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Bomb injures top Talibunny Mullah Nazir
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Arabia
Theatre of the absurd
After three failures, this year’s UN climate summit has only modest aims

NEVER let it be said that climate-change negotiators lack a sense of the absurd. Thousands of politicians, tree-huggers and journalists descended on Doha this week, adding their mite of hot air to the country that already has the world’s highest level of carbon emissions per head. The feeling of unreality is apt. The meeting comes amid gathering gloom about both the speed of climate change and the chances of implementing policies to keep the rise in global temperatures below 2°C.

The jamboree in Doha is the 18th UN climate-change summit, but the third since a landmark one at Copenhagen in 2009. That year, instead of negotiating a big new treaty to go beyond the timid Kyoto accords, America, plus China and other big emerging markets, announced a deal outside the UN framework, promising to cut emissions but leaving the talks in disarray. The next year, at Cancún in Mexico, others bowed to the inevitable and brought the “Copenhagen accord” within the UN framework. The year after that, at Durban, with the obligations that Kyoto put on rich countries about to expire, countries promised more talks about talks, saying they would negotiate a new climate regime by 2015 and have one in force by 2020. The Doha meeting begins that negotiation.

In other words, the first period of the Kyoto accord ends in December with no new treaty to replace it and no prospect of one till 2020. In its second period, Kyoto has been reduced to a shadow of its former self. Russia, Japan and Canada have either pulled out or said they will not make any new promises. A climate-finance system, Fast Start Finance, set up at Copenhagen to help poor countries pay the costs of mitigation and adaptation, also ends this year, without being fully funded. Worst of all, no country has made significant pledges to cut greenhouse-gas emissions since the Copenhagen conference and its aftermath. Climate policy is going nowhere fast.
Posted by: tipper || 11/29/2012 18:28 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Jeebus, climate change again? Time for the Excedrin headache pic.
Posted by: JohnQC || 11/29/2012 19:13 Comments || Top||

#2  The U.S. may not have made pledges, but our production of CO2 has fallen significantly, due to increased use of natural gas. Odd how the article missed that.
Posted by: trailing wife || 11/29/2012 20:06 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Politix
White House Offers New Fiscal Plan, Prodding G.O.P
House Republicans said on Thursday that Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner presented the House speaker, John A. Boehner, a detailed proposal to avert the year-end fiscal crisis with $1.6 trillion in tax increases over 10 years, an immediate new round of stimulus spending, home mortgage refinancing and a permanent end to Congressional control over statutory borrowing limits.

The proposal, loaded with Democratic priorities and short on detailed spending cuts, was likely to meet strong Republican resistance. In exchange for locking in the $1.6 trillion in added revenues, President Obama embraced $400 billion in savings from Medicare and other entitlements, to be worked out next year, with no guarantees.

He did propose some upfront cuts in programs like farm price supports, but did not specify an amount or any details. And senior Republican aides familiar with the offer said those initial spending cuts might well be outnumbered by upfront spending increases, including at least $50 billion in infrastructure spending, mortgage relief, an extension of unemployment insurance and a deferral of automatic cuts to physician reimbursements under Medicare.

“The Democrats have yet to get serious about real spending cuts,” Mr. Boehner said after the meeting. “No substantive progress has been made in the talks between the White House and the House over the last two weeks.”
Posted by: tipper || 11/29/2012 18:21 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  No deal, Bummer.
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 || 11/29/2012 18:51 Comments || Top||

#2  same budget that got...Zero, Nada, Nyet votes in the Senate, even among Democrats. It's all kabuki. Let's go over the cliff together
Posted by: Frank G || 11/29/2012 20:20 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Palestinians secure UN vote for ‘state’
The Palestinians won an overwhelming diplomatic victory at the UN on Thursday after 138 out of 193 member states voted to upgrade their status at the global body, sending one of the strongest signals yet in favour of an independent Palestinian state.

Speaking before the vote at the UN General Assembly, Mahmoud Abbas, the veteran Palestinian leader, described the resolution as the “birth certificate” of the Palestinian state. He said Palestine was in “desperate need of peace” and insisted that the UN move was intended “to launch a final serious attempt to achieve peace” with Israel.

The resolution will raise the status of the Palestinian delegation from that of a non-member observer “entity” to that of a non-member observer “state”. It falls short of full UN membership and most analysts say it is unlikely to affect the balance of power between Israel and the Palestinians in the near future.

Palestinian officials argue, however, that the upgrade will allow them to join other UN agencies as well as the International Criminal Court – a prospect that has alarmed Israel and that may give the Palestinians greater political leverage. They hope that Thursday’s vote will bolster their position in negotiations with Israel, and strengthen the increasingly fragile political position of Mr Abbas himself.

Posted by: tipper || 11/29/2012 18:14 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Bolton was right
Posted by: European Conservative || 11/29/2012 20:12 Comments || Top||

#2  never question "The 'Stache"
Posted by: Frank G || 11/29/2012 20:17 Comments || Top||

#3  Goody. So much for the clever diplomacy of The Smartest Man In The Room.
Posted by: trailing wife || 11/29/2012 20:20 Comments || Top||

#4  I'm actually for this. That way when more rockets are launched from Palestine, Israel can declare legal war and crush the fuckers.
Posted by: DarthVader || 11/29/2012 23:50 Comments || Top||

#5  Personally, I'm more worried about the state of Jordan on this news, i.e. helping to inspire not only de facto "Jordan Spring" but also inspiring Jordan's large Paleo community to rise up in attempt to unify wid their Gaza-West Bank cousins.

* See also RELATED DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > UN VOTE RECOGNIZES STATE OF PALESTINE.

* SAME > BBC NEWS - PALESTINIANS WIN UPGRADED UN STATUS BY WIDE MARGIN.

