boy! He'd never hurt a fly!"
"What about infidels, ma'am?"
"They're not flies..."
A Somali community advocate says the community has agreed to peacefully protest the government and the confidential informant prosecutors built much of their case around.
Abdullahi Salim helped lead the protest. He says he’s a friend of all the arrested suspects, and can’t believe they could be involved.
“I grew up here with them,” Salim said. “I was not expecting them to be criticized as terrorists.”
Salim also says the suspects’ character was never in question for him.
“These guys are really, really, really helpful guys,” he said. “Whenever you need help, they’re the first guys you call for help.”
The question is, help with what?
Community organizers say they want to sit down with lawmakers and talk about programs to help Somali youth prosper and not be drawn into recruiting.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/27/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
St. Paul has become Somali West. What could possibly go wrong with an immigration policy that allowed this?
No. Minnesota has been selected for new immigrants because it is has the least bias against outsiders. It started with the Laotians (Hmong), Khmer, and Vietnamese.
Then they brought in the Somalis. The sad thing is that these creeps are considered "well behaved Somalis." We recently had a delegation from Sweden investigating why our Somalis are doing so well. I recently spoke to a Norwegian ex-cop who said Somali neighborhoods are the worst in Oslo.
Posted by: frozen al ||
04/27/2015 13:08 Comments ||
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[DAWN] LAHORE: Nine activists of the PML-N were maimed when a group of PTI supporters opened fire in Walton Cantonment Board Ward No 3, police said on Saturday.
PML-N activists had staged a rally to celebrate the win of their candidate in the local body elections. As the jubilant workers reached near the house of Basharat, a relative of the victorious candidate Munir, some PTI supporters started exchanging harsh words with them, which turned into a brawl.
Meanwhile, ...back at the abandoned silver mine, there was another kaboom... some PTI workers took out their weapons and started firing, injuring Ahmed, Adnan, Kaka Pehlwan, Ali Nawaz, Shaukat, Rehmat Boota, Muhammad Husain and Arshad of the PML-N. The injured were taken to General Hospital where their condition was stated to be serious.
Police rushed to the spot and nabbed Aslam, Tanveer, Iqbal, Akbar and others, said DIG Dr Haider Ashraf.
A case was also registered against the placed in durance vile I ain't sayin' nuttin' widdout me mout'piece! PTI supporters.
The chief election commissioner has taken notice of firing in Rawalpindi and Lahore and directed the authorities responsible for security to submit a report immediately.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/27/2015 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] Acting President Raza Rabbani ordered on Saturday immediate arrest of social activist Sabeen Mahmud's killers, while the military said its intelligence agencies would assist the Sherlocks in the probe.
The acting president sought a detailed report from provincial authorities on the incident and directed Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah to arrest Ms Sabeen's killers within three days.
Social media campaigner and the director of a social forum -- The Second Floor (T2F) -- was rubbed out on Friday evening in DHA Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... shortly after she had hosted a discussion on Balochistan ...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... titled 'Unsilencing Balochistan -- Take 2'.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/27/2015 00:00 ||
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[Rudaw] The southern Iraqi provinces of Basra and Wasit have officially called on Baghdad to recognize them as semi-autonomous regions, giving the regions similar rights as the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, Mohammad Osman, a member of the region and provinces committees for the Iraqi Cabinet, told Rudaw.
"Until now, the provinces of Basra and Wasit have officially called on the Iraqi government for self-governance and being independent from Baghdad just like the Kurdistan Region, which has its own government and parliament," Osman said.
He added that upon the request of Wasit officials, his committee visited the main Wasit city of Kut to follow up on the claims.
"We will be visiting other cities in Iraq to follow up on their requests, because according to the Iraqi constitution, each Iraqi province and some provinces together can call for independent regions and self-governance within Iraq," Osman told Rudaw.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
04/27/2015 00:00 ||
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[Phaze Zero] Today marks the beginning of what I hope will be many opportunities to introduce true practitioners in the world of spying and killing to Phase Zero readers. Our first guest is Malcolm Nance, a 34-year veteran intelligence officer who has worked the Iraq mission since 1987, fighting in all of our Middle East wars since 1983. He has lived in and out of Iraq since 2003.
