Rest in peace, coach
Oail Andrew "Bum" Phillips Jr., who spent half his adult life as a football coach and every waking moment as the personification of all things Texan, died Friday at his ranch in Goliad.
Phillips was three weeks past his 90th birthday and more than three decades removed from his heyday as head coach of the Oilers from 1975 through 1980. But he will be remembered as the personification of a time, a place and a team that remains deep in the hearts of everyone who saw them play.
[An Nahar] Lebanese Forces A Christian political party founded by Bashir Gemayel, who was then bumped off when he was elected president of Leb... leader Samir Geagea ... Geagea was imprisoned by the Syrians and their puppets for 11 years in a dungeon in the third basement level of the Lebanese Ministry of Defense. He was released after the Cedar Revolution in 2005 ... on Friday accused the Syrian regime of being behind the August twin blasts that left at least 45 people dead and 500 injured in the northern city of Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... , urging a response from the Lebanese state.
"The cell that staged the twin bombings has been busted and the details of the operation have become known and the (Internal Security Forces) Intelligence Bureau has unveiled the details of the operation. Judge Saqr Saqr interrogated the suspects and issued arrest warrants for them and these are judicial facts, but some parties want to distort these facts," Geagea said in a speech during a graduation ceremony for LF cadres.
"The truth is that the Syrian intelligence and regime are behind the bombings in Tripoli and we can link that to the Samaha-Mamlouk plot ... Throughout one year, the Syrian regime staged two terrorist operations," Geagea noted.
He voiced surprise that "in the face of such facts, no one has done anything to address them."
"The state has the right to at least send a memo to the Arab League ...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing... because this is an aggression. Wasn't it a must to recall the Lebanese ambassador to Damascus and expel the Syrian ambassador from Beirut?" Geagea added.
He accused some Lebanese security agencies of being "in bed with the Syrian intelligence services while 50 Lebanese were killed in a bombing plotted by the Syrian regime."
"All the security ties between the Lebanese and Syrian agencies must be reassessed," Geagea stressed.
"We will not get accustomed to living without a state and the official authorities must do all these steps," he added.
"Syria has allies in Leb, where is the stance of its allies over what happened?" Geagea wondered.
Lashing out at Hizbullah and its allies, the LF leader said: "They speak of the resistance but we don't believe that it's a real resistance. How can we believe any longer that it is a resistance while it is fighting alongside the Syrian regime?"
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[Dawn] Chairman of the Pakistain Peoples Party (PPP), Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, on Friday said he was declaring jihad (holy war) against "hijackers of the faith", DawnNews reported.
Addressing his supporters at 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... 's Karsaz on the occasion of the sixth anniversary of the Oct 18, 2007 kabooms that killed 176 people during a historic rally led by Benazir Bhutto ... 11th Prime Minister of Pakistain in two non-consecutive terms from 1988 until 1990 and 1993 until 1996. She was the daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, founder of the Pakistain People's Party, who was murdered at the instigation of General Ayub Khan. She was murdered in her turn by person or persons unknown while campaigning in late 2007. Suspects include, to note just a few, Baitullah Mehsud, General Pervez Musharraf, the ISI, al-Qaeda in Pakistain, and her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, who shows remarkably little curiosity about who done her in... , Bilawal promised supporters that he would fight for the people.
The PPP chairman said that on Oct 18, the Taliban had used a child in the suicide kaboom on the rally led by his mother on her return from Dubai.
He said the PPP was a party of jiyalas (zealots), adding that it had given numerous sacrifices on several occasions.
Speaking at the site of the attack amid cheer from party supporters, Bilawal said he had "sacrificed" his childhood and his mother for the country.
During the address, he said Karachi still remained "a colony of London" and pledged that his party would "rescue the people of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... from the tsunami".
He laid a floral wreath at the memorial of those killed in the Karsaz bombing and offered prayers for the victims.
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah, PPP leader Mian Raza Rabbani and various other party leaders were also present on the occasion.
Bilawal then headed to the mausoleum of Abdullah Shah Ghazi to pay his respects.
Rumours brushed aside
Speaking to Dawn.com, Hashim Sheikh, political secretary to Bilawal Baby Bhutto Zardari ...Pak dynastic politician, son of Benazir Bhutto and grandon of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. As far as is known, Bilawal has no particular talents other than being pretty and being able to memorize political slogans, but he had the good luck to be born into the right family and he hasn't been assassinated yet... , brushed aside rumors that Bilawal will take part in a by-election before 2018.
He said that Bilawal will later decide whether to stand for a National Assembly seat from NA 203 or NA 204.
During the previous few days there has been speculation as to whether Bilawal will stand for an MNA seat in by-polls.
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[MAGHAREBIA] The recent capture of al-Qaeda operative Nazih Abdul Hamed al-Raghie (aka Abu Anas al-Libi) in Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... is highlighting a programme that offers millions of dollars in rewards for leads on wanted terrorists.
Described by his wife as "the late Osama bin Laden ... who is now sometimes referred to as Mister Bones... 's bodyguard", al-Libi was wanted in connection with the 1998 US embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania that killed 224 victims, including 212 civilians.
Rewards are an effective formula to collect information, according to Abdul Baset Chibi, one of the founders of the Libyan intelligence service. "It is common in this field and has proven successful in many countries," he noted.
The US offered a $5 million reward for help to capture Abu Anas al-Libi, or providing information leading to his arrest.
For her part, Salma Senhaji, a student in her twenties said, "I think that the amounts provided by the FBI are very attractive even to those who are close to bully boyz and wanted criminals."
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... has the largest price on his head. The FBI is offering $25 million to those who can help in his arrest. The FBI also posted for ten others of various Arab nationalities and Guyanese national Adnan Shukrijumah.
It is believed that Shukrijumah took over the duties of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in training for al-Qaeda. He plays a pivotal role in the recruitment of young people and in the creation of new cells for al-Qaeda.
"Offering rewards for the identification of people involved in terrorism is effective and should be used by all nations, especially since it has proved its efficacy on more than one occasion," S.A., a retired Libyan army officer who requested anonymity for fear of his life, said.
He added, "Many crimes have occurred in our city, Benghazi, and many of my comrades from the Libyan army were killed. To this day, we have not found the real killers. Yet if the Libyan government or one of the wealthy residents of Benghazi had offered a reward to identify the killers, we would not have waited all this time and we would not have seen more victims."
Basma Khalfaoui, wife of slain Tunisian opposition politician Chokri Belaid, was asked whether a financial reward to help identify the killers would be a positive step. "Why not?" she replied. "We have to consider this option as perhaps it will lead us to the truth."
Tunisian authorities accused Ansar al-Sharia ...a Salafist militia which claims it is not part of al-Qaeda, even though it works about the same and for the same ends. There are groups of the same name in Tunisia and Yemen, with the Tunisian version currently most active... of involvement in the liquidation of Belaid but have failed to track down the murderers.
Abou Iyadh, the leader of Ansar al-Sharia in Tunisia, could be one person to add to the list, according to Walid Aisha, a civil society activist in Tripoli. Aisha also suggested adding the names of people wanted in connection with the murder of the US ambassador to Libya, including Ahmed Boukhtala.
"Offering financial rewards is not restricted to a particular state," criminologist Walid al-Hani noted. "It is used by several countries that suffer from terrorism and organised crime. Even poor countries could not help but to offer awards to eliminate the growing phenomenon of terrorism."
"In September, Yemen's Supreme Security Committee published the names of 25 bully boyz planning to carry out operations in the country. The committee offered rewards worth $230,000 for information leading to their arrest. This amount is very tempting in a country that is among the poorest in the world," al-Hani said.
In June of last year and in order to face growing terrorism in West Africa, the US offered for the first time lucrative financial rewards to those who provide information leading to key leaders in regional terrorist organizations.
Rewards were posted for leaders of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), the Movement for Tawhid and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO), 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... and the Signed-in-Blood Brigade.
Five million dollars were offered for information on AQIM leader Yahya Abou El Hammam as well as for Mokhtar Belmokhtar (aka Khaled Abou El Abbas or Laaouar). Three million dollars were offered for help leading to the location of senior AQIM official Malik Abou Abdelkarim and MUJAO spokesperson Oumar Ould Hamaha. Seven million dollars were also offered for information leading to the arrest of Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau.
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[Al Ahram] Hundreds of supporters 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... sought to reach the Rabaa Al-Adawiya Mosque in Cairo's Nasr City district on Friday, but were blocked by army and police forces who had sealed the area.
Rabaa Al-Adawiya Mosque witnessed a mass protest camp in support of Morsi that lasted for over a month in July and August, before it was forcibly dispersed by security forces on 14 August in operation that resulted in hundreds of deaths primarily from the Islamist camp.
Ever since, Morsi's supporters have occasionally tried to stage protests at Rabaa Al-Adawiya, but they are usually blocked by security personnel, who seal in weekends and bank holidays most prominent protest locations in Cairo in an effort to prevent possible sit-ins.
Supporters of Morsi held protests in several regions of Egypt on Friday, continuing to demand that the former elected president be reinstated. Small demonstrations were held in Cairo's Helwan and Ain Shams districts, in Giza's Haram district, in the coastal city of Alexandria and in Aswan.
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[Al Ahram] Egypt ranks 130th out of 156 countries in a recent UN report on happiness; experts suggest that political and economic instability, compounded by demographic congestion, are key causes of Egyptians' general discontentment.
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#1
...experts suggest that political and economic instability, compounded by demographic congestion, are key causes of Egyptians' general discontentment.
[MAGHAREBIA] Two years after Moamer Qadaffy's overthrow, forces of Evil roam the streets and desert of Libya as they try to build an Islamic emirate and promote their long-held hard-line ideology.
The country has seen a series of escalating attacks, bombings and liquidations in recent months. Earlier this month, 17 soldiers were killed on the road between Tarhuna and Bani Walid in a single incident.
In Benghazi, the daily bloodshed did not stop, even for Eid al-Adha. Two soldiers were slain on Tuesday (October 15th), according to Libya Herald. In a separate Eid attack, a kaboom blew out the windows of the Marwa Hospital.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
How did it fail?
The Hens of War (Hillary, Valerie, Susan) sed Qadaffy had to go, that the US had a Responsibility To Protect. 'R2P' became the new buzzword.
The media sed Arab Spring wuz in the air! Surely that counted for something.
NATO got involved. Belgium, Denmark, Italy, Norway, Qatar and Spain all cheered and milled around importantly on the sidelines. The Brits, the French, the Canadians (but not the French Canadians) were with us on the field.
The UN passed a resolution. State even sent an ambassador beloved by the militias afterwards.
I'm shocked, utterly shocked, that things have turned out the way they have.
[Dawn] Rangers' personnel incarcerated Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'! 16 suspects Friday during targeted operations in different parts of 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... while the East and West Zone police arrested 44 suspects in the past 24 hours, DawnNews reported.
The arrested suspects were guilty of various crimes. Security forces' personnel moreover confiscated weapons and explosives from the suspects during the raids.
Targeted operations were conducted by coppers in Alfalah, Fakir Colony, Jehangirabad, Nazimabad and Garden areas of the city.
Separately, the East Zone police arrested 16 suspects over the past 24 hours. The arrested persons were said to be involved in various crimes.
According to Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Munir Sheikh, security forces' personnel also confiscated drugs, weapons and explosives from the suspects.
Meanwhile, ...back at the revival hall, Buford bit the snake and Eloise began speaking in tongues... the West Zone police also arrested 28 other suspects in the past 24 hours.
According to DIG Javed Lodho, the arrested suspects included runaways, along with other wanted criminals.
Karachi, the largest metropolitan city of Pakistain, is riddled with assassinations, gang wars, kidnappings for ransom, extortion and terrorism. Targeted operations led by Rangers' forces with the support of police are ongoing in the city under a directive issued by the federal government against criminals already identified by federal, military and civilian agencies.
Posted by: Fred ||
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Swiss customs agents have seized one million fake tablets of anti-anxiety drug Xanax at the Zurich airport, which were destined for Egypt, authorities said Friday.
This explains so, so much...
The counterfeit tablets, packed in four crates and weighing 400 kg, had originated in China, according to Swissmedic, the Swiss Agency for Therapeutic Products.
"Analyses in the Swissmedic laboratory revealed that the drugs, which are prescribed to treat symptoms of acute anxiety, contained no active ingredients whatsoever," Swissmedic said in a statement. "According to experts, the drugs would be unrecognisable as counterfeits at a first glance."
Xanax is a drug manufactured by Pfizer used to treat severe anxiety or panic disorder. The fake tablets were destroyed.
Developing countries such as Egypt are a massive market for counterfeit medications, a massive trade worth billions of dollars that is often deadly. In parts of Asia, Africa and Latin America, fraudulent medicines are thought to amount to as much as 30 per cent of the market, according to the UN drug agency.
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North Korea is trying to attract investment for its special economic zones while stalling over moves to bring foreign businesses into the more viable joint-Korean Kaesong Industrial Complex. The regime held a promotional event in Pyongyang and hosted a seminar in China, but pundits believe it is unlikely they will have much success.
The official KCNA news agency said the North launched an agency calling itself the Korea Economic Development Association "to assist potential foreign investors in newly-established special economic zones."
Its first project was an international seminar at the Yanggakdo Hotel in Pyongyang on Wednesday that brought together some economists from Canada and Malaysia, KCNA added.
North Korea "has a new policy to establish and develop special economic zones where privileged economic activities are guaranteed within a framework set by the state," Ri Chol-sok, the vice chairman of the association, told the seminar.
And we all know what a guarantee from North Korea is worth...
Back in late May, the North enacted a law to set up a special zone in each major city and province. In an unprecedented move, KCNA printed the association's contact details such as telephone number and e-mail address.
A trade fair was also held in Dandong in the Chinese province of Liaoning on Oct. 10-14. In an interview with a semi-official Chinese newspaper on Monday, Han Chang-song of North Korea's Committee of Investment and Joint Venture, who attended the trade fair, said, "Any foreigner can invest in the North, regardless of their nationality."
The committee is a Workers Party organ in charge of luring foreign investment to the North. It is led by Ri Su-yong, the former North Korean ambassador to Switzerland who took care of leader Kim Jong-un while he was studying there.
Han added, "We're preparing to ensure convenience for foreign businesspeople in customs clearance, residence, travel and communication."
And plenty of slave labor...
Another North Korean official said Asian and European investors have toured nearby Wonsan and "expressed an intention to invest there."
Rat bastards. Any company that invests in North Korea should be cut off from the U.S. banking system.
Posted by: Steve White ||
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#1
In an unprecedented move, KCNA printed the association's contact details such as telephone number and e-mail address.
wow. Absolutely wow.
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/19/2013 9:50
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"Another North Korean official said Asian and European investors have toured nearby Wonsan and 'expressed an intention to invest there.'"
Then they are IDIOTS and I won't shed a tear when the NorKs take over their operations and kick them out without a dime.
("Rat bastards" works too, Dr. Steve.)
Posted by: Barbara ||
10/19/2013 11:24
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Then they are IDIOTS and I won't shed a tear when the NorKs take over their operations and kick them out without a dime hold them as hostages / human shields.
[Al Ahram] Libya's military police chief, Colonel Mustapha al-Barghathi, was rubbed out Friday in the restive eastern city of Benghazi, the security services said.
Unknown assailants bumped off Barghathi outside his home, Colonel Abdullah al-Zaidi, front man for the security services, told AFP.
He said Barghathi -- a former rebel leader in the 2011 uprising that toppled longtime dictator Muammar Qadaffy ...Custodian of Wheelus AFB for 42 long years until he was ejected from the gene pool by his indignant citizens... -- died of head and chest wounds at the Mediterranean city's Al-Jala hospital.
Barghathi was the first officer in Qadaffy's army to defect and form a rebel force in the revolt, Zaidi said.
Benghazi was the cradle of the uprising that toppled Qadaffy's regime, but has since seen a series of liquidations targeting officers in the security services.
Other attacks have targeted Western interests and diplomats, and much of the violence, including the killing of US ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans in an attack on the US mission last year, has been attributed to radical Islamists.
The attacks have not been claimed and no arrests have apparently been made.
Two years after the revolution, Libya's new authorities have failed to establish a new army and police force, and are still struggling to rein in tribal militias and groups of former rebels.
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[Shabelle] AN Australian warship has captured a gang of nine pirates believed responsible for attacking merchant ships off the coast of Somalia.
Defence said the suspected pirates were taken aboard the guided missile frigate HMAS Melbourne and would be returned to Somalia.
The two pirate vessels were destroyed by machine-gun fire from Melbourne's helicopter.
On Tuesday, the 29-nation Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) received reports of attempted pirate attacks against two merchant vessels during the previous four days.
HMAS Melbourne was appointed to lead a successful search operation, involving CMF ships and aircraft and European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... Naval Forces.
"Melbourne's success in disrupting piracy activity in the region reaffirms the importance of Australia's ongoing commitment to Combined Maritime Forces," HMAS Melbourne commanding officer Commander Brian Schlegel said in a statement.
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Defence said the suspected pirates were taken aboard the guided missile frigate HMAS Melbourne and would be returned to Somalia
[BUSINESSDAYONLINE] Residents of Isheri Kara area in Ifo Local Government Area, a border town lying between Ogun and Lagos states, were on Tuesday gripped with palpable fear when operatives of Ogun State police command uncovered a member of the deadly 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... sect, Giraima Umaru Suri, who confessed to have fled Maiduguri in the heat of emergency rule.
Suri, a 22-year old man who hails from Bulunkutu Kasuwa in Maiduguri, Borno State, according to the police, was tossed in the calaboose Drop the heater, Studs, or you're hist'try! at Isheri Kara market following a tip-off.
A statement issued and made available to our correspondent in Abeokuta by the command public relations officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, reads, "The Ogun State paolice command has linked the arrest of one Giraima Umaru Suri, M, 22-year-old of Bulunkutu Kasuwa Maiduguri, a confessed member of Boko Haram sect in Isheri Kara area of Ifo Local Government Area of Ogun State to its robust intelligence gathering".
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[Shabelle] Prosecutors called Friday for jail terms of 10 to 12 years for three Somali pirates on trial for the 2009 hijacking of a French yacht that led to the death of its skipper.
The three pirates have asked for leniency, saying they were forced into piracy by lives of abject poverty.
French troops stormed the Tanit sailboat in April 2009 and captured the trio during a bid to free Florent Lemacon, his wife, their three-year-old son and two others.
French commandos killed two pirates but also accidentally rubbed out Florent Lemacon during the operation.
The three accused -- Mohammed Mahamud, Abdelkader Osman Ali and Mahamud Abdi Mohammed, aged between 26 and 31 -- have been on trial since Monday.
They are facing up to life in prison and the court is expected to rule on the case late on Friday.
During the trial, the three accused had said they turned to piracy out of desperation and expressed regret at their actions.
A lawyer for the survivors, Arnaud Colon de Franciosi, said they were not looking "for vengeance" but that the accused be "held responsible" for their acts.
The families have not criticised soldiers involved in the raid, but have accused the French government of authorising the "dangerous operation" without enough regard for the hostages.
The Lemacons left the northwestern French port of Vannes in 2008 for a journey to Zanzibar. They were taken hostage on April 6, 2009 off the Somali coast.
La Belle France has taken a tough line on pirates caught by its forces in the waters off east Africa, where dozens of mainly merchant vessels have been seized and held for ransom in recent years.
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[Dawn] Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... on Friday sanctioned the formation of an anti-terrorist force in Punjab, DawnNews reported.
The decision was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by the prime minister at his Raiwind residence.
Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif, Inspector General Punjab Police Khan Baig and other bigwigs were present during the meeting.
The meeting reviewed the law and order situation in Punjab during which the officials gave a detailed briefing to Prime Minister Sharif on the matter.
Addressing those present, the premier said the government must ensure that its writ remains and for that purpose it has to effectively tackle elements engaged in terrorism and extortion.
He said no one would be allowed to challenge the writ of the state and directed that the anti-terrorist force be kept separate from the police force.
The prime minister moreover directed that those inducted in the force should be professional and competent individuals and should be paid well and given the most efficient equipment to carry out their duties.
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#1
They can start with the ISI, Le T and the many terrorist groups in Southern Punjab
Posted by: Pearl Ghibelline2591 ||
10/19/2013 6:46
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[An Nahar] Nigeria, United States, Britannia, Spain and the Netherlands Friday conducted a joint military exercise as part of international efforts to curb piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, which has become a global hotspot.
Coastguards, frigates, warships and helicopter patrols took part in the joint amphibious exercise, codenamed "African Wings", in a show of military strength off Lagos.
Nigeria's naval chief Vice Admiral Dele Joseph Ezeoba said the exercise aimed to demonstrate the combat-readiness of his country's navy in the fight against piracy.
"This is a joint military exercise between our armed forces and our foreign partners to send a clear signal to the criminals in our waters that we are ever ready and prepared for them," he said.
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[An Nahar] Angry members of the security forces on Friday drove Tunisia's President Moncef Marzouki and Prime Minister Ali Larayedh away from a memorial ceremony for two slain policeman, an Agence La Belle France Presse photographer said.
The security force members, some of them in uniform, shouted "Get out" at the Tunisian leaders, obliging them to leave the official ceremony at the military barracks in the Tunis suburb of L'Aouina.
Marzouki and Larayedh, as well as parliamentary speaker Mustapha Ben Jaafar, left after about 20 minutes of jeers from the crowd, without any of them addressing the gathering.
"We won't accept the presence of politicians," shouted one of the protesters, who carried placards demanding laws to protect the police.
Only the interior minister, Lotfi Ben Jeddou, was able to attend the ceremony for the two men killed on Thursday by an gang in the Neja region, 70 kilometers (40 miles) west of Tunis.
"We are all against terrorism. This is a war, and we will not give up," he said in a brief speech.
Earlier, the interior ministry front man said security forces had killed several members of the group suspected of carrying out Thursday's attack, which also left one policeman maimed.
Security force unions have organized several demonstrations in recent months to condemn the lack of resources made available to battle Tunisia's jihadist movement, which has been on the rise since the 2011 revolution.
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FORT RILEY, Kan. -- Here on the Kansas plains, thousands of soldiers once bound for Iraq or Afghanistan are now gearing up for missions in Africa as part of a new Pentagon strategy to train and advise indigenous forces to tackle emerging terrorist threats and other security risks so that American forces do not have to.
The first-of-its-kind program is drawing on troops from a 3,500-member brigade in the Army's storied First Infantry Division, known as the Big Red One, to conduct more than 100 missions in Africa over the next year. The missions range from a two-man sniper team in Burundi to 350 soldiers conducting airborne and humanitarian exercises in South Africa.
The brigade has also sent a 150-member rapid-response force to Djibouti in the Horn of Africa to protect embassies in emergencies, a direct reply to the attack on the United States Mission in Benghazi, Libya, last year that killed four Americans.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Steve White ||
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#1
How about - no more adventures? You can not save the world from itself. The 60 year Pax Americana is over, get use to the old 4000 year old reality of the world as a brutish nasty place its always been.
#2
For the Americans, it offered an opportunity to gain new insights on African counterinsurgency.
Coming some 30-40 years late, but now that SA has a swart [black] and kommunis led government, in Washington's view.... I reckon the timing is excellent.
Iranian Ambassador to the UN Mohammad Khazaei has renewed Tehran's call for turning the Middle East into a nuclear weapons-free zone, saying the proposition enjoys the backing of Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) members, Press TV reported.
One of the few things the Persians and the Arabs agree on is that the icky Joooz should be forced to give up whatever nuclear weapons they have. In return the Persians and Arabs will give up .. nothing...
Khazaei said Thursday that the idea of a nuclear-free Middle East was supposed to be discussed in an international conference in 2012 following the 2010 NPT Review Conference, but the event was cancelled due to Israel's pressures.
"Unfortunately, the regime of Israel because ... they have nuclear weapons ... stopped this conference and we didn't have it and since then many countries especially the Non-Aligned Movement members have been trying to hold this conference," Khazaei said after a meeting of UN Disarmament and International Security Committee.
"So, in my statement today on behalf of the NAM, we urged member countries to support the idea to hold this conference as soon as possible," he added. Iran currently chairs the NAM.
Earlier in an address to the committee, Khazaei said that Iran had presented to the UN body a draft resolution on three proposals for a world free of nuclear arms. He said the proposals put forward by Iran's President Hassan Rouhani during the UN Disarmament Conference could set a roadmap for achieving a nuke-free world.
The Iranian envoy called on all countries to support the ratification of the draft resolution, which, he added, would reinforce international efforts to eliminate nuclear weapons across the world.
Conveniently leaving the Persians free to aggrandize all they wish. And making the holder of a few surreptitious nuclear weapons king of the world...
His three proposals for a nuke-free world were the holding of immediate negotiations on the conclusion of a comprehensive international convention on banning the production, proliferation and use of nuclear weapons; the holding of a high-level conference in 2018 on nuclear disarmament; and designating September 26 as the international day of total elimination of nuclear weapons.
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#1
Non-Aligned Movement? I thought that died along with the Soviet Union.
"A House defense aide said the new missile appears to stretch flexibility too far violate the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, based on recent tests and Russian statements that it is designed to thwart U.S. defenses. The treaty bans missiles with ranges of between 310 and 3,400 miles."
[Shabelle] An Al-Shabaab ... the personification of Somali state failure... suspect linked to the Westgate attack has been denied bail by a Mombasa court.
Police fear Swaleh Abdalla, who is also suspected to have killed four Kenyan jihadists in Somalia sometime back, can flee the country if freed on bond. They say he belongs to Al-Shabaab and could flee to its strongholds in Somalia the same way another terror suspect, Fuad Abubakar Manswab, who was facing charges alongside British terror suspect Jermaine Grant did.
Abdalla has been in detention since last week after police incarcerated Youse'll never take me alive coppers!... [BANG!]... Ow!... I quit! him at Likoni in Mombasa and charged him with possession of explosives.
Anti-Terror Police Unit Corporal Bernard Mudavadi told Mombasa Senior Principal Magistrate Richard Odenyo that they were apprehensive Abdalla could cross over to Somali if released.
Prosecutor Chief Inspector Simon Waithaka said Mudavadi had sworn an affidavit asking the court to deny Abdalla bond as he was a flight risk.
"We wish to oppose the release of the suspect as there are compelling reasons that the accused can jump bail," said Waithaka.
Abdalla, who is suspected to have killed four jihadist recruits from Central Province after they rebelled, is facing 30-year jail term if convicted.
He denied that on October 10 this year at Likoni he was found in possession of one hand grenade while preparing to commit felony.
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[Dawn] Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... 's home department on Friday released the initial report on the Dera Ismail Khan ... the Pearl of Pashtunistan ... suicide kaboom that claimed the life of provincial law minister Israrullah Gandapur on Wednesday, DawnNews reported.
Seven others were killed and over 30 people were maimed in the bombing that took place outside Gandapur's residence in D I Khan's tehsil Kullachi. Gandapur's elder brother was also maimed in the attack.
The report said the suicide kaboomer went kaboom! as soon as he embraced the minister on the occasion of Eidul Azha.
It added that the bomber was a local, wore a turban and had also spoken with the minister in a regional language before carrying out the attack.
His age was between 20 to 22 years, the report said.
Gandapur was a member of the ruling party in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, the Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf ...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations.... (PTI), a party led by former cricketer Imran Khan ... aka Taliban Khan, who is the lightweight's lightweight... which favours peace talks with the Pak Taliban.
He is the most senior member of the party to have been killed so far.
Following Gandapur's killing, the KP cabinet in a special meeting on Thursday approved the establishment of an anti-terrorism task force to be led by the Inspector General of Police.
The force is to comprise of members of all law enforcement and intelligence agencies including army, Frontier Corps and Frontier Constabulary.
The cabinet also demanded of the centre to return the Frontier Constabulary's platoons back to KP so that they may be deployed at sensitive places for controlling law and order and fighting terrorism.
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[An Nahar] A United Nations ...a formerly good idea gone bad... helicopter came under fire in the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...formerly the Congo Free State, Belgian Congo, Zaire, and who knows what else, not to be confused with the Brazzaville Congo aka Republic of Congo, which is much smaller and much more (for Africa) stable. DRC gave the world Patrice Lumumba and Joseph Mobutu, followed by years of tedious civil war. Its principle industry seems to be the production of corpses. With a population of about 74 million it has lots of raw material... on Friday, a U.N. source said, the second such incident in a week.
"Two helicopters left on reconnaissance missions this morning ... the pilots of one of the helicopters felt some impacts on the cockpit ... and landed" to inspect the damage, a source close to Monusco, the U.N. peacekeeping mission in DR Congo, told Agence La Belle France Presse.
The incident took place some 15 kilometres (10 miles) north of Goma, capital of North Kivu province, which has been in turmoil since warfare ravaged the country from 1996 to 2003.
There were no injuries and the helicopter was able to return to base.
Last week, Congolese M23 rebels shot at a U.N. helicopter but no one was injured.
The M23 was founded by former Tutsi rebels who were incorporated into the Congolese army under a 2009 peace deal.
Complaining the deal was never fully implemented, they mutinied in April 2012, turning their guns on their former comrades and launching the latest rebellion to ravage DR Congo's mineral-rich and conflict-prone east.
A front man for the rebels, Vianney Kazarama, denied that the M23 was behind the attack.
"This morning, the M23 did not fire and did not want to fire on Monusco," said Kazarama, indicating that the shots came from the Congolese army (FARDC).
But Lieutenant-Colonel Olivier Hamuli, a front man for the army in North Kivu, hit back, saying: "Monoscu is a partner of the FARDC and we are together on the ground. It's the M23 which shot," said Hamuli.
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[An Nahar] A Ukrainian politician with President Viktor Yanukovych's ruling party has submitted to parliament a bill which could allow tossed in the calaboose Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un! former premier Yulia Tymoshenko to go abroad for medical treatment, the parliament's register showed Friday.
The release of Tymoshenko, who is serving a seven year sentence for abuse of power while in office, is seen as a key condition for Ukraine to sign an Association Agreement with the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... at a summit in November.
Mykola Rudkovskyi of the ruling Regions Party submitted the bill for amendments to Ukraine's criminal code on the legal regulation of allowing convicts to go abroad for treatment.
It was not immediately clear when the Verkhovna Rada parliament would debate the bill.
According to the draft, the bill says that a decision to treat convicts abroad, as well as the terms and conditions, should be taken by a court. The new rules would apply to all convicts, not just Tymoshenko.
After the expiration of the period specified by the court for treatment abroad, the convict should return to Ukraine to continue serving the sentence, the bill says.
In Tymoshenko's case, this would will leave her unable to take part in presidential polls in 2015.
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[STARADVERTISER] Shedding stark light on Nigeria's escalating war with Islamic bad boys, mortuary records from a single Nigerian hospital show the number of detainees who died in military custody more than tripled in June, the first month of a state of emergency in the troubled northeast region.
Overall, the records obtained by The News Agency that Dare Not be Named for the nine months from Oct. 5 to July 5 indicate that the military is killing thousands in its crackdown on the uprising in northeast Nigeria ... a particularly crimson stretch of Islam's bloody border...
The records cover just one hospital, Sani Abacha Specialist Teaching Hospital in Maiduguri, the birthplace of 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... , the movement fighting to uproot Western cultural influences from a country shared almost equally by Mohammedans and Christians. In the 30 days before the state of emergency was declared on May 14, 380 bodies were delivered to the hospital by the military. In the 30 days after, the number was 1,321.
For the whole of June, the number was 1,795, making it the worst month in the records seen by the AP, which has also witnessed many of the bodies being delivered to the hospital in military ambulances, escorted by armored cars.
The figure is much larger than the estimated number of Boko Haram fighters.
Nigerian government and military officials have refused to comment, and it's impossible to know how many of the dead had Boko Haram connections. But Nigerian law stipulates that even under a state of emergency, detainees are supposed to be brought before a magistrate within 48 hours and to have access to lawyers and family members.
A pastor said he was held at Maiduguri's Giwa Military Barracks after he and four other people were tossed in the slammer Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please! because weapons were found hidden in the shoe factory where he works.
He described hundreds of naked people crammed into a cell meant for a couple of dozen. Once a day, he said, a soldier would throw a loaf of moistened bread into the cell to be brawled over. Some died of torture, he said.
He told the AP he was freed with the intervention of a Christian group, and his jailers' recognizing his prayers for salvation as Christian. He requested anonymity fearing military retaliation.
Amnesia Amnesty International reported this week that hundreds are dying in detention: some taken from the cells and shot, some dying of suffocation or starvation.
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[An Nahar] 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... intends to propose a U.N. General Assembly resolution condemning the presence of imported muscle in Syria, especially those dispatched by Hizbullah, a media report said on Friday.
According to a copy of the draft resolution obtained by Sky News Arabia, the text condemns "the intervention of all fighters in Syria, including those fighting to support the Syrian regime and especially Hizbullah's intervention."
The resolution voices support for "the Syrian people's aspirations for a peaceful and democratic society" and calls for forming a transitional government enjoying full powers.
It also calls for holding accountable those behind the August chemical attack near Damascus.
On Friday, Riyadh rejected membership of the U.N. Security Council, a day after it was elected to the body, accusing it of "double-standards" in resolving world conflicts, namely Syria.
The Saudi foreign ministry statement pointed specifically to the nearly three-year civil war in Syria and the protracted Paleostinian-Israeli conflict, as key reasons to decline a council seat.
"Failing to find a solution to the Paleostinian cause for 65 years" it said, has led to "numerous wars that have threatened world peace."
Likewise, it said, "allowing the regime in Syria to kill its own people with chemical weapons... without confronting it or imposing any deterrent sanctions... is a proof of the inability of the Security Council to carry out its duties and assume its responsibilities."
The ministry also criticised the body's "failure" to turn the Middle East into a region free from weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear arms -- in a reference to Iran and Israel.
Saudi Arabia is a staunch backer of the rebellion against the Iranian-backed regime of Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad The Scourge of Hama... .
Hizbullah -- which has always presented itself as Leb's first line of defense against Israel -- has come under intense criticism for its decision to enter the Syrian civil war on behalf of the Assad regime.
It has said it joined the battle to protect Leb from extreme Islamists among the ranks of the Syrian rebels.
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An Egyptian security official said suspected militants have killed a police officer in the north of the restive Sinai Peninsula.
The official said the attackers opened fire at the policeman as he was walking near his home the city of in El Arish on Friday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
The attack came amid stepped-up security measures across Egypt ahead of demonstrations planned later in the day by supporters of ousted president Mohammed Mursi.
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#4
I don't give a flip if Champ is an angry young man, just do it somewhere else--somewhere where he cannot do the damage to the country--say the Chicago slums. He can re-live his glory days as a community organizer. He can again live in a ritzy area and take a limo to the slums to be a community organizer. Back home by 5-6 p.m. for wine and cheese with the wife and kids or with the radical neighbors; Bill and Bernadette.
Two people are thought to have been killed when a bomb they were carrying went off early Friday in the Russian republic of Kabardino-Balkaria were planning to target a funeral procession, Russia's National Anti-Terrorism Committee (NAK) said.
The blast occurred at 3:20 a.m. just outside the entrance to a cemetery outside a mosque in the village of Dugulubgei in the republics north, Russias Investigative Committee said in a statement. Fragments of the bodies of two unidentified people, believed to have been blown up by their own bomb, were found at the scene. No one else was hurt in the incident.
The attackers planned to detonate their homemade bomb on the route of a funeral procession, NAK said in a statement, pointing out that the blast occurred as Muslims celebrated Eid al-Adha, known in Russia by its Turkish name Kurban Bayram, this week.
The statement said, Hiding behind religious and ideological slogans, the criminals intended to sow the seeds of death among a significant number of people, including civilians."
NAK said the blast shattered the windows of the mosque and destroyed its roof, as well as damaging nearby buildings. The bomb contained around 10 kg of TNT, police said, as well as shrapnel that could have severely wounded people within a 300-meter radius.
Investigators also found a large number of arms at the scene, including shells, grenades, two pistols and a Kalashnikov rifle that went missing after an attack on police in the republics north in July 2008, police said.
So, the government shutdown ended this week with only one recorded fatality, at the hands of the Capital Hill Police when a Tea party member single mom ran her car into barricades in front of the White House.
Let the death of Miriam Carey remind you that not even an unarmed woman will stop the government from spending your life savings. Well done, Capital Hill cops. Take a well deserved vacation.
With official policy being arming international violent criminals, what makes anyone think the current regime would hesitate to arm domestic allies with all the ammo on order, guns on hand and other arms to include hand grenades?
Rantburg's summary for arms and ammunition:
All classes of ammunition prices were mostly unchanged to lower.
Prices for used weapons of all categories for private sale were mixed.
Pistol Ammo
.45 caliber, 230 grain, From Last Week: -.02 each
Cheapest, 50 rounds: Cheaper Than Dirt, Tulammo, .34 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 1,000 rounds: BluCore Shooting Center, P&G Performance, reloaded, .36 per round
.40 Caliber Smith & Wesson, 180 grain, From Last Week: -.02 each
Cheapest, 50 rounds: Selway Armory, Ultramax, reloaded, .28 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 1000 rounds: BluCore Shooting center, P&G Performance, reloaded, .26 per round
9mm Parabellum, 115 grain, From Last Week: -.02 each
Cheapest, 50 rounds: Selway Armory, HSM, reloaded, .26 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 500 rounds: Battle Bag Ammo, Reloaded, .24 per round (-.02 each over two weeks)
.357 Magnum, 158 grain, From Last Week: +.06 each ( +.12 each over two weeks)
Cheapest, 50 rounds: LAX Ammunition, Fiocchi, .44 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 500 rounds: LAX Ammunition, Fiocchi, .41 per round
Rifle Ammunition
.223 Caliber/5.56mm 55 grain, From Last Week: -.05 each
Cheapest, 20 rounds: Munire USA, Tulammo, steel cased, .27 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 500 rounds: Sportsman's Guide, Wolf steel cased, .34 per round (Last Week: +.09 each )
.308 NATO 145 grain, From Last Week: -.01 each (-.18 over four weeks)
Cheapest, 20 rounds: Ammunition Depot, MFS, steel cased, .55 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 1000 rounds: Sportsman Guide, MFS, .56 per round
7.62x39 AK 123 Grain, From Last Week: Unchanged (Four Weeks)
Cheapest, 20 rounds: Ammo Supply Warehouse, Wolf Polyformance, steel core and case, .26 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 1000 rounds: Buy Guns and Ammo, Unknown, On Special, .25 per round
.22 LR 40 Grain, From Last Week: Unchanged (Three Weeks)
Cheapest, 50 rounds: Ammo Fast, Eley Target, .10 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 500 rounds: Natchez Shooters Supplies, Remington Thunderbolt, .08 per round (-.06 each from last week)
Guns for Private Sale
Rifles
.223/5.56mm (AR Pattern Semiautomatic) Average Price: $746 Last Week Avg: $719
California: Smith & Wesson M&P-15: $750
Texas: Smith & Wesson M&P-15: $599
New York: Bushmaster (Carbon Fiber lower) (Pink) (Awww!): $800
Virgina: Colt LE6920: $900
Florida: Mixed Custom Build: $680
.308 NATO (AR-10 Pattern Semiautomatic) Average Price: $1,308 Last Week Avg: $1,250
California: Sig Sauer M716 Patrol: $1,240
Texas: Sig Sauer M716 Patrol: $1,300 (Same Gun)
New York: Core 30 MOE: $1,200 (Same Gun)
Virginia: Smith & Wesson MP-10: $1,500
Florida: Armalite AR-10: $1,300
7.62x39mm (AK Pattern Semiautomatic) Average Price: $649 Last Week Avg: $598
California: Saiga: $600
Texas: Norinco (Thumbhole stock): $800
New York: Saiga: $750
Virginia: Saiga: $550
Florida: Romanian: $500
.45 caliber ACP (M1911 Pattern Semiautomatic Pistol) Average Price: $410 Last Week Avg: $444
California: Charles Daley 1911: $450 (Same gun)
Texas: Argentine Colt: $500
New York: Regent R200SS (Stainless): $400
Virginia: Umarex: $450
Florida: Llama 45: $250 (Same Gun)(Re-listed)
9mm Beretta 92FS or other Semiautomatic Average Price: $426 Last Week Avg: $613
California: Taurus PT24/7: $450
Texas: Taurus PT92: $350
New York: Glock 19: $405
Virginia: Glock 19: $475
Florida: Smith & Wesson 3906: $450
.40 caliber S&W (Glock and other semiautomatic) Average Price: $495 Last Week Avg: $523
California: Smith & Wesson: $450
Texas: Glock 27: $475
New York: Glock 23: $400
Virginia: Glock 27: $650
Florida: Glock 23: $500
Used Gun of the Week:
Uberti Single Action chambered in .45 ACP: $450
Chris Covert writes Mexican Drug War and national political news for Rantburg.com and BorderlandBeat.com. He can be reached at grurkka@gmail.com.
#2
Depends if your local store is run by the BATF.
With official policy being arming international violent criminals, what makes anyone think the current regime would hesitate to arm domestic allies with all the ammo on order, guns on hand and other arms to include hand grenades?
On the other end of that is the balloon about fast-tracking trade agreements as a tool of the Executive Branch, essentially bypassing Congress for international treaties. Bad idea, especially with this administration - those who think it is a good idea must concede that someday Obama will not be president. Let me giggle a second and take our favorite 2012 election scarrative boogyman Bain Romney and his vulture kkkapitalist idea to unilaterally sign a trade treaty with Yemen, where in exchange for a basket of Dates, Ben and Jerrys will be moved to Yemen. OK, bit more real - Benghazi was blamed on a video which thinskins found insulting to islam, proposition to the Ewe Inn to ban insulting media against religion. With all the bull spewing from Barry and Hillary! what would have been the odds of el prez fast tracking that UN Resolution to treaty? Oh, Senate would have its say and need 2/3 majority to override the treaty but until then it is in effect. Until then every ahum mid level staffer and their particular fiefdoms will have free reign. Picture this liberals: know what is insulting to Catholics? Abortion, all shut down immediately. No piss Christ, no Choo Choo Biden Hindu voices. Required religious dress, religious law > USA law in certain neighborhoods. Hey, Mo didn't like no Gays so being gay in certain neighborhoods could be considered a hate crime.
So when we have officials pledging to sign a weapons ban, a government which wants to arm drug cartels and al-quaeda, I take it quite seriously, especially since the law yars have corrupted language so badly that it is ok to tax not-trade.
Tuticorin, India, Oct 18 (UNB) In an early morning operation, all the 35 members on board the US ship Seaman Guard Ohio, a floating armoury, were arrested by sleuths of Tamil Nadus Q branch, a state intelligence wing, on Friday.
Bureaucratic kurfluffle or did someone in Q branch not get his dinars? We all know why the security guards are there; we all know why security companies are arming merchant ships in the Indian Ocean.
A team of officials led by Q branch SP Bhavaneeswari and Tuticorin SP M Durai entered the vessel, docked in the V O Chidambaranar port since October 12, and arrested the ten crew members and 25 security guards. Thirty three of the men were taken to Muthayapuram police station in Tuticorin where they were interrogated while two of the arrested were left on board the ship to carry out maintenance work, reports TNN.
As many as 31 assault rifles and more than 5000 rounds of ammunition in the ship were confiscated. The passports of the arrested men as well as one of their agents in Tuticorin were also confiscated. Sources in Q branch said measures were being taken to produce the arrested before a court and remand them.
The arrest of the ten crew members and 25 security guards on the ship comes six days after the vessel was detained off Tuticorin coast by the Indian Coast Guard. The ship had strayed into Indian territorial waters off the Kanyakumari coast and later towed to the Tuticorin port. The crew comprise of two Ukrainians and eight Indians while the security guards included six British, 14 Estonians, one Ukrainian and four Indians.
The men had been booked under two sections of the Indian Arms Act that prohibits possession of weapons without permission. A case under Passport Act and Essential Commodities Act was also registered for procuring fuel in Indian waters in an unauthorized manner.
The vessel, owned by a US-based firm AdvanFort, a company that provides maritime security services to protect ships from pirate attacks, was registered in the West African country of Sierre Leone. The Indian Coast Guard intercepted the ship on suspicion. A preliminary inquiry by the Coast Guard revealed that the vessel was illegally carrying weapons.
The crew must have obtained permission to possess weapons from the Indian authorities when they enter the exclusive economic zone of the country, said a coastal security group officer when the vessel was detained.
After initial probe by the Tamil Nadu Coastal Security Group the case was transferred to the Q branch. However, several agencies including the Research and Analysis Wing and Intelligence Bureau too interrogated the crew. Sources said the men were reluctant to cooperate with the investigation and failed to produce proper documents for possession of the weapons. Meanwhile, the state government is preparing a detailed report on the episode to be sent to the Centre.
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Safe to do under a weak and feckless Champ administration.
[Al Ahram] Æthiopia unveiled Friday the first phase of a space exploration programme, which includes East Africa's largest observatory designed to promote astronomy research in the region.
"The optical astronomical telescope is mainly intended for astronomy and astrophysics observation research," said observatory director Solomon Belay.
The observatory, which will formally be opened on Saturday, boasts two telescopes, each one metre (over three feet) wide, to see "extra planets, different types of stars, the Milky Way, and deep galaxies," Solomon added.
The 3.4 million dollar (2.5 million euro) observatory, run by the Æthiopian Space Science Society (ESSS), is funded by Æthiopian-Saudi business tycoon Mohammed Alamoudi.
The observatory, 3,200 metres (10,500 feet) above sea level in the lush Entoto mountains on the outskirts of the Æthiopian capital Addis Ababa, is an ideal location because of its minimal cloud cover, moderate winds and low humidity, experts said.
When established in 2004, ESSS was labelled as the "Crazy People's Club", according to the group, but has gained credibility in the past decade with astronomy courses introduced at universities and winning increased political support.
The Æthiopian government is set to launch a space policy in coming years.
Solomon said the group originally faced sceptics in Æthiopia and abroad, who questioned whether space exploration was a wise use of resources in one of Africa's poorest economies, plagued in the past by chronic famine and unrest.
But Solomon said promoting science is key to the development in Æthiopia, today one of Africa's fastest growing economies largely based on agriculture.
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#6
Couple comments at Shipman's link are interesting. I did not know islam was responsible for geek civilization. And though telescopes are things of goodness, they attract juice and we aaalllll know what that means.
[MAGHAREBIA] Tunisian security forces killed several gunnies in an operation against an gang suspected of an attack this week, AFP quoted the interior ministry as saying Friday (October 18th).
Two members of the Tunisian National Guard were killed during the confrontation, in the region of Gbollat in the governorate of Beja, 100 kilometres west of the capital.
"Special forces from the interior ministry, the National Guard and the army took part in this operation. It began with air strikes and we are now in the terrestrial phase," ministry front man Mohammed Ali Aroui said.
"Several gunnies have been killed, but we can't say how many as the operation is on-going," he added.
It was the third attack conducted by armed terrorist groups in recent days in the western part of Tunisia. On Wednesday, gunnies attacked the National Guard border post in El Mella in the province of Ghardimaou, Jendouba Governorate, while another group attacked the Faj Hassine border post in the same area. The attackers exchanged fire with security elements before retreating.
Journalist Nizar Dridi considered these events to be an inevitable result of the previous threats of Ansar al-Sharia ...a Salafist militia which claims it is not part of al-Qaeda, even though it works about the same and for the same ends. There are groups of the same name in Tunisia and Yemen, with the Tunisian version currently most active... leader Abou Iyadh to target security forces. They also intend to relieve pressure on the gangs present in Jebel Chaambi, according to the journalist.
Tunisian forces have been hunting down bully boy Islamist bully boyz for a number of months on the border with Algeria, especially in the area of Jebel Chaambi in Kasserine governorate.
"The security situation is unstable across the region and events are escalating. The Tunisian army took long ago the necessary precautions and preventative and operational measures," Defence Ministry Spokesman Taoufik Rahmouni said on October 11th.
Tunisian army units last week also sent security and military reinforcements to the border region with Libya, after receiving warnings of attacks by gangs allied with Ansar al-Sharia.
Faced with this situation, an atmosphere of tension and anxiety has been looming recently over Tunisians. They fear increased terrorist attacks and the possibility of gangs in Libya conducting attacks on the eastern border of Tunisia on the one hand, and the storming of al-Qaeda elements of border areas with Western Algeria on the other.
"These terrorist activities indicate the growth of gangs, especially cross-border ones and the ones stationed there," taxi driver Moncef Loumi said.
"They gained a certain confidence and that is what made them come out of their strongholds and penetrate the internal regions of the country to carry out attacks aimed at disrupting the security system, ensuring proper deployment and positioning themselves within the country," he added.
Loumi noted that recent terrorist attacks demonstrated co-ordination and continuity between the various gangs deployed on the border. He pointed out that the fear now was the possibility of Tunisia becoming a corridor through which terrorism passes or a stronghold used by al-Qaeda to carry out its plans in the region.
For his part, international relations expert Mohammed Ben Zekri said that the Arab Spring had opened up new areas for terrorist groups and allowed them to position themselves in the border triangle area between Tunisia, Algeria and Libya.
Chaos has prevailed in the region since the fall of the regimes in Tunisia and Libya, which explains why recent terrorist operations all start from the borders, according to the expert.
"The frontiers are being used as strongholds by terrorist groups, where they hide and train." Ben Zekri concluded.
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[An Nahar] Beirut ranked 20 in the list of the world's top tourist destinations, the Ministry of Tourism announced on Thursday.
"Beirut came before Paris, Melbourne, Venice and Barcelona on the list of tourism magazine Conde Nast Traveler," the ministry said in a released statement, noting that the magazine's annual list is based on "its readers' choices."
1.3 million readers participated in this year's vote, according to the same source.
In its feature, the international publication described Beirut as "Paris of the Middle East."
"Beirut has a lot to offer to tourists such as the best restaurants and the most exclusive clubs in the world," it said.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/19/2013
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the magazine's annual list is based on "its readers' choices."
Beirut, huh? Ever consider your readers might be messing with you?
[Al Ahram] Turkey on Friday lashed out at the United Nations ...a lucrative dumping ground for the relatives of dictators and party hacks... for failing to resolve international crises, after 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... accused the world body of "double-standards" in ending conflicts, such as the civil war in Syria.
"The United Nations are losing quite a lot of their credibility," Dogan news agency quoted Turkish President Abdullah Gul as telling journalists in Istanbul.
Gul spoke after oil powerhouse Saudi Arabia -- like Turkey a staunch backer of the rebellion against the Iranian-backed regime of Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Terror of Aleppo ... -- rejected a Security Council seat one day after winning it.
"I understand that Saudi Arabia's decision aims to draw the international community's attention to this situation ... We must respect their decision," said Gul.
The Saudi foreign ministry said on Friday Riyadh would not be member of a body that has been unable to tackle long-standing Middle East conflicts or rid the region of the threat of nuclear war.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly called for a reform of the 15-member Security Council to give Musselmen nations more clout.
In addition to its five permanent members, the Council has 10 seats that are awarded for two-year periods by the General Assembly, which holds a vote every year for five of the seats.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/19/2013
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"The United Nations are losing quite a lot of their credibility"
Only now?
#6
all right! Let's play: who can think of an instance where the UN *was* successful in resolving an international crisis? 'Cause right off the top of my head, I can't.
And no, starting a cholera epidemic in Haiti doesn't count.
[Al Ahram] Fierce fighting raged Friday in Syria's east, where rebels killed a top intelligence officer and executed 10 soldiers, as the United States pushed for new peace talks.
US officials said Secretary of State John F. I was in Vietnam, you know Kerry Former Senator-for-Life from Massachussetts, self-defined war hero, speaker of French, owner of a lucky hat, conqueror of Cambodia, and current Secretary of State... would head to Europe for discussions on a planned peace conference in Geneva, which a Syrian official said could come at the end of November.
But the prospects for the conference, dubbed Geneva 2, remain unclear, with the Syrian opposition divided and due to vote next week on whether to take part.
On the ground, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported fierce festivities that began in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor overnight continued on Friday.
The group, which relies on a network of activists, doctors and lawyers, also reported regime air strikes maimed several people and damaged homes in Deir Ezzor city.
They followed rebel advances in the Rashdiya neighbourhood, where a top intelligence officer Major General Jamaa Jamaa was killed on Thursday.
State television said Jamaa was "martyred while carrying out his national duties to defend Syria and its people and pursuing bully boyz in Deir Ezzor".
The Observatory said Jamaa, who was in charge of military intelligence in Deir Ezzor province, was hit by sniper fire during festivities in Rashdiya between troops and jihadist fighters.
It also reported that fighters of the Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Nusra Front executed 10 soldiers after capturing them during the festivities.
The fighting came a day after Syria's Deputy Prime Minister Qadri Jamil said proposed peace talks in Geneva could take place on November 23-24.
"We are closer than ever to holding the Geneva 2," he said in Moscow, though Russia's foreign ministry quickly pointed out that the UN would decide the timetable.
Speaking on US radio, Kerry insisted on the need to "move forward" the grinding of the peace processor on Syria.
"There is no military solution, absolutely not," he said.
"So we are trying to move the process forward. I'll have meetings next Tuesday in London with the support group of the opposition."
On Tuesday, Kerry and other officials are due to attend, alongside the Syrian opposition, a meeting of the so-called Friends of Syria in London to review progress towards convening the Geneva conference.
Whenever the conference is held, the prospects for a negotiated solution to the conflict remain slim, with Syria's opposition divided on even attending peace talks.
The National Coalition, Syria's main opposition bloc, said it would hold internal discussions next week to decide whether to attend the conference.
The Syrian National Council, a key member of the Coalition, has already said it opposes the Geneva conference and threatened to quit if the umbrella group takes part.
The international community has for months been pushing Syria's rebels and the regime to participate in talks on a negotiated solution to the conflict, which has killed an estimated 115,000 people since March 2011.
But the government of Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Supressor of the Damascenes... says his departure from office will not be on the table, while the opposition insists he cannot remain in power.
The renewed push for the peace talks, which were mooted as early as May this year, comes after a September deal under which Syria agreed to turn over its chemical arsenal for destruction.
The agreement, enshrined in a UN Security Council resolution, staved off threatened US military action against Assad's regime after an August 21 sarin attack outside Damascus that killed hundreds.
A team from the United Nations ...the Oyster Bay money pit... and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons has been in Syria since October 1 to oversee the destruction of its chemical arms by mid-2014.
On Thursday the OPCW, which was awarded the Nobel Peace prize for its work, said nearly half of its inspections were complete, but said security remains a key concern.
"We have done nearly 50 percent of the verification work of the facilities that have been declared to us," said Malik Ellahi, a political adviser on Syria for the OPCW.
The mission has key deadlines it must meet, including verifying Syria's disclosed chemical weapons, identifying key equipment, destroying production facilities and starting the destruction of Category 3 chemical weapons by November 1.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/19/2013
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#1
The stuff is volatile. The typical extremely low humidity in NM keeps dust particles airborne, especially if static electricity is also generated. I once grew habaneros in my back yard, made the mistake of taking a ripe one into the kitchen & cutting it in half. Everyone inside soon had eye irritation & started coughing. We had to evacuate the house and air it out. My hands felt like they'd been burned, for days afterward. I did not even chop the habanero, just split it in half.
[Tolo News] In his weekly radio address, President Hamid Maybe I'll join the Taliban Karzai ... A former Baltimore restaurateur, now 12th and current President of Afghanistan, displacing the legitimate president Rabbani in December 2004. He was installed as the dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001 in a vain attempt to put a Pashtun face on the successor state to the Taliban. After the 2004 presidential election, he was declared president regardless of what the actual vote count was. He won a second, even more dubious, five-year-term after the 2009 presidential election. His grip on reality has been slipping steadily since around 2007, probably from heavy drug use... reaffirmed his stance that a security pact with Washington would be pointless if it did not pave the way for sustainable "peace and security" in Afghanistan. Meanwhile, ...back at the Council of Boskone, Helmuth ordered the space pirate fleet to attack Zemblonia... U.S. Secretary of State John F. I was in Vietnam, you know Kerry Former Senator-for-Life from Massachussetts, self-defined war hero, speaker of French, owner of a lucky hat, conqueror of Cambodia, and current Secretary of State... has reasserted his own expectations surrounding the issue of troops immunity.
The statements from Karzai and Kerry come a week after the U.S. Secretary of State made an unexpected trip to Kabul to hash out some of the still contested provisions of the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) between Washington and Kabul intended to outline American involvement in Afghan national security after the NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions... combat mission ends in 2014. Negotiations between the two men lasted 28 grueling hours before theyannounced that they had come to accord on most of the pact.
"The security agreement is the only option that could restore peace and security in Afghanistan, and if the Afghan people aren't protected and security isn't maintained then the security agreement loses its effect and has no importance," said President Karzai in his weekly radio address on Thursday night.
The Afghanistan's Caped President went on to announce that the matter of U.S. troop immunity from the Afghan judicial system would be debated and decided on by the members of the Loya Jirga he plans to convene within a matter of weeks.
"In our recent negotiations with the U.S., we also discussed another important topic, and it was the topic of immunity for U.S. troops in Afghanistan," explained Karzai. "The decision in this respect is beyond the capacity of Afghan government, and only the Afghan people maintain the authority to decide on it, and the Loya Jirga reflects the will of the Afghan people."
Posted by: Fred ||
10/19/2013
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I'm kinda surprised Obama is getting hung up about a small issue like amnesty for American troops. He us usually very good about throwing the military under the bus.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
10/19/2013 14:38
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It's the usual pro forma.
Karzai will say "no."
Obama will say "Okay."
In two years, the Afghan government will have a domain no larger than than Kabul. Karzai will have fled to Geneva and his Swiss bank account. And Obama will studiously avoid him on the international cocktail-circuit.
[Al Ahram] Forty years after an Arab oil embargo throttled the U.S. economy, surging North American energy production has brought the United States closer to a long-dreamed "energy independence" that is reshaping its goals and role in the Middle East.
On October 17, 1973, OPEC announced an oil embargo against the United States and any other country that supported Israel in the Yom Kippur War. That use of oil as a diplomatic weapon has driven an American yearning for disengagement from the Middle East and its problems ever since.
Such a strategic divorce is unlikely to occur soon, current and former U.S. officials say. Washington has too much invested in the region, from support for allies like Israel to the fight against Islamic bad boys.
But the United States is less vulnerable to Middle East oil shocks, current and former U.S. officials say, and may be less likely to station large ground and naval forces in the region in the future.
More problematically, it will have to find a way to cooperate in the Middle East with energy-hungry China, they said. And ties with 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... , long nurtured by oil commerce, have been jolted by diplomatic disagreements over Iran, Syria and Egypt, and could fray further.
In the decades that followed the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries embargo, "you could not make plans in the Middle East or involving Middle East crises, without keeping in mind the considerations of the oil market," Henry Kissinger, who was Secretary of State during the 1973 oil shock, said on Wednesday.
"But that is now changing substantially with the, I wouldn't say 'self sufficiency' but narrowing the gap between supply and demand in North America, that is now of huge strategic consequence," Kissinger said at a conference hosted by the group Securing America's Future Energy.
The United States is less reliant each month on Middle East energy, thanks to increasing production of both oil and natural gas from technologies such as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, which allows extraction of oil and gas from shale deposits.
The country could be energy self-sufficient -- producing enough to meet its own needs -- by 2020, according to several analyses, and a debate has begun on whether to end an effective ban on U.S. crude oil exports.
The growth of the United States as an energy power is already making a difference in foreign policy.
Last year, Washington and its European allies orchestrated a partial boycott of Iranian oil, to compel Tehran to return to talks about its nuclear program. The sanctions against Iran took roughly 1 million barrels per day off world markets - without the oil price spikes many predicted.
Increased oil supplies from the United States, and elsewhere, "really helped us tremendously in our negotiations," with potential partners, a senior State Department official said.
Energy superpower
Weary of war after years of costly conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, the United States is wary of intervening in crises like that in Syria, and took on a limited role in oil-rich Libya's 2011 civil war.
U.S. oil production has helped dampen price spikes from disruptions in places such as Libya, officials and analysts said, and with it pressure for U.S. intervention.
Retired Adm. Dennis Blair, former U.S. Director of National Intelligence, said that the United States' increased energy output affords it the flexibility to reposition some military forces now in the Middle East "over the horizon," where they could be called on in a crisis.
Blair did not suggest specifics, but said such a change would be a return to the traditional U.S. defense posture before a build up of U.S. forces in the region that began with a major oil tanker escort operation in the Gulf in the 1980s and increased with two wars with Iraq.
"We have the opportunity to refine our policy," he said.
Publicly and privately, U.S. officials increasingly are emphasizing that the United States has no plans to leave the Middle East or retreat into isolationism.
"Reduced energy imports do not mean the United States can or should disengage from the Middle East or the world," then-White House national security adviser Tom Donilon said in a speech in April.
"We have a set of enduring national security interests" in the region, Donilon said, citing Israel's security, the fight against terrorism and "our historic stabilizing role in protecting regional allies and partners."
Posted by: Fred ||
10/19/2013
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the Oil Ticks better like Chinese. Uncle Sugar isn't gonna be their mercenary any more
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/19/2013 9:53
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Forty years after an Arab oil embargo throttled the U.S. economy, surging North American energy production has brought the United States closer to a long-dreamed "energy independence"
And it's all happening in spite of an administration that wants otherwise.
#3
...After a certain point, the PRC is going to tell OPEC in no uncertain terms exactly how much they'll pay, and OPEC will disintegrate as it becomes every shiekh for himself.
And at that point I will laugh, because the holy terror that the oil nations have unleashed upon the world will implode upon them like the wrath of Allan...which it indeed will be.
Mike
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
10/19/2013 13:34
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#4
"The United States is less reliant each month on Middle East energy, thanks to increasing production of both oil and natural gas from technologies such as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, which allows extraction of oil and gas from shale deposits."
I am a tad curious as to who is financing the fracking demonstrators...
[An Nahar] State Commissioner to the Military Court Judge Saqr Saqr charged on Friday 18 Paleostinians, only one of them in jug, for planning terrorist activities, the state-run National News Agency reported.
NNA said that among those who received the charges were Wissam Ahmed Naim, who was recently placed in durance vile Drop the rod and step away witcher hands up! for forging identification documents for suspected terrorists, and Toufiq Tah from the Islamist al-Nusra Front.
The charges include the formation of an armed gang for the purpose of carrying out terrorist activities.
If convicted, the suspects face the death penalty, said the agency.
The General Security Department announced on Monday that Naim was arrested for forging IDs, in addition to designing and manufacturing electronic devices used in bomb timers.
It accused him of firing rockets, taking part in activities that violate the state's internal and external security, and engaging in sectarian incitement.
Al-Akhbar newspaper was the first to report about his arrest last week.
It said Naim has close ties with Tah, who according to al-Akhbar is al-Qaeda's number one man in the Paleostinian refugee camp of Ein el-Hellhole.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/19/2013
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This is in Lebanon. Read the comments after the article to get a sense of how much the Lebanese love their Palestinian "guests".
Palestinians? Terrorists? I know, I'm shocked too.
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
10/19/2013 11:18
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Y'know, there's already been one Black September...
Interior ministry spokesman says two local civilians killed in the attack outside a residential complex included a woman.
A Taleban suicide bomber detonated an explosive-laden car in Kabul on Friday outside a compound where many foreign workers are based, Afghan officials said, killing at least two local civilians. The blast was followed by bursts of gunfire as Afghan quick-reaction security forces rushed to the scene at the Green Village, a fortified residential complex not far from Kabul airport in the east of the city.
"Initial investigations show it was suicide car bomb attack," interior ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said, confirming that two civilians, including one woman, had been killed.
"A small car packed with explosives hit two vehicles as they were exiting the Green Village compound," he added. Two other civilians were injured.
The Taleban militant group quickly claimed responsibility for the strike.
"Our mujahideen targeted a convoy of foreign forces at the Green Village which is used by the Americans," Taleban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid told AFP. "Heavy casualties have been inflicted on the enemy and the fighting is continuing."
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/19/2013
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[An Nahar] Former Premier Saad Hariri Second son of Rafik Hariri, the Leb PM who was assassinated in 2005. He has was prime minister in his own right from 2009 through early 2011. He was born in Riyadh to an Iraqi mother and graduated from Georgetown University. He managed his father's business interests in Riyadh until his father's assassination. When his father died he inherited a fortune of some $4.1 billion, which won't do him much good if Hizbullah has him bumped off, too. on Friday compared "the wound" caused by the 2012 liquidation of Brig. Gen. Wissam al-Hasan to the wound caused by the liquidation of his father, ex-prime minister Rafik Hariri in 2005.
"We have always called for justice and for the Special Tribunal for Leb regarding the liquidation of Premier Rafik Hariri, and now we have the same demands regarding the liquidation of Brigadier General al-Hasan," the slain commander of the Internal Security Forces Intelligence Bureau.
"We have full confidence in the Tribunal, and no one should think that those who assassinated him will get away with it no matter what," Hariri stressed during a prerecorded interview on Future TV which commemorated the first anniversary of al-Hasan's liquidation.
"For me, the liquidation of Wissam trespassed many red lines, and he was targeted because of his belief in the path of Rafik Hariri and because of his success and great achievements at the head of the Intelligence Bureau, whether in uncovering the Mamlouk-Samaha network or in pursuing and arresting several Israeli and terrorist networks," the ex-PM noted.
He added: "We know who their friends are, and who killed him, and they will be punished sooner or later although they feel very strong today."
Hariri pointed out that the slain officer faced "the most heinous political and media campaigns" prior to his liquidation, noting that the Intelligence Bureau "is still being targeted, but it will go on and continue the institutional work he established in it."
"They fought him because he was working to build the state," said Hariri.
The former premier said at the end of the interview that he would soon return to Leb. He said that the liquidation of al-Hasan "showed once again that the criminals are targeting symbols in Leb" and therefore his return was postponed.
But he added: "Many don't want me to return, but I will, and I hope that Leb will again be as it was, and as Rafik Hariri, Wissam al-Hasan, Pierre Amin Gemayel and all the deaders of the Cedar Revolution wanted it to be."
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[An Nahar] A boom-mobile near an ice-cream shop in Storied Baghdad ...located along the Tigris River, founded in the 8th century, home of the Abbasid Caliphate... killed 12 people Friday, while seven died in other attacks, officials said, bringing the October corpse count to more than 420.
The boom-mobile in the Mashtal area of east Storied Baghdad also maimed 23 people, interior ministry front man Brigadier General Saad Maan told Agence La Belle France Presse.
In Sinjar, west of the northern city of djinn-infested Mosul, Death Eaters rubbed out a mother and three sons, all members of the Yazidi religious sect, at their home.
And a bomb near a house in Baquba, also north of Storied Baghdad, killed two members of the same family and maimed five, while gunnies killed one Sahwa anti-al-Qaeda fighter and maimed another in an attack on a checkpoint near the city.
The attacks came a day after violence, including a suicide kaboom targeting members of the Shabak minority group near djinn-infested Mosul and a wave of boom-mobiles in Storied Baghdad, killed 77 people and maimed more than 200.
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ADEN A suicide car bomber killed 12 soldiers and wounded six others on Friday in an attack on a military command centre in southern Yemens Abyan province, security and military sources said.
The attack in the district of Ahwar targeted the command centre of the 111th Brigade, the security source said, adding that the commander of the brigade was seriously wounded in the blast.
The sources gave an initial toll of six dead, but said later that it had doubled to 12 dead. The commander was among the six wounded.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.
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[Shabelle] The beautiful port of Barawe became a base for the vicious imported muscle known as the 'muhajireen'
Wizards inland from the little Somali port of Barawe bewitched a person to come to them by banging a nail into a tree and chanting his name. 'He comes no matter how far away he may be,' wrote Gerald Hanley in Warriors, his unrivalled classic about Somalia -- for him a place of 'swirling sandstorms, heat and billions and billions of flies'. But I need no nail in a tree to return to Barawe, which to me is a paradise I once aimed to make my home.
I first saw Barawe from the high, red dunes of the hinterland. It glittered white against the azure Indian Ocean: beautiful houses and mosques, a colonial Italian lighthouse ringed by a necklace of surf. It was 1998 and I had never seen anywhere so exotic, populated by very light-skinned descendants of Portuguese, Arabs and Shirazis. They spoke a northern form of Swahili called Chimbalazi and were full of poetry. The perfume of incense and halwa sweetmeats drifted through sandy streets. I swam off a white sand beach and found Amharic inscriptions in the ruins of an old fort. I was made a guest at a four-storey mansion where a banquet of delicacies was prepared in the courtyard below and then hoisted up by a coconut rope on huge copper trays.
Barawe, in those days an island of beauty and sophistication amid the horrors of Somalia, was birthplace of the eponymous Sufi Sheikh Uways al-Barawi. This great religious leader promoted a tolerant form of Islam that so many Somalis still worship by today. Al-Barawi was murdered on the orders of the Mad Mullah, Muhammad Abdullah Hassan, a fanatic who fought Britannia for 22 years and left nothing good except poetry extolling ultra-violence. That tension, between extremism and decency, has been played out again in Barawe's recent history.
I noticed that some of the most delightful Bravanese houses were abandoned. I was told that clan militias had used the town as a battleground. They menaced the prominent families so much that they fled -- overseas and along the Kenyan coast, where they continued to hand-weave their wonderful cloth with its geometrical designs that told a secret story. For now, Barawe was calm, and I did not want to go.
'What if I were to live in Barawe,' I asked. 'What if I were to buy a house?' 'Certainly,' replied my host. He revealed that the title deeds were held by the elders -- in Minnesota and London's East End. If my offer was accepted, I could settle down. The price of a very fine house was no more than £7,000. I was not the first Westerner to own a home in Barawe. My host showed me one lovely place that allegedly belonged to Graham Hancock, author of great books like Lords of Poverty.
I tried to pursue my purchase, dreaming that I might cut myself off from the outside world, learn Chimbalazi dialect and fish for yellowfin tuna. But I found myself in Yemen, and then London. One day an intricately carved camphor chest arrived on a flight, with best wishes from my host in Barawe, and this sits at home today. Meanwhile, ...back at the bunker, his Excellency called a hurried meeting of his closest advisors. It was to be his last. They discussed the officers's efficiency rating system... Somalia's civil war flared again, hiding the bright horizon of Barawe from the world once more.
A few years ago gunnies of Al-Shabaab ... the Islamic version of the old Somali warlord... seized Barawe. They murdered local inhabitants. They beat Sufi worshippers and desecrated their saints' shrines. They imposed huge taxes on the people, denied them vaccines or poetry, music or even football. The place became a base for the most vicious of all the Al-Shabaab fighters -- foreign jihadis known as the muhajireen. Some of them were probably from Britannia and other western countries. In stolen lovely houses they designed boom jackets, truck bombs and massacres. In 2009 American special forces in helicopters ambushed and killed a senior al-Qa'eda leader a little way inland from the huge red dunes.
In June this year two of the nastiest factions of Al-Shabaab began liquidating each other -- as they do -- in Barawe's streets and a number of foreigners went straight to hell. Up the road a few weeks ago, Omar Hammami, an American known as the 'rapping jihadist' because of his YouTube jingles, together with Osama al-Britani, a British bomber and allegedly father of Samatha Lewthwaite's two younger children, also died during internecine feuding. It appears that Barawe became the place where plans were developed for the vile attack on Nairobi's Westgate shopping mall last month.
On 5 October, special forces of the American SEAL Team 6 launched a night raid on Barawe from the ocean, in a bid to kill or capture a man they did not get. After they withdrew into the waves, Al-Shabaab took reprisals against the local population. In London, where Islamophobic arsonists burned down the Bravanese community centre in June, these moderate, civilised people must wonder what they did to deserve all of this.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/19/2013
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The Obama administration is considering helping Iran recoup billions of dollars in frozen overseas assets if Tehran scales back its nuclear program, Associated Press reported.
But Congress is determined to set a high bar for any relief for Iran. Officials say the proposal is under consideration to spur nuclear negotiations. A skeptical Congress is weighing in, too.
Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk has a plan to give the U.S. more sticks and carrots. He wants to freeze all remaining Iranian assets overseas. He'd do that by threatening to block from the U.S. market any bank that does business with Iran.
Kirk would let Iran get at some of the $50 billion to $75 billion that's already blocked. But Iran would only get the money after ending all uranium enrichment activity. Iran rejects such demands.
Oh good, we have a RINO squish leading the charge. Granted, he was a lot better than the clown the Dems ran in the election, but he's still a squish and he'll fold like a lawn chair when the administration leans on him...
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/19/2013
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#1
I'm guessing this rino has not read the Koran or is familiar with the word "taqiyya." Maybe he has trouble with the various spellings of the word. You would think that with his dealings with Donks that he is familiar with the concept if not the word.
A Norwegian citizen of Somali origin is suspected of being one of the attackers who stormed a Kenyan shopping mall last month massacring 67 people, the BBC said. The 23-year-old was named as Hassan Abdi Dhuhulow, who the BBC said is suspected of helping to plan and carry out the attack on the upmarket Westgate mall.
So his first name isn't Sven. I am just so, so, not surprised...
Dhuhulow was born in Somalia, but he and his family moved to Norway as refugees in 1999, according to relatives who spoke to the BBC from the Norwegian town of Larvik, some 135 kilometres (80 miles) southwest of the capital Oslo.
And grateful he was, too...
Norway's PST intelligence agency last week launched a probe after it obtained information about the possible involvement of a Norwegian of Somali origin in both planning and carrying out the attack.
"The name of a person claimed to be the Norwegian citizen under investigation by the PST was publicised by the UK press," it said in a statement. "At this point, we do not wish to confirm or deny this claim."
Norwegian investigators have been sent to Nairobi to work with their Kenyan counterparts.
"It has not yet been determined whether a named Norwegian citizen actually took part in the attack or not," the PST agency added. "Based on the information that we have uncovered this far in the investigation, however, the suspicion of his involvement has been strengthened."
However, other relatives denied it was Dhuhulow who appeared in security camera footage of the attack.
"Lies! All lies!"
"None of the men in the video is the 23-year-old" a relative told Norwegian broadcaster NRK.
"No, no, certainly not!"
Then they'll have no trouble bringing their lad forth for all to see.
The relative's name or links to the suspect were not disclosed, but they reportedly live in Larvik.
The BBC quoted one of Dhuhulow's former neighbours Morten Henriksen, who described the young man.
"He was pretty extreme, didn't like life in Norway... got into trouble, fights, his father was worried," Henriksen told the BBC, speaking of Dhuhulow as a teenager.
Evidently he was a thug boy and got involved in the fighting life. Too bad he didn't get whacked early on...
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/19/2013
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[Al Ahram] A plan to end Egypt's political deadlock will be unveiled after Eid Al-Adha, Al-Gamaa Al-Islamiya's Aboud El-Zomor has told US website The Daily Beast.
The hardline Islamist group is a key ally of the Moslem Brüderbund and has been taking part in protests calling for the reinstatement 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... . Two of the group leaders, Assem Abdel-Maged and Tarek El-Zomor (Aboud's cousin), are wanted by police for inciting violence and are currently in hiding.
"The situation now is that no one can force their conditions. Neither the Brotherhood nor SCAF [the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces] can do this, so they are prepared for dialogue," El-Zomor told The Daily Beast.
Several mediation and reconciliation initiatives proposed by international institutions and local political figures have failed.
Since Morsi's ouster by the army on 3 July following mass protests against his rule, Egypt has been deeply polarised between supporters and opponents of the army's action.
The Moslem Brüderbund, from which Morsi hails, has refused to participate in the interim authorities' transitional roadmap, which is supposed to reinstate democratic rule. The group has been organising near-daily protests calling for Morsi's reinstatement, which have led to frequent festivities with security forces and pro-military protesters.
According to The Daily Beast, El-Zomor expressed sympathy for the army's position and refused to call the ousting of Morsi a coup. "The army did things with good intentions, they wanted to avoid any kind of division or civil war," he said.
However, death is not the end. There remains the litigation over the estate... he said he opposes the security crackdown on the Brotherhood and their Islamist allies.
"Many Islamist currents feel it's not a transition but a period for Dire Revenge™," El-Zomor said.
Hundreds of pro-Morsi protesters have been killed and thousands tossed in the slammer Drop the heater, Studs, or you're hist'try! , including most big shot of the Brotherhood, since Morsi's removal.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/19/2013
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Top|| File under: Arab Spring
[Shabelle] The United Nations ...an idea whose time has gone... recently uncovered a "credible" plot by the Somali Islamist group al-Shabaab ... Somalia's version of the Taliban, functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda... to mount a major terrorist attack against the U.N. compound in Mogadishu, according to senior U.N. officials briefed on the plan. It's another sign that the hard boy outfit, once thought to be all but expired, has once again become a major force for terror in East Africa.
The warning, one of several threats against the U.N. in recent months, drove home the harsh risks of life in Somalia for the United Nations nearly three months after the Islamist movement attackedthe organization's humanitarian compound in downtown Mogadishu, killing eight U.N. employees. It also reinforced the fact that al-Shabaab, which was widely considered to be organizationally spent earlier this year, has regrouped. Late last month, al-Shabaab killed dozens at the Westgate mall in Nairobi, Kenya.
"U.N. premises in Mogadishu may come under direct terrorist attacks," according to a confidential security assessment of Somalia produced jointly by 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... and the United Nations. The report, which was shared with U.N. Security Council members, said the ongoing "risk of asymmetric attacks has significantly curtailed the mobility of U.N. staff in Mogadishu and hampers delivery of critical UN programs in support of [Somalia's] Federal government."
In response, U.N. Secretary-General the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon ... of whom it can be said to his credit that he is not Kofi Annan... called this week for the deployment of thousands of additional African troops to take the fight to al-Shabaab's strongholds and to reinforce the U.N.'s own security. In a letter, Ban asked the 15-nation Security Council and governments to enhance the U.N. mission's security in Mogadishu. He proposed the "immediate deployment" of a "static U.N. guard unit" to reinforce the security of the U.N. political headquarters at Mogadishu's airport. He also called for the establishment of a "dedicated force" of about 150 Somali coppers to provide security for U.N. convoys, and he urged Somalia to set up a quick-reaction force that can respond immediately to the U.N.'s cries for help.
But can the U.N. be truly safe in Somalia?
J. Peter Pham, a specialist on Somalia at the Atlantic Council, isn't convinced that's possible over the long run.
"Yes, more troops will provide more security for those already present in Somalia," he said. "We can clear out some more space from Shabaab-controlled areas. But in a year, we will be asking for more troops and air power. This is a never-ending cycle."
Pham said that the larger problem is that the African Union and the United Nations are supporting a government in Somalia that lacks sufficient political legitimacy among the Somali people. He said the assembly of elders -- that last year elected the country's constituent assembly and parliament, which in turn elected Somalia's president, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud -- was "packed with phony elders."
Equally troublesome, he added, is the fact that the U.N. has picked sides in a messy civil and clan conflict, repeating the mistake made by the United States and the United Nations in the early 1980s, when they pursued the Somali warlord Mohammed Farrah Aidid.
"The U.N. is not a neutral force in Somalia," Pham said. "I think in a way the United Nations has painted the target on its own back."
Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, who studies terrorist groups at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said the United States, the United Nations, and others frequently have to make hard choices about working with states that are not entirely democratic.
"The question is 'how much is legitimate enough,'" he said, noting that al-Shabaab's standing in Somalia has never been lower. Many countries, including the United States and its African allies, "have invested in the idea that it is."
Gartenstein-Ross said that two years ago many analysts were skeptical that African troops possessed the power to dislodge al-Shabaab from key urban centers, including Mogadishu and Kismayo. But they did it.
A new military surge, he said, carries risks, but "certainly there is a chance that these operations against Shabaab will succeed," he said. "Military operations against Shabaab over the past year and a half have been more successful than analysts anticipated."
"Putting people in danger in an environment like Somalia may be worth the cost. That's a judgment the U.N. or the U.S. government makes all the time when deploying people in unsafe environments," he said. "Is it being unwise?... On its face, it seems the only way to build a functioning government is to try to put services and the like in place as ground is captured."
Posted by: Fred ||
10/19/2013
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Top|| File under: al-Shabaab
#1
Despite the new debt deal + the Bammer breaking his own "red lines" on the debt ceiling, I see nothing to indicate that China won't prevail agz the Bammer-led USA-Allies in any East Asian mil crisis or conflict over ECS + SCS disputed islands [India?], + despite any initial PLA deficiencies.
POTUS OBAMA's HISTOIRE' IN MIDDLE EAST = ALLEGED US ENEMIES = ANTAGONISTS WILL NOT ONLY SURVIVE BUT IS LIKELY TO EMERGE IN MUCH STRONGER POSITION THAN AS BEGUN.
Beijing at this time would like to remind everyone that it has both LR ICBMS that can strike + destroy CONUS, as well as the vital $$$ bonds US Government = DemoLefties needs to expand the post-Shutdown US Debt Ceiling, partially or in whole; any new QES?, + to expand OWG future Amerika's glorious Welfare-Nanny State - JAPAN, PHILIPINES, ASEAN, + EVEN IRAN DOTH NOT.
"If you can't even fight one war, what's the point of having an army?"
Face it, folks...that IS Ogabe's plan.
Posted by: Ricky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo) ||
10/19/2013 14:35
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#9
In a lot of dictatorships, the major function of the army is to handle internal security. We may be headed that way.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
10/19/2013 14:40
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#10
..well, except, the largest armed body in the world would be the American public. If you can't control Iraq or Afghanistan without the 'consent' or participation of the locals, how do you think you're going to control 57 states (other than in your mind)?
#12
Yes, civil wars can be nasty. However, you need the intel the locals provide to be effective beyond your immediate foot print. When the nastiness starts, outside of the Party controlled urban areas that's going to be really iffy. Add to the problem is that the urban islands don't have the means to really patrol, even with UAVs every mile of pipeline and rail line that carries the basic necessities to those urban islands. As Richard Fernandez noted over at the Belmont Club, civilization is nine meals away from breakdown.
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.
Samir Geagea
[Dawn] Chairman of the Pakistain Peoples Party (PPP), Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, on Friday said he was declaring jihad (holy war) against "hijackers of the faith", DawnNews reported.
[MAGHAREBIA] The recent capture of al-Qaeda operative Nazih Abdul Hamed al-Raghie (aka Abu Anas al-Libi) in 
Zawahiri
[Al Ahram] Hundreds of supporters of deposed president 
[Al Ahram] Egypt ranks 130th out of 156 countries in a recent UN report on happiness; experts suggest that political and economic instability, compounded by demographic congestion, are key causes of Egyptians' general discontentment.
[MAGHAREBIA] Two years after Moamer Qadaffy's overthrow, 
How did it fail?
[Dawn] Rangers' personnel 
Swiss customs agents have seized one million fake tablets of anti-anxiety drug Xanax at the Zurich airport, which were destined for Egypt, authorities said Friday. 
[Shabelle] AN Australian warship has captured a gang of nine pirates believed responsible for attacking merchant ships off the coast of Somalia.
[Shabelle] Prosecutors called Friday for jail terms of 10 to 12 years for three 
Nawaz Sharif
Iranian Ambassador to the UN Mohammad Khazaei has renewed Tehran's call for turning the Middle East into a nuclear weapons-free zone, saying the proposition enjoys the backing of Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) members, Press TV reported.
[Dawn] 
[STARADVERTISER] Shedding stark light on Nigeria's escalating war with Islamic
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
Two people are thought to have been killed when a bomb they were carrying went off early Friday in the Russian republic of Kabardino-Balkaria were planning to target a funeral procession, Russia's National Anti-Terrorism Committee (NAK) said.
[Al Ahram] Æthiopia unveiled Friday the first phase of a space exploration programme, which includes East Africa's largest observatory designed to promote astronomy research in the region.
[An Nahar] Beirut ranked 20 in the list of the world's top tourist destinations, the Ministry of Tourism announced on Thursday.
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
[Tolo News] In his weekly radio address, President 
[Al Ahram] Forty years after an Arab oil embargo throttled the U.S. economy, surging North American energy production has brought the United States closer to a long-dreamed "energy independence" that is reshaping its goals and role in the Middle East.
Interior ministry spokesman says two local civilians killed in the attack outside a residential complex included a woman. 
[Shabelle] The beautiful port of Barawe became a base for the vicious 
the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon
