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Syrian Army Attacks Jisr al-Shughour
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 1: WoT Operations
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Page 4: Opinion
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Good morning
Posted by: Fred || 06/13/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Crystal Gayle?
Posted by: Skidmark || 06/13/2011 1:14 Comments || Top||

#2  Happy Birthday/Daily Gam Shot

Brande Roderick aka Playmate of the month April 2000, Playmate of the Year 2001 aka Leigh Dyer in "Baywatch" aka Sally in "Out of Control (Bollywood)" aka Tiffany in "Snoop Dogg's Hood of Horror" aka Tanya in "The Nanny Diaries" aka Heather in "Starsky & Hutch (The movie)" aka "Girl of RPS" for the USA Rock Paper Scissors League (age 37)



A seat for Gorb
Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 06/13/2011 3:26 Comments || Top||

#3  Only distracted for a moment ....
Posted by: gorb || 06/13/2011 23:57 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan
Insurgents Block Kunar-Nuristan Highway
[Tolo News] Kunar-Nuristan Highway has been closed by Death Eaters over the two months and Nuristan residents have been faced with a wide range of problems, Nuristan Provincial Council said on Sunday.

Chief of Nuristan Provincial Council, Enayatullah Mazaber, emphasised that the blockade should be brought to and end.

By blocking the main route connecting Kunar and Nuristan, Death Eaters want to apply different pressures in particular economic pressures on residents in Nuristan, Mazaber said.

"We are running out of food in the quiet provincial capital and a number of other districts. Shortage of food has caused prices to go up in the markets and people can hardly afford to buy their basic needs," Mazaber said.

He said NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Originally it was a mutual defense pact directed against an expansionist Soviet Union. In later years it evolved into a mechanism for picking the American pocket while criticizing the style of the American pants...
hasn't provided aid or made compensation payments to families that lost their relatives in an operation to seize control of Doab from Death Eaters a couple of weeks ago.

"More than 150 people bit the dust, but unfortunately the central government hasn't sent a delegate to investigate the incident," he said.

Local officials said central government will soon provide aid packages to victims' families.

Nuristan being adjacent to porous Afghan borders with Pakistain has long been witnessing security threats from Death Eaters storming into the province from Pakistain lawless tribal areas.
Posted by: Fred || 06/13/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


6 Taliban Killed in Clashes with Afghan Forces
[Tolo News] At least six Talibs were killed in festivities with Afghan cops in Ghazni province on Saturday, local officials said.
So nice to see the change -- remember when all the reports were about hiding or running away from attacks?
The festivities happened yesterday afternoon when Taliban Militants attacked on an Afghan National Army vehicle. Six Talibs were killed, three other bully boyz and an Afghan soldier were maimed in the incident, Dawood Shah Wafadar, the commander of 203 Tundar military corps told TOLOnews news hound.

Violence has increased in Ghazni province recently and cut-throats have attacked Afghan check posts.

It comes as on Saturday two non-combatants were killed and five others were hurt in a bomb kaboom near the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in Ghazni.

Officials said the explosives were planted in an ice-cream selling cart and the blast happened right in the heart of downtown Ghazni.
According to other reports, the ice cream seller would have soon been able to shave for the first time... or to not shave, as the case might be.
On Friday in a joint Afghan and NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Originally it was a mutual defense pact directed against an expansionist Soviet Union. In later years it evolved into a mechanism for picking the American pocket while criticizing the style of the American pants...
forces 'Omed' operation 4 Taliban were killed and 2 others were maimed in the province.

Ghazni officials said that they have launched Omed operation more than 2 months ago, and it still continues to clear volatiles districts of myrmidons.
Posted by: Fred || 06/13/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Africa North
Gaddafi's tribe urges him to step down
[] Libyan, Arab, and Western sources have stated to Asharq Al-Awsat that secret attempts are under way to persuade Colonel Mummer Qadaffy to step down in return for a safe passage for him, his family, and senior aides.

An Arab diplomat, familiar with the ongoing contacts between Western officials and aides close to Qadaffy told Asharq Al-Awsat that there are differences of views within Qadaffy's inner circle on closing a political deal that allows Colonel Qadaffy to leave Libya in return for pledges from the National Transitional Council [NTC], the representative of the rebels opposed to him, as well as guarantees from the Western coalition states that they will not seek to arrest, assassinate, or bring him to court on charges of committing war crimes. This diplomat, who asked not to be identified, said that during a recent meeting with officials close to Qadaffy in Tripoli, he heard talk of the need to find a solution to stop the bloodshed. He said that he also heard insinuations that Qadaffy may leave if he receives such guarantees. He added: "For the Libyan rebels, they do not have any objection, but NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Originally it was a mutual defense pact directed against an expansionist Soviet Union. In later years it evolved into a mechanism for picking the American pocket while criticizing the style of the American pants...
and the Western coalition states do not endorse a definite stance. They want him to leave at any price, but will not ensure him an honorable exit from power under any circumstances."

Officials in the NTC said that chieftains of the Qadaffyfah tribe, to which Qadaffy belongs, proposed to him to hand over power to members of the historical Libyan Revolution Command Council, which was formed after the coup of 1969, or to the Libyan People's Congress (parliament)as a way out of the volatile political and military crisis. However,
denial ain't just a river in Egypt...
it seems that aides close to Qadaffy objected to the idea of him giving up power voluntarily without obtaining guarantees that will ensure his and his family's personal safety.

An official in Qadaffy's government told Asharq Al-Awsat that a secret dialogue is under way through informal channels between members of Qadaffy's inner circle and former Western officials and diplomats, who are connected to the decision-making circles in the Western coalition states, to find out a peaceful, political solution to end the Libyan crisis. This official, who declined to be identified, said that Qadaffy received Western signals to the effect that "the game is over, that he is no longer an acceptable political partner, that he can leave for any African country of his choice that is not a signatory to the International Criminal Court
... where Milosevich died of old age before being convicted ...
agreement, and that he will in no way be pursued by the judiciary." He said that these messages were conveyed to Libyan Foreign Minister Abdul-Ati al-Ubaydi, Chief of the Libyan Intelligence Agency, Abu-Zayd Durdah, and Prime Minister Al-Storied Baghdad
...located along the Tigris River, founded in the 8th century, home of the Abbasid Caliphate...
i al-Mahmudi.

In a related development, aides to Saif al-Islam Qadaffy, Colonel Qadaffy's second son, told Asharq Al-Awsat that unpublicized contacts were under way with some of his Western friends in the same context, but refused to give more details. While the Western states have officially closed all publicized dialogue channels with Qadaffy's regime, efforts and negotiations occasionally take place away from the limelight thorough mediators. An official connected to these contacts said that "Qadaffy's regime seeks the help of old friends to send messages to the Western states. These channels also allow the Western states to send counter messages." This source added: "This is a role similar to a postman's with one party conveying a certain viewpoint and another conveying his stance on the other party's viewpoint. However,
denial ain't just a river in Egypt...
there is nothing official, and the Western governments do not want to been seen holding a dialogue with a regime of a man (Qadaffy) whom they seek to overthrow militarily."

Libyan sources disclosed that aides close to Qadaffy were seeking to persuade him to accept one of two proposals to secure him and his family a safe exit after he steps down after a 42-year rule. They said that the first proposal provides that Qadaffy hand over power to the still alive members of the Revolution Command Council, which was formed after the military coup that overthrew the late King Idris al-Sanusi's regime, as some of them are acceptable locally and internationally. This council will later assume, in cooperation with the NTC, the task of rehabilitating the country for presidential and parliamentary elections. This source added that the second proposal provides that Qadaffy hand over power to the parliament speaker, Muhammad al-Zawi, provided that the latter assign the NTC the task of forming a transitional government to run the country after Qadaffy steps down.