* EARLIER SAME > UN SET TO IMPLICITLY RECOGNIZE PALESTINIAN STATE, DESPITE [US] THREATS.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 11/29/2012 23:58 Comments || Top||


Home Front: WoT
Manning testifies at pretrial hearing; defense plans plea to some charges
Pfc. Bradley Manning has begun testifying at his pretrial hearing about alleged abuse he suffered while held at Quantico Marine Corps base.

The Army private, accused of stealing thousands of classified documents that were then published online by WikiLeaks, spoke in a clear voice at the start of his testimony. He was wearing his Army service uniform and wire-rimmed glasses.

Manning's defense team wants to make the case that his harsh treatment in prison should count as time served and subtracted from whatever his eventual sentence is.

Earlier Thursday, a military judge ruled that new charges would have to be filed before Manning could enter a guilty plea to some lesser charges.

The defense has said it plans to have Manning plead guilty to lesser offenses and fight other charges as being too extreme.

At a pretrial hearing at Fort Meade the military judge, Col. Denise Lind, noted that only some of the offenses Manning is proposing to plead to are included in the current list of charges. If he were to plead guilty to these charges he would face a maximum of 16 years in prison, loss if pay, demotion to private and a dishonorable discharge.
Posted by: tipper || 11/29/2012 15:06 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under:


Europe
From the department of the obvious: Two-Thirds of Millionaires Left Britain to Avoid 50% tax
Posted by: DarthVader || 11/29/2012 14:59 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  No, It's MUCH MUCH worse than that.

50% caused 2/3rds of millionaires to stop earning > 1million!

i.e. They could of, but didn't.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 11/29/2012 17:38 Comments || Top||

#2  Yeah ... but where did they all go?????
Posted by: Raider || 11/29/2012 20:52 Comments || Top||

#3  Raider:

A generation ago it would have been a no brainer--go to the US. Now I'm sure relatively few did.
Posted by: Iblis || 11/29/2012 23:24 Comments || Top||


Economy
Ugly Q3 GDP Confirms Personal Consumption Collapsing
Posted by: DarthVader || 11/29/2012 13:08 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Just wait until they increase taxes.
Posted by: Raider || 11/29/2012 20:53 Comments || Top||

#2  Again, one way to justify OWG-NWO + OWG "Global Federal Union" = NAU is via intentional or deliberate SHARED/MUTUAL CHAOS, i.e. INTER-STATE(S) DEPENDENCIES FOR MUTUAL SURVIVAL.

Once in place circa 2015 or ASAP afterward, the NAU, etc. Regional + Trans-Regional Govt. will have the significant power-n-authority, NOT Washington DC andor sole sovereign =
"nationalist" USA - ANYMORE???

Mainstream Amerikkans will slowly + steadily see the US defer Govt, Nationalpower more-n-more to the NAU + higher.

Posted by: JosephMendiola || 11/30/2012 0:06 Comments || Top||


Africa North
Benghazi explained - Canadian Free Press update
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/29/2012 09:23 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Gads, what lurid prose. Any relation between Canada Free Press and World Net Daily?

Aside from that, it's relatively accurate. There is one part, however, where the 'government insider' is a bit off:

Who is really benefitting from, say, what’s going on in Egypt? Mubarek is out, and the Muslim Brotherhood is in. Who does that benefit? Saudi Arabia.

The Muslim Brotherhood and the Saudis have been at odds for decades. Partly due to the differences between the origins and goals of the MB and those of the Wahhabis, but also because the Saudis consider the MB agenda to be rather subversive.

It's a rather odd statement; one that appears to be driven more by agenda of the "insider" than any sort of real inside knowlege.
Posted by: Pappy || 11/29/2012 14:04 Comments || Top||

#2  I agree Pappy, strange writing style indeed. The really sad part however, is we have to get this analysis from the foreign press.
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/29/2012 16:57 Comments || Top||

#3  The reason why we are getting information from the foreign press and not our MSM is that our MSM has always been leftard radicals under the surface but was not able to take the heat for letting it bubble up since for so long they were the journalists.

But with the advent of the internet up pops the citizen journalist, relieving pressure on MSM, so they realized they could now get away with taking off the cloak and letting themselves be what they trully are and not under pressure to let the world see it either.
Posted by: Percy Gurly-Brown5816 || 11/29/2012 17:09 Comments || Top||

#4  our MSM has always been leftard radicals under the surface

Debatable on all points. But if you were to say "since the mid-1960s," you'd be more accurate. Factor in the J-schools' save-the-world curriculum, and the limited entry into the field (plus the low starting compensation) and you get what you get.

And the advent-of-the-citizen-journalist claim is specious at best. The internet itself may have freed up the mainstream media to be more open in its biases, but more likely that was due to journalists essentially being ignorant and blabbing their views for all to see, and that nothing on the internet is really hidden (see: JournoList).

What the mainstream media has over the citizen-journalist is access. However, with more outlets competing for fewer eyes and ears, the pressure by media ownership to "put out a product" in order to sell advertising, and a media-savvy political structure - Republicans excepted - the mainstream media finds it easier politically and career-wise to break out the metaphorical kneepads.

The foreign press in this case has the advantage of not having to curry favor with, and maintain access to, the US political class. Nor do they have to cater to US advertisers. Plus there is that little 'bash America' thrill that lurks in the heart of every foreign journalist.
Posted by: Pappy || 11/29/2012 18:04 Comments || Top||

#5  The Muslim Brotherhood and the Saudis have been at odds for decades
Yes Pappy, but it's now kiss and makeup time.
SA has Egypts balls in an economic vice and unless they bow to the King, like Obama did, SA will turn off the spigot.
Posted by: tipper || 11/29/2012 18:53 Comments || Top||

#6  The biggest threat to the Saudis would be to move as rapidly as possible to develop energy independence in the U.S. Much of what is said by Hagmann and Michael Reagan makes sense. The prose reads like it is from someone hitting the sauce heavily while typing.
Posted by: JohnQC || 11/29/2012 19:08 Comments || Top||


The Brotherhood delusion
Posted by: tipper || 11/29/2012 08:18 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under:


India-Pakistan
Bomb injures top Talibunny Mullah Nazir
A bomb explosion injured a top Taliban commander and killed four people on Thursday in a market in Waziristan.

