(Ma'an) -- An American blogger reported Wednesday that Israel's military intelligence managed to outfox Hezbullies by deliberately crash-landing a booby-trapped drone which later went kaboom! in an arms depot operated by the Shiite movement.
Richard Silverstein, quoting "an authoritative Israeli source with considerable military experience," says Hezbullies discovered a downed drone and, thinking they had caught Israel in a failed reconnaissance effort, took the drone to an arms depot in south Leb.
"When it discovered the downed craft, its operatives must've crowed that they'd finally discovered the key to success," Silverstein wrote of Hezbullies, who he says has been increasingly interested in jamming an Israeli drone and were likely to have celebrated the crash initially, when it was reported Saturday.
"This bit of hubris is how (Israeli military intelligence agency) Aman drew Hezbullies into its net," he says. "Its soldiers dutifully collected the imagined intelligence trophy and brought it to a large weapons depot it controlled in the area. Once inside the arms cache, Aman detonated the drone causing a massive kaboom."
Hezbullies denies the kaboom targeted an arms deport, Lebanese media reported Wednesday. "What has been circulating in the media regarding the kaboom in Sidiqqin and that it is related to storage center for Hezbullies is utterly false," the party said in the statement carried by the Beirut-based Daily Star.
The same newspaper, quoting a security source, said the kaboom shook a Hezbullies stronghold in the Tyre region of south Leb. Hezbullies, it said, soon placed a "heavy security blanket" over the area.
The report said four Israeli warplanes were spotted flying over Siddiqin in the morning while patrols by the UN Interim Force in Leb were active in the area. It said a UNIFIL helicopter was also spotted. Silverstein, whose US-based blog Tikkun Olam frequently reports on Israeli intelligence matters and censored material, saw the kaboom as a low-level hit on Iranian arms, which are key to Hezbullies's military edge.
The blast comes amid similarly unexplained kabooms killing nuclear scientists in Tehran and, just weeks earlier, an Iranian arms depot thought to contain missiles capable of reaching Israel. But one reason Hezbullies might hesitate to speak of its incident, Silverstein told Ma'an, is because the location of its alleged arms depot was south of the Litani river, in direct violation of a UN ceasefire resolution.
#1
RichardSilverstein is a leftard baboon. When he says "an authoritative Israeli source with considerable military experience", he means one of his jurno friends.
#2
Israel should mass produce low cost drones that are effectively GPS-guided buzz bombs. Carrying a 1000lb bomb, an engine, a fuel tank, simple fly-by-wire guidance, and run from a cheap computer brain. Mass produced, they might be as little as $20,000 each. Mostly off the shelf parts.
For the same price as one F15E, they could make over 1,500 of these drones. Every above ground Hezbollah anything could be blown to smithereens.
Wonkette and Washingtonsblog.com (have) reported that the Mayor of Oakland acknowledged that the Department of Homeland Security had participated in an 18-city mayor conference call advising mayors on "how to suppress" Occupy protests.
For the DHS to be on a call with mayors, the logic of its chain of command and accountability implies that congressional overseers, with the blessing of the White House, told the DHS to authorise mayors to order their police forces -- pumped up with millions of dollars of hardware and training from the DHS -- to make war on peaceful citizens.
It doesn't mean that congressional overseers had anything to do with it. DHS and its Secretary, on direction and orders of the White House, could do this all on their own.
Journalist Chris Hayes reported on a leaked memo that revealed lobbyists vying for an $850,000 (federal) contract to smear the Occupy Wall Street movement. The Guardian assumes this is because congress objected to OWS "exposing" corrupt financial dealings. However, OWS has been withering and becoming a laughingstock, not getting out any message other than filthy chaos, and its promulgators have been complaining that it lacks 'outrage photos', that would result in public anger and support for OWS, as well as considerably more public disruption. In other words, the White House created OWS, and they want results, even if some useful fools get beaten up in the process.
#2
Peaceful citizens do not shoot at the White House. They do not vandalize banks (and then deposit their funds at the same banks). They do not commit rape, and then establish "rape-free zones" for women's protection. They do not murder. They do not shove 78-year-old women down flights of stairs. They do not scream at 6-year-olds walking to school. They do not use police cars as bathrooms. They do not masturbate in public. They do not cause health hazards.
Posted by: Eric Jablow ||
11/25/2011 21:52
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#3
The useful idiots stopped being useful.
Posted by: Cincinnatus Chili ||
11/25/2011 22:36
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CIA officers are asking people to mark the 10th anniversary of the death of the first American killed in the Afghan war by donating to help the children of their fellow fallen.
Since the death in 2001 of CIA officer Mike Spann, a total of 23 stars have been added to the wall at the CIA's Langley, Va., headquarters that honors CIA operatives lost. Many were killed in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The clandestine world rarely breaks its silence, especially when it comes to family, but the CIA Officers Memorial Foundation notes about 56 children of those killed in the line of duty will need educational support over the next 17 years.
Spann was part of a small group of CIA paramilitary officers who went into Afghanistan just 16 days after the al-Qaida attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Less than two months later, the CIA along with U.S. Special Forces Green Berets and a massive aerial bombing campaign helped Afghan militias drive out the ruling Taliban.
Spann was killed when hundreds of Taliban and al-Qaida prisoners, guarded by just a handful of Afghans, tried to escape from a fortress jail in Mazar-e-Sharif in northern Afghanistan.
Spann is survived by his wife, Shannon, a retired CIA officer, and three children.
The CIA Officers Memorial Foundation is a tax-exempt charity under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. All contributions to the Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent allowed by law.
Donations to the Foundation should be made payable to the CIA Officers Memorial Foundation and sent to:
The CIA Officers Memorial Foundation
c/o Arnold & Porter LLP
555 12th Street N.W.
Washington, D.C., 20004 Despite anyone's feelings about the CIA as an organization, it truly pisses me off at the bitter and despicable hate leftists will express at this widows and orphans fund.
#1
The CIA seem to be really good at hunting down jihadis with Predators, for which we can be profoundly grateful. On the other hand, one hopes they were merely being vicious when they produced that natinal intelligence estimate announcing that Iran had given up pursuit of nuclear weapons, rather than profoundly ignorant, but the thought of the former somehow does not bring comfort.
EU condemns "excessive violence" in Cairo, calls for independent investigation; White House says situation requires a fundamental solution, devised by Egyptians."" Thank G*d for small favors.
#4
The Egyptian military wants to transfer power widin the next year [2012], but both the democratists [anti-Islamists?] + Islamists want the transfer ASAP.
Meanwhile ....
* TOPIX > EGYPTIAN ARCHAEOLOGY STRUGGLES TO SURVIVE [the Arab Spring].
Read, DETER OR STOP A REPEAT OF ISLAMIST-LED DESTRUCTION OF NATIONAL ANTIQUITIES E.G. AFGHANISTAN'S BUDDHAS.
(CBS News) The UN climate change negotiations have received very little attention in the media since the disappointing conclusion of the Copenhagen negotiations in 2009, when countries failed to agree on a new treaty to limit greenhouse gas emissions.
Yet the critical importance of the next major round of negotiations, beginning November 28th in Durban, South Africa, belies the scant media coverage. The Durban talks could play a critical role in determining our global climate future if two concrete outcomes are achieved.
First, the international community must agree on a new global framework for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol, which does not limit the emissions of rapidly industrializing economies like China and India, and which the United States never ratified, expires at the end of 2012. In Durban, countries must lay the groundwork for a new treaty, one that is legally binding, and that includes all major emitters in a framework that respects the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities.
Despite the fact that this item has topped the agenda since the Bali talks in 2007, the United States has stuck firmly to its position that a new agreement should enshrine voluntary instead of mandatory emissions reduction commitments. This is not a serious solution. The United States should take a strong leadership position at the negotiations in Durban, and push the global community towards an ambitious agreement that is commensurate with the climate crisis.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/25/2011
14:02 ||
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E-Mail||
[5 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
The climateGate v2 emails are devastating for Climate lysenkoists and their fellow MSM.
#2
See also NEWS KERALA > TWO-DEGREE CELSIUS GLOBAL WARMING TARGET CAN ONLY BE REACHED IFF CARBON EMISSIONS EVENTUALLY BECOME NIL [zero]: STUDY.
ARTIC = M-U-S-T decline 3.0% every year for 20 years up until yarn 2030.
IMO Artic also read, LITTLE TO NO INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITIES ANYMORE - you know, how we Humans will be able to dev the Space Techs to explore + colonize deep space.
Lest we fergit > 2030 = GUAM/EARTH-VISIBLE MOON EXPLOSIONS, vee Comet Apophis + reliable OWG Space Defense [or lack thereof]???
D *** NG IT, WE SAVED THE CLIMATE TO BE WIPED OUT BY APOPHIS, THE MOON, + ESPEC OWG-NWO WAFFLING???
Also known as the O Club. Here on the front page in the right margin there is a yellow box in which the O Club is listed. Click on it to walk in the front door.
to the right of the graphic next to the text input box you will see a tiny Christmas tree graphic.
Hover your mouse over the Christmas tree and what will pop up is a list of 42 Christmas songs. The playlist starts automatically and plays randomly. The songs are a eclectic mixture of traditional and contemporary Christmas songs, nothing controversial, no Dennis O'Leary, no "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer." Just a collection of heartfelt songs celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ.
All SFW.
The list comes from "Playlist". If you have suggestions for additions to the list kindly post the URL in the O Club and I will add it as soon as I can.
Popups and javascript must be enabled in your browser in order for the playlist to work.
If you want to use the javascript and html code in your own web page you can download the files here. The link contains all the code and instructions you need to make your own play list.
You can thank bossman (Fred) for his kind permission to make this happen.
The link to the music will remain until Jan 2nd, 2011.
#2
Just once, enable javascript and popups for the o-club. When the window pops up, click on it and then bookmark it ( ctrl d ), if you don't want to keep popups enabled.
Opium and heroin production will spiral out of control in Afghanistan as foreign troops withdraw towards 2014, the country's former anti-drugs chief has warned. Taliban insurgents and farmers will take advantage of the withdrawal to increase poppy production, said General Khodaidad.
Afghanistan already produces more than 90 per cent of the world's opium and more than 95 per cent of the heroin on Britain's streets, but he predicted the trade would soon be "completely out of control".
Britain has spent tens of millions of pounds on counter narcotics schemes in the past six years in Helmand. The province remains the world centre of opium production.
Gen Khodaidad, who was minister for counter narcotics for four years, said the industry was thriving on Afghan insecurity, corruption and weak government. He said: "The Taliban is stronger than this present government and that directly affects poppy cultivation."
"The Taliban explains to the farmer that the foreign troops are leaving and if you grow poppy, I am still here."
The Taliban are estimated to raise annually between £60 and £250 million a year through the trade. High opium prices meant production rose nearly seven percent this year according to the latest United Nations estimates.
h/t Instapundit
Thousands of people, including women and children, are being illegally detained by rebel militias in Libya, according to a report by the Secretary-General of the United Nations. Many of the prisoners are suffering torture and systematic mistreatment while being held in private jails outside the control of the country's new government.
The document, seen by The Independent, states that while political prisoners being held by the Gaddafi regime have been released, their places have been taken by up to 7,000 new "enemies of the state", "disappeared" in a dysfunctional system, with no recourse to the law. These who ignore History, etc...
