Posted by: Fred ||
02/26/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Birthday/Daily Gam Shot
Betty Hutton aka Bubbles Hennessy in "Happy Go Lucky" aka Trudy Kockenlocker in "The Miracle of Morgan's Creek" aka Eleanor "Yum-Yum" Collier in "Red, Hot and Blue" aka Annie Oakley in "Annie Get Your Gun (film)" aka Holly in "The Greatest Show on Earth" (Died in 2007 at age 86)
#3
I developed a taste for Moon Pies while I was stationed in the Carolinas during the Southeast Asian unpleasantness of the last century. The natives seemed to subsist on them while their aptly named Royal Crown cola seemed specially formulated for hot humid climates.
Back then you could get the standard Carolinian meal, moon pie and RC for about a quarter, not counting the 3 cent deposit on the reusable bottle. The latter was usually chilled and was made from from real glass, no less. Today it is over a buck and the RC comes in a vulgar plastic bubble like other soft drinks, when you can find it at all.
[Tolo News] A statement released by Kabul Police headquarters says the Afghan police have seized a cache of ammunition in Sorubi, that faceless myrmidons were planning to use in their attacks.
Sorubi is located approximately 70 km in the northeastern part of Kabul where French troops are based.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/26/2011 00:00 ||
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[Tolo News] At least seven hard boyz were killed in a joint Afghan and Nato forces' operation in southern Helmand province on Wednesday, officials said.
The Afghan Defence Ministry said in a statement on Thursday that seven hard boyz were killed in a joint operation carried out by Afghan and Nato forces in Gereshk district of Helmand province. Two hard boyz were maimed and another was captured in the operation, added the statement.
Some weapons and Improvised Explosive Devices have also been seized from bully boyz in the operation.
Taliban have not yet commented.
They're waiting for a final tally. But every day there are more dead teammates, so they can't.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/26/2011 00:00 ||
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Al-Shabaab is mobilising young men in the Lower Shabelle region to join the jihad in Mogadishu.
'Mobilising' being another name for 'kidnap, indoctrinate, maybe drug (but only if they're going the human bomb route).
The escalating war is forcing al-Shabaab to call for more volunteers, especially the youth, to join the fighting.
According to a Somali news website, the al-Shabaab fighters ruling Jowhar are instructing all youngsters to enlist and to join the war in Mogadishu.
Nothing says battle-ready like a 13 year old with an AK.
The website says that the order has forced many youths to flee to the countryside, particularly to the agricultural areas along Shabelle River in the Middle Shabelle region.
Truly a righteous cause, that cries out to the souls of all sensitive to the call. Or not, as the case may be.
(Xinhua) -- At least 30 people were killed and almost 50 others maimed on Friday as government offensive gains pace against Islamist fighters in the Somali capital Mogadishu and in a southern border town, witnesses and medics said. Kill some pirates while you're at it, AU forces...
Fierce battles between the government forces backed by African Union peacekeepers and Islamist fighters continued to rages in restive Mogadishu and in the southern Somali town of Bulo Hawa on the border with Kenya.
Medical sources in Mogadishu report that 10 people were killed and 20 others injured in the fighting. Witnesses also said a number of combatants from the warring sides died or maimed in the festivities.
In the southern border town of Bulo Hawa, heavy fighting ... as opposed to the more usual light or sporadic fighting... continued for the third day between Islamist fighters and allied Somali government forces and militias of a moderate sect.
The rival sides have reportedly exchanged heavy artillery fire, forcing most of the town's residents to flee across the border into Kenya.
Twenty people were killed and thirty others maimed, most of them civilians who were caught in the crossfire, medical sources and residents said.
The Somali government launched late last week a much- anticipated offensive against radical Islamist group of Al Shabaab that control much of the south-central part of the war-torn country.
Officials say they intend to drive the rebel forces from the capital and the southern and central parts of the country, most of which is now ruled by Islamist forces loyal to Al Shabaab.
Army commanders say they have made major gains in the latest onslaught against the faceless myrmidons who lost key positions in the coastal capital of Mogadishu to government forces supported by AU peacekeeping troops.
Dozens of young Islamist fighters have began defecting to the government side, while others have deserted the Islamist group's ranks, a claim vehemently contested by rebel officials.
Islamist groups have paraded the bodies of at least five uniformed men they say were AU soldiers killed in battle with the government forces on Thursday. They also claimed to have captured another alive, an assertion that cannot be independently verified.
The Somali government says the offensive will continue until its "aims are realized," while Islamist faceless myrmidons vow to continue launching their attacks on the government and AU positions in the capital.
On account of there ain't no midnight basketball programs in their part of town. And also they can't get, as the slang goes, laid.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/26/2011 00:00 ||
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[The Nation (Nairobi)] Some 120 Oromo Liberation Front rebels have been nabbed in a crackdown in northern Kenya.
The operation was launched three months ago by Kenyan and Ethiopian forces to mop up illegal arms and secure the border.
Upper Eastern deputy provincial commissioner Wenslas Ong'wayo said the operation would continue following reports that some members of the rebel group had acquired Kenyan citizenship illegally.
"These people speak the local dialect and it may be hard to distinguish them from the locals but the locals themselves are volunteering information that will lead to their arrest," said the deputy PC. He named the most affected areas as Bandatelo, Sololo, Moyale and Korondille.
Mr Ong'wayo said those nabbed included 45 rebel commanders, adding that 30 members had been deported. Grenades, guns and missiles had been recovered.
Security agents were also following reports that some of the OLF members were hiding in Nairobi to escape arrest.
The operation has been helped by the ongoing drought, which has flushed the rebels from their hiding to look for water and food.
The country started witnessing a massive influx of the remnants of the OLF rebels following the passing of a new constitution that empowered regions in Ethiopia and made them semi-autonomous.
The Ethiopian regime also incorporated some of the OLF leaders in government, weakening the rebel movement. Those members who did not approve of the changes, which also included amnesty for the rebels, crossed into Kenya where they have been planning new attacks.
But a combined security operation by Kenyan and Ethiopian security forces has thwarted any such efforts. Sources privy to the operation said it would continue to ensure the rebel movement was completely dismantled.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/26/2011 00:00 ||
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#2
the serbs had it right when they where comitting genocide against the muslims in the first place. We should have learned a very important lesson then instead of condeming them for it.Guewss they saw the storm while it was brewing instead of the after effects. We helped them and look what is goin on now.
Posted by: chris ||
02/26/2011 21:01 Comments ||
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Lots of comments claim this as propaganda lies, I have no idea who is right.
[The Nation (Nairobi)] Kenyan mercenaries are among foreign soldiers helping the besieged Libyan leader Muammar Qadaffy fight off an uprising.
This was confirmed on Thursday by Col Qadaffy's former Chief of Protocol Nouri Al Misrahi in an interview with the Al Jizz broadcasting network.
Mr Misrahi was detailing how Qadaffy had resorted to using mercenaries against his own people after losing control of the Libyan armed forces.
When asked where the mercenaries came from and how they were recruited, the first country he mentioned was Kenya. Other countries he listed are Chad, Niger and Mali.
He described the mercenaries as jobless ex-soldiers and officers who were enticed to Libya by money.
He clarified that they were not sent officially by their governments, but were privateers recruited directly by the regime and they were being used to hunt and kill Libyan dissidents after Qadaffy's armed police and soldiers abandoned him and "went with the people".
He said Qadaffy has no more trust in his own armed forces because they had largely defied orders to turn their guns on the demonstrators.
"Those mercenaries are being used against Libyans, because Qadaffy has no more trust in his police and soldiers, they let him down and went to the people".
The mercenaries from African countries, he said, were poor and homeless former soldiers who were easily recruited over the years.
The former bigwig in Libya spoke as the government in Nairobi denied that Kenyan mercenaries were being used to execute Qadaffy's brutal crackdown.
However, The infamous However... there was an admission that retired police and army officers could be in Libya working for private companies. (Read: MP cites his worries over Kenyan 'dogs of war')
The story of Kenyan mercenaries was lent further credence by a Libyan military defector quoted in the UK newspaper -- The Guardian -- listing Kenya as one of the recruitment grounds for thousands of African mercenaries propping up the regime.
Air Force Major Rajib Feytouni said he had personally witnessed 4,000 to 5,000 mercenaries flown into his air force base on Libyan military transport planes since 14 February-- several days before the uprising started.
"They (the planes) had 300 men at a time, all of them coming out with weapons. They were all from Africa: Ghanaians, Kenyans," he is quoted in the Guardian.
The mercenaries are being used by Col Qadaffy to violently break down the wave of protests that is spreading across the North African country.
"That is why we turned against the government. That and the fact that there was an order to use planes to attack the people," said Major Feytouni in the second largest city of Benghazi which has fallen in the hands of rebels. (Read: Inside Libya's first free city)
Acting Foreign Affairs minister George Saitoti also denied the allegations. No, no! Certainly not! when he appeared before the Parliamentary Committee on Defence yesterday.
In Parliament, Foreign Affairs assistant minister Richard Onyonka dismissed the involvement of Kenyan mercenaries in the violent Libyan crackdown on protesters.
"The only individuals in Libya are embassy staff and students who are not involved militarily," he said.
Government front man Alfred Mutua also denied knowledge of any Kenyan mercenaries fighting on the side of Col Qadaffy.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/26/2011 00:00 ||
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"They (the planes) had 300 men at a time, all of them coming out with weapons. They were all from Africa: Ghanaians, Kenyans," he is quoted in the Guardian.
Mugabe used to send plane loads of his ZANU-PF 'youth militia' to Libya for training. That seems to have ended about 2004.
#4
The big question is will the Libyan military turn its guns on the mercs? I gather from reports it's happening here & there, but most of the regular military is holding back from doing anything. They are riddled by internal distrust, don't know which of their own membership is still working for Qadaffy. The mercs have a simpler setup: kill or die.
[Ma'an] A French, a Malagasy and a Togolese hostage who were seized in Niger last September by an Al-Qaeda regional offshoot were released early Friday, a security source said.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/26/2011 00:00 ||
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(Xinhua) -- Libyan leader Muammar Qadaffy's cousin and one of his closest aides, Ahmed Qadaffy al-Dam, said he resigned from his all posts in Libya, the pan-Arab Al-Arabiya TV said, citing an e-mail sent from al-Dam's office on Friday.
Yes, all things considered, email from a distance seems the best way to do this. Although we older folk would consider it poor manners, I understand it's quite acceptable among the mobile-using generation.
Belonged to Qadaffy's inner circle, Al-Dam is one of the high- ranking Libyan officials and has served as a liaison with Egypt. He has arrived in the Egyptian capital Cairo several days ago.
Meanwhile, ...back at the ranch... Libya's attorney general, Abdel-Rahman Al-Abbar, also announced his resignation in a video posted on the video- sharing site, Youtube.
The Libyan government has reportedly seen defection of its security forces and resignation of diplomats since the protests broke out.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/26/2011 00:00 ||
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[Ma'an] French President Nicolas Sarkozy said in Ankara on Friday that Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi "must go" and warned of "investigations and sanctions" over bloody crackdowns on protesters.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/26/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Yea but Nicky, what if he wins? You know how much ass you'll have to kiss to sell him more Mirages?
#2
If he loses his name will be a stench and a pestilence. He'll edge up there with Hitler in the cliche department.
If he wins, give it a year and things'll be back pretty much the way they were.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/26/2011 9:35 Comments ||
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#3
..warned of "investigations and sanctions" over bloody crackdowns on protesters.
Of course the French never so such horrible things against those trying to seize power. Ooops, oh that Paris Commune thingy. Guess the winners write the history. Never mind.
[Asharq al-Aswat] Informed sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that mass resignations have hit various Libyan state institutes, in protest against the regime's use of violence to suppress the anti-Qadaffy protests.
Sources also claimed that after over a week of protests, senior Libyan officials and government officials are now beginning to distance themselves from the Qadaffy regime, particularly in light of the brutal and bloody crack-down initiated against the Libyan protesters. However the sources clarified that senior Libyan officials in the intelligence and foreign affairs apparatus still, for the most part, remain loyal to Qadaffy and his regime.
A Western diplomat in Tripoli informed Asharq Al-Awsat that he had received information that Libyan Secretary of the General People's Committee -- in effect the country's Prime Minister -- Storied Baghdadi al-Mahmoudi, had refused to take part in the presser that was held on Wednesday on Libyan state television from Tripoli. This presser included a number of Libyan officials, most prominently Secretary-General of the Libyan Public Congress Mohamed al-Zawi, and was held in order to announce the official Libyan viewpoint with regards to what is taking place in the country. The Western diplomat, who spoke to Asharq Al-Awsat on the condition of anonymity, said "he [al-Mahmoudi] may have resigned, nobody knows; however al-Mahmoudi informed those close to Qadaffy that he was unhappy with the way that the Libyan state was dealing with the protests that have been taking place in different Libyan cities since last week."
Al-Mahmoudi has not appeared in public since the outbreak of the protests, nor has he made any statements to the official Libyan media, which strengthens speculation that he may have resigned.
Whilst Mohamed Amer Bayou, the front man for the Libyan regime who was known for his loyalty to Colonel Qadaffy and the Qadaffy regime, also resigned from his position, saying that the regime was wrong to threaten violence against its opponents, and called on Saif al-Islam Qadaffy to start talks with the opposition.
A former Libyan official told Asharq Al-Awsat that senior government officials were reluctant to resign for fear of the Qadaffy regime retaliating against them personally, or against their families. The former official added that Qadaffy had strengthened security measures throughout the city of Tripoli, making it virtually impossible for any bigwig to escape.
Former Libyan Justice Minister Mustafa Mohamed Abud Jalil also resigned from his position in protest of the Libyan regime's use of force against the protestors. He later told the press that Qadaffy had hired African mercenaries to attack the Libyan protestors, adding that he had proof that Qadaffy had personally ordered the Lockerbie bombing. Whilst former Libyan Interior Minister General Abdul Fattah Younis Al Obaidi announced that he supported the Libyan demonstrators, and called on the Libyan army to take a similar position.
However Colonel Qadaffy still enjoys the loyalty of a number of his senior aides, including Intelligence chief Abu Zeid Omar Durda and Libyan Foreign Minister Musa Kusa.
Libyan Foreign Minister Musa Kusa, known as the envoy of death, told Asharq Al-Awsat that "I remain in my post, and I will not leave it or resign." He added that the media was conveying many lies.
Kusa told Asharq Al-Awsat that the rumors about mass resignations and a split in the Libyan regime aimed to destroy morale. He also called on the people of Libya not to listen to these lies, particularly with regards to the Libyan regions of Darnah and Bayda, as the aim is to establish an Islamic Emirate there. Kusa warned against the Islamist element that exists in Darnah, claiming that Islamist snuffies who had participated in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, had returned and set up base in this region. He also said that the Libyan regime intended to invite western journalists and diplomats to visit this area to see evidence of the Al Qaeda presence in this region for themselves, adding that Al Qaeda was behind the lack of security being seen in some areas of the country.
He added that Libya is resilient and able to deal with such terrorist conspiracies, saying "what is sad is that we have seen those who said that they were our friends [condemn us], and today we know who is with us and who is not."
Whilst another Libyan diplomat, speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat on the condition of anonymity said "the Qadaffy regime has lost the respect of the majority of the members of Libya's diplomatic missions to the world" adding that "the mass resignations from the foreign minister has escalated due to the suppression and violence being carried out by the authorities against the popular revolution."
Whilst a Libyan ambassador to a western country, speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat on the condition of anonymity, said that almost all Libyan ambassadors abroad, have, or are preparing to, resign and distance themselves from this corrupt and violent regime. He added "I have received telephone calls from colleagues and ambassadors abroad, who are all preparing to resign, however they fear for their families who are present in Tripoli."
He added "I have written my resignation; however I have yet to announce this until I can confirm that my family has left the country, for the current regime would not hesitate to kill them in retaliation."
Posted by: Fred ||
02/26/2011 00:00 ||
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[Jerusalem Post Front Page] Libyan leader Muammar Qadaffy on Friday addressed crowds of his supporters in Tripoli's Green Square, urging them to defend Libya and it's petroleum interests.
As protests against the Libyan leader took place in other parts of the country's capital city, Qadaffy stated that "we are ready to triumph over the enemy" and "the people who don't love me deserve to die."
Militias loyal to Qadaffy opened fire on protesters streaming out of mosques in the Libyan capital earlier on Friday, demanding the regime's ouster, witnesses said, reporting at least four killed. Across rebellious cities in the east, tens of thousands held rallies in support of the first Tripoli protests in days.
Protesters chanting for Qadaffy's ouster streamed out of mosques near downtown Tripoli's Green Square and other districts after prayers, and they were confronted by troops and Death Eaters who opened fire, said several witnesses. Gunmen on rooftops in streets near the square shot down on marchers, they said.
The call for regime opponents march from mosques after prayers was the first attempt to hold a major anti-Qadaffy rally in the capital since Death Eaters launched a bloody crackdown on marchers early in the week that left dozens dead. SMS messages were sent around urging, "Let us make this Friday the Friday of liberation," residents said. The residents and witnesses all spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation.
Qadaffy loyalists have clamped down hard in Tripoli, the center of the eroding territory that the Libyan leader's regime still controls. The uprising that began Feb. 15 has swept over nearly the entire eastern half of the country, breaking cities there out of his regime's hold.
Even in the pocket of northwestern Libya around Tripoli, several cities have also fallen into the hands of the rebellion. Militiamen and Qadaffy forces on Thursday were repelled in trying to take back opposition-held territory in the cities of Zawiya and Misrata, near the capital, in fighting that killed at least 30 people.
Starting Friday morning in Tripoli, pro-Qadaffy Death Eaters set up heavy security around many mosques in the city, trying to prevent any opposition gatherings. Armed young men with green armbands to show their support of Gadhafi set up checkpoints on many streets, stopping cars and searching them. Tanks and checkpoints lined the road to Tripoli's airport, witnesses said.
As gunfire raged downtown, gunnies opened fire on another march by thousands in Tajoura, a crowded impoverished district on the eastern side of the capital, a participant said. The crowd was moving down a main avenue toward Green Square when a hail of bullets hit, he said.
"We can't see where it is coming from," he said. "They don't want to stop." He said one man next to him was shot in the neck.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/26/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
"the people who don't love me deserve to die."
He's getting in touch with his inner Jim Jones. "Revolutionary Suicide" would be next. Maybe his rants about drug laced coffee were an announcement of his planned final solution for 'those who don't love him.'
[Arab News] Abandoned by some of his staunchest supporters and losing his grip on much of the country, Libyan leader Muammar Qadaffy on Thursday blamed the unprecedented revolt against his 42-year rule on an "evil eye." In a telephone interview with state TV, he said: "The village is the victim of an evil eye."
In a rambling appeal for calm, he also said Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden was behind the unrest and and that protesters were fueled by milk and Nescafe spiked with hallucinogenic drugs.
Saudis reacted with anger and disbelief. "Qadaffy does not know what he's talking about. He's blaming Bin Laden when he should look at himself instead and ask why widespread Libyan protests are tearing the country apart," Ali Al-Enagy, a professor at the King Saud University (KSU), said.
Hezab Sadoun, a professor of mass communications at a university in Riyadh, said that Qadaffy was way off the mark with his claims. "There's no foreigner or foreign force involved in the turmoil that has engulfed Libya. What stokes the anger of the Libyan people who have risen in arms against him is top-level corruption," he said.
Qadaffy, who just two days ago vowed in a televised address to crush the revolt and fight to the last, showed none of the fist-thumping rage of that speech. This time, he spoke to state television by telephone without appearing in person, and his tone seemed more conciliatory.
"Their ages are 17. They give them pills at night, they put hallucinatory pills in their drinks, their milk, their coffee, their Nescafe," Qadaffy said.
A Tripoli resident said: "It seems like he realized that his speech yesterday with the strong language had no effect on the people. He's realizing it's going to be a matter of time before the final chapter: the battle of Tripoli."
Qadaffy's forces launched a fierce counterattack on Thursday, fighting gunbattles with protesters who have threatened the Libyan leader by seizing important towns close to the capital.
The opposition forces were already in control of major centers in the east, including the regional capital Benghazi, and reports that the towns of Misrata and Zuara in the west had also fallen brought the tide of rebellion closer to Qadaffy's power base.
Gunbattles in Zawiyah, an oil terminal 50 km from the capital, left 10 people dead, a Libyan newspaper said.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/26/2011 00:00 ||
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[Arab News] Residents of Benghazi have jugged those they say are African mercenaries and set up defenses around this eastern city now out of the control of leader Muammar Qadaffy, who has lost control of swathes of Libya.
A court compound in the center of Benghazi, on the Mediterranean coast, has become a focal point for those seeking to reimpose law and order after a bloody rebellion against Qadaffy loyalists who relinquished the city to residents.
Defenses were being prepared in some parts of the city for the chance of an attack by Qadaffy's forces, said organizers who have set up committees to run the city. The airport was closed because residents feared more mercenaries could be flown in.
"We expect an attack, but we are not afraid," said Soliman Karim, a 65-year-old lawyer involved in the organization, adding the city had enough food but hospitals were low on medicine. "There is plenty of food, thank God. Our problem is a lack of medicine," he said, sitting in the courthouse as demonstrators gathered outside, chanting "Free Libya, Free Libya" and waving monarchy-era flags.
A Rooters correspondent was shown about a dozen people held in a court building. Residents said they were "mercenaries" backing Qadaffy, some were said to be African and others from southern Libya. The correspondent could not speak to them.
"They have been interrogated, and they are being kept safe, and they are fed well," said Imam Bugaighis, 50, a university lecturer now helping to organize committees to run the city, adding that they would be tried according to the law.
"There will be a trial for them, even Qadaffy will have a trial. Murdering and liquidations without trial were their (Qadaffy's government) language, Our language is the language of the constitution," she told Rooters.
The men they said were mercenaries wore sports tops and a couple of them had bandages. Several wore sports tops. They appeared to be tired, not frightened and obeying orders.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/26/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Google 'canadianpress' and 'benghazi' for some interesting accounts of recent events in Benghazi: The assault on the base known as the "Katiba" was the defining battle in the fall of Libya's second largest city to the opposition uprising that has swept away Gadhafi's rule in the eastern half of the country. "Every time they killed one of us, more came," said Mohammed Haman, a lanky 29-year-old sporting a bandanna and an American accent from six years living in Baltimore. "When they started shooting, we hit back with bricks."
Others fired homemade explosives known as "jalateen" essentially gunpowder stuffed into a tin can normally used in the unsportsmanlike local style of fishing. They fired them over the high walls with spear guns, also used for fishing.
Others commandeered bulldozers and tried to breach the walls, often succumbing under heavy fire.
"You wouldn't believe how much they were trying to capture the barracks," said Dr. Abdullah. "The young people were making human shields for the drivers of the bulldozers," he added, describing how he received four people all shot in the chest at the same height, while guarding a bulldozer.
[Ennahar] Government forces rubbed out two protesters in the Libyan capital Tripoli on Friday, Al Jizz television reported, as a popular uprising against Muammar Qadaffy closed in on his main power base.
Pro-Qadaffy forces opened fire after hundreds of people in the Janzour district in western Tripoli started a protest march after Friday prayers, a resident, who asked not to be identified, told Rooters in an email.
He said protesters were also shouting anti-Qadaffy slogans in Fashloum in the city's east, and another resident said security forces had fired into the air there. Al Jizz said two people had been killed and several maimed in heavy shooting in several districts.
Tripoli and the surrounding area, where Qadaffy's forces had managed to stifle earlier protests, appear to be his last main stronghold as the revolt that has put the east under rebel control has also reportedly advanced through the west.
Zawiyah, an oil refining town on the main coastal highway 50 km (30 miles) west of Tripoli, has on successive nights fought off attempts by government forces to take control, said witnesses who decamped across the Tunisian border at Ras Jdir.
"There are corpses everywhere ... It's a war in the true sense of the word," said Akila Jmaa, who crossed into Tunisia on Friday after traveling from the town.
Saeed Mustafa, who also drove through the town, said:
"There are army and police checkpoints around Zawiyah but there is no presence inside."
REBEL CONTROL
Army and police in the eastern city of Adjabiya told Al Jizz television they had gone over to the opposition.
Other reports say the third city, Misrata, 200 km east of Tripoli, is also under rebel control. Such reports are hard to verify, with foreign correspondents unable to travel around western Libya, and telephone and broadband connections poor.
But Qadaffy's son Saif al-Islam said the government was in control of the west, south and center, and that his family had no intention of leaving.
"We have plans A, B and C. Plan A is to live and die in Libya. Plan B is to live and die in Libya. Plan C is to live and die in Libya," he told Turkey's CNN Turk television.
People in Benghazi, under rebel control, said friends in Tripoli had told them protesters had demonstrated at mosques throughout Tripoli and planned to converge on Green Square.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/26/2011 00:00 ||
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[Ennahar] Anti-Libyan government militias took control of Misrata late on Thursday after evicting forces loyal to leader Muammar Qadaffy from the Mediterranean coastal city, prompting street celebrations, a witness said.
Resident Mohamed Senoussi, 41, said protesters had overcome the security forces and taken full control of Misrata, about 200 km (125 miles) east of Tripoli, after a "fierce battle" near its airport.
"Calm returned to the city around four hours ago after intense fighting in the morning ... The people's spirits here are high, they are celebrating and chanting 'God is Greatest'," he told Rooters by telephone.
"The civilians are now organizing traffic, searching pedestrians for weapons. They have nabbed some armed intruders believed to be from Tripoli. Every now and then, we hear gunshots but it's nothing like the intense exchanges earlier in the day," he added.
"There are rumors that government forces and mercenaries are trying to regroup at the city limits to launch new attacks but our armed youths are roaming the forests around the city where many are believed to be hiding."
An unspecified number of government forces and foreign mercenaries were killed after they stormed protesters near the city's airport earlier on Thursday, he said.
"Some were killed, others were nabbed or surrendered. The protesters nabbed 20 mostly African mercenaries and two Libyan soldiers. I have seen them in shackles," Senoussi said.
"The corpse count among civilians is seven, mostly at the city's main medical facility, and around 25 were maimed."
He said civilians were trying to re-organize things by setting up committees to run the city.
"A lot of people have left their homes to donate blood, others came with food supplies," he said.
Witnesses in Tripoli have told Rooters there was no sign Qadaffy's forces had lost control there: uniformed police were directing traffic as usual, state television was broadcasting and pro-Qadaffy supporters held a rally in the city.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/26/2011 00:00 ||
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[Ennahar] Muammar Qadaffy's grip on power may depend in part on the performance of an elite military unit led by one of the Libyan leader's younger sons, according to U.S. and European national security and intelligence officials.
'Elite' means something different in Arabic than it does in English.
U.S. and European officials, as well as secret State Department cables obtained by WikiLeaks, describe Libya's 32nd Brigade, led by Qadaffy's son Khamees, as a relatively well-equipped special forces outfit that, in the words of one cable, is one of the Libyan leader's last-ditch "regime protection units."
The 32nd is the most elite of three "regime protection units," which together total about 10,000 men, U.S. officials said. These units are the only armed forces directly loyal to Qadaffy, while the rest of the military is made up primarily of conscripts and is seeing heavy desertion, they said.
Some witnesses in Libya say the 32nd Brigade has lately been involved in fighting against some orc forces. A witness told Rooters by telephone on Thursday that the unit controlled by Khamees Qadaffy had attacked anti-government militias controlling the town of Misrata, 125 miles east of Tripoli, killing several people.
U.S. officials say that while the 32nd Brigade has advanced weaponry and high morale when compared to other Libyan military units, it is not clear how deeply engaged the unit is in active fighting to maintain Qadaffy's grip on power.
Elite is also a relative term.
Compared to elite military units in some neighboring countries or in the West, the 32nd Brigade is "not very skilled," in the words of one U.S. official. "They're not very good," the official added.
While well-equipped by Libyan standards, the brigade's equipment is far from cutting edge. According to some U.S. officials, it may even have suffered intermitted fuel shortages -- a surprising problem in oil-rich Libya.
"The situation is way too fluid to know whether the regime will survive or not, but they're certainly trying to hold things together with duct tape and Krazy Glue," said a U.S. official who is familiar with official government reporting from the region,
State Department cables obtained by Wikileaks describe attempts by representatives of Khamees Qadaffy to obtain military supplies from the United States and Britain.
According to a November 2008 cable from the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli, in 2008 British authorities turned down a license that would have permitted a British company to export 130,000 Kalashnikov rifles to Libya. The same cable quotes a Libyan businessman saying he had signed a contract with a Romanian company for the supply of 100,000 AK-47 rifles, which were destined for the Khamees brigade.
A December 2009 cable from the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli reported how an associate of Saif al-Islam Qadaffy, Muammar's best-known son and one-time heir apparent, was trying to get the B.O. regime to allow the export of new military helicopters to the Khamees brigade -- and complained that such sales were being stalled by legal technicalities and red tape.
The cable described the attempted arms deal as a possible attempt by Saif al-Islam to "curry his youngest brother's (Khamees') favor" adding that: "Given the fact that the "Khamis Brigade is considered the best equipped and most capable of defending the regime, it seems only natural that anyone intent on assuming power would try to align himself with Khamis".
It was unclear which, if any, of the weapons deals went ahead. Neither the B.O. regime nor British officials had any immediate response to queries as to whether the U.S. and Britain ever allowed such weapons shipments to Libya to proceed.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/26/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Uh, uh, okay, I'll bite, ISN'T THAT GONNA BE HARD TO DO FROM VENEZUELA???
#2
Yes, and Cortez' motley band of adventurers were not particularly 'elite' in comparison to many train bands and units back in old Europe either. It's all relative. I'd be tracking movement of Hamas, Hezbollah and Fatah mercs to Libya who'd be willing to 'work for food', so to speak, and have no problem putting down fellow muzzies.
Muammar Qadaffy and family along with 3 surviving Kenyan mercenaries accept political asylum from President Obama and are flown to Madison Wisconsin where Qadaffy will chair the Middle Eastern Studies Department.
#8
this didn't work out too well for saddam either
Posted by: chris ||
02/26/2011 13:30 Comments ||
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#9
According to this there was a 'nuclear standoff' as recently as 2009. Gaddafi was deterred by Reagan and temporarily by George W. Bush but when the Bush administration weakened he resumed his aggressive behavior and unfortunately was rewarded instead of punished.
I wonder if he took the opportunity to go on a shopping spree in North Korea, even a nuclear fizzle device under his control would be a major disaster.
[Ma'an] Yemeni police shot dead a protester in Yemen's main southern city of Aden, where at least 20 other people were injured in Friday demonstrations, medics told AFP.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/26/2011 00:00 ||
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[Pak Daily Times] Tens of thousands of supporters and opponents of 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. ... held rival demonstrations in the capital on Friday, in a test of support for the veteran leader's 32-year rule.
Protesters outside Sanaa University, repeating slogans, which have echoed round the Arab world since the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia, chanted: "The people demand the downfall of the regime."
About four kilometres across town, loyalists shouted support for a leader they said was holding the fractured and impoverished tribal country together. "The creator of unity is in our hearts. We will not abandon him," they chanted.
Seventeen people have died in the past nine days in a sustained wave of nationwide anti-Saleh protests galvanised by the fall of the Tunisian and Egyptian presidents. Saleh has said he will not give in to "anarchy and killing". A US ally against the Yemen-based al Qaeda wing that has launched attacks at home and abroad, the Yemeni leader is struggling to end protests flaring across the Arabian Peninsula's poorest state.
He is also trying to maintain a shaky truce with northern sock puppets of the Medes and the Persians and contain a secessionist insurgency in the south against northern rule. In the south of the country, more than 10,000 people erupted into the streets in various districts of the port city of Aden, demanding an end to Saleh's rule. Nine people were maimed in the protests, witnesses said, and security forces blocked off the city to prevent people from neighbouring cities from joining them.
In the city of Taiz, 200 kilometres south of the capital, about 10,000 people staged an anti-government protest. Outside Sanaa University, Saleh's opponents held an auction to raise money for their campaign, selling a car and a watch, which fetched 600,000 riyals ($ 3,000).
"The revolution has started. It will not stop until all of our demands are met," said Fouad Dahaba, an opposition member of parliament who attended the rally. "We are not less than the people of Tunisia and Egypt, who were emancipated."
Saleh supporters in Tahrir Square, many of whom arrived in buses, chanted "Yes to stability, no to chaos". "There is no use in trying to destroy the country and divide it. We all must enter a dialogue to preserve the national interest," said Mohammad Saleh.
Authorities stepped up security in Sanaa ahead of the rallies. An Interior Ministry statement late on Thursday ordered security forces to "raise their security vigilance and take all measures to control any terrorist elements" who might take advantage of the protests to infiltrate Sanaa.
Saleh had earlier "demanded security services offer full protection for the demonstrators" and prevent confrontations, according a statement from Yemen's Washington embassy.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/26/2011 00:00 ||
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For a map, click here. For a map of Durango click here
A raid by an armed group of men in the village of Benito Juarez in far western Durango has left three dead, five houses destroyed by fire and an amount of property damage, including livestock and vehicles, according to Mexican news accounts.
Someone was certainly feeling lively...
Reports say an unknown number of armed suspects arrived in the village in the Nuevo Ideal municipality about 0900 hrs Thursday morning and started firing their weapons. The suspects also totally destroyed five houses and three vehicles by fire.
Three unidentified residents of the village were killed in the attack, although the death toll is unofficial.
Reports say armed suspects aboard luxury vehicles with darkened windows, presumably SUVs, routinely made rounds through the streets of the village without stopping in the last few months, inspiring terror in the residents.
The terror was so acute that resident reportedly did not go outside their homes after 2200 hrs.
It was reported this evening that several unidentified members of the Mennonite community were under extortion threats, presumably by the same criminal group that raided Benito Juarez Thursday morning.
Currently, a detachment of the Mexican 10th Military Zone is in the area for additional security.
Several municipalities in western Durango, which border Sinaloa to the west, are known drug crop areas, and have suffered similar raids or intergang shootouts. Those areas include the Otaez municipality and the El Mezquital municipality.
Some of the areas are so remote it takes as many as 12 hours to reach help. The Sierra Madres in eastern Sinaloa and western Durango are also known to be locations for drug labs used by the Sinaloa drug gang to process methamphetamine. To read Rantburg reports on the raids and shootouts in western Durango, click here and follow the links.
[An Nahar] Paraguay extradited three Lebanese men to the United States on Thursday -- two on drug trafficking charges and another who faces trial in Philadelphia for allegedly selling stolen cell phones and used cars to raise funds for Hizbullah.
Paraguayan anti-drug trafficking agent Maria Mercedes Castineira told The News Agency that Dare Not be Named that the three men were put on a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration plane after being held for months in Paraguayan jails.
Nemir Ali Zhayter and Amer Zoher El Hossni were captured Aug. 6, 2008, in Ciudad del Este on Paraguay's "Triple Frontier" with Brazil and Argentina. Both were allegedly involved in trafficking cocaine to the U.S., Castineira said.
Moussa Ali Hamdan was nabbed last June 16 in the same Paraguayan city shortly after arriving from New York. Prosecutors in Philadelphia said Hamdan, a dual U.S.-Lebanese national, bought what he thought where stolen goods from a U.S. government informant.
Hamdan allegedly exported more than 1,700 cell phones, 400 Sony PlayStation 2 systems and three used cars after the informant told him the money as well as counterfeit currency would go to finance Hizbullah.
He faces 25 years if convicted of 31 charges filed in November 2009 in Philadelphia. Hamdan said after his arrest that he's been falsely accused, and that if he weren't Mohammedan he would not have been charged.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/26/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
"Hamdan said after his arrest that he's been falsely accused, and that if he weren't Mohammedan he would not have been charged."
And if I didn't have a brain, I'd believe you.
Posted by: American Delight ||
02/26/2011 0:53 Comments ||
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(Xinhua) -- Three Islamic fascistihave been killed during a counter-terrorism operation in Russia's North Caucasian republic of Chechnya, local reports said on Friday.
"During a special operation, police forces found the trace of an gang in mountains in the Achkhoy-Martan district on Friday morning. The forces surrounded the group and asked Islamic fascistito surrender," Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov was quoted by local media as saying.
"In response, the Islamic fascistiopened the fire," Kadyrov said, adding that three Islamic fascistiwere killed during the clash.
According to Kadyrov, those killed Islamic fascistihave been already identified.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/26/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
don't call people by fascists if you have no proves. So fuck of bitch!
#3
Besides, how do you know we don't have proof? We do, actually. Lots and lots of proof. You probably want to start worrying about how very much proof we have. They know all about that proof in Toronto, you know, so you might want to work a little harder at keeping your head down, lest someone decide to discuss it with you.
(Xinhua) -- Pak authorities on Friday nabbed an American national, Juddi Kenan, in the country's northwest for overstaying illegally, officials said.
According to police sources, the U.S. national from West Virginia was nabbed from University Town area, as his visa had expired on Oct. 23, 2010.
The man was taken into custody at a check post when he was trying to illegally enter Mohmand ... Named for the Mohmand clan of the Sarban Pahstuns, a truculent, quarrelsome lot for the most part. In Pakistain, the Mohmands infest their eponymous Agency, metastasizing as far as the plains of Beautiful Downtown Peshawar, Charsadda, and Mardan. Mohmands are also scattered throughout Pakistan in urban areas including Bloody Karachi, Lahore, and Quetta. In Afghanistan they are mainly found in Nangarhar and Kunar... tribal region along the border with Afghanistan. Pak security forces are engaged in major offensive in Mohmand agency, laying between Peshawar and Bajaur tribal region.
A case against the 20-year old American
Too young for the CIA. I vote for a jihadi wannabe who can't persuade anyone he is trustworthy enough to bring in from the cold.
has been filed under the Foreigners Act. He has been taken to Qazi's guesthouse an undisclosed location for questioning.
Police said he is being investigated as to why he was staying in a sensitive area without proper permission.
Because he is stupid and unconnected. The jihadis don't take just anyone to train as cannon fodder anymore.
Foreigners are required to get special permission to visit Pakistain's northwestern and tribal regions.
Police sources said that the man revealed to the Sherlocks that he was a student at a community college in Florida and wanted to enter the tribal region to meet a friend.
"Yeah? What's his name and address, and where's your letter with directions? 'KewlJihadi2' is not a common Mohmandi name."
But he failed to provide any special permission to enter the sensitive area, they said.
He also carried a laptop and a travel bag when he was nabbed.
The U.S. embassy said they are looking into the reports.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/26/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
1. why would anyone want too stay in pakiland at all? 2. there are plenty of pakjis here we should send back
Posted by: chris ||
02/26/2011 13:29 Comments ||
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BAIJI, Iraq, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Militants attacked Iraq's largest oil refinery on Saturday, killing four workers and detonating bombs that touched off a raging fire and shut down the plant in northern Iraq, officials said.
In the southern town of Samawa, a second refinery was shut down by fire but officials said initial reports indicated it was started by a technical failure rather than an insurgent attack.
The militants planted explosives at a kerosene and benzene production unit at the northern refinery in the town of Baiji, a former al Qaeda stronghold 180 km (112 miles) north of Baghdad, the governor of Salahuddin province, Ahmed al-Jubouri, said.
"The refinery has completely stopped," Jubouri told Reuters. "It's a big loss for the whole country. All Iraqi cities depend on its production."
The blast, which happened before dawn, sparked a fire that was later brought under control, a police source said. It took about five hours and up to 50 fire trucks to contain the blaze.
The damaged unit, known as the North Refinery, has a production capacity of 150,000 barrels per day, a Baiji official said, adding the damage has been too severe to fix in few days.
"Fixing the damage will take long time. We are not talking about days, the damage is too severe," said the Baiji official, who asked not to be named.
"Hopefully in the next few days we can partially restart the refinery," he said, adding that the plant has enough stock to cover domestic needs for at least seven days.
Iraq does not export any oil products as it uses all of its production for power generation and domestic consumption.
#3
As Glenmore says, and as the article stated (but not clearly), this refinery makes products for the Iraqi domestic market. The bombing means that Iraq will have to import products like diesel, lubricants, etc for quite a while. That will certainly have an impact in Iraq but shouldn't affect the world market.
If the terrorists manage to nail a crude pipeline, of course, that changes things.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/26/2011 14:06 Comments ||
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#4
Iran has just brought some new refineries online, I guess they just created a new customer.
#5
Iran's own domestic needs far outpace their current production. The mullahs might well divert products from the new refinery elsewhere, however, if it bought them influence.
[Al Arabiya] One of al-Qaeda leaders in Iraq, identified as the krazed killer group's "war minister", has been killed in a raid, a senior Iraqi official said on Friday.
Noman Salman, also know as Al-Nasser Lideen Allah Abu Suleiman, the war minister for the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI), was killed on Thursday night in Hit, about 130 km (80 miles) west of Storied Baghdad, a front man for the Storied Baghdad operations command said.
"Based on intelligence, Iraqi security forces carried out the raid that killed him. U.S. forces were not involved in this operation," Maj. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi told Rooters.
Abu Suleiman, an Iraqi, was named war minister by ISI last May after the killing of two of the group's top leaders by Iraqi and U.S. security forces.
News of his death came as thousands of Iraqis erupted into the streets on Friday to protest corruption and lack of basic services amid fears of attacks by hard boys.
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has advised people to stay away from Friday's protests and warned them of possible violence by al Qaeda and members of Saddam Hussein's banned Baath party.
ISI is believed by intelligence analysts to have been created by al Qaeda in Iraq as a local umbrella group for hard boy organizations.
Overall violence has dropped sharply in Iraq in the past years from the height of sectarian slaughter in 2006-07, but Sunni Islamic fascistisuch as al Qaeda and other gunnies are still capable of staging lethal bombings.
Iraq's minority Sunnis feel they have been marginalized by the political ascent of the Shiite majority since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam.
At least 100,000 Iraqis have been killed in nearly eight years since the invasion.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/26/2011 00:00 ||
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[Pak Daily Times] Thousands marched on government buildings and clashed with security forces on Friday in cities across Iraq in an outpouring of anger that left 11 people dead -- the largest and most violent anti-government protests in the country since political unrest began spreading in the Arab world weeks ago.
In northern Iraqi cities, security forces trying to push back crowds opened fire, killing nine demonstrators, in the western Anbar province two people were shot and killed in a protest. In the capital of Storied Baghdad, demonstrators knocked down blast walls, threw rocks and scuffled with club-wielding troops who chased them down the street.
The protests, billed as a "Day of Rage", were fueled by anger over corruption, chronic unemployment and shoddy public services from the Shia-dominated government. Shia religious leaders discouraged people from taking part, greatly diminishing the Shia participation and the overall size of the crowd in a country where such religious edicts hold great sway.
In the Sunni enclave of Azamiyah, one of the residents said that people there did not want to attend because they feared being labelled Saddamists. "The government has already convicted anyone who takes part in the demonstrations by accusing them of terrorism," said 41-year-old Ammar al Azami.
A Shia resident from the New Storied Baghdad neighbourhood of the capital, Khalil Ibrahim, 44, one of about 3,000 protesters in downtown Storied Baghdad, railed against a government that locks itself in the highly fortified Green Zone, home to the parliament and the US embassy, and is viewed by most of its citizens as more interested in personal gain than public service.
"We want a good life like human beings, not like animals," Ibrahim said.
A report released last month by the US reconstruction watchdog agency noted that Iraqi officials are trying to improve the nation's electricity grid with hopes of meeting power demands by 2014.
"The lack of perceived improvements in Iraq's water, sewage, and electricity systems could lead to popular unrest more so than political or sectarian disagreements," the special inspector general for Iraqi reconstruction concluded.
The centre of Storied Baghdad was virtually locked down on Friday, with soldiers searching protesters entering Liberation Square and closing off the plaza and side streets with razor wire. The heavy security presence reflected the official concerns that demonstrations here could gain traction as they did in Egypt and Tunisia, then spiral out of control.
Iraqi army helicopters buzzed overhead, while Humvees and trucks took up posts throughout the square, where flag-waving demonstrators shouted "No to unemployment" and "No to the liar al Maliki", referring to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/26/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
One'd think, this being Iraq, that some suicide boomer would see that crowd as an opportunity.
[Al Arabiya] Around five thousand Jordanian protestors erupted into the streets on Friday demanding political liberalization, wider parliamentary representation and constitutional changes limiting the powers of the throne.
"Reform and change, this is the demand of people," angry protestors shouted among a mainly Islamists and leftist crowd joined by some tribal and liberal figures marching from the main Husseini mosque in the capital's downtown to a nearby square, according to Rooters.
The Jordanian opposition, spearheaded by the mainstream Islamists, the country's largest political party, have been protesting for weeks for wider democratic gains as anti-government demonstrations sweep across the Arab world.
They are demanding more say, starting with a modern election law that broadens representation in parliament for inhabitants of the capital and the major cities of Zarqa and Irbid, where most of the country's seven million population live.
The cities which are Islamist strongholds and heavily populated by Jordanians of Paleostinian origin are under-represented in the 120-seat assembly in favor of sparsely populated rural and Bedouin areas inhabited mainly by native Jordanians, or so called East Bankers who are the backbone of support for the throne.
"We tell our government that reform has become a necessity that cannot wait," Sheikh Hamza Mansour, the head of the Islamic Action Front (IAF), the country's largest opposition group, told the crowds in a rally at the end of the march.
"It's not just the demand of the Islamist movement or the opposition party. It's the demand of all Jordanians," he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/26/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
The Jordanian opposition, spearheaded by the mainstream Islamists
[Ma'an] Israeli forces fired rubber-coated bullets at protesters in the West Bank city of Hebron on Friday afternoon, where festivities left at least nine people injured, Paleostinian medics and the Israeli army said.
Four international activists and two Paleostinians were jugged, organizers said. The military said that only one person was nabbed.
The Paleostinians injured by rubber-coated bullets were transferred to the Hebron and Al-Ahli hospitals, Red Islamic Thingy officials said. The Israeli army also said five border copperswere maimed.
The demonstration, which called for the reopening of one of the city's main streets, came on the anniversary of the 1994 massacre of 29 Paleostinians in Hebron by a Jewish cut-thoat.
Protesters, who waved Paleostinian flags chanting "Down with the occupation!" and "Hebron is Paleostinian," said they were trying to reopen central Shuhada (Martyrs) Street, once home to the city's main market.
Israel largely closed off the street, citing security, after the 1994 massacre in the Ibrahimi Mosque.
Hundreds of Paleostinians and international activists participated in the protest.
Among those who inhaled tear gas were Hebron governor Kamel Hamid and practically every journalist who covered the event. Paleostine TV news hound Sari Al-Ewaiwi was injured in his left hand by stun grenade.
The protesters also backed Egypt, Tunis, and Libya, and condemned US policy toward settlements.
Israeli forces tried to suppress the protest by forming a human wall. Some of the protesters entered the street and refused to leave, but soldiers kicked them, a front man for the group Youth Against Settlement said. Paleostinian politician Mustafa Barghouthi was barred from the area.
Some of the estimated 1,000 protesters, who included Israelis and foreign activists, threw stones at troops, who responded with tear gas, stun grenades and rubber bullets.
"There was a violent and illegal riot in Hebron," the Israeli military said, putting the size of the crowd at around 300. An AFP photographer and correspondent said 1,000 people attended the rally.
The Israeli military said the crowd "confronted security forces in an effort to enter the Jewish community and the forces used riot dispersal means and the riot was dispersed."
Hebron, the largest Paleostinian city in the West Bank, is also home to around 600 right-wing religious Jewish settlers, most of whom live in the area around Shuhada Street.
In 2003, Israel's Supreme Court backed an appeal by Paleostinian traders, ordering that the settlers be evicted and the market reopened, but the orders were never implemented.
Under a 1997 accord with the Paleostinian Authority, Israeli troops evacuated 80 percent of the city but continue to protect the settlers living around the site, which they also consider holy.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/26/2011 00:00 ||
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[Straits Times] SOLDIERS in the Philippines killed a communist rebel commander on Friday, the military said, in the first deadly clash since landmark peace talks offered hope of an end to the decades-long insurgency.
Soldiers, acting on a resident's tip-off, hunted down a small group of communist New People's Army guerrillas in a remote village in the eastern Philippines on Friday morning, a military statement said.
Regional NPA commander Elmer Estrellado was killed in the ensuing 10-minute firefight, which occurred in Camarines Sur province about 280km south-east of Manila, the statement said.
The clash was the first deadly incident between the two sides since government and rebel negotiators wrapped up week-long talks in Norway on Monday.
At the end of that meeting, both sides said they hoped to forge a peace pact within 18 months.
The communists have been waging a rebellion since 1969 and still have about 5,000 NPA guerrillas based in the mainly poor, rural areas of the Philippines.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/26/2011 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.
[Jerusalem Post Front Page] Libyan leader Muammar Qadaffy on Friday addressed crowds of his supporters in Tripoli's Green Square, urging them to defend Libya and it's petroleum interests. 
[Ennahar] Government forces 
[Ennahar] Anti-Libyan government militias took control of Misrata late on Thursday after evicting forces loyal to leader Muammar Qadaffy from the Mediterranean coastal city, prompting street celebrations, a witness said.
Muammar Qadaffy's grip on power may depend in part on the performance of an elite military unit led by one of the Libyan leader's younger sons, according to U.S. and European national security and intelligence officials.
President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh
Mohmand
One of al-Qaeda leaders in Iraq, identified as the
