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Dronezap kills several in Pakistan
Today's Headlines
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Afghanistan
US Needs Afghan Base to Fight Terrorists in Pakistan: Riedel
[Tolo News] Since the US cannot rely on Pakistain to fight al-Qaeda we need Afghanistan to put our pressures on thug networks supported by Pakistain, Bruce Riedel a former advisor to President Barack B.O. Obama writes on the Daily Beast website.

An article by Bruce Riedel published on the Daily Beast on May 10 said "the notion that al-Qaeda was neutered was just plain wrong". The al-Qaeda leadership has already made a new leadership and they "will get help from support networks in Pakistain that helped hide Bin Laden for a decade".

"In short, al-Qaeda's leader was organising global terrorism from a headquarters deep inside Pakistain. He may have dyed his hair and liked to re-watch his own propaganda videos, but he was also dangerous," the article said.

The article finds the level of Pak support for al-Qaeda and other terror groups as the "most important" revelation of the US raid on Pakistain's soil.

It said it is not possible to think "we can target these terrorist networks in Pakistain without a base nearby in Afghanistan". Since attacks from other US bases like the Arabian Sea do not work "we need Afghanistan to launch our counterinsurgency operations, including drone attacks and commando raids".

The Afghan government should let us target the Taliban and al-Qaeda from their land, it said.

Pakistain has long been considered as a terrorism hub by Afghanistan and its western allies. However the death of the late Osama bin Laden
... who sleeps with the fishes...
in Pakistain was a plain indication of Osama spending years and commanding attacks against Afghanistan and the world before he was rubbed out. Pakistain government is still trying to beat around the bush refusing the broad linkage with the terrorist networks.

The two-day Kandahar raid that led to the death of a couple of people "showed that any substantial drawdown of NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Originally it was a mutual defense pact directed against an expansionist Soviet Union. In later years it evolved into a mechanism for picking the American pocket while criticizing the style of the American pants...
forces this summer would be strategically unwise and risky". Afghan cops are not ready enough to take security lead, especially in southern regions.

The Kandahar attack launched by the Taliban "was planned from the group's safe havens in Pakistain", it said.
Posted by: Fred || 05/13/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Pakistan


Pakistan Double Game No More Acceptable: Khalilzad
[Tolo News] A former US ambassador to Afghanistan, Zalmai Khalilzad, has said Pakistain strategy of being both friend and enemy to the US is no longer acceptable.

In his article titled "Demanding Answer from Pakistain" published by the New York Times
...which still proudly displays Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize...
, Mr Khalilzad says Pakistain had huge credibility problems even before the US raid in Pakistain. "It provides arms and safe haven for Afghan myrmidon groups and pays their commanders to carry out attacks, but denies doing so."

Zalmai Khalilzad is a former US ambassador to Afghanistan, Iraq and the United Nations
...what started out as a a diplomatic initiative, now trying to edge its way into legislative, judicial, and executive areas...
and a counselor at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.

Pakistain has been somewhat helpful in arresting some high-profile Taliban and al-Qaeda operatives on its soil, but "it has refused to move decisively against groups that Washington regards as terrorist and has put limits on American unilateral operations".

Mr Zalmai writes now is the time to press Pakistain to reconsider and give up fueling insurgency.

The article suggests a two-stage strategy that the US should follow to wipe out terrorism in the region. First we should convince Pakistain to accept it had provided shield to the late Osama bin Laden
... who sleeps with the fishes...
and then we should ask Pakistain to neutralise all the Taliban and al-Qaeda structures within its territory.

It said to follow the goals, the United States should involve all key players in the region, including China and Soddy Arabia.

But if Pakistain refuses to cooperate in the fight against terrorism, the United States must put an end to Pakistain's duplicity and double game.

An improvement in the relations between the United States and Afghanistan is crucial before the US takes any decisive action against al-Qaeda and the Taliban sanctuaries in Pakistain.

The big shuffle in President B.O.'s administration is a chance for a betterment of relations between the two nations, it said.

Meanwhile,
...back at the scene of the crime, Lieutenant Queeg had an idea: there was a simple way to tell whether Manetti had been the triggerman -- just look at his shoes!...
a former ICI officer and a former advisor to President B.O., Bruce Riedel, has said in an article published by the Daily Beast that the United States requires long-term military bases in Afghanistan to dismantle and neutralise terrorist networks in Pakistain.

Meanwhile,
...back at the Council of Boskone, Helmuth had turned a paler shade of blue. Star-A-Star had struck again...
the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
... sometimes described as the Smartest Woman in the World and at other times as Mrs. Bill, never as Another William H. Seward ...
on Wednesday inserted Badruddin Haqqani the commander of an Afghan myrmidon group in the US terrorist list.

Badruddin Haqqani is a son of the founder of Haqqani network, Jalaluddin Haqqani, who had previously been designated as a terrorist by the US.
Posted by: Fred || 05/13/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan

#1  Wehell, for one, iff ISLAMABAD = PAK GOVT. does indeed control both AL-QAEDA + TALIBAN, ETC. as claimed on the MSM-Net, THEN BY DEFINITION PAKISTAN IS PER SE GUILTY OR COMPLICIT IN AQ, TALIBAN TERROR ATTACKS WHICH KILL OR MAIM THEIR OWN PEOPLE = FELLOW MUSLIMS???

Correct?

versies

* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > US: OSAMA RECORDS [taken during Abbottabad raid] SHOW NO LINK TO PAK LEAS [Law Enforcement Agencies].
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 05/13/2011 23:43 Comments || Top||

#2  ION PAK PCORRECTNESS, DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > US DRONE STRIKES CAN CONTINUE BUT "UNDER PAK SUPERVISION", SAYS GILANI.

versus

* NEWS KERALA > [Pakistan] ISI HIRED MEN TO KILL INDIAN CONSUL GENERAL, SAYS AFGHAN INTELLIGENCE AGENCY SPOKESPERSON.

versus

* TOPIX > [Khalid Sheikh Mohammed]GITMO FILE SHOCKER: MULLAH OMAR MET WID REPRESENTATIVES FROM PAK GOVT, ISI.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 05/13/2011 23:51 Comments || Top||


India PM pledges $500m Afghan boodle
[Emirates 24/7] India's prime minister on Thursday pledged $500 million in fresh aid to Kabul in a move likely to raise Pak fears about Indian influence in Afghanistan in the wake of the late the late Osama bin Laden
... who was potted in Pakistain...

Making his first visit to Kabul for six years, Manmohan Singh met President Hamid Maybe I'll join the Taliban Karzai
... A former Baltimore restaurateur, now 12th and current President of Afghanistan, displacing the legitimate president Rabbani in December 2004. He was installed as the dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001 in a vain attempt to put a Pashtun face on the successor state to the Taliban. After the 2004 presidential election, he was declared president regardless of what the actual vote count was. He won a second, even more dubious, five-year-term after the 2009 presidential election. His grip on reality has been slipping steadily since around 2007, probably from heavy drug use...
as calls grow in the United States for a quicker withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan following the death of the Al Qaeda chief.

Any rapid reduction of US forces in Afghanistan would cause India concern, as it fears the country could become dominated by a Taliban-influenced government friendly towards its arch-rival Pakistain.

"India's development assistance commitment is approximately $1.5 billion, but there are still gaps," Singh told a presser with Karzai.

"We now have a better idea of where we can do more... We have made a fresh commitment of $500m over the next few years."