Five Muslim Moroccan girls in Belgium beat a 13-year-old classmate, called her a "dirty Jew” and told her to "return to your country.”
The girl, Oceane Sluijzer, has filed a complaint with police after the anti-Semitic attack at a sports training center. The attackers were identified and questioned by police.
Jewish legislator Viviane Teitelbaum of Brussels denounced the "silence" of political leaders and most of media after this attack.
Coordinating Committee of Jewish Organizations of Belgium (CCOJB), the umbrella group of Jewish organizations in Belgium, expressed "shock" at the attack and asked that the investigation be conducted without delay. The Jewish group added it is considering filing a civil suit and said the Jewish community is “exasperated” by repeated attacks on Jews in Belgium, whose Jewish population is 40,000.
#3
There are a bunch of prominent Jewish martial artists, who should be contracted to come to Belgium, to train all Jewish children, as a cultural imperative, with serious martial arts.
"Jewish children must learn to defend themselves against attacks by those that hate Jews. Older boys must protect younger boys and girls and the elderly. Girls must protect each other and themselves. It is something that all Jews must do."
#7
I'm pretty sure that any attempt by this 13 year old girl to defend herself is illegal anywhere in Europe.
On the other hand, we need to understand what she did to cause those Persons of Color to vent their frustrations.
Rosanna Schiaffino aka Maria in "The Victors (1963)" aka Aminah in "The Long Ships (1964)" aka Anna in "The Cavern (1964)" aka Francesca di Rienzi in "Arrivederci, Baby! (1966)" aka Arlette in "The Rover (1967)" aka Betìa in "In Love, Every Pleasure Has Its Pain (1971)" aka Barzelli in "Two Weeks in Another Town (1962)" aka Mascha in "Dubrowsky (1959)" aka Princess Fedra / Arianna in "Minotaur, the Wild Beast of Crete (1960)" (Died in 2009 at age 69)
#3
Jane Frazee. She was in Buck Privates with Abbott and Costello, a bunch of westerns, and she played Alice McDoaks (Mrs. Joe McDoaks) in a series of "So you want to..." one-reelers.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/25/2011 11:07
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#4
Yeeeuuup - let see Bud + Lou try to stretch or position their legs out like that, + in heels yet.
The American Bar Association has secretly declared a significant number of President Obama’s potential judicial nominees “not qualified,” slowing White House efforts to fill vacant judgeships — and nearly all of the prospects given poor ratings were women or members of a minority group, according to interviews.
The White House has chosen not to nominate any person the bar association deemed unqualified, so their identities and negative ratings have not been made public. But the associationÂ’s judicial vetting committee has opposed 14 of the roughly 185 potential nominees the administration asked it to evaluate, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The number of Obama prospects deemed “not qualified” already exceeds the total number opposed by the group during the eight-year administrations of Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush; the rejection rate is more than three and a half times as high as it was under either of the previous two presidencies, documents and interviews show.
#2
Term limits would solve some of those issues. Since the Judiciary has empowered itself well beyond its original authority to stick its nose into the affairs of the everyday life of the citizenry, its time for direct accountability.
#4
Ideology, not competence, has been the hallmark of Zero's appointments - judicial and executive
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/25/2011 12:10
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#5
What Frank said. Also, can anyone fathom the damage this is going to do to our Legal System in the long term and the citizens that must live beneath it?
I shall not forgive this man for destroying this wonderful nation. He shall have ruined too many lives to have any redeeming qualities.
Sure he has redeeming qualities. Given the power of his position with respect to foreign affairs, I'll take stupid & lazy, over stupid & energetic any day of the week.
#1
The Chicago Way contaminates Washington. Time to clean house in the 2012 elections--and keep cleaning until D.C. gets straightened out--if that is possible. Whoever holds office too long gets tainted (and wealthy). D.C.; the place where potential congresscritters spend millions to obtain a $174,000 job.
Climate scientists funded by the US government have announced new research in which they have established that the various doomsday global warming scenarios are in fact extremely unlikely to occur, and that the scenarios considered likeliest - and used for planning by the world's governments - are overly pessimistic. But the science is settled...
The new study improves upon previous results by including data from the remote past, rather than only examining records from recent times.
"Many previous climate sensitivity studies have looked at the past only from 1850 through today, and not fully integrated paleoclimate date, especially on a global scale," says Andreas Schmittner, professor at the College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences at Oregon State uni.
"When you reconstruct sea and land surface temperatures from the peak of the last Ice Age 21,000 years ago -- which is referred to as the Last Glacial Maximum -- and compare it with climate model simulations of that period, you get a much different picture.
"If these paleoclimatic constraints apply to the future, as predicted by our model, the results imply less probability of extreme climatic change than previously thought," Schmittner adds.
The baseline assumption of climate science at the moment is that given a doubling of atmospheric CO2 compared to pre-industrial levels the most probable result is that the Earth would see a surface temperature rise average of 3°C - and that there would be a significant chance of much bigger, perhaps fatal rises.
Schmittner and his colleagues' analysis says that the planet's climate simply can't be this sensitive to CO2 changes, however, or much more extreme events should have occurred at certain points in the past - and they did not. For instance, if the climate were sensitive enough that doubled CO2 could mean catastrophic warming, the low carbon levels seen 21,000 years ago should have resulted in an equally lifeless iceball planet.
"Clearly, that didn't happen," Schmittner says. "Though the Earth then was covered by much more ice and snow than it is today, the ice sheets didn't extend beyond latitudes of about 40 degrees, and the tropics and subtropics were largely ice-free -- except at high altitudes. These high-sensitivity models overestimate cooling."
According to the new improved analysis, the most probable result as and when double CO2 occurs is actually a rise of just 2.3°C - only just above the 2°C limit which international climate efforts are seeking to stay within. Plainly there's no great need to fear a rise above 450 parts per million (ppm) CO2, as people currently do - in fact there's no likely prospect of getting near a 2°C temperature rise for a century or more at present rates of CO2 increase (rising about about 2 ppm/year at the moment from a level of 390-odd). And Schmittner and his colleagues' results show a much tighter grouping of possible futures, too, so the scope for way-out doomsday scenarios is hugely reduced.
The Australian quotes Schmittner as saying: "Now these very large changes (predicted for the coming decades) can be ruled out, and we have some room to breathe and time to figure out solutions to the problem."
The new study is published in top-ranking boffinry journal Science. The research was funded by the US National Science Foundation.
#1
And the idiots still don't get it that the whold modeling paradigm is fatally flawed for this kind of work regardless of what the precious models show.
The data collection from proxy tree rings to current parking lots, to the various forcings and "calibrations" for solar activity, urban heat islands etc. are at best guesses and at worst deliberate attempts to insure the desired results.
#2
it's not science - it's religion and grant-whoring
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/25/2011 10:04
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#3
A story appeared this a.m. in the local newspaper that cited a $4.5 grant being awarded to a professor at the local university to study the effect of climate change on ants.
Forbes had an article posted on 11/23 which summed it up: “Three themes are emerging from the newly released emails: (1) prominent scientists central to the global warming debate are taking measures to conceal rather than disseminate underlying data and discussions; (2) these scientists view global warming as a political “cause” rather than a balanced scientific inquiry and (3) many of these scientists frankly admit to each other that much of the science is weak and dependent on deliberate manipulation of facts and data.”
Some university professors/researchers and universities buy into the global warming meme (despite it being bad science) because it funnels research money into the university; promotions and rewards are based on this grant money more than anything else (such as community service or teaching). There is considerable pressure to obtain these monies. These federal monies also count more than private sector research dollars in the evaluation of the research capability of the university. Why? I donÂ’t know but that is the scheme of things. All the mandates and requirements of the federal government follow this research money such as OSHA, EPA, diversity hiring and requirements, etc. It is not surprising that tuition rates have increased something like four times or more the rate of inflation. Tuition increased 107% at the local university over the past decade. This or greater numbers is most likely the trend across the country. The university becomes a microcosm or mirror image of the federal government.
#4
Someone released another batch of emails between climate change "scientists". Lots of cover-ups, strategy, excommunications of those scientists not willing to support "the cause", etc..
Oh, and don't forget about placing temperature monitoring stations right next to airport runways.
I suspect now what we'll see is a lot of sudden "realizations" that these kind of things are skewing the results, suddenly finding lost historical data, realizations that there are missing effects in the models, etc..
Until the rats have managed to back their sorry a$$es off the stage and scampered back to the sewer where they will try to figure out how to salvage their careers.
#5
...why worry about salvaging careers in the university? Come on. The universities support and defend the Marxist that push their bankrupt trash long after the Wall fell. It's like keeping people on who rationalized the 'benefits' of slavery well after the turn of the 20th Century. There is no intellectual integrity. They sold out a long time ago.
#7
That is the theme that stands out in those emails. Again and again it is, "the cause" this and "the cause" that.
A conspiracy of true believers in "the cause" should be of concern, because whatever "the cause" is, is so offensive or repulsive that they cannot be honest in advocating it.
In such cases, "the cause" invariably means hurting, stealing, and killing to the point of genocide. "The cause" is things like the Wannsee Conference.
#9
> It's like keeping people on who rationalized the 'benefits' of slavery well after the turn of the 20th Century.
Look at the timing of Marx's ideas for leeching off peoples work and the end of slavery. Marxism is just a disguised continuation of slavery, as shown by the communist's "work camps"...
People everywhere love free lunches, and American politicians also began using the redistribution of wealth to promote themselves. Lyndon Johnson’s “Great Society,” built with America’s tax money, had the secret purpose of stitching together a pro-Democratic voting coalition needed to keep him in power. It accomplished its goal, but it shifted the U.S. budget into the red.
Lyndon Johnson opened a new American era, in which stealing tax money to build monuments to yourself has become a legal policy.
#7
g(r)omgoru
Mercantilism never works. The answer is that you will be poorer if the people you trade with become poorer. Just like a businessman prefers rich customers over poor customers.
#8
BP that is an eternal issue in business. Low profit high volume or high profit low volume.
Work like a dog for a few pennies or work less for the same finanical results. I prefer a blend myself.
* INDIAN DEFENCE FORUM > US DEBT [USD$15.0+ Trilyuhn]IS NOW MORE THAN THE GDP OF UK, CHINA, + INDIA.
Plus add AUS, Canada, Greenland, Mexico + 7 other large or important Countries.
* BHARAT RAKSHAK > THE WORLD [is]IN A "BALANCE SHEET RECESSION".
ARTIC = As per US averages, large US Companies are not in debt as much as NOT getting any $$$ from US Banks [loans or credit = easy] like they used to due to the Federal Reserve keeping interest rates at zero or near-zero, SMALL TO MEDIUM SIZED US COMPANIES, I.E. THE PRIMARY GENERATORS OF US NATIONAL EMPLOYMENT, ARE THE HARDEST HIT.
IIUC, IOW Large US Companies are NOT getting any new bank loans or credit because the latter Orgs per se are not making any or enough revenue or profits to survive due to ultra-low interest rates, as banks make their $$$ on the interest rates charged???
Egypt's ruling military council has officially named former Prime Minister Kamal al-Ganzouri to lead a transitional government, according to state TV. Thousands were seen in Tahrir Square in protest of the appointment.
As thousands of protesters were seen streaming into Cairo's Tahrir Square on Friday, in protest against Egypt's military council, state TV reported that former premier Kamal al-Ganzouri had been named interim leader of Egypt by the council.
The activists had demanded that the military council, which has ruled Egypt since February, hand over power to a transitional government that would lead the country until a presidential election next June. They were also vehemently against Ganzouri taking over, even on an interim basis, due to his connections to the ousted regime.
Ganzouri served as Egyptian prime minister from 1996 to 1999 under ousted President Hosni Mubarak.
The previous civilian cabinet, led by Essam Sharaf, resigned earlier this week amid violent protests, which left at least 41 people dead - 36 of them in Cairo - and more than 2,000 injured.
After intense international pressure, the military issued an apology on Thursday for the deaths, and in a statement offered "its condolences to the families of the martyrs across Egypt."
The military council has again vowed that the parliamentary election will go ahead as planned on Monday, saying it would do everything in its power to prevent the repetition of the violence that swept Cairo and Alexandria, the country's second city, over the last week.
Despite calls to step down immediately, the military ruled out any such move.
"The people have entrusted us with a mission and if we abandon it now, it would be a betrayal of the people," said General Mukthar el-Mallah, a senior member of the ruling military council.
Mallah also said the military respected the views of the protesters, but that they did not represent the whole of Egypt.
"We will not relinquish power because a slogan-chanting crowd said so. Being in power is not a blessing. It is a curse. It's a very heavy responsibility," he said.
Protesters blame the military for the country's tenuous security and growing economic problems.
The military's standing was dealt a severe blow during a Coptic Christian protest on October 9, in which 27 people died, most of them Christians. Video showed soldiers running down demonstrators with armored vehicles.
Powerful politicians helped form a radical Moslem sect responsible for hundreds of killings this year in Nigeria aimed at seizing control of regional power and oil money -- but now may have lost control of the monster they created.
The Nigerian state security service said yesterday it made a breakthrough in uncovering support for the bully boy group, Boko Haram ... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. Currently wearing a false nose and moustache and answering to Jama'atu Ahlus-Sunnah Lidda'Awati Wal Jihad, or Big Louie... , earlier this week when it tossed in the clink Ali Sanda Umar Konduga, whom it said was one of several spokesmen for the sect. The agency described Konduga as a "political thug" who received orders from a member of Nigeria's parliament.
Konduga, who purportedly used the nom de guerre al-Zawahiri when speaking on Boko Haram's behalf, allegedly implicated a member of the national assembly in the group's activities. Konduga's nickname derives from al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri. On Tuesday, authorities tossed in the clink and charged Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume of Nigeria's ruling People's Democratic Party for allegedly being Konduga's sponsor. The senator belonged to a committee looking at possible peace talks with Boko Haram.
Konduga has also implicated a former Nigerian ambassador, now dead, as well as a former governor in Nigeria's north-east, in Boko Haram's creation. Konduga said that Boko Haram expelled him some time ago, suggesting he and his supposed political masters had fallen out of favour with an organization that is increasingly violent and strident.
"The group suspended me because they thought I was an agent of the state security service," Konduga said.
Boko Haram has splintered into three factions, with one wing increasingly willing to kill as it maintains contact with terrorist groups in North Africa and Somalia, diplomats and security sources say.
With that wing viewing a wide variety of people and institutions as potential targets, even politicians with ties to Boko Haram can no longer consider themselves safe. Politicians in the city of Maiduguri, Boko Haram's spiritual home, and other places in Nigeria's mostly Moslem north-east now surround themselves with security and live in apparent fear of the sect.
Politicians in Nigeria have long been rumoured to have ties to jihad boys. In the country's southern Niger Delta, where foreign oil firms extract an estimated 2.4 million barrels of crude a day, politicians hand out Kalashnikov rifles to those who help rig elections. Many of those gunnies became part of the jihad boy and criminal gangs kidnapping oil workers and targeting pipelines.
Boko Haram began the same way, as "politically [and] criminally minded field marshals" began arming youths to keep their hands on the reins of power in north-east Nigeria, said Khalifa Dikwa, a professor at the University of Maiduguri. At stake is control of power at the state level in Nigeria, controlling budgets larger than those of neighbouring nations thanks to the nation's oil wealth.
The political scene in the north-east is dominated by the All Nigeria People's Party, which Ndume -- the tossed in the clink senator --once belonged to before joining the ruling party. Little is known about the sources of Boko Haram's support, though its members recently began carrying out a wave of bank robberies in the north. Police stations have also been bombed and officers killed.
Boko Haram's attacks and its factional splits make it much more difficult for the government to arrive at a political solution or an amnesty. The group's main demand is not one the government is likely to bend to in a nation that is split into a Moslem north and a Christian south.
While the Niger Delta bully boyz agreed to lay down their guns for money and the promise of work, Boko Haram wants the strict implementation of Shariah law across a nation of more than 160 million people.
Boko Haram was thought to have been eradicated in 2009 after its leader was killed and its mosques left in ruins. However, by candlelight every wench is handsome... the group has staged increasingly brazen attacks over the last two years, including the attack on the UN headquarters in Abuja. This month, its fighters led an attack on a north-east Nigerian state capital that killed more than 100 people.
Powerful politicians helped form a radical Muslim sect responsible for hundreds of killings this year in Nigeria aimed at seizing control of regional power and oil money – but now may have lost control of the monster they created.
The Nigerian state security service said yesterday it made a breakthrough in uncovering support for the extremist group, Boko Haram, earlier this week when it arrested Ali Sanda Umar Konduga, whom it said was one of several spokesmen for the sect. The agency described Konduga as a “political thug” who received orders from a member of Nigeria’s parliament.
Konduga, who purportedly used the nom de guerre al-Zawahiri when speaking on Boko HaramÂ’s behalf, allegedly implicated a member of the national assembly in the groupÂ’s activities. KondugaÂ’s nickname derives from al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri. On Tuesday, authorities arrested and charged Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume of NigeriaÂ’s ruling PeopleÂ’s Democratic Party for allegedly being KondugaÂ’s sponsor. The senator belonged to a committee looking at possible peace talks with Boko Haram.
Konduga has also implicated a former Nigerian ambassador, now dead, as well as a former governor in NigeriaÂ’s north-east, in Boko HaramÂ’s creation. Konduga said that Boko Haram expelled him some time ago, suggesting he and his supposed political masters had fallen out of favour with an organisation that is increasingly violent and strident.
“The group suspended me because they thought I was an agent of the state security service,” Konduga said.
Boko Haram has splintered into three factions, with one wing increasingly willing to kill as it maintains contact with terrorist groups in North Africa and Somalia, diplomats and security sources say.
With that wing viewing a wide variety of people and institutions as potential targets, even politicians with ties to Boko Haram can no longer consider themselves safe. Politicians in the city of Maiduguri, Boko HaramÂ’s spiritual home, and other places in NigeriaÂ’s mostly Muslim north-east now surround themselves with security and live in apparent fear of the sect.
Politicians in Nigeria have long been rumoured to have ties to militants. In the countryÂ’s southern Niger Delta, where foreign oil firms extract an estimated 2.4 million barrels of crude a day, politicians hand out Kalashnikov rifles to those who help rig elections. Many of those gunmen became part of the militant and criminal gangs kidnapping oil workers and targeting pipelines.
Boko Haram began the same way, as “politically [and] criminally minded field marshals” began arming youths to keep their hands on the reins of power in north-east Nigeria, said Khalifa Dikwa, a professor at the University of Maiduguri. At stake is control of power at the state level in Nigeria, controlling budgets larger than those of neighbouring nations thanks to the nation’s oil wealth.
The political scene in the north-east is dominated by the All Nigeria People’s Party, which Ndume – the arrested senator –once belonged to before joining the ruling party. Little is known about the sources of Boko Haram’s support, though its members recently began carrying out a wave of bank robberies in the north. Police stations have also been bombed and officers killed.
Boko HaramÂ’s attacks and its factional splits make it much more difficult for the government to arrive at a political solution or an amnesty. The groupÂ’s main demand is not one the government is likely to bend to in a nation that is split into a Muslim north and a Christian south.
While the Niger Delta militants agreed to lay down their guns for money and the promise of work, Boko Haram wants the strict implementation of Shariah law across a nation of more than 160 million people.
Boko Haram was thought to have been eradicated in 2009 after its leader was killed and its mosques left in ruins. However, the group has staged increasingly brazen attacks over the last two years, including the attack on the UN headquarters in Abuja. This month, its fighters led an attack on a north-east Nigerian state capital that killed more than 100 people.
[An Nahar] North Korea threatened Thursday to turn South Korea's presidential palace into a "sea of fire" in response to any provocation, a day after Seoul's military held a big exercise near the border.
The land, sea and air drill was staged to mark the first anniversary of a deadly North Korean attack on the South's border island of Yeonpyeong, which sparked outrage among South Koreans and prompted international alarm.
Pyongyang has always justified its bombardment on November 23, 2010 as a response to a South Korean artillery drill on Yeonpyeong, which it said dropped shells into the North's territorial waters.
The North's military Supreme Command said Thursday the South should not forget the lesson of the Yeonpyeong attack.
It described Wednesday's anniversary drill as "little short of a new political and military provocation".
If the South dared in future to "fire one bullet or shell" towards the North's territorial waters, air space and land, a "sea of fire" would engulf Seoul's presidential palace.
The North's armed forces "are in full readiness to go into a decisive battle to counter any military provocation", said the Supreme Command statement on Pyongyang's official news agency.
Last year's shelling killed two Marines and two civilians and damaged scores of buildings. It was the first attack on a civilian-populated area since the 1950-1953 war and caused fury in the South.
Seoul's military faced severe criticism for its perceived slow and weak response and Wednesday's drill was intended to simulate a tougher response -- including air strikes -- to any new attack.
South Korea has significantly strengthened troop levels and weaponry -- including multiple rocket launchers and Cobra attack helicopters -- on Yeonpyeong and other frontline islands in the past year.
The North's statement "is meant as a strongly worded warning in that it threatened a sea of fire against the (presidential) Blue House," Yang Moo-Jin of Seoul's University of North Korean Studies, told Agence La Belle France Presse.
"However, man does not live by words alone, despite the fact that sometimes he has to eat them... it does not foreshadow any military action."
Last year's island bombardment came eight months after the sinking of a South Korean warship with the loss of 46 lives. The North denies the South's claim that it torpedoed the corvette.
Cross-border tensions have eased somewhat this year. But Seoul insists Pyongyang admit responsibility for both incidents before there can be any substantial dialogue, a demand restated Wednesday by President Lee Myung-Bak.
Seoul and U.S. officials said the 2010 bombardment was probably ordered to burnish the military credentials of Kim Jong-Un, youngest son and heir apparent of Kim Dear Leader Jong-Il ... hereditary dictator of North Korea. His definition of reunification isn't the same as the definition in Seoul... .
The North has this year made an international appeal for food aid and restated its willingness to return to nuclear disarmament talks.
U.N. officials say a quarter of the North's people urgently need food aid while Seoul officials say the situation is no worse than normal.
They suspect its neighbour wants to stockpile supplies before next year's 100th anniversary of the birth of founder Kim Il-Sung. The North customarily doles out extra food to its people on major anniversaries.
The United States and its allies say the North must take steps to show its sincerity before disarmament talks can resume.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/25/2011
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#1
Would they do that if BHO wasn't in the White House? Remember when Jimmah Carter threatened to cut off all aid to SK unless they dropped security measures, and embraced his "human rights" policies?
#2
My first thought on reading this was that Norks would seal their doom by turning the South into a "sea of fire." But then, Shomonter Crasing4122 brought me back to reality.
#5
As per the MSM-Net, IIRC the majority of surveyed/polled South Koreans believe that CHINA will be the biggest obstacle to any DPRK-ROK effort at closer integration + ultimately national reunification.
China may not care iff the DPRK-ROK shoot at each other in casualty-causing border Arty duels, naval incidents, or even in major conventional war as long as the US + ROK + UNCOM [Taiwan? espec Japan?], etc. stay below the inter-Korean DMZ + not attempt to overthrow or destroy Kimmie + Regime in Pyongyang.
UNFORTUNATELY FOR KIMMIE, THE ABOVE HELPS PRESERVE HIS POWER + "DYNASTY" BUT DOES LITTLE OR NOTHING TO STOP HIS PEOPLE FROM STARVING.
#6
FREEREPUBLIC > NORTH KOREA: NK RUNNING "BACKPACK BOMB" UNIT [Backpack nuke or Radiation Bomb?).
FREEP POSTER = argued that its quite possible that the DPRK may also had successfully refurbished Soviet era "suitcase nukes".
AGain, IMO its likely in vassal North Korea's interests to NOT appear as "too successful" in Beijing's eyes as per indigenous development of advanced mil, nuke techs.
-----------
* ION TOPIX > VIETNAM PM CLAIMS CHINA USED FORCES TO OCCUPY ISLANDS [Paracels = Xishas back in 1974].
Essentially, the Viet PM is reasserting Vietnam's claims of sovereignty to the Paracels [Xishas] + Spratlys [Nanshas].
* INDIAN DEFENCE FORUM > JAPAN TO CHALLENGE CHINA subtly = diplomatically] ON REGIONAL SECURITY.
* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > CHINESE MILITARY USE WA STATION [West Australia = Mingenew] TO SPY ON WARSHIPS [AUS + USN]??? Using OZ's own space tracking station to recce the OZ + US Navies in the region.
* SAME > CHINA ANNOUNCES NAVAL DRILLS IN WESTERN PACIFIC, in response to US-AUS deal to allow training in Oz.
* SAME > CHINA EXPANDS AIR BASE ON COCO ISLAND [Bay of Bengal].
* SAME > MANHOMMAN SINGH TO CHINA'S WEN JIABAO: BACK OFF ON SOUTH CHINA SEA | INDIA WILL EXPPLORE FOR OIL [Oil-Gas = Energy, other Resources] IN SOUTH CHINA SEA: PM SINGH TO WEN JIABAO | INDIA REJECTS CHINESE OBJECTIOSN TO SOUTH CHINA SEAS EXPLORATION.
* SAME > [Vietnam] PRSIDENT: VIETNAM SHOULD HAVE USA AS A STRATEGIC PARTNER.
* BHARAT RAKSHAK > SOUTHEAST ASIA: US COMPLETING "ASIAN NATO" TO CONFRONT [isolate] CHINA.
* DEFENCE FORUM INDIA > [Video] CHINA TO [covertly] ATTACK INDIA TRADE SHIPS?, vee disguised fishing + hydrological research vessels [raiders]???
E.g. WW2 = "Q" SHIPS + similar.
* WORLD MILITARY FORUM > JAPAN DAILY NEWS: US FORCES ON OKINAWA TO WITHDRAW TO GUAM ISLAND FOR FEAR OF PLA AIR + MISSLE STRIKES, USA TO HOLD BACK AIR FORCE COMBAT ASSETS FROM GUAM + [perhaps] EVEN HAWAII UNTIL PLA THREAT IS GONE.
* TOPIX > MANILA ASKS SEOUL FOR MILITARY HELP [modern equipment, milsys].
* SAME > US ASSURES MANILA OF SECOND WARSHIP AMIDST SPRATLYS ROW.
* SAME > CHINA WARNS INDIA: FOREIGN COMPANIES KEEP AWAY FROM SOUTH CHINA SEA.
* INDIAN DEFENCE FORUM > CHINA ACCELERATES FILLING STRATEGIC OIL/PRETROLEUM RESERVES [ expands capacity from 30-days only to 100+ days contingency].
* CHINA DAILY FORUM > KENYAN CHAP OBAMA THREATENS CHINA WID PUNITIVE ECONOMIC STEPS | [Russia Today] US-VS-CHINA: WHO RULES?
* SAME > [Russia Today] US IS A DECLINING POWER + HAS TROUBLE ADJUSTING. APEC reveals sharp divisions between the US + China.
* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > CHINA DEFENDS AGZ [US] ENCIRCLEMENT.
* PAKISTAN DEFENCE FORUM > VIETNAM GOING NUCLEAR.
* INDIAN DEFENCE FORUM > SOUTH CHINA SEA CONFLICT [ + instability in Korean Peninsula]COULD HAVE GLOBAL FALLOUT: INDIAN NAVY.
* SAME > US NAVAL MOVE IN AUSTRALIA MAY HELP INDIA TAKE ON CHINA. INdian Navy CHief ADM. Nirmal Verma.
* SAME > [10/2010 = reprint] US BUILDING UP DEFENSES FOR ITS MILITARY BASES NEAR CHINA, THREE US ANTI-MISSLE NETWORKS TO BE BUILT + CENTERED ON GUAM TO CHALLENGE/OPPOSE CHINA'S INTERESTS IN SPACE.
* DEFENCE FORUM INDIA > WHY WASHINGTON WANTS AN AUSTRALIAN BASE?
* SAME > [AllGov] US SHIFTING MILITARY FORCES CLOSER TO CHINA.
* SAME > AUSTRALIA TELLS CHINA NOT TO INTERFERE, in USMC training deal wid US + potential sale of AUS uranium to India.
* SAME > US NAVY'S NEXT STEP WILL PUT CHINA ON EDGE. Basing of USN Warships at Changi NB, Singapore.
* same > THE PHILIPPINES: AN ADOIT NON-ENTITY. Despite its seeming lack of military strength, the PHIL as one of Asia's weakest military powers or non-power is becoming increasingly assertive pr aggressive diplomatically due its receipt of support ala the USA, espec as per the on-going South China Sea sovereignty disputes vee China.
* WORLD MILITARY FORUM > CHINA MULLS WITHHOLDING GRANT OF RECOGNITION TO JAPANESE CLAIMS OF ABSOLUTE SOVEREIGNTY OVER THE DAOYUS [Japan = Senkakus] FOR 50 YEARS IN EXCHANGE FOR PERMANENT RESOURCE-SHARING, BASE RIGHTS AGREEMENTS.
* SAME > GROUP OF FIVE LARGE US MILITARY BASES IN PACIFIC FORM ANTI/COUNTER-CHINA "TRIPLE ISLAND CHAIN" TO CRUSH CHINA'S INTERESTS.
[An Nahar] Free Syrian Army chief Riad al-Asaad on Thursday claimed Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Before going into the family business Pencilneck was an eye doctor... 's regime was now counting on "mercenaries" sent by Leb's Hizbullah and Iraq's anti-U.S. Shiite holy man Moqtada Sadr.
In a telephone interview with Agence La Belle France Presse, Asaad also called for foreign air strikes on "strategic targets" in Syria to speed up the fall of the regime.
Hizbullah has repeatedly denied reports accusing the party of involvement in Syria's unrest.
"Hizbullah has already released several statements denying the accusations launched by some Syrian dissidents and some other parties about Hizbullah's involvement in the events taking place in Syria, and its statements had always stressed its keenness on Syria and its leadership, people and institutions and its wishes as to reaching solutions that meet the aspirations of all Syrians regarding reform and stability," the party said in a statement in August.
"Hizbullah's response to the claims circulated by these dissidents stems from its keenness on clarifying the picture and preventing the Arab and international public opinion from being misled by some individuals who are seeking to gain the support of the international conspiracy against the forces of resistance and defiance in the region in order to achieve their own, narrow-minded goals at the expense of the Syrian people's blood," the party added.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/25/2011
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#1
"mercenaries" sent by Leb's Hizbullah and Iraq's anti-U.S. Shiite holy man Moqtada Sadr
#2
I'm sure Iran has ordered Hizbullah to support Assad. I'm also sure that Hizbullah realizes that Assad is only months away from being deposed. In response, Hizbullah has probably sent a token unit or two to Syria. The best that they could do would be to bully the Syrian Shiites into sticking with Assad for another month or so. Similarly, Tater's 'army' has also likely been ordered to help Assad but Tater is further away from Syria and his 'army' isn't as functional as Hizbullah's and would be just barely able to protect itself in Syria.
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
11/25/2011 5:33
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#3
TOPIX > TODAY US IS FACED WID DOZENS OF "IRANS": QUDS FORCE COMMANDER.
MAJ GEN. Qasem Suleimani.
> EGYPT hailed by same as a "SECOND IRAN".
> Ditto BAHRAIN, LIBYA, YEMEN described as also being "NEW IRANS".
> ISLAMIC AWAKENING = not limited to only the Middle East.
[Daily Nation (Kenya)] Zim-bob-we's politicians have congratulated Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai over his reported remarriage amid claims by his aides the stories about the union were exaggerated.
On Tuesday, the family of a wealthy Harare businesswoman Ms Locadia Tembo said the PM whose first wife died in a car accident in 2009, had paid $36,000 (Sh3.2m) and 10 head of cattle to seek their daughter's hand in marriage.
Ms Tembo's relatives were widely quoted by daily papers saying Mr Tsvangirai, 59, had asked for a white wedding as early as next month. But on Wednesday the script had changed dramatically.
Mr Tsvangirai's aides said he had only sent emissaries to pay "damages" to Ms Tembo's family because she was pregnant with his child.
Damages refer to a traditional practice where compensation is paid to the family of a woman pregnant with a first child out of wedlock.
Ms Tembo, 39, is a divorcee with a 16 year-old son, making the PM's explanation curious. Sources have speculated that the PM's lover is expecting twins.
The premier's camp is also disputing the amount of money paid to the Tembos saying they only parted with $10,000 (Sh900,000) in cash.
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11/25/2011
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[An Nahar] Egypt's ruling military council on Thursday tasked former prime minister Kamal al-Ganzouri with forming a new cabinet, private Egyptian TV channels reported.
Ganzouri headed the government from 1996 to 1999, under ousted president Hosni Mubarak ...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011... The reports of his appointment came after the ruling military council on Tuesday accepted the resignation of caretaker premier Essam Sharaf's cabinet, amid spiraling unrest, and invited the country's political forces for crisis talks on the formation of a "national salvation" government.
After the popular uprisings earlier this year that toppled Mubarak, Ganzouri distanced himself from the former leader in a television interview, prompting several Facebook pages to recommend him as a future presidential candidate.
Born in 1933, Ganzouri served as minister of planning and international cooperation before his first tenure as Egyptian premier.
He then made a name for himself by working to strengthen ties between Egypt and the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.
