#2
Gams are reserved for the picture behind the picture. We know all about anatomy. Remember Marines were taught through the use of advanced techniques like the literary masterpiece:
This is my rifle,
This is my gun
This is for fighting,
This is for fun.
A U.K. court ordered WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange be extradited to Sweden to face questioning about sexual assault allegations, dealing a serious blow to the document-leaking site and its founder. A serious Blow would be a conviction.
The decision ensures that Mr. Assange's efforts to build and promote WikiLeaks will be to some degree detoured in coming months by the possibility that he will face criminal sex charges. The allegations against him come as WikiLeaks has gained notoriety with governments around the world because of its release of thousands of classified documents and diplomatic cables.
Sweden hasn't formally charged Mr. Assange with a crime, but wants to question him over allegations that he raped one woman and molested another during a visit to Stockholm last August. He denies any wrongdoing. Mr. Assange's lawyers have seven days to appeal the U.K. court's decision. They have said they plan to appeal. Yea, Yea, more Posturing
The Swedish Prosecutors' Office in Stockholm declined to comment on the decision. "Chief Prosecutor Marianne Ny will not give any interviews about the case while it is being handled by British authorities," said a statement on the Prosecutors' Office website.
On Thursday afternoon, the judge released Mr. Assange on the same bail conditions he has been living under since December, which require that he wear an electronic monitoring tag, report in person to police every evening between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m., and stay at the same address in Suffolk, a county northeast of London, where he has a curfew.
Mr. Assange's lawyers argued he shouldn't be extradited for a number of reasons. They said he wouldn't get a fair trial in Sweden, where they said he's been vilified in the press. They also argued that he tried to meet with Swedish prosecutors several times after the investigation began and before leaving Sweden, but was rebuffed. They also argued that the sexual offenses alleged don't amount to extraditable offenses in the UK.
But the U.K. court said it appeared that Mr. Assange had tried to evade questioning while he was in Sweden. Judge Howard Riddle called all four alleged offenses extraditable, and said he was confident Mr. Assange would receive a fair trial in Sweden if he is charged.
"Clear and specific, serious allegations have been made against Mr Assange. Serious attempts have been made by prosecutors to interview him. He has not been interviewed," Mr. Riddle said while reading his decision at Belmarsh Magistrates Court in south London.
Dressed in a dark suit, Mr. Assange sat calmly and straight-faced as the decision was read.
Lawyers for Sweden had said during the hearing that Swedish prosecutors tried repeatedly to arrange an interrogation of Mr. Assange in the second half of September. Mr. Assange's Swedish lawyer said he had tried to contact Mr. Assange at that time but couldn't reach him, most likely, he said, because Mr. Assange was lying low owing to death threats.
The U.K. judge, Mr. Riddle, treated this explanation with skepticism. "I do not know why he was uncontactable from the 21st to the 29th of September. It would be a reasonable assumption...that Mr. Assange was deliberately avoiding interrogation in the period before he left Sweden," Mr. Riddle said Thursday.
Mr. Assange left Sweden on September 27, before he could be interrogated.
"It is not necessary for me to determine whether Mr. Assange deliberately fled the country" to avoid interrogation, Mr. Riddle said. "What is clear however is that he has not made himself available for an interview in Sweden...it does not seem unreasonable for a prosecutor on a serious matter such as this to expect and indeed require" Mr. Assange's presence in Sweden for questioning, Mr. Riddle added.
The extradition hearing began in early February. At one point, Mr. Assange's lawyers published their defense strategy online, including several paragraphs about how Mr. Assange shouldn't be extradited to Sweden because there was a "real risk" he would then be extradited or "illegally rendered" to the U.S., where his lawyers argued he could face the death penalty or imprisonment at Guantanamo Bay.
In the end, Mr. Assange's lawyers downplayed that argument in court, and Mr. Riddle said Thursday they were right to do so, "in the absence of any evidence" that this was a real risk. Mr. Assange hasn't been charged with any crimes in the U.S., though the government is investigating WikiLeaks and its publications of classified U.S. documents.
The rape allegation involves a woman who says she insisted Mr. Assange wear a condom, and that they had consensual sex while he wore one. Later, she said, she awoke to find him having sex with her without a condom.
Mr. Assange's lawyers said this wouldn't rise to a definition of rape in most of Europe. But the court disagreed. "In this country, that would amount to rape," Mr. Riddle said.
Posted by: Fire and Ice ||
02/24/2011 09:32 ||
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When the two pirates boarded the U.S.S. Sterett off the coast of Somalia on Monday, American officials thought they were headed for a breakthrough in the four-day standoff with a gang that had seized four Americans vacationing on their 58-foot yacht.
But an F.B.I. hostage-rescue negotiator (thats right, Eric Holder guy)
aboard the Sterett came to believe the two Somalis were not serious. So the Americans took them into custody and told the pirates back on the yacht to send over someone they could do business with.
What happened next is sharply contested and raises questions about the crucial decision to detain the pirate leaders.
American officials said the pirates on the yacht, called the Quest, seemed relieved -- even "exceptionally calm" -- when told their senior commander was cooling his heels in a Navy brig.
But hours later, panic ensued among young pirates. Some Americans theorized that a fight had broken out among the gang members, suddenly leaderless, and fearing they were about to be overtaken by the four Navy warships that surrounded them. One person who has talked to associates of the pirates said their leader had told them that if he did not return, they should kill the hostages, though American officials say they do not know that to be the case.
#1
This episode may wind up like the plot in the movie "Rashomon", many viewpoints with nothing to hold them together. Kind of like Zero's administration, come to think of it.
#6
So they put a FBI hostage negotiator on a Navy ship to talk to the pirates?
Now some of these FBI hostage negotiators are pretty good. But I bristle at the idea. Seems to me that bringing one of our ships up really really close to the yacht and bringing all guns to bear BEFORE you invited the leaders over to negotiate would have been a better starting point.
That explains why we "tailed" the yacht with our warships for three days...they were waiting for the negotiator to arrive.
WHEN IN THE @@#@!#*()@HJ!!! are these morons in the Justice Department going to realize that piracy is a high seas crime punishable by immediate execution. Read it yourself, the infamous High Seas law that the lefties tried to jamb us with actually has that provision...of course that was back when most of the pirates in the world were from Thailand or Sri Lanka. Now that they are Moslem, well, we have to bring out the kid gloves.
What a complete ration of bull crap.
I think the use of the term "spineless" was a bit mild for this episode. It does not bode well for us in the GWOT, there I said it and I don't care what Hillary says, it is a Global War and they are terrorists.
The piracy for ransom in the Indian Ocean, the drug wars in Mexico and Central America and the Opium wars in Afghanistan are all part of the same thing. It is all cash flow for Al Qaeda and its related network of global jihadis. Now that we know Al Qaeda is involved in the drug wars in Mexico, which to me is a big duh, will we get more serious about border security?
Posted by: Bill Clinton ||
02/24/2011 11:13 Comments ||
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#7
will we get more serious about border security?
No. Next question?
#12
WHEN IN THE @@#@!#*()@HJ!!! are these morons in the Justice Department
If my memory si any good it is not the Justics Department who decides it is case for itself, it is the WH who decides about sending an FBI negotiator instead of a 16" shell.
WHEN IN THE @@#@!#*()@HJ!!! are these morons is this moron in the white house going to get serious about terrorism or is that part of his plan for change?
Posted by: Bill Clinton ||
02/24/2011 15:29 Comments ||
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#14
"So the Americans took them into custody and told the pirates back on the yacht to send over someone they could do business with."
You arrest the negotiators then ask for more? And who was showing bad faith?
#16
First world, meet 7th century. Our sophisticated (?) techniques have no context for illiterate young thugs from Somalia, and our display of technology isn't intimidating, its literally uncomprehended. So when we use a pressure technique in negotiations where they ought to feel optionless, instead they have a panic reaction internal disagreement, fire an RPG in an act of presumed fearsome ferocity, end up shoot each other and the hostages in a panic filled confusion, and when the SEALs arrive, resist for a moment (my guess is the dead guys are probably the shooters of the hostages and the two dead pirates before the seals arrive) so the SEALs do the two with some fight in them, and we seize 10 or 12 illiterate fools. Now we get to spend fricking millions having a "trial", wiht translators, public defenders, discovery that will demand our internal communications and strategies, where they plead not guilty and we defend then in a obvious waste of money, and then a judge sentences them to life and we pay millions more. This is so far beyond stupid it beggars the imagination. Its an amusing conceit if we were a rich nation and wanted to make a point of how fair we were, despite being so very powerful. Instead, we are just wasting money we don't have and viewed as fools, inept ones at that.
#17
I do wonder what a load of pirates would think if a "Missouri"-class battleship pulled up alongside, and trained its weapons on them. Not just the 16-inchers, but the 8-inchers, the 40mm, the 20mm, and the 60 or so machine guns those warships were armed with. Today, our "cruisers" have ONE 76mm cannon. I'm sure the technology today is up to building auto-loaders for the big guns, just as they do for the small ones. I think the water off Somalia would turn brown if a couple of those big boys showed up.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
02/24/2011 16:29 Comments ||
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#19
In the real world, it would take several hundred million, if not several billion, to train a crew and do logistical support for an Iowa-class battleship.
Meanwhile, an Indian frigate used its CIWS on a mothership once, and when the secondary explosions stopped there wasn't anything left above the waterline.
An ESSM (which, afaict, a modern destroyer or cruiser carries in the dozens) can hit any small vessel within the radar horizon at _mach 4_.
The only reason they, or the 3" and 5" guns, aren't intimidating anyone is that we haven't been using them.
