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Today: 63 articles and 206 comments as of 2:37.
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Britain Appoints First Ambassador to Somalia in 21 Years
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 1: WoT Operations
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Page 2: WoT Background
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Page 4: Opinion
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Page 6: Politix
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Good morning
Posted by: Fred || 02/03/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336070 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Happy Birthday/Daily Gam Shot

Mary Carlisle aka Gayle Clayton in "Dead Men Walk (1943)" aka Gwen in "Girl o' My Dreams (1934)" aka Vivian in "The Sweetheart of Sigma Chi (1933)" aka Marjorie Rogers in "Tip-Off Girls (1938)" aka Jane Townsend in "Torpedo Boat (1942)" aka Virginia Clark in "Baby Face Morgan (1942)" aka Toni Denby in "Touchdown, Army (1938)" aka Judy Hollan in "Hold 'Em Navy (1937)" aka Vicki Clark in "Double or Nothing (1937)" aka Henry J. Kaiser's stepdaughter aka sole surviving "WAMPAS Baby Star" from 1932 (age 100)


Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 02/03/2012 0:20 Comments || Top||

#2  "WAMPAS Baby Stars" of 1932




The actresses are (rear row) Toshia Mori, Boots Mallory, Ruth Hall, Gloria Stuart, Patricia Ellis, Ginger Rogers, Lilian Bond, Evalyn Knapp, Marian Shockley. (Front row) Dorothy Wilson, Mary Carlisle, Lona Andre, Eleanor Holm, Dorothy Layton.
Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 02/03/2012 3:05 Comments || Top||

#3  ...That was one tough bunch of ladies - not only is Miss Carlisle still with us, but Gloria Stuart (the elderly lady in Titanic) just passed away in 2010. They don't make 'em like that any more.

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski || 02/03/2012 7:49 Comments || Top||


Africa North
Mali: protests over clashes with Tuareg rebels
BAMAKO, Mali: Protesters are blocking the streets of Mali’s capital and soldiers’ families are demonstrating in a nearby town after recent clashes between the army and a Tuareg rebel group. The protesting families gathered Thursday in the town of Kati for a fourth day. They say soldiers are not equipped to fight the rebels. On Wednesday, protesters there attacked the business and home of a Tuareg family.

In the capital, Bamako, tires burned in the streets, and shops and businesses were shuttered.

President Amadou Toumani Toure warned Malians not to discriminate in a televised address on Wednesday night, his first major speech since fighting began Jan. 17.

Rebels have attacked six towns across Mali’s north. The heaviest fighting was around the town of Aguelhok, where military sources say at least 40 soldiers were killed.
Posted by: Steve White || 02/03/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336071 views] Top|| File under:


Arabia
Kidnapped UN workers in Yemen released
[Yemen Post] The UN Relief Organization workers, who have been kidnapped by tribes men in the northwest Yemeni province of al-Mahouit , some 50km northwest Sana'a, on Tuesday, late, were released unharmed late on Wednesday, the official Saba News Agency reported.

The workers-two Yemenis, German, Iraqi, Paleostinian, and Colombian-were release through a tribal mediation efforts headed by Minister of Electricity Saleh Someh and moved to the UN office in th capital, Sana'a.

"The six UN workers, among them two female, were released unharmed," FP quoted Someh as saying.

The Relief Organization workers were kidnapped on their way back from a refugee camp in the Haradh district of Hajjah province.

The kidnappers wanted to press the government to release their fellow prisoner, Ali Ganem al-Subeh, who is an inmate in the capital's central prison, according to local media outlets.

Kidnapping of foreigners have become worryingly commonplace in some Yemeni tribal areas, especially if the rustics want to press the government for something.

Last week a UN Norwegian worker was also released after being kidnapped in one of the busiest streets in Sana'a.

Posted by: Fred || 02/03/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336070 views] Top|| File under:


Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Police say 300 terrorists active in Dagestan
At least 12 terrorist militant groups made up of up to 300 people operate in Dagestan. Interior Minister Abdurashid Magomedov said, "The militant underground [in Dagestan] remains highly active…12 armed groups numbering 250-300 militants continue to operate in the republic."

Magomedov said Dagestan registered 96 terrorist militant attacks on police officers and 100 shootouts between police and terrorists militants in 2011.

The Russian Defense Ministry said last week it would deploy additional Special Forces units to the North Caucasus to increase security.

Posted by: ryuge || 02/03/2012 07:29 || Comments || Link || [336080 views] Top|| File under:

#1  As per UMAROV'S new announcement, the good news for the Locals = bad news for the Police is that the Hard Boyz will shoot only at the Police + other Govt Security forces, etc. not them???
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 02/03/2012 22:51 Comments || Top||

#2  ["I SHOT THE SHERIFF, BUT D *** NG IT I DID NOT SHOOT THE DEPUTY [Townsfolk]" SONG here].
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 02/03/2012 22:53 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
3 Sipah-e-Sahaba men involved in several murders nabbed
[Pak Daily Times] KARACHI: Anti-Extremism Cell (AEC) of the Crime Investigation Department (CID) on Thursday claimed to have jugged three alleged members of banned Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistain
...a Sunni Deobandi organization, formerly registered Pak political party, established in the early 1980s in Jhang by Maulana Haq Nawaz Jhangvi. Its stated goal is to oppose Shia influence in Pakistain. They're not too big on Brelvis, either. Or Christians. Or anybody else who's not them. The organization was banned in 2002 as a terrorist organization, but somehow it keeps ticking along, piling up the corpse counts...
(SSP) for killing over a dozen of persons on sectarian bias.

A team, headed by SSP Chaudhry Aslam, raided a place at Hawks Bay Road near Mauripur truck stand on a tip-off and jugged three alleged hit men, including Muhammad Taufeeq Ansari, Salahuddin alias Israel
With that alias, how is it that he was not killed ages ago?
and Maulana Muhammad Danish.
He was stuck in the same cell with Maulana Muhammad Kuppakoffi.
The team also recovered three kalashnikovs, three 9mm pistols, five hand grenades, three TT pistols and over 150 rounds from their possession.

SSP Aslam said that the accused, during initial course of investigation, confessed to have killed over a dozen people, including three lawyers in Aram Bagh. He said that the jugged persons in their statement revealed that they wanted to target Kafil and Babar only, however Badar Munir and his son came in the line of fire.

The jugged activists of banned SSP also confessed to have murdered Advocate Mukhtiar Bukhari for representing several cases of Shias in courts. SP Aslam said that they also targeted a Qadyani doctor Zakir and two Sunni Tehrik
...formed in Karachi in 1992 under by Muhammad Saleem Qadri. It quickly fell to trading fisticuffs and liquidations with the MQM and the Sipah-e-Sahaba, with at least a half dozen of its major leaders rubbed out. Sunni Tehreek arose to become the primary opposition to the Deobandi Binori Mosque, headed by Nizamuddin Shamzai, who was eventually bumped off by person or persons unknown. ST's current leadership has heavily criticized the Deobandi Jihadi leaders, accusing them of being sponsored by Indian Intelligence agencies as well as involvement in terrorist activities...
activists, including Maulana Abdul Kareem Naqshbandi and Qari Habib in 2011. He informed that the accused also had the names of Shia leader Syed Allama Jaffar Subhani and Advocate Tasawwar Hussain in their hit list. Cases were registered against all accused and further investigation was underway.
Posted by: Fred || 02/03/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336070 views] Top|| File under: Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan


3 policemen killed in Lakki Marwat attack
[Pak Daily Times] Terrorists armed with guns and grenades ambushed a police patrol in Shahbazkhel Police Station area of Lakki Marwat on Thursday, killing three officers and wounding another, police said. According to details, eight to 10 faceless myrmidons ambushed a police vehicle, first by hurling a grenade and then opening fire with Kalashnikovs after coppers tried to retaliate. The police vehicle was completely destroyed in the attack. "Three coppers, Jan Muhammad, Munawar and Zahidullah were killed and one, SalamudDin, was injured. The faceless myrmidons later beat feet," district police chief Muhammad Gulzar told AFP. Terrorists were hiding on both sides of the road and beat feet in two vehicles after the attack, he added. The injured cop was rushed to a nearby hospital. The law enforcement agencies rushed to the site soon after the attack. They cordoned off the area and launched a search operation to apprehend the assailants. Head constable Jan Muhammad was buried in Daulatkhel village in the outskirts of Lakki Marwat, while constables Zahid Ali and Munawar Khan were buried in Titterkhel and Gandi Khankhel localities of the district respectively. staff
Posted by: Fred || 02/03/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336077 views] Top|| File under: TTP


Tribal elder shot dead in Khuzdar
[Pak Daily Times] QUETTA: Unidentified assailants rubbed out tribal elder and Khuzdar Traders Union former president Muhammad Ramzan Zehri and injured his lover companion in Kanak area of Khuzdar. "The masked men were on a cycle of violence and they managed to escape from the scene of the crime," police said. The victims were on their way to Ferozabad in Khuzdar when attacked. The injured was identified as Ahmed Khan. The body and the injured were taken to District Headquarters Hospital. The body was later handed over to its heirs. The motive behind the murder could not be immediately ascertained. However,
today is that tomorrow you were thinking about yesterday...
police said it was an incident of murder and further investigation in this regard was underway.
Posted by: Fred || 02/03/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336073 views] Top|| File under:


Forces conduct successful raids in Landikotal
[Pak Daily Times] LANDIKOTAL: Security forces in Landikotal recovered a huge cache of ammunition and an explosives-packed car, defused two bombs and tossed in the clink eight suspects from the Khugakhel area, officials said on Thursday.

A security official said that the forces were tipped off about some suspects in the Khugakhel area, after which a team launched a search operation on Thursday morning and tossed in the clink eight people, including a schoolteacher.

The forces recovered a huge cache of ammunition, rocket launcher, improvised bombs, hand grenades, rifles and computers during that raid, and moved the tossed in the clink suspects to a facility for interrogation, a security forces front man said. He said that two alleged bully boyz were also maimed in the encounter. Security forces also claimed to have disposed of two powerful explosive cans that they had recovered during the operation. Meanwhile,
...back at the palazzo, Count Guido had escaped from his bonds and overwhelmed this guard using the bludgeon the faithful Filomena had smuggled to him in the loaf of bread...
security was on high alert on the Torkham border after the seizure of a boom-mobile and information regarding another such vehicle in the area.
Posted by: Fred || 02/03/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336076 views] Top|| File under: TTP


Six Bittani elders abducted in Tank
[Dawn] Unidentified armed persons kidnapped six elders of Bhittani
...a Pashtun tribe centered on Jandola, in Tank district. They are the hereditary enemies of the Mehsuds, unless there are furriners or infidels around, in which case they share ammunition and targeting data...
tribe in Omarkhel area here on Wednesday, sources said.

They said that the six elders were travelling in a car when gunnies intercepted them at Omarkhel village and whisked them away along with their vehicle.

All the six elders including Malak Payo Gul, Malak Multan, Seri Khan, Ghazanmir, Haji Sarwar Khan and Khwaja Mir belong to Nematkhel clan of Bittani tribe.

It is pertinent to mention here that 23 members of the same tribe had been kidnapped by Taliban from Kariwam area of Frontier Region of Tank before the launch of operation Rah-e-Nejat in the region. Later, all of them were found dead.

No group has so far grabbed credit for the kidnapping of the six elders.

Sources said that involvement of Taliban in the crime could not be ruled out as commander Turkistan Bittani had established a peace committee in the region in 2008 against bad boys.

In Khyber Agency, the beheaded body of a missing bread baker was found in Khowgakhel area on Wednesday morning.

The baker identified as Waris Khan was kidnapped by unidentified gunnies on Tuesday evening when he was returning home from a nearby mosque after offering Maghrib prayers.

A chit found with his body said that he was executed on charges of spying against Taliban. Other people, who were found involved in such activities, would also meet the same fate, it added.

The dear departed was laid to rest in a local graveyard.

In Mohmand
... Named for the Mohmand clan of the Sarban Pahstuns, a truculent, quarrelsome lot. In Pakistain, the Mohmands infest their eponymous Agency, metastasizing as far as the plains of Beautiful Downtown Peshawar, Charsadda, and Mardan. Mohmands are also scattered throughout Pakistan in urban areas including Karachi, Lahore, and Quetta. In Afghanistan they are mainly found in Nangarhar and Kunar...
Agency, a jirga of Safi Masood tribe on Wednesday decided that rustics would not accept any pressure to form peace committees.

The jirga, attended by about 300 rustics, was addressed by Haji Gul Nabi, Hussain Ahmad, Saeed Khan, Malak Mohammad Jan, Jangrez Khan and others.

"We are not ready to form peace committees in our areas forcefully," they said. They also lashed out at political administration for raiding their houses and arresting innocent people.

The speakers said that administration called sniffer dogs to trace culprits in their area. "It is against our tribal system and also insult of our houses," they told the jirga.

They said that the administration set to sit in solemn silence in a dull, dark dock, in a pestilential prison with a life-long lock Mian Lal Badshah and his family members unlawfully. "They are innocent," the speakers said and demanded early release of the set to sit in solemn silence in a dull, dark dock, in a pestilential prison with a life-long lock rustics.

They said that they also held talks with commandant of Mohmand Rifle and political agent in that connection.

The jirga members also meet with Assistant Political Agent Rasool Khan in his office and informed him about the situation. The APA assured them that he would talk to high-ups to settle the issue amicably.
Posted by: Fred || 02/03/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336073 views] Top|| File under: TTP


Southeast Asia
Philippine military searches for proof of slain terrorists
On Friday, the Philippine military said it has not been able to gather proof that it killed three of Southeast Asia's most-wanted terrorists, but insisted the trio had died in a US-backed airstrike.

Lieutenant Colonel Arnulfo Burgos said troops were sent to the isolated jungle area where Thursday's bombing took place on the remote southern island of Jolo, but did not find the bodies. He said the three senior leaders from the Al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) networks, as well as 12 others, had been taken away by fellow terrorists militants and quickly buried as per Muslim custom.

However he said the military was certain the trio had been killed based on intelligence assets. He said, "Yes, its an A-1 (information). We have something but we cannot divulge all the other information because its an operational (secret)."

Burgos said Friday that security forces were confident of finding the bodies of the slain leaders, or at least evidence that would allow DNA confirmation. But efforts to search the remote jungle location were hampered by gunfire from the surviving terrorists extremists. Regional military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Randloph Cabangbang said, "There is occasional gunfire. They fire from a distance, just to disrupt our operations."

The US military helped in Thursday's attack by providing intelligence support, according to military officials. Spokespeople at the US embassy in Manila did not comment on Thursday's attack, referring all questions to the Philippine military.

See also:
Terror alert raised for 'probable' revenge
Posted by: ryuge || 02/03/2012 07:20 || Comments || Link || [336075 views] Top|| File under:


Woman gunned down, husband and son injured in southern Thailand
A woman was killed, her husband and young son seriously wounded in a drive-by shooting in Pattani province on Friday morning.

Korde Leeheng, 40, was driving to Saiburi on a local road together with his wife, Sakina Phitak, and his eight-year-old son when gunmen in another car sprayed them with bullets from AK47 and M16 assault rifles. The assailants then fled. Mrs Sakina was hit several times and died instantly in the front passenger seat. Mr Korde and his son were each hit several times and taken to hospital.

Police blamed separatist terrorists militants.

Oil trader gunned down

An illegal oil vendor was killed in an ambush in Narathiwat province early Friday morning. The victim was identified as Vachira Chanthit, 36, a resident of Tak Bai district.

Witnesses told police that Vachira and his two friends went in a pickup truck to deliver smuggled oil to a client's house. He was standing in front of that client's house while the two friends were carrying the containers of oil into the house when a gunman shot him twice with a .38 caliber pistol. Mr Vachira was hit twice and died on the spot.

Police blamed the attack on separatist terrorists militants.
Posted by: ryuge || 02/03/2012 06:43 || Comments || Link || [336074 views] Top|| File under:


Search Efforts Fail to Find Kidnapped Europeans in Philippines
[An Nahar] Philippine authorities said Thursday they had failed to find two European birdwatchers in the crucial 24 hours after their abduction and warned Islamic Islamic fascisti may be holding them.

Hundreds of Marines quickly joined the search for Swiss national Lorenzo Vinciguerra, 47, and Dutchman Ewold Horn, 52, who were seized by gunnies on a tiny island in the lawless south of the country on Wednesday.

"There is a massive search-and-rescue operation right now to find the kidnappers and their captives," regional military front man Lieutenant Colonel Randolph Cabangbang told Agence La Belle France Presse.

"Though, as of the moment, we have not pinpointed their exact location."

Cabangbang said it remained unclear who kidnapped the men, but noted a spate of other kidnappings of foreigners in the south that were blamed on the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf
...also known as al-Harakat al-Islamiyya, an Islamist terror group based in Jolo, Basilan and Zamboanga. Since its inception in the early 1990s, the group has carried out bombings, kidnappings, murders, head choppings, and extortion in their uniquely Islamic attempt to set up an independent Moslem province in the Philippines. Abu Sayyaf forces probably number less than 300 cadres. The group is closely allied with remnants of Indonesia's Jemaah Islamiya and has loose ties with MILF and MNLF who sometimes provide cannon fodder...
group.

"We cannot rule out the possibility that the Abu Sayyaf is involved," he said. "However,
the hip bone's connected to the leg bone...
I must stress there are other gangs, including pirates, who also operate in these waters."

Ivan Sarenas, a Filipino guide for the two wildlife enthusiasts, was also kidnapped, but said he managed to jump off a boat that was taking the kidnapped men away.

"There was a passing boat and I decided to go for it. I held the barrel of the long firearm of the man in front of me with one arm and jumped out," he told AFP by phone.

Cabangbang said the first 24 hours were crucial in deciding the fate of people kidnapped in the area because this was when they were typically taken into the abductors' rugged jungle lairs on remote islands.
Posted by: Fred || 02/03/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336074 views] Top|| File under: Abu Sayyaf

#1 
Virtually all US, Canadian, Australian and European nations have advised their nationals in the Philippines to NOT travel to the southern Philippines because of the probable threat of being kidnapped for ransom.

Sarenas should have known better and declined Vinciguerra and Horn's offer to guide them there in search of the Sulu hornbill, said to be the most endangered hornbill in the world. At the same time, Vinciguerra and Horn should have heeded common knowledge that there is a bounty on the heads of foreigners who travel to the southern Philippines. --source
Posted by: gromky || 02/03/2012 23:13 Comments || Top||

#2  A useful site, gromky. :-)
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/03/2012 23:34 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
U.S. Fears Iran's Links to al Qaeda
Posted by: Mike Ramsey || 02/03/2012 10:54 || Comments || Link || [336070 views] Top|| File under:

#1  How long have we been fearing this link?

10 minutes? or 10 years if we look at the intell?

If this is a revelation to the current administration, we're screwed.
Posted by: Bill Clinton || 02/03/2012 13:59 Comments || Top||

#2  Sounds like someone is preparing the rational to strike.
Posted by: rjschwarz || 02/03/2012 14:51 Comments || Top||

#3  Amazing given who screamed about the 'lack of evidence' regarding Sadaam's links to Al Queda (or terrorism in general).
Posted by: Mullah Richard || 02/03/2012 15:15 Comments || Top||

#4  Al Qaeda is a Sunni affiliated terrorist group. Iran is Shia (and non-Arab); the two sects (surprise) don't mix.
Posted by: Mike Ramsey || 02/03/2012 15:52 Comments || Top||

#5  Sounds like someone is preparing the rational to strike.

Nope. Somebody is preparing an excuse for the pressure that the current admin. is putting on Israel not to attack Iran.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 02/03/2012 16:42 Comments || Top||

#6  Al Qaeda is a Sunni affiliated terrorist group. Iran is Shia (and non-Arab); the two sects (surprise) don't mix.  

Eh? This is enemy of my enemy stuff, Mike, just like Iran's support of the extremely Sunni Hamas. Lots of evidence scattered throughout Rantburg's archives of Iran sheltering senior Al Qaeda members following the capture of Tora Bora, including Osama bin Laden's favourite son and his family.
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/03/2012 16:51 Comments || Top||

#7  Al Qaeda is a Sunni affiliated terrorist group. Iran is Shia...

Yeah but like different tribes of Orcs, they both hate us more than they hate each other and would happily drop their disagreement and cooperate with each other against us.
Posted by: CrazyFool || 02/03/2012 16:53 Comments || Top||

#8  For years it seemed our policy was to arrange for arms to be supplied to whichever side - Shia or Sunni - was getting beaten in their neverending battle with each other. Cruel, but effective.
Posted by: Glenmore || 02/03/2012 17:27 Comments || Top||

#9  Al Qaeda is a Sunni affiliated terrorist group. Iran is Shia (and non-Arab); the two sects (surprise) don't mix

I didn't know you worked for the MSM...
Posted by: Pappy || 02/03/2012 19:01 Comments || Top||


Russia Vows to Continue Arms Sales to Syria
[An Nahar] Russia will not stop selling arms to Syria, a top defense official said Thursday, as Moscow stands by its longtime ally despite mounting international condemnation over the Syrian regime's bloody crackdown on a 10-month-old uprising.

Russia's Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov said his country is not violating any international obligations by selling weapons to 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...
"As of today there are no restrictions on our delivery of weapons," he told journalists in Russia, according to the country's state news agencies. "We must fulfill our obligations and this is what we are doing."

Moscow has been one of Syria's most powerful allies -- along with Iran -- as Syria tries to crush the revolt against Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Leveler of Latakia...
. The U.N. estimates that more than 5,400 people have been killed in the government crackdown.

Moscow's stance is motivated in part by its strategic and defense ties, including weapons sales, with Syria. But Russia also rejects what it sees as a world order dominated by the U.S. Last month, Russia reportedly signed a $550-million deal to sell combat jets to Syria.

U.N. ambassadors this week are trying to overcome Russia's opposition to a draft resolution at the Security Council calling for Assad to surrender power. Moscow says it would veto the draft because it believes it opens the way for eventual international military action.
Posted by: Fred || 02/03/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336075 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria

#1  I doubt they would care if they were violating any international treaties
Posted by: chris || 02/03/2012 8:10 Comments || Top||

#2  This is a mistake by the Syrian opposition, who should make it perfectly clear to Russia that if they stay neutral, they will still be Syria's friend if Assad is overthrown, but if they keep supporting him, no more Mediterranean holidays for Russians, ever. No port, no debt repayment, nothing.

Toska.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 02/03/2012 9:27 Comments || Top||

#3  Russian sadness and melancholy, that's a keeper.
Posted by: Dale || 02/03/2012 14:29 Comments || Top||


Turkey Would Consider Assad Family Asylum Request
[An Nahar] Turkey would consider giving asylum to Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
The Scourge of Hama...
's family if such a request is made, President Abdullah Gul was quoted as saying by daily Radikal on Thursday.

"There is no such thing right now," said Gul, when asked about Turkey's answer to a possible asylum request from Assad's family. "It would of course be considered if such a request were made."
Considered, yes. Approved in a timely manner as the peasants approach them stopped at the border crossing? That is a question of a different colour altogether.
Depends on whether or not the peasants had a goodly length of piano wire...
Syria's lethal response to protests that erupted in mid-March has left more than 5,400 people dead since mid-March, according to figures from the U.N.

The ongoing violence has fed increasing international anger at the regime in Damascus
...Capital of the last remaining Baathist regime in the world...
and Turkey, together with the Arab League
...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing...
, spearheaded regional condemnation of the Syrian leadership.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has also urged his one-time friend Assad to quit.
Posted by: Fred || 02/03/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336072 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


Arab League Observer Chief Satisfied with Syria Mission
[An Nahar] The head of the controversial Arab League
...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing...
observer mission to Syria expressed satisfaction with the monitors' effort on Thursday, even as a deadly regime crackdown on dissent continues.

"I swear by God, I am fully satisfied with myself and with all those on the mission in Syria," Sudanese General Mohammed Ahmed Mustafa al-Dabi told news hounds on a brief return to his homeland.

"There is a campaign against the mission and against the head of the mission and there are some allegations against it, but all of this is untrue," Dabi said, adding critics did not understand the observers' role.

The 165 monitors were deployed in December after Syria agreed to an Arab League plan for a halt to the violence, for prisoners to be freed, tanks withdrawn from towns and on the free movement of observers and foreign media.

None of the clauses in the protocol was respected.

The Arab League said on Saturday it was suspending its mission because of an upsurge in violence.
Posted by: Fred || 02/03/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336069 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


Reports: Attempt to Assassinate MP Sami Gemayel Thwarted
[An Nahar] Lebanese Security Forces informed MP Sami Gemayel on Thursday about a plan to assassinate him at a certain time and date.

The Phalange Party's
The Kataeb (Phalange) party was founded by Pierre Gemayel in 1936, who modeled the party after Spanish and Italian Fascist parties he had observed as an Olympic athlete during the 1936 Summer Olympics held in Berlin, then Nazi Germany. The movement's uniforms originally included brown shirts and members used the Nazi salute. Despite the party's uniform, its strong sense of nationalism and dedication to a single charismatic leader, the Lebanese Kataeb was not and never became a fascist party nor did it espouse a totalitarian ideology.
official website posted that the Lebanese Security forces informed MP Sami Gemayel on Thursday about a plan to assassinate him at a certain time and date."

The website added that the party will "leave it to the security forces to uncover additional information on the issue."

In a newsflash, MTV stated in the evening that the security forces "foiled an attempt to assassinate MP Sami Gemayel."

Internal Security Forces chief Ashraf Rifi had confirmed on Saturday reports of a foiled liquidation attempt against security officials.

He revealed that head of the ISF's Information Branch Col. Wissam al-Hassan was the target of the foiled attempt.

Later on Monday, news about the alleged liquidation attempt of Col. al-Hassan, revealed that Speaker Nabih Knobby Berri
Speaker of the Lebanese parliament, a member of AMAL, a not very subtle Hizbullah sock puppet...
and Progressive Socialist Party MP Walid Wally Jumblat
... Druze politician, head of the Progressive Socialist Party, who's been on every side in Leb at least four times. He'll sell you his friends for a dollar, but family comes higher because of shipping and handling...
might also be targeted, according to newspapers published on Monday.
Posted by: Fred || 02/03/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336071 views] Top|| File under:


New UN Syria draft aims to overcome Russia concerns
[An Nahar] A new draft of a U.N. Security Council resolution to stop the violence in Syria contains concessions to Russia in an effort to overcome Moscow's objections, diplomats said on Thursday.

"They are not made explicit in the latest draft but it is very clear what they are referring to," one Western diplomat said, alluding to the doubts that Russia vowed would lead it to veto any "unacceptable" proposal.

International efforts to stop the bloodshed have so far failed, with Russia, a key all of Syria, firmly opposed to an Arab- and Western-backed U.N. Security Council resolution condemning the violence.

But diplomats hinted in New York on Wednesday that a compromise to overcome Russia's objections was possible.

"We have made some progress today," Britannia's U.N. ambassador Mark Lyall Grant told news hounds after a three-hour meeting of council members.

Russia's envoy Vitaly Churkin also said there was a much better understanding of what needed to be done to reach a consensus. "I think it was a pretty good session," he said.

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said Russia had a "less negative" attitude towards the resolution and a vote could take place "perhaps" next week.

The draft resolution, introduced by Morocco, calls for the formation of a unity government leading to "transparent and free elections," rather than for Assad to step down as proposed in an Arab League
...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing...
plan.

It stresses that there will be no foreign military intervention in Syria as there was in Libya, which toppled Muammar Qadaffy
... the like of whose wardrobe will never be seen again. At least that's what we hope...
Posted by: Fred || 02/03/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336073 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


Syria Opposition Commemorates Hama Massacre
[An Nahar] Syria's opposition called protests Thursday to mark the 30th anniversary of the Hama massacre, as the United Nations
...aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society...
moved closer to agreement on action to halt a deadly regime crackdown on dissent.

Demonstrations were planned in various cities in memory of the estimated 10,000 to 40,000 people who perished in February 1982 when then president Hafez Assad, father of the current president Bashar, launched a fierce assault on the central town to crush an Islamist revolt.

The anniversary was taking place as the regime in Damascus
...Capital of the last overtly fascist regime in the world...
battles to crush an unprecedented revolt that has left more than 6,000 people dead since mid-March, according to estimates of human rights
One man's rights are another man's existential threat.
groups.

The city of Hama defiantly painted roads in red and staged a general strike on Thursday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

"Several roads have been painted red and the waterwheels marked 'Hafez is dead while Hama has not disappeared''," it said, in reference to the famous landmark of the city on the Orontes river.

The number of dead has mounted in recent weeks with the central cities of Homs and Hama suffering heavy losses.

Activists said the 1982 massacre of Hama, which went largely unnoticed by the international community when it took place, had now come back to haunt the Assad clan.

"On this 30th anniversary, another massacre is taking place today but on a larger scale and led by the son of Hafez Assad," the Local Coordination Committees, an umbrella opposition group said.

The group called for activists to release red balloons in memory of those who died in what many describe as the worst atrocity in Syria's modern history.

It urged demonstrators to burn portraits of Hafez Assad and his younger brother Rifaat, who supervised the assault and aerial bombing on Hama. Rifaat Assad now lives in exile in London.

The opposition also called for "the trial of the regimes of Hafez and Bashir al-Assad for massacres against humanity committed against the Syrian people."

"The silence of the Arab and international community in the face of the crimes committed by Hafez Assad and his cronies 30 years ago is largely responsible for the continuation of daily crimes and atrocities committed by Bashar," it said in a statement.

Meanwhile,
...back at the chili cook-off, Chuck and Manuel's rivalry was entering a new and more dangerous phase...
a Syrian dissident was killed by security forces before his body was thrown off the rooftop of his home in front of his wife and children, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Thursday.

The Britannia-based monitoring group said the incident took place on Wednesday in the town of al-Maadamiyeh, located on the outskirts of Damascus.

"Security forces launched a raid on the home of myrmidon Nasser Mohammed Said Sghayer, 30," it said in a statement. "Fearing arrest, he sought refuge on the roof of his house and security forces threatened to arrest his two children if he did not surrender."

It added that when he failed to heed their call, troops rushed to the roof and opened fire, killing him on the spot.

"They then threw his body from the roof in front of his wife and children," the Observatory said.

It said Sghayer had served four months in prison and had been released last week. His father has been behind bars for seven months.

The Observatory called for an independent inquiry into his death.
Posted by: Fred || 02/03/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336072 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria



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Two weeks of WOT
Fri 2012-02-03
  Britain Appoints First Ambassador to Somalia in 21 Years
Thu 2012-02-02
  Three top terror leaders killed in the Philippines
Wed 2012-02-01
  US raids kill 15 militants in Yemen
Tue 2012-01-31
  12,000 BNP, Jamaat men charged with violence
Mon 2012-01-30
  Assad's family caught trying to escape the country, returned to Damascus
Sun 2012-01-29
  Nigerian military kills 11 militants in northeast
Sat 2012-01-28
  UN loses count on Syria killings
Fri 2012-01-27
  Sectarian clashes kill at least 22 in Yemen
Thu 2012-01-26
  Woman Dead as Bombs, Bullets Rain on Nigeria Police Station
Wed 2012-01-25
  SEALS Spring Two, Bag Nine
Tue 2012-01-24
  EU imposes sanctions on Iran oil
Mon 2012-01-23
  U.S. aircraft carrier goes through Strait of Hormuz without incident
Sun 2012-01-22
  Syrian Forces Kill More than 50 Civilian as Dissidents Clash with Troops
Sat 2012-01-21
  Terror attacks in Kano, Nigeria, kill at least 162
Fri 2012-01-20
  Aslam Awan of Abbottabad Dronezapped

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