[Tripoli Post] Sifting through intelligence documents found in Tripoli, pan-Arab news network Al Jizz reports discovering a top-secret document that proves that the deposed Libyan leader Muammar Al Qadaffy ...whose instability has been an inspiration to dictators everywhere... , now in hiding, had spies at the highest levels of the rebel movement at least until the fall of Tripoli.
It says that the document, discovered in a sealed envelope on Al Senussi's abandoned desk at the Libyan intelligence service's headquarters in Tripoli is a briefing for Libyan intelligence criminal mastermind Abdullah Senussi. It details key weapons sites across the Western Mountains, with a focus on the pivotal town of Azzawiyah, which proved to be the rebels' gateway into the capital.
Al Jizz concludes that one of the spies appears to have provided Al Qadaffy's forces with maps and identified National Transitional Council (NTC) commanders who were to lead the attack on Ghazaya and Azzawiyah, together with the forces and vehicles the rebel leaders had available.
The documents also suggest that the Libyan rebel fighters were using refugee camps on the Libyan border set up by Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait to smuggle in weapons and pick up trucks.
Al Qadaffy's spies (whose names Al Jizz says has redacted) suggested that the rebels had the permission of the Tunisian prime minister and his army chief to use the camps as a base.
"There are 4x4 vehicles in the Qatar, Kuwaiti and UAE camps, equipped with automatic weapons and hidden under tents," reads one document. The agent who wrote the briefing also singled out the names of NTC leaders, suggesting they be targeted for liquidation.
"I have drawn up a plan of which rebel commanders and NTC leaders should be killed. This will strike fear within their ranks and cause disunity between them," reads the document.
In return for this information, the double agent expected the Libyan government to meet his three demands -- by providing a luxurious car, preferably a white BMW; paying out an 'exceptional' amount of cash; and supplying him with a Thuraya satellite phone to use for 'sensitive' phone calls.
In its exclusive, Al Jizz goes on to say that Al Qadaffy's spying was not limited to double agents. His spy network was also able to intercept highly sensitive emails, including those from NTC chief Mahmoud Jibril.
One such email appears to be from the foreign ministry of Cyprus to leaders in Benghazi, outlining a planned visit by their foreign minister to the NTC's stronghold.
It said that other documents found in the Intelligence Headquarters suggested that Al Qadaffy's secret services were not limited to Libyan borders, and that government officials all over the world - in Libyan embassies - were used to spy on expatriates supporting the opposition from abroad.
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09/03/2011 00:00 ||
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[Tripoli Post] A day after the meeting of the 'Friends of Libya in Gay Paree agreed to hand over more than $15 billion to the rNational Transitional Council, and while the new leaders of Libya, on Friday were working out on how to spend the money, the NTC reaffirmed its commitment to democracy and good governance. Did they say that in English, French or Arabic?
Following on that morale boosting decision, and the decision by the EU, a main trading partner, to rescind a range of sanctions, on Friday, the leaders of the NTC told financiers about their initial rebuilding plans.
In the eastern city of Benghazi, the rebels' base during the conflict, an NTC official reportedly said that the release of funds by Western powers who are backing them with NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all.... air strikes meant the council now had to show Libyans it was capable of governing: "Before we had the excuse that we didn't have money when things went wrong," he said. "Now we don't have the excuse."
The council is committed to a document that lays out a so-called "clear road map" to democracy, including a constitution to be drafted within eight months, a referendum and then full elections in 2013. Then at the end of about 20 months the Libyan people should have elected the leaders they want to lead their country.
The document says the process of electing a President and parliament would begin once the NTC declares Libya "liberated" from the runaway leader Al Qadaffy ...who single-handedly turned a moderately prosperous kingdom into a dictator's fantasyland... . NTC leaders have said the conflict would not end before Al Qadaffy is found "dead or alive." So it remains uncertain when they might declare that freedom has been completely achieved.
Meanwhile in Tripoli, the cleaning up of the Libyan capital has started. A group of municipal street sweepers took part in the clean up so life could return back to normal for the city dwellers.
Rebel fighters began to remove some roadblocks on a main road along the shoreline and more food stores were open, although water supplies remain low and power remained erratic.
A billboard put up by the NTC posted a public announcement: "For A United And Free Libya."
Another welcome news was delivered by NTC education chief Soliman el-Sahli who told Rooters that despite some bombed-out classrooms, scarce transport and a now antiquated curriculum, Libya's schools would reopen on September 17.
The NTC's reconstruction minister, Ahmad Jehani, and Aref Nayed, a member of the council's rebuilding team, met experts in post-conflict rebuilding from groups including the International Monetary Fund, World Bank and USAID in Gay Paree Friday, with U.S. and French officials saying the meeting was mainly about listening to the NTC's needs.
The rebel officials said Libya is counting on quickly restoring oil production to revive its economy and five international oil firms are already back and working to resume operations.
"The issue of damage is not much and you can get procurement very fast. This is helped by the fact the producing wells are under contract to international firms, if they feel they can deploy their people," Jehani has been reported saying.
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09/03/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Any bets on Libyans remembering the Kadaffy era as the "golden age" ten years from now?
[Daily Nation (Kenya)] Former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo used a private visit to Sierra Leone to condemn international action against Libya's Muammar Qadaffy. ...who single-handedly turned a moderately prosperous kingdom into a dictator's fantasyland... Mr Obasanjo, who was in the country as a special guest of President Ernest Bai Koroma who has himself consistently refused to openly take side on the Libyan conflict, questioned the rationale behind resorting to violence in efforts to bring about change in Libya.
"It would have been sensible if peace between Qadaffy and his people had been negotiated instead of having to resort to causing more damage that would take so much to repair," the former Nigerian leader told a presser at State House in Freetown at the end of his visit.
Nigeria was among the first few African countries to endorse the National Transitional Council rebels as 'legitimate' representative of the Libyan people.
Despite his opposition towards the treatment of the former Libyan strongman, Mr Obasanjo saw the North African crisis as a message for fellow African leaders.
"North Africa has given a lesson to all of us," he said. "The first lesson is that the apparent economic progress is not enough to satisfy the yearning of the people for they want to have a feeling of fulfillment, and choice."
Mr Obsasanjo, however, added that changes in any country and in the world, particularly in Africa, must be left in the hands of the people, as revolution from outside might not immediately bring lasting peace to a country.
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09/03/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Mr Obsasanjo, however, added that changes in any country and in the world, particularly in Africa, must be left in the hands of the people, as revolution from outside might not immediately bring lasting peace to a country.
African solutions for African problems. The man is dead right!
On Saturday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov condemned sanctions imposed on Syria by the European Union, and said they "will lead to nothing good."
At a summit of ex-Soviet states in the Tajik capital Dushanbe, Lavrov told reporters, "We have always said that unilateral sanctions will lead to nothing good. This ruins the partnership approach to any crisis. We are against unilateral sanctions."
A delegation from North Korea held talks with authorities in Siberia on leasing land to grow vegetables and grain, Russia's state-run news agency reported. North Korean kulaks will then be imported...
According to the RIA Novosti on Thursday, North Korea plans to rent several hundred thousand hectares of land in the Amur region, which has about 200,000 hectares of idle land in regional, municipal or private ownership. It quoted a Russian official as saying authorities in Pyongyang are planning the unprecedented agricultural project in an attempt to address that nation's food shortages. As opposed to growing food at home...
Meanwhile, Amur region minister Igor Gorevoi said the land must not be abandoned and the newly-formed North Korean company must be registered in the region.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/03/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
perhaps the local lands are too barren, polluted, or....radioactive?
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/03/2011 0:18 Comments ||
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I was saddened to learn that California lost the bid.
#6
But it is a Korean colonization program, not Chinese. The Russians are rightly concerned that the Russian Far East might be the next Tibet, and want demographic counters for that. The Russians are looking to get ethnic auxiliaries in place that are not Chinese; since they cannot convince enough ethnic Russians to move out there.
Hyesan in the northern part of North Korea's Ryanggang province has recently re-emerged as a major defection route, intelligence agencies believe. The border city of 250,000 across the Apnok (or Yalu) River, the second largest after Sinuiju, was for many years considered the best escape route to China.
In several places near Hyesan the river is less than 30 m wide when it is not raining, and it is easy to cross in winter because it freezes over thickly. Smuggling has long been rampant. A railway links the city to Pyongyang, so inland dwellers often chose Hyesan as their escape route.
That is why Hyesan has been on the regime's watchlist. Security forces have allegedly carried out brutal sweeps of the city several times. North Korean leader Kim Jong-il reportedly said, "We can achieve the revolution without the young people of Hyesan."
The city has not been among the major escape routes since 2001. But recently six or seven out of 10 recent defectors have fled through Hyesan, South Korean intelligence agencies and North Korean sources say. One defector who escaped from Hyesan recently, said, "People in Hyesan with quick access to outside news are fed up with the regime. They are determined to die fighting against Kim Jong-il or defect."
Amid increasing economic difficulties and several brutal public executions, the anti-regime mood in the city is growing. Drugs are also widely available, according to defectors, and are a main reason the city has once again become a major escape route. "Senior officials and soldiers in Hyesan are bent on making big money by escorting defectors across the border and selling North Korean drugs in China," another defector said.
Another reason is that big criminal gangs have joined hands with former senior government officials or public security officials who were purged. In collusion with local government officials or soldiers, they take money to escort defectors over the border. The more stringent the regime's border patrols become, the more opportunities they have to extort money from defectors. Smuggling is another source of income.
As state rations dwindle, many senior officials are reportedly bolstering their income with bribes from the gangs. Sources say growing lawlessness and dissatisfaction could make Hyesan the flashpoint for a popular uprising in North Korea.
"The entire city hates the regime because of the brutality the regime perpetrated over the last few years," another defector said. Constant oppression has turned the city into a time bomb that could blow up the Kim dynasty.
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09/03/2011 00:00 ||
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[Straits Times] The US$900,000 (S$1.08 million) in US aid for flood-hit North Korea that Washington announced last month will be delivered in the coming days, the US State Department said on Friday.
'A cargo plane of relief supplies is scheduled to arrive in Pyongyang over the weekend,' said front man Victoria Nuland in a statement.
'We will provide funds to the US non-governmental organization Samaritan's Purse for use in its flood relief efforts. US government assistance will consist solely of emergency relief supplies, such as blankets, soap, and hygiene kits,' she said.
No food mentioned -- let them eat soap?
The United States, Ms Nuland emphasised, 'remains deeply concerned about the well-being of the North Korean people, and this humanitarian assistance is not linked to any political or security issues'.
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09/03/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
dumbasses
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09/03/2011 1:05 Comments ||
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[Dawn] Militants who once attended a Hamburg mosque linked to the September 11, 2001 attacks have moved on to other mosques since last year when German police closed it due to renewed security concerns, a German intelligence official said.
About 20 former worshippers at the Taiba mosque, where the 9/11 leader Mohammad Atta once prayed, have now regrouped at the al-Taqwa mosque in the southern district of Harburg, said Manfred Murck, head of the Hamburg branch of Germany's domestic intelligence service.
About 20 to 30 others use other centres in more central districts, Murck, Head of the Hamburg State Office for the Protection of the Constitution, told Rooters, adding that the 40 or 50 were an ethnically varied group of north and west Africans, Arabs and Asians, among others.
Taiba drew fresh concern in mid-2010 when US intelligence picked up signs of a plot to stage attacks in Europe involving members of a group of 11 former worshippers at the mosque. They had left Hamburg in 2009 to fight against the United States and coalition forces in Afghanistan.
"We still have an eye on them," Murck said of the gunnies at Taiba who had since moved on to other mosques in Hamburg, a major port city where 27 percent of the population is foreign or has an immigrant background.
"We have to -- we think they are people who are still in favour of jihad," he said in an interview, adding he hoped that some in time would become "mainstream, normal Mohammedans and will give up being jihadists".
"Within a few months we noticed that one mosque in Harburg, in the southern part of Hamburg, is a place where we think less than half of them meet more or less every week," he said.
"There are about 20 of them meeting at the Taqwa mosque and another 20 to 30 are somewhere else."
Approached for comment, a man who emerged from Friday prayers at al-Taqwa, a small, ground floor prayer room on a quiet tree-lined street, angrily told Rooters there was nothing improper going on, he had nothing to say to journalists and would not answer questions. He did not give his name.
Hamburg residents said the mosque tended to be frequented by Salafis, followers of an ultra-conservative brand of Islam influenced by the Soddy Arabian Wahhabi strain of the religion.
Salafis are a minority among Germany's 4 million Mohammedans, but are becoming more assertive, sometimes straining ties with other Mohammedan communities seeking to integrate in Germany.
Germany has heightened surveillance on MohammedanDeath Eaters since it emerged that three of the suicide hijackers who led the Sept. 11 attacks against the United States had lived for years in the northern city of Hamburg.
German authorities say they are still worried about what they see as potential for a rise in beturbanned goon activity, pointing to Islamist commentators who cite Germany's military presence in Afghanistan as an incitement to Mohammedans.
In Hamburg, where Mohammedans make up about 5 percent of the 1.7million population, authorities beefed up security in July 2010, when a member of the 11-strong so-called "Hamburg Travel Group" held by US troops in Afghanistan in July 2010 revealed details of planned attacks on targets in Europe.
Hamburg police shut down Taiba, formerly known as the Al Quds Mosque, the following month, saying it had links with armed beturbanned goon groups in Pakistain and Afghanistan.
Of the 11, only eight ever made it to Pakistain. Two were believed killed in a drone attack. The others are variously jugged, living at liberty but under surveillance by the authorities in Germany, or have disappeared from view.
Germany has not suffered an attack by transnational jihadis but it has disrupted plots with overseas ties. There have also been attacks by gunnies apparently acting on their own.
On Wednesday, a 21-year-old Kosovo Albanian man confessed to shooting dead two US airmen and wounding two more at Frankfurt Airport in March, telling a court he was swayed by Islamist lies and could not undo what he had done.
Murck said he had no "concrete hints" a beturbanned goon attack was in the offing but he was studying whether plotters were planning an attack to take Dire Revenge™ for the killing by U.S. forces in May of al Qaeda leader the late Osama bin Laden ... who knows that it's like to live in the belly of a whale only he's not living... in Pakistain.
"We don't see this as an important question for (militants) people in Hamburg. A different question is what do some guys in Afghanistan or maybe Yemen think? Will they try to attack Germany or Hamburg because of this? That might be possible."
"One of the scenarios we have of a possible terrorist act in Germany has to do with people coming from the outside, perhaps with supporters in Germany. At the moment we don't have concrete hints that something like this is going on in the short term."
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09/03/2011 00:00 ||
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The eastern Mediterranean will no longer be a place where Israeli naval forces can freely exercise their "bullying" practices against civilian vessels, a Turkish official said Friday.
The official said this would be the outcome of Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu's statement earlier in the day that "Turkey would take every precaution it deems necessary for the safety of maritime navigation in the eastern Mediterranean."
Davutoğlu's statement about providing maritime safety in the eastern Mediterranean grabbed the most attention among the various sanctions against Israel the foreign minister announced Friday. He did not further elaborate, however, on what he meant by taking "every precaution."
The Turkish foreign minister's statement will likely spark a new face off between Turkey and Israel, the region's strongest armies, in the eastern Mediterranean. A potential confrontation between the two countries' navies would have serious negative consequences for regional stability.
Turkish diplomats told the Hürriyet Daily News that the Turkish Navy will be more visible in the eastern Mediterranean through regular patrolling in international waters. "A more aggressive strategy will be pursued. Israel will no longer be able to exercise its bullying practices freely," one said.
Using Turkish naval vessels to escort ships carrying aid to Palestine and observing free navigation in the zone between the island of Cyprus and Israel are among the plans set to be implemented, sources said, adding that Turkish war ships would be more frequently seen in the area.
The zone described by Turkish sources has been the subject of a recent diplomatic struggle between Turkey and Greek Cyprus over the latter's project to start drilling natural gas reserves. Greek Cyprus and Israel recently agreed to jointly initiate the drilling with the participation of some American companies.
Turkey sees the gas-exploration deal as an agreement between two hostile countries against Turkey and has urged both parties not to get involved in such a project before a solution is found to the Cyprus issue in order to preserve the stability of the eastern Mediterranean.
In an interview with daily Zaman on Friday, EU Minister Egemen Bağış hinted that Turkish Navy could intervene if Greek Cyprus does not call off the project. "That's what a navy is for," he said.
As part of Turkey's more aggressive strategy against Israel, sources told the Daily News that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is planning to visit Hamas-controlled Gaza in the coming weeks, an intention he voiced in late July.
"Our prime minister has already instructed the Foreign Ministry to set a date for the visit. We are looking for the best timing for the visit," a diplomatic source said. "Our primary purpose is to draw the world's attention to what is going on in Gaza and to push the international community to end the unfair embargo imposed by Israel."
#1
Wasn't it about a month ago when the Turkish government fired most of their senior military leadership? Dollars to donuts they have tried to replace those commanders with trusted Islamists, who know nothing about military operations, just like Iran did.
Makes you wonder how the rest of their military will respond when they are ordered to get slaughtered, based on some jive turkey civilian's sense of bushido?
Statement from Turkish embassy in Washington says Ankara will seek to prosecute Israeli soldiers, officials responsible for "crimes" committed during 'Marmara' raid.
"Turkey challenges certain conclusions of the Palmer Report, which we believe will not serve the goal of stability and peace, particularly in our region," Turkey's embassy said. "Turkey also reaffirms that relations between Turkey and Israel will not normalize as long as Israel does not apologize and refuses to pay compensation for what it has done."
[Dawn] The mystery of Shahbaz Taseer's kidnapping still remains unresolved as the police have failed to find and rescue the son of former Punjab governor Salman Taseer.
Taseer was kidnapped in Gulberg area of Lahore a week ago. The police launched raids and search operations to find him but without any success. The police also tossed in the calaboose two suspects but both of them were released later.
The Chief Minister of Punjab Shahbaz Sharif ordered the CCPO Lahore to find Taseer. The CCPO has vowed to look into the matter himself but without any success.
The kidnappers have still not contacted his relatives nor have they made any demands. According to police sources the matter is in slow progress due to Eid holidays of the police staff.
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09/03/2011 00:00 ||
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BAGHDAD: Iran has denied sending weapons for terrorists in Iraq, according to a statement on Thursday by the Chairman of the Iranian Islamic Shoura Councils Secret Police Internal Security Committee, according to the semi-official Iranian Mehr news agency.
America is not afraid of our weapons, but of the roots of the Islamic Revolutionary Thought, Parviz Sirouri told Mehr news agency, adding that the US cant find a single evidence for its claim.
Sirouri said that the U.S. charges were baseless and had been announced at a time when weapons were being sent to Syria, across the Iraqi-Syrian borders, that are supposed to be under observation by the American forces, whilst America is also closing eyes towards the weapons entering Syria from the Lebanese territories.
Iraqis dont need weapons, but they need the Islamic Revolutionary Thought, which is present in Iraq nowadays, he added. And they don't need any other thoughts, eh...
Answering a question about the reason for the escalation of the terrorist acts in Iraq over the past short period, Sirouri said: America is trying to stay in Iraq and to escape its commitments to withdraw from that country, that is why it is trying to show that the situation in Iraq is not stable and needs the extension of its troops presence for a longer time.
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Original headline: Netanyahu a YouTube favorite in the Arab world
Egypt and Soddy Arabia are following Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu closely on YouTube according to data published by the Prime Minister's Office.
A report to mark the first year of operations of the PMO's social media channels found that 18% of surfers who have watched YouTube video clips of Netanyahu are from Egypt, second only to the US (23.4%). The figures also show that Israel only comes in third place, with 15% of total viewers. Surfers from Soddy Arabia made up 11% of viewers.
There are 100 video clips on Netanyahu's YouTube channel;
Perhaps one of you would be so kinds as to post a link to the channel according? Thank you!
to the Prime Minister's Office statistics, which has so far had 290,000 viewings, 20% from mobile handsets. The most viewed clip on the channel is Netanyahu's Ramadan greetings, which received 80,000 hits, 60% from Arab countries.
Egypt and Soddy Arabia are following Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu closely on YouTube according to data published by the Prime Minister's Office.
A report to mark the first year of operations of the PMO's social media channels found that 18% of surfers who have watched YouTube video clips of Netanyahu are from Egypt, second only to the US (23.4%). The figures also show that Israel only comes in third place, with 15% of total viewers. Surfers from Soddy Arabia made up 11% of viewers.
There are 100 video clips on Netanyahu's YouTube channel; according to the Prime Minister's Office statistics, which has so far had 290,000 viewings, 20% from mobile handsets. The most viewed clip on the channel is Netanyahu's Ramadan greetings, which received 80,000 hits, 60% from Arab countries.
Egyptians are also very active on Netanyahu's Facebook page and Twitter account, the status of which is many times presented in Arabic along witih Hebrew and English. Netanyahu's Facebook page has 17,400 friends, 52% of which are men.
More than 10,000 surfers, who follow Netanyahu on Twitter, have tweeted 770 times this past year. According to data from the Prime Minister's Office and Twitter Analytics, the US is leading considerably in the number of surfers who follow Netanyahu, with New York, the leading state.
Israel is second, followed by the UK, Canada, Germany, Egypt, and Brazil.
(Ma'an) -- The Paleostinian Authority has rejected the French prime minister's suggestion that a Paleostinian state should take observer status in the UN like the Vatican.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Riyad Al-Malki told Ma'an that the suggestion was unacceptable because if the Paleostinians wanted to be like the Vatican, an observer, they could have updated their status at any time.
The Paleostinians insist on full membership because the majority of countries in the General Assembly support Paleostine, Al-Malki said denying the possibility of cancelling the bid in light of US threats.
He added that "there are 20 days before the president hands in the membership application to the secretary-general of the United Nations ...an organization which on balance has done more bad than good, with the good not done well and the bad done thoroughly....
"But we will see what developments can happen that make us consider our options especially that there is a meeting today in Poland for the EU's foreign ministers and what their suggestions would be."
He added that "There will be a number of forums until the 20th and we'll study them all to see if they serve the Paleostinian cause; but if not, we'll continue to the Security Council."
The minister added that there is a meeting for the Arab League ...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing... leadership on Sept. 13, when Paleostine will be handed the presidency of the council for six months.
Just like they were a real country.
A PLO official, meanwhile, said that the Paleostinian leadership would continue its "political battle" at the UN even if the upcoming September bid fails.
PLO executive committee member Saleh Rafat said that if the US vetoes Paleostine's UN bid for statehood in September, "we will go back again, and five times more" with initiatives for UN recognition.
Speaking to Voice of Paleostine radio on Wednesday, Rafat insisted that threats from Israel could not frighten the Paleostinian leadership and people out of their determination.
Israeli Infrastructure Minister Uzi Landau warned earlier that the UN bid would nullify Israel's agreements with Paleostinians and called for Israel to "impose our illusory sovereignty on territories over which there is consensus -- that is, in the Jordan Valley and the major settlement blocs, and even more."
Israel has already undermined the Oslo Accords which formed the basis of limited self-rule for the Paleostinian Authority, Rafat said.
"We will continue our struggle against the occupation and our fight in all the international forums until the Israeli occupation ends and the establishment of an independent state," the PLO official vowed.
Rafat also called for a cross-factional meeting to encourage implementation of May's reconciliation deal between former rivals Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, and Fatah, which sought to end the four-year divide between their ruling governments in the West Bank and Gazoo Strip.
Fatah and Hamas officials had announced in August that work towards implementing the deal would begin after the Eid al-Fitr holiday, which concluded Thursday.
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Despite Turkey's decision to downgrade diplomatic ties with Israel and freeze all military agreements, a senior government official said Friday afternoon Israel would not apologize to Turkey over the Mavi Marmara incident.
The official said that as recommended by the Palmer Commission report, Israel "again expresses its regret for the loss of life, but will not apologize for actions of self defense taken by its soldiers."
The oft-delayed Palmer Commission report upheld the legality of Israel's naval blockade and right to intercept vessels trying to break it, and also said there was no humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
The oft-delayed Palmer Commission report upheld the legality of Israel's naval blockade and right to intercept vessels trying to break it, and also said there was no humanitarian crisis in Gazoo. At the same time the report said the IDF, which it acknowledged came under pre-meditated violence by IHH activists on the ship, used "unreasonable" and "excessive" force.
Regarding Turkey's decision to expel Israel's envoy to Ankara, the official said the ambassador -- Gabi Levy -- had already finished his tenure in Ankara, had taken leave of his Turkish counterparts in Ankara, and was returning to Israel in the coming days. No replacement for Levy, whose retirement from the Foreign Ministry has been known for months, was ever named.
Referring to one of the five measures that Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said at a press conference Friday that Ankara would take against Israel -- take measures for freedom of maritime movement in the eastern Mediterranean Sea -- the official said that Israel hoped Turkey would "honor international law" in all matters regarding maritime traffic in the Mediterranean.
"Arrrgh! We be Turkish pirates, marauding the Mediterranean!"
"Hmm, so you are. Ari, show him what a rabbinic student with a brand new anti-ship laser can do. Feel free to be artistic."
The other measures he said Turkey would take included downgrading diplomatic ties with Israel; freezing all military agreements;
Treads falling off Turkish tanks, engines falling off Turkish airplanes, all for lack of Israeli parts. Perhaps they can try sourcing from China -- who'll make anything for the discriminating buyer. In the meantime, Israel has found new friends and customers, and doesn't care that Turkey is hyperventilating about those uppity Juices.
no longer recognizing the Gaza blockade
We've seen how well that has worked so far...
and taking the issue to the International Court of Justice;
Opening arguments to be scheduled for 2052.
and supporting "flotilla victims" who will take the matter to court.
#3
Javelins, HOTs, TOWs, and a few thousand RPGs and AKs with ammunition would have a very nasty effect on Turkish security in the border zone with Iraq, if the Kurds happened to come across them. And the Greeks have to be smiling about this: all through the Cold War, we propped up the Turks because they were seriously anti-communists and seriously Kemalists, and now with the Islamic party running the country, all of that is gone. And Greece is in the position of gaining all of the military advantages that the US and Israel have to offer because of Turkish stupidity.
[Iran Press TV] A senior commander of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) says any act of aggression from the enemy will be met with a crushing response.
"If the enemies commit the folly and in their hallucination think of violating the sacred borders of our beloved country, Islamic Iran will turn into hell for them on land, at sea and in the air," IRNA quoted IRGC Air Defense Commander Brigadier General Farzad Esmaili as saying on Friday.
The Iranian Armed Forces will foil any enemy attempt to deal a blow to the country's Islamic establishment, Esmaili vowed.
The warning comes two days after remarks made by the French President Nicolas Sarkozy ...23rd and current President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra. Sarkozy is married to singer-songwriter Carla Bruni, who has a really nice birthday suit... , who said Iran's alleged attempts to build long-range missiles and "nuclear weapons" could lead unnamed countries to launch a pre-emptive attack.
On Thursday, Iranian Foreign Ministry's Director General for Western Europe Affairs Hassan Tajik said, "Any remark based on unrealistic data can provide grounds for destabilization of the region and we recommend that such remarks be avoided."
Tajik also cited the ineffective International Atomic Energy Agency's reports confirming non-military nature of Iran's nuclear program
In June 2010, the UN Security Council imposed a fourth round of sanctions on Iran under pressure from the United States and Israel. The restrictive measures were soon topped by greater unilateral sanctions by the US and the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... which targeted Iran's gas and oil sectors.
Esmaili downplayed the sanctions imposed against the Islamic Theocratic Republic by the United States and its Western allies, saying that the Iranian nations had turned threats into an opportunity to prosper and achieve independence.
He also hailed Iran's air defense achievements, saying that this sector has achieved self-sufficiency in repairing and maintaining all its systems and is designing various strategic radar and missile systems.
"Among these systems is a strategic long-range radar system, which is capable of monitoring any activity by the sworn enemies of the country," he added.
Building long and mid-range missile systems and designing active and passive sensors of various frequencies for reconnaissance operations are other measures in this regard.
The commander of the Khatam al-Anbiya Air Defense Base said the center's experts are working on a domestic integrated commanding network which is highly resistant against electronic and intelligence warfare.
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09/03/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
It appears "Baghdad" Bob has found a new home and job.
#3
These new weapons systems fit right in with the Iranian push: after all, they were able to reverse-engineering an F-5, with a couple of hundred copies on hand; and making it about as effective as the first American model with 1950s technology. Prototypes and vaporware are what Tehran is good at making, along with sending the mentally retarded out as human bombs.
#4
As per TOPIX, ARMENIA is repor getting RUSS S-400S ADS.
Lest we fergit, CHRISTIAN ARMENIA is aka SHIA IRAN'S PARTNER = "ALLY", + whom Russia has times stated will milpol back up Armenia in any war wid MUSLIM AZERBAIJAN [Israel] over Nagorno-Karabakh.
Again, as per the various on-going "ARAB SPRINGS" = POLITICAL-LEGAL JIHAD, iff Radical Islam comes to effec takeover + control the Govts + NucProgs of former pro-US Govts-States in the ME, Persian Gulf, + Africa, etc. + IMPOSE DEDICATED ANTI-US/WESTERN, NUCLEAR "ISLAMIC STATES" [Nuke Rogues?], AN ANTI-US "NUCLEAR IRAN" WILL MERELY BE ONE HEADACHE OF MANY FOR THE US.
Pragmatically, the US = US-NATO/EU, Allied may all but absolut lose its ability to project power in the ME + Persian Gulf thru West Asia, WEst Indian Ocean. THE ECON TROUBLED US-NATO IN LT MAY HAVE TO HAUL ITS MILFORS, AIR, + LOGISTICS "THE LONG WAY AROUND" DUE TO THE LOSS OF MAJOR STAGING AREAS + THE ISLAMIC LRBM THREAT.
Once again, NOSTRADAMUS + "AMER DUNKIRK" = " ... UNTIL THE SEVEN/SEVENTH HOLDS THE LINE".
[An Nahar] The U.N. nuclear agency said Wednesday it is "increasingly concerned" about a stream of intelligence information suggesting that Iran continues to work secretly on developing a nuclear payload for a missile and other components of a nuclear weapons program.
In its report, the ineffective International Atomic Energy Agency said "many member states" are providing evidence for that assessment, describing the information it is receiving as credible, "extensive and comprehensive."
The report was made available Friday to The News Agency that Dare Not be Named, shortly after being shared internally with the 35 IAEA member nations and the U.N. Security Council. It also said Tehran has fulfilled a promise made earlier this year and started installing equipment to enrich uranium at a new location -- an underground bunker that is better protected from air attack than its present enrichment facilities.
Enrichment can produce both nuclear fuel and fissile warhead material, and Tehran -- which says it wants only to produce fuel with the technology -- is under four sets of U.N. Security Council sanctions for refusing to freeze enrichment, which it says it needs for fuel only.
It also denies secretly experimenting with a nuclear weapons program and has blocked a four-year attempt by the IAEA to follow up on intelligence that it secretly designed blueprints linked to a nuclear payload on a missile, experimented with exploding a nuclear charged, and conducted work on other components of a weapons program.
In a 2007 estimate, the U.S. intelligence community said that while Iran had worked on a weapons program such activities appeared to have ceased in 2003. But diplomats say a later intelligence summary avoided such specifics, and recent IAEA reports on the topic have expressed growing unease that such activities may be continuing.
The phrase "increasingly concerned" has not appeared in previous reports discussing Iran's alleged nuclear weapons work and reflects the frustration felt by IAEA chief Yukiya Amano over the lack of progress in his investigations.
His report said the increased concern is due to the "possible existence in Iran of past or current undisclosed nuclear related activities" linked to weapons work. In particular, said the report, the agency continues to receive new information about "activities related to the development of a nuclear payload for a missile."
Acquired from "many" member states, the information possessed by the IAEA is "extensive and comprehensive ... (and) broadly consistent and credible," said the report.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/03/2011 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
See also FREEREPUBLIC > IRAN SEEKS ITS PLACE AS A GLOBAL MISSLE POWER.
OOOOOOOOO, you just knew they would.
[Sexy slinky KELLY "THE HELL YOU SAY" BUNDY here].
[Iran Press TV] ineffective International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Yukiya Amano's latest report has confirmed that Iran's civilian nuclear activities are transparent and have not been diverted, Iran's ambassador to the IAEA says, Press TV reports.
"The director general's report on Iran, as well as reiterating the important message that no deviation of any kind has been observed in the nuclear activities, contains new positive facts," Ali Asghar Soltanieh said on Friday.
He stated that the most notable of the positive points mentions "the positive steps of the Islamic Theocratic Republic of Iran in line with cooperation and transparency."
"The cooperation of our country in the provision of information and clearing up ambiguities and responding to some of the questions has clearly been mentioned in this report," Soltanieh added.
The Iranian ambassador to the IAEA said the report has more positive sections and thus is a step forward.
On June 9, 2010, the UN Security Council imposed a fourth round of US-engineered sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program, while the United States and the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... have taken unilateral measures against the Islamic Theocratic Republic.
Iran has always asserted that as a member of the IAEA and a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, it has the right to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes such as electricity generation and medical treatment.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/03/2011 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
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
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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.
Sifting through intelligence documents found in Tripoli, pan-Arab news network 
Former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo used a private visit to Sierra Leone to condemn international action against Libya's Muammar 
[Straits Times] The US$900,000 (S$1.08 million) in US aid for flood-hit 
The mystery of Shahbaz Taseer's kidnapping still remains unresolved as the police have failed to find and rescue the son of former 
A senior commander of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) says any act of aggression from the enemy will be met with a crushing response.
[An Nahar] The U.N. nuclear agency said Wednesday it is "increasingly concerned" about a stream of intelligence information suggesting that Iran continues to work secretly on developing a nuclear payload for a missile and other components of a nuclear weapons program.