The death of former Saddam General Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri last week provides an opportunity to ask Nance about who the insurgent commander was, how he evaded capture or death for so many years, and what the hell is really going on in Iraq. In addition to his time on the ground, Nance has written defense intelligence textbooks on the subject--books that are occasionally dense but "are exhaustively detailed for a reason," he says. "I am not here to entertain, but to share hard intelligence, won by the blood of dead soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines and intelligence officers and explain the deep history of these groups which leads you to ISIS."
He is not shy about the why of knowing: So that "we kill the right people with what we learned." Nance runs his own analytical organization, TAPSTRI, the Terror Asymmetrics Project and is author of, most recently, The Terrorists of Iraq: Inside the Strategy and Tactics of the Iraq Insurgency, 2003-2014. Interesting, may require salt. Don't neglect the comments, they're a hoot.
[AnNahar] When security fears forced Jordan to close its last border crossing with Syria this month, it severed its most important trade route to the outside, further straining an economy already hit by fallout from war.
But the damage to heavily import-reliant Jordan is not just hypothetical -- hundreds of importers and exporters lost millions of dollars worth of goods when rebels pillaged the vast free trade zone that straddled the border, most of it on the Syrian side.
Car importer Mohammed Bustnje says he was among the lucky ones, losing only tens of thousands of dollars when looters sacked his offices and made off with televisions, air conditioning units, even doors and windows.
Bustnje said he had had a premonition there would be trouble at the 700-hectare (1,730-acre) Jordanian-Syrian Free Zone, and moved all the vehicles he had warehoused there into Jordan.
"Thank God," he said, "because the rest of the importers lost hundreds of cars" in looting after rebels seized the Syrian side of the crossing this month.
Nabil Romman is chairman of the Jordanian investment commission for the zone, which contains not only warehouses but even assembly plants for some goods.
He said there were more than 1,000 traders doing business there -- Syrians, Jordanians, even Iraqis -- with a combined inventory of more than $1 billion (917 million euros).
He said it is estimated that $100 million in goods was stolen.
The Syrian side of the border was seized on April 1 by rebels with links to the local Al-Qaeda affiliate, Al-Nusra Front, and the situation on the ground was volatile.
More recently, however, the security situation has become more stable, and there are reports that Jordanian traders are now able to get into the zone and are gradually bringing goods out.
But when what the Jordanians know as the Jaber crossing was captured from troops loyal to Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Despoiler of Deraa... , it was not only the traders who faced immediate problems.
Hundreds of truckers were stranded on both sides of the frontier with their cargoes, impacting Jordan's wider population, not just its entrepreneurs.
Romman said the "Jaber crossing is a vital artery between us and Europe. Seventy percent of what we eat, of everything we import and export, passed through Syria."
Goods were brought in and exported by sea from Leb, or even traveled overland through The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... farther north.
Mohammed Daud, president of the Jordanian truckers' union, estimates that the long-term damage from lost trade with not only Syria, but also Iraq, could reach $500 million.
He said around 2,500 trucks crossed the Syrian border daily before a pro-democracy uprising broke out four years ago and degenerated into civil war. That number was down to "a couple hundred when the border was closed. Now it is zero."
Prime Minister Abdullah Nsur said earlier this week that Jordan was in a "state of siege".
Not only is it effectively cut off from Syria to the north, it has also seen commerce with Iraq severely curtailed because of the conflict between the government and the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... group there.
Jordan is a relatively poor desert kingdom and has virtually no oil reserves. Its major exports are phosphates, potash and limestone, as well as textiles and vegetable produce.
Economist Mazen al-Rashid said "the longer the borders are closed, the more serious the consequences will be for the Jordanian economy".
"The decline in exports could exacerbate the trade deficit, which would force Jordan to borrow more to cover the difference," a particularly unenviable situation considering that debt reached a record $30 billion last year.
Economist Yussef Mansur said the only solution now is to consider trade by sea.
Jordan is almost entirely landlocked, but has a miniscule coastline that gives it access to the Red Sea from the port of Aqaba.
It could also open a new link to the Mediterranean through the Israeli ports of Haifa and Jaffa, which "are nearby but expensive".
Aqaba is 325 kilometers (200 miles) from the capital, meaning higher transport costs. On top of which, the cost relative to Jordan's traditional markets of shipping to and from Aqaba would be more expensive.
The only real bright spot for Jordan has been the sharp plunge in oil prices, which means that the kingdom's import bills are lower.