He also took a swipe at Pakistain by calling for a "thorough investigation" into bin Laden's presence in the country -- adding to widespread accusations of Pak incompetence or even complicity. Singh said priority areas for the fresh injection of aid would be social programmes, agriculture and infrastructure in poverty-stricken Afghanistan.

In a joint statement, Singh and Karzai said they had agreed on a "shared commitment to combating terrorism that threatens both countries as well as the region." After more than two decades without sway in Kabul, India swiftly established diplomatic ties with the new government after the 2001 US-led invasion deposed the beturbanned goon Taliban, which was allied to Pakistain.

The Afghan-Indian relationship has raised hackles in Islamabad, where the government and military establishment has long considered Afghanistan its own strategic asset to offset the perceived threat from India in the east.

"Any development that strengthens relations between India and Afghanistan will enhance security concerns in Pakistain," former Pak general turned military analyst Talat Masood told AFP.

"Both countries should be working for stability in Afghanistan instead of using it for a proxy confrontation."

India's tussle with Pakistain for influence in Afghanistan could sharpen as the United States begins cutting troop numbers from July with the aim of all foreign forces exiting the country by the end of 2014.

"Singh's visit is just one part of India's 'soft touch' diplomacy towards Afghanistan, which causes jealousy in Pakistain," said Saeed Naqvi, a fellow at the Observer Research Foundation think-tank in New Delhi.

"India has pursued better links by building schools, hospitals and roads, and that work will now expand, while bin Laden's death in Pakistain has damaged Islamabad's reputation."

Both India and Afghanistan have troubled relations with Pakistain, accusing its military intelligence of supporting and sheltering bad boy leaders who orchestrate attacks in the region.
Posted by: Fred || 05/13/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Africa Horn
UN demands elections for Somalia's president
[Arab News] The UN Security Council on Wednesday demanded that Somalia's feuding president and parliament reach agreement quickly on holding elections by August when the mandate for the country's transitional government ends.

Somali politicians -- who in February unilaterally extended their own mandate by three years -- have been vowing for months to hold a presidential vote despite the president's objections. The president wants to extend his term for a year without a vote.

The Security Council expressed concern in a statement after an open meeting at "the discord" between the executive and legislative leaders "and its impact on the political and the security situation." It urged the leaders to reach agreement on holding elections for president and speaker of parliament "as soon as possible" and warned that without such elections "there can be no extension" of the transitional government's mandate.

Somalia has not had an effective government since 1991 when warlords overthrew a longtime dictator and then turned on each other, plunging the country into chaos and anarchy.

A transitional government, established in 2004 and backed by about 9,000 African Union
...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful...
troops, has been fighting an Islamist bully boy group, Al-Shabaab.

Augustine Mahiga, the top UN envoy in Somalia, told the council that government and AU forces "have made significant territorial gains in Mogadishu," the capital, and are also making "impressive gains in the central, western and southern frontiers" of the strategically-located country on the Horn of Africa.

But he said disagreement over the election issue between the legislative and executive branches of government "is causing a political paralysis in Mogadishu." "There is, therefore, a need to develop urgently a consensus on the when and how to hold elections," Mahiga said.

Somali Prime Minister Mohamed Abdulahi Mohamed told the council that President Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed has asked parliament to reconsider its decision to extend its term, but the speaker has so far refused.

"The most disturbing consequence of this situation is the descent into political instability at precisely the time when the security situation is on the verge of a breakthrough and governance is taking effective strides forward," he said.

Mohamed said his government believes "this is the worst possible time to be distracted by untenable election processes and the divisive campaigning that will inevitably take place." He said the election diversion will also offer Al-Shabaab "an opportunity it will take full advantage of." Therefore, he said, the president has proposed extending the transitional federal institutions for 12 months in the belief that a further year of political stability and progress on security "will create a chance for real and fair elections in which potentially the public can take part." Mahiga said he tried "to rekindle dialogue" between the two branches at a meeting in Nairobi in April but the feuding politicians and government leaders boycotted it. The Security Council is heading to Africa late next week and members are expecting to meet Somalia's executive and legislative leaders in Nairobi at the end of their trip to reiterate their demand for elections in person.

Mahiga said he is "heartened" that the government is convening a meeting of key parties in Mogadishu from June 11-16.

The Security Council also welcomed that meeting and urged "all Somali stakeholders" to participate and play a role in finalizing arrangements for ending the transition by the Aug. 20 deadline.
Posted by: Fred || 05/13/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Africa North
NATO Denies Reports that Air Strikes Targeted North Korean Embassy in Libya
Over in Libya the North Korean embassy was reportedly struck during a NATO air strike in Tripoli on Thursday a charge that NATO has denied.
The heart (urp) bleeds...
State television network al-Jamahiriya TV said the air strikes which damaged military and civilian targets in the capital also included the North Korean embassy. Although the network reported major damage to the embassy NATO denied intentionally targeting the diplomatic complex calling the media reports untrue.

A NATO official went on to say that the embassy is located 500 meters away from their target and that they have gone to great lengths to reduce the possibility of collateral damage during their air raids.

Meanwhile just hours following his first television appearance since last month Moammar Gadhafi's Tripoli compound was bombed by NATO forces.
Posted by: tipper || 05/13/2011 05:21 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Maybe it was 'cover' for a Spec-Ops raid to gather documents and files from the embassy?
Posted by: Glenmore || 05/13/2011 8:20 Comments || Top||

#2  Well if they didn't they should have.
Posted by: Bill Clinton || 05/13/2011 9:58 Comments || Top||

#3  Well if they didn't they should have.
Posted by: Bill Clinton || 05/13/2011 9:58 Comments || Top||

#4  Reminds me of when the US accidentaly hit the Chinese Embassy in Serbia- OOPs sorry.
Posted by: retired LEO || 05/13/2011 14:40 Comments || Top||

#5  Deja vu all over again.

1999: A detailed investigative article in the October 17 London Observer reported that NATO deliberately bombed the Chinese embassy in Belgrade last May, after discovering that the embassy was relaying Yugoslav military radio signals.

2011: The former Chinese president Jiang Zemin has admitted in an unpublished memoir that Serbian military intelligence units were hiding inside the Chinese embassy in Belgrade when Nato bombed it in 1999.
Posted by: Zebulon Thranter9685 || 05/13/2011 16:17 Comments || Top||

#6  creating a level 5 bio-hazard in the process... One mixing radio-actives, crystal meth, opium, hash, heroin, anthrax and other nice goodies..
Posted by: Water Modem || 05/13/2011 17:11 Comments || Top||

#7  OTOH VARIOUS BLOGGERS = argue or believe that the DPRK = KIMMIE + REGIME now has an excuse to launch potent, unilateral DPRK mil attack(s) agz US-ROK-JAPAN targets in NE Asia, since the Embassy locale in Tripoli is deemed sovereign DPRK soil under Internat Law. ALSO GIVES KIMMIE AN EXCUSE TO USE DPRK ANTI-US MIL INCIDENTS TO DIVERT US ATTENTION FROM IRAN + [post-Abbottabad]PAKISTAN DOMESTIC TROUBLES.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 05/13/2011 23:36 Comments || Top||


Libyan rebels invited to open London office
[Al Jazeera] David Cameron
... has stated that he is certainly a big Thatcher fan, but I don't know whether that makes me a Thatcherite, which means he's not. Since he is not deeply ideological he lacks core principles and is easily led. He has been described as certainly not a Pitt, Elder or Younger, but he does wear a nice suit so maybe he's Beau Brummel ...
, the British prime minister, has invited leaders of the Benghazi-based Libyan opposition to open formal offices in London.

He made the announcement following talks with Mustafa Abdul Jalil, chairman of the National Transitional Council in the British capital on Thursday.

"These steps continue our very clear intention to work with the council to ensure Libya has a safe and stable future, free from the tyranny of the Qadaffy regime," Cameron said.

He added that the UK presence in Benghazi, Libya's rebel stronghold, would also be boosted, and that Perfidious Albion will supply coppers there with uniforms and body armour.

Jalil is to meet William Hague, the UK's foreign minister, and George Osborne, the finance minister, later in the day.

Catherine Ashton, the EU foreign policy chief, also announced plans to open an office in Benghazi to facilitate assistance to the rebel council based there.

"I intend to open an office in Benghazi so that we can move forward on the support we've discussed to the people... to support civil society, to support the Interim National Transitional Council," Ashton told the European Parliament.

She said EU support would include help for security sector reform and institution-building.

"We want to help with education, with health care, with security on the borders," she said.

Members of the NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Originally it was a mutual defense pact directed against an expansionist Soviet Union. In later years it evolved into a mechanism for picking the American pocket while criticizing the style of the American pants...
-led coalition enforcing a no-fly zone over Libya met last week to discuss setting up a fund to help forces fighting the government of Muammar Qadaffy, the north African nation's leader.

A fund controlled by La Belle France, Italia and Qatar - the first countries to recognise the Transitional National Council - was announced with donations from other countries including Kuwait.

The US has said it is looking at ways to free up some of the $30bn Libyan assets it has frozen to aid opposition forces, who say they need food, humanitarian and medical supplies urgently.
Posted by: Fred || 05/13/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Bangladesh
'Sayedee' self-given name after '71
[Bangla Daily Star] The name 'Abu Nayem Md Delwar Hossain' was changed to Delwar Hossain Sayedee after the Liberation War, the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami
... a Pakistani catspaw remaining active in Bangla politix, loosely affiliated with the Pak religious party of the same name and closely affiliated with most of the terror organizations in Bangla. A member of the BNP's four party governing coalition....
leader said on Thursday during interrogation in the city's Dhanmondi safe house in connection with war crimes.

Denying his involvement Saydee, however, acknowledged that mass killing and rape took place during the Liberation War in 1971.

Beginning at 10:00am, the interrogation was continued till 5:00pm with a 30-minute lunch break at 1:00pm, said Sanaul Huq, one of the Sherlocks probing the 1971 war crimes.

He said the interrogators are inquiring the Jamaat Nayeb-e-Ameer about his role in the Liberation War of the country, his whereabouts, activities and political affiliation during the period.

They are also trying to verify the information and evidences they have collected during investigations into allegations against the Jamaat leader, Sanaul added.

A counsel for Sayedee and a doctor were present in an adjacent room in compliance with the International Crimes Tribunal instruction.

He was brought to the safe home in a prison van minutes before 9:00am and sent back to the Dhaka Central Jail around 5:15pm after completion of the interrogation.

Earlier on April 28, the International Crimes Tribunal permitted the Sherlocks to quiz the jugged Jamaat leader at the safe home with the crimes against humanity during the Liberation War of the country.

The tribunal also ordered the prosecution to submit the investigation report against him by July 21.

The interrogators have also quizzed jugged Jamaat chief Motiur Rahman Nizami and Secretary General Ali Ahsan Muhammad Mojaheed and BNP leader Salauddin Quader Chowdhury at the same home in connection with the war crimes.
Posted by: Fred || 05/13/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Jamaat-e-Islami


Fatwa can't be enforced: SC
[Bangla Daily Star] Modifying a High Court verdict declaring fatwa (religious edicts) illegal, the Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that properly educated persons can issue fatwa but cannot force anyone to accept it.
There's finely honed legal reasoning for you. Notice that persons who aren't properly educated aren't authorized to issue fatwas, whether enforceable or not.
"No punishment including physical violence or mental torture in any form can be imposed or implicated on any body in pursuance of fatwa," the court said in its verdict.

The apex court said properly educated persons can issue fatwa on religious matters. But it can only be accepted voluntarily. Any coercion or undue influence in any form to force it on anyone is forbidden, the SC ruled categorically.

A six-member bench of the Appellate Division headed by Chief Justice ABM Khairul Haque came up with the verdict after allowing in part two separate appeals filed against the HC verdict that declared fatwa illegal.

On January 1, 2001, the HC declared all punishments imposed in the name of fatwa illegal. The verdict came following a hearing on a suo moto rule issued earlier by the court after a newspaper report on Hilla marriage (marriage with a third person).

Human rights organisations-- Bangladesh Mahila Parishad and Ain O Salish Kendra-- argued against fatwa before the HC.

The same year Mufti Mohammad Toyeeb and Abul Kalam Azad filed two appeals with the SC against the HC verdict.

The SC on March 1 this year started hearing the long overdue appeal.
Posted by: Fred || 05/13/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Europe
EU moves to end passport-free Schengen travel
At a special meeting of EU interior ministers in Brussels, a majority of member states backed changes that would allow individual nations to restore controls at their borders. Unfettered travel across Europe, not including Britain or Ireland, was established by the Schengen agreement and has been a signature accomplishment of the EU for 16 years.

But at the closed meeting of ministers on Thursday, 15 states voted for the temporary return, as a last resort and under strict conditions, of border guards to deal with any sudden surge in migration. They also supported reintroduction of guards if an EU state fails to control its frontier with non-EU nations. Only four nations were against, according to diplomats.

French Interior Minister Claude Gueant said: "A very wide consensus, if not near unanimity, was reached on the commission proposals."

The measures will be discussed at an EU summit of prime minsters on June 24 and would also have to pass through the European Parliament where there is likely to be resistance.

Since the Arab Spring both France and Italy, which have faced the brunt of migrants arriving from North Africa in recent weeks, have lobbied intensively for the temporary return of internal borders.

Rome forced the issue by handing temporary residency permits to 20,000 migrants allowing them to travel freely throughout Schengen. France, the likely destination of the mainly French-speaking Tunisian immigrants, responded by temporarily closing a key railway frontier with Italy.

Germany has led demands that it should not be made easier for member states to turn their back on the Schengen. Guido Westerwelle, Germany's foreign minister, said: "I will do everything in my power to ensure there are no steps backward. Freedom to travel is a higher good that we cannot sacrifice for internal political reasons," he said.
All aboard! Destination Berlin!
On the eve of the talks between interior ministers, Denmark announced a sudden decision to restore customs controls at its borders with Sweden and Germany within the next few weeks.
Danish Integration Minister Soren Pind defended the move, saying it was aimed at preventing cross-border crime and drug trafficking, and said the EU needed a frank discussion about the "dark side" of open frontiers.

The European Commission is reviewing the decision and said it would "not hesitate to take action" should it conclude that Denmark breached EU rules.

The EU's external borders have been under strain for some time in Greece, where the debt-stricken government has struggled with an influx of migrants sneaking in from neighbouring Turkey. Guards sent in from other EU states to help manage the frontier.

EU home affairs commissioner Cecilia Malmstroem said: "Very few people so far have come to Europe but enough of course to make us think about how we receive these people and how we deal with this."
Posted by: Steve White || 05/13/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "Freedom of travel" was hardly ever affected before Schengen. Most of the time you were waved through or you just flashed a personal ID, that's all.
Posted by: European Conservative || 05/13/2011 0:11 Comments || Top||

#2  "EU moves to end passport-free Schengen travel"

What? Are your imaginary unicorn-fart dreams bumping into reality?

Who could have seen that coming?
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 05/13/2011 0:11 Comments || Top||

#3  You never needed a passport to travel through Europe before Schengen (Western Europe before 1990).

An ID would do. I need an ID to collect mail at the post office. I hardly have a problem showing an ID when crossing a border.

If some EU states refuse to effectively the outer EU border then Schengen cannot work.
Posted by: European Conservative || 05/13/2011 0:34 Comments || Top||

#4  effectively control, of course
Posted by: European Conservative || 05/13/2011 0:35 Comments || Top||

#5  EUro elites ethical flexibility is the wonder of the World.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 05/13/2011 1:46 Comments || Top||

#6  If some EU states refuse to effectively [guard] the outer EU border then Schengen cannot work.

And in a way this is paralleled by the failure of the Eurozone. Because of the enforced shared responsibility, those at the fringes are deterred from addressing problems in their own house, and are incentivised to pass them on to others. Pretending that members of the group don't think nationally stacks up a whole heap of problems.
Posted by: Bulldog || 05/13/2011 2:02 Comments || Top||

#7  Britain is an island and opted out of Schengen and we still have a flood of worthless (and some very useful) immigrants.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 05/13/2011 5:57 Comments || Top||

#8  No need to be smug here. First airports, now talking about train station, next the TSA will want to put up toll booth style stops on the interstates. Bet on it.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 05/13/2011 12:14 Comments || Top||


Fifth Column
US against Arab democracy: Chomsky
[Iran Press TV] Renowned American academic Noam Chomsky
...intellectual and political theorist of a socialist persuasion. He is noted for being so far out in left field he can't see the shortstop on every issue he pushes...
says the US and its allies will spare no effort to prevent democracy in the Arab World, as they fear losing their clout in the region.

Chomsky made the remark at the 25th anniversary celebration of the national media watch group Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting in New York, Democracy Now reported on Wednesday.

At the meeting, Chomsky sketched out his views about the brewing popular revolutions sweeping across the Middle East and North Africa, expressing doubt that the US would allow authentic democracies to flourish in the region.

"Across the [Middle East], an overwhelming majority of the population regards the United States as the main threat to their interests," Chomsky says. "The US and its allies will do anything they can to prevent authentic democracy in the Arab world."

"The reason is very simple... Plainly, the US and its allies are not going to want governments which are responsive to the will of the people. If that happens, not only will the US not control the region, but it will be thrown out," the Jewish-American political analyst added.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Chomsky turned the spotlight on the ongoing anti-government protests in Bahrain, where people have been demonstrating since February 14 to put an end to the rule of the Al Khalifa dynasty and urge sweeping reforms.

He maintained that if ongoing movements correspond to the Unite States' strategic and economic goals, officials in Washington would be quick to throw their weight behind any uprising, otherwise they would show scant enthusiasm to advocate any change that might run counter to their interests.

"If actions correspond to our strategic and economic objectives, that's OK. We can have elegant rhetoric, but what matters is facts," Chomsky noted.

"Actually, the most interesting case in many respects is Bahrain. Bahrain is quite important for two reasons. One reason, which has been reported, is that it's the home port of the US Fifth Fleet, major military force in the region," he said.

"Another more fundamental reason is that Bahrain is about 70 percent Shia, and it's right across the causeway from eastern Soddy Arabia, which also is majority Shia and happens to be where most of Saudi oil is," the 82-year-old senior academic noted.

He went on to say that as for oil-rich countries such as Libya, the US and its allies are more inclined to "get a more reliable dictator" and banish an "oil-rich dictator who's not reliable, who's a loose cannon. That's Libya."

Chomsky argued that the United States fears that it will lose clout and eventually be forced out of the region if governments springing from the sovereign will of the people emerge in the region.
Posted by: Fred || 05/13/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Arab democracy = oxymoron.

Or, in the case of Chumpsky, just moron.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 05/13/2011 0:15 Comments || Top||

#2  What was all that stuff about Maliki and the Iraqi Constitution and the purple fingers in Afghanistan?
And is Jimmuh Cahtuh shuttling back and forth to DIS-courage democracy? ( or did he just pocket 12 million dollars of Saudi money to hand out sani wipes to the Palestinians and make them seem...well...decent? And what was Arafat doing in that hut all through the rainy season with Sabu the Elephant boy?)

Now I admit that expecting Moslems to go against Islam's traditions of illiteracy and economic buggery and a fine long line of dictatorships and Caliphs is like expectiong Hamas and the Palestinians not to stand and wave bloody hands upraised to Allah and to wail Allahu Akbar while they dance and pass out candy as the Jewish wheelchairs burn in the evening air. But perhaps Democracy has less chance in a Moslem country of ever being a reality than Khalid Sheikh Mohammed being rehabilitated by ( I love a happy ending, dont you?) running a day care center for the kindergarten children of NPR Liberals in a suburb in Carmel, California.

But you never know.
Posted by: de Medici3489 || 05/13/2011 3:17 Comments || Top||

#3  Did you know that Noam means amiable in Hebrew?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 05/13/2011 14:57 Comments || Top||

#4  Noam, you ignorant sow - I have two words for you:

manufactured consent.

Whereas you declared yourself opposed to the very idea of broad-based democratic representation in your first foray into the public eye, I declare you incompetent to say word one about any possible movement towards "Arab Democracy". You are a fascist pig, and a particularly selfish and treacherous specimen of the breed at that.
Posted by: Mitch H. || 05/13/2011 15:45 Comments || Top||


Home Front: WoT
Dupe entry: Texas Passes Law Making Some TSA Procedures by TSA Agents a Crime
AUSTIN (AP) - The Texas House passed a bill that would make it a criminal offense for public servants to inappropriately touch travelers during airport security pat-downs.

Approved late Thursday night, the measure makes it illegal for anyone conducting searches to touch “the anus, sexual organ, buttocks, or breast of another person” including through clothing.

It also prohibits searches “that would be offensive to a reasonable person.”

The bill’s chief sponsor is Republican Rep. David Simpson, who said, “this has to do with dignity and travel, and prohibiting indecent, groping searches.”

He believes it will keep Transportation Security Administration officials from treating travelers like criminals, though the measure may be superseded by federal law.

After a brief but raucous debate, lawmakers approved the measure with little opposition — drawing applause from supporters.

The Texas Legislature only meets a few months a year. With Obama refusing to acknowledge that he is the President of citizens of the State of Texas, maybe a couple of weeks more work to furthur limit his authority in Texas is in order.
Posted by: Croper Cheregum1648 || 05/13/2011 11:18 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


W comments on UBL takedown
"I was eating souffle at Rise Restaurant with Laura and two buddies," Bush said when asked what he was doing when he received the call from President Obama, according to an ABC News contributor who attended the event.

"I excused myself and went home to take the call," Bush said. "Obama simply said 'Osama Bin Laden is dead.'"

Bush said Obama described in detail the secret mission to raid bin Laden's Pakistani compound and the decision he made to put the plan into motion. He told Obama, "Proof again that even the blind squirrel finds a nut on occasion." "Good call."
Posted by: gorb || 05/13/2011 10:59 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "The intelligence services deserve a lot of credit. They built a mosaic of information, piece by piece," he said, claiming no credit for himself.

Now tell me, have I just quoted our current prez, or the previous one?
Posted by: Bobby || 05/13/2011 12:50 Comments || Top||


TX House Bans Offensive Security Rub-Down
The Texas House passed a bill that would making grope-downs involving touching, even through clothing, "the anus, sexual organ, buttocks, or breast of another person" a criminal offense. And just to be double-darned sure that the feds don't get any fancy ideas, searches "that would be offensive to a reasonable person" are also prohibited.

The measure may be superseded by federal law.

After a brief but lewd raucous debate, lawmakers approved the measure with little opposition — drawing applause and catcalls from supporters.

Posted by: gorb || 05/13/2011 10:46 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Has it passed their Senate? If so, looks like this will head to court. The current administration seems to have a lot of cases in court.
Posted by: JohnQC || 05/13/2011 12:38 Comments || Top||

#2 

Good call. Now that we are well aware that dozens of America's media outlets are owned by a European Socialist (George Soros) who has on his board Christiane Amanpour (born in Tehran, Iran) who runs the state controlled media, it is up to others to get the words out of Texans regarding what it is like to be dissed by "Hungarian George" Soro's empty suit, Indonesian raised, "US President", regarding disaster relief caused by millions of acres being burned and hundred homes lost in the US State of Texas.
Posted by: Sloting Tojo5057 || 05/13/2011 15:09 Comments || Top||

#3  ...owned by a European Socialist (George Soros)...

Socialist? You're too kind. I wonder if we could get DEVGRU to pay him a house call.
Posted by: Secret Asian Man || 05/13/2011 17:43 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Bin Laden a perv - caught with porn stash
A stash of pornography was found in the Pakistani compound of Usama bin Laden raided last week by Navy SEALs, U.S. officials tell Reuters.

The pornography taken from the compound consists of modern, electronically recorded video and is fairly extensive, officials said.

The officials told Reuters they did not know if the terror leader acquired the porn himself or even viewed it.

Bin Laden's Abbottabad compound did not have Internet connection or other hard-wired communication networks. But the compound was equipped with televisions after the U.S. government showed bin Laden watching videos of himself on TV.

U.S. officials said materials taken during the raid were the longest cache of intelligence taken from one source.

The discovery of pornography taken during raids on Islamic militants is not uncommon, officials told Reuters.
Which is ironic, considering they routinely bash the west for decadent behavior and morals. They have the same philosophy as the liberals it seems. "Do as I say, not as I do."
I'm hoping this is all a ruse from a competent CIA that is doing everything it can to trash the man's reputation. Of course if it's true it's even better...
Posted by: DarthVader || 05/13/2011 13:59 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  If OBL didn't have an internet connection or any hard wired com network, all his TV could get would be local TV.

A good introduction to hell.
Posted by: Lord Garth || 05/13/2011 14:26 Comments || Top||

#2  showed bin Laden watching videos of himself on TV...+ porn, Viagra????? Did he videotape himself???? What were his preferences???? Kiddies, goats???? AQ videos were always studio quality...fund raising by the sheikh? Makes a great rumor!
Posted by: Lumpy Elmoluck5091 || 05/13/2011 15:04 Comments || Top||

#3  from a Fox article:
The pornography taken from the compound consists of modern, electronically recorded video and is fairly extensive, officials said.

Posted by: Lumpy Elmoluck5091 || 05/13/2011 15:10 Comments || Top||

#4  Now we know why he had on all the monitors... for someone who doesn't have an internet connection.
Posted by: CrazyFool || 05/13/2011 15:49 Comments || Top||

#5  This is blatantly stupid, the jihadis say "what's the last place to look for islamic extremist communications?....A porn site."

They upload images with encrypted messages embedded in the imagery and down load the images to unencrypt the message. Trust me this is the truth. There were several articles on finding "viruses" on porn sites that were actually jihadi communications and information...
Posted by: Bill Clinton || 05/13/2011 17:29 Comments || Top||

#6  Three wives weren't enough?
Posted by: Nimble Spemble || 05/13/2011 18:15 Comments || Top||

#7  Well I've heard that if women live together long enough their -um- cycles start to syncronize and after a while they are on the same -um- schedule.

Hmmm.... So one week a month old Binny had 3 wives on PMS.

Posted by: CrazyFool || 05/13/2011 18:31 Comments || Top||

#8  So that's what Binny was doing in his underpants, when the SEALS shot him...watching porno. Talk about coitus interruptus.
Posted by: tipper || 05/13/2011 20:11 Comments || Top||

#9  "The Blu-Ray 'Directors Cut' of 'Deliverance' was watched so many times, the discs were worn like Ned Beatty's sphincter"
Posted by: Frank G || 05/13/2011 20:37 Comments || Top||

#10  Video from Binny's stash (SFW)
Posted by: CincinnatusChili || 05/13/2011 21:45 Comments || Top||

#11  ION NEWS KERALA > HOW BIN LADEN CONTROLLED THREE WIVES, 17 CHILDREN UNDER ONE ROOF AT ABBOTTABAD.

versus

* PEOPLE'S DAILY FORUMS > MEET THE [Nigerian] ISLAMIC FAITH HEALER WHO MARRIED 107 WOMEN, FATHERING 185 CHILDREN. Extended family numbers circa 5000.

* SAME > OSAMA BIN LADEN'S YOUNGEST WIFE [Amal] WANTED TO BE MARTYRED.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 05/13/2011 23:26 Comments || Top||


Bin Laden was shot dead wearing just his underpants
James Inhofe spoke after seeing top-secret photos from the scene of the terror leader's shooting by US Navy Seals in Pakistan on May 2.

He said: "Two of them showed that he had what you would call underwear on, that was about it.

"They're gruesome, of course, because they were taken right after the incident.

"The bullet either went in the ear and out the eyeball or in the eyeball and out the ear.

"People out there say, 'I want to see the pictures.' But I've already seen them, That was him. He's gone. He's history."

Posted by: tipper || 05/13/2011 03:23 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Good. He's telling us about Top Secret photos.
Little different than Manning.
Posted by: Knuckles Snomong4529 || 05/13/2011 5:41 Comments || Top||

#2  First, the case for making the pictures themselves TSecret is pretty sketchy. They can be made TS on an interim basis but its an open question whether that classification would survive scrutiny.

Second, describing an image is not the same as the image itself. If the image is TS because showing it would endanger Americans (aren't we already endangered?), the description of an image is certainly less 'dangerous'.
Posted by: Lord Garth || 05/13/2011 8:01 Comments || Top||

#3  No mention as to whether his underwear was Spongebob or Spiderman.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 05/13/2011 8:55 Comments || Top||

#4  No mention as to whether his underwear was Spongebob or Spiderman.

My Little Pony.

