Afghanistan is gearing up to award contracts to mine one the world's largest iron ore deposits buried in a peaceful province of the nation that has at least $3 trillion in untapped minerals, the country's top mining official said Thursday.
Geologists have known for decades about Afghanistan's vast deposits of iron, copper, cobalt, gold and other prized minerals, but a U.S. Department of Defense briefing earlier this week put a startling, nearly $1 trillion price tag on the reserves.
Afghanistan's Minister of Mines Wahidullah Shahrani called that a conservative estimate. He said he's seen geological assessments and industry reports estimating the nation's mineral wealth at $3 trillion or more.
The increased intelligence effort in Afghanistan, largely the result of transferring equipment and experienced personnel from Iraq, has led to a big increase in information about what's going on in Afghanistan. Of most immediate interest is the low morale among captured Taliban.
Posted by: ed ||
06/17/2010 08:42 ||
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the Taliban also have a corruption problem.
I am shocked. Hmmmm...somethings are the same everywhere.
[Quqnoos] The Afghan Attorney General Office blocked the bank account of a former minister for hajj and religious affairs in all Afghan Banks
Mohammad Siddiq Chakari, a former minister for hajj and religious affairs, has 700 thousand dollars in one of the Afghan banks, and Financial Transaction and Reports Analysis Center of Afghanistan said that the assets of 18 other Afghan officials accused of corruption were banned in Afghan banks.
While confirming the blockage of some of the key Afghan official's bank accounts, a top official in the Afghan Attorney General Office said Afghanistan's Bank intelligence and some other intelligence organizations helped bar these accounts.
The Mohammad Sidiq Chakari's bank accounts are also under inquiry in Bahrain and Britain.
"We have ordered the detention of Sidiq Chakari. We have been following him many times. We are waiting, for he is a British citizen, when the Britain submits him to the Afghan officials," said Deputy Attorney General, Fazel Ahmad Faqir Yar.
The remarks come as a senior official in the Financial Transaction and Reports Analysis Center of Afghanistan informed that the bank accounts of other top Afghan government officials found suspicious by the Afghan Attorney General were blocked.
"The cases of three former Afghan ministers were completed, and we sent them to the High court. The corruption court will decide when to summon them," said Faqir Yar.
However the fact that the Afghan government is always talking about its serious fight against the government corruption, but after found accused of corruption, Mohammad Sidiq Chakari a former Afghan minister sought asylum to the Britain.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/17/2010 00:00 ||
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Big ticket outcome of turning loose the experienced connections-tracing guys transferred from Iraq. Well done, guys!
[Al Arabiya Latest] How do you tell the difference between a Somali pirate in a small boat and a largely identical but innocent fisherman? It all comes down to the ladders.
Pirates often take fishing gear out with them into the deep waters of the Indian Ocean to help feed themselves, and fishermen from the lawless country often carry AK-47s for self protection. Grappling hooks can be easily hidden out of sight.
But if naval officers see a small boat with long metal ladders lashed to the deck, they say they know for sure the occupants have set to sea with only one thing in mind.
That makes it easy: sink the ones with ladders on sight. If feeling kind, or if they haven't attacked yet, first offload the crew. They could even be set ashore on the nearest bit of Somalia coast, and allowed to walk the rest of the way.
That means maritime patrol aircraft and helicopters flying along the Somali beach can pick out so-called "pirate action groups" putting to sea and feed the information back to warship and command centre operations rooms.
"You can see the giveaway signs that this is a pirate gathering," says Andreas Kutsch, a German naval officer working as an assistant chief of staff for the EU's anti-piracy task force, using a laser pointer to show the ladders among the brightly colored plastic containers for spare fuel and water. "Fishermen don't need ladders."
Boarding merchant vessels, sailing them to the Somali coast and holding them and their crews ransom, the pirates have redrawn shipping lanes across the Indian Ocean. They have infuriated owners and insurers and prompted a surge of naval forces to the region.
On any given day, the United States estimates that some 30 to 40 warships are involved in counter piracy efforts from the EU, NATO and the United States as well as emerging Indian Ocean players China, Russia, India, Malaysia, South Korea and Japan.
The latter tend to concentrate on escorting convoys of their own national vessels, while the Western-led forces spread themselves across the region saying they want to protect all shipping regardless of flag.
There is no overall commander although the navies meet once a month in Bahrain and coordinate through an Internet chat room.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/17/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Hopefully some future administration will simply put anyone having travelled under a British passport on the alert list, as well as put CAIR out of business.
Britain's lost. This isn't 'news' and certainly not surprising.
North Korea operates 40,000 special forces troops, including the 11th or "Storm" Corps whose mission is to infiltrate South Korea and create havoc in case of war. It also has around 10,000 naval special forces and around 5,000 air force soldiers who can cross the border if a war breaks out.