However,
denial ain't just a river in Egypt...
Abdul-Munim al-Huni, NTC representative to Cairo, and one of the members of the historical Libyan Revolution Command Council, told Asharq Al-Awsat that he had heard of ongoing unpublicized talk in this respect, but that he cannot deny or confirm the truth of this talk. He added: "We need to listen to this talk from the man in question, namely Qadaffy himself. He has to act rationally and logically; suffice it the destruction he has wreaked in Libya throughout the years of his rule."

Sources informed of the details and of the behind-the-scenes discussions, which have recently been held in Tripoli between Qadaffy and members of Qadaffyfah tribe and prominent aides close to him, told Asharq Al-Awsat that these discussions were characterized by occasional sharp exchanges. They pointed out that those seeking to persuade Qadaffy to leave now told him that he no longer has anything to stay for in the country, now that he has lost Libya's eastern region, while NATO aircraft are escalating military operations against his military forces and security regiments.

These sources said that prominent figures of Qadaffyfah tribe told Colonel Qadaffy bluntly that it was time for him to quit and admit defeat, and that it is better for him, his family, and his tribe that he accept any political solution that enables him to have a safe exit and avoid judicial and international pursuit by any Libyan or Western party. These sources cited those figures as saying that they told Qadaffy that "time was no longer in your favor; we fear the prospect of your being killed along with members of your family, and we fear the prospect of a large-scale Dire Revenge™ attacks against Qadaffyfah tribe. Therefore, you have to consider your personal interest as well as your family's interest and stop the bloodshed in Libya."

These sources, which asked not to be identified, because of what they described as the sensitivity of their position, stressed that Qadaffy's relatives also told him that it was impossible for him to continue to lead Libya from an underground hideout at his fortified headquarters at Bab al-Aziziyah barracks.

In another development, the Libyan Foreign Ministry yesterday hinted for the first time that Qadaffy's regime was opening dialogue channels with separatist groups in a number of countries, which are members of the Western coalition and NATO, in retaliation for the growing relations between the rebels and these states. The official Libyan News Agency, JANA, cited Libyan Foreign Ministry sources as saying that they are watching with interest the suspicious visits and contacts with armed rebels in Libya's eastern region by officials of certain countries. They said these suspicious visits and contacts constitute a flagrant violation of international law, encroachment on the Libyan people's illusory sovereignty, blatant interference in Libya's domestic affairs, and support for separatist rebels under flimsy pretexts.

The Libyan Foreign Ministry sources also said that these violations and interferences in Libya's domestic affairs and encroachment on the Libyan people illusory sovereignty give the Libyan people the right to start contacts with movements demanding independence in Cape Verdi, Madeira, Azure and Canary islands. They said Libya also has the right to support the struggle for the liberation of Ceuta and Melilla; seek alliance with the Basque region, support efforts for Scotland's independence, and for the return of Lambidoza and Pantelleria islands to their motherland of Tunisia. They added that Libya would ally itself with Corsica and emphasize its right to freedom and independence; and will also support the struggle of the revolutionaries in the Casmance region in Senegal
... a nation of about 14 million on the west coast of Africa bordering Mauretania to the north, Mali to the east, and a pair of Guineas to the south, one of them Bissau. It is 90 percent Mohammedan and has more than 80 political parties. Its primary purpose seems to be absorbing refugees...
, who are demanding freedom and independence.

Qadaffy received two telephone calls from Malian President Ahmadou Toumani Toure and Guinean President Malam Bakaya. Libyan official media outlets said that the Malian president renewed his and his people's solidarity with the Libyan people and their leader in their heroic defiance and courageous confrontation of the aggression imposed on them. He reasserted Mali's commitment to the 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...
's initiative on Libya, stressing that Libyan affairs solely concern first the Libyan people and second Africa, as Libya is a founding member of the African Union. The Libyan media outlets cited the Guinean president as stressing his and his country's categorical rejection of foreign interference in Libya's domestic affairs, and their adherence to the African Union's initiative on Libya.

In another development, the Libyan Foreign Ministry addressed an appeal to all Libyan ambassadors and diplomats who have defected from Qadaffy's regime to again report to duty, pledging not to pursue them or take any legal or disciplinary action against anyone who responds to this appeal. In a statement, a copy of which was received by Asharq Al-Awsat, the Libyan Foreign Ministry said it would also facilitate the return of dissidents to the homeland to join their families and relatives, and would provide them with every necessary assistance they may need.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred || 06/13/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Gaddafi is like Weiner. Both are going to have to be pried away from their positions.
Posted by: JohnQC || 06/13/2011 15:17 Comments || Top||


Rebels retake Az-Zawiya
[Maghrebia] A key supply route for the Qadaffy regime was shut down Saturday (June 11th) after Libyan rebels regained control of Az-Zawiya, AP reported. Government troops closed the coastal highway linking Tripoli to Tunisia after rebels reclaimed the port city near the capital. Rebels seized Az-Zawiya in early March, but were pushed back two weeks later by forces led by Qadaffy's son Khamis
Posted by: Fred || 06/13/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Wait, what? Az-Zawiyah, on the other side of Tripoli from the Misrata front, and like a hundred miles north of Yafran on the Berber front? *Which* group of "Libyan rebels" took Az-Zawiyah? From all accounts, the original group of rebels in Az-Zawiyah are dead.

BTW, Wikipedia is ferociously on top of this.
Posted by: Mitch H. || 06/13/2011 13:51 Comments || Top||


Fierce fighting erupts in western Libya
[Al Jazeera] Intense fighting has erupted between forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Qadaffy
... a proud Arab institution for 42 years ...
and rebels near the western town of Zintan.

Al Jizz's James Bays, reporting from the frontlines, said Sunday's fighting began as rebels seeking to end Qadaffy's four-decades-long rule launched an offensive to seize a town that lay in between the towns of Zintan and Yafran.

"Opposition wanted to remove Qadaffy troops - they started from both sides. They pretty much had Qadaffy troops cornered, but the Qadaffy troops have heavy weapons," our correspondent said.

"We were in a trench earlier, which we thought was a safe position. But then we saw Qadaffy troops coming towards us so we had to leave."

The renewed fighting came amid reports that El-Khouwildy el-Ahmeildy, a senior aide Qadaffy had been maimed in a NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Originally it was a mutual defense pact directed against an expansionist Soviet Union. In later years it evolved into a mechanism for picking the American pocket while criticizing the style of the American pants...
air strike on a city near Tripoli.

Ahmed Bani, a rebel military front man, told the Rooters news agency from the opposition-stronghold of Benghazi that "el-Ahmeildy is being treated in a hospital" after suffering injuries on Saturday.

He further said that el-Ahmeildy was a member of Qadaffy's Council of the Leaders of the Revolution and that his daughter was married to one of Qadaffy's sons.

However,
some people are alive only because it's illegal to kill them...
Bani's claim could not be independently confirmed.

Rebel gain
Battles for control of the African country raged elsewhere as well with the rebels, bolstered by NATO air strikes sanctioned by the UN, launching fresh assaults to wrest control of more territory.

