[Tolo News] Karzai's decision to disband Nato's provincial reconstruction teams has caused widespread concerns among experts and activists in Afghanistan.
Some Afghan activists described President Karzai's new suggestion about disbandment of Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRT) as premature and devastating.
At Munich Security Conference, President Hamid Maybe I'll join the Taliban Karzai emphasised on a need to dissolve all private security firms and said provincial reconstruction teams should end their missions in Afghanistan.
President Karzai described provincial reconstruction teams as immense challenge facing the Afghan government, the New York Times reported.
According to New York Times Karzai has come up with the decision because donor countries directly support PRTs.
Admiral James Stavridis, Nato's Supreme Allied Commander for Europe, opposed Karzai's claim and said the teams pose no problems to the Afghan government.
Western countries have been doubtful about Karzai's potential to fight corruption in his government system, the New York Times said.
President Karzai's decision on PRTs is seen as clearly indicating that the presence of international community hugely threatens his authorities.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/09/2011 00:00 ||
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[Tolo News] Abdullah, leader of the opposition party, Tuesday slammed President Karzai's comments about disbandment of Provincial Reconstruction Teams.
He called PRTs as a "serious need" in Afghan community.
Abdullah, Leader of the Change and Hope Party, warned that Afghan cops wouldn't be able to ensure security by 2014 if the security situation continues to be the same.
President Karzai at a news conference on Tuesday once again highlighted the need for removal of provincial reconstruction teams that are functioning under Isaf in different provinces.
While hailing the teams for their service to the Afghan community in different parts, Abdullah said they are playing a key role in reconstruction and rehabilitation in the country.
"At a time when the government is unable to deliver basic services to people we should use this means to build fundamentals and to improve Afghanistan," Abdullah told TOLOnews.
Abdullah warned that following withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan, the Taliban would return back to Afghanistan.
"I'm sure that Afghanistan would not let wars happen again and we have become much more conscious compared to the past," Karzai said.
"Afghans have a characteristic that other people don't have and that is courage. We are brave and our forces could save their soil and homeland."
The comments came as President B.O. said during his state of the union address in US congress that the US forces will begin to withdraw from Afghanistan by July this year.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/09/2011 00:00 ||
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[Tolo News] Afghan High Peace Council has asked the United States to free a top Taliban leader who is in US custody in Guantanamo Bay, the Daily Telegraph reported.
The demand for the release of top Taliban leader Khairullah Khairkhah is the first ever formal recommendation made by the peace council.
Khairkhah had held key posts during the Taliban regime including interior minister and governor of eastern Herat, an income producing province.
US lawyers claimed that Khairkhah was a top commander, bad boy and having close ties with al-Qaeda's leader Osama bin Laden.
Guantanamo Bay prisoners are expected to play a crucial role to Afghan government's peace efforts.
A written request has been delivered to the US and President Karzai requesting the release of Khairkhah and Mullah Arsala Rahmani, a senator and former Taliban minister, said the Daily Telegraph.
"Khairkhah was an important man for the Taliban and his release would show the Americans are serious about negotiation. He is a good man and is well respected among the Taliban," Mullah Rahmani was quoted as saying in the Daily Telegraph.
Afghanistan's Caped PresidentHamid Maybe I'll join the Taliban Karzai at a presser on Tuesday said if Khairkhah is ready to reconcile with the government, we will discuss his release.
"If Khairkhah wants to make peace, we will welcome him. We will make contacts and discuss his release," President Karzai said while addressing news hounds.
The United States had previously backed Afghan peace efforts to convince faceless myrmidons to join the grinding of the peace processor.
But release of Guantanamo prisoners was not part of the US support, it said.
One member of the Taliban council has said they are not opposed to negotiation, but first want safe conduct, prisoners released and names removed from blacklist.
Khairkhah's prosecutors acknowledged the request.
After being jugged in Pakistain in 2002, Khairkhah is in the US custody for over eight years.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/09/2011 00:00 ||
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#2
"These demands are not open to negotiation or discussion. The Taliban must act, and act immediately. They will hand over the terrorists, or by releasing good and well respected Taliban we will show the world that we're serious about negotiations they will share in their fate."
George W. Bush, Statement To Joint Session Of Congress September 20th 2001
Assessing the present situation in light of the above statement, would it be wrong to conclude that the West is being defeated by Afghanistan?
Posted by: Caesar Fleaque2608 ||
02/09/2011 3:22 Comments ||
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No, it only defeats itself. Notice the lesson from Iraq - you can't build a nation, till you gravely incapacitate the enemy. Just smile nicely to the likes of Karzai, ignore'em, and continue doing what ever you need to achieve the destruction of the enemy. What are they going to do? Join the enemy? That'll just make the targeting easier.
#5
In the production of foie gras, a device called a gavage is inserted in the mouth of the goose with a tube that runs to its stomach. Great amounts of food are pumped through the gavage, inducing obesity and a fatty liver in the goose.
A similar technique used at Gitmo could produce prisoners that look much like Manuel Uribe. In such a condition, they could safely be returned to Afghanistan.
Even if they lost all that weight, they would walk around with a tent of flabby skin around their body.
THE Defence Force has plans to reduce troop numbers in Afghanistan in what would be a significant shift to Australia's commitment to the war, Fairfax newspapers have reported.
According to the report, unnamed Defence sources said the troop draw-down would almost certainly begin this year. It will be achieved at least partly by sending a smaller force to replace the mentoring taskforce now in Afghanistan's Oruzgan province, the sources said.