The figures were revealed in a speech by former South Korean commander of special operations Kim Yun-suk to fellow veterans at the War Memorial in Seoul.
Kim said the Storm Corps, which has been trained to stir up confusion behind enemy lines, is composed of four light infantry, seven airborne and three sniper brigades. And the 4th Corps special forces, stationed on the Ongjin Peninsula close to South Korea's Baeknyeong Islands in the West Sea, consists of 600 scout troops, 600 naval reconnaissance soldiers and around 1,800 naval forces.
The North also operates a large amphibious landing force in the region similar to South Korea's Marines. Totaling 180,000 troops, North Korea has the largest number of special ops forces in the world. The 11th Corps accounts for 22 percent with 40,000 special forces troops, and 120,000 light infantry brigades make up 66 percent of the special forces. The reconnaissance brigade, which has been fingered in the sinking of the South Korean Navy corvette Cheonan, accounts for around 6 percent of special forces, and the Navy and Air Force each have around 5,000 crack troops, which make up 3 percent.
"Ten thousand North Korean special forces are capable of infiltrating simultaneously through underground tunnels or aboard 260 hovercraft or submarines, while 175 AN-2 transport planes and 310 helicopters can transport another 10,000 troops," Kim said.
The former officer said the South needs to come up with measures to deal with the so-called asymmetric threat by creating a powerful special forces brigade, operating a special military branch that handles North Korea's irregular forces and boosting the number of anti-terrorism units and training.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/17/2010 00:00 ||
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And the South Koreans have 180k bullets ready to distribute to their Nork brethren.
#7
Seoul is more than 10 miles from the demarcation line, mojo. Only a tiny fraction of it lies within the range of North Korea's longest range guns, the 180mm S-23 and 130mm M-46, even if the latter are equipped with special ammunition that the Norks are unlikely to have in reasonable quantity.
As for the air infiltration scheme, this might have worked at one time in the not-too-distant past, but the proliferation of lookdown radars and PD ground installations would make it suicide today.
The AN-2 is one of my favorite aircraft but it is a biplane with a cruising speed of 100 knots. Contrary to some reports, it is mostly metal rather than wood in construction. This and the honking big radial engine give it a very large radar signature. The AN-2 is great fun and has phenomenal airfield performance, but it is not something you would care to take into the densest air defense environment in the world.
North Korea asked China to provide it with the latest J-10 fighter jets and other hardware but was rejected, it emerged Wednesday.
First apologize for killing those three Chinese border guards.
According to a high-ranking source in the North, North Korean leader Kim Jong-il made the request to Chinese President Hu Jintao when he visited China in early May. But Hu apparently told Kim that China will protect and support him if attacked.
Observers guess this is the reason why Kim left a day earlier than scheduled.
One North Korean defector who used to be a high-ranking official said, "Kim is increasingly afraid of an attack by South Korean and U.S. forces" following the North's sinking of the South Korean Navy corvette in March. The North Korean leader therefore wanted to get his hands on the latest Chinese fighter jets to counter South Korea's F-15 and F-16 fighter planes.
The J-10 is not exactly a 'counter' ...
"Kim wouldn't have visited China with such a large entourage if he merely wanted economic assistance," the defector said. Another North Korean defector and former soldier said Pyongyang may have bolstered its so-called asymmetric warfare capabilities by strengthening special forces "but still lags behind South Korea in terms of naval and air force capabilities and feels threatened."
There is speculation that North Korea is forced to lean on China because it does not have the money to buy expensive Sukhoi fighters from Russia.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/17/2010 00:00 ||
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WMF > CHINA'S POLICIES ON THE KOREAN PENINSULA IS A [historical] BAROMETER OF CHINESE NATIONAL POWER AND SECURITY. US-CHINA MIL CONFLICT IN THE YELLOW SEA [ "USS George Washinton" CVN] + KOREAN PENINSULA WILL SPREAD BEYOND THE KOREAS + SEA OF JAPAN.
* SAME > EXPERT: PLA MUST LEARN TO FIGHT "GLOBAL WAR" | PLA REMAINS MOSTLY ISOLATED OR LIMITED WITHIN THE CONTEXT/SCOPE OF THE GLOBALIZATION OF HUMAN-STATE WARFARE.
Gotta "long way to go, + a short time to get there" [SMOKEY & THE BANDIT theme song].
SHERIFF BUFORD T. JUSTICE > D *** NG IT, THE G*** D *** GERMANS HAVE GOT NUTHIN TO DO WID ANYTHING!