Maulvi Nazir Wazir, also known as Mullah Nazir, was injured in the attack at the main market of Wana, the capital of the South Waziristan region. It is not yet clear who was behind the attack or the extent of Nazir's injuries.
Posted by: ryuge || 11/29/2012 05:16 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under: Taliban

#1  pray for sepsis/slow death
Posted by: Frank G || 11/29/2012 8:10 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Culture Wars
eBay Yanks Beck’s ‘Obama in Pee Pee’ Art Project Meant to Raise Money for Charity
Posted by: tipper || 11/29/2012 04:22 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Am I the only one who is sick and tired of Mr. Beck ?
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/29/2012 7:12 Comments || Top||

#2  He should have applied for an arts grant. Conservatives should crowd out the left with applications.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 11/29/2012 8:06 Comments || Top||

#3  You can do that but then you need to crowd out the review panel...
Posted by: Steve White || 11/29/2012 8:39 Comments || Top||

#4  #1 ...never get sick of public displays of Left falling back upon the exercise of power in absence of principles they shove down others throats. Truth to Power my eye. Most anything that punches through the false mask the Ministry of Truth erects over their party of 'tolerance' has value. We are told to suck up to stuff like Christ in Piss as art for whatever rationalization they deemed appropriate. Go Alinsky on them - Make the enemy live up to their own book of rules and Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon.

Posted by: Procopius2k || 11/29/2012 9:35 Comments || Top||

#5  I don't know. After bammy being crucified on the draperies I think it is a simple, powerful, clear point. The great looming question is how much would it have gove for?

*Nobody has yet touched on artistically the barry on curtains piece. No, the execution is decent...especially considering the painter is not Boticelli and the subject no Venus, it is good to see that there are artists who can still paint figures and forms other than snakes and slatters. No, its the compostition - the message is obvious, placing the crown of thorns is some 1st year art school mistake crap. Its like watching a pro quarterback underhand pass the ball downfield, or ordering the hottest of the hot wings on the menu, then dashing tobasco on top of them just to show everyone else in the restaurant that them wings are hot (though other customers can see/smell/feel the ghost chili wings the eater is making a childish flamboyant gesture just in case you didn't get it).

Its a pandering simpletons accessory to the compost. Now, if that was the point that can be discussed. I would love to ask the arteeest that question.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 11/29/2012 9:39 Comments || Top||

#6  I get it but I didn't care for the original and don't care for the knock-off. Both strike me not so much as art and satire but as p0rn.
Posted by: JohnQC || 11/29/2012 10:40 Comments || Top||

#7  *yawn*

Call me when somebody has the guts to display "Piss Mohammed."
Posted by: Barbara || 11/29/2012 12:27 Comments || Top||

#8  Call me when somebody has the guts to display "Piss Mohammed."
It's in there somewhere, Barbara.
Posted by: tipper || 11/29/2012 14:50 Comments || Top||

#9  10 point stress test
Posted by: swksvolFF || 11/29/2012 17:14 Comments || Top||

#10  Barbara, you have a way of cutting to the nub of the matter. Political correctness would dictate you refer to Pee Pee Mo. Probably get you beheaded in muslime countries regardless of what terms you use. They just can't take a joke.
Posted by: JohnQC || 11/29/2012 17:54 Comments || Top||

#11  Nope, tipper, couldn't find it.

There are definitely some sick and dirty-minded "cartoonists" in the world - almost as sick as Mo-ham-head.
Posted by: Barbara || 11/29/2012 18:32 Comments || Top||

#12  Jee-zus, swksvolFF - you owe a new moniter!
Posted by: Barbara || 11/29/2012 18:35 Comments || Top||

#13  Nope, tipper, couldn't find it.
It's the second one down, Barbara.
Posted by: tipper || 11/29/2012 19:22 Comments || Top||

#14  Thanks, tipper. Looked at the (somewhat murkey) pic, didn't read the text. :-(
Posted by: Barbara || 11/29/2012 21:34 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
SC issues notice to IB officials over conspiracy against Punjab govt
[Dawn] The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued notices to the officials of Intelligence Bureau (IB) over alleged utilisation of its 'secret fund' in a bid to topple the Punjab government in the past, DawnNews reported.

A three-member bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, was hearing a suo motu
...a legal term, from the Latin. Roughly translated it means I saw what you did, you bastard...
case over Rs 270 million allegedly drawn by the Pakistain People's Party (PPP) federal governments in the past from the 'secret fund' of IB to topple the Punjab governments.

Notices have been issued to two former director generals of the IB, Masood Sharif Khattak and Tariq Lodhi and the incumbent DG of the agency Akhtar Hussain.

During the hearing, Deputy Director Legal of the IB Naveeda Sehar submitted to the court, in a sealed envelope, the details regarding the published report in an English daily on the issue.

Reporter of the English daily, Asad Kharal, read out his report according to which Rs 270 million were withdrawn from the IB secret funds in order to overthrow the Pakistain Moslem League-Nawaz's (PML-N) provincial government in Punjab during five-month tenure of former DG IB Tariq Lodhi in 2008-09.

Moreover, according to the report, some amount was also withdrawn during 1989-90 for rigging elections.

The bench subsequently summoned records and information on the Intelligence Bureau's budget and money received during the said periods.

The chief justice remarked that if the IB had any information it could be exchanged in-camera. Justice Chaudhry also directed the spy agency to submit documents in the next hearing of the case, which was adjourned for two weeks.

In its detailed verdict of the Asghar Khan case, the apex court had ordered to de-link the case of doling out of Rs270m in 2008-09 from the accounts of Intelligence Bureau to topple the Punjab government. It issued notices to the publishers, printers and news hound of an English daily which had published the report to substantiate the allegations.
Posted by: Fred || 11/29/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Africa Horn
Ethiopia to Stay in Somalia until AU Takeover
[An Nahar] Æthiopian troops will remain in Somalia until African Union
...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful...
forces fighting Islamists can take over, Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn said Wednesday, as he met with his Somali counterpart.

"We are waiting for AMISOM (African Union Mission in Somalia) force to come and replace us, and until we get that assurance then we will be waiting there," he told news hounds.

Hailemariam, speaking alongside newly elected Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, on his first official visit to the Æthiopian capital, gave no time-line for a pull out of troops.

Mohamud said that the Shebab is "literally defeated" -- although many experts say it remains a potent threat -- and also warned imported muscle with the gun-hung tough guys to leave Somalia.

"We have no relationship, and we do not intend to have one, with the imported muscle in Somalia," Mohamud said. "The only option for them is to leave the country."

Æthiopian troops and tanks invaded Somalia in November 2011 to attack al-Qaeda linked Shebab Death Eaters, capturing key towns including Baidoa.

At the same time, anti-Shehab Somali forces and a 17,000-strong AU force have been also battling the Islamists, and are seeking to link up with areas held by Æthiopia.
Posted by: Fred || 11/29/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Shabaab


India-Pakistan
SC suggests door-to-door verification of Karachi votes
That could certainly prove amusing. If only we could do that here, at least in those wards with 105% turnout, all voting for the Democratic candidate.
[Dawn] Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry on Wednesday, while hearing a case on the issue of irregularities in electoral rolls, remarked that door-to-door verification of votes should be conducted in Bloody Karachi
...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It may be the largest city in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous...

A three-member bench of the Supreme Court, comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Gulzar Ahmed and Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed, was hearing petitions filed by PTI chief Imran Khan
... aka Taliban Khan, who who convinced himself that playing cricket qualified him to lead a nuclear-armed nation with severe personality problems...
and Jamaat-e-Islami
...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores...
complaining that votes of a sizeable number of people -- said to be up to 3 million -- living in Bloody Karachi had been registered in their native towns of Swat, Mingora, Mansehra
...a city and an eponymous district in eastern Khyber-Pakthunwa, nestled snug up against Pak Kashmir, with Kohistan and Diamir to the north and Abbottabad to the south...
and Attock, although they had been living in the city for 10 to 15 years.

During proceedings on Wednesday, the chief justice said that a number of complaints were being reported regarding electoral lists. Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry suggested that help could be sought from the armed forces for verification of voters' lists in Bloody Karachi. The CJ said that the law and order situation in Bloody Karachi may also be resolved if Rangers and Army personnel took part in door-to-door verification of votes. He added that political parties should also be kept away from the process of voters' list preparation.

During the previous hearing in the case last week, the bench had allowed the MQM's request to join the proceedings as a co-respondent and a party in the case after the petitioners did not raise any objection.

The court had asked the Election Commission (ECP) to find out how many votes had been registered on the same addresses provided in the electoral rolls of 2002, 2005 and 2007 in Bloody Karachi. The ECP was also asked to check if the votes of people were recorded according to their residential addresses; how many people had applied for shifting their votes outside Bloody Karachi; how many voters had been approached and under which law the votes had been shifted out of the city and the legal status of such a decision.

Counsel for Jamat-e-Islami, Rasheed A Rizvi told the court about a house in Karachi where 653 votes had been registered.
The Election Commission on the direction of apex court submitted report about the voters' lists of Bloody Karachi.

The Supreme Court had asked the Election Commission to find out how many voters were verified and how many of them were de-listed or transferred back to their native towns.

Provincial Election Commission Sindh informed the court that 32,281 voters were transferred to their permanent addresses.

Counsel for Jamat-e-Islami, Rasheed A Rizvi told the court about a 120-yard house in Bloody Karachi where 653 votes had been registered.

Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) counsel, Senator Farooogh Nasim proposed that the court should refer the matter to Election Commission which should make a decision after consultation with all stakeholders.

The Chief Justice remarked the Army and Ranger's services could be acquired as the court has already given a judgement in Workers Party case.

He observed that country's economy could suffer if peace is not restored in Bloody Karachi.
Posted by: Fred || 11/29/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan

#1  by the way ... Rantburg.com.
it's been weeks since you mentioned anything about "myrmidons". weeks. C'mon now guys, don't lose your edge. They're usually spotted around Karachi, especially on Halloween and public holidays.
Posted by: Raider || 11/29/2012 0:09 Comments || Top||


Africa Horn
Gov't forces begin to eliminate Illegal checkpoints set up in Mogadishu
[Shabelle] Somali government forces began on Wednesday removing all Illegal checkpoints set up in Mogadishu, two days after the president met with Mogadishu district commissioners and military officers.

On Wednesday, the forces cordoned off parts in the capital, mainly Hodon and Dharkenlay districts where they managed to take away dozens of roadblocks controlled by gunnies dressed in military uniform.

In the past, there have been reports of illegal checkpoints and transgressions on citizens on the vehicles run in the districts in southern Mogadishu.

"Today there was no any checkpoint I saw in Wadajir and Dharkenley districts. We used to pay large sum of money before Somali presidents spoke about illegal checkpoints set up in Mogadishu," Mohamed Nur, a driver told Shabelle Media Network by phone.

President Hassan met with military, police and district officials throughout Sunday and early Monday urging government and military officials to uphold the law.
Posted by: Fred || 11/29/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Shabaab


Somali government ministers visit Beledweyne amid killings
[Shabelle] A high-level delegation headed by somalia's interior and national security minister Abdikarin Hussein Guled have reached Wednesday in the central town of Beledweyne, the thriving provincial capital of Hiiraan.

Many people, including local authority have received the delegation at the airstrip on Wednesday and held talks in district administration office in the city. The visiting ministers have discussed with the elders and Hiiran officials and AMISOM forces commandesr in the region about the current security challenges and how would be overcome.

Abdikarin Hussein Guuled Interior & Security Minister was accompanied his tour in Beledweyne by Natural Resources Minister Abdirizak Omar Mohamed and other officials in the new Federal Republic government of Somalia.

The ministerial visit comes as at least three people were killed in the past 48 hours by gangs. A prominent elder was among the dead.

AMISOM forces are in the city that helping Somali government to defeat Al shabab and restore peace and stability.
Posted by: Fred || 11/29/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [1 views] Top|| File under: al-Shabaab


Afghanistan
Kabul Bank Fraud Buttressed by Weak Governance: MEC
[Tolo News] The massive fraud that led to Kabul Bank's collapse was underpinned by weak governance in key oversight agencies as well as law enforcement structures, according to a public enquiry into the debacle.

The independent committee appointed to investigate the extent of the Kabul Bank crisis said that as much as $5 billion was transferred out of Afghanistan over a four-year period and urged the government to act on having the assets frozen.

The Independent Joint Anti-Corruption Monitoring And Evaluation Committee (MEC) presented an 87-page report on Wednesday which details the direct involvement of the bank's executives and shareholders in transferring $900 million overseas and the fallout of the "one of the largest banking failures in the world".

"Some of the reasons are specifically related to the financial sector of Afghanistan. This is the big banking governance, the low capacity and lack of coordination among regulatory bodies and the law enforcement agencies," MEC member Drago Kos said at the press briefing in Kabul on the reasons such massive fraud was able to happen.

The report said that $861 million, or 92 percent of Kabul Bank's loan book, went to 12 individuals and 7 companies linked to these individuals in at least nine countries.

"We have the list of countries where the money went: China, Turkmenistan, United Kingdom, Kazakhstan, Korea, Turkey, Russian Federation, United States and to Switzerland
...home of the Helvetians, famous for cheese, watches, yodeling, and William Tell...
. This means that it is possible for the attorney general and for the courts to write requests for mutual legal assistance to have the money frozen and confiscated at the end," MEC member Eva Joly said.

The report further names at total of 28 countries where the money ended up.

The report also names those directly including key shareholders Sherkhan Farnood, the former bank chairman, the former chief executive officer Khalilullah Ferozi, and the brothers of President Hamid Maybe I'll join the Taliban Karzai
... A former Baltimore restaurateur, now 12th and current President of Afghanistan, displacing the legitimate president Rabbani in December 2004. He was installed as the dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001 in a vain attempt to put a Pashtun face on the successor state to the Taliban. After the 2004 presidential election, he was declared president regardless of what the actual vote count was. He won a second, even more dubious, five-year-term after the 2009 presidential election. His grip on reality has been slipping steadily since around 2007, probably from heavy drug use...
and first Vice President Mohammad Qasim Fahim.

The MEC was made up of six people: three Afghans professionals and three international corruption experts. The five-month public enquiry was funded by Britannia's Department of International Development and the Danish International Development Agency after the International Monetary Fund called for a thorough investigation.

As at October 31, the former Kabul Bank receivers had recovered US$135.3 million in cash and US$181 in assets, the report said.
Posted by: Fred || 11/29/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under:


2 ANA Troops, Multiple Insurgents Killed in Laghman
[Tolo News] Two Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers and at least a dozen Islamic fascisti have been killed in a clash in the capital of eastern Laghman province, officials said Wednesday.

Laghman provincial front man Sarhadi Zewak said joint Afghan and NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A cautionary tale of cost-benefit analysis....
troop operations on Tuesday in parts of the capital Mehtar Lam resulted in the deaths of as many as 20 Islamic fascisti and two ANA soldiers, while 10 more Islamic fascisti were maimed.

The military operations ran from between 5:00AM to 2:30PM local time in the Armal, Pahlawan Baba, and Abu Zai areas of the capital, he added.

Isaf Joint Command confirmed one of the operations in the Abu Zai bridge area.

Spokesperson Maj. Martyn Crighton said a joint force including ANA troops, uniformed police and a small contingent of coalition troops were carrying out an operation when they came under attack from a large number of armed cut-thoats.

The security force responded "and in the course of that engagement, 12 enemy were killed, 28 were maimed, and two were tossed in the calaboose
Youse'll never take me alive coppers!... [BANG!]... Ow!... I quit!
. Two Afghan National Army soldiers were also killed," Crighton told TOLOnews.

Zewak said there were no civilian casualties in the operation.

On Wednesday, a Haqqani leader was captured in a joint Afghan and Isaf troops operation in eastern Khost province
... across the border from Miranshah, within commuting distance of Haqqani hangouts such as Datta Khel and probably within sight of Mordor. Khost is populated by six different tribes of Pashtuns, the largest probably being the Khostwal, from which it takes its name...
, according to an Isaf operations update.

"An Afghan and coalition security force jugged
Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please!
a local Haqqani leader in Sabari district in eastern Khost province, today," Isaf said, adding that he was in charge of acquiring and distributing weapons and ammunition to Islamic fascisti throughout Khost. Several other Islamic fascisti were also captured.

Meanwhile,
...back at the buffalo wallow, Tex and his new-found Indian friend were preparing a little surprise for the bandidos...
two Islamic fascisti were killed and another was captured in a joint operation in northern Sar-e-Pul province, Isaf said.

It also said that it was confirmed on Wednesday by officials that one of the two Islamic fascisti killed on Sunday during a combined forces operation in Jaghatu district of Wardak province was Zubayr, a local cut-thoat leader who supplied weapons throughout the district.
Posted by: Fred || 11/29/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


India-Pakistan
Toll From Toxic Cough Syrup Rises in Lahore
[Tolo News] The cough medicine Tyno syrup claimed another victim in Pakistain on Tuesday, raising the corpse count to 17, Pak media reported.

The victim died in Shahdra town in Lahore after ingesting the syrup while another four men were taken to hospital, according to DawnNews reports.

Hospital sources told Dawn that the men are drug addicts.

Meanwhile,
...back at the fist fight, Jake ducked another roundhouse, then parried with his left, then with his right, finally with his chin...
around 400 bottles of the cough mixture have been seized and as many as eight pharmaceutical factories in Lahore shut until the medicines have been tested.

The deaths linked to the syrup occurred over the past 11 days in Lahore.

As police continue to investigate the matter, the executive district officer for health Dr Zafar Iqbal Gondal told DawnNews on Monday that the testing of the seized medicines will take about a week.
Posted by: Fred || 11/29/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under:


Arabia
Al Saud releases images to show king alive: Activist
[Iran Press TV] A Saudi activist says the eldest son of King of the Arabians, Sheikh of the Burning Sands Abdullah
... Fifth out of 37 sons of King Abdulaziz to ascend to the throne. He is, after his half-brothers Bandar and Musa'id, the third eldest of the living sons of Abdul Aziz ibn Saud. Abdullah's mother is from the Rashid clan, longtime rivals of the Saud. He has 6 sons and 15 daughters and about $20 billion. His youngest son is just seven years old...
bin Abdul Aziz has been releasing images of the king to imply that he is still alive amid reports, stating that the monarch has been pronounced clinically dead.
I've heard he dyes his beard, too...
Reports say Mujtahid bin Hareth bin Hammaam, who is an active critic of the Al Saud royal family, posted a message on Twitter, saying that Prince Mutaib bin Abdullah, the Commander of the Saudi National Guard, together with Khalid al-Tuwaijri, the senior consultant of the king, have released images of King Abdullah to show he is alive.

The Twitter activist is known for exposing controversial information about the House of Saud.

A Saudi journalist at the London-based Asharq Alawsat had already said the king had gone into a coma and that he was clinically dead, nearly a week after a 14-hour-long back surgery in a hospital in the Saudi capital, Riyadh.

Hospital sources say the king's essential organs, particularly his heart, lungs and kidneys are not functioning and that the doctors have been forced to use electric shocks to stimulate his cardiac muscles several times.

The surgery, aimed at correcting "a ligamentary slackening in the upper back," began on November 18 and ended at dawn.

The 89-year-old king's health has tanked over the past few years, and he has been hospitalized several times.
Posted by: Fred || 11/29/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I've got Pictures showing Elvis, Kennedy and MLK alive, doesn't prove a thing.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 11/29/2012 1:19 Comments || Top||

#2  Hi...did somebody order a truckload of ice?
Posted by: tu3031 || 11/29/2012 2:23 Comments || Top||


Saudi king appears on state TV in good health
[Al Ahram] Saudi monarch appears on television, following his week-long absence as rumors emerged over the severity of his health
Posted by: Fred || 11/29/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Any way to date check the video?
Posted by: Skidmark || 11/29/2012 6:54 Comments || Top||

#2  Nice pic. If you look closely you can see where the vulture's been airbrushed out.
Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain || 11/29/2012 11:56 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Syrian refugee camp demo dispersed in Jordan
[Al Ahram] Riot police dispersed a demonstration by Syrian refugees at a camp in northern Jordan on Wednesday protesting over living conditions, a government front man said.

Anmar al-Hammud, in charge of the refugee issue for the Jordanian government, said the protest took place in Zaatari camp after power was cut to the camp which houses 42,000 refugees. No casualties were reported.

The camp near the Syrian border has been the scene of several such demonstrations since it was opened in July.

Jordan says it has taken in 240,000 Syrian refugees, of whom 125,000 have registered with the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) since the Syrian conflict broke out in March 2011.

To ease the pressure on Zaatari and with hundreds more refugees crossing each day to escape the bloodshed in Syria, Amman has announced a new camp will be opened by the end of the year.
Posted by: Fred || 11/29/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Israeli troops shoot 5 Palestinians, seize 9: Gaza officials
[Al Ahram] Officials in Gazoo said Israeli troops shot and maimed five Paleostinians along the border Wednesday and placed in long-term storage
Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un!
nine fisherman at sea, a week after the two sides agreed a truce.
Medical officials said that army fire injured four Paleostinians east of El-Bureij refugee camp in the centre of the strip and a fifth in the north, near the Erez crossing to Israel.

The Israeli military did not confirm any casualties but said troops had responded to several attempts by Gazooks to breach the border fence.

"Several Paleostinian rioters approached the security fence in several locations...while acting violently, trying to illegally infiltrate Israel through the fence," a front man told AFP.

"The soldiers at the scene acted in order to distance the violent rioters and in accordance with the rules of engagement," he said without elaborating.

Elsewhere, "in a new violation of the ceasefire, the Zionist enemy arrested nine citizens and sunk several boats in the sea off the northern Gazoo Strip," Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, interior ministry front man Islam Shahwan said in a statement.

The 21 November ceasefire deal brought a halt to eight days of cross-border fighting between Israel and Gazoo snuffies which claimed the lives of 173 Paleostinians and six Israelis, two of them soldiers, sources on both sides said.

Paleostinians said that as part of the truce, Israel's naval blockade of the coastal territory was eased to allow fishing boats to operate up to six nautical miles from shore, instead of three previously.

A military front man told AFP that a patrol boat intercepted a fishing vessel that had sailed beyond the boundary, although he did not specify how far out it was.