#4
Logic points to that, Glenmore. If you want to survive, you better become buds with Israel. The other alternatives look like death on the installment plan.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
04/27/2015 15:31 Comments ||
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[Gulf Today] The United States seeks access to at least eight Philippine military bases where it could deploy on a "rotational basis" sophisticated destroyers and bombers, a senior military official has confirmed.
Armed Forces chief General Gregorio Pio Catapang said the U.S. formally submitted its request during a recent meeting of the Mutual Defense Board attended by representatives of both countries. He noted the request came during a period of military expansion by China.
Of the eight bases, four are located on Luzon, two in Cebu province in the Visayas in Central Philippines and two on the island province of Palawan near the Spratly island group which is claimed in part or in whole by China as well as the Philippines and three of its fellow ASEAN members; Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam.
Catapang said the Philippine government could not yet act on the American request pending a decision from the Supreme Court on several petitions that questioned the legality and constitutionality of the Enhanced Defense Co-operation Agreement (EDCA), signed during Obama's visit in January 2014.
He said, "If we formalize (the request) now, and they start building up structures and the SC declares EDCA unconstitutional, they will have to destroy the structures."
* JAPAN TIMES > US-JAPAN ANNOUNCE NEW DEFENSE GUILDELINES FOR [new = greater] GLOBAL JAPANESE ROLE.
* WORLD MILITARY FORUM > US-JAPAN MILITARY ALLIANCE AT CRITICAL TURNING POINT. ALTHOUGH JAPAN REMAINS ONE OF THE CLOSEST US ALLIES, SOME OF JAPAN'S ACTIONS MAY WORRY WASHINGTON.
And vice-versa.
To wit ...
VERSUS
* TOPIX > [Reuters] HOW FAR IS JAPAN WILLING TO GO TO BACK THE UNITED STATES? | JAPAN WEIGHING TO BECOME A MAJOR [Regional = Global?] PACIFIC POWER AGAIN.
#6
Again, I have been told that there are many Chuukese here on Guam and back in Chuuk whom desire to align Chuuk State wid CHINA iff the latter votes for de facto independence from the FSM + the US doesn't help them.
A DEFINITE OPPORTUNITY FOR CHINA + PLA TO "LEAP-FROG" GREATLY FROM CHINA'S COASTS IN EAST ASIA + CHINA SEAS, DIRECTLY INTO THE CENTRAL PACIFIC + CHINA'S DESIRED "LINE OF DEMARCATION" SEPARATING THE CHINA-US "SPHERES OF INFLUENCE" [1/2 ea. of POAS].
Also makes Beijing's recovery of TAIWAN = PLA CENTCOM that much more important, NOT less, to the former's MilPol/Geopol agenda.
[ALMANAR.LB] An Iranian deputy foreign minister said that Tehran will respond against Riyadh after Saudi fighter jets blocked Iranian planes, including a consignment of humanitarian aid, from landing in Yemen.
"Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... 's behavior in besieging Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic... and preventing the delivery of humanitarian aid will not remain unanswered," Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir Abdollahian said on Sunday.
A few days earlier, Saudi warplanes refused an Iranian plane containing humanitarian goods landing in Yemen and forced it to return to Tehran.
"We are considering all options for helping the Yemeni people, the immediate delivery of humanitarian assistance and transfer of the injured (Yemenis)," Amir Abdollahian added.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/27/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
In addition to the ISIS/ISIL's alleged new presence = "Caliphate" in Yemen.
* PHILIPPINE STAR > HEAD OF IRAN GUARD [Jafari] LASHES OUT AT SAUDI "TREACHERY", agz Islam + Islamic World.
ARTIC = GEN. JAFARI = labels the KSA variously as "weak/declining" [like the USA?], "lawless",
"reckless", + being similar in assorted devilries to ISRAEL + US-WEST. Also accuses the KSA of "killing" the Muslim Yemeni Nation = an innocent Nation.
Oh my.
AND
* RUSSIA TODAY > TEHRAN INSISTS ISRAEL "GIVE UP THE BOMB [NucBomb/NucWeapons]" AS TEHRAN SEEKS NUCLEAR-FREE MIDDLE EAST, in the name of decency, fairness, + the 120-Nation Non-Aligned Movement [NAM].
[al-Monitor] It seems that a curse has befallen the Syrian intelligence officers who took up posts under the Syrian tutelage in Leb from 1990 to 2005. Ten years following the withdrawal of the Syrian army from Leb on April 26, 2005, a series of tragic events has befallen these security officials. One by one, their names have been struck off the "Leb's Syrians" list. Most recently, Rustom Ghazaleh was pronounced dead in Damascus on April 24. His death came weeks after news of a mysterious accident in February, involving his beating and torture at the hands of a Damascus intelligence branch.
Ghazi Kanaan was the first to be struck by the "Lebanese curse." He came to Leb in 1984 as head of Syria's security apparatus in Leb, assigned to the post by the late Syrian President Hafez al-Assad. Not long after the Syrian army took full control of Leb in the fall of 1990, Kanaan became the de facto ruler of the Lebanese Republic. He would suggest a candidate for Leb's presidential elections, and impose ministers, members of parliament and public administration employees. He continued to have full rein over Leb until his superiors moved him from Beirut to Damascus in October 2002.
At the time, Lebanese officials bade him farewell as if he were the head of state. The Lebanese president awarded him the Medal of the National Order of the Cedar -- an honorary title only awarded to heads of state -- while Prime Minister Rafik Hariri presented him the "Key to Beirut," an exceptional move reserved for visiting foreign heads of state.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
04/27/2015 00:00 ||
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The Massive Ordnance Penetrator is a gigantic bomb with plenty of punching power because of its sheer size. But it only fits on the Air Force's B-2 and B-52 bombers, whereas the High Velocity Penetrating Weapon would be compatible with more different aircraftâ--âand overcome its relatively small size with speed.
I had a buddy who worked his way through college by working at an adult bookstore at night. The store had a large stock of dildos, and sexual toys and sexual aids as well as books. What fascinated me was that each of the dildos was differently sized and came in different colors as well. Each had a special name. I swear the same person who came up with the names for the dildos must have also been in the air force and come up with the names for the bombs mentioned here.
[EN.ZAMANALWSL.NET] Israel's military said Sunday it launched an Arclight airstrike on its border with Syria after spotting forces of Evil carrying a bomb in the Israeli-held Golan Heights.
The military said it carried out the strike after troops saw "a group of armed terrorists" approach the border with an explosive intended to target Israeli troops. It said that Israeli aircraft "targeted the squad, preventing the attack."
It did not offer any casualty figure for the strike. The Britannia-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said four Syrian soldiers were killed by a missile fired from Israeli-occupied territory in the Golan. Observatory director Rami Abdurrahman said it was not clear whether the missile was fired by a plane or from a vehicle.
On Twitter, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent messages commending the soldiers involved in the strike.
"Any attempt to harm our soldiers and civilians will be met with a determined response like the military action tonight that thwarted a terror attack," Netanyahu said.
No one immediately grabbed credit of the attack launched from inside Syria, which has been in the grips of a civil war since 2011. Syrian state media did not immediately report on the strike.
Israel has tried to stay out of the war in Syria, but it has spilled into the country before. In September, the Israeli military shot down a Syrian fighter jet in airspace over the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war and later annexed in a move that has never been internationally recognized. In August, Israel shot down a drone that came into the same airspace from Syria.
Israeli troops also have responded to occasional mortar fire from Syria. Israel says some of the attacks may have been accidental spillover, while others have been intentionally aimed at Israeli civilians and soldiers. It has always held Syria responsible for any cross-border fire.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/27/2015 00:00 ||
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Damascus -- Syrian authorities will allow citizens abroad, including refugees who fled the war, to obtain passports without an intelligence service review for the first time, Syria’s Al Watan newspaper said on Sunday.
The Mauritanian government is relieved...
The daily, which is close to the government, said the move would “create an appropriate climate” for consultations in Geneva next month on the possibility of renewed peace talks. It also noted that the fees for the new procedures — which are being doubled — would be “an important source of foreign exchange”.
So the eye doctor is short of cash, is he?
The newspaper said the new measures were detailed in a document sent on Thursday to Syrian embassies around the world. This authorised embassies “to issue or renew passports for Syrians abroad without having to go through the department of emigration and passports in Damascus”, Al Watan reported.
It said this meant applications would no longer be subject to an intelligence services review as was often the case in the past. Passports will be issued to Syrians “even if they left in an illegal manner or they hold non-official passports or travel documents”, the document added.
Many of the nearly four million Syrians who have fled their country’s conflict left illegally, fearing arrest or conscription if they passed through an official crossing. Some have lost their passports or left them behind, and others have had their documents expire while they are away.
The document’s reference to “non-official passports” appeared to relate to a January decision by opposition representatives in Qatar to extend passports for Syrians in the Gulf country.
Syria’s regime no longer has an embassy in Doha, which is a key backer of the opposition.
The new measures mean that those seeking to obtain or renew passports will no longer have to wait for their documents to be reviewed by intelligence officials in Damascus. That measure has “long been called for by the opposition,” Al Watan said, and will allay “many of the concerns of those who left Syria illegally and facilitate their return”.
It said the fees associated with obtaining a new passport or a renewal would also be “an important source of foreign exchange” for foreign currency-strapped Syria. Earlier this week, new fees for passports were announced, with prices doubling to $400 for a new passport and $200 for a renewal.
Al Watan linked the new move to separate talks between UN representatives and Syria’s rival sides in Geneva from May 4. The talks will be bilateral discussions between each side and UN envoy Staffan de Mistura, who will take “stock” of where things stand, after more than four years of conflict.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/27/2015 00:00 ||
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[AnNahar] U.S. officials are expected to stop prosecuting families of American hostages who communicate with kidnappers abroad or raise funds and pay ransoms, ABC news reported Sunday.
Sunlight is a pretty good disinfectant.
A National Counterterrorism Center advisory group, ordered by the White House, is expected to recommend what would mark a radical shift in U.S. hostage policy, according to the report.
The NCTC interviewed families of hostages, including the parents of journalist James Foley, who was killed by Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... fighters.
Foley's mother Diane has said that officials from President Barack Obama I mean, I do think at a certain point you've made enough money... 's administration repeatedly told her family it was illegal to try to raise a ransom to free her son, and warned that her family could face prosecution for doing so.
The B.O. regime has denied making any such threats.
"There will be absolutely zero chance of any family member of an American held hostage overseas ever facing jail themselves, or even the threat of prosecution, for trying to free their loved ones," a bigwig told ABC News.
Meanwhile, ...back at the barn, Bossy was furiously chewing her cud and thinking... the family of US contractor Warren Weinstein, who was snatched by al-Qaeda in Pakistain in 2011, confirmed it had paid a ransom to try to secure his release.
CBS News reported the ransom was for $250,000.
A front man for the family said it had "made every effort to engage with those holding him or those with the power to find and rescue him."
"This is an ordinary American family and they are not familiar with how one manages a kidnapping," the front man added.
"As such, they took the advice of those in government who deal with such issues on a regular basis and were disappointed that their efforts were not ultimately successful."
It was unclear what sort of advice the family received from U.S. government officials.
Diane Foley welcomed the potential policy shift, which officials discussed with her last week.
"There's a lot that needs to be fixed," she told ABC News.
She said the past threats were "the straw that broke the camel's back. It was incredible."
A number of hostage families expressed outrage after U.S. Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl was freed by the Haqqani Network in Pakistain a year ago in exchange for the release of five Taliban leaders held at the Guantanamo Bay military prison.
Army Lieutenant General Bennet Sacolick, who previously headed the elite Delta Force counterterrorism unit, is heading the hostage policy review team, along with his NCTC staff.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Doha -- Former president Ali Abdullah Saleh called on Friday on all Yemenis to return to political dialogue to find a way to end the country’s spiraling conflict.
SEOUL -- North Korean leader 
SAN FRANCISCO -- The Pentagon on Thursday took a major step designed to instill a measure of fear in potential cyberadversaries, releasing a new strategy that for the first time explicitly discusses the circumstances under which cyberweapons could be used against an attacker, and naming the countries it says present the greatest threat: China, Russia, Iran and North Korea.
[Phaze Zero] Today marks the beginning of what I hope will be many opportunities to introduce true practitioners in the world of spying and killing to Phase Zero readers. Our first guest is Malcolm Nance, a 34-year veteran intelligence officer who has worked the Iraq mission since 1987, fighting in all of our Middle East wars since 1983. He has lived in and out of Iraq since 2003. 
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
[al-Monitor] It seems that a curse has befallen the Syrian intelligence officers who took up posts under the Syrian tutelage in 