----------------
* ION WMF > NUCLEAR "END OF THE WORLD" IN 1979? COMPUTER SCREEN, EQUIPMENT FAILURES/GLITCHES IN THE US NORAD COMPLEX ON CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN DEPIECTED 2200 SOVIET LR MISSLES FALSELY ATTACKING THE US IN FIRST STRIKE. THEN-POTUS JIMMY CARTER ONLY HAD SEVEN MINUTES TO CONFIRM SOVIET ATTACK AND ORDER A FULL-SCALE US RETALIATORY RESPONSE [US ICBM, FBM nuclear Counter-strike].
Basis for the US cult movie "WAR GAMES" starring Matthew Broderick.
* PAKISTANI DEFENCE FORUM > US VPOTUS JOE BIDEN WANTS THE US TO BE "TOP DOG" OVER CHINA, INDIA.
* MARIANAS VARIETY > [Palau/Belau News]UIGHURS APPEAL FOR PERMANENT HOME. Uighur Muslims like to move to AUSTRALIA but recognize it may take a long while to get there from PALAU; + GLOBAL WARMING AND RISING SEAS COULD BE DISASTROUS FOR PALAU. Many of Palau's favorite indigenous Veggies + Fruits are located in low-lying = sea-level areas, + effect on MARINE RESERVES = LOCAL FISHING.
ARTIC > IIUC HOW CAN PALAU EFFEC PLAN FOR CHANGES WROUGHT BY GLOBAL WARMING + RISING PACIFIC SEA LEVELS WHEN IT DOESN'T EVEN HAVE A FORMAL PLAN YET TO DEAL WID REGULAR TYPHOONS???
Again, UIGURS IN PALAU > irregardless of their backgrounds or struggles, THEIR COMING TO PALAU BROADLY SYMBOLIZES THE SPREAD OF RADICAL ISLAMISM + ISLAMIC/ISLAM-LED SEPARATISM INTO THE DEEP PACIFIC.
It started wid a LONG-AGO, 1990's BOMB THREAT AGZ THEN-POTUS CLINTON ON GUAM STOP, + PHILIPPINES + INDONESIA, + hasn't abated since then.
BATTLE FOR GUAM + MARIANAS/WESTPAC > US vs. CHINA vs. RADICAL ISLAM??? Iff CHINA doesn't take over GUAM-WESTPAC from the US, its probably becuz [Nukulaar?]RADICAL ISLAM TOOK OVER CHINA + ASIA [or large enclaves therefrom]???
The U.S. on Tuesday decided to extend economic sanctions against North Korea for another year. In a letter to Congress, President Barack Obama said he is extending economic sanctions, calling the North's nuclear program an "extraordinary threat." The sanctions, which are in effect under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, expire on June 26.
"The existence and the risk of proliferation of weapons-usable fissile material on the Korean Peninsula continued to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States,' Obama said.
Former president George W. Bush took the North off a list of state sponsors of terrorism and decided to suspend application of the Trading with the Enemy Act in June 2008 in the process of inspecting the North's nuclear weapons program. But he left in place other financial restrictions, including freezing North Korean assets, through an executive order.
Under the renewed order, North Korea-related assets in the U.S. will remain frozen and Americans will be banned from owning or leasing North Korean-registered ships.
This is the second time Obama has extended the order. Deputy spokesman for the National Security Council Benjamin Chang said, "In taking this action, our purpose remains to employ every available appropriate tool to achieve the complete and verifiable elimination of North Korea's nuclear weapons and programs."
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/17/2010 00:00 ||
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Since "Sanctions" Don't seem to be doing a damn thing WHY?
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
06/17/2010 13:31 Comments ||
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A TEENAGER has been convicted for hitting a police officer during an attack on Lars Vilks, a Swedish cartoonist who sparked controversy with a drawing of the Prophet Mohammed.
The officer was hit by the 16-year-old as he tried to prevent the teenager from assaulting the cartoonist at a university lecture last month.
"He was sentenced for violence against a state employee and an assault on a state employee," a court spokesperson at Uppsala in central Sweden told AFP.
The teenager was sentenced to 20 days' community service and ordered to undergo a psychological assessment and pay damages of 60 euros ($A85) to the officer.
Vilks, whose caricature caused controversy in 2007, was punched in the head in a mass brawl as he delivered a lecture at the University of Uppsala on May 11.
Vilks' house was the target of an arson attack on May 15.
The Danish parliament voted on Wednesday to remove a far-right politician's immunity from prosecution so he can face charges over anti-Muslim comments, parliamentary sources said.
Jesper Langballe, a veteran member of the Danish People's Party (PPD), a crucial ally of the centre-right government, wrote in a newspaper column published in January that "Muslims kill their daughters (over crimes of honour) and turn a blind eye while they are raped by their uncles".
The column, which discussed the status of women in Islam and the "Islamisation of Europe", triggered a political storm and his comments were condemned by Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen.
The Crown Prosecutor decided to pursue Langballe on the grounds that his comments broke anti-racism laws, and sought the lifting of his parliamentary immunity.
