[Tolo News] The US-led military incursion into Afghanistan was not an attempt to drive out the Taliban or Al-Qaeda, but rather an effort to lead the region, the political head of hard-line Islamists Hizb-e-Islami said Monday at a conference in Pakistain.
Ghairat Baheer, son-in-law of the group's founder Gulbudin Hekmatyar, spoke to religious leaders from Afghanistan, Pakistain and Iran who met to condemn the presence of NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all.... forces in Afghanistan.
The group agreed that there will be no peace in Afghanistan if the NATO forces stay.
Of course, there'll be no peace in Afghanistan if the NATO forces leave, but that's a minor detail.
"US attack on Afghanistan was not to beat Taliban or Al-Qaeda, but you should know that they were looking for a golden chance to lead the region from Afghanistan," Baheer told the attendees of the conference in Beautiful Downtown Peshawar.
Meanwhile, ...back at the shouting match, a new, even louder, voice was to be heard... Leader of Jamaat-e Islami in Pakistain Qazi Hussain Ahmad ... third president (19872009) of the Pak Jamaat-e-Islami. Qazi was also head of the Muttahidah Majlis-e-Amal until his ego became bigger than the organization. Qazi is what is known as a fiery preacher, which means he has lots of volume, a good delivery, and not a lot of reverence for coherence. He was the patron of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, Rasool Sayyaf and Osama bin Laden during the war against the Soviets. He used to recommend drining camel's urine to maintain good health before his kidneys started to go... said that the solidarity of Afghans is impossible if NATO troops remain.
"Solidarity of Afghan people is impossible with presence of NATO forces," Ahmad said.
"We want them out of Afghanistan."
Iranian representative in Peshawar also called for the foreign forces to withdraw from Afghanistan immediately, and the religious leaders voiced their opposition towards the signing and recent approval of the Afghanistan-US strategic agreement.
Afghan university professor Abdul Majid Naseri said in an interview with TOLOnews that their comments amounted to interference in Afghanistan, the same as if they were politicians saying how the country should be run.
"Afghanistan is an independent country, we will not allow anyone to interfere in our internal affairs," Naseri said.
"We know better who to sign a strategic agreement with."
The Afghan-US long-term pact was approved by Afghanistan's parliament last week after facing some pressure from political elements in Iran and Pakistain to not approve it.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/29/2012 00:00 ||
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#1
"No peace in Afghanistan iff the NATO forces leave, but thats a minor detail" > Awwwwwww, I would've said "... but thats another story".
* FYI TOPIX > [Muslim News] PAKISTAN: INTEL BUREAU REPORT: SECTARIAN GROUPS [Pak-outlawed/
banned] GETTING STRONGER.
[An Nahar] Sudan's army will begin pulling out of the contested region of Abyei from Tuesday, as demanded by the United Nations ...a formerly good idea gone bad... , the army front man said.
"We will start tomorrow and we will invite journalists to see this redeployment," Sawarmi Khaled Saad said in a statement to news hounds.
The pullout, ending a year-long occupation, will begin on the same day negotiators from Sudan and South Sudan are to meet in the Æthiopian capital Addis Ababa to resume talks led by African Union ...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful... mediator Thabo Mbeki ...former president of South Africa, succeeding Nelson Mandela. He now pops up periodically as a mediator when something catches fire in Africa... Saad said Mbeki asked Khartoum to withdraw its forces from the area.
"Sudan decided to redeploy the troops out of Abyei area to offer a good environment for the talks," he said, adding that Khartoum requested a "guarantee" that the area is part of its territory.
After Sudan and South Sudan came to the brink of all-out war in April, the U.N. Security Council called on them to cease hostilities along their disputed border and to resume talks on a number of issues including the status of Abyei.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/29/2012 00:00 ||
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#1
They, Arabs fron the north, got to - like they or not.
The above area is inhabited by black Southern Sudanese and sooner or later will rightfully be included to South Sudan...
Still trying to work out this democracy thingimijig Scenes of last year's anti-Mubarak uprising return to Cairo. Thousands rioted, some of them torching the HQ of a presidential candidate.
Scenes of last year's anti-Mubarak uprising returned to Cairo's Tahrir Square Monday as thousands rioted, some of them torching the headquarters of presidential candidate and former prime minister Ahmed Shafik.
No deaths were reported and there were few injuries, in sharp contrast to last year's demonstrations in which Mubarak's security forces shot protesters on the spot.
Shafik and Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohammed Morsi emerged as the winners in the first round of voting, the first time Egyptians have been able to vote in a presidential election that was not rigged. However, the presence of Shafik as one of the two final contenders set off a violent response, with rioters yelling in Tahrir Square, "Where is the revolution?" while others ransacked Shafik's campaign headquarters and set
[Yemen Post] Thousands of Yemeni people erupted into the streets in the capital Sanaa Sunday to condemn violence, referring to the latest and deadliest ever suicide kaboom in Sanaa, and expressing solidarity with the Syrian people.
More than one hundred security forces were killed and few other hundreds maimed in the bombing, which targeted a military parade rehearsal in mid-last week. The Sharia Supporters, the offshoot of Al-Qaeda in Yemen, grabbed credit for the attack.
The demonstrators marched through streets passing at the residence of President Abdrabu Mansour Hadi and came back to the change square outside Sanaa University. Thousands of protesters have refused to leave this square, where many tents were pitched last year.
