U.S.-operated drones carried out deadly missile strikes against suspected al Qaeda targets in Pakistan and Yemen on Friday, U.S. government sources said.
There was no connection between the targets in the two locations, other than the fact that both sets of militants who were attacked were believed to have had some connection with al Qaeda affiliates, according to the sources.
Reports from Aden said that at least five suspected al Qaeda militants traveling in a car in southern Yemen's Shabwa province were killed when a drone strike set their vehicle on fire. Maybe it was one of those clown cars, with 25 AQ's in it (I can dream, can't I?)
Witnesses said a second drone hit an empty building. Sometimes you miss. But at least it wasn't full of fluffy baby bunnies.
Olbermann fired again!!!
Current TV announced Friday it has fired Keith Olbermann and will replace him with former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer. Geeez, Keith...Spitzer! Spitzer, fer crissakes!!!
A statement from the network's founders Al Gore and Joel Hyatt said it had been founded "on the values of respect, openness, collegiality, and loyalty to our viewers. Unfortunately these values are no longer reflected in our relationship with Keith Olbermann and we have ended it." Sounds like Deja Vu all over again...
Politico said Olbermann was reportedly fired for failing to show up to work, "sabotaging the network" and attacking Current executives, according to a source. Sounds like Keithy's got that MO down to a science...
The left-leaning network, launched in 2005, indicated that Olbermann had failed to honor the terms of his five-year, $50 million contract, according to The New York Times. Don't worry, Keith. There's always.........
On second thought, start worrying.
#4
In other words, they discovered what the rest of us already know: he's a king asshole who thoroughly enjoys being Mr. Powerful over others. Not showing up to work? That's for the little people.
#5
It was unclear what caused Current to part ways with the brash TV host...
Actually, its crystal clear. Sure you're an ass Keith. But, that's not it. See theres plenty of successful asss in your profession. Hell, some of them are even much bigger ass's then you. Bottom line bub...youre simply not very good at what you do.
#6
I'll enjoy reading his "where are they now?" in 5 years. Douchebag deserves to be appearing in men's rooms at truckstops
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/30/2012 20:30
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#7
...what the heck did truckers do to deserve that? Now the Gary Glitter memorial holding cell room in the Bangkok airport, that's something about the proper level.
MIRAMSHAH: A US drone launched a missile attack on a militant compound in Pakistan's northwestern tribal region near the Afghan border early Friday, killing four insurgents, security officials said. First zapping in a couple of weeks. Spring Break's over?
The missiles targeted a house in a market area of Miramshah, the main town in North Waziristan, known as a stronghold of Taliban and al Qaeda-linked militants, they said. Sharpshooting a bit more than usual - targeting such a busy area. Wonder who they wanted.
"Two missiles hit a house and four militants were killed," a security official told AFP.
"The attack took place at about 3:00 am," he said.
Witnesses said the attack triggered a fire which destroyed the building.
The compound is located in the money changers market in the Miramshah commercial district. And all Jesus did was tip over their tables.
An intelligence official also put the toll at four dead and said two people were wounded. He said local people, including Pakistani Taliban, were engaged in rescue work.
French police have arrested at least 17 people early Friday morning over suspected links to militant Islamist circles in several cities across the country, including Nantes, Le Mans, Toulouse, and the suburbs of Paris.
Apparently the French didn't read the New York Times piece cautioning them about the imminent dangers of anti-Muslim hysteria...
Days after Sarkozy ordered a crackdown on Islamist extremists, France's DCRI domestic intelligence agency, along with the national police's elite RAID unit, conducted the raids across France.
Sarko definitely didn't get the memo...
Cédric Delage, the Toulouse regional secretary for the French police union, said the DRCI conducted the raids "to look for groups or individuals who may be dangerous to the French state."
Delage said it was still too early to say if there was a direct link between Friday's arrests and the Merah case. "Further investigation and questioning of the suspects will reveal more information in the hours to come," he said.
Friday's raids in Toulouse were concentrated in the suburb of Mirail. According to the website of Le Monde, the arrests led to the seizure of three Kalashnikovs, a pistol and a grenade, along with other arms.
Police also conducted raids in the western city of Nantes, home to the leaders of Forsane Alizza (Knights of Pride), a banned Islamist organization that French media reports have linked to Merah. According to one source, the arrests included Forsane Alizza's leader, Mohammed Achamlane.
Forsane Alizza was banned on February 29, 2012, by French Interior Minister, Claude Gueant. The group has been known for its provocative demonstrations, such as last year's protests against a French ban on worshippers praying in the streets.
According to researcher Jean-Yves Camus, Forsane Alizza is a group comprised mainly of young people who have been recently radicalized. He said, "Members of Forsane Alizza espouse jihadism and Salafism, but they have very little knowledge of Islam. They are primarily an attention-seeking group that wants to get noticed."
So apparently the combination of French socialist secular education, French socialist civil indoctrination, and French socialist society failed to prevent the 'radicalization' of French-born youts of Arab ethnic origin. Wonder what proportion of French socialists will admit publicly that their policies have failed?
Camus
No, not that one, another one...
said he observed a recent protest outside the Paris mayor's office against extremist Christians when Forsane Alizza members showed up in "Afghan outfits". He said, "They did not try to hide, but rather they wanted to be filmed and photographed as much as possible."
Forsane Alizza first made news in June 2010, when ten of its members organized a boycott of McDonald's in the central French city of Limoges, calling the US company a "slave of Israel". A few months ago also, the group burned copies of France's civil codes to protest the law banning the burqa.
#9
D'you suppose they'd been watching the arrestees all along, or did they find something really interesting on the computer and cell phone of the late, unlamented Monsieur Merah?
#11
I generally approve of France's efforts on WOT when they get riled up - they do a pretty good job. I think the general ridicule is over car-b-que season, when they let the Islamists burn each other out
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/30/2012 21:57
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Smart diplomacy
Former U.S. diplomat John Bolton alleged Thursday that the Obama administration leaked a story about covert Israeli activity in order to foil potential plans by the country to attack Iran's nuclear program. anything to avoid doing something to actually stop the mullahs from getting their bomb, huh, Jimmy ...er...Barack?
Bolton, who served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations in the George W. Bush administration, was responding to an article in Foreign Policy magazine that quoted government sources claiming Israel had been granted access to airfields in Azerbaijan -- along Iran's northern border.
The article did not state exactly what the Israelis' intentions were, but it suggested it could point to a possible strike on Iran.
"I think this leak today is part of the administration's campaign against an Israeli attack," Bolton claimed on Fox News. damn pesky Jooos won't commit suicide
The White House did not respond to Bolton's claims Thursday.
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/30/2012
08:54 ||
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#1
I ask you, whom can you beleive....the administration, or John Bolton.
#2
The administration is always very good about finding a way to be on both sides of an issue and giving its useful idiots sufficient cover to believe what they want to believe instead of the truth.
The IDF and Israel Police went on high alert Friday, imposing a full closure on the West Bank, limiting access to the Temple Mount and setting up checkpoints on roads near the Lebanese border ahead of expected protests marking Land Day and the Global March to Jerusalem.
Protests were taking place across the West Bank in Kalandiya, Bethlehem, Hebron, Nabi Saleh, Budrus and other villages. Israeli media reported that IDF troops fired warning shots toward protesters in the Gaza Strip who approached the closed Erez Crossing.
At the Kalandiya checkpoint Palestinian protesters were clashing with Israeli forces, making faces throwing rocks, rolling their eyes firebombs and grimacing fiercely burning tires. Security forces were using large amounts of tear gas, stun grenades, sound weapons and foul-smelling water to disperse the protesters.
Ah yes, the Eu de' Pondscum..
A large number of protesters arrived at the checkpoint from Ramallah. A number of protesters were injured and taken to local hospitals for treatment. Israel Radio reported that those taken to hospital were wussies lightly injured.
Lana Hamadeh, a Palestinian-Canadian from Ottowa,
She's not really a Canadian...
listed demands being made as part of the protest. One of nine delegates in the Canadian Global March to Jerusalem mission, Hamadeh said she and other protesters were demanding "the right of return for Palestinians and the protection of Jerusalem."
"Non-Jewish holy sites are at risk and the city itself is being ethnically cleansed," she told The Jerusalem Post. "We are asking for our right to re-enter Jerusalem and reclaim it for everyone, not just for Jews."
Preparations took place along all of Israels fronts. The IDF announced that Defense Minister Ehud Barak ordered West Bank crossings closed for a 24-hour period.
In Bethlehem, dozens of protesters were throwing stones at an IDF checkpoint after breaking through a line of Palestinian police. Earlier, PA security forces had blocked the protesters from approaching the checkpoint. The protesters stopped in front of the Palestinian police and sat in the road, chanting: "To Jerusalem, we will march."
Israel Police deployed large numbers of police and border police forces in and around Moshav Avivim near the Lebanese border Friday morning, ahead of the expected demonstrations. Security forces set up checkpoints to prevent protesters from encroaching on the Lebanese border, where at least 10 people were killed in clashes that erupted during last years Nakba Day commemorations.
A chief superintendent in the police's Northern District said the preparations were designed with lessons learned from the deadly events last year. Police were prepared for crow control, armed with tear gas and riot gear.
Police said they were coordinating with the army, who was in turn coordinating with the United Nations in Lebanon.
In addition, police came armed with a general's order that gives them the authority to prevent people from reaching the border in the case that clashes break out. Police did not begin stopping movement in the border area but said they were prepared to do so.
On the northern side of the border, the Lebanese Armed Forces and police were also out in force along the border and at the Beaufort castle, where protesters were gathering. Thousands were expected to arrive at the castle. UNIFIL was also said to be conducting patrols and monitoring activity along the northern side of the border.
IDF Chief of General Staff Benny Gantz toured the West Bank and Syrian border Friday morning ahead of the planned protests.
The IDF predicted protests in several Palestinian cities in the West Bank and at the Kalandiya crossing to Ramallah, north of Jerusalem. Officers from the Civil Administration contacted their Palestinian counterparts earlier this week in an effort to contain the protests and prevent them from escalating.
As part of preparations in the capital, police said they would limit the access of Muslim worshipers to the Temple Mount for Friday prayers. Only men over the age of 40 in possession of a blue Israeli identity card and women will be given access to the Temple Mount on Friday, in an attempt to limit disturbances.
Thousands of police officers will fan out across Jerusalem, with an emphasis on the alleyways of the Old City and crossings into the West Bank including the Rachel checkpoint to Bethlehem, said Jerusalem Police spokesman Shmuel Ben-Ruby.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/30/2012
08:25 ||
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#3
It ended ok, according to Ynet: one dead, between 50 and 150 injured -- depending on whether one believes Israel or the Palestinians --and no breaches of the borders. So much for marching to Jerusalem.
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- An Afghan policeman killed nine of his fellow officers as they lay sleeping in a village in the eastern Paktika province on Friday, police said, blaming the attack on the Taliban. Provincial police chief Dawlat Khan Zadran said the incident took place in Yayakhil town of Yayakhil district.
Bowal Khan, chief of Yayakhil district, identified the gunman as Asadullah, who goes by one name. He said the gunman was assigned to a small command post when he woke up at 3 a.m. for guard duty. He then used his assault rifle to kill the nine men sleeping inside the post, took their weapons and piled them in a pickup truck. According to Khan, Asadullah then sped away in the truck.
