[Ynet] Islamic Jihad ...created after many members of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood decided the organization was becoming too moderate. Operations were conducted out of Egypt until 1981 when the group was exiled after the assassination of President Anwar Sadat. They worked out of Gaza until they were exiled to Lebanon in 1987, where they clove tightly to Hezbollah. In 1989 they moved to Damascus, where they remain a subsidiary of Hezbollah... fires dozens of rockets at cities and towns in southern Israel in response to death of 3 of their men in IAF strike. Residents were asked to stay in their shelters.
IDF tanks fired at terror infrastructure in the Gazoo Strip Wednesday evening, on in its north and another in its south, in responds to the barrage of at least 60 rockets fired at the Israeli south earlier.
Residents in the Beit Hanoun area of Gazoo said they saw an Israeli strike hit a rocket launcher squad.
There were no immediate reports of casualties from the rocket fire, but a 57-year-old woman from Sderot was lightly injured while running to take cover. The Iron Dome missile-defense system intercepted at least three rockets over Sderot.
This was the heaviest barrage of rockets fired from the Strip since the 2012 Operation Pillar of Defense.
The rockets were fired from both the north of the Strip and its south. Most of the rockets fell in open fields, at least eight fell inside southern communities. The Eshkol Regional Council reported on at least 15 rockets that fell in its area, including one that fell inside one of the towns but did not explode.
Israeli police front man Micky Rosenfeld said one rocket went kaboom! near a gas station and another near a public library.
The Islamic Jihad, that said it fired 70 rockets, took advantage of the stormy weather when the IDF's ability to identify and intercept rocket fire is lower.
The Islamic Jihad's military wing grabbed credit for the rocket fire, saying its a response to the death of three of their men, who were killed Tuesday in an IAF strike after firing mortar shells at IDF troops. Another Gazoo myrmidon group, the Popular Resistance Committees, said they fired several rockets as well.
"The Al-Quds Brigades responded to aggression by a salvo of rockets," a statement from the Islamic Jihad said.
"The Al-Quds Brigades will not break the truce (with Israel), but will retain the right to respond to the Zionist aggression at the right time and the right place," front man Abu Ahmad said.
The Islamic Jihad, that said it fired 70 rockets, took advantage of the stormy weather when the IDF's ability to identify and intercept rocket fire is lower.
Chief of Staff Benny Gantz, who is currently in the United States, was receiving constant updates from Deputy Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot.
'Code Red' sirens were heard in throughout the western Negev communities, including Sderot, Netivot and in the Shaar HaNegev and Sdot Negev Regional Councils.
Security forces were scanning the area for rockets, and the level of alert has been raised. Residents in the area were instructed to stay in their shelters and secure rooms.
"It appears that a rocket salvo came in response to the preventative IAF strike yesterday. we will continue stopping attacks and hitting those who wish to harm us, and will act against them with full force," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote on Facebook shortly after the rockets barrage.
"The number of rockets fired from the Gazoo Strip in the last year has been the lowest in a decade, but this is not enough for us. We will continue acting to ensure the security of the people of Israel both in the south and across the country," he added.
Speaking to Sderot Mayor Alon Davidi, Netanyahu promised to "strike terror as hard as demanded in order to restore calm to the south."
"I was helping deliver Purim treat baskets to IDF soldiers serving on the Gazoo border when I heard about the rocket attack," Davidi told Ynet, standing where one of the rockets hit his city.
#6
Obamaphone subsidies will continue, pay up peon!
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/12/2014 14:45
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#7
Its one thing to have not shopped and paid for something yourself for so long a digital sign pad is stopping, its a whole different league to not understand how out of touch you are to suggest a youngster not have a cell (triple letter score for having a pda yourself and telling others to quit)(triple word score if somebody else is already paying for your insurance).
#8
US should get together with all non European cheeze makers and come up with standard names. In a generation (outside of Europe) the European names would be mostly forgotten.
Vladimir Putin's recent intervention in Ukraine on the pretext of defending the ethnic Russian population has forced other former Soviet republics to look for ingenious ways to protect their own sovereignties from similar moves.
On Monday, the Parliament of Kazakhstan, with a 25% ethnic Russian population and a 4,660 mile-long border shared with Russia, voted to rename the country 'New Illinois,' hoping to attract more American support for their territorial integrity. Kazakhstan's President, Nursultan Nazarbayev, is expected to sign the emergency bill into law by Wednesday, setting in motion a complex process for the Central Asian nation of almost 18 million people.
A spokesman for the government in the capital city of Astana said that 'New Illinois' was chosen because US President Barack Obama was a state and then US Senator for the state of Illinois, and such a name change was more likely to get his attention and engender a strong enough reaction to the threat of foreign invasion
#19
Little Miss Brussels
Was flexing her muscles,
Enjoying her whine and cheese.
Along came a Yankee
Who tossed her a hanky
And laughed, "You forgot to say please!"
When they lose market to American, Australian et al wines and beers, it's time for the crony bureaucratic apparatchiks to protect the domestic stuff from competition. Hence these type of artificial protective trade barriers they come up with. We're the stupid ones who keep on being played in the trade game.
First, moments ago, the US DOE announced in a shocking announcement that it would proceed with the first draw down and sale of crude from the US strategic petroleum reserve, the first since June 2011, in what it said was a "test sale to check the operational capabilities of system infrastructure", but is really just a shot across the bow at Putin for whom high commodity prices are orders of magnitude more important than how the Russian stock market performs. ..do I hear a faint rattle in the background.?
Caution: Nervousness Alert: ZeroHedge ZeroHedge gives Debka a run for the salt pic...
#2
The US will be ready for a "Military Response" just as soon as a Commander In Chief can be located. The current one, and his image making minions seem to think that "standing up, while talking to Putin" is the same as "standing up to Putin".
#6
Dempsey + the other Chiefs, + US Allies, are prolly NOT going to be too inspired by the Bammer saying for the THIRD? TIME on national media that Russia will pay a "cost" for invading the Crimea.
Historically, by attempting to isolate the Russian-held Crimea wid military forces Kiev is doing what Uncle Fidel did to the US base at GITMO before + after the Cuban Missle Crisis.
HOPEFULLY, ALL THE US-WORLD IS HEARING IS A LOT OF PCORRECT-DENIABLE MEDIA, DIPLOMATIC RHETORIC, I.E. "GOING THROUGH THE MOTIONS" "FULL OF SOUND-N-FURY" = KHRUSCHEVIAN SHOE-SLAMMING BUT SIGNIFYING NOTHING.
As a reminder, ... ...
* TOPIX, WORLD NEWS, DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > RUSSIAN MILITARY EXPANDS PRESENCE IN CENTRAL ASIA TO KEEP AFGHAN MILITANT THREAT [Afghan = AFPAK? Post-2014?]FROM SPREADING.
As per Russia's world view, WHATS ON THE OTHER SIDE OF CENTRAL ASIA TO CONTAIN RADICAL ISLAM'S HARD BOYZ + SOON-TO-BE-NUCLEAR OWG GLOBAL JIHAD IS THE CRIMEA.
Its in Russia's interests to keep a watchful MilPol eye on Islamist-pressured TURKEY, NUKE-WANNABE RISING IRAN = GLOBALIST-DESIRED OWG CO-SUPERPOWER IRAN, + COUNT DOOKU'S EMIRATE/CALIPHATE-HAPPY CAUCASUS BOYZ - THE CRIMEA IS RIGHT NEXT TO ALL OF 'EM.
And, ironically, ITS IN THE US + EUROPE'S = JUDEOCHRISTIAN WEST'S INTERSTS TO LET HARDLINE, SMASH-ALL-ENEMIES-TO-PIECES-LOVING RUSSIA TO DO SO.
#7
When the media said that Zero and Putin talked for 2 hours (1 hour once, then 1 hour again), I immediately sensed Zero and Putin where just going over the Socialist Game Plan for this situation.
#9
Obama's a Putz. He'll NEVER fight, Russia or someone (Anyone) else.
Folks say "He wants a War", Bullshit, he's too cowardly,and It won't help HIM stay in office.
Unless (Of course) He could LIE one up?
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
03/12/2014 23:39
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#10
See also WORLD NEWS > [New York Daily News] PRSISENT OBAMA TELLS UKRAINE PRIME MINISTER ARSENIY YATSENYUK THAT THE US REJECTS ANY RUSSIAN MOVE TO ANNEX CRIMEA.
D *** NG THE RED LINES, MAN - FULL SPEED IN REVERSE???
* RELATED SAME = ...
> [Deccan Chronicle] UKRAINE LOOKS TO THE US [read, POTUS Obama] ON CRIMEA ISSUE.
> [Al-Jazeera] US TO STAND BY UKRAINE IN CRIMEA ANNEXATION.
The FDNY says there has been an explosion and partial collapse of a building in East Harlem.
It happened around 9 a.m. at a building on Park Avenue between 114th and 117th streets, the FDNY said.
Video from the scene shows heavy smoke rising from the area as firefighters battle the blaze.
A man who was on the 15th floor of a building on 125th Street said he saw dark smoke billowing down several blocks.
"The building shook and then we looked to see what was happening. We saw a whole lot of smoke. A lot of smoke came out," witness Samuel Paul told CBS 2. "There's a lot of dark smoke still coming out. A lot of fire engines I saw going to 125th Street."
"The smoke started to rise. It looked like something fell because it wasn't like a fire. It just looked like debris smoke, similar to 9/11," Paul added.
Metro-North said it happened in a building adjacent to the tracks. Service in and out of Grand Central Terminal is suspended until further notice.
The bomb squad is responding as a precaution. So far, there are reports of 11 minor injuries.
Many reported hearing a loud explosion and began posting pictures of the scene on Twitter. Wasn't certain where to put this.
Update at 12:40 pm ET:
2 Dead After Explosion, Fire Levels Buildings In East Harlem
At Least 18 Others Injured As Hundreds Of Firefighters Battle Blaze
Speaking from the scene, Mayor Bill de Blasio said the explosion appeared to be caused by a gas leak.
Let's leave it Non-WoT pending additional information.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
03/12/2014
10:23 ||
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#1
Dunno if related, but here in the PacNW there have been several recent explosions due to refinment of hash oil...
somehow you pull the thc from the marijuana and then distill it to obtain the oil for your vaporizer.........
Britain has just carried out one of the greatest victimless crimes in modern financial history. Just ignore the millions of victims, they don't count.
It is in effect wiping out public debt worth 20pc to 25pc of GDP -- on the sly -- without inflicting serious macroeconomic damage or frightening global bond markets. nothing else counts.
Governor Mark Carney more or less acknowledged this morning that the Bank of England will never reverse its Ā£375bn of Gilts purchases. Quite right too.
Deputy Governor Charlie Bean yesterday that the Bank will "only contemplate selling back Gilts once the recovery is on a firm path." He admitted that some holdings may never be sold and is implying there will never be a recovery.
The Bank can sit on its Gilts forever. These can be switched in zero-coupon bonds in perpetuity. The certificates can be put in a drawer and left to rot. The debt is eliminated in all but name. A debt that is repudiated / cannot be repaid / is never repaid/ is also eliminated in all but name. The remaining issue is, who's left holding the bag? Remember the bagholders don't count.
QE has been a huge net transfer from savers to borrowers. This is unjust, but ultimately a better outcome for society than driving borrowers to the wall in a replay of the early 1930s (or as the eurozone has done over the last five years). Governments should act in the interests of creditors alone. Neither a borrower nor a lender be, but a creditor - that's something else entirely.
Can there really be such a thing as a free lunch in economics? We will never be able to prove it either way, but on balance it looks like the answer is yes. This seems to be the way the Federal Reserve is socializing the private losses of the financial industry which have been peaking over the last 7 or 8 years. Welcome to the recovery-less recovery.
Engaging in speculation (ie gambling). When the music stops and you're caught out of the seat, you get your managers working in the Fed and Treasury to inflate the overall economy (quantitative easing) to cover the losses on all the paper you are holding. As your losses float to zero, the public picks up the 'tax' in the increase of common goods (ie food, gas, etc). It's fun when you can use other people's money to gamble with - heads I win, tails I win.
[Jihad Watch] Hossein Naghavi Hosseini says that the disappearance of the plane was an attempt to Āsabotage the relationship between Iran and China and South East Asia.Ā Interestingly enough, he doesnĀt seem to have blamed the Zionists. Hossein Naghavi Hosseini must be a moderate. That didn't take long.
Posted by: Besoeker ||
03/12/2014
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#1
Perhaps he was thinking of 1988, when Iran Air Flight 655 was shot down by the US Navy guided missile cruiser USS Vincennes on 3 July 1988.
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/12/2014 15:44
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The Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) and Jerusalem District Police announced on Wednesday the arrest of a Paleostinian resident of east Jerusalem on suspicion of cutting cooking gas pipes in residential buildings in Jerusalem, as part of a one-man terrorism campaign.
The suspect, 48-year-old Aziz Musa Uwisat, who holds an Israeli identification card and is a resident of Jabel Mukaber, is also suspected of a knife attack in 2012.
Security forces said Uwisat confessed during questioning that after hearing about a gas leak that led to a deadly building collapse in Jerusalem in January, he took the decision to sabotage gas pipes in residential buildings housing Israeli Jews, in order to kill as many people as he could.
"His motive was nationalistic, that is certain," a security source told The Jerusalem Post.
According to police, the man admitted to his interrogators that he had indeed carried out the crimes with the intent of harming Jews in Dire Revenge™ for the entrance of Jews to the Temple Mount.
[An Nahar] Israeli tourists aboard a cruise ship were prevented from entering Tunisia due to a surprise decision by the Tunisian government, the cruise operator said on Monday.
"During Norwegian Jade's port call in La Goulette, Tunisia on Sunday, March 9, 2014, a small number of guests holding Israeli passports were not allowed to go ashore because of a last minute decision made by the Tunisian government," the Miami-based Norwegian Cruise Line said in a statement.
"We apologize for any inconvenience to our guests and appreciate their understanding. We are reviewing this decision with the appropriate officials," it said, adding that it would refund port taxes to the guests.
A tourism ministry official said the visitors were prevented from disembarking because of "a procedural problem," saying they did not have visas.
The interior ministry could not immediately be reached for comment.
The issue of relations with Israel is a taboo subject in Tunisia, as it is in other Arab countries, and Tourism Minister Amel Karboul faced questions during her nomination regarding past travel to Israel, which she had made for professional reasons.
Tunisia hosted the Paleostine Liberation Organization from its 1982 expulsion from Leb until it returned to the Israeli-occupied territories in the 1990s during the Oslo grinding of the peace processor.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/12/2014
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#1
[An Nahar] Israeli tourists aboard a cruise ship were prevented from entering Tunisia due to a surprise decision by the Tunisian government, the cruise operator said on Monday.
May have been a "surprise" decision there, but not here. After all, the election is over.
[An Nahar] Egyptian police on Tuesday rubbed out a krazed killer suspected of being involved in a January kaboom against Cairo police headquarters, the interior ministry said.
The bombing in the heart of the capital, one of many attacks targeting security forces since the ouster of Islamist president Mohammed Morsi ...the former president of Egypt. A proponent of the One Man, One Vote, One Time principle, Morsi won election after the deposal of Hosni Mubarak and jumped to the conclusion it was his turn to be dictator... in July, had killed four people.
Mohammed al-Sayed Mansour al-Toukhi was killed in a shootout with coppers when they came to arrest him in an eastern Cairo neighborhood, the ministry said.
His killing comes a day after police said they had tossed in the clink Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please! a man suspected of being involved in one of the four bombings on January 24 that rocked Cairo a day before the third anniversary of the revolt that toppled Hosni Mubarak ...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011... in 2011.
An al-Qaeda inspired group, Ansar Beit al-Maqdis (Partisans of Jerusalem), had claimed the bombing of the police headquarters.
The group has also claimed most of the deadliest attacks in Egypt since Morsi's ouster, saying they were carried out as Dire Revenge™ against an ongoing government crackdown on his Islamist supporters.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/12/2014
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[An Nahar] An Egyptian court incarcerated Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out! 77 supporters of deposed Islamist president Mohammed Morsi ...the former president of Egypt. A proponent of the One Man, One Vote, One Time principle, Morsi won election after the deposal of Hosni Mubarak and jumped to the conclusion it was his turn to be dictator... Tuesday for three years for rioting during deadly festivities in Cairo that killed dozens last August, a judicial source said.
The court also ordered that they report to police regularly for another three years after their release.
The fighting erupted in the days following August 14, when hundreds died in festivities when security forces stormed two sit-ins demanding Morsi's reinstatement after his ouster by the military in July.
The defendants were placed in durance vile Drop the rosco, Muggsy, or you're one with the ages! in central Cairo as they marched toward the al-Fath mosque in the Ramses area -- the site of festivities between Islamist protesters and security forces, state news agency MENA reported.
Separately, a criminal court in the southern city of Assiut sentenced 10 students from al-Azhar University, the most prestigious institution in Sunni Islam, to three years for being members of a banned group and obstructing public work.
They were also convicted of possessing publications that allegedly incited people to oppose authorities.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[An Nahar] Jordan's Prime Minister Abdullah Nsur said Tuesday that the Israeli government was "completely" responsible for the "hideous" shooting of a Paleostinian-Jordanian judge at a border crossing.
The shooting of Raed Zeiter, a 38-year-old judge who Israel said had attacked its soldiers and tried to steal one of their weapons, has set off a diplomatic row between Israel and Jordan, which signed a peace treaty two decades ago.
"The Jordanian government holds the Israeli government completely responsible for the hideous crime," Nsur told MPs at a meeting in parliament to discuss the shooting that took place on Monday.
He insisted "the Israeli government's excuses do not justify that treacherous act."
The Israeli military said its preliminary findings that Zeiter had attacked the soldiers were based on extensive questioning of witnesses and that the investigation, which is being handled by the military police, was ongoing.
Nsur said Israel accepted a Jordanian request to take part in the probe.
"Jordan has pressured Israel to formally apologize. Jordan is now part of the probe into the shooting," he said.
"The way Jordan will deal with the development of this issue depends on how Israel acts on it in line with the final results of the investigation."
Israel expressed regret over the shooting, but stopped short of apologizing.
"Israel regrets the death of Judge Raed Zeiter yesterday at the King Hussein (Allenby) bridge and expresses its sympathies to the people and government of Jordan," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said.
Jordan demanded the soldiers involved be punished.
"We will not spare any efforts to expose Israeli lies. We will not remain silent about this ugly crime," said Parliament speaker Atef Tarawneh.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#2
"The Jordanian government holds the Israeli government completely responsible for the hideous crime,"
And we'll scream at you until you realize that attacking the Police and trying to steal their weapons is our right, You have no rights at all, dont't you know. (Sarc, if needed)
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
03/12/2014 11:41
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[An Nahar] 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... has seen his approval rating climb in Russia due to his strong stance on military intervention in Ukraine, several opinion polls show.
More than two out of three Russians (69 percent of those interviewed), say they back Putin's actions, a poll by the independent Levada agency found in late February after interviewing 1,603 people in 45 regions.
Putin's approval ratings were almost as high as after his inauguration in 2012, Levada said.
Just 30 percent of Russians say they disapprove of Putin's actions, down from 34 percent last year, the Levada centre found.
The VTsIOM state polling agency, seen as close to the Kremlin, put Putin's approval rating at 68 percent, with 53 percent of its respondents in early March saying the situation in Ukraine was the most important news event.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/12/2014
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[An Nahar] The trial opened Tuesday of four top South Sudanese leaders accused of treason for allegedly attempting to topple President Salva Kiir after fighting broke out in December.
The four are Pagan Amum, former secretary general of the ruling party, ex-national security minister Oyai Deng Ajak, former ambassador to the U.S. Ezekiel Lol Gatkuoth, and ex-deputy defense minister Majak D'Agoot.
The four, who spoke in the Juba court only to confirm their names but who have in the past denied all charges, were dressed in suits and appeared to be in good health.
The four were read 11 charges, including the main charge of treason, defense lawyer Ajo Noel said.
"It is too early for us to tell what the case will be," Noel told AFP.
"We want to go through all that the judges will say, and we will see what comes out of it."
The courtroom, which was crowded with spectators including foreign diplomats, was surrounded by armed security officers.
South Sudan's government has been at war with rebel groups since December 15, when a clash between troops loyal to Kiir and those loyal to sacked vice president Riek Machar snowballed into full-scale fighting across the world's newest nation.
Thousands of people have been killed in the conflict.
Eleven ex-officials were jugged Drop the heater, Studs, or you're hist'try! , while Machar -- who denied any coup plot -- fled.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[An Nahar] The exiled Turkish holy man at the heart of a bitter feud with embattled Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan ... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi only they haven't dumped him yet... has called for a new constitution and accused the government of holding the country to ransom.
Fethullah Gulen said in a comment piece published in the Financial Times on Tuesday that a new democratic constitution, drafted by civilians, was needed to restore trust at home and abroad.
Erdogan has accused supporters of Gulen -- once a key ally of his ruling party -- in the judiciary and police of launching a corruption probe to undermine his government ahead of local polls on March 30.
The Islamic-leaning government has retaliated by launching a purge of the police and prosecutors and moving to tighten controls over the judiciary and the Internet.
"A small group within the government's executive branch is holding to ransom the entire country's progress. The support of a broad segment of the Turkish public is now being squandered, along with the opportunity to join the EU," Gulen wrote.
Erdogan, who has been in office since 2003, is accused by critics of becoming increasingly authoritarian.
Followers of the Islamic holy man's Hizmet movement are said to number in the millions, owning a variety of businesses, media outlets, cultural centers and a school network both in Turkey and abroad.
In the latest development in the feud, Turkey's parliament earlier this month passed a bill to close down thousands of private Gulenist schools.
Gulen, 73, has lived in the United States since 1999 to escape charges in Turkey of "anti-secular" activities.
Posted by: Fred ||
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And the slow motion defenestration of Kemal Attaturk continues.
(I love the oxymoron of a slow defenestration. Makes me think of Yosemite Sam & Co. Das Fenster = German for window)
[An Nahar] A group of Tunisian hookers demanded Tuesday to be allowed back to work, 18 months after their brothel in the resort town of Sousse was attacked by hardline Salafists ...Salafists are ostentatiously devout Moslems who figure the ostentation of their piety gives them the right to tell others how to do it and to kill those who don't listen to them... and closed down.
A delegation handed deputy parliament speaker Meherzia Laabidi, a woman, a petition signed by 120 hookers calling for their brothel in the popular coastal resort to be allowed to reopen.
"We know the state cannot help us financially, because the current economic situation is so bad. That's why we're calling for the brothel to be reopened, so we don't have to ask for charity," one of them, calling herself Souhir, told Agence La Belle France Presse by phone.
Souhir said that, in 2012, radical Islamists had attacked the building where she used to, "looted everything they found there... and put us out of work."
There are numerous whorehouses in Tunisia, where prostitution is regulated by the state.
After the uprising in January 2011, Islamist protesters demanded their closure, even trying to set fire to buildings in the capital's red light district.
Laabidi, from the Islamist Ennahda party, confirmed to Mosaique FM that she had met the women and agreed to forward their request to the relevant government departments.
"I listened to their demand and I will... write a letter as an MP to the secretary of state for women and to the interior ministry, to see how we can preserve the dignity of these Tunisian citizens" she said.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/12/2014
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Tell me, what is this woman Souhir like? Oh, she's just like any other woman, only more so.
[Libya Herald] 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... is to make a renewed attempt to rid the capital of gangs, according to the head of the local council Sadat Elbadri.
"We don't want named gangs here, we want proper official security," Elbadri told the Libya Herald. He added that kidnappings had become commonplace and were occurring in the capital on a daily basis.
"Tripoli has to be cleansed of unwanted forces and unwanted heavy weaponry," he said, invoking Law No. 27 to remove militias from the capital.
Elbadri admitted that this was not the first time the Council had tried to remove militia presence from Tripoli. Armed groups had been given time to leave the capital, he said, but they had not responded.
"This is more than just a statement, we have people on the ground," Elbadri said. He added that the Tripoli Military Council and local revolutionaries would implement the decision, which came after two days of meetings between the local and military councils.
The announcement has come at a decisive moment on how Libya approaches gangs operating outside the law, in particular those under the control of self-styled federalist leader Ibrahim Jadhran.
Misratan forces took to the sea this week to help vessels operating under the Libyan Navy try to apprehend an oil tanker that loaded an illegal shipment of oil at Sidra, one of three oil export terminals controlled by Jadhran.
Further forces from Misrata today successfully took on federalist gangs which had occupied Sirte's Ghardabiya airbase for several days. They are reportedly now awaiting reinforcements and orders to head east to bring the oil ports back under state control.
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[The Peninsula] The mystery of the missing Malaysia Airlines aircraft deepened yesterday, as a senior military official suggested it had not only turned around but flown back across the Malay peninsula.
Flight MH370 was bound for Beijing when it vanished in the early hours of Saturday morning with 239 people on board. Until yesterday, the last known contact with the flight was thought to be around 1.20am -- 40 minutes after take-off from Kuala Lumpur -- after the plane had crossed Malaysia's east coast and was flying over the South China Sea towards Vietnam.
But air force chief Tan Sri Rodzali Daud said the plane was detected at 2.40am near Pulau Perak, an island in the Malacca Strait, several hundred kilometres north of Kuala Lumpur. "After that, the signal from the plane was lost," he told the Berita Harian newspaper.
An unnamed military official told Rooters news agency: "It changed course after Kota Bharu (on the east coast) and took a lower altitude. It made it into the Malacca Strait." Pilots are supposed to inform their airlines and air traffic control if they change course. MH370 never did so; nor did it issue a distress call.
It is unclear why the west coast contact, if correct, was not made public until now. Asked on Monday why crews were searching the strait, the country's civil aviation chief Azharuddin Abdul Rahman told news hounds: "There are some things that I can tell you and some things that I can't."
Posted by: Fred ||
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Nice of the bastids to let everyone search where they apparently knew it wasn't. Another Fort Hood "workplace violence" event unfolding ?
#3
Ditto TFSM. I was wondering why the Chinese became so anxious they dynamically re-tasked a bunch of orbiting systems to come have a look see. They probably got wind of the bullshi*.
#7
I was sure I saw a map showing the search area over the Malacca Strait several days ago, in a link inside a story at Rantburg. The best I could find was this, which is about one day old.
Whatever the time, I am sure I remember thinking, "Why are they searching so far to the west?"
Maybe I'm just corn-fuuzed...
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/12/2014 8:31
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#10
IF/IF the plane turned west back over MY, it still had 5 plus hours of gas flying is airspace w/little or no long range radar coverage. Darn thing could have flown to Diego Garcia.
Posted by: Bangkok Billy ||
03/12/2014 9:28
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#11
The news reporting last evening and yet this morning continues to point to potential deception by Malaysian investigators. Evidently our NTSB people are sitting in their hotels with no Malaysian crash investigation officially convened. This is both curious and troubling.
#12
I heard a report that 777s have a back-up system in case something fails so they know the transponder was deliberately turned off, at the same time it turned with evidence it entered the Malacca Strait. Sumatra? India is joining the search but I'm curious as to passengers & cargo too.
#13
Don't know if these dots connect but the F1 Malaysian Grand Prix is coming up in on March 30th- arguably the biggest international event for this country. Many big international sponsors fly in for it, it is partially funded by both the government and Big Asian Oil interests and has a much larger worldwide audience than that little NFL game we call the SB. If someone wanted to pee in the Malay picnic punch, the timing would be pretty good.
Arab Spring proponents tried to do the same to the Bahrain event 2 and 3 years ago.
Just throwing my lighter fluid into the conspiracy camp fire...
#14
Curiouser and curiouser. A 777 is a rather large beast and needs a long place to put down. If the plane was being stashed for later use, it would need a secure and friendly place to land. (military base?)
The rumor/fact (is there a word for this?) that the Chicoms diverted multiple (!) orbital assets to scope out the area is indicative of *something*. (hey, is that insight good enough to get me a desk at the CIA?)
#17
Some are now comparing this to Air France 447, which disappeared over the Atlantic in 2009. From what I know, of that one (a fair bit) and the current one (not much), that's not likely.
However, AF 447 sent 6 messages and 19 warnings to the 'central computer' before it 'disappeared'. Yet the aircraft was not recovered until 2011 and the final report was made in June, 2012. I don't think the automated messages were ever in the news until the plane was recovered and the transcript of the voice recorder was leaked to the public in 2011.
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/12/2014 14:42
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#18
This thing compares more to the disappearance of Judge Crater than to any other modern commercial airline catastrophe...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
03/12/2014 15:10
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#19
Hmmmm.
So the conspiracy theory that it was highjacked and flown under radar to Iran for later nefarious use might have some infinitesimal credibility to it? Would they have had enough fuel?
Posted by: Barbara ||
03/12/2014 16:05
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#20
Barb sez screw Judge Crater, this is Ambrose Bierce territory.
#25
Theory: Explosion/fire at altitude takes out port engine, electrical systems, cabin pressurization, crew. Remaining engine at full-power vectors aircraft to south in a gradual descent. Aircraft flies itself into sea/ground.
#28
Yesterday I looked at aircraft performance data and a great circle route to Pyongyang from Kuala Lumpur. No prob for a B-777ER. Wonder what would have happened if the Bo-Jet overflew Beijing and headed Nork without a word. Would China shoot it down, escort it or what?
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
03/12/2014 19:54
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#29
the spot noted on the Chinese sat image is in the s chna sea
seabed there is probably about -5000'
much harder to find stuff then in Gult of Thailand
Posted by: lord garth ||
03/12/2014 20:20
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#30
I just wanted to take this opportunity to work Rod Serling into the thread.
[Libya Herald] The North Korean-flagged oil tanker that loaded an illegal shipment of oil from Sidra port has been intercepted after it set sail and headed for international waters.
Spokesperson for the General National Congress (GNC) Omar Hemidan confirmed to the Libya Herald that the tanker, named Morning Glory, had been intercepted and was now being escorted to Misrata port. Other reports, however, say it is going to take the oil to Zawia to unload it at the refinery there.
A shipping source said the tanker set sail with members of federalist groups operating under Ibrahim Jadhran on board. Morning Glory successfully sailed a few miles away from the coast before there was an exchange of fire with Libyan vessels.
After the exchange of fire, the captain stopped the tanker, the source said. It is not yet known whether there were any injuries or whether any vessels were damaged.
It is also not clear which Libyan boats were involved in the operation. Vessels under the control of the Navy, as well as fishing boats from Misrata armed with heavy weaponry, were apparently moored off Sidra port waiting for the tanker to attempt to set sail.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[The Hill] U.S. intelligence did not fail ahead of Russia's Crimean invasion, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said Monday.
"I have lived through some genuine intelligence failures in my career, and this was not a failure by any stretch," Clapper said in an interview with WTOP. Still living through one at NSA, and unfortunately receiving a senior grade paycheck.
Clapper was disputing contentions by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and others that the U.S. was taken by surprise when Russia invaded Ukraine to take control of Crimea.
ĀThe fact is, Mr. Secretary, it was not predicted by our intelligence. That is well known, which is another massive failure because of our total misreading of the intentions of Vladimir Putin,Ā McCain said to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel at a hearing last week.
Clapper, however, told WTOP the intelligence community offered a warning ahead of time. Not "predicted" but a warning was issued "ahead of time"..... ? A curious train of logic, assessment, and dissemination.
ĀWe tracked [the situation in Ukraine] pretty carefully and portrayed what the possibilities were and certainly portrayed the difficulties we'd have, because of the movements of Russian troops and provided anticipatory warning of their incursion into Crimea," Clapper said.
"We were following closely the political and economic developments in Ukraine. We spoke to it in our statement for the record at the time and as the situation unfolded with the Russians,Ā he added.
RussiaĀs intervention in Ukraine has been condemned by the United States and other European countries, but Russian President Vladimir Putin does not appear eager to back down in the Crimean Peninsula.
Clapper said that the situation was Ānot a throwback to the Cold War, but it certainly reminds one of the vestiges of the Cold War.Ā
The intelligence chief called Putin a Āproduct of the Cold War.Ā Profound Jim, quite profound.
ĀHe's a former KGB officer, and I think he has a grand view of greater Russia, and he attaches great importance to the 'near abroad,' which is those countries that were a part of the Soviet Union,Ā Clapper said. Information easily available at Wikipedia. How about providing some actionable intelligence, some indications and warnings [I&W] ?
#4
#3 Documenting all possible futures does not provide actionable intelligence. KBK
That is correct. From those "futures" [or scenarios] however, predictive analysis can be derived and an assessment can potentially be made which will lead to "actionable intelligence." It can be a complex process.
#6
Weather reporting indicates the Clackamus is well above flood stage. From the attached imagery, what other 'weighted' assumptions might we derive regarding local area travel ?
#7
DCI to Obama: The Russians are planning to annex Crimea.
Obama: What's the par on this one again?
Posted by: Jack Salami ||
03/12/2014 10:52
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#8
Not "predicted" but a warning was issued "ahead of time"..... ?
Who knew Sarah Palin was a intel specialist?
The intelligence chief called Putin a Āproduct of the Cold War.Ā
More like a product of a real world with 4000 years of real world history and several hundred years of Russian history. Not to be confused with urbanite academics who believe the world didn't exist before their tenure (see - Academic Creationism - and the "World is Anew" made in their own form).
#9
You must have missed the "End of History" memo, P2K. None of that stuff matters anymore. At least not for the right sort of people.
I interpret DNI Clapper's statement to mean some low-level analyst called this exactly, but he was ignored because the report didn't fit The Narrative. Besides, White House and State are busy with their own issues.
You don't have to be a rocket surgeon to expect the Russians will react to a disturbance on their border, especially if it involves strangling their access to the Med.
#10
I think the "failure" is they expected Putin to act like Russia did before and roll tanks in ah la Stalin style and like Putin did in Georgia. The PMC method didn't cross their minds and that is what caught them by surprise.
Masterful stroke by Putin, but no real surprise to those that have been watching him play rope-a-dope with our president and his lackey failures in the State Department.
#11
From the attached imagery, what other 'weighted' assumptions might we derive regarding local area travel ?
In that case, it's moot. As in horse-gone-close barn door.
"Weighted actionable intelligence" is along the lines of "here's the possible events ranged in likelihood of happening based on current intelligence, combined with history of the actors involved, environmental factors, etc."
Sort of the difference between being told that you could be in front of a bunch of senior NCOs who will likely be tired and cranky due to staying the night in a cheap motel and having to be at a briefing at 0500, possibly hung-over from a get-together the night before, and by reputation, full of themselves and their rank, and actually walking into a room of SNCOs who are cranky, hung-over, and full of themselves and their rank without, being having been told about it.
[Libya Herald] Confusion surrounds the fate of the North Korean-flagged oil tanker that left Libya this morning after loading an illegal shipment of oil. It is said to be on fire after being hit by a missile. Another report says that it was boarded by the Italian navy. However, it was a brave man who first ate an oyster... Italian officials have denied this.
"Part of the ship is burning because it was shot at," General National Congress (GNC) member Abdullah El-Kabier told the Libya Herald. He was unable to give more details or identify who had fired on the tanker.
The fire has been confirmed by a senior Libyan navy official but is denied by shipping sources.
El-Kabier said that the GNC was so upset with how the oil tanker crisis had been handled that they decided today to hold yet another vote of no confidence against 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... .
Zeidan had announced that the vessel would be bombed if it did not comply with Navy orders, sparking international concern. The Air Force later refused to follow this instruction.
The Morning Glory docked at Sidra oil export terminal in the east of the country on Saturday morning. Sidra is one three oil ports that have been under the control of federalists under the control of Inbrahim Jadhran.
The vessel allegedly loaded 230,000 barrels of oil and attempted to leave Sidra last night. It was allegedly intercepted by military forces last night and was being. However, it was a brave man who first ate an oyster... in the early hours of this morning, it appears to have managed to escape from its escort and sailed into international waters.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/12/2014
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#1
You should have sunk it while it was un-loaded. It would have meant something big!
#4
The Kingfish developed a notion
To raffle an oil slick by portion.
He pulled all his clauses
Straight from the bylaws
Of the Mystical Knights of the Ocean.
[An Nahar] Two suspect men who flew on a missing Malaysian airliner appear to have been Iranian undocumented Democrats, officials said Tuesday, lessening fears of terrorism but doing little to unlock the agonizing riddle of what has befallen the plane's 239 passengers and crew.
On the fourth day of a multinational search at sea and on land, relatives desperate for news of loved ones aboard Malaysia Airlines MH370 said their hopes for a miracle were ebbing away.
Authorities have doubled the search radius to 100 nautical miles (equivalent to 185 kilometers) around the point where the Boeing 777 disappeared from radar over the South China Sea early Saturday, en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.
"We are intensifying our search and rescue, and hoping against hope there is still an opportunity for us to rescue (those on board)," Malaysian Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein told news hounds.
The 34-year-old son of Malaysian security guard Subramaniam Gurusamy was on the flight to do business in Beijing for an oil company.
"My three-year-old grandson is asking: 'where is Dad?' We tell him father has gone to buy sweets for you," Gurusamy, 60, said as he broke down in tears.
"Please bring back my son. I am praying for divine intervention. That is the only hope we have."
Malaysia had opened a terror probe, joined by FBI agents from the United States. But the revelation of the identities of two men who boarded the flight using stolen European passports suggested they were young Iranian migrants seeking a new life overseas.
Interpol named the pair as Pouri Nour Mohammadi, 18, who was booked to fly on to Germany, and Delavar Seyed Mohammad Reza, 29, who was ticketed through to Denmark.
Reza's ultimate destination was Sweden, where he intended to apply for political asylum, according to Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet.
The two traveled to Kuala Lumpur from Doha on their real Iranian passports, and their identification was helped by relatives in Europe who reported them missing, officials said.
"It is part of a human-smuggling issue and not a part of a terrorist issue," Interpol chief Ronald Noble told news hounds in La Belle France, adding that the international agency was more and more "certain that these individuals are probably not terrorists."
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#1
"Seeking a new life overseas"....good a cover story as any, better than some. They check any bags when they presented their one-way tickets ?
#2
The investigating authorities have determined that none of the discovered oil slick nor alleged aircraft door came from MH370, + UW pinging hasn't picked up anything else, so the plane is officially considered as "vanished widout a trace" at this point, until further notice.
That leaves TERROR/HIJACKING-FOR-RANSOM + "HUMAN SMUGGLING" - this would infer a complex conspiracy where the plane, passengers, cargo + route were extensively studied or reviewed, as the plane would've had to be not only hijacked, but also flown under both radar + satellite noses + landed somewhere widout detection.
Are there any Current or Past-Certified Nuke-WMD
Specialists, etc. include Cargo on-board that would had made it important for a Terror Group(s) to attempt this endeavor???
Five suspects in the July, 2010 car bomb in Ciudad Juarez were released from prison after Mexican authorities said they had no role in the crime, according to Mexican news reports.
A news report which appeared in the online edition of El Diario de Chihuahua news daily said that representatives of the Procuraduria General de la Republica (PGR) or attorney general of Mexico said that not only were the five accused tortured into confessing the crime, they had no role in the crime.
The innocents were identified as Noe Fuentes Chavira, Rogelio Amaya Martinez, Victor Manuel Martinez Renteria, Gustavo Martinez Renteria and Ricardo Fernandez Lomeli, all from Chihuahua state.
The 2010 Ciuidad Juarez car bomb was the first car bomb used in the Mexican Drug War since the start in 2007, and the first of a series by other criminal groups in northeastern Mexico between that time and early 2011.
That attack which took place in Zone Centro of Ciudad Juarez took the lives of four, including one Policia Federal agent. At the time it was thought the explosive used was US made C4 plastic explosive, but it was later learned that the explosive was a commercial grade dynamite known as Tovex. Tovex is used extensively in mining operations in the sierras of western Chihuahua state as well as by Pemex, the state owned petroleum entity.
The Policia Federal unit operating in Ciudad Juarez was the target of the attack.
At that time the five were placed in preventative detention, which is a common practice for serious drug related crimes in Mexico. Among the crimes which landed the five in prison were possession of marijuana and possession of a weapon under the Firearms and Explosives Act, which prohibits anyone without explicit permission from the government from owning the same caliber of weapon used by Mexican security forces.
According to a lawyer with Centro de Derechos Humanos Paso del Norte (CDHPN) or Human Rights Center, Diana Morales said that the Istanbul Protocol was applied in the cases of the accused, and it was found that because torture could be proved, the five must be released.
Additionally, the document used to charge the five had already been filled out, dated August 11th instead of August12th, the date of the actual detention.
According to the account, the human rights office met with current PGR Jesus Murillo Karam and said that if any of the five had been subject to torture, then all must go free. It later transpired all five had been abused by Policia Federal while in custody.
The Guadalajara Juzgado Primero de Procedimientos Penales de Distrito ordered the release of the accused Thursday. Last Friday they left prison.
The complaint about torture had been filed a year ago.
The Policia Federal unit which was attacked by the car bomb had long been under suspicion in the press for illegal practices such as torture and abuse of authority. This writer saw news reports at the time including video which purportedly showed top local Policia Federal officials engaged in torture of suspects, but could not credit the information. Those officials also reportedly used drugs seized in other operations which were planted as evidence in other cases.
The practice at the time was so bad that the unit itself was under nearly constant attack from criminal elements in the city, one week suffering several attempted ambushes of their patrols, in which they lost three agents.
Finally, on August 8th a mutiny took place at the hotel where the unit was billeted, where the grievances were aired publicly. Two days later the entire unit was rotated out by air and replaced with a different unit.
Two months later, in October 2010 forty agents, presumably in that unit, were relieved of duty and imprisoned. The El Diario report does not say if the same Policia Federal elements were involved in illegally extracting confessions from the five accused.
The Juarez car bomb was an attack conceived by Jose Antonio Acosta Hernandez, AKA Diego, the prolific number two man in La Linea, the enforcement wing of the Juarez Cartel. Acosta Hernandez was busted in Chihuahua city by a Policia Federal special forces unit in the summer of 2011.
[Jihad Watch] This is a most positive development. Although Jews and Christians face the same fate under Islamic law Ā subjugation as dhimmis and denial of basic rights Ā the unhappy history of Christian anti-Semitism and the near-universal denial of the reality of the Islamic jihad, among innumerable other factors, have prevented the formation of any large-scale cooperative efforts. Freedom lovers may hope that this will be the beginning of much more toward that end. The 100 Arab Christians who signed up last year is at least a start.
[Libya Herald] A military force is to be formed to take on the federalists who have blockaded three of the country's eastern oil export terminals since August last year.
Head of the General National Congress (GNC) and temporary Commander-in-Chief, Nuri Abu Sahmain, issued resolution No. 42 of 2014 today, which will apparently see the process put into action within seven days.
The resolution authorised army units and revolutionary brigades from areas including Tobruk, Benghazi, Sebha, Sirte, Misrata and 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... to form a military force designed to bring back the oil export terminals under the control of the state authorities.
The move came after the federalist groups controlling the ports made their first illegal sale of oil. This was loaded onto a North Korean-flagged tanker on Saturday and Sunday at Sidra, although the vessel has not yet been able to leave because vessels under the control of the Navy and revolutionary brigades are blocking it from leaving.
A Congressman, speaking on condition of anonymity ... for fear of being murdered... , told the Libya Herald that the GNC Defence Committee held a meeting today to determine the tasks, which would include the use of force against the usurpers at the oil export terminals.
The General Chief of Staff, Jadallah Al-Obaidi, has been instructed to assemble and coordinate these forces, the Congressman said. He added that units from the new force would initially be located in Sirte, Ajdabiya and Jufra.
Under Article No.4 of the resolution, the Congressman said, the Prime Ministry and Ministry of Defence would be responsible for putting the operation into action.
Minister of Economy Mustafa Abufunas has estimated that the port closures, which have seen production plummet from over 1 million barrels per day (b/d) to around 300,000 (b/d), have caused financial losses in excess of $10 billion.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[DAWN] Chief of Pak Taliban's Mohmand Agency ... Named for the Mohmand clan of the Sarban Pahstuns, a truculent, quarrelsome lot. In Pakistain, the Mohmands infest their eponymous Agency, metastasizing as far as the plains of Peshawar, Charsadda, and Mardan. Mohmands are also scattered throughout Pakistan in urban areas including Karachi, Lahore, and Quetta. In Afghanistan they are mainly found in Nangarhar and Kunar... chapter Umar Khalid Khurasani Tuesday vowed to abide by the ceasefire negotiated between the government and Taliban despite the outfit's claim of killing 23 FC soldiers last month.
Peace talks between the two sides to end years of insurgency by Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP) had reached a deadlock after the killing of the soldiers.
In a written statement to the media, Khurasani said the outfit did not have any plan to attack former military ruler Gen (retd) Pervez Perv Musharraf ... former dictator of Pakistain, who was less dictatorial and corrupt than any Pak civilian government to date ... or anyone else for that instance.
Mohmand Taliban's chief, who in a chilling admission in February claimed the killing of the kidnapped Pak paramilitary soldiers, said the Death Eater outfit was obeying ceasefire as negotiated by the central leadership of the TTP.
He said security and intelligence agencies were misguiding people. "We abide by ceasefire and have no plan to attack Musharraf or anyone else," said Khurasani.
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[An Nahar] Worsening violence in Sudan's Darfur spilled over into the Sudanese capital, where a university student was killed Tuesday at a protest calling for peace in the troubled western region.
The unrest was the most serious in Khartoum since last September, when thousands of people erupted into the streets after the government slashed fuel subsidies.
In a statement on the Interior Ministry website, police did not say what killed the student at the University of Khartoum.
Police "got information that two students were maimed and taken to hospital. One of them died," said the statement.
It added that police had already pulled back after earlier firing tear gas when the demonstrators tried to move their rally off campus.
An Agence La Belle France Presse news hound saw police fire tear gas and beat some of the protesters when they attempted to take to streets outside the university.
Students retaliated by throwing stones at the officers.
"Peace, peace for Darfur!" they called, adding: "We want to bring the criminals to the ICC!"
One student, who asked not to be named, said one of his colleagues had been maimed in the leg and taken to hospital.
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#1
Students retaliated by throwing stones at the officers.
After successfully completing their course of study they will graduate to throwing grenades?
[Shabelle] According to news from Baardheere in the Gedo region under control by Al-Shabaab ... the Islamic version of the old Somali warlord... , report that this morning soldiers from the Somali Federal Government and the Kenyan Defence Forces under AMISOM attacked a base belonging to Al-Shabaab in Taraakoo, approximately 55km east of Baardheere.
It was also said that almost 10 battlewagons specifically designed to carry extremely heavy weapons left early in the morning from their military base in Faafax-Dhuun and headed towards Taraakoo.
No-one has reported any casualties during the attack against Al-Shabaab in Taraakoo of the Gedo region.
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[The Telegraph] The Lockerbie bombing was ordered by Iran and carried out by a Syrian-based terrorist group, a former Iranian intelligence officer has admitted.
Abolghassem Mesbahi, a defector to Germany, said Pan Am flight 103 was downed in 1988 in retaliation for a US Navy strike on an Iranian commercial jet six months earlier, in which 290 people died.
He claims the Ayatollah Khomeini, who was IranĀs Supreme Leader, ordered the bombing Āto copy exactly what happened to the Iranian AirbusĀ.
Previously unseen evidence gathered for the aborted appeal hearing of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, the former Libyan intelligence officer convicted of the bombing, supports Mr MesbahiĀs claim and suggests that the bombers belonged to the extremist group the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine Ā General Command (PFLP-GC).
Documents obtained by Al Jazeera television for a documentary called Lockerbie: What Really Happened? name key individuals said to be involved in the bombing, including the alleged bomb-maker, the alleged mastermind and the man who may have put the bomb on the doomed Boeing 747. New reporting and potential confirmation on an old theory.
#1
Visiting Dryfesdale cemetery many years ago, reminded me of my first visit to the Vietnam memorial. A strange combination of sadness, fear, and then anger. But much later, glad we had made the journey. Among the many dead, like Benghazi, were a few 'quiet professionals' trying to protect us from the scourge of Islam.
in addition, the Al Jaz types who did the investigation are working for a gang that wants to get the west to side with sunnis against shia islam and its allies
Posted by: lord garth ||
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[NY Times] The airport in the regional capital of Simferopol was closed on Tuesday to all flights except those heading to and from Moscow, in the boldest display yet of Russia's tightening control over Crimea.
The announcement that air links had been severed between Crimea and the Ukrainian capital of Kiev raised the possibility that the peninsula might be closed off indefinitely from the rest of Ukraine, and it immediately prompted a sellout of tickets for connecting flights on Aeroflot, the Russian national carrier.
Even as Russia consolidated its grip on the embattled peninsula, diplomatic efforts between the Obama administration and the Kremlin appeared stalled, with the two sides continuing to engage in menacing military exercises and trade threats of economic retaliation.
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#1
A serious blowback from the sizable non-Russian Ukrainian population in the Crimean Peninsula is expected and Putin is sealing off the peninsula to deal with it in a brutal way.
[Libya Herald] Petroleum Facility Guards (PFG) supporting Ibrahim Jadhran were forced from Sirte's Ghardabiya airbase and out of the town's Bu Hadi district today after they were attacked by troops from Misrata.
Military officials told the Libya Herald that the Libya Shield Central Brigade captured the base from the Jadhran forces which had taken it over last week. No one on either side was reported injured in the fighting.
The brigade had been dispatched from Misrata by the Chief of Staff specifically to spearhead an attack on Jedhran forces and liberate the oil terminals and fields, in line with orders from Congress to end to Jadhran's oil terminals blockade. The decision came in the wake of his moves to export oil from Sidra.
The takeover of the airbase by the PFG, arriving in 80 vehicles, was largely overshadowed by the oil tanker story.
There had been attempts to negotiate its departure by local elders but it had refused to leave. It was at this point that the Chief of Staff ordered the Misratans in. According to reports, the brigade, armed with tanks, technicals, canon and Katyusha rocket launchers, halted 50 kilometres west of Sirte for fresh negotiations. When these failed, a source in the brigade said, it attacked, capturing a number of PFG weapons in the process.
According to the source, part of the brigade is tonight stationed at Sirte's eastern entry awaiting reinforcements and instructions from the Chief of Staff to move to Sidra and then on to the other terminals controlled by Jadhran. The source added that the brigade could free the oil ports itself but was acting on the instructions of the Chief of Staff not to move until the arrival of reinforcements.
The force so far is put at 3,000 strong. Latest reports say that three Tebu units, one with 80 vehicles, arrived this evening in eastern Sirte to join it. Other troops are expected overnight, bringing the entire force to 5,000 by tomorrow.
Security in Sirte for much of last year was in the hands of the Zawia Martyrs' Brigade. A senior officer in the brigade, Colonel Jamal Al-Zahwi, is reported saying that when the Libya Shield force arrived in Sirte today it also attacked his headquarters. "We were surprised at this", he said, insisting that his men were under the command of the Chief of Staff. However, Switzerland makes more than cheese... realising their mistake, he said, the Misratan force apologised and left.
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[The Peninsula] Egyptian leaders should leave the door open for the outlawed Moslem Brüderbund to re-enter politics if the group accepts the constitution, former foreign minister and presidential candidate Jerry Lewis doppelgänger Amr Moussa ... who was head of the Arab League for approximately two normal lifespans, accomplishing nothing that was obvious to the casual observer ... said in a rare call for reconciliation.
Moderation has not exactly been in style in Egyptian politics since army chief Field Marshal Abdel Fattah Al Sisi ousted president Mohammed Mursi of the Moslem Brüderbund in July after mass protests against his rule.
Egypt's most organised political group has been devastated by a security crackdown. Hundreds have been killed in the street and thousands tossed in the slammer ... anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not... . Egyptian authorities have declared the Brotherhood a terrorist group and put its leaders on trial.
Veteran politician Moussa has thrown his weight behind Sisi, who is expected to announce his candidacy for the presidency in a few days and easily win elections due within months.
Asked if he thought Sisi would accept the Brotherhood in politics, Moussa said: "As long as they are following the rules, playing by the same rules as we are all playing, why should you exclude them?"
"The road is open for them, if they so decide. Field candidates, get into the parliament, the ball is in their court," Moussa told Rooters in an interview. "They should look to the future," Moussa said, which meant choosing "the right way" and working within the system.
As head of the body that rewrote Egypt's constitution, Moussa believes democracy includes roles for Brotherhood supporters, providing they peacefully abide by the new document approved by over 90 percent of voters in January. Many Islamists boycotted the referendum.
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#1
"They should look to the future," Moussa said, which meant choosing "the right way" and working within the system.
Or they can consult with ValJar and learn how to BECOME the system.
[reliably Democrat Chicago, aka The Windy City or Mobtown ... home of Al Capone, a succession of Daleys, Barak Obama, and Rahm Emmanuel,... Tribune] North Korea has developed sophisticated ways to circumvent United Nations ...a formerly good idea gone bad... sanctions, including the suspected use of its embassies to facilitate an illegal trade in weapons, a United Nations report issued on Tuesday said.
It said North Korea was also making use of more complicated financial countermeasures and techniques "pioneered by drug-trafficking organizations" that made tracking the isolated state's purchase of prohibited goods more difficult.
The report, compiled by a panel of eight U.N. experts, is part of an annual accounting of North Korea's compliance with layers of U.N. sanctions imposed in response to Pyongyang's banned nuclear weapons and missile programs. The panel reports to the U.N. Security Council.
"From the incidents analyzed in the period under review, the panel has found that (North Korea) makes increasing use of multiple and tiered circumvention techniques," a summary of the 127-page report said.
China, North Korea's main trading partner and diplomatic ally, appeared to have complied with most of the panel's requests for information.
Some independent experts and Western countries question how far Beijing has gone in implementing sanctions, although the report did not specifically address that issue.
Beijing has said it wants sanctions enforced.
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[Channel-24] Cape Town Ā South Africans are outraged after an American lawyer, Alan Dershowitz, called South Africa a "failed country" during an interview with Piers Morgan on CNN. Ja dis regs "Outraged"....but turning their Boerboel's out in the garden, bolting the door, and placing their loaded Kommando on the night stand before turning in.
"Oh please, Mr Doucheshowitz - maybe look at your own miserable country before calling other's a failing country you pompous self-righteous prick!" one YouTube user wrote in reaction to the interview. The YouTube user is clearly kak yapping. They'd be queuing up at Smuts to come here tomorrow if they had airfare.
Dershowitz, a well-known criminal lawyer who has been involved in several high-profile legal cases, lashed out at South Africa during an interview with Piers Morgan regarding the Oscar Pistorius case.
In the controversial video clip, Dershowitz says he has spent time in South Africa and it is a Āfailed and lawlessĀ country. Broken clock theory must certainly apply. However painful, give the man credit for telling the truth. The greater tragedy is HOW the country failed.
#7
Democracy is a rare animal. History is replete with various 'cracies in which the benefits go to the few. The absurd notion is that real democracy (vs 'Peoples Democracies') is natural and would flourish given with a nudge in the right direction. The only complaint of the usual suspects is not about freedoms and liberties, but who'll exercise the power as determined by some color, race, or creed factor.
[An Nahar] Two coppers guarding a polio ...Poliomyelitis is a disease caused by infection with the poliovirus. Between 1840 and the 1950s, polio was a worldwide epidemic. Since the development of polio vaccines the disease has been largely wiped out in the civilized world. However, since the vaccine is known to make Moslem pee-pees shrink and renders females sterile, bookish, and unsubmissive it is not widely used by the turban and automatic weapons set... vaccination team in northwest Pakistain were were rubbed out by gunnies on Tuesday, police said, the latest setback to efforts to eradicate the crippling disease.
Militant strikes and threats of violence have badly hampered a campaign to stamp out polio in Pakistain, which along with Nigeria and Afghanistan are the only countries where the disease remains endemic.
Tuesday's attack took place in the village of Gandi Umar Khan, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) west of the nearest city of Dera Ismail Khan ... the Pearl of Pashtunistan ... , on the second day of an inoculation drive, senior police official Sadiq Baluch told AFP.
Nisar Khan Marwat, another police officer, confirmed the attack, adding: "Two police officials were accompanying two local polio workers when four gunnies riding on two cycle of violences shot at them."
The copperswas struck down in his prime while the polio workers themselves were unhurt, he added.
According to an AFP tally, 54 people have been killed in attacks on polio teams in Pakistain since December 2012.
Pakistain recorded 91 cases of polio last year, up from 58 in 2012, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Victims are left dead, paralyzed or with withered limbs.
Pakistain's failure to defeat polio stands in stark contrast to its neighbor and great rival India, which recently celebrated the eradication of polio three years after its last case.
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[An Nahar] Three people were maimed on Tuesday when rockets fired from Syria landed in various Bekaa towns.
At least 4 rockets fired from Syria hit the al-Qantara area in al-Nabi Sheet's outskirts, said MTV.
The head of the Nabi Sheet municipality told LBCI that an elderly man was maimed by one of the rocket attacks.
Another rocket landed in a farm in the same town.
Later on Tuesday, state-run National News Agency said "Ali Zein al-Moussawi, his wife and one of their children were maimed when a rocket fell near the house of Hussein Qassem al-Moussawi in al-Nabi Sheet."
"They were rushed to the Riyaq Hospital," it added.
In the wake of the attack, President Michel Suleiman ...before assuming office as President, he held the position of commander of the Leb Armed Forces. That was after the previous commander, the loathesome Emile Lahoud, took office as president in November of 1998. Likely the next president of Leb will be whoever's commander of the armed forces, too... reiterated his call for "the warring parties in Syria to neutralize Lebanese border towns and villages and from their shelling."
And as he condemned the attack that "maimed Lebanese citizens and damaged houses and properties in the Bekaa towns of al-Nabi Sheet and Sirein," the president asked the Lebanese Army to "take all the necessary steps to defend frontier villages and to defend the innocent residents, who are paying with their lives and wealth for these conflicts."
On Sunday, a number of rockets fired from the Syrian side of the border landed in the northern region of Akkar.
On Saturday, rockets fired from Syria landed in the Bekaa regions of al-Hermel and al-Qaa.
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.
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[An Nahar] Pro-Moscow politicians in Crimea voted for independence from Ukraine on Tuesday in a precursor to a referendum this weekend for the region to become part of Russia.
The local assembly approved a "declaration on the independence of the autonomous republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol" with 78 out of 81 politicians present voting in favor.
The move by the parliament, which has been declared illegal by the new government in Kiev, appeared to be aimed at creating a legal framework for joining Russia as a sovereign state.
The parliament's press service said in a statement that independence would come into force after the referendum if the result is in favor of Crimea becoming part of the Russian Federation.
The declaration referred to Kosovo's separation from Serbia, adding that "the unilateral declaration of independence of part of a state does not violate any international laws."
If the referendum is in favor of Russia, "the republic of Crimea as an independent and sovereign state will apply to the Russian Federation to join it".
Later on Tuesday, pro-Kremlin snuffies ordered a suspension of all flights in or out of Crimea's main airport in Simferopol except those connecting to Moscow, an AFP news hound on the scene said.
Militants have taken over air traffic control at the airport and a flight that took off from Kiev on Tuesday was forced to turn back to the capital after being refused permission to land.
A militia member, Ivan, who declined to give his surname, told AFP: "Air traffic control has been taken over, as well as the runway."
He said the move was aimed at preventing activists from Kiev from coming to Crimea.
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[DAWN] Rahul Gandhi, the heir to the dynasty that leads India's ruling party, on Tuesday compared opposition leader Narendra Modi to Adolf Hitler ...late Fuehrer of Germany, founder of the Third Reich, currently communing with his pals Himmler and Heydrich. He is reincarnated every few days as a politician somebody doesn't like... - his sharpest attack yet on a rival who is forecast to beat him in an upcoming general election.
Modi, the pro-business candidate for prime minister of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has topped several opinion polls as the most popular choice to head the next government.
He has electrified the campaign with promises of getting India out of its economic downturn and creating jobs for its burgeoning young population.
But Modi's rivals say the chief minister of the western state of Gujarat ...where rioting seems to be a traditional passtime... is an autocrat who failed to stop religious riots in his state in 2002, in which more than 1,000 people,mostly Mohammedans, were killed.
He has denied wrong doing and India's Supreme Court did not find enough evidence to prosecute him.
In a speech in Modi's home state, Gandhi criticised the Hindu nationalist's development record and contrasted him with the type of leader who had founded modern India.
"There is another type of leader," Gandhi said, after describing independence hero Mahatma Gandhi.
"The biggest example is Hitler. Hitler, who believed that there was no need to learn from the people and who thought whatever happened in Germany was done by Hitler and that the people had nothing to do with it."
India's ruling Congress party has lost popularity after a decade in power marred by corruption. In recent weeks a string of leaders have compared Modi's rise to the emergence of fascism ...a political system developed in Italy symbolized by the Roman fasces -- thin reeds, each flimsy in itself but unbreakable when bound into a bundle. The word is nowadays thrown around by all sorts of people who have no idea what they're talking about... in Europe.
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An Australian vet clinic says it recently saved the life of Charlie, a Maltese terrier, by getting the little white dog completely drunk.
The vet determined Charlie had ethylene glycol poisoning, meaning the dog may have licked some antifreeze or brake fluid. When ingested, it causes kidney failure, which can be fatal.
Staff at the Animal Accident and Emergency animal hospital in Melbourne said the only way to save Charlie's life was to get him hammered on vodka.
"Alcohol alters the chemical reaction and stops the kidney failure from occurring," the clinic wrote in a blog post. "The easiest form of alcohol is vodka. In fact, for the whole weekend, Charlie had a huge party with us in the pet ICU."
Charlie recovered and was no longer showed signs of kidney failure, however the dog was "still nursing a hangover" when it went home.
#1
Since according to Vicktor Belenko, the hydraulic fluid in the MiG 29 is essentially refined vodka (de-icing issues), pretty much the sky's the limit.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
03/12/2014 7:17
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#2
Vodka has many uses, but most of those involve drinking and the occasional fire. We love the drinking use but did you know there are other house hold uses for vodka.
1. Odor Remover
Mythbusters showed how mixing vodka and water in a spray bottle can work great to get rid of odors in the house like smoke and sweat. There may be a scent of vodka in your house but we are cool with that.
2. Glass Cleaner
Taking that same vodka and water solution in a spray bottle can also be applied to clean glass for a streak free finish.
3. Homemade Extracts
You can use vodka to help make extracts of different flavors. Here is a guide to show you how to make vanilla extract.
4. Anti-Bacterial
Alcohol kills bacteria. So if you need to quickly sanitize your hands just douse them in some vodka. DonĀt touch your eyes afterwards though, ouch.
5. Natural Astringent
Clean up your complexion by dabbing a cotton ball in some vodka and using it to clean your face and tighten your pores.
#3
I recently heard a story of a recovering alcoholic who confessed to his old college roommate that he would fill up his cars windshield washer tank with vodka. He had a box of straws in the car and whenever he needed a drink, the check engine light "in his head" would come on and he would pull over for a little "roadside assistence".
Claims he made it through a number of traffic stops with law enforcement using this drunkards "one weird trick".
As I say, he's recovering now, and will be for the rest of his life...fessing up to his past deeds was part of his treatment.
[An Nahar] The major powers are locked in a race for influence in Leb's presidential elections as Michel Suleiman's ...before assuming office as President, he held the position of commander of the Leb Armed Forces. That was after the previous commander, the loathesome Emile Lahoud, took office as president in November of 1998. Likely the next president of Leb will be whoever's commander of the armed forces, too... six-year term nears its end, As Safir newspaper reported on Tuesday. Oboy. A rump parliament in Tripoli declares independence from Leb and joins the Soviet Union Russia.
The daily said that the United States is backing elections to choose a new president and has sent an envoy who has a specific mission to follow up the polls. Meanwhile, a lady who pegged out in her garage in 2008 is discovered to have voted Hezbollah in two or three elections.
But the report said that La Belle France, which is also expected to send envoys to Beirut, believes the current situation in Leb and the region is not encouraging, and that elections could not be held given the difficulty to reach an understanding between the Western countries and regional and local parties on a single candidate.
Gay Paree prefers Suleiman's term, which expires in May, be extended, according to As Safir.
Its stance is also backed 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... , the daily said.
It quoted however a U.S. diplomat as saying that Washington prefers the election of a new president even if he was a personality not allied with it.
Among the names making the rounds are Free Patriotic Movement Despite its name a Christian party allied with Hizbullah, neither free nor particularly patriotic... leader Michel Aoun ...a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hizbullah... and Marada movement chief Suleiman Franjieh, who are both members of the 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... -led March 8 alliance.
Other names include the March 14 camp's Phalange Party The Kataeb (Phalange) party was founded by Pierre Gemayel in 1936, who modeled the party after Spanish and Italian Fascist parties he had observed as an Olympic athlete during the 1936 Summer Olympics held in Berlin, then Nazi Germany. The movement's uniforms originally included brown shirts and members used the Nazi salute. Despite the party's uniform, its strong sense of nationalism and dedication to a single charismatic leader, the Lebanese Kataeb was not and never became a fascist party nor did it espouse a totalitarian ideology. chief and ex-President Amin Gemayel, and Lebanese Forces A Christian political party founded by Bashir Gemayel, who was then bumped off when he was elected president of Leb... leader Samir Geagea ... Geagea was imprisoned by the Syrians and their puppets for 11 years in a dungeon in the third basement level of the Lebanese Ministry of Defense. He was released after the Cedar Revolution in 2005 ... .
The presidential elections could be a topic of discussion between U.S. President Barack Obama Ready to Rule from Day One... and King of the Arabians, Sheikh of the Burning Sands Abdullah ... Fifth out of 37 sons of King Abdulaziz to ascend to the throne. He is, after his half-brothers Bandar and Musa'id, the third eldest of the living sons of Abdul Aziz ibn Saud. Abdullah's mother is from the Rashid clan, longtime rivals of the Saud. He has 6 sons and 15 daughters and about $20 billion. His youngest son is just seven years old... in Riyadh over the weekend, As Safir said.
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[Shabelle] 3 soldiers from the Somali Federal Government's Forces were killed today in the arena of the Police Academy in Mogadishu after the Military High Court received news of their actions and then after sentenced them the death penalty.
The convicted soldiers today were Mohammed Omar Adow (Mana Boolyo) who was found guilty of killing a journalist named Mustaf Hussein between Haawo Abdi and Afgooye in the Lower Shabelle region,Yahya Sheikh Abdullahi and Hussein Ali Ahmed who were security guards for the Members of the Somali Parliament and killed another officer in the Wadajir district.
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Voting records are raising questions amid an investigation into the discovery of a woman's mummified body in the garage of a foreclosed metro bankrupt, increasingly impoverished, reliably Democrat, Detroit ... ruled by Democrats since 1962. A city whose Golden Age included the Purple Gang... home.
The body found last Wednesday in Pontiac is that of Pia Farrenkopf -- according to her sister, Paula Logan. Authorities investigating the case haven't released her name, but they have said that the woman apparently died in 2008 at the age of 49.
According to a report in the Detroit Free Press, records show Farrenkopf as voting in the November 2010 gubernatorial election. Officials say, however, that it may represent an administrative error. Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard says the information must be checked out.
Farrenkopf's body was found March 5 in the back seat of her Jeep Liberty, parked in the attached garage of her home in the 1600 block of Savanna, near Walton Boulevard and Silver Lake Road in Pontiac. The discovery was made just after 5 p.m. by a contractor who was working at the home, which is going through foreclosure.
According to police, the electricity was still on in the house, but there was no heat. The home also has a large amount what appears to be black mold, police said, and is a HAZMAT situation.
The Oakland County Sheriff's Department is investigating the circumstances behind Farrenkopf's death. An autopsy didn't reveal any signs of trauma, police said, and a cause of death is pending. Investigators said the Jeep keys were in the ignition, which was in the off position -- likely ruling out the possibility of carbon monoxide poisoning.
Neighbors described Farrenkopf as a German immigrant who generally kept to herself and traveled frequently for work, often for weeks at a time, so no one thought anything of her absence. Some said it was probably six years since they last saw the woman, while others just assumed she had moved.
Police say Farrenkopf lived in the home by herself and had all of her bills -- including her mortgage and utilities -- automatically withdrawn from her checking account. Once her account was depleted and the mortgage payments stopped, the home went into foreclosure. Mail also never piled up at the house because Farrenkopf apparently picked it up at the post office.
#1
"others just assumed she had moved" I made a surprise visit to my high school class reunion 42 years after I moved out of town between 10th and 11th grades. One of my classmates told that at the time there was a rumor I had grown my hair long like the Beatles & had been expelled. That was more interesting than the truth.
#3
"said it was probably six years since they last saw the woman"
Yeah, that sort of follows, don't it? If, on the other hand, it was, say, three years, that needs to be looked in to.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
03/12/2014 7:13
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#4
"it may represent an administrative error"
Snickering was heard in the background...
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
03/12/2014 9:04
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#5
What did she do for a living (no pun intended)? She clearly had some means to have back account big enough to pay the bills for 60 plus months. Who keeps that kind of money in their checking account? How about the PO box? Pre-paid also? What about 6 years of mail filling up the flipping box? At what point does the Mail Box Express guy say something ain't right here? Her sister never stops by to say hi or share some marzipan? Weird story.
Posted by: Bangkok Billy ||
03/12/2014 9:08
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#6
Apparently the women took regular trips, so she would by routine have her mail held enough that the breakdown sorters wouldn't find a hold unusual. After a hold period (usually 30 days) the Post Office simply returns undelivered mail to senders. Hand stamped, plop, and out of the facility. No questions asked because enough people pack up and leave without notifying the Post Office all the time. The most important mail would have been those bills, but they were all shifted to autopay, to include the mortgage which would cover the insurance and taxes on the property.
She probably had the standard overdraft protection that shifted draining from checking to savings to cover bills.
If she died in 2008, that meant she went before the big housing implosion. So when the funds ran out for any mortgage, her property would be tied up with all those consolidations and proceedings with hundreds of thousands, eating up more time for processing the delinquencies in payments.
The interesting question this raises is how many 'autopay' dead are out there among the Social Security/Pension crowd. Money flows out and never stops. We get the stories about family members not reporting deaths to keep the checks coming, but there is no accounting in the system to determine this. Just imagine when one retires and moves overseas to compound that dilemma of verification.
#9
It appears you can go at least 5 years without filing or paying taxes before someone comes a knocking.
No work, no income generation other than interest on a savings account which would probably be negative due to covering several checking withdraws for bills. Again, 2008-9, a lot of people lost jobs. Any interest at the fed/state/local level to track the number of non-filers when no W2 form report shows up from prior employment in that period?
[DAWN] Chief Minister of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... Pervez Khattak told news hounds on Tuesday that his provincial government is ready to provide an office to the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP).
Khattak said that the KP government, which is led by the Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf ...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations.... (PTI), was willing to make any other arrangements if needed for the grinding of the peace processor.
"The federal government is heading in the right direction for peace talks," he said speaking to media representatives in the Assembly chambers.
When asked, Khattak said he did not know if his name had been suggested as a member of the Taliban negotiations committee.
The chief minister however said that the KP governor and representatives from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) should be included in the committee.
Khattak said the KP government would take parliamentary party leaders into confidence if peace talks fail.
No such proposal under consideration, Senate told
Meanwhile, ...back at the mall, Clarissa spent the day shopping for new underwear. Tonight was going to be a special occasion... the federal government informed the upper house of Parliament that no proposal was under consideration to open a political office of the banned hard boy organization in Beautiful Downtown Peshawar ...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire. .
Responding to a call-attention notice, Minister of State for Interior Balighur Rehman told the Senate that the government was pursuing the dialogue process to deal with the issue of terrorism.
He said the government was paying attention to the law and order situation in the tribal areas and taking necessary measures.
The minister of state said bully boyz will not be allowed to open up their offices.
Regarding the offer made by a provincial minister of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government to the Taliban to establish their office in Peshawar, Rehman said neither such proposal was under consideration nor a formal request in this regard has been received by the federal government.
The opposition did not find the answer of the state minister satisfactory and staged a walkout from the House in protest over the offer made to the Taliban by the KP provincial minister.
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[An Nahar] The Libyan parliament ousted 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... Tuesday after a tanker laden with crude oil from a rebel-held terminal broke through a naval blockade and escaped to sea.
The no-confidence motion was approved by 124 of the 194 members of the General National Congress, four more than the majority required, MPs said.
Zeidan, an independent elected with the support of liberals, has proved incapable of bringing to heel the myriad of former rebel militia that have carved out their own fiefdoms since the 2011 uprising that toppled the autocratic rule of Muammar Qadaffy ...whose instability was an inspiration to dictators everywhere, but whose end couldn't possibly happen to them... .
The premier was himself briefly kidnapped by former rebel militia in the heart of the capital last October.
In a new humiliation for his government, a North Korean-flagged tanker laden that had taken on a cargo of oil from a rebel-held terminal in the east slipped the warships deployed to intercept it and escaped to sea earlier Tuesday.
The Morning Glory, which docked in al-Sidra Saturday and is reported to have taken on at least 234,000 barrels of crude, is the first vessel to have loaded oil from a rebel-held terminal since the challenge against 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... authorities erupted last July.
Zeidan's government had threatened armed action, even an air strike, to prevent the tanker getting away with the oil bought from the rebels' self-declared autonomous regional government without the authorization of the state-owned Libyan National Oil Corp.
But bad weather prevented the small naval vessels -- mostly fast patrol boats -- from following the huge ship out into the Mediterranean from al-Sidra, MPs said.
"The oil tanker took advantage of poor weather conditions to head for the open sea. The ships that were surrounding it were not in a position to follow," one MP told Agence La Belle France Presse.
MPs voiced anger at the failure of Zeidan's government to make good on its threat to stop the tanker by force if necessary.
"The situation in the country has become unacceptable. Even those MPs who used to support the prime minister no longer have any alternative," MP Suad Gannur told AFP.
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Yeah, he's a POS, but he is their POS
Newly released public records show that the Department of the Interior knew in advance that two groups of aging veterans would be visiting the World War II Memorial on October 1, 2013, but they decided to barricade the premises anyway.
And we all saw how well that worked out...
Score: Obama administration 0, veterans 1.
According to emails obtained by National Review Online, the U.S. National Park Service employees were also constantly monitoring the news for any negative media attention. Moreover, the emails show that government shutdown exceptions were granted to National Park Service employees.
The Obama administration tried to make political hay out of the government shutdown by closing the National Mall and denying access to monuments, but the decision backfired when the veterans defied the signs and fences and entered the WWII Memorial. The vets were taking part in the Mississippi Gulf Coast Honor Flight, established in 2011 to help fly the state's WWII veterans to Washington, D.C. and to provide tours to monuments dedicated in their honor. These guys in wheel chairs deserve another medal or ribbon or something.
Obama told the American people that it was necessary to shut down the Mall and blamed Republicans for creating the hardships. However, the emails reveal that the Department of the Interior and National Park Service did not have to shut down the monuments but did so to make a point.
On September 30, Tom Buttry, a legislative correspondent in Senator Tom Harkin's (D-Iowa) office, stated that it would actually be easier and less costly to keep the mall open than to shut it down:
"While I understand that these memorials have remained accessible to the public during past shutdowns (I'd imagine with the mall being so open, it'd probably [be] more manpower intensive to try to completely close them), I wanted to do my due diligence and make 100 percent sure that people could visit the outdoor memorials on the National Mall in the event of a shutdown."
#2
Gov't agent provocateurs among the ranks of the aging veterans, and contract snipers indiscriminately shooting Park Rangers and visitors..... all that was really missing, or was it ?
#4
Indeed it might P2k. I'm just thankful none of those old veterans were arrested or injured. That might have been a bridge too far for the regime. A million or two armed and angry veterans descending upon Washington might have not been a desired outcome.
At least 11 people including seven Philippine soldiers were killed in a series of attacks that occurred within hours of each other. The attacks were launched by suspected members of the communist New People's Army (NPA) in Davao del Sur province in Mindanao, the military and police reported.
Provincial military spokesman Captain William Rodriguez said ten others were injured in the attacks, one of the deadliest staged by the NPA in Mindanao since their peace talks with the government collapsed. Rodriguez also acknowledged the seven soldiers killed including a junior officer, belonged to a team of reinforcements aboard a truck hit by a landmine believed to have been set off by the militants.
Regional police spokesman Chief Inspector Jed Clamor said about 50 heavily armed NPA militants wearing camouflage uniforms arrived in three vehicles and attacked the station after 4 a.m. on Monday.
Two of the 14 policemen at the station were killed and three others, including two detainees, were injured in the fierce encounter that ensued. In the pursuit operation, combined police and military teams killed two NPA militants and captured nine others.
At about 9 a.m. on Monday, a platoon of soldiers were dispatched aboard a military truck to reinforce their beleaguered colleagues. On the way, a landmine thought to have been planted by the militants along the road exploded, killing seven soldiers and injuring seven others, Rodriguez said.
Not a single vote has been cast against North Korean supreme leader Kim Pudge Jong-un ...the overweight, pouty-looking hereditary potentate of North Korea. Pudge appears to believe in his own divinity, but has yet to produce any loaves and fishes, so his subjects remain malnourished... in his first election to the Supreme People's Assembly, the highest legislative body in the communist nation.
The ballot to approve the new set of deputies for the legislature was cast Sunday. The vote, which analysts say is more a political ritual than an election by Western standards, is generally held once every five years.
In the previous elections, 687 deputies were chosen.
Kim had contested in his district located on the symbolic Mount Paekdu.
Voters have no choice who to vote for as there is only one candidate's name on the ballot for each district.
However, corruption finds a dozen alibis for its evil deeds... they have the choice of voting yes or no, and according to official accounts virtually all choose yes for Kim.
[DAWN] The Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) concluded its 191th meeting, here Tuesday with the ruling that the laws related to minimum age of marriage were un-Islamic and that children of any age could get married if they attain puberty.
At the conclusion of two day meeting, Chairman CII Maulana Muhammad Khan Sheerani noted that the laws related to marriage too were unfair and there cannot be any age of marriage.
However, death is not the end. There remains the litigation over the estate... he explained that there were two segments of marriage -- nikah and ruksati, while nikah could be performed at any age.
"Even the minors can have nikah but that has to be executed by the guardians," chairman CII said adding, "But ruksti could be executed only after attaining the age of puberty."
He said that the age of puberty varies from individuals to individuals and it was the responsibility of guardians to have ruksati soon the child attains the age of puberty.
"The laws limiting the age for both the segments of marriage are unIslamic and needed to be rectified," he added.
Officials told Dawn that the council members discussed various historic references related to marriage and concluded that each girl has different age of reaching puberty.
The officials were asked if the international conventions signed by Pakistain related to child marriage would be violated after this ruling by CII.
Responding to the query the official said that the international conventions cannot be in contradiction to the constitution of the country or Islam and if they were, those particular clauses would not apply on Pakistain.
The CII meeting also suggested to the government that 'nikah' registrars should have a certain level of qualification.
"Not everyone should be allowed to become a Nikah Registrar," Maulana Sheerani demanded the government, "While the fee for registration of Nikahnama should also be abolished."
The CII had on earlier day suggested the government to change Mohammedan marriage laws as it required Mohammedan male to seek permission from the previous wife or wives for another marriage.
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[DAWN] Member of the Taliban's mediating committee, Maulana Yousuf Shah said on Tuesday that the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain had decided to maintain its existing team for the dialogue process with the government, DawnNews reported.
Shah, after holding a telephonic conversation with Taliban leaders, announced that the existing committee would remain intact.
He further said that the Taliban were serious about talks and no demands were put forward from either sides as yet.
Meanwhile, ...back at the Hubba Hubba Club, Nunzio wondered: Where the hell was Chumbaloni? And where was his $600?... Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... on Tuesday chaired a high-level meeting to discuss matters related to internal security and the names of persons to be included in the government and Taliban mediations.
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[ABC.NET.AU] Clashes have erupted in Turkey after the death of a 15-year-old boy who has become a symbol of the protests that gripped the country last year.
Berkin Elvan, then 14, was on his way to buy bread in Istanbul when he got caught up in street battles between police and protesters on June 16.
He was hit in the head by a tear gas canister fired by police.
He slipped into a coma and became a rallying point for government opponents, who held regular vigils at the hospital where he lay in intensive care.
He died early on Tuesday morning, sparking festivities at the hospital, which police dispersed with pepper spray.
The death has also ignited new demonstrations across Turkey, another pre-election headache for prime minister Tayyip Erdogan, already battling a graft scandal which has become one of the biggest challenges of his decade in power.
Overnight police fired water cannon and tear gas in Ankara's central Kizilay square to scatter several thousand protesters who chanted: "Government of Erdogan, government of corruption, resign resign".
The police pursued the protesters into side-streets, where small festivities continued.
There was similar police intervention against thousands of protesters in Istanbul's central Istiklal street.
In the southern city of Adana, protesters threw stones and aimed fireworks at police lines as water cannon vehicles advanced against them, spraying water.
Large numbers also protested in the western cities of Izmir and Eskisehir in the most extensive protests since last summer's unrest.
Residents in some Istanbul districts banged pots and pans with spoons from the windows of their apartment blocks, reviving a form of protest popular last year.
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[E-PAO.NET] In a brazen daytime attack, Naxals today ambushed a security team killing 20 personnel including 11 of the CRPF and also a civilian in a chilling reminder of the 2010 massacre of 76 securitymen in the same area in the worst-hit Sukma district of Chhattisgarh.
The attack at 1015 am at 'Jeerum Nullah', 400 km from here, came when a contingent of 44 joint security forces personnel was trapped and struck by heavy fire and landmine blasts while it was out for an operational task in the jungles of Tongapal, close to the Dantewada and 'Jeerum Ghati' axis, notorious for Naxal violence.
The location of the major ambush by a large group of Naxals is close to the 'Jeeram Ghati' area in Sukma district in the Bastar region where the top Congress leadership of the state was wiped out by Maoists in May last year when they killed 25 people.
"11 CRPF personnel and four state coppers were killed.
Inspector Subhash of CRPF was leading the squad and he has also been killed," DIG (SIB) of Chattisgarh police Dipanshu Kabra told news hounds.
A civilian was also killed in the attack, he said, adding three people have been injured.
An assistant commandant rank officer of CRPF is also believed to among the victims, sources said.
Chhattisgarh's Additional Director General of Police (Intelligence) Mukesh Gupta said the joint team was attacked by a large group of Naxals numbering close to 100 .
A large manhunt has been launched to nab the attackers who escaped in the thick jungles.
It was not immediately known if the Naxals had suffered any casualties.
Police sources said the deaths of the securitymen were caused due to bullet injuries.
Chattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh has cancelled his scheduled programme and convened an emergency meeting of security officials in the state capital here.
"The area is heavily mined and hence reinforcements are treading cautiously," CRPF Inspector General (Operations) in Delhi Zulfiquar Hasan told PTI.
The incident took place in the same area where Naxals had killed 76 police personnel in April 2010, the biggest blow to security forces till this time in anti-Naxal operations.
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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.
[Ynet] 
"It appears that a rocket salvo came in response to the preventative IAF strike yesterday. we will continue stopping attacks and hitting those who wish to harm us, and will act against them with full force," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote on Facebook shortly after the rockets barrage.
There will be a 1hr dissertation in the Rantburg reading room entitled.... "Whey They Came Here" at 1500 this afternoon. 
First, moments ago, the US DOE announced in a shocking announcement that it would proceed with the first draw down and sale of crude from the US strategic petroleum reserve, the first since June 2011, in what it said was a "test sale to check the operational capabilities of system infrastructure", but is really just a shot across the bow at Putin for whom high commodity prices are orders of magnitude more important than how the Russian stock market performs. 
...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...
North Korea
Weather reporting indicates the Clackamus is well above flood stage. From the attached imagery, what other 'weighted' assumptions might we derive regarding local area travel ? 
North Korea
North Korea
Mohmand Agency
Jerry Lewis doppelgänger Amr Moussa
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
Michel Aoun
Samir Geagea
King of the Arabians, Sheikh of the Burning Sands Abdullah
Voting records are raising questions amid an investigation into the discovery of a woman's mummified body in the garage of a foreclosed metro 
North Korea
At least 11 people including seven Philippine soldiers were killed in a series of attacks that occurred within hours of each other. The attacks were launched by suspected members of the communist New People's Army (NPA) in Davao del Sur province in Mindanao, the military and police reported.
[DAWN] The Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) concluded its 191th meeting, here Tuesday with the ruling that the laws related to minimum age of marriage were un-Islamic and that children of any age could get married if they attain puberty.
Check out the inclusive CII group foto and story in 
Nawaz Sharif