While any draw-down would be determined by on-the-ground conditions, there was a political need to cut numbers, which would initially fall by about a quarter, they told Fairfax. The sources said contingency plans have been drawn up to reduce Australian troop numbers as early as next month.
Some sources said the troop cut was a result of reduced funding exacerbated by the relief operations in the wake of Cyclone Yasi and the Queensland floods.
Under the reported plans Australia would withdraw troops from eight of 11 bases in the network of valleys dissecting Oruzgan and hand them over to the Afghan National Army.
The Afghanistan war has become increasing unpopular as the death and injury toll has increased, and the Defence plan could drive a wedge between Australia and its US allies, Fairfax reported.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/09/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Caution, Fairfax Press is involved, quoting unnamed sources. Confirmation from credible sources is needed.
Posted by: Grunter in Sydney ||
02/09/2011 2:03 Comments ||
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The Defence Minister, Stephen Smith, a decent enough bloke, says that this is the first he has heard of it, and the Chief of the Defence Force hasn't heard of it either.
Fairfax went over to the dark side of the force long ago.
His name stood out. There among the list of opposition groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood and Wafd and Tagammu parties that were meeting with Egyptian Vice-President Omar Suleiman on Sunday, it appeared: also attending was Naguib Sawiris.
What was the telecom billionaire the man financing upstart Canadian wireless provider Wind Mobile and Egypts richest person doing in a meeting discussing how the country could get out of its current political crisis?
Mr. Sawiris, whose investment in a start-up mobile-phone company sparked a highly charged debate on foreign ownership rules in Canada, leads a group of businessmen and other prominent Egyptians seeking middle ground between the opposing sides in the crisis.
While some of the harder-core protest leaders see the plan as a way to divide the opposition and weaken it, others see the groups proposal to allow Mr. Mubarak to remain as President, but to cede much of his authority to Mr. Suleiman, as a compromise way out of the crisis.
Mr. Sawiris, executive chairman of Orascom Telecom Holding SAE, became remarkably rich during the Mubarak years, but his sympathies are not with the President. He is appalled at the amount of corruption he encountered, said a businessman who knows him well. More
[Maghrebia] As a wave of protests is sweeping North Africa, many Moroccans wonder if similar events will occur in the Kingdom.
The apprehension is palpable. A youth movement, "Liberty and Democracy Now", used Facebook to send out calls for peaceful demonstrations across the country on February 20th.
It is time for an independent commission to carry out a comprehensive reform of the constitution, according to their statement. The group members also called for the dissolution of Parliament, creation of a transitional government until a new constitution is drafted and the release of political prisoners.
The demands also include socio-economic rights, such as the creation of an unemployment compensation fund.
The public is divided between those who want to bring about change to the political system through peaceful means and those who fear the repercussions of such actions.
"We have the freedom to demonstrate and multi-party democracy," said student Fouad Zouahiri. "Of course, not everything is perfect. We need to open up a national dialogue to get over the obstacles."
The political system in the Kingdom is more open that those in Tunisia and Egypt, Zouhairi argued.
"The government doesn't really govern; Parliament doesn't really exercise its powers," countered Selham B. "We need a new regime with proper institutions. Constitutional reform is a necessity. First of all, we need to look again at the power exercised by the King."
According to sociologist Ali Chaâbi, Morocco is unlikely to experience events akin to the Algeria unrest or the Tunisian revolution.
"Young Moroccans do not currently have a strong political conscience, like in Tunisia, nor a particularly strong attachment to the country," he told Magharebia. "Those many people who want to immigrate are not prepared to make concessions to have the situation change."
Among policy-makers, the reaction is positive. According to Communication Minister Khalid Naciri, the government views calls for protests calmly.
"Morocco is a country which has long been engaged in an irreversible process of democracy and opening up personal freedoms. If people want to express themselves freely, we have no problem with it, as long as it is done with full respect for the supreme and vital interests and established values of our country. We have no reason to think it could be any other way," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/09/2011 00:00 ||
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[Asharq al-Aswat] Egypt has a plan and timetable for the peaceful transfer of power, the vice president said on Tuesday, as protesters called more demonstrations hoping to show their campaign to oust geriatric President Hosni Mubarak remains potent. "Sure. Hosni dies, power moves on to the next guy..."
With signs growing the government may be gaining the upper hand in the struggle for power, Vice President Omar Suleiman also promised no reprisals against the protesters for their two-week campaign to eject Mubarak after 30 years in office.
"A clear road map has been put in place with a set timetable to realize the peaceful and organized transfer of power," said Suleiman, Mubarak's long-time intelligence chief who has led talks with opposition groups including the Mohammedan Brotherhood -- Mubarak's sworn enemy.
So far the government has conceded little ground in the talks. The embattled 82-year-old president, who has promised to stand down when his term expires in September, appears to be weathering the storm engulfing Egypt, at least for the moment.
Negotiations that brought together the government and opposition factions took place this week under the gaze of a giant portrait of Mubarak.
"The president welcomed the national consensus, confirming that we are putting our feet on the right path to getting out of the current crisis," Suleiman said in comments broadcast by state television, after briefing Mubarak on the talks.
Hundreds of thousands have joined previous demonstrations and the United Nations, aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society says 300 people may have died so far. But many in a country where about 40 percent of people live on less than $2 a day are desperate to return to work and normal life, even some of those wanting to oust Mubarak.
Some normality is returning to Cairo. Traffic was bumper to bumper in the city center on Tuesday and queues quickly built up at banks, which are still open only for restricted hours.
While opposition groups talk to Suleiman, mainly younger protesters called for a push to remove Mubarak as the authorities tried to squeeze them out of central Cairo.
Suleiman promised that the harassment of protesters would end. "The president emphasized that Egypt's youth deserve the appreciation of the nation and issued a directive to prevent them being pursued, harassed or having their right to freedom of expression taken away," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/09/2011 00:00 ||
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British Foreign Secretary William Hague on Wednesday warned that "belligerent" Israel should tame its rhetoric and said unrest in Arab countries may hinder the peace process. "O is my basnet a widow's curch?
Or my lance the Wand o' the willow tree?
And is my hand a lady's lilly hand,
That this English lord dhimmi dog should lightly me?"
#1
Should a future fully islamofascistic Egypt remilitarize Sinai in violation of treaty obligations Israel would be subjected to overwhelming diplomatic pressure to hold still.
The 'international community' has systematically delegitimized Israeli defense of any kind and will continue to do so.
Israel is expected to remain passive in the face of attacks on its own territory, so an Israeli military reaction to Egypt operating on Egyptian territory would not be well received.
The Camp David Accords might actually offer little security to Israel, at least in the current international political environment.
Posted by: Caesar Fleaque2608 ||
02/09/2011 3:36 Comments ||
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Well, GOD Loves Israel, so maybe it's time for the big battle to get the world to walk the line again.
#3
Well, GOD Loves Israel, so maybe it's time for the big battle to get the world to walk the line again.
God helps those who help themselves, newc. Of course, it greatly helps Israel's survival that God gave her the Arabs (and Iranians) as enemies. The IDF has already begun moving units to the Sinai against future need, and they've altered their planning to assume another all-out war.
What Israel will need to do is to tell the British Foreign Secretary and all his little friends to shut the fuck up about matters that don't concern them. In English, so they'll be sure to understand.
This is certainly a high-water mark - an utterance so far divorced from modern realities and so monumentally stupid as to cause our own tw to emit unlady-like curses. Well done, Mr. Hague; moronitude of the first water. Color me impressed! And yeah, what she said.
#11
Maybe, TW, we should be a bit more diplomatic to the Foreign Secretary, by saying, "sod off," instead of STFU. It's only good manners.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
02/09/2011 21:35 Comments ||
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Y'all are delightful and I adore you! I don't view strong language as unladylike or ungentlemanly, but simply as rhetorical reserve ammunition for the strongest circumstances. Which this is -- as someone said, they're trying to make it impossible for Israel to defend herself.
Steps to combat rise of radicalism in universities
The government has already started to withdraw state cash from what it regards as suspect Islamist groups that had previously been funded to reach young Muslims at risk of being drawn to terrorist networks. New, tougher criteria are being applied, with hundreds of thousands of pounds being withdrawn from specific groups after it was deemed they were too soft on Islamic extremism.
Ministers are also awaiting a report in the next fortnight from a Universities UK working group, which has been in preparation for a year, on how to combat Islamic extremism on university campuses.
The working group, including eight vice-chancellors, was established in response to the arrest of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab in the US for an attempted act of terrorism. Abdulmutallab studied at University College London between 2005 and 2008.
The report is likely to call for greater rigour in the selection of speakers and stronger oversight of religious societies. University vice-chancellors have been accused by thinktanks such as Quilliam, a Muslim counter-extremist group, of being complacent about the radicalisation that is taking place in higher education.
Today, it was being stressed by the government that David Cameron's call for a more "muscular liberalism" to combat home-grown terror, made in a speech in Munich on Saturday, was not simply rhetorical. It would lead to practical changes, including the wholesale review of the Prevent strategy set up by Labour.
One outcome is likely to lead to a greater focus on specific areas where propagandists for terrorism are known to be operating, including community centres and gyms. There is also expected to be a clearer separation of resources to fight terrorism, and general community cohesion work.
One government source said: "There is going to be a real shift in who we fund and who ministers share platforms with. It has already started. There used to be a view in the home office that the best way to engage dangerous people was through some people who were not themselves extremists, but shared much of their thinking . We think it is better to confront all forms of extremism -- the kind of people that support Jihad abroad, but say no Jihad here, or at least not now."
The "British values" set out by Cameron in his speech -- freedom of speech, freedom of speech and equality between sexes -- will be the criteria by which the government will engage in future.
Haras Rafiq, director of anti-extremist organisation Centri, said he fully supported the prime minister's call for a ban on the public funding of Muslim groups that did little to tackle extremism. He blamed some of the current misdirection of funds on failings by the Prevent programme, which has spent £53m on more than 1,000 counter-terrorism projects since it was set up in 2007 in the wake of the 7/7 London bombings.
Rafiq said: "A lot of funding is going to groups that hold vile views that are not acceptable in a tolerant, liberal society like the UK. Some support suicide bombing, attacks on British troops in Iraq or Afghanistan and other forms of violent extremism, but they are supported by the government so long as they don't support violence in the UK -- even where they support unacceptable domestic policies like saying it's wrong for Muslims to vote or it's sinful for a woman to get into a taxi alone with a man she's not related to. But my biggest concern is that by funding and promoting fringe elements within British Muslim society, it is tarnishing the whole Muslim community."