The protesters rolled their eyes, jumped up and down, and hollered poorly rhymed slogans real loud demanding the departure of military commanders including the relatives of ex-president, Saleh, allegedly involved in the bombing in the Sabeen Square.
Among the commanders the demonstrators demanded to fire is Saleh's elder son, Ahmed, the commander of the elite republican guard.
Some military commanders have rebelled against decrees by President Hadi firing them from their posts and the UN envoy Jamal Benomar has failed few times to convince the elite republican guard to end the rebellion of the commander of the third brigade in Sanaa. Tariq Saleh, a nephew of Saleh, is the commander of the third brigade.
The protesters carried the Yemeni and Syrian flags and rolled their eyes, jumped up and down, and hollered poorly rhymed slogans real loud expressing support to the Syrian people, who have been struggling for more than a year to oust the Assad regime.
They also carried placards expressing honor to the deaders, who were killed during the 2011 uprising against the former regime, and vowing to continue their struggle until the goals of the uprising were met.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/29/2012 00:00 ||
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[Yemen Post] The U.N envoy to Yemen Jamal Bin Omar left Sana'a on Sunday morning after he failed to convince the Third Brigade officers to end the rebellion against their newly-appointed commander Abdu-Rahman al-Halili.
After months of rebellion against Hadi's decrees, Bin Omar managed to convince the Third Brigade's former chief Tariq Mohammed Abdullah Saleh to obey President Abdurabu Mansour Hadi ...the second and possibly the last president of Yemen, successor to former President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh... 's decrees and hand over the command to his appionted successor, al-Halili.
But since then al-Halili could not enter the Third Brigade headquarters as some officers headed by Abdul-Hamid Maqwala carried out a rebellion against him and prevented him from getting into the camp. Maqwala is from Saleh's village and he is well-known for his support to him.
In March, Hadi issued some republican decrees dismissing dozens of military commanders, mostly from Saleh's loyalists and relatives. Some of these commanders such as Mohammed Saleh al-Ahmar--Saleh's half brother who is the former chief of the Air Force--and Tariq Mohammed Saleh obeyed Hadi's decrees after a long period of rebellion.
Only when they were convinced by Bin Omar, did they hand over the command of the key military institutions.
The officers' rebellion against their newly-appointed commander prompted Bin Omar to pay another visit to Yemen with the aim of convincing them to stop their rebellion and let al-Halili carry out his duties.
Yet, he failed this time to press Saleh's loyalists into listening to their commander, although US has announced sanctions against officials obstructing the transition in the country.
Bin Omar is set to submit a report to the Security Council which will held a session on Yemen on Tuesday to discuss how the GCC-brokered accord is being implemented in the country so far.
In this vein, the daily Akbar al-Youm newspaper reported on Sunday citing familiar sources that Bin Omar held several meetings on Saturday with top offiicals with the aim of convincing them to end the rebellion in the Third Brigade, but said his efforts ended in vain.
The officials Bin Omar met included President Hadi, Saleh and his son Ahmed-- the commander of the Republican Guard, as well as Abdul-Karim al-Aryani, a high-ranking figure in the General People Congress Party led by Saleh, the familiar sources noted.
According to the paper, the sources said that Bin Omar made it clear to Saleh, Ahmed and al-Aryani that its not in their favor if the Secuirty Council holds a session on Yemen this Tuesday while the rebellion in the Third Brigade is still continuing.
Early this month, the American President Barack Obama This is a teachable moment... issued an executive order for the Treasury to freeze any Yemeni offiicial's assets based in US if found trying to obstruct the GCC-brokered power transfer deal and the transitional process.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/29/2012 00:00 ||
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[Bangla Daily Star] Jamaat-e-Islami ...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... Ameer Motiur Rahman Nizami ...During the liberation war of 1971, Nizami formed the Al-Badr Force and acted as its supreme commander. The Al-Badr militia took active part in rape, extortion, looting and killing of Bangladeshis who supported the liberation, including a pre-planned massacre on December 14, 1971, when the Al-Badr militia along with Pakistan Army rounded up hundreds of doctors, professors, writers, and other Bengali intellectuals, and executed them... yesterday told the International Crimes Tribunal-1 that genocide was carried out during the Liberation War in 1971, but denied his involvement in the war crimes.
"Wudn't me."
Jamaat and its student wing Islami Chhatra Sangha, historically known as an anti-liberation force, actively collaborated with the Pak occupation army that committed nine-month atrocities to foil the birth of Bangladesh in 1971.
But they always refrained from saying anything about the mass killing and genocide committed during the Liberation War.
During the war, Nizami was the president of Pakistain ICS (now Islami Chhatra Shibir), ... the student wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh... which formed Al Badr, a band of collaborators, infamous for orchestrating the killing of intellectuals, according to historical records.
Nizami took an opportunity yesterday to address the Tribunal-1 as, after reading out of the charges against him, it asked whether he pleaded guilty or not.
Otherwise, the man who for decades has been one of the country's most recognised war crimes suspect sat quietly in the dock, intently listening to his charges read before him.
"I want to clearly say that my role during the Liberation War did not extend beyond the sphere of political activities," he told the tribunal.
The "tragic incident" would not have taken place if the country's power was handed over to the elected representatives of 1970 general election in the then East Pakistain, he said.
The Jamaat chief, however, did not say his definition of the "tragic incident".
"This is a matter of investigation that whether Bhutto saheb used Yahya Khan or Yahya Khan used Bhutto [in 1971]," he told the tribunal.
