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Today: 67 articles and 217 comments as of 3:09.
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Area: WoT Background    Non-WoT    Opinion        Politix   
Libya fighters seize Bani Walid
Today's Headlines
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Good morning
Posted by: Fred || 10/24/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336066 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Birthday Gam Shot

Adela Noriega [Mexico](age 43)


Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 10/24/2012 4:18 Comments || Top||

#2  Ah, life is good and the universe is in order since GolfBravoUSMC returned--a service to humanity.
Posted by: JohnQC || 10/24/2012 10:45 Comments || Top||

#3  Viva las Luchadoras Libre!!!


Posted by: Menhadden Grumble7602 || 10/24/2012 12:05 Comments || Top||


--Tech & Moderator Notes
Posting on the Burg
A few simple reminders:

  • We focus on the WoT and matters related to the WoT. That includes general thuggery around the world, such as Zim-bob-we, and the politics surrounding the WoT. The farther away it is from that, the less likely people here want to read it here on Rantburg. We assume y'all read other weblogs for the other news. Rantburg has been getting some posts that are -- frankly -- a distraction from what we want to cover. The more we get away from the WoT, the more we look just like any other blog, and that's not the point for us. We have an eclectic readership and we want to keep it that way.

    We do carry a fair bit of politics ('seedy politician') but even there the focus is on how that news relates to the fight against terrorism and the defense of the good. We have the separate 'Election 2012' category if you can't restrain yourself about your country's elections; put those posts there.

    Very simply: domestic issues in Australia, surface crawlers on Mars, and the general state of Tiger Woods' rehab shouldn't be posted here. Unless Fred does it in which case it's okay.
    I say this again in salmon color: we focus on the WoT!
  • Check for duplicates before you post. We've had a number of these lately, so please check on the Burg, particularly if it looks like 'breaking news'.
    I say this in salmon color as well: check for duplicates!
  • Provide a source URL for your post.. This goes into the 'source' box in the poster. If you don't provide a URL your post will be deleted. None of the moderators have enough time to look for the source of your post.

  • Shorter, not longer, titles. Remember, the URL does NOT go into the title box. Snarky and catchy titles are fine.

  • File it in the right place. If it's about the current insurrection in Yemen, don't file it under 'Great White North'.

  • Opinion pieces go into the 'Opinion' category. Tricky, eh? This includes blog pieces. Some exceptions exist: VDH, Lileks, and Marc Steyn can go into any appropriate category. All the rest go into Opinion. And that's not an invitation for other blog-owners to post stuff in Opinion just to advertise their own blog.

  • Your opinion is welcome. Opinion is also for your own original articles, for everyone, but especially for Rantburg regulars. If you have an opinion, post it here. And don't forget your byline.

  • Please format the post. Help us make posts readable. Think of it as a chance to teach English composition to the MSM. Delete the fluff and the stuff we already know. Some gentle editing to make a post readable helps all of us, especially the moderators who then don't have to go back and re-edit stuff.

  • No 'more at the link', no ellipses and no 'snips'. Readers assume you're editing the post to just the good stuff (see above). Therefore you don't need ellipses or [SNIP]'s to tell us that you edited the post. Since you gave us the source URL (right?) a reader can always go to the original. That means you don't need to say at the bottom, 'hit the link to read the rest'. The readers already know that.

  • Your in-line comments are in hilite (yellow) text. Use the 'HILITE' button. Start your comments on a separate line.
    If you do it will look like this. This is the ONLY acceptable format for your comments.
    Don't put a leading line space before or after, as illustrated. And don't bury it like this. Do not use italics instead of hilite. Do not insert FONT commands: Fred has already settled the proper font and size for your snark. And do NOT put your comments into blockquotes.

  • Strikout text can be placed in-line in the text. Some here complain when we use too much of it. Unless you've got a sure-fire 'mad-libs' winner, use strikeout text sparingly.

  • Don't embed pics from outside Rantburg. We have an ever-expanding library of pics (even after Fred cleans out the attic we have more than when we started). Embedding a pic with a URL takes bandwidth and it may upset the owner of the site from where you're getting the image. We'd love to allow users to upload images, but if we did we'd be dumping 100k erectile dysfunction ads and pictures of nekkid 40-year-old teen hotties all day and not have time for any posting of our own. Finally, outside posts also die as links can (and will) rot. A Rantburg image will be around as long as there's a Rantburg.

  • Submitting pics to the Burg. E-mail us the pic, but format it first. 250 pixels width for portrait, 300 for landscape or square. On a case-by-case basis, max 500 pixels (width of the yellow comments box) wide for charts, diagrams, and maps. Please compress: images should be under 20k if at all possible. It's not the single image we have to worry about, but 80 articles x 20k. Too many images will slow page load dramatically.

    And as always, thanks for all your support. You make Rantburg a special place.
  • Posted by: Steve White || 10/24/2012 08:38 || Comments || Link || [336071 views] Top|| File under:

    #1  And a key point: Just under the Rantburg heading at the top of page one you will see the following:

    Post a news link Post your own article

    Click on whichever is appropriate, and everything necessary is laid out for you as Dr. Steve described above, including the same options to mess with the text, including bold and italics, and with the additional option of highlighting, as when one makes comments like this.

    USN, Ret., yesterday you put the article link in the place for the commenter's own website/blog URL in your comment. While not standard operating procedure, it was certainly a creative solution... and effectively caught my attention. Dr. Steve's post is my answer. I look forward to your next article post, my dear, and am confident you will climb this learning curve more quickly than I did.

    For those who would like to add a link to their comments in a discussion thread, instead of posting the article separately:
    1. highlight the URL of the article
    2. type a few appropriate words of text in the comment box and highlight
    3. look down to the box of options below My Original Nic and click on the little icon of the globe
    4. paste your URL in the box that pops up, then click OK
    5. finish typing your comment, then click on PREVIEW (this step is critical!)
    6. when the preview pops up, click on your beautifully formatted link to make sure it actually works. We will not mention how often I have had to post a second comment with a working link after I figured out what I'd done wrong. :-(

    Posted by: trailing wife || 10/24/2012 14:06 Comments || Top||

    #2  I would like to add (from experience): Check for duplicates immediately before you post your new article. Open up a second window or tab, go to rantburg, and check for a duplicate which may have been posted in the 10-60 minutes you've spend grooming your masterpiece.

    If your post doesn't immediately appear, especially if its close to 12 midnight eastern (U.S.) time, don't immediately repost. It might be awaiting moderation _or_ awaiting the next day's edition.

    (Also the rule for Embedding pics has one exception - GB's Birthday postings under 'Good Morning' :)
    Posted by: CrazyFool || 10/24/2012 15:20 Comments || Top||

    #3  Dear TW,
    Perhaps I am denser than the fog surrounding Washington DC, but I do not see a 'source' box, only this one I am typing in, and the Name, email and the attention-grabbing (but optional) website box.
    I have been dubbed a techno-peasant, due in no small part to my inability to grasp the ways of the modem world.

    Posted by: USN, Ret. || 10/24/2012 21:11 Comments || Top||

    #4  USN, Ret, I susoect you are looking in the comment box you posted. You need to scroll to the top of Page 1: WoT. Just under the Rantburg logo are words to click on to open the article submission page.

    You are not a techno-peasant, just missing that critical piece of information. I went through this, too -- and so I have faith you will find it.
    Posted by: trailing wife || 10/24/2012 23:49 Comments || Top||


    Freedom Isn't Free.... Rantburg Is....Unless You Choose To.....
    With Benghazi and the presidential election, you know, deep down inside, that Rantburg U is your choice of getting the real stories... I'm betting that 96.5 percent of those hearing Romney in the last debate, didn't know of this Molly (Mali) of which he spoke.

    Rantburgers do -- so get ahead of the Christmas rush. Gift yourself another year, month or day of Rantburg...

    See that Breitbart pic? Isn't that just about the best name to have to stand for this colossus man?

    There's a PayPal and an Amazon button close to it.... you know how to use each one.... so try one of them out.... they both work....

    This is Rantburg U and I approve of this message.
    Posted by: Sherry || 10/24/2012 00:15 || Comments || Link || [336067 views] Top|| File under:

    #1  Done, Sherry.
    Posted by: Alaska Paul || 10/24/2012 1:54 Comments || Top||

    #2  I'm getting an error message when I try and donate via Amazon - Invalid request == Please enter a valid amount.

    Paypal in Australia is so F'ed up that I've given up on it.
    Posted by: phil_b || 10/24/2012 7:19 Comments || Top||

    #3  BTW, I've succesfully donated via Amazon several times before, without problems.
    Posted by: phil_b || 10/24/2012 7:20 Comments || Top||

    #4  I'm going to have to take the Amazon button off. They've decided donations only apply to tax-free operations.

    I'll see if I can find a replacement.
    Posted by: Fred || 10/24/2012 9:24 Comments || Top||

    #5  Okay, switched the account type. I'm hoping it works now.
    Posted by: Fred || 10/24/2012 9:47 Comments || Top||

    #6  Still not working.

    I got,

    Invalid Request
    Error Message:
    An Amazon Payments Business account with verified email address and credit card is required to accept payments using Amazon Simple Pay.
    Posted by: phil_b || 10/24/2012 10:01 Comments || Top||

    #7  [Sigh!] I've turned Amazon off. I'll be looking for an alternative.
    Posted by: Fred || 10/24/2012 10:32 Comments || Top||

    #8  Check will be coming on payday, Fred.

    Sorry I've been lax lately - I've been sending all my spare cash to conservative politicians.
    Posted by: Barbara || 10/24/2012 12:01 Comments || Top||

    #9  phil_b, I'm also in Aus. I just use the donate button on the right using PayPal. If you don't see it, turn off Adblock for this site, if you are using Adblock. Maybe that might help.
    Posted by: tipper || 10/24/2012 12:47 Comments || Top||

    #10  Gotta wait till pay day. But I'll do it.
    Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 || 10/24/2012 16:54 Comments || Top||

    #11  Tipper, I don't use my paypal account, because I got frustrated by the hoops they made me go thru to validate my identity.
    Posted by: phil_b || 10/24/2012 18:37 Comments || Top||


    Dry Bones is 40
    Dry Bones is 40 years old. Give him a visit to say congratulations.
    Posted by: Fred || 10/24/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336090 views] Top|| File under:

    #1  Giving heartburn to the sand monkeys for 40 years!

    Posted by: Menhadden Grumble7602 || 10/24/2012 11:56 Comments || Top||

    #2  "sand monkeys"

    Let's watch our language on Fred's site, Menhadden Grumble7602. No need to be trashy.

    We can denigrate without sounding like knuckle-dragging losers. Trailing Wife, for instance, is painfully good at it - perhaps you could read some of her comments for instruction on how to be devastatingly insulting without resorting to low-class epithets (after which, she often offers the insultee(s) tea).

    Unless, of course, you were talking about actual simians who live in sand somewhere and read cartoons in English.

    Posted by: Barbara || 10/24/2012 12:13 Comments || Top||

    #3  Yeah. Just because they live in a cat box is no reason to insult monkeys.
    Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 || 10/24/2012 12:48 Comments || Top||

    #4  Rantburg needs a 'Like' button for comments like Ebbangs.
    Posted by: CrazyFool || 10/24/2012 13:49 Comments || Top||

    #5  Let's watch our language on Fred's site, Menhadden Grumble7602. No need to be trashy.

    And I will 'terminate with prejudice'; something I have already done to your comments - both your current nym and numerous other nyms.
    Posted by: Pappy || 10/24/2012 16:24 Comments || Top||

    #6  Thank you, Pappy.
    Posted by: Barbara || 10/24/2012 18:16 Comments || Top||

    #7  Why to people always have to drag us into the sewer of thought in response? Is it for shock?
    Posted by: newc || 10/24/2012 19:48 Comments || Top||

    #8  Part of it is the "on the internet, know one knows you're a dog" mentality.

    And part of it is the poster, who in his last and most recent iteration, went off the deep end.

    I suspect we'll see it again, and soon.
    Posted by: Pappy || 10/24/2012 21:20 Comments || Top||


    Afghanistan
    Taliban kill 10 Afghan security personnel: officials
    [Dawn] At least ten Afghan security personnel have been killed in a bloody battle with Taliban bully boyz in the western province of Herat
    ...a venerable old Persian-speaking city in western Afghanistan, populated mostly by Tadjiks, which is why it's not as blood-soaked as areas controlled by Pashtuns...
    , officials said on Tuesday.

    Five coppers were among the dead, including the police chief of Obe district, where the battle took place on Monday afternoon, regional police front man Noor Khan Nikzad told AFP.

    Nikzad said the shootout erupted at noon when the Taliban attacked a police convoy and lasted several hours.

    Najeebullah Ahmadi, the Obe district governor, said five police and five soldiers were killed in the battle. Three Taliban bully boyz including a commander were also killed, he said.
    Posted by: Fred || 10/24/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336066 views] Top|| File under: Taliban

    #1  Let them all rot in hell together
    Posted by: texhooey || 10/24/2012 0:06 Comments || Top||

    #2  Are these the new kindler, gentler Talibunnies? 'Cause it's really hard to tell the difference.
    Posted by: SteveS || 10/24/2012 2:43 Comments || Top||

    #3  How is it that the fierce, vengeful Afghans we've heard about forever seem to mainly be with the Taliban? We never hear of our Afghan allies going into a village and executing the imams sponsoring the IEDs that are killing THEIR kids. I feel sorry for what's going to happen to the Afghanis who allied with us after we leave, but they're bringing it on themselves by demanding we play patty-cake with people who are shooting at us. If they really don't care what the bastards have done, are doing and will do to them and their families, and/or are just so scared of them that they won't stand up for US, or are so few that they dare not, then why are we there? Just nuke 'em from orbit (so to speak) next time (and sadly, there WILL be a next time.)
    Posted by: Glenmore || 10/24/2012 17:08 Comments || Top||


    Africa Horn
    Somali police put on show 4 alleged Al shabab agents in Mogadishu
    (Sh.M.Network)--The front man of Somali police Abdullah Hassan Barise, has held today a presser in Mogadishu, where he displayed Al shabab fighters found guilty of killings for the journalists.

    The men were accused of several separate liquidations in the capital and elsewhere in the country and the police front man said: "These four Al shabab combatants, among them a woman were locked away
    Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'!
    in an army crackdown in Mogadishu in the past few days."

    "I would like to show the Media four Al shabab elements who committed in the past a number of murders against officials and civilians in Mogadishu and they remained in jug for days at a prison," he added. "They were under a surveillance that led their caprure."

    The three men and the woman charged of the killing cases have neither denied nor admitted all the charges.

    Mr.Barise stated they handed such agents alleged to be members of Al shabab to the military tribunal for ruling. The court did not say the date of their verdict.

    Mogadishu has seen the biggest army operations for the past two months to improve the security after Al shabab's pull out last years 2011.
    Posted by: Fred || 10/24/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336069 views] Top|| File under: al-Shabaab


    Somalia Al Shabaab militants threaten British attack
    (Sh.M.Network)--Somalia's Islamist al-Shabaab
    ... the Islamic version of the old Somali warlord...
    militia on Monday warned Britannia it would "pay the heftiest price" for its "war against Islam" and the extradition of radical holy man Abu Hamza to the United States.

    In a series of eleven posts written by al-Shabaab's Press Office on its Twitter page, the radical group threatened to inflict on Britannia its worst-ever attack.

    "The nightmare that surreptitiously looms on British shores is bound to eclipse the horrors of 7/7 and 21/7 combined," said one message.

    The London bombings on July 7, 2005, were a series of co-ordinated suicide kabooms on the city's public transport which killed 52 civilians and the four bombers.

    Two weeks later, four attempted kabooms disrupted part of the city's public transport system.

    Another message read: "Britannia will pay the heftiest price for its brazen role in the war against Islam and endless brutality against innocent Moslems."

    The Al-Qaeda linked group also vowed to "go to every possible length to attain the freedom of imprisoned Moslem scholars."

    A 17,000-strong 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...
    force, fighting alongside government forces, has in recent months wrested control of a string of Shebab strongholds including the bastion of Kismayo, a strategic southern port.

    Radical preacher Hamza and four other terrorism suspects were extradited to the US earlier this month after a British court rejected their last-ditch attempts to block their removal.

    A legal saga that dragged on for more than a decade in the courts of Britannia and Europe finally ended when two senior judges at the High Court in London dismissed the men's pleas to be allowed a stay of extradition.

    The al-Shabaab's messages came as three British Moslem men went on trial on Monday accused of planning a string of bombings that prosecutors said could have been deadlier than the 7/7, 2005 attacks on London.

    The three men have all denied the charges.
    Posted by: Fred || 10/24/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336115 views] Top|| File under: al-Shabaab

    #1  I hear we have the most somalians outside Somalia in the UK many of which are unemployed= potential terrorists!
    Posted by: Fester Clunter7205 || 10/24/2012 3:24 Comments || Top||

    #2  90% are unemployed. Somalians are lazy.

    They should never have been allowed into Britain.
    Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 10/24/2012 10:08 Comments || Top||

    #3  Well folks they are in the meat packing industry right here in the USA. A thriving community has formed in Matt Dillon's Dodge City and the cashiers at Wal Mart are mostly Muslim. I was shocked to find that mine was very polite and spoke the Kings english.
    Posted by: bman || 10/24/2012 11:07 Comments || Top||

    #4  "the cashiers at Wal Mart are mostly Muslim. I was shocked to find that mine was very polite and spoke the Kings english"

    But do they check out the bacon for you, bman?
    Posted by: Barbara || 10/24/2012 12:05 Comments || Top||

    #5  Totally agree Bright Pebbles.

    Alot come via the EU because we have the best welfare benefits!
    Posted by: Fester Clunter7205 || 10/24/2012 15:53 Comments || Top||

    #6  ION INDIAN DEFENCE FORUM > POST-OSAMA AL-QAEDA [still] INTEND TO MAKE A HIT ON HEART OF [Western]CHRISTIANITY - THE VATICAN?

    Nuke, versus still-more-likely non-Nuke WMD, + assorted support TerrorOps.

    versus

    * DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > FLASHBACK: AL-QUIDA [Jihad/Insurgency-led] TAKEOVER OF ALGERIA, TUNISIA, + EGYPT.

    Before a little thing called the "Arab/Islamic Spring(s)" come along, OR WAS THE "SPRING(S)"
    PRE-PLANNED???

    * CHINESE MILITARY FORUM > ANALYSIS: OBAMA-ROMNEY RACE TO DECIDE DESTINY OF US AS A DMEOCRATIC CAPITALIST OR SOCIALIST STATE.
    Posted by: JosephMendiola || 10/24/2012 21:20 Comments || Top||

    #7  US under LIMITED/SELECTIVE SHARIA, LESS-THAN-FULL, or FULL-SCALE SHARIA???

    WHere Commies go, Islamists = Islamo-Socialists follow + vice versa.

    D *** NG IT, IS A COMMUNIST ISLAMIST = ISLAMIST COMMUNIST = ISLAMO-COMMUNIST = COMMIE SHARIA???

    [1990'S Clintonian "Fascists-for-Communism" = 2012 "Secular-Communists-for-Islamic-Sharia" here].

    But I digress ...
    Posted by: JosephMendiola || 10/24/2012 21:25 Comments || Top||


    Africa North
    Libya fighters seize Bani Walid
    LIBYAN pro-government forces have seized control of Bani Walid, one of the last bastions of Muammar Gaddafi's ousted regime, an AFP correspondent in the town said.

    Hundreds of fighters, mostly former rebels from the rival town of Misrata, converged on the centre of Bani Walid, firing in the air to celebrate and hoisting the Libyan flag on abandoned public buildings, he said.

    Some of the fighters blasted the walls and windows with anti-tank rockets and Kalashnikov rifles.

    Several rebel chiefs, whose fighters patrolled in vehicles mounted with heavy weapons, said the town was "almost liberated", with only a few pockets of resistance left in its southern sector.

    Later in the day Libyan army chief-of-staff, Yussef al-Mangouch, officially announced the end of all military operations in the town, despite some pockets of resistance.

    He said his troops were on a manhunt to track down several fighters who had fled towards the desert.

    Warplanes were seen in the distance flying over the outskirts of the oasis town, itself deserted with residents and foreign workers having fled since Sunday.

    Pro-government forces patrolled the ghost town in vehicles mounted with heavy machine guns.

    Government spokesman Nasser al-Manaa said meanwhile that about 100 suspects were arrested in Bani Walid in connection with crimes committed during last year's revolution - namely combatants who sided with Gaddafi forces.
    Posted by: tipper || 10/24/2012 19:53 || Comments || Link || [336099 views] Top|| File under:


    Emails told White House of terrorist claim two hours after Libya attack
    Officials at the White House and State Department were advised two hours after the assault on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, on September 11 that an Islamic terrorist militant group had claimed credit for the attack, official emails show.

    The emails, obtained from government sources not connected with U.S. intelligence agencies or the State Department and who requested anonymity, specifically mention that Ansar al-Sharia had asserted responsibility for the attacks. The short emails also show how U.S. diplomats described the attack, while it was still under way, to Washington.

    Spokesmen for the White House and State Department had no immediate response to requests for comments on the emails.

    The records obtained by Reuters consist of three emails dispatched by the State Department's Operations Center to multiple government offices, including addresses at the White House, Pentagon, intelligence community and FBI, on the afternoon of September 11.

    The first, timed at 4:05 p.m. Washington time - or 10:05 p.m. Benghazi time, 20-30 minutes after the attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission allegedly began - carried the subject line "U.S. Diplomatic Mission in Benghazi Under Attack" and the notation "SBU", meaning "Sensitive But Unclassified."

    The message said the State Department's regional security office had reported that the diplomatic mission in Benghazi was "under attack. Embassy in Tripoli reports approximately 20 armed people fired shots; explosions have been heard as well."

    It continued, "Ambassador Stevens, who is currently in Benghazi, and four ... personnel are in the compound safe haven. The 17th of February militia is providing security support."

    A second email, headed "Update 1: U.S. Diplomatic Mission in Benghazi" and timed 4:54 p.m. Washington time, said that the Embassy in Tripoli had reported that "the firing at the U.S. Diplomatic Mission in Benghazi had stopped and the compound had been cleared." It said a "response team" was at the site attempting to locate missing personnel.

    A third email, also marked SBU and sent at 6:07 p.m. Washington time, carried the subject line: "Update 2: Ansar al-Sharia Claims Responsibility for Benghazi Attack." The message reported, "Embassy Tripoli reports the group claimed responsibility on Facebook and Twitter and has called for an attack on Embassy Tripoli."

    While some of the content identifying recipients of this message was redacted from copies of the messages, a government source said that one of the addresses to which the message was sent was the White House Situation Room. Other addressees included intelligence and military units as well as one used by the FBI command Center, according to the source.
    Posted by: ryuge || 10/24/2012 00:02 || Comments || Link || [336080 views] Top|| File under:

    #1  The emails, obtained from government sources not connected with U.S. intelligence agencies or the State Department and who requested anonymity....

    .......but whom wished to defend the constitution against all enemies, both foreign and domestic, and are located at a remote area of Fort Bragg.
    Posted by: Besoeker || 10/24/2012 2:06 Comments || Top||

    #2  Lying bastards
    Posted by: Frank G || 10/24/2012 8:01 Comments || Top||

    #3  Would this count as "The October Surprise"?

    No amount of denial by the powers that be can erase the impact of finally being found out.
    Posted by: Au Auric || 10/24/2012 9:27 Comments || Top||

    #4  Only if people are paying attention.
    Posted by: lotp || 10/24/2012 11:00 Comments || Top||

    #5  With the rest of Fort Bragg being inhabited by the 82nd Airborne Division including the 2/505 Panthers.
    Posted by: bman || 10/24/2012 11:10 Comments || Top||

    #6  Darth Bolton just held up a copy of one of the e-mails on Fox. While the recipient names were redacted (blocked out), the office symbols were not. Bolton named off a couple of very high ranking State Dept. offices.
    Posted by: Besoeker || 10/24/2012 11:32 Comments || Top||

    #7  "Lying bastards"

    But we already knew that, Frank.

    How can we tell Bambi and his minions are lying? Their lips are moving. >:-(
    Posted by: Barbara || 10/24/2012 11:58 Comments || Top||

    #8  Quoting Vodkapundit, Stephen Green:

    So why the coverup? Why the lame attempt to blame it on a video, the producer of which is still in jail? Why send Susan Rice out on five Sunday shows in one morning to plead ignorance?

    Simple.

    It’s hard to do victory laps around al Qaeda while al Qaeda is running victory laps around the smoldering remains of our consulate.
    Posted by: DarthVader || 10/24/2012 12:10 Comments || Top||


    #10  It is interesting to note who was copied on these emails and reports.
    Posted by: JohnQC || 10/24/2012 14:55 Comments || Top||

    #11  They also tied it to an international push for censorship.

    I seem to remember some other screw-up attempted tie-into a null-and-void of our rights..

    2Fast2Furious
    Posted by: swksvolFF || 10/24/2012 16:40 Comments || Top||

    #12  OK, I'm going to agree with the Administration on one point: the fact that an Islamicist group claimed responsibility is really not necessarily reliable evidence they did it.

    Groups jostling for street cred make such claims often. We know that Ansar al Shariah was making a play to lead Islamist groups overall because they organized a meeting in Benghazi earlier this summer and attempted to assert their leadership there. It's quite conceivable that they would lie to promote that assertion.

    What chaffs me badly is the overt false assertion about a video-inspired riot. THAT was clearly false and they damned well knew it, or should have.
    Posted by: lotp || 10/24/2012 18:28 Comments || Top||

    #13  It's quite conceivable that they would lie to promote that assertion.
    Also quite conceivable they were telling the truth.
    Posted by: Glenmore || 10/24/2012 18:50 Comments || Top||

    #14  Gaffney has a great article on Benghazigate in the Washington Times that would explain why they would try to blame it all on a video: In short, it seems President Obama has been engaged in gun-walking on a massive scale. The effect has been to equip America’s enemies to wage jihad not only against regimes it once claimed were our friends, but inevitably against us and our allies as well. That would explain his administration’s desperate and now failing bid to mislead the voters through the serial deflections of Benghazigate.
    Posted by: Lumpy Elmoluck 5095 || 10/24/2012 22:49 Comments || Top||

    #15  What chaffs me badly is the overt false assertion about a video-inspired riot. THAT was clearly false and they damned well knew it, or should have.
    Obama and Hill are both lawyers, yet scapegoated a video producer and US citizen--what about his Constitutional rights? King O arrogantly acts with impunity but this may be his Waterloo.
    Posted by: Lumpy Elmoluck 5095 || 10/24/2012 22:59 Comments || Top||


    Libyan Guards Recount What Happened in Benghazi
    More than a month after the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, U.S. officials have yet to talk to many of the Libyan guards on duty at the American mission on that fatal evening. Fearful of reprisal from the still unknown perpetrators of the attack, the guards have gone into hiding; and their vivid recollections are giving way to a sense of abandonment by the American government, which offered them no protection from the attackers the guards believe want them dead.

    TIME's Steven Sotloff has talked to the guards for their account of what happened on the night of Sept. 11, 2012 and the early hours of the day after. Five of the guards were employees of the British security company Blue Mountain, and three others were members of the Islamist-leaning February 17th militia who were tasked with providing diplomatic security for foreign missions.

    To protect them from possible retribution, their names have been changed. What is clear is that, as others have reported, there was no protest, simply a sudden siege of the compound; U.S. security forces--including U.S. Marines who arrived at an American safe house outside the consulate grounds--were overwhelmed and stymied; and that the looters apparently came upon the body of a still-breathing Ambassador Chris Stevens.

    It's detailed... worth the read

    Excerpt:
    U.S. reinforcements, however, were on the way. Around 2 a.m., eight Marines sent from the embassy in Tripoli landed at the Benghazi airport. But Libyan officials there initially prevented them from pushing ahead with their rescue mission. "[The Americans] wanted all eight to go to the annex," said Faruq, a leader of the Libyan Shield Brigade, one of numerous local brigades and tasked that night with coordinating the arrival of the Marines. "But we were told to only allow two."

    The Libyans apparently did not want a bunch of U.S. military men running around their country for fear of causing an uproar among citizens. But the Marines were adamant they would go as a team. After several back and forth conversations with Libya Shield's commander, the Libyans finally relented.

    But as soon as the Marines solved one problem, they encountered another -- they had only GPS coordinates and no address for the annex, which was supposed to be hush-hush in any case. "We couldn't arrange our forces to go to a place we didn't know about," Faruq said, explaining his reluctance to send his own soldiers with the Marines. After another round of logistical squabbling, the Marines finally departed the airport around 2:30 a.m. in two Toyota Land Cruisers. An additional 10-to-15 Libyan security vehicles accompanied them to the annex, which turned out to be approximately 20 minutes away.

    When they arrived, they found the Americans at the annex tired and nervous. Then, around 3 a.m., bullets began hitting just outside the annex. "Mortars started landing. They hit the roof. There were several and we were all confused," said Faruq of the Libyan Shield brigade. "The Marines put on their night vision goggles and took up positions," said Faruq. "Some positioned themselves in the doorway and some set up inside." It was during this attack that former Navy SEAL commandos Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty were killed.
    Posted by: Sherry || 10/24/2012 16:03 || Comments || Link || [336095 views] Top|| File under:

    #1  From commenter:

    So if true they did have comms for air assets.
    Posted by: Sherry || 10/23/2012 16:40 Comments || Top||


    Africa Subsaharan
    Sudan accuses Israel of role in arms factory blast
    Sudanese minister says four planes appearing to approach from the east attacked Khartoum plant

    Four military planes attacked an arms factory in Khartoum where there was a huge fire overnight, a Sudanese minister said on Wednesday, blaming Israel for the air strike.

    "Four military planes attacked the Yarmouk plant," Information Minister Ahmed Belal Osman told reporters in Khartoum, adding the planes appeared to approach the site from the east.

    The powerful explosion at the military factory rocked Sudan's capital before dawn Wednesday, sending detonating ammunition flying through the air and causing panic, the official news agency and local media reports said.

    Officials said there were no reports of deaths, although some residents had suffered from smoke inhalation.

    Thick black smoke covered the sky covered the sky over the Yarmouk Military Industrial Complex in southern Khartoum. Sudan's media reported that nearby buildings were damaged by the blast, their roofs blown off and their windows shattered.

    Defense Minister Gen. Abdul Rahim Mohamed Hussein and senior officials visited the site of the explosion and held an emergency meeting with top army generals while security forces sealed off the area surrounding the complex and halted traffic.

    Khartoum governor Abdul-Rahman Khedr told SUNA agency that no one died in the explosion. He said the fire was under control and an investigation into the cause is under way.

    In 2009, a convoy carrying weapons in northeastern Sudan was targeted from the air, killing dozens. It was widely believed that Israel carried out the attack on weapons shipment headed for Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip. Israel never confirmed or denied that. Sudanese parliamentarians denied that weapons were transported in the area.

    In 1998, the United States cruise missiles bombed a Khartoum pharmaceutical factory suspected of links to al-Qaida in the aftermath of the terror group's bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania that killed 224 people.

    Sudan has been a major hub for al-Qaida militants and a transit for weapon smugglers and African migrant traffickers.
    Posted by: Glinesh Craling7938 || 10/24/2012 09:49 || Comments || Link || [336112 views] Top|| File under:

    #1  Rooters says two died, and adds the following useful thought:

    Major damage to the Yarmouk plant would be a blow to Sudan's army in its battle against insurgencies in the western region of Darfur and the southern states of South Kordofan and Blue Nile, bordering arch-rival South Sudan.
    Posted by: trailing wife || 10/24/2012 15:04 Comments || Top||

    #2  And the Sudanese opposition says it belongs to Iran's Revolutionary Guard.

    It is still unclear who is responsible for the attack on the Yarmouk military plant in south Khartoum, but according to past reports in the foreign media, Iran has built such facilities in order to arm Hamas.
    Posted by: trailing wife || 10/24/2012 16:51 Comments || Top||

    #3  At least they didn't claim it was a powdered milk factory. That's progress, right?
    Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 || 10/24/2012 17:04 Comments || Top||

    #4  Debka sez they were building scud type missiles to ship to Hamas. If true, Israel bombing it doesn't surprise me.
    Posted by: phil_b || 10/24/2012 20:26 Comments || Top||

    #5  And the eyewitness descriptions indicate to me that cruise missiles were used.

    Perhaps a final test before their use on Iran?
    Posted by: phil_b || 10/24/2012 20:39 Comments || Top||

    #6  Scuds for Hamas? Oh, man, think of the "work accidents" they could pull off with those...
    Posted by: tu3031 || 10/24/2012 21:54 Comments || Top||

    #7  If it was the Israelis (highly likely) then it was a clever piece of strategy by them. It keeps the pressure on Iran ... while not increasing the arguments with the Obama administration. However - it also stirs up the jihadist roups in N. Africa even more than before - if it's possible to stir a hornets nest afer they are already buzzing. Now Sudan will kick in its own funding - and we expect repercussions somewhere. Maybe the Sinai???
    Posted by: Raider || 10/24/2012 23:02 Comments || Top||

    #8  SAMS + SA-24's to HAMAS by Iran.
    Posted by: JosephMendiola || 10/24/2012 23:33 Comments || Top||


    Get Ready for the Mali Invasion
    France is sending drones to Mali while hundreds of Islamist fighters are coming in from across the Middle East, preparing to defend their safe haven.

    According to the Associated Press, French drones will soon be patrolling the skies above the Malian desert:

    A French defense official said Monday that France plans to move two surveillance drones to western Africa from Afghanistan by year-end, though he did not provide details.

    Top-level American and French military leaders and diplomats, including U.S. assistant secretary of state for African affairs Johnnie Carson, began two days of talks in Paris on Monday on intelligence-gathering and security in Mali and the rest of the Sahel region, officials from both sides told the AP.


    Meanwhile, according to Voice of America, the Islamist fighters are calling in reinforcements:

    Hundreds of additional Islamist fighters have deployed in northern Mali. . .

    According to witnesses, the fighters began deploying last week, after the U.N. Security Council passed a resolution asking West African bloc ECOWAS to submit its plans for a Mali force.

    Residents report seeing hundreds of Tunisian and Egyptian militants in the city of Gao, while many other militants went to the central town of Douentza, close to Malian army positions in Mopti.


    African soldiers will likely lead the invasion force, with the U.S. and France supplying intelligence and operating behind the scenes.

    Mali was first destabilized thanks to NATO's intervention in Libya, which sent weapons and fighters streaming into the northern deserts, where they found little opposition from the government. Other Islamist fighters from the Middle East soon came flocking in to this sandy patch of ungoverned territory. Their ranks are reportedly bolstered by thousands of local child soldiers.

    The Libyan afterparty--the unintended consequences of NATO's little Libya misadventure--sadly drags on well into the night.
    Libya is going to haunt US policy for years, if not decades. When the fight for Libya was starting, and our high ranking officers were wondering out loud what the hell we were doing there is shows pretty clearly that this wasn't a well thought out, long range plan in geopolitical action.
    Posted by: DarthVader || 10/24/2012 09:16 || Comments || Link || [336070 views] Top|| File under:

    #1  The biggest spectre haunting the Libya fiasco is that we double crossed a guy who turned over his nuclear weapons program. What better justification do the mullahs need for continuing their nuke development? The only way they can be sure to be protected is to have nukes. The Koreans proved the positive case and Ghadaffi proved the negative.

    Beyond that, any lawless state will become fertile territory for Islamists regardless of our involvement. Libya was probably destined to become lawless after the departure of Ghadaffi. Perhaps our intervention increased the probability that lawlessness would occur, but only minimally. The same thing appears to be going on in Syria where our involvement is less kinetic.
    Posted by: Nimble Spemble || 10/24/2012 9:36 Comments || Top||

    #2  It's long been the goal of the more radical muslim world to obtain nukes, from Pakistan, to former Malaysian PM Mahathir Mohamad, to the Iranian theocracy. The mulluahs don't need the justification of Qadaffi getting dumped.
    Posted by: Pappy || 10/24/2012 12:18 Comments || Top||

    #3  "It's SAND. You LIVE IN A F&$^#NG DESERT."
    -- Kinison
    Posted by: mojo || 10/24/2012 12:39 Comments || Top||

    #4  Hear, hear NS!
    Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 10/24/2012 15:55 Comments || Top||

    #5  Good post Nimble.

    I wondered why Islamists always fight over desolate land.
    Posted by: Fester Clunter7205 || 10/24/2012 16:13 Comments || Top||

    #6  I was starting to wonder if the massive early voting effort by the dims was to solidify to peace vote, in case of going to war.
    Posted by: swksvolFF || 10/24/2012 16:43 Comments || Top||

    #7 
    I wondered why Islamists always fight over desolate land.


    Because if they try to go anywhere that is civilized they get their butts kicked.
    Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 || 10/24/2012 17:08 Comments || Top||

    #8  Because they can start there and then incrementally conquer more.
    Posted by: lotp || 10/24/2012 18:29 Comments || Top||

    #9  The Islamist Jihad is GLOBAL = the Hard Boyz will be coming to Europe, the Americas, + Asia, etc. soon enuff.
    Posted by: JosephMendiola || 10/24/2012 20:30 Comments || Top||


    The Grand Turk
    Russian S-400s relocated near Turkey. Hizballah shifts units, rockets into Syria
    Posted by: Dale || 10/24/2012 08:25 || Comments || Link || [336066 views] Top|| File under:

    #1  Clear warning to NATO and Turkeys Erdogan.
    Posted by: Dale || 10/24/2012 8:30 Comments || Top||

    #2  Maybe Putin has figured out that Obama's flexibility after the election will be a moot point, no?
    Posted by: AlanC || 10/24/2012 9:42 Comments || Top||

    #3  The more trouble in ME, the more Russian oil & gas are worth.
    Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 10/24/2012 13:18 Comments || Top||

    #4  I saw a sneak peek of the S-500 Brougham, it's a winner in any market.
    Posted by: Shipman || 10/24/2012 18:11 Comments || Top||

    #5  IIUC, Mama Russia's S-400 + follow-on repor has Surface-to-Surface [SSM] strike capabilities, not just Air, Aerospace, or BMD???

    SYRIA = NORTH KOREA VEE CHINA [Iran] - I suspect the Hezzies Hizzies Huzzies Hassies Hibbies are doing what the PLA will do soon, i.e. helping to "motivate/inspire" Syria = NOKOR to stay loyal.

    --------------

    ION NOT-MISS-TURKEY ...

    * WAFF > PUTIN HAS DIRECTLY THREATENED ERDOGAN?, i.e. allegations Putin has warned Erdogan that any Turkish attack or crossover into Syria will be deemed by Moscow as an attack agz Russia???

    * SAME > TURKISH CIVIL WAR BREWING IN THE SOUTH, ALAWITES SEEN AS TRAITORS. Pro-Assad/Alawite Turks of Arab origin, versus incoming anti-Assad, pro-Rebel Sunni Syrian refugees.

    * SAME > SE TURKEY UNDER PKK CONTROL | MILITARY DELIVERIES [Troops, Cargo-Equipment] ORDERED TO BE LAUNCHED BY AIR FOR SECURITY REASONS, by the Turkish General Staff due to pervasive Kurd attacks.

    Every Man or MilThingy goes by Armed Helicopter or fixed-wing Cargo Plane, even iff just for short or very short distances.

    * SAME > IRAQ STARTS TO PUNISH TURKEY FOR HER BAD BEHAVIOR | IRAQ BLOCKS 128 TURKISH BUSES HEADED FOR MECCA [Saudi Arabia = Haj].

    * WAFF > TURKEY BECOMING EUROPE'S THIRD [largest] ECONOMY [ + World's 10th]: TURKISH FINMIN. Turkey's Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek.

    Turkey's econmy performing better that the US or Europe/EUZ.

    * TOPIX > EXPERT: LARGE-SCALE MILITARY ACTION AGZ SYRIA WILL TURN INTO SECOND VIETNAM, espec for Ankara = Turkey.

    * SAME > WHERE TURKEY IS ALREADY AT WAR [Troops in combat, Syria bombardment], ARE KURDISH MILITANTS [PKK] DOING SYRIA'S BIDDING?
    Posted by: JosephMendiola || 10/24/2012 21:03 Comments || Top||


    India-Pakistan
    US drones kill 4 'militants,' 1 civilian in North Waziristan strike
    US drones killed four "militants" and one civilian in a strike today on a compound in Pakistan's Taliban-controlled tribal agency of North Waziristan.

    Pakistani officials told Dawn that the unmanned Predators or Reapers fired three missiles at a compound and a vehicle in the village of Tappi near Miramshah in North Waziristan. "The official sources also said that three cows have also been killed as the house was completely destroyed," Dawnreported.

    The target of today's strike has not been disclosed. No senior al Qaeda or allied jihadist commanders from foreign terrorist groups are reported to have been killed in the strike.

    Terrorists are known to have sheltered in the village of Tapi in the past. The US has struck at targets in the village five other times since the beginning of 2008, according to data on the strikes that has been compiled by The Long War Journal.

    The Haqqani Network, a Taliban group that operates in North Waziristan and Kurram, as well as in eastern Afghanistan, administers the area where today's attack took place. Al Qaeda leaders and operatives, who are closely allied with the Haqqani Network, shelter in the area, as do other terror groups. The US added the Haqqani Network to the list of global terror groups in September 2012 for supporting al Qaeda and conducting attacks in Afghanistan.

    Today's strike is the fourth in Pakistan this month and the first since Oct. 11, when the drone strayed outside the traditional "kill boxes" of North and South Waziristan and hit a camp in Arakzai. Sixteen "militants" loyal to Taliban leader Hafiz Gul Bahadar were killed in the strike.

    Today's strike is the 19th in Pakistan since June 4, when the US killed Abu Yahya al Libi, one of al Qaeda's top leaders, propagandists, and religious figures. Abu Yahya was killed in a strike on a compound in Mir Ali in North Waziristan. Uzbek, Tajik, and Turkmen fighters belonging to the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan were reportedly among the 14 terrorists killed along with Abu Yahya.

    The US has carried out 40 strikes in Pakistan so far this year. Twenty-one of the strikes have taken place since the beginning of June; 18 occurred in North Waziristan, two were in South Waziristan, and one has taken place in Arakzai.
    Posted by: Au Auric || 10/24/2012 09:52 || Comments || Link || [336067 views] Top|| File under:


    Blast in Peshawar injures four FC soldiers
    [Dawn] Four paramilitary soldiers were maimed Tuesday in a remote-controlled kaboom on Frontier Road in Beautiful Downtown Peshawar
    ...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire.
    's outskirts, officials said.

    The Frontier Constabulary personnel were taking positions on Aziz Market's Faqirabad Chowk when snuffies bombed the room on a plaza's roof top where the personnel were positioned, in-charge Bara Sheikhan checkpost Farman Khan said

    He said that four FC men had been injured in the blast, carried out through a remote-controlled device. The bomb carried kaboom weighing about 5 kilograms, he added.
    Posted by: Fred || 10/24/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336067 views] Top|| File under: TTP


    Six injured as blasts rock Swabi on Hoti's arrival
    [Dawn] Six persons were maimed as two blasts rocked Swabi when Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti arrived in the district on an official visit on Monday.

    The first bomb, planted in a cycle of violence near Sehsat Medical Centre on Swabi-Jahangira road, went kaboom! as soon as the motorcade of chief minister passed through the area.

    The officials of bomb disposal squad said that three kilograms of explosives were used in the expulsion. No casualty was reported in the blast. The chief minister was on his way to inaugurate Swabi-Jahangira and Swabi-Topi roads.

    The second blast occurred in Shewa Adda that injured six persons including a traffic constable. Sources said that an bomb was planted in a bicycle parked in Shewa Adda Chowk that went off with a big bang, injuring six persons.

    The local people took part in rescue work and shifted the injured to a hospital in Kalu Khan. The injured were identified as Rashid Bahadar, Khursheed Ali, Shad Ali, Iqbal Hussain, Waris Khan and 11-year-old Sadiq Usman.

    Sources said that two of the injured were at death's door.

    However,
    it was a brave man who first ate an oyster...
    the chief minister didn't cancel a public meeting of Awami National Party and returned to its venue at Swabi grid station on the same route. The public meeting was shortened and only Provincial Minister for Usher and Zakat Zarshed Khan and Mr Hoti addressed it.

    "As you know, we were also welcomed by some other people (militants) here today," the chief minister said in his address. He said that after the kaboom security staff advised him to move back to Beautiful Downtown Peshawar
    ...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire.
    instead of attending the public meeting.

    "I told the security staff to let me die with my brothers. The people, who were killed in mosques, in police uniform and in operations, all are our brothers and we want to stand with them," Mr Hoti said.
    Posted by: Fred || 10/24/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336067 views] Top|| File under: TTP


    Iraq
    Baghdad anti-Shia attacks kill at least seven
    [Dawn] A car boom and mortar attacks against predominantly Shia neighbourhoods in north Storied Baghdad
    ...located along the Tigris River, founded in the 8th century, home of the Abbasid Caliphate...
    killed at least seven people on Tuesday, security and medical officials said.

    Multiple mortars struck the Chikouk area while a car boom went kaboom! in Shuala, all minutes apart at around 6:45 am (0345 GMT), an interior ministry official said.

    The official put the toll from the attacks at nine killed and 12 maimed, while a medical source said seven people died and 22 were hurt. The medic warned that the toll could rise.

    Conflicting casualty figures are common in the chaotic aftermath of violence in Iraq.

    Both of the neighbourhoods are majority Shia, and Chikouk in particular is home to a camp for internally displaced persons, mostly Shia who fled largely Sunni areas during the worst of Iraq's confessional violence in 2006 and 2007.
    Posted by: Fred || 10/24/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336063 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Iraq


    Israel-Palestine-Jordan
    PFLP Fighters Claim Attack On Israeli Soldiers
    Those brave, brave Lions of Islam! And so ineffective, too.
    [Ma'an] Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine fighters on Tuesday claimed responsibility for an attack that wounded an Israeli soldier on the Gaza border.

    The Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades said in a statement that it was responsible for a bomb that went off beside an army patrol east of Khan Younis in southern Gaza. It said no PFLP militants were injured in the operation.

    "We in the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades reaffirm the right of confrontation and resistance to the occupation, and we will continue our military response and our resistance so long as the occupation continues its aggression, and we will keep our watchful eye toward protecting the people and the homeland. Our response will continue. No voice is louder than the voice of resistance," the PFLP wing said in a statement.

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would deliver a strong response to the attack. "We will fight and we will hit them very, very hard," Netanyahu said.

    The wounded officer was evacuated by helicopter to hospital, the Israeli military said in a statement.

    On Monday, the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades said it had fired mortars at soldiers and cross-border rockets east of Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip after Israeli forces killed two Palestinian fighters in airstrikes early Monday morning.
    Posted by: trailing wife || 10/24/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336075 views] Top|| File under: PFLP


    Palestinian With Explosives Was Heading For J'lem
    [Jerusalem Post] IDF catch 19-year-old Paleostinian man with eight pipe bombs at Kalandiya check point, confirm he was trying arrive in Jerusalem.

    The man, believed to be from Nablus, got off a Paleostinian bus carrying a large backpack, and tried to sneak past security checks for pedestrians at the checkpoint, which separates greater Jerusalem from the West Bank.

    Lt.-Col. Yuval Shenkin, commander of the Military Police's Erez Battalion, which controls crossings in the area, said the incide was highly unusual. "To try to get this amount of explosives through is certainly exceptional," Shenkin said.

    "Had he gotten past Kalandiya, he'd be in Jerusalem," he added.

    After getting off the bus, the man walked around the pedestrian route, arousing soldiers' suspicions.

    The soldiers told him to go back to the pedestrian line and undergo security checks.

    At that point, the man became even more suspicious, Shenkin added. "He said he was confused, and that he wanted to go back to the West Bank. At this stage, the soldiers understood something was going on. They placed his backpack through X-ray screening, and found eight pipe bombs," Shenkin said.

    IDF sappers were called to the scene to deal with the explosives.

    As soon as it became clear that the man was a security suspect, he was isolated in the bomb-proof terminal and separated from his backpack, Shenkin stressed. The suspect was transferred to the Israel Police for questioning.

    Shenkin praised the alertness of soldiers for seizing the bombs. "They begin their shift at four a.m. Fifteen thousand Paleostinians and thousands of vehicles pass through Kalandiya to go to Jerusalem. They prevented the bombs from getting through," the commander said.
    Posted by: trailing wife || 10/24/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336068 views] Top|| File under:

    #1  Title is redundant.
    Posted by: Shipman || 10/24/2012 18:12 Comments || Top||


    7 Mortar Shells Explode In Negev, Israel Responds, Etc.
    [Ynet] No injuries, damage immediately reported in attacks on Eshkol; IDF strikes Gazoo terror cells

    Seven mortar shells went kaboom! near towns in the Eshkol Regional Council on Tuesday. No injuries or damage were immediately reported.

    The IAF retaliated with strikes on the Gazoo Strip.

    Shortly before 10 pm, two hours after the mortars were launched, the IDF opened fire on a terrorist cell located in the north of Gazoo, sources on the Strip reported. Medical officials said that one was killed and three were maimed in the attack.

    The army confirmed that an IAF aircraft fired on terror operatives who were getting ready to fire more rockets on Israel. A direct hit was indentified.

    According to the Paleostinian sources, the dear departed operative belonged to the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason,' military wing.

    The IAF mounted a second attack around midnight, again thwarting a rocket attack. Paleostinian sources said that two were killed in the strike.

    Due to the mortar fire, security forces instructed Eshkol residents to remain near their shelters. The fortified children's quarters at Kibbutz Re'im were opened in order to allow residents to spend the night.

    "We're currently opening shelters and fortified children's homes to anyone wishing to spend the night there. Chances are it's going to be an interesting night," said a resident of the Kibbutz. "People are frightened to stay in their homes; We just received a text message telling us to stay in the protected spaces, but there aren't any around here. It's a well known ritual and we must always be prepared."

    Givati officer hurt by bomb
    Earlier Tuesday, an IDF officer at the Givati combat unit, Captain Ziv Shilon, sustained moderate to serious injuries when a bomb went off on the Gazoo border fence.

    A preliminary inquiry suggested that the officer was hurt upon opening a gate. It was initially estimated the blast was caused by a roadside kaboom, but the IDF had not yet ruled out the possibility of it being a mortar shell kaboom.

    Captain Shilon lost the palm of his hand in the attack, and went into a several hours of surgery at the Soroka Medical Center. He remains in intensive care, and is still fighting for his life.

    On Monday IAF attacks on the Gazoo Strip killed three Paleostinian Islamic fascisti and injured several others, including officials at Hamas' military wing.

    Several Israeli websites were disrupted by hackers earlier on Monday, including those of Habima National Theater, the Chief Rabbinate and the IDF Golani Unit's website; the hackers posted footage of rockets being launched with the phrase "Gazoo hackers were here."
    Posted by: trailing wife || 10/24/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336066 views] Top|| File under:

    #1  today the Gazans escalated

    more than 6 dozen missiles of various kinds have been launched into Israel - 3 guest workers in Israel were injured - some structures were damaged
    Posted by: lord garth || 10/24/2012 14:51 Comments || Top||


    Southeast Asia
    Three Dead in Fresh Myanmar Violence
    [An Nahar] Three people have been killed in a fresh outbreak of communal violence between Mohammedan Rohingya and Buddhists in Myanmar's western Rakhine state, a local official said Tuesday.

    "We got the information that three people, an ethic Rakhine man and two Mohammedan women, were killed at Pandeinkone village during yesterday's (Monday's) festivities," Hla Thein, Rakhine State chief justice told AFP.

    Hundreds of homes were also torched in the festivities that affected two neighboring villages, he said, adding: "The two villages were very close. More than 300 houses were burnt down."
    Posted by: Fred || 10/24/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336063 views] Top|| File under:


    Syria-Lebanon-Iran
    International Syria envoy says he hopes holiday truce will take hold
    An international mediator told the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday that he hopes a four-day holiday truce can take hold in Syria this week, warning that another failure will worsen the fighting and increasingly threaten neighboring countries.

    Yet even this modest effort — the international community's only plan for scaling back the violence — appears doomed to fail.

    Lakhdar Brahimi, the U.N.-Arab League envoy, said the Syrian regime and some rebel groups promised to lay down their arms during the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, which begins Friday. However, President Bashar Assad's regime denied Wednesday that it had committed to the plan and a radical Islamist group fighting alongside the rebels said it won't comply. Other rebels dismissed the idea as irrelevant.

    Posted by: tipper || 10/24/2012 15:54 || Comments || Link || [336099 views] Top|| File under:

    #1  Ah, Eid. Yeah, they never kill each other during Eid.
    It's "unIslamic" or...sumthin.
    Posted by: tu3031 || 10/24/2012 19:07 Comments || Top||


    Leb Army: 100 Gunmen Arrested, Including 34 Syrians, 4 Palestinians
    [An Nahar] The Army Command on Tuesday announced that army units tossed in the slammer
    Youse'll never take me alive coppers!... [BANG!]... Ow!... I quit!
    around 100 gunnies, including 34 Syrians and four Paleostinians, in a security sweep in Beirut and Tripoli
    ...a confusing city, one end of thich is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn...
    , as calm returned to the areas that witnessed deadly festivities over the past three days.

    "Army units deployed in the areas that witnessed unrest over the past few days continued implementing the security plan laid out by the Command to suppress the presence of gunnies on the streets and confront any shooting, rioting or attacks against citizens' properties," the Army Command said in a statement.

    "These units continue to raid the hideouts of the gunnies in Beirut and Tripoli in order to restore full calm in the two cities," it added, revealing that "around 100 gunnies were tossed in the slammer
    Youse'll never take me alive coppers!... [BANG!]... Ow!... I quit!
    , including 34 Syrians and four Paleostinians."

    "A quantity of weapons, ammunition and military gear was seized, while 15 army troops were maimed by the gunnies's gunfire, including two officers," the statement added.

    The Army Command stressed on Monday that Leb's security is a "red line" and that it will take strict measures against all those who are targeting security, as Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji inspected the army units deployed in Beirut.

    It said in a statement: "We will not allow Leb to once again be turned into an open ground for regional conflicts."
    Posted by: Fred || 10/24/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336081 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


    Ceasefire Declared, Army Deploys in Tripoli after 11 Killed, 39 Hurt
    [An Nahar] The army deployed on Tuesday in Syria Street, the frontier between the rival Tripoli
    ...a confusing city, one end of thich is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn...
    districts of Jabal Mohsen and Bab al-Tabbaneh, as a ceasefire was declared following three days of festivities in the area that left 11 people dead and 39 others maimed.

    "All gunnies have left the streets and internal alleys" in Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen, a security official told Agence La Belle France Press.

    Army units reopened all the streets in the two neighborhoods, the official added.

    Earlier on Tuesday, sniper fire killed a woman in Jabal Mohsen as a man from the same neighborhood succumbed to wounds he had sustained on Monday.

    The festivities were sparked by the liquidation on Friday of Intelligence Bureau chief Maj. Gen. Wissam al-Hasan in a powerful car booming in the Beirut district of Ashrafiyeh that also killed his bodyguard and a civilian woman and maimed more than 100 people.

    Al-Mustaqbal
    ... the Future Movement, political party led by Saad Hariri...
    bloc MP Mohammed Kabbara on Monday urged Tripoli's residents to "fully cooperate with the army in order to restore security."

    "Security in the city of Tripoli is a red line," said Kabbara, reciting a statement issued after a meeting for Tripoli's dignitaries at his residence.

    The conferees called on the army and security forces to "fully practice their role in restoring security, preventing any violations and creating a safe environment in the city, especially with the advent of the Eid al-Adha holiday."

    They stressed that "any security chaos does not serve the cause of the sovereign forces, but rather the interests of those plotting against Leb."

    "The army will restore security and we urge Tripoli's residents to fully comply with security forces and deal with things wisely, because security forces will start erecting checkpoints in Tripoli and staging patrols to arrest anyone who disrupts security," said the statement.

    The rival districts have been gripped by frequent fighting between pro- and anti-Assad supporters as tensions spilled across the border from Syria, reflecting a split between Leb's parties where the March 14-led opposition backs the revolt in Syria, while a ruling coalition led by Hizbullah supports the Damascus
    ...Capital of the last remaining Baathist regime in the world...
    regime.

    The Army Command on Tuesday announced that army units placed in durance vile
    Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un!
    around 100 gunnies, including 34 Syrians and four Paleostinians, in a security sweep in Beirut and Tripoli.

    "Army units deployed in the areas that witnessed unrest over the past few days continued implementing the security plan laid out by the Command to suppress the presence of gunnies on the streets and confront any shooting, rioting or attacks against citizens' properties," the Army Command said in a statement.

    "These units continue to raid the hideouts of the gunnies in Beirut and Tripoli in order to restore full calm in the two cities," it added, revealing that "around 100 gunnies were placed in durance vile
    Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un!
    , including 34 Syrians and four Paleostinians."

    "A quantity of weapons, ammunition and military gear was seized, while 15 army troops were maimed by the gunnies's gunfire, including two officers," the statement added.

    The Army Command stressed on Monday that Leb's security is a "red line" and that it will take strict measures against all those who are targeting security.
    Posted by: Fred || 10/24/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336085 views] Top|| File under:


    Assad Declares Amnesty but Excludes 'Terrorists'
    [An Nahar] Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
    Horror of Homs...
    issued an amnesty for all crimes committed in Syria "up until today," with the notable exception of "terrorist crimes," state television
    ... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
    said on Tuesday.

    Assad, who has been fighting a 19-month revolt against his regime, "decreed a general amnesty for crimes committed before October 23," except for those carried out by "terrorists" -- the regime's term for rebels.

    The decree applies only to criminals who surrender to the authorities and not those on the run, the report said. It was not immediately clear if the amnesty includes those in prison.
    Posted by: Fred || 10/24/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336081 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


    Opposition MPs Receive 'Syria Threats' by SMS
    [An Nahar] March 14 camp MP Ammar Houri revealed that he and four colleagues were texted death threats from a Syrian telephone number before and after Internal Security Forces Intelligence Bureau head Wissam al-Hasan's liquidation on Friday.

    "On the eve of the attack, we received an SMS from a Syrian number that read: 'Sons of bitches, we will get you one by one,'" Ammar Houri said on television on Monday night.

    He named the other MPs as Ahmed Fatfat, Hadi Hbeish, Khaled al-Daher and Nuhad al-Mashnouq.

    "At the time, we didn't pay any attention to it, until the liquidation of Hasan," which was widely blamed on Damascus
    ...Capital of the last overtly fascist regime in the world...
    that also left two others dead.

    "After the liquidation, we received a second SMS that read: 'Congratulations, the countdown has begun. One of 10 eliminated.'"

    Hasan was noted for his investigation of Syrian political crimes in Leb. His murder plunged the country, divided between partisans and opponents of Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
    Leveler of Latakia...
    , into a political crisis.

    Houri and the four other MPs belong to the March 14 opposition, which is led by former Premier Saad Hariri
    Second son of Rafik Hariri, the Leb PM who was assassinated in 2005. He has was prime minister in his own right from 2009 through early 2011. He was born in Riyadh to an Iraqi mother and graduated from Georgetown University. He managed his father's business interests in Riyadh until his father's liquidation. When his father died he inherited a fortune of some $4.1 billion, which won't do him much good if Hizbullah has him bumped off, too.
    , a strong opponent of Assad, whom he blames for the 2005 liquidation of his father and former premier, Rafik.

    The opposition has demanded that Prime Minister Najib Miqati resign, accusing him of covering for the murderers of Hasan.

    Since Rafik Hariri's murder, several other Lebanese political figures hostile to the Damascus regime have also been assassinated.
    Posted by: Fred || 10/24/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336081 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


    Air Raid Targets Syria's Aleppo as Fighting Unabated
    [An Nahar] Warplanes raided a district of the northern city of Aleppo
    ...For centuries, Aleppo was Greater Syria's largest city and the Ottoman Empire's third, after Constantinople and Cairo. Although relatively close to Damascus in distance, Aleppans regard Damascenes as country cousins...
    as fighting across Syria kept up unabated on Tuesday, despite hopes of a ceasefire for later this week, a watchdog said.

    The latest violence comes three days ahead of the Moslem feast of Eid al-Adha, during which peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi has proposed a ceasefire.

    In Syria's second city Aleppo, a rebel was killed in fighting, which was taking place in several districts, while planes bombed the Katergi quarter, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

    In the Damascus
    ...The capital of Iran's Syrian satrapy...
    provincial town of Harasta, at least two rebels were killed, the Britannia-based group said.

    In the capital itself, security forces carried out searches in the Zahira quarter, where gunfire could be heard. Overnight, one man was killed in a kaboom on the southeastern outskirts of Damascus.

    The Observatory also reported fighting in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor and in Daraa, southern Syria.

    "Neither the rebels nor the regime appear to want a ceasefire, and the daily corpse count continues to exceed 100," Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.
    Posted by: Fred || 10/24/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336080 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria



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    Wed 2012-10-24
      Libya fighters seize Bani Walid
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    Fri 2012-10-19
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