But Mohammed Shafiq of the Ramadhan Foundation, a Muslim youth group, said Cameron had been "deeply irresponsible" to suggest that some publicly-funded groups did little to tackle extremism.
"Where are these Muslim organisations that support extremism? I don't believe they exist, and if the prime minister believes otherwise he should have the confidence to name them." Farooq Murad, secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain, said it was important to identify which groups Cameron had been referring to. "The MCB itself, though not in receipt of government funding, has consistently spoken in favour of British values that acknowledge universal human rights and pluralism," said Murad.
No shadow ministers today followed shadow justice secretary, Sadiq Khan, in claiming David Cameron was involved in "writing propaganda for the EDL" on the day 3,000 English Defence League members held a rally in Luton. Yvette Cooper said Cameron was "unwise" not to have also criticised the EDL, but foreign secretary William Hague said a PM's speech should not be shelved "because some people have chosen to march down a street". Lemme know when Anjem Choudray "falls" in front of an Underground train. Then maybe I'll take this seriously. I'd settle for all his wives being taken off benefits and deported... Continued on Page 49
North Korea's 200,000-strong special forces are divided into 60,000 troops assigned to special missions and 140,000 light infantry troops, the commander of the U.S Forces Korea told South Korean lawmakers Tuesday. Gen. Walter Sharp was speaking in a meeting with the National Assembly's Defense Committee.
"The 60,000 troops Sharp referred to are elite special operations squads capable of carrying out highly complicated missions such as the sinking of the South Korean Navy corvette Cheonan, while the 140,000 light infantry troops probably either support the crack units or engage in special operations that we know about such as infiltrating behind enemy lines," said a member of the committee.
Another said the light infantry troops are similar to South Korea's special forces and if Sharp's comments are correct "the North probably has 140,000 special forces that are equivalent to ours and 60,000 more soldiers who are capable of even more difficult missions." The lawmaker added, "This means that North Korea's special forces are far more powerful than we thought."
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/09/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
ION TOPIX > [SoKor = ROK Air Force] SECRET BOMBS TO NEUTRALIZE NORTH KOREA ARTILLERY. Super-techy bombs for ROK Strike Aircraft to make a Korean Techno-Geek = Anime' proud.
The T&A has told members of Congress that more than 15 million passengers received full-body scans at airports without any malfunctions that put travelers at risk of an excessive radiation dose. Not that they know of. And never mind the idea that if the radiation doesn't penetrate the skin that it means that the entire dose of radiation is dumped into a very thin layer of skin. No increased risk of melanoma there, of course.
Despite the reassurance, however, the TSA has yet to release radiation inspection reports for its X-ray equipment two months after lawmakers called for them to be made public following USA TODAY's requests to review the reports. Maybe the dog ate their homework.
TSA spokesman Kristin Lee says that the agency is still trying to ensure that the reports don't contain any "sensitive security or privacy-protected information" and that she expects they will be released "within the next few weeks." Why not just have Janet read it?
The chairman of a House oversight committee on homeland defense calls the delays "inexcusable." Since when does shame stop the T&A?
"The public has a right to know, and there isn't something so sensitive that requires holding it back," said Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah. Chaffetz has sponsored legislation to limit the use of full-body scans. Hey, didn't you get the memo? The public only have rights as long as they don't interfere with the state's job of being a nanny.
The TSA's increased use of full-body X-ray scanners sparked traveler concerns last fall about radiation safety. The TSA says the radiation dose is tiny equivalent to what a person receives during two minutes inside an airplane at cruising altitude. Somehow, I just don't believe it.
And besides, I'm more worried about my government bloating out of control than I am about dying of skin cancer.
Sees the sweet reason-embracing group as the best example of untrammelled democracy in the middle East. No mention that they are doing their damnedest to prevent any new elections now that they more or less control Gaza.
"Dirka, dirka jihad" pretender meets "a pack, not a herd" -- on 4Chan, not exactly angels in white -- and is very sorry... without having gotten further than tough talk and kiddie pictures. Even our dregs of society are better than theirs. Well done, all!
Posted by: JT ||
02/09/2011 00:00 ||
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Summary: Muslim college brat goes on 4Chan (which shelters pedophile photo exchanges, pro-WikiLeaks DOS attackers, and that kid who hacked then VP candidate Sarah Palin's personal email account), downloads kiddie porn and boasts that he is going to shoot 500 people at his college next week. At least two 4Chan-ers contacted the FBI, which arrested our boy post-haste. When convicted, he faces jail and a serious fine.
#4
I mean, I just couldn't make sense of the headline - and then the inline text is cryptic as well. "Dirka, dirka jihad" pretender meets "a pack, not a herd"? WTF does that mean? The whole thing sounds like it was written by an insider, for insiders.
#5
Not entirely true. 4chan officially prohibits CP, and bans any user involved with it through them. Because of this, there are dozens of unconnected spin-offs of 4chan that are used for CP and other things.
And the /b/tards have contributed a lot to the Internet, such as lolcats, Rick Rolling, the Encyclopedia Dramatica, and a major organization opposed to Scientology.
In past they have taken down pedophiles, animal abusers, copyright enforcement groups such as ACS:LAW, and other bullies who use the Internet.
Anonymous, which is a non-group group with no leaders, often act like an Internet lynch mob, and often to those who richly deserve it. And in a few cases, they were able to muster a LOT of money for deserving poor people who needed organ transplants and things like that.
All told, a mixed bag. Anonymous is certainly not to be trifled with. Most recently, some private security firm tried to make a name for itself by identifying Anonymous members to the FBI, and they did such a poor job of it that Anonymous had to intervene, expose and possibly ruin the company, and inform and prove to the FBI that the data was bad and should not be incorporated into their systems.
Maybe they can locate Obama's long form Birth Certificate and his college applications/transcripts...or something.
Posted by: Secret Asian Man ||
02/09/2011 19:08 Comments ||
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#7
The whole thing sounds like it was written by an insider, for insiders.
My attempts at humour clearly don't always connect, gromky. First reference was to Team America: World Police, the second to how Americans on 9/11 became a wolf pack, not a sheep herd to be preyed on by terrorist hijackers.
Anonymoose, it doesn't matter if 4chan officially prohibits kiddie photos, if the members violate it often enough to be remarked upon...
in response to opposition demands to reduce the size of the government and introduce measures to crack down on corruption.
The decision to dissolve the cabinet was taken at its farewell meeting where all federal ministers handed their resignations to Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani. "If there's no boodle, we're sooo oughtta here"
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/09/2011 07:44 ||
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coulda swore I hit page 2. Dammmmn
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/09/2011 7:47 Comments ||
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#2
AND wrong topic. I'll go to my room coffee pot. My apologies
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/09/2011 7:48 Comments ||
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#3
Looks like you posted before 5 am, Mexifornia time, so mistakes are understandable.
#7
"Any bets on the next Muslim government to collapse?" Well, there is always Yemen. They have a dynamic problem - it's just too hellbound anymore yet I wish it would not. Also, it's not moslem governments per~se, there are stable bundles in the bunch less insane than most.
[Geo News] US embassy in Islamabad has denied suspension of high-level dialogue with Pakistain over the case of an American jugged on murder charges, Geo News reported on Tuesday. "No, no! Certainly not!"
Talking to Geo News, spokeswoman for the embassy said that US is engaged in high-level contacts with Pakistain over Raymond Davis case.
She further said that US is also engaged in high-level dialogues to resolve Davis issue besides other agenda items.
To a question, she said that Raymond Davis case would not affect Pak-US relations.
She refused to comment on the arms recovered from the Davis custody.
US suspends all high-level dialogue with Pakistan [Geo News] US government has suspended all high-level dialogue with Pakistan over the case of an American detained on murder charges, US and Pakistani officials quoted as saying by a Washington based US daily.
The case of American killer, Raymond Davis, has severely strained relations between the two governments and threatens to scuttle a planned summit among US, Afghan and Pakistani leaders scheduled for the end of this month in Washington, the newspaper reported.
The report said: "Secretary of State Hillary Clinton canceled a meeting last weekend with Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi at an international security conference in Munich to protest Davis' detention, according to officials from both countries who were not authorized to discuss the situation on the record".
"Pakistan's Ambassador to the US Husain Haqqani has also been summoned twice to the White House for formal complaints and demands that Pakistan recognize Davis's diplomatic immunity and release him immediately."
Davis, 36, holds a diplomatic passport and is a member of the "technical and administrative staff" at the US Embassy in Islamabad "entitled to full criminal immunity in accordance with the Vienna Convention," the State Department said Monday.
The administration and Congress, the statement said, "have repeatedly made clear at the highest levels that this matter must be resolved by the Pakistan government or it could impact other bilateral initiatives."
Posted by: Fred ||
02/09/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
God help Davis, because I have no confidence that Obambi won't fold on this and leave this poor bastard to the tender mercies of muzzie interrogators. He obviously killed two terrorists or thieves, and the embassy response unit was inept. The failure to get him out immediately by fumbling his Diplomatic Immunity status has doomed this to overview by political minds in the WH. Since the only principle they operate on is expediency, Davis has his ass totally uncovered. We might as well just say, "dear ISI, please keep playing both sides, giving critical intel and missions to the Taliban, please take our money, and go ahead and screw this guy, but keep it under the radar"
[Arab News] Members of Jordan's major Bedouin tribes, normally a bedrock of support for King Abdallah, added their weight Monday to opposition calls for sweeping reforms to open the country's politics and reverse spreading poverty. Failure to do so, they warned, could awaken a revolt on the scale of those roiling Tunisia and Egypt.
It was a rare rebuke by Jordan's rustics, traditional allies of the king and his ruling Hashemite family, signaling that the discontent in Jordan stretches beyond the Islamists and other political opposition movements.
In a letter to Abdallah, 36 rustics called for the king to dismiss the Parliament elected in November and name a new government to oversee a more transparent election. They also want changes to an electoral law that critics say allows the king's loyalists to dominate the legislature, the only body in the national government that is elected.
And they called for the king to give up his power to choose the Cabinet. Even before the unrest sweeping Tunisia and Egypt, Jordanians were demanding a greater say in politics and employment opportunities. But protests -- most organized by opposition groups, including the Mohammedan Brotherhood -- broke out during the recent unrest around the region. But the protesters have not called for Abdallah, who marks 12 years since his ascension on Monday, to give up power, suggesting their movement does not pose as dire a challenge to Jordan's ruler. Like the opposition, the rustics also complained of corruption and said those who stole public funds should be held accountable, have their assets frozen and be prohibited from traveling.
That discontent has spread to Abdallah's support base is notable. The rustics, or native East Bank Jordanians, hold top positions in the army and security apparatus.
The letter warned that Jordan "will sooner or later face the flood of Tunisia and Egypt due to the suppression of freedoms and looting of public funds." "We're sounding the alarm because we care for the king and we want the Hashemites to continue to rule us and Jordan," one of the signatories, Ahmed Oweidi Abbadi, said.
"We're reflecting the views of young Jordanians, whether urban Bedouins or those still living in tents, that the situation has become unbearable, that corruption, nepotism and bureaucracy are widespread and that the rich are becoming richer, while the poor -- like many Bedouins -- are becoming poorer." Royal palace officials declined to comment and refused to say if the letter reached the king.
None of the 36 signatories hold any political weight, but their tribal affiliations "make their voices heard," said Labib Kamhawi, a former political science professor at the University of Jordan.
"More and more Jordanians of different political leanings and backgrounds are expected to come out to voice their criticism of the system," he said. "People generally want to keep the king in power, but they're demanding that reforms be enacted immediately."
Posted by: Fred ||
02/09/2011 00:00 ||
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More details about the players and their issues from Ha'aretz. Very much an East Bank/West Bank thing, where the East Bank Bedouin believe only they are true citizens of Jordan.
#4
Bedouins also do not care for Paleos one whit, and if the Paleos step out of line, the Bedouins righteously slaughter them. Which could be interesting, because the Paleos in Jordan outnumber the Bedouins; but the Bedouins control the government, military, and security apparat.
[Ma'an] The Paleostinian Authority cabinet decided on Tuesday to hold local elections on July 9, in what will be the first time voters have gone to the polls since 2006.
It will mark the second attempt to hold a municipal vote, after July 17, 2010 elections were called off only weeks before they were scheduled to take place.
"The cabinet decided during its meeting today to hold local elections on Saturday, July 9, and charged the elections committee with making the necessary preparations," PA front man Ghassan Khatib said, reading from an official statement.
In 2010, PA officials said the vote was called off because Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, officials had refused to participate, but the decision from Gazoo had been made months before the scheduled date. Leftist parties had accused the PA and Fatah of canceling the vote because of an increase in support for several united leftist lists.
Hamas on Tuesday reiterated its refusal to participate in polls run by the Ramallah-based authority, which is dominated by the rival Fatah movement, meaning the elections are likely to be limited to the West Bank.
"These elections are not valid because they are called for by the Paleostinian Authority and the government and are devoid of legitimacy," front man Fawzi Barhum told Agence La Belle France-Presse in Gazoo City.
"We in Hamas will not participate in this farce and will not recognize the result of it."
The last time the Paleostinians went to the polls was in 2006 for legislative elections, which Hamas won by a landslide.
Since January 2009, when the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas's four-year term as president expired, Hamas has refused to recognize the authority of his government. Abbas' term in office has been indefinitely extended pending new elections.
Last week, prime minister Salam Fayyad said local polls would be held "this year" and that it was time to start preparing for a general election, prompting another denunciation from Hamas.
Hamas says there can be no fresh vote without reconciliation with the rival Fatah party, which is headed by Abbas and dominates the Paleostinian Authority.
The Gazoo Strip and the West Bank are separated by Israeli territory and are ruled by rival administrations.
The Ramallah government had called a general election for January 2010 but backed down after Hamas refused to hold parallel polls in Gazoo.
A year after winning the 2006 elections, Hamas ousted its Fatah rivals from the Gazoo Strip following a week of bloody street battles, bringing to a head many years of bitter rivalry between the two movements.
Local elections were last held across the occupied Paleostinian territories in 2005.
Fayyad's announcement that the PA would start preparing for a general election was made as massive anti-government protests swept through Egypt, calling for the removal of geriatric President Hosni Mubarak.
An earlier wave of mass protests in Tunisia succeeded in forcing out president Zine El Abdine Ben Ali, sending shock waves across the Middle East and prompting a number of regional governments to make hasty changes in a bid to avoid a similar fate back home.
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[Ma'an] PLO official Yasser Abed Rabbo ... Paleostinian politician and a member of the Paleostine Liberation Organization's (PLO) Executive Committee. He holds an M.A. in economics and political science from the American University in Cairo..... told Kuwait news agency KUNA Monday that the latest Quartet ... The Quartet are the United Nations, aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society (xylophone), the United States (alto), the European Union (soprano), and Russia (shortstop). The group was established in Madrid in 2002 by former Spanish Prime Minister Aznar, as a result of the escalating conflict in the Middle East. Tony Blair is the Quartet's current Special Envoy.... statement on the grinding of the peace processor was "regretful" and fell short of the Paleostinians' expectations.
The statement, which focused on getting sides back to the negotiating table as an "imperative" for regional stability, did not mention Israel's failure to stop settlement construction on Paleostinian lands, an issue PLO negotiators say remains the stumbling block to a return to talks.
In their statement, the Quartet urged sides "to undertake urgently efforts to expedite Israeli-Paleostinian and comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace, which is imperative to avoiding outcomes detrimental to the region."
Abed Rabbo told KUNA that he blamed Quartet Envoy and former British premier Tony Blair for the weak statement.
Also on Monday, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry echoed Abed Rabbo's statements, issuing a paper calling the Quartet statement "disappointing and less than expected for both Paleostinians and Arabs."
Egyptian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hossam Zaki said the statement focused on general rather than the core issues, and criticized it because it "neither touched upon the core issues nor included recognition of a Paleostinian state on the land occupied in 1967 war and East Jerusalem as its capital as it was expected."