In 1971, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was the chief of Pak Peoples Party (PPP), which opposed Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman-led Awami League's taking over power even after the AL won majority in 1970 national assembly polls.
Yahya Khan, the Pakistain military dictator who was then the president of Pakistain, also refused to hand over state power to Awami League. Instead, he launched mass killing and genocide against Bangalees on the night of March 25, 1971.
"We had no link to creating the situation of genocide at that time," Nizami said. "Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was the Nayak [key person] of the genocide."
Out of the 16 charges brought against Nizami, four pointed fingers at the Jamaat ameer for making speeches inciting members of Razakar, Al Badr and other auxiliary forces to commit atrocities during the Liberation War.
Nizami told the court yesterday that the speeches mentioned in the charges were taken from newspapers.
He said he had visited some places and delivered speeches in 1971 as the president of ICS. However, Caliphornia hasn't yet slid into the ocean, no matter how hard it's tried... he did not "own" all his statements published in newspapers.
The Sangram, mouthpiece of Jamaat-e-Islami, quoted Nizami on September 15, 1971, as saying: "Everyone of us should assume the role of a Mohammedan soldier of an Islamic state, and through cooperation to the oppressed and by winning their confidence we must kill those, who are hatching conspiracies against Pakistain and Islam."
About other charges including murder and torture, Nizami said the incidents took place neither in his presence nor with his knowledge.
"I don't think there is any scope of accusing someone of war crimes for his political role," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/29/2012 00:00 ||
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US and South Korean special forces have been parachuting into North Korea to gather intelligence about underground military installations, according to a senior US officer.
Army Brigadier General Neil Tolley, commander of US special forces in South Korea, told a conference held in Florida last week that Pyongyang had built thousands of tunnels since the Korean war, The Diplomat reported.
"The entire tunnel infrastructure is hidden from our satellites," Gen Tolley said. "So we send (South Korean) soldiers and US soldiers to the North to do special reconnaissance."
We can expect a whole bunch of North Korean colonels and generals to have auto accidents this week...
"After 50 years, we still don't know much about the capability and full extent" of the underground facilities," he said, in comments reported by the National Defense Industrial Association's magazine on its website.
#3
I have no idea if this is true, but if it isn't, I like broadcasting that we've done it and will do it again. Let's see Pudgy the Fabulous General explain how his country is being violated by those evil paratroopers.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/29/2012 10:31 Comments ||
Top||
#4
If it is true, OTOH, I DO NOT like broadcasting that we have done this.
#10
I had a native American cousin who learned to speak Korean fluently when he was in the Air Force & did indeed parachute into the north. This was decades ago. He lived the life of a beggar and a thief, probably just blended in.
#11
Drop some chutes weighed down with ice -- ice melts, you get just a parachute out in the middle of nowhere. Leak juicy story to UK press, watch the fun!
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
05/29/2012 21:35 Comments ||
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China's massive crackdown on North Koreans who live and work there illegally could deal a hard blow to the North's feeble economy, some pundits say. They say it could make things very difficult for North Korean traders who smuggle Chinese goods across the border to sell back in the North. This in turn would hobble the grassroots market economy that is the only way for many North Koreans to sustain themselves under the cash-strapped regime.
"Some 30 percent of the products sold in open-air markets in North Korea are believed to have been smuggled across the border," said a source. "The crackdown could lead to a shortage of supplies and thus cause prices to skyrocket."
But some North Korea watchers believe the economic impact would not be that great. "Most of the smuggling is done between ethnic Chinese in North Korea and North Koreans living in China," said Kim Hee-tae, an activist working for human rights in the North. "These people can travel back and forth between China and North Korea legitimately and wont be heavily impacted by the crackdown."
Products legally imported by regime-controlled companies account for more than half the goods sold in North Korean markets, and they are outside the purview of the crackdown.
North Korea experts say the crackdown will lead to a greater number of North Koreans being sent overseas to work legally, who will end up putting more hard currency into the North's state coffers.
"Depending on where they work and what jobs they have, North Koreans dispatched overseas make between US$200 to $1,000 a month," said the source. They get to keep only 10 to 20 percent while the regime takes the rest in party loyalty funds, tax, insurance and living expenses. "The workers who will be sent to China legally will probably have to do the same," the source added.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/29/2012 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under:
#1
Is it just me, or is anyone else getting the feel that Beijing would like to take over NOKOR widout firing a shot = no "Great Power" Mil Confrontation in NE Asia, while still allowing Beijing to engage in unilateral, forceful
"Gunboat/Battleship Diplomacy" in the SCS vee ASEAN States???
NO UNO, NO US, NO RUSSIA OR NIPPON OR ANGRY SOKOR TO ARGUE WID CHINA OER ITS TAKEOVER OF A "NATURALLY/INTERNALLY", SELF-IMPLODED OR COLLAPSED NOKOR WHOSE STABILITY + WELL-BEING IS ALREADY IN CHINA'S "CORE INTEREST(S)"???
#2
China's percentage of bilateral export trade wid the DPRK is officially 85%, + by some Pert accounts higher - the new Sino-DPRK FTAS is antcipated in the West to only increase China's domination.
#3
CHINA DAILY FORUM > POSTER OPED: IFF THE US CAN CLAIM HAWAII + GUAM, THEN CHINA CAN CLAIM SOUTH CHINA SEA.
and
* WORLD MILITARY FORUM > TIME MAGAZINE: CLOCK TICKING ON CHINA-JAPAN ISLAND DISPUTE; IWA EXPERT TOGO KAZUHIKO - JAPAN MAY ONLY HAVE 1-2 YEARS [2013-2014] TO PEACEFULY RESOLVE THE DAOYUS/SENKAKUS ISLANDS DISPUTE WID CHINA BEFORE THE OUTBREAK OF WAR.
* SAME > JAPAN ON SINO-PHILIPPINE'S DISPUTE: CHINA IS ONCE AGAIN THE "MIDDLE KINGDOM" TO WHICH THE WORLD MUST KOWTOW.
versus
* WORLD NEWS > NORTH KOREA: UP TO 40,000 SOUTH KOREAN SOLDIERS [1950-1953]STILL BURIED IN DMZ.
#4
is anyone else getting the feel that Beijing would like to take over NOKOR widout firing a shot
They don't want to be seen doing it. Having NOKOR as a mad little lapdog for stirring up mischief is way too valuable, but the ChiComs need at least the appearance of deniability.
Turkey's police have detained six retired generals, including the country's former chiefs of air force and land forces, over their alleged role in the 1990s ousting of an Islamist prime minister.
Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency says a court has charged the six on Tuesday over their role in forcing the resignation in 1997 of an Islamist Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan. (AP)
OTTAWA - Canada will immediately expel the three remaining Syrian diplomats in Ottawa in response to a massacre in the town of Houla last week, Foreign Minister John Baird said on Tuesday. Baird told Ottawa's CFRA radio that the trio - a charge d'affaires and two other officials - had been told they were being kicked out. France and Germany have already announced they are expelling the Syrian envoys.
"Canada and our partners are speaking loudly, with one voice, in saying these Syrian representatives are not welcome in our countries while their masters in Damascus continue to perpetrate their heinous and murderous acts," Baird said in a separate news release.
"Despite repeated, even continual calls for peace, Assad's reprehensible campaign of savage violence continues unabated," Baird said in the statement.
Canada, like most of its international partners, has already imposed tough economic sanctions on Syria.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/29/2012 12:19 ||
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[Dawn] Swat ...a valley and an administrative district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistain, located 99 mi from Islamabad. It is inhabited mostly by Pashto speakers. The place has gone steadily downhill since the days when Babe Ruth was the Sultan of Swat... Qaumi Jirga has urged all stakeholders to take decisive action against hard boyz to ensure sustainable peace in the valley.
The jirga, a forum of civil society groups, was organised here on Sunday which was addressed by its president Mukhtiar Khan Yousufzai, Sher
Shah Khan, Haji Zahid Khan, Mohammad Ali Khan and others.
Speakers said that all state institutions should play their due role for lasting peace in Swat and other parts of Malakand Division. They said that there was no room for terrorist groups in Swat and local people could not tolerate militancy anymore.
Expressing satisfaction over the prevailing situation, the speakers said that government should take more serious steps to wipe out militancy from the area. The forum demanded of the provincial government to reconstruct the main road from Landakai to Mingora up to Kanjo as, they said, it was very important for revival of tourism in the region.
They added that the law enforcement agencies should not harass tourists without reason at various checkpoints and checkposts. The speakers also demanded reconstruction of educational institutions which were destroyed in militancy.
They said that the security forces should vacate schools in order to bring these facilities in use for educational purposes.
Taking strong exception to frequent movement of officials in educational institutions meant for females, the elders asked the government to restrict the visits of irrelevant officials in girls schools and colleges.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/29/2012 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] President Asif Ali President Ten Percent Zardari ... sticky-fingered husband of the late Benazir Bhutto ... on Monday directed to form a joint task force of intelligence and law-enforcement agencies. He ordered to launch a crack down operation against the criminal elements in Sindh, DawnNews reported.
The president was chairing a high level meeting at Bilawal House to discuss the law and order situation of the province with special focus on recent incidents of firing and killings in the capital city of Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It may be the largest city in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... .
Governor Sindh Dr Ishratul Ebad, Chief Minister Sindh Qaim Ali Shah and Federal Ministers Makhdoom Amin Fahim, Syed Khurshid Shah, Syed Naveed Qamar and Maula Bux Chandio attended the meeting which set up a committee to look into matters of law and order in the province. Senior officials of Police, Rangers and intelligence agencies also attended the meeting.
President Zardari showed concern over increasing weapon proliferation in the city. He inquired the police officials about the routes through which weapons in such large quantity are coming in the city. He said despite availability of all the resources, law and order situation of the city is still the worst.
Chief Minister Sindh, Director General (DG) Rangers, Inspector General (IG) Sindh and officials of the intelligence agency gave separate briefings in the meeting.
The president issued directions to the police and the rangers specifically for the investigations of Lyari ...one of the eighteen constituent towns of the city of Karachi. It is the smallest town by area in the city but also the most densely populated. Lyari has few schools, substandard hospitals, a poor water system, limited infrastructure, and broken roads. It is a stronghold of ruling Pakistan Peoples Party. Ubiquitous gang activity and a thriving narcotics industry make Lyari one of the most disturbed places in Karachi, which is really saying a lot.... operation, firing incident on Sindh Muhabbat rally in Bloody Karachi and firing incident in Nawabshah.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/29/2012 00:00 ||
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A United Nations agency that aids member nations in securing their national infrastructures is set to warn member nations about the risk posed by the 'Flame' virus.
Flame is a computer virus that Tehran says is infecting its computers and which independent experts say "most dangerous cyberwarfare tool ever created."
Particularly if you own centrifuges used to enrich uranium...
One technology reporter for the Herald Sun -- who estimated Flame was 20 times more powerful than any virus seen before -- facetiously joked the virus could "bring the world to its knees."
"This is the most serious (cyber) warning we have ever put out," Marco Obiso, cyber security coordinator for the UN's Geneva-based International Telecommunications Union, said.
"They should be on alert," he added.
Analysts say evidence suggests Flame may have been built on behalf of the same nation - or nations - that commissioned the Stuxnet worm that attacked Iran's nuclear program in 2010,.
"I think it is a much more serious threat than Stuxnet," Obiso said.
He said the ITU will set up a program to collect data - including virus samples - to track Flame's spread around the globe and observe any changes in its composition.
At present, Flame is known to have struck at least 600 specific computer systems in Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Sudan, Saudi Arabia and the Palestinian Authority. Flame does with one virus what hackers have previously had to deploy many separate viruses to do. That means it can deliver a more comprehensive picture than ever before of what a computer is being used for.
The Al-Menaa complex is the second of three 360 Architecture sports venues in Iraq. The first project in Iraq is the $700-million, two-stadium Basra Sports City, set for completion late this year. The third is the 30,000-seat Al-Najaf stadium in Al-Najaf, which is trailing Al-Menaa.
The 65,000-seat Basra stadium project was prompted by the selection of Iraq to host the 2013 Gulf Cup of Nations soccer tournament. The Basra, Al-Menaa and Al Najaf projects are part of a national program, led by the Iraq Ministry of Youth and Sport, Baghdad, to build a network of athletic facilities. The goal is to build 30,000-seat stadiums in each of Iraq's 18 provinces. Currently, there is an estimated $1.5 billion worth of sports construction in Iraq. In each province. I like that.
For the design team, security and safety aren't the only issues that distinguish the project. Not much has been built in Iraq in about 40 years. The Ministry of Youth and Sport itself is only about 10 years old. Government tendering is also a "growing process, which is pretty fragile," says the architect.
For example, the stadium is designed to international codes and standards. When the project began, Iraq had no building code. The design team submitted a list of international codes that would be used and got approval for their application on the project. Soon Iraq will have a giant bureaucracy to develop and administer codes!
Posted by: Bobby ||
05/29/2012 07:17 ||
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Top|| File under:
#1
Bread and circuses. Stuff people NEED...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
05/29/2012 10:44 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Soon Iraq will have a giant bureaucracy to develop and administer codes!
Posted by:Bobby
Mlle. Sophie Neveu, estranged granddaughter of the late Grand Master Jacques Saunière should be able to assist with the more challenging codes.
Three Chinese migrants attempting to infiltrate the Israeli border in the early hours of Monday morning were injured during exchanges of fire between IDF soldiers and four Egyptian smugglers. There were no injuries among the Israeli troops.
The armed Egyptians, who were trying to smuggle the Chinese nationals across the border, fled back into the Sinai Peninsula. One of the smugglers was injured from IDF fire. The injured border jumpers were evacuated in an Israel Air Force helicopter to the Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba.
Medical officials said one of the infiltrators sustained moderate wounds. Another has already been released, while the third infiltrator was awaiting treatment outside the hospital's emergency room.
The area in which the incident occurred, between Ein Netafim and Mount Sagi, is known as a smuggling route, but usually the smugglers part from the infiltrators a few hundred meters from the border fence. IDF officials said the border fence has prevented dozens of infiltrations.
Last week a demonstration against the constant influx of migrants into south Tel Aviv's neighborhoods turned violent. Seventeen people were arrested for attacking migrants and looting their stores.
#1
Why are Chinese migrants trying to get into Israel? They're now in the 'care' of Israel so I guess that question will be answered, at least to those who need to know.
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: International nuclear talks with Iran have achieved nothing, a senior Israeli official said on Tuesday, suggesting that some Western nations were happy to see the negotiations drag on.
Israel, which has threatened to go to war to prevent its arch-foe going nuclear, has fretted on the sidelines as six world powers press for a curb on Iranian uranium enrichment.
Breaking Israel's official silence on the second round of talks, held in Baghdad last week, Vice Prime Minister Moshe Yaalon said they had only produced "more Iranian time-buying".
"(There was) no significant achievement except for the Iranians having been given another three weeks or so to pursue the nuclear project until the next meeting in Moscow," he told Israel's Army Radio in an interview.
"To my regret, I don't see any sense of urgency, and perhaps it is even in the interest of some players in the West to stretch out the time, which would certainly square with the Iranian interest."
Yaalon, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's rightist Likud party, would not elaborate. In January, he accused U.S. President Barack Obama of diluting anti-Iran sanctions for fear of a spike in fuel prices that would sap his bid to win another White House term in November.
Like Israel, Washington says armed force could be a last option against the Iranians, who deny seeking the bomb and have vowed to fight back on several fronts if attacked.
Loath to see a new war in the Muslim world, the Obama administration has sought to reassure the Netanyahu government that discussions have not yet been exhausted.
A new, unprecedented computer virus called "Flame" (or "sKyWIper") has hit Iran, the West Bank, and other Middle Eastern locations. It is already considered one of the most sophisticated cyber weapons ever unleashed. Internet security company Kaspersky said Monday that Flame was the "most complex piece of malicious software discovered to date."
