Japan on Tuesday unveiled its biggest warship since World War II, a huge flat-top destroyer that has raised eyebrows in China and elsewhere because it bears a strong resemblance to a conventional aircraft carrier.
The ship, which has a flight deck that is nearly 820 feet long, is designed to carry up to 14 helicopters. Japanese officials say it will be used in national defense -- particularly in anti-submarine warfare and border-area surveillance missions -- and to bolster the nation's ability to transport personnel and supplies in response to large-scale natural disasters, like the devastating earthquake and tsunami in 2011.
Though the ship -- dubbed "Izumo" -- has been in the works since 2009, its unveiling comes as Japan and China are locked in a dispute over several small islands located between southern Japan and Taiwan. For months, ships from both countries have been conducting patrols around the isles, called the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyutai in China.
#6
The ship, which has a flight deck that is nearly 820 feet long, is designed to carry up to 14 helicopters.
Lots of real estate for helos; quite handy for amphib assault. My SWAG: they are going to stuff her (are Japanese ships 'she'?) to the gills with drones for numerical advantage in the coming troubles.
#7
Soryu is a new class of Japanese diesel-electric AIP submarine. Sister boats will be named after other mythological creatures (Soryu is 'blue dragon'), and so I don't know if the other names such as Akagi, etc are reserved for these new boats as they are built.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/06/2013 11:53
Comments ||
Top||
#8
Isumo can't fly the Harrier -- no ski jump ramp. F-35B might work.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/06/2013 11:53
Comments ||
Top||
#9
What with the aging of the Japanese population and all, will they be able to properly man her?
"Two Izumo class cruisers were purchased from Armstrong Whitworth of the United Kingdom. Both were scrapped after the end of World War II.
Izumo
Ordered in 1897, launched on 19 September 1898, and completed 25 September 1900, Izumo participated in the Russo-Japanese War, World War I and World War II. Between both World Wars, it served as a training ship for long distance oceanic navigation and officer cadet training for the Imperial Japanese Navy Academy. She is generally credited with sinking HMS Peterel (1927) at Shanghai, the first Royal Navy vessel sunk in the Pacific War. She was sunk at dock in an American air attack on Kure 24 July 1945."
FYI China has repor deployed new MBM units to target agz Japan.
Iff CHINA remains committed to breaking out of the "First Island Chain" + be at the "Second Island Chain" ["taking over" e.g. Guam-CNMI-WESTPAC] by 2020, then pragmatically it behooves China to do so while POTUS OBAMA = "WEAKEST US PRESIDENT IN HISTORY/SINCE POTUS CARTER" occupies the White House.
Come 2018, unless China trusts Obama's successor in the White House to be another anti-US Marxist-anarchist-Globalist, all bets are off on whether China can still achieve its "post-US" Manifest Destiny or Globalist anti-US "Co-Superpower" using OOTW andor LIMITED CONVENTIONAL-NUCLEAR WAR, as opposed to full-scale TOTAL NUCLEAR WAR.
#15
IIRC TOPIX, WORLD NEWS > JAPAN'S NEW WARSHIP "IZUMO" IS NOT AN AIRCRAFT CARRIER, BUT A "FLAT-TOP/DECKED DESTROYER".
Well, there ya go, I'm certainly convinced its not a CV!
* CHINA DAILY FORUM > JAPAN'S NEW WARSHIP ["Izumo"] DRAWS FIRE, as it is illegal under Japan's postwar Constitution for it to build or possess CV's.
* RELATED WORLD MILITARY FORUM > POST-WAR JAPAN SOUGHT TO CONSTRUCT UP TO FOUR LIGHT OR ESCORT AIRCRAFT CARRIERS UNDER ITS "JAPAN NAVY RENEWAL" PROGRAM OF THE EARLY 1950'S.
Failed to Nippon's continuing recovery from WW2, i.e. budget $$$ twas better spent elsewhere.
* WAFF > [Janes Defense Weekly] IMAGES SUGGEST CHINA'S FIRST [indigenous] CARRIER UNDER CONTRUCTION.
* CHINESE MILITARY FORUM > [National Interest]CHINA'S CARRIER MODULE [Hull construction] HIGHLIGHTS SURGING NAVY.
Artic reminds me once again of personal childhood dreams/visions of Chinese "white ships" off Guam.
* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > [AFP] PHILIPPINES VOWS INTENSIFIED SEA PATROLS. TALKS UNDERWAY FOR THIRD "HAMILTON-CLASS" [US hand-me-down]| FOX NEWS.
* Also from DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > PHILIPPINES SAYS US SPY PLANES {help] MONITORING CHINA AT SEA, i.e. in South China Sea.
-------------
* TOPIX > CHINA CONDEMNS US SENATE RESOLUTION ON DISPUTED ISLANDS.
* Also from TOPIX > [ABS-CBN News] CHINA LAUNCHES NEW NAVAL ROUTE IN DISPUTED WATERS [South China Sea = PHIL=claimed Spratlys].
New patrol route is inclusive of any + all China-claimed islands + areas in the South China Sea, most of which per se is also claimed by China.
IOW, mainland China = Beijing calls for peaceful negotiations + resolution as per disputed SCS issues while steadily engaging in aggressive
"SOFT/SUBTLE ESCALATIONS".
* SAME > [SCMP] XI VOWS CHINA WILL BECOME A MARITIME POWER.
* WORLD NEWS > [Stuff] CHINESE SHOOTER GAME ["Defend/Recover the Diaoyus" ]BEARS TERRIBLE MESSAGE, for Regional [Sino-Japan, East Asia] + possibly World Peace.
* SAME > NO ONE CAN CONTAIN [or will try to] CONTAIN CHINA, SCHOLAR SAYS AMID TERRITORY ROWS.
Chinese CIIS Senior Fellow Ruan Zongze.
Anyone whom trys will make a serious [dangerous?] "misjudgement".
Intelligence regarding al Qaeda plans to attack U.S. embassies, officials, and interests last Sunday was known for months by U.S. intelligence agencies but was used only recently to trigger the closure of embassies and issuance of public warnings of impending attacks. Conveniently timed to make us all stop arguing about the NSA...
Al Qaeda "chatter" about coming terrorist operations, mainly against 22 U.S. embassies and consulates, and threats to attack or bomb officials in the Middle East and elsewhere was widely reported in classified intelligence reports over several months. The report said an attack was planned for Sunday, although no attack was carried out.
The intelligence was based on electronic surveillance of al Qaeda communications indicating some type of spectacular bombing or other attacks was being planned and would in fact be carried out very soon. Acting on 'single source' intelligence reporting now are we ?
The timing of the administration's announced closure of numerous U.S. embassies in the Middle East has raised concerns among some U.S. officials that the Obama administration is politicizing intelligence to distract attention from the Benghazi and other scandals.
"Why is this coming out now?" asked one official with access to terrorist threat data. "Is the administration trying to suck up news coverage with the embassy threats to distract attention from what the CIA was doing in Benghazi?"
Press secretary Jay Carney told reporters at the White House Monday that "we take the threat very seriously and have taken action because of that."
"I'm not in a position to discuss specific intelligence, but we believe that this threat is significant, and we are taking it seriously for that reason and have taken the actions that the State Department announced out of an abundance of caution and will continue to monitor this and take action as necessary," Carney said. Not in a position to discuss.... but it came from NSA.
Carney said the threat was "emanating from and maybe directed towards the Arabian Peninsula."
"The extension of those closures does not reflect a new stream of threat information but is more a reflection of taking necessary precautions," he said. An admission which supports the title of this article.
The threat followed three reported U.S. drone strikes in Yemen that killed several al Qaeda terrorists who were traveling in vehicles. Missile attacks from U.S. armed drones were carried out July 27, July 30, and Aug. 1 in al Qaeda strongholds in Yemen.
A U.S. official said the terrorist threat does not appear to be part of any retaliation for the drone attacks because terrorist planning for a major bombing or other attacks usually takes weeks or months.
Former House Intelligence Committee Chairman Pete Hoekstra said he is concerned that the administration may be politicizing intelligence because "they have politicized everything."
"If there is any hint at all that this [latest terror threat] was politicized, it would be absolutely outrageous," Hoekstra said in an interview. Not only outrageous, but shocking as well as outrageous.
"In an era of 'phony' scandals, let's hope no one is playing politics with national security and threat alerts," Hoekstra told the Washington Free Beacon, referring to President Obama's recent dismissal of Benghazi and other administration scandals as "phony."
A former White House intelligence official said suggestions the terror alert was hyped deserve the attention of the House and Senate intelligence oversight committees.
The former official said national security policymakers traditionally weigh what to do in response to indications and warning intelligence through careful internal discussion.
"There usually comes a time when you have to decide whether the intelligence is something you act on, and that can always be a tough call, even without politicization," the former official said.
For the Obama administration, the type of politicization of intelligence that has taken place under the president has created a situation where the average person has little confidence in claims that terrorists are planning major attacks.
"They have debased the coinage of the realm: trust," the former official said.
The former official said the administration's response to the Benghazi attack of Sept. 11 is a case in point.
"If you would lie about Benghazi and make up the story about the cause being a YouTube video, what else wouldn't you do?" he asked. Well, nearly everything. Why do you ask ?
Great harm has been done to the credibility of U.S. intelligence agencies by politicizing intelligence and one effect is that when terrorist alerts are issued, people question the government's motives, the former official said.
"In that context, I think we've reached the point where the two congressional intelligence oversight committee should take a look into this, just to put the public's mind at rest," the former official said.
Susan Phalen, a spokeswoman for House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, declined to comment when asked if the chairman Mike Rogers (R., Mich.) had any concerns about the latest threat intelligence being politicized.
Brian Weiss, a spokesman for Sen. Dianne Feinstein (R., Calif.), chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Feinstein has not commented on the recent terror alert.
White House National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said: "This assertion is ludicrous and insulting." So you shouldn't mind if we have a look see, no ?
Other U.S. officials pointed to the bipartisan expressions of concerns about the terror threat. Also known as the programmed exploitation of useful idiots.
Rep. Peter King (R., N.Y.), a member of the intelligence committee, said the terrorist threat was "so specific" as to the method of the attack but did not specify where, other than in the Middle East or Europe and against a U.S. embassy or against a target in the United States. A Global threat.... as in 'Global War on Terror'.
"It could be a series of combined attacks," King said on ABC's "This Week." Brilliant Pete. Quite presidential.
Disclosure of the terrorist threat followed new reports that the CIA had begun giving polygraph or lie-detector tests to CIA contractors and officials involved in the covert action program in Benghazi to gather weapons circulating after the revolution that toppled Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi.
A CIA annex was attacked by the terrorists who carried out the Sept. 11, 2012, attack that killed four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens, and two CIA contractors and former Navy SEALs. The CIA was involved in shipping arms from Libya to Turkey and to Syrian rebels, according to U.S. officials.
"Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) said on CNN's "State of the Union," that he met recently with Vice President Joseph Biden on the terrorist threat. A meeting the Joe establishes credibility ?
It is scary," Graham said. "Al Qaeda's on the rise in this part of the world. The [National Security Agency monitoring] program is proving its worth yet again." No, it is YOU who are scary.
Graham praised the administration for announcing the terror threat that he said was different than its response to Benghazi. The response of a useful idiot.
"Benghazi was a complete failure," Graham said. "The threats were real there. The reporting was real and we basically dropped the ball. We've learned from Benghazi, thank God, and the administration is doing it right." We, We, we dropped the ball ?
#2
All this chitter-chatter
Chitter-chatter, chitter-chatter 'bout shmata, shmata, shmata
I can't give it away on 7th Avenue
This town's been wearin' tatters, uh-huh
MALERKOTLA: Tension gripped Punjab's Malerkotla town, which has a sizeable Muslim population, after some miscreants threw acid on cows a few days ago, and BJP and some Hindu groups issued a bandh call on Monday and staged a protest march.
With Muslim community observing Ramzan fast and Hindu organizations deciding to stage a protest march against attack on cows, heavy police force was deployed to prevent any untoward incidents. Police rounded up over 100 activists of Hindu organizations.
The town had not witnessed communal violence even during Partition. Acid was thrown on three cows around 20 days ago and police had registered a case against unknown persons. Hindu groups wanted to stage a march in the town on Monday to protest against the police failure to arrest the culprits. Many units of Gau Rakshak Dal had confirmed participation in the protest. Security was increased in the town following the bandh call and All India Gau Rakshak Dal president Satish Kumar was taken in custody. Sangrur SSP Mandeep Singh Sidhu, however, said the situation was under control.
