The American government secretly backed leading figures behind the Egyptian uprising who have been planning "regime change" for the past three years, The Daily Telegraph has learned.
The American Embassy in Cairo helped a young dissident attend a US-sponsored summit for activists in New York, while working to keep his identity secret from Egyptian state police.
On his return to Cairo in December 2008, the activist told US diplomats that an alliance of opposition groups had drawn up a plan to overthrow President Hosni Mubarak and install a democratic government in 2011.
If you aren't allowed to read WikiLeaks documents, don't click on that link.
He has already been arrested by Egyptian security in connection with the demonstrations and his identity is being protected by The Daily Telegraph.
The crisis in Egypt follows the toppling of Tunisian president Zine al-Abedine Ben Ali, who fled the country after widespread protests forced him from office.
In response to the wave of mass anti-regime sweeping the Arab world, prominent Sunni cleric Sheikh Yousef Al-Qaradhawi, head of the International Union of Muslim Scholars, has joined in support for the protestors.
On January 20, 2011, in an interview with Al-Jazeera TV he said that Allah does not remove tyrannical rulers, because it is the duty of the peoples to fight them, and that the security personnel who serve such rulers surely know that it is a grievous sin to protect them and to kill innocent Muslims in their names. He called on the Tunisians to continue their struggle until all members of deposed Tunisian president Zine Al-Abidine Ben Ali's party were removed from power except for Interim President Mebazaa, who he said should remain so that there would be no constitutional vacuum. He concluded by urging the Tunisians to free all political prisoners and bring back political exiles, and to reinstate Islamic customs banned by Ben Ali's secular regime, such as the wearing of the hijab on university campuses.
Al-Qaradhawi made similar statements to the Egyptian daily Al-Shurouq, referring specifically to the situation in Egypt. He also declared that it is forbidden for security forces to fire on demonstrators.
Cairo, Egypt (CNN) -- Hours ahead of what are expected to be massive displays of anti-government ferment across the world's most populous Arab nation, the internet went dark in parts of Egypt early Friday, and text messaging appeared to be blocked.
Learned a few things from the Mad Mullahs in their Tehran crackdown last year...
According to multiple web services that check whether servers used by specific sites are active, the servers of Egypt's main internet provider were down early Friday. The servers for the Egyptian government's sites and for the U.S. Embassy in Cairo also appeared to be down.
Facebook is aware of reports of service disruption and saw a drop in traffic from Egypt Thursday morning, company spokeswoman Jillian Carroll said in a statement.
Government officials could not be immediately reached to comment on the internet and text message situation.
Because they couldn't be reached...
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/28/2011 00:00 ||
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The EXACT same thing Obama wants to be able to do.
#2
Kinda makes you think again about all that 'Internet kill switch' talk, eh? Back in the olden days before the interwebs caught on, we used to create ad-hoc networks with Point to Point Protocol and shuffle mail from one machine to another with uucp. Everything old is new again!
#9
A lot of work is being done towards self-organizing mesh networks, i.e. local wifi nodes finding and linking to one another automatically, to replace or augment fixed routers. The military has an obvious interest in such capability but it would be useful in emergencies and other situations.
Posted by: Water Modem ||
01/28/2011 9:10 Comments ||
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I am sure the servers are all up inside the above locations. What Egyptian authorities have done is turned off the service provider's gateway servers for Internet Service Provider and Phone Company txt messaging server. Or they actually disconnected the service or physically disconnected the line at demark.
A Presidential "kill switch" is strictly an "Executive" order to service providers to carry out the above actions.
This would be in direct violation of the Constitution's First Amendment guaranteeing Free Speech, Right to Assembly, etc..
Not that many of this generation of Americans seem to be concerned about the particulars of the Constitution, expecially when it comes to the America's first seriously narcistic President, President Hussein.
#18
OKAY - I guessed wrong.
It sure looks like Murbark on TV
Posted by: Water Modem ||
01/28/2011 17:33 Comments ||
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here's the good news /Some of the 30-plus deepwater rigs that were in the Gulf of Mexico have moved to other markets, first because of a U.S. halt called last May after BP Plcs (BP.L: Quote) well blowout, and then because of the lack of permits once the moratorium was lifted.Below are rigs contracted to work in the Gulf of Mexico that have been or will be moved to other regions.
Vice President Joe Biden spoke to the PBS NewsHour tonight with the most direct US governent comments yet about the gathering Egypt protests against President Hosni Mubarak's 29-year reign.
Mr. Biden's comments are unlikely to be well-received by regime opponents, as they fit a narrative of steadfast US support for a government they want to bring down. About eight protesters and one policeman have died this week as Egypt has sought to bring down the heavy hand of the state against opponents. Since the US provides about $1.3 billion in military aid to Egypt a year, the repressive apparatus of the state is seen by many in Egypt as hand in glove with the US.
Ahead of a day that could prove decisive, NewsHour host Jim Lehrer asked Biden if the time has "come for President Mubarak of Egypt to go?" Biden answered: "No. I think the time has come for President Mubarak to begin to move in the direction that -- to be more responsive to some... of the needs of the people out there."
Asked if he would characterize Mubarak as a dictator Biden responded: "Mubarak has been an ally of ours in a number of things. And he's been very responsible on, relative to geopolitical interest in the region, the Middle East peace efforts; the actions Egypt has taken relative to normalizing relationship with -- with Israel. ... I would not refer to him as a dictator."
He also appeared to make one of the famous Biden gaffes, in comments that could be interpreted as questioning the legitimacy of protesters' demands. Monitor Cairo correspondent Kristen Chick, other reporters in the country, and activists have generally characterized the main calls of demonstrators as focused on freedom, democracy, an end to police torture, and a more committed government effort to address the poverty that aflicts millions of Egyptians.
Biden urged non-violence from both protesters and the government and said: "We're encouraging the protesters to -- as they assemble, do it peacefully. And we're encouraging the government to act responsibly and -- and to try to engage in a discussion as to what the legitimate claims being made are, if they are, and try to work them out." He also said: "I think that what we should continue to do is to encourage reasonable... accommodation and discussion to try to resolve peacefully and amicably the concerns and claims made by those who have taken to the street. And those that are legitimate should be responded to because the economic well-being and the stability of Egypt rests upon that middle class buying into the future of Egypt."
Egypt's protesters, if they're paying attention to Biden at all, will certainly be wondering which of their demands thus far have been illegitimate.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/28/2011 00:00 ||
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He's right in the sense that anybody else will be worse for Egyptians. And, on a short run, the rest of the World. Me, I believe that on the long run "moderate, pro-Western" Muslims are a lot more dangerous that "extremists".
* FREEREPUBLIC > JUST BRIEFED A VERY SENIOR RETIRED CIA OFFICER: "EGYPT IS A PROBABLE DISASTER FOR THE US". Good Artic on realistic, Prob Outcomes = LT consequences for the US from the on-going Egyptian + other Muslim States' riots.
versus
* DRUDGEREPORT > Telegraph.UK = USA "SECRETLY BACKED [Egyptian] UPRISING" [protests] |EGYPT PROTESTS: SECRET [US]BACKING FOR REBEL LEADERS BEHIND UPRISING. US covertly plying Muslim Allies to initiate significant Socio-Political, etc. National, Regional Changes for the past 3 years.
[Ma'an] At least 1,000 people have been nabbed in Egypt since Tuesday, in the most serious protests of geriatric President Hosni Mubarak's 30-year-rule, a security official said on Thursday, as activists vowed to continue rallying.
"At least 1,000 people have been nabbed around the country since the demonstrations started," on Tuesday, the official told AFP.
Security was out in force in downtown Cairo after two days of unprecedented anti-government protests left six dead and scores injured.
The pro-democracy April 6 Movement, the driving force behind the rallies, has called on Egyptians to keep going.
Thursday "will not be a holiday... street action will continue," the group said on its Facebook page.
The demonstrations which kicked off on Tuesday, inspired by an uprising in Tunisia, have been the most significant since bread riots shook the country in 1977, four years before Mubarak came to power.
Cairo has come under international pressure to listen to demonstrators, and all parties have been urged to exercise restraint after police used tear gas and rubber bullets against protesters who responded by throwing rocks.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2011 00:00 ||
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[Ma'an] Protests raged in Egypt for a third straight day Thursday as pro-democracy activists, galvanised by the return of dissident Mohamed ElBaradei, vowed to step up efforts to oust geriatric President Hosni Mubarak.
ElBaradei, a Nobel laureate and former chief of the UN nuclear watchdog, arrived from Vienna Thursday evening in Cairo, where according to his brother he will join mass protests planned after weekly Mohammedan prayers on Friday.
"It is a critical time in the life of Egypt. I have come to participate with the Egyptian people," said ElBaradei, a vocal critic of Mubarak, as he left Cairo airport.
Earlier in Vienna he told news hounds he was ready to "lead the transition" in Egypt if asked.
"If people, in particularly young people, if they want me to lead the transition I will not let them down. My priority right now is to see a new Egypt and to see a new Egypt through peaceful transition," he said.
His arrival came on the third straight day of angry nationwide protests, which have built into the largest uprising in three decades, during which seven people have been killed -- five protesters and two coppers -- and more than 100 injured.
A security official told AFP that around 1,000 protesters had been jugged since the protests began.
While a heavy security clamp Thursday prevented protesters from massing in the centre of Cairo as they did Tuesday and Wednesday, violent festivities erupted in the cities of Suez and Ismailiya, and in a Sinai town where a protester was rubbed out by police, according to witnesses.
The demonstrations against Mubarak's autocratic rule, inspired by the groundbreaking "Jasmine Revolution" in Tunisia, have sent shockwaves across the region and prompted Washington to prod its long-time ally on democratic reforms.
Events on the street sent jitters Thursday through Egypt's stock exchange, which suspended trading temporarily after a drop of 6.2 percent in the benchmark EGX 30 index, a day after it fell six percent.
The stock market closed with a drop of over 10 percent on Thursday.
The secretary general of Egypt's ruling National Democratic Party meanwhile told news hounds Thursday that the authorities are open to dialogue with the country's young people who are spearheading demonstrations.
"We have held several meetings with the youth, but in the future we will be more understanding in our approach so that they can be participants," Sawfat al-Sherif told a news conference, without saying more about what he meant.
Earlier in the day, members of the pro-democracy youth group April 6 Movement said they would continue to take to the streets, defying a ban on demonstrations announced on Wednesday.
"To continue what we started on January 25, we will take to the streets to demand the right to life, liberty, dignity and we call on everyone to take to the streets ... and to keep going until the demands of the Egyptian people have been met," the group said.
Opposition groups circulated SMS messages and posted appeals on social networking site Facebook for fresh demonstrations "to demand the right to live with freedom and dignity."
"We've started and we won't stop," one demonstrator told AFP.
Clashes broke out in the north Sinai town of Sheikh Zuwayed where, according to witnesses and relatives, Mohamed Atef, 22, died when he was shot in the head by police during a firefight.
In Suez, east of Cairo at the mouth of the Suez Canal, anti-riot police fired rubber-coated bullets, tear gas and water canon at hundreds of people gathered to demand the release of some 75 people jugged on Tuesday and Wednesday.
An AFP photographer said protesters later hurled molotov cocktails at a fire station in the city, setting it ablaze.
In Ismailiya to the north, witnesses reported that police were on Thursday firing tear gas at demonstrators, who responded by throwing rocks.
The United States, Egypt's chief ally in the Arab world, meanwhile issued a nuanced written statement in Obama's name on Egypt.
"The Egyptian government has an important opportunity to be responsive to the aspirations of the Egyptian people, and pursue political, economic and social reforms that can improve their lives and help Egypt prosper," it said.
"The United States is committed to working with Egypt and the Egyptian people to advance these goals," it added.
The statement also underlined US support for basic democratic freedoms "including the rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly".
The protests are the largest in Egypt since bread riots in 1977, four years before Mubarak came to power.
Among protesters' demands are the departure of the interior minister, whose security forces have been accused of heavy-handedness; an end to a decades-old state of emergency and a rise in minimum wages.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2011 00:00 ||
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What's the chance Mubarak puts ElBardei in a NICE prison like Allentown?
chirp...
Posted by: Water Modem ||
01/28/2011 9:18 Comments ||
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[Ma'an] Pro-democracy activists vowed on Thursday to step up the largest anti-government protests in Egypt in 30 years despite mass arrests and heavy security and as top dissident Mohamed ElBaradei headed to join them.
The protests against the autocratic rule of geriatric President Hosni Mubarak, inspired by the groundbreaking "Jasmine Revolution" in Tunisia, have sent shockwaves across the region and prompted Washington to prod its long-time ally on democratic reforms.
Mubarak's ruling National Democratic Party was holding talks on Thursday, according to party members, "to evaluate the situation."
Events on the street sent jitters Thursday through Egypt's stock exchange, which suspended trading temporarily after a drop of 6.2 percent in the benchmark EGX 30 index, a day after it fell six percent.
Members of the pro-democracy youth group April 6 Movement said they would defy the ban on demonstrations and take to the streets again on Thursday, while calling for mass demonstrations throughout Egypt after Friday's Mohammedan prayers.
Thursday "will not be a holiday ... street action will continue," the group said on its Facebook page.
"We've started and we won't stop," one demonstrator told AFP, even as riot police fanned out across central Cairo.
By late Thursday afternoon, however, there was no sign of the crowds of protesters that had flooded central Cairo on the previous two days.
But in the cities of Suez and Ismailiya, hundreds of protesters clashed with police Thursday in a third straight day of anti-government demonstrations, an AFP photographer and witnesses said.
In Suez, east of Cairo at the mouth of the Suez Canal, anti-riot police fired rubber-coated bullets, tear gas and water canon at hundreds of people gathered to demand the release of some 75 people jugged on Tuesday and Wednesday.
An AFP photographer said protesters later hurled molotov cocktails at a fire station in the city, setting it ablaze.
In Ismailiya to the north, witnesses reported that police were on Thursday firing tear gas at demonstrators, who were responding by throwing rocks.
Around a dozen people were jugged before the demonstration began.
Nobel laureate ElBaradei -- the former chief of the UN nuclear watchdog and a vocal critic of Mubarak -- is due back in Egypt from Vienna late Thursday and would join in Friday's protests, his brother Ali told AFP.
As he departed Vienna, ElBaradei said he was ready to "lead the transition" in Egypt if asked.
"If people, in particularly young people, if they want me to lead the transition I will not let them down," ElBaradei told journalists at Vienna airport.
"My priority right now is to see a new Egypt and to see a new Egypt through peaceful transition," he added.
According to an Egyptian security official, at least 1,000 people have been nabbed around the country since the demonstrations started on Tuesday.
Medics have reported the deaths of six people -- four protesters and two coppers -- in violence linked to the protests, with 55 protesters and 15 police injured.
On Wednesday, the authorities banned demonstrations across Egypt, prompting a massive security clampdown which saw police firing tear gas and chasing demonstrators through the streets of a popular commercial district in Cairo.
Protesters responded by throwing rocks at police, damaging several shop fronts in an area near the information ministry.
The United States, Egypt's chief ally in the Arab world, meanwhile issued a nuanced written statement in Obama's name on Egypt.
"The Egyptian government has an important opportunity to be responsive to the aspirations of the Egyptian people, and pursue political, economic and social reforms that can improve their lives and help Egypt prosper," it said.
"The United States is committed to working with Egypt and the Egyptian people to advance these goals," it added.
The statement also underlined US support for basic democratic freedoms "including the rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly".
In Brussels, the EU's foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton Thursday called on Egypt to "fully respect and protect the rights" of its citizens to hold peaceful political demonstrations.
The protests are the largest in Egypt since bread riots in 1977, four years before Mubarak came to power.
Among protesters' demands are the departure of the interior minister, whose security forces have been accused of heavy-handedness; an end to a decades-old state of emergency and a rise in minimum wages.
Political discontent has been rumbling louder than ever in Egypt since parliamentary elections in November, which were widely seen as rigged to allow candidates from Mubarak's ruling National Democratic Party to record a landslide victory.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2011 00:00 ||
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Pro-democracy activists
I know that "sense is never common", but there are limits.
Prominent Egyptian opposition figure Mohamed ElBaradei says he is ready to lead Egypt's protest movements with the aim of enabling a "peaceful transition" of power.
Must mean the revolution is over and Hosni lost...
The former UN nuclear chief, who is widely viewed as an agent for incompetence democracy, travelled to Egypt from Vienna on Thursday to join current demonstrations against President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak's three-decade-long rule over the country, AFP reported.
"It is a critical time in the life of Egypt. I have come to participate with the Egyptian people," he said. "If people, in particularly young people, if they want me to lead the transition I will not let them down. My priority right now is to see a new Egypt and to see a new Egypt through peaceful transition."
And, of course, grab a big chunk of the boodle for himself and his friends...
Also on Thursday, Egyptians held the third consecutive day of unprecedented countrywide protests, during which seven people were killed, more than 100 sustained injuries and allegedly around 1,000 protesters were placed under arrest.
The demonstrations, which have prompted Cairo to impose a curfew in the canal city of Suez on Wednesday, were motivated by the recent popular revolution in Tunisia, which ended the 23-year-long rule of the country's President Zine El Abidin Ben Ali, sending him fleeing to Soddy Arabia.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2011 00:00 ||
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He sure has big money and big support-I see fraud. I never trusted him. Do you?
Media in the Arab world are generally reporting cautiously on the protests rocking Egypt following the shakeup in Tunisia, but those in Iran are giving the turmoil prominent, almost gleeful, coverage.
Sunni Egypt, viewed as the leader of the Arab world, and Shi'ite Iran are longstanding rivals.
Iranian outlets, especially those linked to the government and establishment, are using terms like "revolution" and "uprising" to describe the protests, painting the demonstrators as heroic and giving headline treatment to voices predicting the downfall of President Hosni Mubarak.
#1
IMO Radical Islam is thihnking "DA TIME IS NOW" as per [finally] gaining DECISIVE MILPOL ADVANTAGE OVER ISRAEL IN THE MIDDLE EAST [Arab-Israeli Conflict], + DITTO ROLLBACK OF US-WESTERN REGIONAL INFLUENCE as per "moderate", anti-Islamist Arab-Muslim regimes = Govts-States.
And again, doing so while an MSM-Net, Pert-criticized or alleged "ANTI-AMERICAN AMERICAN" POTUS BAMMER IS IN THE WHITE HOUSE 2011-2012 = 2012-2016 iff the Bammer wins a second term.
SCOPE > Pragmatically, by the above MSM-Net + Pert Scope its to Radical Islam's pro-REGIONAL,GLOBAL JIHAD advantage to MAKE SURE AN ALLEGED ANTi-AMER AMER POTUS BAMMER DOES WIN RE-ELECTION???
Saeed Ali al-Shihri, deputy leader of the Yemen-based al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), declared jihad against the Houthi-led northern Shiite insurgents, in an audio broadcast posted on the internet on Friday.
"To our Sunni fellows in northern Yemeni provinces of Saada, Al- Jouf and Amran, we (AQAP) announced jihad against Iranian-backed Houthi Shiite advocates.
"The jihad against northern Shiites has been declared since the implementation of the AQAP's twin martyred car bombing attacks against convoys of the Shiite rebels' followers in northern provinces of Al-Jouf and Saada on Nov. 24 and Nov. 26 of the last year," said al-Shihri.
Saudi fugitive al-Shihri excused his group's war against the Shiite rebels by saying that the Houthi rebels attacked and displaced many Sunnis in the north.
[Ma'an] Thousands of Yemenis, apparently inspired by events in Tunisia and Egypt, staged a mass demonstration on Thursday calling on President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh to quit after being in power since 1978.
"Enough being in power for (over) 30 years," chanted protesters in demonstrations staged by the Common Forum opposition in four different parts of the capital Sanaa.
In reference to the ouster of Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, the demonstrators said he was "gone in just (over) 20 years."
But Yemeni Interior Minister Motahar Rashad Al-Masri ruled out any resemblance between the protests in Yemen and the public outcry in the North African country that led to Ben Ali's departure.
"Yemen is not like Tunisia," he told AFP, adding that Yemen was a "democratic country" and that the demonstrations were peaceful.
But the slogans chanted in Thursday's Sanaa demonstration which lasted for two hours were firm in demanding the departure of Saleh.
"No to extending (presidential tenure). No to bequeathing (the presidency)," chanted demonstrators, insisting that it was "time for change."
"Common Forum go ahead. It is time for change," proclaimed banners carried in the protests.
Opposition Al-Islah (Reform) party MP Abdulmalik Al-Qasuss echoed the demands of the protesters when he addressed them.
"We gather today to demand the departure of Yemeni President-for-Life Saleh ... exemplifying the Arab's propensity to combine brutality with incompetence... and his corrupt government," he said.
A Common Forum activist said that the staging of the demonstration in four separate parts of the capital was aimed at distracting the security forces.
One area chosen for the protest was outside Sanaa University.
Security measures at the demonstrations appeared relaxed, but were tight around the interior ministry and the central bank.
Saleh's ruling General People's Congress, meanwhile, organized four simultaneous counter demonstrations which were attended by thousands of the government's backers.
"No to toppling democracy and the constitution," the president's supporters said on their banners.
On Saturday, hundreds of Sanaa University students held counter protests on campus, with some calling for Saleh to step down and others for him to remain in office.
Saleh, who has been president for decades, was re-elected in September 2006 for a seven-year mandate.
A draft amendment of the constitution, under discussion in parliament despite opposition protests, could allow him -- if passed -- to remain in office for life.
Saleh had urged the opposition which rejected the amendment to take part in April 27 parliamentary elections to avoid "political suicide."
The mandate of the current parliament was extended by two years to April under a February 2009 agreement between the GPC and opposition parties to allow dialogue on political reform.
The reforms on the table included a shift from a presidential regime to a proportional representation parliamentary system and further decentralization of government -- measures that have not been implemented.
The dialogue has stalled, and a special committee set up to oversee reform has met only once.
Saleh is also accused of wanting to pass the reins of power in the impoverished Arabian Peninsula state to his eldest son Ahmed, who heads the elite Presidential Guard.
But in a televised address on Sunday, Saleh denied such accusations.
"We are a republic. We reject bequeathing (the presidency)", he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2011 00:00 ||
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[Bangla Daily Star] Most of the 32 Arges grenades sent to HuJI Founded in 1984 by Fazlur Rehman Khalil and Qari Saifullah Aktar. The Bangla branch was established in 1992 with assistance from Osama bin Laden. Recruits come mostly from Deobandi madrassahs. HuJI and Fazlur Rehman Khalil are signators of bin Laden's declaration of war on the west. -Bangladesh by Pakistain-based krazed killer outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) were used in at least seven major terror attacks in 2004-05.
Of the attacks, six targeted the leaders of the then opposition Awami League, and the other was on then British high commissioner Anwar Choudhury.
In carrying out the blasts, Harkatul Jihad al Islami had been aided by a powerful quarter, some of who were in state power.
Investigators unearthed these while trying to get to the source of the grenade used in the killing of AL leader and former finance minister SAMS Kibria.
They say their findings would help unravel the mystery behind other similar attacks.
"Any findings in the probe into a terror attack in the last decade have got to give clues to the other attacks, as it was the same group that used the same weapons to kill members of the same political party," says an official asking not to be named.
Investigation sources say 21 grenades of the consignment from LeT were used in seven attacks between May 2004 and December 2005.
Of those, 12 were dispatched to be used in the August 21 blasts and nine in six attacks in Sylhet region including Kibria killing.
Of the nine grenades for Sylhet, two were used in the attack on a rally of AL policymaker Suranjit Sengupta--one went off and the other was thrown into a water body by the fleeing HuJI men.
AL leader and Sylhet Mayor Badruddin Ahmed Kamran came under attack twice. On one occasion, he narrowly beat feet death and on the other, the grenade did not go off.
One each was used in the attacks on Kibria, Anwar Choudhury and incumbent AL politician Syeda Jebunnessa Haque.
The Sherlocks have yet to trace the remaining two of the nine.
The seven attacks killed 34 and injured over 400.
Twenty-four AL leaders and workers were killed and over 200 injured in the August 21 attack on Bangabandhu Avenue in the capital; five were killed and 70 injured in the attack on Kibria; one was killed and over 30 were maimed in the attack on Suranjit; one was killed and over 30 were maimed in the attack on the Sylhet mayor; at least eight were maimed in the attack on Syeda Jebunnessa Haque; and three were killed and 70 injured in the attack on the Bangladesh-born British high commissioner at the shrine of Hazrat Shahjalal(RA).
The Sherlocks say some other Arges grenades of the LeT cache have been recovered by law enforcement agencies from different places including Narsingdi and Satkhira.
HuJI started using grenades in their attacks since 2004. Earlier, it used locally-made bombs.
The sources say the krazed killer group's high command had decided to eliminate the top Awami League leaders, as it considered the party to be anti-Islam and pro-Indian.
Anwar Choudhury had been targeted, as he too was considered an enemy by HuJI.
Several HuJI men have been convicted in the Anwar Choudhury attack case. The outfit's chief Mufti Abdul Hannan, Sharif Shahedul Alam Bipul and Delwar Hossain alias Ripon were sentenced to death, while Hannan's brother Muhibullah alias Muhibur Rahman alias Ovi and Mufti Main Uddin alias Abu Zandal were awarded life imprisonment.
Hannan, Bipul, Ovi and Zandal were involved in the attack on Kibria and would be accused in the supplementary charge sheet, Sherlocks say.
Trial of the case for the attack on Suranjit had started in Sunamganj, but a Sylhet court last year sent it for further investigation following a prayer from the prosecution.
Most of the grenade attack cases are now under investigation.
During the BNP-Jamaat alliance rule or even during the two-year caretaker government rule, investigations into the attacks could not detect the source of the grenades.
The probes were politicised during the BNP-Jamaat rule. Some of those did not progress for dillydallying tactics, while others were diverted to save the real culprits, says an investigator.
Following an application from the prosecution in 2009, the court ordered Criminal Investigation Department to go for further investigation to reveal the source of the grenades used in the August 21 attack.
The Sherlocks say analysis of the grenade and other kabooms in last few years indicate that the organisations with secular beliefs had been the target.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2011 00:00 ||
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This should be Gromky's post but, when trying to publish it, it seems to have disappeared. Sorry. If it's my fault, I'm not sure what I did wrong, but I'll try not to do it again.
Posted by: Water Modem ||
01/28/2011 17:48 ||
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CHIN MIL FORUM POSTER(S) Threads > REMOVING MUBARAK WON'T SOLVE THE CRISIS though, as EGypt's riots are due to Govt. failure to create jobs amidst a major Population Explosion, + other Culture-related [Islam?] domestic = socio-economic issues???
and
* SAME > ALGERIA, YEMEN ARE FAIT ACCOMPLI... KEEP AN EAR OPEN FOR INDIA + PAKISTAN.
"Dear every Siamese Buddhist Thai who lives near the police stations......I'll give you three days for you to leave my land. Otherwise, I will kill, burn, destroy all Buddhist Thai property......The Buddhist Thai will never live in peace. If you leave the house, travel or go to work, you will die violently. I will wait for you for 24 hours, in every direction."
Another document states: "The Islamic warriors of Pattani announce the purpose that we will never stop killing the Siamese kafir and will never stop destroying army weapons, the economy, politics, education and the Siamese kafir society until we regain the land of Pattani and establish the state of Pattani Darulslam. I ask for Muslim Malays to be the witnesses."
During his Friday sermon Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami said that the Arab world was in the midst of an Islamic awakening.
"To those who do not see the realities, I clarify that an Islamic Middle East is being created based on Islam, religion and democracy with prevailing religious principals," the Islamic Republic News Agency quoted him as saying.
On the same day that Egypt has suspended online activity, Syria has also blocked internet service.
Syria is known for a tight control of the internet, which was tightened further after the unrest in Tunisia, reports Reuters. Now, Al Arabiya is reporting that internet services have gone down completely in the country.
Egypts online services have reportedly been down since last night as the countrys deadly protests geared up for what was planned as the largest day of protests so far.
[Iran Press TV] A senior Iranian politician says the country is steadfast in its resolve to cut relations with the UK in the event that London fails to express regret and apologize to Tehran for meddling in Iran's affairs.
Hossein Sobhani-Nia, the deputy head of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of Iran's Parliament (Majlis) said on Thursday that Tehran would sever relations with London "in the absence of the British government's complete repentance and apology for interference in Iran's domestic affairs," IRNA reported.
"What benefits have accrued to us from our relations with Britain that could justify maintaining these ties?" he asked rhetorically.
Iran has considered breaking off relations with Britain several times due to London's meddlesome and undiplomatic approach toward Tehran.
Most notable among the invasive moves has been remarks by the chief of Britain's Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), John Sawers, who accused Iran in October of pursuing clandestine nuclear activities. He further advised espionage as a crucial measure to stop Tehran's nuclear program.
The National Security and Foreign Policy Commission has drafted a bill to sever all diplomatic ties with Britain.
"In all likelihood, within the next two weeks, the bill would be announced to the [Parliament's] presiding board and put to vote," Sobhani-Nia concluded.
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01/28/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
ION Iran will continue to $$$ support or otherwise foster pro-Islamist policies, interests in Britain.
[Iran Press TV] Russia's Ambassador to NATO has urged the organization to investigate the malicious malware that targeted some of the computer systems in Iran's nuclear sites.
Stuxnet, first indentified by Iranian officials in June 2010, is a malware designed to infect computers using German industrial Siemens Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) -- a control system favored by industries that manage water supplies, oil rigs, and power plants.
In July 2010, media reports claimed that Stuxnet had targeted industrial computers around the globe with Iran being the main target of the attack, particularly the country's newly launched Bushehr nuclear power plant.
Dmitry Rogozin said the Stuxnet virus could have sparked a new "Chernobyl tragedy," by causing the centrifuges producing enriched uranium at the Bushehr power plant to spin out of control.
Chernobyl, an infamous nuclear accident of catastrophic proportions, occurred on 26 April 1986, at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine -- then part of the Soviet Union.
The steam kaboom'>kaboom and fires released at least 5% of the radioactive reactor core into the atmosphere and downwind. Two Chernobyl plant workers died on the night of the accident, and a further 28 people died within a few weeks as a result of acute radiation poisoning.
"NATO should get down to investigating this matter," AFP quoted Rogozin as saying on Wednesday.
Iranian experts say the worm may have been created by a state-sponsored organization in the United States or Israel to target specific control software used in Iran's industrial sector, including the Bushehr plant -- the country's first nuclear power plant.
The New York Times reported on January 15 that Israel has tested the effectiveness of the Stuxnet computer worm at its nuclear facility in Dimona complex in the Negev desert before releasing it.
The report quoted intelligence and military experts and officials as saying the effort to create Stuxnet computer worm was a joint US-Israeli project that also involved collaborations by Britain and Germany.
US and Israeli officials have claimed that their efforts to develop the destructive computer virus have dealt a blow to Iran's nuclear program and equaled to a military attack on the country's nuclear sites.
Iranian officials, however, refuted such claims and announced that Stuxnet was detected early by Iranian experts and had caused no serious damage to the country's industrial sites.
Reacting to the cyber attack, Iran's Telecommunications Minister Reza Taqipour said in November 2010, "Iranian computers are no longer facing [Stuxnet] threat."
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
NATO? Iran is nowhere near the North Atlantic. Everybody knows it is by the Gulf of Rumsfeld.
[Jerusalem Post Front Page] Vice Premier says Shi'ite group has infiltrated Strip through Egypt and also is active in West Bank, paying operatives; Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason,front man denies claims: "All the factions in Gazoo are Paleostinians."
Vice Premier and Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Ya'alon said Thursday that Hizbullah has infiltrated agents into the Gazoo Strip in order to train Paleostinian terrorists.
Ya'alon, a former IDF chief of staff, told news hounds that "Hizbullah experts can get into the Gazoo Strip, like the Iranian rockets are coming to the Gazoo Strip." He said Hizbullah Orcs and similar vermin can go from Leb to Sudan, then to Egypt and on to Gazoo.
Ya'alon said Hizbullah has a special unit, called 1800, to deal with the Paleostinian terrorists. He said the Lebanese Orcs and similar vermin also operate in the West Bank, paying operatives.
Israel has long accused Hizbullah and its Iranian backers of supporting Paleostinian terrorists, but officials have said little about an actual physical presence of Iranian-backed militia in Gazoo.
Hamas has often denied that foreign forces are in Gazoo. On Thursday, Hamas front man Fawzi Barhoum called Ya'alon's claim "fabricated," and said "all the factions in Gazoo are Paleostinians."
Ya'alon's office said Hizbullah has been infiltrating Gazoo quietly since Israel withdrew from the seaside strip in 2005.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
The boil that is Gaza badly needs lancing, Deaining and Cleaning/Sterilizing.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
01/28/2011 12:04 Comments ||
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[Jerusalem Post Front Page] The billionaire chosen by Hizbullah to become prime minister of Leb told the US ambassador Thursday that he is committed to having good ties with Washington.
Najib Mikati met with US Ambassador Maura Connelly days after Washington warned that the formation of a government dominated by the guerrilla group would mean changes in relations with Leb.
The 55-year-old telecom tycoon "confirmed during the meeting the importance of bilateral relations between Beirut and Washington," he said in a statement as he began the process of forming a new government.
Hizbullah denied Thursday that it placed any demands on the billionaire businessman it chose to become prime minister of Leb.
The Shi'ite group and its allies toppled Leb's Western-backed government two weeks ago and secured enough support in parliament to name Najib Mikati as their pick for prime minister. Critics have expressed concern that Mikati will be beholden to the group's demands -- something Mikati has also denied.
"We did not give a list of conditions to Prime Minister Mikati," the head of Hezbullies's 12-member bloc in parliament said. "What we asked for is a national partnership and a national salvation government in which everyone cooperates for the interest of the country."
Opponents of Hizbullah say having an Iranian proxy at the helm of Leb's government would be disastrous and lead to international isolation.
But Mikati has emphasized that he wants to form a unity government and will not be beholden to any one side in Leb's fractious politics.
On Thursday, Mikati's opponents pushed him to state his position on an issue that is at the heart of Leb's political crisis: a UN-backed tribunal expected to accuse members of Hizbullah of involvement in the 2005 liquidation of former prime minister Rafik Hariri.
Hizbullah denies any links to the killing and calls the court a conspiracy by the US and Israel. The group and its allies walked out of the previous government when then-Prime Minister Sa'ad Hariri -- the slain man's son -- refused to denounce the tribunal and cut off Leb's 49 percent share of the funding for it.
Sa'ad Hariri has called the walkout a "coup d'etat" and insisted he will never join a government led by a candidate chosen by Hizbullah -- suggesting the country could be in for a prolonged stalemate.
Hariri ally and former premier Fuad Saniora on Thursday called on Mikati to put into writing exactly what his stance is on the tribunal. Mikati did not immediately respond, but in recent days he has said he would make a decision based on dialogue with all sides.
Saniora also spoke about Hizbullah's weapons, a contentious issue in Leb. Hizbullah insists that it needs to maintain its arsenal to ward off any threat from Israel. But the weapons make Hizbullah the most powerful military force in the country -- far stronger even than the national army.
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01/28/2011 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] Outgoing PM Saad Hariri and his Al-Mustaqbal ... the Future Movement, political party led by Saad Hariri... Movement on Thursday demanded that PM-designate Najib Miqati clarify his position on the Special Tribunal for Leb (STL) before deciding on whether or not to join the new government.
MP Fouad Saniora, speaking on behalf of Al-Mustaqbal bloc, said Miqati was asked during consultations with Hariri to say clearly whether his government would cease all cooperation with the STL.
"We asked the prime minister-designate to clarify his position (concerning the tribunal) and to mention that clearly in his policy statement," said Saniora following the bloc's meeting with Miqati at Parliament.
The STL was at the heart of a dispute that led Hizbullah and its allies to topple Hariri's government Jan.12.
Mustaqbal bloc said Miqati had been asked to state clearly whether his government would cease all cooperation with the STL.
"We asked the prime minister-designate to clarify his position and state it clearly in his policy statement," said Saniora , whose parliamentary bloc refused to join the new government.
The STL was set up in the aftermath of the 2005 liquidation of ex-premier Rafik Hariri, Saad's father.
A months-long standoff between Hizbullah and Hariri over the STL led to Hizbullah's walkout from Cabinet January 12 forcing the collapse of Hariri's government.
Hizbullah, blacklisted as a terrorist organization by Washington, had been pressing Hariri to cut all ties with the tribunal, and Miqati is expected to come under the same pressure.
Saniora said Miqati was also asked to say whether he would stop Leb's share of funding for the Netherlands-based court, remove the three Lebanese judges on the STL and renounce the protocol of agreement concerning the court.
Miqati did not immediately respond, but in recent days he has said he would make a decision based on dialogue with all sides.
Officials from Hariri's party said that once Miqati clarifies his position, the Future Movement and its allies would decide how to deal with the new government.
"Miqati's answers will condition our attitude toward his government," one official close to Hariri said, requesting anonymity.
He would not clearly state whether members of Hariri's coalition could still join the new government.
Saniora also spoke about weapons, but not Hizbullah weapons.
Hizbullah insists that it needs to maintain its arsenal to ward off any threat from Israel. But the weapons make Hizbullah the most powerful military force in the country -- far stronger even than the national army.
Saniora said Miqati should commit to a timetable for the collection of "all (illegal) weapons pointed at the people, except the Resistance That'd be the Hezbullies, natch... weapons which are pointed at Israel."
He said all illegal weapons should be put under the control of Lebanese authorities, where as the "Resistance weapons should be part of a defense strategy, particularly since Hizbullah violated the Doha Accord."
"There should be a commitment that the use of any weapons in Leb should be restricted by Lebanese authorities," Saniora told news hounds.
The 55-year-old premier designate said this week in an interview with AFP that he hoped to resolve the dispute over the tribunal through dialogue, and acknowledged that Leb could not force the tribunal to stop its work.
He added, however, that the country's cooperation with the STL was another question altogether, without elaborating.
Miqati, a moderate politician with good ties to Syria and Soddy Arabia, was meeting the parliamentary groups on Thursday and Friday before reporting back to President Michel Suleiman.
He said he would seek to form a Cabinet that includes all parties, but Hariri's coalition has flatly rejected joining a government headed by a candidate they deem was imposed by Hizbullah.
Miqati, whose appointment has prompted fears of a shift in the balance of power towards Syria and Iran, said that should he fail in his efforts to convince his rivals to join his cabinet, he would form a government of technocrats.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2011 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
In response to the wave of mass anti-regime sweeping the Arab world, prominent Sunni cleric Sheikh Yousef Al-Qaradhawi, head of the International Union of Muslim Scholars, has joined in support for the protestors. 
Cairo, Egypt (CNN) -- Hours ahead of what are expected to be massive displays of anti-government ferment across the world's most populous Arab nation, the internet went dark in parts of Egypt early Friday, and text messaging appeared to be blocked.
Vice President Joe Biden spoke to the PBS NewsHour tonight with the most direct US governent comments yet about the gathering Egypt protests against President Hosni Mubarak's 29-year reign.
[Ma'an] Pro-democracy activists vowed on Thursday to step up the largest anti-government protests in Egypt in 30 years despite mass arrests and heavy security and as top dissident Mohamed ElBaradei headed to join them.
Prominent Egyptian opposition figure Mohamed ElBaradei says he is ready to lead Egypt's protest movements with the aim of enabling a "peaceful transition" of power.
Saeed Ali al-Shihri, deputy leader of the Yemen-based al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), declared jihad against the Houthi-led northern Shiite insurgents, in an audio broadcast posted on the internet on Friday. 
During his Friday sermon Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami said that the Arab world was in the midst of an Islamic awakening.
[Iran Press TV] Russia's Ambassador to NATO has urged the organization to investigate the malicious malware that targeted some of the computer systems in Iran's nuclear sites.
