[Arab News] When members of the Alikozai tribe rose up against the Taliban in this critical bad boy stronghold, neither coalition forces nor the government in Kabul lifted a finger to help them.
The Taliban promptly crushed the rebellion. And just to make sure everyone got the message, they chained the uprising's leader to the back of a pickup truck and dragged him to another province.
That was three years ago, when Afghanistan was not a priority for the Bush administration, coalition forces lacked resources and the Afghan government was worried about stirring up tribal rivalries.
Now, US Marines hope they can persuade the Alikozai that this time will be different. They want the rustics to take up arms again and help drive the Taliban out of this river valley in southern Helmand province's Sangin district -- the deadliest piece of real estate for coalition forces this year.
Gen. David Petraeus, the top NATO commander in Afghanistan, cites the development of local village defense forces as key to countering the Taliban. Petraeus used a similar tactic to help turn around the war in Iraq, but the Afghan government has been somewhat reluctant because of the history of armed militias destabilizing the country.
"Local defense forces are something we will try to implement throughout Sangin district, especially in the Upper Sangin Valley," said Lt. Col. Jason Morris, commander of the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, which assumed responsibility last month for Sangin.
For years, gunnies have controlled the Upper Sangin Valley, where the Alikozai are the largest tribe. The Taliban have used it as a base to collect drug money and destabilize critical parts of Afghanistan.
The area also contains the main road to the Kajaki dam, the biggest source of electricity for southern Afghanistan.
The dam is running only at partial capacity, because it has not been safe enough to transport materials and equipment needed to install a third turbine.
The top NATO commander in Helmand, Maj. Gen. Richard Mills, hopes a deal with the Alikozai could change that.
"The easiest solution would be a political solution where they said we are not going to tolerate the Taliban and we are going to start up a local police force and help provide you security for that road," Mills said. "That would be an ideal solution as opposed to forcing our way up that road in a military way." Some Alikozai tribal leaders have expressed interest in once again taking on the Taliban, but are skeptical that the Marines and the Afghan government would provide the necessary support, according to Phil Weatherill, a British government adviser who has worked in Sangin since 2009 and has had close contact with the Alikozai.
"The Alikozai have always wanted to come back to government," Weatherill said. "Unfortunately, NATO has very little credibility up there, and that's what we have to work on and prove we can actually support them." The Alikozai first rose up in May 2007 because they were tired of the presence of foreign Taliban fighters and gunnies from other areas of Afghanistan, many of them from a rival tribe, the Alizai. Their request for help from both coalition forces and the Afghan government was declined because of a lack of resources and concern about getting involved in a tribal dispute, according to Weatherill and the Marines.
The Alizai then killed many of the Alikozai tribal leaders or forced them to flee the area, said Weatherill.
Some Alikozai rustics ended up joining the Taliban because they had no other choice. But many continue to resent what they see as an occupation by foreign gunnies who have planted homemade bombs throughout the Upper Sangin Valley as a defensive measure, said Maj. Robert Revoir, the operations officer for the 1st Marine Reconnaissance Battalion, which has been in the area for the past few weeks.
"They want freedom of movement and don't want to be fed Taliban propaganda 24/7 over the radio," Revoir said.
"They need access to the district government so they can have a voice to state their grievances." The Sangin district governor, Mohammad Sharif, said it is critical for the Marines to ask Alikozai elders what they would need before standing up against the Taliban.
"They likely need logistical support, food, ammunition and weapons," Sharif said. "We need to give them support in advance so they can stand up again." The Marines have targeted pockets of foreign Taliban fighters just south of the Upper Sangin Valley in recent months, partly because the operations were requested by the Alikozai, said Morris, the battalion commander.
Some Alikozai rustics have also requested that the Marines set up patrol bases in the Upper Sangin Valley as a security guarantee, said Weatherill. But he warned that the Marines must be careful that whatever operations they conduct in the area not be viewed as just another form of foreign occupation.
"You could be at risk of the young lads of the Alikozai turning around and saying these guys are in my backyard and picking up the AK-47s again," said Weatherill.
Critics of the local defense force initiative argue that arming rustics risks creating militias that are difficult for the Afghan government to control. The government has tried to mitigate that risk by mandating that such forces must report to the Interior Ministry.
The program also risks exacerbating tribal rivalries in a way that could benefit the Taliban. Alikozai tribal leaders who used to dominate the Helmand provincial government systematically excluded another tribe in Sangin, the Ishaqzai, from positions of power. That drove many Ishaqzai into the hands of the Taliban.
But the Marines and their advisers, desperate for a way to stabilize the bloody valley, have decided it's worth the risk.
"A local solution is the only way forward," Weatherill said.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/19/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Let us hope our new Alikozai friends have read nothing of the US Hmong legacy.
#2
the Kajaki dam, the biggest source of electricity for southern Afghanistan.
Sounds like a Target to me.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
11/19/2010 9:14 Comments ||
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#3
Jim, that's the same dam which we and the British fought a mid-size "march up-country" campaign to get the construction equipment and power turbine convoys through Indian Country in the fall of 2008.
Fuck no, it isn't a "target", not unless we find ourselves in a 1842 situation and it's Sampson Option season.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
11/19/2010 12:11 Comments ||
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[Daily Nation (Kenya)] President Kibaki has opened the Global Peace Convention in Nairobi with a call to the international community to support the region's efforts of restoring security in the lawless Somalia.
In addition, the President said the upcoming referendum in southern Sudan presented challenges that required immense support for the full implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement.
"Kenya continues to play a key role in search for lasting peace in the Sudan and Somalia.
"I take this opportunity to call upon the international community to support the efforts of IGAD (Intergovernmental Authority on Development) towards addressing the security situation in Somalia," President Kibaki said Thursday at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre, Nairobi.
On Sudan, President Kibaki called for sobriety on the part of the Sudanese as the South prepares for a referendum on January 9 for self-determination.