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski || 05/13/2011 9:15 Comments || Top||

#5  I'm going with 'My little Pony' Moose....
Posted by: CrazyFool || 05/13/2011 9:16 Comments || Top||

#6  "what you would call underwear"

Why? Are boxers or briefs Haraam?
Posted by: Mullah Richard || 05/13/2011 12:44 Comments || Top||

#7  Of course they are haraam. The prophet always went commando.
Posted by: whitecollar redneck || 05/13/2011 13:01 Comments || Top||

#8  Bet they were brown! ;) Caught with herbal impotence drugs and a porn stash, too...
Posted by: Lumpy Elmoluck5091 || 05/13/2011 14:51 Comments || Top||

#9  Ok,there's underwear (probably a loin cloth) and porn, where's the lubricant stash?
Posted by: borgboy || 05/13/2011 15:37 Comments || Top||

#10  Were they clean?
Posted by: mojo || 05/13/2011 16:20 Comments || Top||

#11  borgboy, I *think* it was on jawa where someone spent some time zooming in on various objects in the photos released and, yes, there was a container the same shape and proportion as vsline.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 05/13/2011 17:16 Comments || Top||

#12  I see London, I see France,
I see..ooh, his head exploded!

Hey, come on. It sounds much funnier in Punjabi.
Posted by: SteveS || 05/13/2011 18:44 Comments || Top||

#13  "D *** NG IT, I DUNNO ... THEY'VE GOT YODAS +
C *** ON 'EM"!???

["RAISING ARIZONA" here]
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 05/13/2011 20:09 Comments || Top||

#14  Boom! HEADSHOT!
Posted by: DarthVader || 05/13/2011 22:53 Comments || Top||


Abbottabad operation: JUI-F wants rulers, forces heads to resign
[Dawn] Calling the US forces` operation in Abbottabad as a direct attack on Pakistain`s illusory sovereignty, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) has asked the rulers and heads of armed forces to admit failure and step down.

"The operation in Abbottabad by the US forces is not a minor issue to be forgotten as it was a direct attack on Pakistain`s illusory sovereignty," said JUI-F MPA Mufti Kifayatullah while speaking at a presser here on Wednesday.

He said that the government was duty-bound to take the people into confidence otherwise the nation would be pushed towards bringing a revolution in the country. He said that the government should evolve an independent foreign policy with the support of all stakeholders to save the nation and the country.

The MPA said that the attack on the late Osama bin Laden`s
... who sleeps with the fishes...
residence was actually a challenge to the country`s security forces, but neither the air force nor the infantry dared to take action.

"All the heads of the armed forces, including General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani
... four star general, current Chief of Army Staff of the Mighty Pak Army. Kayani is the former Director General of ISI...
should admit failure and resign over the issue," he said and added that the rulers had also no right to remain in power.

Mr Kifayat said that the burial of Osama`s body at sea showed barbarism of the US government and its forces. Pronouncing Osama`s death as martyrdom, he said that the Al Qaeda chief had the sympathies of 1.5 billion people all over the world.

"Osama was not a criminal as he was not convicted by any court of law, but the US government conducted his media trials and then killed him in violation of law," the JUI-F MPA claimed.

"I visited Abbottabad and talked to people who are feeling extremely insecure in the prevailing situation as the American forces can kill and pick anyone even in the presence of armed forces," he said and criticised the security agencies for their failure to detect any foreign aggression.

He said that 70 per cent national budget was allocated to defence annually, but the armed forces failed to deter foreign aggression in Abbottabad.
Posted by: Fred || 05/13/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Jamaat-e-Ulema Islami


Cooperation between ISI-CIA broken down: Gilani
Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani
... Pakistain's erstwhile current prime minister, whose occasional feats of mental gymnastics can be awe-inspiring ...
, in an interview with Time Magazine, on Thursday revealed that cooperation between the CIA and its Pak counterpart, the ISI (Inter Services Intelligence), had broken down.

Gilani said that, continuing to work with the United States could imperil his government, unless Washington takes drastic steps to restore trust and win over 180 million Paks.

Gilani warned that his government was accountable to an electorate increasingly hostile to the US. "I am not an army dictator, I'm a public figure," "If public opinion is against you [referring to his US allies] then I cannot resist it to stand with you. I have to go with public opinion."

The Prime Minister said that he was first alerted to the Abbottabad raid through a 2 a.m. call from Pakistain's Army Chief, General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani
... four star general, current Chief of Army Staff of the Mighty Pak Army. Kayani is the former Director General of ISI...
.

Gilani then called his foreign secretary and asked him to demand an explanation from US Ambassador Cameron Munter. "I have not met or spoken to [US officials] since," he complained.

"Naturally, we wondered why they went unilaterally. If we're fighting a war together, we have to work together. Even if there was credible and actionable information, then we should have done it jointly," said Gilani.

"Whatever information we are receiving is from the media. Today, we have said that we want them to talk to us directly," Gilani further added.

Gilani acknowledges his abiding "difference of opinion" with Washington on how best to fight militancy. "From day one, my policy has been the three Ds: dialogue, development and deterrence," Gilani said.

"Military solutions cannot be permanent solutions. There has to be a political solution, some kind of exit strategy."

He said he didn't believe Washington was really going to cut aid. If it did, he said, "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

Gilani does, however, fear that a deteriorating relationship with Washington could hurt Pakistain's fight against domestic militancy. "When there's a trust deficit," he said, "there will be problems in intelligence sharing."

Asked about the reason for this trust deficit, Gilani replied tersely, "It's not from our side. Ask them." "Traditionally, the ISI worked with the CIA," he said. Now, "what we're seeing is that there's no level of trust."

Relations have deteriorated sharply since last November when the local CIA station chief was outed, allegedly by the ISI -- a charge the agency denies. They hit a low point amid the standoff over Raymond Davis, a CIA contractor who killed two Pak men in a January incident and then claimed diplomatic immunity.

Further strain has been caused by the CIA's covert drone strikes against suspected Islamic fascisti in the tribal areas along the Afghan border.

Gilani says the drone war weakens his efforts to rally public support for the fight against extremism.

Still, Gilani said -- for the first time, publicly -- that he was open to renegotiating the terms of the CIA's program.

"A drone strategy can be worked out," Gilani said. "If drone strikes are effective, then we should evolve a common strategy to win over public opinion. Our position is that the technology should be transferred to us."

Still, he added, he would countenance a policy in which the CIA would continue to operate the drones "where they are used under our supervision."
Posted by: Fred || 05/13/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan

#1  What cooperation?
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 05/13/2011 0:13 Comments || Top||

#2  Translation: "Yankees stopped being suckers."
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 05/13/2011 1:58 Comments || Top||

#3  Forgive me, but I stopped reading when I got to ISI-CIA, Raza Gilani, and..... break down.
Posted by: Besoeker || 05/13/2011 3:28 Comments || Top||

#4  Oh Really???

I wonder what his first clue was? The drone orbiting over his house? Or the head of ISI hiding under his desk?

If I tried some of these leaps of logic, it would give me a migraine or brain damage........hmmmm..........brain damage, I think we are on to something here!
Posted by: Bill Clinton || 05/13/2011 10:01 Comments || Top||


Pakistan not to share US helicopter wreckage with China
[Emirates 24/7] Pakistain said Wednesday it would not share the wreckage of a US helicopter used in the raid that killed the late the late Osama bin Laden
... who had a brief but splitting headache...
with China, after speculation that the aircraft contained secret technology.

"Pakistain is not going to share any technology, and I don't think our friends in China have shown any interest in doing so," Pakistain's ambassador to the United States Husain Haqqani told CNN.

Photographs of the wrecked helicopter, which malfunctioned during the raid and was deliberately blown up, fuelled speculation among experts and enthusiasts that new features had been added to it to reduce noise or foil radar detection.

Some even postulated that the helicopter, which officials say was a Blackhawk, was actually an entirely new kind of "stealth" aircraft, with technology that could fall into the hands of Pakistain's ally China.

Defense analysts, however, have said that although the wrecked aircraft appears to be a modified Blackhawk, the technology in question is not shrouded in secrecy and Pakistain and China would gain little from the remains.

Tensions between the United States and its ally Pakistain have run high since bin Laden, the criminal mastermind of the September 11, 2001 attacks and the world's most wanted man, was found living in a garrison town near Islamabad.

Haqqani insisted, however, that the two countries were still "in close contact" and were trying to "get to the bottom of things."

"The United States and Pakistain, at the government-to-government level, the intelligence-to-intelligence level and military-to-military level, are in close contact," he told CNN.

"We are not in the business of denial or contradiction right now. We are trying to get to the bottom of things, understand the intelligence and work together," he added.

"At the same time, we continue to be concerned about unilateral actions and would prefer if the United States works with Pakistain instead of making Pakistain look like the bad guy."
Posted by: Fred || 05/13/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan

#1  "Gee, I dunno guys. We can't actually stop you giving it to China. But it would raise the nasty possibility of India acquiring all your codes, maps of your lines (with helpful notations) and a complete rundown on who lives where in Islamabad."
Posted by: mojo || 05/13/2011 11:00 Comments || Top||

#2  Of course they are not GIVING it to China! They are trading it for a nice Long March ICBM platform and maybe a J-20.
Posted by: Water Modem || 05/13/2011 17:15 Comments || Top||


Pakistan's former spy chief chides US on bin Laden
[Dawn] Pakistain's former intelligence chief chided the US on Thursday for not sharing information about the late Osama bin Laden's
... who has left the building...
whereabouts and challenged American intelligence officials to name one time when cooperating led to a botched operation.

Pakistain is facing ongoing pressure from inside the country and abroad to explain why Pak intelligence didn't know that bin Laden was hiding in their country and whether some Pak officials knew and protected him.

Speaking at a think tank in Gay Paree, Ret. Gen. Ehsan ul Haq, who headed the Pak intelligence agency from late 2001 to 2004, said Pakistain has handed over senior al-Qaeda operatives, such as Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the planner of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Abu Zubayda and Ramzi Binalshib.

Information obtained from the three helped develop a wealth of data about al-Qaeda, which ultimately led the US to find bin Laden, Haq said.

"The first time that we came across a possible link was somewhere in 2004," Haq said.

"We were chasing a person called Abu-Faraj al-Libi, who was wanted for being the criminal mastermind on attempts against President Musharraf himself."

Just as Pakistain intelligence officials were about to arrest him, the US asked if they could wait.

The US officials said, "Could you please hold on. Don't take him," Haq said, recounting how Pak intelligence cooperated with the US "'Maybe this guy can lead us to Osama bin Laden."'

Haq said Pakistain tried during the next six to eight months to find ties between al-Libi and bin Laden; when they found no links, they tossed in the calaboose al-Libi.

Haq was pointedly asked how Pak officials couldn't have known bin Laden was in the country.

"How is it possible that he was sitting there and nobody knew? Well, it is possible," Haq said. "For those who do intelligence work, they will tell you that it's possible."

Then he chided the US for not sharing intelligence about bin Laden's whereabouts.

"It should have been a joint operation, it would have been a success story," Haq said, adding that it would have strengthened cooperation between US and Pak intelligence officials instead of dampening relations.

In Abbottabad, a garrison town in northwest Pakistain where the May 2 raid by US Navy SEALs killed the leader of the al-Qaeda terror network, about 300 members of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif
... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Müslim League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf...
's party rallied Thursday in the main bazaar, denouncing both the American government for approving the raid and Pak leaders.
Posted by: Fred || 05/13/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


International-UN-NGOs
Global investors: Obama stronger in WoT than Bush
Global investors credit President Obama with a better job of fighting terrorism than former President Bush, while American investors rate the ex- president higher.

Outside the U.S., Obama is rated stronger than Bush by 48 percent to 16 percent, in the Bloomberg Global Poll. Worldwide, Obama has a 40 percent to 29 percent lead in the quarterly poll taken May 9-10 of 1,263 investors, analysts and traders.
Posted by: ryuge || 05/13/2011 03:47 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Absurd as it seems, it is quite possibly correct - because of the greatly reduced opposition from Congress, the media, and the international community.
Posted by: Glenmore || 05/13/2011 8:28 Comments || Top||


Olde Tyme Religion
Muslim conspiracy theories regarding UBL
The raid took place, some claimed, only to hand U.S. President Barack Obama a political victory, or to give him political cover for the troop drawdown in Afghanistan. Other, more outlandish theories proposed that bin Laden had been collaborating with Washington all along.

Another one had it that bin Laden died years ago but that his body had been frozen and retained for later use by the United States; still others suggested that he remained alive.

“There are numerous question marks still seeking clear and honest answers from the American administration,” went an opinion piece in the Palestinian paper Al-Quds Al-Arabi. “Why did we not see the corpse of the Sheikh until this moment, while all we have heard was that it was ‘buried’ at sea because his homeland the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia refused to receive it?” Some have even suggested that the world’s most wanted terrorist was not real but an American invention.
Posted by: gorb || 05/13/2011 10:34 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Ask his wifes stupid in due course!
Posted by: Paul D || 05/13/2011 10:59 Comments || Top||


Southeast Asia
Al-Jazeera interviews Thai terrorists
Al Jazeera speaks to separatist jihadis in Thailand, as "secret" peace talks take place amidst the current wave of violence.
Posted by: ryuge || 05/13/2011 02:33 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Iran operating 'worldwide smuggling network'
Despite four rounds of UN sanctions Iran has sustained its nuclear activities using a network of foreign suppliers and front companies to obtain material. The sanctions are "not yet having an impact on the decision calculus of its leadership with respect to halting uranium enrichment," the UN's expert panel on the country concluded.

"Iran's circumvention of sanctions across all areas is willful and continuing."
Tehran is banned under the UN sanctions from trading in items that could contribute to its enrichment of uranium, and from carrying out conventional arms sales.
Wanna bet that the Iranians and the Norks are sharing notes and collaborating?
The UN panel, which was setup to monitor the effect of sanctions, said in its report that the bans had made it "harder, costlier and riskier" for Iran to develop banned weapons. But it discovered a wide range of prohibited activities were being carried out, primarily by the country's Revolutionary Guard.

Officials are acquiring materials and technology for nuclear and conventional missiles programmes, smuggling weapons, and establishing front companies to evade sanctions on banned firms.

Rolls of phosphor bronze mesh wire, seized in South Korea in February, could have been used in Iran's burgeoning heavy water reactor, the panel said. It also said 302 barrels of aluminum powder from China, which were intercepted in Singapore in January, could have been used to produce 100 tons of rocket propellant.

Several banned arms sales were also intercepted, the panel said, with several destined for Syria, where authorities are currently engaged in a brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protesters.

The panel said the UN Security Council should impose travel bans and asset freezes on two Iranian men and Behineh Trading Company, an alleged front company, for their alleged links to the shipment.

While trade embargoes have succeeded in slowing down Tehran's ability to develop nuclear and conventional missiles, it continues to import and export banned items, it found.

Leaked correspondence yesterday showed that Iran wants to use the next round of talks with the US, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany to discuss matters other than its nuclear programme. The attempt to discuss topics including piracy and Iran's rights as a nation fuelled concerns that it is seeking to draw out the talks, to delay further barriers to its development of nuclear weapons.
Posted by: Steve White || 05/13/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Gee, I kinda assumed that, given the usual competence of the UN.
Posted by: mojo || 05/13/2011 10:56 Comments || Top||


Ahmadinejad, Larijani in bitter row over ministries
[Asia One] A blazing row has erupted between President Mahmoud Short Round Ahmadinejad and parliament speaker Ali Larijani over the restructuring of ministries, reports said Thursday, in a fresh sign of tension in Iran's ruling conservative camp.

The row comes shortly after an unprecedented rift surfaced between Ahmadinejad and supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei which saw the president disappear from public life for nearly two weeks.

Larijani, an ardent critic of Ahmadinejad and who was defeated by the hardliner in 2005 presidential elections, publicly accused the president on Wednesday of "violating the law" by not following parliamentary procedures on the merger of ministries.

"If the government has ambiguities in understanding the law, the parliament can explain the law to the government," the reformist Arman newspaper Thursday quoted Larijani as saying in sharp remarks aimed at Ahmadinejad.

At the centre of the row are government proposals to merge several ministries, including energy and oil, so as to reduce their numbers to 17 from 21 in accordance with a overarching five year plan.

Ahmadinejad in turn lashed out at Larijani, saying parliament should mind its own business.

"The respected speaker of the parliament apparently thinks that he is the manifestation of the law, but this is not a true assumption," Arman quoted Ahmadinejad as saying after Wednesday's cabinet meeting.

"One should pay attention not to disturb and pollute the atmosphere of the country with such assumptions."

Ahmadinejad said Larijani himself had written the law, "but he had better read the law once again today."

"Certain people think that they are the employer and the government is their labourer, but it is better that the respected majlis (parliament) focuses on its duties and allow the executive branch to carry out its duties based on the law," the hardliner said.

Traditional tension between the conservative-dominated parliament and the government have been exacerbated by the political rivalry between Ahmadinejad and Larijani that first arose when they competed in the 2005 presidential election.

The two men have clashed often in the past but never so bitterly in public.

The political tussle comes after Ahmadinejad found himself in a row with Khamenei, the all-powerful authority in Iran.

Ahmadinejad last month disappeared from public life for a period after Khamenei overruled his decision to dismiss Intelligence Minister Heydar Moslehi.

He returned to his office May 1 after the two reportedly settled their differences.
Posted by: Fred || 05/13/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran


Report: Bellemare Finds New Leads of Syrian Involvement in Hariri Murder
[An Nahar] Special Tribunal for Leb Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare has reached new leads in his investigation that accuses Syrian officials of involvement in ex-Premier Rafik Hariri's 2005 liquidation, sources in The Hague told Naharnet.

They said Bellemare put his new information in the amended indictment that he filed to pre-trial judge Daniel Fransen last week.

Bellemare received the information from Syrian witnesses who defected to The Hague and are now under the witness protection program.

An informed French source told As Safir daily in remarks published Thursday that the STP prosecutor held talks with French officials in Gay Paree several weeks ago asking for more cooperation by French security agencies.

He reportedly promised them to reach the "Syrian criminal masterminds" of the Feb. 2005 killing of Hariri in return for more information by the agencies on the bombing attack on Beirut's seafront.

It was not clear what type of information French authorities were holding back from Bellemare on the attack that was widely blamed on Syria immediately after the liquidation. But Damascus
...The City of Jasmin is the oldest continuously-inhabited city in the world. It has not always been inhabited by the same set of fascisti...
has always denied the allegations.
No, no! Certainly not!

The source said that Gay Paree was on the verge of announcing an end to its relations with the Assad regime which had witnessed major improvement in the past months.

Accusing the regime of involvement in the murder would put more pressure on al-Assad'>President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
One of the last of the old-fashioned hereditary iron-fisted fascist dictators. Before going into the family business Pencilneck was an eye doctor...
and isolate him, the source told As Safir.
Posted by: Fred || 05/13/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


Syrian first lady rumors dismissed
[Iran Press TV] The Syrian embassy in London has in a statement dismissed British media reports that president Bashir al-Assad's wife has beat feet to Perfidious Albion.

Islamic Theocratic Republic of Iran News Agency (IRNA) quoted a statement by Syrian ambassador to London Sami al-Khiyami as saying, "false" rumours have been circulating in certain British media concerning the whereabouts of Assad's wife and her children, "aimed at disrupting the delicate process of national reform taking place in Syria".

"Her Excellency Mrs Assad and her three children are not in the UK. The First Lady is in Damascus, focusing on internal issues including her programme of empowerment of the Syrian people," Khiyami said in the statement.
She could do that pretty well by moving to London...
"Her children are also in Damascus and, contrary to these ill-intended rumours, only hold a Syrian passport," Khiyami added.

On Tuesday, the British media quoted diplomatic sources as saying in the Arab press that the British-born wife of President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
One of the last of the old-fashioned hereditary iron-fisted fascist dictators. Before going into the family business Pencilneck was an eye doctor...
had "fled to England" and that she had been told to "get out as soon as possible".

Khiyami however said first lady Asma Assad would "never leave Syria under any circumstances during this intimate process of national reform and development".

"The entirety of the Syrian leadership is responding to the legitimate grievances of the people with an ambitious reform agenda as recently outlined by the President. Mrs Assad is hard at work, holding meetings with civic leaders and youth groups to discuss their hopes and expectations for the future of the country," he added.

A number of the British media published reports of Asma Assad's escape from Syria this week with The Daily Telegraph claiming the "evacuation" of the first lady and her children "was carried out under conditions of immense secrecy but she is now safely there with her three young children and surrounded by security guards".

Khiyami also said in line with the public calls for reform, the Libyan government has "lifted emergency laws, appointed a new reform-minded government, released detainees, and taken other bold measures aimed at addressing the legitimate grievances of the people".

"The Syrian President is meeting daily with large popular delegations from the different Syrian regions to listen to their demands and suggestions involving various issues extending from political reform to judiciary and anti-corruption measures to be taken in order to reinforce the stability and well-being of the Syrian society." it said.
Posted by: Fred || 05/13/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria



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Two weeks of WOT
Fri 2011-05-13
  Dronezap kills several in Pakistan
Thu 2011-05-12
  ISI Confirms Mullah Omar in Pakistain
Wed 2011-05-11
  Qadaffy forces tossed from Misrata. Again.
Tue 2011-05-10
  U.N. Team Blocked from Syria's Daraa as Regime Arrests 'Thousands' in Banias
Mon 2011-05-09
  Syrian troops, tanks enter Homs, Tafas
Sun 2011-05-08
  Gunfire disrupts pro-Osama rally
Sat 2011-05-07
  Drones kill 17 in North Waziristan
Fri 2011-05-06
  Fidel, Meshaal criticise way Osama was killed
Thu 2011-05-05
  Pakistan warns US not to stage more raids
Wed 2011-05-04
  No release of Bin Laden death pic
Tue 2011-05-03
  US: Pak Compound was Built Specifically for Bin Laden
Mon 2011-05-02
  Osama bin Laden sleeps widda fishes
Sun 2011-05-01
  Osama bin Laden dead
Sat 2011-04-30
  Saif al-Arab Gadhafi Reported Titzup
Fri 2011-04-29
  Blast kills 14 in Marrakesh; suicide bomber suspected

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