#3
The problem with the TSA is the leadership, policies and protocol. All of which changes to political whim or news spins. Solid policy, information management, and leadership could have turned the TSA into a responsive protective service. But alas, now we have to hand it over to contractors.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
12/31/2010 19:18 Comments ||
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[Tolo News] Afghan government and International Community will monitor every penny of aid money spent in Afghanistan.
President Hamid Maybe I'll join the Taliban Karzai has issued a decree about formation of a committee comprised of national and international members to supervise and control funds spent in the country.
The High Office of Oversight and Anti-Corruption said the committee will be responsible to introduce any organisation accused of wasting money, to justice institutions.
A lack of oversight over aid money spent and wasted in Afghanistan has caused widespread concerns in Afghanistan.
The committee is consisted of six members including three foreigners and it will start to work, said Head of the High Office of Oversight and Anti-Corruption (HOOAC).
"The Monitor and assessment committee was officially formed yesterday by President Karzai. The Committee is in charge of monitoring corruption-linked cases in government institutions and international organisations," Mohammad Yasin Osmani, head of HOOAC, told TOLOnews.
While welcoming formation of such oversight committee, they said such committees would not work if the government and international community fail to make a strong political will.
"Only the establishment of a monitoring committee is not enough. We have witnessed formation of such committees and commissions in the past, but in order to produce positive results there has to be a strong political will to fight against corruption," Hamidullah Farouqi, an Afghan economist, told TOLOnews.
The Afghan government says it can only be accountable for the international funding spent in Afghanistan if the aid is channelled through the government.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/31/2010 00:00 ||
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Karzai Forms Committee to Monitor Aid Spending make sure he gets his cut first
[Arab News] A Sudanese official says his government has withdrawn from peace talks with Darfur rebel groups, but it is still committed to making peace.
Sudan's President Omar Bashir threatened to call off the talks in Qatar and return negotiations to Sudan if agreement was not reached by Thursday, and he carried out his threat.
Chief government negotiator Ghazi Salaheddine says the Sudanese delegation will leave for Khartoum on Friday.
Ahmed Hussain Adam, a rebel front man, described the move as "a declaration of war" in remarks to Al-Jazeera TV.
Last minute disagreements foiled a goal to reach an accord by the end of the year.
The talks were also marred by renewed festivities between government and rebel forces. Thousands were displaced during the new fighting.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/31/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
High level American support for Darfur has been pretty minimal since Obama took office. The Dept of State claims to be maximally involved in quiet, smart diplomacy.
The various groups in Darfur have become less willing to accept BS as the body count has risen.
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
12/31/2010 15:42 Comments ||
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[Magharebia] Arab scholars and holy mans called this week in Algiers for a "Wasatiya Project" to counter the violence and extremism that tarnishes the image of Islam.
The key point. An unshiny image reduces its attractiveness to potential converts, slowing -- or even reversing -- the inevitable incorporation of the entire universe into the Islamic project. Not to mention that those damned Westerners are better at violence, cf. Iraq.
Participants at the two-day International Moderation Forum, which wrapped up on Sunday (December 26th), also supported opening channels of dialogue with Islamic fascistiin order to convince them that Islam is a religion of moderation and co-existence.
"Ideological deviation is the basis of extremism, and dialogue, argument, proof and evidence can change the convictions of those Islamic myrmidons," said Global Forum for Moderation head Marwan Faouri.
"Wasatiya is not a novelty or an imported feature to drug the nation in order to justify the wrong conditions, poverty and backwardness in the nation," he added.
According to Faouri, "the security approach alone can't solve the problem of Islamic myrmidons" and "the intellectual approach must precede it".
Attendees concluded that moderate preachers should be open to society and not to restrict their discourse to the elite.
"The biggest mistake that the preachers of wasatiya committed was closing themselves off, and distancing themselves from, the society," Montasir El-Zayat, an Egyptian lawyer and member of the executive board of the forum, said, adding that "preachers need to talk to the people and hold dialogue with the ruling regimes".
The seminar addressed a variety of topics, including the concept of wasatiya in Islamic thought, its role in Algeria's security and the revival of nations, challenges facing moderate thinking and women's role in encouraging moderation.
El-Zayat also called on moderate thinkers to integrate into society, so that it may be easy for them to get their ideas across to all elements of society of different levels and inclinations. In the meantime, he stressed the need to hold dialogue with the proponents of different ideology in order to establish the foundation of a balanced nation that leans neither towards indulgent laxness nor Islamic myrmidon strictness.
In his lecture, El-Zayat emphasised that the preachers of wasatiya should make use of different media outlets in order to spread their message both internally and externally.
For his part, Bouguerra Soltani, head of the Movement for a Society of Peace, confirmed that the convocation of the seminar in Algeria "capped the long course of wasatiya and moderation in countering violence and terrorism with thought and arguments." He added that Islam "has been associated with a lot of accusations related to terrorism and violence," noting that the aim of wasatiya is to confirm that Islam "didn't come to kill people, but to give them life".
"Extremism is not an Islamic making; rather, it was made by all sects, religions, ideologies and methodologies that existed throughout history," said academic Youcef Belmehdi.
For his part, Jordanian professor Hayel Abdelhafid Daoud confirmed in his lecture that Mohammedans "are now required to explain some issues in dealing with the other based on the principles of mercy, non-compulsion in religion, justice, equality in human dignity, and co-operation among all the people of different religions and ethnicities to do good."
Daoud said that the discourse targeting non-Mohammedans is subject to many rules, the most importance of which is the correct understanding of Qur'anic texts that call for jihad.
In her turn, Algeria's Houda El Mounir El Attar said in her lecture that the responsibility for creating new generations based on solid foundations that represent moderation rests primarily with the family, pointing out that one of the main reasons for the deviation of children is the absence of parents.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/31/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
For his part, Jordanian professor Hayel Abdelhafid Daoud confirmed in his lecture that Mohammedans "are now required to explain some issues in dealing with the other based on the principles of mercy, non-compulsion in religion, justice, equality in human dignity, and co-operation among all the people of different religions and ethnicities to do good."
Daoud said that the discourse targeting non-Mohammedans is subject to many rules, the most importance of which is the correct understanding of Qur'anic texts that call for jihad.
Wha? The correct understanding of Quranic texts calls for extermination of non-Mohammedans, Daoud. Quit trying to complicate the issue.
#3
Th problem for Islam is that conquest of the infidel is the proof that Muhammed was correct. Basically, Islam has been in an existential crisis since the Reconquista in Spain and the defeat of the Ottomans at the gates of Vienna. (Completely separate from the existential crisis that resulted from the oneness of the community having been broken up when Cordoba and Cairo became capitols of completely independent and competing caliphates at the end of the first millenium A.D./C.E.,, which blew out of the water the idea of a single Muslim community of God's people.)
The smart people are realizing that jihad by the sword is no longer practical when the infidels have both better swords and better sword wielders, which means that jihad of the sword will quickly result in the defeat -- and disproof -- of Islam. The soft jihad of colonization and the law is already causing a strong reaction in the infidel world: anti-immigrant parties suddenly gaining respectability and garnering large shares of parliamentary seats throughout the EU, the galvanic response to the Ground Zero mosque in the U.S.. So the only possibility is for Islam to learn to get along with others as an equal instead of ruler, and hope that eventually voluntary conversions will achieve for Mohammed's prophesy what jihad in all its forms could not.
From a few days back. While it's interesting to speculate that sabotage was responsible for the derailment, Occam's razor suggests that it was a poorly-maintained roadbed. Of course, if we had a CIA worth anything the news would be out that it was North Korean special forces in rebellion...
A source in the defense department in North Pyongan province reported on the 23rd that, "The defense department was notified of an incident in which a freight train which left Sinuiju on the 11th was derailed somewhere between Yoemju and Dongrim."
Eight of the more than forty carriages of the train which was packed with gifts for the successor Kim Jong-eun's birthday on January 8th were derailed, said the source. For this reason the authorities have launched a full investigation into whether the cause of the incident could be related to forces opposed to the succession.
The source reported that "North Korean rail tracks and sleepers are so old that it's possible the sleepers were rotting or that nails securing the tracks were dislodged. But in this case the extent of the damage to the tracks and the incident's timing suggest that the damage was deliberate. The possibility that it was undertaken by someone opposed to the succession is high."
Pyongyang - Sinuiju passenger trains operate once a day. But the freight train involved in the incident runs according to freight demands and the time is not fixed. It can run multiple times a day or once every few days.
That someone on the inside knew about the trains whereabouts and freight contents and tried to sabotage it is being seen as a real possibility, given that of all the freight trains it was the one carrying Kim Jong-eun's birthday gifts that was upended.
"I'm not sure exactly," said the source when asked what the train's likely contents were, "but probably a large amount of luxury goods like watches and TVs."
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/31/2010 00:00 ||
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2010-12-27 China-Japan-Koreas
Kim Jong-Un's presents caught as train derails
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/31/2010 0:20 Comments ||
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#3
One can always postulate conspiracy, but bad maintenance, no maintenance, and neglect will probably cover 95% of the possibilities. 8 carriages for some gifts. Hmmmm mmmm. Learned from dear olde dad, did he?
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
12/31/2010 2:54 Comments ||
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#4
Bet any food gifts vanish.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
12/31/2010 2:59 Comments ||
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#5
My take is that some locals decided to break track to get food from a derailed train. They are all wondering aimlessly right now. It has never been more desperate.
#6
Alaskans will tell you that it is a pluperfect biatch to maintain track in winter. The Norks probably have some advantage in that their rails are likely made of pig iron.
North Korean commandos are training to occupy South Korea's five northernmost islands in the West Sea in an emergency, Radio Free Asia reported Thursday. Quoting a Chinese source familiar with North Korea, the broadcaster said sharpshooters under the North's Navy Command and the General Bureau of Reconnaissance have been conducting the drills in waters off Nampo since mid-December.
The source claimed they were ordered by leader Kim Jong-il and his son and heir Jong-un.
They belong to an elite unit that invariably eats ranks first or second in the People's Armed Forces' combat evaluation. Troops are said to practice swimming in full combat gear for 40 minutes even in midwinter.
The source said the aim is to dampen the South Korean military's determination to firmly respond to any North Korean provocations or attacks after the shelling of Yeonpyeong Island in November. If North Korean troops take civilians hostage on the five islands, it would be difficult for South Korean and U.S. forces to strike back, the source speculated.
The source claimed an operational plan has the North's Army Corps firing coastal artillery at the five islands on a moonless night and special forces landing in hovercraft and occupying the islands.
But a South Korean government official denied the report. "It's true that North Korean troops are training in waters off Nampo, but we believe that their drills are part of routine winter drills, not practicing landing on the five West Sea islands," he said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/31/2010 00:00 ||
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Perhaps we should spread shark chum liberaly in the waters.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
12/31/2010 3:02 Comments ||
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#2
Perhaps we should spread shark chum liberaly in the waters.
You think they'll stop invading to fish for sharks, Redneck Jim? ;-)
#3
I would think the West Sea Islands can't be defended, as at any average time, the Norks can overwhelm the defenses. As a full out conflict would result from such a attack, it won't matter if the Norks take them all. In fact, it would be a diversion of Nork resources from the main battle(s). Any concern or effort about the islands is misplaced. Look! A squirrel!
#6
Better not tell the South Koreans that. They'd likely be pissed that all those years of having ROK marines practice re-taking those islands were wasted.
North Korea reacted angrily on Thursday to the South's policy goals regarding the communist country for next year. In a briefing to President Lee Myung-bak on Wednesday, the Unification Ministry said it would shift its approach to North Korea in 2011 from cooperation and exchanges to preparing for reunification.
In an editorial on the propaganda website Uriminzokkiri, the North said, "The Unification Ministry of the puppet regime has mentioned that next year will mark the start of 'preparations for proper reunification.' This is a brazen announcement by the ruling conservative clique that it will act on its aspirations for reunification based on free democracy through machinations to destroy inter-Korean relations."
Not at the level of the KCNA...
It said the South's plan is reunification "by absorption" of the North and added, "It is no secret that reunification by absorption, which rejects the government of the other side and stresses the beliefs of only one side, will only lead to an armed clash."
A Unification Ministry official shrugged off the criticism. "We did not use the term 'reunification by absorption' in our briefing to the president, but our idea of reunification clearly aims at the establishment of a free and democratic system."
And getting America to pay for it...
The Unification Ministry proposed three goals as its 2011 objectives: prodding changes in North Korea, establishing "proper" inter-Korean relations, and preparing for reunification.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/31/2010 00:00 ||
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SEOUL, Dec. 30 (Yonhap) -- South Korea remains unchanged in its goal to reunify with North Korea through gradual integration, an official here said on Thursday, a day after Pyongyang accused Seoul of announcing a plan to absorb the communist state.
On Wednesday, the South's Unification Ministry outlined a series of steps that it said would lead to the denuclearization of the North and improve the lives of people in the impoverished neighbor ahead of the unification of the two Koreas. Hours later, Uriminzokkiri, the North's official Web site, said the 2011 plan underscores the South's intention to topple the communist regime, warning that an attempt to achieve unification by absorption would lead to "an armed clash and a calamity."
"It is not true that the South is seeking absorption," a Unification Ministry official said, commenting on the Uriminzokkiri editorial. "Peaceful and step-by-step unification has been and will remain the South's goal in dealing with the North."
The Southerners really don't want to absorb the costs of dealing with their crazy cousins to the north. South Korea just this generation has made first-world status, and the cost of integration with the North would be in the hundreds of billions of dollars. The south would prefer that America or China cover that.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/31/2010 00:00 ||
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Uncle Sugar's done
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/31/2010 0:23 Comments ||
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#2
It's the Helmut Cole deal with East and West Germany, Though yet so different as the entire country of NORK is a Gulag.
#3
AFAIK this Artic only means that the SOKORS will not rush into integration + reunification wid the North.
* CHINESE MIL FORUM POSTERS > SOUTH KOREA U-TURNS ON TALKS [Beijing successfully convinces wary Seoul to return to talks]; + SOUTH KOREA IS ALSO TALKING ABOUT [conditional]DISMANTLING ITS OWN NUCLEAR PROGRAM.
* OTOH WAFF > CHINA IS PREPARED FOR WAR! | CHINA'S BOOOMING ECONOMY FUELING MILITARY MIGHT.
#4
The logical thing for the South to do, if the North gets a more peaceful government, is to first flood the North with food in exchange for demilitarization (pointed South, that is), then send up aid to help them reestablish their agriculture.
Then it would be one major project a year to help the North raise itself up. Because the more they can help themselves, first, the better it will be in the long run.
#6
Mojo, that would be nice. But to make a rough analogy, Russia made the shit sandwich once known as the DDR - yet it's West Germans who've had Solidarity tax deducted from their paychecks for 20 years now. All while 20-25% of (formerly) East Germans continue voting for the Communist Party, because free markets are just too mean and scary.
IIUC, SKs have been keen observers of German reunification, and would vastly prefer something like Anonymoose's plan - which would be better all round.
DANISH Justice Minister Lars Barfoed has revealed he was informed weeks ago of a plot to massacre staff at a Danish newspaper.
"I don't recall the date, but I have been informed for several weeks that the case was under way. I have been continuously updated about this, among other things because of the serious nature" of the case, Mr Barfoed told the Politiken newspaper's online edition.
Five men were arrested on Wednesday in Denmark and Sweden for hatching what Danish officials said was a plan to kill as many people as possible in an assault on the Copenhagen offices of the Jyllands-Posten newspaper.
The paper published in September 2005 a dozen cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed that later triggered violent and sometimes deadly protests around the world.
Jyllands-Posten's Copenhagen office building also houses the offices of Politiken, which is Denmark's other leading broadsheet.
"It is with disgust that I heard about the bestial terror plot against those of you who work in the building, but which also in reality was a plot against Danish citizens and society," Mr Barfoed told Politiken.
"At the same time it is very satisfying as justice minister to see that we have a very hard-working and competent intelligence service, which together with others is capable of conducting surveillance, investigating and stopping this kind of operation."
Danish intelligence agency PET worked closely with its Swedish counterpart Saepo on the case, since four of the five suspects were based in Sweden.
The men, four of whom have been remanded in custody, had been kept under surveillance for months, the agencies have said, stressing the arrests foiled an imminent attack.
Mr Barfoed said on Wednesday the arrests prevented the most serious attack to ever occur in Denmark.
#1
In many such cases I think the best approach would be a counterterrorism unit given some liberties to discreetly neutralize such threats.
That is, once a group like that has been identified, with strict controls to verify that they are for real, then authorize a covert assassination unit to off them in nasty, even humiliating, "accidents".
Things like slip-and-fall while wearing women's undergarments, heels and makeup. Choking on a pork sandwich. etc. Be creative.
#2
Moose, given the minister's comment ...disgust that I heard about the bestial terror plot...
creativity flowers bloom. Do they have camels in Denmark? How about goats?
Posted by: Alan Cramer ||
12/31/2010 9:53 Comments ||
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Julian Assange has set the ultimate dead man's switch: Arrest or kill him and thousands of files will be automatically released, including documents that out CIA-backed Arabs.
The Wikileaks leader had previously claimed to have files on auto-release. That he had info on CIA ties was first-mentioned in an interview yesterday with Al-Jazeera.
This is exactly the type of information that lead people to condemn Wikileaks as dangerous. If released it would certainly endanger many American operatives and cause a massive political disruption.
#2
Arab leaders with CIA ties? That would probably include all of them. The CIA have long been quick with a hand out, understanding that "La Mordida" is humanities lubricant.
#3
Didn't he threaten to release a crapload of documents earlier this month if the Brits arrested him on the Swedish warrants? I distinctly remember hearing that he had all kinds of stuff on major corporations back then.
IIRC, nothing was released then. Or after he got bailed out so he could chase British chix like Benny Hill around some aristocrat's estate to the tune of Enrique Iglesias' latest audio turd, for that matter.
I'm thinking a certain poster's fave albino rat-faced crush freedom fighter is talking smack again.
#12
The leaks are destroying democracies and reinforcing tyrants (c.f. Zimbabwe). Look for even more Arab radicals and Islamic radical fundamentalists (or else the military in prevention of such) to topple these people.
Assange and those who support him as a "paragon of peace" are idiots, who should be demolished before they cause even more deaths.
#14
Julian Assange Threatens To Name Arab Leaders With CIA Ties
He didn't get any of that information off of SIPRNET from his little bum buggering Army buddy. Call me a "conspiracy theorist" but I believe this fellow may have other, well placed sources.
#15
@Besoeker - First off he alos apparently had access to JWICS (google it, c.f. Wikipedia), not just SIPR. SO there was Top Secret access for the littke futt-bucking traitor.
I usually do dismiss that sort of reasoning as "conspiracy theory". But in this case, it may not be. Think about "Sources and Methods"; those things (especially sensitive HUMINT sources) are usually far more protected than the intelligence they produce. It is common intelligence doctrine of any department or nation, to scrub intelligence first of sources and methods before being released. This is even in the highest classifications and across compartmented access areas. It goes back to WW2 and the "Ultra" decrypts against Enigma, and other similar things (Japanese naval codes as well).
I would say a politically motivated CIA or State Department stooge could have leaked such things. Its not beyond reason, especially when given the history of the sieve-like quality of those places during the Bush administration, when it came to politically charged and damaging leaks.
#19
why not flood the zone saying Hezbollah , Talib, ISI, et al honchos have been on our payroll ahead of time. Use it to get rid of our headache assholes...
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/31/2010 23:31 Comments ||
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HONOLULU President Barack Obama honoured on Thursday seven Americans killed in an attack on a CIA base in Afghanistan, saying senior Al Qaeda leaders were now under more pressure than ever before.
The CIA operatives were killed a year ago by a Jordanian informant who gained access to one of the Central Intelligence Agencys major field bases and set off explosives rigged to his body.
As we mark the first anniversary of their sacrifice at Khost, this is the work to which we recommit ourselves today, Obama said in a statement. We will ensure that our dedicated intelligence professionals have the training and tools they need to meet the missions we ask of them.
The December 30, 2009 attack on the CIA base in Khost, near the lawless border with Pakistan, was a devastating blow for the spy agency and the second deadliest single assault in CIA history.
Today, Al-Qaedas senior leadership is under more pressure than ever before and is hunkered down in the border region of Afghanistan and Pakistan, Obama insisted. We are relentlessly pursuing our mission to disrupt, dismantle and ultimately defeat that terrorist organization.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/31/2010 00:00 ||
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Do I see response here? Is he learning that this is an intelligence war yet? It's a few parsha ago in Spies.
[Geo News] Federal Minister for Labour and Religious Affairs, Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah has said the government will not amend the Namoos-e- Risalat law and appealed to the Learned Elders of Islam to withdraw the strike call.
The federal minister was addressing a presser at Pakistain People's Party (PPP), Sindh Media Cell here on Thursday.
He said the government will not amend the Namoos-e-Risalat law and no Bill for this purpose has been submitted to the Assembly.
Syed Khursheed Shah appealed to the Learned Elders of Islam to withdraw the strike call after the assurance given in the National Assembly, in this regard.
The minister said some elements are hatching conspiracy against the government for their personal interests.
Syed Khursheed Shah said the PPP believes that Islam is our religion.
He said his party will never hurt the feelings of the 180 million Mohammedans.
He said when the government has given clear assurance on the floor of the National Assembly that no bill about Namoos-e-Risalat is being tabled before the House, then giving a strike call with reference to it, is unfair.
The minister recalled that Chief of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) Chief Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman has also been informed eight days ago that no Bill about Namoos-e- Risalat will be presented in the Parliament.
He said the religious events of the holy month of Muharram-ul-Haram have been held peacefully and if now any untoward incident happened by bringing people on the road, then who will be responsible.
He appealed to the Learned Elders of Islam to immediately withdraw the strike call given in connection with the Tahafooz-e-Namoos-e-Risalat.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/31/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
He said his party will never hurt the feelings of the 180 million Mohammedans
Thats why there will never be progress in this God Forsaken coutry where the Mullahs are still allowed to control the masses.
Posted by: Paul ||
12/31/2010 8:06 Comments ||
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[Arab News] Pakistain will strongly contest a lawsuit filed against its Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency and its present and past directors general. A Foreign Ministry statement said Thursday that the government and Pakistain's Embassy in Washington would defend ISI and its officials "fully and properly."
The ministry statement cited Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani as categorically saying in the National Assembly that Pakistain did not believe the ISI, as an agency of the government of Pakistain, or its present and former officials could be subjected to civil litigation in US courts and "we intend to take appropriate steps to obtain dismissal of this action."
Gilani had also announced in Parliament that the ISI chief would not appear in any US court in connection with the Nov. 26, 2008 Mumbai terrorist attack.
Gilani was responding to a fiery speech by opposition leader Nisar Ali Khan, who took the government to task over what he described as a failed foreign policy.
A US court has summoned ISI Director General Lt. Gen. Ahmed Shuja Pasha and other officials as also Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander Zakiur Rahman Lakhvi and Jamaat-ud Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed, the alleged criminal masterminds of the Mumbai attack.
The 26-page lawsuit was filed before a Brooklyn court by family members of Rabbi Gavriel Noach Holtzberg and his pregnant wife, Rivka, who were among the 166 people killed during the attack.
Apart from Pasha, who has been director general of the ISI since September 2008, the court has also summoned his predecessor Lt. Gen. Nadeem Taj and ISI officials Maj. Samir Ali, Azam Cheema and Maj. Iqbal.
Commenting on the court summons, former President Pervez Perv Musharraf ... former dictator of Pakistain, who was less dictatorial and corrupt than any Pak civilian government to date ... said in London: "Neither the courts of Pakistain can summon the director of the CIA nor the US courts have any jurisdiction to summon the chief of the ISI."
Pak Kareem Khan has threatened to sue in a Pak court CIA Director Leon Panetta, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates and a man he said was the CIA's station chief in Islamabad for the "wrongful death" of his son in a US dronezap last year in Pakistain's North Wazoo region.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/31/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
any hint of outrage at the deaths and woundings of innocents by the ISI led and funded terrorists?
Posted by: Water Modem ||
12/31/2010 0:36 Comments ||
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Gee, they actually pointed out that the US court's "jurisdiction" was purely theoretical and completely unenforceable?
Too bad the court couldn't figure that one out on it's own, huh?
NINEWA / Aswat al-Iraq: The Iraqi Parliaments Speaker, Usama al-Nujeifi, in a reception of the Chairman of the Christian Chaldian Sect in Mosul, Rev. Emil Shamoun Nona, on Thursday has reiterated necessity to support Iraqi Christians, according to a Media Spokesman of his office.
The spokesman told Aswat al-Iraq news agency that Nujeify and his accompanying delegation had conferred early on Thursday with Rev. Shamoun, during which he said that the people of Iraq supports their Christian Brothren, adding that his visit has taken place to express support and solidarity with the Christians.
The Iraqi people are determined to fight terrorism and they are keen to fight extremism, Nujeifi stressed, saying: We shall not allow any attempt to undermine the cohesion of the Iraqi people, and Christians are a basic component of our people, and their sufferings are similar to the sufferings of all Iraqi people.
Noteworthy is that a group of armed men had broken through Baghdads My Lady of Salvation Church on 31/10/2010, took dozens of worshippers hostage, before a counter attack by the Iraqi security forces, that caused the killing of 58 persons, among them 5 of the attackers, 7 security men, whilst the others have been hostages. The attack had wounded 75 persons, among them 15 Army and police men. Al-Qaeda Organization had announced responsibility for the attack, threatening Iraqi Christians with other attacks.
The attack was followed by several terrorists raids against areas inhabited by Iraqi Christians, including Baghdad and Ninewa, killing and wounding a number of Christians, that was followed with the immigration of Christians to Iraqi Kurdistans Arbil and Sulaimaniya Provinces, where Kurdistan President, Massoud Barzani, expressed his Regions readiness to receive and protect them.
Rev. Nona, on his part, told Nujeifi and his accompanying delegation: Your visit represents a strong support for Iraqi Christians and reflects the Iraqi peoples cohesion, adding: we are following the steps, taken by the Parliament and the government, which we see as encouraging for stability and helping to achieve decent life for us, especially after your reception of the Parliament, which became strong after your chairmanship.
Parliament Speaker Nujeifi is leading a 35-member delegation, comprising the Ministers of Education, Transport and Agriculture, along with several other officials and Legislatures, who held an administrative, economic and service conference in Ninewa, to boost means of communication between the provinces and the Central Government in Baghdad.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/31/2010 00:00 ||
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[Ma'an] Maintaining its position as a extra-political movement, Islamic Jihad officials said Thursday that they had refused a seat on Gazoo Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh's new government.
"With all our appreciation for the invitation from our brothers in Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason,, we of the Islamic Jihad will not take part in the government," a statement from leader Nafeth A'zam read, noting the movement's history of abstentions from local, national and presidential elections.
The refusal comes as a committee appointed by Haniyeh, Hamas leader in Gazoo, consults factions active in the coastal enclave in what the prime minister said was an attempt to form a new government cabinet.
Members of the Popular Struggle Front, an independent faction that belongs to the PLO, said on Tuesday that they would only join a government when unity between Paleostinian factions was achieved.
Officials from the faction urged Gazoo government Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh not to go ahead with a planned cabinet shuffle, saying Sunday that the move would only deepen division with the West Bank.
Haniyeh's front man had announced on Monday that a special committee had been formed to meet with factions and national figures and offer them positions in the new government, which sought to include figures beyond Hamas.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/31/2010 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Islamic Jihad
[Ma'an] Dozens of Islamic Jihad members and affiliates have received summons to appear before Paleostinian Authority intelligence officials over the past week, party officials told Ma'an on Thursday.
Accusing the PA of targeting members of the movement, particularly in the Jenin and Tulkarem regions, Islamic Jihad officials said the wave was an "escalation" and targeted student groups and community centers connected to the movement.
One leader said the move "reflects the carrying out of the ban on any activities by resistance factions."
He continued, saying targeting members of the group "creates a crisis in the national arena and does not serve efforts at conciliation," adding that "it is an attempt to deepen division."
Posted by: Fred ||
12/31/2010 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Palestinian Authority
Nine terror suspects were sentenced to prison for between eight and nine years on Thursday for planning to murder foreigners and for running a terrorist training camp in Aceh.
The nine were Laode Afif aka Hadid, Mukhtar Kahairi aka Umar Bin Fasihin, Maskyur Rahmat bin Mahmud, Muchsin Kamal aka Zulkifli, Surya Achda aka Abu Semak Belukar, Hasbuddin aka Abu Azzam, Deni Sulaiman aka Sule, Rahmadi Nowo Kuncoro aka Usyak As Syahid and Agus Kasdianto aka Hasan aka Musaf bin Nasim.
They are guilty of terrorist acts, presiding judge Supeno said as quoted by detik.com news portal.
The sentences were less than the 12 years imprisonment sought by prosecutors. Supeno said the sentences were justified by the polite behavior of the defendants in court and their lack of prior criminal convictions.
Laode, Mukhtar, Maskyur and Muchsin were accused of planning to assault and murder foreigners working for some of the many NGOs operating in Aceh after the 2004 tsunami.
Surya, Hasbuddin, Deni and Rahmadi were arrested in connection with a terrorist training camp that operated near Mount Bun in Aceh.
Agus Kasdianto was sentenced to nine years imprisonment, one year more than his accomplices, Supeno said, since he was a repeat offender.
The nine men were part of a group of 71 suspected terrorists arrested by the National Police in a series of raids that began in February in Sumatra and Java.
According to the police, the terrorist training camp was run by Jamaah Anshorut Tauhid, a militant group led by firebrand Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Baasyir, who was himself arrested in August.
The court ordered the destruction of all evidence confiscated during the trial, including an AK-47 assault rifle, 312 bullets, two FN revolvers, a telescope and a CD about the Bali bomb terrorists.
Prosecutor Bambang S. said that his team did not accept the sentences and would consider appealing.
[Tolo News] An Israeli minister has said Iran has not yet found the ability to make nuclear weapons.
The minister said Iran's nuclear programme has been hit by technical problems, and it could be still three years away from making a bomb.
Iranian nuclear programme had faced "a number of technological challenges and difficulties", said Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Yaalon.
"So we can't talk about a point of no return. Iran does not have the ability to create nuclear weapons by itself at the moment," he further said.
The Western countries in particular the United States of America doubts that Iran nuclear enrichments are intended for war purposes.
Iran had previously said that the Stuxnet worm had attacked its computers, but denied that it had destroyed the nuclear programme.
Israeli officials consider Iran the greatest threat to its security, because of the nuclear programme and anti-Israeli stance of the Iranian leader.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/31/2010 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
The minister said Iran's nuclear programme has been hit by technical problems...
Translation: "The ultimate in Excedrin Headaches resulting from ...ahem...malfunctioning cell phones. You know, the ones with the defective batteries. Yeah, defective batteries! That's the ticket!"
Posted by: Ricky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo) ||
12/31/2010 0:18 Comments ||
Top||
#2
OTOH see FREEREPUBLIC > IS IRAN ABOUT TO TEST A NUCLEAR BOMB IN NORTH KOREA [by Proxy]?
* Also from SAME > [RED] CHINESE AIRCRAFT MORE AGGRESSIVE SINCE SEPTEMBER, JAPAN CLAIMS.
ARTIC > PLAAF Flyboyz described as courageous + [mostly] competent = GET AN "A" FOR TRYING despite flying outdated aircraft agz the JSDAF.
#3
The corollary to this, however, is that you don't have to make nuclear weapons to have nuclear weapons.
As an aside, Debka is now saying that Pakistan has offered nukes to Saudi Arabia, to be stored in Pakistan until they are requested. And that the Saudis have now stationed a transport aircraft near where the Pakistani nukes are stored, so they can be rapidly moved as needed.
#4
DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > WIKILEAKS:AHMADINEJAD SLAPPED BY TOP REVOLUTIONARY GUARD [IRGC Chief of Staff JAFARI], oer Elex chaos + Moud's preceived desire to grant more freedoms to the Iranian press???
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.
HONOLULU President Barack Obama honoured on Thursday seven Americans killed in an attack on a CIA base in Afghanistan, saying senior Al Qaeda leaders were now under more pressure than ever before.
NINEWA / Aswat al-Iraq: The Iraqi Parliaments Speaker, Usama al-Nujeifi, in a reception of the Chairman of the Christian Chaldian Sect in Mosul, Rev. Emil Shamoun Nona, on Thursday has reiterated necessity to support Iraqi Christians, according to a Media Spokesman of his office.