The PPD, with the exception of Langballe, abstained from Wednesday's vote, split between a desire to respect the law and its opposition to the anti-racism provisions, which it says go against freedom of expression.
Langballe himself voted for the lifting of immunity, as he wishes to prove the truth of his comments in court, according to Danish parliamentary television.
#2
it is neither slander nor libel nor "hate speech" if it is the truth. Langballe simply quoted facts. Facts. The truth.
There are 2 cases wrapping up in court in Canada this week. Father and brother convicted of killing teen who wanted to wear western clothes. Life sentence, no parole for 18 years. Mummy dearest wrote a letter to the Judge on the case asking for leniency for the murderer's as "they did nothing wrong".
Facts like these should aid a defense based on it isn't libel if it's the truth. It's an offensive truth. An horrific truth. A shameful truth. An inhumanely violent truth. Unspeakable truths. And having these truths held up to the light of day infuriates muslims. Muslims charge it is "hate speech" because these facts generate feelings of hatred and disgust.
#3
They are trying to do this to Geert Wilders. Didn't work so well there. Hopefully this is the run up to Danish elections in 2011, when they are also holding their EU opt-out referendum.
Anonymoose, I believe the trial is scheduled for this autumn, in September or October. So, while he is likely to end up in the government, the trial problem hasn't gone away... and it remains to be seen whether he can win using the arguments of traditional freedom of speech and provable facts -- last I read, expert witnesses about the Koran were not going to be permitted.
#8
AP is now reporting that negotiations to form a government with Mr. Wilder's party and the Christian Democrats have fallen through. The pro-business WD party is now looking into forming a government with the Labour party instead.
The next Dutch election will be even more interesting, no doubt, as will Mr. Wilder's trial. Mr. Langballe's, too. We live in interesting times indeed, ladies and gentlemen.
#9
As perverse as it sounds, there is no defense of truth in Euro "human rights" tribunals. Mere perception of an "effect" resulting form prescribed conduct, founds guilt. And the processes are Inquisitional. Accused persons are guilty-by-charge, and are expected to delivering grovelling mitigations.
Unfortunately, victims of Muslim jihad advocacy are deemed to "misunderstand" Muslim bellicosity. Muslims are free to promote Genocide of Christians and Jews.
Posted by: Oscar Flese5163 ||
06/17/2010 20:13 Comments ||
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#3
I'm surprised that the idiots in the Federal Gummint haven't posted signs warning illegals about the new Arizona law.
The last part of the video is the most unbelievable. The BLM warns against stopping south of I-8, but it encourages visiting land north of I-8. Man, I'm glad criminals haven't figured out to cross the road yet. Our luck, one of their stolen chickens will get loose and show 'em how!
Thank goodness we have "concealed carry" where I live...
Yahya Wehelie, 26, said Wednesday that after landing at the airport in Cairo in early May, he was told he would not be able to board his connection to New York and would have to go to the U.S. Embassy for an explanation. Embassy officials later told Wehelie and a younger brother with whom he was traveling that they would have to wait for FBI agents to arrive from Washington.
Wehelie, who was born in the United States to Somali immigrants, said U.S. officials took his old passport and issued him a new one that was good only for a one-way trip to the United States. But, he said, he was also informed by an FBI agent that he cannot board any plane scheduled to enter U.S. or Canadian airspace, leaving him in a kind of limbo.
"I don't know any other way to get home," said Wehelie, who said he had spent 18 months in Yemen after leaving Burke to find a bride and learn Arabic. Yahya has missed the boat.
Posted by: ed ||
06/17/2010 7:08 Comments ||
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#5
He can't board a plane, what's wrong with boarding a Ship, slower but you get there all the sae, as well as having a delightful shipboard honeymoon.
Or is he just indulging in the Muslim pasttime of bitching about being caught.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
06/17/2010 13:43 Comments ||
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The United States has presented evidence to Pakistan that a militant faction aligned with the Taliban and based in Pakistan orchestrated brazen attacks last month in Afghanistan, a top general said on Wednesday.
"Yay for our team!"
*smack* "Shut up, you! We don't want the Americans to notice -- who do you think is paying our pensions?"
The United States has long pressed the Pakistani military to crack down on the so-called Haqqani faction in the North Waziristan tribal region, which borders Afghanistan, but Islamabad has so far balked at doing so.
General David Petraeus, who oversees the Afghan war as head of U.S. Central Command, told a Senate hearing that he, the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff raised Haqqani links in a recent meeting with Pakistan army chief Ashfaq Kayani.
"We have shared information with him about links of the leadership of the Haqqani network located in North Waziristan that clearly commanded and controlled the operation against Bagram air base and the attack in Kabul, among others," Petraeus said.