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[Yemen Post] Less than 24 hours after President-for-Life Saleh ... exemplifying the Arab's propensity to combine brutality with incompetence... signed a power transfer deal, five youth protesters were killed by pro government gunnies in Sana'a.
At least 45 youth were maimed, 29 of them by gun shot wounds.
The protesters were attacked on Zubairy road after nearly 100 gunnies shot bullets directly at protesters.
Medics in Sana'a said that three of the injured are at death's door.
After the shooting, youth protesters were busy carrying the injured on their shoulders and giving them medical attention.
Ambulances were not immediately allowed to carry the injured to the field medical camps.
Protesters condemned the attacks and called for massive protests on Friday rejecting Saleh's immunity plan and vowed to take him to international courts.
They held Vice President Abdu Rabu Hadi responsible for the deaths of the protesters and demanded that he forms a committee to immediately investigate the attacks.
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11/25/2011
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JEDDAH: Maj. Gen. Mansour Al-Turki, spokesman of the Interior Ministry, blamed foreign elements on Thursday for the clashes between security forces and rioters in the eastern city of Qatif that have claimed the lives of four people.
"The clashes were instigated by foreign elements," the spokesman said while addressing a press conference in Riyadh. He said special security forces have been deployed in the city to deal with the situation and maintain security.
Al-Turki, while blaming foreign influence behind deviant groups, said that these groups are continuously escalating their activities and seeking ways to break the law.
"What is important is to deal with the current reality that is preserving peace in the area and the Kingdom. We do not want to name these groups or those behind them but what is vital at this time is that these people involved in the event are brought before the court and confess to who is supporting them," he added.
Two people died and three wounded in an exchange of gunfire in Qatif on Wednesday following a string of attacks on security checkpoints during a funeral procession.
"These casualties have occurred following the exchange of gunfire with unknown criminal elements who have infiltrated the citizens' ranks, and are firing from residential areas and narrow streets," the ministry said in a statement late Wednesday night.
The ministry added: "The goal of those who provoke unrest is to achieve dubious aims dictated to them by their foreign masters." It said the rioters had burned tires and blocked roads.
"The security forces in the area are fully authorized to deal with the situation and end these criminal actions," it said and warned saboteurs in Qatif of stiff punishment.
Last month, the government pledged to use "an iron fist" after it said 14 people, including 11 policemen, had been wounded in an attack on a police station in Awamiya, a village outside Qatif town. According to a security source, a number of security checkpoints and police vehicles came under fire during clashes in Awamiya on Oct. 3, 2011. "The rioters have resumed their gun attacks since Monday, resulting in the death of two citizens and injuring six others including a woman and two security officers," the source said.
The ministry urged Qatif people to stop such criminal elements that try to undermine the Kingdom's security and stability in order to save innocent people from falling victims of such clashes.
"We have been dealing with these criminal elements proportionately without causing any harm to ordinary citizens in the city," said Gen. Al-Turki while answering a question.
He added that security forces are firmly dealing with these groups but while dealing with them they use extreme caution "because we fear for people's safety."
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/25/2011
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[An Nahar] Clashes between Mohammedan and Christian ethnic groups in central Nigeria on Thursday caused "enormous" destruction, with a number of people dead and houses burned, a military officer said.
Captain Charles Ekeocha said the army had imposed a 24-hour curfew on the Barkin Ladi area of Plateau state after the festivities, the latest in a series of violent incidents between the two communities.
"Lives have been lost, houses have been burned," he said, adding that exact details were not known "but the loss is enormous."
A resident who did not want to be named said two people were rubbed out on Wednesday and a third was maimed, while churches and an Islamic school were also burned.
The festivities appeared to result from reprisals carried out over killings that had occurred over the previous weekend.
Plateau state lies in the so-called middle belt region between the mainly Mohammedan north and predominately Christian south of Africa's most populous nation.
Beroms and other mainly Christian ethnic groups are viewed as the indigenes in the area, while Hausa-Fulani Mohammedans are seen as the more recent "settlers" despite the fact that many have been there for decades.
Policies that favor indigenous groups when it comes to such issues as patronage and jobs have created animosity.
In turn, Beroms fear that Hausas -- a much larger ethnic group throughout Nigeria as a whole -- will eventually be allowed to dominate an area they see as their own.
Separately in the countryside, festivities over land have occurred between Berom farmers and Fulani herdsmen.
Thousands have been killed in the unrest in recent years. Dozens died in violence including kabooms on Christmas Eve 2010 and the days that followed.
Many say the crisis has been fueled by politicians in a local struggle for political and economic gain, but religious sentiments are increasingly being stirred as well.
Rights activists have petitioned the International Criminal Court ... where Milosevich died of old age before being convicted ... over the crisis, arguing that the government is either incapable or unwilling to prosecute those responsible.
The court's prosecutor has confirmed he was looking into an issue in Nigeria, and local rights activists say they have been informed it involves the violence in the center of the country.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/25/2011
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[An Nahar] A gang of gunnies kidnapped two Frenchies from their hotel in northeastern Mali overnight, local security sources told Agence La Belle France Presse on Thursday.
The two geologists were seized by seven men from their hotel in the village of Hombori, the sources said, in the latest abduction of foreigners in the restive country where al-Qaeda Orcs and similar vermin are active.
A source at the municipality in Hombori, which lies between Mopti and Gao near the border with Niger, said the kidnappers had entered the hotel at about 1 am (0100 GMT) and made off with their hostages to the north.
Northern Mali is home to a number of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Magreb bases used to launch attacks and kidnappings in Sahel region ... North Africa's answer to the Pak tribal areas... that includes Mali, Algeria, Niger and Mauritania.
The latest kidnap brings to six the number of French being held in the Sahel area.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/25/2011
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[An Nahar] Iraq on Thursday executed 16 al-Qaeda members convicted of involvement in the massacre of 70 people at a wedding, although they were officially put to death for other murders, a judicial front man said.
"Sixteen people were executed this morning," Abdelsattar Birakdar told Agence La Belle France, adding that "all of them were al-Qaeda members."
Birakdar said that the 16 were convicted of involvement in the massacre of 70 people at a wedding in 2006, but were put to death for the sectarian murders of cooking gas salesmen.
Storied Baghdad ...located along the Tigris River, founded in the 8th century, home of the Abbasid Caliphate... security front man Major General Qassim Atta said in May that "the gas sellers were from Sadr City in Storied Baghdad. They used to come to the Taji area to sell gas to residents."
The Sadr City district in the north of the capital is overwhelmingly Shiite. Taji on the city outskirts is mainly Sunni Arab.
The gas sellers were killed in 2006 and their bodies set on fire, Atta said without specifying how many.
According to police, Death Eaters also carried out the systematic killing of a wedding party celebrating the marriage of a Shiite man to a Sunni woman in the Taji area in 2006.
The murders came as confessional violence was raging across Iraq, with tens of thousands killed in 2006 and 2007.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/25/2011
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#1
A step closer toward sectarian reconciliation...
Posted by: American Delight ||
11/25/2011 15:16
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[Dawn] Arrangements have been finalised for the public meeting of Pakistain Tehrik-i-Insaf (PTI), to be held on Nov 25 in Jhagra area of Beautiful Downtown Peshawar.
"About 2,000 persons including party workers will perform security duty at the public meeting," former provincial minister Iftikhar Jhagra told a presser here on Wednesday.
Flanked by Shah Farman, Shaukat Ali Yousafzai and Zahid Hussain Mohmand, he said that he had resigned from Pakistain People's Party and would formally join PTI at the public meting, which would be addressed by Imran Khan. ... aka Taliban Khan, who is the lightweight's lightweight... "I quit PPP as it is now Zardari party and there is no room for ideological workers in it," he said. He added that the Nov 25 public meeting would be historical as people were rushing to join hands with Imran Khan against corruption and for protection of the country.
Mr Jhagra said that the public meeting of PTI would be a turning point in the politics of the entire Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... . He added that masses wanted change and PTI chairman was the only person, who could materialise the wishes of peoples in the prevailing circumstances.
The former minister said that separate enclosures had been set up for women, journalists, students, lawyers and minorities at the public meeting. "The rival parties will see for the first time that women belonging to different villages will also participate in a large number in the meeting," the former minister said.
He said that activists of different parties had also assured him to announce joining PTI at the public meeting. "A number of provincial assembly members of Nowshera district, except one, have also assured me of joining PTI," Mr Jhagra claimed.
However, alcohol has never solved anybody's problems. But then, neither has milk... Mr Yousafzai said on the occasion that a big public meeting would be held in March as the Nov 25 gathering was a routine one and could not be compared with that of Lahore. In Lakki Marwat, several elders of Serai Gambila area joined Pakistain Tehrik-i-Insaf on Wednesday. They announced joining PTI at a public meeting which also attended by member of central council of the party, Khan Bahadar Khan Marwat, and other local leaders.
The elders including Haji Ghulam Jillani, Haji Saeed Khan, Mohammad Ishfaq Khan, Mohammad Saeed Khan, Mohammad Khan and Nasir Khan reposed confidence in the leadership of Imran Khan and said that PTI would bring a peaceful revolution in the country.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/25/2011
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[Dawn] At least 10 Afghan security guards were killed Thursday when Talibs ambushed a logistics convoy destined for US-led 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... forces in western Afghanistan, a local official said.
The guards were securing the convoy when they came under attack in Bakwa district of Farah province, on the main highway connecting the west to the volatile south, said Naqibullah Farahi, a front man for the provincial governor.
"Ten security guards have been killed and seven others injured in the Taliban ambush," Farahi said, adding that the Death Eaters also torched nine trucks carrying the supplies for foreign troops.
A front man for Afghan police in the west of the country, Abdul Rauf Ahmadi, said police were immediately deployed to the area to hunt down the attackers.
Taliban frequently attack convoys supplying NATO troops in Afghanistan and neighbouring Pakistain, as part of their 10-year insurgency against the western-backed Kabul government since US troops toppled their regime in 2001.
There are around 140,000 US-led NATO forces in war-torn Afghanistan with foreign combat troops scheduled to withdraw by the end of 2014.
Between now and then, a gradual handover is due to take place of provinces and districts currently under the control of foreign troops to their Afghan counterparts.
The beturbanned goons, leaders of the bloody insurgency, were not immediately contactable for comment about the incident by telephone.
But a statement on their website claimed that 24 security personnel were killed and six fuel tankers set on fire in the incident, while a number of weapons were also seized.
The Taliban are known routinely to exaggerate and distort their claims in relation to attacks.
Earlier this week, Afghan elders at a loya jirga in Kabul called for a "revision" of efforts to talk peace with the Taliban after September's liquidation of peace envoy Burhanuddin Rabbani ... the gentlemanly murdered legitimate president of Afghanistan... But it said that the door should be kept open to those who wish to turn their backs on violence, whose addresses are known and who have Afghan citizenship.
Western Afghanistan, close to the border with Iran, has traditionally been seen as more stable and more liberal than other parts of the country, such as the volatile southeast and east.
However, man does not live by words alone, despite the fact that sometimes he has to eat them... it is still plagued by outbursts of violence in pockets where the Taliban are still influential.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/25/2011
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#1
It would be a shame if those trailers started blowing up with the force of a few 2000# bombs when attacked.
[An Nahar] Prime Minister Najib Miqati hinted Thursday that he might step down if his government failed to pay its 49 percent annual share of funds to the U.N.-backed Special Tribunal for Leb, which is probing the 2005 liquidation of former premier Rafik Hariri.
"I will take a (proper) stance should the government fail to finance the STL but I hope things will not reach the extent of submitting my resignation," Miqati said in an interview on LBC television.
"STL President David Baragwanath told me that we should pay the STL funds in December at the latest," the PM said.
"Leb is committed to the international resolutions and I have committed myself to secure the funding in a constitutional manner and I have informed the parties concerned of that, including Speaker (Nabih) Berri," Miqati noted.
Clarifying his stance on the U.N.-backed tribunal, Miqati added: "Is it conceivable that a prime minister would disregard any process aimed at fulfilling justice and unveiling the truth about the liquidation of a former premier? Of course not. I urged all the ministers yesterday to shoulder their responsibilities."
Listing the possible benefits from paying Leb's share of funds to the STL, Miqati said: "Should Leb finance the STL, it would be honoring its obligations and preserving its image before the international community as well as its exclusive (maritime) economic zone."
"We would be opening the doors for cooperation with the Western nations and we would be committing to justice, which is the most important thing. We would have stability and we would be protecting the Resistance That'd be the Hezbullies, natch... , because the Resistance would be strong if Leb is strong and vice versa," the premier went on to say.
As to Hizbullah's stance on the issue, Miqati said he was not expecting Hizbullah to voice its support for the funding of the tribunal.
"But I'm expecting the ministers to show the required patriotism," he added.
"I won't accept, during my term of office, that Leb be a pariah in the international community or that it disavow its obligations. When the issue becomes to fund or not to fund, at that point Leb should be protected and I advise the ministers and the political blocs to tackle the issue in a serious manner," Miqati urged his partners in the government.
"Let them consider funding as an insurance policy to protect Leb from the approaching winds," he said.
Asked about the rally that will be held Sunday in the northern city of Tripoli by the Mustaqbal ... the Future Movement, political party led by Saad Hariri... Movement under the banner of Independence Day, Miqati, a Tripoli native himself, said "everyone is welcome in Tripoli, which is for everyone and tolerates everyone."
As the premier stressed that his political rivals had the right to organize a popular rally in Tripoli, he warned that the event might have malicious objectives, charging that the Mustaqbal Movement's "philosophy" was based on rejecting the other.
"I respect all opinions, but my position is clear and no one can question my patriotism. I'm not betraying my country or sect and the Sunni sect is one of Leb's pillars and it is the only guarantee for this country," Miqati added.
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[Dawn] Arab foreign ministers gathered in Cairo on Thursday to discuss imposing sanctions on Syria for failing to implement an 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... plan to end a crackdown on protests against Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Trampler of Homs... The League, which for decades has spurned ordering action against a member state, has suspended Syria and threatened unspecified sanctions for ignoring the deal it had signed up to.
Syria has turned its tanks and troops on civilian protesters, as well as on armed forces of Evil challenging Assad's 11-year rule. The United Nations ...aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society... says more than 3,500 people have been killed.
"Syria has not offered anything to move the situation forward," said a senior Arab diplomat at the League, adding that it was considering what kind of sanctions to impose.
"The position of the Arab states is almost unified. We all agree...that the situation does not lead to civil war and that no foreign intervention takes place," he said.
The November 12 agreement to suspend Syria was backed by 18 of the pan-Arab organization's 22 members. Leb, where Syria for many years had a military presence, and Yemen, battling its own uprising, opposed it. Iraq, whose Shia-led government is wary of offending Syria's main ally Iran, abstained.
Arab ministers were meeting in a Cairo suburb instead of the League's headquarters in Tahrir Square, occupied by protesters after days of festivities with police in nearby streets.
Khaled al-Habasi, an adviser to Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Elaraby, said the body was "working on uniting the Syrian opposition on a vision regarding the future of Syria during the transitional period" and drawing up sanctions.
Earlier this month, the League asked Syrian opposition groups to submit their ideas for a transition of power ahead of a planned bigger conference on Syria's future.
"There are many ideas and suggestions for sanctions that can be imposed on the Syrian regime," said one Arab government representative at the League, who asked not to be identified.
These included imposing a travel ban on Syrian officials, freezing bank transfers or funds in Arab states related to Assad's government and stopping Arab projects in Syria, he said.
The decision to draft economic sanctions was taken at a meeting on November 16 in Morocco, stepping up pressure on the Arab state. Damascus ...Capital of the last remaining Baathist regime in the world... agreed to the Arab plan on November 2, but the crackdown continued and Syria requested amendments to a plan to send Arab monitors to assess events at first-hand.
La Belle France called on Wednesday for a "secured zone to protect civilians" in Syria, the first time a major Western power has suggested international intervention on the ground.
After the uprising erupted in Libya, the League suspended Tripoli and also called for a no-fly zone that paved the way for a UN Security Council resolution and NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all.... air strikes.
Arabs have shown no appetite so far for following a similar route with Syria, which neighbours Israel and lies on the fault lines of several interlocking conflicts in the Middle East.
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#1
Now, if it was a meeting of "Arab minstrels", it could have been interesting.
#2
Arab ministers were meeting in a Cairo suburb
No doubt at an OWS approved "public space" "There are many ideas and suggestions for sanctions that can be imposed on the Syrian regime
And if they don't work, we'll poop on a police car.
Oh! and our cowbell players are much better than the OWS riff raff.
[Dawn] Law enforcement agencies on Wednesday incarcerated a suspected person with two hand grenades from sports complex, where Governor Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... Barrister Masood Kausar was witnessing as chief guest a friendly football match between Parachinar and Sadda teams.
Officials said security personnel incarcerated a person from dressing room of the complex and recovered two hand grenades from his kit. He has been identified as Akhtar Jan belonging to Sadda. An official said the accused was shifted to unknown location for interrogation. Football match was organised to promote harmony among people of violence stricken Kurram Agency ...home of an intricately interconnected web of poverty, ignorance, and religious fanaticism, where the laws of cause and effect are assumed to be suspended, conveniently located adjacent to Tora Bora... .
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SEOUL: North Korea threatened Thursday to turn Seoul’s presidential palace into a “sea of fire,” stepping up its rhetoric one day after South Korea conducted large-scale military drills near a front-line island attacked by the North last year.
On Wednesday, South Korea mobilized aircraft, rocket launchers, artillery guns and naval boats for the first anniversary of the artillery attack on a military garrison and fishing community on Yeonpyeong Island in the Yellow Sea. Two marines and two construction workers were killed in the 2010 attack, the first on a civilian area since the 1950-53 Korean War.
Pyongyang accuses Seoul of provoking last yearÂ’s attack, saying it struck after warning the South not to hold live-fire drills in the disputed waters. South Korea has said it fired shells southward, not toward the North, as part of routine exercises last year.
“If they dare to impair our dignity again, the deluge of fire on Yeonpyeong Island will lead to the sea of fire in Blue House” in Seoul, the North’s People’s Army warned in a statement from Pyongyang. “They should not forget the lesson taught” by the island shelling.
If provoked again like last year, the North’s military will launch merciless, annihilating and more powerful strikes to “blow up the island without any trace,” the North’s Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea said in a separate statement later Thursday.
The North has issued similar threats over the years at times of tension with South Korea. Since then, South Korea has spent millions of dollars beefing up its arsenal. Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Jung Seung-jo said his forces would “crush the enemy” if they strike again.
WednesdayÂ’s maneuvers took place off Baengnyeong Island, South Korean-held territory near the maritime border. The drills were meant to send a strong message to North Korea but did not include live-fire exercises, military officials said.
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said Wednesday during a visit to a military command that he was sorry North Korea had not yet apologized for the shelling. He said Pyongyang must apologize if it wants relations to improve.
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[An Nahar] Hizbullah expanded its telecommunications network in several towns in the district of Zahle after its project failed in the Metn town of Tarshish, highly informed sources told al-Mustaqbal ... the Future Movement, political party led by Saad Hariri... newspaper.
The sources said Thursday that the installment was made in the towns of Riyaq, Hawsh Hala and Hay al-Sellom several days ago.
The new move came after Hizbullah's attempt to expand its "illegitimate telecom system failed in Tarshish," they told the daily.
Last month, Hizbullah's efforts to install the private telecoms network in the town were thwarted by residents and representatives from the municipality.
The dispute came to an end mid-November when the telecommunications ministry assured Tarshish residents that no private networks will be installed along with the ministry's network.
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[An Nahar] Eighteen members of Syria's security forces and two deserters were killed in festivities on Thursday in the flashpoint province of Homs, where at least 29 civilians also died, activists said.
"Eleven soldiers and members of the security forces were killed in skirmishes" with deserters in the town of Huleh, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The rights group said security forces killed at least 12 civilians around the province in central Syria, including three in the Bayyada area of the city of Homs, while the Local Coordination Committees, a key activist group, said 29 non-combatants were killed Thursday in Homs.
The city of Rastan, also in Homs, was blasted with heavy machinegun fire after festivities between soldiers and deserters, two of whom were killed and 13 maimed, according to the Britannia-based rights group.
Meanwhile, ...back at the bake sale, Umberto's Mom's cannoli were a big hit... seven military pilots were killed when gunnies attacked their bus in the center of the country, opposition sources told Agence La Belle France Presse.
The attack, carried out by "armed Bedouins", took place near the city of Palmyra, said an opposition member based in Homs, and was claimed by the rebel Free Syrian Army.
In a statement the FSA said "a brigade carried out the attack on a bus transporting pilots on the road between Palmyra and Homs, killing seven officers and the driver."
The FSA, whose leadership is based in neighboring Turkey, has claimed several attacks in recent weeks against the Syrian military and pro-regime militias.
According to FSA chief Riyadh al-Asaad, the rebel force now has 20,000 men in its ranks, which it says are swelling each day.
On Tuesday, six children and five mutinous soldiers were among 34 people killed across Syria, the Syrian Observatory said.
The United Nations ...boodling on the grand scale... says the conflict in Syria has claimed more than 3,500 lives, mostly civilians, since it broke out in mid-March.
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#1
Losing pilots is going to severely hurt the security forces, and was probably a very intentional hit.
Their active duty personnel number less than 200,000, and their reserve, possibly 250,000, but of questionable ability and resolve. Probably 50-100,000 secret police as well. But there are about 7,000,000 combat age males in Syria.
KABUL: Afghan President Hamid Karzai has nominated a US-educated banker as the new governor of the country's central bank, his spokesman said Thursday. Presidential spokesman Hamid Elmi named the candidate as Noorullah Delawari. His nomination comes after a five-month vacancy in the post caused by turmoil in Afghanistan's banking system due to the near-collapse of the Kabul Bank, once the country's largest private financial institution.
Parliament is expected to discuss its approval of the appointment on Saturday, said lawmaker Gul Pacha Majeidi.
Delawari is a former central bank governor who now sits on the institution's governing board. He will replace Abdul Qadir Fitrat, who fled to northern Virginia in late June after claiming to have received threats to his life in connection with Kabul Bank scandal.
Kabul Bank became a symbol of the country's deep-rooted corruption, and the case was closely followed by Afghans and international donors because it is widely perceived to be a test of the government's pledge to root out patronage and graft.
Afghanistan's financial system appears to be slowly recovering from the aftereffects of the near-collapse, which required a massive central bank bailout. Last week, the IMF approved a three-year $133.6 million loan for Afghanistan because it found the government had taken steps to address governance and accountability issues that surfaced during the Kabul Bank crisis. The decision reassured international donors, many whom had withheld aid while waiting for the IMF decision.
The Kabul Bank has been split into two parts, a healthy one being run by the Afghan Finance Ministry, and another which is has taken over hundreds of millions of dollars in bad loans. The Afghan government hopes to put the healthy bank up for sale in the middle of next year.
So it's their version of TARP only with more transparency and honesty...
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[Yemen Post] Following festivities on November 21st opposing the government forces and al-Qaeda gunnies which led to the death of 9 Islamists, the terror group decided to take Dire Revenge™ by placing a roadside kaboom.
The Defense Ministry revealed on its website on Monday that 2 rustics were killed in the kaboom and that 2 others were maimed.
The attack on local rustics in Modia, a town located in the southern province of Abyan, prompted an immediate outcry from the population and the formation of a popular committee to decide what to do next against the growing al-Qaeda threat. The committee stated that the tribe had the duty to fight off the gunnies and take Dire Revenge™ on their people's death.
A group of armed tribal fighters besieged Adbulillah al-Thahiri, "the Emir of Modia" as the entire region knows of his ties with the terror group. A violent battle ensued, leaving 6 of Thahiri's loyalists dead, 4 others maimed and Thahiri himself in jug of the tribe.
Typical Al Qaeda behaviour: making friends and influencing people until the people turn on them in organized violence.
"Al-Thahiri was leading a sleeper cell in Modia and was in permanent hiding after the Modia directorate was cleared of [al-Qaeda] elements in a military campaign over a year ago," al-Tahati said. "The rustics rose up to protect themselves and their property from the ravages of al-Qaeda to prevent what happened in Jaar and Zinjibar from occurring."
Several security analysts amongst whom Doctor Saeed Obaid al-Jami from the Centre for Studies and Research said that in order to fight off the threat and expansion of terror groups within the region, popular support was not only essential but of prime importance.
He added that the organization of popular committee was extremely useful in supporting the government's actions against the terror cells.
"Government forces prefer to capture organization members so they can obtain information from their confessions and find out about al-Qaeda's future plans," he said.
Abyan deputy governor, Ahmed al-Rahwi, welcomed the arrest of Thahiri, saying "This indicates that the people sense their responsibilities after the devastation and destruction that took place in Zinjibar and Jaar. They fear that al-Qaeda could move to their directorate and repeat the scenario of establishing an Islamic emirate everywhere in Abyan province."
Al-Rawhi stressed that since Abyan posed such a strategic importance for al-Qaeda for it lies near Aden and Lahaj provinces to the west and Shabwa and Hadramaut to the east, the government and the people needed to work together in annihilating the threat.
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[An Nahar] Kuwait on Thursday remanded in jug 24 opposition activists pending further investigation on charges they stormed the parliament building last week, their lawyer said.
"After interrogation all night, the public prosecutor this morning remanded them in police custody until Thursday night when questioning will resume," said Al-Humaidi al-Subaie, coordinator of the opposition defense team.
Hundreds of opposition activists stormed the sea-side assembly on November 16 after festivities with riot police that followed a large protest to demand the resignation of the prime minister and that parliament be dissolved.
Kuwait's emir, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, on Sunday called the incident a "black day" for the oil-rich Gulf state which has been witnessing heightened tension between the ruling family led government and opposition MPs.
The activists have been questioned on charges of damaging public property, storming parliament, illegal procession, assaulting police and others for which they "face a jail term of between six months and a life term," Subaie told Agence La Belle France Presse.
Some of the activists were jugged on Wednesday while the rest handed themselves in while more plan to surrender Thursday, the lawyer said.
Subaie had said on Wednesday that the public prosecutor issued around 50 arrest warrants and more warrants were expected to be issued.
Riot police on Wednesday beat up with batons supporters and relatives of the activists who gathered outside a police headquarters east of the capital Kuwait City.
Dozens of supporters led by several opposition MPs spent the night outside the palace of justice in Kuwait City where questioning took place.
Opposition MP Mussallam al-Barrak announced at the gathering that the opposition will hold an emergency meeting Thursday to decide its next course of action ahead of a planned anti-government rally on Monday.
MP Khaled al-Tahus said opposition activists plan to camp in a square opposite parliament for at least two days starting Sunday to press for a change of government.
The emirate's opposition launched the campaign aiming to change the prime minister and dissolve parliament following an alleged corruption scandal involving around 15 MPs.
The opposition has also accused Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Mohammad al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, a senior member of the ruling family, of transferring public funds into his overseas bank accounts. The government has denied the charge.
OPEC member Kuwait sits on about 10 percent of the global crude oil reserves and currently pumps around 3.0 million barrels per day.
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Residents said they first heard three gunshots before the kabooms.
Police said all security agents have been mobilised and a curfew imposed in the town.
In Mandera, suspected Al-Shabaab ... successor to the Islamic Courts... Islamic fascistiblew up a Kenya military truck and opened fire on troops in the border town.
In what is perceived as a Dire Revenge™ attack, the Islamic fascistiused an improvised bomb against the soldiers, who were on patrol.
A soldier was killed and three others injured, according to the Department of Defence, bringing to nine the number of soldiers killed in Operation Linda Nchi. Five of those died in a helicopter accident at the border town of Liboi.
Reports from witnesses said Kenyan troops were shot at from two directions after the kaboom at Mlima Fisi. They suffered leg injuries and severe burns, witnesses said.
The attackers reportedly decamped into the bush after the troops returned fire.
Sophisticated improvised bombs have been widely used against allied forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, but the one used in the attack appeared to be a landmine.
At the front, Kenyan forces attacked Al-Shabaab camps in air and ground assaults, Department of Defence front man Emmanuel Chirchir said on Thursday.
The Kenya Air Force carried out two Arclight airstrikes on two Al-Shabaab training camps on Wednesday. Maj Chirchir said post-attack assessment confirmed seven Islamic fascistiwere killed and weapons recovered.
The third attack on another Al-Shabaab training camp by Transitional Federal Government and Kenyan ground troops killed three bad boys, the Army said.
Major Chirchir said Kenyan and TFG soldiers attacked an Al-Shabaab training camp in the town of Hawina between Dobley and Tabda.
During Thursday's engagement, "three Al-Shabaab Islamic fascistiwere killed and two AK47 rifles captured. Several Al-Shabaab militias beat feet with injuries," he said.
On the Moyale attack, Major Chirchir said Kenyan troops on board a service truck drove over a planted improvised bomb while on patrol duties in the general area of Mlima Fisi in Mandera.
Five soldiers were seriously injured and were airlifted to Garissa for treatment. One soldier died.
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#1
When I read "Four Killed in Border Towns...," I always wonder which border (southern vs. somewhere else)? Makes me want to read further.
[Dawn] WITH almost 4,000 people killed in violent confrontations and under mounting pressure from the international community, Syria's Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Leveler of Latakia... is following in the footsteps of his former Libyan counterpart, and if he is not careful, may end up with a similar fate.
Assad's regime has been ruthless in crushing its opposition. In the past two weeks over 100 people have been killed in Homs alone, the third largest city in Syria. Four hundred people have died nationwide this month and the whole country is teetering on the brink of civil war.
Thankfully, 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... has finally grown teeth and is using them to puncture holes in Assad's blanket authority. On Nov 2, the League put forth a set of proposals that called for the release of political prisoners, the withdrawal of security forces from the cities and permission for outside monitors to enter the country.
Assad, who freed only a few hundred prisoners, chose to ignore all other conditions, infuriating League members and instigating Syria's suspension from the League on Nov 13. To add fuel to fire, he allowed supporters to attack the missions of Jordan, Qatar, Soddy Arabia and Turkey, further alienating its members.
The Syrian regime, expecting criticism from the US and European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... , was caught off guard when its support among neighbours abruptly crumbled. The vote to suspend Syria in the 22-member Arab League was unanimous except for Leb and Yemen. Turkey, its largest neighbour to the north, openly called for reform and currently hosts Syria's political opposition, the Free Syrian Army. Algeria and Sudan, usually supportive of dictators, voted against him. King Abdullah of Jordan, known for his neutrality, and Soddy Arabia, internationally the most influential member, were both vocal in their opposition.
The Arab League on Nov 16 gave Syria three days to cooperate or face economic sanctions. The regime, expert in stalling tactics, said that "in principle" it accepted the League's proposal of sending in 500 military and civilian observers. Their insincerity became apparent when they proposed changes such as their involvement in choosing the observers.
Unsurprisingly, the League rejected the amendments on Sunday, stating that they impinged on the core of the Arab peace plan.
Though the vaporous Arab League is unlikely to impose a full trade embargo on Syria it may use targeted sanctions to further isolate the country. Syria's economy, already fragile, is projected to retract by two per cent this year. Manufacturing has been disrupted due to violence, trade has fallen and countries like Turkey have imposed sanctions. Most detrimental so far has been the EU's embargo on oil, which makes up 20 per cent of government revenue and 40 per cent of its export earnings
The Arab League has the power and resources to further squeeze the regime. With over 50 per cent of Syria's non-oil exports sold to Arab countries and hundreds of millions of dollars pouring in from Arab development funds, Assad might find himself in trouble. A ban on banking transactions and investments could help to persuade the powerful business community to abandon their support of the regime and pressure on Syria's private banks, which the regime uses for its own dealings, would make it increasingly difficult to finance its operations.
Much of the international community is backing the League's actions and condones sanctions against Syria's regime. A UN resolution that condemned violence in Syria, would have paved the way for economic sanctions had it not been for Russia and China's veto. Russia's ties to Syria, that date back to the Soviet era when it provided military aid to Damascus ...Home to a staggering array of terrorist organizations... , still hold strong -- Moscow sold $3.8bn of weapons to Syria just last year. European nations, undeterred, are now exploring another route that would condemn the current regime.
Though Assad has been spared for now, support among his powerful allies at the UN, China and Russia may be wavering. The Arab League's suspension of Syria could nudge China to reconsider its position as it would be reluctant to oppose its Arab trading partners. If China is swayed, then pressure on Russia will be immense.
Though members of the UN are seeking ways to further pressure the Syrian dictator, it is unlikely that NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A cautionary tale of cost-benefit analysis.... will intervene as it did in Libya. The situation is far more volatile; ethnic and sectarian tensions, underlying alliances with Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, and Hezbullies, and Syria's proximity to Israel, are very real dangers that could destabilise the region.
Without outside military intervention, the opposition will have to bear the brunt of Assad's brutality, but with mounting international pressure and economic sanctions, they could bring down the regime. It is clear that Assad's days are numbered.
"The conflict will continue, and the pressure to subjugate Syria will continue," he told a newspaper, "Syria will not bow down."
Syria may not but Assad will have to.
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#1
Syria will bow to the Russians, and then pencil neck will have his determination decided.
#2
Its a Sunni Shia thing, with Turkey's islamonazis adapting to empowered Iran. I say empowered, because the current regime is nothing but a Jimmah Carter Frankenstein. The Shah should have been given a free hand against the genocidal ayatollahs.
BHO hugged Erdogan. I wonder if he would bow to Ahmadinejad?
#3
Unfortunately, the Shah suffered from two things: ill health and a desire to let the Iranian people, after decades of hard work, enjoy the fruits of their labor--which was interpreted as weakness.
The latter problem was the same thing that had happened to Porfirio Diaz in Mexico. His program of modernization was brutal, but very effective. Even to this day, the railroad system he created is still functional, despite it being Mexico. In his day, it was world class, and the pride of the country.
But in his old age, Diaz decided to liberalize and be less authoritarian. Today he is still officially derided as a tyrant, except among those in the know, who rightly see him as evolving Mexico by hundreds of years, in a short period of time.
#4
Pencilneck and his father, on the other hand, have created little or nothing but despair. Personally, I will never forgive them for being so neglectful that they allowed the secret of the making of Damascus steel, a closely kept 2000 year old secret of several families, to die out.
[Dawn] REPORTS of peace talks with the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistain have been surfacing in recent days. The first thing to note about them is their unreliability: various statements given to the media contradict each other and are hardly consistent with facts on the ground. On Wednesday, the Taliban spokesperson himself denied the reports and grabbed credit for an attack on a cop shoppe in South Wazoo. And even as some Taliban capos were earlier telling news hounds that talks were taking place, Hafiz Gul Bahadur was threatening the government from North Waziristan and forbidding civilians from working on army-led infrastructure projects in his area. Meanwhile, ...back at the mall, Clarissa spent the day shopping for new underwear. Tonight was going to be a special occasion... some reports said the ceasefire is limited to South Waziristan, while others claimed it is countrywide. Neither ring true. Kurram and Orakzai agencies continue to see festivities between cut-throats and security forces, and the latter were attacked in South Waziristan last month. Schools continue to be blown up in several areas of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... and Fata. Targeted killings of administration officials have not ceased; over Eid, a suicide kaboom in Swabi killed a former nazim ...small time big shot, the chief elected official of a local government in Pakistan, such as a district, tehsil, union council, or village council... belonging to the Awami National Party.
Speak to those with knowledge of how the Taliban are faring, and they will confirm that there is reason for scepticism. Despite these recent attacks, the TTP appears to be on the back foot in many tribal areas, and the Bajaur, Mohmand ... Named for the Mohmand clan of the Sarban Pahstuns, a truculent, quarrelsome lot. In Pakistain, the Mohmands infest their eponymous Agency, metastasizing as far as the plains of Beautiful Downtown Peshawar, Charsadda, and Mardan. Mohmands are also scattered throughout Pakistan in urban areas including Karachi, Lahore, and Quetta. In Afghanistan they are mainly found in Nangarhar and Kunar... and Swat ...a valley and an administrative district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistain, located 99 mi from Islamabad. It is inhabited mostly by Pashto speakers. The place has gone steadily downhill since the days when Babe Ruth was the Sultan of Swat... leaderships seem to have decamped to Afghanistan. In this context, suggestions of talks may in reality have been feelers sent out by the Taliban in light of the all-party conference resolution of Sept 29 that said the Pak administration would hold a dialogue "with our own people in the tribal areas". The fact is that the implementation of that resolution is in the very early stages; the parliamentary committee in charge of it was formed just a few days ago. But as it does move towards talks, the administration must keep in mind the long list of past failed negotiations with the Taliban. If the TTP really is on the back foot, that is a position any grinding of the peace processor must take full advantage of.
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[An Nahar] The March 14 Those are the good guys, insofar as Leb has good guys... forces are preparing a document to tackle Hizbullah's presence in Leb after the fall of the Syrian regime, reported Akhbar al-Yawm news agency on Thursday.
March 14 sources told the news agency that the forces are preparing for a Hizbullah that has laid down its arms, adding that their line of action will become clearer after Sunday's Mustaqbal ... the Future Movement, political party led by Saad Hariri... movement rally in Tripoli.
Among the ideas being addressed is punishing the party for its transgressions, while others have proposed that all sides let go of the past and start a new chapter of relations with the group.
The sources noted that some sides believe that Hizbullah will transform into a terrorist organization, based on the international law's definition of such groups and not Leb's views, in light of the Special Tribunal for Leb's accusation of four party members of being involved in the 2005 liquidation of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
Therefore, one of the upcoming dilemmas Leb may have to face is the existence of a Lebanese government that includes members of a terrorist organization among its ranks, continued the sources.
The March 14 camp is seeking to study these issues, among others, within a document in an effort to reach answers to all pending issues, said the sources.
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#1
It would be nice. Think they could pull it off? With no Iran, no funding, no Hezzies.
#3
BHO bragged on "the tonight show" about installing an islamonazi regime in Libya, at a cost of under "41,000,000,000"; Americans will pay one-thousand fold more when those animals go malignant.
#5
HMMMM, HMMMM, IMO anything beyond proxy MilTerr intervention in Lebanon + Syria would violate nuke-happy Iran's desire to stay on the strategic defensive vee the US + Israel.
Again, while Israel can certainly attack Iran + inflict damage [recoverable] on its NucProgs, only the US = US, NATO can attack, invade, + occupy Iran.
[Dawn] Three bombs went kaboom! in the southern port city of Basra on Thursday, killing 10 people and wounding at least 45, security and medical officials said.
A roadside kaboom and a cycle of violence bomb went kaboom! simultaneously at about 1540 GMT in a market in central Basra, an interior ministry official said.
Following a common pattern in Iraq, a third roadside kaboom went off as people gathered at the scene, according to the official, who put toll at 10 killed and 45 maimed.
Riyadh Abdelamir, the head of the Basra health directorate, said that 10 people were killed and 57 maimed in the blasts.
Army and police deployed in force following the blasts, cordoning off the market, an AFP correspondent said.
It was the deadliest day in Iraq since November 3, when 11 people were killed and 38 maimed in bomb and gun attacks targeting police and anti-Qaeda Islamic fascistiacross Iraq.
The day before that, three cycle of violence bombings in Basra killed at least nine people and maimed at least 37.
Violence has declined nationwide since its peak in 2006 and 2007, but attacks remain common. A total of 258 people were killed in October, according to official figures.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/25/2011
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[Dawn] A Christian rights group in Pakistain on Thursday urged cricket hero turned politician Imran Khan ... aka Taliban Khan, who isn't your heaviest-duty thinker, maybe not even among the top five... to scrap a major rally planned for Christmas Day, calling the move insensitive to the minority group.
Khan set Pakistain alight and surprised critics last month by drawing tens of thousands of people to a rally in his hometown of Lahore, transforming overnight from a wannabe to potential kingmaker in polls expected next year.
He now hopes to top that success with a rally in Bloody Karachi, Pakistain's largest city, on December 25, which holds special significance as the birthday of the country's founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah and a public holiday.
But in an open letter, the Centre for Human Rights Education called on Khan to change the date and send a positive message to persecuted minorities that he would work to reverse decades of discrimination.
"Arranging a rally on Christmas Day shows they are not sensitive to the Christian community," said Samson Salamat, director of the Lahore-based group and a Christian human rights ...which are usually entirely different from personal liberty... activist.
"This is an important day for us and it is our basic right that we should be given respect," he told AFP.
Arif Alvi, secretary general of Khan's Tehreek-e-Insaf (Movement for Justice) told AFP the party would "consider the suggestion" but said it would hamper preparations to change the date.
"We will cooperate with the Christian community and facilitate their celebration of Christmas. We will also provide them transport, if they contact us, for Christmas celebrations or to attend our rally," he said.
But Michael Javed, a Christian community leader in Bloody Karachi, dismissed any problem, saying that Christmas rituals would be largely completed before the rally gets underway in the evening of December 25.
There is a tiny Christian minority in Pakistain, where only three per cent of the population of 167 million are estimated to be non-Mohammedan and where the Vatican has said Christians are often victims of violence and discrimination.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/25/2011
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Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
#1
Pak muz accomodating religious minorities? Can't happen.
#2
There is a tiny Christian minority in Pakistain, where only three per cent of the population of 167 million are estimated to be non-Mohammedan and where the Vatican has said Christians are often victims of violence and discrimination.
India/anywhere else bar Saudi would be safer!
Posted by: Paul ||
11/25/2011 12:22
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[An Nahar] 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... on Thursday served a new ultimatum on Damascus ...Home to a staggering array of terrorist organizations... , giving it less than 24 hours to allow monitors into the country or face sanctions, while for the first time calling on the United Nations ...an organization which on balance has done more bad than good, with the good not done well and the bad done thoroughly... to help resolve the crisis.
The ultimatum, issued at the end of a crisis meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Cairo, came amid an kaboom of violence in Syria in which 32 people died, including 11 security force members and seven military pilots.
Long resistant to drawing the international community into the Syria crisis, the Arab top diplomats agreed to ask U.N. Secretary General the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon ... of whom it can be said to his credit that he is not Kofi Annan... "to take all measures to support the efforts of the vaporous Arab League to resolve the critical situation in Syria."
The Arab body's chief, Nabil al-Arabi, said the 22-member bloc has invited Syria to sign an agreement in Cairo on Friday at 1:00pm (1100 GMT) that would allow observers into the country to monitor the situation on the ground.
Finance ministers will meet on Saturday to vote on sanctions should Syria fail to sign.
Arab foreign ministers said sanctions would include suspending flights to Syria as well as freezing financial transactions with its central bank and commercial deals with the government except for basic goods.
The sanctions could also include freezing the financial assets of the Damascus government.
Lebanese Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour said earlier that Beirut would not endorse any potential Arab League sanctions against Syria.
The United States and European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... have already imposed strict economic sanctions on Syria, where the United Nations estimates more than 3,500 people have been killed since March as the regime cracks down on a popular revolt.
Arab sanctions could sound the death knell for the country's economy which depends on its Arab neighbors for half or its exports and a quarter of its imports.
"If that is to happen, it will be very unfortunate because the damage will be to all sides," Economy Minister Mohammed Nidal al-Shaar told Agence La Belle France Presse in an exclusive interview.
"We don't expect all Arab countries to yield or participate in sanctions," he added. "In fact, we are almost certain that some Arab countries will not participate," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/25/2011
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
(Ma'an) -- An American blogger reported Wednesday that Israel's military intelligence managed to outfox 
(CBS News) The UN climate change negotiations have received very little attention in the media since the disappointing conclusion of the Copenhagen negotiations in 2009, when countries failed to agree on a new treaty to limit greenhouse gas emissions.
Climate scientists funded by the US government have announced new research in which they have established that the various doomsday global warming scenarios are in fact extremely unlikely to occur, and that the scenarios considered likeliest - and used for planning by the world's governments - are overly pessimistic.
North Korea
Kim 
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
International Criminal Court
Iraq on Thursday executed 16 al-Qaeda members convicted of involvement in the massacre of 70 people at a wedding, although they were officially put to death for other murders, a judicial 
Najib Miqati
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
[Dawn] Law enforcement agencies on Wednesday 
KABUL: Afghan President Hamid Karzai has nominated a US-educated banker as the new governor of the country's central bank, his spokesman said Thursday. Presidential spokesman Hamid Elmi named the candidate as Noorullah Delawari. His nomination comes after a five-month vacancy in the post caused by turmoil in Afghanistan's banking system due to the near-collapse of the Kabul Bank, once the country's largest private financial institution.
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
Wazoo
Mohmand
cycle of violence
The 
the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon
