'Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, has infiltrated the U.S. government and the rules of war no longer apply.'
A second anti-Islamic course being taught to U.S. military officers has been discovered following revelations that one class advocated 'total war' against Moslems.
Al Jizz obtained the material from a course taught on a military base in Virginia which imply that the Paleostinian terrorist group Hamas has infiltrated the U.S government at the highest levels.
The slides seemingly warn officers of a link between Moslem Civil Liberties Advocacy Organisation (CAIR), and other American Moslem groups, with Hamas.
Our military people need to know that, because it's true.
Both courses are voluntary and were put together by the same group, a nonprofit that offers classes and workshops to military and government officials.
The slides are apparently approved by two retired three-star generals and James Woolsey, a former CIS director.
One of the slides in the course, which was taught to senior military officers in north Virginia, says that the Geneva Conventions are 'no longer relevant' when fighting against Moslems, Al Jizz reported.
Hundreds of slides were sent to the news website by an unidentified soldier who said 'this bigoted conspiracy cabal is both disgusting and so deeply un-American.'
One soldier's opinion. Odd that he would send it to Al Jazeera instead of the New York Times, though...
The shocking slides are part of a course called 'Understanding the Threat to America', which was taught at Joint Forces Staff College by Army Lieutenant Colonel Matthew Dooley.
Dooley has since been suspended from the army but still works at the college.
...which may suggest that the Joint Forces do not disapprove of the work he's been doing...
The presentation - entitled 'So What Can We Do?' A Counter - Jihad Op Design Model - lists Dresden, Tokyo, Hiroshima and Nagasaki as precedents which can be applied to 'Mecca and Medina's destruction.'
The presentation reads: 'Given the factual basis of what "Islamists" say they seek to impose on the world, the United States has come to accept that radical "true Islam" is both a political and military enemy to free people throughout the world.
Note the sarcasm quotes around true Islam, modified by the adjective radical and referring to Islamists rather than Muslims in the first clause of the sentence...
'It is therefore time for the United States to make our true intentions clear. This barbaric ideology will no longer be tolerated. Islam must change or we will facilitate its self destruction.'
And, in fact, some in the Islamist movement do seem to be changing, inasmuch as they've grasped that engaging in violence against the homelands of the unbelievers results in harm to the Ummah rather than the historic bounties of conquest, and therefore other pathways ought to be pursued.
The documents showed that both the anti-Islamic courses were prepared by the Strategic Engagement Group, Inc., according to Al Jizz.
The group formed in 2010 'for the purpose of exposing and defeating efforts to subvert the United States Constitution and subjugate the American People,' says the company's website.
That's the first sentence. The second paragraph has an interesting list of clients.
Ibrahim Hooper, CAIR's national communications director, told Al Jizz: 'The intention of these trainers is to demonise Islam and to marginalise American Moslems.'
He says things like that an awful lot.
The slides are apparently approved by two retired three-star generals and James Woolsey, a former CIS director.
Is that the same gentleman who used to be director of the CIA?
John Kirby, a front man for the Department of Defense, said: 'The material that was presented to us as a matter of concern by this young officer student certainly is not in keeping with our values - and more importantly, not even in keeping with the strategy as we see it in the "War on Terror".'
Within the next decade, there is a high probability of a high-profile terrorist attack against India traced back to Pakistan. The attack is likely to rapidly escalate tensions between the two countries to the brink of war.
Frankfurt - Reports are surfacing that Captain Paul Watson of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has been arrested at a Frankfurt airport on a warrant from Costa Rica.
Posted by: john frum ||
05/13/2012
15:09 ||
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An Iranian court has sentenced 13 people after finding them guilty of involvement in espionage activities for the Israeli intelligence agency, Mossad.
Branch 15 of Tehran's Revolution Court made the decision on Sunday, stating that they had been lured into spying for the Mossad by overseas-based satellite television networks and clever advertisement campaigns.
The defendants reportedly accepted large sums of money from Mossad and CIA agents.
The Iranian Intelligence Ministry announced on April 17 that it had arrested over a dozen Israeli-linked spies and terrorists.
The ministry said the detainees were of Iranian and non-Iranian nationalities.
The Obama administration is planning to announce this week a $680 million aid package to Israel for the procurement of additional Iron Dome batteries.
The announcement will be made following a meeting between Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta at the Pentagon on Thursday. The two will hold a joint press conference following the meeting.
Israel currently has four operational Iron Dome batteries and the Air Force plans to deploy an additional 3 over the coming year. The $680 million in aid will enable Israel to purchase 3-4 more batteries and accompanying interceptors.
Since its deployment last year, Iron Dome batteries have intercepted nearly 100 Katyusha and Kassam rockets fired into Israel from the Gaza Strip.
For a map, click here. For a map of Tamaulipas state, click here
By Chris Covert
Ranburg.com
A newspaper office was attacked with small arms and hand grenades last Friday night in the Mexican border city of Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas state, according to Mexican news and Twitter accounts.
According to a web posting Sunday morning by El Universal news daily, the offices of El Manana was attacked at around 2300 hrs Friday by armed suspects. The firing last five minutes.
No one was reported hurt in the attack and damage was limited to the walls of the building and nearby parked cars. The armed suspects committing the attack then left a blanket painted with a message, the contents of which were not disclosed in news accounts.
Blankets painted with messages are colloquially known as narcopintas or narcomantas, depending on the area of Mexico they are found. The contents are often claims and threats, which in most cases are not considered credible. However, those messages are the drug cartels' most effective means of mass communication with the broader citizenry.
Nuevo Laredo is in the grip of a deadly competition between Los Zetas drug gang, of which Nuevo Laredo is considered to be their home turf and the Sinaloa and Gulf cartels, which have vowed to end Los Zetas' dominance in the city.
Chris Covert writes Mexican Drug War and national political news for Rantburg.com
That's, like, half of them, right? Two times twelve divided by fifty-seven... Manuel, where's my calculator, the one with the sterling silver case? It's the best one for the really hard problems!
the insurance marketplaces at the heart of the 2010 health-care law remain in limbo, with Republican governors or lawmakers who oppose the statute refusing to act until the Supreme Court decides its constitutionality.
New Jersey's Republican governor, Chris Christie, joined the ranks Thursday, vetoing a bill from the majority Democratic legislature that would have set up the Garden State's version of the "exchanges," through which individuals and small businesses could shop for insurance.
In states with Democratic governors, such as New Hampshire and Minnesota, it is often duly elected Republican-dominated legislatures that are causing the hold-up. And in six states where Republicans hold both branches of government, including Kansas and South Dakota, state assemblies haven't even considered laws to establish the marketplaces.
Though the battles primarily break along partisan lines, there have been at least a half-dozen exceptions. Last spring, the Republican governor of Nevada chose not to stand in the way of an exchange bill adopted by the majority Democratic assembly. And the Republican insurance commissioner of Mississippi is using existing authority to set up an exchange with the blessing of the Republican governor.
Meanwhile, Democratic lawmakers in a few states -- including Arkansas -- have proved unwilling to push for an exchange. How 'bout that! Rational folks on both sides of the aisle.
Posted by: Bobby ||
05/13/2012
10:54 ||
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The socialists figured out how to make money on something that won't happen?
America has more fossil fuel resources than any other nation. Russia is second, Saudi Arabia is third. On Thursday, a representative of the Government Accountability Office testified before the House Science Subcommittee on Energy and Environment that the Green River Formation aloneit is located at the intersection of the states of Colorado, Utah and Wyoming, and mostly underlies federal landscontains as much oil as the entire proven reserves of the rest of the world combined. America is uniquely blessed in its energy resources. Two questions remain: 1) will Obama finally abandon his moronic two percent claim, and 2) will Obama, in a possible second term, block the development of the resources that can assure Americas economic supremacy for generations?
#7
Yes , yes this sounds so nice. The industry ia projecting 7-8 dollars for regular. We should see some increases this season as we would normally see. I would rather see everything be convered to NG.
#8
I hope it is true - iff one believes as I do that OWG-NWO is akin to [Proto]SPACE GOVT-ORDER, i.e. integrating, organizing, + unifying? the Govts, People, + Resources of Planet Earth for the exploration + habitation of Deep Space, then it should be anathema for same to see Politicos + Science Perts, etc. being seriously divided on major issues such as the availability, present + future, as per vital resources for such ventures.
BE IT CONTEMPORARY NATIONALISM, POST-NATIONALISM, GLOBALISM, POST-GLOBALISM, + "STAR/STELLARISM", THESE ARE THE QUESTIONS THAT M-U-S-T BE ASKED AND ANSWERED, LEST HUMANITY NEVER GOES INTO SPACE!
* "THE SEARCHERS" WARD BOND = MUST, MUST - spelled M-U-S-S-E - MUST!
#10
Key word Is 'resources' - US has the most of those because our oil geology is by far the best-studied, and our ownership structure allows the most profit-per-barrel so attracts capital to the most 'marginal' of resources. This does not mean the US has the most petroleum in the ground or that it can be produced at a profit right now.
Posted by: Je ||
05/13/2012 19:59
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#13
The way I understand it oil shale was uneconomical until recently, with the price where it is oil shale makes sense. And if Obama was smart he'd embrace it because a source of free cash/energy is the only way he's gonna get people willing to give over economic control.
#14
JM- You couldn't have possibly been referring to the 1956 John Ford movie "The Searchers" starring John Wayne, Jeff Hunter and others...If so please explain the "Ward Bond" reference, because as far as I know, Bond wasn't in the later TV series.
And, YES; We are swimming in oil, natural gas and clean/dirty coal. The socialist pervert anarchists will soon totally cripple the USA if they are not "stopped".
Faced with an order from President Obama to withdraw 23,000 troops by the end of the summer, and the prospect of further reductions next year, Allen is hastily transforming the U.S. military mission in Afghanistan. Instead of trying to continue large U.S. counterinsurgency operations for as long as he can, he is accelerating a handover of responsibility to Afghan security forces. He plans to order American and NATO troops to push Afghans into the lead across much of the country this summer, even in insurgent-ridden places that had not been candidates for an early transfer. Then there is the Frog early departure.
"My instruction to my commanders is to get the [Afghans] into the fight," Allen said in an interview. "The sooner I can get them there, while I still have the time and the combat power, the more I can catch them when if they fall."
Here in Ghazni province, where American forces will mount the last major offensive of the decade-long war over the next few months, he is narrowing long-held U.S. goals. Instead of trying to reform the Afghan government, protect the civilian population and conduct security operations until Afghan forces are ready to take over -- all of which Americans sought to do as recently as last year -- a newly arrived brigade from the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Division plans to spend the summer attacking Taliban redoubts before departing in mid-September, regardless of whether Afghan soldiers are capable of holding their own. The war is over because The One says it is. Victory will be proclaimed by the media - or comparisons to Vietnam.
But it is the silver-haired Allen, widely regarded in the military as one of the sharpest strategic thinkers in a four-star uniform, who may have the greatest impact on Afghanistan's future -- and America's legacy in the strife-torn nation. Unlike his predecessors, who had the luxury of troops and money, he has been forced to triage. He has narrowed targets for the development of local government, the pursuit of graft and the development of the country's economy.
His pragmatic focus is on the one prerequisite for America to head to the exits, as defined by the White House: Afghan security forces that are strong enough to keep the Taliban, which continues to enjoy sanctuary in neighboring Pakistan, from toppling the Kabul government.
Although much of the Afghan army remains raggedy, with weak leadership and persistent supply shortages, he is betting that shifting responsibility sooner will increase the odds that Afghans will be able to stand their ground once the U.S. presence shrinks.
Posted by: Bobby ||
05/13/2012
10:42 ||
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Still haven't figured out how to fly the helicopters from the Embassy roof in Kabul to a carrier in the Arabian/Persian Gulf without refueling?
...he is betting that shifting responsibility sooner will increase the odds that Afghans will be able to stand their ground once the U.S. presence shrinks.
You think they're taking bets in Las Vegas on that?
Israel may face a new Iranian-Egyptian threat if presidential candidate Hisham El-Bastawisi winds his bid to succeed Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, whose ouster he encouraged.
Backed by the left-wing Tagammu party, El-Bastawisi said on Saturday that building good relations with Iran would be one of his highest priorities. Israel already faces a northern "axis of evil" by the alliance between Iran, Syria and Lebanon.
El-Bastawisi also promised to revise the Camp David Accords to allow the army to increase an armed presence in the Sinai Peninsula, the Egyptian website Ahram reported.
El-Bastawisi is a prominent reformist judge who helped lead opposition for judiciary independence under the regime of Mubarak, who now is on trial for mass murder of demonstrators in last year's popular uprising.
Regardless of the outcome of the Egyptian prudential elections later this month, the new Cairo regime is bound to be more anti-Israel than it was under Mubarak.
Posted by: European Conservative ||
05/13/2012 13:00
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I think Mr. El-Bastawisi is unclear about how the whole treaty thingy works. There is absolutely no reason for Israel to agree to his clever little idea, leaving him the options either of ignominiously backing down in front of the entire world or going directly and unpreparedly to war with Israel.
For a map, click here. For a map of Nuevo Leon state, click here. For a map of Monterrey city, click here. This story will be updated and revised as more information becomes available. Updated: revised death toll. Updating with information on the message left at the scene.
By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com
A total of 49 unidentified individuals were found dead early Sunday morning on a highway east of Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, according to Mexican news accounts.
According to a Sunday morning post on the website of Milenio news daily, the find was made at Kilometer 47 on Mexico Federal Highway 40,which leads to Reynosa, Tamaulipas. Police were dispatched to the area based on a telehpone call. Mexican Policia Federal agents were the first on the scene and found several black garbage bags containing the remains of 49 individuals. The actual location is 10 kilometers east of Cadereyta, near the village of San Juan. Cadereyta itself is about seven kilometers east of Monterrey.
Milenio reported late that six women and 43 men were among the dead. Previous reports had said a narcomanta left at the scene had been removed, but reportedly said "100 percent Zetas" Another Associated Press dispatched said that the victims were migrants heading to the United States. A late revised report on the website of Milenio said the some of the victims had the facial features of individuals from South America. The report also said the narcomanta had the symbol of Los Zetas only, probably the letter Z, suggesting Los Zetas likely committed the crime.
A late report from El Universal news daily quoted Jorge Domene, spokesman for the Nuevo Leon state Secretaria de Seguridad Pública (SSP), as saying that some of the victims had gang tattoos, suggesting the deaths were a settling of accounts between gangs. He also said that most of the victims had been killed two days prior to their discovery.
Nuevo Leon attorney general Adrian de la Garza said that that he has reports of a sudden increase of abductions in the area.
Some of the bodies left at the scene were already in a state of decomposition. The report also said spent shell casings were found at the scene, suggesting some of the victims were killed at the scene. He also said some of the remains were dusty, and theorized the dead may have been transported to the scene in a dump truck,
The municipality of Cadereyta-Jiminez is at the terminus of a bypass from Mexico Federal Highway 85 -- which goes to Monterrey proper -- to the east of Monterrey. The road starts in Allende. The area around the intersection in Cadereya has been the scene of several shootouts between Mexican security forces and drug cartels gangs which operate in the area.
Recent similar bloody incidents have taken place in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, essentially the home of Los Zetas drug cartel in which members from both the Los Zetas and gangs affiliated with the Gulf and Sinaloa Cartels have have killed and mutilated the bodies of their rivals in grisly fashion.
El Excelsior news daily reported that the highway, closed since about 0400, was reopened at about 1000 hrs.
Chris Covert writes Mexican Drug War and national political news for Rantburg.com
#1
Another Associated Press dispatched said that the victims were migrants heading to the United States
Story also reported also by ABC news. The question is: Is the threshold of 'newsworthiness' the number of dead, or that the deceased may have been migrants?
#2
Obviously the story is the massive number of dead. Milenio now saying the great majority of the dead are Los Zetas. The migrants angle, if you believe the narco boards ( an who doesn't :oP) are actually Guatemalans, who, if case you haven't heard, love their new Los Zetas overlords.
#1
Innately, Islam is not moderate just ask Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkeys prime minister, who rejects as ugly and offensive the very term moderate Islam.
I must agree with PM Erdogan. The term "moderate Islam" is indeed offensive. But then again, I consider most deceptions and mischaracterizations, potentially dangerous and offensive.
#3
Always possible that the four are anti-government dissidents of one kind or another. More convenient to execute them if they're being killed for being gay as opposed to being rebels.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/13/2012 16:52
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The Gilgit-Baltistan government is likely to reinstate the two prayer leaders arrested earlier for making hate speeches in the regions capital city.
The cabinet will meet in Gilgit on Monday to take up the decision in this regard and it is likely that the two central Sunni and Shia mosques that each of the clerics represent will be unsealed, said a source privy to the development.
The decision will be based on recommendations by a parliamentary peace committee and the Masjid Board.
The two mosques were sealed following bouts of sectarian violence in Gilgit last month. The prayer leader of Gilgits Sunni central mosque, Qazi Nisar, has been under house arrest since.
On the other hand, the authorities have no clue about the Shia prayer leader Agha Rahats whereabouts.
Earlier, the government had decided to send both clerics to jail, but the decision was withheld after they assured the government to abide by the code of conduct prepared by the peace committee.
The code binds prayer leaders of both central mosques from making hate-speeches or use harsh language against their rival sects revered personalities.
According to a committee member, Amjad Hussain, the main issues barring the reopening of the mosques have been resolved with the signing of the code of conduct, and the mosques can now be reopened without any concern.
There were some laxities in maintaining law and order on the governments part as well, but we have taken strict security measures to avoid any violence in the future, he added.
Egypts Constitution should be based on the Koran and Sharia law, presidential candidate from the Muslim Brotherhood Islamist movement Mohamed Morsi said.
The Koran is our constitution, the Prophet is our leader, jihad is our path and death in the name of Allah is our goal, Morsi said in his election speech before Cairo University students on Saturday night.
Today Egypt is close as never before to the triumph of Islam at all the state levels, he said.
Today we can establish Sharia law because our nation will acquire well-being only with Islam and Sharia. The Muslim Brothers and the Freedom and Justice Party will be the conductors of these goals, he said.
The Muslim Brotherhood Islamist group has been banned in Egypt for decades before being legalized following the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak in last years popular uprising, and has since emerged as a powerful political force.
The first round of Egypts presidential election is scheduled for May 23-24. The presidential campaign starts on April 30 and finishes at midnight on May 21.
The president will be elected for a four-year term.
Ongoing clashes in Tripoli between factions supporting and opposed to the Syrian uprising have left one person dead on Sunday. The man was killed in clashes between residents of the predominantly Sunni Muslim district, hostile to the Syrian regime, and residents of the Jabal Mohsen district belonging to the Alawite community.
A resident of the largely Sunni district of Kobbe was killed in similar clashes on Saturday, which also left five wounded. Clashes between the two sects are common in Tripoli.
In a separate incident, an army officer was killed by sniper fire after clashes broke out on Saturday night between the army and a group of young Islamists, who were demonstrating in Tripoli for the release of a terrorist suspect.
The gun battles first erupted between the Islamists and the army started as the youths, sympathisers with the rebels in Syria, tried to approach the offices of the pro-Assad Syrian Social Nationalist Party.
About 100 young men, mostly Islamists, blocked the northern and southern roads into Tripoli, setting up camp at the southern entrance to the city. Black flags bearing the slogan "God is Great" were put alongside the flag of the Syrian rebels.
Nizar al-Mawlawi, whose 27-year-old brother Shadi was arrested by Lebanese security forces said, "We will not leave until my brother is released."
Lebanese security services stated that Shadi al-Mawlawi was arrested as part of an "investigation into his ties to a terrorist organisation," without going into details.
Posted by: Barbara ||
05/13/2012 16:39
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Sunni Arabs are a majority at 60% of the population. However, everyone in Syria knows that Sunni Arabs are tyrannical rulers and intolerant religious zealots. Unless NATO provides air support for the rebels, I don't see how 60% prevails over the 40% that has tanks, howitzers and an air force. Assad may solve his demographic problem the traditional Middle Eastern way, by driving millions of whatever recalcitrant populations exist from his country.
A total of 28 people were killed on Saturday following clashes and shelling between al-Qaeda fighters and the Yemeni army as the Defense Ministry is launching its "decisive and historic" battle for eradicating terrorism in the south, said military and local sources.
At least eight soldiers were killed including Colonel Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, and 12 others were injured in the preliminary clashes which took place as the army advanced towards Zinjibar and Jaar, reported military sources.
Moreover, 20 al-Qaeda militants were killed additionally to the death toll caused by the air strikes as the fight gained in intensity on the ground said local residents to the Yemen Observer.
Eye witnesses also mentioned that helicopters dropped leaflets and publications urging the residents to stay away from the places where terrorists were staying to save their lives.
The 25th Mechanized Brigade advanced to the area of Husn Shaddad, to help the troops in Dafwas and Al Kud at the outskirts of Zinjubar, which became almost surrounded from all directions.
And al-Huror area the troops advanced 10 km west of Jaar to the area of al- Abadi, the sources said.
American military experts are participating in preparation for the "decisive battle".
A rubber tapper was wounded in a shooting at a small roadside shop in Pattani province on Saturday morning.
Witnesses said that Paosi Kaelae,33, was sitting in front of the shop when a gunman riding on pillion of a motorcycle fired opened fire on him. The attackers then fled. Paosi was hit once and taken to the hospital.
Also in Pattani, suspected terrorists militants attacked police security checkpoint early morning on Saturday, but no one was wounded.
The attackers sprayed the policemen on duty at the checkpoint with bullets from AK47 assault rifles. Policemen stationed at the checkpoint fired back and the suspected terrorists militants fled the scene after a clash that lasted about ten minutes. No one was wounded.
Gulf Arab leaders meeting on Monday are expected to discuss closer political union, starting with two or three countries including Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, a government minister in Bahrain said on Sunday.
Leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which includes Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman, meet as they grow increasingly concerned over Iran and Al-Qaeda after the Arab uprisings.
"I expect there will be an announcement of two or three countries. We can't be sure but I have a strong expectation," said Samira Rajab, minister of state for information affairs.
"Sovereignty will remain with each of the countries and they would remain as U.N. members but they would unite in decisions regarding foreign relations, security, military and economy."
#3
Meanwhile, not to be outdone by France's lack of $$$ ...
* WAFF > [Deputy PM Theodoros Pangalos] GREECE WILL BE BROKE IN SIX WEEKS.
ARTIC > PANGOLOS = denotes that ...
* Most mainstream/ordinary Greeks want to be in the EU + EuroDollar, but at the same time don't want to pay for any past Debts or Liabilities.
> Believes that any future de facto Greek national bankruptcy will be "wild" or "out-of-control" bankruptcy.
As per the ROCK BAND "QUEEN", GREECE + GREEKS "WANTS IT ALL"???
[BASTILLE' + QUEEN MARIE "LET THEM EAT CAKE" ANTOINETTE here].
Environmental Protection Minister Gilad Erdan on Sunday called on the government to cut off the supply of electricity to the Gaza Strip in order to avoid electricity shortages it is feared could affect Israel this summer.
Especially since Egypt just cut the gas supply to Israel. Let Gaza make arrangements for natural gas...
Speaking in an interview with Army Radio, Erdan said that Gaza has its own power stations and legally, it is not clear that Israel is responsible for supplying power to Gaza, especially after Israel's 2005 disengagement from the terrotory. Gaza's power plant provides electricity to two-thirds of its population. Power is also supplied to the Gaza grid through power lines from Israel and Egypt.
Erdan said that it is "absurd" that Israel should experience power shortages while the "terror entity next to us will get electricity that they don't pay for." The Energy and Water Ministry expects shortages in Israel between June and September.
The environmental protection minister said that the four percent of power supplied to Gaza could prevent outages in Israel at times of peak usage.
Erdan stated that while "water and energy are supposed to be outside the conflict" if their is no choice and Israel needs the energy than he sees no legal obligation to provide Gaza with the electricity.
Erdan stated that former attorney-general Menahem Mazuz said that their were legal problems with cutting off electricity to Gaza when the measure was considered as a way of combating Hamas during Operation Cast Lead in 2009. Erdan said that in that instance Mazuz had stated that the move was illegal because it constituted "collective punishment" on the civilian population of Gaza, but the circumstances were completely different in this case, as the cuts would be made not as punishment, but rather as a result of need.
[Bangla Daily Star] A 28-year-old mother of two daughters is writhing in a hospital bed with most of her body burnt and wrapped in bandages.
Mousumi Akhter Sumi was set ablaze allegedly by her husband and in-laws yesterday at their house at Krishnapur of Comilla sadar for protesting against her husband's extramarital affairs.
Sumi is now fighting for life with 95 percent of her body burnt, said doctors at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH).
Mousumi and her husband Abul Bashar Sujon got into a fight around 9:30am, Ashiqur Rahman, the victim's brother, told The Daily Star.
At one stage, Sujon collected petrol from his cycle of violence, poured it on her and set her alight with the help of his mother and sister, Ashiq claimed.
Locals rescued Sumi and admitted her to a local hospital. Later, her family members moved her to the burn unit of DMCH, he added.
Ashiq said their father had helped Sujon to go to Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in their national face... for work. Sujon returned home three months ago and engaged in an affair with a neighbour, leading to fights between the couple.
The couple have been married for six years, he added.
Officer-in-Charge of Comilla South Police Station Jasimuddin said Sumi's father filed a case accusing five members of the family who were now on the run.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/13/2012
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Hang the Bastard's, slowly.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
05/13/2012 2:48
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[An Nahar] Violence in Syria cost at least 10 lives on Saturday as a U.N force to oversee a truce neared half its planned .strength, monitors said.
In Idlib province, a stronghold near the Turkish border of rebels fighting President Bahar Assad's regime, security force gunfire killed a man and a woman during a series of raids, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Another civilian and a child were killed in pre-dawn shelling in central Hama province, the Britannia-based watchdog said, while a fifth was killed by sniper fire in the northeastern city of Deir al-Zour.