Khan said the victims included one of his brothers and the commander of the post, identified as Mohammad Ramazan. He said two of the dead were Ramazan's sons.
The motive for the killing was not known,
No idea at all...
but police in the area blamed the Taliban for the attack. Paktika is a stronghold of the Haqqani network, a Pakistani-based group with ties to the Taliban and al-Qaida. Although they mostly attack U.S.-led coalition forces, they have often carried out assaults and bombings against the Afghan army and police.
"This man is a coward. What he did is part of the Taliban conspiracy," Khan said.
Khan and Zadran said the killer's two brothers were being held for questioning.
Definitely time for the number seven truncheons...
It's Afghanistan. They probably don't have such specialized tools, making do with whatever they use to beat their donkeys.
So you're telling me that a five-iron just isn't available...
The village police is also known as the Afghan Local Police, or ALP. It is a village-level force that provides security in areas where the Afghan army and police cannot. The ALP is trained by the U.S. troops but commanded and run by the Afghan government and police.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/30/2012
08:22 ||
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The Philippine governments peace and development effort has gained ground in Mindanao as 45 alleged terrorists rebels belonging to three different guerrilla units voluntarily surrendered themselves to the government on Thursday in time of the 43rd anniversary of the communist-New Peoples Army (NPA), reported officials of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
Maj. Gen. Victor A. Felix, commanding general of the AFPs Northern and Northeastern Mindanao Fourth Infantry Division said the voluntary surrender was a triumph of the Filipino people, the success of Internal Peace and Security Plan."
During surrender rites, the terrorists rebels yielded 5 assorted high-powered firearms, 33 low-powered firearms, assorted live bullets and several improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
Click the link and see if you can identify what it was about their costume that gave them away. Oh! Oh! I know! Pick me! Pick me!
Seven of 'em, each pretty in his own special way. And you know the girls are going to be distinctly unhappy when their dresses are kept for evidence...
#1
That facial hair clashes horribly with their dresses. Amazon sells battery powered depilators suitable for facial hair, but perhaps in this case waxing might be called for. A harsh experience, to be sure, but then if Western women can manage bikini waxes no doubt these Lions of Islam can manage the pain on their chins.
Posted by: john frum ||
03/30/2012 8:53
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#3
Here are a couple of quotes about this from my favorite Foreign blog http://www.eureferendum.com/....(note Galloway is in no way supported here for his left-wing lunacy)
The difference here, from many other contests, is that by some mysterious and unknown chemistry, Galloway came over as a winner. People actually believed he could win and, in believing he could, made it so. And that is how perilously thin stand the political classes in this country. They win elections on tiny fractions of the popular vote, out of habit because that is the way of things.
But then along comes a maverick, a man who says it ain't so, and they believe him. And that much tells us all about the state of this country and the media.
and....
While the prattlers focus on their London-centric soap opera, the bubbling, seething resentment out in the real world catches them by surprise.
Finally.... the vote tends to be less a positive endorsement of any clear-eyed political agenda than simply a 'screw you' to the three big parties which once claimed to represent the political spectrum".
So the question is "Can something like this happen here? Is the population getting to the point of no return with the political class?"
#8
I think you folks are missing the main point. Try reading the whole post.
Forget that it's Galloway. This is a revolt against the entire political class where there's no difference among Tories, Labor or Lib Dems cause they are all beholden to the EU and the banking class. People are fed-up and this was about the only way to show it, by voting for the most outrageous entry. Could they have voted BNP or UKIP? Probably, but, GG captured the imagination. I think that he was elected, largely, by the same spasm that got Obama elected and Scott Brown.
I think that there is a great reservoir of dislike for the political class that the MSM refuses to report on even if they could identify it. They can't and won't cause the MSM is part of the political class. We'll see if a real charismatic maverick appears. If so I think things could get very interesting.
Maybe you can take it with you. With the new bacon coffin, you'll spend eternity with your favorite cured meat. What could be better? A whole mausoleum made out of bacon? But that could create other problems. I understand that the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus was made out of bacon.
Though not literally made from bacon, the bacon coffin is painted to look as if it is covered in savory strips. An article from Seattle's King5.com reports that local company J&D's Foods created the casket. This isn't the first time the company has found inspiration in bacon. J&D is also responsible for unleashing Bacon Salt and Baconnaise on the world. Did they invent the bacon bra, too?
A bacon coffin doesn't come cheap -- $2,999.99 plus shipping. But the interior does come with a bacon memorial tube and a bacon-themed air freshener. So you'll have that going for you ... which is nice. There are rumors that Osama was buried at sea in one of these.
SILIVRI, Turkey: Turkish prosecutors demanded 15-20 year jail sentences for 364 serving and retired military officers at a coup plot trial on Thursday, marking a dark day for a military that until recently held the power to make or break governments.
General Cetin Dogan rose from his chair in fury and followed the action of ex-armed forces commander general Ilker Basbug, who stormed out of a separate coup plot trial on Tuesday at a nearby court room in the Silivri top security prison.
Both are accused of leading roles in separate coup plots, one named Sledgehammer and the other Ergenekon, against Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan. They deny the accusations and view them as a slur on the armed forces whose power over political life has been dramatically cut back since Erodgan took office.
Basbugs trial resumed in dramatic fashion on Thursday when a family friend first collapsed in the courtroom, then regained consciousness, shouting the Pasha must walk free! as he lay on the floor. Pasha is the old Ottoman term for a general, used in affection for an army long regarded as guarantor of democracy.
How can this be done to a chief of staff? These courts will apologize in the end, they should be ashamed! he shouted, prompting Basbugs wife to admonish him for causing a scene.
Basbug, dressed in a black suit with a Turkish flag pin in his lapel, appeared to have tears in his eyes as he looked on while a doctor administered first aid to his friend before he was stretchered to an ambulance. After a brief recess that hearing resumed.
Hours later, Dogan, former commander of the elite First Army, marched out of his trial as the prosecutor began his final arguments, demanding 15-20 year jail terms for the 365 people, all but one military.
Some 250 of the defendants are already in jail pending a verdict.
There are witnesses that have not been heard, experts have not been called to the court, Dogans lawyer Celal Ulgen told Reuters. The part of the trial which showed last longest is being finished off in a rush.
We are of the view the proceedings have not been just.
Sledgehammer dates to 2003, a year after Erdogan was first elected, stirring secularist fears of an Islamist takeover. It allegedly included plans to bomb historic mosques in Istanbul and trigger conflict with Greece. Defendants say the prosecution documents were part of a war game scenario used in a military seminar and that other documents were faked.
Ergenekon, which has brought the arrest of hundreds of academics, journalists and businessmen as well as military, involved plans for a campaign of disinformation, bombing and assassinations intended to trigger an army coup.
The military has toppled four governments in the past 50 years in coups that ranged in nature from violent takeovers with killings and executions to the more subtle behind-the-scenes action that eased Turkeys first Islamist-led government from power in 1997. Advocates of the army argue they have saved the country from chaos while critics say repeated interventions have deformed and undermined democratic development.
Lawyers involved in the Sledgehammer case told Reuters the prosecutor read only a summary of his 920-page final arguments. Some lawyers expected a verdict within around 10 days, although others said the process could be stretched out further.
Dogan lawyer Ulgen said defense lawyers had refused to take part in Thursdays hearing, arguing that their right to a fair defense was being violated.
He said forensic tests of CDs presented as prosecution evidence showed they could not have been produced before 2007, four years after the alleged coup plot, but the court refused to take those tests commissioned by the defense into consideration.
General Dogan has been in jail since early 2010 and unsuccessfully campaigned for a seat in parliament at last years general election.
Among the other high-profile defendants are military academies commander General Bilgin Balanli, retired air force commander Halil Ibrahim Firtina and retired navy commander Ozden Ornek.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/30/2012
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[Emirates 24/7] A Cairo court sentenced former Housing Minister Ibrahim Soliman to eight years in jail on Thursday and fined him 2.18 billion Egyptian pounds ($360.9 million) for squandering public funds in two separate real estate deals.
The court also sentenced Magdi Rasekh, father-in-law of ousted President Hosni Mubarak ...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011... 's eldest son Alaa, in absentia to five years in jail and fined him 2.34 billion pounds in connection with one of deals.
The cases against Soliman, minister from 1993 to 2005, and Rasekh were first referred to the public prosecutor in May.
They were convicted of selling state land to businessmen for less than their market value. The fines included compensation to the state as well as penalties.
They will not be required to return the land, much of which has been developed and sold on to other people.
Rasekh had been board chairman at property developer SODIC , but stepped down last year, adding to a list of resignations at property firms scrambling to distance themselves from the country's deposed president.
Six other businessmen and state employees were also sentenced and fined in the case.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2012
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#1
8 years for graft in housing W-T-F how come he isn't working in Washington D.C. at Sallie Mae or something. What about everyone else in housing and Egypt?
#2
ION EGYPTIA DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > US JUST GAVE EGYPT US$1.3BILYUHN - POLL SAYS [most] EGYPTIANS DON'T WANT IT, i.e. don't want any kind of US Financial Assistance.
Well alrighty then - the Bammer can now give every American a cash-back tax rebate this year???
[Bangla Daily Star] The International Crimes Tribunal-1 yesterday received statements of 15 prosecution witnesses, given to an investigation officer, as evidence against Jamaat leader Delwar Hossain Sayeedi. ...Islamic orator and politician. He was a former Member of Parliament in the National Assembly of Bangladesh from 1996 to 2008, and is one of the most prominent leaders of the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami... It refused to do the same for 31 other witnesses.
The three-member tribunal in the order said the remaining 31 witnesses' situation was different and they did not come into the purview of a relevant law under which the other statements were taken in as evidence.
Meanwhile, ...back at the laboratory the fumes had dispersed, to reveal an ominous sight... the prosecution says that it will bring forth only one more witness before the tribunal prior to finishing off with prosecution witnesses.
The defence is, however, unhappy with the court's order and said it would file a review petition against the order.
The prosecution in a prayer on March 20 said it would not be possible to produce 46 prosecution witnesses against Sayeedi as they were either very sick or could not be found. It had claimed that 19 of those witnesses were key eyewitnesses to war crimes committed by Sayeedi during the Liberation War.
It had appealed that the statements of 46 witnesses made before an investigation officer be taken in as evidence.
The prosecution has so far produced 27 witnesses before the court.
Sayeedi, who is facing 20 charges of crimes against humanity, was produced before the tribunal yesterday. He is among six Jamaat and two BNP leaders facing war crimes charges at the tribunal.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2012
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[Yemen Post] A Gulf diplomat has said that the existence of the former president President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh ... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, but he didn't invite Donna Summer to the inauguration and Blondie couldn't make it... as the head of the General People Congress was debated, pointing out that pressures exerted to remove him from the GPC presidency.
The Sana'a-based Akhbar Alyoom Newspaper quoted a high-ranking diplomat as saying that the Gulf States that oversaw the Yemeni political settlement realize that Saleh poses an obstacle for the Yemeni interim government.
He revealed that ambassadors of Gulf States, the UN Security Council Prominent Members and EU informed leaders of the General People Congress desire to make changes inside the party including the election of a new head instead of Saleh.
The diplomat affirmed that any side that will try to hamper the GCC-mediated power transfer initiative will face severe sanctions, stressing that the impediment of the deal will endanger the regional and international peace.
He urged all sides to commit to the deal and its implementation mechanism, pointing out that the deal is considered the only way to take Yemen out of its current crisis and security deterioration.
The diplomat further referred that the GCC States closely watch Yemen updates regarding the deal, asserting that the deal meets the ambitions of the Yemeni people.
He reiterated that the GCC ambassadors to Yemen realized that President Abdu-Rabo Mansour Hadi and the consensus government face a great deal of impediments and challenges, hinting that the military reconstruction is among the most challenging issues.
The countries overseeing the GCC-mediated power transfer deal have called all Yemeni parties to commit to the GCC agreement signed in last November, cautioning against any attempts to impede the deal.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2012
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[Shabelle] UKdiplomats are investigating reports that a British man has been locked away inSomaliaon suspicion of links to the Islamist rebel group al-Shabaab. ... Somalia's version of the Taliban, functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda... The 45-year-old was held at the airport in the capital, Mogadishu, yesterday after travelling from the UK via Nairobi in Kenya, according to reports.
He is alleged to have told immigration officials he was planning to go to Kismayo in southernSomalia, a port city held by al-Shabaab, which is affiliated to al Qaeda.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) said it was aware of reports about the Briton's arrest.
Britons are thought to make up about a quarter of the estimated 200 foreigners fighting with al-Shabaab inSomalia, according to a recent Royal United Services Institute report.
The FCO advises against all travel to war-tornSomalia.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2012
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[An Nahar] An Indian citizen faces 75 years in jail in the United States after being found guilty by a Manhattan federal court of plotting to sell weapons to Hizbullah.
Patrick Nayyar, 48, was found guilty of five counts related to the support he attempted to provide to Hizbullah after a week-long jury trial before U.S. district judge Robert Sweet.
The five counts carry between five to 20 years imprisonment and in all Nayyar faces a maximum sentence of 75 years in prison when he is sentenced on Sept. 25.
According to the indictment, the Indian man and his co-conspirator Conrad Stanisclaus Mulholland agreed to provide arms, ammunition and vehicles to the Lebanese party between July and Sept. 2009.
During several meetings with an undercover FBI informant, Nayyar and Mulholland provided him with a handgun, a box of ammunition and a pick-up truck.
Last week, the jury listened to a recording of Nayyar agreeing to refer to Hizbullah as "the brothers."
Prosecutors broadcast the conversation.
"Listen, we don't have to keep repeating the name Hizbullah," the informant, a man named Ali, says to Nayyar, who then agrees.
Mulholland, 45, is currently on the lam.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2012
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[Dawn] US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Martin E Dempsey has said that he had spoken with the Pakistain Army chief at least five times since the November 26 cross-border NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions... air raid that left 24 Pak soldiers dead.
Dempsey was responding to questions on the meeting in Pakistain Wednesday where General James Mattis, commander of the US Central Command and General John Allen, commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, met Pakistain Army Chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani ... four star general, current Chief of Army Staff of the Mighty Pak Army. Kayani is the former Director General of ISI...
According to the American Forces Press Service, Dempsey was pleased about the recent meeting between US and Pak leaders.
"We want to rebuild the trust and confidence between our two militaries," Dempsey told news hounds travelling with him in South America.
The Paks want to reset military-to-military relationship with the US, said Dempsey. This includes working the border issues with the Paks and reopening the ground supply lines through Pakistain to Afghanistan, he added.
Moreover, the US general said he believes the two militaries can also discuss what must be done in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas to improve the situation in both Afghanistan and Pakistain.
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03/30/2012
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Helena Mattsson aka Rebecca in "Iron Man 2 (2010)" aka Lelle in "Nobody (2009)" aka Tanya in "The Babymakers (2012)" aka Sylvia in "Melvin Smarty (2012)(post-production)" aka Tess in "Audrey (2012)(post-production)" aka
Alexis Blume in "666 Park Avenue (2012)(TV movie pre-production)" (age 28)
[Dawn] Ahl-e-Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ) leader Maulana Mohammad Ahmed Ludhianvi was released from police custody on bail in the early hours of Wednesday.
He had been jugged in the Industrial Area cop shoppe on Tuesday night under PPC 188 (on violation of Section PPC 144).
Earlier, politician Ijazul Haq, ASWJ leader Fazalur Rehman Khalil and Abdullah Gul, son of Lt-Gen (retired) Hamid Gul The nutty former head of Pakistain's ISI, now Godfather to Mullah Omar's Talibs and good buddy and consultant to al-Qaeda's high command... , brought Maulana Ludhianvi to the cop shoppe after getting assurance from the police and administration that he would neither be placed in long-term storage nor jugged. But, legal formalities would be carried out for face saving of the police and administration, it was decided.
The police started the paperwork but haven't done much else and the city administration later granted him bail. However, a good lie finds more believers than a bad truth... when Interior Minister Rehman Malik Pak politician, current Interior Minister under the Gilani administration. Malik is a former Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) intelligence officer who rose to head the FIA during Benazir Bhutto's second tenure. He later joined the Pak Peoples Party and was chief security officer to Bhutto. Malik was tossed from his FIA job in 1998 after documenting the breath-taking corruption of the Sharif family. By unhappy coincidence Nawaz Sharif became PM at just that moment and Malik moved to London one step ahead of the button men. got information about the bail, he blocked the bail orders.
Delay in the release of Maulana Ludhianvi provoked the activists of ASWJ, who created law and order situation on I.J. Principal Road and set tyres on fire.
After offering Tahajud prayers, Maulana Ludhianvi inquired from the police as well as the administration about his release, but he got no reply and continued to remain in detention till Fajr prayers.
After the activists started marching towards the cop shoppe from I.J. Principal Road, the interior minister was approached by the administration and police and informed about the consequences of detaining Maulana Ludhianvi.
On getting permission from the minister, a court was set up in the cop shoppe which heard the proceeding of the case registered with Industrial Area cop shoppe. A lawyer argued the case and later Maulana Ludhianvi was granted bail on two
surety bonds each worth Rs50,000.
The office of the city administration was also opened to issue the bail orders with the official seal of the officer concerned, and finally Maulana Ludhianvi was released.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2012
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Police fired water cannon and tear gas at a crowd of several thousand demonstrators protesting for a second day in the Turkish capital on Thursday against an education bill which secular parties say is designed to promote Islamic schooling.
A Rooters witness said protesters threw stones at riot police as they moved in to break up the demonstration after refusing the group's request to march on parliament in the center of Ankara. There were further festivities in side streets.
There were no reports of detentions or casualties among protesters, including many civil servants and teachers, at the rally organized by the KESK public workers union confederation.
Parliament is hotly debating a bill overturning a 1997 law, imposed with the backing of the military, which extended compulsory education to eight from five years and stopped under-15s attending religious "imam hatip" schools.
Parliamentarians on Thursday accepted a proposal from Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's AK Party to offer optional courses on the Koran and the Prophet Mohammad's life for middle and upper school pupils - from about 10 to 18 years old.
...I caught up with the 35-year-old would-be spy on Wednesday at the Washington mission for the Palestine Liberation Organization. She was interviewing for a job there in government and press relations.
#5
I never know where to post. I initially posted under fifth column.
It's still Fifth Column, newc. But I moved it from WoT to WoT Politix because no weaponry or arrest authority was involved -- think blood, guns, explosions as a guideline. ;-)
[Emirates 24/7] Pakistain sacked on Thursday a government surgeon recruited by the CIA to help find the late Osama bin Laden ... who is no longer with us, and won't be again... , officials said, amid calls for him to face treason charges.
Doctor Shakeel Afridi, who is in jug, was fired on disciplinary grounds by the government in northwest province Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... , where bin Laden was killed during a clandestine US raid last May that humiliated Pakistain.
"The government of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa has issued a notification of dismissal of Dr Shakeel Afridi," provincial health secretary Ashfaq Khan told AFP.
Seventeen other medics who worked on the same fake vaccination programme set up by the CIA in a bid to confirm the Al-Qaeda chief was living in the city of Abbottabad ... A pleasant city located only 30 convenient miles from Islamabad. The city is noted for its nice weather and good schools. It is the site of Pakistain's military academy, which was within comfortable walking distance of the residence of the late Osama bin Laden.... have already been sacked from their government posts, he added.
Fifteen women health workers were dismissed last August, and a woman doctor and an assistant coordinator were sacked on March 17, Khan told AFP.
Afridi, who worked for years as a government surgeon in the lawless tribal district of Khyber, is in police custody and a panel investigating the bin Laden raid has recommended that he be put on trial for treason.
Pak officials believe Afridi may have known about bin Laden's presence in Abbottabad and shared the information with US intelligence agents.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2012
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#1
It is only treason, if Pakistan states that they were hiding bin Ladin
#2
Seventeen other medics who worked on the same fake vaccination programme set up by the CIA in a bid to confirm the Al-Qaeda chief was living in the city of Abbottabad
There are many cities in Pakistan. One must wonder how Abbottabad was selected for such a ....."vaccination program." Appears Doc Afridi was thrown under the bus.
A French beturbanned goon was allegedly involved in last week's kaboom at Indonesia's Embassy in Gay Paree, a top anti-terrorism official said Thursday, citing intercepted emails and online chats.
The package bomb that went kaboom! March 21 did not cause any injuries or major damage to the building.
BRUSSELS: The Council of Europe has found NATO largely responsible for the deaths last year of 63 Libyan migrants whose boat was left to drift at sea unaided, and warned that those to blame could face legal action.
After a nine-month investigation into the deaths of those and hundreds of other migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe, the human rights and democracy group concluded that NATO had failed to respond adequately to a boat in distress.
The rubber dinghy, packed with 72 people, left Libya in March 2011. After running out of fuel, it drifted off the coast for two weeks while most of those on board died of starvation and thirst, before floating back to Libya with only 9 survivors. The boat sent repeated distress signals, but received no help although ships under NATO command were in the area.
Vessels under national or NATO command failed in their duty to rescue a boat in distress, the Council of Europe wrote in a 26-page report released on Thursday.
There was a failure by NATO and individual member states involved in planning Operation Unified Protector off the Libyan coast, wrote Tineke Strik, a Dutch senator, adding: NATO did not fully take up its responsibilities, with communications about the boat in distress not being forwarded by NATO headquarters in Naples to vessels under its control.
The report also quoted a reliable source as saying that two naval vessels involved in NATOs operations against Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi were near the boat when the distress call was sent, as were two fishing vessels.
The 28-nation military alliance said in a statement it had received a general notice from Italian authorities about a small boat in difficulty and had sent that message to all NATO ships, following usual practice. It denied any contact had been made between NATO and the distressed boat.
We have no record of any NATO aircraft or ship having seen or made contact with this particular boat, said NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu, adding that NATO had conducted many other rescue operations in the area at that time.
Throughout our arms embargo mission last year, NATO ships and aircraft directly assisted in the rescue of over 600 people, and helped coordinate the rescue of many others.
