Moved to Opinion, where all blog references should go.
The widespread knee-jerk reaction to recent events in Ukraine has been dismaying, to say the least.
It's no surprise to see liberals and progressives parroting the Obama/Kerry party line on the Great Satan Russia, but the me-too response of many conservatives is another matter. Don't they realize they are being led around by the nose with this "Putin is evil" meme the media have ginned up?
I'm not saying that we have to embrace Vladimir Putin like a big warm fuzzy Russian teddy bear. Mr. Putin is the ruler of Russia, after all. He rules in the time-hallowed Russian tradition. He is shrewd, ruthless, and autocratic. He is also very intelligent -- more intelligent than any of the prep-school boys the West puts up against him -- and is adept at playing a long-range game of geopolitical chess against opponents who can't even manage to put up a checkerboard.
Just because some of us choose to see what is happening in Ukraine with a clear-eyed realism doesn't mean that we have to think Mr. Putin is a wonderful, shining example of political heroism, flowing with the milk of human kindness. We can understand the current train of events and follow each move in the game without having to root for the Kremlin.
There seems to be a widespread tendency (especially in the USA) to be unable to reassess a grotesquely negative political view of someone without turning that person into a glorious saint. As if there were no other choice than a Manichaean Good/Evil pair.
Reality doesn't generally fit into that schema. Understanding what Vladimir Putin is doing doesn't require converting a media Beelzebub into a media St. Francis. It does, however, demand that we spit out the simple-minded gruel peddled by the MSM and the well-coiffed spokesbeings for the Washington-Brussels Axis of Putty.
...I predict: sometime in the next couple of weeks, we will watch a replay of Syria, but with Ukraine as the pawn this time. Mr. Putin will hand Mr. Kerry an offer he can't refuse, and it will get prominent play in the New York Times and on CNN. A third-party mediator will propose some face-saving measure that will allow Washington and Brussels to proclaim "we have achieved true democracy in Ukraine" while Russia gets everything it wanted in the first place. Then, for the next twenty or thirty years, ordinary Ukrainians will enjoy the "austerity" regime imposed on them à la Greece as the price for being handed all those billions and billions of dollars and euros.
...Understanding what Russia is up to is not rocket science, but it does require removing the Cold War blinders to take in a wider view.
Despite his career as a loyal KGB officer, Vladimir Putin is not a Communist ideologue, and the Soviet Empire is no more. Mr. Putin is not trying to spread a totalitarian ideology by force over the entire globe. His goals are to consolidate his own power and secure the state interests of Russia.
And, yes, this means that he will engage in ugly and violent behavior in the "Near Abroad" in order to assert Russian control (or at least neutralize any threat to Russian dominance) on its borders. He will be -- as Russian despots have been since time immemorial -- underhanded, deceitful, duplicitous, and willing to do business with anyone in order to secure his goals.
But those goals include the protection and advancement of the Russian people, which is why Mr. Putin remains so popular in his country, despite his autocratic ways.
Can you think of any Western leader who unequivocally promotes the protection and advancement of his own nation and people? Is Israel "Western"?
Time magazine arranged to attach a camera to the base of the spire that tops 1 World Trade Center to offer 360-degree views of New York City that you can pan across and zoom into. Move the cursor slowly, or you'll get dizzy!
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/10/2014
15:04 ||
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The final point is that our Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launch vehicles are truly made in America. We design and manufacture the rockets in California and Texas, with key suppliers throughout the country and launch them from either Vandenberg Air Force Base or Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. This stands in stark contrast to the United Launch Alliance's most frequently flown vehicle, the Atlas V, which uses a Russian main engine and where possibly half the airframe is manufactured overseas. In light of Russia's defacto-annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region and the formal severing of military ties, "the Atlas V cannot possibly be described as providing assured access to space for our nation when supply of its main engine depends on President Putin's permission." Given this development, it would seem prudent to reconsider whether the 36 core, uncompeted sole-source award to ULA is truly in the best interests of the people of the United States.
[Question about competition.] I think, as a country, we've generally decided that competition in the free market is a good thing and that monopolies are not good, and it's interesting to note that from the point from which Boeing and Lockheed's launch business merged - the point where they stopped being competitors - the costs doubled since then. I think the reality is, when competition is introduced - reliability is a key factor in competition. That would be a deciding factor in who wins what launches. It doesn't become less important, it becomes more important, but the cost to the US tax payer will drop substantially. I think they would drop, at least to the level that they were before Boeing and Lockheed became a monopoly in the launch business and perhaps even better than that. "And frankly, if our rockets are good enough for NASA, why are they not good enough for the Air Force? It doesn't make sense."
William Guarnere, the real-life World War II veteran whose story of heroism and valor was told in the HBO miniseries "Band of Brothers," has died at the age of 90.
He was rushed to a hospital over the weekend but died hours later, his son, William Guarnere Jr., said to CNN.
The elder Mr. Guarnere won the nickname "Wild Bill" during his wartime service and ultimately lost one of his legs while trying to save his friend on the battlefield, CNN said. He served in Easy Company in the 506th Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division in the Army.
In the HBO show, Mr. Guarnere was played by actor Frank John Hughes.
"He lived a good life," his son told CNN. "He traveled a lot. He pretty much did everything he could have done."
Posted by: Au Auric ||
03/10/2014
09:44 ||
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A handful of studies on public-private partnerships, or P3s, in highway construction suggest that such arrangements have built highways slightly less expensively and slightly more quickly, compared with the traditional public-sector approach, a Congressional Budget Office researcher told a special House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee panel on March 5. CBO cautioned, however, that data on P3s in highway projects are scarce, so its difficult to conclude definitively that other P3 projects would see similar results. Right. Only climate scientists can make rock-solid projections based on a little historical data.
The costs of financing a highway project privately is roughly equal to the cost of financing it publicly once you factor in costs associated with the risk of project losses which taxpayers ultimately bear and the financial transfers made by the federal government to states and localities, Kile told the panel. Any remaining difference in costs results from the effects of incentives and conditions established in the contracts that govern P3s, he said.
Kile also emphasized that private financing increases the availability of highway construction funds only if the state or local government restricts its spending through legal constraints or budgetary limits. How many of the 57 states have NOT maxed out their highway budgets?
The reason is that revenues from the users of roads and from taxpayers are the ultimate source of money for highways, regardless of the financing mechanism chosen. Pardon me, Mr. CBO guy? The public pays, either way? Are you tellin' me there ain't no sucha thing as a free lunch?
The House T&I Committee established the special panel in January to explore the use of and opportunities for P3s across all modes of transportation, economic development, public buildings, water, and maritime infrastructure and equipment.
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/10/2014
09:03 ||
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#1
"have built highways slightly less expensively and slightly more quickly, compared with the traditional public-sector approach,"
BFO. No bid contracts to two or three road outfits that corner the market for state (sub-)contracts that include a line item which one way or another is functionally "kick-back patronage [including the state employee union political fund] and nepotism hiring program"
#2
Most of the ridiculous contracting rules which governments impose on themselves are pushed down onto private contractors as well. Makes it hard to realize much in savings when you have to do all the same stupid and wasteful things that the government does.
#3
I finished one of these P3s and am working on another, now. In the first. the State loaded up on testing requirements, equating loads of tests with high quality. So we wasted some dollars, which (as the article said), ultimately come from the taxpayer. Five years, $1.5 B, roads and bridges.
The agencies like having the private cash, but - deep down - they believe they could do a better job if only the State would give them the time and money. So the CBO report tends to feed that theory/fantasy.
The biggest "patronage" for the completed project was the 40% goal for the various disadvantaged groups. In the finest 'Chicago' tradition, we were threatened with disbarment if we didn't meet the goal - by far, the highest the state had ever attempted/mandated (not Illinois, BTW). We achieved about 90% of the 'goal' and ultimately got some praise from the agency. Minority goals add some 5-10% to the final cost, but agencies refuse to recognize that.
The current project, just underway, seems a lot more reasonable (10% goals), but the various groups are still jostling for position.
Giant corporations tend to lead the way for mega-projects, but carry a lot of subcontractors with them - minority and otherwise. As long as the state doesn't regulate the P3 concept to death.
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/10/2014 12:16
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#4
small and minority contractors aren't generally capable of handling large complex projects (like bridges). That's why they're small and minority contractors
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/10/2014 12:39
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#1
Judges seizing weapons from Jooz,
Be careful which end that you choose.
If a gavel should clatter
It won't be Pigmeat's bladder:
Case closed. No appellate reviews!
Perhaps your reading of Rantburg
Sometimes has you reading the absurd
Yet information is stated
The snark is top graded
The knowledge of it's words is heard
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It doesn't take a hero to order men into battle. It takes a hero to be one of those men who goes into battle. -- Norman Schwarzkopf
#13
Uncle Phester :
Generally the graphic can not come from one on your computer, but rather from another website that "permanently" contains the graphic, preferably the Rantburg web site.
How do you get the address of the graphic ? Go to "the post your own article" on the left hand side you will see a list of the graphics available on Rantburg - click in the one you want - copy the script and insert it in the comments section. It will look like this - img src='/images/3dg.gif' align='right' valign='top'
(I omitted the symbols < and > at the beginning and end of the computer script or you would not be able to read these instructions. )
After you have pasted the address of the graphic
click the Preview button to see if it appears in the comments dialog preview. If it does you are good to go.
It will look like this -
A more complicated method involves a search engine like Bing or Google - In the comments box on Rantburg at the far right is an icon that looks like this -
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In the area - img src= - after the first =, paste the address of your graphic.
How do I get the address on Bing? - Right click on the graphic you want - up will come a dropdown menu, go down to "properties" in the dropdown - click on it - copy the "address" from the dialog box, which pops up. Paste the "address" of the graphic after the = in - img src= -
[An Nahar] Iraq's transport minister apologized anew on Sunday for a row in which a Lebanese airliner en route to Storied Baghdad was ordered to turn back mid-flight to pick up his son.
Hadi al-Ameri pledged to turn his son in if an Iraqi investigation found he had carried out any wrongdoing and insisted he would personally bear the costs of the Middle East Airlines flight having to turn around while traveling from Beirut to Storied Baghdad.
"I ask you to forgive me for what happened," Ameri said during a presser at Storied Baghdad airport in which he refused to take questions.
"The time when the sons of officials made mistakes and escaped punishment is over, and if the investigation proves my son made mistakes, I will present him to the courts myself," he added, referring to an Iraqi probe ordered by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki ... Prime Minister of Iraq and the secretary-general of the Islamic Dawa Party....
"As a minister, I will bear the costs of transport and the losses at my own expense, because the issue relates to my son."
Leb's Middle East Airlines said on Thursday Iraqi authorities forced its airliner to turn around some 20 minutes after leaving Beirut because Ameri's son, Mahdi, had missed the flight.
MEA said the flight had taken off after repeatedly paging two passengers, who failed to turn up. The missing passenger was identified as Mahdi al-Ameri, and the plane turned back to Beirut.
Following the incident, Maliki ordered "all those responsible for preventing the plane coming from Beirut from landing in Storied Baghdad" be "dismissed and held responsible," his front man Ali Moussawi said.
Later the same day, the deputy head of Storied Baghdad airport was enjugged Please don't kill me! by troops reporting directly to the prime minister, but it was unclear what role the official is thought to have played in the incident.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/10/2014
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[The Peninsula] A Saudi court yesterday tossed in the slammer You have the right to remain silent... an Islamist for eight years on charges of inciting protests, mocking the monarch and criticising the security services on Twitter, official news agency SPA reported.
The defendant, who was not identified, had been convicted of inciting "families of those tossed in the slammer ... anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not... for security reasons to protest by publishing Tweets and videos on YouTube," Justice Ministry front man Fahd Al Bakran was quoted by SPA as saying.
Prosecutors also found the defendant guilty of "mocking" the King of the Arabians, Sheikh of the Burning Sands, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz of 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... , Saudi scholars and the judiciary, as well as criticising security services for arresting "promoters of myrmidon ideology".
In addition to the jail sentence, the court banned the defendant from travelling for eight years and posting on social media.
Security forces had previously arrested the accused on similar charges, but freed him after he signed a pledge not to take part in such activities again.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/10/2014
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#2
Dear Rantburg,
Thanx for the daily reminder that not everyone has lost their grip. Please don't feel obligated to be frugal, but do spend it wisely. I recommend wine, woman, and song.
[DAWN] Arab foreign ministers on Sunday rejected Israel's demands that the Paleostinians recognize it as a Jewish state, saying such a move would undermine the rights of Paleostinian refugees.
In a resolution released at the headquarters of the Arab League ...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing... in Cairo, the foreign ministers called the issue of Paleostinian refugees an integral part of a comprehensive and just peace.
It blamed Israel for the floundering of peace negotiations.
The Arab statement offers strong backing to Paleostinian leader the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas ... a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial... , who said publicly last week he will never recognize Israel as a Jewish state despite facing strong international pressure.
Abbas did not identify who is pressuring him.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last week the Paleostinians must recognize Israel as a Jewish state to show they are serious about peace.
It was the latest sign that despite seven months of mediation efforts by U.S. Secretary of State John F. I was in Vietnam, you know Kerry Former Senator-for-Life from Massachussetts, self-defined war hero, speaker of French, owner of a lucky hat, conqueror of Cambodia, and current Secretary of State... , wide gaps remain between the two sides.
Abbas is due to meet US President Barack Obama I inhaled. That was the point... in Washington on March 17, as part of US efforts to press both sides.
He has said that the Paleostine Liberation Organization recognized the state of Israel in 1993 and that this is sufficient.
Netanyahu has already met Obama.
The current round of talks began in late July, but was plagued from the start by disagreement between Abbas and Netanyahu on the ground rules.
The Paleostinians want a state in the West Bank, Gazoo Strip and east Jerusalem, lands Israel captured in 1967, and say talks about that state should use the 1967 border as a starting point.
That position is backed by the US but rejected by Netanyahu.
The seven-page Arab resolution on the Paleostinian issue said it rejects ''the demand by Israel and some international parties to identify Israel as a Jewish state, which aims to annul the right of return and compensation for Paleostinian refugees.''
Posted by: Fred ||
03/10/2014
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#1
So, Jahn. Why the long face? Arabs killing your Nobel chances?
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/10/2014 11:20
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I read over the weekend that the Obama Administration is agreeing with the Paleostinians.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
03/10/2014 12:20
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So does this mean the whole 'peace processor' thingie is over and done (finally!), and we can to back to obsessing over important stuff like face-biting turtles?
Moro National Liberation Front founder Nur Misuari has sacked dozens of commanders during the past week as the separatist organization enacted a loyalty check of its key officials. Group's spokesman Absalom Cerveza said,"We have taken out from the rooster troop commanders who seem to have lost interest in the MNLF organization."
Cerveza did not mention the number of people involved, but added that loyalty to Misuari was a primary consideration. He announced the purge after Misuari last month expelled Jimmy Labawan, the group's former vice chairman, who supposedly misrepresented the MNLF when he said he was the group's official delegate to the so-called tripartite review meeting in Jakarta last year.
Misuari also appointed Rolando Olamip, chairman of the MNLF in Davao City, as the new vice chairman of the MNLF. Cerveza said, "We had a series of loyalty check meetings from late last week to early this week," adding that most MNLF members reaffirmed their desire to stay in the group and "prove their loyalty to Nur Misuari".
Cerveza said that the MNLF had a total force of 75,000 fighters scattered in Mindanao, 500 of which serve as close-in security of Misuari in Jolo, Sulu. He said the meetings were divided into separate conferences, two of which discussed what they called "state forces" and "national security force".
The biggest contingent in the meeting came from Sarangani, South Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat with Cerveza noting that the national force remained intact based on the assessment made.
Cerveza said they will be visiting MNLF camps for an inventory of military armaments and troops and to check the moral of the rank and file. He said, "We're just a little bit wary because we are in a situation of no peace and no war."
Posted by: ryuge ||
03/10/2014
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[Dhaka Tribune] Iyad Ameen Madani, secretary general of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, has said Moslems cannot allow turbans interpreting Islam from a "narrow perspective" to hijack the religion.
The visiting OIC chief made the statement after holding meetings with Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali and Foreign Secretary Md Shahidul Haque in Dhaka yesterday.
Terming Islam as a religion of tolerance, Madani said: "We cannot allow ourselves to be taken away by literal translation of narrow minded myrmidons."
The secretary general arrived in the capital yesterday on a three-day official visit. He is leading a five-member delegation on his first visit to Bangladesh.
Terming the conflicts between Shia and Sunni Moslems, and Sunnis and Sunnis, a sectarian violence, Madani said the OIC would not get involved in the domestic politics of any country.
Regarding Bangladesh's January 5 general election, he said the OIC welcomed the results and looked forward to working with the new government.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/10/2014
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#1
OIC chief: Extremists will not be allowed to hijack Islam
Too late by years.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
03/10/2014 11:31
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[An Nahar] Al-Nusra Front in Leb stated on Sunday that the Lebanese army "has become a pawn in the hands of the Shiite project" in Leb.
It accused Shiite members of the army of taking part in the fighting in Syria, "defying any side to hold those who ordered them to go there accountable for their actions."
It made its accusation in a "clarification" on the "true role of the Lebanese army" published on its Twitter page.
It noted: "Since its formation, the army never once dared to confront the Israeli or Syrian armies that occupied Leb."
"The Lebanese army only dared to oppress the Sunnis under the excuse that it is the guarantee of the Lebanese people," it added.
"In reality, the army is only a guarantee for the Velayat-e faqih agenda," said the Nusra Front in Leb.
"Look at prisons in Leb. Don't you see that they are filled with Sunnis, held on baseless charges," it continued.
"Does anyone dare to arrest any Shiite that headed to fight in Syria?" it wondered.
Al-Nusra Front in Leb has grabbed credit for bombings that have targeted Hizbullah ...Party of God, a Leb militia inspired, founded, funded and directed by Iran. Hizbullah refers to itself as The Resistance and purports to defend Leb against Israel, with whom it has started and lost one disastrous war to date, though it did claim victory... strongholds in the Bekaa region of Hermel.
It has also grabbed credit for rocket attacks fired against those areas.
Hizbullah has been taking part in the fighting alongside the Syrian regime forces against a rebel uprising.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/10/2014
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[An Nahar] Bulgaria has identified a Lebanese man as the bomber who blew up an airport bus in 2012, killing five Israeli tourists, their Bulgarian driver and himself, local media said Sunday.
Israel and Bulgaria have already accused Hizbullah ...Party of God, a Leb militia inspired, founded, funded and directed by Iran. Hizbullah refers to itself as The Resistance and purports to defend Leb against Israel, with whom it has started and lost one disastrous war to date, though it did claim victory... of being behind the attack at Burgas airport on the Black Sea, the deadliest on Israelis abroad since 2004.
Bulgaria had previously identified as alleged accomplices two Lebanese men with links to Hizbullah -- and with Canadian and Australian passports -- and has made so-far unanswered extradition requests to Leb.
Chief prosecutor spokeswoman Rumyana Arnaudova declined to comment on the latest report in the Pressa newspaper, which cited sources in the Bulgarian intelligence services.
"The investigation is ongoing and is very intensive but I cannot confirm any details around the probe as this might jeopardize it," Arnaudova told AFP.
The bomber died in the attack -- although it remains unclear if he intended to die -- and Sherlocks had been unable to identify him despite having DNA from the severed head and limbs found at the site of the bombing.
Chief prosecutor Sotir Tsatsarov returned on Friday from a four-day visit to Israel where he met attorney general Yehuda Weinstein and chief prosecutor Shai Nitzan.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/10/2014
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[An Nahar] A number of rockets fired from the Syrian side of the border landed in the northern region of Akkar, reported the National News Agency on Sunday.
The rockets, fired at dawn, landed in the towns located near the Kabir, or Grand, River near the Lebanese-Syrian border.
Two rockets landed on the house of Sheikh Abboud al-Zohbi in the town of Amar al-Bikat, causing material damage.
No one was injured in the attack.
On Saturday, rockets fired from Syria landed in the Bekaa regions of al-Hermel and al-Qaa.
Other rockets also targeted the Akkar towns of Qashlaq, Wadi Hor, Hikr Janine and Amar al-Bikat,
No one was injured in the incidents.
Bekaa towns, with a majority of Shiite population, have repeatedly come under rocket attacks by either rebels seeking to topple Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Supressor of the Damascenes... 's regime or gunnies supporting them.
The Syrian troops loyal to Assad also continue to carry out air raids on Arsal, a majority Sunni town, which is an escape route for rebels and smugglers.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/10/2014
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[An Nahar] Syria's seat at the Arab League ...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing... will remain vacant until the opposition completes the formation of its institutions, the pan-Arab group's secretary general Nabil al-Arabi said on Sunday.
"The last Arab summit in Doha in March 2012 adopted the principle of granting Syria's seat within the League to the opposition, but it has not yet established its institutions and must take further steps in this regard," Arabi said after a meeting of the Arab Ministerial Council.
The fierce repression of the anti-regime uprising that began in March 2011 resulted in Damascus being suspended from the vaporous Arab League in late 2011.
Last November, Syrian National Coalition chief Ahmad Jarba said the opposition was claiming his country's seat in the organization.
The Istanbul-based Coalition -- which includes several opposition groups -- is considered to be one of the most important representatives of the Syrian opposition.
But it has yet to present a united front, and is struggling to impose its legitimacy on the ground.
Nevertheless, Sunday's League ministerial meeting invited Jarba to speak at its next meeting scheduled for Kuwait on March 25.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[Bangla Daily Star] They're called 'snapping' turtles for a very good reason, but this hapless animal lover just had to find out the hard way and ended up in hospital. The Chinese man was reportedly releasing the ferocious-looking creature into the wild but decided he had to give it a goodbye kiss first. How do you say "wotta maroon!" in Chinese? 这是栗色!
Unfortunately the love was not exactly required and the snapping turtle did what snapping turtles do and snapped him on the lip. "Owwww!"
"Wang! What's wrong?"
"MUH LIBB!"
The man, from Fujian province, was left with the turtle dangling from his face refusing to release its powerful, pincer-like jaws. "What?"
"MUH LIBB! MUH LIBB!"
Eventually the animal was prized away from the unfortunate man who was immediately rushed to hospital. "Hullo? 911? There's a guy here with a snapping turtle hangin' from his lip1"
"Nah. Y'got the wrong number! This is 912!"
A friend then posted the picture on the internet to warn people of the dangers of kissing snapping turtles. Good advice, that. I'm sure we've all considered it once or twice...
According to the Shanghai Daily the animal appeared to be an alligator snapping turtle which are native to North America and known to be highly dangerous. "Oh, surely they're just misunderstood! Watch how they respond to a little love and affection!... Owww! MUH LIBB!"
They are the largest freshwater turtles in the world and can grow to more than half-a-metre in length and live to be 160 years old. But they are most known for their powerful jaws which are strong enough to bite through a broomstick handle.
And the idiot released one of those into foreign climes? Ah well, in the Florida Everglades we have problems with foreign snakes eating our native alligators, over in China they can just lose what's left of their native river dolphins and other wildlife over the next century and a half.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/10/2014
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#1
I can't bare to watch this part, when the Chinese man gets his lips torn off by a snapping turtle. Oh the humanity.
#9
His osculatory conferral
Predictably met with demurral.
If by some freak a nation
Were to seek provocation,
They'd arrange to get bit by a squirrel.
The tension is high in Hudur and Waajid of the Bakool regions after for the past 2 days the government forces supported by Ethiopian soldiers captured some territories that Al-Shabaab had control over for the last few years. The locals are said to have vacated the towns and the troops are conducting search sweeps within the towns to strengthen the peace.
Officials from the Somali government in Bakool have told Shabelle that Al-Shabaab ordered the civilians to vacate their homes and mentioned that they will take action regarding this.
Like what? Let them go and let the Shaboobs take care of them...
Waajid and Hudur are now under control by troops from Ethiopia as well as the Somali government despite there are no citizens currently residing in those towns after a retreat from Al-Shabaab.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/10/2014
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Top|| File under: al-Shabaab
[Egypt Independent] A police sergeant was killed in Sharqiya as gunnies shot him in Zagazig city. One of the attackers was killed, the other was injured after security troops pursued them as they tried to escape.
Major General Sameh al-Kilany, Sharqiya security chief, was notified about death of the 35-year-old police sergeant Abdel Dayyem Abdel Fattah, of Zagazig traffic department, after being shot by the gunnies who were on a cycle of violence.
Security source said security personnel followed the gunnies, which caused death of one and injury of the other.
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[Egypt Independent] Russian forces tightened their grip on Crimea on Sunday despite a U.S. warning to Moscow that annexing the southern Ukrainian region would close the door to diplomacy in a tense East-West standoff.
Russian forces' seizure of the Black Sea peninsula has been bloodless but tensions are mounting following the decision by pro-Russian groups that have taken over the regional parliament to make Crimea part of Russia.
The operation to seize Crimea began within days of Ukraine's pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovich's flight from the country last month. Yanukovich was toppled after three months of demonstrations against a decision to spurn a free trade deal with the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... for closer ties with Russia.
In the latest armed action, Russians took over a Ukrainian border post on the western edge of Crimea at around 6 a.m. (0400) GMT, trapping about 30 personnel inside, a border guard front man said.
The front man, Oleh Slobodyan, said Russian forces now controlled 11 border guard posts across Crimea, a former Russian territory that is home to Russia's Black Sea fleet and has an ethnic Russian majority.
President Vladimir Putin ...Second and fourth President of the Russian Federation and the first to remain sober. Putin is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from polonium poisoning. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to Putin. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead... declared a week ago that Russia had the right to invade Ukraine to protect Russian citizens, and his parliament has voted to change the law to make it easier to annex territory inhabited by Russian speakers.
The worst face-off with Moscow since the Cold War has left the West scrambling for a response, especially since the region's pro-Russia leadership declared Crimea part of Russia last week and announced a March 16 referendum to confirm it.
U.S. Secretary of State John F. I was in Vietnam, you know Kerry Former Senator-for-Life from Massachussetts, self-defined war hero, speaker of French, owner of a lucky hat, conqueror of Cambodia, and current Secretary of State... , speaking to Russia's foreign minister for the fourth day in a row, told Sergei Lavrov on Saturday that Russia should exercise restraint.
"He made clear that continued military escalation and provocation in Crimea or elsewhere in Ukraine, along with steps to annex Crimea to Russia, would close any available space for diplomacy, and he urged utmost restraint," a U.S. official said.
President Barack Obama They get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them... spoke by phone on Saturday to the leaders of La Belle France, Britannia and Italia and three ex-Soviet Baltic states that have joined NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all.... . He assured Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, which have their own ethnic Russian populations, that the Western military alliance would protect them if necessary.
Shots fired
A spokeswoman for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said military monitors from the pan-Europe watchdog had on Saturday been prevented for the third time in as many days from entering Crimea.
Shots were fired on Saturday to turn back the mission of more than 40 unarmed observers, who have been invited by Kiev but lack permission from Crimea's pro-Russian authorities to cross the isthmus to the peninsula. No one was hurt.
Crimea's pro-Moscow authorities have ordered all remaining Ukrainian troop detachments in the province to disarm and surrender, but at several locations they have refused to yield.
Moscow denies that the Russian-speaking troops in Crimea are under its command, an assertion Washington dismisses as "Putin's fiction". Although they wear no insignia, the troops drive vehicles with Russian military plates.
A Rooters reporting team filmed a convoy of hundreds of Russian troops in about 50 trucks, accompanied by armored vehicles and ambulances, which pulled into a military base north of Simferopol in broad daylight on Saturday.
The military standoff has remained bloodless, but troops on both sides spoke of increased agitation.
"The situation is changed. Tensions are much higher now. You have to go. You can't film here," said a Russian soldier carrying a heavy machine gun, his face covered except for his eyes, at a Ukrainian navy base in Novoozernoye.
A source in Ukraine's defense ministry said it was mobilizing some of its military hardware for a planned exercise, Interfax news agency reported. Ukraine's military, with barely 130,000 troops, would be no match for Russia's. So far Kiev has held back from any action that might provoke a response.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
As things stand this Am, IMO it does appear that Putin is indeed going for a "Guantanamo" scenario or outcome in the Crimea, NOT FORMAL ANNEXATION DESPITE THE PRO-MOSCOW FERVOR OF LOCAL RUSSIANS - the question is, will the sovereign Ukraine + US + NATO-EU agree???
* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > ITAR-TASS - VLADIMIR KONSTANTINOV: CRIMEA HOPES TO REMAIN A PARLIAMENTARY REPUBLIC IFF IT JOINS RUSSIA.
versus
* TOPIX > [Washington Examiner] UKRAINE'S CRISIS WILL MAKE IRAN'S MULLAHS MORE INTERESTED IN NUCLEAR WEAPONS.
* RELATED SAME > UKRAINE'S VULNERABILITY DUE TO LACK OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS IS NOT LOST ON IRAN.
#2
Surprising how these evil Ruskis insist on pursuing their national interests despite the protests of International Community. Don't they grasp their innate inferiority to highly educated Tranzi elites?
On Saturday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov that the Kremlin annexing Crimea would close any available space for diplomacy.
The warning is disconcerting because there are three general ways that this crisis could play out: Russia keeps advancing into east and south Ukraine, Russia annexes Crimea and then applies further financial and political pressure on the new government in Kiev, or Russia makes limited concessions and the crisis de-escalates.
Or the Ukraine would agree to a partition, or the Ukraine would throw the Russians out (right), or the EU could grow a spine (double right)...
By Kerry saying that the diplomatic window is closed if Russia annexes Crimea which is almost a forgone conclusion then the best path for de-escalation is obstructed.
"We need a de-escalation and that can only happen via talks," German Vice-Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel, who spoke with Putin in Moscow last week, told Der Spiegel. "It's not a question now of whether we react in a 'hard' or 'soft' manner; rather we have to act in a clever manner."
You can almost see Sigmar wringing his hands...
Furthermore, on Sunday U.S. national security official Tony Blinken said that America won't recognize the March 16 referendum and will increase sanctions on Moscow if and when Crimea secedes.
Meanwhile, experts agree that Vladimir Putin is not going to give up Crimea.
Why should he? He has a winning hand internationally and at home. This is extremely popular in the Russian Federation and in the Crimea itself.
"What's happened in Crimea is a fait accompli. You aren't going to get the Russians out of there," Stephen Larrabee, who specializes in European Security at Rand, told NPR. "I can't see Putin agreeing to withdraw troops that are already there. It would be losing face with his own public."
It would be an invitation for him to be overthrown as the now-weak horse...
Last week geopolitical expert Ian Bremmer told Business Insider that "Russia is not going to back down from Crimea, irrespective of U.S. pressure," and that the Obama administration is "going to have to find a way to come to terms with that."
Given that Kerry says that the diplomatic window would be closed if Crimea joins Russia, it doesn't sound like the White House has come to terms with what's happening.
The White House hasn't come to terms with reality lots of stuff so this isn't surprising...
Bremmer said the U.S. "should be working to get the Ukrainians to accept a referendum on [Crimea] in exchange for Russian recognition of Ukrainian territorial integrity and a process that will lead to the election of a new Ukrainian government."
On Sunday, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said that not an inch of land will be ceded to Russia.
You're a little behind, Arseniy. Have you been talking with John Kerry instead of minding the store?
Events on the ground imply further escalation of the crisis, both politically and militarily, which is exacerbated by Kerry's threat that the diplomatic window is closing as the annexation of Crimea plays out.
#1
I just want everybody to know that the diplomatic waters are pretty deep over there in the Ukraine and the Russian Bulldogs are very fierce protecting what they think is their territory. I'm just warning you that I have to take a tough stand against these people, and the odds of winning are very difficult to predict, especially with me on your side.
#3
More as related to a possible "GITMO/GUANTANAMO" solution in the Crimea. ...
* BHARAT RAKSHAK > [Independent.UK] DESPITE THE FEARS OF SMALL STATES, PUTIN IS UNLIKELY TO REDRAW HIS COUNTRY'S [Russia] BORDERS.
and
* SAME > [Guardian.UK] NICK CLEGG [UK Deputy PM] HINTS AT CRIMEA DEAL IFF VLADIMIR PUTIN DROPS "KGB MENTALITY", DEPUTY PM SAYS CRIMEA IS A DIFFERENT CATEGORY NEXT TO THE UKRAINE, + RUSSIA [already] HAS A "PRONOUNCED IMPRINT" THERE.
British geopol pragmatism or reality, or the Brits = Clegg proudly surrrendering like France???
#7
..Obama stages of grief:
1.Denial As the reality of loss is hard to face, one of the first reactions to follow the loss is Denial. What this means is that the person is trying to shut out the reality or magnitude of their situation, and begin to develop a false, preferable reality.
2.See Above
3.Blame George Bush
4. Rinse-lather-repeat..
#8
A bit harder than backstabbing Israel, is it John?
Harder in practical terms - easier from the standpoint of American public opinion. Russia has been the enemy for close to 70 years, responsible for close to 500K American GI deaths via the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and the Korean and Vietnam Wars. The real difficulty is Obama's unwillingness to move beyond pro forma steps against Russia. Arming Ukraine would help deter further Russian adventurism, but Obama's timid steps have opened the door to the annexation of Eastern Ukraine and the Baltics after that of the Crimea is done. The EU's purely self-interested actions haven't helped. Maybe the only way to inject some spine into these people is to withdraw from NATO.
#9
"Harder in practical terms - easier from the standpoint of American public opinion. Russia has been the enemy for close to 70 years,"
Lets see that a staunch Cold War warrior, the man who played an important (perhaps critical) role in US adoption of SDI --- IMO, the proximal factor of Soviet Union's collapse, Jerry Pournelle says The great fear of the Cold Warriors at least all of my colleagues and those I associated with was that the USSR would destroy the world in its death throes. Sun Tzu said you should build golden bridges for your enemies. Machiavelli tells us never to do an enemy a small injury. One must strive to keep the respect of your enemies, and never confuse your real objectives with speculative dreams.
And so, when the USSR dissolved, and Yeltsin essentially ended the rule of Communism and the Party and the Nomenklatura, and tens of thousands of nuclear weapons were dismantled, there was some euphoria. A few of us worried, particularly since Yeltsins influence and power began to melt. Putin emerged: a KGB Colonel who restored the established church and made it clear he put Russian national interests ahead of all else: a Tsarist without a Tsar.
And there was opportunity for the United States to play the realist balance of power game in this suddenly created New World with Russia, China, Europe, as players, and the United States as the sole superpower. It was possible to build a world on that.
And then came Clinton and Madeleine Albright, and the Balkan crisis. Of all places where the US had few interests the Balkans ranked quite high: yet because we had this great army we had to do something with it, and liberal ideology prevailed. We intervened in a territorial dispute in Europe, and we did so to the chagrin and humiliation of Russia. It came close to a shooting engagement. And then our air power dropped bridges over the Danube. We wrecked the economy of the lower Danube to no gain of our own, thus infuriating the pan-Slavic Russians and leaving a lasting grudge that will not go away. Instead of looking for common interests with Russia, we chose hostility for its own sake with no national interest of ours at stake, and chose sides in the ancient blood feuds of Christian and Moslem inhabitants of the Balkans. We chose to bomb Christian Slavs, thus making enemies of pro-Slavic Russia.
We sowed the wind and we are reaping the whirlwind; and now we are supposed to rescue Crimea from Russia? It was crazy to intervene in the Balkans. It is stark raving madness to contemplate intervention in the Crimea. Perhaps we can send The Light Brigade?
"Arming Ukraine would help deter further Russian adventurism"
(a) Protecting one's vital national interests i.e. Russia only access to Mediterranean---is not adventurism.
(b) You give staff to Ukraine it'll end in Russia. Though Russians don't really need it now: they've access to US tech in Egypt, and---through Iran, in Iraq.
#10
* TOPIX > [Various] LAVROV: RUSSIA DEVELOPING PROPOSALS TO SOLVE UKRAINE CRISIS.
Again, a possible "Guantanamo" Scenario or Solution for Crimea???
versus
* TOPIX > [North Jersey] OPINION: UKRAINE INVASION A MODEL FOR FUTURE CONFLICTS.
OWG Co-Superpower Rising China = East Asia-Pacific, + OWG Co-Superpower Rising Iran = ME + Persian Gulf, ... ... Brazil?, I'M A'LOOKIN AT YOUSE.
* SAME > [NRO] KRAUTHAMMER'S TAKE: CRIMEA WILL LIKELY BE PART OF RUSSIA WITHIN TWO WEEKS. Thers nothing the Bammer = USA can do about it in the short-run.
* SAME > CRIMEAN TATARS FEAR RETURN OF RUSSIAN CONTROL.
This where thingys may get subjectively problematic for Putin as per local Tatar resistance [mass civil disobedience?], BUT MOST ESPEC AS PER FOREIGN MILTERR/JIHADI DESIRE TO UNILATERALLY HELP THEIR MUSLIM TATAR BROTHERS BY "LIBERATING" THE CRIMEA, ETC. PERPHERALS FROM PUTIN'S CONTROL IN THE NAME OF ALLAN + 72 RAISINS.
* WAFF > [Ria.RU] CRIMEA PREPARATIONS FOR JOINING RUSSIA ALREADY UNDERWAY - AKSYROV [Crimea PM Sergei A.].
* SAME > RUSSIA DEPUTY PM [Rogozin] SAYS RUSSIA SHOULD RE-ARM AMID US, ANTO "THREATS".
* RUSSIA TODAY > CRIMEA CREATES OWN MILITARY BY SWEARING IN SELF-DEFENSE UNITS.
* VOICE OF RUSSIA > CRIMEAN AUTHORITIES TO NATIONALIZE UKRAINIAN FLEET, MINERAL-PRODUCING FACILITIES.
versus
* Also from VOICE OF RUSSIA > US WISHES TO SHAKE OFF FINANCIAL AID BURDEN TO UKRAINE ON TO EUROPE [EuroUnion] - PUSHKOV.
Iff true, this is NOT going to endear Amerika's EU Allies to the Bammer + SecState Jaawhn [aka MSM-Net's "Lurch"].
[An Nahar] A group of nuns kidnapped from the Syrian town of Maalula in December were released on Sunday evening and handed over to a Lebanese General Security delegation in the outskirts of the Bekaa border town of Arsal.
"The Maalula nuns have been freed and they are now in our custody," General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim told LBCI television.
Leb's National News Agency also confirmed that "the Maalula nuns have become in the custody of Lebanese General Security."
"The General Security convoy that is carrying the freed Maalula nuns has left Arsal towards the international highway that leads to the al-Masnaa border crossing" between Leb and Syria, NNA said.
Ibrahim later appeared at the Syrian border post of Jdeidet Yabous where the nuns were supposed to arrive.
"The nuns will arrive here in an hour," he told news hounds.
Earlier on Sunday, Ibrahim confirmed that the nuns would be released within hours after the process was "delayed by logistical obstacles related to the region's geography."
For his part, Qatar's charges d'affaires in Beirut Ali al-Maliki confirmed to Al-Jazeera ... an Arab news network headquartered in Qatar, notorious for carrying al-Qaeda press releases. The name means the Peninsula, as in the Arabian Peninsula. In recent years it has settled in to become slightly less biased than MSNBC, in about the same category as BBC or CBS... TV that the nuns would be released but noted that the issue "will take some time and maybe hours."
"Negotiations have resumed between Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim and the abductors of the Maalula nuns after having bogged down for unclear reasons," al-Jadeed television said earlier in the day.
LBCI said that after having left the outskirts of the Bekaa border town of Arsal, a Lebanese General Security delegation returned to the town to prepare for receiving the nuns.
"The General Security convoy has returned to the Aqabat al-Jurd area in Arsal," MTV said.
Earlier, Leb's National News Agency said a large convoy consisting of around 30 vehicles had arrived in the al-Rahweh area in Arsal's outskirts to receive the nuns.
It later reported that "a new convoy consisting of 3 cars has crossed the army checkpoint at Arsal's entrance and headed to the point where the first convoy is waiting to pick up the Maalula nuns."
NNA had reported that Qatar's intelligence chief and a Lebanese General Security team crossed into Syria from Arsal to receive the nuns.
"Qatari intelligence chief Ghanim al-Kubaisi and a General Security delegation have crossed Arsal towards the Syrian border ahead of the release of the Maalula nuns," NNA said.
Meanwhile, ...back at the Senate, the partisans of Honorius went for their knives and the partisans of Stilicho went for the doors... local and regional TV networks aired footage showing heavy presence by General Security agents and news hounds at the al-Masnaa border crossing between Leb and Syria.
A number of Christian and Moslem clergymen were also spotted in the border area of Jdeidet Yabous.
MTV had reported that it was not clear whether the nuns' convoy would take the Yabrud-Arsal-Masnaa route or the road from Yabrud towards Syria's al-Zabadani and Damascus ahead of traveling towards al-Masnaa.
The Qatar-based, pan-Arab Al-Jazeera TV had earlier reported that "the process of releasing the nuns has started."
Posted by: Fred ||
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[Libya Herald] Samira Massoudi, the President of the Libyan Women's Union in Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which 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... , spearheaded the campaign for a women's quota in recent elections to the Constitutional Assembly but says there are still further challenges to face in the fight for women's rights.
"Women are caught in a Bermuda Triangle between the Moslem Brüderbund and Salafi groups," she told the Libya Herald today, International Women's Day. "We are victims of the political in-fighting between the government and the General National Congress (GNC)."
During her campaign for a female quota in last month's elections, she was able to gain support from a majority of Congress members apart from the Justice and Construction Party members who would not openly support or condemn the campaign. "They played with us," she says, adding that on the whole and despite progress, the government and the GNC still do not respect the views of women.
Women were able to secure ten seats in the Constitutional Assembly. While short of the 21 that the Libyan Women's Union and a coalition of organizations including the National Council for Civil Liberties and Human Rights campaigned for, it was nevertheless an achievement she say she is proud of.
Much more than the political struggle for rights though, she says, is the need to change a pervasive culture that holds women back. "We have our rights but we suffer because of the culture", she explains.
She is critical of those who say that women should not travel alone or that men should be permitted to have more than one wife. "You would think that it wasn't 2014," she says. "When I hear things like that it makes me think the men fought the revolution just so that they could have four wives."
Massoudi's own family have been supportive of her in her work but she says she has lost friends because of her views. Opposition, she says, comes from women as often as from men.
She refers to one rally where she was approached by women who told her women should not be involved in politics and claimed men knew better what was needed. "Who told them this -- could it have been a man?" she asks. "Women are used as weapons by men and this needs to change," she adds.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[Egypt Independent] Authorities said a stun grenade went kaboom! at a metro construction site in Heliopolis on Saturday leaving no injuries.
Reports have not clarified whether the kaboom was from an actual grenade or merely a homemade bomb.
The bomb was found near the Ramses College for Girls by one of its workers who was later taken to an ophthalmology hospital for checkup.
Egyptian provinces have seen an increase in the use of bombs and stun grenades since the ouster of former president Mohammed Morsy. Authorities blame the attacks on the Moslem Brüderbund and bully boy groups loyal to the deposed leader.
Posted by: Fred ||
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Let's put it in WoT Background. It's being investigated as possible terrorism.
ROME -- Interpol is investigating more suspect passports used to board a missing Malaysia Airlines flight, in addition to two European ones that were falsely used by unidentified passengers, the global police agency said on Sunday.
An Italian man and an Austrian man were falsely listed as passengers on Beijing-bound flight MH370, which disappeared after takeoff from Kuala Lumpur early on Saturday with 239 people aboard. Authorities later confirmed the two men - Austrian Christian Kozel and Italian Luigi Maraldi - were not on the plane, and their passports had been stolen in Thailand within the last two years.
An Interpol spokeswoman said a check of all documents used to board the plane had revealed more "suspect passports" that were being further investigated. She was unable to give further information on the number of documents or the country they related to.
"I can say no more!"
Interpol maintains a vast database of more than 40 million lost and stolen travel documents, and has long urged member countries to make greater use of it to stop people crossing borders on false papers. Few countries systematically do so, it said in a statement.
What good is a system that no one uses? And how often does it fail to detect stolen passports?
The police organization confirmed that Kozel's and Maraldi's passports had both been added to the database after their theft in 2012 and 2013 respectively. But it said no country had consulted the database to check either of them since the time they were stolen, so it was unclear how many times they might have been used to board flights or cross borders.
"Whilst it is too soon to speculate about any connection between these stolen passports and the missing plane, it is clearly of great concern that any passenger was able to board an international flight using a stolen passport listed in Interpol's databases," Secretary General Ronald Noble said.
The database is currently available to law enforcement authorities but not to airlines, the spokeswoman said.
Brilliant. The one place where passports are used frequently -- air travel -- and the airlines don't use it. Simply brilliant.
"This is a situation we had hoped never to see. For years Interpol has asked why should countries wait for a tragedy to put prudent security measures in place at borders and boarding gates," Noble said.
"If Malaysia Airways (sic) and all airlines worldwide were able to check the passport details of prospective passengers against Interpol's database, then we would not have to speculate whether stolen passports were used by terrorists to board MH 370," he added.
There is so far no indication that the plane's disappearance is linked to the two passengers falsely travelling under the European passports. Authorities are currently trying to establish their true identities.
Despite years of pressure from Interpol, in 2013 passengers were able to board planes a billion times without their passports being screened against the agency's databases, the agency said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/10/2014
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#1
..so far, no black box ping, no wreckage, no (published) report(s) of a missile track (although ATC was, apparently, able to paint a course change of the a/c.). Weird..
#3
There are also reports (aka rumors) of five passengers who did not board.
Idle speculation, assuming terrorism and not mechanical/flight problems:
Terrorist attack - terrorism is as much about PR and theater as killing people. Curious that no one has taken credit. Maybe this was not the final target, but just a practice run. Or maybe the message is clear to someone (like the Chinese). Possible follow-on to the recent attack there.
Assassination - someone suggested the target was not the plane but some specific passenger(s). Seems a little extravagant. But certainly thorough. Does account for no one taking credit.
[DAWN] LAHORE: Veteran photojournalist Majid Mir died of heart attack on Saturday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where he was working in an advertising firm for over two decades. He was 70.
"He was ill and depressed because of the death of his wife in Lahore a month ago. He was admitted to a hospital where he suffered a massive heart attack," said his brother Abdul Hafiz Mir, head of camera section of a private television.
Mr Mir would be buried in Riyadh, his brother said.
He has left behind four daughters, a son and countless friends, admirers and pupils in the newspaper industry.
Mr Mir learnt photography at an early age in Nairobi where his father was employed. He joined the (now defunct) Urdu daily Imroze in 1967, and later worked as archives photographer in Punjab University's library. He switched over to daily Musawat upon its launch in 1970.
He also worked for Dawn, Lahore, and went to the USA in 1978. He ultimately settled in Riyadh.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/10/2014
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#1
Move over, Al, and say howdy
To the light you've extinguished in Saudi.
Of his fans freely zealous,
Try not to be jealous,
Nor his lens so profanely uncloudy.
I don't know this guy from Adam, but it sounds like he cut quite a swath, so I thought I'd put in a good word for him.
Two people were wounded when a bomb exploded in front of the house of a former provincial councilor yesterday morning. The suspected targets were state officials who patrol the route daily.
The blast damaged the home of former councilor of Narathiwat and his sons were cut by shattered glass. Nine other houses on the street were also damaged.
A suspected terrorist insurgent detonated the bomb when a siren-wailing rescue truck passed the spot, and it is believed the terrorist insurgent thought it was a police car.
It was described that in the Buurdhuubo district of the Gedo region, there was heavy fighting this morning between Ethiopian troops and Al-Shabaab. This fight continues from yesterday after there were also intense clashes due to arguments on the outskirts of Buurdhuubo, a territory controlled by Al-Shabaab.
Increased military movement was going on in the Gedo region and reports say that the Ethiopian troops that came from Garbahaareey are heading towards Buurdhuubo district within Gedo controlled by Al-Shabaab.
It was also reported that there is a territory called Qorof, 18 km west of Buurdhuubo district where there is fighting going on.
Despite the continued fighting, there have been no preliminary reports stating losses or casualties.
But the Shaboobs later fled so it had to be 'intense'...
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/10/2014
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[An Nahar] A jacket wallah killed 37 people, including two state television ... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
employees, at a checkpoint near Storied Baghdad Sunday, after Iraq's premier accused Riyadh and Doha of fueling bloodshed in the country.
Iraq has been hit by a year-long surge in violence that has reached levels not seen since 2008, driven principally by widespread discontent among its Sunni Arab minority and by the civil war in neighboring Syria.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
Pardon me for asking, but....by any chance...were every last one of the deaders Moslems?
It doesn't have anything to do with the religion does it, or perhaps the values of the Culture?
Do we see a pattern in all of this?
Does it have anything at all to do with the original character of Mohammed or is it something else, like something in the food?
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
03/10/2014 11:36
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Top||
#3
death toll is now in the 40s and might reach 50
Sunnis are suspicious of Iran's relatively heavy influence in the Iraq govt as well as the Iraq govt's discrimination against Sunnis. Of course this could have resulted in protests and petitions. But this is Iraq.
Posted by: lord garth ||
03/10/2014 12:33
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Top||
#4
I kind of feel bad for them. But they didn't want our help. And now I'm kind of glad we aren't there to give it. When the game is 'heads, I win; tails, you lose' the best choice is to not play.
#5
Sunni and Shia going at it again, but I don't see anything on how our Kurdish allies from before are doing. I was under the impression they were in position to take a chunk of Iraq when the Civil War hits.
Posted by: Charles ||
03/10/2014 12:48
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[Libya Herald] Members of the Libyan Air Force have apparently refused to obey orders to bomb an oil tanker that has been loading oil illegally from the Es-Sider oil export terminal.
A Ministry of Defence official in Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which 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... , speaking on condition of anonymity ... for fear of being murdered... , told the Libya Herald that the Air Force did not want to attack the terminal for a number of reasons.
"There is a strong feeling among members of the Air Force that it should not be used to solve what is essentially a political problem, especially as civilians could be injured or killed," he said.
There were also deep concerns about the potential environmental impact of an oil spill on the Mediterranean Sea and the Libyan coastline if the tanker was hit, he said.
It is thought that the Air Force's attitude is one of the "logistical problems" cited by General National Congress (GNC) member Suliman Gajam this afternoon as delaying military action against the vessel.
Despite Zeidan's threat today that the tanker would be targeted if it did not obey orders from the Libyan Navy, no force has yet been used.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/10/2014
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#1
..the pain will be more acute if the tanker finds the "Mediterranean Triangle"..
#3
One tank, three rounds into the bridge or pilot house. Problem solved. A couple of rounds into the engines would also stop the ship from leaving, but the pilot house is where the captain of the ship lives. Also, there's no oil on the bridge.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
03/10/2014 17:11
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[Bangla Daily Star] Police have enjugged ... anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not... the two Awami League men who were seen brandishing firearms during Saturday's clash between the party's two factions in Sreepur of Gazipur.
Two shotguns were recovered from their possessions.
Abdul Baten, superintendent of police in Gazipur, said this at a press briefing at his office around 6:15pm yesterday.
The arrestees -- Shajahan alias Kamrul, 40, and Masum Khan, 43 -- are supporters of upazila chairman candidate Iqbal Hossain Sabuj, also organising secretary of the Gazipur district AL.
Police yesterday also detained 11 people for their alleged involvement in the clash.
Amir Hossain, officer-in-charge of Sreepur Police Station, said no case had been filed till filing of the report at 7:53pm.
Two platoons of Border Guard Bangladesh personnel had remained deployed at different spots in the upazila from 12:00noon to ward off further violence, Executive Magistrate Bijen Banarji said.
On Saturday, at least 50 people were maimed in several festivities between the supporters of Sabuj and Abdul Jalil, member of the AL Sreepur upazila unit, centring on the upcoming upazila polls slated for March 15.
Mostafizur Rahman Bulbul, general secretary of Sreepur upazila AL, said Jalil was picked up as the chairman candidate at the grassroots.
However, facts are stubborn; statistics are more pliable... Azmat Ullah Khan, general secretary of the AL district unit, said Sobuj had been chosen as the party candidate by the central committee.
Meanwhile, ...back at the wrecked scow, Agent 49 felt gingerly for his head. It was still there. He had been hoping differently... a Jubo League ... the youth wing of the Bangla Awami League... leader along with two of his supporters was held with a firearm in Savar yesterday while he was engaged in a clash with workers of a business firm over jhut business (garment waste), our Savar correspondent reports.
Sohel Parvez is the joint secretary of Jubo League central unit and a former president of Bangladesh Chhatra League ... the student wing of the Bangla Awami League ... Jahangirnagar University unit.
On condition of anonymity, a high official of Santa Garment said Asa International, owned by Akbar Hosain Mridha, had been doing jhut business with his company at Dhaka Export Processing Zone for long.
But Sohel and his men had been trying to get hold of the business for the last few months, he said.
When workers of Asa were busy loading their trucks with jhut as usual, Sohel and his supporters attacked them, leaving five of the workers injured.
On information, police rushed to the spot and held Sohel along with two others with a firearm.
Rasel Sheikh, assistant superintendent of Savar police circle, said a general diary had been recorded following the incident.
"The firearm has licence, but none can use it to threaten anyone," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/10/2014
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North Korea's state-run TV on Wednesday broadcast footage showing military politburo chief Choe Ryong-hae, suggesting that rumors of his imprisonment were exaggerated.
He needs to have a bout of acute cirrhosis...
Choe was seen walking behind leader Kim Jong-un with a drunken lurch visible limp. Though considered the new power behind the throne since the execution of Kim's uncle Jang Song-taek, Choe had been rumored to be behind bars after he was absent from major events in recent weeks.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/10/2014
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According to news reports from the Buurdhuubo district in the Gedo region, it has been said that today a heavy battle broke out. This fight between the Government forces backed by the Ethiopian troops against Al-Shabaab erupted today in vicinity under the Buurdhuubo district.
The news added that Al-Shabaab vacated the Buurdhuubo district in Gedo region after being assaulted by government troops and Ethiopian soldiers.
Military operations against Al-Shabaab have recently began in areas under Bakool and Gedo; the south-western regions of Somalia.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/10/2014
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[An Nahar] Saudi and Emirati pundits have quit major media outlets in Qatar, including the broadcaster of top-flight European football, they said on Sunday, as tensions soar between Doha and Gulf states.
In an unprecedented decision on Wednesday, 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... , the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain withdrew their envoys to Qatar, which they accused of meddling in their internal affairs by supporting Islamists.
Doha has dismissed the charge, citing instead differences in regional politics.
Saudi columnist Samar al-Mogren, who writes for Al-Arab Qatari daily, tweeted on Sunday that the "Saudi ministry of culture and information has decided to end the collaboration of Saudi writers with Qatari newspapers."
She said that two other Saudi writers, Saleh al-Shehi and Ahmed bin Rashed al-Saeed, had also stopped writing for Qatari newspapers based on the ministry's orders.
Another writer, Muhanna al-Hubail, had received similar orders from the ministry, said Mogren.
Meanwhile, ...back at the saloon, Butch got the bill for the damage caused by the fist fight, the mirror broken in the shootout, and drinks for everyone...... Emirati commentators and analysts announced they had quit BeIn Sports, which exclusively broadcasts matches from the English Premier League and the Spanish La Liga to millions of football fans across the Middle East.
Ali Saeed Al Kaabi and Fares Awad announced on Twitter Saturday their resignation from BeIn, without giving any reasons.
Emirati football pundit Sultan Rashed said he would stop contributing to BeIn, while analyst Hassan al-Jassmi said he would no longer appear on both BeIn and Alkass, another Qatari sports channel.
Qatar is a staunch supporter of the Moslem Brüderbund, viewed by most conservative monarchies of the Gulf as a threat to their grip on power in their countries because of its grass-roots political advocacy and calls for Islamic governance.
The Gulf Cooperation Council groups Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/10/2014
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Top|| File under: Muslim Brotherhood
#1
I wonder if any of this could be in response to Maliki's charges against Soddy Arabida and Qatar.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
03/10/2014 17:14
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[An Nahar] The Israeli military said on Sunday it had found 40 rockets with a range of 160 kilometers (100 miles) aboard a ship allegedly transporting arms from Iran to the Gazoo Strip.
The army said it seized the Panamanian-flagged Klos-C on Wednesday and escorted it to the Red Sea port of Eilat where it was inspected on Sunday and unloaded in an operation dubbed "Full Disclosure."
A statement said security forces searching the Klos-C had found "40 rockets (type M-302), up to the range of 160 kilometers, 181 122mm mortar shells, approximately 400,000 7.62-caliber rounds."
It said the unloading and inspection of containers was carried out by a combined task-force from various units including the Israeli Navy, the Combat Engineering Corp and the Ordnance Corps.
"Each one of these rockets poses a threat to the safety of the citizens of Israel -- each bullet and each rocket that was discovered had an Israeli address," army chief Lieutenant General Benny Gantz told sailors who took part in the operation.
The Klos-C was escorted into Eilat by two Israeli warships late on Saturday after Wednesday's interception in the Red Sea between Eritrea ...is run by the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ), with about the amounts of democracy and justice you'd expect from a party with that name. National elections have been periodically scheduled and cancelled; none have ever been held in the country. The president, Isaias Afewerki, has been in office since independence in 1993 and will probably die there of old age... and Sudan.
Iran has flatly denied any involvement with the shipment, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday accused the Islamic republic of "brazenly lying."
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[An Nahar] Four Shiites who "confessed" to taking part in an attack that killed three coppers in Bahrain this month could face the death penalty if convicted, prosecutors said on Sunday.
Death sentences are usually commuted to life imprisonment -- 25 years -- in the Gulf kingdom, which has been rocked by a Shiite-led uprising against the Sunni al-Khalifa dynasty since 2011.
The public prosecution service has ordered Sami Mirza Ahmed Mushaima, Abbas Jamil Tahir Alsameea, Ali Mohammed Jamil Taher Alsameea and Yusuf Ahmed Mohammed Taher Alsameea "locked away Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'! on remand after being charged with establishing and joining a terrorist group... (and) killing security personnel," a statement said.
The four, who have "confessed" their involvement in the blast, are also accused of manufacturing and possessing explosives to disturb "public security and for a terrorist purpose", said the English-language statement.
The crimes could carry the death penalty and revocation of citizenship, it said.
The March 3 kaboom in the Shiite village of Daih was the bloodiest attack on security forces since the Shiite majority backed an uprising in February 2011 against the ruling al-Khalifa family.
An officer from the United Arab Emirates was among the dead, making him the first officer from another Gulf state to be killed since regional forces entered Bahrain in March 2011 to boost security personnel who later quelled the month-long uprising.
Some 29 people were jugged Drop the rosco, Muggsy, or you're one with the ages! over alleged links to the bombing and other suspects remain on the lam, said Sunday's statement which added that the attack was carried out using an improvised bomb connected to a mobile phone.
Bahrain remains deeply divided with persistent protests sparking festivities with police, scores of Shiites locked away Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'! on "terror" charges and reconciliation talks deadlocked.
Last year the authorities increased the penalties for those convicted of violence, introducing the death penalty or life sentences for those convicted in cases which result in death or injury.
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The council of Arab foreign ministers decided Sunday during a meeting in Cairo to support the Lebanese government materially and financially to help it cope with the Syrian refugee crisis.
The council also agreed to ask the member states to share the burden, stressing that the refugees' presence in Leb is "temporary" and that efforts would be exerted to return them to their country as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, ...back at the alley, Slats grabbed his rosco... al-Jadeed TV revealed that the council accepted to add to its statement a suggestion by Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil that mentions "the right of Leb and the Lebanese to liberate and recover the Shebaa Farms, the Kfarshouba Hills and the Lebanese part of the Ghajar village, and to resist any Israeli aggression or occupation through the legitimate means."
The council lauded "the national role that is being performed by the Lebanese Army in preserving stability and civil peace," welcoming "the extraordinary assistance offered by 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... " to the army.
Bassil had reportedly changed Leb's clause of the final statement of the Arab ministers' meeting amid lack of consensus among the rival Lebanese parties on the policy statement of Prime Minister Tammam Salam's cabinet.
Al-Akhbar newspaper quoted a source in Cairo as saying that the version sent by Bassil was totally different from that of his predecessor ex-FM Adnan Mansour, who according to An Nahar has held onto the "army-people-resistance" equation.
The controversy on the word "resistance" is already delaying the approval of the policy statement. A seven-member committee tasked with drafting the blueprint is scheduled to hold its tenth meeting on Tuesday amid hopes that it would reach a compromise.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[An Nahar] Shiite Saudi holy mans warned Sunday against taking up arms against the authorities in the Sunni-ruled kingdom, in the wake of sporadic violence that has rocked the country's Shiite-dominate east.
Demonstrations in Eastern Province, where most of the kingdom's two million Shiites live, erupted simultaneously with a protest movement in neighboring Bahrain in 2011.
They took a violent turn in 2012 and festivities between police and protesters have so far killed 24 people, including at least four coppers, according to activists.
The 10 influential holy mans from Eastern Province said in the statement received by Agence La Belle France Presse that "using violence and arms against the state is rejected and condemned".
They also warned Shiite Moslems in the kingdom from "being lured into violence and extremism... which complicates matters and serves enemies."
The holy mans insisted that religion demands achieving "security and stability in the country" and that "political violence destroys the nation."
Clerics who signed the statement included Hassan al-Saffar who is known for his role as mediator between Shiite protesters and authorities in the past.
The statement follows several meetings between Khalid al-Safyan, governor of Qatif in Eastern Province, and a number of Shiite dignitaries to try and ease tensions that have been brewing in the oil-rich east, activists said.
It also comes after 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... published Friday a list designating "terror" groups, including the little-known Saudi Hezbollah Shiite Death Eater group and the Shiite Houthi ...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The Yemeni government has accused the Houthis of having ties to the Iranian government, which wouldn't suprise most of us. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is "God is Great, Death to America", Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews" ... rebels in neighboring Yemen.
In February unknown gunniesshot up a cop shoppe in the flashpoint village of Awamiya, in Qatif, wounding three coppers, a week after a firefight there killed two coppers and two wanted Shiite activists.
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03/10/2014
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[Egypt Independent] Armed protesters controlling ports in eastern Libya said on Saturday they had started exporting oil, bypassing the Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which 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... government in a major escalation of their blockade to demand a greater share of the nation's petroleum wealth.
A North Korean-flagged tanker docked earlier at the Es Sider port, which is controlled by protesters who want more regional autonomy, officials at state-run National Oil Corp (NOC) confirmed.
The oil standoff is one part of deepening turmoil in the North African OPEC producer, where the government is struggling to control militias who helped topple Muammar Qadaffy ...who single-handedly turned a moderately prosperous kingdom into a dictator's fantasyland and was then murdered by his indignant subjects 42 years later... in 2011 but kept their weapons and are challenging state authority.
Any independent shipment would be a blow to Libya's government. Tripoli had said it would destroy tankers trying to buy oil from Ibrahim Jathran, a former anti-Qadaffy rebel who seized the port and two others with thousands of his men in August.
"We started exporting oil. This is our first shipment," said a front man for the protesters based in the eastern town of Ajdabiyah.
Jathran had commanded a brigade of former rebels paid by the state to protect petroleum facilities. He defected with his troops, however, to take over the ports.
There was no immediate word from the Libyan government and navy about the shipment, but Prime Minister Ali Zeidan ... served as a diplomat for Libya during the 1970s, serving in India under Ambassador Mohammed Magariaf. Both men defected in 1980 and went on to form the National Front for the Salvation of Libya. Zeidan spent nearly three decades in exile in Geneva after the defection. During the revolution Zeidan served as the National Transitional Council's Europe envoy, and is credited as having played a key role in persuading French President Nicolas Sarkozy to support the anti-Qadaffy forces... and the justice minister scheduled news conferences in the afternoon.
In January, the Libyan navy fired on a Maltese-flagged tanker which it said had tried to load oil from the protesters in the Es Sider port.
The tanker Morning Glory, which was previously flagged in Liberia and can load around 35,000 tonnes (about 250,000 barrels) of oil, had been circling off the Libyan coast for days.
The vessel had tried to dock at Es Sider on Tuesday, when port workers still loyal to the central government had told the crew to turn back.
Workers confirmed they could see the ship docked at the port, but it was not immediately clear whether it had started loading crude. Tanks at Es Sider and other seized ports are full, according to oil sources.
"We have informed the government and the defense ministry so they can take action," a senior NOC official said, adding that the tanker's crew "are trying to buy oil illegally."
It is extremely unusual for an oil tanker flagged in secretive North Korea to operate in the Mediterranean region, shipping sources said.
A front man for NOC said the Morning Glory was owned by a Saudi company. It had changed ownership in the past few weeks and previously been called Gulf Glory, according to a shipping source.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/10/2014
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[Bangla Daily Star] To fight communalism and militancy, the government must ban 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... and its publications, stop its funding and increase vigilance on its associated business organizations, stated Sector Commanders Forum (SCF), Liberation War 71 yesterday.
SCF placed seven other recommendations at "Samprodayikota o Jongibad Birodhi Jatiya Shommelon 2014", a conference against communalism and terrorism it organised at Dhaka University's Teacher-Student Centre.
Reading out a paper, freedom fighter, journalist and SCF acting secretary general Haroon Habib said, "Both local and foreign research show that this party has direct or indirect links to all krazed killer groups irrespective of the name they (the latter) taken on."
Shahriar Kabir, acting president of Ekatturer Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee, questioned why the ban was not imposed under the terrorist act even though Prime Minister the loathesome Sheikh Hasina ...Bangla dynastic politician and current Prime Minister of Bangladesh. She has been the President of the Bangla Awami League since the Lower Paleolithic. She is the eldest of five children of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of Bangla. Her party defeated the BNP-led Four-Party Alliance in the 2008 parliamentary elections. She has once before held the office, from 1996 to 2001, when she was defeated in a landslide. She and the head of the BNP, Khaleda Zia show such blind animosity toward each other that they are known as the Battling Begums.. termed it a terrorist organization last year.
"Is there anyone more powerful in government impeding Jamaat's ban than the prime minister?" said the journalist and researcher.
He called on the premier to be courageous like her father, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who enacted the 1972 constitution based on four principles -- secularism, democracy, nationalism and socialism.
The demand to reinstate the 1972 constitution to build a peaceful, harmonious nation for people of all beliefs, ethnicity, language and social class was also placed by National Human Rights Commission Chairman Mizanur Rahman, Gonojagoron Mancha spokesperson Imran H Sarker and Bangladesh Mahila Gay Pareehad acting secretary general Rakhidas Purakayastha.
However, those who apply themselves too closely to little things often become incapable of great things... noted Islamist thinker Maulana Fariduddin Masud said, "Sitting here in an air-conditioned room and reading papers would not bring any results."
He urged everyone to reach out to the grassroots people in villages and spread the message of non-communalism and the Liberation War's spirit through waaz mahfils (congregations on religious sermons) which are conducted by religious leaders.
"At least 40,000 waaz mahfils are being held as we speak. Do we know who is conducting these mahfils and what is being said?" he said.
Speakers also called for reforming the education system and increasing control over Qawmi madrasas and other educational institutions which work as a breeding ground for communalism and militancy.
In his paper, Habib noted that children of the poverty-stricken rural populace who go to madrasas and English medium students of the high-income class remain disconnected from the mainstream and are easily lured towards krazed killer ideologies.
Chairing the programme, SCF Chairman Air Vice Marshal (retd) AK Khandker said the conference aimed to make people aware and conscious against communalism and militancy.
Other SCF recommendations were on forming a global taskforce to curb terrorism since it has a strong and expanding network worldwide.
They also urged all political parties to unite in the decisive fight against militancy and stop political parties' direct and secret patronisation of myrmidon and krazed killer forces, making grassroots people aware about these ill-forces and putting an end to the "two-faced policy" of the West on the issue.
Members of SCF from different districts and eminent personalities, including Prof Anisuzzaman, were present.
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[An Nahar] Ukraine said Sunday it could sign later this month part of a crucial EU agreement for greater integration, even as the former Soviet state remains in a state of upheaval.
"The political association with the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... could be signed on March 17 or 21," Foreign Minister Andriy Deshchytsya said in an interview with Ukrainian 1+1 television.
The new government in Kiev had already earlier said it planned to sign the political parts of an EU association pact before snap presidential elections on May 25.
The dates given by the minister correspond to a meeting of European Union foreign ministers on March 17, and a summit of EU leaders on March 20/21.
Kiev was close to signing an association pact and free trade deal with Brussels in November but former president Viktor Yanukovych scrapped the agreement at the last minute in favor of closer ties with Moscow, setting off mass protests in the country that resulted in 100 deaths and Yanukovych's eventual ouster last month.
The signing of the EU accord will take place after a March 16 referendum in Ukraine's autonomous Crimean peninsula, whose pro-Moscow leadership wants to become part of Russia amid the worst East-West confrontation since the Cold War.
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[DAWN] The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP) may have been born in the tribal agencies, it might have even ruled Swat, but it is 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... that has been crucial to the TTP's perpetuation of power across the country. It is Karachi that helped fund the TTP's war in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... , as the organization routinely conducted bank heists to generate finances. It is also Karachi where members of the TTP found sanctuary as security forces pounded their hideouts. Slowly but surely, the largest city of Pakhtun people has witnessed three factions of the TTP taking control of a number of areas and exert their influence in many others. This is a process that has spanned more than half a decade; it promises to decisively shape the future of the city.
Continued on Page 49
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Erdogan said he told Obama "that the person who is responsible for the unrest in Turkey lives in your country, in Pennsylvania. I told him this clearly, " the official Anadolu Agency quoted Erdogan as saying. "I said, 'I expect what's necessary (to be done).' You have to take the necessary stance if someone threatens my country's security."
Erdogan said Obama "looked at it positively. 'We got the message,' he said."
The White House said Friday that "the response attributed to President Obama with regard to Mr. Gulen is not accurate." Sounds like Mr. Obama may have gotten a phone call after the one to Erdogan..
#3
Gulan is more of a nationalist. He believes in a particularist Turkish version of Islam which might be compatible with secularist control of the State (as long as Islam is subsidized).
Erdogan is more of a caliphatist. He wants Islam to rule the State. He is also an ally of the Moslem broderbund.
Posted by: lord garth ||
03/10/2014 6:34
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"If you listen closely to President Putin, he is not describing the world in a way that he thinks President Obama who appointed said former U.S. Ambassador
and his administration is weak. On the contrary, he has a theory about American power that is quite paranoid," McFaul said.
From Putin's point of view, McFaul said, the United States is "fomenting instability and revolution in the Middle East, in Russia and, now, Ukraine." ..interesting hypothesis..
#5
I suspect that Putin thinks of Obama as being an irrelevant "transient effect", and not worth wasting his time worrying about.
Thinking back to Graham Alison's "Essence of Decision", what Putin does need to consider is the "Organizational Processes Model", whereby structural habits within the American foreign policy and defense organizations generate a credible threat, in spite of the impotent fool at the top of the administration.
#6
Yes, "transient" is the operative word here, unless the Champ can somehow forego term limits. Vlad has made the same assessment as any elementary school history or social studies student, Champ is shaping up to be the lamest of lame duck presidents. A "paranoid" Russia? Who knew ?
#8
* See also BHARAT RAKSHAK > "WE ARE SPEAKING VERY LOUDLY, BUT WE ARE CARRYING A SMALL STICK", DIMITRI K. SINE ON WHY RUSSIA DOESN'T TAKE THE US SERIOUSLY.
That sound you're hearing is POTUS Teddy Roosevelt yelling "OH GAAAAAADDDD"!, or in the altern "Bully, by God"!, in righteous indignation.
#9
The Western political class isn't weak or cowardly per se. It is suffering from a pathological mixture of zero civilizational confidence, self-hatred and masochism. This results in erratic and occasionally functionally insane behavior.
Putin in contrast is a rational, cautious, deterrable, amoral, explorative and opportunistic aggressor. He has just been provoked by the West's provocative weakness that has been on display for well over a decade.
#10
he has a theory about American power that is quite paranoid
Actually Puti thinks USA are muscle for EU leaders dreams of World Dominance (not for some selfish or racist reasons but for "Human Rights", "protecting the environment", the freedom to choose your gender, and---the most important one---freedom from thinking).
#11
Considering we are 18 trillion in debt and lack the political will cut Big Bird out of public television with 350+ channels of cable television I would say he sees America as financially and politically bankrupt.
Putin is pulling a Ronald Reagan and seeing an opportunity to accelerate Americas ability to react effectively. Quite ironic.
#13
Actually Puti thinks USA are muscle for EU leaders dreams of World Dominance (not for some selfish or racist reasons but for "Human Rights", "protecting the environment", the freedom to choose your gender, and---the most important one---freedom from thinking).
Meanwhile, on Earth Prime, Russia's kept afloat financially by Germany's arbitrary, baseless decision to use Russian-resold Kazakh natural gas instead of German coal, while France sells them assault ships and fire control electronics for their tanks. The German president who made this decision (which Merkel refuses to reverse) collects a salary (or maybe it's a commission) from Gazprom.
#14
#11 Considering we are 18 trillion in debt and lack the political will cut Big Bird out of public television with 350+ channels of cable television I would say he sees America as financially and politically bankrupt.
Posted by: Airandee
Airandee nailed it squarely! Faced with the decision of 'guns or butter EBT cards,' Champ will always take the cards.
#17
Consider the source: McClatchey press, the Pravda of the leftist press outlets, dedicated to propping up Obama and progressivism, no matter how many lies they need to print to do it.
#18
Thing, I know you won't believe me now. But, the return to multipolar world is a good thing. Not just for Russians---it's a good thing for you Americans as well.
[An Nahar] Sudanese authorities refused permission for an International Women's Day event in Khartoum, an activist said on Sunday, despite President Omar al-Bashir Head of the National Congress Party. He came to power in 1989 when he, as a brigadier in the Sudanese army, led a group of officers in a bloodless military coup that ousted the government of Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi and eventually appointed himself president-for-life. He has fallen out with his Islamic mentor, Hasan al-Turabi, tried to impose shariah on the Christian and animist south, resulting in its secessesion, and attempted to Arabize Darfur by unleashing the barbaric Janjaweed on it. Sudan's potential prosperity has been pissed away in warfare that has left as many as 400,000 people dead and 2.5 million displaced. Omar has been indicted for genocide by the International Criminal Court but nothing is expected to come of it. 's vow that freedoms should be respected.
The March 8 event -- marked around the world -- had been held without incident for the past eight years at Khartoum's Nubian Club, women's activist Fahima Hashim told Agence La Belle France Presse.
"We didn't get the permission" from state security agents for Saturday's planned event, she said.
The women were told they needed additional authorization from a government commission handling voluntary activities but that was just a delaying tactic, said Hashim, director of the Salam Center for women's rights.
Hashim said it was unclear why approval was denied but it might be connected with the larger size of this year's event.
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[NBC Bay Area] NASA now acknowledges what NBC Bay Area's Investigative Team first uncovered last year--that the government agency has been effectively giving a price break on jet fuel to a private company.
In a letter to Iowa senator Chuck Grassley , NASA's associate administrator for legislative and intergovernmental affairs admits the agency was selling jet fuel at below market rates to H2-11, a company owned by the founders of Google. Senator Grassley says he received the letter on Thursday although it's dated Feb. 24. In the letter, NASA's Seth Statler writes, "in light of the concerns expressed with those agreements, NASA has reviewed its pricing approach and...is now charging a 'market rate' for aviation fuel at Ames research center."
Last September, NBC Bay Area examined seven years of fuel records from 2007 through 2013. According to those records, NASA sold to H2-11 discounted jet fuel that was then used to fly a private 757, a 767 and 5 other luxury aircraft all over the world. H2-11's principle owners are the same as Google's: Sergey Brin, Larry Page and Eric Schmidt.
According to the fuel records, H2-11 purchased jet fuel for prices ranging from $2.37 to $3.20 a gallon. At nearby local airports, the exact same jet fuel goes for between $5 and $8.50 per gallon. According to the inspector general's report, the discount fuel saved Google's principals between $3.3 million and $5.3 million since H2-11 was able to purchase the taxpayer subsidized fuel at Ames.
[Details from a September 2013 story: Local officials in Santa Clara County confirm that the company owned by the Google founders, H211, pays no property taxes on the airplanes that are housed at Moffetta potential loss to local tax rolls of up to $500,000 per airplane per year.
This was made possible under a NASA Space Agreement which has allowed these planes to be housed at Moffett Field since 2007. In exchange, H211 agreed to pay NASA first $113,365.74 a month in rent. That figure later dropped to $108,938.62 a month in rent and NASA was allowed to use the planes for science. But an examination of records by NBC Bay Area in May 2012 showed that only 155 out of more than 1,039 flights were actually used for science. And these newly released fuel records show the planes used the below-market-rate fuel to fly to exotic places around the world, such as Paris, London, Cancun, Scotland, Puerto Vallarta, St. John, Hawaii, Liberia and Tahiti.
Googles world headquarters are located is less than 3 miles away from the hangar where H211s airplanes are stored at Moffett Field.]
#3
..... Obama gave Charles Bolden, his idiot appointee, a prime directive that NASA would now focus primarily on making Muslims feel good about themselves. Link
[Libya Herald] Reacting to the arrival of an oil tanker in Es-Sider to load oil sold by Ibrahim Jedhran and the so-called government of Cyrenaica, demonstrators in Misrata yesterday demanded the government be replaced for its failure to safeguard the country's borders, ports and resources.
They also called for political organizations and parties, including the Moslem Brüderbund and the National Forces Alliance, to be banned.
Between 200 and 300 demonstrators, including members of the Union of Misrata Revolutionaries, civil society activists, and ordinary Misratans of all ages, gathered in front of the city's Sheikh Mohammed Mosque to air a number of grievances and make various demands.
Proclaiming solidarity with the revolutionaries in Benghazi who, they said, were being attacked and murdered, the protestors claimed there was a deliberate move to exclude them all from the scene and steal the revolution, notably by political organizations. Banners called for the suppression of such organizations, specifically the Moslem Brüderbund and the National Forces Alliance, and an end to party involvement in the political system. Instead, they said, there should be greater participation of revolutionaries in it.
The inclusion of the Brotherhood in the demands is seen as surprising. Misrata is generally viewed as sympathetic to it.
However, a poor excuse is better than no excuse at all... the protestors said they rejected the February Committee proposals of early elections for a fresh Congress and a state president -- a position more in keeping with Misrata's previous calls for Congress to remain in office. But, in a statement, they also said they agreed with Congress' road map, which would see early elections take place if the Constitutional Assembly cannot come up with a draft by July. Such elections, the protestors insisted, had to be in line with the standards of the political isolation law.
Demanding change, the protestors called on Congress to sack Ali Zeidan and replace his government with one consisting of revolutionaries "loyal to the nation and the blood of the deaders".
The statement ended with a warning that the revolutionaries were keeping an eye on "criminal gangs plundering the wealth Libya" and that they were ready to meet the call of duty to protect the country and the revolution.
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[Tolo News] Marshal Mohammad Qasim Fahim, First Vice President of President Hamid Maybe I'll join the Taliban Karzai ... A former Baltimore restaurateur, now 12th and current President of Afghanistan, displacing the legitimate president Rabbani in December 2004. He was installed as the dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001 in a vain attempt to put a Pashtun face on the successor state to the Taliban. After the 2004 presidential election, he was declared president regardless of what the actual vote count was. He won a second, even more dubious, five-year-term after the 2009 presidential election. His grip on reality has been slipping steadily since around 2007, probably from heavy drug use... , died of a heart attack in his Kabul home early on Sunday, Karzai's front man Aimal Faizi said.
The government has called for three days of national mourning and the flag will be raised at half-staff.
Marshal Fahim, who suffered from diabetes for years, was ill for the past three days, a source said.
Karzai on Sunday visited Marshal Fahim's home in Kabul, where he had passed away. Top Afghan politicians, including Abdullah Abdullah ... the former foreign minister of the Northern Alliance government, advisor to Masood, and candidate for president against Karzai. Dr. Abdullah was born in Kabul and is half Tadjik and half Pashtun... , Zalmai Rassoul ... former foreign minister and a very close confidant of Hamid Karzai. Before serving as foreign minister Rassoul also spent seven years laboring as a national security adviser to the president. An ethnic Pashtun born in Kabul, Rassoul was the valedictorian of his class at the illustrious Franco-American school in Kabul, Lycee Istiqal. He has an MD from the Paris Medical School in France..... , Hedayat Amin Arsala, and Ashraf Ghani-Ahmadzai, expressed their condolences upon learning of his death.
Karzai called Marshal Fahim a "great patriot."
Marshal became Karzai's first vice president in 2009.
A look at Marshal Fahim's life:
Marshal Fahim was born in Panjshir province in 1957.
He was a key commander under Ahmad Shah Massoud, the National Hero of Afghanistan during the fight against Soviet occupation in 1990s, and succeeded Massoud as the leader of the Northern Alliance after his liquidation in 2001.
He started his primary education in his birthplace and finished his studies in Islamic Sharia at the Arabic Institute of Kabul.
He fled Afghanistan to Pakistain after the Saur Revolution in 1978 and returned to Shegal area of eastern Kunar province ... which is right down the road from Chitral. Kunar is Haqqani country..... to fight against the Soviet invasion.
Saur Revolution takeover of political power from Dr. Najibullah, former Afghanistan's Caped President on 27-28 April 1978.
He visited Panjshir in the summer of 1979 to create the Mujahideen groups and become a commander for Ahmad Shah Masoud.
In 1988, he was appointed as the general commander of the Mujahideen in north of Kabul and in 1990 visited Balkh, Jawzjan and Faryab northern provinces to gather more Mujahideen.
He returned to Kabul in 1993 after the collapse of the government of Dr. Najibullah, former Afghanistan's Caped President. He was appointed as the Minister of Security. After the Kabul government collapsed in 1997 and the Taliban came to power, he become a commander of resistance forces in north of Kabul.
After Ahmad Shah Massoud's liquidation in 2001, Marshal Fahim became the leader of governmental and Resistance forces and came to Kabul with the assistance of international coalition forces in 2001.
After Bonn Conference on Afghanistan, Marshall Fahim was assigned as First Vice-President and Minister of Defense in Karzai's temporary government. And he was named with the highest military rank of Marshal in appreciation of his service to Afghanistan.
He once more became first Vice-President and Minister of Defense after launching emergency Loya Jirga in Afghanistan.
At the second round of presidential election in 2009, Karzai selected Fahim as his first vice-president.
Marshal Fahim spoke Dari, Pashto and Arabic languages and had 12 children.
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[An Nahar] African peacekeepers in Somalia operating with government forces have recaptured several strategic towns in the southwest from the al-Qaeda-linked Shabaab militia, officials said Sunday.
The 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... 's AMISOM force announced it had launched a widescale offensive on Thursday against the Islamist fighters in areas near the Æthiopian border.
The operation comes in the wake of a surge of attacks in the Somali capital Mogadishu, where the Shabaab is fighting to oust the internationally-backed government.
"AMISOM and the Somali troops kicked al-Shabaab ... Somalia's version of the Taliban, functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda... out of several key towns including Wajid and (regional capital) Hudur," regional government official Abdulahi Yarisow told Agence La Belle France Presse.
"Our military advancement will continue until we eliminate the enemy from the rest of the country."
AMISOM said in a statement it had also secured the towns of Ted, Rabdhure and Buudhubow and driven out Shabaab militiamen, but witnesses reported fierce fighting on Sunday in Buudhubow.
"The SNA (Somali National Army) and AMISOM joint operations signal the beginning of the renewed efforts by the Somali government forces working more closely with AMISOM forces to dislodge al-Shabaab from many of its strongholds across the country," it added.
Hudur had been taken from the Islamists in March 2012 by Æthiopian troops who later withdrew and it then fell back into Shabaab hands.
Æthiopia intervened in Somalia between 2006 and 2009 and again sent in troops in November 2011 to battle Islamist fighters in border regions, providing crucial aid to the peacekeeping force.
In January of this year, Æthiopian troops joined AMISOM, sending a contingent of 4,400 men and boosting the peacekeeping force to some 22,000.
Local residents contacted by AFP confirmed that Wajid and Hudur had been retaken by AMISOM.
"The town (Wajid) is empty, al-Shabaab ordered people to leave the town before the Æthiopian and Somali troops (arrived) but the situation is quite calm now," said Abdi Hassan, who lives in a neighboring village.
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Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has accused Saudi Arabia and Qatar of supporting fighters in Iraq and effectively declaring war on the country. The rare direct attack on the Sunni Gulf powers, comes with Iraq embroiled in its worst prolonged period of bloodshed since 2008, with more than 1,800 people killed already this year, ahead of parliamentary elections due next month.
Maliki, a Shia, has in the past blamed unnamed regional countries and neighbours for destabilising Iraq, the AFP news agency reported. But in an interview with France 24 broadcast on Saturday, the Iraqi premier said allegations he was marginalising Sunnis were being pushed by sectarians with ties to foreign agendas, with Saudi and Qatari incitement.
"They are attacking Iraq, through Syria and in a direct way, and they announced war on Iraq, as they announced it on Syria, and unfortunately it is on a sectarian and political basis," he said. "These two countries are primarily responsible for the sectarian and terrorist and security crisis of Iraq."
Baghdad has long complained that support for groups fighting in Syria's civil war finds its way through to Iraq with weapons in particular ending up in the hands of armed groups.
Maliki said in the interview that Riyadh and Doha were providing political, financial and media support to fighters and accused them of buying weapons for the benefit of these organisations.
[DAWN] A local leader of the 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... National Party, who was also the chief of the traders community, Attaullah Muhammadzai, and his bodyguard were bumped off in Balochistan's Khuzdar district on Sunday whereas two others were killed in separate incidents of violence in Quetta, DawnNews reported.
Police sources said that Muhammadzai was travelling with his guard on Khuzdar's Chakar Khan road when unknown attackers opened indiscriminate fire on their vehicle critically injuring the two.
The assailants managed to escape from the scene whereas both the victims gave up the ghost while being shifted to a hospital.
The news of the trade union head's death spread fear and panic in the area whereas markets and shopkeepers shut down their businesses in protest of the incident.
Khuzdar district is considered to be one of the troubled districts of Balochistan province. Bombings and assassinations have claimed scores of lives in the district.
Meanwhile, ...back at the Council of Boskone, Helmuth had turned a paler shade of blue. Star-A-Star had struck again... two more people were killed in separate incidents of gun-firing in Fatima Jinnah road and Kuchlak Bazaar areas of Quetta.
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[DAWN] At least three persons were killed and two others were maimed in separate incidents of gunfire in 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... on Sunday whereas law enforcers claimed the arrest of 81 suspects during targeted raids conducted in several areas of the city, DawnNews reported.
Unknown cycle of violence-riding gunnies opened fire near Vita chowrangi in Korangi area killing two persons and wounding two others. The victims were shifted to Jinnah Hospital.
Fear and panic gripped the area after the incident.
In another incident, a man was bumped off in Surjani town area of the city.
Meanwhile, ...back at the dirigible, Cynthia backed into the galley, the barbecue fork held in front of her. Jack! she called. Where the hell are you?... police and Rangers conducted targeted operations in several areas of the city during which police claimed to have tossed in the slammer Drop the rod and step away witcher hands up! 66 suspects whereas Rangers officials claimed the arrest of 15 persons.
A large number of weapons, ammunition and drugs was also reportedly recovered from the arrested suspects.
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[Tolo News] At least seven non-combatants were killed and eight others were maimed in a roadside kaboom blast on Saturday in southern Helmand ...an Afghan province populated mostly by Pashtuns, adjacent to Injun country in Pak Balochistan... province, local officials said on Sunday.
The incident took place in Musa Qala district of the province, when a civilian vehicle struck a roadside kaboom killing 7 including two children and three women, said Omar Zwak, the provincial governor front man. The victims, all members of one family, were taken to a nearby hospital.
No group including the Taliban has yet grabbed credit for the blast.
Insurgents use roadside kabooms to target Afghan and NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions... forces, but most of the victims are civilians.
It comes as on Saturday four Afghan soldiers and two coppers were killed in a roadside mine blast in eastern Laghman province.
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[Egypt Independent] Cairo University students belonging to the Moslem Brüderbund staged demonstrations outside the faculties of commerce and science on the first day of classes after the midterm holiday.
They rolled their eyes, jumped up and down, and hollered poorly rhymed slogans real loud against the army, the police and the campus guard.
Universities have deployed campus guards that are not from the Interior Ministry.
Cairo University Security Director Yasser Manna said cars are checked at the gates and IDs must be presented. "We also have female security personnel to check the bags of the girls that the students use to bring in prohibited material," he said.
Meanwhile, ...back at the comedy club, Boogie was cracking himself up, but nobody else seemed to be getting the non-stop jokes... Brotherhood students of the Saidia schools set fire to a car belonging to CBC News that was parked outside the main gate of Cairo University, terrorizing passersby in al-Nahda Square.
Also, Brotherhood members of the Students against the Coup Movement staged protests in Banha University, flashing the Rabaa sign and chanting slogans against the army and the police.
University President Ali Shams Eddin warned the students of disrupting classes. "We will not tolerate demonstrations that are not peaceful," he said.
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[An Nahar] Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil stressed on Sunday that terrorism cannot be justified by religion or any other excuse, warning against the spread of the phenomenon in Leb and the rest of the Arab world.
He said: "We fear that Leb will become a passageway for jihadists."
He made his remarks during the opening of the Arab foreign ministers meeting in Cairo, Egypt.
"The solution lies in properly equipping the army," he added, while hoping that the upcoming Rome conference aimed at bolstering the army will fulfill this demand.
"Can you believe that in the country of coexistence some individuals have taken the path of suicide kaboom as a result of the political and religious environment that harbors such sentiments?" he asked the gatherers.
"Terrorism does not have a creed and combating it requires a firm political and security position," stated Bassil.
"Combating terrorism in Leb requires the proper equipping of the army," he declared.
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
William Guarnere, the real-life World War II veteran whose story of heroism and valor was told in the HBO miniseries "Band of Brothers," has died at the age of 90.
Richard Faulkner, World War II veteran, awarded Purple Heart after declining honor 70 years ago
The reason is that revenues from the users of roads and from taxpayers are the ultimate source of money for highways, regardless of the financing mechanism chosen.
Nouri al-Maliki
It was the latest sign that despite seven months of mediation efforts by U.S. Secretary of State 
Moro National Liberation Front founder Nur Misuari has sacked dozens of commanders during the past week as the separatist organization enacted a loyalty check of its key officials. Group's spokesman Absalom Cerveza said,"We have taken out from the rooster troop commanders who seem to have lost interest in the MNLF organization." 
[Dhaka Tribune] Iyad Ameen Madani, secretary general of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, has said 
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
[Bangla Daily Star] They're called 'snapping' turtles for a very good reason, but this hapless animal lover just had to find out the hard way and ended up in hospital. The Chinese man was reportedly releasing the ferocious-looking creature into the wild but decided he had to give it a goodbye kiss first.
[Egypt Independent] Russian forces tightened their grip on Crimea on Sunday despite a U.S. warning to Moscow that annexing the southern Ukrainian region would close the door to diplomacy in a tense East-West standoff.
...Second and fourth President of the Russian Federation and the first to remain sober. Putin is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from polonium poisoning. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to Putin. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead...
On Saturday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov that the Kremlin annexing Crimea would close any available space for diplomacy.
... an Arab news network headquartered in Qatar, notorious for carrying al-Qaeda press releases. The name means 
[DAWN] LAHORE: Veteran photojournalist Majid Mir died of heart attack on Saturday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where he was working in an advertising firm for over two decades. He was 70.
Two people were wounded when a bomb exploded in front of the house of a former provincial councilor yesterday morning. The suspected targets were state officials who patrol the route daily. 
North Korea
...Bangla dynastic politician and current Prime Minister of Bangladesh. She has been the President of the Bangla Awami League since the Lower Paleolithic. She is the eldest of five children of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of Bangla. Her party defeated the BNP-led Four-Party Alliance in the 2008 parliamentary elections. She has once before held the office, from 1996 to 2001, when she was defeated in a landslide. She and the head of the BNP, Khaleda Zia show such blind animosity toward each other that they are known as 
[NBC Bay Area] NASA now acknowledges what NBC Bay Area's Investigative Team first uncovered last year--that the government agency has been effectively giving a price break on jet fuel to a private company.
[Tolo News] Marshal Mohammad Qasim Fahim, First Vice President of President 
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has accused Saudi Arabia and Qatar of supporting fighters in Iraq and effectively declaring war on the country. The rare direct attack on the Sunni Gulf powers, comes with Iraq embroiled in its worst prolonged period of bloodshed since 2008, with more than 1,800 people killed already this year, ahead of parliamentary elections due next month.
[DAWN] At least three persons were killed and two others were 
[Tolo News] At least seven 
[An Nahar] Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil stressed on Sunday that terrorism cannot be justified by religion or any other excuse, warning against the spread of the phenomenon in 