Yes, we remember his rare trip south of the Mason-Dixon and visit to Amazon and Mr. Bezos. Nothing escapes political necessity and the need to bolster positive media coverage of the Unaffordable Care Tax Act and at the same time pat the LGBT community on the head for the upcoming Hildebeast run.
Azerbaijan and Turkey have begun forming a unified army, member of the Azerbaijani parliamentary committee on security and defense, MP Zahid Oruj told Trend today.
Why not? They have a common enemy...
"The creation of joint Azerbaijani-Turkish military units proves that the two countries share a unified view of regional problems and security issues," he added. "Along with the economic, political and diplomatic foundations of the relations, their most important component - a military is being created."
The old formula for cooperation, "One nation, one army" must be restored and replace the slogan "One nation, two states".
One hopes that made more sense in the original Turkish...
There are opportunities to improve the army and to use NATO standards. After Azerbaijan's power increases, its influence will also increase in the region.
"In this sphere, Azerbaijan and Turkey undertake joint strategic actions," he said. "Now on, while expanding the opportunities, one can create military units, performing the same certain mission. There is a political will and adequate resources for this."
"The courses will contribute to joint fulfilling of common tactical plans, using of joint weapons, transferring of experience in the field of pointing heavy weapons at the target and other areas," he added.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/06/2013
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
#2
Not aimed at Iran. This is aimed at Armenia. Look at the geography and history of the Turks there, who still haven't admitted the genocide attempts of last century.
#9
IIRC, the Azeris had their butts handed to them in the last 2 or 3 fights with Armenians. So now they are going to try to get some competent mercenariesJanissarys er, advisers to help them ethnically cleanse pacify the region.
Police on Monday claimed to have locked away Youse'll never take me alive coppers!... [BANG!]... Ow!... I quit! a suspected "Punjabi Taliban" commander involved in Dera Ismail Khan ... the Pearl of Pashtunistan ... jailbreak last week, DawnNews reported.
That was fast...
According to official sources, the suspected krazed killer, identified as Mujahid Ahmed alias Faqeer Baba has been arrested in injured condition.
Pak Taliban faceless myrmidons had freed nearly 250 inmates, including 35 'high-profile krazed killers', during a brazen overnight attack on the central jail in Dera Ismail Khan on July 30.
The suspect has revealed that planning of the jailbreak was carried out in South Wazoo, said the sources. He has been taken to some holy man's guesthouse an undisclosed location for further interrogation, they added.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/06/2013
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[2 views]
Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Pakistan
[Ynet] Police placed in durance vile You have the right to remain silent... a man at Connecticut's main airport on Monday after he allegedly told security screeners he was carrying a bomb, officials said, leading to delays on two departing flights.
"At 3:12 pm ET, a male traveler who was passing through the security checkpoint at Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, Connecticut, claimed that he had a bomb," the Transportation Security Administraiton said in an emailed statement.
Either a really stupid joke, insanity, or the real thing. Let us await further evidence.
[An Nahar] The army intelligence was tasked on Monday with carrying out the preliminary investigations in the Daraya blast, reported LBCI television.
It said that State Commissioner to the Military Court Judge Saqr Saqr the military intelligence to conduct the investigations.
Abdul Latif al-Dakhakhni, an Egyptian and his brother Mohammed were killed and a Syrian identified as Mohammed Hasan Masaoud were gravely injured in the Iqlim al-Kharroub town of Daraya on Sunday when the bomb they were preparing accidentally went kaboom!.
"They were colourblind, Jim."
"Dr. Quincy, how do you do that!"
The dead men are the sons of Daraya mosque Imam Sheikh Ahmed al-Dakhakhni who is married to a Lebanese and has been living in the village for a long time.
A security source told As Safir newspaper Monday that Abdul Latif al-Dakhakhni is a follower of Salafist holy man Sheikh Ahmed al-Asir who has gone into hiding over the deadly festivities between his supporters and the Lebanese army in the southern city of Sidon.
The source said the Sheikh is in jug. Investigators are questioning him over maps locating the targets of the kabooms that they were plotting and al-Nusra Front flags found in his residence.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/06/2013
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[6 views]
Top|| File under: Salafists
Bezos told editorial employees the WaPo will pursue the truth whereever it leads them, as it always has. Brother. Same bullsh*t different boss.
Someone over at Ace's pointed out that cumulatively, Bezos has never made a dime of profit on Amazon.
The Washington Post and some of its affiliated publications are being sold to Amazon.com founder and chief executive Jeff Bezos for $250 million.
Amazon itself will have no role in the purchase; Bezos will be the company's sole owner, taking over from 80 years of ownership by the Graham family.
The paper, like many others, has had difficulty staying profitable in the digital age, with operating revenue declining 44 percent over the last six years. Though Donald Graham, the Post Co.'s chief executive, said that the paper could have remained profitable for the foreseeable future, the ownership "wanted to do more than survive."
Bezos called the Washington Post "an important institution," and said he doesn't "have a worked-out plan."
But he bought it anyway. Brilliant businessman, that Bezos guy...
"This will be uncharted terrain and it will require experimentation," Bezos said in an interview. Nevertheless, Bezos said the "key thing" that people should take away from the paper's acquisition is that "the values of the Post do not need changing. The duty of the paper is to the readers, not the owners."
As demonstrated by the paper losing 44% of the owners' money in the last go-round. How shall they demonstrate that duty to the planless Mr. Bezos, d'you suppose? And why on earth did he buy the thing, anyway?
To keep it in business long enough to influence the 2016 election...
But the Washington Post's readers already vote Democrat. Republicans read the Washington Times and the Wall Street Journal.
You always have the "low-information voters" who need to be swayed...
#6
Of note, from the Washington Times, supporting badanov's point elsewhere that Mr. Bezos is a liberal:
According to the New York Post, Amazon Web Services also helped build the high-tech data storage and retrieval system for the Obama campaigns get-out-the-vote operation.
During the campaign, the AWS solution helped facilitate the fund-raising of hundreds of millions of dollars, prioritized millions of phone calls and coordinated thousands of volunteers, Amazon said on its Web site.
#8
"you know how to build a small fortune owning liberal newspapers......?"
Posted by: Frank G on the road ||
08/06/2013 14:26
Comments ||
Top||
#9
a blogger on The New Republic (leftist mag owned by a facebook billionaire) is criticizing this sale.
as far as I can tell, the guy doesn't see the irony
Posted by: lord garth ||
08/06/2013 18:44
Comments ||
Top||
#10
Hopefully this purchase won't begin to alienate fifty percent of Amazon's potential customer base as well.
If the Kindle single (and it's free!) they did of an interview with President Obama is any indication, it most definitely will. Link Note the double hump on the comments, with the majority of comments evenly divided between one star and five stars, and almost 900 comments since the 31.July publication date.
[An Nahar] Somalia's northeastern Puntland ...a region in northeastern Somalia, centered on Garowe in the Nugaal province. Its leaders declared the territory an autonomous state in 1998. Puntland and the equally autonomous Somaliland seem to have avoided the clan rivalries and warlordism that have typified the rest of Somalia, which puts both places high on the list for Islamic subversion... region said Monday it had cut all relations with the central government in Mogadishu, raising the prospect of further fractures to the already war-torn nation.
In an official statement, Puntland accused the internationally-backed government in the capital Mogadishu of undermining the federal constitution and of ignoring "national reconciliation" efforts.
It also accused Mogadishu of rejecting the fair "sharing of power, resources and foreign aid" among Somalia's multiple regions.
"Puntland government hereby suspends all cooperation and relations with (the) Federal Government of Somalia," an official statement read.
Relations would only be restored if Mogadishu "restores and adheres to the country's genuine provisional federal constitution", as well as consults over security issues and ensures a fair distribution of international aid across Somalia, it added.
There was no immediate response from Mogadishu.
Semi-autonomous Puntland, which forms the very tip of the Horn of Africa along the Indian Ocean coast and the Gulf of Aden, has recognized the government in Mogadishu but runs its own affairs in the region.
Central government, backed by a 17,700-strong 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... force, is struggling to impose its rule over regions following the pushing out of Islamist Shabaab fighters from parts of southern Somalia.
Puntland is only one of several Somali regions to oppose central control, from the breakaway republic of Somaliland along the Gulf of Aden, to statelets such as Jubaland in the far south, where rival warlords claim control.
While relatively stable compared to southern Somalia, Puntland also hosts pirate gangs on its coastline as well as multiple militia forces, while the al-Qaeda-linked Shabaab operate in its rugged Golis mountains.
Puntland's leaders first declared it an autonomous state in 1998, seven years after the collapse of Siad Barre's regime in Mogadishu touched off a cycle of civil unrest which has yet to end.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/06/2013
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
[An Nahar] The General Security Department announced on Monday the closure of al-Arida border crossing in the North over damages caused by an attack on its base the day before.
The agency said in a communique that the assault by some al-Arida residents on its base near the border with Syria caused malfunctions in its computer system.
The General Security decided to close the crossing starting 12:00 pm Monday, asking travelers to use other crossings pending the end of restoration work.
Al-Aboudiyeh is the only other legal border checkpoint in northern Leb. There are many other illegal crossings along the border with Syria.
On Sunday, angry al-Arida residents smashed the windows of the base and nearby vehicles with rocks after a Syrian man was killed while trying to enter Leb from the nearby al-Kabir river.
The man, who was allegedly fleeing the violence in Syria, was rubbed out by Syrian security forces.
The residents also scattered General Security's belongings in the base and blocked the international highway with burning tires, calling on the Lebanese army to deploy in the area to protect the border.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/06/2013
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[5 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
Paliwood goes east. A pity French television didn't have a chance to report it before the revelation -- they're really good at blood libels.
Wuhan Evening News reported that a street protest against chengguan, Chinese 'urban management officers', on Saturday, was revealed as a hoax when an alleged corpse, a supposed victim of a beating by chengguan, came back to life and ran away.
A unnamed man's "dead" body was carried on a plank and dropped in front of a chengguan office building near Jiali Square by a group of 10 topless men, who claimed that the vendor had been beaten to death by chengguan. But hours later, the man "rose from the dead"- unable to bear the hot weather a moment longer - and ran away.
During the episode, the men who carried the "body" were in deep mourning, carrying wreathes and playing dirges, passersby who didn't realize the show was a hoax responded with sympathy and anger, posting photos of them online and denouncing the "horrible behavior" of chengguan.
Local police detained four of the men involved in the staged protest. But police have yet to locate the man who played dead in their investigation.
[An Nahar] Spanish police on Monday arrested a convicted pedophile who had his pardon revoked by Morocco's King Mohamed VI after it sparked angry protests in the north African country.
Daniel Galvan Vina, a Spaniard found guilty of raping 11 children aged between four and 15 in Morocco and sentenced in September 2011 to 30 years in prison there, was detained in Murcia in southeastern Spain, a Spanish interior ministry spokesman said.
Galvan, who once worked at the University of Murcia, will be taken to Madrid to appear before Spain's top criminal court, the National Audience, which will decide his fate, the spokesman added.
The 63-year-old was among 48 Spanish prisoners who were pardoned by King Mohammed VI and freed last week from jail following a visit in mid-July to Morocco by Spain's King Juan Carlos.
A royal palace statement said the king had been unaware of the nature of Galvan's crimes and had ordered a probe into his release.
Earlier on Monday the Moroccan monarch dismissed the director of prisons after an inquiry blamed his department for Galvan's release under royal pardon.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/06/2013
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[4 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Galvan, who once worked at the University of Murcia, will be taken to Madrid to appear before Spain's top criminal court, the National Audience, which will decide his fate, the spokesman added
"Take your hands off me! I'm an Academician!"
Posted by: Frank G on the road ||
08/06/2013 14:23
Comments ||
Top||
[Ynet] Islamic Theocratic Republic authorities arrest man for allegedly passing on intelligence to security officer at Israeli embassy in Thailand
Iranian authorities have enjugged I ain't sayin' nuttin' widdout me mout'piece! a man on charges of spying for Israel.
The semiofficial Mehr news agency reported that the unidentified man had allegedly passed on intelligence to a security officer at the Israeli embassy in Thailand.
Monday's report said the man was arrested in the southeastern Iranian region of Kerman where he was allegedly collecting data on mines in the area.
The report didn't provide other details beyond saying the man would face trial. It did not say when he was arrested.
Espionage is punishable by death under Iranian law. Iran and Israel have been enemies since the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, with Tehran periodically announcing arrests of people suspected of spying for Israel.
Last week, it was cleared for publication that a 46-year-old Jerusalem resident and member of the Neturei Karta faction, a radical haredi sect, has been charged with offering himself as a spy to the Iranian government.
On Monday, the Jerusalem District Court extended his remand by two days.
The government is apparently resigning itself to the permanent closure of the Kaesong Industrial Complex after North Korea failed to respond to a proposal of what Seoul called "final talks."
Unification Ministry spokesman Kim Hyung-suk on Monday told reporters the government will wrap up a review early this week of whether to tap into the Inter-Korean Cooperation Fund to compensate manufacturers who lost their business in the complex.
On Sunday, Seoul warned its patience with North Korea over a date for fresh talks about the Kaesong Industrial Complex is running out.
So far 109 out of 123 South Korean manufacturers that operated in the complex have applied to the government for W270 billion (US$1=W1,114) in compensation for losses resulting from the North's closure of the industrial park. Once they get the money, they must cede ownership of their factories to the government for disposal, so the payouts more or less seal the closure.
Government sources say a committee overseeing the fund will make its decision as early as Tuesday.
The ministry spokesman said the companies have to decide whether or not to accept the compensation payments, which will be made within three months of their application. Applications have been coming in since May. However, the government has apparently been unable to decide whether to shut off water and power supply to the industrial park, which would spell the end for the cross-border project.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/06/2013
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
And plenty of notice given in case (HINT,HINT someone should want to keep it open)
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
08/06/2013 0:23
Comments ||
Top||
"Well done, journalistic men and women!" cried the editor. "Frissons all around!"
[Ynet] Intercepted communications in which al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri ordered the leader of the affiliate in Yemen to carry out an attack as early as last Sunday prompted the United States to close diplomatic missions in the Middle East and Africa, the New York Times ...which still proudly displays Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize... reported on Monday.
The intercepted conversations were between Zawahri, who succeeded the late Osama bin Laden ... who has left the building... as head of al-Qaeda, and Nasser al-Wuhayshi, the head of the Yemen-based al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the newspaper said, citing American officials.
#1
It appears that any such AYMAN-supported Al-Qaeda = AQAP aka AQIY terrstrike or terrop may NOT had actually targeted the Middle East or North Africa.
To wit,
* CHINA DAILY FORUM > [ABC News] AL-QAEDA MESSAGES INDICATE PLANNED "BIG" ATTACK AGZ AMERICAN SOIL, i.e. CONUS.
Al-Qaeda rescue of MAJOR NIDAL HASAN = "FORT HOOD" SHOOTER, given the recent Militant strikes targeting Prisons in Iraq + Pakistan???
#2
* RELATED DEMOCRATIC UNDERGROUND > [CBS News] AL-QAEDA EMBASSY THREAT AMONG THE "MOST SPECIFIC AND CREDIBLE THREATS" SINCE 9-11, MCCAUL SAYS.
and
* WORLD NEWS > [Detroit Free Press]AL QAEDA ON THE RUN? NO WAY, SAY EXPERTS.
ARTIC = Iff anything, Al-Qaeda has successfully
"morphed" itself + activities, etc. into a function of the very anti-AQ strategy the USA is using to defeat or destroy it. THE US HAS SEEMINGLY DEFEATED ONLY ONE "MODEL/VERSION" OF AL-QAEDA, BUT NOT THE ORG ITSELF???
The Bammer may have declared the GWOT to be over, BUT APPARENTLY NO ONE REMEMBERED TO TELL THE HARD/BAD BOYZ.
[BBC] A luxury toilet controlled by a smartphone app is vulnerable to attack, according to security experts.
ATTACK OF THE KILLER TOILETS!!!!!1!
Retailing for up to $5,686 (£3,821), the Satis toilet includes automatic flushing, bidet spray, music and fragrance release.
The toilet, manufactured by Japanese firm Lixil, is controlled via an Android app called My Satis.
God help the toilet's owner, not to mention all those nearby, should the NSA choose to hack the thing, because nothing less than the intervention of God himself would save them. SWAT teams charging in from outside are nothing on a truly vindictive, externally controlled toilet run amuck.
But a hardware flaw means any phone with the app could activate any of the toilets, researchers say. Well, aint that the... ummm... cheese. The toilet uses bluetooth to receive instructions via the app, but the Pin code for every model is hardwired to be four zeros (0000), meaning that it cannot be reset and can be activated by any phone with the My Satis app, a report by Trustwave's Spiderlabs information security experts reveals. Or even by all the phones with the My Satis app.
"An attacker could simply download the My Satis application and use it to cause the toilet to repeatedly flush, raising the water usage and therefore utility cost to its owner," it says in its report. Waydaminnit. If it flushes "automatically" why would you need an app? Wipe. Stand. Leave. Toidy flush. They got that sort of electrical eyeball thingy on lots of less than luxury commercial toilets now.
"Attackers could [also] cause the unit to unexpectedly open/close the lid, activate bidet or air-dry functions, causing discomfort or distress to [the] user." Gotta have a pretty hefty motor on that sucker to lift the lid and/or the seat with no one sitting on it. I suppose the surprise bidet function could be kind of harrowing, but it wouldn't be deadly.
The limited range of bluetooth means that anyone wishing to carry out such an attack would need to be fairly close to the toilet itself, said security expert Graham Cluley. So that lets out sixty million simultaneous signals to flush. This is looking less and less dangerous, except for an occasional surprise backside drying.
"It's easy to see how a practical joker might be able to trick his neighbours into thinking his toilet is possessed as it squirts water and blows warm air unexpectedly on their intended victim, but it's hard to imagine how serious hardened cybercriminals would be interested in this security hole," he told the BBC. Things were simpler in the old bombsight crapper days. Smellier, but simpler.
"Although this vulnerability seems largely harmless, what's clear is that companies building household appliances need to have security in mind just as much as computer manufacturers."
#3
LOL, TW! But you are missing the real danger of a vindictive externally controlled toilet run amuck. Some models are available with TV & iPod. Could be a super secret weapon...remember Noriega! I even bet Kimmie Jr has one--very popular in Korea...
I do my best, Anging Hatfield6648. I am but a simple soul, not nearly twisty enough for the world as it is, so I must rely on the kindness of others. Dr. Steve added that horrid overflowing toilet, Mr. Pruitt the comments in Post-It Note yellow, and you-all the icing on the cake that is this thread.
[Dawn] Fourteen people were reported injured in an kaboom that took place inside a bogie of the Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... -bound Shalimar Express near Punjab province's Toba Tek Singh district on Monday.
Three of the injured were at death's door.
Mohammad Hussain, medical superintendent in main Toba Tek Singh hospital told news agency AFP that a child, aged two and a half years, had departed this vale of tears in hospital. Shehzad Asif, district police chief confirmed the death.
The train, which had begun its journey from Lahore, was crossing a railway station around 1 pm when the kaboom took place inside a bogie in its economy class.
Following the blast, the train was brought to a halt and rescue teams shifted the injured to hospitals in Faisalabad ...formerly known as Lyallpur, the third largest metropolis in Pakistain, the second largest in Punjab after Lahore. It is named after some Arab because the Paks didn't have anybody notable of their own to name it after... and Toba Tek Singh where emergency was imposed as soon as news of the kaboom came.
Police and Pakistain Railways personnel arrived at the scene to inspect the area and investigate the incident.
TV footage showed the kaboom had damaged the roof of the carriage but not forced the train off the rails, suggesting a relatively low-intensity blast.
Farah Masood, a senior government official in Lahore, confirmed to AFP that a locally-made bomb was used in the kaboom and that 14 people had been injured.
On the other hand, the Interior Ministry has claimed that railway authorities had been alerted with intelligence pertaining to a possible terrorist threat. The authorities had also been directed to increase security of trains in light of the information.
Speaking to media representatives in Lahore, Federal Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique said the management of Shalimar Express had received calls pertaining to extortion and that Inspector General Punjab Police had been informed in this regard.
He added that 14 people had been injured in the kaboom and three of the maimed were at death's door.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/06/2013
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[1 views]
Top|| File under: TTP
[FOXNEWS] A court on Monday convicted Turkey's former military chief of trying to overthrow the government and sentenced him to life in prison.
Retired Gen. Ilker Basbug was the most prominent defendant among some 250 people facing verdicts in a landmark trial regarding a coup plot that allegedly was hatched soon after Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government came to power in 2002.
At least 16 other defendants were sentenced on Monday to life in prison, including 10 retired military officers, while 60 other defendants received sentences ranging from a year to 47 years, according to state-run TRT television news. At least 21 people were acquitted.
The verdicts were capping a five-year trial that has generated tension between the country's secular elite and Erdogan's Islamic-oriented Justice and Development Party.
The trial has sparked some protests. On Monday police blocked hundreds of demonstrators from reaching the courthouse in Silivri, 25 miles west of Istanbul, in a show of solidarity with the defendants. There were some reports of festivities. But the verdicts were not expected to set off weeks of violent anti-government demonstrations such as the ones recently sparked by a government plan to build a replica Ottoman-era barracks at a park near Istanbul's central Taksim Square.
The defendants were accused of plotting high-profile attacks that prosecutors said were aimed at sowing chaos in Turkey to prepare the way for a military coup. The prosecutions already have helped Erdogan's government reshape Turkey's military and assert civilian control in a country that had seen three military coups since 1960.
The defendants were accused of being part of an alleged ultranationalist and pro-secular gang called Ergenekon, which takes its name from a legendary valley in Central Asia believed to be the ancestral homeland of Turks.
Three major media buyouts in three days. The Daily Beast, the real moneyloser continues as a separate entity. As Pappy once quipped, they couldn't find a way to lash the two (The Daily Beast and Newsweek) together.
Newsweek, the iconic newsmagazine brand, was acquired Saturday by IBT Media, which publishes the news website International Business Times.
Newsweek has long been financially troubled and the venerable magazine published its last print edition in December. It was sold to IAC/InterActive in 2010, which had added it to the Daily Beast news website.
It's not polite to snicker. Pointing and laughing, however, seem required in a situation like this.
[BLOOMBERG] Hassan Rohani's appointment of Mohammad Javad Zarif as his foreign minister suggests the new Iranian president would like to break the 34-year impasse between the Islamic Theocratic Republic and the U.S.
Zarif, 53, a fluent English speaker who earned his doctorate at the University of Denver, is a former ambassador to the United Nations ...aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society... who has been involved in several secret negotiations between the U.S. and Iran over the past 20 years.
"He'll be an excellent face for Iran, but his ability to steer policy depends on what latitude the Supreme Leader gives him," said Ryan Crocker, a former U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, who has met Zarif on several occasions. "Iran's condition is an excellent reason for diplomacy, he said.
Rohani, 64, who took his oath of office yesterday, said the U.S. and the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... should drop sanctions imposed to stop the country's nuclear enrichment program. Over the past year, the sanctions have crippled Iran's economy, sending inflation above 40 percent while the national currency the rial has lost more than 50 percent of its value against the dollar.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/06/2013
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[6 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
"US Educated" does not mean moderate, nonradical Islamist, or even intelligent. Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Racial Distribution/CAIR) is "US educated"
Posted by: Frank G on the road ||
08/06/2013 14:19
Comments ||
Top||
This is the second in a series of "After Benghazi" musings. The first one may be found here.
Was there a cover-up? The first reaction for most Rantburg readers would be a variation of "yes". But let's start at the beginning, or rather, at the immediate aftermath of the attack, for the sake of mental exercise.
The attack on the US consulate in Benghazi was initially blamed on Muslim outrage over a relatively obscure movie that depicted the prophet Mohammed in an unfavorable light. The producer of that movie was arrested late at night by Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies on charges unrelated to the movie; he is still in jail.
According to a September 11, 2012 New York Times article, the movie was "a 14-minute trailer for the English-language film, which was posted on YouTube in July, attracted little attention until... a version dubbed into Arabic was posted...then copied and viewed tens of thousands of times more." The movie was given a great amount of attention by "religiously sensitive individuals" on Egyptian television. Ironically, before the protesters attacked the Cairo compound, the U.S. mission in Cairo had issued a statement saying "The Embassy of the United States in Cairo condemns the continuing efforts by misguided individuals to hurt the religious feelings of Muslims -- as we condemn efforts to offend believers of all religions."
In any case, Muslim anger at that movie was the reason given for the violent Salafist demonstration (accompanied by pro-Al Qaeda chanting) at the US embassy in Cairo. That same reason was immediately applied to the attack on the Benghazi consulate. Later, Ambassador Susan Rice made the rounds of the talk shows that were to be broadcast Sunday, also linking the Salafist demonstration at the US embassy in Cairo with the attack on the US consulate in Benghazi.
Was there a cover-up at this point? It's hard to say. There are at least four parties involved: State, the CIA, the Department of Defense and the White House. All of the "Four Horsemen" have coinciding and competing objectives, plus each of them has a reason to protect their own turf.
First, the CIA: the initial CIA assessment and its revisions consistently stated "currently available information suggests that the demonstration in Benghazi was spontaneously inspired by the protests at the U.S. embassy in Cairo." It also said the CIA advised that based on its intelligence an attack in the region would take place, with Cairo being a prime target, and with a "precarious" Benghazi also on the list. That statement was later dropped, likely due to displeased officials in either the White House or State, who viewed it as a 'CYA moment'. The CIA initially also did not want to acknowledge that two of its personnel had died during the attack on the 'consulate annex', which press reports revealed to be a CIA facility.
As for the White House, it claimed "mistakes were made", saying it did not handle the Benghazi attack well both during and afterwards, and blamed it on "incompetence and confusion" and an "overabundance of caution". ("We're portrayed by Republicans as either being lying or idiots. It's actually closer to us being idiots," claimed one anonymous staffer.) The list of errors ranged from standing down the Foreign Emergency Support Team (the order came from within the State department but no one will own up to who gave that order), failing to convene the Counterterrorism Security Group, an inter-agency War-on-Terror task force reportedly relegated to second-class status by the Obama administration, the National Security Council in particular. Other failures were stalling the release of requested Benghazi 'talking points' to Congress, and a mis-named "Dream Team" of experts from various agencies that were to be used to brief Congress but ended up fumbling their duties, plus a few other issues dealing with unfortunate semantics and wordplay.
The White House, for its part, said it had agreed and signed off on the CIA's initial assessment in the Benghazi talking points for use by both Congress and Ambassador Rice, a statement reinforced by the President's spokesman.
The Third Horseman, the State Department, had engaged in some pre-emptive self-protection by its memo condemning the anti-Mohammed movie prior to the Cairo demonstration. It's highly likely that State did indeed 'massage' the released assessment and the subsequent talking points, ostensibly for turf protection (i.e., to keep Congress off State's back) and to prevent State from shouldering the blame. In any case, the talking points were excised of the words "terrorism" and "al Qaeda", as well as the CIA's 'warning'. Again, the Foreign Emergency Support Team, supposedly useful for a situation like the Benghazi consulate attack, had been called off by State, but no one would say who called the team off.
The last Horseman, the Department of Defense (DoD) also engaged in some self protection, primarily because it reportedly had no assets available to provide timely interdiction in the Benghazi attack (including a rapid-reaction force that was training in Croatia). While that is still being debated, it appears the DoD was not engaged in the assessment process.
What about the press? Was there a cover-up by the press? If by 'cover-up' there was an active effort by the press to suppress information, there's no clear evidence. Certainly there was an admission by various and sundry correspondents, columnists and news professionals that they viewed the reactions to the Benghazi attack and criticism of the various follow-ups by the "Four Horsemen" as politically motivated. There was some inside baseball: CBS posted an article online from Slate by John Dickerson, Slate's chief political correspondent (who also happened to be CBS' political director), stating that the White House had signed off on the full CIA assessment, but State had not. The implication made by Mr. Dickerson is that State was responsible for the changes in the released assessment and Ambassador Rice's talking points for reasons of "ass covering" (both of the Department and the Secretary of State) and to keep a hostile Congress out of the way. The press was also influenced by the fact that it was an election year, and given the political atmosphere within the Beltway that also permeates the general media (with the exception of a few reporters like of CBS' Sharyl Attkisson), the media went with its usual political biases.
Was there a cover-up? Not in the sense of a Nixon-Watergate moment. Not in the sense of everyone getting into a smoke filled room in the wee hours of the morning to forge an agreement, or clandestine meetings out by the D.C. reflecting pool, or phone calls and emails from bogus accounts, or another JournoList-style "let's coordinate stories".
What we saw in the immediate aftermath is what, based on personal experience, passes for business-as-usual in Washington: spin, turf-protection, egotism, bureaucracy, job protection, passing the blame and incompetence. The legislative and executive branches were once again at loggerheads, with the former asking questions and demanding answers, and the latter stalling or refusing. Business-as-usual is what likely cost General Petraeus his job as head of the CIA, as well as the retirement of many senior officers.
Most importantly, it was also an election year, where getting (re)elected is what mattered. The administration, the State Department, and the media viewed the Benghazi attack and its mishandling as a weapon in the hands of the Republican party and potential disaster to the President's re-election. Based on that, it was a cover-up, where the objective was to stall, delay, or deny until after the election, no matter how many metaphorical bodies piled up. Rather unfortunate for the real bodies that were flown into Andrews air base, some of them in caskets. But that's politics.
The question remains, though. What about now? For that, we need to look at what's currently going on. That's for the next article.
#3
The money quote: "business-as-usual in Washington: spin, turf-protection, egotism, bureaucracy, job protection, passing the blame and incompetence."
#4
The only thing I'd add to Glenmore's list is "Turf expansion". This kind of incident offers many opportunities to grab more power and status. Since those two things are the be all and end all of the politico/bureaucratic mindset any opportunity will be siezed.
If there were 35 CIA operatives in Benghazi, maybe concealment of what they were doing gave no other option but deflection, even if viewed as a ham-handed coverup.
As for the DOD, what about the rumor of an officer, Gen. Carter Ham as I recollect, being abruptly relieved that night?
Posted by: Frank G on the road ||
08/06/2013 14:31
Comments ||
Top||
#10
In this case I don't think it's the cover up that condems them anyway. Its not worse than the crime of denying the go ahead for units on standby to enter the area and assist.
I'm still amazed no high ranking military resigned right afterwards (or disobeyed orders and helped).
#12
A good, concise review of the facts. Thank you.
I read today on Breitbart that the film maker has been released from jail on "supervised" parole, or something like that. But I just looked again and I can't find the article or any link to it.
I feel badly about the people who died. I'm concerned and suspicious about what our people were really doing in Benghazi.
But for me, the most frightening aspect of this episode is the lack of respect for the first amendment. How can Clinton or Obama or any of them expect Egypt to become a democracy unless they understand the concept of free speech? Or, in reality, did they ever expect any such thing? Nonetheless I was appalled that officials in the United State government would apologize to anybody in Egypt or any other foreign country for anything, let alone free speech or U.S. Constitutional rights. The whole thing tells me that Obama is no better than Morsi or Putin and that is truly chilling.
#13
why would the facility be attacked by Al Qaeda?
Why indeed. Could be if the mission was to destroy weapons, then the attack would work to save those weapons from destruction.
If this was operation 2Fast2Furious, what if it wasn't AQ but a Syrian/Iranian/Russian job to not only shut down the arms transfer to Team Syria Rebels but also a snatch & grab for proof of the USA involved in illegal weapon transfers but as bargaining chips to prevent any future plans with openly arming TSR, cutting a supply route and maybe even ending non-military aid.
#14
if the CIA operations were to the benefit of Al Qaeda-associated rebels in Syria, why would the facility be attacked by Al Qaeda?
I raised that question yesterday; it appears to also have appeared at a few other sites.
The one possibility is that an Al Qaeda-associated militia attacked the consulate, assuming the annex was an intel facility, or not entirely aware that the CIA was engaged in either the shipping of, or stopping the flow of, or restricting the flow of certain, weapons.
[Ynet] Yemen has released the names of 25 wanted al-Qaeda suspects and said they were planning terrorist attacks in the capital Sanaa and other cities across the country. Unfortunately, all the names are either "Abdullah" or "Mohammad." Go figure.
A statement Monday from the Interior Ministry said the men were going to target foreign offices and organizations and Yemeni installations.
No indication if they, also, got their information from the New York Times in full frisson mode.
#4
Vlad wouldn't be at all happy with The Champ if Hellfire's started turning up in Syria.
No more than the Russkis when Stingers arrived in Afghanistan. However I suspect Vlad would be, let's say, livid if they showed up in Chechnya - Dagestan - Ingushetia.
It's obvious the clowns in the WH never played Diplomacy. You have to pick the right moment and location when your 'alliance' with someone else has to end. You go big or you go home. AQ popping a couple of those up in those areas dear to Vlad's heart would make the diplomatic disaster of the Zimmerman Telegram look adroit by comparison. The Benghazi arms running thing with AQ could be right up there at the level of the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand to kick off this century's list of top man made disasters.
[Ynet] Norway's Foreign Ministry says it has restricted public access to 15 of its embassies in the Middle East and Africa, including its post in Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... The move follows the decision by the US to close diplomatic posts in 19 cities in the Mohammedan world amid fears a major terrorist attack was in the works. Britannia and Germany have also closed their embassies in Yemen.
[An Nahar] Clashes between Nigeria's military and Islamist bad boy group Boko Haram ... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality... in two northeastern towns have left at least 35 people dead, most of them krazed killers, the army said Monday.
The festivities broke out after attacks on soldiers and a cop shoppe, according to the military, and occurred as security forces wage an offensive in the region aimed at ending a four-year Islamist insurgency.
A clash in the town of Bama sparked by an attack on a police base "led to the death of one policeman and 17 Boko Haram terrorists," a military statement said.
Fighting in the town of Malam Fatori after an attack on troops "led to the death of two soldiers and 15 Boko Haram terrorists," it said. Both festivities occurred on Sunday.
According to the military, the snuffies were armed with "sophisticated weapons" and explosives during the attacks. Both Bama and Malam Fatori are located in Nigeria's Borno state, Boko Haram's home base.
The statement said soldiers had recovered weapons including 10 AK-47 rifles, bombs and three RPG tubes, among others, after the clash in Bama.
"The situations in both places have returned to normal," the statement said.
Borno, badly hit by krazed killer attacks as well as heavy-handed military raids, is one of three states currently under a state of emergency while security forces pursue the offensive.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/06/2013
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[3 views]
Top|| File under: Boko Haram
A Muslim leader seen as a major figure in efforts to end the fighting in southern Thailand has been gunned down, raising concern about the future of peace negotiations.
Imam Yacob Raimanee of the Pattani Central Mosque was gunned down on Monday afternoon in the town of Pattani.
National Security Council chief and lead peace negotiator Paradorn Pattanatabut said, "I can say that this incident is worrying. The imam was one of those supporting the talks... he was killed, so we are concerned."
Paradorn promised that the talks will continue. "They are trying to frighten people - so we have to be patient and strong," he said.
[An Nahar] Syrian Defense Minister Fahd al-Freij visited army troops in Khaldiyeh, a Homs district the army won back from rebel control in late July, state news agency SANA said on Monday.
The general conducted "a tour of Khaldiyeh, where he visited the army units that had restored security and stability in the neighborhood," SANA said.
The army's takeover of Khaldiyeh, in the central city of Homs, came after an intense month-long campaign of daily air and artillery shellings.
Like other districts under rebel control in Homs, Khaldiyeh had been under a suffocating army siege for more than a year.
The army's takeover of Khaldiyeh was its second military success since June when it captured the rebel-held town of Qusayr in Homs province with help from Hizbullah.
Freij's visit comes a day after Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Before going into the family business Pencilneck was an eye doctor. If he'd stuck with it he'd have had a good practice by now... said the country's crisis could only be solved by "striking terror with an iron fist".
Homs city, dubbed by rebels the "capital of the revolution", straddles a route linking Damascus to the Mediterranean coast and the Alawite hinterland of Assad's Alawite minority community.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/06/2013
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[2 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
[An Nahar] Hizbullah deputy Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem ... the Grand Vizier of the Hezbullies... reiterated his calls for a national unity cabinet, stating also that the resistance's weapons cannot be compared to arms used on the streets.
"The arms of the resistance are in the interest of Leb and this has been proven on ground," Qassem said during an Iftar banquet on Saturday.
He elaborated: "These weapons prevent Israel from launching any attack against Leb because we have a resistance that is ready to defend the country,"
"Weapons are a tool that can be used for good or for evil purposes. It could serve the country's interests or work against them. What matters is how weapons are used and what are the goals behind the possession of arms."
Qassem continued: "For those saying that weapons used on the streets aim at confronting the resistance's weaponry we tell them they are mistaken."
"The owners of street weapons are known, same as those financing the possession of these arms, training people, and easing their movements between Leb and neighboring countries."
"You will not succeed in defeating the resistance's weaponry by making this comparison," Qassem stated. "The resistance's arms are far more noble and important and will not be present on the streets."
Posted by: Fred ||
08/06/2013
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[4 views]
Top|| File under: Hezbollah
[Ynet] Would the US agree to release 104 Guantanamo prisoners for negotiations with anyone?
Here is a list of reasons why Secretary of State John F. I was in Vietnam, you know Kerry Former Senator-for-Life from Massachussetts, self-defined war hero, speaker of French, owner of a lucky hat, conqueror of Cambodia, and current Secretary of State... 's Mideast peace plan is unfairly flawed in ways that endanger Israel:
Continued on Page 49
[An Nahar] Tunisia's ruling Ennahda party leader Rashid Ghannouchi raised the prospect of a referendum as a way out of the country's political crisis, in an interview published Monday by Belgian daily Le Soir.
"It's a fact that in Tunisia there are two 'streets'," Ghannouchi said, referring to demonstrations for and against the ruling cabinet following Ennahda claims that 200,000 people rallied Saturday in support of the embattled Islamist-led government.
That march followed regular protests repeated on Monday that have been staged since the liquidation in February of opposition politician Chokri Belaid in a crisis further stoked by the killing of MP Mohamed Brahmi, rubbed out outside his home on July 25.
A coalition of opposition parties has called for a rally on Tuesday -- the six-month anniversary of Belaid's liquidation -- to demand the departure of the government and the dissolution of the National Constituent Assembly.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/06/2013
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[4 views]
Top|| File under: Arab Spring
[Ynet] High alert has been declared in Pakistain's Islamabad for fear of a major terror attack, CNN reported. Security around military facilities has been beefed and helicopters are searching for suspects from the sky.
* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > PAK ARMY TROOPS KILL FIVE INDIAN ARMY SOLDIERS ALONG LOC | INDIAN ARMY POST AMBUSHED ALONG LOC, CASUALTIES FEARED - THE TIMES OF INDIA.
Pakistan doing a "North Korea"???
VERSUS
Also from the TIMES OF INDIA ...
* DEFENCE FORUM INDIA > INDIAN MUJAHIDEEN GROWING STRONGER IN [India's] NORTHEAST, BANGLADESH.
* LASHKAR [LeT, etal.] RADICALIZES ROHINGYAS TO WAGE WAR ON INDIA.
[An Nahar] Pakistain is investigating possible al-Qaeda involvement in a major jailbreak in the country's Death Eater-plagued northwest that freed nearly 250 prisoners, security officials said Monday.
Dozens of heavily-armed hard boyz last week stormed a prison in Dera Ismail Khan ... the Pearl of Pashtunistan ... , close to Pakistain's lawless tribal areas on the Afghan border, in a well-coordinated assault that left 13 dead.
The Pak Taliban grabbed credit. But on Saturday global police agency Interpol said it suspected al-Qaeda was involved in the raid and in other prison breaks in eight countries, including Iraq and Libya.
Al-Qaeda and the Pak Taliban have close ties -- gunnies from the global terror network have hideouts in Pakistain's tribal areas -- and a security bigshot told Agence La Belle France Presse the link was under scrutiny in the jailbreak probe.
"Involvement of al-Qaeda is one the factors that we cannot rule out at the moment," the official said on condition of anonymity.
He said "such attacks are always carried out with involvement of two type of groups, one which plans and the other which executes".
The Dera Ismail Khan breakout came a week after hard boyz stormed two prisons in Iraq, freeing at least 500 inmates including senior Al-Qaeda leaders.
"Jailbreak is something that requires a lot of planning and is not an easy task. Now we have to determine who were the planners, controllers and operators", said the official.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/06/2013
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[1 views]
Top|| File under: al-Qaeda
[An Nahar] Fugitive Islamist holy man Sheikh Ahmed al-Asir on Monday appeared in a new audio message -- the second after the Abra battle -- in which he lashed out at Hizbullah chief His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah The satrap of the Medes and the Persians in Leb... and noted that Iran "has turned itself into an enemy of the Arabs."
"Attacks against us are countless and do not need any evidence. They have attacked us in our institutions, centers and mosques, and their evil has targeted our brothers in Syria, contrary to what (Nasrallah) claimed about turning Iran and the Shiites into the enemy instead of the Zionists," Asir said.
"Iran -- with its hateful, criminal Velayat-e Faqih (Iran's form of Islamic rule) policy -- has cooperated with the Great Satan (the U.S.) to slaughter us in Afghanistan and Iraq, and it gave you (Hizbullah) the green light to occupy Leb through your weapons and lately the mask has fallen in Syria ... Iran has proclaimed itself as the enemy of the region," the runawayholy man, on the run since the army overran his Abra headquarters on June 24, added.
Criticizing Nasrallah's Quds Day speech, Asir accused the Hizbullah leader of seeking to rally Shiites behind his rhetoric "after the mask fell off in the region."
"Enough with using Paleostine for your own interests, as Paleostine is cursing you, just like (Syria's) Qusayr and Homs did," Asir added.
The Islamist holy man also blasted Free Patriotic Movement Despite its name a Christian party allied with Hizbullah, neither free nor particularly patriotic... leader MP Michel Aoun ...a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hizbullah... , accusing him of "resorting to blind incitement" and of "using his spiteful media outlets night and day to incite against the Sunni community."
Asir attributed Aoun's "incitement" to his "lust for presidency" that was "blocked by (former premier) Saad Hariri Second son of Rafik Hariri, the Leb PM who was assassinated in 2005. He has was prime minister in his own right from 2009 through early 2011. He was born in Riyadh to an Iraqi mother and graduated from Georgetown University. He managed his father's business interests in Riyadh until his father's assassination. When his father died he inherited a fortune of some $4.1 billion, which won't do him much good if Hizbullah has him bumped off, too. "Remember how he has incited against the Syrian revolution and how he has stood by the butcher against the victim and how he is still justifying the crimes of Nasrallah and his murderers who entered Syria to slaughter its people, especially in Qusayr and Homs," Asir added.
"When the fire reaches the Christian areas, Christians must hold Aoun accountable for these stances," he went on to say.
Asir accused the army's Commando Regiment commander Brig. Gen. Chamel Roukoz, Aoun's son-in-law, of inspecting the conflict zone in Abra in the wake of the festivities to "steal the limelight" and "because of his ambition to become the next army commander."
The runawayholy man also launched a tirade against ex-PM Saad Hariri and "some al-Mustaqbal ... the Future Movement, political party led by Saad Hariri... leaders who did not hesitate to fight me and distort my image."
"What was the harm I caused you that prompted this campaign? Ever since we rallied in downtown Beirut in support of our beleaguered brothers, Saad Hariri and his associates started to describe me as an bad turban," Asir added.
"What happened in Abra was the normal result of the fierce war waged against us by the al-Mustaqbal movement. Why was this ferocious war waged against Ahmed al-Asir? Once through pressuring journalists to distort my image, once through contacting the Saadnayel Municipality to ban my demo and another through (Sidon MP) Bahia Hariri telephoning some muftis and telling them 'we want to besiege al-Asir,'" he went on to say.
Asir also criticized Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Wally Jumblat ... Druze politician, head of the Progressive Socialist Party, who's been on every side in Leb at least four times. He'll sell you his friends for a dollar, but family comes higher because of shipping and handling... and Lebanese Forces A Christian political party founded by Bashir Gemayel, who was then bumped off when he was elected president of Leb... leader Samir Geagea ... Geagea was imprisoned by the Syrians and their puppets for 11 years in a dungeon in the third basement level of the Lebanese Ministry of Defense. He was released after the Cedar Revolution in 2005 ... over "cursing" him as part of their "cajolery and blandishment," noting that he is "confident" that their supporters "do not approve of such a behavior."
In his previous audio message on July 4, described the deadly Sidon festivities as a plot aimed at ending his presence.
According to an army statement, the festivities erupted after gunnies loyal to Asir attacked a checkpoint near his mosque in "cold blood" and "for no reason."
Posted by: Fred ||
08/06/2013
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[7 views]
Top|| File under: Salafists
[Bangla Daily Star] One more prosecution witness yesterday testified before a Dhaka court that HuJI Founded in 1984 by Fazlur Rehman Khalil and Qari Saifullah Aktar. The Bangla branch was established in 1992 with assistance from Osama bin Laden. Recruits come mostly from Deobandi madrassahs. HuJI and Fazlur Rehman Khalil are signators of bin Laden's declaration of war on the west. leader Moulana Tajuddin used to visit the residence of his brother Abdus Salam Pintu, former deputy minister of the immediate past BNP government.
Earlier, on Sunday, another prosecution witness gave an identical statement before the same court.
Both Pintu and Tajuddin are accused in the August 21 grenade attack cases.
Pintu was tossed in the calaboose Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out! earlier and he is now in jail custody, while Tajuddin is a runaway accused in the cases.
In his deposition before the Speedy Trial Tribunal-1 yesterday, Constable Al Mamun said he was deployed at Pintu's Dhanmondi government residence as a security guard form July 23, 2002 to July 6, 2004.
Tajuddin used to visit Pintu's residence with some of his accomplices, Mamun said.
"We did not obstruct him (Tajuddin) from visiting the residence as Pintu did not give any direction to us in this regard," Mamun added.
The witness further said from newspapers, television and people he later came to know that Tajuddin along with Harkatul Jihad al Islami leader chief Mufti Abdul Mannan were involved in Death Eater activities.
Mamun was later cross-examined by the lawyers of 28 accused. Cross-examination of the witness will be continued till August 18.
A grenade attack was carried out on August 21, 2004 when the then opposition leader Sheikh Hasina ...Bangla dynastic politician and current Prime Minister of Bangladesh. She has been the President of the Bangla Awami League since the Lower Paleolithic. She is the eldest of five children of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of Bangla. Her party defeated the BNP-led Four-Party Alliance in the 2008 parliamentary elections. She has once before held the office, from 1996 to 2001, when she was defeated in a landslide. She and the head of the BNP, Khaleda Zia show such blind animosity toward each other that they are known as the Battling Begums.. , now prime minister, was addressing a party rally at the Bangabandhu Avenue.
Hasina narrowly escaped death ending up with an ear injury. But 24 leaders and activists of her party were killed, including late President Zillur Rahman's wife Ivy Rahman, and 300 others injured.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/06/2013
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[1 views]
Top|| File under: HUJI
[Bangla Daily Star] The High Court verdict declaring illegal Jamaat-e-Islami ...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... 's registration with the Election Commission as a political party will remain in force as the chamber judge of the Supreme Court has turned down Jamaat's petition for stay on the verdict.
Political parties not registered with the EC cannot contest national elections.
The Chamber Judge, Justice AHM Shamsuddin Choudhury Manik, yesterday rejected Jamaat's petition, saying that there is no logical ground in the petition for staying the HC verdict. And even the petitioner's counsel did not place any arguments in support of the petition.
The judge said Jamaat could move a regular appeal before the apex court against the verdict after getting its full text, and the court will decide on the whole matter.
Jamaat's lawyer Tajul Islam told The Daily Star that they would submit a fresh stay petition with the SC along with a regular appeal against the HC verdict.
On August 1, a three-member special HC bench by a majority view declared Jamaat's registration illegal and unlawful, and of no legal effect. It gave the verdict upon a writ petition.
Yesterday, the Jamaat counsel prayed to the apex court chamber judge either to adjourn hearing of the petition or to drop it from the hearing list, saying that senior counsel for Jamaat Abdur Razzaq was not in the court.
Meanwhile, ...back at the Esquimeau village Jack was learning how to rub noses with Nootka's wife...... the writ petitioners' lawyer M Amir-Ul Islam, Attorney General Mahbubey Alam and Additional Attorney General MK Rahman opposed the contention arguments of Tajul Islam, and prayed to the court to reject the stay petition.
They mentioned that Jamaat filed the stay petition soon after the HC delivered the verdict.
Jamaat is now trying to stay away from the petition, which is an unfair practice, they said.
They also argued that there is no merit in the stay petition and therefore, it should be rejected.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/06/2013
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[4 views]
Top|| File under: Jamaat-e-Islami
[An Nahar] A powerful bomb went kaboom! at the center of the southern Philippines city of Cotabato on Monday, killing six people and wounding more than two dozen others, police said.
The bomb was placed in a vehicle -- either a cycle of violence or a van -- parked near a hospital and a school during the afternoon rush hour, city police chief Senior Superintendent Rolen Balquin said.
Cotabato photographer Mark Navales, who was on the scene within half an hour of the blast, described seeing a blood-spattered road strewn with charred bodies and smoldering vehicle parts.
"I saw three mangled human remains, one of them burnt," he told AFP.
"I have never before seen (the effects of) such a powerful blast in Cotabato," he added.
The attack came a month after after the United States, Australia and Canada warned their citizens against travelling to Cotabato and two other southern cities over fresh threats of terrorism.
Those killed were motorists passing through Sinsuat Street, the main highway in Cotabato that is lined by commercial establishments.
At least 26 others were maimed, including coppers in a vehicle that was passing through the area, he said.
No group immediately grabbed credit.
Mujiv Hataman, governor of a regional autonomous area whose office is 800 metres (2,625 feet) away from the blast site, said the kaboom rattled his windows and shattered a quiet afternoon just before Mohammedans were to end their Ramadan fast.
"That area has always been a busy street, full of traffic. There are a lot of establishments there and people come and go at all hours," he told Agence La Belle France Presse by telephone.
"The blast was heard kilometres away. It was powerful," he said.
The late-afternoon kaboom damaged at least four vehicles and triggered a fire that engulfed a nearby mortuary and a tyre repair shop, he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/06/2013
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[2 views]
Top|| File under: Abu Sayyaf
#1
As per FOX NEWS AM, its believed the Commie NPA may be behind this attack???
[Dawn] Police claimed to have foiled a major bid of terrorism by seizing an explosive-laden auto rickshaw in Quetta, the capital of the restive Balochistan ...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... province on Monday evening.
At least it wasn't a donkey this time. Let us be grateful for mid-sized mercies.
Deputy Inspector General Police Operations, Fayyaz Sumbal said police men were on routine patrolling when they spotted an explosive-laden rickshaw. He said myrmidons had also planted bombs inside the rickshaw to cause maximum damage.
Sumbal said almost 150 kilogram explosives were planted inside the rickshaw to carry out a major attack inside Quetta city. "Terror plan has been foiled and explosives have been defused," he said.
The deputy police chief said the vehicle was being shifted to nearby cop shoppe so that bomb disposal squad could further investigate. "Miscreant had planned to use rickshaw in a major terror attack on the eve of Eid-ul-Fitar," Sumbal stated.
Balochistan government has tightened security in and around Quetta city prior to Eid-ul-Fitar -- the most celebrated annual festival of Mohammedans.
Police, Balochistan Constabulary and Frontier Corps personnel have been deployed at all exit and entry points of the city. The forces have established joint pickets at all sensitive points of the city, plagued by sectarian attacks and Baloch insurgency for more than a decade.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/06/2013
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
announced on Sunday that it will not negotiate over the abduction of the Lebanese pilgrims kidnapped in Syria's Aazaz before the release of female prisoners nabbed Drop the rosco, Muggsy, or you're one with the ages! by the Syrian regime.
"We gave the international committee in the presence of Lebanese diplomats the names of 370 women incarcerated Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please! in Syria to swap with two pilgrims," the Brigade said in a released statement posted on its official Facebook page.
It added: "The Syrian regime claimed it has 127 detainees only, and we expressed out consent to this."
"However, if you can't be a good example, then you'll just have to be a horrible warning... Iran's party (Hizbullah) started stalling and sent fighters to Aleppo and its countryside and intensified the bombing of that area. It also negotiated the release of the abductees with parties whose presence we do not acknowledge and suggested deals that do not mention the female prisoners."
The Brigade stressed: "We only negotiate over the release of these women and any talks with (Syrian president Bashar) Assad's regime are done through the international committee tasked with this mission."
"If Iran's party wanted us to release two pilgrims before the Fitr holiday, it should rush and free the female detainees."
On July 19, a number of women incarcerated Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please! by the Syrian regime were released, including several whose names are on a list set by the kidnappers of Lebanese pilgrims in Aazaz.
The release, however, did not contribute to free any of the pilgrims.
Eleven Lebanese pilgrims were kidnapped in Syria's Aleppo region in May 2012 as they were making their way back by land to Leb from pilgrimage in Iran.
Two of the captives have since been released, while the rest remain held in Aazaz.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/06/2013
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[8 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
#1
the Northern Storm Brigade named themselves to highlight that they were against Assad's operation Northern Storm, the operation to retake Aleppo.
the NS brigades captured some Shia (the Assad forces say the Shia were pilgrims, the NSbrigades think they may have been advance agents of the Hezbollah)back in the summer of 2012
earlier this summer Sen McCain met some of the NSBrigade people who in turn are part of the FSA coalition
Posted by: lord garth ||
08/06/2013 0:24
Comments ||
Top||
#2
Are those the ones who turned out, most embarrassingly, to be connected to Al Qaeda, lord garth?
yes, in late may 2013, mccain met with, among others, Mohammud Nour, a big shot in the NSBattalion which is allied w al Nusra front and al Nusra in turn is an al Qaeda franchise of sorts
Posted by: lord garth ||
08/06/2013 9:58
Comments ||
Top||
#4
Thank you, lord garth. It is a pleasure knowing people who know things. :-)
There are now more than two million people in North Korea with mobile phones. According to Naguib Sawiris of Egypt's Orascom Telecom, which has the mobile phone license in the isolated country, the number of subscribers hit the landmark in May this year.
Perhaps we could put that NSA/FBI technology to work and start pushing text messages to the Norks. Nah, that would be insensitive...
North Korea launched mobile phone services in conjunction with a Thai company in 2002 in the Rajin-Sonbong special economic zone near the Chinese border. But use was restricted following a massive explosion at Yongchon Station in North Pyongan Province in April 2004 that allegedly targeted a train carrying then leader Kim Jong-il. Shrapnel from a mobile phone were found at the scene of the blast, prompting security officials to believe a mobile phone was used to detonate the bomb.
In 2008, North Korea set up Koryolink with Orascom. The number of subscribers stood at only 1,600 in the first year but rose to 100,000 in 2009, 500,000 in May 2011 and a million a year later.
Mobile phone users are not just concentrated in Pyongyang but now scattered evenly throughout the 15 major cities and around 100 smaller towns. Party members and other influential or wealthy people are the main clients. High-ranking officials often own two or three mobile phones each, while their children in high school have handsets too.
Chinese-made mobile phones, including ones from Huawei, are mostly used, but party bigwigs favor Motorola and Nokia. A mobile phone costs US$150-300. The latest touch-screen phone costs $350 and between $20 to $30 is paid upfront for activation, according to defectors.
Mobile phones sold legally in North Korea feature not only voice and video calls but also text messaging, video recording and even games, but international calls are blocked. Phone calls are also prohibited with foreigners living in North Korea.
However, North Korean merchants doing business along the Chinese border or informants make calls to other countries on handsets smuggled in from China. One source said North Korea recently decided to allow international calls in Rajin-Sonbong in a bid to attract foreign investment, but this has yet to go into effect.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/06/2013
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Yeah, but where are they going to get the electricity to charge them, eh?
Posted by: Bobby ||
08/06/2013 6:28
Comments ||
Top||
#2
These are the top tenth or so of the country. They have electricity just fine, just like they don't eat bark soup; that's for the serfs.
[An Nahar] Fresh protests against Tunisia's Islamist-led coalition government erupted on Monday, deepening the north African nation's political crisis as two soldiers killed by gunnies linked to al-Qaeda were to be buried.
Police used batons and tear gas against protesters who tried to break into local government offices in the center-west city of Sidi Bouzid, cradle of the 2011 revolution.
An Agence La Belle France Presse journalist said security forces also fired warning shots to disperse several dozen people demonstrating against what they called the incompetence of the local governor.
The governor is close to the ruling Islamist Ennahda party.
In addition to being where Tunisia's Arab Spring began in late 2010, Sidi Bouzid was also the home town of opposition MP Mohammed Brahmi, bumped off in the capital on July 25.
Brahmi's was the second political liquidation this year, coming after the February murder of Chokri Belaid, also in Tunis.
Many Tunisians blame the government for both killings.
At the end of July, hundreds of protesters tried to block civil servants in Sidi Bouzid from going to work, and police used tear gas against stone-throwing demonstrators.
The demonstrators were then also demanding the dismissal of the governor.
Government detractors say the Ennahda-led cabinet has failed to rein in radical Islamists who have grown in influence and stand accused of a wave of attacks since the 2011 uprising that toppled strongman Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
An opposition coalition plans another demonstration in Tunis later on Monday, as well as a major night-time protest on Tuesday demanding the government's resignation and the dissolution of the National Constituent Assembly.
Tuesday's protest will also mark six months since Belaid's killing, and is an opposition response to a massive pro-government rally in the capital on Saturday.
Officials have said the same gun was used to kill both Belaid and Brahmi, and pointed the blame at jihadists.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/06/2013
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[2 views]
Top|| File under: Arab Spring
Jihadists in Egypt's lawless Sinai Peninsula are using U.S. weapons to carry out attacks against the temporary government in the wake of the military's ouster of President Mohammed Morsi, according to the embattled nation's Interior Ministry.
The government office posted an official statement on its Facebook page along with images of an exploded missile that hit the third floor of a building in the city of el-Arish last week. The post said terrorist forces targeted the North Sinai Security Directorate office with a ballistic missile that struck the third floor facade of the building, leaving three soldiers injured. While attacks in the Sinai, which borders Gaza and is a haven for terrorist activity, have become commonplace, the prospect that militants have U.S. weapons typically fired from helicopters at their disposal is especially alarming.
Three photos of the missile posted by the government agency shows that it appears to be an AGM-114F with a label written in English and the letters "U.S." stenciled on the side.
"If, and that is a big if, it was a AGM-114, as in the report, that's not a ballistic missile, which conjures Cold War images of something massive and long range, but a Hellfire, which is of the type carried on helicopters," Peter Singer, of the Brookings Institute's Center for 21st Century Security and Intelligence, told FoxNews.com.
Did we sell any of those to the Egyptian military in the last forty years?
Possibly it came from Benghazi. So much else did, after all.
That's an air-to-ground missile, hence the AGM. How'd they deliver it? By mail? Or did they get a helicopter, too?
Egyptian security forces apprehended three suspects at the scene, including one Palestinian citizen.
A request for comment to the U.S. Department of Defense was not immediately returned.
Reports of U.S.-made weapons turning up in the Sinai date back to at least January, when six U.S.-made missiles were found in a cache of weapons bound for Gaza. And in February, FoxNews.com reported exclusively that weapons left over from the revolution in Libya were being sold at clandestine auctions is the Sinai Peninsula. The U.S. has repeatedly denied arming the Libyan rebels, though it did assist them in other ways with the overthrow of longtime Libyan strongman Muammar Qaddafi.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/06/2013
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[4 views]
Top|| File under: Salafists
#2
I think they can be rigged to be fired by surface platforms.
I think the neat question would be, how did they learn how to fire one. Its a precision weapon, so were they just launching it at the broadside of a barn or that particular office?
[An Nahar] Iran's supreme leader on Monday appointed Mahmoud Short Round Ahmadinejad to the Expediency Council, the country's top political arbitration body headed by an avid critic of the outgoing president.
Oh good. It wouldn't do to let a man like that sit idly by, twiddling his thumbs. Such men become dangerous.
In announcing the appointment, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei praised Ahmadinejad's "worthy efforts" as president.
"Considering the profuse experience you gained during eight years of worthy efforts, I appoint you as a member of the Expediency Council," read a statement posted on Khamenei's website
Posted by: Fred ||
08/06/2013
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[6 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
"Part-Time" = New "Full-Time", "Less-than-PT" = New "Part-time".
The Bammer Admin + aligned love to talk about "reducing unemployment" + "affordable health care", BUT NO ONE IN WASHINGTON WANTS TO MENTION OR ASK HOW IS THE BAMMER ADMIN GOING TO SPECPIFICALLY FOSTER + PROPAGATE SMALL BUSINESS = PRIVATE ENTERPENEURSHIP IN AMERIKA, OR GIVING $$$ BACK TO THE PEOPLE OR MAINSTREAM WHICH CAN BE USED FOR SMALL BUSINESS OR HEALTH CARE???
Since Henry Ford vertical integration has been the thing, at least as far as business schools teach about business. The result has been a trend towards huge businesses which ultimately became complicit in propping up the Blue State model well beyond its utility, even into it becoming deadly to the republic (see Detroit).
Yes, there are times when economy of scale makes sense, but innovation seems to evade a business in proportion to its size.
There will be ways of organizing businesses to avoid this Obamacare thing. In the end, the population that comprises the public sector just isn't as smart or hard working as the one that makes up the private sector.
Posted by: no mo uro ||
08/06/2013 5:25
Comments ||
Top||
#7
That won't guys the law has something called a "controlled group" provision. If those multiple corps are controlled in common they are lumped together.
That being said, this article doesn't bring up anything new. You always had to count the hours of full time, part time and over time to determine Full Time Equivalents or FTEs. If that number is over 50 the employer mandate applies, and the fine is paid based on employees that work more than 30 hours a week. So cutting hours to below 30 does avoid the fines.
#9
Unless they raise premiums, insurance companies can't affort to cover kiddies up to age 26 either. Includes the jobless, unmarried ones, shacking away from home....having babies, etc. But that was the plan all along, wasn't it ?
[An Nahar] An Abidjan court on Monday released on bail 14 aides of former president Laurent Gbagbo ... Former President-for-Life of Ivory Coast from 2000 to 2011. Laurent lost to Alassane Ouattara in 2010 but his representtive tore up the results on the teevee and he refused to vacate the presidential palace. French troops assisted the Oattara forces in extricating him from his Fuhrerbunker... , including his son Michel, who had been incarcerated were tossed into the calaboose in the aftermath of Ivory Coast's deadly 2011 crisis.
"They are only being freed on bail, the proceedings leading up to the verdicts are in progress and will most likely be concluded by year's end," said a justice ministry statement read out on state television ... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
Posted by: Fred ||
08/06/2013
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
...During a private dinner..., the serving SecDef, Leon Panetta, told Hagel of an up-until-then secret, $10 billion arms deal between the United States, Israel, and two Arab countries that could amount to a strategic game-changer in the region. The terms of the deal were all but settled, but Hagel would need to be the closer, Panetta told him. Hagel's job was not only to seal the arms deal with Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia, but in so doing help put the "special relationship" the United States and Israel have long enjoyed back on track.
After getting that tasker from Panetta, Hagel dove in... Hagel has kept his eye on the prize: using the arms deal to rebuild a relationship with Israel that has foundered over the years. That triggered a series of "firsts," as senior U.S. defense officials call them: Hagel's first trip to an ally, after Afghanistan, was to Israel; the first foreign defense minister he called after being sworn in at the Pentagon was Israel's, the gregarious Ehud Barak; Hagel called Barak's successor, Moshe "Boogie" Ya'alon, on the Israeli's first day on the job; Ya'alon's first overseas trip as defense minister was to Washington. And as Hagel and Ya'alon sat beside one another on a helicopter tour of Israel earlier this year, the two former soldiers called each other "Chuck" and "Boogie." Foreign Policy magazine uses the word 'mensch' in the article title to describe Hagel. 'Mensch' is a german/yiddish word meaning 'man' but with a connotation that the person is good guy as opposed to an 'unmensch' or 'unmentsch' who would be a bad guy.
How nice that they are using Yiddish terminology for one party in relationship for which the language is Hebrew. I believe it was in the 1920s or so when that question was resolved in Israel, it being concluded that Yiddish is a language of exile, Hebrew the language of independence. It is utterly symptomatic that the Foreign Policy editor, working for a magazine owned by the Washington Post Company, would make that kind of mistake.
Posted by: lord garth ||
08/06/2013
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[5 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
But can Chuck save his own USDOD dept. from the Sequester ...
* STARS-N-STRIPES > PENTAGON SEQUESTRATION
REVIEW PAINTS A DIRE PICTURE.
China.
* SAME > [US] SENATOR SEEKS A CONTINGENCY PLAN FOR [loss of USN's] BAHRAIN BASE.
[An Nahar] Two Lebanese suspects alleged to be members of Hizbullah and on trial in Nigeria on terrorism charges told a court Monday they were harshly interrogated by Israeli agents after their arrests.
Mustapha Fawaz, Abdallah Thahini and Talal Ahmad Roda were jugged You have the right to remain silent... in May after the discovery of an arms cache in a residence in the northern Nigerian city of Kano.
They have been accused of plotting attacks against Western and Israeli targets in Nigeria and have denied the charges.
An Israeli embassy front man did not immediately respond to requests for comment when contacted by Agence La Belle France Presse.
Fawaz testified on Monday that, after his arrest in Abuja, a security official told him "some European friends" wanted to ask him questions.
"I was taken to an interrogation room where I met three Israeli Mossad agents," Fawaz told the court in response to questions by his lawyer.
Fawaz said one of the interrogators identified himself as a Mossad agent. He said they were "crude and nasty."
"They handcuffed my hands behind my back for days. I lost count because they did not allow me to sleep for several days," Fawaz said, denying membership in Hizbullah.
"They asked if I have any weapon in Abuja ... They asked if I have been asked to do any operation in Nigeria or anywhere else in the world," Fawaz said.
He said further: "During the 14 days of interrogation, I was interrogated by six Israeli Mossad agents and one masked white man.
"I was interrogated in Arabic. I asked to be interrogated in English, but they refused.
Why would a native Arabic speaker demand to be interrogated in other than his native tongue?
Most of them are weak in English. They are not Europeans, but Israelis."
If they were weak in English, they were most certainly not Israelis, who start studying English by fifth grade.
Fawaz said no Nigerian official was present during the sessions.
"They asked me about my link with Hizbullah, but they concentrated more on Leb -- whether I knew if there are weapons stored in the south of Leb or the identities of people who have been trained by Hizbullah," said Fawaz.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/06/2013
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[2 views]
Top|| File under: Hezbollah
[An Nahar] Iraqi forces killed six suspected al-Qaeda snuffies during an operation north of Storied Baghdad ...located along the Tigris River, founded in the 8th century, home of the Abbasid Caliphate... on Monday, while two soldiers and seven civilians died in attacks, officials said.
Security forces, who have so far failed to stem the worst violence to hit Iraq in five years, have launched operations targeting snuffies in various areas in recent days, including in the Storied Baghdad region.
On Monday, security forces killed six snuffies during festivities with "al-Qaeda remnants" in the area of Sulaiman Bek, a town north of the capital, army Staff Lieutenant General Abdulamir al-Zaidi said.
Zaidi, who himself narrowly escaped a blast that killed nine soldiers on Saturday, said 10 snuffies were captured and two boom-mobiles and three cycle of violence bombs were disabled.
During the operation a roadside kaboomwent kaboom! near a military vehicle, killing one soldier, Zaidi said.
Sulaiman Bek was briefly seized by snuffies in late April, but they later withdrew under a deal worked out by tribal leaders and government officials, allowing security forces back in.
And last month, scores of snuffies launched an attack on the town, drawing security forces away from a nearby highway. Gunmen then set up a checkpoint, stopped truck drivers and executed 14 who were Shiite Mohammedans.
Security forces in the Storied Baghdad area, meanwhile, continued an operation dubbed "Avenge the Martyrs", a defense ministry statement said.
It said that over a period of 24 hours, security forces nabbed Drop the rosco, Muggsy, or you're one with the ages! 85 people wanted under an anti-terrorism law and incarcerated Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please! a further 192 suspects.
They also discovered three boom-mobile factories and 219 bombs as well as weapons and explosives, it said.
As security forces hunted Death Eaters, the corpse count from attacks continued to mount.
Attacks in Storied Baghdad killed at least two people, while in Madain, south of capital, gunnies armed with automatic weapons rubbed out a generator owner and his son.
Iraqis who can afford it turn to private generator owners to supplement the sporadic electricity supplies provided by the government.
Another two people were killed by gunnies in Hilla, also south of Storied Baghdad.
And in the northern province of Nineveh, a boom-mobile killed a soldier and maimed five others, while gunnies killed a civilian.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/06/2013
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[1 views]
Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Iraq
[An Nahar] One Egyptian national was killed and two other people were maimed on Sunday when they were setting up bombs in Mount Leb's Iqlim al-Kharroub's region, MTV reported.
Never, never ever send a colourblind man to work the red wire/green wire problem, no matter how keen he might be.
"An Egyptian was killed while a Syrian and another Egyptian were gravely maimed when bombs they were preparing detonated at a house in Iqlim al-Kharroub's town of Daraya," MTV elaborated.
OTV said the incident took place near Ahmed Basbous mosque in Daraya.
MTV noted that the material damage did not go beyond the room in which the kaboom took place.
"A military expert inspected the location of the kaboom and State Commissioner to the Military Court Judge Saqr Saqr has handed the investigation over to the army police," the same source revealed.
"Numerous security forces have cordoned off the location of the kaboom and strict measures have been adopted. Explosive experts and Sherlocks also arrived to inspect the scene."
The state-run National News Agency identified the Egyptian victim as Abdul Latif al-Dakhakhni.
His brother Mohammed and Syrian national Mohammed Hasan Masaoud were gravely injured, according to the NNA.
Radio Voice of Leb (100.5) remarked that the investigation revealed that the Egyptian that was killed in the incident is a runaway.
Later on Sunday, al-Jadeed television revealed that up to 18 explosives ready to be set up were discovered in the same house.
Quoting security sources, it added that a map was also found.
"It contained three target places for future kaboom, which are al-Saadiyat, Wadi al-Zeina and Hadath," al-Jadeed detailed.
Al-Manar television said the owner of the house, Egyptian national Ahmed al-Dakhakhni was locked away Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un! along with his two sons and a Syrian.
It added that an underground room was discovered containing tens of bombs and explosives.
The NNA pointed out that al-Dakhakhni and his son Abdullah, who were both arrested, have lived for a long time in Daraya.
MTV reported that investigation is focusing on whether there are links between those involved in the Daraya incident and Salafist groups.
The municipalities and the political parties present in Iqlim al-Kharroub condemned "any event that destabilizes the country."
"We will leave the final word in this incident to security and judicial forces," they expressed.
On July 19, the military prosecution charged six al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front members who were arrested for the possession of arms and explosives, and for plotting terrorist attacks.
The NNA had said that the suspects had formed an armed gang for the purpose of carrying out terrorist activities and financial crimes.
The network was reportedly comprised of four Syrian and Lebanese members.
And on May 9, the Army revealed that it has broken up a cell, jugged Please don't kill me! its members and confiscated a quantity of detonators and explosives.
Meanwhile, ...back at the alley, Slats grabbed his rosco... on April 7, Army troops thwarted an attempt to deliver arms to "extremists" in the Shouf area of Ain Zhalta.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/06/2013
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[6 views]
Top|| File under: al-Nusra
[An Nahar] Rebels fighting troops loyal to Syria's Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad The Scourge of Hama... clashed with the army Monday as they pushed an advance into the coastal province of Latakia, a monitoring group said.
The festivities in the western province come a day after rebels seized five majority Alawite villages in the area, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
By Monday, however, the army had retaken one village, Beit al-Shakuhi, the group said.
Syria's uprising is Sunni-dominated, like the country's population, while Latakia and neighboring Tartus are home to members of Assad's Alawite minority community.
The fighting in the province over the past two days has been fierce, said Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman.
"At least 20 rebels have been killed, as have 32 army and pro-regime militia troops," he told Agence La Belle France Presse.
"The army and pro-regime militia from the National Defense Force and the Baath battalions are sending reinforcements to push the rebels back," he added.
The fighting is concentrated near the mountainous Jabal al-Akrad area in northern Latakia, and rebels are also trying to advance in Jabal Turkman.
These areas are home to a mixed population of Sunnis and Alawites, "making it practically impossible to avoid the conflict there from turning sectarian", Abdel Rahman warned.
The Alawite sect is an offshoot of Shiite Islam, and Assad hails from the Latakia town of Qardaha.
An anti-regime activist in Latakia said the rebels decided to open a new front in the coastal province because pockets already under their control were being shelled from nearby villages.
"There is a battle to liberate the areas that are being used as launching pads to shell civilians" in villages out of army control, Omar al-Jeblawi told AFP via the Internet.
"Morale is very, very high," he said, adding that the developments on Syria's coast "are significant not just for our area, but for the whole of Syria."
Jeblawi said several anti-regime battalions are taking part in the fighting, including mainstream, local rebel groups and jihadists.
But other activists, such as Latakia-based Sema Nassar, were opposed to opening up the front at this time.
The rebels "have a habit of escalating without preparing as soon as they feel they have enough weapons. But they are not ready... and the regime's response will be crazy."
Nassar said the rebels have taken prisoner an Alawite holy man, Badr Ghazal, from the village of Baruda after he issued a religious decree urging rebel forces "stamped out completely."
For its part, the main opposition National Coalition praised the rebel escalation.
"The Syrian Coalition applauds Free Syrian Army fighters on the Syrian coast," said the group.
Despite pockets of resistance to Assad's regime in Latakia, most of the province is still firmly under army control.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/06/2013
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[4 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
[Ynet] The US State Department closed its embassies in four sub-Saharan African nations as part of a heightened security alert, days before the 15th anniversary of al-Qaeda's bombings of American diplomatic missions in Kenya and Tanzania.
Those two embassies targeted in the August 7, 1998 attacks were rebuilt as more heavily fortified structures away from populated areas where they would be less vulnerable to attack. Those embassies remain open, but the diplomatic missions in Rwanda and Burundi, which border Tanzania to the west, and the island nations of Madagascar and Mauritius were ordered closed.
[Hurriyet] Former Turkish Chief of General Staff Gen. İlker Başbuğ released a short statement following the Ergenekon verdict sentencing him to life in prison, stating that his conscience was clear and that the "final say is the people's say."
"For those who have been tried under these circumstances, the final say is the people's say. And the people are never wrong and are never deceived," Başbuğ said.
"Those who have always stood beside the righteous people, beside justice, have a clear conscience. I am one of those people," the former army chief added.
Never wrong and never deceived? That is certainly an odd understanding of history.
Suspects' daughters Tuncay Özkan and Dursun Çiçek staged a protest outside the courthouse minutes after the verdict was announced. Özkan attempted to walk out of the courtroom following the announcement, but was prevented from doing so. Arif Doğan, who was sentenced to 47 years, yelled, "Hang me!" after the judge read the verdict, according to daily Hürriyet.
The verdict prompted responses from suspects and outsiders alike as Republican People's Party (CHP) deputy Sinan Aygün, who was sentenced to 13 years and six months, said he respected the decision,
Why?
adding that CHP head Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu "did not expect so many life sentences."
Kılıçdaroğlu was surprised for high number of life imprisonments, Aygün told news hounds after the meeting.
Aygün referred the next stage to the high court, and said he would continue working for a new charter.
Nationalist Movement party (MHP) deputy Oktay Vural told members of the press that one should take a look at the verdict before making statements, however, he added that the ongoing process had been used by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) as "a marketing tool and a way of oppressing the opposition," according to Anadolu Agency.
"Imposing punishment for crimes against the government only is becoming obsolete," Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) deputy Adil Zozani told the Hürriyet Daily News.
"These people committed crime not only against the government. They were also involved in some crimes that can be considered as crimes against humanity. These crimes are included in additional case files," he said.
[Ynet] Syrian opposition claims chemical weapons used in army assault on town near capital, post videos of victims
Video can be seen at link -- as usual, click on the article title. I've posted this on page 2 because it is a report from the rebels, which means it might as easily be a lie as the truth, and I'm not clever enough to distinguish which it might be.
Bashir al-Assad's forces used chemical weapons in an assault on Douma, a suburb of Damascus, Al-Arabiya reported Monday. Quoting Syrian opposition sources, the report said that many were hurt in the strike but this could not be confirmed by other sources. Videos supposedly documenting the victims receiving medical care were posted on the internet.
Meanwhile, ...back at the alley, Slats grabbed his rosco... Al-Jazeera ... an Arab news network headquartered in Qatar, notorious for carrying al-Qaeda press releases. The name means the Peninsula, as in the Arabian Peninsula. In recent years it has settled in to become slightly less biased than MSNBC, in about the same category as BBC or CBS... reported that dozens were maimed in a Syrian army attack on the cities of Adra and Douma. Some 30 Syrians injured in the attack on Adra are being treated for respiratory problems in a field hospital.
Last week, the United Nations ...the Oyster Bay money pit... announced that Syria will allow UN inspectors to visit three sites in the country to check suspected use of chemical weapons by both army forces and rebels. A UN delegation met with Syrian officials two weeks ago.
Also Monday, Human Rights Watch ... dedicated to bitching about human rights violations around the world... said in a report that the Syrian military is firing ballistic missiles into populated areas where it is battling rebels, killing hundreds of civilians in recent months.
The U.S.-based group said it has investigated nine apparent missile attacks that killed at least 215 people, half of them children, between February and July. The most recent attack HRW investigated occurred in the northern province of Aleppo on July 26, killing at least 33 civilians including 17 children.
HRW activists visited the sites of seven of the nine attacks and found no apparent military targets nearby, the group said. Ole Solvang, a senior researcher with HRW, said it's impossible to distinguish between civilians and fighters when firing missiles with wide-ranging destructive effects into densely populated areas.
"Even if there are fighters in the area, you cannot accurately target them and the impact in some of these cases has been devastating to local civilians," Solvang said in a statement.
The HRW called on Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Lord of the Baath... to stop indiscriminate attacks.
[Ynet] Temporary closure of US embassies in Mideast, North Africa amid terror threat may be overreaction
In light of the September 11 attack on the American Consulate in Libya and the murder of the ambassador, President B.O. and his administration are not taking any chances. Washington's decision to keep several embassies and consulates in the Middle East and North Africa closed on Sunday and the travel warning issued by the State Department are the result of the interception of electronic messages relayed between senior al-Qaeda operatives. The terror group's leader, 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... , made a call to specifically target US and other Western destinations as Dire Revenge™ for drone strikes, mainly those conducted in Pakistain, Yemen and Afghanistan.
Several officials told CNN the fresh intelligence led the US to conclude that operatives of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula were in the final stages of planning an attack against US and Western targets.
The current terror warning is focusing on al-Qaeda's Yemen-based branch, whose leader died a few months ago as a result of injuries he incurred in a drone strike. The warning has also led Britannia to close its embassy in Yemen for at least two days. Intelligence information indicates that a UK mission may also be targeted.
The location of the Western embassies that are expected to remain closed on Sunday indicates that three main al-Qaeda-affiliated groups are involved in the terror plot:
1. Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.
2. Al-Qaeda in Iraq and Syria, which also poses a threat to Israel.
3. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
It is safe to assume that the warnings are based on intelligence information received from Internet messages and perhaps even coded phone conversations. This communication between senior al-Qaeda operatives is hard to decipher. Intelligence agencies, even the best and most experienced, misinterpret these missives from time to time. It is known that the Americans are not always able to decipher the messages, and that is precisely why they decided on the far-reaching measures, particularly in light of the fact that the timing of the planned terror attack and the identity of those who are supposed to carry it out remain unclear.
The absurdity is that by playing it safe the B.O. regime is handing a huge victory to the terrorists, who are achieving their goal without moving from the carpet they are sitting on and without endangering the organization's operatives. The temporary closure of embassies and the travel warning for Americans and Britons give al-Qaeda a psychological victory.
Al-Qaeda has recently experienced a resurgence after recovering from the devastating blow it was dealt with the killing of the late Osama bin Laden ... who is now sometimes referred to as Mister Bones... . The American withdrawal from Iraq, the civil war in Syria and the expected pullout from Afghanistan have not only boosted the terror group's morale, they have also created new zones in which al-Qaeda has the support of the local population. Therefore, regional terror groups affiliated with al-Qaeda can now regain their operational ability to carry out terror attacks.
Why has al-Qaeda decided to attack now? Because of the month of Ramadan, because of the devastating American drone strikes (15 such assassinations were conducted over the past month alone -- three in Yemen), and because of the upcoming anniversaries of the September 11 attacks on US soil and in Benghazi. It appears that there is no truth to the claim that the purported terror plot is linked to US President Barack Obama We're gonna punish our enemies and we're gonna reward our friends who stand with us on issues that are important to us... 's birthday on Sunday.
This is not the first time Qaeda-linked terror groups have planned to simultaneously attack Western embassies. It happened in 1998, in Kenya and Zambia. In response, President Clinton ordered a missile attack on an al-Qaeda camp in Afghanistan.
It must be noted that the interception of the messages would not have been possible without the sophisticated systems operated by the National Security Agency. American intelligence leaker Edward Snowden exposed some of these surveillance programs, including PRISM, which intercepts electronic messages relayed between terror groups. The use of the systems was criticized in the US and around the world for their invasion of privacy, but it is clear that these systems, which are used not only by the US and Britannia, save lives.
The US is treating the information provided by these systems with the utmost seriousness, and justifiably so, but it may have overreacted this weekend due to the Benghazi effect.
Israel has not issued a travel warning or taken any unusual measures, indicating that security officials in the Shin Bet and Military Intelligence believe the probability of something happening on Israeli soil, or in Israeli embassies abroad is not high.
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.
Japan on Tuesday unveiled its biggest warship since World War II, a huge flat-top destroyer that has raised eyebrows in China and elsewhere because it bears a strong resemblance to a conventional aircraft carrier.
"Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) said on CNN's "State of the Union," that he met recently with Vice President Joseph Biden on the terrorist threat.
MALERKOTLA: Tension gripped Punjab's Malerkotla town, which has a sizeable Muslim population, after some miscreants threw acid on cows a few days ago, and BJP and some Hindu groups issued a bandh call on Monday and staged a protest march.
[Ynet] Police 
[An Nahar] Somalia's northeastern 
[An Nahar] The General Security Department announced on Monday the closure of al-Arida border crossing in the North over damages caused by an attack on its base the day before.
[An Nahar] Spanish police on Monday arrested a convicted pedophile who had his pardon revoked by Morocco's King Mohamed VI after it sparked angry protests in the north African country.
[Ynet] 
The government is apparently resigning itself to the permanent closure of the Kaesong Industrial Complex after North Korea failed to respond to a proposal of what Seoul called "final talks."
[BBC] A luxury toilet controlled by a smartphone app is vulnerable to attack, according to security experts.
The toilet uses bluetooth to receive instructions via the app, but the Pin code for every model is hardwired to be four zeros (0000), meaning that it cannot be reset and can be activated by any phone with the My Satis app, a report by Trustwave's Spiderlabs information security experts reveals.
[FOXNEWS] A court on Monday convicted Turkey's former military chief of trying to overthrow the government and sentenced him to life in prison.
[BLOOMBERG] Hassan Rohani's appointment of Mohammad Javad Zarif as his foreign minister suggests the new Iranian president would like to break the 34-year impasse between the 
Was there a cover-up? The first reaction for most Rantburg readers would be a variation of "yes". But let's start at the beginning, or rather, at the immediate aftermath of the attack, for the sake of mental exercise.
[An Nahar] Clashes between Nigeria's military and Islamist
The general conducted "a tour of Khaldiyeh, where he visited the army units that had restored security and stability in the neighborhood," SANA said.
[Ynet] Would the US agree to release 104 Guantanamo prisoners for negotiations with anyone?
[An Nahar] Pakistain is investigating possible al-Qaeda involvement in a major jailbreak in the country's
[An Nahar] Fugitive Islamist 
Michel Aoun
Druze politician, head of the Progressive Socialist Party, who's been on every side in Leb at least four times. He'll sell you his friends for a dollar, but family comes higher because of shipping and handling...
Samir Geagea
[Bangla Daily Star] One more prosecution witness yesterday testified before a Dhaka court that 
...Bangla dynastic politician and current Prime Minister of Bangladesh. She has been the President of the Bangla Awami League since the Lower Paleolithic. She is the eldest of five children of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of Bangla. Her party defeated the BNP-led Four-Party Alliance in the 2008 parliamentary elections. She has once before held the office, from 1996 to 2001, when she was defeated in a landslide. She and the head of the BNP, Khaleda Zia show such blind animosity toward each other that they are known as 
[Bangla Daily Star] The High Court verdict declaring illegal 
[An Nahar] A powerful bomb 
There are now more than two million people in North Korea with mobile phones. According to Naguib Sawiris of Egypt's Orascom Telecom, which has the mobile phone license in the isolated country, the number of subscribers hit the landmark in May this year.
[An Nahar] Fresh protests against Tunisia's Islamist-led coalition government erupted on Monday, deepening the north African nation's political crisis as two soldiers killed by 
[An Nahar] Two Lebanese suspects alleged to be members of Hizbullah and on trial in Nigeria on terrorism charges told a court Monday they were harshly interrogated by Israeli agents after their arrests.
[An Nahar] One Egyptian national was killed and two other people were 
[An Nahar] Rebels fighting troops loyal to Syria's 
[Hurriyet] Former Turkish Chief of General Staff Gen. İlker Başbuğ released a short statement following the Ergenekon verdict sentencing him to life in prison, stating that his conscience was clear and that the "final say is the people's say." 
... an Arab news network headquartered in Qatar, notorious for carrying al-Qaeda press releases. The name means 
Zawahiri