The rebels fought their way back into Zawiyah, a major oil port just 50km west of Tripoli, forcing Qadaffy's troops to shut down the vital coastal highway that leads into neighbouring Tunisia.

Guma el-Gamaty, a London-based front man for the opposition politicianship council, told the News Agency that Dare Not be Named news agency on Saturday that rebel fighters had taken control of a large area in Zawiyah's west.

Witnesses and rebel fighters said shootouts were raging inside the port city.

"The situation is very bad in Zawiyah. There's been fierce fighting since the morning," Mohammed, a Zawiyah resident who gave only his first name, told the Rooters news agency.

Anti-Qadaffy forces gained control of the city in March but lost it two weeks later in an assault by an elite brigade commanded by Qadaffy's son Khamis.

Since then rebels were left with tenuous footholds in Libya's far west near its border with Tunisia.

Foreign journalists travelling through Zawiyah on the coastal highway leading from west Tripoli to the Tunisian border, reported that they were diverted via backstreets with a police escort as parts of it were sealed off by Libyan soldiers.

The highway was clogged with soldiers and loyalist gunnies carrying assault rifles, some patrolling the road, others manning checkpoints.

The coastal road is a key artery from neighbouring Tunisia for delivery for food, fuel and medicine for the Qadaffy regime.

Misrata shelled
Qadaffy's forces also sporadically shelled the rebel-held city of Misrata in Libya's west, where festivities from the previous day had killed 31 people.

Al Jizz's Tony Birtley, reporting from Al Dafniya, 30km from Misrata, said it had been "a bloody day in terms of casualties".

"For nine intensive hours bombardments were non-stop. We were at a former garage workshop that has been turned into a mash unit, and body after body after casualty was being brought in there. It was complete mayhem.

"They can do the absolute basic surgery there to help them out and hopefully they can keep them alive long enough to bring them to Misrata for more intensive treatment."

Qadaffy forces also shelled the world heritage-listed Berber city of Gadamis for the first time, about 600km southwest of the capital on the Tunisia and Algerian border, opening a new front in the five-month long civil war.

Under pressure to come up with plans for a transitional government while still in disarray, the rebels have said the onus is on foreign powers to hasten assistance.

"Our people are dying," Ali Tarhouni, the rebel oil and finance minister, said. "So my message to our friends is that I hope they walk the walk."

NATO member-state Turkey said that Qadaffy has no way out but to leave Libya, and offered him an exit.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said, "We said we will help you leave for where ever you would like."

"Qadaffy has no way out but to leave Libya, through the guarantees given to him, it seems."

Erdogan added, "We ourselves have offered him this guarantee, via the representatives we've sent. We told him we would help him to be sent wherever he wanted to be sent. We would discuss the issue with our allies, according to the response we receive."

However,
some people are alive only because it's illegal to kill them...
he added that Turkey had received no response from Qadaffy regarding the deal.

"I have contacted him six or seven times. I sent our special representatives, but we always faced stalling tactics. They tell us they want a ceasefire, we tell them to take a step, but the next day you find out that some places were bombed."
Posted by: Fred || 06/13/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  For a man who only has a few days left, Qadaffy is pretty lively.
Posted by: gr(o)mgoru || 06/13/2011 4:33 Comments || Top||

#2  Qadaffy has said it many times he will not go quietly into the night. He will use every resource he has to the bitter end. He is Arab. This is what he chooses to do. Look at his outfits he wears. Better to burnout than to fade away in some foreign country where he does not belong. He writes his own history and in his last days he wants his dignity even to choose death. They will not find him in hole like Saddam. If I understand the man when they find him he will be in full outfit sword and all defying to the end.
Better to have "rebels" do this act for it will be an ugly media event.
Posted by: Dale || 06/13/2011 7:56 Comments || Top||


Arabia
Bahrain protest poet gets year in jail
MANAMA: A 20-year-old woman who recited poems critical of Bahrain's government was sentenced Sunday to a year in prison by a special security court set up during the kingdom's crackdown on opposition protesters calling for greater rights.

The tribunal's decision sent a message that the government is not easing off on punishments linked to the unrest despite appeals for talks with opposition groups.
Or that it dislikes poetry...
The pen may indeed be mightier than the sword, but only in the hands of a skilled martial artist trained in extreme penmanship.
The official Bahrain News Agency said Ayat Al-Qurmezi was convicted of anti-state charges, including inciting hatred. She can appeal.

Two former parliament members, Jawad Fairooz and Mattar Mattar, also went on trial as part of wide-ranging arrests and trials of perceived enemies of the ruling system. Both are members of the main opposition political group, Wefaq, whose 18 lawmakers resigned to protest the harsh measures against protesters.

At least 31 people have been killed in the unrest in Bahrain.
Posted by: Steve White || 06/13/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Could have been worse. She might have been reciting Vogon poetry.

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski || 06/13/2011 9:24 Comments || Top||

#2  Did someone say Vogon Poetry?


Posted by: Dale || 06/13/2011 11:00 Comments || Top||


Army Shells Arhab tribes outside Sana'a
[Yemen Post] A man was killed and tens injured when the army shelled villages in Arhab district outside Sana'a, it quoted a local official as saying.

Artilleries at the military camp on Al-Somoud Mountain targeted several villages in Arhab and then shootouts erupted between forces and armed people, the official said, as eyewitnesses added that the armed people burned tanks and bombed an ammunition storage.

The tribes in Arhab have been besieging military camps in the area for almost a month.
Posted by: Fred || 06/13/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Any warnings from the French?
Posted by: gr(o)mgoru || 06/13/2011 4:32 Comments || Top||


4 Qaida Suspects, 3 Yemeni Troops Killed in Gunbattles
[An Nahar] Yemeni colonel, two soldiers and four suspected al-Qaeda Islamic fascisti were killed in festivities in the flashpoint southern city of Zinjibar on Sunday, a military official and medics said.

"I lost one of my men, Colonel Salem al-Zuba," who was killed in fierce festivities with al-Qaeda gunnies, an officer of the besieged 25th mechanized brigade told Agence La Belle France Presse.

A medic at a military hospital in Aden said the bodies of two soldiers were brought in from festivities in Zinjibar, which was mostly overrun by suspected al-Qaeda Islamic fascisti last month.

Al-Razi hospital in the nearby town of Jaar, meanwhile, "received the bodies of four al-Qaeda cut-thoats, in addition to five others maimed," a medic told AFP.

An unidentified front man claiming to represent the gunnies in Zinjibar told AFP by telephone that the jihadists "stormed part of the camp of the 25th brigade," a report denied by the officer.

Residents said fighter planes overflew Zinjibar on Sunday.
Posted by: Fred || 06/13/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Arabia


Opposition to Meet Vice President
[Yemen Post] According to Mohammed Basendowah, the president of the opposition dialogue committee, a meeting will be held on Monday between Yemen's vice president Abdu Rabu Hadi and the opposition Joint Meeting Parties in the first meeting of it's kind meeting since President-for-Life Saleh
... exemplifying the Arab's propensity to combine brutality with incompetence...
left the country for medical treatment. the US, EU, and gulf ambassadors were key players in bringing both sides to the negotiations table,

Six JMP officials have accepted to attend the meeting with the VP at his residence tomorrow afternoon.

The foreign ambassadors seek to close the gap of differences and ensure that the gulf transfer of power proposal can be implemented.
Posted by: Fred || 06/13/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Battles Continue in South Yemen
[Yemen Post] The UN said on Sunday that almost 40000 people have been displaced from Abyan province in south Yemen where fierce battles have been taking place between the army and Islamists for weeks.