The cyber-espionage worm, designed to collect and delete sensitive information, is said to have 20 times as much code as Stuxnet, which attacked an Iranian uranium enrichment facility (and some 16,000 computers), causing centrifuges to fail. Iran blamed Israel and the US for its creation.
Flame is also believed to contain an element that was used in Stuxnet. Kaspersky said the Flame malware may have been lurking inside thousands of computers across the Middle East for between five and eight years. The creator of the virus is not yet known.
The Laboratory of Cryptography and System Security (CrySyS Lab), affiliated with Budapest University, said the analysis on the virus is still limited in scope, but that the virus is a complex "info-stealer... with large components."
Flame is the third cyber weapon uncovered recently, after Stuxnet and Duqu (named after a Star Wars villain).
The country with the largest number of machines infected by Flame is believed to be Iran, following by the West Bank, and Sudan and Syria after that. Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt have also been affected.
Crysys Lab, which analyses computer viruses at Budapest University. said the technical evidence for a link between Flame and Stuxnet or Duqu was inconclusive.
The newly-discovered virus does not spread itself automatically but only when hidden controllers allow it.
Unprecedented layers of software allow Flame to penetrate remote computer networks undetected.
The file, which infects Microsoft Windows computers, has five encryption algorithms, exotic data storage formats and the ability to steal documents, spy on computer users and more. Components enable those behind it, who use a network of rapidly-shifting "command and control" servers to direct the virus, to turn microphone into listening devices, siphon off documents and log keystrokes.
Eugene Kaspersky, the founder of Kaspersky Lab, noted that "it took us 6 months to analyse Stuxnet. [This] is 20 times more complicated".
Once a machine is infected additional modules can be added to the system allowing the machine to undertake specific tracking projects.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/29/2012 00:00 ||
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[2 views]
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#1
They should have known better than to surf the pr0n sites from their work computers...
#2
from Fox: Vitaly Kamluk, chief malware expert for Kaspersky Labs, said there were many pointers to it being a weapon, not the least of which was how highly-targeted it was. According to their investigations, only 382 infections have been reported, 189 of which were in Iran, and the malware targeted individuals rather than organizations.
Kamluk said the malware was most likely introduced by a USB stick or other removable drive. Once injected, the malware would contact one of the many command and control servers around the world and download additional modules as needed."Unlike Stuxnet," said Kamluk, "[Flame] was much more sophisticated and not simply trying to infect every machine." He said the malware was also able to find out information about other devices around it.
#3
By targeting limited individuals, it also seems to link those in Iran to Syria and the West Bank. It even turns on the microphone remotely to listen in--GOTCHA!!!! :D
#4
The Debka people claim the Flame virus has also hit Israeli computers...
Cyber experts rate Flame, which has been around for five years, as one of the common or garden viruses affecting computers in many places, Israel and Iran included. It is not in the same class as Stuxnet, the only malworm that seriously disrupted Irans nuclear facilities in 2009 until it too was overcome. DEBKAfile: Since then, cyber warfare has moved onto a higher plane as was discovered when Chinese experts downed the US RQ-170 spy drone over Iran in December 2011.
An interesting statement, it seems to me in my ignorance.
#5
Using pirated software to run computers usually means the company with the copyright and patents probably won't be answering your service calls when your computer hiccups.
#6
Too bad we can't use this thing on the NYT to find out who their sources are inside the CIA. I'd love to string a bunch of them up by their thumbs on the Capitol Mall.
Posted by: Bill Clinton ||
05/29/2012 17:58 Comments ||
Top||
The White House says it remains opposed to military action in Syria, reasoning that it would only lead to more carnage.
Spokesman Jay Carney says the Obama administration will continue offering non-lethal assistance to the Syrian people. Following a gruesome weekend massacre in Syria, Carney says the US is working with its allies to assess further action, but he is giving no specific detail about what those next steps might include.
And the Kabuki Theater continues
UN-Arab envoy Kofi Annan will seek to salvage his battered Syrian peace plan during "frank" talks with President Bashar al-Assad on Tuesday, amid international horror at the Houla massacre of over 100 people.
As he began a visit to Syria on Monday Annan called the "tragic" massacre in the central town "an appalling moment with profound consequences".
The former UN chief said those responsible must be held to account, and urged "everyone with a gun" to abide by his six-point blueprint to help end 15 months of bloodshed.
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem met Annan and the head of the UN observer mission in Syria, Major General Robert Mood.
Muallem explained "the truth of what is happening in Syria and the attacks against law and order which are aimed at sowing chaos ... (despite) the reforms that Syria has adopted in all areas," the official SANA news agency reported.
"Hey, Barack, remember all those unemployed military folks who are making our already doctored unemployment numbers look even worse? I just had an idea ...."
The US's top military officer has warned Syria it could face armed intervention as international outrage grows over the massacre of women and children by tanks and artillery in Houla.
General Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, said that following the UN security council's condemnation of the slaughter -- in which more than 100 people were killed, many of them children -- there needed to be increased diplomatic pressure on Damascus. But he added that the US would be prepared to act militarily if it was "asked to do so".
Is he serious?
"There is always a military option," he told Fox News. "You'll always find military leaders to be somewhat cautious about the use of force, because we're never entirely sure what comes out on the other side. But that said, it may come to a point with Syria because of the atrocities." You can only pretend to keep your head buried for so long before someone notices that they're talking to your butt.
The warning comes as Barack Obama is under increasing pressure from his Republican opponent in November's presidential election, Mitt Romney, and members of Congress to take tougher action over Syria.
Romney accused Obama of weakness and disparaged his support for efforts by the former UN secretary general, Kofi Annan, to revive a failing peace plan. He said Washington should instead arm opposition groups.
"After nearly a year and a half of slaughter, it is far past time for the United States to begin to lead and put an end to the Assad regime. President Obama can no longer ignore calls from congressional leaders in both parties to take more assertive steps," he said.
Romney continued: "The Annan 'peace' plan, which President Obama still supports, has merely granted the Assad regime more time to execute its military onslaught. The United States should work with partners to organise and arm Syrian opposition groups so they can defend themselves. The bloodshed in Houla makes clear that our goal must be a new Syrian government."
Senator John McCain, the Republican presidential candidate against Obama four years ago, called the White House "feckless" for not doing more to stop Syria.
"This is a shameful episode in American history," he said. "It's really an abdication of everything that America stands for and believes in."
Dempsey was asked if there is a place in Syria for the Libya model, in which Nato led a bombing campaign ostensibly to protect civilian areas but which swiftly evolved into action directly in support of the rebels.
"I'm sure there are some things that we did in Libya that could be applicable in a Syria environment or Syria scenario. But I'm very cautious about templates," he said.
Obama has steered clear of public discussion about military action against the Assad regime, saying that conditions in Syria are different from those in Libya. For a start, Russia is a major diplomatic obstacle to military action or even much stronger sanctions although it backed the UN security council condemnation of Damascus on Sunday, suggesting there are limits to the protection it is prepared to offer.
Neither is there much appetite for military intervention in other western capitals, including France which led the assault on Libya but which has since had a change of leadership with the election of Francois Hollande.
Domestic US political conditions have also shifted since the Libya campaign. With an election in November, the president may not want to embroil US forces in another Middle East conflict when he is trumpeting getting the US out of unpopular wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Washington is instead looking to a negotiated transition that would see President Bashar al-Assad surrender power as part of a power sharing agreement between the rebels and the regime.
The Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, on Monday said that Russia is not wedded to keeping Assad in control.
"It is not the most important thing who is in power in Syria, what regime has power," he said. "For us, the main thing is to put an end to the violence among civilians and to provide for political dialogue under which the Syrians themselves decide on the sovereignty of their country."
#1
So we're gonna have to go "protect civilians" again, huh? It occurs to me that if those "civilians" would stop shooting at the Syrian army then the Syrian army would stop shooting back.
#3
be prepared to act militarily if it was "asked to do so".
Asked by whom, hmmmmmm? Anyone else think that 0 is looking for a way to turn the US Militarty over to the UN? That'd get those pesky service folk away from the ballot box.
I was invited to watch the Thunderbirds fly at US Air Force Academy graduation today (5.23.12) by some folks with a shop just east of the north gate entrance to the academy. Obama was the commencement speaker. It is traditional that the Thunderbirds fly their entire demonstration routine after the initial pass as the new lieutenants toss their hats. But obama, as arrogant as he is, couldnt wait the 30 minutes for the routine to finishhe had the Thunderbirds hold their routine after the first pass until he exited the stadium and campus, not having even the courtesy to watch subordinates of his demonstrate the professionalism and skill incumbent with their jobs. I did not notice the exact time of the initial pass of the Thunderbirds, but am guessing around the 1245 to 1300 mark. The official potus site showed him scheduled to depart Peterson AFB at 1530 arriving Buckley ANGB at 1600. A half hour airshow would not have delayed him in the least for his 1730 fund-raising dinner in Denver, but he chose to snub his subordinates and leave forcing the entire cadet wing, dignitaries, families, friends, and new lieutenants to wait on him. Decide for yourself his commitment to the military, and to his responsibilities as commander-in-chief...
[An Nahar] Russia said on Monday it did not support the Syrian government of Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Trampler of Homs... but urged world powers to work for the peace plan of U.N. 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... and not regime change.
"We do not support the Syrian government. We support the plan of Kofi Annan," Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at a joint news conference with his British counterpart William Hague.
But he added that world powers had to "play the game of fulfilling the Kofi Annan plan and not the game of regime change."
Hague for his part warned there will be "chaos and civil war" if the Annan plan is not implemented.
Their meeting came after The New York Times ...which still proudly displays Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize... reported the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama The Cambridge police acted stupidly... is considering working with Russia on a plan for Assad's departure under a proposal modeled on the transition in Yemen.
Lavrov did not make any direct comment on the report but made clear that Russia's priority was not "who is in power" in Syria but ending the violence.
"We are deeply worried that the Annan plan is being implemented unsatisfactorily. We are still far from our goals," Lavrov said.
Russia had earlier joined other U.N. Security Council powers in condemning the Syrian government for using artillery in a massacre in the town of Houla that left 108 people dead, many of them children, and 300 injured.
Britannia and La Belle France had proposed a U.N. statement making an even stronger condemnation of the Assad government but this was rejected by Russia.
In contrast to the West's placing of the blame for the massacre on the Syrian government, Lavrov said Moscow believed both the regime and the armed opposition shared the blame.
"Here we have a situation where both sides clearly had a hand in the fact that peaceful citizens were killed," he said.
Hague had called on Russia ahead of his trip to use its leverage with the Assad regime and Lavrov said: "We are putting pressure on the Syrian government on an almost daily basis.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/29/2012 00:00 ||
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#1
Will say anything while they sell weapons to them....and just about every evil country
[Al Ahram] Syria massacre condemned by Iran and China after at least 108 people were killed including children; state authorities deny their involvement in killings that sparked international outcry
Posted by: Fred ||
05/29/2012 00:00 ||
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[Iran Press TV] The new Iranian Majlis (parliament) has strongly condemned the ruthless massacre of defenseless Syrians in Houla, saying the US is responsible for the attack.
"The barbaric massacre of the innocent people of Houla, in Homs, is reminiscent of the merciless terrorist atrocities in Sabra and Shatila and is a blatant symbol of terrorist acts and mass murder in this juncture of human history," the 9th Majlis politicians said in a statement Monday.
On May 25, deadly festivities broke out between Syrian forces and gangs in Houla, located in the central province of Homs.
Head of the UN observer mission in Syria Major General Robert Mood said in a briefing via video from Damascus ...The City of Jasmin is the oldest continuously-inhabited city in the world. It has not always been inhabited by the same set of fascisti... to an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on Sunday that UN observers in Houla estimate 108 people were killed, including 49 children and 34 women.
The Iranian politicians said there is no doubt the Orcs and similar vermin responsible for such atrocities are armed and trained by the West and its regional allies and are dispatched into Syria by some of its neighbors.
"The US should be held accountable for its incorrect policies in Syria," they said.
The politicians called on the United Nations ...an international organization whose stated aims of facilitating interational security involves making sure that nobody with live ammo is offended unless it's a civilized country... Security Council to prevent the shipment of weapons into Syria.
Earlier, Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast also condemned the ''suspicious attack" in the village of Houla and stressed the necessity of identifying and punishing the perpetrators.
"The attack has been carried out in order to create chaos and instability in Syria and its perpetrators are trying to block the way to a peaceful resolution," Mehmanparast said on Sunday.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/29/2012 00:00 ||
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[4 views]
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#1
Whoa, the US hates Hula Hoops - who knew?
NOT-THE-GREAT-HULA-HOOP-MASSACRE ...
versus
* TOPIX > REVOLUTIONARY GUARDS' UNITS [Quds/Qods Force]ADMIT IRAN INVOLVEMENT [MilOps] IN SYRIA, in order to protect Iran ally Assad + Regime.
#3
OOOOPPSSS, forgot FREEREPUBLIC > [WaPo] NEWSPAPER: IRAN-LINKED OPERATIVES ATTEMPTED TO ASSASSINATE US, ISRAELI DIPLOMATS, in seven foreign countries oer the past 13 months.
Iff there is a US-Iran War this summer or year, i.e. US-led ground invasion of same, THE BAMMER + NCA + CONGRESS, ETC. HIGH-PROFILE US-ALLIED TARGETS SHOULD EXPECT SOMETHING LIKE THIS TO OCCUR AS A MATTER OF COURSE.
Once again, PESKY PERSIANS ARE, + WILL BE, PESKY!
To also include the below [Nukes-WMDs] ...
* WAFF > DURING WW2, JAPAN PLOTTED TO UNLEASH BUBONIC PLAGUE UPON THE UNITED STATES.
versus
* WAFF > UNDERCOVER US AGENTS BROUGHT DOWN OUR NEW SUPERJET; RUSSIA'S EXTRAORDINARY CLAIMS | STATE GRU MILITARY INTELLIGENCE AOURCES SAY RUSSIA INVESTIGATING THEORY CRASH WAS [intentional/wilful] "INDUSTRIAL SABOTAGE", + Act Act of Terror, War agz sovereign Mama Russia.
* TOPIX > US PREPARES FOR CIVIL WAR + WORLD WAR THREE.
* PRAVDA > IT WAS THE US + UK THAT SANK RUSSIA'S "KURSK" SUBMARINE.
FYI Mama Russia is also blaming the US for its recent Satellite + Space Rocket failures.
HHHHHHm HMMMMMMM, intehwesting, iff my Dreams-Visions from childhood hold true, espec as also complemented by FREEREPUBLIC's News this AM as per the US Navy proceeding wid its new, All-Female Crewed Submarine, THEN THE US WILL BE FACING A SERIOUS/MAJOR DETERIORATION = REVERSALS IN ITS POST-COLD WAR, POST-911 GEOPOL RELATIONS WID BOTH RUSSIA + CHINA.
* Year 2015-2020 > any positive or good relations wid Russia + China will be all but gone, espec vee Russia.
Not just MilPol antagonism and confrontationisms, but also GWCC + "Peak Oil/Energy" + "Fracking".
CHINA = "PEAK OIL/ENERGY" BUT ALSO "PEAK WATER". China's + East Asia's water tables are rapidly drying up but China doesn't know why + steadfastly refuses to link wid its massive "Three Gorges" Projects.
[USN's ALL-FEMALE SUB + WOMEN IN COMBAT ROLES = "SINK THE TIRPITZ, SINK THE TIRPITZ" + "THE GORGE-BUSTERS" here].
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.
[Bangla Daily Star] 
...a valley and an administrative district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistain, located 99 mi from Islamabad. It is inhabited mostly by Pashto speakers. The place has gone steadily downhill since the days when Babe Ruth was the Sultan of Swat...
Asif Ali 
A United Nations agency that aids member nations in securing their national infrastructures is set to warn member nations about the risk posed by the 'Flame' virus.
...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...
The new Iranian Majlis (parliament) has strongly condemned the ruthless massacre of defenseless Syrians in Houla, saying the US is responsible for the attack.