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In the wake of recent terrorist insurgent attacks against Buddhists, monks from 13 temples in Narathiwat have stopped their routine morning alms rounds for a month, starting today.
This is the second time for the monks' morning rounds to get suspended. The first was in November 2006, when the terrorists insurgents murdered several monks on daily duty, but the attacks on them slowed down after security officials started escorting them on the way from and to the temples.
The provincial monastic office said Buddhists may choose to give food to the monks at the temples during the month, with escorts provided for their trips.
A senior monk said the practice was a requirement for the monks in the region. Even in a small number, they are a symbol of Buddhism and "a spiritual sanctum for all Buddhists amidst violence."
The abbot of Wat Khao Kong said the alms rounds for his temple stopped on January 31, with food now provided mainly by soldiers on local guard duty, and from Buddhist visitors.
The abbot of Wat Ras Samosorn said, "When the monks go out taking alms, they are escorted heavily all the way from and back to the temple. It is not a good sight, but there is no better way to solve the problem."
[Arab News] Indonesian authorities said on Monday they were investigating a brutal mob attack that killed three followers of a religious sect after footage of the frenzied beatings was repeatedly shown on local TV stations and social media sites.
Sunday's attack was the latest against members of the half-a-million strong Ahmadi movement, which considers itself Islamic but is regarded as heretic by mainstream Mohammedans.
The attacks could heighten risk concerns for foreign investors counting on improved religious tolerance in southeast Asia's largest economy and the world's most populous Mohammedan nation.
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono called for action against those responsible.
"I want the law enforcers to be professional and firm in preventing violence and to take action against the perpetrators," he said.
Around 1,500 people attacked the house of an Ahmadi follower in Pandeglang, near the capital, Jakarta, torching buildings and vehicles, local media reported.
The Ahmadis believe Mohammad was not Islam's final prophet and say Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, who founded the sect in India in the 19th century, was a successor and messiah.
Several masked or helmeted men join the beating, striking the half-naked victims with clubs and rocks, while dozens of others stand by, watching or filming the incident on camera phones. The faces of many are clearly identifiable.
Local TV stations on Monday repeatedly highlighted footage that appears to show two coppers ineffectively attempting to stop the mob attack before leaving the scene.
"Police tried (to stop the violence) but there was an imbalance between police personnel and the mass," national police front man Boy Rafli Amar said.
SHOOING AWAY CHICKENS
Ahmadi group front man Zafrullah Pontoh said three followers were killed and five others were missing.
"The police acted as if they were shooing away chickens," he told Rooters by telephone.
Indonesia's Ulema Council, the country's top Islamic authority, said it regretted the event and called for the attackers to face justice, but added Ahmadi followers who tarnish Islam should also be punished.
Analysts say a root of the conflict is a government decree of 2008 that said Ahmadi followers could be jugged for tarnishing religion but stopped short of banning the movement. Critics say the law is ambiguous and was always likely to spark religious conflict in what is officially a secular country.
Rights groups condemned Sunday's attack.
"For years, Indonesian authorities have sat idly by while mobs have violently attacked the Ahmadi," said Elaine Pearson of Human Rights Watch.
"If the government is serious about stopping violence against the Ahmadis, then it should also immediately lift the 2008 decree which prohibits the Ahmadi from practicing their religion."
Local rights group PBHI, Indonesia's Legal Aid and Human Rights Association, also condemned the violence, calling it "the fruit of a series of events provoked by a government policy, disintegrative-nuanced calls of some religious authorities and the lack of law enforcement".
The case of the Ahmadi has divided Indonesia, an archipelago of over 17,000 islands and home to around 240 million people -- about 90 percent Mohammedan and mostly moderate.
Only six religions or beliefs are officially recognised in Indonesia --Islam, Protestant and Catholic Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism.
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#1
YouTube video here, Warning: NSFW or for those with a weak constitution.
[An Nahar] Iran's main opposition leaders charged on Tuesday that the Islamic republic was being run by "anti-religion ... hooligans," in a statement on the eve of its 32nd anniversary.
The bitter criticism from Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, once seen as pillars of the Islamic establishment, came three days before the anniversary of the February 11, 1979 Islamic revolution which toppled the U.S.-backed shah.
"Today, the regime is hiding behind this concern that if it does not exist, religion will vanish and, by repeatedly voicing alarms, it tries to rally and organize the religious strata behind itself," the opposition leaders said.
"But in reality what has hurt the religious atmosphere of society the most is the anti-religion and oppressive behavior of the regime itself," they said in the joint statement on their websites, Kaleme.com and Sahamnews.org.
Former premier Mousavi and two-time parliament speaker Karroubi turned bitter critics of the regime after the June 2009 presidential election, which they both contested but lost to the incumbent, Mahmoud Short Round Ahmadinejad.
The two leaders refuse to acknowledge Ahmadinejad's re-election, which they insist was the result of massive vote-rigging.
"Today the political situation in the country is nothing short of the danger of reproducing monarchism except for hereditary rule," they said in their statement.
But "a new discourse has been born ... which rejects violence and seeks change peacefully. A discourse which seeks to put an end to the rule of hooligans and instill meritocracy," they said of the opposition.
Their immediate post-election opposition triggered mass protests in what turned into one of the worst crises faced by the Islamic republic in its now 32-year history.
Anti-Ahmadinejad demonstrations and festivities with security forces on the streets of Tehran and other cities after the election rocked the pillars of the regime and divided its holy manal elite.