On Saturday, acting president Hadi ordered to form a panel to oversee the affairs of the displaced people who decamped to other southern cities including Aden.

These thousands of internally displaced persons need help including shelter, foodstuffs and medications as there were also refugees inside the capital Sana'a due to the battles between the army and the rustics loyal of the Hashid sheikh Sadeq Al-Ahmer, the UNHCR said.

All families in Zunjbar, Abyan's capital, were evacuated after Islamists consolidated their control over it and other cities, but insecurity amid the continuous battles stands as a roadblock to reach out other people, the UN said.

Local and international humanitarian agencies are working hard to help these refugees, most of whom decamped to Aden, through providing them with shelter, water and foodstuffs as well as other necessary needs.

According to the UNHCR, almost 10,000 people decamped Al-Hasaba and nearby districts which turned into battlefields inside the capital.
Posted by: Fred || 06/13/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Caribbean-Latin America
Mayhem in Monterrey: 13 Die, 7 Rescued
For a map, click here. For a map of Nuevo Leon, click here. For a map of Monterrey, click here.
A total of 13 individuals were murdered in and around Monterrey, Nuevo Leon in ongoing drug and gang related violence including three unidentified men found mutilated in General Teran, Nuevo Leon.
  • A Mexican Army detachment rescued seven hostages in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon Saturday. The unit rolled up in an area near the intersection of Avenida Estereo and Calle Arroba in the Villa San Angel colony after it was dispatched to investigate reports of armed suspects in the area.

    Soldiers observed several individuals running away from a Toyota Sienna minivan. Inside the van were seven individuals who said they were being held for ransom. An eight individual was also found in the van, who had been beaten to death.

    One suspect was detained at the scene and two AK-47 assault rifles were seized.

    Reports also say 12 more hostages are being held for ransom somewhere in the city.

  • A man was shot and later died at a hospital in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon Sunday. Reports say orange vendor Carlos Alberto Rodriguez Garza, 25, was shot by armed suspects on Avenida Capital de Leon, then taken to the hospital where he died a few minutes later. Armed suspects appeared at the hospital and recovered the body at gunpoint.

  • Two inmates at at the Topo Chico Centro de Readaptacion Social (CERESO) in Monterrey died Saturday in two separate incidents. according to the Mexican news daily Milenio.
    • Guards found Genaro Ruiz Alejandro Torres 21, hanged in his cell at around 0200 hrs.

    • An unidentified inmate was stabbed to death at around 0430 hrs in a brawl.

  • An unidentified man was found shot to death and beheaded in Monterrey Sunday. The victim was found wrapped in a white sheet and naked to the waist near the intersection of calles Lucio Blanco and Francisco Bernal in the Venustiano Carranza colony.

  • The remains of three unidentified men were found at the entrance of General Teran, Nuevo Leon Sunday. The victims were beheaded and mutilated and left inside bags near the intersection of Boulevard Plutarco Elías Calles and Calle Zaragoza. Messages were left with the remains, but their contents were not disclosed.

  • Five individuals were found dead in four incidents in and around Monterrey Sunday, according to the Mexican news daily Milenio
    • Two unidentified men were shot to death and three others were wounded in southern Monterrey Sunday. The victims were shot by armed suspects near the intersection of Avenida Lazaro Cardenas and Calle Zurich in the Las Torres colony.

    • An unidentified individual was fond beheaded in Estanzuela Fomerrey 45 colony Saturday.

    • An unidentified individual was found beheaded near the intersection of Avenida Hacienda and Calle Santa Anita Sunday morning.

    • An unidentified man was found shot to death and mutilated on the Cadereyta-Allende road near the village of Las Lajitas.
Posted by: badanov || 06/13/2011 06:02 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


More Mexican Mayhem
32 Die in Northern Mexico

A total of 32 individuals were murdered in ongoing drug and gang related violence in northern Mexican states including five family members in Guadalupe y Calvo, in far southern Chihuahua Sunday.
For a map, click here
  • Three unidentified men were shot to death and a fourth was wounded Saturday afternoon in Chihuahua, Chihuahua. The victims were inmates at a drug rehabilitation center near the intersection of calles Zarco and 80th.

  • Two unidentified individuals were shot to death and two others were wounded at a bar in Chihuahua, Chihuahua early Sunday morning. The victims were at the Las Quinta bar near the intersection of Colegio Militar and Monte Alva in the northern zone of the city when they were shot One of the victims was said to be a police officer.

  • An attempted auto theft was thwarted Saturday night in Chihuahua leaving one unidentified armed suspect dead and three others wounded. The shooting took place in the Cumbres colony where a private security guard caught two men attempting to steal a vehicle. The guard shot and killed one suspect when a gun was drawn on him. Two other suspects were wounded in the shooting, but escaped the scene.

  • An unidentified man was found dead along with a dog in Chihuahua, Chihuahua Sunday morning. The victim was found in a parked Mercury sedan near the intersection of calles 11 and Oviedo Baca in the Desarrollo Urbano colony. The victim had been dead for several days before nearby residents called police to investigate.

  • An unidentified man was shot to death in Juarez Saturday. The victim was at a food stall near the intersection of avenidas Benemerito de las Americas and Valentin Fuentes when armed suspects shot and killed him.

  • Two unidentified youths were shot to death in Juarez Saturday. The victims were near the intersection of calles Puerto de Palos and Puerto Duenquerque when they were shot.

  • An unidentified man was found shot to death in Juarez Sunday. The victim was found beneath a bridge near the corner of the viaduct and calle Dalias wrapped in a blanket and gagged with duct tape.

  • An unidentified man was found shot to death near Delicias, Chihuahua Saturday. The victim was found on an access road leading to the Rosetilla dam with a single gunshot wound to the head.

  • Five members of a family were found shot to death near Guadalupe y Calvo, Chihuahua Sunday. The shooting took place in the village of El Terrero where armed suspects entered a family home and asked for an individual who was not there.

    The dead were identified as Margarita Palma Valdenegro, 65, Paula Chaparro Palma, 22, an unidentified teen aged 15, and two minor children ages 4 and 2.

    Reports say the shooters removed all spent cartridge casings from the scene.

  • A skeleton was found in Sonoyta, Sonora Sunday. The victim was found on the Sonoyta-Puerto Peñasco and had been dead at least a year. Several spent 9mm casings were found at the scene.

  • Three individuals were shot to death and two others were wounded in three separate incidents in Tijuana, Baja California Saturday, according to the Mexican news daily website Frontera.info.
    • In Jardin Dorado colony a man was found shot several times.

    • A man was shot to death inside a tire shop near the intersection of Calle Pizarro and Avenida De las Aguas in the Villa del Real colony. The victim was shot by armed suspects who were travelling aboard a vehicle. Reports say the victim and shooters were both members of the local drug gang El Huicho.

    • In Mariano Matamoros colony one individual was shot to death and two others were wounded in a shooting.

  • An unidentified man was shot to death in Tijuana, Baja California Sunday. The victim was shot three times on Privada Los Olivos in the Cañadas del Florido colony.

  • A total of ten individuals were shot to death in two separate shootings in Torreon, Coahuila Sunday according to reports published in Milenio and Diario de Juarez.
    • Five unidentified individuals were shot to death Sunday morning at a taxi stand. The shooting took place at about 0500 hrs on Avenida Tercera in the Braulio Fernandez Aguirre colony. Several AR-15 and AK-47 assault rifle spent casings were found at the scene.

