[Dawn] Afghanistan's Caped PresidentHamid Maybe I'll join the Taliban Karzai ... A former Baltimore restaurateur, now 12th and current President of Afghanistan, displacing the legitimate president Rabbani in December 2004. He was installed as the dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001 in a vain attempt to put a Pashtun face on the successor state to the Taliban. After the 2004 presidential election, he was declared president regardless of what the actual vote count was. He won a second, even more dubious, five-year-term after the 2009 presidential election. His grip on reality has been slipping steadily since around 2007, probably from heavy drug use... on Sunday called on Pakistain's incoming government to help negotiate an end to the Taliban insurgency that has ravaged his country for nearly 12 years.
Talibs use Pakistain's border areas as a refuge to launch attacks across Afghanistan's south and east, and elements of the Pak state are accused of providing tacit support for the Islamist Death Eaters.
Pakistain is suffering from its own domestic Taliban insurgency and has accused Afghanistan of providing shelter to some wanted commanders.
"We hope that the government paves the way for peace and brotherhood with Afghanistan and cooperates in fighting terrorism and sincerely rooting out terrorist sanctuaries," Karzai said.
The two countries need to work together to be "saved from the menace of terrorism", he said in a statement, welcoming Saturday's high voter turnout as a sign that people wanted democracy despite threats from krazed killers.
The West sees Pakistain's involvement as crucial to securing a peace settlement in Afghanistan, where the Taliban have fought against US-led troops since 2001.
But Afghanistan has accused Pakistain of imposing impossible conditions on peace talks, and small-scale border festivities have erupted in the latest sign of frayed tensions.
Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... 's election victory is unlikely to see a radical change in Pakistain policy with regards to Afghanistan as commentators say there is a wide degree of consensus on trying to assist peace efforts.
Peace talks have also failed to start due to the Taliban's refusal to negotiate with Karzai, whom they dismiss as a puppet of the US.
Islamabad backed the 1996-2001 Taliban regime in Afghanistan and is seen in Kabul as keeping close ties with krazed killer leaders ahead of the withdrawal next year of all international combat troops.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/13/2013 00:00 ||
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[Al Ahram] Afghanistan on Sunday summoned the Iranian ambassador to protest against Iranian guards allegedly shooting dead 10 Afghan illegal migrants as they tried to cross the border.
The migrants were killed overnight on Friday as a group of about 200 people attempted to enter Iran from Lash Wa Juwayn district in the far western province of Farah, according to Afghan officials.
The Afghan government summoned the ambassador "to strongly protest against the killing and injuring of some unarmed Afghans who had entered Iranian soil for work", a statement from the foreign ministry in Kabul said.
"Firing at Afghan civilians who wanted to go to Iran for work is against religious, cultural and good neighbourly relations," it added.
But crashing the border is unneighbourly as well, and occasionally leads to war. Be grateful there are only ten bodies this time.
Thousands of Afghans cross illegally into Iran every year to seek employment as Afghanistan's economy struggles to develop amid the Islamist insurgency that started after the 2001 fall of the Taliban.
...at a time when Iran's young people are turning to drugs and prostitution to blunt the effects of their own unemployment. The wonder is that any Afghans are allowed in at all.
Sediq Sediqqi, front man for the Afghan interior ministry, told AFP that 10 migrants were killed and 12 others were maimed in the shooting.
An Iranian embassy front man in Kabul was not immediately available to comment.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/13/2013 00:00 ||
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[Pak Daily Times] Gunmen ended a nearly two-week siege of Libya's Foreign Ministry in the capital after reaching a deal with the government, its Supreme Security Committee said late on Saturday.
In the oil-rich east, meanwhile, hundreds of leaders agreed to join forces to defend their territory against similar armed attacks.
A commander of an SSE group stationed at the gates of the vacant Foreign Ministry said it had been handed over to a committee made up of members of parliament and leaders connected to the armed protests.
The SSE is a group of ex-rebel fighters under the Ministry of Interior, now better armed and more powerful than the police.
"The protesters had retreated because (some of) their demands were realised," he told Rooters.
Foreign Ministry officials were not immediately available to comment on the details of the deal.
Other media outlets quoted the justice minister as saying the Foreign Ministry and the Justice Ministry had been handed over to a government committee.
Armed groups surrounded the ministries in the capital late last month to press parliament to pass a law banning anyone who held a senior position under late strongman Muammar Qadaffy ...whose instability was an inspiration to dictators everywhere, but whose end couldn't possibly happen to them... from the new administration.
Rights groups and diplomats criticized the measure, saying its terms were too sweeping and could cripple the government.
They also argued it was unfair because it made no exception for those who had spent decades in exile and had been instrumental in the toppling of Qadaffy nearly two years ago.
Parliament caved in and approved the legislation a week later, leading the gangs - who say they are revolutionaries and not militia - to expand their list of demands, including the resignation of Prime Minister Ali Zeidan.
The growing tension between the groups and the government has alarmed federalists and other factions in the east, prompting their leaders to unite to defend their territory from a similar assault.
Representatives from these groups pledged on Saturday to revive the Cyrenaica Congress. Formed about a year ago to demand greater autonomy for the east, it sets out a manifesto for a federal Libya.
"We will not let Cyrenaica be ruled by the power of force," said Ahmed Zubair al-Senussi, a distant relative of King Idris, who was deposed in a military coup led by Qadaffy in 1969.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/13/2013 00:00 ||
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CAIRO - Former Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak said it was too early to judge President Mohamed Mursi, saying the politician faced a difficult job, in comments billed as his first interview since his removal from power in 2011.
El Watan newspaper said its journalist broke through security lines to speak to Mubarak on Saturday before his retrial on charges of complicity in the death of protesters killed in the popular uprising that swept him from office.
He is a new president who is carrying out weighty missions for the first time, and we shouldnt judge him now, Mubarak said in the remarks published on Sunday.
"And I'm really, really hoping he will stop judging me," Mubarak added softly...
El Watan, which is fiercely critical of Mursi and the Muslim Brotherhood, said its journalist spoke to Mubarak, 85, just before he entered the court.
Mubarak, who was president for almost 30 years, said he was saddened by what he described as the difficult conditions facing the poor and the Egyptian economy.
This is the secret of my sadness: to see the poor in this condition, said Mubarak.
He said he was worried by the prospect of Egypt concluding an agreement with the International Monetary Fund on a $4.8 billion loan seen as vital to supporting the economy. The loan would bring austerity measures likely to curb subsidy spending.
Economists fault the Mubarak-era subsidy regime for failing to target state support at the most needy. Mubarak said the poor were at the heart of his decision-making, especially when it came to subsidy spending on staples.
I fear for the country because of the IMF loan, he said. Its terms are very difficult, and represent a great danger to the Egyptian economy later on. This will then hit the poor citizen, and the low-income bracket, he said.
Mubarak also said he was concerned about lax security, apparently referring to increased crime, and a rise in militancy in the Sinai Peninsula.
He added, History will judge and I am still certain that the coming generations will view me fairly.
You bet they will, Your Enormity, they'll have you right next to Nixon...
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/13/2013 00:00 ||
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Growing concerns over protests roiling Libya prompted the State Department to begin evacuating some diplomats from Tripoli, as the Pentagon put troops stationed at nearby European bases on high alert.
So we can learn from a debacle...
The response was driven in part by the controversy over lax security at U.S. diplomatic installations in Libya last year, when four U.S. government employees, including Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens, were killed in a terrorist attack. Fallout from the Sept. 11, 2012, assault in Benghazi continues to be the subject of an intense political fight, with Republicans correctly accusing the Obama administration of being negligent and attempting to cover up embarrassing facts.
The protests that have spread in Libya over the past week stem largely from the passage of a law that bars from public office officials who served in key roles under the deposed Libyan regime of Moammar Gaddafi. There is no indication so far that the demonstrators are targeting Westerners.
But it provides cover and opportunity for AQIM and their related groups...
Still, a senior defense official said a Marine quick-response team and a Special Operations unit have been placed on alert to ensure that they can respond if they are needed to evacuate personnel. The nearest U.S. troops are stationed in Spain and Italy.
Any reason we can't get an LHD or similar ship into the Gulf of Sidra just in case?
The reason were able to have these forces on alert is work the Defense Department has done to have additional response options in the wake of Benghazi, the official said.
The State Department said in a statement that it has ordered the departure of a handful of non-essential personnel from Tripoli as a result of the unsettled situation, which includes mass protests outside government facilities.
We have no indication that the current protests are directed toward Westerners, the statement said. However, sporadic episodes of civil unrest have occurred throughout the country.
The State Department updated its Libya travel warning Thursday, advising against all but essential travel to Tripoli, Benghazi and other areas.
The unrest worsened after the countrys new legislature last weekend overwhelmingly passed the bill barring certain figures from serving in government. It could unseat officials who currently hold important jobs.
A similar effort to ban former officials from working in the Iraqi government after the 2003 fall of Saddam Hussein was one of the driving factors of the Sunni insurgency there. Diplomats and analysts have expressed concern that Libyas law is too broad potentially marginalizing a large segment of the population, which could resort to violence.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/13/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
Great just freaking great, I've got my tickets and I fly to Tripoli on Tuesday and now the nut jobs start acting up.
Geez, you guys stay in Benghazi or go back to Cairo or something. Let me make some money.
Posted by: Bill Clinton ||
05/13/2013 0:36 Comments ||
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#4
I will provide commentary on what I see and hear while I am there.
This is nothing new to ole Bill, I was whisked out of Teheran in the back seat of a taxi, under a blanket with two Iranians officers sitting on me to make it look like nothing was there. I was on the last Iran Air flight out just before the roof fell in and those dumbshits at State including Zbrenzi(?) let the Khomeini return
So remember CNN is a discredited organization when they trot out Z to criticize Republican foreign policy.
Posted by: Bill Clinton ||
05/13/2013 14:40 Comments ||
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[Yemen Post] One of the main issues of the National Dialogue Conference, Sa'ada team of representatives will concentrate on bringing the Houthis (Shia-led para-military political faction based in the northern provinces of Sa'ada, al-Jawh and Hajja) back to mainstream politics through the demobilization of its militias.
Good luck with that, guys. Really.
While Abdel-Malek al-Houthi, the leader of the group often expressed his willingness to lay down all weapons in exchange for political acceptance, he almost always argued that for that to happen he would have to feel confident that his political nemesis, essentially al-Islah (Sunni political faction) and Salafis (Sunni fundamentalists) would refrain from attacking his people.
After a decade of dissidence, the Houthis are believed to be at the head of a thousands strong well-equipped army. Allegedly funded and equipped by Iran, with which they share a common ideology, the Houthis are more often than not depicted as a warring tribal faction rather than a legitimate political party.
Sana'a, which wishes to usher a peaceful resolution to the Houthis dossier cannot however tolerate a tribal faction, however legitimate it fells its stance might be, to maintain such a military might.
Stuck in a dilemma of principles the Houthis and the central government will have at one point or another to find a way to compromise if a tangible reconciliation can ever be hoped to be brokered.
If the Republic of Yemen is ever to blossom into the moder civil state its people are longing for, the state will have to impose its sole authority over all of Yemen territories, tolerating no contender to its military and institutional capacity. As long as states with the state will be allowed to exist, Yemen will never know stability, neither politic nor economic as its resources would be spent in in-fighting.
The Houthis are now demanding that the state set up a fund for the people of Sa'ada in order to compensate them for the abuses and crimes which they allege the former regime committed against them during 2004 Sa'ada war. They also seek an official apology.
Sheikh Abdul Wahab Homaiqani, the Secretary-General of the newly-formed Yemeni Salafist al-Rashad Union party and a representative at the NDC stressed that the disarmament of the Houthis had everything to do with the state asserting its authority and nothing to do with one faction's political or religious ideology, rejecting allegations of sectarian tensions in regards to the Sa'ada dossier.
The Sheikh added he was concerned over the Houthis' push for control over more territories in the northern provinces.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/13/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
The Houthis or the Hauthis, etc. like Hezbollah versus Huzbullah versus Hazballah, etc.
[Bangla Daily Star] Jamaat-e-Islami ...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... leader AKM Yusuf, known as the founder of the infamous Razakar force that collaborated with the occupation Mighty Pak Army in killing three million Bangalees in 1971, landed in jail yesterday.
International Crimes Tribunal-1 yesterday took the charges against him into cognisance and issued a warrant of arrest around noon. About an hour after the issuance of the warrant law enforcers placed in durance vile Book 'im, Mahmoud! Yusuf at his Dhanmondi residence.
The tribunal also fixed today for hearing the defence's bail petition.
A team of Rapid Action Battalion led by Maj Anwarul Haque, second-in-command (2IC of Rab-2), picked up the founder of the Razakar force from his Golap Villa residence on Road 10/A in Dhanmondi and whisked him off to Rab-2 headquarters at Agargaon.
Earlier in the day, prosecutor Hrishikesh Saha appealed to the tribunal to issue an arrest order for the sake of a fair trial, saying that Yusuf was involved in genocide, killing, looting, religious conversion and crimes against humanity during the Liberation War in 1971.
"We have brought 15 charges and most of the charges were brought against him for genocide committed by him," he said.
The prosecution submitted formal charges on May 8.
Citing one of the seven genocide charges, Saha said about 600-700 unarmed Hindus of Dakra village in Bagerhat were killed at a temple by Razakars on May 21, 1971.
According to the formal charges, Razakars also looted and set fire to the victims' houses.
On May 21, 1971 around 3,000-4,000 Hindus of about 22 villages took shelter at the famous Kali Mandir (temple) of Dakra village under Rampal Police Station in Bagerhat.
The charge said two local Mohammedan League leaders -- Liakat Ali Gaznabi and Altab Gaznabi -- who were also against independence, informed Yusuf about the gathering.
Yusuf sent 40 to 50 Razakars led by locally influential Badar Ali Fakir to kill the Hindus. At about 3:00pm two big boats reached Dakra with the Razakars on board. The collaborators got off the boats and approached the temple from the eastern and western sides.
"They approached the temple from both sides, opening fire and killing whoever they found in their way," the charge reads.
The priest of the temple, Binod Bihari Chakrabarty, was surrounded by hundreds of people. The Razakars opened fire on them and within moments piles of bodies littered the Kalibari playground.
The Razakars also charged bayonets and knives on the injured to ensure their death.
Tribunal Chairman Justice ATM Fazle Kabir said the tribunal had perused the formal charge, list of witnesses along with other documents submitted by the prosecution.
"On perusal of these, it appears the prosecution brought a strong case against the accused. Therefore, cognisance of offence as per 3 (2), 4 (1) and 4 (2) of the International Crimes [Tribunals] Act, 1973 is taken against AKM Yusuf," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/13/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
So at least once RAB brings in a miscreant that will not come to the attention of Dr. Quincy. At least not right away...
SEOUL -- South Korea and the United States plan to hold two days of joint naval exercises off the east coast this week that will involve the U.S. aircraft carrier USS Nimitz, a government source said Sunday.
The 97,000-ton Nimitz will leave the port of Busan on Monday morning for the exercises with South Korea's Navy, the source said. South Korea will mobilize the Aegis-equipped destroyer King Sejong and the DDH-II class destroyer Chungmugong Yi Sunshin for the exercises. Aegis destroyers of the two countries plan to focus on missile detection and anti-submarine maneuvers.
On Saturday, North Korea yapped about denounced the arrival of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. Pyongyang's Secretariat of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea described the arrival as "an open threat and blackmail against the DPRK (North Korea) and a grave military provocation to unleash a nuclear war against it at any cost on the Korean Peninsula."
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/13/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
When's Pudgy gonna get those missiles back out of storage, today or tomorrow?
Also Pudgy will shit a brick when he hears of the exercise.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
05/13/2013 9:18 Comments ||
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#3
DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > FEARING CHINA, INDIA PULLS OUT OF WAR GAMES WID US, JAPAN [off Guam] - THE HINDUSTAN TIMES.
versus
* SAME > [PRC-Taiwan] VAST MAJORITY FAVOR JOINT ACTION [agz Philippines for Fisherman shooting] -GLOBAL TIMES.CN.
2-agz-1 EEZ Wars.
D *** NG IT, FERGIT THE "MUSUDANS", ITS THE FISHIES THAT ARE GONNA GET US ALL!
* SAME > VIDEO: CHINA STATE TV CLAIMS PHILIPPINES AS CHINESE TERRITORY.
Yokay, I'll say it - OH MY!?
* INDIAN DEFENCE FORUM > NORTH KOREA SLAMS US AIRCRAFT CARRIER'S ARRIVAL IN SOUTH KOREA. USS Nimitz.
Well, well, looks like the "MIGHTY/HOLY GEORGE" US CVN is no longer alone as the DPRK = SSSHHHH China's target???
* CHINESE MILITARY FORUM > LOOKS THE PLA IS NOT AS GOOD AS THEY THINK THEY ARE? | [Jamestown.org = China Brief] THE "TWO INCOMPATIBLES" + PLA SELF-ASSESSMENTS OF MILITARY CAPABILITY, or lack of same, as seemingly held in view by many widin China's Govt-Party power circles + institutions.
* CHINA DAILY FORUM > CHINA IS PROVOKING WAR WID JAPAN IN LOUDSPEAKER CAR IN OKINAWA.
Road Activists vowing that China + PLA will liberate Okinawa at the same time it liberates the Diaoyus [Senkakus] from Japan.
* SAME > CHINA, TAIWAN PROTEST FATAL SHOOTING OF FISHERMAN BY PHILIPPINES - LA TIMES.
Beijing = mainland China threatens to increase PLA naval, military presence in disputed waters between Taiwan + Northern Philippines.
Another reason for the Motherly Commie/PLA Airborne to invade the Northern Philippines, besides challenging the USN + "Nimitz"-class CVBGS OTH = "Over-The-Horizon" ASAP AMAP AFAP ALAP from the East China Sea into WESTPAC, etc.
instead of waiting for intervening US forces to arrive in-theater.
* WORLD MILITARY FORUM > THE "FIRST ISLAND CHAIN" CONTAINS/ISOLATES CHINA: A PROPER INTERPOLATION OF THE RYUKYUS' [Okinawa Archipelago] SIGNIFICANCE TO MILITARY STRATEGY IS THE ALTERATION OF THE BALANCE OF POWER IN NORTHEAST + EAST ASIA. CONTROL OF THE RYUKYUS/OKINAWA GIVES CHINA THE ABILITY TO DEPLOY MORE PLA TROOPS + MILITARY ASSETS TO GUAM BASE + "SECOND ISLAND CHAIN".
Lest we fergit, Beijing supports both a formal return of Okinawa to China, i.e. the Okinawa Archipelago aka any + all islands off the coast of mainland southern Japan extending to Taiwan + includ Okinawa proper; as well indigenous Okinawa independence or autonomy from Tokyo/
Japan where China + PLA have de facto Trade + Base Rights wid same.
An official says a convicted terrorist in France has escaped house arrest in a stolen car.
Said Arif was a member of a Chechen network that once planned attacks in France, notably the eastern city of Strasbourg.
Interior Minister Manuel Valls said in a statement that Arif, who was awaiting expulsion after serving his prison term, fled in a car owned by the family that runs the hotel where he was being held. Arif failed to report to the local police post Sunday morning as required.
The Algerian was convicted in 2007 of criminal association with a terrorist group and served part of a 10-year term. In 2001, Arif had travelled to radical jihadi training camps in Pankisi Gorge in Georgia, a support base for Chechen fighters.
[An Nahar] Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan charged Sunday that Syria was dragging his country down a "vile path" with attacks such as the twin boom-mobileings in the town of Reyhanli, near the Syrian border, that claimed 46 lives.
"They want to drag us down a vile path," Erdogan said at a rally in Istanbul, urging Turks to be "vigilant... and level-headed in the face of each provocation aimed at drawing Turkey into the Syrian quagmire."
Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zohbi denied Turkey's accusations on Sunday, saying "Syria did not commit and would never commit such an act, not because we don't have the capacity, but because our values would not allow that."
"It is Erdogan who should be asked about this act... He and his party bear direct responsibility," he added, describing the Turkish leader as an "assassin".
"Why this timing? Why these attacks, just days before the meeting between Erdogan and (U.S. President Barack) Obama? Does he (Erdogan), whose country is a NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A single organization with differing goals, equipment, language, doctrine, and organization.... member, want to incite the United States (into intervening in Syria) by telling him his country has been attacked?" Zohbi said.
Meanwhile, ...back at the cheese factory, there was only one thought in the mouse's mind: I can do this! I can do this! Then the trap sprung... Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu blamed the world's inaction on the Syrian conflict for the "barbarian act of terrorism" in Reyhanli.
"The latest attack shows how a spark transforms into a fire when the international community remains silent and the U.N. Security Council fails to act," he said during a Berlin visit.
"It's unacceptable for the Syrian and Turkish people to pay the price for this."
Saturday's twin kaboom, which left at least 46 people dead and 100 maimed near the Syrian border, was the deadliest in Turkey in recent years.
The minister called it a breach of Turkey's "red line" and said that "it's time for the international community to display a common stance against the regime ... immediately and without delay".
Posted by: Fred ||
05/13/2013 00:00 ||
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[Washington Post] Turkey said on Sunday that it would step up its efforts to persuade the international community to do more to end the war in Syria, after Sherlocks said they had found evidence that the regime in Damascus was behind the boom-mobileing in a Turkish border town that killed 46 people.
But Turkish officials also made it clear that they do not intend to retaliate for the attack, which has exposed the risks for Turkey in supporting the Syrian rebels battling to topple Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Oppressor of the Syrians and the Lebs...
The massive double bombing in the southern town of Reyhanli on Saturday also injured 155 people in the bloodiest single incident yet of cross-border spillover from the Syrian war. Nine Turkish citizens have been jugged Drop the rod and step away witcher hands up! in connection with the blast, Turkish authorities said Sunday, and one of them is suspected of being the criminal mastermind.
Interior Minister Muammer Guler told news hounds that the nine had ties to Syrian intelligence agencies.
"This incident was carried out by an organization . . . which is in close contact to pro-regime groups in Syria and I say this very clearly, with the Syrian mukhabarat," he said.
In Damascus, Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi denied the allegations. No, no! Certainly not! and instead said Turkey bears responsibility. "Syria did not commit and would never commit such an act, not because we don't have the capacity, but because our values would not allow that," he said in comments broadcast by state media.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/13/2013 00:00 ||
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DAMASCUS - A Syrian minister on Sunday denied accusations that Damascus was behind a bomb attack in a Turkish town that left dozens dead, a day after Ankara blamed supporters of President Bashar al-Assad for the blasts.
Syria did not commit and would never commit such an act, not because we dont have the capacity, but because our values would not allow that, Information Minister Omran al-Zohbi said at a press conference broadcast by state television.
Their values extend only to using chemical weapons on their own people and to killing Jooooz...
We were saddened by the martyrs deaths Saturday in the town of Reyhanli, in southern Turkey and near the Syrian border, said Zohbi.
It is (Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip) Erdogan who should be asked about this act... He and his party bear direct responsibility, he added, describing the Turkish leader as an assassin.
As an assassin, he should resign, said Zohbi.
And who would know better who an assassin is than a Syrian government official?
Why this timing? Why these attacks, just days before the meeting between Erdogan and (US President Barack) Obama? Does he (Erdogan), whose country is a NATO member, want to incite the United States (into intervening in Syria) by telling him his country has been attacked? Zohbi said.
Tayyip would indeed like that, but I'm beginning to think he'll settle for Champ's tacit approval and promise to look the other way...
Saturdays attack, which left at least 43 people dead and 100 others wounded, was the deadliest in Turkey in recent years. It is the latest in a string of attacks in that country since the start of the Syrian conflict more than two years ago.
The people and the organisation who carried out this attack have been identified. We have established that they are linked to groups supporting the Syrian regime and its intelligence services, Turkish Interior Minister Muammer Guler had said.
Setting the stage...
Zohbi added Sunday: No one has the right to make arbitrary accusations. He accuses us first, and then says he will find the proof. That actually means he will fabricate the evidence.
Again, Syrians are expert at that sort of thing so they should know, right?
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/13/2013 00:00 ||
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Damascus denies responsibility for Turkey bombings
it was Mr. Carlson!
/Les Nessman
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/13/2013 14:13 Comments ||
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Canadas immigration minister says a convicted Palestinian terrorist who once hijacked an airliner has been deported from Canada 26 years after entering the country using an alias.
Immigration Minister Jason Kenney said Monday that Mahmoud Mohammad Issa Mohammad made a false refugee claim in 1987. The government later learned he was a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and had participated in a terrorist attack on an Israeli plane in Greece, which killed an Israeli citizen in 1968.
Kenney says Mohammad was convicted in Greece, but was freed before completing his sentence as part of the resolution of another hostage taking.
Kenney says Mohammad treated Canadas government like suckers and was deported to Lebanon on Saturday. He says he has status there because his wife is from Lebanon.
#1
I am thinking NOW that the FBI hit job on Petraeus was to discredit him and shut him up over Benghazi.
I think the two are interrelated.
This is going to get very messy and very interesting.
When the feces really hit the oscillator on this one next week, I wonder how the MSM is going to play it...we saw the New Yorker suddenly turn the corner...as if the evidence wasn't there from the beginning.
Posted by: Bill Clinton ||
05/13/2013 0:34 Comments ||
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#2
In a nutshell, in the case of Benghazi IMO "dereliction of duty" as de facto "impeachable" offenses actually should be interpreted as MALICIOUS CALCULATED MURDER, i.e. intentional/deliberate breaking of mandated or required actions, regulations, + protocolsbecause it was better or easier iff someone or some persons were to die, NOT JUST "INCOMPETENCE" OR "DERELICTION" PER SE.
To impeach the Bammer, the GOP-Right has to prove that the Bammer's actions were NOT just errors in judgement or conclusions, or even genuine incompetency - ANYTHING LESS WOULD BE SEEN AS WINNER-TAKE-ALL, DEVIL-MAY CARE POL DESPERATION + CONSPIRACY ON THE PART OF THE GOP-RIGHT TO WIN THE 2014 MIDTERMS + ULTIMATELY 2016 IRREGARDLESS IFF INNOCENTS WERE HARMED.
Better to step back + think things over thrice, etc. before taking one irreversible step.
#3
Retrieving my tin foil hat from it rack, I still think the Petraeus compromise was orchestrated. Brodwell was simply too good looking and the Broadwell book co-author [the now very silent] Vernon Loeb is just too well connected within the CIA, D.C. establishment, and the media for my liking.
#4
If the good general keeps his pants zipped there is no hit on him.
I think this idea of the White House orchestrating a hit on the man by enticing him with a good-looking woman -- a domestic 'honey trap', if you will -- is just a tad off-base.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/13/2013 7:33 Comments ||
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#5
Respectfully, Besoeker, I'd save the tin foil hat for another time. I've no doubt Petraeus was blackmailed. But I find a set-up or a honey trap highly implausible. Look around you: hot women fall for fugly-looking dudes all the time. If an alpha female doesn't feel hot at home - as a married mother of two probably did not anymore - parallel hotness is not what they're after.
#6
Hat back on the rack RandomJD. I've just been racking my pea brain for months over how a brilliant mind like Petraeus could permit himself to fall into a situation like that. Very disappointing. I'm simply searching for answers, possibilities beyond the obvious.
#7
If Benghazi had not happened, the Petraeus/Broadwell affair would have been ignored by the FBI. I think they felt they had to get Petraeus out of the way to sell the narrative they wanted to sell.
It wasn't a honey trap, it was an opportunity to get a bothersome critic of Benghazi discredited.
There are affairs all over Washington. Beautiful well educated women live in DC in swarms and they will pounce on any person in a position of authority/the alpha dog any chance they get.
And yes, if Petraeus had kept his pants zipped, it would not have happened AND they would have found some other SOMETHING to keep him quiet.
Posted by: Bill Clinton ||
05/13/2013 10:00 Comments ||
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#11
It's all political 'fun & games.' AFAICT most of the PEOPLE don't care: Here in Rantburg one gets a very unrepresentative sample of caring; elsewhere it's 'American Idol' or whatever, EBT cards, and sleeping late.
#12
Ha ha ha, Bosoeker. That's why I hang out at Sine'. And Shelley's Backroom Tavern. I cannot rate my own beauty but I find it prudent to avoid competition. ;)
In all seriousness: the answer is, the brilliant ones are flawed human beings too. Irrational, weak, capable of behaving completely out of character. I bet Petraeus didn't realize he'd fallen into any "situation" at all, until he was already in it.
The Islamic Society of Boston, the mosque attended by Boston Marathon bombing suspects Tamerlan and Dzhokar Tsarnaev, posted an article on its website in September 2004 that advocated for the beating of women as a last resort to force them to behave.
The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based mosque posted an English translation of Saudi cleric Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajids 1997 work, The Muslim Home: 40 Recommendations in Light of the Quran and Sunnah, which the mosque headlined, 40 Recommendations for the Muslim Home.
Hinting at punishment is an effective means of discipline, so the reason for hanging up a whip or stick in the house was explained in another report, where the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: Hang up the whip where the members of the household can see it, for this is more effective in disciplining them, the article states.
Seeing the means of punishment hanging up will make those who have bad intentions refrain from indulging in bad behaviour, lest they get a taste of the punishment. It will motivate them to behave themselves and be good mannered, it says.
#2
Whats a caveman to do after a day of gossip at the coffee shop and constant walking to and from prayer? Stand there and be embarassed ya not bringing home the goatskin, or beat the woman?
Federal agents arrested a Saudi Arabian traveler who arrived at Detroit Metropolitan Airport with a pressure cooker, a key component used in the Boston Marathon bombings last month.
Hussain Al Kwawahir will be arraigned at 1 p.m. in federal court for allegedly using an altered passport and lying to a Customs and Border Protection Agent about the pressure cooker.
So it's okay to take a pressure cooker on a plane if you don't lie about it?
"What's your name?"
"Mahmoud."
"What's ya got in that pressure cooker, Mahmoud?"
"Falafel."
"You can make falafel in a pressure cooker?"
"Sure, it's easy. Wanna try some?"
"No thanks. Move along!"
Al Kwawahir arrived at the airport Saturday from Saudi Arabia, via Amsterdam, according to a criminal complaint filed Monday in federal court.
He told agents he was visiting his nephew, who attends the University of Toledo.
During baggage inspection, officers noticed a page missing from his passport.
Maybe he had visited Israel?
Al Kwawahir told officers he did not know how the page was removed from the passport.
During the baggage exam, officers found a pressure cooker. Al Kwawahir said he brought the pressure cooker for his nephew because the devices are not sold in the United States, according to the complaint.
Later, he changed his story and admitted that his nephew had purchased a pressure cooker in the U.S. but it was cheap and broken.
So he bought a Chinese import in Amsterdam to replace the Chinese import his nephew bought at Walmart?
#3
"Folks around here use them for canning vegetables, not as munitions."
I think you'll find that's a pressure canner, MR. It's usually somewhat different from a pressure cooker, which is used to cook meat (and other stuff) extra-fast.
/pedant
But you're right that you can buy a pressure cooker just about everywhere that sells cookware.
And if the "nephew" bought a pressure cooker that was "cheap and broken," he's an idiot who deserves a kick in the ass, not a "poor baby." I don't even know how to "break" a pressure cooker without adding explosives to it.
Posted by: Barbara ||
05/13/2013 15:04 Comments ||
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#4
Thanks for the education, Barbara. My wife calls what she uses to cook things up a 'Pressure Cooker'.
I'll be sure to correct her the next time.
I'd NEVER blame you for any fallout resulting from this small tidbit of info.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
05/13/2013 15:54 Comments ||
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#5
Smart enough to get money for a plane ticket, but not smart enough to not do something stupid.
Wonder how he was cleared at the other end? Sure, maybe the bags weren't searched, but the passport?
#9
Actually she's right - my wife has a pressure cooker which is pretty -well- whimpy and I wouldn't want to try to can something in it. I doubt it even can get to 10 lbs and how would you know if it did? No gauge and no little weight/cap which would jiggle around at 10 lbs.
Its just that we always called them pressure cookers.
#10
Long as you know what the one you're talking about looks like, and what it can be used for ....
Otherwise, you could get an interesting ... reaction. ;-p
(I was in the kitchen as a kid when my mother's pressure cooker blew the regulator on the top - I was under the table before the regulator hit the floor. Not sure why it blew.)
Posted by: Barbara ||
05/13/2013 19:05 Comments ||
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#11
Typically they blow because some debris from the cooking plugs up the little hole.
During a joint press conference with the British Prime Minister David Cameron this morning, President Obama went off on his political opponents and the press for the controversy over his administration's Benghazi talking points, calling the entire ordeal a "political circus" and "sideshow" with "no there there."
"The whole issue of talking point, frankly, throughout this process, has been a sideshow. We have been very clear about throughout that immediately after this event happened we were not clear who exactly had carried it out, how it had occurred, what the motivations were. It happened at the same time as we had seen attacks on U.S. embassies in Cairo as a consequence of this film and nobody understood exactly what was taking place during the course of those first few days. And the e-mails that you allude to were provided by us to congressional committees. They reviewed them several months ago, concluded that in fact there was nothing awful in terms of the process that we had used. And suddenly, three days ago, this gets spun up as if there is something new to the story. There is no there there."
He expressed astonishment that some among his political colleagues would consider the possibility that his administration actively tried to "downplay" the Benghazi attacks. He then accused his opponents of hyping the controversy for political gain:
"And the fact that this keeps on getting churned out, frankly, has a lot to do with political motivations. We've had folks who have challenged Hillary Clinton's integrity, Susan Rice's integrity, Mike Mullen and Tom Pickering's integrity. It is a given that mine gets challenged by these same folks. They used it for fundraising, and, frankly, you know, if anybody out there wants to actually focus on how we make sure something like this does not happen again, I am happy to get their advice and information and counsel."
The president concluded by chiding his opponents for turning the controversy into a "political circus":
"We dishonor [State Department employees] when we, you know, we turn things like this into a political circus. What happened was tragic, it was carried out by extremists inside of Libya. We are out there trying to hunt down the folks who carried this out and we're trying to make sure we fix the system so that it doesn't happen again."
#1
If he pouts so hard his lips protrude further out than his ears, will that be sort of like coughing, belching and farting wetly all at the same time, with the same anecdotal results?
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
05/13/2013 13:07 Comments ||
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#3
0's outraged his minions are demanding he respond to their petty questions. This shows the WH has decided to tough it it out and refuse to acknowledge errors and lies covering for them. You go, Champ! Your credibility is zero and you've polarized everyone.
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/13/2013 14:51 Comments ||
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#4
Just because the moderator in the debate let him slide on his slippery claim that he called it terrorism the next day doesn't mean anyone else buys that. We have the internet and transcripts.
#7
"And the fact that this keeps on getting churned out, frankly, has a lot to do with political motivations. We've had folks who have challenged Hillary Clinton's integrity, Susan Rice's integrity, Mike Mullen and Tom Pickering's integrity. It is a given that mine gets challenged by these same folks...
...if anybody out there wants to actually focus on how we make sure something like this does not happen again, I am happy to get their advice and information and counsel.""
That is because Mr. President, Hillary Clinton lied. Susan Rice lied. and yes you, President Barak Obama, are a LIAR as well.
Here's a few hints on how to prevent it from happening again. This is some dead simply and obvious steps which I, who is not military nor in intelligence (but apparently much smarter than anyone in your administration who can't even come up with this list...) came up with:
1) When the ambassador begs for more security again and again - GIVE IT TO THEM! Especially if they are going to a terrorist hotbed like Benghazi.
2) When you Ambassador is begging on the phone for help because he is being attacked by terrorists - send people to save him. DO NOT tell the Africa command (AFRICACON?) to 'stand down'. You may have not personally gave the order but someone in your administration did - which makes it your responsibility. Man up to it.
3) Stop putting your ever-running re-election campaign before the welfare of the US - or the lives of your Ambassador. Do your fuc*ing job Mr. President.
Who knows what someone with military or security experience can come up with - no doubt much much better than this. Don't you have a Pentagon or CIA to come up with this stuff? Or did you replace them all with yes-men who wouldn't know an original thought if it kicked them in their [figurative] balls with steel toed shoes?
#9
Dianne Feinstein was incensed that Hildabeast was mentioned 32 times in the hearings (she left off that half were by Dems). There's a reason for that you senile gun-grabbing shoveling-tax-dollars-to-your-hubby whore troll! Because Hildabeast's fingerprints are all over this debacle.
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/13/2013 18:51 Comments ||
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In a case that may provide the first defendant to challenge the constitutionality of warrantless wiretapping by the NSA, federal authorities are refusing to confirm whether such surveillance techniques to foil a New York terror plot. Brothers Raees Alam Qazi, 20, and Sheheryar Alam Qazi, 30, are accused of plotting to blow up a high-profile target in New York. Defense attorneys claim the feds are attempting to avoid a situation the constitutionality of the NSAs surveillance methods would be scrutinized.
Wire reported Monday:
The government has never publicly conceded it has used evidence in a criminal case obtained through the National Security Agencys post-9/11 mass surveillance program. A single acknowledgment could open the floodgates to challenge the surveillance tactic, which Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer in February noted that commonsense (.pdf) tells us is being employed by federal investigators.
The terrorism case concerns brothers Raees Alam Qazi, 20, and Sheheryar Alam Qazi, 30. Among other things, prosecutors said the younger Pakistani-born brother surfed Al-Qaida internet sites to learn how to build a bomb. The FBI recorded telephone calls linking him to a plot to blow up a New York landmark last year.
Magistrate [John] OSullivan, agreeing with a defense motion, ordered (.pdf) prosecutors last week to say whether the government first acquired evidence against the indicted brothers (.pdf) using the Bush-style surveillance, and then used that evidence to obtain the traditional warrant from the secret court.
The path the authorities chose is relevant for a host of reasons.
Among them, the government has never publicly admitted in a prosecution that it employed warrantless surveillance under the FISA Amendments Act. Doing so likely would trigger legal challenges over whether the tactic is constitutional and would threaten the Qazi brothers case and perhaps countless others.
This could open the door again at the Supreme Court, said Patrick Toomey, national security fellow at the American Civil Liberties Union.
a journalism museum in Washington, D.C. -- announced in a statement Monday that it would "re-evaluate" its decision to honor two Hamas-funded cameramen as a part of permanent memorial in the facility:
Serious questions have been raised as to whether two of the individuals included on our initial list of journalists who died covering the news this past year were truly journalists or whether they were engaged in terrorist activities.
We take the concerns raised about these two men seriously and have decided to re-evaluate their inclusion as journalists on our memorial wall pending further investigation.
Terrorism has altered the landscape in many areas, including the rules of war and engagement, law, investigative and interrogation techniques, and the detention of enemy combatants. Journalism is no exception.
To further our First Amendment mission to provide a forum where all may speak freely, the Newseum will establish a new initiative to explore differing views on the new questions facing journalism and journalists.
The secret transport of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev's body from Worcester to a small community near Richmond, Va., was set in motion by a woman who said she was upset to hear about protests to his burial and wanted to see an end to the weeklong burial saga.
The Daily Mail has their version of the story here with photos of the grave site.
Martha Mullen, 48, of Richmond, said she was dismayed reports of protests outside of Graham Putnam & Mahoney Funeral Parlors in Worcester that she heard on National Public Radio.
"It portrayed America at its worst," she said in an interview with the Globe this morning. "The fact that people were picketing this poor man who was just trying to help [funeral director Peter Stefan] really upset me."
Mullen, a licensed professional counselor who has lived in Richmond for most of her life, said she was sitting in a Starbucks Tuesday when it hit her: She could be the one to end the controversy.
And she could then tell everyone about how compassionate and brave she is in an exclusive interview with the Boston Globe...
"Jesus says [to] love our enemies," said Mullen, who holds a degree from United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio. "So I was sitting in Starbucks and thought, maybe I'm the one person who needs to do something."
After searching the Web for proper Muslim burial traditions and requirements, she turned her search to any local organizations or cemeteries that might be able to facilitate the burial.
Mullen said she then e-mailed Islamic Funeral Services of Virginia, which responded within an hour that it could provide a plot for Tsarnaev at the Al-Barzakh Cemetery, in Doswell, Va.
Without telling the local imam...
From there, Mullen reached out to the Worcester police -- who had been providing around-the-clock protection for Stefan, whose funeral home had held Tsarnaev's body for the past week.
Throughout Tuesday night and most of the day Wednesday, Stefan, Worcester police, and the Islamic Funeral Services crafted a plan to get the body to Virginia.
Tsarnaev's body was removed from the home Thursday night without any public notice. Only after it was buried did Worcester police publicly announce both the removal of the remains and their entombment somewhere outside of Worcester.
Since last Friday when Tamerlan Tsarnaev's remains arrived at the funeral home, the cities of Cambridge and Boston and cemeteries in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Jersey refused to accept Tsarnaev's remains.
"What Tsarnaev did is between him and God. We strongly disagree with his violent actions, but that does not release us from our obligation to return his body to the earth," an Islamic Funeral Services of Virgina official, who did not want to be named, said in a statement.
Other than that statement, officials at Islamic Funeral Services and the cemetery referred all questions on the burial to Mullen, who spoke exclusively with the Globe.
"It was the right thing to do," Mullen said. "I just hope that now the funeral home and the families involved can start to return to their normal lives."
From HuffPo:
Caroline County Sheriff Tony Lippa was concerned, too, that the grave site could become a target for vandals and a shrine for those who sympathize with Tsarnaev.
"I know of no Virginia law enforcement agency that was notified," Lippa said. "No one in county or state government was aware of this."
The cemetery where Tsarnaev is buried contains 47 graves, all covered Friday with reddish-brown mulch except for two that appeared newly dug and were unmarked. On one of the new graves lay a vase full of roses at one end and a single red rose at the other end. The other new grave was bare.
State police cruisers, county sheriff's cars and black unmarked sedans with their emergency lights concealed cruised back and forth past the cemetery, officers inside them eyeing everything for any sign of trouble as reporters on the ground and those in helicopters high overhead broadcast the gravesite's location to the world.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/13/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
National 'Public' Radio...
'America at it's worst'...
Boston Globe interview...
Sitting in a Starbucks...
If I didn't know any better, I'd think this woman's a lefty!
The man set to become Pakistan's next prime minister after historic elections over the weekend could be called the Islamist comeback kid.
Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... has held the job twice before, but the last time didn't end so well. The 63-year-old was toppled in a coup by the country's army chief in 1999 and sent into exile in Saudi Arabia. He spent years in the steamy Gulf before brokering his return in 2007.
After serving as the country's main opposition leader, Sharif came roaring back in Saturday's elections, in which his Pakistan Muslim League-N party scored a resounding victory.
Sharif's supporters believe his pro-business background and years of experience in government make him the right person to tackle the country's many economic woes, like growing power cuts, painful inflation and widespread unemployment. He is also a main proponent of improving ties with Pakistan's archenemy and neighbor India, a step that would likely boost his country's economy.
Critics worry that Sharif, who is known to be personally very religious, is soft on Islamic extremism and won't crack down on militants that pose a serious threat to Pakistan and other countries -- chief among them the Taliban and al-Qaida-linked groups.
The United States will be watching Sharif closely, since Washington relies on help from Islamabad to fight Islamic militants in Pakistan and to negotiate an end to the war in neighboring Afghanistan.
The son of a wealthy industrialist from central Punjab province, Sharif entered politics as a protege of Gen. Zia ul-Haq, who seized power in a military coup in 1977. Sharif was prime minister from 1990-93 and again from 1997-99.
[Dawn] Most parts of Pakistain saw major shakeups in political parties' positions, and Balochistan ...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... was no exception.
In the troubled province, nationalist parties seem to have emerged as the strongest political players according to the unofficial results of the 2013 elections.
The Baloch nationalist group, National Party (NP), got eight provincial assembly seats and two national assembly seats. Similarly, the Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) secured 10 provincial assembly and three national assembly seats while emerging as the largest parliamentary group in the province.
PkMAP won four provincial assembly seats in Quetta city, while PML-N and Majlas Wahdat ul Moslemeen (MWM) each won one seat. However, denial ain't just a river in Egypt... the Balochistan National Party led by Baloch nationalist leader Sardar Akhtar Mengal refused to accept PkMAP's victory and termed it a conspiracy to keep BNP away from parliament.
BNP chief Mengal said that his party would not accept the election results and that his party`s victory was 'turned into' a defeat deliberately, on two provincial assembly seats, by returning officers.
PkMAP chief Mehmood Achakzai won two national assembly seats from Quetta and his hometown Chaman. Achakzai`s victory in Quetta seems to be the result of his party's stance and criticism of assassinations of Punjabis and Hazaras. It was mostly settlers who voted for Achakzai on NA-259.
According to unofficial results, PML-N won eight provincial assembly seats in Balochistan. PML-N had already unconditionally backed Achakzai for the NA seat in Quetta. Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... and also have strong ties, so an alliance between them appears to be natural when it comes to formation of the future government in Balochistan.
Nawaz also happens to get along well with Dr. Malik Baloch and Senator Hasil Bizenjo of NP. Chances for a coalition government between the three seem strong.
Interestingly, the former ruling party PPP could not retain a single seat in Balochistan whereas the evergreen JUI-F of Fazlur Rehman retained six seats in the Pakhtun-dominated areas of Balochistan. JUI-F will prefer to sit on the opposition benches since the party has remained in power for the last ten years in Balochistan with a lion's share in the provincial government. Voter turnout was low in Baloch areas and a candidate from Awaran won the provincial assembly seat with just six hundred and forty votes. Baloch separatists had opposed the elections and shutter down and wheel jam strikes were observed for three days on the call of Baloch National Front. However, denial ain't just a river in Egypt... the turn out in Quetta and other Pakthun-dominated areas was high.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/13/2013 00:00 ||
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[Pak Daily Times] Former president Gen (r) Pervez Perv Musharraf ... former dictator of Pakistain, who was less dictatorial and corrupt than any Pak civilian government to date ... 's All Pakistain Mohammedan League (APML) managed to win a seat each in the National Assembly and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... Assembly from Chitral's NA-32 and PK-90 constituency despite announcing a boycott of elections.
APML candidate Shehzada Iftikharuddin won the NA-32 seat with 19,938 votes against second-placed Abdul Latif of the Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf ...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations.... , who had grabbed 16,638 votes, according to unofficial results. Moreover, Ghulam Muhammad, APML candidate from PK-90, won his seat securing 10,646 against Pakistain People's Party candidate who had received 10,524 votes.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/13/2013 00:00 ||
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[Pak Daily Times] PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... and JUI-F's Fazlur Rehman held discussions on Sunday to chalk out a joint strategy to form government in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... . Fazlur Rehman telephoned Nawaz and congratulated him over his party's victory on majority of seats. The JUI-F chief said people have given mandate to the PML-N. Nawaz also felicitated Fazlur Rehman for the JUI-F victory on three National Assembly seats. Fazl said the PML-N has emerged as the biggest party in the elections and his party would cooperate with Nawaz Sharif in Centre.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[Bangla Daily Star] Former Prime Minister and leader of the Pakistain Musselmen League-N party Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... waves to his supporters at a party office in Lahore, Pakistain on Saturday. Sharif declared victory following a historic election marred by violence Saturday, as unofficial, partial vote counts showed his party with an overwhelming lead. Photo: AP
Pakistain's former prime minister Nawaz Sharif looked set Sunday to return to power for a third term, with an overwhelming election tally that just weeks ago seemed out of reach for a man who had been ousted by a coup and was exiled abroad before clawing his way back as an opposition leader.
As unofficial returns continued to roll in Sunday morning, state TV estimates did not show whether Sharif would attain the majority needed to govern outright or if he would need to form a coalition government.
But the margin of victory over the closest competitors -- a party headed by former cricket star Imran Khan ... aka Taliban Khan, who ain't the sharpest bulb on the national tree... and the outgoing Pakistain People's Party -- gave his party a clear mandate to guide the country of 180-million over the next five years.
Supporters danced in the streets overnight in his hometown of Lahore, Pakistain's second largest city and the picturesque provincial capital of Punjab province.
The election was marred by violence in the southern port city of Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... , the northwest and in the southwestern province of Balochistan ...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... . At least 29 people died in election-related attacks, but people still came out in droves. Election officials said the turnout was close to 60 percent, easily eclipsing the 44 percent of voters who came to the polls in 2008.
Sharif fended off a strong challenge from Khan's Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf ...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations.... party. Khan, who led the country to victory in the 1992 cricket World Cup, had tapped into the frustrations of many Pak youths fed up with the country's traditional politicians.
But in the end Sharif and his Pakistain Musselmen League-N party managed a return to power. Even if he were to form a coalition government, the seat projections indicated that his party would have a much stronger grip on power than its predecessor.
Supporters in Lahore said they hoped that would bring progress after the previous Pakistain Peoples Party government, which much of the country saw as only focused on its survival.
"It will bring stability in our country," said Fayaz Ranjha. "We have voted for them, now it is their turn to take steps to end our miseries."
The 63-year-old Sharif served as prime minister twice during the nineties and oversaw Pakistain's first nuclear weapons test, but was ousted in a coup in 1999 by former chief of the army, Gen. Pervez Perv Musharraf ... former dictator of Pakistain, who was less dictatorial and corrupt than any Pak civilian government to date ... .
Sharif went into exile in Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... and only returned to Pakistain in 2007. Even then, he was forced to sit on the sidelines as his party contested parliamentary elections after a court disqualified him from running. He had a prior criminal conviction for terrorism and hijacking stemming from Musharraf's coup -- Sharif was accused at the time of denying the general's plane permission to land.
The Supreme Court overturned the conviction in 2009.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/13/2013 00:00 ||
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Iran will chair the United Nations most important disarmament negotiating forum during the panels May session, which opened today, sparking calls by an independent monitoring group for the U.S., the EU, and UN chief Ban Ki-moon to protest. Click here for UN website.
This is like putting Jack the Ripper in charge of a womens shelter, said Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch, the Geneva based non-governmental organization, which announced it will hold protest events outside the UN hall featuring Iranian dissidents.
Iran is an international outlaw state that illegally supplies rockets to Syria, Hezbollah, and Hamas, aiding and abetting mass murder and terrorism. To make this rogue regime head of world arms control is simply an outrage. Abusers of international norms should not be the public face of the UN.
U.N. officials say Irans post is merely the result of an automatic rotation.
But UN Watch rejected attempts to downplay what it described as a fundamental conflict of interests and an act certain to be exploited by Iranian propaganda to legitimize the mullahs cruel regime.
A video of a Syrian rebel commander cutting the heart out of a soldier and biting into is emblematic of a civil war that has rapidly descended into sectarian hatred and revenge killings, Human Rights Watch said on Monday.
The New York-based group said an amateur video posted on the Internet on Sunday shows Abu Sakkar, a founder of the rebel Farouq Brigade who is well known to journalists as an insurgent from Homs, cutting into the torso of a dead soldier.
The video has caused outrage among both supporters of President Bashar al-Assad and opposition figures.
"I swear to God we will eat your hearts and your livers, you soldiers of Bashar the dog," the man says to offscreen cheers of his comrades shouting "Allahu akbar (God is great)".
The Syrian conflict started with peaceful protests in March 2011, but when these were suppressed it gradually turned into an increasingly sectarian civil war which, according to one opposition monitoring group, has cost more than 80,000 lives.
#4
these are the animals we should be assisting.
Well, only if they're getting whupped; if they start to get ahead, arrange assistance for Pencilneck's guys.
After failing to halt Irans nuclear advances with harsh economic sanctions, a group of U.S. lawmakers and analysts is proposing a more drastic remedy: cutting off Iran entirely from world oil markets.
Advocates of the measure say increases in oil and gas production in the Middle East and North America have made it economically feasible to organize the first truly global boycott of Iranian crude. Such an effort, if successful, would sideline the worlds fourth-biggest oil producer in an effort to force Iran to change its nuclear policies.
The proposal, variations of which are circulating on Capitol Hill, is being criticized by some economists as well as Obama administration officials who warn that such a measure could disrupt oil markets, alienate U.S. allies and drive up energy prices.
The Syrian government announced Sunday that it reserves the right to invade the Israeli-held Golan Heights at any time, and accused Israel of violating the terms of the 1974 ceasefire that ended the Yom Kippur War.
During a speech in Damascus, Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi accused Israel of attacking sites near the Syrian capital, allowing rebel groups to operate in the demilitarized zone separating Israeli and Syrian forces on the Golan Heights, and letting those groups kidnap UN observers on multiple occasions.
Four Filipino soldiers belonging to the UN peacekeeping mission in the Golan Heights were released Sunday after being detained by a rebel group for several days amid intense fighting between government and opposition forces along the border. In March, the same rebel group, the Yarmouk Martyrs Brigade, kidnapped 21 Filipino peacekeepers and held them hostage for several days before releasing them to Jordan.
Zoubi said that in light of Israel's alleged airstrikes against Syrian targets in the past few weeks, Damascus "has the right at this time and at any other time to deal with the Golan issue in the way the owner has the right to deal with his property, because the Golan is and has always been a Syrian Arab land."
#8
Seriously, Shipman, because it matters as to whether Pappy's conjecture is a reasonable possibility - and it very well could be Pencilneck's fallback position if it is.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[Dawn] 
Nawaz Sharif
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
During a joint press conference with the British Prime Minister David Cameron this morning, President Obama went off on his political opponents and the press for the controversy over his administration's Benghazi talking points, calling the entire ordeal a "political circus" and "sideshow" with "no there there."
Pervez 