Dozens of people were killed, scores maimed and thousands nabbed by the authorities. Two detainees were hanged last month and others have been sentenced to long prison terms.
Mousavi and Karroubi have also said they want to hold a rally on February 14 in support of the Arab uprisings, in what observers say could be a ploy to assemble their supporters in opposition to Ahmadinejad's government.
The opposition supporters known as the Green Movement have stayed off the streets since last year's revolution anniversary on February 11 amid a heavy crackdown by security forces.
"What happened to the election results and the aftermath of the pseudo-coup of the authoritarians undermined the nation's right to determine its fate," Mousavi and Karroubi said on Tuesday.
Iran's all-powerful supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who openly sided with Ahmadinejad after the vote, has repeatedly lashed out at the Green Movement as "sedition," backed and criminal masterminded by Western powers.
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[An Nahar] Free Patriotic Movement Despite its name a Christian party allied with Hizbullah, neither free nor particularly patriotic... leader Michel Aoun ...a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hizbullah... traveled to Aleppo on Tuesday to participate in the celebrations of Saint Maroun Day in Brad the next day.
Caretaker Ministers Jebran Bassil and Fadi Abboud, and Change and Reform bloc MPs Ibrahim Kenaan, Nabil Nicolas, Naji Gharious and Fadi al-Aawar accompanied Aoun.
Former politicians Salim Aoun and Camille Khoury were also among the delegation.
The FPM leader and the delegation traveled to Syria aboard a private Syrian presidential plane.
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[An Nahar] Prime Minister-designate Najib Miqati on Tuesday was set to form a March 8-dominated government after talks with March 14 Those are the good guys, insofar as Leb has good guys... leaders on Cabinet participation collapsed.
An official working with Miqati told Agence La Belle France Presse the PM-designate "hopes to finalize his consultations and form the government this week."
"The next government will include representatives of the (Hizbullah-led) new majority, centrists and technocrats," he said, adding that the size of the cabinet had not been finalized yet but would likely count 24 to 30 ministers.
"The prime minister-designate's response to the demands of Hariri's camp have not changed from the beginning and he cannot make any commitments to either side as that would cause him to lose his position as a centrist," said the official.
Phalange Party The Kataeb (Phalange) party was founded by Pierre Gemayel in 1936, who modeled the party after Spanish and Italian Fascist parties he had observed as an Olympic athlete during the 1936 Summer Olympics held in Berlin, then Nazi Germany. The movement's uniforms originally included brown shirts and members used the Nazi salute. Despite the party's uniform, its strong sense of nationalism and dedication to a single charismatic leader, the Lebanese Kataeb was not and never became a fascist party nor did it espouse a totalitarian ideology. leader Amin Gemayel, a pillar of the March 14 alliance, announced following talks with Miqati on Monday that consultation to form a new government have "reached a dead end as a result of the conditions put forth by the March 8 forces." ... the opposition to the Mar. 14th movement, consisting of Hizbullah and its allies, so-called in commemoration of their Mar. 8th, 2006 demonstration of strength in Beirut ...
At a news conference held at Phalange Party headquarters in Saifi, Gemayel accused Hizbullah and its allies in the March 8 coalition of seeking to "unilaterally" control the new Cabinet by putting "terms and conditions impossible to meet" on March 14's participation.
Gemayel, nevertheless, said he is still willing to extend a hand to the March 8 forces, announcing readiness for a new round of talks with Miqati.
An-Nahar newspaper on Tuesday quoted sources close to Miqati as saying that the government is likely to be formed before week's end.
They said Miqati was now plunged into serious discussions on the shape-up of the new government.
It was not clear yet whether the government will be made up of 24 or 30 ministers.
March 14 issued a statement late Monday saying the alliance was still waiting for an answer from Miqati on its demands.
The statement came following a meeting at Hariri's residence at Center House in downtown Beirut.
The daily As-Safir, meanwhile, said Gemayel's announcement came shortly after receiving word from Miqati of the "difficulty" to meet March 14 demands including guarantees regarding Hizbullah weapons and the Special tribunal for Leb.
It said Miqati's "negative response" was conveyed to Gemayel Monday afternoon via a special envoy.
Geagea: We Won't Let March 8 Control Leb Lebanese Forces A Christian political party founded by Bashir Gemayel, who was then bumped off when he was elected president of Leb... leader Samir Geagea ... Geagea was imprisoned by the Syrians and their puppets for 11 years in a dungeon in the third basement level of the Lebanese Ministry of Defense. He was released after the Cedar Revolution in 2005 ... on Tuesday warned the Hizbullah-led March 8 coalition against wresting its control over Leb.
"We won't let them control the country and wreak havoc and devastation as happened previouslyy," Geagea said.
He vowed to continue "our struggle to prevent them (March 8) from drafting laws that would change the face of the country."
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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.
Hamid 
THE Defence Force has plans to reduce troop numbers in Afghanistan in what would be a significant shift to Australia's commitment to the war, Fairfax newspapers have reported.
The 
in response to opposition demands to reduce the size of the government and introduce measures to crack down on corruption.
[Geo News] US embassy in Islamabad has denied suspension of high-level dialogue with Pakistain over the case of an American 
[Geo News] US government has suspended all high-level dialogue with Pakistan over the case of an American detained on murder charges, US and Pakistani officials quoted as saying by a Washington based US daily.
[Ma'an] The 
Yasser Abed Rabbo
Quartet
In the wake of recent 
Mahmoud 
Michel Aoun
Samir Geagea