    • Five unidentified individuals were shot to death in Torreon Sunday afternoon. The victims were near the intersection of rivada H and Avenida Sexta in the Eduardo Guerra colony when armed suspects travelling aboard a convoy fired rifles at he victims. A sixth individual was wounded in the volley.
Posted by: badanov || 06/13/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Death in Durango: Toll in Mass Graves Rises to 238
For a map, click here. For a map of Durango, click here.
Two more bodies were exhumed in Durango, Durango leaving a death toll total of 238, according to Mexican news accounts.

Durango authorities with the help of military units have been excavating seven gravesites around Durango city since April. The latest two came from an area near the intersection of calles Teresa de Calcuta and Jorge Rivero in the Valle del Guadiana colony. Reports say 26 bodies have been so far exhumed from the site.

The murders appear to be from the usual Mexican organized crime activities such as extortion, kidnapping and have taken place over the last four years.

Officials with the Durango Procuradora General de Estado (PGE) said Friday that 96 victims have been identified so far and moved to marked graves, while 139 remain unidentified at the state forensic service facilities.
To read the last Rantburg report on the Durnago, Durango mass grave, click here.
Posted by: badanov || 06/13/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


China-Japan-Koreas
US intercepted Myanmar bound N. Korea ship in May
The US Navy intercepted a North Korean ship suspected of carrying missiles or other weapons to Myanmar and made it turn back, a senior US official said Monday. The comments by Gary Samore, special assistant to President Barack Obama on weapons of mass destruction, confirmed reports of the incident, which happened last month, in The New York Times and South Korean media. The Times said the ship was intercepted south of the Chinese city of Shanghai by a US destroyer on May 26.

In an interview with Yonhap news agency, Samore identified the cargo ship as the M/V Light and said it may have been bound for Myanmar with military-related contraband, such as small arms or missile-related items."We talked directly to the North Koreans. We talked directly to all the Southeast Asian countries including Myanmar, urging them to inspect the ship if it called into their port," he was quoted as saying."The US Navy also contacted the North Korean ship as it was sailing, to ask them where they were going and what cargo they were carrying."

North Korea is subject to international and United Nations sanctions designed to curb its missile and nuclear programmes. UN Resolution 1874, adopted in June 2009, one month after the North's second nuclear test, toughened a weapons embargo and authorised member states to intercept such shipments.

Another North Korean ship, the Kang Nam I, was forced to reverse course in 2009 after being suspected of trying to deliver military-related supplies to Myanmar.

The New York Times said the Light was registered in Belize, whose authorities gave the United States permission to inspect the ship. The US destroyer USS McCampbell caught up with the Light somewhere south of Shanghai and asked to board the vessel under the authority given by Belize. The paper, quoting unidentified US officials, said the North Korean refused four times. But a few days later, it stopped dead in the water and turned back to its home port, tracked by US surveillance planes and satellites.

"Such pressure from the international community drove North Korea to withdraw the ship," Samore was quoted by Yonhap as saying."This is a good example that shows that international cooperation and coordination can block the North's weapon exports."
Posted by: tu3031 || 06/13/2011 02:42 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  ION DEFENCE FORUM INDIA > DROUGHT-HIT CHINA TO DIVERT BRAHMAPUTRA [waters]?

Indjuh = GOVT. getting twitchy again.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 06/13/2011 3:02 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Dupe entry: Pakistan accused of tipping off al-Qaeda fighters ahead of raids
Posted by: Griting Smith6978 || 06/13/2011 01:58 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Low rate of terrorists' conviction worries Pak military
Sowing and reaping, my dears.
Posted by: Griting Smith6978 || 06/13/2011 01:38 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Today's Pakaboom: IED blast in Islamabad injures three
[Dawn] An bomb buried on the edge of a road outside the Pak capital Islamabad detonated Sunday, wounding three men, police said.

The blast happened near Malpur village, just outside the city.

"It seems to be an old bomb buried long ago under the bush and garbage," senior police official Bani Amin told news hounds.

"A father and his son riding a cycle of violence and a man travelling in a car were maimed in the blast," Amin said.

"The bomb disposal staff have collected some material from the blast site and are investigating. It could be an old hand grenade or a cracker," he added.
Posted by: Fred || 06/13/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Pakistan

#1  "It could be an old hand grenade or a cracker"
Crikey! I love the words today. Pakaboom is another.
Posted by: Dale || 06/13/2011 7:32 Comments || Top||


Taliban deny responsibility for Peshawar twin blasts
[Dawn] Pakistain's Taliban on Sunday denied responsibility for twin kabooms that destroyed a crowded market in the northwestern city of Beautiful Downtown Peshawar, killing 39 people and injuring dozens.

The attack, one of the deadliest in a series to hit Pakistain since US Navy SEALs killed the late Osama bin Laden
... who sleeps with the fishes...
in May, devastated the Khyber Super Market district which includes a hotel, shops and student accommodation.

A small initial blast at around 11:30 pm local time Saturday drew onlookers and emergency services before a second more powerful blast, believed to be from a suicide strike, detonated and was heard for miles around.

"Death toll has risen to 39 in the blasts as four maimed people died in hospital," senior local police official Ijaz Khan told AFP. He said the kabooms were just four minutes apart.

"The first blast was quite small but as people gathered close to the site of the kaboom, the second one, which was real big one, went off."

Those killed included two journalists working for English-language newspapers Pakistain Today and The News.

Abdul Hameed Afridi, chief doctor at Peshawar's main Lady Readings hospital, confirmed the corpse count and said 108 maimed were brought to the hospital overnight, with 47 of them admitted for treatment.

The Pak Taliban, who have vowed to carry out attacks to avenge the killing of bin Laden, denied any role in the bombing and said they target only the government and military.

"We did not carry out this attack in Peshawar. It is an attempt by foreign secret agencies who are doing it to malign us," Tehreek-e-Taliban front man Ehsanullah Ehsan told AFP on phone.

"We do not target innocent people. Our targets are very clear, we attack security forces, government and people who are siding with it," Ehsan said.

Nearly 4,500 people have been killed across Pakistain in attacks blamed on Taliban and other Islamist myrmidon networks based in the nearby tribal belt since government troops stormed a radical mosque in Islamabad in 2007.

The latest Peshawar bombing badly damaged six shops and the hotel. Pieces of human flesh, along with debris including smashed crockery and broken furniture from the hotel, were scattered outside.

"The first blast was triggered by a timed device planted in the bathroom of the hotel while a jacket wallah riding a cycle of violence went kaboom!" near the hotel," bomb disposal chief Shafqat Malik told AFP.

"We have found a head and some other body parts of the bomber from the attack site," he said.

Television footage showed ambulances rushing to the scene and taking away the injured, as well as the bodies of the dead.

"I was parking my car near the hotel when the first blast took place. I rushed to the hotel to see nature of the kaboom when the second bomb went off with a big bang," local journalist Safiullah Mehsud told AFP.

Mehsud, who was injured in the head and legs, said he recalled being thrown into the air by the power of the blast, before being knocked unconscious.
Muhammad Hashim, a cameraman working for a local TV channel, said he was taking tea after dinner when the blasts occurred.

"I ran towards the hotel after the first blast and it was about that time when I saw a big fireball followed by another kaboom," said Hashim, who was maimed in his head and chest.
Posted by: Fred || 06/13/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: TTP

#1  "it wuz....someone else!"
Posted by: Frank G || 06/13/2011 8:48 Comments || Top||


Five militants killed in Mohmand
[Dawn] Five gunnies were killed when jet fighters pounded their hideouts in different areas of Baizai tehsil along Afghan border in Mohmand
... Named for the Mohmand clan of the Sarban Pahstuns, a truculent, quarrelsome lot. In Pakistain, the Mohmands infest their eponymous Agency, metastasizing as far as the plains of Beautiful Downtown Peshawar, Charsadda, and Mardan. Mohmands are also scattered throughout Pakistan in urban areas including Bloody Karachi, Lahore, and Quetta. In Afghanistan they are mainly found in Nangarhar and Kunar...
tribal region on Saturday.

Sources said that jet fighters targeted cut-thoat positions in Shokrhai, Walidad, Miana and Mettai localities in Baizai tehsil. As a result five gunnies were killed and nine others maimed while several hideouts were destroyed.

Meanwhile,
...back at the Esquimeau village our hero was receiving a quick lesson in aeronautics:...
a sub-engineer of works and services department was kidnapped by unidentified armed persons. Sources said that Eng Abul Khair was on way to his office in agency headquarters Ghalnai when gunnies intercepted him and whisked him away to undisclosed location.

No group has grabbed credit for the kidnapping of the official.
Posted by: Fred || 06/13/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: TTP


Militants kidnap 18 miners from Darra
[Dawn] About 100 armed gunnies belonging to Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistain (TTP) attacked heavily-guarded Darra Adamkhel and kidnapped 18 coalminers from Akhorwal area late on Friday night.

0fficials said that the TTP of Tariq Afridi group, which supports Hakeemullah Mehsud, penetrated into the area in the night from Tora Chinna area, which connects Darra Adamkhel with Khyber Agency.

They kidnapped 26 miners some of whom were also armed. Some people showed resistance and fired at the gunnies and beat feet from their custody, but 18 men were taken away to Khyber Agency.

The security forces and political administration learnt about the incident on Saturday morning and conducted a search operation for the recovery of the kidnapped miners, who were taken across the tribal borders by that time.

The coalmines were taken over by the armed lashkar of the area when the TTP started collecting monthly tax from the miners and asked them to stop providing any kind of assistance to the army or the political administration. The sources said that the TTP had been killing and kidnapping people of those tribes in the past, who ferried food and water to the security forces trenched in the high mountains.

They said that lashkar men had refused to fulfill their demands and challenged their atrocities in Darra Adamkhel. They said that the opponent Momin Khan Afridi group, which leads the lashkar, had been asking the TTP to end their terror in Darra and threats to the local parliamentarians and businessmen because they were innocent and could not afford to support any side.

The sources said that the TTP of Tariq Afridi tried to kill his opponent, Momin Afridi, and his commanders in a suicide kaboom at a mosque during Friday prayers in Atariwal area. But Momin Afridi was not present in the area on that day.

Later, the TTP in a telephonic message warned the rustics of Atariwal to stop supporting Momin Afridi otherwise more attacks would be conducted against his tribe. The Atariwal sub-tribe of Momin Afridi group lives in the main Akhorwal area of Darra Adamkhel from where 18 miners had been kidnapped.

Momin Khan Afridi group formed a parallel Islami Taliban Momin Afridi Group in 2008 to flush out the TTP.
Posted by: Fred || 06/13/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: TTP

#1  The TTP sounds a little desperate, shaking down dirt miners and then kidnapping them when they confess they have zero money. Good luck collecting that ransom, talib!
Posted by: American Delight || 06/13/2011 7:37 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
White House seeks Israeli agreement to negotiate on 1967 lines
The White House is pressing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to publicly adopt President Obama’s view that Israel’s pre-1967 borders should be the basis for future peace talks.

A senior administration official Friday told American Jewish leaders that the request for Israel to endorse the president’s peace principles was part of an effort to head off Palestinian plans to declare an independent state at the United Nations in September.

Steven Simon, the new White House National Security Council senior director for the Middle East and North Africa, said he was looking to get both the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli government to adopt Mr. Obama’s “principles as a basis for negotiation,” according to a recording of the call played for The Washington Times.

Mr. Obama said last month, “the borders of Israel and Palestine should be based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps.” But the president has also rejected a set of U.S.-Israel understandings made during the Bush administration that tacitly accepted construction in some Jerusalem suburbs over the 1967 line.

Mr. Obama’s position would effectively reopen border negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority that had been mostly settled in the last round of peace talks that ended in 2008.

The request of Mr. Netanyahu to publicly endorse those lines was made June 6 to the prime minister’s top peace negotiator, Yitzhak Molcho, at a meeting with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton at the National Security Council, according to an Israeli diplomat based in Jerusalem.

The diplomatic effort shows Mr. Obama is now ready to begin imposing general principles on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a tactic that until now the White House had avoided.

Mr. Simon, who served as the Clinton White House’s top counterterrorism official, said the United States had about a month to head off the Palestinian plan to declare a state during the annual United Nations General Assembly meeting set for September.

“We have a month to see if we can work something out with the Israelis and Palestinians as accepting these principles as a basis for negotiations,” he said. “If that happens we are somewhat confident that the Palestinians will drop what they intend to do in the U.N.”

Mr. Simon said Palestinians in general were supportive of the idea.

“We are working with the Israeli government to see whether they can accept these principles as a basis for negotiations,” he said.

Nonetheless, Mr. Simon said the United States would oppose a Palestinian unilateral declaration at the United Nations, regardless of whether Israel adopted the Obama principles. He also said that the Palestinian leadership was divided on whether to proceed with the unilateral declaration in September.

Palestinian leaders have long said the 1967 lines, or the de facto borders of Israel prior to the 1967 Six-Day War, should be the basis of negotiations.

But since Israel’s victory in the war, successive governments have built Jewish suburbs in and around Jerusalem. Both Israeli and Palestinian negotiators agreed privately in 2008 talks, that most of these suburbs would remain part of Israel after a peace agreement, according to a Palestinian negotiation record first disclosed by the Al Jazeera news organization.
Posted by: Sherry || 06/13/2011 09:37 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "No"
Posted by: Frank G || 06/13/2011 11:10 Comments || Top||

#2  How do you say "Fat Chance" in Hebrew?
Posted by: DK70 the Scantily Clad7177 || 06/13/2011 11:23 Comments || Top||

#3  Which part of "Up your nose with a rubber hose" was unclear?
Posted by: mojo || 06/13/2011 12:03 Comments || Top||

#4  Maybe he's starting to come unglued.
Posted by: Bobby || 06/13/2011 12:16 Comments || Top||

#5  Didn't Netanyahu sit the President down in front of the press in our own white house and explain to him why Israel couldn't do this without losing thousands of Jews to rocket and mortar attacks? Did teh 0ne even care? Did he listen? Or is he really trying to kill Jews?

Either way, the man is a fucking dumbass and needs to be removed from office on 2012.
Posted by: DarthVader || 06/13/2011 12:24 Comments || Top||

#6  The Whitehouse may get bent.

FOAD
Posted by: newc || 06/13/2011 12:25 Comments || Top||

#7  This is a perfect example of President Obama's inability to accept reality. He prefers to live in his own little dreamworld, and when confronted with a clear 'NO', he blinks, mutters, draws himself up to full stature (/sarc) and restates the same position.

He is incapable of comprehending that someone would say NO to him.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike || 06/13/2011 12:32 Comments || Top||

#8  And The One wasn't happy --
White House Insider: Obama’s Rage Over Netanyahu Meeting: "What the F---c--k was that?"
Posted by: Sherry || 06/13/2011 12:44 Comments || Top||

#9  He is a Godless little spoiled brat.
Posted by: newc || 06/13/2011 12:58 Comments || Top||

#10  A little better link here.
Posted by: Mullah Richard || 06/13/2011 13:35 Comments || Top||

#11  Hell no. We have a flippin full bloom muslim idiot in the WH.

1. Israel is surrounded by enemies. Look at the abuses going on in Syria. Look at the Muslim Brotherhood about to assume power in Egypt. Look at Hezbollah in Lebanon. Look at Hamas in the Palestinian territory. Both proxies of Iran who wants to destroy Israel.
2. Under the pre-1967 borders, Israel would be difficult to defend. Haifa would be 21 miles from Palestinian territory, Tel Aviv- 11 miles, Beersheba- 10 miles. Israel would be cut in half.
3. Currently, Israel is the only democracy in the mideast and BO wants to cut it up to satisfy the Arabs? They are not trustworthy in negotiations. Phooey! Israel would end up getting screwed badly.
4. Being the only democracy in the mideast, Palestinians who are citizens of Israel have representation in the Knesset in proportion to their numbers. Can anyone point to a muslim country where Jewish people reside and have similar rights? In fact, Jews and Christians are abused in muslim countries.
5. Current boundaries have been established as the result of Arab countries attacking Israel and being defeated.
6. IOM BO is our muslim in the WH--at least his sympathies appear to be with the muslims. His thinking is muslim.
7. The Israelis should tell him to STFU and quit meddling.
8. We need to pull out of the UN. They are a worthless bunch who soak up a lot of our money. Many of the representatives are people from countries who are enemies of the U.S. and Israel.
9. This BO administration represents a dark point in our history. They are a bunch of radical idealogues who pay no attention to our Constitution and have no interest in whether our country falls apart. In fact, it is as if they are doing everything possible to hasten destruction. It has got to be more than incompetence.
Posted by: JohnQC || 06/13/2011 14:04 Comments || Top||

#12  Israel is different than the USA. Land won with the blood of young men and women during war is actually retained by Israel and becomes part of their country. On the other hand, the USA.....well you get my drift.
Posted by: Louisiana Steve || 06/13/2011 14:13 Comments || Top||

#13  "Israel couldn't do this without losing thousands of Jews to rocket and mortar attacks"

For Bambi et al., that's not a bug, that's a feature.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 06/13/2011 14:24 Comments || Top||

#14  "Maybe he's starting to come unglued."

Maybe, Bobby?
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 06/13/2011 14:29 Comments || Top||

#15  maybe we should go back to 1959 borders for the US when Hawaii became our 50th state. Then Obama wouldn't be an American right?
just wishful thinking....
Posted by: Jan || 06/13/2011 15:13 Comments || Top||

#16  Jan ROLOL :)
Posted by: JohnQC || 06/13/2011 15:34 Comments || Top||

#17  "Maybe he's starting to come unglued."

This idiot was never glued in the first place.

He is the furthest thing we have had from a statesman at the helm in a long time. He's gotten petulant (again) because Bibi handed him his a$$ from three different directions, and if Obean were to get his way, Israel will cease to exist or many more Israelis would die than already have because of the 1967 borders.
Posted by: gorb || 06/13/2011 15:58 Comments || Top||

#18  Land won with the blood during war is actually retained and becomes part of their country

The US did used to do that too - in our first century of existence. Various Indian wars and the Mexican-American War come to mind.
Posted by: Glenmore || 06/13/2011 16:11 Comments || Top||

#19  Israelis are fortunate to have Bibi as a leader in charge right now. Obama is asking Israel to cede everything to people whose goal is to destroy the country. Israel cedes everything in return for hope and change. That is about it. No country can guarantee security except Israel.

What a fool's game. Unbelievable in the past. Believable now. How low we all have fallen.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 06/13/2011 19:17 Comments || Top||

#20  what's this "we", Al-Aska? I didn't vote for the POS, I actively work against his re-election, and I totally support Israel. He DOES NOT represent us. He barely represents himself. Bibi schooled his ass
Posted by: Frank G || 06/13/2011 19:35 Comments || Top||

#21  The "We" I refer to, is the collective country. "We", through the efforts of others, landed this stinking fish, and "We" are stuck with him and his insane policies with disastrous consequence. And
we-the-responsible-ones have to clean up the mess that the "rest-of-us" brought upon all of us.

Ah feel youah pain, Commodore. I really do. When the "we" bought a bag of something, and we opened it up and it smelled like sh*t, the smell of corruption reflects no boundaries.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 06/13/2011 20:00 Comments || Top||

#22  I get that. We need to note that the US Government Executive office's policy does not reflect the American people's wishes as shown by the latest polls, and this Arab-loving asshole will get that poll in a more formal manner next November
Posted by: Frank G || 06/13/2011 20:03 Comments || Top||

#23  If O had his head on straight (and what a hypothesis that is!!), he would have privately discussed this with the Israeli govt before floating this one in the wind, and embarrassing himself and others.

Now all he did was pi$$ another ally and emboldened Israel's and our enemies. Nice job.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 06/13/2011 20:05 Comments || Top||

#24  amen
Posted by: Frank G || 06/13/2011 20:07 Comments || Top||

#25  That last point: isn't that why we have a Secretary of State, diplomats, protocol officers, and the like? We're supposed to have a whole Department of State whose job it is to get all these things done, and done right, in the background before the Prez comes up with a 'spontaneous idea'.

This is what happens when you have czars running the executive branch.

And we shouldn't let it pass that the Hildebeast is no friend of Israel either.
Posted by: Steve White || 06/13/2011 22:03 Comments || Top||

#26  I say fine Mr. President - just as soon at you give Texas back to the Mexicans. Tit for TaT
Posted by: Chief || 06/13/2011 22:10 Comments || Top||

#27  And we shouldn't let it pass that the Hildebeast is no friend of Israel either.

Indeed. It's just that, back when she was the junior senator of New York State, she knew which side her bread was buttered on. Now her bread is buttered -- rather thinly, it must be admitted, and without any jam at all -- in the White House kitchen, which she is to enter from the servants' entrance after thoroughly wiping her feet.
Posted by: trailing wife || 06/13/2011 23:04 Comments || Top||

#28  I believe the proper response in Hebrew sounds like "fah-que".
Posted by: whitecollar redneck || 06/13/2011 23:41 Comments || Top||

#29  I say fine Mr. President - just as soon at you give Texas back to the Mexicans. Tit for TaT
Posted by Chief


Don't give him any ideas, Chief....
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 06/13/2011 23:50 Comments || Top||


Jordan's king agrees to elected cabinets
[Dawn] Bowing to popular demands for reform, Jordan's king says future Cabinets will be formed according to an elected parliamentary majority.

Jordanians have been demanding that King Abdullah II loosen his absolute grip on power, which includes appointing prime ministers and Cabinets.

In a speech Sunday marking his 12th year as Jordan's ruler, Abdullah also promised further constitutional changes, but did not elaborate.

In six months of pro-democracy protests, Jordanians have also demanded a new parliamentary election. They claim November's election was marred by fraud.

Abdullah promised more reforms but warned that sudden change could lead to "chaos and unrest" like in other Arab countries.
Posted by: Fred || 06/13/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
France accuses Syria of using heavy weapons on citizens
PARIS — France accused the Syrian regime of using heavy weapons against its own people Sunday and warned that its brutal crackdown on a political revolt threatens regional stability.
Keep warning them. That'll do it.
‘France firmly condemns the increasingly brutal repression in Syria, including the use of heavy weapons, as in Jisr Al Shughur, from where many civilians are fleeing into Turkey,’ the foreign ministry said in a statement.

‘This unacceptable situation, which makes the toll of civilian victims in Syria still heavier, threatens regional stability. It should end,’ it said.

‘Syrian authorities should give the International Committee of the Red Cross and other humanitarian agencies immediate access,’ it added.

‘France is continuing its efforts with its partners in the international community to encourage the United Nations Security Council to live up to its responsibilities by reacting without delay to the Syrian crisis and its regional implications.’
Posted by: Steve White || 06/13/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  After 3 months it's pretty clear that light ones are not effective.
Posted by: gr(o)mgoru || 06/13/2011 4:30 Comments || Top||

#2  If it weren't for their war-without-end in Libya for the oil-oil-oil, they'd be no-fly-zoning Syria right now!
Posted by: Bobby || 06/13/2011 6:46 Comments || Top||

#3  If it weren't for their war-without-end in Libya for the oil-oil-oil, they'd be no-fly-zoning Syria right now!

Assad, unlike Qadaffy, have not given up his WMD.
Posted by: gr(o)mgoru || 06/13/2011 7:34 Comments || Top||

#4  You don't think our govt would use heavy weapons to quell a rebellion?
They'd call it domestic TERRORISM and that would give them a carte blanche to take the most extreme measures imaginable.
We're not so different, them and us. As governments go, that is.
Posted by: Victor Emmanuel Darling of the Apes6755 || 06/13/2011 20:47 Comments || Top||

#5  Ask that domestic terrorist David Koresh.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble || 06/13/2011 20:55 Comments || Top||

#6  Really strongly worded letter to follow.
Posted by: Keystone || 06/13/2011 22:57 Comments || Top||


Armed Parties Engage in Gunbattle in Shiyyah
[An Nahar] Two armed parties clashed in Beirut's Shiyyah neighborhood at dawn Sunday, the state-run National News Agency reported without identifying the gunnies.

It said armed fighters from two parties exchanged fire with automatic rifles in Shiyyah's al-Tayyar street at around 3:00 am.

It was not clear what caused the incident, NNA said. But it reported that security forces deployed in the area after the gunnies withdrew from the street.

Shiyyah is located near Beirut's southern suburbs, which is a Hizbullah stronghold.

In another security incident, an unknown assailant tossed a percussion grenade near two parked vehicles next to Sayyidat al-Khalas church in Ain al-Rummaneh, causing material damage only.

Security forces rushed to the scene, NNA said.

It added that they launched an investigation into the incident.
Posted by: Fred || 06/13/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Syrian Army Attacks Jisr al-Shughour
[An Nahar] Under the rattle of heavy gunfire and loud kabooms, Syrian army troops and tanks moved into a restive northwestern city from two sides Sunday, extending the crackdown on a region that is historically hostile the 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...
regime.

The Local Coordination Committee, which documents Syrian anti-government protests, said Jisr al-Shughour was attacked from the southern and eastern sides by troops in about 200 vehicles, including tanks. It said blasts were heard as helicopters clattered overhead.

The region near Turkey's border has a history of hostility toward the Syrian regime and is posing the biggest challenge yet to President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad's
One of the last of the old-fashioned hereditary iron-fisted fascist dictators. Before going into the family business Pencilneck was an eye doctor...
struggle to crush the anti-government revolt. Thousands of Syrians in the region have crossed into Turkey in recent days, taking sanctuary in refugee camps.

The Syrian government has said the town was under the control of "gunnies" who it said killed 120 coppers last week. Activists said the victims were killed when soldiers and police mutinied, turning their weapons on government forces.

Syrian forces told an News Agency that Dare Not be Named news hound invited to travel with them to Jisr al-Shughour that they were arresting "gunnies" in the largely evacuated city, normally home to about 40,000 people. Many of those who remained behind decamped on Sunday, if they could.

The AP news hound said government soldiers took news hounds into the town's National Hospital where they saw at least two dead bodies.

The operation in al-Shughour was continuing at midday.

Syria's state-run news agency
...and if you can't believe the state-run news agency who can you believe?...
SANA said army units entered the area after dismantling explosives planted by gunnies on roads and bridges. It added that "heavy" festivities broke out between the army units and gunnies inside Jisr al-Shughour and areas surrounding it.

Jisr al-Shughour is a predominantly Sunni town with some Alawite and Christian villages nearby in Idlib province. Most Syrians are Sunni Mohammedan, but Assad and the ruling elite belong to the minority Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiite Islam.

Syria-based human rights
...which often intentionally defined so widely as to be meaningless...
activist Mustafa Osso said the army is conducting military operations in three areas in the Idlib province including the towns of Maaret al-Numan, Jisr al-Shughour, and the nearby Jabal al-Zawiya, a mountain that includes several village.

Osso said advancing troops, using tanks, artillery and helicopters gunships, were fighting against hundreds of army defectors from the area. "This is the biggest and most dangerous wave of defections" since an uprising against Assad's regime began in mid-March, Osso said.

There have been smaller instances of defections in the southern city of Daraa and the western town of Talkalakh that witnessed military operations in the past weeks.

Human rights groups say more than 1,400 people nationwide have died in the government crackdown since the uprising erupted in southern Syria 12 weeks ago.

Meanwhile,
...back at the mall, Clarissa spent the day shopping for new underwear. Tonight was going to be a special occasion...
British Foreign Secretary William Hague said the U.N. Security Council must make a "clear statement" on Syria by proceeding with a resolution condemning the crackdown by government forces.

As international outrage at the brutal crackdown on demonstrators mounted, Hague said the prospects for a resolution were "on a knife-edge."

Hague also told Sky News that it was "high time" that Assad spoke to U.N. Secretary General the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon.
Posted by: Fred || 06/13/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria

#1  Hague also told Sky News that it was "high time" that Assad spoke to U.N. Secretary General the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon.

Whatsa matter---check haven't cleared?
Posted by: gr(o)mgoru || 06/13/2011 4:35 Comments || Top||



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Two weeks of WOT
Mon 2011-06-13
  Syrian Army Attacks Jisr al-Shughour
Sun 2011-06-12
  Helicopters open fire to disperse Syrian protesters
Sat 2011-06-11
  'East Africa embassy bomber Fazul Abdullah Mohammed killed'
Fri 2011-06-10
  Nigeria arrests 14 in Boko Haram attacks
Thu 2011-06-09
  Gaddafi vows to fight until death
Wed 2011-06-08
  US missiles kill twenty in Pakistan
Tue 2011-06-07
  Libya rebels take Yafran
Mon 2011-06-06
  Saleh undergoes surgery as Yemen rejoices
Sun 2011-06-05
  Colombian army kills FARC security chief
Sat 2011-06-04
  Reports: Ilyas Kashmiri killed by a drone in Pakistan
Fri 2011-06-03
  Yemen's Saleh hurt in palace attack: diplomat
Thu 2011-06-02
  Kuwait Withdraws Diplomats from Yemen
Wed 2011-06-01
  Yemen truce collapses
Tue 2011-05-31
  50 Protesters Killed in Taiz by Security Forces
Mon 2011-05-30
  Bombs kill 10 after Nigerian president's inauguration

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