Already, the process of registering voters for the exercise is underway in the South and neighbouring countries where many eligible southerners reside.
"We must ensure that the Comprehensive Peace Agreement for the Sudan is fully implemented," he adding that internal peace was of paramount importance as they determine the future of their country.
Prime Minister Raila Odinga said that besides managing conflicts, there was need to address rising poverty and unemployment levels, ignorance and disease which are some of the root causes of disagreements.
"Kenya is now ripe for takeoff. We must not squander the opportunity before us. We must firmly deal with the four great enemies of mankind poverty, ignorance, disease and bad governance," the PM said.
Together with President Kibaki, he stressed the need to unite the different ethnic groups. Mr Odinga also urged parents and teachers to inculcate values of unity in children at a tender age.
Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka also urged the peoples Somalia and Sudan to give peace a chance.
The convention is organised by the Global Peace Festival Foundation, an international peace and development organisation, with the objective to hold discussions around the theme One Family under God: Conflict Resolution, Peace and Development.
GPFF's chairman is Dr Hyun Jin Moon, the eldest son of Rev. Sun Myung Moon who founded the Unification Church.
The Convention that ends in Nairobi Friday is a culmination of other Global Peace Festivals held this year in Kathmandu (Nepal), Jakarta (Indonesia), Seoul (South Korea) and Asuncion (Paraguay).
In his address, Dr Moon applauded President Kibaki, Mr Odinga and Mr Musyoka for their statesmanship in steering the country to path of peace and development after the post-election violence.
He also congratulated Kenyans on adopting the new constitution.
"It suggests that Kenyans are people of principles and values, who are willing to break away from all wars."
The President also urged Kenyans to support the full implementation of the constitution, which he reiterated would pave the way for lasting peace in the country.
"The successful implementation of the Constitution will pay a peace dividend," the Head of State said.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/19/2010 00:00 ||
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The governor of the Nigerian state of Kano, Ibrahim Shekarau, has called on all Muslims in the country to treat voters registration as a jihad that requires the participation of all those who want change in the country.
The governor warned that the upcoming voters registration scheduled for early January is compulsory for every Muslim, stressing that, it is a religious duty that no one should be excused.
It is only through the process that credible leaders can be elected. He therefore claimed that the process must be treated as a jihad. Mr Shekarau made this known while receiving the Emir of Kano, Ado Bayero at the state government house for the Eid Kabir celebration.
The Emir also mandated that no faithful (Muslim) should be excused from the voters registration exercise, as long as he/she is hale and hearty during the exercise, adding that it is part of religious duty to make the national exercise a success.
Mr Shekarau, noted that it is compulsory for all faithfuls to partake in the national exercise. He explained that democracy has come to stay in Nigeria and the only way to elect leaders of choice starts with the impending registration processes.
The governor also said that the institution of sharia law in the state has helped stabilized Kano's social circle, stressing that moral decadence has been on steady decline compared to what it was before his ascension to power in 2003.
New documents have emerged relating to possible bribery in Yemen by global oil-services giant Schlumberger. Internal company documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal show that Schlumberger employees raised concerns in 2008 about payments for cars the company rented from Yemeni government officials at above-market rates--including $6,000 a month for a Toyota Camry and two Toyota Corollas. Employees also cited a contract with customs broker Dhakwan Management Petroleum Co., whose chairman had ties to Yemen's president.
Internal emails say the company was aware of those ties.
The new details of Schlumberger's activities in Yemen come as the U.S. Justice Department continues an investigation into whether the company made improper payments to a government-related consulting firm there. Last month, the Journal reported that the probe, which was at an early stage, concerned contract payments Schlumberger made several years ago to a consulting firm headed by a nephew of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
11/19/2010 00:00 ||
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[Arab News] King of the Arabians, Sheikh of the Burning Sands, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah has made a passionate call to the Mohammedans of the world to bury their differences and unite.
"Last Haj season I spoke to you about the importance of interfaith dialogue and Soddy Arabia's call was received well by the international community. This time we are in need of a dialogue within the ummah to abandon divisions, ignorance and immoderation which are major obstacles in the way of Mohammedans achieving their aspirations," said King Abdullah in a message to Haj pilgrims this year.
"The terror that threatens the world is attributed to Mohammedans while it is caused by bully boyz who are outside the scope of the tolerant religion of Islam. The perpetrators of terror represent none but themselves even though they appear in the guise of Islam, which is, in fact, far away from them," he added.
The king called on Arabs and Mohammedans -- both their leaders and people -- to hold fast to the rope of Allah and abandon their differences and sectarianism so that no enemy of the ummah can take advantage of their disunity.
The king appealed to the people of different religions, creeds and civilizations to narrow down their differences by reinforcing the common values shared by all.
"On this momentous occasion I call on you and everyone who hears my words, whoever it may be, to look at the common points of different religions, creeds and cultures and to stress the shared principles in order that we sidestep our differences, narrow the distance between us and build a world dominated by peace and understanding, enjoying progress and prosperity," the king said in a message reported by the Saudi Press Agency.
"The objective of your brothers in Soddy Arabia is to preserve the glory of Islam as well as offering humanitarian service to all. We are optimistic about the outcome of these ideas that stamp out violence and terror," the king said.
The king also declared that he would not allow anyone to disrupt the security of Haj because "the safety of the pilgrims is the prime responsibility that cannot be slackened or loosened. And we will deal with any threat with firmness and determination. We have made all preparations in terms of men and material to guarantee the security and peace of mind of pilgrims," the king said.
"I watch with joy and delight the holy sites where pilgrims from the farthest corners of the earth converge despite their diverse cultures and traditions, brought together by their faith, and united by their religion," the king said.
The king also wished all pilgrims a successful Haj and offered Eid Al-Adha greetings to all Mohammedans in the world.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/19/2010 00:00 ||
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(KUNA) -- A Panamian ship with at least 15 crew members and passengers on board sank 10 nautical miles off the Scotora Archipelago in the Indian Ocean on Thursday, the official Yemeni News Agency Saba' reported.
Saba' quoted Captain Fawwaz Saad Ahmad, in charge of the Socorta Archipelago passports' affairs, as saying the the crew and the passengers of the ship were salvaged by a team of rescuers of Hadra-Mowt province.
The rescuers who rushed to the location of the incident found them floating amid wooden debris. They were all rescued alive.
The ship, hoisting the Panamian flag, is owned by the Saudi businessmen, Ayed Al-Sedoun.
It was journeying from the port of Al-Mukallah in eastern Yemen to Socorta port, with a cargo of cement and iron, cars as well as various commodities.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/19/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
with a cargo of cement and iron, cars as well as various commodities.
Bombs and/or their components?
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
11/19/2010 8:56 Comments ||
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(KUNA) -- White British people will be a minority in their own country by 2066 if current immigration levels continue, a population expert has suggested.
Professor David Coleman, of Oxford University, said Thursday the demographic group would make up less than half the population in "little more" than 50 years.
He said the decline will be caused by record-breaking levels of immigration and the migration of thousands of British nationals abroad over the coming decades.
Prof Coleman made the comments as the Migration Advisory Board today prepares to announce recommendations on the Government's proposed cap on migrant workers from outside the EU.
Writing in an article for "Prospect magazine", Coleman said: "Inflows (of migrants) of the last decade have been more sudden and on a bigger scale than ever before.
"The consequent increases in population and changes in its composition have caused concern about economic opportunities, housing, local character and national identity. Moreover, if inflows continue on a similar scale, they will transform the demography of this country." The demographic analyst said projections by the Office for National Statistics show that rising numbers of immigrants, combined with trends in fertility and survival, will see Britain's population rise to 77 million by 2051 - the equivalent to adding the population of the Netherlands.
He said the population would then rise to 85 million by 2083.
Referring to white British people becoming a minority, the population expert added: "The 50% benchmark has no special demographic significance, but it would have a considerable psychological and political impact.
"The transition to a 'majority minority' population, whenever it happens, would represent an enormous change to national identity - cultural, political, economic and religious.
"In Britain, judging by the opposition to high immigration reported in opinion polls over recent years, it seems likely that such developments would be unwelcome."
Posted by: Fred ||
11/19/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
"If you prick us, do we not bleed? if you tickle us, do we not laugh? if you poison us, do we not die? and if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?"
#2
For all the Americans i have met who think we all talk like the Queen and have butlers and cream cakes 1 in 3 Londoners in 2010 are born abroad with cities Birmingham and Manchester not far behind!
#3
Could it be that an advanced society such as the West, which mates without reproducing and selectively slays their unborn might experience some rather dire, long-term cultural consequences? Perhaps our self-indulgent hedonism and denial of the simple laws of nature are permitting us to rightly phuech our way to extinction. Just a thought.
#4
The Population Bomb was a best-selling book written by Paul R. Ehrlich in 1968. It warned of the mass starvation of humans in 1970s and 1980s due to overpopulation and advocated immediate action to limit population growth.
The problem with such predictions is that they depend upon a linear projection with no variables. Yes, there were isolated pockets of starvation in the 70s and 80s, but which could be easily identified as the result of stupid behavior associated with the usual thugs and kleptocrats doing on to their own people and neighbors.
#5
This kind of timeline is silly. Even if immigration rates stay the same birth rates and emigration rates can go up. In fact I suspect a tipping point long before 2066 when those that can leave bolt, assuming British culture continues to be assaulted as it has been.
#7
I hate it when people call me racist because I know I'm not. I just think it's kind of a shame that white people appear to be on the road to extinction.
#8
white people appear to be on the road to extinction?
???? Im calling B.S. They're just having relations with many different backgrounds of mates.
For example, whenever this "whites are going extinct" idea comes up, I mention Padma Lakshmi's very fair baby whom shocked the world. That is right, not all offspring of a dark skinned/light skinned couple are dark skinned. I think its fair to say darker caucasians intermingling with darker Asians, Latin or African may have darker babies, but ligher skinned Asian, Africans or Latins bred with lighter caucasian equals a noticeable caucasian appearance. Caucasians are not going away any time soon, even if we are milk getting mixed with the cocoa puffs.
#9
It's also not extinction just because a culture is outbreed and out immigrated. It just means outnumbered into minority status.
To be honest, if the British culture remains unchanged, few will care. If Islamic law is the result it doesn't matter if you're white or not England is gonna be a very different place.
New satellite images of a North Korean nuclear site and a recent visit to the North by two American experts suggest that Pyongyang has started work on a new reactor. Well sure, after all they tore down the old one ...
The Institute for Science and International Security, a Washington-based nuclear research group, said it has obtained photographs showing "construction activity at the site of the destroyed cooling tower for the disabled reactor" at Yongbyon.
Charles L. Pritchard, a former special envoy for negotiations with North Korea who is the president of the Korea Economic Institute, toured the Yongbyon site during a five-day trip to North Korea earlier this month. He was told by North Korean officials that they were building an experimental light water reactor.
Mr. Pritchard was accompanied by Siegfried S. Hecker emeritus director of the Los Alamos Nuclear Laboratory. Mr. Hecker told the security institute that "the new construction seen in the satellite imagery is indeed the construction of the experimental light water reactor."
Light water reactors are typically used to generate electricity for civilian purposes and are considered relatively safe in terms of proliferation risks. Experts at the institute estimated that a new reactor with a capacity of about 30 megawatts would require several tons of low enriched uranium to start up, and another ton every year as "reloads."
The new structure -- reinforced concrete foundations and a steel frame -- was still in its early stages. The expected completion date would likely be before April 15, 2012, the 100th anniversary of the birth of Kim Il-sung, the founding president of the North Korean state.
Mr. Hecker, co-director of the Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University, and Robert Carlin, a former State Department policy adviser and former C.I.A. analyst, are scheduled to report their findings on the North Korean nuclear program on a panel discussion at the Korea Economic Institute in Washington on Tuesday.
A notice on the institute's Web site says they will discuss the North's plans to develop a 100-megawatt light water reactor. But in previous news reports Mr. Hecker said he was told by North Korean officials that the reactor would be 25 megawatts to 30 megawatts in capacity. And being the NYTimes, here comes the dig to President Bush
Under the terms of a 1994 deal, North Korea was to receive a pair of 1,000-megawatt light water reactors built by an international consortium in exchange for shuttering its plutonium program at Yongbyon. But the reactors were never built.
The project had trouble with financing, construction lagged and the program began to break down. It effectively ended after President George W. Bush included North Korea in the "axis of evil" speech in 2002 and Washington accused Pyongyang of secretly enriching uranium.
Western scientists believe North Korea has small stores of plutonium, enough for about six nuclear bombs, although it remains unclear whether it has successfully weaponized the plutonium.
#3
Gotta be tough to sirvive as as a Norkie > they're caught between historical, NORCOM-specific promises of KOREAN SOVEREIGNTY + NATIONALISM [NOT Chinese, etal.], WHILE ALSO NOT DOING TO ANYTHING TO INDUCE A MAJOR [PLA-led]TAKEOVER OF THE DPRK BY BEIJING, or in the alternate NON-KORCOMMIES, ETC.
[BIGGER, HARDER, DEEPER "ROCK + HARD PLACE" here].
[Al Jazeera] South Korea says the policy of engagement with North Korea that was pursued by its former presidents failed to curb Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions or improve the lives of North Koreans.
Aid shipped to the North during the administrations of Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun from 1998 to 2008 also failed to make a difference to the lives of destitute North Koreans, the unification ministry said in its annual White Paper published on Wednesday.
"Relations made progress for some 10 years amid increased cross-border activities and economic co-operation projects, but the substance of them did not live up to public expectations," it said.
"The North's economic crisis has not been solved and the livelihood of ordinary North Koreans did not improve at all."
The paper called for "reciprocal" co-operation instead of unilateral aid "to forge mutual development of inter-Korean relations".
Former leader Kim Dae-jung won the Nobel peace prize in 2000 for his "Sunshine Policy" of engaging the North and initiating dialogue between the rival Koreas, which remain technically at war after signing only a truce to end their 1950 to 1953 conflict.
During this period, two summits were held in 2000 and 2007, leading to a series of reconciliation and economic co-operation projects such as a cross-border tour programme.
Policy change
However, The infamous However... upon winning office in 2008, Lee Myung-bak, the current president, cut off aid and refused to give in to Pyongyang's demand for concessions, saying the North must first give up its nuclear programmes in return for economic aid and help to build its economy.
The policy review by Lee's government pointed to North Korea's pursuit of nuclear arms and the sinking of a South Korean navy ship in March that killed 46 sailors as key examples of Pyongyang's deceptive nature.
Following the policy review, North Korea pushed for talks on Thursday on resuming a joint tourism project with the South, expressing regret over Seoul's rebuff of its earlier dialogue offer.
The North's state media said that Pyongyang wants to discuss the tours next week, when Red Thingy officials from the two sides hold talks on a programme to reunite families separated by the Korean War.
However, Another infamous However... South Korea said on Wednesday that before any discussions could take place, Pyongyang must first return South Korean-owned buildings that were confiscated at North Korea's scenic Diamond Mountain resort.
The North said it was open to resolving the standoff over the buildings but state media still expressed "great regret'' over Seoul's demand for the buildings' return.
It also criticised the South for what it called "groundlessly'' objecting to the North's seizures.
The North's economy is suffering, and the country has relied on outside food aid to feed many of its 24 million people since the mid-1990s.
A chronic food shortage in the North may have worsened following flooding this summer.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/19/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
It's a good thing they gave him the Nobel Peace Prize before the outcome of the policy was known!
The United Nations is warning of continued food shortages in North Korea where about one third of the population is not receiving adequate nutrition. The latest food production report from a pair of UN agencies shows food production has increased only marginally over the past year.
North Korea needs more than half a million tons of imported grain in the next year to feed itself. That is the conclusion of two UN agencies after their latest mission to the isolated and impoverished nation.
Not our problem. It's China's lapdog and therefore China's problem.
The World Food Program and the Food and Agricultural Organization warn most of North Korea's people will continue to face food shortages. They say Chinese international aid is the only way to adequately feed the North's 24 million people, a third of whom are under-nourished.
"We are hoping that donors will change their mind and support our programs so that we can separate the humanitarian issues from the political issues," said Victoria Sekitoleko, the FAO's regional representative.
Outside assistance has been minimal in the past few years. Sanctions on Pyongyang, because of its nuclear programs, have hampered efforts to attract food and other needed aid.
Which is the whole point of sanctions ...
The UN agencies' report says their representatives recently visited food warehouses in seven of the country's 10 provinces and discovered no cereal stocks. Low-quality maize was available for distribution last month from the summer harvest but it was contaminated and too wet due to inadequate drying facilities.
The WFP and FAO say international aid is needed to help five million of the most vulnerable North Koreans -- children, pregnant and nursing women and the elderly.
The head of the WFP's food security unit warns of a "severe negative impact" if the chronic food deficits are not effectively managed should there be a "small shock in the future." That is a reference to the precarious state of the country's agricultural sector and the economy.
Serious flooding in recent years has played havoc with harvests. Production of staple foods such as rice for this year rose just three percent from the previous year.
The chronic mismanagement, wholesale theft, and outright stupidity and evilness of the regime never seems to be mentioned as causes by our credentialed educated colleagues in the MFM ...
The FAO and WFP are recommending, in addition to food aid, that the international community support North Korea's farm sector to improve the country's food security in the short and medium term.