Suicide bombers carrying rockets and grenades launched a brazen predawn attack on the base on May 19, killing an American contractor and wounding nine U.S. troops. About a dozen militants, many wearing suicide vests packed with explosives, were killed, the Pentagon said at the time. A day earlier, a suicide bomber attacked a military convoy in Kabul, killing 12 Afghan civilians and six foreign troops.
Bagram is the main base for the U.S.-led troops in Afghanistan, with the largest airfield in the country. It was used by the former Soviet Union during its invasion of Afghanistan in the 1980s.
The Pentagon has expressed confidence that Pakistan will eventually mount an offensive in North Waziristan, but said Islamabad would decide on the timing.
Hopefully, sometime before 'never'.
The Haqqani network has long been described by U.S. forces as one of their biggest enemies in Afghanistan. But there are strategic reasons for Pakistan's hesitancy to attack the Haqqanis. Pakistan sees the group as a strategic asset that will give it influence in any peace settlement in Afghanistan so Islamabad will want those militants on its side.
The United States has increased pressure on Pakistan to act in North Waziristan following a botched May 1 car-bombing in New York's Time Square that U.S. investigators have blamed on the Pakistani Taliban.
But Pentagon officials have said they understood the Pakistani military was already stretched by operations in other tribal areas.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/17/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Screw Pakistain. Tell them if they so much as think of unlimbering their nukes we'll turn their rat-hole into a glass parking lot, with India's eager help.
Muslim states said Wednesday that what they call "islamophobia" is sweeping the West and its media and demanded that the United Nations take tougher action against it.
Delegates from Islamic countries, including Pakistan and Egypt, told the United Nations Human Rights Council that treatment of Muslims in Western countries amounted to racism and discrimination and must be fought.
"People of Arab origin face new forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related forms of intolerance and experience discrimination and marginalisation," an Egyptian delegate said, according to a U.N. summary.
And Pakistan, speaking for the 57-nation Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), said the council's special investigator into religious freedom should look into such racism "especially in Western societies."
Acting for the OIC, Pakistan has tabled a resolution at the council instructing its special investigator on religious freedom "to work closely with mass media organizations to ensure that they create and promote an atmosphere of respect and tolerance for religious and cultural diversity."
The OIC -- and its allies in the 47-nation council including Russia, China and Cuba -- dub criticism of Muslim practices and linking of terrorism waged under the proclaimed banner of Islamism as "islamophobia" that pillories all Muslims.
BOUND TO PASS
Diplomats say the resolution, which also tells the investigator to make recommendations to the Human Rights Council on how its strictures might be implemented, is bound to pass given the majority the OIC and its allies have in the body.
The countries of the majority group, which also include India and Brazil, ensure that its members and their friends outside the council -- such as Sri Lanka and Iran -- are shielded from any serious criticism of their rights record.
The group ensures that council fire is largely aimed at Israel over its occupation of Palestinian territories and treatment of people living there as well as on the Israeli blockade of Hamas-ruled Gaza.
Tuesday, after hours of wrangling, the group allowed a statement to be read to the council by Norway on behalf of 56 U.N. member states strongly criticising Iran for its treatment of dissenters.
But although the statement was hailed by U.S. ambassador Eileen Chamberlain Donahoe as a victory for the Iranian people, diplomats noted that only just over a quarter of U.N. member states had backed it, of them only 14 countries in the council.
Human rights activists who are allowed to speak at the body if their organizations are accredited by the United Nations said the statement -- drafted largely by the United States -- was the best available substitute for a formal resolution.
"The Western group knows it could never get such a resolution passed in this council, and this is the only way they have of fighting back," said Roy Brown, long-time chief representative of the International Humanist and Ethical Union.
Brown said the loophole was likely to be closed in a coming review of the council's activity since it was launched in 2006 to replace a discredited predecessor.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/17/2010 00:00 ||
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So, can we have the Blue Helmets crack down on the religious sect that threatens to turn anyone who draws a cartoon of their murdering profit prophet into a Pez dispenser?
At outposts along a disputed line between Kurdish- and Arab-controlled territories, U.S. soldiers seek to forge ties between the two sides' security forces with some success.
BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: U.S. forces transferred a joint security station in Baghdad to the Iraqi forces in accordance with the security agreement signed between the two countries, according to a U.S. army statement on Wednesday.
Soldiers of 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, transferred Joint Security Station Carver to members of the 45th Brigade, 11th Iraqi Army Division assigned to the 9th Iraqi Mechanized Army Division June 11,' said the statement received by Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
JSS Carver is the eighth JSS to be transferred to the ISF in 2nd BCT's operational environment. The Soldiers of 4-31 have worked with 45/11 IA over the past eight months, conducting partnered training, patrols and humanitarian assistance missions in the Mada'in district,' it added.
In accordance with the Security Agreement the bases or facilities will be returned to the control of the appropriate Government of Iraq entity or demilitarized and closed.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/17/2010 00:00 ||
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Lebanon's parliament has tabled a proposal to offer basic rights to hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees. The proposed legislation - the subject of a heated debate on Tuesday - would allow Palestinian refugees to work and own property in Lebanon. Nabih Berri, the parliament speaker, referred the bill to a committee for a one-month review.
Palestinian refugees have long been a controversial subject in Lebanon,
Can't imagine why ...
and the debate cut across Lebanon's usual political alliances.
Saad Hariri, the Lebanese prime minister, supports the new legislation - as do Hezbollah and Amal, two of his chief rivals from the so-called March 8 alliance.
Walid Jumblatt, the Druze politician and head of the Progressive Socialist Party, also endorsed the bill. "The Palestinian refugees have been waiting [for] 62 years, and we are not granting them the minimum of their rights," he said.
A group of Christian parties, including the Phalange party and Lebanese Forces, opposed the measure, warning that it was a first step towards naturalising Lebanon's refugee population. They worry that Palestinian refugees might eventually become Lebanese citizens. Most are Sunni Muslims, so their naturalisation would tip Lebanon's sectarian balance.
The emigration of Lebanese Christians for three generations, cf. Helen Thomas's parents, has already tipped Lebanon's sectarian balance.
Sami Gemayel, a member of the Phalange party, said it would be unconstitutional. The constitution includes a provision barring the "settlement of non-Lebanese in Lebanon".
"The Palestinian matter is a disputed issue, and a source of fear," Elie Marouni, an MP from the Phalange party, said.
Jumblatt called that position "stupid" and criticised "right-wing parties" for failing to distinguish between granting rights to Palestinian refugees and offering them citizenship.
The refugees are planning several major protests across Lebanon on June 27 to demand civil rights.
More than 400,000 Palestinian refugees live in camps scattered across Lebanon. They do not enjoy the same rights as Lebanese citizens: refugees are barred from owning property, working, travelling overseas and receiving basic social services from the government.
The crowded camps have given rise to several armed groups. The Lebanese army fought a three-month battle in 2007 with one group, Fatah al-Islam, at the Nahr al-Bared refugee camp near Tripoli. More than 400 people, including dozens of civilians, were killed in the fighting.
Hariri said the poor conditions in the camps helped to create such groups.
"Should we deprive Palestinian refugees in Palestinian camps of their rights, so that they become terrorists in the future?" Hariri said during the parliamentary debate. "We have a historic opportunity to vote on this proposal."
But the proposal is controversial within Hariri's Future bloc too.
"Do not give to them [Palestinian refugees] the rights which are given to the Lebanese people," Atef Majdanani, a Future Movement MP, said.
A Turkish pro-Palestinian group said on Wednesday it will send another aid flotilla to Gaza next month, again trying to break an Israeli blockade after its last convoy was the target of a deadly Israeli raid in May.
Its last flotilla was intercepted off the coast of Gaza on May 31. Clashes broke out on one of the ships as Israeli commandos boarded it to enforce a blockade, and in fighting that followed Israeli forces shot dead nine Turkish men.
The next flotilla is due to sail in the second half of July, IHH said. The group invited the international media to inspect all goods on board before the convoy sails to "demonstrate their commitment to total transparency."
Israel says the IHH has links to Muslim militants, which the group denies.
Let's check the CIA files, shall we? They've been tracking the IHH since 1996 or so, as part of the world-wide Caliphate movement -- their first efforts were aimed at Bosnia, but they've had direct ties to Hamas for ages, too.
Richard Howitt, a British member of the European Parliament who organised IHH's press conference at the parliament in Strasbourg, said the European Union had an obligation to ensure respect for humanitarian law and access for the next flotilla.
The man is an ass.
"If this terrible tragedy tips the balance so that the international community finally insists on full and unhindered humanitarian access to Gaza, then some good can still come out of it," he said, referring to the deaths in the last convoy.
Israel has said it is considering softening its blockade in the wake of international condemnation of the flotilla assault. The EU said on Monday it hoped the easing would begin "in the next days."
Posted by: Fred ||
06/17/2010 00:00 ||
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[Straits Times] MALAYSIA'S government will enlist the help of universities to stop Islamic militants using campuses as recruitment centres for their violent struggle, according to the deputy premier.
Muhyiddin Yassin said police would hold a special briefing for university administrators following the recent deportation of 10 foreigners for trying to recruit Malaysian students to wage holy war overseas. The militants were detained earlier this year for trying to revive the South-east Asian terror group Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) by attracting new members from Malaysian universities. The organisation has been linked to Al-Qaeda and blamed for major attacks in the region, including the 2002 Bali bombings.
'A special briefing will be given... it will discuss the form of cooperation that can be taken among all parties to curb this unhealthy trend which can affect national security,' Mr Muhyiddin told the Bernama news agency late on Tuesday. 'The police have a lot of information and know movements, so the cooperation of all parties is very important to safeguard national security,' added Mr Muhyiddin, who is also the education minister.
Police chief Musa Hassan said two university campuses were being monitored as some local and foreign students from the Middle East and Africa were spreading jihadist ideology, the New Straits Times reported Wednesday. 'Action will be taken if they (the foreigners) go overboard,' Chief Musa told the paper, without naming the universities. The police chief could not be reached for comment.
Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said Tuesday foreign militants were using mainly-Muslim Malaysia as a base, confirming there were both religious and non-Islamic militant groups operating in the country.
He said the militants were using Malaysia to carry out financial transactions, share information and recruit new members.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/17/2010 00:00 ||
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[Al Arabiya Latest] The U.S. government will impose new sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program that will target "individuals and institutions," a senior State Department official said Wednesday.
The official told reporters on the condition of anonymity he was aware the U.S. Treasury Department was to announce new financial restrictions on Iran and that "they will be focused on individuals and institutions."
He said the formal announcement will be made by U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, the treasury's undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Stuart Levey and the State Department's special advisor for Nonproliferation and Arms Control, Robert Einhorn.
The official gave no other details but President Barack Obama's administration had promised to take further steps of its own after the UN Security Council last week slapped new military and financial sanctions on Tehran.
European Union foreign ministers meanwhile on Monday proposed new sanctions going further than UN restrictions, in a bid to pressure Iran over its nuclear program.
The measures, which also cover the oil and gas industry, with transport and banking or insurance curbs, will now go forward to an EU summit in Brussels on Thursday for final approval.
The foreign ministers who met in Luxembourg said the EU would seek to prohibit new investment as well as the transfers of technologies, equipment and services.
Tehran says its nuclear program is purely for civilian purposes, but Israel and Western powers fear it may be trying to develop nuclear weapons that would tip the balance of power in the Middle East.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/17/2010 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
VARIOUS > seems IRAN is defying the UNO + announced plans to build four or several NEW NUCREAX, including types MORE POWERFUL than its Tehran nucfac.
IMO THE MORE NUCREAX IRAN BUILDS, THE MORE IT WILL BE THE US, NOTSOMUCH ISRAEL, WHOM WILL LEAD ANY MILSTRIKE ON IRAN - Israel likely won't have enough resources unless in JOINT ATTACK???
[Iran Press TV Latest] Tehran says the West's double standards vis-à-vis the human rights issue and using international mechanisms as a tool have put the credibility of international bodies at stake.
"The continuation of the West's double standard approach will seriously undermine the efficiency and credibility of international organizations", said Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast on Wednesday.
He said the UN Human Rights Council was to adopt a resolution to condemn the Zionist regime of Israel when it met in an emergency session last week following the Israeli attack on the Gaza-bound aid flotilla.
Nevertheless, Mehmanparast underscored, Western countries either voted against the resolution or abstained.
"And in a recent UN Human Rights Council session, they (Western states) brought up the issue of Iran to deflect attention from the Zionist regime to reduce international pressure on the regime", added the Foreign Ministry spokesman.
He then dismissed an anti-Iran statement issued by certain members of the council in the very same session.
"The provisions of the statement are unreal and politically motivated", added the spokesman.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/17/2010 00:00 ||
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I agree the double standard should be resolved. The flotilla members should have been treated the same as Americans illegally crossing Iranian or North Korean Borders. They should be convicted as spies and either hung, sentenced to life in prison, or 20 years hard labor.
[Iran Press TV Latest] Iran summons the British ambassador to Tehran over allegations of UK support for terrorists and various acts of violence in the country.
Following the recent arrest of two members of the terrorist Mujahedin Khalq Organization (MKO), revelations showed that the British government and a number of other Western countries secretly aided and abetted terrorist operations in Iran.
This prompted the Iranian Foreign Ministry to summon British Ambassador to Tehran Simon Gass to provide an explanation with regards to the allegations.
"The Iranian Foreign Ministry expects the British government to take this matter seriously and provide an explanation as soon as possible," read a statement issued on Wednesday.
Founded in the 1960s, MKO is a Marxist guerilla group, which masterminded a slew of terrorist operations in Iran and Iraq -- one of which was the 1981 bombing of the offices of the Islamic Republic Party, in which more than 72 Iranian officials were killed.
The terrorists are especially notorious for taking sides with former dictator Saddam Hussein during the war Iraq imposed on Iran (1980-1988).
Posted by: Fred ||
06/17/2010 00:00 ||
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In line with Iran's campaign for military self-sufficiency, the Iranian Army is set to design and manufacture drones that can be remotely operated from its submarines.
Head of the Iran's Army Research Center Rear Admiral Mohammad Sadri announced in a Tuesday interview with Fars News Agency that military research for the production of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) were underway.
"Due to their small size, these drones would be undetectable by enemy radar systems," the senior navy commander said.
He also attributed the radar-proof feature of the drones to their physical characteristics and the material used in the aircraft body.
Such systems, Sadri said, are generally designed for surveillance, reconnaissance and covert missions.
"Today the entire world is seeking to obtain drones with the capacity of being operated from a submarine or a vessel," Sadri said.
The military official added that Iran has joined such efforts and is working to master the technology for manufacturing the cited systems.
The announcement comes as Iran launched the production line of two home-made drones in early February with bombing and reconnaissance capabilities. The UAVs, named 'Ra'ad' (Thunder) and 'Nazir' (Harbinger), are capable of conducting long-range reconnaissance, patrolling, assault and bombing missions with high precision.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/17/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
I built one of these years ago from a kit. Styrofoam with a rubber band propulsion system.
Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says the main purpose behind the UN Security Council's (UNSC) anti-Iran resolution was to save the Israeli regime from worldwide criticisms.
Addressing a large crowd of people in the central Iranian province of Chaharmahal- Bakhtiari Province, President Ahmadinejad said that the Iranian nation is vigilant and will respond to the Israeli regime.
On June 10, twelve Security Council members, including Russia and China, voted in favor of a US-proposed resolution for a fourth round of sanctions against Iran. Brazil and Turkey voted against the resolution while Lebanon abstained from voting.
President Ahmadinejad also said that Israel backed by propaganda campaign and US military force has occupied the Palestinian territories.
"Israel made the Palestinian people homeless. Over a period of more than over 60 years they launched five major wars and attacked dozens of villages and killed people. They bombarded the Palestinian residential areas. They assassinated and bombarded the faithful people," he added.
"They launched large aggressions against their neighboring nations and put heavy pressure on the Palestinian people and also threatened freedom-seeking nations. These have been done under this criminal group," he went on to say.
"Look how they act. They gathered the worst criminals and in broad daylight they assassinated people by using fake passports and ID cards of other nationals to our region and even other countries. They assassinated good and faithful people. This is while the US government and Washington support the criminal cabal. They awarded them with peace medals and supported these criminals."
President Ahmadinejad further noted that it is for more than three years that the people of Gaza are under siege in their own homeland and they are deprived of food, water and medicine.
"They are under the bombardment and missile attacks and heavy shelling and even being attacked by chemical weapons", the Iranian chief executive stated.
"You saw what the Zionists did to the Gaza-bound aid flotilla carrying medicine and food for the civilians. Of course most governments have condemned the attack on flotilla convoy. We see the US government and a few of its allies support the criminal instead of condemning these crimes they committed," he said.
"They bombarded the people of Gaza with helicopters, aircrafts and advanced weapons. They have killed a large number of them and arrested them. While in custody they are tortured."
"Israel assassinates people after faking other countries' passports. At the same time what did the US government did?" he asked.
President Ahmadinejad also pointed out that the Zionist regime has hundreds of nuclear weapons and constantly threatens regional nations.
"The US supports Israel and provides it with nukes. The US supports Israel politically and offers billions of dollars in aid to Israel," he concluded.
President Ahmadinejad is currently on the third round of his provincial tour in the central Iranian Chaharmahal-Bakhtiari Province.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/17/2010 00:00 ||
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Why does anyone pay any attention to that malignant dwarf's lies?
In March 2006, the European Union formally adopted its data retention directive (PDF), a directive which the Australian Government said it wished to use as an example if it implemented such a regime.
"The Attorney-General's Department has been looking at the European Directive on Data Retention, to consider whether such a regime is appropriate within Australia's law enforcement and security context," a statement from the Attorney-General's Department to ZDNet Australia said yesterday. "It has consulted broadly with the telecommunications industry."
The EU regime requires that the communications providers from certain EU member states retain necessary data as specified in the Directive for a period of between six and 24 months.
One internet service provider (ISP) source told ZDNet Australia that the Australian regime, if implemented, could go as far as recording each URL a customer visited and all emails.
That source said such a regime "would be scary and very expensive".
Another industry source said Australians should "be very f***ing afraid".
They said the regime being considered by the Australian Government could see data held for much longer than EU Directive time of 24 months it would be more like five or ten years.
"They seem quite intent [on implementing the regime] and they keep throwing up the words 'terrorism' and 'paedophiles'," the source said. "We're talking browsing history and emails, way beyond what I would consider to be normal SMS, retaining full browsing history and everything."
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.
North Korea asked China to provide it with the latest J-10 fighter jets and other hardware but was rejected, it emerged Wednesday. 
Muslim states said Wednesday that what they call "islamophobia" is sweeping the West and its media and demanded that the United Nations take tougher action against it.