[Tolo News] Restive parts in northern Baghlan province have completely been cleared of jihad boys, provincial security officials in the north said on Wednesday.
Nice. Congratulations to all involved!
The highway connecting the capital Kabul with northern provinces is secure and there are no more security threats along the way, officials said.
Afghan cops recently launched an offensive named "Nowroz" to target the Taliban in their footholds in northern Baghlan province.
During the operation, twenty Taliban local commanders were killed and more than twenty others surrendered to the government, General Dawood Dawood, Commander of 303 Pamir Zone in the north said.
The faceless myrmidons have handed over their weapons to provincial forces.
In the past two years Taliban operatives had increased their influence in different districts in northern Baghlan province.
Afghan cops are expected to take security lead by the end of 2014, the final target date for foreign troops' withdrawal.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/24/2011 00:00 ||
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[The Nation (Nairobi)] Kenyan seafarers released recently after a four-month hijack ordeal in Somali waters are demanding about Sh30 million as salaries and damages from the ship owner.
Each of the 39 crew members of the rickety Fv Golden Wave, which was hijacked last October 9, and released on February 8 has accumulated arrears of Sh850,000, the sailors claimed on Tuesday.
Back pay in a third world country? Are they mad? At least they were fed and sheltered, after a fashion, while they weren't making their employer any profits. Not their fault, but there it is.
"We are calling on the government to assist us recover this money," said Josek Amere, their front man who met with Kenya Maritime Authority (KMA) officials over the matter.
The maritime agency has since declared the vessel unseaworthy and ordered she undergoes extensive repairs.
Director-general Nancy Karigithu said the authority was closely monitoring the situation and would issue orders to the ship owner after they gathered all the information.
"We have asked them to calculate the total amount of money they owe and then we will take necessary action," she said.
Golden Wave was freed without payment of a Sh50 million ransom demanded, after being used to attack other ships. The pirates attacked 17 vessels and hijacked five more ships.
A week after their arrival, the seamen said: "We were drinking unsafe water and some of the pirates looked sick. But since we arrived we have not undergone any check-up to establish if we contracted any diseases and we fear for our families," he said.
The sailors said they endured inhuman treatment in the hands of the sea gangs, who continue to elude international navies engaged in the Indian Ocean.
But none of the 39 owes his survival to God more than Mr Anthony Oduor. As the third engineer, Mr Oduor was responsible for ensuring the engine room was clear of dirty water, which sometimes mixes with diesel.
On November 12, over a month after their hijack, Mr Oduor realised that murky water had reached a level it needed to be pumped out; but the pirates would hear none of this.
"We were being pursued by some naval ships and they thought we were pumping diesel out so that the vessel would stall," he recalls.
What followed, he says, was torture that will for ever be ingrained in his mind.
"Their leader whipped out a pistol and aimed it at my head and shot. The bullet failed to come out. He hit the pistol on his knee several times and shot again but it failed. He then shoved me out of the engine room to the upper deck and ordered two of his colleagues with AK47 rifles to shoot me," he narrates.
The next thing he saw was smoke as bullets flew inches from his head -- two missed his head as the vessel swayed from side to side due to waves.
"All this time we were screaming and praying...at the end we could not believe Anthony was still alive.
"They later tied his legs and hands and whipped him as he lay on his belly. It was very traumatic," says Mr Joseph Kamande, a father of four.
Seafarers Assistance Programme Coordinator Andrew Mwangura said: "The vessel is licensed to fish in Kenyan territorial waters and since it is flying the country's flag, the Special Programmes ministry should set aside some funds and help pay them."
Posted by: Fred ||
02/24/2011 00:00 ||
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4:15pm Qadaffy's speech, broadcast on state television, was a phone-in affair, in which he said that like Queen Elizabeth II, he was only a symbolic leader of Libya. Qadaffy also blamed the unrest on al-Qaeda arming drugged teenagers. "Really, I'm pretty harmless. They're the ones to be scared of!"
He said that married people with families and good jobs weren't participating in the protests, saying that no one over the age of 20 was involved and that "people with any brains won't take part in these protests". "Not if they know what's good for 'em!"
He also said that "It's obvious now that this issue has been lead by al-Qaeda ...get control of your children, keep them at home". "We can tell it has! They're speaking Arabic!"
4:00pm An eyewitness named Ali from Az Zawiyah tells Al Jazzera that soldiers fired at protesters with heavy fire arms for five hours this morning. Some of the protesters, he said were armed with hunting rifles, others were unarmed.
"The shooting was direct to the people. They shot the people in the head or in the chest. They were trying to kill the people, not just terrify them," said Ali.
He added that at least 100 people had been killed and that around 400 injured were taken to the hospital in Az Zawiyah.
3:24pm There are multiple reports of shootouts taking place between security forces and protesters in the town of Az Zawiyah, 50 km west of Tripoli, on Thursday. Rooters reports that gun fire has broken out there, while sources tell Al Jizz that the army attacked the town this morning, firing shots at protesters for roughly four hours.
The corpse counts vary greatly - from 16 to 100, and Rooters is unable to confirm any numbers. The agency reports that the army attacked the Souq Mosque where protesters had been camped out for several days.
The witness said that earlier in the day, a Qadaffy "envoy" had come to Az Zawiyah and told the protesters in the mosque to leave or "you will see a massacre". He also said, "Those who attacked us are not the mercenaries, they are the sons of our country".
3:15pm The US state department has issued a statement saying that in a meeting between two US diplomats and the senior Libyan officials, the US diplomats were told that while some journalists were allowed to report from Libya, others who had entered the country illegally (presumably through the country's broken eastern border) were considered "al-Qaeda collaborators" by the Libyan government.
3:07pm Al Jizz's Jamal Elshayyal reporting from Saloum, Egypt, reports that things are slowing down at the eastern border crossing with Libya, where, he said, the situation has been "quite chaotic". He said roughly 20,000 have crossed the border in two days.
Elshayyal also said people continue to get injured or killed in attempting to cross the border.
2:52pm Rooters also reports that Britain has urged greater pressure on Qadaffy, while the European Union might be sending humanitarian intervention into Libya.
2:11pm Another caller from Misurata tells Al Jizz that up to 1,000 members of Qadaffy forces - the "Hamza Brigade" - mounted an attack on protesters near the city's airport and were repelled, but later launched an attack on the centre of the city, and fighting continues. He says anti-Qadaffy protesters are holding their ground.
2:07pm Chinese citizens fleeing across the border into Tunisia confirm to Al Jizz's Nazanine Moshiri in Ras Ajdir that there was fighting in the nearby Libyan cities of Az Zawiyah and Zuwarah.
2:01pm Miftah Mohamed, a caller from Misurata, tells Al Jizz "the revolutionary forces have driven Qadaffy's forces from Misurata".
1:51pm Sherine Tadros, Al Jizz's correspondent in Cairo, gives us more information on Ahmed Kaddaf el-Dem - Qadaffy's cousin and former Libya-Egypt security co-ordinator. We understand he's on his way to Syria, after the statement which AP reported - condemning Qadaffy's use of violence - was issued by his Cairo office.
Kaddaf el-Dem denied he was asked to recruit Egyptian bedouin tribes to fight in Libya - a charge reportedly brought against him by a group of Egyptian lawyers yesterday.
1:31pm Soddy Arabia says it is "ready and willing" to make up for any shortfall in oil production caused by the uprising in Libya, says Rooters.
1:23pm Several reported dead in the latest attack on Misurata, Rooters reports.
1:15pm A cousin of Qadaffy, and one of his closest aides, has arrived in Cairo, says AP. Kaddaf el-Dem reportedly says the crackdown has seen "grave violations to human right and human and international laws".
1:11pm Qadaffy forces attack crowds near Misurata, which was earlier reported to have been taken over by protesters, eyewitnesses tell Rooters.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/24/2011 10:56 ||
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#1
"grave violations to human right and human and international laws".
Of course the world and the very same people now speaking were just as concerned when similar events unfolded in Tehran. /sarc off
#2
Der Spiegel today: Helicopters from Italy, firearms from Malta and communication technology from Germany: When the arms embargo against Libya was lifted in 2004, the country's dictator Moammar Gadhafi went on a shopping spree in the European Union. Now he is using those weapons against his own people -- to the EU's shame
[Asharq al-Aswat] A Coptic Christian priest has been killed in southern Egypt, triggering street demonstrations by several thousand Christians.
The priest was found dead in his home. A fellow clergyman, Danoub Thabet, says his body had several stab wounds. He says neighbors reported seeing several masked men leaving the apartment and shouting "holy shit! Allahu akbar," or "God is great," suggesting the killing was motivated by the divide between Egypt's Mohammedans and its minority Coptic community.
About 3,000 protesters scuffled with Mohammedan shop owners Tuesday night and smashed the windows of a police car in the city, Assiut.
Egypt's religious tension spiked in January when a jacket wallah killed 21 people outside a Coptic church in the port city of Alexandria. Days of protests followed.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/24/2011 00:00 ||
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[Al Arabiya] Meanwhile Libya's deputy foreign minister told E.U. ambassadors in Tripoli al-Qaeda has set up an Islamic emirate in Derna, in eastern Libya, headed by a former U.S. prisoner at Guantanamo Bay,
However, The infamous However... residents in the city have told news hounds there is no substance to these rumors, which they claim the Libyan government is sowing to "scare Europe."
"Al-Qaeda has established an emirate in Derna led by Abdelkarim al-Hasadi, a former Guantanamo detainee," Khaled Khaim said.
"They have an FM radio station and have begun to impose the burqa" (head-to-toe covering for women) and have "executed people who refuse to cooperate with them."
Khaim said Hasadi has a lieutenant, "also a member of al-Qaeda and named Kheirallah Baraassi" in al-Baida.
Derna is the capital of a province by the same name in the region of Cyrenaica, some 1,250 kilometers (775 miles) east of Libya's capital Tripoli. Al-Baida lies about 100 kilometers west of Derna.
Earlier, Italian Foreign Minister Francesco Franco Frattini said embattled Libyan leader Qadaffy had lost control of Cyrenaica and shared reports that an Islamic emirate had been declared there.
Speaking at a meeting in Rome organized by the Community of Sant'Egidio, a Christian organisation, Frattini said here had been recent proclamations in Cyrenaica that it was now an Islamic emirate and calls to break with the West.
"It is a worrying development if radical Islam is only a few hundred kilometers away from the European Union's front door, but nothing can justify the violent death of hundreds of innocent civilians," he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/24/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
See also PEOPLES DAILY FORUM > AL-QAEDA IN NORTH AFRICA [AQIM = Maghreb]SUPPORT LIBYA UPRISING.
[Ennahar] Governments around the world scrambled on Wednesday to send planes and ships to evacuate their citizens from turmoil in Libya, whose leader Muammar Qadaffy has vowed to crush a revolt against his 41-year rule.
It might be a good idea for non-uniformed foreigners to leave any Muslim country ruled by a dictator or tyrannical oligarchy. Granted, that's almost all of them...
Fears for the safety of foreigners were heightened after a Turkish worker was rubbed out as he climbed a crane at a building site near the capital Tripoli, according to Turkish officials.
Turkey, with 25,000 citizens in Libya, is mounting the biggest evacuation operation in its history, and 21 other governments have asked Ankara for help getting their nationals out, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told a news conference.
European Union states are evacuating some 10,000 EU citizens from Libya, a front man for the EU executive said during a European Commission news briefing.
The U.S. State Department said a chartered ferry with room for about 600 passengers was due to leave Tripoli shortly for Malta. "We're asking all U.S. citizens to head out to the ferry pier," spokeswoman Megan Mattson told Rooters.
Witnesses described scenes of chaos and panic as foreigners tried to escape the violence. Italy said estimates that 1,000 people had been killed in the uprising were credible.
"The time at the airport turned into a nightmare, fights began to break out. Everyone is frantic," said Adil Yasar, a Turk who arrived in Istanbul by plane late on Tuesday, adding that he and fellow evacuees had gone without food and water at the airport for two days.
Some 3,000 Turks who found sanctuary in a soccer stadium in the eastern city of Benghazi, where the uprising began, boarded ferry boats and set sail for home escorted by a Turkish navy frigate, while two French military planes brought 402 Frenchies back to Gay Paree.
"We are very happy it's over," one passenger told Rooters after arriving at Gay Paree's Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport.
"It was very sudden. Five days ago, we felt really secure. One would not have said that the situation was going to degenerate so quickly."
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has warned Qadaffy's government against taking "cruel steps" to crush the uprising, and called on all sides to ensure the security of foreigners.
"EVERYONE IS FRANTIC"
Britain said on Tuesday it planned to send a charter plane to Libya to bring out Britons and was dispatching a Royal Navy frigate to waters off Libya in case it was needed.
Germany urged all its citizens to leave the country, and Chancellor Angela Merkel described as 'very frightening' Qadaffy's words that he was ready to die 'a martyr'.
Canada has also said it intends to evacuate its citizens.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/24/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
16 minutes ago from the US State Dept twitter feed: "#Libya: Processing has begun for U.S. gov't-chartered ferry in #Tripoli w/seats still available for U.S. citizens http://go.usa.gov/gET "
Apparently the ferry was delayed by sea conditions.
#2
ABC's GMA just relayed an observation from the US-chartered evacuation ferry docked in Tripoli, that they feel like "sitting ducks." I wonder if what US military presence is near the "shores of Tripoli."
[Ennahar] Muammar Qadaffy's attempts to crush a revolt against his four-decade rule have killed as many as 1,000 people and split Libya, Italy's Foreign Minister said on Wednesday.
In the eastern city of Benghazi, cradle of the revolt against Qadaffy, people let off firecrackers and honked their horns to mark the end of days of bloodshed there.
With much of the east said to be under control of the protesters, an empty jail burned in Benghazi and Britain's Sky News showed footage of anti-aircraft missiles at what it said was an abandoned military base near Tobruk.
As countries with strong business ties to Africa's third largest oil producer scrambled to evacuate their citizens, and residents of the capital lay low for fear of pro-Qadaffy gunnies, La Belle France became the first state to call for sanctions.
"I would like the suspension of economic, commercial and financial relations with Libya until further notice," President Nicolas Sarkozy said.
But in the latest sign of international division over how to deal with Qadaffy, the prime minister of Qatar said he did not want to isolate Libya, where several bigwigs have declared their backing for protests that began about a week ago.
Protesters have taken over the eastern, oil producing region of the country, Interior Minister Abdel Fattah Younes al Abidi and a senior aide to Qadaffy's influential son Saif were the latest to change sides.
"I resigned from the Qadaffy Foundation on Sunday to express dismay against violence," Youssef Sawani, executive director of the foundation, said in a text message sent to Rooters.
Gadaffi has deployed troops to the west of the capital to try to stop a revolt that started in the east from spreading. In the east, many soldiers have withdrawn from active service. abandoned military base near the eastern city of Tobruk.
Much of the country is shut down, including up to a quarter of oil output, prompting fears the crisis could stall global economic recovery.
Qadaffy, once respected by many Libyans despite his repressive rule, called for a mass show of support on Wednesday, but only around 150 people gathered in Tripoli's central Green Square, carrying the Libyan flag and Qadaffy's portrait.
Most streets were almost deserted at a time when they are normally packed with rush-hour traffic. A handful of cafes appeared to be the only businesses open despite government appeals for a return to work sent to subscribers of Libya's two state-controlled mobile phone companies.
"Lots of people are afraid to leave their homes in Tripoli and pro-Qadaffy gunnies are roaming around threatening any people who gather in groups," Marwan Mohammed, a Tunisian, said as he crossed Libya's western border into Tunisia.
An estimated 1.5 million foreign nationals are working or traveling in Libya and a third of the population of seven million are immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa.
Witnesses described scenes of chaos as people tried to leave.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/24/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Dang when are we going to do something, I mean its almost as bad as Mexico!!
Yeah, let's go half a world away to settle a civil war and ignore the one on our doorstep
Posted by: Bill Clinton ||
02/24/2011 11:22 Comments ||
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#2
Just hoping this is just the beginning makes me a bad person?
[Ennahar] Libya's ambassador to the United States on Tuesday called on Washington to speak up strongly in defence of the Libyan people, saying it is time to get rid of the government of Muammar Qadaffy.
Ambassador Ali Aujali told ABC's "Good Morning America" that he no longer represents his country's government and called on Qadaffy to step aside to avoid further bloodshed.
"I need the United States to raise their voice very strongly. This regime is shaking and this is the time to get rid of it," Aujali said, referring to expected U.N. Security Council deliberations about the crisis in Libya.
"Please, please, help the Libyan people. Help them. They are burning," he added. "We need the world to stand up by us."
Meanwhile, ...back at the ranch... Qadaffy scoffed at reports that he had left Libya after four decades in power while he was reported to have used tanks, helicopters and warplanes to try to suppress a growing anti-government demonstrations.
Al Jizz reported that warplanes bombed portions of Tripoli in fresh attacks while mercenaries fired on civilians.
"I am calling for him to go and leave our people alone," Aujali said.
"I resign from serving the current dictatorship regime. But I will never resign from serving our people until their voices reach the whole world, until their goals are achieved."
Posted by: Fred ||
02/24/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
I need the United States to raise their voice very strongly...Please, please, help the Libyan people. Help them.
Us? The US? The Great Satan? Did I miss the segue from "Death To America" to "Help us, Obi-Wan. You're our only hope"? Never mind that America is one of the few countries that actually could do something.
For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Chuck him out, the brute!"
But it's "Saviour of 'is country," when the guns begin to shoot;
-- Rudyard al Kipling
#2
"I need the United States to raise their voice very strongly. This regime is shaking and this is the time to get rid of it," Aujali said, referring to expected U.N. Security Council deliberations about the crisis in Libya.
May I suggest requesting: Stop, in the Name of Love.
[Ennahar] Libyan leader Muammar Qadaffy said Tuesday he would not step down despite a nationwide revolt against his rule, vowing to die in Libya as a martyr and threatening tougher action against protesters.
Facing the greatest challenge to his 41-year rule and losing control of parts of the country, a visibly angry Qadaffy called protesters "rats and mercenaries" who wanted to turn Libya into an Islamic state.
"I am not going to leave this land. I will die here as a martyr ... I shall remain here defiant," Qadaffy said in a speech on state television.
"Muammar Qadaffy is the leader of the revolution, I am not a president to step down ... This is my country. Muammar is not a president to leave his post, Muammar is leader of the revolution until the end of time."
Qadaffy said in a rambling 75-minute address, apparently made in front of his residential compound which was bombed by U.S.U.S. warplanes in 1986, that under Libyan law the protesters deserved the death sentence. His adopted daughter died in the bombing.
He said he would call the people to "cleanse Libya house by house" unless protesters on the streets surrendered.
Pounding his fist on a podium, Qadaffy called on people to take to the streets Wednesday in a show of support for him.
"From tomorrow, families collect your children, leave your homes, all of you who love Muammar Qadaffy, go out to the streets, secure the streets, don't be afraid of them.
"Chase (the protesters), arrest them, hand them over to the security (forces).
"They are only a few, they are terrorists. You are millions while they are only 100."
Libyan forces have cracked down on demonstrators across the country since fighting erupted in Libya's oil-producing east last week in reaction to decades of repression and after uprisings that have toppled leaders in Tunisia and Egypt.
The eastern region of Libya had broken free from Qadaffy, soldiers there said. But witnesses said tanks, warplanes and mercenaries were being used to fight the growing uprising in the capital Tripoli.
"Peaceful protests is one thing, but armed rebellion is another," said Qadaffy.
"We have not used force yet, but if we need to use force we will use it," he said.
Qadaffy said the image of his country before the rest of the world was being distorted by foreigners.
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02/24/2011 00:00 ||
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I sense another "Mussolini" finale coming here. Anyone have a rope?
[Asharq al-Aswat] The Islamic Movement for Change has issued a statement calling on Arab states and the international community to intervene and aid the Libyan protestors. The statement said that Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Qadaffy ... dictator of Libya since 1969. From 1972, when he relinquished the title of prime minister, he has been accorded the honorifics Guide of the First of September Great Revolution of the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya or Brotherly Leader and Guide of the Revolution. With the death of Omar Bongo of Gabon on 8 June 2009, he became the longest serving of all current non-royal national leaders. He is also the longest-serving ruler of Libya since Tripoli became an Ottoman province in 1551. When Chairman Mao was all the rage and millions of people were flashing his Little Red Book, Qadaffy came out with his own Little Green Book, which didn't do as well. Qadaffy's instability has been an inspiration to the Arab world and to Africa, which he would like to rule... is intent upon pursuing a scorched earth policy with regards to the protests, destroying the country, its people, and state infrastructure, rather than relinquish power.
In a statement issued by the political office of the Libyan Islamic Movement for Change, which is a newly established Libyan Islamic movement, the group says that it is monitoring Qadaffy's criminal acts and his utilization of the Samson Option [a deterrence strategy of massive retaliation], adding that this is due to the Libyan leader's extreme paranoia.
The statement also expressed the Libyan Islamic Movement for Change's fears for the lives of Libyan people, and their beloved country, and the group called on all Arabs and Mohammedans to urgently intervene and stop the massacre that is taking place in the country. The statement also called on the international community to put pressure on the Qadaffy regime to stop its criminal activities.
The Libyan Islamic Movement for Change statement also said "this regime has lost control of most Libyan cities with the exception of the main part of the capital Tripoli...which has forced this gang [the Qadaffy regime] to carry out Arclight airstrikes -- using foreign pilots -- against locations where protestors are gathering." The statement added that "this is in order to guarantee freedom of movement to military brigades and foreign mercenaries that have been brought in from abroad to carry out a campaign of genocide against the Libyan people, away from the eyes of the outside world."
The Libyan Islamic Movement for Change also said that "Qadaffy is committed to destroying Libya and its people, and he wants to ensure that if his end is inevitable, he will not fall alone, but take all of Libya with him."
The Libyan Islamic Movement for Change statement also expressed surprise at "the international silence towards what is happening to the Libyan people." It added "we consider the position that some countries and [international] institutes have taken with regards to condemning and denouncing [what is happening in Libya] as being insufficient and unbefitting the extent of the destruction that this regime plans for Libya and the Libyan people. We call on these countries and institutes...to develop this position and protect our families in Libya; we call on foreign support to help the Libyan people who are defenseless in the face of the brutality of Qadaffy and his regime."
The Libyan Islamic Movement for Change statement said that it was calling for foreign intervention even though "we are aware of the sensitivity of this call and the desire of our people not to see any foreign interference on Libyan soil."
The statement said "we understand the restlessness of our people with regards to the silence of western governments and the lack of clarity with regards to their positions, particularly the position of the Italian government." It added that "everybody knows of the personal friendship between the Italian prime minister and Colonel Qadaffy, and we support the calls coming from some of the youth leading this revolution to stop exporting oil to Italy as a clear message to the Italian government which only understand the language of interests."
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02/24/2011 00:00 ||
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[Jerusalem Post Front Page] Militiamen loyal to Moammar Qadaffy clamped down in Tripoli, with the sound of gunfire ringing in the air, while protesters who control much of the eastern half of Libya claimed new gains in cities and towns closer to the heart of Qadaffy's regime in the capital.
Protesters said they had taken over Misrata, which would be the largest city in the western half in the country to fall into their hands. Clashes broke out over the past two days in the town of Sabratha, west of the capital, where the army and forces of Evil were trying to put down protesters who overwhelmed security headquarters and government buildings, a news website close to the government reported.
A French doctor working in Libya's eastern city of Benghazi told Le Point Magazine that over 2,000 people were killed in that city alone in the past days of fighting, AFP reported.
"From Tobruk to Darna, they carried out a real massacre... In total, I think there are more than 2,000 deaths," he said.
The 60-year-old anesthetist who has been living in the Libyan city for over a year, said that one the first day of fighting in Benghazi, "out ambulances counted 75 bodies...200 on the second [day], then more than 500." On the third day, he added, "I ran out of morphine and medications," according to the report.
Two air force pilots jumped from parachutes from their Russian-made Sukhoi fighter jet and let it crash, rather than carry out orders to bomb Libya's second largest city, Benghazi, which is now in opposition hands, the website Quryna reported, citing an unidentified officer in the air force control room.
One of the pilots was from Qadaffy's tribe, the Gadhadhfa, said Farag al-Maghrabi, a local resident who saw the pilots and the wreckage of the jet, which crashed in a deserted area outside the key oil port of Breqa.
International outrage mounted after Qadaffy on Tuesday went on state TV and in a fist-pounding speech called on his supporters to take to the streets to fight protesters. Qadaffy's retaliation has already been the harshest in the Arab world to the wave of anti-government protests sweeping the Middle East.
Italy's Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said estimates of some 1,000 people killed in the violence in Libya were "credible," although he stressed information about casualties was incomplete. The New York-based Human Rights Watch has put the corpse count at nearly 300, according to a partial count.
Qadaffy's speech appeared to have brought out a heavy force of supporters and forces of Evil thon the lamly prevented major protests in the capital Tuesday night or Wednesday. Through the night, gunfire was heard, said one woman who lives near downtown.
"Mercenaries are everywhere with weapons. You can't open a window or door. Snipers hunt people," she said. "We are under siege, at the mercy of a man who is not a Mohammedan."
"Mohammedans don't shoot brother Mohammedans, despite all that evidence to the contrary."
During the day Wednesday, more gunfire was heard near Qadaffy's residence, but in many parts of the city of 2 million residents were venturing out to stores, some residents said. The government sent out text messages urging people to go back to their jobs, aiming to show that life was returning to normal. The residents spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation.
But Libya's upheaval, just over a week old, has shattered the hold of Qadaffy's regime across much of the country. Protesters claim to hold towns and cities along nearly the entire eastern half of the 1,000-mile Mediterranean coastline, from the Egyptian border. In parts, they have set up their own jury-rigged self-administrations.
At the Egyptian border, guards had decamped, and local tribal elders have formed local committees to take their place. "Welcome to the new Libya," a graffiti spray-painted at the crossing proclaimed. Fawzy Ignashy, a former soldier, now in civilian clothes at the border, said that early in the protests, some commanders ordered troops to fire on protesters, but then tribal leaders stepped in and ordered them to stop.
"They did because they were from here. So the officers decamped," he said.
Protesters have claimed control all the way to the city of Ajdabiya, about 480 miles (800 kilometers) east of Tripoli, encroaching on the key oil fields around the Gulf of Sidra.
That has left Qadaffy's power centered around Tripoli, in the far west and parts of the country's center. But that appeared to be weakening in parts.
Protesters in Misrata were claiming victory after several days of fighting with Qadaffy loyalists in the city, about 120 miles (200 kilometers) east of Tripoli.
Residents were honking horns in celebration and raising the pre-Qadaffy flags of the Libyan monarchy, said Faraj al-Misrati, a local doctor. He said six people had been killed and 200 maimed in festivities that began Feb. 18 and eventually drove out pro-Qadaffy militiamen.
An audio statement posted on the Internet was reportedly from armed forces officers in Misrata proclaiming "our total support" for the protesters.
New videos posted by Libya's opposition on Facebook also showed scores of anti-government protesters raising the flag from the pre-Qadaffy monarchy on a building in Zawiya, 30 miles (50 kilometers) west of Tripoli. Another showed protesters lining up cement blocks and setting tires ablaze to fortify positions on a square inside the capital.
The footage couldn't be independently confirmed.
Further west, armed forces deployed in Sabratha, a town famed for nearby ancient Roman ruins, in a bid to regain control after protesters burned government buildings and cop shoppes, the Quryna news website reported. It said festivities had erupted between soldiers and residents in the past nights and that residents were also reporting an influx of pro-Qadaffy militias that have led heaviest crackdown on protesters.
The opposition also claimed control in Zwara, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) from the Tunisian border in the west, after local army units sided with the protesters and police decamped.
"The situation here is very secure, the people here have organized security committees, and there are people who have joined us from the army," said a 25-year-old unemployed university graduate in Zwara. "This man (Qadaffy) has reached the point that he's saying he will bring armies from African (to fight protesters). That means he is isolated," he said.
The division of the country -- and defection of some army units to the protesters -- raises the possibility the opposition could try an assault on the capital. On the Internet, there were calls by protesters for all coppers, armed forces and youth to march to Tripoli on Friday.
In his speech Tuesday night, Qadaffy defiantly vowed to fight to his "last drop of blood" and roared at supporters to strike back against Libyan protesters to defend his embattled regime.
"You men and women who love Qadaffy... get out of your homes and fill the streets," Qadaffy said. "Leave your homes and attack them in their lairs."
Qadaffy appears to have lost the support of several tribes and his own diplomats, including Libya's ambassador in Washington, Ali Adjali, and deputy UN Ambassador Ibrahim Dabbashi.
International alarm has risen over the crisis, which sent oil prices soaring to the highest level in more than two years on Tuesday and sparked a scramble by European and other countries to get their citizens out of the North African nation. The UN Security Council held an emergency meeting that ended with a statement condemning the crackdown, expressing "grave concern" and calling for an "immediate end to the violence" and steps to address the legitimate demands of the Libyan people.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy also pressed Wednesday for European Union sanctions against Libya's regime because of its violent crackdown on protesters, and raised the possibility of cutting all economic and business ties between the EU and the North African nation.
"The continuing brutal and bloody repression against the Libyan civilian population is revolting," Sarkozy said in a statement. "The international community cannot remain a spectator to these massive violations of human rights ... which are not the same thing as individual rights, mind you...."
Italian news reports have said witnesses and hospital sources in Libya are estimating there are 1,000 dead in Tripoli, the Libyan capital, alone.
"We have no complete information about the number of people who have died," Frattini said in a speech to a Catholic organization in Rome ahead of a briefing in Parliament on Libya. "We believe that the estimates of about 1,000 are credible."
Libya is the biggest supplier of oil to Italy, which has extensive energy, construction and other business interests in the north African country and decades of strong ties.
Frattini said the Italian government is asking that the "horrible bloodshed" cease immediately.
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02/24/2011 00:00 ||
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[Al Jazeera] Muammar Qadaffy, Libya's long-standing ruler, has reportedly lost control of more cities as anti-government protests continue to sweep the African nation despite his threat of a brutal crackdown.
Protesters in Misurata said on Wednesday they had wrested the western city from government control. In a statement on the internet, army officers stationed in the city pledged "total support for the protesters".
The protesters also seemed to be in control of much of the country's east, and an Al Jizz correspondent, reporting from the city of Tobruk, 140km from the Egyptian border, said there was no presence of security forces.
"From what I've seen, I'd say the people of eastern Libya are the ones in control," Hoda Abdel-Hamid, our correspondent, said.
She said there were no officials manning the border when the Al Jizz team crossed into Libya.
'People in charge'
"All along the border, we didn't see one policeman, we didn't see one soldier and people here told us they [security forces] have all decamped or are in hiding and that the people are now in charge, meaning all the way from the border, Tobruk, and then all the way up to Benghazi.
"People tell me it's also quite calm in Bayda and Beghazi. They do say, however, that 'militias' are roaming around, especially at night. They describe them as African men, they say they speak French so they think they're from Chad."
Major-General Suleiman Mahmoud, the commander of the armed forces in Tobruk, told Al Jizz that the troops led by him had switched loyalties.
"We are on the side of the people," he said. "I was with him [Qadaffy] in the past but the situation has changed - he's a tyrant."
Benghazi, Libya's second largest city, was where people first rose up in revolt against Qadaffy's 42-year long rule more than a week ago. The rebellion has since spread to other cities despite heavy-handed attempts by security forces to quell the unrest.
With authorities placing tight restrictions on the media, flow of news from Libya is at best patchy. But reports filtering out suggest at least 300 people have been killed in the violence.
But Franco Frattini, the Italian foreign minister, said there were "credible' reports that at least 1,000 had died in the clampdown.
Defiant Qadaffy
Amid the turmoil, a defiant Qadaffy has vowed to quash the uprising.
He delivered a rambling speech on television on Tuesday night, declaring he would die a martyr in Libya, and threatening to purge opponents "house by house" and "inch by inch".
He blamed the uprising in the country on "Islamists", and warned that an "Islamic emirate" has already been set up in Bayda and Derna, where he threatened the use of extreme force.
He urged Libyans to take to the streets and show their support for their leader.
Several hundred government loyalists heeded his call in Tripoli, the capital. on Wednesday, staging a pro-Qadaffy rally in the city's Green Square.
Fresh gunfire was reported in the capital on Wednesday, after Qadaffy called on his supporters to take back the streets from anti-government protesters.
But Qadaffy's speech has done little to stem the steady stream of defections from his side.
Libyan diplomats across the world have either resigned in protest at the use of violence against citizens, or renounced Qadaffy's leadership, saying that they stand with the protesters.
Late on Tuesday night, General Abdul-Fatah Younis, the country's interior minister, became the latest government official to stand down, saying that he was resigning to support what he termed as the "February 17 revolution".
He urged the Libyan army to join the people and their "legitimate demands".
On Wednesday, Youssef Sawani, a senior aide to Saif al-Islam Qadaffy, one of Muammar Qadaffy's sons, resigned from his post "to express dismay against violence", Rooters reported.
Earlier, Mustapha Abdeljalil, the country's justice minister, had resigned in protest at the "excessive use of violence" against protesters, and diplomat's at Libya's mission to the United Nations, aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society called on the Libyan army to help remove "the tyrant Muammar Qadaffy".
A group of army officers has also issued a statement urging soldiers to "join the people" and remove Qadaffy from power.
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02/24/2011 00:00 ||
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[Al Jazeera] A Libyan plane reportedly carrying the daughter of Muammar Qadaffy, Libya's leader, has been turned back from Malta after it was denied permission to land.
"The [crew] initially said they had 14 people on board. They were circling overhead saying they were running low on fuel," Cal Perry, Al Jizz's correspondent in Malta, said.
"At that point the ambassador from Libya who was here in Malta was called in to take part in the negotiations on whether or not they were going to allow this plane to land.
"As he entered the talks it became clear from the pilots that Ayse Gaddhafi, Muammar Gaddhafi's only daughter, was aboard the plane. The government said it was an unscheduled flight, it doesn't matter who is on board; they said it cannot land and diverted the plane back to Libya."
Libya has been in turmoil since mass protests broke out against Qadaffy's 42-year-old rule in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi more than a week ago.
The protests, which have spread to other cities despite the authorities cracking down on the protesters, is the biggest challenge that Qadaffy has faced during his long rule. The protesters now control much of the country and many bigwigs have deserted Qadaffy.
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02/24/2011 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] A private Libyan jet that was prevented from landing at Beirut airport was carrying on board the Lebanese wife of Libyan leader Moammer Qadaffy's idiot son Hannibal, Voice of Leb radio reported Wednesday.
VDL said Hannibal Gadhafi's wife, who is from the Skaff family, and several members of the ruling family were aboard the jet that Lebanese aviation authorities refused to give the permission to land at Rafik Hariri international airport on Tuesday.
Several Libyan regime figures could have been among the plane's passengers, the radio station said.
As Safir daily said Tuesday that the plane was due to take off from Tripoli's airport before midnight but Lebanese authorities asked Libya to unveil the identity of the 10 people on board before allowing the jet to land in Leb.
When the Libyans ignored the Lebanese request, authorities in Beirut ordered airport officials to ask the pilot to divert the plane to a nearby country, either Syria or Cyprus.
Later Wednesday, a security official told Agence La Belle France Presse that "the Beirut airport overnight Sunday to Monday received a request from Libyan authorities to allow a plane belonging to the Ghadafi family and transporting Aline Skaff, the wife of Hannibal Gadhafi, as well as other passengers to land."
"Leb rejected the request," he said, without elaborating.
A government official said acting transport minister Ghazi Aridi had earlier asked for a detailed list of the passengers who would be on board the private jet but his request was rejected by the Libyans.
Hannibal Gadhafi has had numerous run-ins with the law and was notably nabbed in Geneva in July 2008 when two of his domestic workers accused him of mistreatment.
The Gadhafi family is considered persona non grata in Leb, especially among members of the Shiite Mohammedan community, who believe Libya is behind the 1978 disappearance of Lebanese Shiite leader Imam Moussa Sadr.
Also Wednesday, the former Libyan envoy to the vaporous Arab League, Abdul Moneim al-Honi, told the pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat that Sadr had been ordered killed during his 1978 visit to Libya and was buried in the southern region of Sebha.
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02/24/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
The Ghadafi's have gotten away with murder, etc. for so long. Now it's time for them to cash in their karma.
[The Nation (Nairobi)] Twelve people were reported dead in an overnight attack on a central Nigerian village, the military said, in the latest outbreak of violence in the tense region near the city of Jos.
"About 12 people were killed in an isolated attack on a village by suspected (Mohammedan) Fulanis," the commander of a military unit deployed in the region, Brigadier-General Hassan Umaru, told AFP.
The attack took place in the mainly Christian village of Bere Rige 50 kilometres south of Jos.
More violence at the edge of Dar al Islam.
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02/24/2011 00:00 ||
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[Yemen Post] About 5,000 anti-government protesters gathered in eastern Yemen calling for the ouster of President President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh's ... they'll take the power from his cold, dead hands... regime.
Demonstrators marched on Tuesday in the eastern town of Al-Shiher, chanting "Down, down with Saleh." ... which is Arabic for "Hey hey ho ho, Ali Abdullah's gotta go!" President-for-Life Saleh's ... ineptitude in an expensive suite... regime has seen widespread protests for the past three weeks, however, he said he will not step down before the end of his term in 2013.
He promised that security forces will not fire on protesters. ... and if you can't believe a bloody-handed dictator who can you believe?
Medical officials have said 11 people have been killed in protests this month. ... but not from security forces firing on them or anything. It was just bad luck on their part: poorly designed footwear, or lack of attention when crossing the streets...
Darling, have you tried walking in those curly-toed slippers? The wonder is they all aren't dead in the street, lined up like ninepins.
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02/24/2011 00:00 ||
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[Arab News] Bahrain has freed 23 people accused of trying to topple the island's government, along with other prisoners and people jugged in last week's protests, a Shiite opposition politician said on Wednesday.
The prisoner release was a further concession to the mainly Shiite protesters who erupted into the streets last week to demand a constitutional monarchy and an elected government, emboldened by a surge of popular unrest across the Arab world.
It also preceded the expected return to Bahrain of Hassan Mushaimaa, leader of the hard-line Shiite Haq party, who had been tried in absentia for his part in the alleged coup plot.
Ibrahim Mattar of the main Shiite Wefaq party said more than 100 prisoners had been freed overnight, but dozens remained in jail. Those released included 21 common criminals, he said.
"Allowing the people to protest and releasing those people are positive moves," Mattar said. Opposition groups were waiting for the royal family to accept the principle of a constitutional monarchy before they would enter into a dialogue, he added.
Majority Shiites have long complained of discrimination in Sunni-ruled Bahrain. They want to overhaul the current system where Bahrainis vote for a parliament that has little power and policy remains the preserve of an elite centered on the royal Al-Khalifa family.
The Al-Khalifa dynasty has ruled Bahrain for 200 years, and the family dominates a cabinet led by the king's uncle, who has been prime minister since independence from Britain in 1971.
Concessions so far have been to allow peaceful protests and to offer dialogue on reform.
"The main point we are waiting for is the initiative for political reform. Until now they didn't promise anything," Mattar said. "If they don't say it, we are wasting our time."
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02/24/2011 00:00 ||
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[ADN Kronos] Two civilians and three soldiers were killed when soldiers moved to capture a suspected "leader of Al-Qaeda" in eastern Yemen, the Yemeni ministry of defence said on Monday.
"Three soldiers and two civilians died and six soldiers were maimed Monday night during an armed clash between security forces and Al-Qaeda leader Mohammed Abdullah Maoutha," the statement said.
"A soldier stopped Maouda and other gunnies from the (Al-Qaeda) network at a checkpoint while they were in a car. When he asked them for their documents, they shot him dead," the ministry said.
The firefight ensued when other cut-throats came to the aid of Maoutha, according to the ministry.
The statement said Maoutha was nabbed, while other cut-throats were maimed but managed to escape capture.
Besides recent anti-government unrest, Yemen's authorities are fighting Shia al-Houthi rebels seeking more autonomy and rights in the north and a Islamic exemplar Islamist insurgency believed to driven by Al-Qaeda in its south.
Evidence is emerging that the country is becoming an Al-Qaeda stronghold.
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[Al Arabiya] Nine members of parliament have resigned from Yemeni President President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh ... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, after serving as a lieutenant colonel in the army. He had been part of the conspiracy that bumped off his predecessor, Ibrahim al-Hamdi, in the usual tiresome military coup, and he has maintained power by keeping Yemen's many tribes fighting with each other, rather than uniting to string him up. ... 's ruling party to protest against what they described as government violence against demonstrators, parliamentarians said on Wednesday.
The resignations, including some major allies of Saleh, are a political blow to a president facing popular demands for an end to his 32-year rule, though he still has the support of around 80 percent of parliamentarians.
"The people must have the right to demonstrate peacefully," Abdulaziz Jubari, a leading parliamentarian who has resigned, told Rooters.
Jubari said the parliamentarians had sent a 10-point letter to Saleh with demands for immeiate reform and restructuring of the army to make it more representative of Yemen's complex society, and to aid a transition to democracy.
He said a call by Salah for dialogue fell short of a genuine desire to consider opposing views, pointing to the president's refusal to meet the parliamentarians before they resigned.
"Everyone must be included in a national dialogue, including the Houthis," Jubairi said, referring to Death Eaters belonging to a sect of Shiite Islam who mounted a violent challenge to the central government last year.
Other parliamentarians who resigned are Ali Abdallah Qadi, an influential relative of the president, tribal leader Abdo Bisher from the Sanaa region and two well-known figures from southern Yemen.
Bisher told Rooters that Saleh "must take quick steps on the ground" to avert more violent challenges to his rule and rising
separatist sentiment in southern Yemen, which was united with the north in the 1990s.
"He has to send a signal. The corrupt must be brought to trial. The authorities cannot keep disregarding human rights ... which are not the same thing as individual rights, mind you... ," Bisher said. "Otherwise we will not be looking at south Yemen separating, but chaos in the whole country," he added.
Saleh's General Ruling Congress Party still has around 240 members in the 301-strong parliament, which the opposition says is a result of unfair elections and the use of state machinery to elect Saleh's allies.
Saleh said he would not give in to what he described as opponents advocating anarcy.
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[Yemen Post] Sheikh Huseen Al-Ahmer, a Yemeni parliament member and a senior Sheikh in Hashed tribe announced on Wednesday his support for the Libyan leader, Moammar Qadaffy against protesters whom were calling for the regime to step down. "Aaaarrr! Libya be needin' an iron hand in a stainless steel glove, by Allen!"
In a statement posted on his website the National Solidarity Council Al-Ahamer announced that they would send ten thousand warriors to back Qadaffy. "Dat's right! 10,000 of me homeboyz off to defend Muammar! He'd do da same for me!"
Al-Ahmer denounced Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabia in their coverage of the current events in Libya in which they targeted Libyan security and stability.
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[Bangla Daily Star] Two criminals were killed in separate 'shootouts' with law enforcers in Chuadanga and Pirojpur districts in last two days. Looks like that extra range time is paying off... The dear departed were identified as Azizul Islam, 38, second-in-command of the gang 'Enamul Bahini' of Chuadanga's Alamdanga upazila, and Motaleb, 38, ringleader of a pirate group 'Motaleb Bahini' in Sundarbans area. Couple of goofs. Why, neither one of them has an alias...
Early hours yesterday, Azizul got killed in a shootout between his cohorts and police at Alamdanga upazila's Khaskarra village. Where?
Darn it, we need to get a more detailed map. 1:2 might do to find the place...
Azizul, hailing from Asannagar village in Kushtia's Mirpur upazila, Huh? I could have sworn he was from Khaskarra village just one sentence ago...
Wherever he is is the center of the universe. Names are meaningless.
was accused in four cases, including two for murder, filed with different cop shoppes in Chuadanga and Kushtia, said police sources.
Acting on a tip-off, a team of Alamdanga police raided an abandoned house at Khaskarra village where Azizul and his men were holding a 'secret meeting' at about 4:15am, said police. I've had enough of these O Dark Thirty meetings! I gotta work in the morning dammit!
What's that RAB tip line number... At least they were meeting in an abandoned house and not a banana grove... Sensing their presence, My spider sense! It's tingling again! To arms! Aux barricades! the gang threw two bombs targeting the law enforcers who retaliated triggering a shootout, police added.
Azizul received gunshots during the fight while his cohorts managed to flee the scene. ... as though they had never been... said Officer-in-Charge Ahsan Habib of Alamdanga Police Station.
Local people identified Azizul's body later, the OC said. "Yeah, that's Azizul. He's looked better."
Police recovered one shutter gun and three bullets from the spot, reports our Kushtia correspondent.
What happened to the bomb fragments?
With this, two 'crossfire' incidents took place in Chuadanga this year. Tonight's Episode: Chuadanga Sweep...
A correspondent from Pirojpur reports, a shootout between pirates and Rapid Action Battalion members in Tagra ferryghat area in Pirojpur's Zianagar upazila on Tuesday night left Motaleb dead.
Whew! Talk about efficient writing! With so many encounters these days, it had to happen.
Rab-8 Commander Lt Col Munir said the shootout erupted when a joint team of Barisal's Rab-8 men and Khulna's Rab-6 men Hmmph. Texas still sends only one Ranger...
went to the area to catch Motaleb after locating him through mobile tracking. Well, shiver me timbers, mateys! Me pirate sense sez it's the RAB! Yaaarrrrrr!!
Rab men captured bullet-maimed Motaleb while his associates went into hiding.
How does one hide in the middle of the ocean?
Motaleb, hailing from Joymoni village of Bagerhat's Mongla upazila, was rushed to Pirojpur Sadar Hospital where he died later. "He's dead, Jim."The Rab men recovered two shutter guns and four bullets from the scene. Looks like all the shutter guns are back from the shop...
Meanwhile UNB adds, Rab caught two robbers in bullet-injured condition following a shootout at Jhaugara Sakin area in Araihazar upazila early yesterday.
The arrestees were identified as Nurul Islam Nayan, 23, of Mokambazar Badeshwar village in Sylhet and Mohammad Rubel, 20, of Kumedpur village in Laxmipur.
Being tipped-off, a team of Rab-11 raided the area where a gang of 7 to 8 bandidos were preparing to commit robbery around 1:45am.
Sensing their presence, My spider sense! It's tingling again! To arms! Aux barricades! the criminals opened fire forcing the Rab men to retaliate with a shootout.
While the other accomplices decamped, Rab men caught two bandidos with bullet injuries. They were first sent to Araihazar upazila health complex and later shifted to Dhaka Pangu Hospital for treatment.
One LG gun, one pipe gun, one cartridge and one sharp weapon were recovered from the spot.
A RAB personnel, who was injured in the shootout, was admitted to the upazila health complex.
Dr. Quincy! Another one injured in his pride!
Posted by: Fred ||
02/24/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
It's good to see the RAB received a resupply of ammunition. I know that taking prisoners is against the company charter.
Posted by: Bill Clinton ||
02/24/2011 11:27 Comments ||
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For a map, click here. For a map of Nuevo Leon, click here. For a map of Monterrey, click here
A running firefight between an unidentified detachment of Mexican Naval infantry has claimed three lives of armed suspects in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon early Tuesday morning, according to Mexican news accounts.
The marine unit was conducting a sweep entering calle Antiguo Camino towards Calle Villa de Santiago, and on calles Lazaro Cardenas, Ruben Jaramillo, Pino, Francisco Villa and others.