At its meeting in Brussels on Thursday, the Council of Europe adopted a resolution calling on NATO to release satellite imagery from the area in an effort to pinpoint which military units came across the boat. These photos could be used as a basis for legal action against whoever was responsible for ignoring the migrants calls for help, the Council said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/30/2012
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#1
who the f*ck does the "Council of Europe" think they are?
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/30/2012 10:28
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#2
The New Holy Roman Empire...
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/30/2012 12:44
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[Emirates 24/7] A bid to release a Swiss woman kidnapped in Yemen has suffered a blow after her abductors made excessive demands, including for the late Osama bin Laden ... who is currently warming his feet by the fire with Hitler and Himmler... 's widows to be freed, a tribal chief said on Thursday.
Al Qaeda forces of Evil kidnapped the woman on March 14 from her home in the Red Sea port city of Hodeida, where she had been teaching at a foreign language institute.
She was taken to far eastern Shabwa province.
Tribal chief Ali Abdullah Zibari said, however, that mediation efforts had so far failed because of excessive demands placed by her captors, including the release of bin Laden's widows held in Pakistain.
Zibari said the Islamic snuffies also demanded the release of several women held in Iraq and Soddy Arabia in return for the Swiss captive.
"Their initial demands for the release of (former Al Qaeda chief) Osama bin Laden's wives held in Pakistain were rejected by Yemeni officials last week," Zibari told AFP, adding the group then placed new conditions for the Swiss woman's return.
"Now they're demanding the release of 100 Al-Qaeda affiliated forces of Evil from Yemeni jails and 50 million euros ($66 million)... at which point the mediation efforts failed because of the prohibitive demands," he said.
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03/30/2012
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[Dawn] A tribal jirga, comprising elders of Bara tehisl of Khyber Agency, has failed to convince Mangal Bagh ...a former bus driver, now head of the Deobandi bandido group Lashkar-e-Islam and the Terror of Khyber Agency... , head of a banned beturbanned goon organization, to shun violence and surrender unconditionally.
Sources told Dawn that members of the jirga remained at Qazi's guesthouse an undisclosed location in Tirah for almost three days and returned to Bara on Tuesday empty handed owing to the rigid attitude of Lashkar-e-Islam chief Mangal Bagh.
They said that the jirga had the backing of local political administration and an important personality of Bara. However, denial ain't just a river in Egypt... Bakhtiar assistant political agent, denied having any knowledge of the visit and efforts of jirga.
According to sources, Mangal Bagh told the jjrga members in plain words that he would not agree to any peace initiative until security forces stopped the ongoing operation against his organization and released all his tossed in the slammer colleagues.
The jirga members urged Mangal Bagh to open a channel of negotiations with government so that the ongoing operation could be halted temporarily. Mangal Bagh, however, rejected the proposal and demanded a ceasefire and release of all his group members.
The jirga members were not willing to disclose their identity and outcome of their three-day parleys with Lashkar-e-Islam chief, sources said. It is yet to be known whether they will go to Tirah again with some new proposals or will end their efforts.
It is pertinent to mention here that security launched a military operation against Lashkar-e-Islam last year in Bara tehsil of Khyber Agency.
Thousands of Bara people have shifted to Jalozai camp in Nowshera owing to the ongoing militray operation.
The Zakhakhel rustics have also raised an armed force against Mangal Bagh. Both the groups have been engaged in fierce festivities. Each of the groups makes claims about inflicting losses on its rival and capturing bunkers from it.
It was reported in some sections of media last week that Mangal Bagh was killed in a clash in Tirah valley of the tribal region.
Even the federal minister for interior had warned other gun-hung tough guys that they would meet the fate of Mangal Bagh.
Dawn has learnt from reliable sources that some commanders of Haqqani group are busy in negotiating a peace deal between Lashkar-e-Islam and its opponent Tawheedul Islam, mostly comprising of Zakhakhel rustics.
The secret negotiations are said to be underway at Qazi's guesthouse an undisclosed location for the last four days with no positive outcome so far.
Meanwhile, ...back at the laboratory the fumes had dispersed, to reveal an ominous sight... security forces blew up the Gud Malang base of Lashkar-e-Islam in Meelwaat area of Akkakhel in Bara on Wednesday. It was for the third time that the said so-called base was dynamited by the security forces.
Forces also destroyed the house of Shoaib in the same area during a search operation. Officials said that they faced no resistance during the daylong operation.
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03/30/2012
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[Dawn] Suspected Orcs and similar vermin blew up a gas pipeline at Ring Road in the limits of Bana Mani cop shoppe here on Wednesday.
The blast caused suspension of supply of natural gas to many localities of Beautiful Downtown Peshawar including Hayatabad. The blast had taken place for the second time in the area as the same pipeline had been blown up two years ago, said DSP Tariq Khan.
An official of Bomb Disposal Squad said that abut one kilogram explosives were used in the blast.
The general manager of Sui Northern Gas Pipelines, Haroon Khan, said that the blast had caused suspension of gas to Hayatabad, Achini and other adjacent areas.
However, there is a theory which states that if ever anybody discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened... he said that natural gas was supplied to Hayatabad Industrial Estate from another line.
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[Dawn] Al Qaeda founder the late Osama bin Laden ... who has left the building... moved to Pakistain in 2002, a few months after US started large-scale air strikes on Afghanistan, particularly in the Tora Bora region, during its anti-Taliban war which it launched in 2001 in the wake of 9/11 attacks.
The information about Osama crossing over into Pakistain and staying in different cities and towns before moving to Abbottabad ... A pleasant city located only 30 convenient miles from Islamabad. The city is noted for its nice weather and good schools. It is the site of Pakistain's military academy, which was within comfortable walking distance of the residence of the late Osama bin Laden.... came in the testimony given by his widow Amal Ahmed Abdulfattah during interrogation by a joint investigation team (JIT) comprising civilian and military officials.
She told the Sherlocks that after 9/11 she reunited with her husband in Beautiful Downtown Peshawar in 2002. From Peshawar they went to Swat ...a valley and an administrative district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistain, located 99 mi from Islamabad. It is inhabited mostly by Pashto speakers. The place has gone steadily downhill since the days when Babe Ruth was the Sultan of Swat... where they lived for about nine months. Later, they stayed for about two years in Haripur before moving to Abbottabad where the Al Qaeda leader was killed in a raid by US commandos in May last year.
In the first full account of Osama's movement after 9/11, she told the investigation team in Islamabad that she had lived with him in four cities of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... , but declined to say if any Pak official had been in contact with him.
The 29-year-old Yemeni woman said she had a desire to marry a mujahid. Osama was available. "So in this connection when she got a message of marriage with Osama bin Laden, she came to Pakistain and landed at Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It may be the largest city in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... airport on 17/07/2000," the JIT report said.
But she overstayed her three-month visa and later went to Kandahar in Afghanistan. Ms Amal told the Sherlocks that she got married to Osama before 9/11, but did not specify any date. According to her, Osama was living with his three wives, including her, and some Arab families. Then came 9/11 and the family scattered.
"She stayed in a flat in Bloody Karachi for almost 8/9 months and all the things were arranged by some Pak families and Saad, elder son of Osama, was coordinating all the things," the report said.
She told the Sherlocks that during her stay in Bloody Karachi she changed her residence six or seven times. The Sherlocks say they have not been able to trace Saad.
According to the JIT report, after their reunion in Peshawar Osama and Amal went to Swat where they stayed for 8/9 months.
Thereafter they stayed in Haripur for two years and subsequently shifted to Abbottabad and lived there for almost six years till the time Osama was killed.
Amal's eldest daughter, Safia, was born in Kandahar in 2001. Aasia and Ibrahim were born in Haripur in a government hospital and Zainab and Hussain in Abbottabad.
The report discloses that Osama's family lived in Pakistain with the families of two Paks, Ibrahim and Abrar.
Investigators told Dawn that the two Pak men had fake identity cards from Sargodha and their real identities were never ascertained because they were killed during the US raid on Osama's compound in Abbottabad.
The JIT recommends that Amal, and her five children, may be repatriated to her country, Yemen.
Ms Amal is the only member of Osama's family who agreed to talk to Pak interrogators.
The two other widows, Khairia Hussain Sabir alias Umme Hamza and Siham Sharif alias Umme Khalid, and their daughters Mariam and Summaya, have refused to cooperate with the Sherlocks.
The report does not say if any government or military official knew about Osama's presence in Pakistain.
The trial of Osama's family is under way in the federal capital. His widows and two adult daughters are likely to be charged under the Foreigners Act next week.
They are being tried in a heavily guarded house in G-6 sector where the family members spoke to Sherlocks in a hall where they were separated by a curtain. "They observe strict 'purdah' and are fully covered under veil from head to toe," one investigator said.
Amal's brother Zakaria Al Sadah is in Pakistain, trying to secure the release of his sister and her children. "My sister wants to go back. She is innocent and has not committed any crime. She should be freed immediately," he said.
But his request has not been accepted so far.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik Pak politician, current Interior Minister under the Gilani administration. Malik is a former Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) intelligence officer who rose to head the FIA during Benazir Bhutto's second tenure. He later joined the Pak Peoples Party and was chief security officer to Bhutto. Malik was tossed from his FIA job in 1998 after documenting the breath-taking corruption of the Sharif family. By unhappy coincidence Nawaz Sharif became PM at just that moment and Malik moved to London one step ahead of the button men. has said they will be tried and will not be allowed to leave the country before the court's ruling.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
but declined to say if any Pak official had been in contact with him
#2
Investigators told Dawn that the two Pak men had fake identity cards from Sargodha and their real identities were never ascertained because they were killed during the US raid on Osama's compound in Abbottabad.
Like all intelligence community assignments, the junior ISI agents generally drew the least desireable postings. They are surely missed by their colleagues.
[Yemen Post] The Yemeni army shelled intensively tribal posts in Arhab area, some 35 km northern the Yemeni capital of Sana'a, security and local sources told Yemen Post.
Army forces launched heavy bombardment on tribal posts in Shara, Laboa, Bani Hormoz and al-Hojra of Arahb, local tribal source said.
Combat troops from the Elite Republican Guards positioned in AL-Sama mountain started surprisingly the intensive shelling at 6 PM, said the local source, adding that the army used different kinds of heavy weapons.
It was the heaviest bombardment since the breakout of festivities between the tribal militias and the elite republican guard forces, according to the area residents.
The accounts of causalities have yet been released, however, the initial information indicated that at least 2 men were maimed in the first minutes of the attack.
On Tuesday, army forces accidentally killed two civilians in Arahb as it had mistaken them for being militias.
The official front man for Arhab tribe, Mohammed Mabakot al-Arashani, was quoted by Marib Press, a local news website, as saying that former President President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh's ... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, but he didn't invite Donna Summer to the inauguration and Blondie couldn't make it... loyal forces escalation of attacks is an indicative of the former regime attempts to stay in power.
The Republican Guard, the best trained and equipped military forces in the country, is commanded by former President's eldest son, Ahmed.
Al-Arashani accused Saleh of trying to portray that there is al-Qaeda militias in their area in order to keep his son in his post as long as possible.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2012
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Yet more charming commentary from Assad's Sunni Arab enemies.
Following are excerpts from an interview with Dr. Osama Al-Mallouhi, a member of the Syrian opposition, which aired on Al-Nas TV on March 26, 2012:
Dr. Osama Al-Mallouhi : Israel is doing everything it can to keep Bashar Al-Assad in power. It is using international lobbies to exert pressure on other countries, to keep Bashar Al-Assad in power and to keep the world on the sidelines, making do with verbal condemnations, which will never amount to real pressure on Bashar to stop the bloodshed. I have said that Israel is delighted to see rivers of blood of Syrian Muslims being spilled at the hand of that arch-murderer, and therefore, it enables him to survive to the end.
So as I said: This is strange. Maybe [there is truth] to the story, attributed by historian to Jewish books, that says that on Passover, the Jews prefer the matzos that they eat to be mixed with the blood of non-Jews. There was an incident in Damascus in the 19th century, in which a non-Jew was killed, so that his blood could be taken and mixed into these matzos and eaten. This is a Jewish tradition.
The Jews have denied this, but if this tradition really isn't true and if they really subscribe to a monotheistic religion, why do they keep silent, encourage [the massacre], silence the world, and prevent it from exerting pressure on Bashar, so that he can continue to spill Syrian blood? Do they want Syrian blood for their matzos of Zion?
Yes. You should keep silent, Dr. Al-Mallouhi, lest we notice your existence and come in the night with our maple sugaring equipment.
[An Nahar] A U.S. district-court judge has awarded insurers $9.4 billion after entering a final judgment against Hizbullah in a lawsuit over the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks that left almost 3,000 people dead.
U.S. District Court Judge George Daniels in the Southern District of New York said Hizbullah must pay the damages to insurers that sought to recoup payments to business and property policyholders for losses from the attacks.
The group of insurers, which includes subsidiaries of Chubb Corp., AXA Group, OneBeacon, and Munich Reinsurance Co., won in 2006 default judgments against Hizbullah and al-Qaeda when the two never contested the suit.
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03/30/2012
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#1
Sure, it will be difficult to collect. But the decision still brings a smile to my face. It will be long time before those scum open a public office outside a hardcore Islamic regime.
[Emirates 24/7] Gunmen on Thursday rubbed out four Pak and two UN employees in Balochistan ...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... , a region plagued by Taliban violence and a separatist insurgency, police said.
Gunmen on a cycle of violence fired at a van carrying members of the minority Mohammedan community in the Speeni Road neighbourhood of Quetta city, the capital of the southwestern province, police official Jamil Kakar told AFP.
"Four people, including a woman, were killed and seven others were maimed," Kakar said, adding that it appeared to be a "sectarian" attack.
Dozens demonstrated in Quetta's main Meezan Chowk square and outside the provincial police chief's office, and torched a cycle of violence at a local hospital to protest against the killings, witnesses said.
Human rights groups have heavily criticised Pakistain for failing to crack down on sectarian violence.
Thousands of people have died in related unrest since the late 1980s.
In a separate incident, gunniesrubbed out two local employees of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation in Mastung, a city 40 kilometres (25 miles) south of Quetta, police official Shakir Ullah told AFP.
"A driver and a staff member of FAO were killed and another staffer maimed after gunnies fired at their vehicle," Ullah said.
It was not immediately clear why they were targeted and so far no one has grabbed credit, he said.
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[Shabelle] A team of 27 British soldiers arrived inUgandaon Sunday to train local troops for peacekeeping mission inSomalia.
The team will train Ugandans for two weeks; day and night, before they are sent toSomalia, which is facing the bad boy Al-Shabaab ... Somalia's version of the Taliban, functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda... menace, in two weeks.
The visitingUKminister forAfrica, Mr Henry Bellingham, also Wednesday announced an extra $200,000 funding for training of Ugandan peacekeepers.
"This is a good opportunity to pacifySomaliabecause the Al-Shabaab have been chased out ofMogadishu. This was a sacrifice worthwhile. Achievements made on the military front should be compatible with political side," he said
Mr Bellingham was meeting the British soldiers and theUgandaLandforces commander, Lt Gen Katumba Wamala, and other senior officers in Singo, Nakaseke District where the peacekeepers are undergoing training.
Mr Bellingham said theUKfunding to the African Union ...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful... forces, Amisom had been increased by $23.8 million following the UN resolution that called for increase and expansion of the force from 12,000 to 17,731.
The commandant of Singo Peace support training school, Col James Barigye Ruheesi, said the school had so far trained 20,000 soldiers who had so far served inSomaliasince 2007.
Ugandans and Burundians have been supporting the beleaguered Transitional Federal Government of Somalia before they were later joined by Kenyans an Djiboutian forces.
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03/30/2012
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By Gada Mahfud For decades Libyans suffered the oppression of a regime that used to claim that its people ruled themselves in a unique system of governance supposedly invented by Qadaffy. It was all a lie of course. There was no such thing as people's rule. It was just a front that Qadaffy used to fool Libyans into believing him.
However, today is that tomorrow you were thinking about yesterday... his fake façade soon cracked and revealed the ugliness of his tyranny. As he became aware of the Libyan people's resentment to his theory, he chose to keep the lie alive using it to mock the Libyan people and tormenting them.
When ruled by a tyrant, there is no government, no army and no rule of law; there was only Qadaffy, whose mood changed. Depending on how he felt on a given day the policies of the whole country changed just like that.
The Qadaffy era of politics was, to either join in the Qadaffy hypocrisy, (many did and were rewarded for it), and the more they cheered Qadaffy's craziness the larger the rewards, or tell it how it was. Challenging Qadaffy meant the death sentence or life imprisonment in one of Qadaffy's many hell holes.
The heavy penalty of voicing a political opinion made politics very unappetising for Libyans and the majority of them adopted a passive attitude. They did not want to participate and be part of Qadaffy's mockery of democracy; neither did they want to pay the penalty of life imprisonment or a public hanging. Who could blame them?
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[Emirates 24/7] Lawyers for Dominique Strauss-Kahn told a US court Wednesday that a maid's lawsuit alleging sexual assault should be thrown out because the French politician had diplomatic immunity at the time.
Judge Douglas McKeon said he would rule quickly following a 90-minute hearing in a Bronx courthouse where a Strauss-Kahn attorney argued that the disgraced former head of the IMF had "the same kind of diplomatic immunity that other high-ranking officials and diplomats enjoy."
The civil suit, seeking unspecified damages, "must be dismissed," attorney Amit Mehta said in New York state court.
A lawyer for Nafissatou Diallo, the Manhattan hotel maid whose accusation of sexual assault triggered the spectacular downfall of a man tapped to be the next French president, ridiculed the notion of dismissal.
Douglas Wigdor said Strauss-Kahn "brutally sexually assaulted Ms Diallo" on May 14 last year and now wished to use the immunity argument to "deny Ms Diallo's right to a trial in this case and delay these proceedings."
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[Bangla Daily Star] Members of Rapid Action Battalion beat up a Dhaka University teacher as he requested them to move their car that was obstructing a narrow lane, the victim has claimed.
Did he ask politely?
Never, ever lean on the horn at the RAB...
Muhammad Saif Uddin Khan, lecturer of finance, was admitted to Pongu Hospital with severe injuries in his abdomen, forehead and left elbow.
Saif said he requested the Rab men to park their patrol car aside around 6:00pm Wednesday as it was causing traffic congestion on the road in Dakkhin Khan in the capital.
"I was going to a relative's house in Mirpur when I noticed traffic jam in front of my gate," he added.
The traffic couldn't move as the Rab vehicle was parked occupying half of the road. Saif said he came forward and requested Lt Alim Miah sitting on the front to move the car aside.
"How dare you say that? Don't you know it's Rab's car?" the Rab official was quoted as shouting.
A heated argument followed and at one stage driver of the car lance corporal Nurul Amin got down and swooped on Saif.
"I gave them my identity but he didn't bother and started beating me up. They punched on my forehead and kicked me in the chest as I fell on the ground," he added.
His left elbow was broken during the incident.
Saif's wife came out and requested the Rab man to stop. The law enforcers threatened her with "serious consequence" if they filed any complaint with the authorities or inform the media.
"Lt Alim even threatened my wife not to inform the university authorities," Saif told The Daily Star over phone.
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03/30/2012
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#1
Is 'Serious Consequences' RAB-Speak for breaking out the stutter gun or the #7 truncheon?
I forget.
[Dawn] A blast rocked central Storied Baghdad ...located along the Tigris River, founded in the 8th century, home of the Abbasid Caliphate... near the Iranian embassy on the outskirts of the Iraqi capital's heavily-fortified Green Zone as a landmark Arab summit opened Thursday, an AFP journalist said.
"It was a mortar round that landed near the (Iranian) embassy. There are no casualties," though some of the windows of the embassy were broken, a police official said.
The blast was heard at around 1:40 pm and took place in the Salhiyeh neighbourhood of central Storied Baghdad.
As smoke billowed into the sky, security forces members, military vehicles and fire-fighters were seen heading to the site of the blast.
The Honein jihadist forum has included several recent messages from users threatening attacks on the Arab summit, particularly using mortar rounds as well as with jacket wallahs.
Deputy National Security Adviser Safa Hussein told AFP before the summit that the most likely form of attack during the summit was "indirect fire," referring to mortars or rockets.
The blast came despite strict security measures by the Iraqi government, which had 100,000 security forces members on alert in Storied Baghdad, and effectively locked down the city, closing swathes of roads, shutting down air space and cutting mobile phone networks.
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[An Nahar] Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Trampler of Homs... has agreed to a peace plan by international envoy Kofi Annan ...Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh and so far the worst Secretary-General of the UN. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize for something or other that probably sounded good at the time. In December 2004, reports surfaced that Kofi's son Kojo received payments from the Swiss company Cotecna, which had won a lucrative contract under the UN Oil-for-Food Program. Kofi Annan called for an investigation to look into the allegations, which stirred up the expected cesspool but couldn't seem to come up with enough evidence to indict Kofi himself, or even Kojo... to end the crisis in Syria and vowed to make every effort to make it succeed, the state agency SANA said Thursday.
Assad, however, stressed the U.N.-Arab League ...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing... envoy's plan would succeed only if "terrorist acts" backed by foreign powers stopped across the country.
"President Assad ... has informed Annan that Syria approves the plan (the envoy) submitted but had made remarks about it," SANA said.
The agency added Assad had underlined that he would "spare no effort" to make the six-point plan work.
It said Assad's remarks were made in a message to the world's emerging powers meeting Thursday in New Delhi.
Assad in his message expressed hope that Annan's plan would "contribute to re-establishing security and stability in the country".
But he stressed that the former U.N. secretary general's efforts to end one year of bloodshed in Syria would only succeed if support for "terrorism" ends.
"It is necessary to get a commitment from other parties for gangs to stop their terrorist acts, to withdraw the weapons of these groups ... and for them to stop ... kidnapping innocent civilians, massacres and the destruction of private and public infrastructure," according to Assad's message.
Annan's plan includes a commitment to stop all violence, daily two-hour humanitarian ceasefires and media access to all areas affected by the fighting.
It also calls for an inclusive Syrian-led political process, the right to demonstrate, and the release of people jugged arbitrarily.
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#1
I am so relieved!
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03/30/2012 6:02
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[An Nahar] Violence across Syria on Thursday killed at least 13 people, nearly all of them civilians, a monitoring group said.
Three civilians died as regime forces stormed villages near the town of Maaret al-Numan, in northwestern Idlib province, which has been under a relentless army assault since the start of the month, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Five other civilians, among them a woman, died in central Homs province and three died in nearby Hama province, where two soldiers were also killed when their vehicle came under attack by armed rebels, the Britannia-based group added.
Clashes were also taking place near the town of Zabadani, in Damascus ...Capital of the last remaining Baathist regime in the world... province.
A loud blast was reported in Harasta, also in Damascus province, and plumes of smoke could be seen rising near an army checkpoint, the Observatory said.
In the village of Dael, in southern Daraa province, fierce festivities were reported between regime forces and rebel troops.
"Eight soldiers have been maimed and a military armored vehicle was hit," the Observatory said.
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Mohamed Merah buried in Toulouse cemetery after Sarkozy intervenes in debate over where he should be buried.
Algeria refused to accept the corpse of the dual French-Algerian citizen for security reasons. Merah's father missed the funeral because he could not get to Toulouse in time from Algeria.
Between March 15th and March 25th Mexican Army and Naval Infantry units in ongoing counternarcotics operations throughout Mexico seized 2,622.493 kilograms of marijuana, 4.78 kilograms of cocaine, .254 kilograms of glass methamphetamine, 770 liters of liquid methamphetamine, 326.25 kilograms of solid methamphetamine, MP $7,703 (USD $596.82) and USD $164.00 (MP $2,102.60) in cash.
A Mexican Army unit with the 15th Military Zone detained one unidentified individual in Ocotlan municipality in Jalisco state March 15th. The detainee had 28 packages of cocaine and .223 kilograms of marijuana on his person.
On March 19th, an army unit with the Mexican 15th Military Zone in Jalisco state seized guns and drugs in Cabecera municipality. Contraband seized included two handguns, two weapons magazines, .254 kilograms of glass methamphetamine, .180 kilograms of cocaine and .190 kilograms of marijuana.
On March 20th, a Mexican Army unit with the 15th Military Zone detained five unidentifed individuals and secured drugs and guns in Ocotlan municipality. Included contraband were 1.5 kilograms of marijuana, personal quantities of cocaine and glass methamphetamine, two rifles, 11 weapons magazines, 330 rounds of ammunition, MP $200.00 (USD $15.60) in cash, tactical and communications gear, three motorcycles and one vehicle.
An Army unit with the Mexican 15th Military Zone located a hidden drug laboratory in Tlajomulco de Zúñiga municipality March 21st. Soldiers seized 200 liters of paint thinner, 200 liters of alcohol, 30 liters of acetone, 30 liters of ether, one acetylene bottle, one industrial gas bottle and a reactor.
On March 23rd a Mexican Army unit with the 15th Military Zone detained one unidentified individual in Las Liebres colony in Tlaquepaque municipality. Soldiers took possession of .230 kilograms of marijuana.
An army unit with the Mexican 2nd Military Zone detained four unidentified individuals in Tijuana municipality in Baja California March 23rd. The arrests took place in El Dorado colony in La Presa Delagacion where soldiers also seized 15.6 kilograms of marijuana in eight packages, five handguns, six weapons magazines, 36 rounds of ammunition and two vehicles.
A Mexican Army unit with the 2nd Military Zone detained four unidentified individuals in Tijuana municipality in Baja California March 23rd. The detentions took place in Real de San Francisco colony in Delegacion La Presa where soldiers found 162 kilograms of marijuana, three rifles, one weapons magazine, 114 rounds of ammunition and one vehicle.
Army units with the Mexican 19th and 26th Military Zone seized a number of weapons in Coatzintla, Ixtaczoquitlan and Jaltipan municipalities in Veracruz state March 23rd. Included contraband seized were four rifles, one handgun, nine weapons magazines, 300 rounds of ammunition and three vehicles.
Army units with the Mexican 9th Military Zone located three vehicles in Sinaloa state March 23rd with quantities of drugs and guns. The vehicles were found in Angostura and Mocorito municipalities, where soldiers found 1.5 kilograms of marijuana, 4.6 kilograms of cocaine, one fragmentation grenade, 1,658 rounds of ammunition, 18 weapons magazines, tactical gear and three vehicles.
An army unit with the Mexican 45th Military Zone conducted a search of a tractor trailer rig at a military checkpoint along Sonora State Highway 40, at a location between Golpo Santa Clara and San Luis Rio Colorado in Sonora state March 24th. Inside the trailer soldiers found 2,440 kilograms of marijuana. The unidentified truck driver was detained at the scene.
A Mexican Naval Infantry unit in Sinaloa state March 25th located a hidden synthetic drug laboratory. The lab was found eight kilometers from the village of Marmol de Salcido in Mazatlan municipality. Marines found 400 liters of liquid methamphetamine, 300 kilograms of solid methamphetamine, 675 kilograms of caustic soda, five stills, 10 dryers, eight gas cylinders, 157 plastic drums with a capacity of 10, 15, and 50 liters, 59 drums with a capacity of 200 liters, each of which contained unidentified chemicals, 60 plastic containers with a capacity of 100 liters each (three of them containing solid chemicals), 30 bottles of water and an oxygen tank.
A Mexican Army unit with the 5th Military Zone stopped a tractor trailer rig at a military checkpoint in Juarez in Chihuahua state March 25th. Soldiers found 183.78 kilograms of marijuana aboard the trailer. The unidentified driver was detained at the scene.
A Mexican Army unit with the 9th Military Zone in Sinaloa state March 25th located a hidden synthetic drug laboratory. The lab was found near the village of Carrizalejo in Culiacan municipality where soldiers seized 26.25 kilograms of solid methamphetamine, 370 liters of liquid methamphetamine, 350.5 kilograms of an unidentified chemical, 100 kilograms of ammonia, five kilograms of mercury, one liter of tartric acid, 110 liters of alcohol, 98 liters of caustic soda, 1,296 liters of an unidentified chemical and two metallic reactors.
Army units with the Mexican 7th Military Zone conducted several traffic stops in Nuevo Leon state March 25th. The stops took place in Escobedo, Cadereyta and China municipalities where soldiers detained six suspected criminals and seized quantities of marijuana powder and rock cocaine divided for retail sale, 11 rifles, 17 rounds of ammunition, two grenades, MP $2,900.00 (USD $226.20) in cash, communications and tactical gear, and five vehicles.
On March 22nd in Jalisco state an army unit with the 15th Military Zone detained two unidentified individuals and seized a quantity of contraband in Tepatitlan de Morelos municipality. Soldiers seized .105 kilograms of methamphetamine, .900 kilogramos of marijuana, two handguns, four weapons magazines, 91 rounds of ammunition, one fragmentation grenade, MP $2,603.00 (USD $203.03) in cash, six radios and two vehicles.
On March 23rd an army unit with the Mexican 15th Military Zone in Encarnacion de Diaz municipality of Jalisco state detained two unidentified individuals and seized .360 kilograms of marijuana, personal quantities of cocaine and methamphetamine and 26 packages of methamphetamine divided for retail sale.
On March 24th in Jalisco state, a Mexican Army unit with the 15th Military Zone detained three unidentified individuals in Jamay municipality, seizing 1.120 kilograms of marijuana, personal quantities of methamphetamine and cocaine, 19 rounds of ammunition, MP $2,000.00 (USD $156.00.) and USD $164.00 (MP $2,102.60) in cash, three radios and three vehicles.
On March 24th in Jalisco state in Ojuelos municipality soldiers found two apparently abandoned vehicles with personal quantities of marijuana, two weapons magazines and 49 rounds of ammunition aboard.
Chris Covert writes Mexican Drug War and national political news for Rantburg.com
[An Nahar] Insurgents ambushed a NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A cautionary tale of cost-benefit analysis.... coalition supply convoy in a mountainous area of western Afghanistan, sparking a three-hour firefight in which an Afghan soldier, five Afghan security guards, and 14 attackers were killed, officials said Thursday.
Najibullah Najibi, a front man for the Afghan National Army's western region, said the battle raged Wednesday along a highway regularly used by coalition supply trucks in Bala Buluk district of Farah province.
"The fighting was intense and we sent in extra forces," Najibi said.
There were varying estimates of the number of Islamic fascistikilled.
Raouf Ahmadi, a front man for the Afghan National Police in the west, said more than 30 Islamic fascistiwere killed and 10 others were maimed.
Sayed Abdul Wahid, an official of the Arya security company, said his workers who were fighting with AK-47s were overpowered by Islamic fascistiusing heavy weapons, including rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns.
He said five of his employees were killed and five others were maimed by cut-throats who burned three vehicles in the convoy.
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#1
See also DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > US TO RELY ON INDIA [+ NDN] IFF AFGHAN SUPPLY ROUTES IS NOT OPEN [reopened]: [USDOD] OFFICIAL.
LTG Frank Porter, USMC.
Iff no US-Iran ground war andor independent Baluchistan, etc. the US can cancel scrapping the USS ENTERPRISE + turn her into an offshore DRONE + MANNED LR CARGO CARRIER.
Shouldn't be a prob as Pak repor still allows US aerial delivery oer its airspace.
Aghanistan gets its Supplies, + USDOD-DARPA get to test the capabilities of LR Cargo Drones.
An IDF force identified a number of bombs planted along the border fence separating Israel from Gazoo in the Khan Younis area. The bombs were neutralized by Israel Air Force choppers.
IDF imposes full closure on West Bank, deploys thousands of soldiers, police along borders with Gazoo, Leb, Jordan ahead of 'Global March to Jerusalem'; protesters in Amman burn Israeli, American flags
Israel on Thursday stepped up preparations a day before a series of planned Arab protests, deploying thousands of troops and police across the country and along its borders in anticipation of possible violence.
On Friday, Israeli Arabs and Paleostinians in the West Bank and Gazoo are marking Land Day, an annual protest against what they say are discriminatory Israeli land policies. Supporters in neighboring Arab countries planned marches near the Israeli borders in a solidarity event they call a "Global March to Jerusalem."
While organizers said the events would be nonviolent, Israel's army and police were girding for trouble after similar protests last year turned deadly. Defense Minister Ehud Barak has instructed the army to impose a full closure on the West Bank, which will be lifted in 24 hours barring any unforeseen developments.
At least 15 people were killed in festivities with Israeli soldiers when they tried to cross the Syrian and Lebanese borders with Israel in a May protest marking Paleostinian sorrow over Israel's creation in 1948.
A month later, Israeli troops killed 23 demonstrators who crossed into the no-man's land between Israel and Syria in a demonstration against Israeli control of the Golan Heights, which it captured from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war.
Israeli Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch, who oversees the national police force, said officers would be spread out in potentially explosive areas Friday but would not enter Arab villages unless needed.
"The guidelines are to allow everyone to mark Land Day quietly ... We will keep a low profile," he told Israel Radio.
Police front man Mickey Rosenfeld said thousands of officers were on the move throughout the country Thursday in preparation for Land Day. He said the biggest deployments were near Arab towns in northern Israel and in Jerusalem.
He said police were in touch with leaders of Arab communities in Israel in an attempt to keep protests peaceful.
"We're hoping there won't be any major incidents," he said. "If there are ... obviously the police will respond and deal with them."
In Jerusalem, the entrance to the Temple Mount compound will be limited. Thousands of coppers will be deployed in and around the capital.
Mahmoud Aloul, a Paleostinian leader in the West Bank involved in preparations, said demonstrations were to be held in Jerusalem, the Qalandiya checkpoint - a frequent flashpoint of violence on the outskirts of Jerusalem - and in the West Bank town of Bethlehem. Other events were planned in Arab towns in northern Israel.
The Israeli military was also preparing for possible trouble along the borders with Leb and Syria in the north, Jordan to the east, and Egypt and the Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason,-controlled Gazoo Strip to the south.
In a statement, the Israeli military said it was "prepared for any eventuality and will do whatever is necessary to protect Israeli borders and residents." It gave no further details.
As part of the preparations in north Israel, roadblocks will be set up at the entrances to major cities.
Activists in Gazoo planned to hold a demonstration about a kilometer (half a mile) from the Israeli border, but said they did not plan to move closer, minimizing the chance of festivities.
The IDF has positioned snipers along the Gazoo border fence for fear demonstrators may try to approach it.
Authorities in Leb and Jordan also said they would keep demonstrators far from the Israeli border. Several thousand protesters were expected in each place. It was unclear whether protesters would gather in Syria, which is in the midst of a vicious civil war that has left thousands dead over the past year.
Paleostinian organizer Mustafa Barghouti said activists from 82 countries were expected to participate in Land Day activities.
Barghouti said the marches were aimed at "ending the apartheid regime and the ethnic cleansing."
It was reported this week that at least to of the Arab protest organizers were aboard the Mavi Marmara ship when it was raided by IDF commandoes while trying to violate the Israeli naval blockade of Gazoo.
Meanwhile, ...back at the Esquimeau village our hero was receiving a quick lesson in aeronautics...... dozens of Jordanians protested near the Israeli embassy in Amman on Thursday against Israeli presence in the Hashemite Kingdom. During the rally demonstrators burned Israeli and American flags and said they would continue to protest until the Israeli embassy "is removed from Jordanian land and Paleostine is liberated. They chanted, "Arab, fight for your rights."
The rally was organized by a Jordanian group that has been protesting against the presence of the Israeli embassy in Jordan for a few months. The group has also been protesting against the Israel-Jordan peace treaty.
#1
Is it just me, or is anyone else getting the feeling theres something wrong wid the East Coast's "Big Dig", besides prohibitive or questionable cost overruns???
#2
The "Big Dig" was so expensive that IMHO it should have never been done. It is analogous to spending $1 million to renovate an old house which is then becomes worth $200,000. It might have been cheaper to move Boston to a low-maintenance part of Taxachusetts.
This tunnel plug reminds me of a sci-fi story about a future dystopia's method of decreasing its surplus population at unpredictable intervals.
#4
DHS's Science and Technology Directorate in collaboration with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL)
Very interesting! And how is PNNL out in Richland, WA coming along with their decades old contract at cleaning up the 150 (plus or minus) giant vats of bubbling, radioactive goo at the WWII Hanford Nuclear Site?
Bugs and gas are not the threat, never have been. The real threat sits in the White House. But we would never want a potential crisis to go to waste.
#9
Tiny Hupusorong4784, would you be so kind as to restate that in a way I can understand? I'm sure what you wrote is meaningful and witty, but I must be slower than usual today.
#12
Besoeker, the Hannaford clean up is only one part of PNNL's work.
Re: bugs and gas, it's easy to condescendingly dismiss chem/bio threats since we haven't had a major successful attack of those sorts. Of course, the work of people at the Labs and elsewhere just might have something to do with that fact .....
#14
#12 Besoeker, the Hannaford clean up is only one part of PNNL's work. Re: bugs and gas, it's easy to condescendingly dismiss chem/bio threats since we haven't had a major successful attack of those sorts.
Condescendingly....? Please give me the statistics on GWOT deaths in the US from chem/bio attack. Wait, I'll save you the research by giving your some perspective. More people are killed by rabies and lightening strikes each year than by chem/bio.
Yes, PNNL does indeed have other contracts. Some are even LESS impressive than the Hanford clean-up project. Would you like to discuss BMI, the National Labs and Los Alimos, NM?
Bus traveling in Mount Scopus area attacked with stones, Molotov cocktails. 'You wouldn't expect this in the heart of Israel,' driver says; assailants still on the lam
A number of Molotov cocktails were hurled Thursday evening at a bus traveling in Jerusalem's Mount Scopus area, not far from the Hebrew University campus.
"You wouldn't expect something like this to happen near the university, in the heart of the State of Israel," said the driver, who was returning from a bar mitzvah at the Western Wall.
According to the driver, 40 of his relatives were on the bus when it was attacked. "After the bar mitzvah we decided to visit the Mount Scopus area, but our leisurely trip quickly turned into a nightmare when Molotov cocktails and stones were thrown at the bus," he recalled.
"It's a miracle that the Molotov cocktails didn't burn the bus down. We were scared to death. Children and adults began to scream and cry. When I recovered I floored the gas pedal, but I managed to catch a glimpse of the assailants -- four or five hooded youngsters. I drove another kilometer or so before calling the police, who arrived within a few minutes."
Officers combed the area, but the assailants have not been apprehended as of yet.
Yosef Qandiati, who attends Hebrew University, rushed to the scene. "The bus's windows were scorched. The driver and passengers were in shock. The incident could have ended in tragedy," he said.
Students at the university say stone-throwing incidents in the area, where the village of Issawiya is located, are not uncommon. Student representatives recently met with senior police officials to discuss the need for increased security near the campus.
Itay Gottler, who heads the student union at Hebrew University, said "it's just a matter of time before there is bloodshed here. The authorities must act to curb the violence through enforcement and by improving education and infrastructure in neighborhoods located near the campus."
Stop judging: it's a quaint local custom, according to Ma'an:
BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Paleostinians threw a Molotov cocktail at a bus near Bethlehem on Thursday, an Israeli army spokeswoman said
Israeli media, meanwhile, reported that a similar event occurred near Mt. Scopus in Jerusalem involving two Molotov cocktails.
There were no reports of injury or damage in either incident..
[Emirates 24/7] La Belle France said Thursday it had banned four Mohammedan preachers from entering La Belle France to attend an Islamic conference, saying their "calls for hatred and violence" were a threat to public order.
President Nicolas Sarkozy ...23rd and current President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra. Sarkozy is married to singer-songwriter Carla Bruni, who has a really nice birthday suit... had wanted to ban the high-profile Islamic holy mans from attending the conference next month in the wake of a series of killings by Al Qaeda inspired gunman Mohamed Merah that shocked La Belle France.
Saudi holy mans Ayed Bin Abdallah Al Qarni and Abdallah Basfar, Egyptian holy man Safwat Al Hijazi and a former mufti of Jerusalem Akrama Sabri are banned from entering La Belle France, a statement said.
"These people's positions and statements calling for hatred and violence seriously damage republican principles and, in the current context, represent a serious threat to public order," said the statement from Foreign Minister Alain Juppe and Interior Minister Claude Gueant.
The ministers also voiced "regret" that prominent Swiss intellectual Tariq Ramadan has been invited to the April 6-9 meeting organised by the Union of Islamic Organisations in La Belle France (UOIF).
They said his "positions and statements are against the republican spirit, which does not do any service to La Belle France's Mohammedans".
La Belle France cannot prevent Ramadan from entering as Switzerland ...home of the Helvetians, famous for cheese, watches, yodeling, and William Tell... is a member of Europe's visa-free Schengen zone.
Influential Qatari preacher Yusuf Al Qaradawi and Mahmud Al Masri of Egypt have decided not to come for the conference, the statement said.
Ramadan is considered one of Europe's leading Mohammedan thinkers and was an adviser to former British prime minister Tony Blair.
His grandfather founded Egypt's Moslem Brüderbund, of which his father was a senior member exiled by former Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser.
He has been barred from entering US territory since 2004.
Sarkozy said on Monday that Qaradawi, 86, an influential Qatar-based Mohammedanholy man, was not welcome in La Belle France.
Qaradawi, who hosts a popular show on Al-Jazeera satellite television, backed the Arab Spring uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya, and has launched a fund-raising effort for the Syrian opposition.
That ban, which has now turned into a withdrawal, was criticised by the International Union of Mohammedan Scholars which Qaradawi heads.
The union said that Qaradawi is "a moderate scholar who contributed to combating extremism in Islamic thoughts."
The holy man is accused of having made anti-Semitic and homophobic statements and was banned from entering Britannia in 2008. He has been banned from entering the United States since 1999.
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WASHINGTON: The United States has suspended planned food aid to North Korea as Pyongyang vows to push ahead with a plan to launch a long-range missile in defiance of international warnings, US military officials said on Wednesday.
Don't worry, Uncle Sugar will ship the food as soon as the Norks hint at backing down...
Reclusive North Korea has said it is merely sending a weather satellite into space, but South Korea and the United States say it is a disguised ballistic missile test. North Korea said on Tuesday there was no reason to fire a missile after February's agreement to suspend nuclear and missile tests in return for food aid with the United States.
But Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asia and Pacific Security Affairs Peter Lavoy told the House of Representative Armed Services Committee that the announcement of the launch was in breach of the February agreement.
"This planned launch is highly provocative because it manifests North Korea's desire to test and expand its long-range missile capability," Lavoy told the House panel.
"We believe this reflects their lack of desire to follow through on their commitments, their international commitments, and so we've ... been forced to suspend our activities to provide nutritional assistance to North Korea." A US official confirmed the United States had detected activity that looked like launch preparations at a facility near the country's northwestern border with China.
The website GlobalSecurity.org published satellite imagery last week of a launch pad and tower without a rocket at the Tongchang-dong launch site. A US official indicated there were signs the North Koreans were getting the site ready.
"The US has seen indications that the North Koreans are preparing to launch a long-range rocket," said the official.
Posted by: Steve White ||
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#1
As per TOPIX, looks like Tokyo has officially given the JSDFS the go-ahead to shoot down the DPRK's Space Rocket "iff necessary".
* TOPIX > [Dong-A]OBAMA ADMINISTRATION TO OVERHAUL NORTH KOREA POLICY IFF MISSLE LAUNCH SUCCEEDS.
Voiding the food aid to NOKOR was just for starters - Bammer to treat North Korea like Iran???
and
* SAME > [Dong-A]JAPANESE PM: NORTH KOREA ROCKET LAUNCH TO DISRUPT PEACE IN ASIA.
I'm a'thinkin SSSSSSSSHHHHHHHH DPRK-VS-CHINA-VS-RUSSIA more than anyone else, + despite any Diplomatic, Media rhetoric to the contrary.
IIRC CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR ARTIC = China may be North Korea's Ally, premier Trading Partner, + existential "Guarantor", BUT IN REALITY THEY DON'T LIKE EACH OTHER.
D *** NG IT, GOOD KIMCHEE NOT GOOD EGG FO YUNG MAKETH!
[Tripoli Post] The North Atlantic Alliance, NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions... and Russia agree that countering piracy is a common security challenge and have agreed to explore ways to strengthen cooperation in this area under the NATO-Russia Council (NRC) Work Programme for 2012.
Building on limited military tactical cooperation off the Horn of Africa, they are seeking to strengthen information exchange and coordination and considering possible mutual support, such as refuelling and medical assistance, for ships involved in counter-piracy operations.
Rear Admiral (LH) Sinan Azmi Tosun, the current Commander of Ocean Shield, NATO's counter-piracy operation in the Gulf of Aden says: "We are all actors in the same area and good cooperation between our forces will enhance the effectiveness in keeping the shipping lanes safe as well as mutual understanding of the NATO and Russian units."
NATO and Russian ships work as convoy escorts in the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor (IRTC), which was established in early 2009 to help provide protection and security to merchant shipping in the Gulf of Aden and the southern Red Sea, a busy shipping area that is particularly prone to attacks by pirates operating from Somalia.
Russian assets are occasionally invited to participate tactically with the ships of Allied countries and the naval task forces of other international actors operating in the area.
Constructive meetings have been held by NATO with the Russians and both side have shared information on their counter-piracy operations. They also discussed opportunities for training to improve interoperability between NATO and Russian ships.
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[Tripoli Post] True its tax coppers on Wednesday the Italian government seized more than $1.5 billion worth of assets belonging to the family of former Libyan dictator Muammar Qadaffy's ...a proud Arab institution for 42 years, now among the dear departed, though not the dearest... family. They include stakes in top companies, land and a Harley Davidson.
The seizure followed a request by the International Criminal Court ... where Milosevich died of old age before being convicted ... , (ICC) in The Hague, which is seeking the extradition from Libya of Qadaffy's son Seif al-Islam on charges of crimes against humanity.
In a statement, the Italian police said it "seized fixed and moveable assets, company stock and bank accounts connected to the family of ex-Libyan leader (Muammar) Qadaffy's and to his entourage."
It also listed the value and the assets held by Libyan sovereign wealth funds, including a 1.256-percent stake in the nation's largest bank UniCredit worth 611 million euros and a 0.58-percent stake in oil major ENI, the top foreign energy producer in Libya.
Under Qadaffy, Libya briefly held the biggest single stake in UniCredit.
There was also a 2.0-percent stake of Italian aerospace and defence giant Finmeccanica worth 40 million euros and a 0.33-percent stake in carmaker Fiat and truck maker Fiat Industrial worth an estimated 53 million euros.
Police said they further confiscated stock in Serie A football club Juventus where one of Qadaffy's sons, Saadi - now hiding in Niger - used to be on the board, and an apartment in one of Rome's most exclusive areas.
The seizures also included 150 hectares of forest on Pantelleria, a picturesque Italian island halfway between Sicily and the Tunisian coast where the Qadaffy was rumoured to be planning to build a holiday village.
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#1
This "kinetic action" thing was rather profitable for some people, eh?
I find this a bit hard to believe; the Norks have been China's lapdog. We'll need more confirmation. I don't see how the Norks can go it alone right now.
High-level communication channels between China and North Korea have apparently been shut down since the death of former North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. Pyongyang is failing to inform its sole ally of important developments like the upcoming missile launch.
The only high-ranking Chinese official to visit North Korea since Kim's death was Vice Foreign Minister Fu Ying, who was in Pyongyang between Feb. 20 and 25 to discuss aid to the North. Fu met his North Korean counterpart Kim Sung-gi but did not speak with higher ranking officials.
China was supposedly stunned by the announcement on Feb. 16 of the launch plan for what the North says is a space rocket and had to summon the ambassador to China late at night to protest.
Supposedly because it's in China's interest to keep Japan, ROK and the US all stirred up, the better to offer concessions to the Norks.
Wu Dawei, Chinas chief delegate to the six-party nuclear talks, then met with North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho on Feb. 19 when Ri was visiting Beijing. There are rumors that Ri also met with State Councilor Dai Bingguo, who outranks Wu.
But North Korean officials dealing with China are only working-level bureaucrats, making it doubtful that Beijing's concerns over the North's missile launch were expressed to the highest echelons of the North Korean regime, according to experts.
China has through various diplomatic channels tried to hold talks with North Korea, but the North is apparently rejecting the requests saying it is still in mourning for Kim Jong-il.
If this is Pudgy's way of banging the spoon to gain attention, he'll find out real quick that China doesn't like being treated like this.
Posted by: Steve White ||
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#1
Eh, the Chinese don't have that much influence. It's not the 60s any more.
#7
The Net has various Blog Artics indic that, despite being a Commie + Dictatorial State, there is often a lack of proper or good internal Inter-Govt. Coordination amongst the Pyongyang Boyz = Politicos + Military.
Regardless of whom is the current "Top/DEar Leader" is, a number of Govt. Bureaus allegedly tend to act "autonomously", even "independently, UNLESS "FORCED" TO COOPERATE/OBEY = TOW THE KIM FAMILY LINE???
IMO iff these Nork Bureaus don't obey the Kims, etal. THEY MUST BE OBEYING BEIJING???
TRIPOLI: Rival militias in the southern Libyan city of Sabha have reached an agreement to end clashes that killed more than 50 people, marking a fresh attempt by the government to impose order nationwide months after the overthrow of Muammar Qaddafi.
This replaces the old agreement to end clashes, which lasted about a day...
Hudna! Hudna! Hudna!
Representatives from the militias had agreed to a cease-fire on Wednesday but some clashes resumed hours later. Trouble erupted on Sunday when the groups - one comprising fighters from Sabha, the other from the Tibu ethnic group - fell out in a minor dispute over a car, locals there had said.
"Yer mudder!"
"Yer mudder's mustache!"
A delegation of officials from various government ministries traveled to Sabha to try to reach an agreement between both sides.
"The conflict parties have reached an agreement and it will be signed in the next few hours," Mohammed Al-Harizy, spokesman for the NTC, told a news conference, adding the violence had begun from a dispute over payment for former rebel fighters.
Reading out a statement, Harizy said both sides had agreed the Libyan army would take control of entry points into Sabha including the airport, scene of some of the fighting. He said the agreement also called for Tibu fighters from outside Sabha to leave the city, adding that a separate NTC delegation was on its way to Sabha.
Government spokesman Nasser Al-Manee said on Wednesday that 3,000 soldiers and border guards had been sent to the area.
In Sabha, the scene was much quieter, Sabha fighter Oweidat Al-Hifnawi said. "There was an agreement and there is no more fighting," he said by phone.
Posted by: Steve White ||
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[Yemen Post] A government delegation visited on Monday the remote governorate of Saada where it met with leaders of the Houthi ...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The Yemeni government has accused the Houthis of having ties to the Iranian government, which wouldn't suprise most of us. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates.... group, officials, sheiks and dignitaries.
The delegation was comprised of the Endowment and Guidance Minister Hamoud Obad, the State Minister Hassan Sharaf Al-Din, a member of the Shoura Council Ali Bin Ali Al-Qais, members of parliament Abdul-Karim Jadban and Ahmed Al-Kuhlani, and head of the Defense Minister Operations Mohammad Al-Sufi.
The delegation met with Saada Governor Faris Mana'a , military and security leaders as well as big shots of the Houthi group.
In the meeting, they discussed the reconstruction of Saada that witnessed six conflicts with the former regime, and the engagement in the national dialogue.
The interim government seeks to involve all Yemeni forces in the dialogue conference according to the GCC-drawn power transfer deal.
A member of the delegation Sharaf Al-Din said that the committee reviewed the problems of the governorate and discussed all views presented in the meetings.
He further said that they came up with constructive results about the engagement of the group in the dialogue.
He further pointed out that among factors that will help resolve Saada case are the reconstruction of the governorate, taking attention to development projects and compensating the those people damaged by the six Saada wars.
In remarks to the state-run Al-Jumhoria newspaper, he sad that the people of Saada want an apology of the government about the wars and dealing with their killed fighters as deaders.
He further affirmed that the committee will imminently visit Saada to review the situations of the displaced persons and resolve their problems.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2012
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[Shabelle] Shabaab fighters have on Wednesday night attacked Somali government cop shoppe at Huriwa district, north ofMogadishu, killing two people, witnesses said.
A police officer at the station told Shabelle Medai that heavily armed suspected Al-shabab snuffies have overnight launched a surprise offensive on the headquarters, saying the army have defended from the attackers and sustained on them loss.
He added that two people on both sides have been confirmed dead during the attack and the area is now under government control and conducting security operations to secure overall security and stability.
Residents said masked Somali gunnies have rubbed out a civilian and injured another in Hamar-jabab district inMogadishu.
Posted by: Fred ||
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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.
The Philippine governments peace and development effort has gained ground in Mindanao as 45 alleged 
Maybe you can take it with you. With the new bacon coffin, you'll spend eternity with your favorite cured meat. What could be better?
[Emirates 24/7] A Cairo court sentenced former Housing Minister Ibrahim Soliman to eight years in jail on Thursday and fined him 2.18 billion Egyptian pounds ($360.9 million) for squandering public funds in two separate real estate deals.
[Bangla Daily Star] The International Crimes Tribunal-1 yesterday received statements of 15 prosecution witnesses, given to an investigation officer, as evidence against Jamaat leader 
A Gulf diplomat has said that the existence of the former president 
Ahl-e-Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ) leader Maulana Mohammad Ahmed Ludhianvi was released from police custody on bail in the early hours of Wednesday.
[Emirates 24/7] Pakistain sacked on Thursday a government surgeon recruited by the CIA to help find 
A French
A bid to release a Swiss woman kidnapped in Yemen has suffered a blow after her abductors made excessive demands, including for 
A tribal jirga, comprising elders of Bara tehisl of 
Suspected 
Al Qaeda founder 
...a valley and an administrative district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistain, located 99 mi from Islamabad. It is inhabited mostly by Pashto speakers. The place has gone steadily downhill since the days when Babe Ruth was the Sultan of Swat...
The Yemeni army shelled intensively tribal posts in Arhab area, some 35 km northern the Yemeni capital of Sana'a, security and local sources told Yemen Post.
For decades Libyans suffered the oppression of a regime that used to claim that its people ruled themselves in a unique system of governance supposedly invented by Qadaffy. It was all a lie of course. There was no such thing as people's rule. It was just a front that Qadaffy used to fool Libyans into believing him.
[Emirates 24/7] Lawyers for Dominique Strauss-Kahn told a US court Wednesday that a maid's lawsuit alleging sexual assault should be thrown out because the French politician had diplomatic immunity at the time.
...Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh and so far the worst Secretary-General of the UN. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize for something or other that probably sounded good at the time. In December 2004, reports surfaced that Kofi's son Kojo received payments from the Swiss company Cotecna, which had won a lucrative contract under the UN Oil-for-Food Program. Kofi Annan called for an investigation to look into the allegations, which stirred up the expected cesspool but couldn't seem to come up with enough evidence to indict Kofi himself, or even Kojo...
Mohamed Merah buried in Toulouse cemetery after Sarkozy intervenes in debate over where he should be buried.
By Chris Covert
[An Nahar] Insurgents ambushed a 
WASHINGTON: The United States has suspended planned food aid to North Korea as Pyongyang vows to push ahead with a plan to launch a long-range missile in defiance of international warnings, US military officials said on Wednesday.
[Tripoli Post] The North Atlantic Alliance, 
[Tripoli Post] True its tax 
