#1
Lets hope this serves as a wake-up call .......and lets demand that Congress hold those accountable in the IRS and National Parks Service for their uncivil service.
"Wake up call"..............?
If you've not awakened by now, you're legally dead.
#4
Well, besides the aqueducts DoJ, the roads ICE, and medicine ATF what have the Romans done for us Obama administration twisted against the citizery?
#5
Below is a quote from the linked Yellowstone article in the Financial Times article. It seems to be in a local Boston newspaper, in the local section, based on an interview with a local lady who was kicked out of the park last week.
The experience brought up many feelings in Vaillancourt. What struck her most was a widely circulated story about a group of World War II veterans who were on a trip to Washington, D.C., to see the World War II memorial when the shutdown began. The memorial was barricaded and guards were posted, but the vets pushed their way in.
That reminded her of her father, a World War II veteran who spent three years in a Japanese prisoner of war camp.
My father took a lot of crap from the Japanese, she recalled, her eyes welling with tears. Every day they made him bow to the Japanese flag. But he stood up to them.
He always said to stand up for what you believe in, and dont let them push you around, she said, adding she was sad to see fear, guns and control turned on citizens in her own country.
I suppose that what the Colonials felt.
Posted by: Bobby ||
10/10/2013 12:16
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#7
I hope the park rangers and the head of the national parks service understand that their abuse of power will end with the new CR. They will very soon be relegated back to pointing out outhouses and picking up trash. We will not forget their kicking 85 year old veterans out, their removing water handles so joggers cant get a drink from fountains, closing businesses that are privately owned and siting AMERICANS for trespassing on THEIR lands. We will remember you, the shame you brought on this nation, your willingness to abuse the trust America has given you, and your lack of integrity and honor in upholding the positions you were hired to perform.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
10/10/2013 18:16
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MIAMI -- Tarek El-Sawah is in terrible shape after 11 years as a prisoner at Guantanamo Bay, a fact even the U.S. military does not dispute. During his time in captivity, the weight of the 55-year-old Egyptian has nearly doubled, reaching more than 420 pounds at one point, and his health has deteriorated as a result, both his lawyers and government officials concede.
Fred! Our plan worked!!
Lawyers for El-Sawah, and the doctors they have brought down to the U.S. base in Cuba to examine him, paint a dire picture -- a morbidly obese man with diabetes and a range of other serious ailments. He is short of breath, barely able to walk 10 feet, unable to stay awake in meetings and faces the possibility of not making it out of prison alive.
Exactly the kind of terrorist we'd like to have at 'large' in the world...
"We are very afraid that he is at a high risk of death, that he could die at any moment," said Marine Lt. Col. Sean Gleason, a military lawyer appointed to represent him.
More creme pies!
Details about the condition of El-Sawah, who has admitted being an al-Qaida explosives trainer but is no longer facing charges, are emerging in a series of recently filed court motions that provide a rare glimpse into the health of an unusual prisoner, and a preview of arguments that may become more common as the Guantanamo Bay prison ages into a second decade with no prospects for closure in sight.
He's not the only one of the 164 prisoners at Guantanamo who is seriously ill. Last week, a judge ordered the release of a schizophrenic Sudanese man who spent much of the past decade medicated in the prison psych ward. His lawyers argued he was so sick, with ailments that also included diabetes, that he couldn't possibly pose a threat and therefore the U.S. no longer had the authority to hold him. The judge's ruling came after the government withdrew its opposition to his release.
If he does stage a terrorist act in the future, medicated or not, I want these lawyers tried for the crimes...
There's also a Pakistani prisoner, Saifullah Paracha, with a heart condition serious enough that the government brought a surgical team and a mobile cardiac lab to the U.S. base in Cuba to treat him, at a cost of $400,000. He ultimately refused the treatment because he didn't trust military medical personnel.
Pack up the equipment, send the medical team home, and leave a small bottle of pills in Paracha's cell. He'll figure it out...
In addition, two prisoners have died from natural causes -- one from a heart attack, the other from cancer. And several detainees have raised medical complaints related to their participation in a long-running hunger strike, which had dropped to 17 prisoners as of Monday from a peak of 106 in July.
Dropping like flies, are they? They should have paid more attention to El-Sawah. He had the right [urp] idea...
"There are a whole slew of people with a whole slew of serious health problems," said Cori Crider, a lawyer for the British human rights group Reprieve who has been meeting with Guantanamo prisoners for years.
U.S. officials say Guantanamo prisoners get excellent medical care, saying proudly that it's equivalent to what troops receive. There are more than 100 doctors, nurses and other professionals treating "a constellation" of illnesses, said Navy Capt. Daryl Daniels, a physician and the chief medical officer for the detention center. He says none is in critical condition at the moment.
"They are an aging population and they are starting to show some signs of being an older group of people," Daniels said.
In August, lawyers for El-Sawah filed an emergency motion with a federal court in Washington asking a judge to order the military to provide what it calls "adequate" medical care, including additional tests for possible heart disease and a device to help him breathe because of a condition they say is preventing his brain from receiving enough oxygen.
That sounds like sleep apnea brought on by his obesity.
The government insists he is getting good care at Guantanamo and just needs to exercise more and eat less. "While (El-Sawah) is currently in poor health, his life is not in imminent danger," lawyers for the Justice Department wrote in response.
The judge hasn't ruled, but the request is secondary anyway. What El-Sawah and his lawyers want is for the U.S. to release him, preferably back home to Egypt. They argue in part that his health is too poor for him to pose any kind of threat. "It boggles the mind that they are putting up a fight on releasing him," Gleason said.
Maybe the Egyptians don't want him. Or they don't have the medical facilities to care for him. Or maybe they have enough overweight terrorists. Have the lawyers looked into Mauritania?
El-Sawah, who is 5 feet, 10 inches, was around 215 pounds when he arrived at Guantanamo in May 2002 after his capture in Afghanistan. Photos from before his capture show a man with a bit of girth but not in apparently ill health. One of his lawyers, Mary Petras, says he was obese by the time she first met him in March 2006.
"When he first got to Guantanamo 11 years ago he was not obese," Gleason said. "And during those 11 years he was under the custody, control and medical supervision of the United States government."
Clearly he never participated in a hunger strike...
El-Sawah at one point faced charges of conspiracy and providing material support for terrorism. The government withdrew those charges and told his lawyers that prosecutors had no intention of filing them again for reasons that have not been made public. He has reportedly cooperated with interrogators and court documents contain redacted passages dealing with his time in custody but his lawyers decline to comment on the issue.
His lawyers hope to either to win a ruling either from the court or from a review board of government officials that will be re-evaluating the prisoners in custody. El-Sawah has received letters of recommendation from three former Guantanamo commanders, a rare, if unprecedented, string of endorsements.
In one letter, retired Army Maj. Gen. Jay Hood called him a unique prisoner who was "unlike the violent Islamic extremists who formed much of the population at Guantanamo." Another, Rear Adm. David Thomas, noted his "restricted mobility due to obesity and other health issues" in recommending his release.
Most striking is a letter from an official whose name and job title are redacted for security reasons. He spent several hours a week with the prisoner over 18 months at Guantanamo and says El-Sawah has been "friendly and cooperative" with U.S. personnel. "Frankly, I felt Tarek was a good man on the other side who, in a different world, different time, different place, could easily be accepted as a friend or neighbor."
Not my neighbor, please. But perhaps there's a Mauritanian neighborhood that would welcome him...
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/10/2013
09:54 ||
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#1
420 lbs. That would feed a platoon of cannibal Syrian rebels for a couple weeks. A la Sally Struthers: "won't you help feed them?"
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/10/2013 10:05
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"We've looked at how climate change will affect Copenhagen in the long-term future. For Copenhagen, the most serious effect of climate change will be increased precipitation, so we've developed a plan that addresses how to catch all the rainwater in the city." Leonardsen, a city planner, belongs to the 10-person team working solely on long-term climate change adaptation, planning ahead to the year 2100. Wow. Every day, you and nine other Copenhagers, working solely on climate change? Good news is that they won't be around in 2100 to see the results of their handiwork...
"But in Denmark, sustainable city planning is not a niche; it's just what we do. And you have to remember that sustainability is not just about the environment. It's also about creating local jobs."
Copenhageners, in other words, have realized that doing the right thing for the environment brings jobs -- and higher living standards -- to the city. "Both from a financial and a sustainability perspective, it makes sense to do as much as possible as early as possible," says Mathiesen. "If you don't build things like pocket parks, you'll have problems with flooding. We can't live with flooding that brings the city to a halt for several days each time." Good thing they have the money to spend.
Other cities are embarking on similar plans. Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York this year presented a record $19.5bn climate change adaptation plan, with 250 specific projects reaching into the 2050s. Toronto, Rotterdam and Boston, too, have advanced plans with solutions from floating pavilions to terraced levees. Some 20% of the world's cities now have climate change adaptation plans in place. "While governments are mired in negotiations, cities are leaping forward," observes Gaffin. "City populations recognize the threats from climate change." Then a little bit of cold water for the hot climate, from the Guardian:
But while pocket parks and cloudburst boulevards sound charming, green infrastructure remains experimental. It's uncertain how effective percolating pavements will be, for example, and the trees in green streets face daily threats from cars. Besides, nobody really knows what the world will look like in 2050, let alone 2100. Hear, hear! They know. The science is settled, remember?
Posted by: Bobby ||
10/10/2013
08:09 ||
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#1
Wasted cash.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
10/10/2013 10:48
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#3
You CAN'T control the sun.
You CAN suck away cash.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
10/10/2013 11:38
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#4
Climate change is occuring here in East Tennessee. It's a lot cooler now than back in August and I predict it will be downright cold in January. Where's my grant money?
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
10/10/2013 12:34
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#5
It's a lot cooler now than back in August and I predict it will be downright cold in January.
Sounds like the onset of the next Ice Age. We are about due for the next one.
#6
Climate changes is all about making some folks feel superior to others. If it makes the whole city feel superior enough that they don't mind the waste of money so be it.
I refuse to feel inferior to folks who burn money over their feelings though.
By 2043, 147 cities - more than half of those studied - will have shifted to a hotter temperature regime that is beyond historical records. The first U.S. cities to feel that would be Honolulu and Phoenix, followed by San Diego and Orlando, Fla., in 2046. New York and Washington will get new climates around 2047, with Los Angeles, Detroit, Houston, Chicago, Seattle, Austin and Dallas a bit later. I imagine the study calculated the precise date and time the climate shifted to the new version, Climate II
Mora calculated that the last of the 265 cities to move into their new climate will be Anchorage, Alaska - in 2071. There's a five-year margin of error on the estimates. What's the margin of error on the input?
Unlike previous research, the study highlights the tropics more than the polar regions. In the tropics, temperatures don't vary much, so a small increase can have large effects on ecosystems, he said. A 3-degree change is not much to polar regions but is dramatic in the tropics, which hold most of the Earth's biodiversity, he said. I wonder if Watt's Up With That has taken this apart yet?
Study author Camilo Mora and his colleagues said they hope this new way of looking at climate change will spur governments to do something before it is too late. "Now is the time to act," said another study co-author, Ryan Longman. Better start with China and India!
Judith Curry, a Georgia Institute of Technology climate scientist who often clashes with mainstream scientists, said she found Mora's approach to make more sense than the massive report that came out of the U.N.-sponsored Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change last month. So is Curry a hyper-warmer or a minor-league-denier?
Pennsylvania State University's Michael Mann said the research "may actually be presenting an overly rosy scenario when it comes to how close we are to passing the threshold for dangerous climate impacts. By some measures, we are already there." Now I am really worried!
Posted by: Bobby ||
10/10/2013
07:08 ||
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#1
Notice how the projection keep getting further and further out. Why these people are like politicians who arrange government employee retirement plans far enough out in the future when they won't be around to be held accountable for misrepresentations and bookkeeping fraud.
h/t Gates of Vienna
Athens and Tel Aviv have agreed to strengthen bilateral ties, the leaders of the two Mediterranean countries said on Tuesday as reported by daily Kathimerini. During an official visit by Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras in Israel on Tuesday, in which he is accompanied by eight of his ministers including Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos, the two states signed a number of agreements and collaboration protocols in their first-ever government-to-government meeting.
The talks between Environment Minister Yiannis Maniatis and his counterpart Uzi Landau focused on major energy infrastructure projects, including the construction of a gas pipeline between Israel, Cyprus and Greece, and the transport of liquefied gas with Greek ships. And also, maybe, teaching Turks that the Grand Porte is long dead.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
10/10/2013 11:29
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#6
"Greece, Israel look to new era of strategic cooperation"
Translation: The Greeks think they can suck money from Israel, the way they used to from the EU.
Posted by: Barbara ||
10/10/2013 13:02
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#7
It is a good way to box in the Turks. Israel and Greece really should be making nice with Putin and guarantees that a restored Constantinople would always welcome Russian ships.
h/t Gates of Vienna
Egypt's deposed president, Mohammed Morsi, is to go on trial next month accused of inciting the killings of protesters, a mirror image of the case against his predecessor Hosni Mubarak. What's sauce for the goose...
Mr Morsi is to face a court on November 4 along with fourteen other senior Muslim Brotherhood figures, bringing to an end a period of legal limbo for the toppled leader. His whereabouts have been secret since he disappeared on July 3, when the defence minister, Gen Abdulfattah al-Sisi, announced he had been removed from office. I'm getting ear plugs in anticipation of international community's howling
#2
Problem is the shutdown is only really salaries and those will be paid when things start up again. Someone needs to truly cut headcount the way they do in the private sector. Cut deep, cut brutal, cut entire departments and then cut 10% off of whatever is left. Then cut salaries of all employees by 50% and forbid anyone working in government from working for a lobbyist firm for a decade aftwards and hope that cuts down on the grifters in government.
#3
For those without history and only memory, the Army was 1 million in the early 70s. Somehow Congress has been able to reduce it once again to half that while expanding commitments. Seems other Departments near the flag pole could use some equally deep trims. It's call prioritization. Some stuff doesn't get done.
Libya's Prime Minister Ali Zeidan has been taken by force from a hotel in Tripoli by a group of former rebels, the government said in a statement on Thursday.
"The head of the government Ali Zeidan was taken at dawn this morning by gunmen to an unknown place for unknown reasons," the government said. Gaddafi was baaaad
[Al Ahram] A session of Yemen's national dialogue was called off on Wednesday after representatives of southern autonomists and northern rebels protested that they were being marginalised.
A team representing the Southern Movement, demanding a north-south federation, and another for Zaidi Ansarullah rebels held a sit-in at the Sanaa hall where the meeting was to be held, an AFP news hound said.
This forced organisers to postpone the session until Thursday.
The two groups had boycotted Tuesday's session during which President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi promised that outstanding issues would be resolved within days.
In a joint statement, the groups said they boycotted the session due to a "lack of consensus" on the northern and southern questions.
They charged that "the most important national issues have been handed over to traditional forces who are dividing its outcomes among themselves."
"It is injustice that has united us," said Mohammed Ali Ahmed, head of the southern delegation and chairman of the People's Congress of the South -- a Southern Movement faction.
The dialogue that opened in March is aimed at drawing up a new constitution for Yemen and preparing for elections in February.
Fighting between Zaidi Shias and government forces in the mainly Sunni state after a 2004 rebellion killed thousands of people before a ceasefire was reached in February 2010.
The dialogue was scheduled to end 18 September but delayed after participants, despite having accepted the concept of a federal structure, failed to agree on the numbers of regions making up the future state.
The southern question has been a major stumbling-block in the talks, with hardline factions of the Southern Movement boycotting the discussions and demanding secession.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/10/2013
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[USNEWS.NBCNEWS] An unusually early and enormous snowstorm over the weekend caught South Dakota ranchers and farmers unprepared, killing tens of thousands of cattle and ravaging the state's $7 billion industry -- an industry left without assistance because of the federal government shutdown.
As many as 75,000 cattle have perished since the storm slammed the western part of the state Thursday through Saturday with snowfall that set records for the entire month of October in just three days, state and industry officials said.
Across the state, snow totals averaged 30 inches, with some isolated areas recording almost 5 feet, The Weather Channel reported.
The South Dakota Stock Growers Association estimated that 15 percent to 20 percent of all cattle were killed in some parts of the state. Some ranchers reported that they lost half or more of their herds.
The storm was accompanied by hurricane-force wind gusts, especially Friday night, which drove some herds seeking shelter miles from their ranches. A trail of carcasses left a gruesome sight, said Martha Wierzbicki, emergency management director for Butte County, in the northwestern corner of the state.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/10/2013
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#1
The guy that wrote that headline was really pushing the boundaries of reality. But then that's what Global Warmists do.
#3
Similar to an article I posted yesterday, but I linked to the Weather.com site - they were not quite so hyperbolic as the media. From Weather.com is a more balanced perspective (my emphasis) -
Ranchers and officials said the losses were aggravated by the fact that a government disaster program to help ranchers recover from livestock losses has expired. Ranchers won't be able to get federal help until Congress passes a new farm bill.
I believe Congress is still in session.
Posted by: Bobby ||
10/10/2013 6:25
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#4
Globull Worming.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
10/10/2013 10:53
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#5
I'll be waiting for the first Wormacane.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
10/10/2013 12:38
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#6
What, no Sharknado, Deacon? ;-p
Posted by: Barbara ||
10/10/2013 13:11
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BOSSASO, Somalia --- Six convicted Somali pirates have been brought in Bossaso port city to serve their prison sentences in Puntland state in northern Somalia on Wednesday, Garowe Online reports.
They're gonna wish they were in a Turkish prison...
The African island of Seychelles extradited the convicted pirates to Puntland after bilateral talks in the capital, Victoria between a Puntland delegation including Counter-Piracy Director Mr. Abdirizak Mohamed Dirir "Du'caysane" and the Chief of Custodial Corps Gen. Ali Nur and Seychelles' Minister of Interior, Energy and Public Housing Morgan and Foreign Affairs Minister Paul-Jean Adams this week.
A special flight carrying the convicted pirates, Puntland and UNODC officials landed at Bandar-Qasim International Airport in Bossaso and the pirates, except a younger boy who following the completion of his 18 months' prison-term in Seychelles brought to Galkayo were taken into custody.
Speaking on Puntland-based independent station, Radio Garowe Mr. Du'caysane told during Wednesday interview that the Puntland delegation had been holding talks with Seychelles officials for three days, "We discussed the strengthening of cooperation on anti-piracy since Puntland has an anti-piracy law which could enable it for the detention of pirates," he said.
"We are also working for the transfer of other prisoners in Seychelles," added Du'caysane.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/10/2013
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[Dawn] A woman suffered severe burns when her husband allegedly set her ablaze by throwing petrol on her at her house in Mardan district of northwestern Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... , her family said Wednesday.
Shahida, who is currently fighting for her life at a hospital in Chakwal district of Punjab province, said her husband Taseer Khan sprinkled petrol on her and set her on fire after a minor domestic dispute.
The burn victim, in her mid-twenties, said she was locked up in a room and was not allowed medical treatment for three days after the incident.
The girl's family said she received medical attention only after they rescued her from her husband's house and took her to a hospital in Chakwal, where she is now being treated.
Shahida suffered severe burn injuries on her face while her entire body was badly charred.
Murad, a brother of the ill-fated girl, said that about 90 per cent of her body had been burnt and her condition was "very serious". The family also claimed the victim was also pregnant at the time of the alleged incident and that she suffered a miscarriage after she was badly beaten up by her husband.
When contacted, officers at the Mardan Cantt Police station said they have taken Taseer Khan under custody after registering an attempted murder case against the accused.
The police said they had initiated further investigation into the case.a
Posted by: Fred ||
10/10/2013
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#1
Now why did I know that it would have "India-Pakistan" at the top of the article? And that the location would indicate Pakistan?
#2
Love the picture. The old grand operas had some of the most artistic creations. Méphistophélès had a hand in this. I would get another advisor if I was this fellow.
[Dawn] Traders subjected two robbers to severe torture, leaving one of them dead, after a vendor was rubbed out during a robbery bid at a jewellery shop at Mamunkanjan on Tuesday.
Two robbers entered the shop owned by Shahid in Purana Dakhana Bazaar, Mamunkanjan. As the shop owner put up resistance, the panicked outlaws opened indiscriminate fire. A bullet hit Tanveer Ali, a vendor present outside the shop, who was struck down in his prime.
The traders retaliated the fire and forced the robbers to flee the market. They gave a chase to outlaws and finally nabbed them.
The furious traders subjected the both robbers to severe torture and tied one of them to a pole and dowsed him with petrol as the mob gathering there rolled their eyes, jumped up and down, and hollered poorly rhymed slogans real loud demanding the outlaws be set on fire.
Meanwhile, ...back at the chili cook-off, Chuck and Manuel's rivalry was entering a new and more dangerous phase... the police concerned reached there and tried to get custody of the robbers. But the traders would not hand them over to the police.
The infuriated protesters told the police that they would themselves give robbers an exemplary punishment in public to caution others who had made their lives a hell.
After negotiations with traders, the police managed to rescue the badly injured outlaws and shifted them to the Rural Health Centre at Chak 509, where one of them departed this vale of tears. The condition of the other robber was also said to be critical.
Talking to Dawn by phone, a trader, Ashraf Gujjar, said the robbers had been looting people in broad daylight and police were nowhere to protect them.
He said a number of times police had been requested to increase patrolling in the area but to no avail.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/10/2013
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Terrorists Insurgents launched a series of coordinated arson and bomb attacks in southern Thailand late on Tuesday, mostly targeting automatic teller machines at banks. In two other attacks, one in Pattani province killed a teacher, and the other in Narathiwat province killed two Army paramilitary rangers and injured five others.
Authorities said 34 locations were attacked, damaging or gutting a large number of ATMs belonging to various private and government banks or those at convenience stores.
Deputy Prime Minister Pracha Promnog said the attacks marked the anniversaries of two insurgent groups - Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN), which was established on October 10, and Patani United Liberation Organization (PULO) on October 11.
The death of Waena Munoh, a teacher, in the Pattani attack on Tuesday night, brought the death toll of teachers to 165. The victim was sleeping in her living quarters guarded by soldiers when she was hit by bullets shot into the complex by attacking terrorists insurgents. They had stolen two fire trucks and replaced the water with fuel, and were preparing to spray the entire living quarter with it before setting it on fire.
Vicious animals.
In the Narathiwat bomb attack yesterday morning, a three-vehicle convoy was hit by a roadside bomb while on a patrol. The explosion hit the middle vehicle killing one ranger instantly; a second was pronounced dead at the hospital, while five others were injured. Fourteen teenage men at a nearby teashop have been detained for questioning.
National Security Council secretary-general Paradorn Pattana-thabutr said the attacks were likely committed by those opposed to the ongoing peace process between Thailand and the BRN. He said there might be more attacks in the next few days, then they would cease - but he did not explain why.
Hmm.
In another attack, a roadside bomb hit a vehicle belonging to a ranger company, causing minor injuries to the crew and slight damage to the vehicle.
#1
They had stolen two fire trucks and replaced the water with fuel, and were preparing to spray the entire living quarter with it before setting it on fire.
Ray Bradbury's fire department only burned books.
[An Nahar] Hizbullah decided to dissolve its affiliated Resistance Brigades and to lift the cover off any member that breaches security, An Nahar newspaper reported on Wednesday.
According to the newspaper, the party's decision came in light of the increasing disputes between the members of the Resistance That'd be the Hezbullies, natch... Brigades and the residents and parties of the southern city of Sidon.
The report pointed out that Hizbullah is "convinced that the Resistance Brigades in Sidon is tarnishing its image in the city."
"The decision to dissolve it achieves more than one positive goal for Hizbullah," the report added.
Salafist holy man Sheikh Ahmed al-Asir ...Leb Salafist holy man with the usual grouch against Shiites. Currently on the run, he seems intent on reigniting the Leb civil war... accused in June Hizbullah of using several apartments in Abra in Sidon to stockpile weapons and house fighters.
Al-Asir supporters clashed several times with the members of the Hizbullah's Resistance Brigades in Abra.
The Salafist holy man, a 45-year-old holy man who supports the overwhelmingly Sunni rebels fighting to topple Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Trampler of Homs... , is no where to be found after his supporters clashed in June with the army.
Officials in Sidon have been demanding Hizbullah, after al-Asir's battle with the army, to withdraw its resistance brigades members from the city.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/10/2013
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[Al Ahram] South Korea's spy chief has said he is "aware" of the alleged execution of members of the North's national orchestra, said to include a singer rumoured to be leader Kim Jong-Un's former girlfriend.
Several members of the orchestra and other state music troupes had been executed by firing squad for taping themselves having sex, Japan's Asahi Shimbun said last month in a report that was picked up by South Korean broadcasters and websites.
Asahi said the rare execution of state performers -- including a woman thought to be Kim's ex-girlfriend -- in August had been ordered to squash rumours about the decadent lifestyle of North Korean first lady Ri Sol-Ju while she was an entertainer.
North Korea has angrily denied reports of the executions, calling the media accounts an "unpardonable" crime.
On Tuesday South Korea's spy agency chief commented for the first time on the accusations.
"We are aware of the execution of some 10 people associated with the Unhasu Orchestra", two politicians quoted Nam Jae-Joon as saying at a closed door parliamentary session, according to Yonhap news agency.
Nam, director of the National Intelligence Service, said the agency had no information whether Ri had any connection with the execution.
The North's state news agency KCNA has said the reports on the executions were the work of "psychopaths" and "confrontation maniacs" in the South Korean government and media.
"This is an unpardonable, hideous provocation hurting the dignity of the supreme leadership," a KCNA commentary said last month.
In an apparent attempt to further negate the rumours, North Korean radio on Wednesday aired a performance by the orchestra, Yonhap reported.
Pyongyang Bangsong radio broadcast a quintette entitled "Hymn of the Fatherland", saying it was conducted by Unhasu's conductor Ri Myong-Il and included Italia-educated singer Hwang Un-Mi.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/10/2013
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"Excellent Horse-Faced Lady" makes it to the glue factory...
[Shabelle] Twenty five Somali nationals were on Wednesday arraigned in court to answer charges of using passports with forged endorsements and being unlawfully in the country. The accused appeared before Nairobi Acting Senior Principal Magistrate Peter Ndwiga and were charged that on Monday at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport being Somali nationals they presented passports with forged permit endorsements contrary to Section 54(1) (c) of the Citizenship and Immigration Act, 2011.
In another count the accused were also alleged to knowingly possessing and using Somali passports with forged immigration security stamp endorsements on their passports. They are also facing charges of being unlawfully in Kenya. Court heard that the accused being Somali nationals were found to be unlawfully present in Kenya yet they did not have valid passes allowing them to stay in the country.
In his submissions one of the lawyers for the accused Mr Hassan Lakicha argued that his clients were victims of circumstance as they were misled by agents who took their passports for endorsements. "My clients were on pilgrimage to Mecca for prayers and they saw it prudent to trust agents to have their passports endorsed little did they know they were being duped," he argued
All the accused pleaded not guilty "Wudn't me." to the charges and were granted by the magistrate cash bail of Sh 100,000 or bond of sh200, 000 and a Kenyan surety of similar amount. Hearing of the cases will be held between November 21 and 28.
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[Shabelle] Sierra Leone officials say they are bolstering security in response to the heightened threat posed by the Islamic krazed killer rebels of al-Shabaab ... the personification of Somali state failure... , expressing concern the West African nation could be targeted because of its support for peacekeeping operations in Somalia.
Francis Munu, police inspector general, said at a meeting Wednesday that new security measures would require government offices to issue identity cards for their staff and maintain visitors' logs, while petty traders would be kept away from government buildings.
Sierra Leone deployed an 850-member battalion to the African Union ...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful... mission in Somalia earlier this year.
The new measures are in response to al-Shabaab's attack on a Kenyan mall last month in retaliation for Kenya sending troops into Somalia nearly two years ago. The attack killed more than 60 people.
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[Shabelle]
1. 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... Despite the whittling away by drone attacks of "al Qaeda central" in the mountainous border region between Afghanistan and Pakistain, the group's leader remains vocal and active in trying to harness the disparate affiliates that claim the al Qaeda name.
Source: al Qaeda leader urged affiliate to 'do something'
Since former leader the late Osama bin Laden ... who used to be alive but now he's not... 's death in 2011, al-Zawahiri has sought to take advantage of the unrest sweeping the Arab world, and has recognized that groups such as al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb are better placed to carry out attacks than the ever-diminishing core that remains in "Af-Pak." At times, al-Zawahiri has struggled to exercise authority over groups such as the Islamic State in Iraq, not least because of the difficulty in communicating with far-flung offshoots.