Meanwhile, ...back at the hoedown, Bob finally got to dance with Sally... four soldiers and an army deserter were killed in festivities between rebel groups and regime forces in Idlib province, according to the Observatory.
For its part, state news agency SANA said authorities thwarted an infiltration attempt by an "armed terrorist group" from Turkey and entered the Idlib city of Jisr al-Shughur.
Syrian forces killed and maimed a number of the "terrorists," as the rest fled back into Turkey, SANA added, saying the groups' weapons had been seized and RPG launchers and machineguns.
Elsewhere, troops also clashed with rebel fighters in the flashpoint central province of Homs, in southern Daraa province, and in several areas of Damascus ...The City of Jasmin is the oldest continuously-inhabited city in the world. It has not always been inhabited by the same set of fascisti... province.
A military court, meanwhile, has released eight activists, including blogger Razan Ghazzawi, until their May 29 trial on charges of "possession of banned publications," human rights When they're defined by the state or an NGO they don't mean much... lawyer Anwar Bunni said on Saturday.
The persistent violence came as the U.N. mission in Syria said it now had 145 military observers on the ground, just shy of half the force of 300 authorized by the Security Council. They are backed by 56 civilian staff.
The observers are tasked with shoring up a ceasefire brokered by 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... peace 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... that was supposed to take effect on April 12 but which has been broken daily.
According to the Observatory, another 17 people were killed in violence on Friday, including 12 civilians, while the total corpse count has climbed to more than 930, over two-thirds of them civilians, since the battered ceasefire.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/13/2012
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#2
Who are the Syrian UN members who are supposed to "observe" the Syrian situation? Are they even armed enough for self defense (from either side of the conflict)?
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
05/13/2012 0:36
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Was he, or wasn't he? Did the SEALs shoot him unarmed, or did he go down fighting? Were the Paks involved, or incompetent, or both. The post-mortem chatter about OBL was confusing, if not confounding.
The Basic Booboo from D.C.:
The day after bin Laden was killed, White House officials gleefully pointed out that we was living in comfort with his family in a walled, fortress-like house far from the rugged war zones of Pakistain's triba; areas or southern Afghanistan. "Here is bin Laden, who has been calling for these attacks, living in this million-dollar plus compound, living in an area that is far removed from the front, hiding behind women who were put in front of him as a shield," Brennan told news hounds. "I think it really just speaks to just how false his narrative has been over the years."
But there were several mistakes in Brennan's statements, which underscored the continued weakness of the American counter-messaging strategy. Within twenty-four hours, the White House was forced to correct the fact there were no women shielding bin Laden when he was shot and killed. A further correction, about whether bin Laden was armed and participated in a firefight with the Navy SEALS (he wasn't and he didn't), also had to be made. First accounts of complicated military missions are almost always incomplete or inaccurate. But in his haste to trumpet the mission's operational success, Brenna heralded details about bin Laden that turned out to be wrong, undermining the credibility of the rest of this message in the Moslem world and elsewhere in the world.
- Counter Strike: The Untold Story of America's Secret Campagin Against Al Qaeda - Eric Schmitt & Thom Shanker
CIA's Black Beard Vanity Fair
The CIA's release of five videos of bin Laden on May 7th, just days after they were recovered from his hideout, illustrated the B.O. regime's efforts to minimize the al Qaeda leader's mystique, even among mainstream Moslems who admired him for standing up to the West. The selected outtakes from bin Laden's recorded messages to his followers appeared to be part of an American effort to underscore bin Laden's vanity. In one video, bin Laden is shown watching himself on television in his house, and his beard is mostly white. In the other four videos, in which bin Laden addresses the Moslem world, his beard is black. US intelligence officials openly speculated that the al Qaeda leader had dyed his beard black in these videos in order to appear younger.
- Counter Strike: The Untold Story of America's Secret Campagin Against Al Qaeda - Eric Schmitt & Thom Shanker
THE OSAMA PAPERS
The 175-page cache posted online by the US Military Academy's Combating Terrorism Center - in the week marking a year since Bin Laden's death provides a flurry of insights about the man and his machine, Al Qaeda. Here's how it was analyzed:
Fearing Nature, Not Pakistain?
Perhaps the most notable communication, however, is one dated Aug. 27, 2010. In it, bin Laden fears for the safety of his fighters and followers in Pakistain-not because they might be tossed in the clink Youse'll never take me alive coppers!... [BANG!]... Ow!... I quit! or incarcerated Into the paddy wagon wit' yez! by the authorities, but because torrential rains and flooding were then afflicting that country...This is astonishing. Bin Laden was more fearful that his men might be affected by the weather than by any effort of the Pak government to apprehend them. This assertion alone speaks volumes about how comfortable he and his minions found their refuge there.
- Bruce Hoffman, director of Georgetown University's Center for Security Studies and a senior fellow at the U.S. Military Academy's Combating Terrorism Center in The Wall Street Journal Op-Ed, May 8, 2012
No Pak Smoking Gun
There is no explicit reference to any institutional support from Pakistain, where the al-Qaeda leader lived for nine years...The papers make mention of "trusted Pak brothers", but one reference suggests Bin Laden was wary of Pak intelligence
- BBC backgrounder, "the late Osama bin Laden ... who no longer has to waste time and energy breathing... 's document's released", May 3, 2012
Rebranding Al Qaeda:
His concerns in fact centered on his belief that Western media and al Qaeda's enemies were misportraying the movement by focusing only on its violent side and ignoring its political aims and aspirations. Bin Laden thus sought a new name for the movement that would more accurately reflect its ideological pretensions and self-appointed role as defender of Moslems everywhere.
- Bruce Hoffman, director of Georgetown University's Center for Security Studies and a senior fellow at the U.S. Military Academy's Combating Terrorism Center in The Wall Street Journal Op-Ed, May 8, 2012
Fifteen Seconds of Fear: How OBL/Al Qaeda rated the western press
Fox News "falls into the abyss as you know, and lacks neutrality too."
CNN "seems to be in cooperation with the government more than others."
And "ABC channel is all right; actually it could be one of the best channels, as far as we are concerned."
HOW HE LIVED
OBL's "million dollar mansion" was recently razed, prior to his first death anniversary, by a government wary of it becoming an icon and thus a mecca for terror-tourists, gawkers and wannabe jihadists. But a new book takes us inside the "Pacer's" (the pre-Geronimo code-name for OBL) compound:
A Manhunt Revealed
We learn, for example, that Bin Laden's two older wives, both academics, taught the children Arabic and read from the Qur'an in a bedroom on the second floor. Almost every day, apparently, the al-Qaeda leader, a strict disciplinarian, lectured his family about how the children should be brought up.
That sounds like fun. Or not...
Nor were Bin Laden's living conditions particularly salubrious. A tiny bathroom off the bedroom he shared with his Yemeni third wife had green tiles on the walls but none on the floor, a rudimentary squat toilet and a cheap plastic shower. In this bathroom, Bergen tells us, Bin Laden (54 when he died) regularly applied Just for Men dye to his hair and beard. Next to the bedroom was a kitchen the size of a large closet, and across the hall was Bin Laden's study, where he kept his books on crude wooden shelves and tapped away on his computer. There was no air-conditioning.
- Jason Burke of The Guardian, reviewing Peter Bergen's newly released "Manhunt"
FRIENDS OR THERAPISTS?
There was a lot of flak after Neptune Spear, and post-mortem OBL, most of it hit Pakistain. When Pervez Perv Musharraf ... former dictator of Pakistain, who was less dictatorial and corrupt than any Pak civilian government to date ... stated so to CBS's 60 Minutes on September 25, 2005 that
"One thing is very sure, let me assure you, that we are not going to hide him for a rainy day and then release him to take advantage,"
that categorical denial, though punctured by OBL being found in killed in 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.... , still continues to hold mostly true.
Allegations on Pakistain, Spun & Counterspun
"It was decided that any effort to work with the Paks could jeopardize the mission. They might alert the targets."
- Leon Panetta ...current SecDef, previously Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Panetta served as President Bill Clinton's White House Chief of Staff from 1994 to 1997 and was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1977 to 1993.... to Time Magazine, May 3, 2011
Both countries "cooperated in making sure" that the operation leading to bin Laden's death was "successful".
- CNN quoting Hussain Haqqani, May 2, 2011
"We assisted only in terms of authorization of the helicopter flights in our airspace" and that "we did not want anything to do with such an operation in case something went wrong."
- Anonymous Pak official confirming to CNN's Nick Paton Walsh that there was Pak cooperation into the operation, May 2, 2011
Bin Laden hiding "deep inside" Pakistain was a matter of grave concern for India, and showed that "many of the perpetrators of the Mumbai terror attacks, including the controllers and the handlers of the snuffies who actually carried out the attack, continue to be sheltered in Pakistain".
- Wall Street Journal quoting P. Chidambram, the Indian Home Minister, May 2, 2011
"Clearly to be able to be there he must have had some support mechanisms - absolutely."
- China's Xinhua news agency quoting Prime Minister Julia Gillard on May 3, 2011
"We would have destroyed them long ago" Nazarov said, if other countries didn't manipulate terrorist groups for "geopolitical goals." For instance, in Pakistain Osama bin Laden wasn't an invisible man, and many knew his whereabouts in North Wazoo, but whenever security forces attempted a raid on his hideouts, the enemy received warning of their approach from sources in the security forces.
- Point 7(C) of Wikileaks Cable 09DUSHANBE1433, quoting State Committee for National Security (GKNB) Deputy Chairman for Counterterrorism General Abdullo Sadulloevich Nazarov of Tajikistan (dated Dec 16, 2009)
The fact that Bin Laden was living in a large house in a populated area suggests that he must have had a support network in Pakistain.
- UK Prime Minister David Cameron ... has stated that he is certainly a big Thatcher fan, but I don't know whether that makes me a Thatcherite, which means he's not. Since he is not deeply ideological he lacks core principles and is easily led. He has been described as certainly not a Pitt, Elder or Younger, but he does wear a nice suit so maybe he's Beau Brummel ... to the House of Commons, May 5, 2011
HOW IT HAPPENED
Navy SEAL Team Six? DEVGRU? JSOC? SOCOM? The world came to know much about the units and formations involved in the operation. But Vice Admiral McRaven's operational module have been well explained in few places:
Who Did Him In?
Their names may never be known, their faces may remain unsees, but the strike package that flew by helicopters out of Jalalabad, Afghanistan, for the bin Laden compound numbered seventy-nine" Navy SEALS, intelligence specialists, medical corpsmen, translators, and the bomb-sniffing dog. Little is known of the strike team commander, other than that he had scores of successful raids under his belt and that McRaven described him to White House officials as "absolutely the single guy I would choose for this mission"
- Counter Strike: The Untold Story of America's Secret Campagin Against Al Qaeda - Eric Schmitt & Thom Shanker
Inside the Assault Team
For the operation, bin Laden was assigned the code name Geronimo. Inside the White House Situation Room, the president and his war council followed the mission via video link narrated by Leon Panetta at CIA headquarters. Soon after Panetta announced, "They've reached the target". One of the four helicopters carrying the assault team lost lift and descended faster than anticipated owing to unexpectedly warm temperatures. Its tail snapped off against a wall, but there were no injuries. The SEAL team commander adjusted his plans, and the unit executed its well-trained art of improvisation. A second helicopter which had been tasked to hover over the main building while the commandos fast-roped onto the roof, instead landed on the ground inside the compound. A third flew in from reserve. The SEALS set explosive charges to blow open a door to the main house and brick wall behind it, which some said was a false door disguised as ruse. Abu Ahmed al-Kawaiti, the courier whose SUV had led American intelligence to the compound, began shooting at the strike team, which returned fire, killing him and his wife. A second man - al-Kuwaiti's brother, was spotted and believed readying to shoot; he too was killed. As the commandos made their way up a stairwell,l bin Laden's son Khalid rushed toward them and he was killed as well. Smashing into the third-floor rooms atop the guesthouse, the commandos came face to face with bin Laden himself. "We have a visual on Geronimo," Panetta told the officials gathered in the Situation Room. An AK-47 and Russian-made Makarov 9-mm automatic pistol were said to be within the Al Qaeda leader's reach. One of bin Laden's wives charged at the strike team; she was shot in the leg but not killed. A few minutes later came the message, "Geronimo EKIA" - Enemy Killed in Action - with the trademark close-quarters sharpshooting of the American Special Operations forces, the deadly efficient "double-tap". One bullet to the head and one to the chest.
THE FOLLOW UP BEGINS
"We want to disable Al-Qaeda...There are several significant leaders still on the run. Al-Zawahiri ... Formerly second in command of al-Qaeda, now the head cheese, occasionally described as the real brains of the outfit. Formerly the Mister Big of Egyptian Islamic Jihad. Bumped off Abdullah Azzam with a car boom in the course of one of their little disputes. Is thought to have composed bin Laden's fatwa entitled World Islamic Front Against Jews and Crusaders. Currently residing in the North Wazoo area. That is not a horn growing from the middle of his forehead, but a prayer bump, attesting to how devout he is... , who inherited the leadership from Osama, is somewhere, we believe, in Pakistain. So we are intent on going after those who are keen on keeping Al-Qaeda operational and inspirational."
Thus spoke US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton ... sometimes described as the Smartest Woman in the World and at other times as Mrs. Bill, never as Another Jeremiah S. Black ... , on an NDTV moderated interactive session in India. A year after, the timing of Clinton's visit, as well her coupling of the 2008 Mumbai attacks (which Pakistain is deemed largely responsible by more than a few forums and governments), should be an ominous sign of the post-OBL shadow that continues to lurk over Islamabad.
"We are well aware that there have not yet been steps taken by the Pak government to do what both India and the U.S. have repeatedly requested that they do and we are going to keep pushing that point," Ms. Clinton said, adding that she had recently authorised a $1-million reward for information leading to the capture of Hafiz Muhammad Saeed ...who would be wearing a canvas jacket with very long sleeves anyplace but Pakistain... (The Hindu)
The Post OBL Treasure Hunt
There has been some mondo bizarro showmanship from strange quarters of late. One stream is from Bill Warren, a US Congressional hopeful turn treasure hunter, who claimed that he has located where OBL's body was thrown. "I'm the only one with this information. It's 200 miles to the west of the Indian city of Surat."
Warren's being making claims for several months now, but he is showing more confidence than another, very different probe: The four-member Abbottabad Raid Commission, headed for retired justice Javed Iqbal, which is months overdue to publish its findings and which, at the time this paper was going to print, had leaked to the Pak press that the President's Asif Ali President Ten Percent Zardari ... sticky-fingered husband of the late Benazir Bhutto ... 's response, or the lack of it, was causing delays in the publication of the report. Insiders state that everyone, from the Abbottabad traffic police to the Prime Minister, will be blamed for the 'intelligence failure'.
#1
I remember the twin towers, he's gone, enough said.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
05/13/2012 2:42
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#2
Bin Laden had a support network in Pakistain, everyone agrees with that. The question yet to be answered is how high up the Pakistain goverment did it go?
[Dawn] A deputy superintendent of police on Friday survived a kaboom, while three people were killed in separate incidents in the lovely provincial capital.
A bomb went kaboom! near the Ring Road bridge moments after a police vehicle with DSP at the City Circle Banaras Khan on it passed by it in the morning.
The DSP told news hounds that he was on the routine visit to different parts of the city and as he was entering GT Road from Ring Road near a bridge, the blast took place.
An official of the bomb disposal unit said around two kilogrammes explosives packed in a plastic can was planted in a manhole and detonated through a remote-controlled device.
The kaboom was so loud that it was heard in different parts of the district. It damaged vehicles, including two Edhi Foundation ambulances parked nearby.
Officials of the Paharipura cop shoppe said the prime target of the kaboom was the DSP but he escaped unhurt.
It was the second blast in the area during the last two days with the first injuring security personnel in Badbher area.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[Daily Nation (Kenya)] Republican presidential hopeful Willard Willard Mitt Romney ...former governor of Massachussetts, currently the presumptive Publican nominee for president. He is the son of the former governor of Michigan, George Romney, who himself ran for president after saving American Motors from failure, though not permanently. Romney's charisma is best defined as soporific, which is probably why he is leading the Publican field. On the plus side, he isn't President B.O...
...former governor of Massachussetts, currently the presumptive Publican nominee for president. He is the son of the former governor of Michigan, George Romney, who himself ran for president after saving American Motors from failure, though not permanently. Romney's charisma is best defined as soporific, which is probably why he is leading the Publican field. On the plus side, he isn't President B.O...
was at America's largest Christian university on Saturday to court young religious conservatives and push family values in the wake of President Barack Obama's Why can't I just eat my waffle?... gay marriage endorsement.
The presumptive Republican nominee urged graduates not to "lose heart" in the face of diminished job prospects while giving the commencement address at Liberty University in this small city in central Virginia.
Virginia is one the key battlegrounds of the 2012 election, and First Lady Michelle Obama pre-empted Romney by delivering her own commencement speech in the state at a university less than 145 kilometres away.
With thousands of Christian graduates in his audience, Romney stressed the importance of faith and "the commitments of family."
"Take those away, or take them for granted, and so many things can go wrong in a life. Keep them strong, and so many things will go right," he said.
With Obama's landmark public endorsement of gay marriage, and this week's splashy fundraiser at Hollywood heartthrob George Clooney's home raising an unprecedented $15 million, it seemed an ideal time for the Republican candidate to tout family values and draw sharp contrasts with his rival.
Romney is against gay marriage, but says same-sex couples should have some rights including the ability to adopt children.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[An Nahar] Members of the Free Syrian Army kidnapped overnight two Lebanese citizens and a Syrian national, reported Voice of Leb radio on Saturday.
Khodr Hussein Jaafar, Ahmed Medlij, and Syrian Abdullah al-Zein were kidnapped for their alleged role in persecuting Syrian opposition members in Syria, reported the daily al-Mustaqbal ... the Future Movement, political party led by Saad Hariri... on Saturday.
The Jaafar clan retaliated by abducting some 50 members of the opposition in the Syrian border towns of Zeita and al-Burhaniyeh, it added.
They have been taken to the region of Beit Jaafar near the city of al-Qasr in al-Hermel in the Bekaa, it continued.
VDL said that the residents of Arab al-Mojadleh and Abou Jabal have since intervened to negotiate the release of the hostages.
The Free Syrian Army proposed the release of Jaafar in exchange for all the Syrians, but the clan refused, it revealed.
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#1
Happy Birthday/Daily Gam Shot
Candice Accola aka Caroline Forbes in "The Vampire Diaries (TV 2009 )" aka Melody in "On the Doll (2007)" aka Joann in "Deadgirl (2008)" aka Caitlin Stone in "The Truth About Angels (2011)" aka Sophia in "Kingshighway (2010)" aka Girl Lab Partner in "Juno (2007)" (age 25)
Malin Akerman (Swedish) aka Linda Lovelace in "Inferno: A Linda Lovelace Story (2013)(Pre-production)" aka Laurie Jupiter / Silk Spectre II in "Watchmen (2009)" aka Gertrude in "The Proposal (I) (2009)" aka Lila in "The Heartbreak Kid (2007)" aka Annie in "Happythankyoumoreplease (2010)" aka Ronnie in "Couples Retreat (2009)" (age 34)
#4
I'm a good SAM kinda guy. I'll just give a good pull on that tag.
My father-in law was in church and was faced with a similar dilemma. The poor Lady just in front of him had a dress wedgie. To help her he pulled it out. Slap!.. Well he felt bad about that so on the next hymn he stuck it back in to make things right. Slap!.. Well we both still don't understand women very well. Happy Mothers Day.
AFP - 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... 's National Stadium was once a dusty, sweaty hell for visiting cricketers, a cauldron of heat and noise where Pakistain went unbeaten in Tests for more than 45 years.
But now, three years after international sides stopped coming to the country in the wake of a deadly bad turban attack on a Sri Lankan team bus, the stands are silent, deserted and rusting with disuse.
It is a scene repeated in stadiums across Pakistain. Since the gun attack in Lahore, the country has not hosted a full international in any sport, barring a short series of hockey friendlies against lowly China.
Last month it organised a visit by the Bangladesh cricket team, only to have it postponed a week later over security fears, to the dismay of Pak officials.
And Pakistain's announcement on Wednesday that Canada may visit this year was quickly played down by Cricket Canada chief Doug Hannum, who called it a "potential tour" and said no formal talks had taken place.
Even the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the US did not deter foreign teams: Pakistain hosted arch-rivals India -- considered the biggest target for forces of Evil -- for cricket tours in 2004 and 2006, and staged the World Open squash tournament in 2003 and Champions Trophy hockey in 2004.
But when gunnies attacked the Sri Lankan team bus during the third cricket Test in Lahore in March 2009, killing eight people and wounding seven players, Pakistain was cast into sporting purdah.
It was no longer true that sports were not a target for forces of Evil and ever since, teams have been unwilling to come.
For three years, Pakistain have held their "home" cricket series in neutral countries, mostly the United Arab Emirates. All their Davis Cup tennis matches and hockey fixtures have been played away from home.
Ehsan Mani, former president of the International Cricket Council (ICC), believes the Pakistain Cricket Board (PCB) are going the wrong way about seeking to end their isolation.
"The Bangladesh team not coming to Pakistain is a setback," Mani said. "But I would say that the PCB's strategy is totally wrong as they are, like, begging teams to come, which is wrong."
Mani said Pakistain needs to get the ICC to set security guidelines. But he added that even if Bangladesh had come, others were not likely to follow.
"I can't speculate whether Bangladesh Cricket Board wanted to send the team or not, but Bangladesh's visit would not have convinced England or Australia," he said.
But most dangerous are the financial implications.
"PCB would feel the financial pinch soon," Tauqir Zia, a former PCB chairman, told AFP. "Their expenses per year are 1.6 billion rupees ($17.6 million) and this cannot be borne until you earn by hosting cricket. Otherwise you have to go to the ICC and ask for funds."
Hockey survives on millions of rupees in government grants, while football is supported by international body FIFA through the Goal development scheme.
For former Pak Test fast bowler Jalal-ud-Din, the key to Pakistain coming in from the cold is wooing the old enemy next door: India.
"Cricket revival, I believe, is related to India because they are the super powers," he said. "PCB must form a team of players and diplomats and send it to various countries in order to convince them to tour."
Jalal also blamed poor governance in the PCB, saying that under former chairman Ijaz Butt "our relationship with other countries worsened and we are paying for that".
[Iran Press TV] Reports say Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in their national face... is seeking to merge with Bahrain in line with plans to unify the six Arab member states of the [Persian] Gulf Cooperation Council. ... the Medes and the Persians are very sensitive on the subject of the Persian Gulf, which the Arabs refer to as the Arabian Gulf... Members of the [Persian] Gulf Cooperation Council, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman, are expected to meet and discuss closer union among the six countries on May 14.
The member states claim the purpose of the unity is to counter regional threats.
In December 2011, King of the Arabians, Sheikh of the Burning Sands Abdullah ... Fifth out of 37 sons of King Abdulaziz to ascend to the throne. He is, after his half-brothers Bandar and Musa'id, the third eldest of the living sons of Abdul Aziz ibn Saud. Abdullah's mother is from the Rashid clan, longtime rivals of the Saud. He has 6 sons and 15 daughters and about $20 billion. His youngest son is just seven years old... called on the council members to move "beyond the stage of cooperation and into the stage of unity in a single entity."
Reports say Saudi Arabia will merge initially with Bahrain in order for the six-member Arab council to reach unity.
This comes while some members of the council have expressed concern ...meaning the brow was mildly wrinkled, the eyebrows drawn slightly together, and a thoughtful expression assumed, not that anything was actually done or indeed that any thought was actually expended... about Saudi Arabia's possible dominance over the other five countries if the council becomes unified.
A Qatari official, whose name was not mentioned in the news reports, said on Friday that Doha "sees this all as Saudi's way of undermining the [Persian] Gulf States bilateral relations and forcing its own agenda."
Meanwhile, ...back at the argument, Jane reached into her purse for her .38... many commentators say it is unlikely that such unification occur within the [Persian] Gulf Cooperation Council.
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#1
Iff among other Iran is indeed trying to control or dominate both sides of the Persian Gulf in order to force any anti-NucProg, US-led invasion force to stay outside of the SoH AMAP AFAP ALAP, then it is unlikely Iran will tolerate this new Union.
Bahraini security forces fires tear gas and birdshot on Saturday to disperse protests staged in Shiite villages in solidarity with tossed in the calaboose You have the right to remain silent... opposition activists, witnesses said.
Dozens erupted into the streets in several villages following calls by the February 14 Coalition -- a youth group that works mainly on cyber social networks with no public leaders.
Witnesses said that some demonstrators burned tires and garbage containers in the middle of the roads, and that some were hit by birdshot pellets and others hurt by tear gas.
Men and women carried posters of leading opposition figures who are behind bars, including Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, who has been on hunger strike since February, and Nabeel Rajab, who has been held for a week pending investigations over tweets deemed insulting to the government.
"We shall never forget the tossed in the calaboose You have the right to remain silent... ," they chanted.
"Khalifa, we shall never abandon Abdulhadi," they also chanted addressing Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman, who is widely despised by the Shiite majority of the kingdom ruled by the Al-Khalifa Sunni dynasty.
Amnesia Amnesty International says 60 people have been killed since Shiite-led democracy protests began in February 2011, including a brutal mid-March crackdown last year.
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[Yemen Post] Yemeni military sources have denied that US forces are brought to participate in fighting Al-Qaeda in the southern governorate of Abyan ...a governorate of Yemen. The region was a base to the Aden-Abyan Islamic Army terrorist group until it dropped the name and joined al-Qaeda. Its capital is Zinjibar. In March 2011, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula declared the governate an Islamic Emirate after seizing control of the region. The New York Times fastidiously reported that those in control, while Islamic hard boyz, are not in fact al-Qaeda, but something else that looks, tastes, smells, and acts the same. Yemeni government forces launched an effort to re-establish control of the region when President-for-Life Saleh was tossed and the carnage continues...
The sources made it clear that a number of military US experts were brought in to train anti-terrorism forces tasked with fighting al-Qaeda in some southern governorates.
Sources had told Yemen Post that the United States sent nearly 45 counter-terror trainers to Yemen this week in an effort to strengthen the Yemeni government's ability to fight al-Qaeda.
According to the Christian Science Monitor, the Pentagon announced that it has begun sending US troops into Yemen.
" The troops will help train Yemeni soldiers, and together with a campaign of drone strikes and an increased intelligence presence, the aim is to hold AQAP in check while rebuilding the Yemeni government's capacity to fight its own battles" the newspaper added
Meanwhile, ...back at the scene of the crime, Lieutenant Queeg had an idea: there was a simple way to tell whether Manetti had been the triggerman -- just look at his shoes!... the Yemeni military started its attacks against some areas of Abyan that are under the control of the Anar Al-Sharia (Supporters of the Islamic Law) an Al-Qaeda-linked group.
Local sources affirmed that rocks of kabooms were heard in Jaar after military units imposed a siege on the town since the morning of Saturday.
The sources affirmed that the military goes on its progress, pointing out that it stormed the town from its western-north direction.
Three big shots of Al-Qaeda leaders were killed in Lawdar town of Abyan on Thursday and Friday after festivities broke out between the 111 Infantry Brigade and public committee formed of local rustics.
However, women are made to be loved, not understood... Al-Qaeda killed and captured dozens of Yemeni soldiers on Monday two days after Yemen President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi vowed to defeat Al-Qaeda in Abyan, his birthplace province.
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[Yemen Post] Oman has ordered the staff of its embassy to leave Yemen and head to Muscat for the time being after threats from an anonymous group, Alahale reported, quoting a diplomat at the embassy on Saturday.
"The Omani embassy in Yemen received threats from unknown people. The Sultanate of Oman took the threats seriously and ordered its staff to leave the country indefinitely," the diplomat said, according to the website.
"The embassy did not close its door. The ambassador and the Omani staff have just been ordered by the Omani Foreign Ministry to head to Muscat," the diplomat said.
The Yemeni workers continue and will continue their work at the embassy until the Omani staff is ordered to come back, the diplomat said. "The Omani authorities are currently contacting the Yemeni authorities to upgrade security around the embassy compound and the residence of the Omani staff".
"The staff will resume job, expectedly within a month, when the Omani authorities get sure the security level around the embassy is much better," the website quoted the diplomat as saying.
Weeks ago, the Saudi embassy was shut down in protest at the continuous detention of the Saudi consul, Abdullah Al-Khalidi, who was kidnapped and taken to Shabwa province in March.
Al-Qaeda, which has also kidnapped a Swiss woman and a Frenchie in the past two months, was behind the abduction of the Saudi consul in Aden.
The authorities are exerting major efforts to release the foreigners amid continuous battles on the Death Eaters in southern and southeastern regions including Shabwa and Abyan ...a governorate of Yemen. The region was a base to the Aden-Abyan Islamic Army terrorist group until it dropped the name and joined al-Qaeda. Its capital is Zinjibar. In March 2011, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula declared the governate an Islamic Emirate after seizing control of the region. The New York Times fastidiously reported that those in control, while Islamic hard boyz, are not in fact al-Qaeda, but something else that looks, tastes, smells, and acts the same. Yemeni government forces launched an effort to re-establish control of the region when President-for-Life Saleh was tossed and the carnage continues...
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,(Sh.M.Network) -- A Dutch Navy vessel on Friday rescued seventeen people who were being held hostage on a suspected pirate dhow off the coast of Somalia, the Dutch Ministry of Defense said. Eleven suspected pirates were taken into custody.
The Dutch Navy warship Van Amstel came across the dhow when its helicopter carried out a reconnaissance flight in the area. The dhow was pulling two smaller skiffs carrying ladders behind it, but the suspected pirates threw them overboard once they noticed they were discovered.
"The Van Amstel headed to the location and made radio contact. The dhow then stopped," the Dutch Ministry of Defense said in a statement. "With the use of Rhibs, fast motorboats, a special boarding-unit consisting of marines made the ship safe under observation of the (Van Amstel helicopter) Lynx."
The marines took eleven suspected pirates into custody and seized weapons, ammunition and other items which can be used in piracy. The Ministry said it also rescued seventeen hostages although their nationalities were not immediately released and it was unclear when they were taken hostage.
"The freed crew is doing fine considering the circumstances and has continued on their way," the statement added. "The suspected pirates were transferred to the frigate. At the moment the staff of the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... mission Atalanta is discussing the possibilities of prosecuting the suspected pirates."
Last month, the Danish Navy warship Absalon freed nine Paks and three Iranians who were being held captive by Somali pirates in the Horn of Africa off the coast of Somalia.
Seychelleslater agreed to prosecute four of the Somali pirates, but it remains unclear what will happen to the other pirates. Most pirates are eventually released as many countries cannot or do not want to prosecute them.
In February, a similar operation carried out by Absalon resulted in the deaths of two hostages while several others were rescued. But with none of the nearby countries willing to prosecute the pirates, the seventeen suspects involved in the incident were released in April.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/13/2012
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#1
Good things happen when you name a warship after a beer.
Posted by: Richard Aubrey ||
05/13/2012 9:43
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Al-Nusra Front, an Islamist group unknown before the Syrian revolt, released a video on Saturday claiming responsibility for twin suicide kabooms in Damascus ...The place where Pencilneck hangs his brass hat... that killed 55 people.
The video says the Thursday bombings, the deadliest since the uprising against Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad's The Scourge of Hama... regime erupted in March 2011, were "in response to regime bombing of residential areas in Damascus, Idlib, Hama, Daraa provinces and others."
Al-Nusra Front, which does not give a precise date for the attacks, says it has launched a "military operation in Damascus against the regime strongholds, targeting the Paleostine branch of the security services."
Those were the buildings targeted in Thursday's bombings.
The statement accompanying the video, dated May 10 but posted on the site on Saturday, is titled "Communique No. 4," although the group has already posted seven such communiques.
The group has grabbed credit for previous attacks, including double blasts in Damascus on March 17 that killed 27 people, as well as two other deadly kabooms in the capital and two in the northern city of Aleppo ...For centuries, Aleppo was Greater Syria's largest city and the Ottoman Empire's third, after Constantinople and Cairo. Although relatively close to Damascus in distance, Aleppans regard Damascenes as country cousins...
Thursday's car boomings in Damascus left 55 dead and nearly 400 maimed, with the regime and opposition trading accusations of responsibility.
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05/13/2012
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[Iran Press TV] Egypt's Supreme Administrative Court has overturned a ruling that would have suspended the country's upcoming presidential election and has ordered the election to be held in due time.
The decision comes only a few days after a provincial administrative court issued an order to suspend the presidential elections, scheduled to start on May 23, over a lawsuit.
The ruling came after a lawyer filed a complaint, challenging the legality of an article of the presidential elections law.
The court in Cairo ruled that the country's election commission has exceeded its powers by calling on the voters to head to the polls on May 23.
It claimed that the date had wrongly been set by an independent electoral commission rather than by the ruling military council.
Legal experts said they expected the election to proceed as scheduled since the military council has reiterated that the presidential election will be held on time and it will transfer power to an elected president by the end of the transitional period.
Egyptians are to vote in the presidential polls on May 23 and 24 while a run-off has been planned for June 16 and 17, if necessary.
It will be the country's first presidential race since the toppling of long-term US-backed Hosni Mubarak ...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011... in a popular 2011 revolution.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/13/2012
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[Yemen Post] Scores of people were maimed when the security forces cracked down a demonstration in Yemen's western Hodeida province on Saturday, locals said by telephone.
Many central security were dispatched to the streets early Saturday with batons and teargas to face the demonstration organized by the physicians' syndicate, they said, adding the protest was held to demand removing head of the health ministry's office in Hodeida.
The forces intercepted the people and prevented them from heading to the compound of the provincial government firing teargas, beating and hurling stones on them, the sources added.
"It was a battle between the people and the forces with the two sides clashing and fighting each other with stones and batons," the continued.
Many were maimed, especially from the civilians and there were injuries among the forces, they said. "No one knew how many forces were maimed because of heavy teargas fire on the people".
Medical sources said more than 263 civilians inhaled smoke and among those who were rushed to hospitals were those suffering from injuries caused by batons.
Revolts at Yemen's public offices have been continuing since a power-sharing government took office after the 2011 popular uprising.
In most cases, the state employees and unionists demand to remove heads of offices and other corrupt officials including the remnants of the former regime.
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05/13/2012
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[Iran Press TV] Four coppers have been killed by a roadside kaboom in Badghis province, which is located 555 kilometers (344 kilometers) northwest of the Afghan capital Kabul.
Provincial governor's front man Sharafudin Majedi said that a police pick-up truck hit a roadside kaboom planted by cut-throats in the Qadis district of the province on Saturday.
"Unfortunately, all four coppers onboard were killed," he added.
Roadside bombs and improvised bombs (IEDs) are by far the most lethal weapon Talibs use against Afghan forces, foreign troops, and civilians.
The homemade explosives accounted for about half of the 1,500 civilian deaths in the first six months of last year, according to the United Nations ...Parkinson's Law on an international scale...
Posted by: Fred ||
05/13/2012
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Via Stripes, from the Washington Post's "Don't Kill Me When You Take Over" files:
Afghan commanders have refused more than a dozen times within the past two months to act on U.S. intelligence regarding high-level insurgents, arguing that night-time operations to target the men would result in civilian casualties, Afghan officials say. The defiance highlights the shift underway in Afghanistan as Afghan commanders make use of their newfound power to veto operations proposed by their NATO counterparts. Many of the rejected night operations are later conducted once civilians are no longer in the vicinity of the targets, said Gen. Sher Mohammad Karimi, the top Afghan army officer.
To Afghan leaders, the decisions made by their commanders reflect growing Afghan autonomy from Western forces as NATO draws down, and prove that Afghan forces are willing to exercise more caution than foreign troops when civilian lives are at stake. But the resistance to American guidance on night operations represents the clearest indication to date that Afghan military commanders are heeding a directive from President Hamid Karzai last month. Just a day after signing a 10-year bilateral agreement with the United States, Karzai said Afghan soldiers should discard questionable information provided by the U.S. military. Each time civilians are killed in either a NATO or Afghan operation, Karzai or one of his advisers calls the Defense Ministry for an explanation. Karimi said the president's involvement in military affairs centers largely on reducing civilian casualties rather than on dictating troop levels or strategy.
U.S. officials point to progress they have made in their own efforts to reduce civilian casualties, and say that while the Afghans occasionally choose not to act on American intelligence, night operations are nonetheless frequently conducted. Americans continue to provide logistical support and backup, U.S. officials say, using their aircraft to deposit Afghan soldiers at the targets.
[Yemen Post] Gunmen, believed to be from the southern secessionist movement, Harak, took over a military post in Yemen's southern Dhale province on Friday, informed sources told the Yemen Post.
The post is based on the peak of the highest mountain in the province and fierce battles erupted between the forces and the gunnies, the sources said.
"The attack on the military post took place during the prayers on Friday when the gunnies exploited the absence of the troops who were at mosque," they said.
Furthermore, the gunnies besieged another nearby military post and the forces were fighting them to retake the seized one, the Dar Al-Haid camp, and lift the besiege, they added.
The southern movement, Harak, emerged in 2007 to demand legal rights of the people in the south but later it turned to be divided into wings including armed ones.
Separately, the army is preparing to storm from all directions Zinjibar, the capital of Abyan ...a governorate of Yemen. The region was a base to the Aden-Abyan Islamic Army terrorist group until it dropped the name and joined al-Qaeda. Its capital is Zinjibar. In March 2011, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula declared the governate an Islamic Emirate after seizing control of the region. The New York Times fastidiously reported that those in control, while Islamic hard boyz, are not in fact al-Qaeda, but something else that looks, tastes, smells, and acts the same. Yemeni government forces launched an effort to re-establish control of the region when President-for-Life Saleh was tossed and the carnage continues... , to clear cut-throats from the remaining areas, after the forces in association with popular fighters have recently regained control of some areas in it. Al-Qaeda cut-throats seized Zinjibar and other towns in Abyan last year.
In southern and southeastern regions, the army, with direct support from the US, has been fighting Al-Qaeda jihad boys, mainly in Abyan and Shabwa, for the past few years.
Hundreds of cut-throats have been killed and injured in the past few weeks including senior jihad boy leaders wanted by the US. Some of the leaders were killed in drone strikes in Shabwa.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/13/2012
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(Sh. M. Network)- The regional administration of Hiraan region for Somali government has strongly denied No, no! Certainly not! reports of mass arrests by Al shabab beturbanned goons linked with Al Qaeda in the region.
"It was baseless and exaggerated propaganda that Al shabab fighters have kidnapped dozens of local Somali Traditional elders by the end of last week as they were preparing to travel to Mogadishu for taking part the on going clan-elders' gathering in the capital," said Kamadid Mumin Ali,the head of the aid agencies relations for Hiiran regional administration.
He said the traditional elders from the Hiiran region have already arrived at the meeting inMogadishu, rebuffing recent comments made by Somali MP Dahir Amin Jesow n which he reported that 100 of Somali elders were jugged Drop the rosco and step away witcher hands up! by the beturbanned goons for their intension of Mogadishu meeting Participation.
It was impossible to reach Al shabab leaders for comments to verify these contradicting reports. the group has already threatened the elders at the meeting in mogadishu who are tasked to select a constituent assembly that will adop the draft constitution and new parliament of Somalia.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/13/2012
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[Dawn] The Pak prime minister, who is currently in the United Kingdom on an official five-day visit, has denied the presence of Ayman al-Zawahiri ... Formerly second in command of al-Qaeda, now the head cheese, occasionally described as the real brains of the outfit. Formerly the Mister Big of Egyptian Islamic Jihad. Bumped off Abdullah Azzam with a car boom in the course of one of their little disputes. Is thought to have composed bin Laden's fatwa entitled World Islamic Front Against Jews and Crusaders. Currently residing in the North Wazoo area. That is not a horn growing from the middle of his forehead, but a prayer bump, attesting to how devout he is... on Pak soil.
"No, no -- perish the thought! And also, pshaw! We would know if he were here, after all... unless we didn't, of course, like that Osama bin Laden, damn his eyes."
In interviews to British news outlets on Saturday, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani ... Pakistain's erstwhile current prime minister, whose occasional feats of mental gymnastics can be awe-inspiring ... said the al Qaeda leader is not in Pakistain and that the US has failed to provide any "actionable information" to suggest otherwise.
"Why should I think he (Zawahiri) is in Pakistain?" Gilani asked the Daily Telegraph. "You (US) have claimed that somebody has said that he is in Pakistain... if there is any information, please share it with us."
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ... sometimes described as The Woman to Call at 3 a.m. and at other times as Mrs. Bill, never as Another Al Haig ... on Monday had said the US believed Zawahiri was present somewhere in Pakistain.
"There have been lots of ups and downs in our relationship," PM Gilani said in another interview later on Saturday. "We know the importance of the United States. We really want to improve our relations. We are in the middle of discussions and I am sure that better things will come out."
Gilani stressed that he wanted to improve relations with the US following the killing of al Qaeda chief the late Osama bin Laden ... who has left the building... in Pakistain last year.
Moreover, the premier described the relationship between the US and Pak intelligence agencies as "good".
"All high-value targets of al Qaeda have been achieved with the support and help of the ISI," he said. "Therefore, when we are working together so closely, I think there should be no hesitation in sharing information with Pakistain."
The prime minister said in his Saturday's interview that there was insufficient evidence to warrant Saeed's arrest. "If you arrest him, that means he will be released by the courts. For the courts you need more evidence," he added.
The Pak premier is in London to review the one-year progress of the Pak-UK Strategic Dialogue process.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/13/2012
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#1
Yup, Gilani lies, ae know that, Now the world Knows that.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
05/13/2012 2:52
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[Iran Press TV] A symbolic War Crimes Tribunal in Malaysia has found former US President George W. Bush and several other members of his administration guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity , Press TV reports.
Golly.
The second "Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Tribunal", part of an initiative by former Malaysian premier Mahathir Mohamad, in a unanimous vote on Saturday found Bush and seven of his associates, including former Vice President Dick Cheney and former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld guilty of torture and war crimes.
The court also heard evidence from former detainees in Iraq and Guantanamo Bay, of torture methods used by US soldiers during their captivity in prisons run by American forces.
A former inmate, Abbas Abid appeared in a scarf fearing reprisals. He enacted how US troops subjected him to electric shocks, beatings and sexual abuse over a number of months.
High ranking former UN officials present in the courtroom expressed frustration over the evidence. "The UN is a weak body ... and it's corrupted by member states, who use the Security Council for their own interests. They don't respect the charter. They don't respect the international law. They don't respect the Geneva Conventions," former UN Assistant Secretary General, Denis Halliday told Press TV.
"As long as they continue to use the UN it's going to be somehow redundant possibly a dangerous and certainly corrupted organization," Halliday went on to say.
Meanwhile, ...back at the shouting match, a new, even louder, voice was to be heard... Mahatir remains determined to bring Bush and his cohorts to justice.
In response to a question on the sidelines of the court regarding the Malaysian police's authority to arrest the criminals of war, Mahathir expressed hope that the charged officials won't be invited to Malaysia.
"I hope people in the world will take notice and they should actually ... these are basically murderers and they kill on large scale," the former Malaysian premier maintained.
The symbolic court was first held in November 2011 during which Bush and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair were found guilty for committing "crimes against peace" during the Iraq war.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/13/2012
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#1
It would be appropriate if Mahathir Mohamad accidentally ingested 4,000 mics of orange sunshine.
Posted by: Water Modem ||
05/13/2012 0:37
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THE SAS has been fighting Al Qaeda forces of Evil in Yemen. Our elite servicemen are thought to have been involved in hunting leaders of Al Qaeda In The Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), targeting bomb-makers.
The revelation comes days after a double agent with British links infiltrated AQAP, posing as a jacket wallah, and escaped with their latest "undetectable" bomb designed to bring down a US-bound passenger jet.
It is believed that thanks to his information a CIA drone strike in a mountainous region of Yemen killed AQAP leader Fahd al-Quso.
He was on the FBI's most wanted list with a £4million bounty on his head. Now this reward seems likely to go to the MI6-trained agent.
He could also be eligible for a further £20million from the US State department for preventing a terrorist attack.
Reports suggested yesterday the agent was born in Yemen not Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in their national face... and acquired a British passport as he had worked and studied here.
It is believed he spent time at a language school in the Yemen capital Sana'a, where he may have been recruited as a suicide bomber.
The Saudi secret service, the Mabahith, had already recruited him while working closely with MI6, whose expertise in handling infiltration agents is world renowned.
Intelligence expert and author Gordon Thomas said: "He told the officers he was willing to join Al Qaeda if he could guarantee his family would be flown to the West. After months of secret meetings with his MI6 controller he was given the cover name Falcon."
Mr Thomas says the agent met the world's most hunted bomb-maker, chemist Ibraham Hassan al Asiri, in remote mountains and was shown how to use the suicide bomb.
Asiri, now believed to be in Saudi Arabia, knows he may not have long to live and has been passing on his bomb-making skills to at least 10 others in Yemen. He is thought to have created the underpants bomb for former London student Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab who tried to bring down a jet over Detroit and is now in a US jail.
However, some people cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go... the SAS and the CIA are striking back against Al Qaeda in Yemen by monitoring the movements of suspected beturbanned goons and supplying information for drone strikes. Last Wednesday night in the town of Jaar, an Al Qaeda stronghold in the Abyan ...a governorate of Yemen. The region was a base to the Aden-Abyan Islamic Army terrorist group until it dropped the name and joined al-Qaeda. Its capital is Zinjibar. In March 2011, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula declared the governate an Islamic Emirate after seizing control of the region. The New York Times fastidiously reported that those in control, while Islamic hard boyz, are not in fact al-Qaeda, but something else that looks, tastes, smells, and acts the same. Yemeni government forces launched an effort to re-establish control of the region when President-for-Life Saleh was tossed and the carnage continues... province, a drone killed eight militants. Intelligence suggested the group had been meeting to discuss renewed terrorist outrages.
One of the group, called Jallad, had been in charge of supplying arms for AQAP fighters in Yemen.
On April 22, the financier of Yemen's Al Qaeda, Mohammed Said al-Omda, also known as Abu Gharib Taizi, was killed in an air strike in the northeast of the country. He was considered AQAP's number four.
A week before that, a US drone destroyed a vehicle carrying Al Qaeda beturbanned goons in Bayda, some 130 miles south-east of the capital Sana'a, killing three leaders. One was Abu Hamza al-Sabri, referred to as the "Emir (prince) of Bayda".
The drone strikes are seen as the prelude to an all-out offensive on Al Qaeda strongholds by the SAS and US troops.
However, some people cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go... while military action intensifies in Yemen, there are fears this may provoke agents in Britannia to mount attacks during the Olympics in July.
Russian secret agents last week smashed a plot by Islamist Chechen separatists to attack the Winter Olympics in Sochi in 2014. Portable surface-to-air missiles, grenade launchers, flame throwers, rifles, explosives and maps were seized.
#1
"On April 22, the financier of Yemen's Al Qaeda, Mohammed Said al-Omda, also known as Abu Gharib Taizi, was killed in an air strike in the northeast of the country. He was considered AQAP's number four."
I hadn't heard that.
Too much work, too little time..
Posted by: American Delight ||
05/13/2012 7:27
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#2
But, but... I thought the war on terror was OVER!! Obama lied?
Posted by: Bobby ||
05/13/2012 10:52
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#4
That would the BRITISH Special Air Service (SAS), as in Forces of the United Kingdom, as in the same blokes whom, while attempting to stop tribal slaughter in Kenya, allegedly imprisoned and tortured British Army mess cook Hussein Onyango Obama....for hmmm, hmmmm, allegedly leaking sensitive military operational information to rebels.
[An Nahar] Bomb disposal experts carried out a series of controlled blasts in the British town of Cheltenham, media reports said Saturday, after police evacuated the area and held two men on terror charges.
The local men, aged 52 and 31, were jugged Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out! over explosives offences in Friday raids on two locations in a quiet residential suburb of the spa town, which is also home to Britannia's national electronic surveillance center.
Some 100 homes were evacuated overnight as counter-terror police investigated "items found in a garage" and the pair were then rearrested on suspicion of preparing or instigating a terrorist act, police said.
Police warned residents to expect a "controlled disruption" at the site, where four loud blasts were heard in television footage broadcast by ITV on Saturday afternoon.
Britannia's government communications headquarters, GCHQ, is based in Cheltenham, where thousands of workers gather intelligence through intercepting electronic communications.
Mainly based in a purpose-built development known as the "doughnut", they also defend the country's own information and communications systems from hackers.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/13/2012
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#1
held two men on terror charges.
Clive? Nigel?
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/13/2012 8:51
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#2
2 and a bit miles from the nearest mosque.
Very close to a school and a college.
[Daily Nation (Kenya)] South Sudan has withdrawn hundreds of police from the territory of Abyei that it disputes with Sudan ahead of a UN Security Council ultimatum, a UN front man said on Friday.
But the United Nations ...When talk is your weapon it's hard to make yourself heard over the sound of artillery... is still "verifying" the South's claim that it has withdrawn all forces from the small territory on the uncharted border between the two rivals, said the front man, Martin Nesirky.
Abyei is one of a many disputes between South Sudan and Sudan that has brought the two sides close to all-out war. Khartoum troops seized most of Abyei a year ago.
The United States and 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... welcomed South Sudan's withdrawal and said Sudan should now pull its troops out of the territory.
AU chief Jean Ping congratulated Juba on "honouring its engagement to withdraw from Abyei" and called on Khartoum to do the same and withdraw its forces from Abyei in accordance with an AU roadmap it endorsed to avert war between the two sides, the 54-member group said in a statement.
The UN Security Council has given both sides until May 16 to withdraw their forces from Abyei and return to peace talks on all their disputes or face possible sanctions.
The two Sudans have already missed one Security Council deadline to halt hostilities.
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05/13/2012
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#1
Why on earth should the UN be considering sanctions against South Sudan, which is the victim in this entire affair?
If any sanctions should be considered, it should be against the aggressor in Khartoum.
Posted by: American Delight ||
05/13/2012 11:48
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#2
"Why on earth should the UN be considering sanctions against South Sudan, which is the victim in this entire affair?"
You just answered your own question, AD.
Also, I'm sure there's bribery money involved.
Posted by: Barbara ||
05/13/2012 13:48
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[An Nahar] A U.S. drone killed five suspected members of al-Qaeda in two rocket attacks on vehicles transporting the jihadists near Marib in eastern Yemen, a tribal chief said.
"A drone fired two rockets at two vehicles, killing five al-Qaeda members," near the village of al-Hosoon, outside the city of Marib, 170 kilometers east of the capital Sanaa, he said.
Other witnesses confirmed the attack.
The attack was reported shortly after another raid further to the east, near Shabwa, took out six suspected members of al-Qaeda, according to a local official, as U.S. drone raids intensified and the Yemeni army moved to reclaim areas controlled by the bad turbans.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/13/2012
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(Sh.M.Network)-Al Qaeda's leader, Ayman al-Zawahri, has released a new video in which he encourages Somali Orcs and similar vermin to fight on despite the challenges.
In the video, reported Friday by the Site Intelligence Group which monitors myrmidon activities, Mr. Zawahri urges the Shabaab Orcs and similar vermin not to be deterred by American drone attacks.
It is Mr. Zawahri's second video address to the group, which formally joined Al Qaeda in February.
The Shabaab's fighters have increasingly come under pressure in recent times from regional armies and government forces that are pushing them from three sides inside Somalia.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/13/2012
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#1
"You guys keep fighting whilst I bravely stay here and collect the necessary 'boodle'."
Sincerely,
Your Pal Ayman
I.S.I. Hamza Camp Resort & Spa
Muree Road
Rawalpindi, PK
Ph 9290791
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
05/13/2012 12:08
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#2
He's following the brave example set by bin Laden of hiding in a room and ranting at the TV.
[Iran Press TV] Violent suicidal kabooms in Damascus ...Capital of the last overtly fascist regime in the world... leave no doubt that main parties interfering in Syria are no longer capable of managing the crisis and a third party has entered the scene whose goals and equations differ from others.
Bombing attack that targeted the head of the UN observer mission Maj. Gen. Robert Mood in Daraa one day before the twin kabooms in Damascus proved that the plan of UN-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... special 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... cannot resolve Syria's crisis.
Everyone fears the alternative to Annan's plan; they all talk about it but they fear resorting to it. All-out civil war in Syria will plunge the entire Middle East into changes and massive chaos. It will also involve countries that currently think themselves immune and consider arming the opposition the best way for overthrowing the Syrian establishment. They either want to settle old scores, or strengthen their political position along with their financial capability which is based on one-crop economy instead of thinking about Syria's fate and the future of its people.
Western governments that are the main supporters of Bashir al-Assad's opposition are gradually finding out that their protégé is not able to change the political scene inside Syria, and is more like a theatrical group that artificial and calculated encouragement from outside the country that pursues an vague goal encourages them to go on.
Diplomacy requires deliberation, but during crisis this hesitation could turn into a cause for spreading crisis. International condemnation for recent bombings in Damascus has not been strong enough to dissuade perpetrators from repeating the attacks. This foolish hesitation reached new heights when a roadside kaboomwent kaboom! a few seconds after the head of UN mission drove by.
Everybody knows that such bombs are remotely went kaboom! by people who usually observe the scene of terrorist operations. The Norwegian officer, however, hastily noted that perhaps the main target has been a truck carrying Syrian troops which was escorting UN observers!
A similar reaction was shown to two other kabooms which shook Damascus on Thursday leaving 55 people dead. The US immediately exonerated the opposition and the Security Council called it a blow to Kofi Annan's plan. It seems some parties are still in doubt about the beginning of a civil war in Syria and that security agencies of Arab and Western courtiers as well as Israel and Turkey are transferring experiences they have learned in Iraq to Syria.
More ridiculous than the mild position taken by the Security Council and the Western states has been hasty statements and remarks by the Syrian opposition which attribute all acts of sabotage and terrorism to the Syrian regime. By doing this, however, they are increasingly losing credit and have been charged with following policies of Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in their national face... and Qatar. The latest two blasts in Damascus mark a turning point in 14-month crisis of Syria and prove weakness of the central government in maintaining internal security. No government will ever embark on such kabooms to pave the way for more chaos in the country only hoping that foreign states will become concerned about presence of al-Qaeda in that country.
According to official accounts, the first blast has been small, but the second suicidal bomber went kaboom! his bomb when people rushed to the site of the first blast; a totally calculated and planned attack. Presence of suicidal bombers draws attention to Salafi elements and al-Qaeda.
The fairest stance might be that neither the government nor the opposition is responsible for the blasts and a third party called al-Qaeda, under any new name, makes its way into the crisis like a bulldozer. Is this the reality? There is no doubt that in the eyes of the prejudiced individuals, who analyze regional crises in terms of religious rifts, the Syrian government is banished and impious and the killing of Syrians is justifiable. But what is the fault of the ordinary people?
Al-Qaeda does not exist and even if it exists, it is same as a number of security organizations that are working in Syria, Iraq and Yemen. A terrorist attack on such a large scale requires huge financial, preparatory and arms resources, the costs of which cannot be provided only by so-called charity associations in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and the UAE.
Training jacket wallahs, providing bomb-laden cars and crossing them through checkpoints need big security jobs. It would not be possible without the interference of a foreign government or security organization. The scenario is planned in such a way that the suicide bomber only sees a limited number of people like himself and thinks that he will find salvation if he pushes the button. He is the last person that carries out the kaboom but he is traced back to security organizations after crossing several layers.
Syria may turn into a second Iraq, third Leb or another Somalia. There is no other solution but reaching an immediate understanding between the government and the opposition and staying away from foreign influence. But there are certain individuals among both sides that regard any possible understanding as the end of their existence.
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05/13/2012
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[An Nahar] Yemeni troops launched an all-out offensive on Saturday to retake the southern city of Zinjibar, held for a year by al-Qaeda gunnies, in fighting that killed 12 people, military and local sources said.
The "wide offensive" began from three sides and is supported by the air force and the navy," said a military official, adding that Defense Minister Mohammed Nasser Ahmed is supervising the operation from nearby.
"The defense minister is supervising a military plan to regain control of the city of Zinjibar and (the neighboring town of) Jaar from al-Qaeda gunnies," the official said.
Two soldiers, including a colonel, were killed in the fighting, while 12 others were maimed, he said.
Six fighters of the al-Qaeda-linked Partisans of Sharia (Islamic law), were also killed in the attack, said a tribal source in Jaar, to where the gunnies evacuate their casualties.
The beturbanned goons took control of Zinjibar, the picturesque provincial capital of Abyan ...a governorate of Yemen. The region was a base to the Aden-Abyan Islamic Army terrorist group until it dropped the name and joined al-Qaeda. Its capital is Zinjibar. In March 2011, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula declared the governate an Islamic Emirate after seizing control of the region. The New York Times fastidiously reported that those in control, while Islamic hard boyz, are not in fact al-Qaeda, but something else that looks, tastes, smells, and acts the same. Yemeni government forces launched an effort to re-establish control of the region when President-for-Life Saleh was tossed and the carnage continues... , last May. They also control Jaar and other parts of the province.
Military units also attacked Jaar from the west, the military official said, adding that troops reached the area of Kadama, on the outskirts of the town.
In the morning, air strikes hit Jaar, killing three al-Qaeda gunnies and a civilian, and wounding three civilians, a tribal source said.
The air raids were to pave the way for advancing troops, said another military official.
Yemen's new president, Abdrabuh Mansour Hadi, vowed last week to intensify the war against al-Qaeda, which has made much of the lawless southern and eastern part of the country a safe haven.
"The war against bully boyz has not started yet, and will not be over before we purge every province and village so that the displaced can return home peacefully," he warned.
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Railways minister Ghulam Ahmad Bilour of ANP told Mashriq that taking on America as enemy could cost Pakistain dear, hence Pakistain should think with a cool head instead of being swept away by passion. He said that if PM Gilani gets punished by the Supreme Court his political stature will increase. He said that NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all.... supply line should be resumed.
Egyptian dancer weds and divorces top holy man
Daily Mashriq reported that a belly dancer of Egypt revealed that she had wed and divorced the top leader of the Salafist Party Al Nur. But leader al Masari said that he could swear by Allah that he heard the name of the said dancer for the first time and had not wed her. But the Islamists of Egypt were greatly disturbed by the scandal.
Tehrik Insaf's internal conflicts
Daily Nawa-e-Waqt reported that internal rifts had appeared in Tehrik Insaf of Imran Khan ... aka Taliban Khan, who is the lightweight's lightweight... because the big names who had entered the party had developed differences with the top leader. A session at the house of Khwaja Muhammad Hoti was attended by Khursheed Mehmood Kasuri and other workers who thought that partymen were being insulted.
America recreating British India
Famous columnist Abdul Qadir Hasan wrote in Express that America wanted South Asia to revert to India under the British Raj with Sri Lanka, Pakistain and Bangladesh back as part of the Indian state. But in this plan Pakistain was the only obstacle because its Army was still ready to die (mar-mitna) for the state which was now a nuclear power. India did not have the guts to attack Pakistain and, if it did, nothing will be left of it (kuchch nahin bachay ga).
For a very tightly defined measure of nothing which means still more than of Pakistan, this is very true.
Columnist as arbiter
Columnist Nusrat Javeed wrote in Express that he found it strange that whenever a public figure became powerful he as a columnist started feeling hostile towards him, on the principle of accountability of public figures. He said he felt sympathy for Babar Awan who was once so powerful but was now Joseph without his caravan (Yusuf-e-bekarvan).
Fazl Karim too against NATO route
Great Barelvi religious leader Sahibzada Fazl Karim told Jinnah that reopening of the NATO route would be like signing the deed of slavery to the US. He said it would be criminal to sell the nation for a few dollars after the nation had rejected this sale. Pak rulers should learn from the downfall of Arab leaders.
Imran not opposed to NATO route
Daily Jang reported Imran Khan as saying that his party Tehrik Insaf will not support the opposition alliance opposing the resumption of NATO supply route. He said this after his representatives attended some rallies of the Defence of Pakistain Council composed of 40 religious parties now opposing the parliamentary recommendation that the supply route be reopened under new conditions.
Javed Hashmi took Rs 1.8 crore
Famous politician now in Tehrik Insaf Javed Hashmi told Express that he did go to the house of General Aslam Beg but did not take any money from the Mehrangate fund of Yunus Habib who said that Javed Hashmi indeed took Rs 1 crore 87 lakh.
Meera to become columnist
Famous Pak filmstar Meera told Jinnah that she was fond of writing from his childhood and could produce high quality writing in Urdu and now she did not need to pay an Urdu columnist to write a column in her praise. She will soon start writing her own column.
Can PM be punished for wife's sins?
According to Nawa-e-Waqt commenting on a case brought to the Supreme Court asking that PM Gilani be disqualified because his wife Fauzia Gilani had got crores of her loans written off incorrectly, the Chief Justice said: how can the prime minister be punished for the acts of his wife?
Son scared of his father Bilal Khar
Daily Nawa-e-Waqt reported that the son of Fakhra Khar whose face was destroyed allegedly after acid-throwing by Bilal Khar, don of a well-known leader in Punjab, was unwilling to come to Pakistain because he feared father. Fakhra tried to recover from the burn through plastic surgery in Italia but after it did not work she did away with himself. Noman Khar was scared of his father Bilal Khar who was acquitted of the accusation made by Fakhra that he had thrown acid on her face.
Fifty muftis give fatwas against NATO route
Reported from Lahore in daily Jang fifty muftis had issued fatwas saying that if NATO supply route was resumed it will be against Islamic law and that there will be disaster (azab) from Allah on whoever takes part in this deal. The muftis were all of Ahle Sunnat who stated that supply route enabled the slaughter of innocent Mohammedans. Hafiz Muhammad Saeed ...who would be wearing a canvas jacket with very long sleeves anyplace but Pakistain... and Munawwar Hasan were found in Defence of Pakistain Council dharna in front of parliament saying that they will go to the last extent to stop the NATO route from being opened.
Polishing Indian shoes by Pak lawyers
Reported in Jang president of Supreme Court Bar Association Yasin Azad said that two lawyers including an attorney general had gone in a delegation to India but soon left the delegation and began speaking against Pakistain's policies and apologising for the transgressions of Pakistain and reinforcing their sentiments by cleaning shoes at Sikh shrines. He demanded that action be taken against the erring lawyers.
'I will end half corruption in 9 days!'
Imran Khan was quoted in Nawa-e-Waqt as saying that he would end half the corruption in Pakistain in 9 days. He said this in reply to expressions of incredulity after he had earlier said that he would end all corruption in three months.
Too many blows to the head when he was a cricketeer, one suspects. The connection to reality is weak in this one.
Fazlur Rehman to stop NATO route with force
Chief of JUI Maulana Fazlur Rehman Deobandi holy man, known as Mullah Diesel during the war against the Soviets, his sympathies for the Taliban have never been tempered by honesty ... told Nawa-e-Waqt that if the establishment did not back off from a clash with his party it would be itself responsible for the consequences because he had decided to stop the resumption of the NATO supply route with violence.
Imran Khan's sixers and tsunami
Columnist Saleem Safi wrote in Jang that Imran Khan was referring too much to his party as tsunami and a cricket team in which he would hit sixers and bowl out PPP and PMLN in one ball. The fact was that after the Lahore jalsa his party had not staged an impressive follow-up in 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... and there was too much internal disorder (ifrat tafreet) to be seen in the party ranks. The columnist appealed to Imran Khan not to use the cricket terms too much because there was a limit to the similarities between the game and politics.
NATO supply route will lead to bloodshed
Quoted in Nawa-e-Waqt leader of JUI(S) Maulana Samiul Haq said that if the NATO supply route was resumed there would be bloodshed because the right to allow it belonged to 18 crore people of Pakistain and not parliament. Earlier the Taliban had threatened bloodshed if the route was reopened.
Al Qaeda is said to have been weakened globally by the death of its leader the late Osama bin Laden ... who used to be alive but now he's not... last year, but analysts say it is not clear if it makes it less deadly or more.
"It has become desperate," says Air Vice Marshall (r) Shahid Khan, a defence analyst. "Its organizational structure has weakened, and it feels vulnerable."
Because of this desperation, especially after the Arab Spring that is being seen as an ideological defeat for Al Qaeda in the Mohammedan world, the world's top terror network may reorient its operations and ideology and continue to carry out major terrorist attacks, according to former US counterterrorism official Carl Adams.
Al Qaeda is in a new phase, with a new leadership and a new strategy. The consequences of that strategy are yet to be seen.
The leadership
Dr Ayman al-Zawahiri ... Formerly second in command of al-Qaeda, now the head cheese, occasionally described as the real brains of the outfit. Formerly the Mister Big of Egyptian Islamic Jihad. Bumped off Abdullah Azzam with a car boom in the course of one of their little disputes. Is thought to have composed bin Laden's fatwa entitled World Islamic Front Against Jews and Crusaders. Currently residing in the North Wazoo area. That is not a horn growing from the middle of his forehead, but a prayer bump, attesting to how devout he is...
After Osama bin Laden's death on May 2 last year, Dr Ayman al-Zawahiri became the leader of the organization on June 16, 2011. He had been the ideological head of what is now known as the Egyptian Group within the Al Qaeda network. He has a Master's degree in surgery from Cairo University and was a leader of the Islamic Jihad ...created after many members of the Egyptian Mohammedan Brotherhood decided the organization was becoming too moderate. Operations were conducted out of Egypt until 1981 when the group was exiled after the liquidation of President Anwar Sadat. They worked out of Gaza until they were exiled to Lebanon in 1987, where they clove tightly to Hezbollah. In 1989 they moved to Damascus, where they remain a subsidiary of Hezbollah... group in Afghanistan in the 1980s. He became Osama's deputy after he merged Islamic Jihad with Al Qaeda in 1998.
Zawahiri has admitted in his book to have orchestrated the first suicide kaboom in Pakistain in 1995. The target was the Egyptian embassy in Islamabad.
Zwahiri was last seen, according to US intelligence reports, in Pakistain's Mohmand ... Named for the Mohmand clan of the Sarban Pahstuns, a truculent, quarrelsome lot. In Pakistain, the Mohmands infest their eponymous Agency, metastasizing as far as the plains of Beautiful Downtown Peshawar, Charsadda, and Mardan. Mohmands are also scattered throughout Pakistan in urban areas including Karachi, Lahore, and Quetta. In Afghanistan they are mainly found in Nangarhar and Kunar... Agency. The Americans believe he resides in North Wazoo and operates with the Haqqanis. He has shown strong-arm tactics forging alliances with Pakistain's sectarian and jihadi organizations to attack targets in Afghanistan and Pakistain.
A Libyan citizen who speaks fluent Pashtu, Urdu and English, Abu Yahya al-Libi is the second most big shot of Al Qaeda. He is the ideological and spiritual leader of Al Qaeda members fighting around the world, and heads the network's Sharia and Political Committee.
Jarret Brachman, a former analyst for the CIA, says the following about Libi: "He's a warrior. He's a poet. He's a scholar. He's a pundit. He's a military commander. And he's a very charismatic, young, brash rising star within Al Qaeda, and I think he has become the heir apparent to Osama bin Laden in terms of taking over the entire global jihadist movement."
Saif al-Adl is a former Egyptian Army Special Forces Officer who came to Afghanistan and has trained most of the key fighters of Al Qaeda and Afghan groups in weapons and military strategy.
He is the head of Al Qaeda's military committee and wrote one of the most read jihadist manuals, The Base of the Vanguard. He still trains most of the fighters of Al Qaeda and its affiliate groups in military combat.
According to Pakistain's ISI, Adl has trained the beturbanned goons who attacked the PNS Mehran navy base in 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... in 2011. Intelligence reports say he moves between North Waziristan and South Waziristan.
An American convert from Pennsylvania who was falsely reported to have been tossed in the clink Drop the rosco and step away witcher hands up! in Bloody Karachi, Gadahn is the global face of Al Qaeda influencing English speaking people around the world as Al Qaeda's chief front man and the head of its Information Committee. In his sermons, he urges Americans to stand up against their government.
In 2010, he released a video in which he offered Al Qaeda's 'peace plan'. Al Qaeda offered a truce in that video, if the US withdrew its troops from Mohammedan countries and stopped supporting Israel.
Other members of Al Qaeda's core council include: Khalib al-Habib (Egyptian), Adnan al Shukrijumah (Saudi), Atiyah Abd al-Rahman (Libyan), Hamza al-Jawfi (Saudi/Egyptian), Matiur Rehman (Pak), Nasser Abdul Karim al-Wahaysi (Saudi), Abu Mossab Abdelwadoud (Algerian), Fahd Mohammad Ahmed al-Quso (Yemeni) and Midhat Mursi (Egyptian).
A new strategy
After the death of Osama bin Laden last year and the killing of a large number of key operatives in US drone attacks in Pakistain, Al Qaeda has shifted its attention from South and Central Asia to Somalia and Yemen.
It has "outsourced most of its operations to various bad turban groups in Pakistain and Afghanistan", according to Art Keller, a former CIA official who had worked with the ISI to find Al Qaeda operatives in FATA.
In Somalia, Al Qaeda operates through Al-Shabaab ... Somalia's version of the Taliban, functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda... , while in Yemen, bad turban organization Ansar al-Sharia ...a Yemeni Islamist militia which claims it is not part of al-Qaeda, even though it works about the same and for the same ends... works with Al Qaeda to fight a war to overthrow the Yemeni government.
In Pakistain, Al Qaeda has also found reliable partners in the Haqqani Network. Badruddin Haqqani, Nasiruddin Haqqani and Khalil al Rahman Haqqani serve as deputies of Sirajuddin and Jalaluddin Haqqani and organize attacks on major targets in Afghanistan.
Ties between Al Qaeda and TTP have worsened over the last few years. "In fact, Al Qaeda in Pakistain has found new friends in the Punjabi Taliban, through the Pak Al Qaeda leader Matiur Rehman," an American intelligence official said.
Documents seized from bin Laden's compound and recently declassified by the US government show the Al Qaeda leadership was not happy with Hakeemullah Mehsud's leadership style and had asked him to focus his energies on Afghanistan rather than Pakistain.
"We have several important comments that cover the concept, approach, and behavior of the TTP in Pakistain, which we believe are passive behavior and clear legal and religious mistakes which might result in a negative deviation from the set path of the Jihadi Movement in Pakistain, which also are contrary to the objectives of Jihad and to the efforts exerted by us," Osama bin Laden said in a letter. He said the killing of Mohammedans and using people as human shields were part of these "mistakes".
Eventually, in late 2011, four major Taliban groups in Pakistain formed the Shura-e-Murakeba - after a deal was negotiated by Abu Yahya al-Libi, Sirajuddin Haqqani, Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Mansour, an Al Qaeda's Abdur Rehman Al Saudi - and decided to fight the US and other forces in Afghanistan.
The future of Al Qaeda:
"Where Al Qaeda goes from here is hard to determine," says Carl Adams. "Although they are not as powerful as they used to be, Al Qaeda is neither resting nor going away anytime soon. It is desperate for a big breakthrough, and that makes it an unguided missile: formidable, disorderly, and injurious - even if sometimes crashing short of the intended targets."
#3
Other members of Al Qaeda's core council include: ... Fahd Mohammad Ahmed al-Quso (Yemeni) ...
Is this the same guy who bought the farm in Yemen last week? Security must be pretty bad when even central committee members have to look over their shoulders.
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
05/13/2012 15:43
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#4
Is Osama sonny-boy HAMZA still AQ's "Crown Prince of Terror", vee ABU YAHYA AL-LIBI???
* As per Adam Gadahn, it is still, after all, the so-called "ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE".
* "AQ is neither resting nor going away anytime soon" > which, once again again, shows why Perts + US Govt. were premature in saying that post-Osama AQ was "on the verge of Defeat".
"THE SEARCHERS" WARD BOND = "PREMATURE, PREMATURE -SPELLED ??????????? - D *** NG IT, HOW DO YOU SPELL 'PREMATURE'"???
[Iran Press TV] The US has embarked on inciting Islamophobia ...the irrational fear that Moslems will act the way they usually do... as its post-Soviet agenda, in an attempt to create a global market for its arms production, an American political analyst tells Press TV.
In a Friday interview, Ralph Schoenman, an author and commentator, argued, "With the collapse of the Soviet Union, the entire rationale for the hundreds of billions of dollars that are allocated to the Pentagon and to the military, which is the largest factor in the entire capitalist economy, had been removed."
"US imperialism, which is the primary sponsor of the Israeli state, incorporated that notion of the necessity to demonize Islam and to create a rationale for permanent war in the region, and adapted it as the whole rationale for US capitalism and imperialism itself in its military projects," the analyst pointed out.
"It's the entire ... rationale for imperialism; for perpetual war on the peoples of the region; to seize their oil; to destroy their illusory sovereignty; to break up the nations into ethnic and religious components," Schoenman added.
The comments come on the heels of new media revelations that the US military has been offering a course which teaches that its enemy is Islam in general, suggesting a Hiroshima-type massacre to obliterate the Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina in what can be seen as another instance of promoting Islamophobia in the United States.
The course, titled "Perspectives on Islam and Islamic Radicalism," has been offered five times a year since 2004, with about 20 students each time, meaning roughly 800 students have taken the course over the years before it was removed in late April after protests. This is not the first such incident as only last year the FBI was forced to discontinue a lecture that was hostile to Islam. The instructor of the course had told agent trainees in Virginia that the more devout a Mohammedan is, the more likely he is to be violent.
The report comes less than two months after the US forces, in a blatantly Islamophobic act, burned the copies of the Holy Qur'an and other Islamic materials at the US-run Bagram Airbase in the province of Parwan in northeastern Afghanistan.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
The US doesn't need to convince the world to buy weapons, the crazy Islamist are the best sales men these weapon companies could have.
[Dawn] A high-level meeting between top leaders of the American and Pak armed forces was held at the Army's General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi on Saturday, DawnNews reported.
A delegation of the NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Originally it was a mutual defense pact directed against an expansionist Soviet Union. In later years it evolved into a mechanism for picking the American pocket while criticizing the cut of the American pants... -led International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) led by its commander General John Allen, which arrived in the Pak garrison town earlier today, met with the Pak Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Pervez Kiyani.
According to a blurb from the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), talks between the two key military officials were held over matters of border security.
The talks focused on operations in border areas and coordination mechanisms to avoid untoward incidents, said the blurb.
The issue of reopening ground supply routes to Afghanistan was also discussed at the meeting, sources told DawnNews.
Pakistain closed transit routes to Afghanistan after a NATO cross-border air attack last November killed 24 Pak soldiers at the Salala checkpost on the Pak-Afghan border.
The country has demanded a formal apology from the US for the cross-border attack before it reopens the supply routes, and has also called for an end to US drone strikes on its tribal areas bordering Afghanistan.
According to ISPR, the visit by the Isaf delegation is in connection to the Tripartite Commission meeting -- a trilateral meeting between the military authorities of Pakistain, Afghanistan and the Isaf scheduled to take place here.
"The tripartite commission is expected to meet after the arrival of Afghan army chief, General Sher Muhammad Karimi on Sunday," a security bigshot said, according to an AFP report. He said the date and time of the commission's meeting will be disclosed later.
Both the Pak Army chief and Gen Allen, the top American commander in Afghanistan, will be attending the meeting of the Tripartite Commission.
The meeting comes after NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen hinted on Friday that Pakistain could miss out on the important NATO summit in Chicago if it fails to reopen supply routes in time.
The conference in Chicago to be held on May 20-21, to be attended by more than 60 leaders and heads of state, is regarded as a crucial summit which will map out a future for Afghanistan after most foreign troops withdraw from the warn-ton country by the end of 2014.
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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 Obama administration is planning to announce this week a $680 million aid package to Israel for the procurement of additional Iron Dome batteries.
Faced with an order from President Obama to withdraw 23,000 troops by the end of the summer, and the prospect of further reductions next year, Allen is hastily transforming the U.S. military mission in Afghanistan. Instead of trying to continue large U.S. counterinsurgency operations for as long as he can, he is accelerating a handover of responsibility to Afghan security forces. He plans to order American and NATO troops to push Afghans into the lead across much of the country this summer, even in insurgent-ridden places that had not been candidates for an early transfer.
cycle of violence
...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...
Pervez 
David Cameron
Zawahiri
Asif Ali 
A deputy superintendent of police on Friday survived a 
King of the Arabians, Sheikh of the Burning Sands Abdullah
[Yemen Post] Yemeni military sources have denied that US forces are brought to participate in fighting Al-Qaeda in the southern governorate of 
Somali pirates
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
[Iran Press TV] Egypt's Supreme Administrative Court has overturned a ruling that would have suspended the country's upcoming presidential election and has ordered the election to be held in due time.
THE SAS has been fighting Al Qaeda 
[An Nahar] Yemeni troops launched an all-out offensive on Saturday to retake the southern city of Zinjibar, held for a year by al-Qaeda 
Opposing America may cost us dear
Maulana Fazlur Rehman
Mohmand