South Korea recently made its first shipment of donated food to the North since 2007. But the 5,000 tons of rice and three million packets of instant noodles pale in comparison to the half million tons of food aid shipped annually to North Korea under the previous administration here, which promoted the so-called Sunshine Policy of engagement with Pyongyang.
The current South Korean administration says large-scale aid cannot resume until Pyongyang takes steps to get rid of its nuclear weapons.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/19/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
I'm getting very tired of this repeated Bullshit, obviously it's untrue, or they'd have starved years ago.
Obviously this well played lie is to Get freebies through guilt.
Moonbat enablers screaming "Heartless" in 5-4-3-2-1
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
11/19/2010 9:05 Comments ||
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A primary concern in North Korea after denuclearization is what to do with its nuclear scientists and workers, according Kang Jung-min, a visiting scholar at Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research.
I have ideas ...
The article appeared in a weekly bulletin published by the National Intelligence Service. Once North Korea abandons its nuclear program, it will take billions of dollars and decades to dismantle the nuclear facilities, the article said, and the challenge is to redirect thousands of North Korean nuclear personnel to peaceful uses of nuclear energy.
Quoting research by the Rand Corporation and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the article estimates that the number of North Korean nuclear personnel is between 3,000 and 6,000, with about 100 to 200 being the core members involved in making nuclear weapons. "It's vital to provide the North's nuclear workers with alternative civilian jobs," Kang says.
If the Yongbyon nuclear plant is to be used for peaceful purposes such as medical and engineering, about 200 to 500 people can be employed there, he writes. In redirecting the scientists to civilian jobs, their identities must be carefully checked, and North Korea must release all the personal information of key members involved in developing nuclear weapons, he says. He added countries in the six-party talks should provide financial assistance to help North Korean nuclear personnel find new jobs.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/19/2010 00:00 ||
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#3
Bullshit problem, Bullshit solution, They're NOT giving up their Nukes, so end this Kabuki Dance allready.
Bo HOO HOO the poor nuke engineers.
Bullshit, they'll die of old age while still building/testing Nukes. (Or more likely Fizzles)
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
11/19/2010 9:11 Comments ||
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U.S. F-16 fighter jets and Hercules transport aircraft will be deployed in Poland on a rotating basis as of 2013, Poland's Defence Minister Bogdan Klich said Nov. 18.
"Poland has decided to accept the U.S. proposal of hosting rotations of F-16 and Hercules aircraft and their crews" on its territory, Klich told Poland's TOK FM commercial radio station. "I hope this will begin in 2013," he added.
"The Americans will come, conduct exercises with Poles and return home.
Then, they will return periodically to Polish soil," the minister said.
Klich added the F-16 and Hurcules rotations will be similar to those of U.S. Patriot missiles which began rotations in Poland in May.
"The American presence on our territory constitutes an additional guarantee, an additional assurance that we are in an alliance (NATO) where our allies would come to our aid if the situation warranted," said Klich.
The minister also announced that Poland and the three Baltic states in 2013 will host in an exercise of the NATO Response Force (NRF), a multinational contingent of about 25,000 troops available for rapid deployment in crisis management, stabilization or collective defense.
Klich also confirmed his country was satisfied with NATO's new strategic concept, which the 28-state alliance is to debate at its November 19-20 summit in Lisbon.
WASHINGTON US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton criticized Wednesday the state of religious freedom in Europe, as Washington highlighted policies and attitudes toward Muslim veils and Islam as a whole.
"Several European countries have placed harsh restrictions on religious expression," Clinton said, without elaborating as she unveiled the State Department's report on international religious freedom for the last year.
Her assistant secretary for human rights, Michael Posner, cited France's ban on wearing the niqab and other face coverings in public places and a Swiss motion passed last year that bans building new minarets. Both measures have been criticized as intolerant moves stigmatizing Europe's growing Muslim population.
Posner acknowledged "growing sensitivity and tension in Europe" over Islam.
"What we are urging our European friends to do is to take every measure to try to alleviate that tension," he added.
The different attitudes toward Muslims in Europe and the United States are the source of frequent tensions and misunderstandings between both sides of the Atlantic.
"We have gone to court in the United States to enforce the right of Muslim women and girls to wear a burqa, and on the streets, in schools, et cetera," said Posner.
"That's our position. It's a position we articulate when we talk to our European friends."
Except when having a photo made for a driver's license, or when testifying in court, or when walking through a security line ...
France's law banning veils -- passed last month -- was considered an especially controversial move in a country with Europe's biggest Muslim population, estimated at nearly six million. The Netherlands is expected to follow suit.
Clinton defined religious freedom as the ability for people to freely practice their faith, raise their children within those traditions, publish religious texts without censorship and to be able to either change religion or practice none.
Just like the Copts do in Egypt, or the Christians do in Pakistain and Indonesia ...
She noted strong US opposition to any legislation condemning religious libel because of freedom of expression concerns.
The State Department's annual report -- covering a period from July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010 -- found that respect for religious freedom deteriorated in Afghanistan and Iran while China and Indonesia earned mixed scorecards.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/19/2010 09:20 ||
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#1
Hellery, I say this with as much respect as you deserve: F*ck you, you PC idiot.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
11/19/2010 18:46 Comments ||
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#2
Y'know, I have several acquaintances who claim to be druids. Wonder if the Hildebeast would support them putting someone inside the wicker man before torching it...? (Except they'd never dream of doing that. Or admit to dreaming of it, anyway. Although I suspect that, if you told some of them it was going to be W...)
On Thursday a web hosting service removed the "Israeli war criminals" website which displayed pictures, names and personal details of more than 200 Israel Defense Forces soldiers who were dubbed by the editor "war criminals" for their actions in Operation Cast Lead in Gaza in December 2008.
The site was published in recent days by an anonymous source in the U.K. and declared that its goal was to focus on the personal level and not on the national level of those responsible.
The soldier listed at the top of the extensive list was IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi.
The Zymic hosting service posted a message on Thursday saying that the site was suspended for breaching its terms of service.
(Itar-Tass) - "Professional psychological pressure" was exerted on Viktor Bout during the flight from Thailand to the United States, Russian Consul General in New York Andrei Yushmanov said in an interview with Itar-Tass on Wednesday evening after a meeting with the Russian businessman extradited to the United States.
"Obviously, there was also a professional psychologist among the agents (of the Drug Enforcement Administration) escorting him on the airplane," the consul general said. "He was given a hint that not only he alone is under threat, but also his family - his wife and 16-year-old child." "The interviewer at the same time was insistently leading him to a conclusion that the threat is coming from Russia, from Bout's motherland," Yushmanov conveyed the defendant's words. "In particular, he was offered to tell more about his activities and all his contacts - in this case the agent paid special attention to the contacts." "For cooperation with the US justice he had been promised not only benefits but also that all will be well with him and his family," the Russian businessman said at a meeting with the consul.
However, The infamous However... stressed Yushmanov, Viktor Bout, in his own words, "dismissed all the hints, because he certainly felt no guilt."
At the same time the Russian citizen noted good conditions, which were created for him during the flight from Thailand to the United States, adding that he was "even given the same food as the escort."
At the same time, the consul general stressed, "absolutely all was confiscated - personal belongings, clothes, watches, absolutely all the money and documents" from the Russian in the prison in Thailand. Therefore, he is currently experiencing an elementary lack of personal hygiene - not even soap to take a shower, and the money to buy it all. "He just feels cold," said Yushmanov. "All this, in view of fatigue after a long flight, a complex agenda and climate change, of course, affect his health." At the same time, the official said, "Bout keeps a stiff upper lip and shows good spirits."
The consul general also said that Russian authorities would give assistance to Viktor Bout providing him with all the necessary things for the time of the investigation, including the hiring of paid lawyers. "All this will happen soon, because there is little time left before January 10 (the court's next meeting)," he said.
"Viktor also asked to convey his regards to his family and arrange for him a contact with his wife," the consul general noted. He also said that the Consulate is going to help the Russian citizen to find good paid lawyers, although at present "he has no claims to the free lawyer provided by the court."
According to Yushmanov, representatives of the prison will meet with Bout soon in order to tell him about all his rights, duties, regulations and rules that exist in this facility.
The Consulate General for its part intends to turn to the prison administration in order to lay out all the claims and issues the Russian citizen has at this point regarding his detention in jug.
Bout's extradition and delivery to the United States took place amid high secrecy and security measures and came as a complete surprise not only to his relatives, but even to his local lawyer and Russian diplomats. Russia insists its diplomats should be granted access to Bout, and it calls for respecting his rights as a citizen of the Russian Federation. The Russian Foreign Ministry has accused the Americans of causing "unprecedented political pressures" on the government and judicial authorities of Thailand and promised to continue to protect the rights of Bout as a Russian citizen. "The whole affair is a sample of blatant injustice," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said earlier.
Head of the State Duma' committee on international affairs Konstantin Kosachev, said in an interview published by the Nezavisimaya Gazeta daily that the Russian authorities were acting adequately. They have not interfered in the proceedings on the merits, but, feeling certain doubts about whether investigation and trial can be objective and fair enough in the US, they press for the unconditional compliance with Bout's rights. Kosachev said that such behaviour by the US side was utterly unacceptable. "A very painful blow has been dealt on our mutual trust and our partnership. This will affect the climate of cooperation in the future. Following the path of some sort of sanctions or reprisals, or showing injured pride would be wrong. But we should draw conclusions regarding the sincerity of our partners." "The fact that the Americans have used arm-twisting against the authorities of Thailand and brought Bout to their territory raises serious questions about the objectivity and fairness of the trial he may stand there," he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/19/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Sounds like a lot of Russian Consul love for a "simple businessman"
#3
No connection here, (Eleven people were charged with conspiracy to act as an agent of a foreign government without notifying U.S. authorities after 10 were arrested by the FBI on June 27 in Boston, New York, New Jersey and Virginia.)
#4
At the same time, the official said, "Bout keeps a stiff upper lip and shows good spirits."
Poker face or is he holdin' a flush? You have to know that some of his former...uhem...clients aren't thrilled with calling his bluff. Madam Secretary your hubby called. He says you better make sure you've found all the saftey deposit boxes before Viktor has his unfortunate slip in the shower.
#6
This guy has spent a year in a Thai prison just to avoid a U.S. prison. What a maroon. The sooner he is convicted, the sooner he will be a "Hero of the Soviet Union Russia" traded to Putin by Obama for a "reset".
BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said on Wednesday that he has no objection to form a special province for Christians in Iraq.
Of course not, he's a Kurd ...
There are regions with Christian majority in Iraq and we do not have an objection regarding forming a special province for Christians in Iraq, the president told France 24 television.
Protecting Christians is a holy duty for Iraqi government and all political blocs, he continued, asserting that Shiites have expressed their readiness to form armed teams to help and protect Christians.
The past few days have seen attacks with improvised explosive devices and rockets on houses inhabited by Christians in several neighborhoods of Baghdad, where dozens were killed or wounded and the houses severely damaged.
The attacks followed a raid by gunmen on the Church of Sayedat al-Najah (Our Lady of Salvation) in Baghdad on October 31 during which they kept dozens of worshippers during a Sunday mass hostage. Al-Qaeda in Iraq has claimed responsibility for the attack and pledged to target Christians in Iraq again.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/19/2010 00:00 ||
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A group linked to Al-Qaeda issued a threat in Hebrew on Thursday to avenge the death of two Gaza terrorists, in what one expert claims is the first use of the language for such a proclamation.
In the 30 second long recording posted on a website used by Al-Qaeda affiliates, a hoarse voice says that the "aggressor Jews" will not be safe from rockets and other attacks until they "leave the land of Palestine." The speaker is identified as a member of the group Jemaa Ansar al-Sunna which has a presence in Gaza.
"Killing our comrades will not stop us continuing jihad," the recording says, mentioning the names of the two killed Wednesday. "We will continue firing rockets if God wills it, unless you leave Palestine. Your civilians will never be safe wherever they are from us," it says.
Mohammad Nimnim and Islam Yassin, killed in Israeli air strikes on November 3 and 17, were Gazan leaders of the Army of Islam. Israel accused them of having planned to attack Israelis in the Egyptian Sinai.
[Al Jazeera] The parliamentary speaker in Leb has said that Israel's withdrawal from a disputed border village will do little to assuage "resistance" against the country. Actually nothing will... Nabih Knobby Berri, the Hizbullah sock puppet made the comments on Thursday, after Israel pulled out of the northern half of Ghajar which it had occupied in 2006.
Israel's security cabinet agreed to the move on Wednesday to end a long-standing dispute between the two countries.
The word "resistance" is often used by politicians in Leb to refer to the military wing of Hezbullies, the political and military group primarily based in southern Leb.
Hezbullies was created in opposition to Israel in 1982, and the pair fought a deadly war in 2006.
Israeli forces captured Ghajar from Syria in 1967, during the Six Day War. At the time the village lay on the Lebanese-Syrian border.
At the end of Israel's occupation of southern Leb in 2000, the UN allocated half of Ghajar to Leb and half to Israel, however in the 2006 war with Hezbullies, Israel re-took the northern half of the village.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/19/2010 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] Hizbullah MP Kamel al-Rifai said Thursday that Israel's decision to withdraw from the Lebanese border town of Ghajar is an attempt to "elude" U.N. Security Council resolutions.
The Israeli "plan to pull out from Ghajar is to shift attention and elude the international resolution," Rifai told ANB television station.
"The withdrawal from Ghajar is transfer of Israel's authority from an occupation force to a mandate," he stressed.
Rifai ruled out a Cabinet meeting unless the false witnesses' issue topped the agenda.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/19/2010 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] Free Patriotic Movement Despite its name a Christian party allied with Hizbullah, neither free nor particularly patriotic... leader MP Michel Aoun ...a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hizbullah... on Wednesday noted that Hizbullah might react violently if the Special Tribunal for Leb accused Hizbullah members in the 2005 murder of ex-PM Rafik Hariri.
In a meeting with the Diplomatic Press Association in Gay Paree, Aoun warned that "the reaction will be more violent because (Hizbullah) is innocent."
"No one should play with fire. Those who consider themselves to be innocent might ignite a crisis that takes a military form," the FPM leader added. That statement makes not one bit of sense.
Earlier Wednesday, Aoun reiterated that he does not reject the authority of the Special Tribunal for Leb, noting that he was "one of the first people to call for the setting up of the STL."
However, The infamous However... Aoun said that "a bunch of false witnesses tried to change the probe's course."
In an interview with French television LCI on the sidelines of his visit to Gay Paree, Aoun added: "Investigators have overlooked this course, which, in our opinion, would have enabled them of discovering the real criminals, and this thing had led us to question the tribunal's transparency."
As Aoun noted that it was not a problem whether he approves Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah's stance that further Lebanese cooperation with the court would be tantamount to an attack on the Shiite group, the FPM leader stressed that "what brings us together with Hizbullah is more of an understanding rather than an alliance."
"This understanding has contributed to stability in Leb, where many factors that could lead to strife exist," Aoun added.
Asked whether Hizbullah had the right to "blackmail all Lebanese over the issue of the STL," Aoun said: "Up till now, no verdict has been issued against Hizbullah, so now it is defending itself and its innocence."
On the other hand, Aoun noted that former French president Jacques Chirac "had reduced the margin of communication between the Lebanese and the French, limiting the relation between the two countries to the personal relation between him and ex-PM (Rafik) Hariri."
Posted by: Fred ||
11/19/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
...So let me see if I have this right: If I accuse you of committing a murder you didn't commit. you're going to murder me?
Colonel Kurtz in Apocalypse Now had the right answer - remember what he had scrawled on his report?
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
11/19/2010 12:29 Comments ||
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#2
As before, e.g. the threat of violent Hezbollah/Hizbullah takeover of Lebanon's Govt., Radical Islam's priority at this time is the INTERNAL TAKEOVER. DOMINATION OF MUSLIM GOVTS-STATES + NATIONAL POLICIES SURROUNDING ISRAEL, notsomuch attacking Irael.
ARTIC = AYA. KHAMENEI equates KASHMIR "FREEDOM STRUGGLE" as similar to SOVEREIGN MUSLIM STATES such as IRAQ + AFGHANISTAN, ESPEC AS IN RESISTANCE TO THE US-NATO/WEST. Ayatollah KH. also believes that the WORLDWIDE/GLOBAL "ISLAMIC AWAKENING" IS VIBRANT + CONTINUES TO EXPAND, + that the US-WEST ARE NO LONGER THE "WORLD'S PRIMARY DECISION-MAKERS" FROM 20 YEARS AGO
[IMO read, Fall of USSR + Berlin Wall + DESERT STORM/SHIELD].
[Al Arabiya] A female journalist, the only media person who was able to meet a radical member from Fatah al-Islam told Al Arabiya TV on Wednesday that her ability to enter the notorious Rumieh prison in Leb indicates that there are clear unchecked security voids.
Fatima Ridha, a Lebanese journalist for the London-based al-Hayat newspaper met with Walid al-Bustani, a radical Fatah al-Islam member, and an escapee from the country's Rumieh prison since 2008.
On Tuesday Lebanese police said that they are hunting a turban of from Fatah al-Islam who beat feet from the same prison.
Police managed to capture Syrian inmate Munjid al-Fahham within the prison grounds after he injured himself trying to escape, a police front man said.
Ridha entered Rumieh under disguise
Ridha who managed to interview al-Bustani before his escape, entered the prison under the guise of being a female inmate belonging also to Fatah al-Islam.
She told Al Arabiya TV that the Lebanese authorities in the prison believed in her staged role, and therefore did not ask for any identification.
"I do not want to give great importance for the fact that I entered the prison, but my ability to enter the prison indicates that there are security voids," she said.
"I spent eight hours in the prison talking with al-Bustani and other two prisoners from Fatah al-Islam from behind a barbed- wire barrier. He looked quiet and spoke with a low voice; he told me that he took tranquilizers as he felt that he was betrayed."
She also said that he considered himself unjustly mistreated twice, first for the exaggerated judgment placing him as a Fatah leader, and second for the accusation of being a puppet for the Syrian regime.
Al-Bustani says Qaeda as "correct thinking
When asked about al-Qaeda, he told her that his group is linked to al-Qaeda, and such linkage should not be considered as a finger-pointing accusation, as he considered al-Qaeda to be the correct Islamic thinking.
He left Leb in 1985 after a confrontation between al-Tawhid movement who he used to belong to, and the Syrian Army in abi-Samra, a Lebanese town located in the northern part of the city of Tripoli.
Later he left to Libya before moving to Denmark where he kept his pro-jihadist Islamic line.
In Denmark, he met with Mustafa Ramadan, another Islamist who later became known as Abi al-Mohammed al-Lubnani, a conspicuous leader and an ally of the now dead Abu Mus'ab al-Zarqawi in Iraq.
In 2006, he officially went back to Tripoli and joined Fatah al-Islam.
In 2007, the Lebanese army battled an uprising of Fatah al-Islam in a northern LebPaleostinian refugee camp, Nahr al-Barid. The fighting killed some 400 people, including 168 soldiers, and al-Bustani was jugged.
Fatah al-Islam is also accused of being behind twin bus bombings in a Christian suburb northeast of Beirut which left three dead and close to 20 maimed in 2007.
Rumieh was originally built to house 1,500 inmates but today is crammed with more than 4,000 men -- 65 percent of the country's prison population.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/19/2010 00:00 ||
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BAKU Russian President Dmitry Medvedev stressed the importance of Iran keeping to a peaceful nuclear programme Thursday in his first meeting with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad since a breakdown in ties.
"Don't make me come up there!"
In what the Kremlin called a completely open discussion, Medvedev told Ahmadinejad on the sidelines of a regional summit here that nations stood ready to support Iran as long as it kept its ambitions in check.
The conversation was of a completely open nature. Neither ourselves nor our colleague avoided the unpleasant questions, Medvedevs top foreign policy aide Sergei Prikhodko said after the meeting in Baku.
The president (Medvedev) spoke of the importance of the continuation of a peaceful Iranian nuclear programme, Russian news agencies quoted Prikhodko as saying.
An example (of such cooperation) came at Bushehr where Russia recently launched Irans first nuclear power plant, Prikhodko added.
The comments kept to the careful diplomatic line Russia maintained in the days leading up to the high-stakes meeting: strongly backing more talks with Iran but resisting showing outright support for its president.
In a sign of the meetings sensitivity and contrary to usual practice, Russian state television did not broadcast the opening remarks and showed only the two men shaking hands with Ahmadinejad smiling broadly.
Once a reliable backer of Tehran, Moscow has scrapped a controversial missile deal with Iran and backed United Nations sanctions against the country, which Russia now admits is nearing the ability to develop a nuclear bomb.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/19/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Clearly VLAD + DIMITRY + ANNA CHAPMAN didn't get the word...
To wit,
* DAILY TIMES.PK > WORLD POWERS SHOULD NOT THREATEN IRAN. UN Resolution vee Human Rights in Iran.
ARTIC > LARIJANI + NEW UN RESOLUTION is "HARMFUL TO INTERNATIONAL PEACE + CO-EXISTENCE".
----------
OTOH RENSE > [Guardian.UK] TACTICAL NUCLEAR WEAPONS IN EUROPE: THE TERRORIST THREAT.
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.
(KUNA) -- A Panamian ship with at least 15 crew members and passengers on board sank 10 nautical miles off the Scotora Archipelago in the Indian Ocean on Thursday, the official Yemeni News Agency Saba' reported.
(KUNA) -- White British people will be a minority in their own country by 2066 if current immigration levels continue, a population expert has suggested.
[Al Jazeera] South Korea says the policy of engagement with North Korea that was pursued by its former presidents failed to curb Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions or improve the lives of North Koreans.
U.S. F-16 fighter jets and Hercules transport aircraft will be deployed in Poland on a rotating basis as of 2013, Poland's Defence Minister Bogdan Klich said Nov. 18.
WASHINGTON US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton criticized Wednesday the state of religious freedom in Europe, as Washington highlighted policies and attitudes toward Muslim veils and Islam as a whole.
(Itar-Tass) - "Professional psychological pressure" was exerted on Viktor Bout during the flight from Thailand to the United States, Russian Consul General in New York Andrei Yushmanov said in an interview with Itar-Tass on Wednesday evening after a meeting with the Russian businessman extradited to the United States.
BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said on Wednesday that he has no objection to form a special province for Christians in Iraq.
A group linked to Al-Qaeda issued a threat in Hebrew on Thursday to avenge the death of two Gaza terrorists, in what one expert claims is the first use of the language for such a proclamation.
[Al Jazeera] The parliamentary speaker in 
[An Nahar] Hizbullah MP Kamel al-Rifai said Thursday that Israel's decision to withdraw from the Lebanese border town of Ghajar is an attempt to "elude" U.N. Security Council resolutions.
[An Nahar] 
[Al Arabiya] A female journalist, the only media person who was able to meet a radical member from Fatah al-Islam told Al Arabiya TV on Wednesday that her ability to enter the notorious Rumieh prison in 