Aware that pulling off another 9/11 is a remote possibility, al-Zawahiri has suggested a shift to less ambitious and less expensive but highly disruptive attacks on "soft" targets, as well as hostage-taking. In an audio message in August he recommended taking "the citizens of the countries that are participating in the invasion of Musselmen countries as hostages."
Al-Zawahiri, an Egyptian doctor who is now 62, is not the inspirational figure to jihadists that bin Laden was, but he is trying to fashion a role as the CEO of a sprawling enterprise. According to the Economist, he may be succeeding. "From Somalia to Syria, al-Qaeda franchises and jihadist fellow travellers now control more territory, and can call on more fighters, than at any time since Osama bin Laden created the organization 25 years ago," it wrote this month.
Reward offered by the U.S. government for his capture: up to $25 million
How effective are terror watch lists? First woman added to FBI terror list Terrorists spreading ideology on Twitter
For someone thought to be about 36 years old, al Wuhayshi's terror resumé is already extensive. Once bin Laden's private secretary in Afghanistan, he returned to his native Yemen and ended up in jail. But not for long: He and several other al Qaeda operatives dug their way out in 2006. He went on to to help found al Qaeda in Yemen, and began launching attacks on Yemeni security services and foreign tourists, as well as directing an ambitious attack against the U.S. Embassy in Yemen.
He is now the emir of AQAP, widely regarded as the most dangerous and active of al Qaeda's many offshoots. A slight figure with an impish sense of humor, according to some who have met him, al Wuhayshi appears to have been anointed al Qaeda's overall deputy leader in a bold move by al-Zawahiri to leverage the capabilities of AQAP. Seth Jones, a Rand Corporation analyst, called the appointment "unprecedented because he's living in Yemen, he's not living in Pakistain."
If al-Zawahiri is al Qaeda's CEO, al Wuhayshi appears to be its COO -- with responsibilities that extend far beyond Yemen. It appears that in 2012 he was already giving operational advice to al Qaeda's affiliate in North Africa.
Despite a concerted effort by the Yemeni government and the United States to behead AQAP, al Wuhayshi survives, and his fighters have recently gone on the offensive again in southern Yemen. The group is bent on exporting terror to the West -- both through bomb plots and by dispatching Western converts home to sow carnage.
Not a household name, but one that provokes plenty of anxiety among Western intelligence agencies. Al Asiri, a 31-year-old Saudi, is AQAP's master bomb-maker, as expert as he is ruthless. He is widely thought to have designed the "underwear" bomb that nearly brought down a U.S. airliner over bankrupt, increasingly impoverished, reliably Democrat, Detroit ... ruled by Democrats since 1962. A city whose Golden Age included the Purple Gang... on Christmas Day 2009, as well as the ingenious printer bombs sent as freight from Sanaa, Yemen, and destined for the United States before being intercepted thanks to a Saudi tip-off. The bombs were so well hidden that at first British police were unable to find one device even after isolating the printer.
Al Asiri also fitted his younger brother Abduillah with a bomb hidden in his rectum in an effort to kill 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... 's counter-terrorism chief, Mohammed bin Nayef. The brother died in the attack; bin Nayef survived.
His trademark explosive is PETN -- a white, odorless powder than cannot be detected by most X-ray machines.
Al Asiri is thought to be somewhere in the vast mountainous interior of southern Yemen. The anxiety among Saudi and Western intelligence officials is that he has passed on his expertise to apprentices.
Godane, aka Mukhtar Abu Zubayr, became the leader of the Somali group Al-Shabaab ... Somalia's version of the Taliban, functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda... at the end of 2008. Traditionally, Al-Shabaab has been focused on bringing Islamic rule to Somalia, and as such has attracted dozens of ethnic Somalis (and a few Western coverts) from the United States and Europe. But Godane appears to be refocusing the group on terrorist attacks beyond Somalia, against the east African states that are supporting the Somali government -- especially Uganda and Kenya -- and against Western interests in east Africa.
The Westgate Mall attack in Nairobi September 21 was Al-Shabaab's most audacious, but not its first nor most deadly outside Somalia. In 2010, Al-Shabaab carried out suicide kabooms in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, in which more than 70 people were killed. But the Westgate siege, which left 67 people dead, demonstrated Godane's desire to align his group more closely with al Qaeda. In a taped message afterward, he noted the attack took place "just 10 days after the anniversary date of the blessed 9/11 operations."
Under Godane, Al-Shabaab has become a formal ally of al Qaeda. That has led to dissent, which Godane has dealt with ruthlessly, using his control of Al-Shabaab's intelligence wing. The American jihadist Omar Hammami was killed in September after criticizing Godane's leadership and his treatment of imported muscle.
Godane is said to be 36 years old, and is originally from Somaliland in northern Somalia. He is slim to the point of wispy, as seen in the very few photographs of him, and prefers recording audio messages to appearing in public.
After the Westgate attack, Kenyan and Western intelligence agencies will undoubtedly step up efforts to end his reign of terror. But he should not be underestimated. A former Somali prime minister, Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke, once described Godane as the cleverest of Al-Shabaab's leaders.
The U.S. government's Rewards for Justice program lists him under another alias, Ahmed Abdi Aw-Mohammed, and is offering up to $7 million for information leading to his location.
Belmoktar is Algerian but based in the endless expanse of desert known as the Sahel. Like many on this list, he has an uncanny knack for survival against the odds. A year ago, he probably would not have been counted among the world's most dangerous terrorists. Then he announced the formation of an elite unit called "Those Who Sign With Blood," which he said would be the shield against the "invading enemy." A short time later, his fighters launched an attack on the In Amenas gas plant in southern Algeria. A three-day siege left nearly 40 foreign workers dead.
Since then, Belmoktar's fighters have launched attacks on a military academy and French uranium mine in Niger in May, despite losing much of their freedom of movement after the French intervention in Mali in January.
Belmoktar is unusual in combining jihadist credentials with a lucrative business in smuggling and kidnapping. He is often called "Mr. Marlboro" because of his illicit cigarette trafficking, and is thought to have amassed millions of dollars through ransoms for westerners kidnapped in Mali.
Intelligence officials have told CNN that he has also developed contacts with jihadist groups in Libya as instability has gripped the country in the wake of Muammar Qadaffy ... who had more funny outfits than Louis XIV... 's overthrow.
Born in 1972, Belmoktar grew up in poverty in southern Algeria. He traveled to Afghanistan in 1991 in his late teens to fight its then-Communist government, and returned to Algeria as a hardened fighter with a new nickname "Belaouar" -- the "one-eyed" -- after a battlefield injury. He later joined forces with the Armed Islamic Group (GIA) in its brutal campaign against the Algerian regime.
Reward offered by the U.S. government: up to $5 million for information leading to his location.
While Belmoktar might have been on the fringes of a "most dangerous terrorist list" a year ago, Abu Muhammad al Julani would not have been anywhere near it. But as Syria has descended into a state of civil war, al Julani's group -- the al-Nusra Front -- has emerged as one of the most effective rebel factions. Formed in January 2012, it is a jihadist group with perhaps 10,000 fighters, many of them battle-hardened in Iraq. It has specialized in suicide kabooms and IED attacks against regime forces, and its success has attracted hundreds of fighters from other rebel groups.
Al Julani personally pledged his group's allegiance to al-Zawahiri in April, and the U.S. State Department has branded al-Nusra as part of the al Qaeda-affiliated Islamic State in Iraq. In May, the United States added al Julani to to the list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists.
Al-Nusra has so far not shown any inclination to take the fight to Western targets. Andrew Parker, the head of the British intelligence agency MI5, thinks that will change.
"A growing proportion of our casework now has some link to Syria... Al-Nusra and other myrmidon Sunni groups there aligned with al Qaeda aspire to attack Western countries," he said in a speech in London this week.
Of al Julani himself, very little is known. Al-Nusra places a premium on organizational security. Even his nationality is unclear, but he is thought to have had experience as an bad boy in Iraq. A recent study by the Quilliam Foundation in London concluded his leadership of the group was "uncontested."
"Sources tell us that his face is always covered in meetings, even with other leaders. Al Julani is thought to be a Syrian jihadist with suspected close ties to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and al Qaeda in Iraq," the study's authors said.
Al-Zarqawi was killed in a U.S. missile strike in 2006.
One factor that may influence the growth and potency of al-Nusra is its relationship with fellow jihadists in Iraq. Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State in Iraq and al Sham (ISIS) was publicly at odds with al Julani over the regional pecking order earlier this year, asserting that al-Nusra was part of his group, a claim swiftly rejected by al Julani. Western intelligence would like nothing more than dissent between these two groups. Close cooperation between them across the long Syrian-Iraqi border -- the goal of al-Zawahiri -- is the nightmare scenario.
On the battlefield in Syria, cooperation between the two groups appears to be continuing, especially in towns like Deir Izzor in eastern Syria.
Inside Iraq, al Baghdadi has overseen a dramatic spike in terror attacks against the Shia-dominated state and security apparatus, aided by jail breaks and bank robberies. It has also claimed devastating kabooms against Shia civilians and is open about carrying out attacks on purely sectarian grounds. It claimed credit for a wave of boom-mobileings in Storied Baghdad on September 30, in which more than 50 people were killed, calling it a "new page in the series of destructive blows" against Shiite areas in Iraq.
The monthly number of civilian deaths in Iraq, according to the United Nations ...an idea whose time has gone... , is now at its highest since 2008.
Al Baghdadi benefits from fertile ground in that Iraq's Sunni minority is increasingly fearful of the Shia-dominated government led by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. Sunni tribes straddle the Syrian-Iraqi border, adding to a combustible regional picture.
Born in Samarra, al Baghdadi is in his early 40s. In a eulogy for bin Laden, he threatened violent retribution for his killing. Analysts regard ISIS as a greater threat now than at any time since the U.S. "surge" and the emergence of the Sunni Awakening Councils six years ago, which then turned the tide against al Qaeda in Iraq.
Reward offered by U.S. government, which lists him as Abu Du'a: up to $10 million for information leading to his location.
Shifting from the Middle East to the Afghan-Pakistain border regions, several groups are positioning themselves for the exit of U.S. combat forces from Afghanistan next year. Among the most dangerous is the Haqqani Network, responsible for some of the deadly attacks in Kabul in recent years. A 2008 coordinated suicide kaboom on the Serena Hotel in Kabul left six dead. Another strike in June 2011 killed 12 at the InterContinental Hotel.
U.S. officials say that in addition to its high-profile suicide kabooms against hotels and other civilian targets in the Afghan capital, it is responsible for killing and wounding more than 1,000 U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan.
Siraj Haqqani is the son of the group's founder, and is in his early 40s.
"Siraj is a brutal criminal murderer," Gen. Jeffrey Schloesser, the outgoing commander of the U.S. 101st Airborne Division in eastern Afghanistan, told the publication Jane's in 2009.
Jeffrey Dressler, a senior analyst with the Institute for the Study of War, told CNN last year that Haqqani is "very, very competent, a very capable leader who has really grown the network over the past five, six years."
U.S. officials say the Haqqani Network is all the more dangerous in that its presence in the tribal territories of Pakistain is tolerated by the Pak government. The family belongs to the Zadran tribe, which spans the Afghanistan-Pakistain border and stretches to Khost province ... across the border from Miranshah, within commuting distance of Haqqani hangouts such as Datta Khel and probably within sight of Mordor. Khost is populated by six different tribes of Pashtuns, the largest probably being the Khostwal, from which it takes its name... . The Haqqanis have a close relationship with both al Qaeda and the Taliban, but are also thought to have begun recruiting Chechen and Turkish jihadists.
The B.O. regime designated the Haqqani Network a terror group last year. It is regarded as well-funded because of a series of legitimate and illicit businesses that stretch to the Gulf.
Reward offered by U.S. government for information leading to Haqqani's location: up to $5 million
Shekau's inclusion recognizes the growing tide of Islamist militancy in West Africa. For the last four years, he has led Boko Haram, a Salafist group in northern Nigeria that has begun cooperating with other groups as far away as Mali.
But its main focus remains churches and other Christian targets, the police and the moderate Moslem establishment in northern Nigeria. Just last month, suspected Boko Haram fighters broke into a college in Yobe state and murdered more than 40 students as they slept.
In 2010, Shekau warned that the group would attack Western interests and the following year it carried out its first suicide kaboom -- against U.N. offices in the capital, Abuja -- killing at least 23 people. The group has also kidnapped and killed several Western hostages. While Bokko Haram is not an affiliate of al Qaeda, Shekau has made clear his sympathy for the group's goals. The United States made him a Specially Designated Global Terrorist in June 2012.
Two caveats here: there are conflicting reports that Shekau was killed in an August raid by Nigerian special forces. But a video that appeared weeks later purported to show he was still alive. And Boko Haram's leadership structure is opaque at best; it's unclear how much control Shekau himself exerts over its fighters.
John Campbell, a former U.S. ambassador to Nigeria, wrote last month that so far "Boko Haram has shown little interest in the world outside of Nigeria and the Sahel. But the situation in Nigeria is dynamic, and it is possible that closer ties will develop between al-Qaeda and elements of Boko Haram."
"Boko Haram" means "Western education is forbidden" and reflects the group's utter rejection of modernity and Western influences.
"Hostile to democracy, modern science, and Western education as non-Islamic, it is highly diffuse," Campbell said of the group. "For some adherents, religious, even apocalyptic, themes appear to be paramount."
Reward offered by the U.S. government: up to $7 million for his location.
10. Doku Umarov ... Self-styled first emir of the Caucasus Emirate. Count Doku has announced that his forces will not target civilians, but qualified that statement by saying there aren't any civilians in Russia...
Doku Umarov leads the Caucasus Emirate (CE), a Chechen group dedicated to bringing Islamic rule to much of southern Russia.
The U.S. State Department named Umarov a Specially Designated Global Terrorist in 2010, and said subsequently he was "encouraging followers to commit violent acts against CE's declared enemies, which include the United States as well as Israel, Russia, and the United Kingdom."
U.S. officials have been investigating whether the Tsarnaev brothers -- who were blamed for carrying out the bombing at the Boston Marathon in April -- had any links with Chechen bully boy groups. But nothing has surfaced connecting them with CE. And the group's main focus has been on attacking Russian institutions and civilian targets. In January 2011, it bombed Moscow's Domodedovo airport, killing 36 people, and suicide kabooms of Moscow subway stations in 2010 killed 40 people.
Umarov was born in southern Chechnya in 1964, according to Chechen websites, and describes his family as part of the "intelligentsia." He came of age as the separatist campaign against Russian rule began to take root and joined the insurgency when then-Russian leader Boris Yeltsin sent troops into the region in 1994.
In a proclamation published on a Chechen jihadist website in 2007, he declared, "It was my destiny to lead the Jihad... I will lead and organize Jihad according to the understanding, given to me by Allah."
Reward offered by the U.S. government for information on his location: up to $5 million.
This article starring:
Abubakar Shekau
Boko Haram
Abu Bakr al Baghdadi
Islamic State in Iraq
Abu Muhammad al Julani
al-Nusra
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi
al-Qaeda in Iraq
Ahmed Abdi Godane
al-Shabaab
Doku Umarov
Islamic Emirate of the Caucasus
Ibrahim al Asiri
al-Qaeda in Arabia
Moktar Belmoktar
al-Qaeda in North Africa
Nasir al Wuhayshi
al-Qaeda
Sirajudin Haqqani
al-Qaeda in Afghanistan
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#1
Don't know, but I know who are the four world's greatest terrorist enablers.
(1) UN bureaucracy
(2) Council of Europe
(3) USDS
(4) Her Majesty's Foreign office
[Dawn] Criticising the government for not being able to take any substantial step towards peace talks, Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP) chief Hakimullah Mehsud Wednesday said they would not hold dialogue through the media.
Speaking in a rare interview with the BBC, he said the Pak government should have officially announced initiation of peace talks and should have sent a tribal Jirga to them for that purpose.
"We don't wish to negotiate with the media....neither do we wish to hear the government's preconditions through the media nor do we want to put our precondition in front of it," said Mehsud.
He said Taliban were ready for serious talks with the government and would welcome such an effort from it. He vowed to provide a government Jirga with complete security if it was sent to them.
The TTP chief said scheduled withdrawal of NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A single organization with differing goals, equipment, language, doctrine, and organization.... and US forces from Afghanistan will not change anything in Pakistain and vowed to carry on with their 'activities.'
"We are engaged in a war with Pakistain for two reasons; firstly Pakistain is a friend of America and Ulema (Islamic holy mans) were killed and madrassas (religious seminaries) were destroyed in the country upon America's command."
"Another reason for waging a Jihad here is the prevailing Kafirana (infidel) system in place in Pakistain," he added.
Mehsud said the Pak Taliban will carry on demanding implementation of Shariah laws in the country even after the 2014 withdrawal.
Acknowledging Pak holy mans' appeal for a ceasefire prior to peace talks, he said for any ceasefire to be credible it was important that US drone strikes on Pak land are stopped.
Distancing themselves from terrorist attacks on public places, Mehsud said spy agencies were involved in such activities. "Purpose behind those attacks is to move the masses against Taliban so that public support towards us is stopped," he said.
The TTP chief vowed to carry on attacking "friends of America and devil believers."
When asked why previous peace initiatives had failed, he blamed the government. "The government of Pakistain bombs innocent tribal people due to the pressure of America... Drone strikes conducted by Americans were (backed) by Pakistain. Then the Americans pressed Pakistain to start ground operations in these areas, and Pakistain complied," said Mehsud.
"So the government is responsible for past failures," he added.
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[Al Ahram] Syrian rebels seized a guard post on the Jordanian border on Wednesday after a month of fierce fighting, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
"Rebel fighters took control of the Hajanah border battalion post near the city of Daraa after laying siege to it for two months and fierce festivities around it lasting a month," the NGO said.
Some of the border guard battalion had withdrawn, but it was not yet clear how many people had been killed or maimed in its capture.
The border post is adjacent to an old customs post seized by rebels days earlier.
With its capture, opposition forces now control a ribbon of territory along the border from outside Daraa to the edge of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
Elsewhere, the Observatory reported fierce fighting in Damascus province between rebels and troops backed by pro-regime militias and fighters from Leb's Shia Moslem movement Hezbollah.
The festivities were taking place around Husseiniyah and Al-Thiyabiyeh, south of the capital and near the Shiite holy site Sayyida Zeinab, the group said.
Clashes has been reported in the area for months and fighters from Hezbollah, which backs Assad's regime, have been dispatched to protect the site.
The Observatory said the latest round of fighting had left at least six rebels dead as well as 10 members of the regime forces.
State news agency SANA said government forces had "tightened their control over the towns of Husseiniyah and the outskirts of Al-Thiyabiyeh."
In the northern city of Aleppo, the Observatory reported fighting in the Salaheddin neighbourhood, where opposition rebels were advancing.
Clashes killed 10 troops, and deaths were reported among the rebels as well, the group said.
In Damascus province, regime warplanes bombed the town of Irbin, northeast of the capital, and the town of Yabrud, north of Damascus, the Observatory said.
And regime aircraft continued air strikes against rebels trying to seize control of two military bases in the northwestern province of Idlib, the Observatory reported.
It also said 15 people, including three women, were killed in a Monday raid on the town of Hamuriyeh, revising upwards an earlier toll of 10.
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[BBC.CO.UK] Russian Sherlocks say they have found what appear to be hard drugs on board the Greenpeace ship seized during a protest in the Arctic last month.
"During a search of the ship, drugs (apparently poppy straw and morphine) were confiscated," Russia's Investigative Committee said.
Poppy straw, or raw opium, can be used to produce morphine or heroin.
Greenpeace said in a statement that any suggestion of illegal drugs being found was a "smear".
"We can only assume the Russian authorities are referring to the medical supplies that our ships are obliged to carry under maritime law," it said.
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#1
Whom do I believe: a former KGB operative or Greenpeace activists? Given the circumstances, an easy question to answer.
[Dawn] The Beautiful Downtown Peshawar ...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire. High Court on Wednesday banned the open sale of acid, DawnNews reported.
Chief Justice Peshawar High Court, Justice Dost Muhammad Khan, heard the case pertaining to an acid attack.
Justice Khan remarked that acid was being used as a form of weapon, adding that women were being targeted with it.
He moreover said that leaders legislate day in and out for their own interests, but do not implement court orders.
Earlier in June, a young Pashto actress Bushra had suffered critical burn injuries after a local TV drama producer allegedly threw acid on her while she was asleep in her home, her family members had claimed.
Acid attacks are seen to be on the rise in northwest Pakistain
Bushra was only among the most recent victim of acid attacks -- a crime that experts say is on the rise in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... In year 2012, 150 acid attack cases were registered in Pakistain, 30 of which were reported from KP's Mardan district alone.
According to the Islamabad-based NGO, Acid Survivors Foundation, the data shows an upward trend in this form of violence targeting women. Some 45 per cent of the acid attacks are the result of family feuds while 17 per cent are linked to refusals to marriage proposals.
Moreover, a report by the Aurat Foundation released in January 2013 said that although the total number of reported cases of violence against women had decreased by 12 per cent, a deeper analysis showed a significant 89 per cent increase in cases of acid-throwing, followed by a 62 per cent rise in domestic violence.
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[Dawn] IT is a year today since Malala Yousafzai was shot, and it is the country's good fortune that she not just survived but is doubly determined to continue to campaign for education. Given all that she has been through, it would not have been surprising perhaps had she displayed revanchist sentiments against the TTP which launched grievous harm on her person and under whose thrall she earlier spent time in Swat. But Ms Yousafzai is being quoted across the world's media for the best of reasons, saying that she wants to change Pakistain's future through political activity and compulsory education. And while some consider unexpected her remarks on Monday about talking to the Taliban, is that really the case? "The best way to solve problems and to fight against war is through dialogue and ... through peaceful ways," she commented. Even in the context of people who almost killed her, there is recognition that hatred can produce no future.
All of this throws into even starker relief the ugliness of those who consider her a target. Even as Ms Yousafzai spoke of peace, the TTP front man Shahidullah Shahid denounced her courageousness and said that his group would try to kill her again. The young girl's steadfastness of purpose and the ambassadorial role that has settled upon her has no doubt irked the TTP, but nothing can be more shameful than the contrast between the victim that wants peace and the perpetrators of violence that desire to peddle death. At the other end of this opprobrious spectrum, Maulana Samiul Haq ...the Godfather of the Taliban, leader of his own faction of the JUI. Known as Mullah Sandwich for his habit of having two young boys at a time... , chairman of his own faction of the Jamaat Ulema-e-Islam ...Assembly of Islamic Clergy, or JUI, is a Pak Deobandi (Hanafi) political party. There are two main branches, one led by Maulana Fazlur Rahman, and one led by Maulana Samiul Haq. Fazl is active in Pak politix and Sami spends more time running his madrassah. Both branches sponsor branches of the Taliban, though with plausible deniability... , accused Ms Yousafzai of having been "hijacked" by Western and anti-Islam powers, even though the logic -- given that the West wants the TTP eliminated -- is tenuous at best.
This is far from the first time the TTP has taken a position that bodes ill for long-term success in the dialogue option. On Oct 5, its spokesperson shocked the nation by saying the TTP approved of the bombing of Beautiful Downtown Peshawar ...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire. 's All Saints Church since it was in keeping with the Sharia. The Sept 10 resolution of the all parties' conference that offered talks to the TTP could have paved the way for the group to renounce violence, pledge loyalty to the Constitution and begin to integrate itself in the mainstream by joining the political process. But Shahidullah Shahid's statement appears to be a reaffirmation of the TTP leadership's hubris, and peace could be a long time coming.
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[BBC.CO.UK] Azerbaijan's leader Ilham Aliyev has claimed victory in presidential polls, thanking the Azeri people for electing him to a third term.
With about three-quarters of the votes counted Mr Aliyev had won nearly 85%, the national election commission said.
The president called the election a "triumph of democracy", but opposition groups alleged widespread fraud.
Mr Aliyev inherited the presidency from his father in 2003. He has stifled dissent and scrapped term limits.
So confident was he of victory on Wednesday, he did not run a campaign.
"Azerbaijan will continue successfully to develop as a democratic country," Mr Aliyev said in a pre-recorded TV address. "The fact that this election was free and transparent is another serious step towards democracy."
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[Shabelle] The European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... wants to help Somalia establish a coasties service to combat piracy in the Horn of Africa.
The possibility of a Somali coasties was discussed during a a presser by Etienne de Poncins, head of the EU's regional maritime capacity-building mission, known as EUCAP Nestor.
"There is no coasties in Somalia at all. There are the 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... maritime police forces, but no national coasties," de Poncins said.
Options for a Somali coasties will be discussed later this year during a strategic review of the maritime training mission to the Horn of Africa and the western Indian Ocean.
EUCAP Nestor's primary mission is to provide training and advice for legal systems, but it can also supply training equipment, de Poncins said. Its main focus is Somalia, which de Poncins described as "the most important because it has the longest coastline and because many pirates come from Somali."
EUCAP Nestor's annual budget is 23 million (US $31 million), with "a few million euro available for equipment such as life jackets, night goggles, communications or health equipment, but not vessels," he said. There are three EU advisers in legal teams drafting legislation to counter piracy who are well placed to identify needs, he said, after which EU funding programs will be launched.
The mission maintains close contact with the central federal government and the Somaliland and Puntland regional bodies. It has held a training seminar on anti-piracy legislation with prosecutors and judges in the capital of Puntland. Discussions are ongoing between the regional governments and central government about a Somali maritime strategy, which will also address the coasties issue.
Currently, the oceans off the Horn of Africa are being patroled by EU Naval Force Operation Atalanta. According to information provided by the Operation Atalanta headquarters in London, 27 countries contribute about 1,200 personnel to the mission.
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#1
Please - how fast this 'Coast Guard' gets infiltrated by pirate groups will be measured in minutes. And how many millions will get siphoned off wasted on this effort only depends on the side of the first wire transfer. Idiots...
#3
One of the unseen benefits for the local communities was that wild fish stocks in that area grew when the 'pirates' were operating because no commercial fishing vessels dare come near . This is an area that should be exploited more in respect to getting involved with the locals , but alas shitty terrorist Islamic wideboys out-thought successive governments and got there first, then took everything off the said locals . The whole place needs rinsing properly and cleared out , but no one likes to take as bite out of that shit pie cherry
[Al Ahram] The corpse count from festivities between ex-rebels of the Seleka coalition and local self-defence groups in the Central African Republic has climbed to nearly 50, a security official said Wednesday.
An earlier toll had put the number of killed in Tuesday's outbreak of fresh sectarian violence in the country's northwest at at least 30, with dozens more injured.
"The latest toll of the festivities in Garga is nearly 50 dead, most of them people who were rubbed out in cold blood in their homes," the official told AFP, referring to a small mining town about 200 kilometres (125 miles) north of the capital Bangui.
The fighting stopped Wednesday, allowing local Red Thingy rescuers and relatives of those killed to bury their dead, said the source, who did not wish to be named.
Most Garga residents have left the town and "many are hiding in the bush".
Former Seleka rebels set up base in the Garga mining region several months ago, warning operators and others not to go near the mines.
Outraged farmers then created self-defence groups and attacked the rebel base on Monday morning, said the official.
The former rebels reacted "going from home to home searching for men and youths they systematically bumped off after accusing them of working with" the self-defence groups.
Witnesses contacted by AFP at Bossembele, about 50 kilometres (30 miles) from Garga, said residents "continue to flee the region on Wednesday with their belongings or empty-handed".
The poor, landlocked nation has been mired in chaos since the Seleka coalition of rebels ousted longtime president Francois Bozize in March.
A new government was put in place and Seleka was disbanded in name but continues to operate as a proto-militia in the region.
The country has seen an increase in festivities between the former rebel coalition that led the coup, who are Musselmen, and the local self-defence groups formed by rural residents who are Christian, in common with around 80 percent of the population.
Some 1.6 million people nationwide -- one third of the population -- need humanitarian aid and nearly 300,000 are internally displaced or have fled to neighbouring countries, according to UN figures.
The UN Security Council will vote a resolution on Thursday that takes the first steps toward sending a peacekeeping force to end anarchy in the Central African Republic, diplomats said.
The draft resolution, obtained by AFP, expressed deep concern at the "total breakdown of law and order" since Bozize's ouster.
It calls on Seleka rebels to lay down their arms and for UN Secretary General the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon ... of whom it can be said to his credit that he is not Kofi Annan... to draw up a report in the next month on options to help a small African force already in the country, the International Support Mission in Central African Republic, or MISCA.
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#1
Give a damn, do you ?
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10/10/2013 10:54
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[Al Ahram] In press statement Wednesday, Jerry Lewis doppelgänger Amr Moussa ... who was head of the Arab League for approximately two normal lifespans, accomplishing nothing that was obvious to the casual observer ... , chairman of the 50-member committee mandated with finalising Egypt's new constitution, disclosed that the final draft of the country's post-30 June charter will be complete by the end of November.
"After this, we will pass it to Interim President Adly Mansour to be put to a national referendum," Moussa said.
In the words of Moussa, "The new constitution will be modern, reflecting the requirements of the 21st century, not to mention that it will be completely different from the 2012 Constitution."
"This constitution will be new," Moussa added, "in the sense that it will be aimed to serve the interests of all Egyptians, rather than the 2012 Constitution that was tailored to serve the interests of the [deposed] Moslem Brüderbund."
According to Moussa, the current debate over the constitution has highlighted many differences, particularly over articles regulating the performance of the armed forces. "In this respect," said Moussa, "let me emphasise that we are by no means under any pressure from the army to draft articles in a certain way." "Let me also stress that we show a lot of respect for army officials and their viewpoints," said Moussa.
Moussa indicated that there is also a lot of controversy over whether women would be given a quota of 30 per cent of seats in the coming parliament and whether the traditional quota of 50 per cent of seats reserved for farmers and workers will be maintained.
Moussa confirmed that the vast majority of the 50-member committee are in favour of imposing an outright ban on political parties formed on a religious foundation or background. "The majority is against forming religious parties, be they Islamist or Christian," Moussa said.
Reviewing the progress of the 50-member committee in a plenary session Wednesday, Abdel-Gelil Mostafa, chairman of a subcommittee responsible for reviewing the language of the constitution's articles, disclosed that 150 articles have been reviewed, 30 of which are new.
"Most of these articles belong to the first two chapters covering the state, and rights and freedoms," said Mostafa, indicating that "the articles of the chapter on the system of government will be complete Thursday."
At the end of that stage, explained Mostafa, "We will have an initial draft constitution before the holiday of Eid Al-Adha next week, after which we will move to the second stage, which is designed to include a dialogue with members of subcommittees to reach an agreement on articles after they were reviewed by the constitution writing committee."
"Finally, we will a have a third final stage in which there will be a final draft ready for discussion in plenary sessions of the Committee of the 50."
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[TELEGRAPH.CO.UK] Malala doesn't just shame Taliban fundamentalists and men who can't believe daughters are the equal of sons. She shames this country, where the craven creed of multiculturalism allows girls to disappear into forced marriages at the age of 14, and a free Mohammedan school in Derby is just one of many that should face closure over "practices which discriminate against girls and women". Above all, Malala shames the "Am I bovvered?" young and their parents who take education for granted. "I want to tell students [in the UK] to think that it's very precious, it's very prestigious," Malala told interviewer Mishal Husain. "Go to school. Reading a book, having a pen in our hands, studying sitting together, in a classroom, is very special to us."
How relevant her words seem, in the week when a major international study revealed that England and Northern Ireland have among the worst levels of numeracy and literacy in the developed world. Not only do our 16- to 24-year-olds rank 22nd for literacy and 21st for numeracy, they are likely to be less skilled than their grandparents. Instead of having a highly educated upcoming generation, we are relying on the over-fifties to keep the show on the road. Those of us who dared to challenge pious New Labour education ministers when they reeled off inexorably improving exam results were told to stop knocking the achievement of hard-working teachers and pupils. It is now clear that those exam results were a cruel mirage. Dumbing down is a real and present danger to this country's prosperity.
How would you explain British educational decline to Malala? In her homeland, pupils may be so poor they use chalk and slates, but education is considered prestigious and special, which means many of the brightest students are attracted into teaching. Because teachers have high status, pupils are respectful and they work hard, because education is the difference between a decent life and dire poverty. While Pak girls like Malala are dying for the right to go to school, truants in Britannia miss 3.7 million school days in a single term.
In Britannia, the rights of the child have eclipsed the rights of the teacher to teach and to discipline. (Malala was astonished that the staff at her new Birmingham school didn't use a cane on unruly pupils, as they do back home.) Children's growing sense of untouchability has led to a situation where a fifth of teachers say they have been physically assaulted by pupils. So, in Pakistain, the teachers hit the kids and here the kids hit the teachers. And we call this progress.
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#1
Malala was astonished that the staff at her new Birmingham school didn't use a cane on unruly pupils, as they do back home.
They had the Board of Education where I went to school. Unruly boys who had meetings with the Board came back to class much quieter than they were before they left. But I guess that's all politically incorrect these days.
[NY Times] A Pak court granted bail on Wednesday to Pervez Perv Musharraf ... former dictator of Pakistain, who was less dictatorial and corrupt than any Pak civilian government to date ... , the country's former military ruler, clearing the way for him to leave the country as early as Thursday, his lawyers said.
Mr. Musharraf, 70, has been under house arrest at his villa outside Islamabad since April, facing criminal charges in three cases related to his nine years in power, from 1999 to 2008. The prospect of a former army chief facing potential imprisonment appeared, for a time, to signal new limits to the unofficial immunity from prosecution that Pakistain's top generals have long enjoyed.
Mr. Musharraf had already been granted bail in two of the three cases, and the decision on Wednesday to grant bail in the third -- related to the death of Akbar Khan Bugti, a Baloch nationalist leader killed in a military operation -- opens the door for him to avoid prosecution entirely.
Mr. Musharraf's lawyers said that his bail payment of $20,000 could be processed as early as Thursday morning; he could then leave Pakistain immediately. Ahmad Raza Khan Qasuri, the vice president of Mr. Musharraf's political party, the All Pakistain Mohammedan League, said that Mr. Musharraf might go to see his 90-year-old mother.
"He's a free person -- he can go out whenever he likes," Mr. Qasuri said in a telephone interview. "His mother, who is a very aged lady, lives in Dubai. He might go tomorrow or the day after to see her. But his base will continue to be in Islamabad."
Still, Mr. Musharraf has rebuffed previous entreaties from his advisers, and from senior military leaders, to leave Pakistain, particularly if doing so would prevent him from returning to fight his battles in court. Aides say that Mr. Musharraf, a former commando with a famous stubborn streak, insists on clearing his name and does not want to spend his retirement in exile.
But for the military, his case has become an unwelcome distraction, complicating relations among the army, the civilian government and the courts and raising the prospect of a troubling precedent.
Mohammed Amjad, secretary general of Mr. Musharraf's party, told news hounds outside his home that if Mr. Musharraf leaves Pakistain, it will be only temporarily. "He will not escape from Pakistain," Mr. Amjad said.
Mr. Musharraf has been incarcerated Youse'll never take me alive coppers!... [BANG!]... Ow!... I quit! at his luxurious farmhouse outside Islamabad rather than in prison for security reasons, following Taliban threats to his life. Aides say he has been confined to two rooms in the house, which has a swimming pool and sweeping lawns, and has had limited access to his friends and family.
Still, in a country where senior military officers are generally considered to be above the law, the sight of a former military ruler facing justice in a civilian court is a startling novelty.
Besides the three current criminal cases, Mr. Musharraf faces potential treason charges for his role in suspending the constitution in 2007, though few analysts believe the government of Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... is likely to go ahead with those charges.
Mr. Musharraf was disqualified from standing in the general election in May, in which his party performed poorly. More generally, few Paks have shown much enthusiasm for returning him to power.
One factor in Mr. Musharraf's present calculation might be the position of his nemesis, Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, whom he tried to fire in 2007. With Mr. Chaudhry due to retire in December, analysts say that Mr. Musharraf might be waiting until then to decide whether his long-term future lies in or out of Pakistain.
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[Shabelle] A US government official and two think-tank analysts raised questions on Tuesday about Kenya's role in Somalia in comments to the US Senate.
"Increasing security efforts by the Kenya Defence Forces may have [aid] access implications in Kismayo and re-ignite tensions in the community," said Nancy Lindborg, assistant administrator of the US Agency for International Development.
Somalis express "great scepticism" in regard to Kenya's claim that it wants to remove its troops from Kismayo, added EJ Hogendoorn, an analyst with the International Crisis Group.
He pointed to a UN allegation that Kenyan military officers earn "large amounts of money from trade, including illegal charcoal, passing through Kismayo."
Most Somalis "believe Kenya wants to control southern Somalia because it has large oil and natural gas deposits," Mr Hogendoorn told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Abdi Aynte, director of the Mogadishu-based Heritage Institute for Policy Studies, said the US has "a moral obligation to exert pressure" on Kenya and Ethiopia to cease interfering in Somalia's internal politics.
"Their unchecked interference risks further destabilising of the country and a reversal of recent fragile gains," Mr Aynte warned. "Interference galvanises militant groups and further divides Somali communities." There doesn't appear to be any word in Somali for "gratitude," either, assuming the interpretation of Somali opinion is approximately accurate. Without the Ethiopian intervention they'd still be ruled by the Islamic Courts. Once they were chased out, the Amisom troops weren't capable of suppressing the Shaboobs. They didn't start falling apart until the Kenyans showed up with an approximately disciplined army.
As usual, doing anything at all will only cheese the turbans off, so we should all just sit on our hands and give them what they want, which is our children and grandchildren.
Bastards.
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[An Nahar] Scores of Syrian rebels and forces loyal to Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Terror of Aleppo ... were killed in fierce fighting Wednesday south of Damascus, where the army pressed a major offensive, an NGO said.
The fighting, between rebel brigades and regular troops, supported by pro-regime militia and elements of Hizbullah, took place in the areas of Husseiniyah, al-Thiyabiyeh and Bouaydah, as government warplanes pounded the area, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
"At least 22 people, the majority of them rebels, including a commander," were killed, the Britannia-based group said, without elaborating.
At the same time, it said "dozens" of regime forces were killed.
Earlier, the Observatory had said regular troops had reinforced their control of two villages separating Thiyabiyeh and Bouaydah.
For its part, the Local Coordination Committees, a group of forces of Evil on the ground, said the Abu Fadel Abbas Brigade composed mostly of Iraqi Shiites, along with Hizbullah fighters and elite troops were carrying out a major offensive.
State news agency SANA said government forces had "tightened their control over the town of Husseiniyah and the outskirts of al-Thiyabiyeh."
The two towns are located near the Shiite pilgrimage site of Sayyida Zeinab in the southern outskirts of Damascus.
Clashes has been reported in the area for months and fighters from Hizbullah, which backs Assad's regime, have been dispatched to protect the site.
Separately, rebels seized a guard post on the Jordanian border after a month of fierce fighting, the Observatory said.
"Rebel fighters took control of the Hajanah border battalion post near the city of Daraa after laying siege to it for two months and fierce festivities around it lasting a month," the NGO said.
Some of the border guard battalion had withdrawn, and there was no immediate word on any casualties during the post's capture.
The border post is adjacent to an old customs post seized by rebels days earlier.
With its capture, opposition forces now control a ribbon of territory along the border from outside Daraa to the edge of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
In the northern city of Aleppo, the Observatory reported fighting in the Salaheddin neighborhood, where opposition rebels were advancing.
Clashes killed 10 troops, and deaths were reported among the rebels as well, the group said.
In the central city of Homs, rebel shelling of one of Syria's two main oil refineries set fire to the plant, already working at barely 10 percent of its capacity, the Observatory said.
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Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
#1
Amerika's future fellow OWG "Co-Superpower" + new BFF-in-Syria Iran + Hezbollah + aligned on the move.
This will be interesting iff the Saudis do succeed in their drive to unilaterally invoke anti-Obama, anti-Iran/Shiism "SUNNI AWAKENING/SPRING" vee the newly-formed, pro-Saudi led "Army of Islam" coalition.
Besides the KSA, there is also the KSA's new pro-Sunni regional rival QATAR wid its own movement.
[BREITBART] The Pentagon has confirmed it will not pay death benefits to the families of troops killed in combat during the so-called government shutdown.
"Unfortunately, as a result of the shutdown, we do not have the legal authority to make death gratuity payments at this time," said Lt. Cmdr. Nate Christensen, a Defense Department spokesman. "However, we are keeping a close eye on those survivors who have lost loved ones serving in the Department of Defense."
Not long after the flag-draped coffins of four Americans killed in combat arrived Wednesday at Delaware's Dover Air Force Base, the Pentagon announced that a private charity would restore death benefits for the families of military members who died while on active duty.
More than two dozen men and women on active military duty have died since the federal shutdown began Oct. 1. The $100,000 in so-called death gratuities paid to their survivors within 36 hours was one of many key programs placed on hold because of the stalemate in Washington.
In a surprise move, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced that the Pentagon had reached an agreement with Fisher House Foundation, a nonprofit charity that assists military families, to begin paying the survivor benefits until the government can resume them. The foundation will be repaid after the stalemate ends.
Hagel's announcement came slightly more than an hour after the House of Representatives unanimously passed a bill, 425 to 0, to restore the benefits and sent it to the Senate. It appeared, however, that the Democratic-controlled Senate might not act on the bill after the Pentagon moved to pay the benefits through the private foundation.
If the Senate fails to act, Republicans would have a harder time claiming credit for restoring the aid to military families.
That's certainly one perspective.
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#3
In a surprise move, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced that the Pentagon had reached an agreement with Fisher House Foundation
A convenient 'cover for action'. A simple phone call to the DoD bugeteers instructing them to REPROGRAM funding would have done the trick. We somehow recently found $300m to give to Detroit. These are the actions of committed leftist ideologues, nothing more.
Hagel and the senior uniformed leadership of DoD should be relieved and FIRED for cause !
#4
Hagel's announcement came slightly more than an hour after the House of Representatives unanimously passed a bill, 425 to 0, to restore the benefits and sent it to the Senate
[THECOURIER] Donald Eugene Miller Jr. walked out of Hancock County Probate Court on Monday as legally dead as ever.
In 1994, the court ruled that Miller was legally dead, eight years after he disappeared from his Arcadia rental home.
The same judge, Allan Davis, ruled Monday that Miller is still dead, in the eyes of the law. Miller's request for a reversal came well after the three-year legal limit for changing a death ruling, Davis said.
Miller, 61, now of Fostoria, spoke softly in court and offered few details about his past. Miller said he was an alcoholic who was unsure what to do after losing his job.
"My paycheck was being taken away from me and I had nothing left," he said.
"It kind of went further than I ever expected it to," Miller said. "I just kind of took off, ended up in different places," he said.
He said he briefly worked odd jobs in Atlanta and Marathon, Fla., after leaving Hancock County sometime before 1990.
His parents informed him of his "death" upon his return to Ohio in about 2005, he said.
Miller told Judge Davis he neither sought alcohol treatment nor contacted his children in the time after he left.
Miller said he would like to start his life again, or "whatever's left of it." He asked the court to reverse its 1994 death ruling so he can reinstate his canceled Social Security number and driver's license.
The court said no.
Miller may still be able to challenge the Social Security Administration in federal court. However, if you can't say something nice about a person some juicy gossip will go well... his attorney, Francis Marley, said Miller does not have the resources to do so.
"My client's here on a wing and a prayer today," Marley said.
Miller's ex-wife, Robin Miller, had asked for the death ruling so Social Security death benefits could be paid to their two children. Donald Miller was last reported in Arcadia around 1986 and was declared dead in 1994, she has said.
Robin Miller declined to testify on Monday.
She said after the court hearing that Donald Miller left the state with hefty child support bills. He was scared of a jail term, she said. He owed about $26,000 in overdue child support by 1994, she has said.
Robin Miller opposed his request for a change in the death ruling, because she does not want to repay the Social Security benefits. She does not have the money, she said.
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[An Nahar] The State Commissioner to the Military Court charged on Wednesday 12 people, including a Lebanese and 2 Syrians who are in jug, with plotting terrorist activities, the state-run National News Agency reported.
The charges include forming an armed gang to carry out terrorist operations, buying arms, rockets and bombs to plant them throughout Lebanese territories, and plotting liquidations against personalities in northern Leb who back the Syrian regime.
NNA said that the suspects were also planning to booby-trap vehicles.
The General Security Department announced on Tuesday that it dismantled a "terrorist cell" that was plotting liquidations and bombings in several areas across Leb.
It said the three detainees were interrogated and referred to the military prosecution along with the explosives, weapons and communication devices that were seized from them.
General Security stressed that it "will not hesitate to pursue terrorist groups, subversive gangs and illegal emigration networks -- in coordination with the rest of the security agencies -- to preserve the safety of citizens and the security and stability of the country."
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[Dawn] Pakistain on Wednesday denied a Taliban claim that it had failed to free former rebel commander Abdul Ghani Baradar, whose release was meant to boost Afghanistan's grinding of the peace processor.
Baradar, often described as the Taliban's former second-in-command, was supposedly set free last month, after months of negotiations between the two governments.
"However, you can observe a lot just by watching... with great regret, he is still spending days and nights locked up behind bars in worrisome health conditions which are deteriorating by the day," the Taliban said in a statement on their website.
A senior Taliban member told AFP that Baradar was being held at a house in Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... run by Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Pakistain's leading intelligence agency.
"He doesn't have any freedom, and his family can't even visit him," he said. "The Pakistain government says he has health problems which are being treated, and then his family will be able to visit."
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[Dawn] Rifts emerged within the ruling Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf ...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations.... on Tuesday after one of its MPAs submitted an application to the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... Assembly speaker for a separate seat in the House.
"The party leadership in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa has deviated from its policies and manifesto and therefore, I have requested the speaker to allot me a separate seat in the House as soon as possible," PTI MPA Javed Naseem from Beautiful Downtown Peshawar ...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire. told Dawn here.
Mr Naseem said PTI had pledged to eradicate corruption and follow merit if it came to power, but some of its ministers and leaders were trying to maintain the status quo and were reluctant to take action against 'corrupt officers'.
"I am neither acceptable to the treasury benches nor the opposition and that is why I have asked the speaker to allot me a separate seat," he said.
He claimed that many PTI MPAs were not happy with the provincial government's policies and they would soon submit applications to the speaker to allot them separate benches.
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[Al Ahram] Popular satirist Bassem Youssef will be back to his weekly TV show after an almost three-month hiatus following the downfall of Egypt's Islamist president Mohammed Morsi ...the former president of Egypt. A proponent of the One Man, One Vote, One Time principle, Morsi won election after the deposal of Hosni Mubarak and jumped to the conclusion it was his turn to be dictator...
Youssef said on Wednesday his widely-viewed political satirical show, El-Bernameg ('The Programme'), will be broadcast again in late October, defying the odds of an anticipated permanent halt to the show, which analysts say faces a tough challenge to provide political satire in the post-Morsi transitional phase of the turmoil-hit country.
"Sorry to disappoint fans of the rumour mill, we will be back on the same channel Friday 25 October," Youssef said on his Twitter feed.
El-Bernameg, which is modeled on Jon Stewart's The Daily Show in the US and broadcast on private TV channel CBC, was stopped after an episode in early July was cancelled amid political unrest in the wake of the ouster of Morsi. Youssef then announced a month-long break during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which fell in July this year.
A media advisor of El-Bernameg has said the interruption in broadcast, as well as a night-time curfew authorities imposed amid violence following the dispersal of Islamist sit-ins in mid-August, held back shooting of the show, which takes place at a downtown Cairo theatre with a live audience.
"Any other reports about problems with the channel or security-related matters are mere rumors," Mohammed Fathy, El-Bernameg's public relations advisor told Ahram Online.
In July TV comments, Youssef said his programme might resume by mid-August or September, plans that were further stalled by his mother's death early in September, noted Fathy
Youssef's absence since then, amid a deliberate period of silence from show insiders, has raised doubts about the future of the firebrand ...firebrands are noted more for audio volume and the quantity of spittle generated than for any actual logic in their arguments... political satirist, with many speculating he might not be able to resume his political lampoon after Morsi's fall, arguing that satirising the country's interim leaders and the military which deposed him would not be an easy task.
Fathy however noted that Youssef presented 100 episodes of his debut show during the transitional military rule following the downfall of autocratic president Hosni Mubarak ...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011... in 2011.
"At the time the situation wasn't less critical and we did not know what was going to happen next, and he [Youssef] did not stop."
"The team presents its viewpoint and do what they believe in regardless of the challenges," Fathy added.
El-Bernameg, which has been a smash hit with 30 million Egyptian viewers, repeatedly mocked president Morsi and made witty parodies of him and other bully boy Islamists. The show has been seen as highly instrumental in exposing the failings and transgressions of Morsi's Moslem Brüderbund, making Youssef one of their formidable foes.
"It's shameful and wrong for this type of programme to disappear just because the regime has fallen, and we do not have a president who delivers speeches or [Islamist] channels that make mistakes," Youssef said in a TV interview in July.
Posted by: Fred ||
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For those of us who have actually looked at history, we know the Democratic party in this nation has been and in my opinion, still is the party of slavery. Yes, after the Civil War, the black population briefly escaped from the Plantation but the were soon brought back to heel. Their attempted escape again during the Civil Rights movement was easily destroyed by LBJ's Great Society and they've remained firmly in chains ever since.
The Slave Masters:
This is the Democrat Party elite, they gleefully ignore laws as they know that the media will never call them on it and their minions will never allow them to be charged for their crimes. They are in effect, untouchable in legal terms in this country, since laws are for the slaves and to oppress the ferals (Non-democrats) running around.
You simply have to look at how many times they have skated away from treason, murder, rape and a host of other crimes that would have any normal person sitting on death row or in prison for life. Scandal after scandal turns up exactly nothing on the people in charge, who merely sacrifice a few underlings to the altar of expediency and PR. It happens over and over again. If the laws don't apply to them, can we really say that they are anything but ruling class?
The Slave Overseers:
The Mainstream Media! Naturally. Has there ever been so effective a cheerleading/discipline squad as this. They bring forth the stories that steer the slaves in the direction their master's want them to go, just look at Global Warming. They destroy anyone not fitting their mold, simply see how they portray gun owners. They direct and steer the slaves to ensure that leaving the plantation is a form of suicide. Anyone not fitting neatly into their collar is demonized, made fun of and made the boogeyman in an never ending stream of reports that declare them to be enemies of all humanity.
While their pretensions make them think they are part of the Ruling class, you can tell they truly aren't from the way they fawn over and lick the feet of their Masters. The gushy way they talk to Democrat party senators and reps makes it clear who is in charge. They never dare to threaten their masters either, burying stories or attempting to destroy any that might cause tension among the slaves. They also try to destroy any media people who stray from the pack as well, to ensure that only the wishes of their masters can be delivered to the slaves.
The Slaves:
While the Democrats hope this includes everyone, their goals are not yet met. Ferals still resist coming onto the plantation, which is one reason why they push so hard for the illegals. Once the break the back of the Americans who still have jobs, they can force them onto the plantation by providing that 'kindly' government assistance that means a collar around your neck for life. Welfare, food stamps, AIDC, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and student loans, these are all designed with one thing in mind: To ensure that you cannot survive without the government, ie the Ruling Class. Once their hooks are in, it's nearly impossible to break free from the collar.
To help with this, they have taken over the schools, to ensure that you learn the corrected form of history and how great government is. Kids are indoctrinated that their parents MUST bow to their whims and wants, or it's child abuse. That it's okay to not learn since the government will be there to take care of you. And if you're rowdy, well, take this nice pill and you'll be happy while sitting in class and the propaganda will just seep right in. They make students terrified of guns, to ensure that the police can cow them if needed and of course, the scary government men with guns will keep them safe, because safety only exists in government.
It amazes me talking to kids sometimes today just how ignorant they are, about EVERYTHING. Even worse, they all have smartphones, computers and internet, yet none have mowed a yard, know how to change the oil in their car or heaven forbid, every played with a slingshot or bb gun. To make it even more depressing, they can barely read and can't really write with pen or pencil. These kids are our future? Don't make me puke.
Sometimes I look at the country today and don't see any way out of it. How do you turn this around? Is there a way without another blood bath like the Civil War? Our elections are not safe, vote fraud is systematic now. And as illegals get more and more rights over actual citizens, how long before voting even matters at all? Perhaps this is why I have a horrid fascination with zombie books now, it's not the zombies, but civilization destroyed enabling a second chance to build a better one. Well, that and perhaps laughing as the liberal sheeple get wiped out. I know, I'm broken. I have no mercy anymore toward the people destroying our nation and certainly my compassion has taken a terrible beating. Perhaps I can refuse to become one of their slaves, but how much of my humanity do I have to sign away to resist?
Silentbrick
In my steel box on the rig
Middle of nowhere
Gulf of Mexico
#1
It amazes me talking to kids sometimes today just how ignorant they are, about EVERYTHING. Even worse, they all have smartphones, computers and internet, yet none have mowed a yard, know how to change the oil in their car or heaven forbid, every played with a slingshot or bb gun.
The Internet represents the greatest repository of knowledge and information in the history of mankind, at nearly everyone's fingertips, yet it is squandered. Sometimes I look at the country today and don't see any way out of it. How do you turn this around? Is there a way without another blood bath like the Civil War?
I scoffed at this notion five years ago. No longer...
#4
It amazes me talking to kids sometimes today just how ignorant they are, about EVERYTHING.
Once you abolished corporal punishment, replaced achievement with "self esteem",and turned teachers' colleges into tools of "female emancipation", what the f*ck did you expect?
#5
Yes, all these things are true of the youth but there is much more to be seen. They are not engaged perhaps. Many just want to go about life everyday free of the conflicts and troubles of this life. I know many who don't read the current news or watch the TV news. Viewer-ship is in decline. Those expensive magazines at the checkout lines don't sell well at all now. USA today is 2.00 dollars and if you travel you may still get your free copy but its smaller. The Sun has also made their paper smaller. The youth and public are turning away from various things. Even from politicians. Yes the schools are a failure but those who wish to achieve are still with us. What I enjoy about being male is we many times go our own way. Not so easy to program us. I think we all have a little Max Max in us. The Dem's are failing miserably. They have failed their own people also. It's like the old Redskins joke. Only senior citizens are Redskin fans.Why because it has been so long since they have won.They are still loyal anyway. Loyal to an old ideas their party has forgotten.
#6
"For those of us who have actually looked at history, we know the Democratic party in this nation has been and in my opinion, still is the party of slavery."
Very true. The only thing that's changed is that they've substituted political slavery for the slavery of picking cotton at gunpoint. And instead of whipping those who try to escape, they now punish them with ostracism.
"Sometimes I look at the country today and don't see any way out of it."
I don't either. I think we're royally screwed. Back in 2008 I thought we'd reached rock-bottom in electing Obama as president, but I was wrong: we bottomed out in 2012 when we re-elected him. At that point, it became clear that America's progressivism sickness will be fatal.
"How do you turn this around? Is there a way without another blood bath like the Civil War?"
No.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
10/10/2013 6:56
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#7
Is there a way without another blood bath like the Civil War?
No, and not even that way. Better analog would be the Revolutionary War though, without French help or an ocean to cross with sailboats.
#9
I don't think we get civil war. I think we get a great depression that keeps going and sets us back economically to a state of pre-ww2. With the economy shrunk so far the government can't fulfill the promises they've made and kids are forced to work to help their families survive. At that point things basically start over to some extent.
We had a good run after WW2 but we squandered it. These things run in cycles and the inbetween cycle is probably pretty nasty when you've witnessed the top of the cycle, but its not the end.
#10
Civil War? No, kinda silly actually.
Outside chance of a Coupe de la Peeps tho. A week or 2 or friction? Maybe? I hate to use the words.... but we have the Optics.
#11
It amazes me talking to kids sometimes today just how ignorant they are, about EVERYTHING. Even worse, they all have smartphones, computers and internet, yet none have mowed a yard, know how to change the oil in their car or heaven forbid, every played with a slingshot or bb gun.
Just today I opened a package from my little sister; she was cleaning house and found my Erector Set!
the one with steel, not plastic bits.
will be passing that on to attorney son (after I build some really cool stuff)
[Shabelle] News sources from Barawe town suggest that Somali's AL-Qaeda linked group of AL-Shabaab incarcerated Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out! a business man in relation to Barawe's attack by US commands launched on Saturday a house residing by AL-Shabaab top leaders in Barawe town of lower Shabelle province, Shabelle Media reported.
The detained man named Kasim Gandeele has internet cafe in Barawe town and he was sent to prison by AL-Shabaab following the predawn attack on Barawe by US special commands from the sea.
Reliable sources stated to Shabelle Media Network that AL-Shabaab accused the businessman that he has direct relation to special commands who attacked Barawe coastal town and aware of the attack.
Shabelle Media Network was not able to reach on phone the relatives of the jugged Drop the rosco, Muggsy, or you're one with the ages! man of Kasim Gandeele for more information.
Somali's AL-Qaeda affiliated group of AL-Shabaab didn't comment on the detention of the business man yet.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#2
Hey GB...always thought she was pretty. Don't know why this is NSFW...no girlie parts showing ...although she does look a bit drugged..kind of weird facial expression..
[Al Ahram] There's a heated debate in Canada over Quebec's proposal to ban symbols of religious faith such as Jewish skullcaps, Sikh turbans, Mohammedan head scarves and large crucifixes from public work places.
The proposed ban is part of what the Quebec government calls its "charter of values." It has divided the province of 8.1 million and mobilized the opposition.
In recent weeks, Montreal has witnessed the rare spectacle of thousands of protesting Mohammedans, Jews and Sikhs marching together through the streets.
And reactions have been fierce elsewhere in Canada.
The federal Conservative government says it will fight the change in court. The Ontario legislature passed a motion of condemnation, and the Mohammedan mayor of Calgary has invited religious minorities to move to his city where "we don't care how you worship."
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
Wrong approach. If it's about faith people will (rightly) resent and resist. If it's about health and safety (we need to see your face on your ID) it will fly.
Problem with health and safety, though, is that all manner of atrocities are routinely committed under this rubric. Wish people could tell the difference, but alas...
[THISDAYLIVE] The last may not have been heard concerning the survival or otherwise of the leader of the outlawed Islamic sect, 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... , Abubkar Shekau, as a security analysis conducted by the Department of the State Security (DSS), yesterday revealed that the recent video appearance of the sect's leader was unreal.
The security analysis of the video sighted by THISDAY, noted that the amateur replica cloned everything wrongly but was not categorical on the death of the terrorist as it waited on time to determine.
This, however, came same day the Minister of Special Duties, Alhaji Kabiru Turaki, said it was not part of his duty or mandate as minister and chairman of the Presidential Committee on Dialogue and Peaceful Resolution of the Conflicts in Northern Nigeria to locate Shekau's whereabout.
But the expert analysis of the video of the sect's leader in previous appearances showed that Shekau usually starts with the recitation of a full verse of the Koran, which sometimes could last up to five minutes, a sequence the stand-in Shekau did not observe.
According to a bigwig of the agency, who spoke on conditions of anonymity, the amateur cloned replica of Shekau was wrong on several grounds including the fact that his former appearances in videos was patterned after a certain modus operandi.
It was also observed in the analysis, that unlike on previous occasions when Shekau spoke, he was never interrupted by any background praising quite unlike what happened in the latest video.
The video, which was sent in for analysis by experts showed that the movement of "Shekau's lips" did not synchronise with the words as pronounced, apparently betraying a recorded message inefficiently manipulated to sustain a non-existent continuum in leadership, now in disarray.
The experts had stated that the cloned attempt to mimick Shekau voice during the opening stanza soon gave in, as the impostor reverted to his real voice, while the intonation was different as Shekau was not known to drawl while talking.
Other inconsistencies discovered by the experts were that: "This 'Shekau' even said a dead woman -Margaret Thatcher, and Oladipo Diya, rejoiced over his (Shekau's) death.
A DSS source who spoke to THISDAY said, "How does these add up to strengthen his case? One is dead and the other had left government long before the advent of Boko Haram. The video was just to create unnecessary panic in the public.
"The fact is that Abubakar Shekau, was truly shot, critically injured and evacuated by his lieutenants to a conventional hospital outside Nigeria. It is only time that will tell if he survived but we know now that the video is as fake as it gets."
Meanwhile, ...back at the palazzo, Count Guido had escaped from his bonds and overwhelmed his guard using the bludgeon the faithful Filomena had smuggled to him in the loaf of bread... Turaki, while briefing journalists after giving a scorecard of his portfolio as minister to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Working Committee (NWC), said the report of the committee was almost 99 per cent completed.
He noted that the committee would soon notify President Goodluck Jonathan ... 14th President of Nigeria. He was Governor of Bayelsa State from 9 December 2005 to 28 May 2007, and was sworn in as Vice President on 29 May 2007. Jonathan is a member of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP). He is a lover of nifty hats, which makes him easily recognizable unless someone else in the room is wearing a neat chapeau... on a convenient date to submit the report, while also hinting that it cost the federal government about N100 billion to finance constituency projects of members of the National Assembly.
The minister, who put the number of the ongoing constituency projects at 2,399 projects, said: "I think I should also ask you, where is Shekau? With all sense of responsibility, we have been directed by Mr. President to identify key members of the sect and then engage them in dialogue. Mr. President didn't ask us to look for Shekau and engage him in dialogue."
According to him, "It is important for Nigerians to appreciate that in matters of this nature you don't just wake up one day even as a dialogue committee established by government and say you are discussing with the leadership of the Death Eaters. Usually, what happens and that was what happened in our own case is that after we have been able to establish confidence.
However, there is a theory which states that if ever anybody discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened... Turaki said the committee had identified some key elements of the Death Eater group and has made some useful recommendations in the report that would be soon be submitted to the president.
Noting that the insurgency should not be expected to come to an end suddenly, the minister said: "Necessarily, it has to take time to contain the insurgency and it is not what will be done today or tomorrow."
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[Shabelle] Somalia's defense minister Abdihakim Haji Mohamud Fiqi has for the first time revealed the government's intentions to attack Barawe town which is Alshabab's stronghold.
"We are on the final preparations to liberate the entire Lower Shabelle region including Barawe". Said Fiqi
The minister added that Barawe will follow Mogadishu and other many towns which were freed from Alshabab rule by Somali national army forces which were aided by AMISOM troops.
The minister's words come days after foreign commandos failed to arrest a foreign jihadist based in Barawe town which is completely under Alshabab rule.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
Nice OPSEC, dudes. Of course, the Somali govt may be so infiltrated that the only person who didn't know about this was me.
[Al Ahram] Death penalty supporters protested in the Gazoo Strip on Wednesday outside a conference calling for its abolition, days after Islamist rulers Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, hanged a convicted murderer.
Relatives of murder victims held aloft pictures of their loved ones, demanding the execution of imprisoned suspects, while human rights ...which are usually entirely different from personal liberty... groups in the Paleostinian territory marked World Day against the Death Penalty.
"The death penalty is Islamic law - implement it against all criminals," one banner read.
On 2 October, Hamas hanged Hani Abu Aliyan, a 28-year-old who had been convicted for murder.
"The death penalty is fair, it's a balanced outcome," said Shayma Tilbani, 17, whose brother was killed at his home in an attempted burglary in August.
"The NGOs want to stop the criminals getting executed, but even life in prison is not the right punishment. We want a punishment based on the Koran," she told AFP.
Under Paleostinian law, collaboration with Israel, murder and drug trafficking are all punishable by death.
Mohammed Shurab, front man for Gazoo's "Families of the Victims" movement, urged "the government in Gazoo led by (prime minister) Ismail Haniya to continue carrying out the death sentence against those who are killing our sons."
But speakers at the conference said the death penalty went against both international humanitarian law and the principles of Islam.
"Islam doesn't allow the death penalty or the killing of anyone," said Suleiman Awda, a lecturer in Islamic law at Gazoo's Al-Azhar University. "It is a religion of forgiveness."
UN human rights delegate Pradeep Wagle expressed concern ...meaning the brow was mildly wrinkled, the eyebrows drawn slightly together, and a thoughtful expression assumed, not that anything was actually done or indeed that any thought was actually expended... over Hamas's use of capital punishment, warning in particular of the dangers of mistakenly sentencing a suspect.
"Human failure is always possible irrespective of how developed a justice system is and there is always the possibility of executing innocent people in any justice system," he said.
Saeed al-Madhun, from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, warned it was "not possible to correct a mistake... There's no going back once the death penalty has been carried out."
Last week's hanging was the first time since July 2012 that Hamas has carried out capital punishment for murder.
But on 22 June, the Islamist movement hanged two men accused of collaborating with Israel.
Under Paleostinian law, collaboration with Israel, murder and drug trafficking are all punishable by death.
Hamas has executed 17 people since taking over Gazoo in 2007, according to the Paleostinian Centre for Human Rights.
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#1
Sounds good, Agree, with the protesters first. (Kill them all)
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
10/10/2013 11:32
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[Al Ahram] Two years on, 'We are Following You with the Report' (WFYR) demands justice for the Maspero massacre's slain on Wednesday, marking the anniversary of the bloody night when 25 non-combatants were killed in festivities with the army.
"The Maspero massacre started with the failure of the state to secure Egyptians' right to practice their religion and build houses of worship, and ended with the state violating Egyptians' right to life," read the report, published by the WFYR, an independent Human Rights Group, which aims to pressure state institutions to carry out investigations into crimes committed against citizens by the regime.
On 9 October 2011, a peaceful march by thousands of Coptic and Moslem protesters headed towards the TV headquarters at Maspero near Tahrir Square, to protest the failure of authorities to investigate the burning of a church in Marinab, in the southern governorate of Aswan. The protests turned into deadly festivities with military police, resulting in the deaths of at least 25 protesters and the injury of 329. Video footage from Maspero shows military forces running over several protesters with armoured vehicles.
The WFYR are demanding that results of the fact-finding committee, formed under the ruling of deposed president Mohammed Morsi ...the former president of Egypt. A proponent of the One Man, One Vote, One Time principle, Morsi won election after the deposal of Hosni Mubarak and jumped to the conclusion it was his turn to be dictator... , are revealed.
On 5 July 2012, former president Morsi ordered the formation of a fact-finding committee to investigate the killings of unarmed protesters since the start of the 25 January uprising, including the Maspero massacre.
The WFYR holds Morsi accountable for the lack of punishment of culprits, as he allegedly ignored the committee's recommendations and did not disclose the results and evidence of the report, only sending them to the prosecution for further investigation.
"The WFYR were later informed that the public prosecution sent all the reports regarding military personnel to the military judiciary, which did not investigate further," said a WFYR representative, emphasising that final conclusions on the Maspero massacre were among the reports.
The rights group also demanded results from complaints filed against leaders of the Supreme Council of Armed Forces, who ruled following the ouster of Hosni Mubarak ...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011... and the inauguration of Mohammed Morsi, namely Hussein Tantawi, Sami Anan and Hamdee Badeen.
On the first anniversary of the tragic event in 2012, a report was issued by Amnesia Amnesty International criticising Egyptian authorities for failure "to conduct a full, impartial and independent investigation into the circumstances of the violence and bring those responsible to account."
In September 2012, three soldiers were convicted of manslaughter for the murder of protesters. The verdict was widely criticised, as all investigations were led by the military.
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[BBC.CO.UK] The US is suspending a large part of the $1.3bn (£810m) in aid it gives to Egypt's military.
The delivery of large-scale military systems as well as cash assistance to the Egyptian government would be withheld, said the state department. It said "credible progress" must be made towards free and fair elections.
A review was launched in August after a crackdown by the authorities on supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi ...the former president of Egypt. A proponent of the One Man, One Vote, One Time principle, Morsi won election after the deposal of Hosni Mubarak and jumped to the conclusion it was his turn to be dictator... left hundreds of people dead.
"We will continue to hold the delivery of certain large-scale military systems and cash assistance to the government pending credible progress toward an inclusive, democratically elected civilian government through free and fair elections," state department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.
Officials said the freeze amounted to hundreds of millions of dollars in aid. Washington also plans to halt a $260m cash transfer and a $300m loan guarantee. It is also halting the delivery of Apache helicopters, as well as Harpoon missiles and tank parts, officials said.
The BBC's Kim Ghattas in Washington says the suspension of aid is more symbolic - a slap on the wrist - than a painful cut in essential aid.
The US will continue to provide health and education assistance, and money to help Egypt to ensure security in the increasingly volatile Sinai peninsula. The freeze was not intended to be permanent, it added.
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[MISSOULIAN] Nigeria's military raided a bomb factory Wednesday where Islamic extremists were plotting attacks on the northern city of Kano as Muslims prepare to celebrate a major religious holiday next week, an army general said.
At the same time the leader of the Boko Haram terrorist network threatened more assaults "soon" using heavy weapons he said were seized in battles against the Nigerian military.
A video in which Abubakar Shekau delivers his message ends with a display of rocket-propelled grenades, anti-aircraft guns and piles of AK-47 rifles and ammunition. The Nigerian army does not use AK-47s.
Shekau warned Nigerians to "prepare for a big war" to overturn democracy and install an Islamic state in Nigeria _ Africa's largest oil producer with more than 160 million people almost equally divided between Christians and Muslims.
"This war is not a Nigerian government war," he said in the local Hausa language. "It is a war to uplift Islam and get all non-Muslims to repent their ways and embrace Islam."
The video, like previous ones, was delivered to reporters in northeast Nigeria, the stronghold of Boko Haram. Shekau claimed responsibility for recent attacks, in which hundreds of people have been killed in a few months despite a military state of emergency since May. But he did not identify any particular attack. In one of the worst, attackers gunned down 43 students at an agricultural college last week.
On Wednesday, about 50 suspected Islamic militants attacked Itiku village in northeast Adamawa state and rampaged for an hour, leaving at least eight people dead, survivors said. "It was only after the attackers left that the military arrived," said villager Mallam Ahmad, interviewed in the state capital, Yola.
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[BLOOMBERG] How do you know whether a regime that frees women to wear Islamic headscarves at work is liberal and furthering democracy, or Islamist and restricting it?
The question concerns Turkey's government, which in the space of a few days has ended a headscarf ban for civil servants (except in the judiciary and security services), but also caused a female TV music-show presenter to be fired for showing too much cleavage.
The headscarf ban was a piece of unabashed social engineering introduced in the 1920s to make Turkey, the rump of the former Ottoman Empire and Islamic Caliphate, secular. If you are liberal and not Islamophobic, ending the ban is a good thing: Women should not be excluded from the workplace just because they are devout and believe this requires covering their hair, period.
But what if the change -- which Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan introduced as part of a broad "democratization" package -- is part of a wider plan of social re-engineering, this time designed to impinge on the liberties of non-religious conservatives? If so, the numerous cases in which women were discriminated against, fired or passed over for promotion for wearing a headscarf even outside of work would now be repeated in reverse: Women who don't wear headscarves to work, and men whose wives don't cover their hair, will be discriminated against, fired and passed over for promotion.
Turkey's secularists say this is already happening to men whose wives show their locks. That's hard to prove, but the real issue is trust -- secularists believe the worst of Erdogan's intentions. Are they right?
The firing of a TV presenter, Gozde Kansu, this week is indicative. Huseyin Celik, front man for the ruling Justice and Development Party attacked Kansu (without actually naming her) for wearing a dress with a plunging neckline while on the air. A few days later, she was fired. There are a few points to make.
First, Celik should watch more Italian TV -- he would then understand that Kansu is a model of shy decorum. Second, Celik's words were as follows: "We don't intervene against anyone, but this is too much. It is unacceptable," according to Hurriyet Daily News. He later complained that it wasn't his fault that she was fired, and he had a right to express his opinions.
None of this is credible. Celik knows what "unacceptable" means; he knew that Kansu was on ATV television, which belongs to a company called Calik Holding; and he knew that Calik's chief executive officer is Erdogan's son-in-law, Berat Albayrak. There is no coincidence or unintended consequence here. Celik wants to re-engineer Turkish TV.
There are plenty of other pointers about the depth of the government's commitment to "democratization," such as the repeated tightening of restrictions on the sale of alcohol, frowned upon by devout Mohammedans; the routine prosecuting and jailing of journalists; and the crushing of dissent in the Gezi Park protests earlier this year.
One last piece of evidence: A Turkish appeals court today upheld the convictions 237 Turkish military officers convicted of plotting a coup against the government in 2003. The case, called Sledgehammer, has been thoroughly discredited. Forensic examination showed that the evidence on which the conviction rested was forged: The documents involved were on a CD-ROM date-stamped 2003, yet were written using a 2007 Microsoft ...producers of Windows, Office, and the late Microsoft Bob, contributed $852,167 to the 2008 Obama campaign... program.
Again, a case first hailed abroad as good for democracy -- an effort to hold the country's generals accountable after decades of impunity -- turns out to be something else. The Sledgehammer case shows only continuity in Turkish governments' use of politicized courts against their enemies: In the old days the military and secularists abused the law to suppress Islamists; now the Islamists are returning the favor.
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[HOSTED.AP.ORG] When the pilot of his small plane collapsed in the cockpit, passenger John Wildey took the controls of the Cessna 172 over England, and suddenly began his first experience of landing - with some help from instructors on the ground.
"I hadn't a clue what to do to get down," the 77-year-old Wildey told the BBC on Wednesday. "I've never flown a plane before."
Officials at Humberside Airport in northwest England put emergency plans into place and flight instructors were called in to help Wildey after the mayday call went out Tuesday evening.
Soon after he landed, his friend the pilot, the only other person aboard the aircraft, died.
Wildey praised the flight instructors who talked him through several attempts to land before he touched down in the dark in what he described as a "controlled crash."
He said he began to veer off the runway as he was attempting to reach the brakes and could see a wall rapidly approaching.
"I thought `I ain't going to do it,' but we managed to stop in the end," he said.
Emergency services were waiting when the plane touched down, after a few bumps.
Rob Murray, one of the flight instructors, said he was glad to have helped and that Wildey did a "remarkable job," given he had never flown a plane before.
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[Al Ahram] The head of the world's chemical weapons watchdog called Wednesday for temporary ceasefires in Syria's raging civil war in order to meet tight disarmament deadlines.
"I think if some temporary ceasefires can be established, I think those targets could be reached," Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons chief Ahmet Uzumcu told journalists in The Hague.
The OPCW has been charged with dismantling Syria's chemical arsenal and facilities by mid-2014 under the terms of a UN Security Council resolution drawn up after deadly nerve gas attacks in August.
Uzumcu said during a rare public briefing on the state of Syria's disarmament that the timeline "is extremely tight".
He denied however that the deadlines, including the destruction of all production facilities by 1 November, were unrealistic.
"Much depends on the situation on the ground, that's why we have urged all parties in Syria to be cooperative," Uzumcu said.
"The elimination is in the interest of all."
Posted by: Fred ||
10/10/2013
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[Al Ahram] Two Israeli soldiers were lightly injured by cross-border fire on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights facing Syria on Wednesday, Israeli security sources said.They said Israel returned fire but did not give details, and the army front man's office had no immediate comment.
Israeli news website Ynet said only one soldier was physically hurt, by shrapnel from mortar fire, while the other soldier was suffering from shock.
The security sources said it was not immediately clear if the men came under mortar or small-arms fire.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/10/2013
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#1
it was not immediately clear if the men came under mortar or small-arms fire
perhaps that mortar shrapnel just jumped up from the ground and attacked him on its' own?
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/10/2013 8:16
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#2
Hell, why not, liberals seem to think that Guns attack people singly and un-humaned.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
10/10/2013 11:26
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[Dawn] A Bangladesh special court Wednesday sentenced an elderly former minister to life in prison on Wednesday for genocide during the 1971 war of independence against Pakistain.
Abdul Alim, 83, who was a minister when the current main opposition party was in power, was found guilty of nine charges including genocide, murder and persecution of the country's minority Hindus during the war, a bigwig said.
The International Crimes Tribunal spared the wheelchair-bound Alim the death penalty, despite the gravity of the crimes, because of his poor health and age, Attorney General Mahbubey Alam told news hounds.
"He will remain in the prison until his death," Alam said, adding that he was convicted of involvement in the killing of 372 Hindus in one of the worst single acts of murder during the war.
Prosecutors said Alim killed around 600 people in total, mostly Hindus, in the northwestern district of Joypurhat where he was a local head of a pro-Pak militia called Razakar Bahini.
"He took the Pak soldiers to the Koroi Kadipur village during the war and then ordered 372 Hindus to stand in two lines," prosecutor Rana Das Gupta told AFP, just before the verdict.
"One of their elders was first slaughtered and others were then shot to death," Gupta said.
Alim was the eighth person to be convicted and sentenced by the much-criticised tribunal since January. Previous verdicts against top Islamists and opposition leaders have triggered widespread violence and nationwide strikes, leaving at least 100 people dead.
Alim had been a member of parliament for three terms, and a cabinet minister in the 1970s under a government led by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).
The BNP, now the main opposition party, has said the trials are politically motivated, aimed at targeting key opposition figures rather than meting out justice.
Bangladesh has struggled to come to terms with its violent birth, when what was then East Pakistain split from Islamabad to become independent.
The war lasted nine months during which Indian troops and pro-independence fighters battled Pak forces who were helped by local collaborators.
The government set up the tribunal in 2010, saying trials were needed to heal the wounds of the war. It says three million people were killed and 200,000 women raped, but independent estimates put the toll at between 300,000 and 500,000.
Unlike other war crime courts, the Bangladesh tribunal is not endorsed by the United Nations ...boodling on the grand scale... , and New York-based Human Rights Watch ... dedicated to bitching about human rights violations around the world... group has said its procedures fall short of international standards.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[DAILYPOST.NG] Over 30 snuffies were killed in Borno State on Saturday and another unspecified number killed on Sunday by troops of the 7 Division of the Nigerian Army in its continued fight against terrorism in Borno State.
Acting front man of the 7 Division, Captain Aliyu Ibrahim Danja in a statement on Monday made available to newsmen in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, said troops of the division launched a pre-emptive attacks on 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... concentration at Izza town of Borno State in the afternoon of October 6, 2013.
According to him, the operation which involved air strikes and ground attacks on Boko Haram bully boyz was conducted following a report by military intelligence about plans by the bully boyz to attack Bama town.
He said, during the attack, 5 Hilux vehicles mounted with anti-air craft guns conveying bully boyz and one 18-seater bus conveying bully boyz were destroyed.
He added that unspecified number of Boko Haram bully boyz were also killed.
The statement continued that troops pursued, and engaged Boko Haram bully boyz who fled Damboa town following encounter with security forces on October 5 to Ajigi and Kafa.
"30 of the bad boyz were potted including a prominent leader (amir) of the sect who was believed to leading the attack on Damboa town", the statement read.
It also said that the General Officer Commanding 7 division Nigerian Army, Major General Obidah Ethan "wishes to inform the public that the division is currently conducting aggressive operations on bully boyz locations along Maiduguri-Damaturu in order to ensure safety of lives of citizens not only within towns and villages but also those plying roads within the division's area of responsibility".
Posted by: Fred ||
10/10/2013
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#1
Good to see the Army successfully defended Nick Saban & his crew.
[DAILYCALLER] Top Internal Revenue Service Obamacare official Sarah Hall Ingram discussed confidential taxpayer information with senior Obama White House officials, according to 2012 emails obtained by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and provided to The Daily Caller.
Lois Lerner, then head of the IRS Tax Exempt Organizations division, also received an email alongside White House officials that contained confidential information.
Ingram attempted to counsel the White House on a lawsuit from religious organizations opposing Obamacare's contraception mandate. Email exchanges involving Ingram and White House officials -- including White House health policy advisor Ellen Montz and deputy assistant to the president for health policy Jeanne Lambrew -- contained confidential taxpayer information, according to Oversight.
The emails provided to Oversight Sherlocks by the IRS had numerous redactions with the signifier "6103."
Section 6103 of the Internal Revenue Code forbids a federal employee from "disclos[ing] any return or return information obtained by him in any manner in connection with his service as such an officer or an employee."
Federal employees who illegally disclose confidential taxpayer information could face five years in prison.
Federal employees who illegally disclose confidential taxpayer information could face five years in prison.
"Thanks, David. Thanks for the information on [6103]," White House official Lambrew wrote to IRS official David Fish in a July 20, 2012 exchange. "I am still hoping to understand whether the 50 percent rule is moot if the organization does not offer goods and services for sale to the general public. Do we assume that organizations like [6103] do offer goods and services for sale?"
Another email from Montz to Ingram and others refers to the "[6103] memo" and the "[6103] letter" while discussing organizations that are not required to file 990′s.
Ingram appeared before Rep. Darrell Issa's House Oversight Committee Wednesday and claimed she could not recall a document that contained confidential taxpayer information.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/10/2013
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#1
That hundreds of IRS employees directly involved in this straightforward abuse of power aren't fired and stripped of pensions over this is a f*cking outrage. In this Administration, it's grounds for promotion.
#2
If I falsify a single tax return, I'm looking at thou$and$ in fines, jail time and a loss of my CPA license. If these SOB's violate the IRS's Prime Directive (and it looks like that very well may be the case), not a god damn thing happens to them. Talk about a massive double standard. Yet our 'overlords' wonder why people buy multiple firearms and thousands of rounds of ammo.
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.
"We've looked at how climate change will affect Copenhagen in the long-term future. For Copenhagen, the most serious effect of climate change will be increased precipitation, so we've developed a plan that addresses how to catch all the rainwater in the city." Leonardsen, a city planner, belongs to the 10-person team working solely on long-term climate change adaptation, planning ahead to the year 2100.
By 2043, 147 cities - more than half of those studied - will have shifted to a hotter temperature regime that is beyond historical records. The first U.S. cities to feel that would be Honolulu and Phoenix, followed by San Diego and Orlando, Fla., in 2046. New York and Washington will get new climates around 2047, with Los Angeles, Detroit, Houston, Chicago, Seattle, Austin and Dallas a bit later.
[USNEWS.NBCNEWS] An unusually early and enormous snowstorm over the weekend caught South Dakota ranchers and farmers unprepared, killing tens of thousands of cattle and ravaging the state's $7 billion industry -- an industry left without assistance because of the federal government shutdown.
BOSSASO, Somalia --- Six convicted Somali pirates have been brought in Bossaso port city to serve their prison sentences in Puntland state in northern Somalia on Wednesday, Garowe Online reports.
[Dawn] A woman suffered severe burns when her husband allegedly set her ablaze by throwing petrol on her at her house in Mardan district of northwestern 
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
North Korea
Zawahiri
[Al Ahram] Syrian rebels seized a guard post on the Jordanian border on Wednesday after a month of fierce fighting, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
[BBC.CO.UK] Russian 
[Dawn] IT is a year today since Malala Yousafzai was shot, and it is the country's good fortune that she not just survived but is doubly determined to continue to campaign for education. Given all that she has been through, it would not have been surprising perhaps had she displayed revanchist sentiments against the TTP which launched grievous harm on her person and under whose thrall she earlier spent time in Swat. But Ms Yousafzai is being quoted across the world's media for the best of reasons, saying that she wants to change Pakistain's future through political activity and compulsory education. And while some consider unexpected her remarks on Monday about talking to the Taliban, is that really the case? "The best way to solve problems and to fight against war is through dialogue and ... through peaceful ways," she commented. Even in the context of people who almost killed her, there is recognition that hatred can produce no future.
[BBC.CO.UK] Azerbaijan's leader Ilham Aliyev has claimed victory in presidential polls, thanking the Azeri people for electing him to a third term.
The fighting stopped Wednesday, allowing local 
Jerry Lewis doppelgänger Amr Moussa
Pervez 
Nawaz Sharif
[Shabelle] A US government official and two think-tank analysts raised questions on Tuesday about Kenya's role in Somalia in comments to the US Senate.
[THECOURIER] Donald Eugene Miller Jr. walked out of Hancock County Probate Court on Monday as legally dead as ever.
[Dawn] Rifts emerged within the ruling Pakistain 
by Silentbrick
[Shabelle] News sources from Barawe town suggest that Somali's AL-Qaeda linked group of AL-Shabaab 
[THISDAYLIVE] The last may not have been heard concerning the survival or otherwise of the leader of the outlawed Islamic sect, 
Goodluck Jonathan
[HOSTED.AP.ORG] When the pilot of his small plane collapsed in the cockpit, passenger John Wildey took the controls of the Cessna 172 over England, and suddenly began his first experience of landing - with some help from instructors on the ground.
[DAILYPOST.NG] Over 30 
[DAILYCALLER] Top Internal Revenue Service Obamacare official Sarah Hall Ingram discussed confidential taxpayer information with senior Obama White House officials, according to 2012 emails obtained by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and provided to The Daily Caller.