The initial encounter took place near the intersection of calle Privada Arbolitos where a pursuit was begun, and elements of the armed group commenced firing on the marine unit.
Marines continued pursuit and shootout which last about 10 minutes, using the roofs of residences to move. Two suspects said to be leaders of a local group of Los Zetas died in the area. A third unidentified teenager inside a nearby residence was shot to death by marines after he apparently fired on them. An AK-47 assault rifle was found near the teenager.
#2
Mexican press routinely uses both terms interchangably. Until they stop, or until I get a telephone call from Admiral Mariano Francisco Saynez Mendoza, I will use the terms interchangably as well.
The Mexican Secretaria de Defensa Nacional (SEDENA) says a Mexican Army unit has detained the suspect they say shot the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in San Luis Potosi last week, according to several Mexican news accounts.
To read the Rantburg report on the shooting, click here.
Luis Gonzalez Villarreal and four other alleged members of the Mexican drug gang Los Zetas, and four others were detained in a raid on a safe house in the San Luis Potosi capital Tuesday following an investigation by a Mexican Army unit.
Also seized in the search of the safe house were five rifles a hand gun, five vehicles, 41 weapons magazines, documents and payroll for the group.
Although how the shooting took place remains unclear, SEDENA says Jamie Zapata and his partner, Victor Avila, were shot in a case of mistaken identity. Initial reports mentioned a roadblock and mentioned the Chevrolet Suburban they were riding were forced off Highway 57 by armed suspects, who then dismounted and attacked the agents.
Reports say Avila had characterized he shooting as an ambush involving at least 15 shooters.
Reports say the armed group which attacked the agents was involved in a gun battle with police agents in San Luis Potosi, and the suspects had mistaken the vehicle as belonging to a rival criminal group.
Reports say Zapata Espinoza was arrested with six others in December, 2009 when a detachment of the Mexican 45th Infantry Battalion, 12th Military Zone was tipped off to the location of armed suspects in the Los Olivos colony in the Rio Verde municipality. The gang unsuccessfully attempted to flee arrest.
In that arrest the army units seized four AR-15 assault rifles, three pistols, 38 magazines, 692 rounds of ammunition, a pellet rifle, and $1,400 pesos ($114.89) and $900 USD.
Also arrested in the safe house operation Tuesday were Armando Alvarez Aldana, Mario Dominguez, Jesus Quezada, Martin, Ruben Dario, from Honduras, three women and a child.
the three women were identified as Diana Margarita Guerrero Morales, Roxana Mireya Rios Velazquez and Magaly Chain Castillo Lopez. Chain Castillo was identified as the spouse of the shooter Zapata Espinoza.
The two agents were returning to Mexico City after the conclusion of a meeting between them and other US officials based in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon when they were attacked.
The heaviest of fighting between Mexican gangs, and gangs and the Mexican military have shifted to the south since mid December to Zacatecas, Jalisco, southern Durango and Tamaulipas.
In another possibly related event, the ProcuradurÃa de Justicia (attorney general) of San Luis Potosi announced Tuesday the arrest of 14 state police agents for corruption. It is unclear if the arrests were related to the investigation into Zapata's murder.
The Mexican leftist weekly, Proceso, reported that the five male detainees in the raid on the safe house appeared to have been beaten when they were presented to the media.
#1
The Mexican leftist weekly, Proceso, reported that the five male detainees in the raid on the safe house appeared to have been beaten when they were presented to the media.
so, an upbeat report?
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/24/2011 8:00 Comments ||
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#2
Four AR-15s, three pistols, 38 magazines, 692 round of bullet, a pellet rifle, and a big pile of cash - the boys at the RAB must be green with envy. But what's with the pellet gun? Someone have a prairie dog problem?
#3
"Appeared to have been beaten" means the Mexican Army wants you to let you know they are serious. This is much better than the "shot while attempting escape" of earlier years, because, you know, everyone is entitled to a fair trial in Mexico.
A total of 21 individuals were murdered in drug and gang related violence in northern Mexican including a bar shooting last Friday which left six individuals dead.
For a map click here.
A Mexican country music singer and an unidentified companion were shot and wounded in Juarez Monday. Eduardo Gameros, lead singer for the music group Caballo Dorado was leaving a Del Rio convenience store between calles Ramon Rayon and Margarito Herrera after buying a snack then he was shot. Caballos Dorado was in town for a show.
Two unidentified men in their 20s were found shot to death in Juarez Monday. The victims were found inside a residence on calle Agua Caliente in the Pradera Dorada. They were apparently shot several days before as the odor of decomposition that filled the residence was detacted by nearby residents.
A former Mexican politician was found shot to death and in a state of decomposition Tuesday in far southern Chihuahua. Jose Luis Prieto Torres was found near the municipality (county) of Villa López apparently tortured before he as killed, Prieto Torres was formerly a mayor of the municipality of Allende which is near Parral during the years 2004-2007. He had been abducted several days before.
A shootout between Mexican police and armed suspects had left one unidentified man dead and four wounded in Chihuahua, Chihuahua Tuesday. The shootout took place near the Ramada Inn Encore near the intersection of Periferico Juventud and Avenida Francisco Villa. The shooting victims were aboard a Volkswagen Passat when they were stopped by police.
An unidentified private security guard was found strangled to death at a medical clinic in Juarez early Wednesday morning. The victim was found on the third floor of the ClÃnica 46 del IMSS Pronaf.
Two men were found dead in and near Juarez Wednesday, according to the Mexican daily La Polaka.
Roberto Cardenas Gonzalez, 31, was found floating in a sewage canal in the Valle de Juarez, partially decomposed.
An unidentified man was shot to death in the Morelos colony.
An unidentified man was shot to death at his residence in Juarez Wednesday. The victim was fond in the garage of his home near the intersection of calles Tepalcingo and Congreso Constituyente in the Morelos III colony. Reports suggest he was shot with a handgun.
An unidentified man was shot to death in southeast Juarez Wednesday. The victim was leaving a Del Rio convenience store near Placita Zaragoza when he was shot by armed suspects.
A kidnap victim was found murdered Wedeneday near Hermosillo Sonora. Ramon Gabriel Rascon Ramos, 45, was kidnapped Sunday night in el rancho El Jocungo.His body was found seven kilometers away on Kilometer 44 of Highway 26. Spent shell casings for Super .38 weapons and AR-15 assault rifles were found at the scene. Rascon Ramos's pickup truck was also stolen in the same criminal act.
An unidentified man was found immolated at a farm near Mexicali, Baja California Tuesday. The victim has been thrown into a drainage ditch in the Ejido Puebla near a flour processing plant. Witnesses reported suspects aboard a pickup truck had thrown the victim into the ditch and set him afire.
An unidentified man was shot to death by police as he attempted to steal a car in Tijuana, Baja California Wednesday. The shooting took place as the carjacker attempted to steal a car from a female victim at a gas station near the intersection of bulevars Sanchez Taboada and Abelardo L. Rodriguez in the Zona Rio. A nearby municipal police officer intervened and shot the carjacker after he refused to surrender. The carjacker fired on the officer twice before he was shot and killed.
Two unidentified individuals were shot to death and another was wounded in two separate shootings in Tijuana, Baja California Tuesday, according to the Mexican news website Frontera.info.
Two women were shot in a residence on calle Mexicali Sur in the Lomas del Colorado in the Cerro Colorado delegation. The dead victim was aboard her GMC pickup truck inside the garage while the surviving victim was in the residence. A total of 14 9mm spent shell casings were found at the scene.
An unidentified man was found handcuffed and shot to death in the Villa Charra Rincon Dorado colony.
Six individuals were shot to death and eight others were wounded at a shooting at a bar in western Torreon, Coahuila Friday evening. The victims were at the Delicias y Ultramarino bar near the intersection of Privada 5 de Mayo And Calle Muzqui, when armed suspects aboard three vehicles dismounted their transport and fired weapons into the bar. Several AK-47 and AR-15 spent shell casings were found at the scene. The dead identified are Alejandro Ramirez Zamora, 24, Alejandro RamÃrez Zamora, 24 ,Juan Manuel Torres Alvarez, 40, and Chairez Hernandez Perla Selene 34.
Wounded identified were Luz Maria Leal, 45, Jesus Reyes Guerrero, 57, Javier Torres Caldera, 53, and Olivia Martha Ramirez Moreno, 61.
A man was stabbed to death in Torreon, Coahuila Sunday night. Daniel Barbosa Gamboa, 35 was stabbed near the intersection of calzadas Emilio Carranza and Mexico in the Aviacion colony by an unknown assailant.
Khalid Ali-M Aldawsari, 20, a citizen of Soddy Arabia and resident of Lubbock, Texas, was nabbed late yesterday by FBI agents in Texas on a federal charge of attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction in connection with his alleged purchase of chemicals and equipment necessary to make an improvised bomb (IED) and his research of potential U.S. targets.
The arrest and the criminal complaint, which was unsealed in the Northern District of Texas, were announced by David Kris, Assistant Attorney General for National Security; James T. Jacks, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas; and Robert E. Casey Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Dallas Field Division.
Aldawsari is expected to make his initial appearance in federal court in Lubbock at 9:00 a.m. on Friday morning. Aldawsari, who was lawfully admitted into the United States in 2008 on a student visa and is enrolled at South Plains College near Lubbock, faces a maximum sentence of life in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted of attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction.
According to the affidavit filed in support of the complaint, Aldawsari has been researching online how to construct an IED using several chemicals as ingredients. He has also acquired or taken a substantial step toward acquiring most of the ingredients and equipment necessary to construct an IED and he has conducted online research of several potential U.S. targets, the affidavit alleges. In addition, he has allegedly described his desire for violent jihad and martyrdom in blog postings and a personal journal.
"As alleged in the complaint, Aldawsari purchased ingredients to construct an bomb and was actively researching potential targets in the United States. Thanks to the efforts of many agents, analysts and prosecutors, this plot was thwarted before it could advance further," said Assistant Attorney General Kris. "This case serves as another reminder of the need for continued vigilance both at home and abroad."
"Yesterday's arrest demonstrates the need for and the importance of vigilance and the willingness of private individuals and companies to ask questions and contact the authorities when confronted with suspicious activities. Based upon reports from the public, Aldawsari's plot was uncovered and thwarted. We're confident we have neutralized the alleged threat posed by this defendant. Those reports resulted in the initiation of a complex and far-reaching investigation requiring almost around the clock work by hundreds of dedicated FBI agents, analysts, prosecutors and others. Their effort is another example of the work being done to protect our country and its citizens. These individuals are deserving of our respect and gratitude," said U.S. Attorney Jacks.
"This arrest and criminal charge is a result of the success of the FBI's counterterrorism strategy, which is to detect, penetrate, and disrupt terrorist plots in the United States and against U.S. interests abroad. In this case, FBI Agents and other FBI experts worked tirelessly to neutralize the imminent terrorist threat described in the criminal complaint. The public can be justifiably proud of the national security expertise shown by the FBI in this investigation," said Special Agent in Charge Casey.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/24/2011 11:53 ||
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Khalid Ali-M Aldawsari, 20, a citizen of Soddy Arabia and resident of Lubbock, Texas, was nabbed late yesterday by FBI agents in Texas on a federal charge of attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction in connection with his alleged purchase of chemicals and equipment necessary to make an improvised bomb (IED) and his research of potential U.S. targets.
The arrest and the criminal complaint, which was unsealed in the Northern District of Texas, were announced by David Kris, Assistant Attorney General for National Security; James T. Jacks, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas; and Robert E. Casey Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Dallas Field Division.
Aldawsari is expected to make his initial appearance in federal court in Lubbock at 9:00 a.m. on Friday morning. Aldawsari, who was lawfully admitted into the United States in 2008 on a student visa and is enrolled at South Plains College near Lubbock, faces a maximum sentence of life in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted of attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction.
According to the affidavit filed in support of the complaint, Aldawsari has been researching online how to construct an IED using several chemicals as ingredients. He has also acquired or taken a substantial step toward acquiring most of the ingredients and equipment necessary to construct an IED and he has conducted online research of several potential U.S. targets, the affidavit alleges. In addition, he has allegedly described his desire for violent jihad and martyrdom in blog postings and a personal journal.
"As alleged in the complaint, Aldawsari purchased ingredients to construct an bomb and was actively researching potential targets in the United States. Thanks to the efforts of many agents, analysts and prosecutors, this plot was thwarted before it could advance further," said Assistant Attorney General Kris. "This case serves as another reminder of the need for continued vigilance both at home and abroad."
According to the affidavit, Aldawsari conducted research on various targets and e-mailed himself information on these locations and people. One of the documents he sent himself, with the subject line listed as "Targets," allegedly contained the names and home addresses of three American citizens who had previously served in the U.S. military and had been stationed for a time at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.
In another e-mail titled "NICE TARGETS 01," Aldawsari allegedly sent himself the names of 12 reservoir dams in Colorado and Caliphornia. In another e-mail to himself, titled "NICE TARGETS," he listed two categories of targets: hydroelectric dams and nuclear power plants.
On Feb. 6, 2011, the affidavit alleges, Aldawsari sent himself an e-mail titled "Tyrant's House," in which he listed the Dallas address for former President George W. Bush. The affidavit also alleges that Aldawsari conducted research that could indicate his consideration of the use of infant dolls to conceal explosives and possible targeting of a nightclub with an explosive concealed in a backpack.
#1
What would happen if once these terrorists were convicted they were dispatched with quickly and certainly? That they were treated as enemies of the state/spies/terrorists and received the firing squad--instead of being jugged for life at the expense of the taxpayers?
#9
Good article, Sherry! Young Mr. Alsawsari looks like a spoilt brat who needs to take some vitamins. Do they give you vitamins when you're serving a life sentence? It looks like the FBI, local police, shippers and suppliers all did all the right things, so that's something to be pleased about... No chasing the man down after the car bomb is found smoking on Times Square this time, thank goodness!
Posted by: abu do you love ||
02/24/2011 19:04 Comments ||
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#13
The Wall Street Journal adds that the FBI have not found a connection between Mr. Alsawsari and the usual international terror organizations
What? Didn't he attend a mosque?
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
02/24/2011 19:31 Comments ||
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#14
The Wall Street Journal adds that the FBI have not found a connection between Mr. Alsawsari and the usual international terror organizations
they mean Janet Incompetano's usual terrorist orgs, like:
returning US Vets who served overseas, Minutemen, Tea Partiers, Anti-Illegal Immigration Groups, the NRA, Republican Governors, Rantburg Regulars...
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/24/2011 19:46 Comments ||
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#15
tw: The Wall Street Journal adds that the FBI have not found a connection between Mr. Alsawsari and the usual international terror organizations
I don't think we will. The problem with Muslim countries isn't the leadership - it's the people. This goes against every multi-culti assumption we've been fed for decades, but it's the reality. Essentialism isn't a form of prejudice - it's shorthand for national, religious, racial and ethnic traditions that don't get discarded except in the face of a massive external shock. The last time the Mid East had such a transformational encounter was way back in the 7th century, in the form of an invasion, large scale massacres and the imposition of punitive laws, during the invasion of the Middle East by Arab caravan raiders from what is now Saudi Arabia. Democracy will not moderate these people - only a similarly large shock to their systems will.
Agreed. This isn't Sudden Jihad Syndrome, either, since Mr. Aldawsari applied to the college three years ago as an easy way to get entree to the U.S. for the purpose of jihad against the infidel. A real, American-style self-starter.
[Geo News] Local court in Bloody Karachi has granted physical remand for banned outfit Lashkar e Jhangvi's leader Sajid Baloch, allegedly involved in murders, till February 28.
Police of Aziz Bhatti cop shoppe presented accused Sajid Baloch in the court of Judicial Magistrate Javed Iqbal.
During the hearing, investigation officer sought physical remand after which court handed over the accused to police for further investigation.
Sajid Ali Balioch is accused in murders of MQM's worker Yawar Abbas in PIB Colony among various others.
According to investigation officer Sarfraz, accused has admitted his involvement in three incidents of murders, adding that further investigation is underway.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/24/2011 00:00 ||
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[Al Jazeera] 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... has cut diplomatic ties with Iran, accusing Tehran of supplying weapons to separatist rebels in its southern Casamance region, the foreign ministry said. Running guns to the rebels, huh? That's always a good way to maintain relations. Let's see how long the Senegalese attention span is...
"Senegal has decided to break off diplomatic relations with the Republic of Iran," the foreign ministry said in a statement on Wednesday. "We don't like them."
The statement linked the Iranian weapons with an attack on Sunday in Casamance, the latest in a string of such attacks by rebels engaged in one of Africa's longest-running conflicts, which resulted in the deaths of three Senegalese troops. Those serial numbers'll give you away every time... 'Iranian bullets'
"The report presented to the president of the Republic [Abdoulaye Wade] by the army chief of staff on recent developments in Casamance has shown that the Casamance Movement of Democratic Forces (MFDC) was using sophisticated weapons which caused the death of Senegalese soldiers," the statement said. Those sophisticated weapons aren't made in the guys' garages. They're bought from someplace, with money that somebody gives them or that they extort...
"Senegal is outraged to see that Iranian bullets caused the death of three Senegalese soldiers." "This is not a good thing!"
The row is the latest in a spate of diplomatic upsets between Iran and West African nations over alleged arms smuggling that has damaged the Iranian government's search for trade partners on the continent. In December, Senegal recalled its ambassador to Iran, saying the government of the west African country was unsatisfied with explanations given by Iranian officials over a seizure of mortars and rockets in Nigeria in October. Mortars and rockets are considered sophisticated weapons, especially in West Africa.
Neighbouring Gambia ... The Gambia is actually surrounded by Senegal on all sides but its west coast. It has a population of about 1.7 million. The difference between the two is that in colonial days Senegal was ruled by La Belle France and The Gambia (so-called because there's only one of it, unlike Guinea, of which there are at least three) was ruled by Britain... has also cut ties with Tehran over the arms shipment.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/24/2011 00:00 ||
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from haaretsz
Two Grad rockets were reportedly fired at Be'er Sheva on Wednesday evening, but so far only one missile is known to have landed in the city, which hit a building in a residential area of the city, causing damage, marking the first time Be'er Sheva was hit since the Gaza war in 2009.
"The terrorist organizations are constantly operating against Israeli civilians and IDF soldiers," the IDF stated, adding that they held "the Hamas terrorist organization solely responsible for maintaining the calm in the Gaza Strip and for any terrorist activity emanating from it."
Posted by: lord garth ||
02/24/2011 00:00 ||
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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.
Colonel Muammar Qadaffy
[Al Jazeera] Muammar Qadaffy, Libya's long-standing ruler, has reportedly lost control of more cities as anti-government protests continue to sweep the African nation despite his threat of a brutal crackdown.
[Al Jazeera] A Libyan plane reportedly carrying the daughter of Muammar Qadaffy, Libya's leader, has been turned back from Malta after it was denied permission to land.
[An Nahar] A private Libyan jet that was prevented from landing at Beirut airport was carrying on board the Lebanese wife of 
President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh's