"A fishing boat deviated from the designated fishing area in northern Gazoo," he said, adding that naval personnel "asked the boat to stop but it didn't, so they apprehended the boat and took the people on board for questioning at Ashdod port" in southern Israel.
Posted by: Fred || 11/29/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under: Hamas


Africa North
20 wounded in clashes with police in poor Tunisian town
[Al Ahram] More than 20 people were wounded on Wednesday in a second day of clashes between Tunisian security forces and thousands of protesters in the poor southwestern town of Siliana, a medic told AFP.

"The emergency services at the Siliana regional hospital have so far received 20 people wounded by a kind of ammunition that we haven't been able to identify," the medic said, adding that others wounded in the clashes were on their way to the hospital.

He said no serious injuries had been reported.

Several thousand protesters gathered at 0900 GMT in front of the prefecture in Siliana demanding the departure of the regional governor, trade union official Nejib Sebti told AFP.

The security forces then began firing warning shots and tear gas, before using a "strange" type of shot to disperse the crowd, he said. Similar clashes had taken place on Tuesday.

"The people of Siliana most affected by poverty will never go down on their knees," Sebti said, warning that they were "ready to die for their rights."

The interior ministry could not immediately be reached for comment.

The protesters are demanding the liberation of 14 people detained during violent unrest in April 2011 and funds to boost economic development in the impoverished region, as well as the governor's resignation.

Much of Tunisia's interior suffers from a chronic lack of development, and has seen growing social unrest in recent months, including protests that often turn violent, amid rising discontent over the Islamist-led government's failure to improve living standards.
Posted by: Fred || 11/29/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring

#1  discontent over the Islamist-led government's failure to improve living standards.

Shut up, bang your heads on the ground and pray to Allan you worthless scum. Sharia will provide all that you need.
Posted by: AlanC || 11/29/2012 13:03 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Three would-be bombers from Karachi arrested in Lakki Marwat
[Dawn] Three teenage boys, being transported from Bloody Karachi
...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It may be the largest city in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous...
to the turban-infested tribal regions for training as jacket wallahs, were placed in long-term storage
Book 'im, Mahmoud!
in northwestern Pakistain Wednesday along with their suspected handler, police said.

Mir Ahmed Khan, a local police official in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central...
province's Lakki Marwat district, told Dawn.com that the alleged handler was arrested along with the three minors on a tip-off that a gang would be shifting them to a North Wazoo training camp.

The suspects were taken into custody at Lakki Marwat's Naurang Town bus stand from a passenger coach traveling from DI Khan to Bannu and onwards to North Waziristan Agency, he said.

Khan said the three boys -- aged 12 to 14 years -- were all from South Waziristan Agency but were presently residing in Bloody Karachi's Awan Colony.

Their suspected handler identified only as Yahya -- who belongs to South Waziristan Agency and is alleged to be part of a five-member gang operating in Bloody Karachi's Sultanabad Colony -- had been tasked with recruitment of suicide bombers, Khan said.

According to sources, the accused handler was presented before an Anti-Terrorist Court which remanded him into three-day police custody for further interrogation.

The three minors are likely to be presented before the local court on Thursday to record their statements.
Posted by: Fred || 11/29/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under: TTP


First polio case of year detected in Mohmand
[Dawn] Mohmand Agency
... 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 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...
recorded the first polio
...Poliomyelitis is a disease caused by infection with the poliovirus. Between 1840 and the 1950s, polio was a worldwide epidemic. Since the development of polio vaccines the disease has been largely wiped out in the civilized world. However, since the vaccine is known to make Moslem pee-pees shrink and renders females sterile, bookish, and unsubmissive it is not widely used by the turban and automatic weapons set...
case of the year as National Institute of Health Islamabad confirmed on Tuesday presence of poliomyelitis in a 14-month-old vaccinated child.Agency Surgeon Dr Farooq Shah told Dawn that Hafsa, the affected child, belonged Pandiali tehsil of the tribal region. He said that they would focus on the area from where the case was reported.

The number of polio cases in Fata reached to 20 in 2012 after Hafsa, daughter of Hameedullah, a resident of Dawazai Inzari Maingan in Pandiali tehsil, was diagnosed positive for the crippling disease.

Sources in health department said that the child was infected by P1 type of virus that originated from Afghanistan. They said that health experts were surprised to note that the children, who were administered oral polio vaccine, were being tested positive for the disease.

They said that presence of virus among the vaccinated children was cause of concern for them. Some of the children suffering from the crippling disease in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central...
and Fata had received several doses of the vaccine, the sources said.

"According to World Health Organisation every child needs 10 doses of the oral polio vaccine to develop immunity to cope with poliovirus," they added.

The sources said that the vaccine remained ineffective when the recipients suffered from diarrhoea, low nutrition and low immunity or generalised weakness.

"But the problem is that vaccinators are overburdened with work. There are also not enough doctors to see if a child has any problem, which might leave the vaccine ineffective," they said.
Posted by: Fred || 11/29/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Bangladesh
NY 'Terror Plot': Nafis pleads not guilty
[Bangla Daily Star] Bangladeshi citizen Quazi Mohammad Rezwanul Ahsan Nafis on Tuesday pleaded not guilty
"Wudn't me."
refusing the charges of a 'plot' to blow up the Federal Reserve Bank in New York in October.

Nafis was tossed in the calaboose
Drop the heater, Studs, or you're hist'try!
in a sting operation and charged with attempting to blow up the bank with what authorities say he believed was a 1,000-pound (450-kg) bomb.

During a brief hearing in Brooklyn federal court, 21-year-old Nafis pleaded not guilty to a two-count indictment charging him with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and attempting to provide material support to a US-designated foreign terrorist organization, al-Qaeda.

He faces life in prison if convicted.

Nafis appeared in court wearing a tan prison jumpsuit and did not speak during the hearing.

His lawyer and a lawyer for the government, James Loonam, said discussions were being held about a possible plea negotiation.

His lawyer and a front man for the US attorney's office in Brooklyn declined to comment to news hounds.

From Bangladesh, the suspect's father has denied his son was involved and said he was the victim of a "racist conspiracy."

Nafis was arrested on October 17 after pulling up to the Federal Reserve near Wall Street and attempting to detonate what he believed to be a van packed with explosives.

The inert explosives had been provided to Nafis by an undercover agent as part of a sting operation, federal authorities said.
Posted by: Fred || 11/29/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [1 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
US Senate works on new package of Iran sanctions
The package seeks to ban financial transactions with any person or organization blacklisted for their association with the Iranian government, as well as sales of metallurgical coal and precious metals, a congressional aide said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The sanctions would end "Turkey's game of gold for natural gas," a senior Senate aide said, referring to reports that Turkey has been paying for natural gas with gold due to sanctions rules.

The legislation "would bring economic sanctions on Iran near de facto trade embargo levels with the hope of speeding up the date by which Iran's economy will collapse," the aide said.
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 11/29/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  No more Twinkies!
Posted by: Deacon Blues || 11/29/2012 10:37 Comments || Top||

#2  The sanctions would end "Turkey's game of gold for natural gas"

1. Ergodan won't like it.

2. The White House won't go for it, or

3. The White House will figure out a loophole, or loopholes, and quietly inform the Turks.
Posted by: Pappy || 11/29/2012 14:49 Comments || Top||

#3  Next they'll impose a size limit on soft drinks. That'll really bite.
Posted by: lotp || 11/29/2012 15:21 Comments || Top||

#4  Oil and gas for food. That is a winning plan.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 11/29/2012 17:53 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Official removed after jailbreak restored
[Dawn] The Beautiful Downtown Peshawar
...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire.
High Court on Tuesday directed the provincial government to end the suspension of former Bannu Commissioner Abdullah Mehsud and appoint him to an office of his grade.

The directions were issued by a bench comprising Chief Justice Dost Mohammad Khan and Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth during the hearing into a petition of Mr Mehsud, who was suspended over the April 2012 escape of over 300 prisoners from Bannu Jail after a turban attack, for restoration of his service.

The bench observed that under the Efficiency and Disciplinary Rules, a government official couldn't be placed under suspension for more than six months and since the petitioner had been suspended for more than that period, he should be reinstated to the service.

It observed that an official had already been posted to the Bannu commissioner's office and therefore, the government should appoint the petitioner to some other office of his grade.

The bench later admitted the petition to full hearing and gave 20 days to the provincial government for compliance with its directions.

During the hearing, the chief justice observed that the bench had conducted a judicial inquiry into the April 15, 2012 Bannu jailbreak and its findings were startling.

He observed that the inquiry revealed that the attackers had reached Bannu from Mir Ali in North Wazoo Agency after crossing eight checkposts of law-enforcement agencies and that they were armed with modern weapons, including rocket propelled grenades.

The chief justice observed that the inquiry also revealed that messages about attackers were conveyed to law-enforcement agencies but they didn't respond.

When the chief justice asked the petitioner why he had not responded to the attack, he replied that he was informed by the relevant telephone operator that it was a normal attack.

The bench observed how an attack on a prison could be declared a normal attack.

Jehanzeb Mehsud, lawyer for the petitioner, said he was first suspended by the government on May 28 for three months and his suspension was extended on Aug 26 for three months.

He said several officers were suspended over the jailbreak and they were restored and appointed to different posts but the petitioner continued to be under suspension.

The lawyer said there was no lapse on part of the petitioner over the jailbreak.
Posted by: Fred || 11/29/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan

#1  Let'em out?
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 11/29/2012 1:20 Comments || Top||


Africa North
Muslim Brotherhood pro-Morsi demo to take place Saturday
[Al Ahram] The Moslem Brüderbund and its political wing will be demonstrating across Egypt on Saturday in support of the president's Constitutional Declaration, the Freedom and Justice Party's (FJP) media consultant Ahmed El-Sobaei told Ahram Online on Wednesday.

The Brotherhod had earlier cancelled demonstrations planned for Tuesday fearing that festivities would erupt with rival protesters against the declaration.

On Tuesday, more than a hundred thousand people demonstrated in Tahrir Square protesting the decree.

The decree states that presidential decisions will enjoy temporary immunity from legal challenge. The decree also protects Egypt's Islamist-led Constituent Assembly, tasked with drafting a new constitution, and the Shura Council (the upper house of parliament) from dissolution by court order.
Posted by: Fred || 11/29/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring

#1  The decree states that presidential decisions will enjoy temporary immunity from legal challenge.

A similar, less formal scheme is working quite effectively here in the States.
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/29/2012 7:16 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Videos appear to show Syrian rebels shooting down military helicopter


Three amateur videos have emerged that purport to show rebels shooting down a Syrian military helicopter outside Aleppo. The videos appear roughly consistent with a claim, posted to Facebook by the Local Coordination Committees of Syria, a rebel umbrella group, that “The Free Syrian Army has downed an attack helicopter using anti-aircraft weapons in the Sheikh Salman area in the western countryside.”

Based on these videos, which like so much rebel-made media out of the Syrian conflict are unconfirmed and should be taken with a grain of salt, it appears that a rocket or missile slammed into the side of a helicopter. The aircraft bears some resemblance to an Mi-8, which like much of the Syrian military arsenal is Russian-made.

The EA Worldview blog writes of the reports, “The speed at which these videos were posted, and the speed at which the eyewitness reports [surfaces] that did NOT include the videos, adds credibility that at least one helicopter was shot down.” The blog adds, “We’re cautiously optimistic that all three videos will be confirmed as showing the same helicopter.” A Syrian activist on claimed on Twitter that the video shows “captured anti-craft missiles.”
Posted by: Beavis || 11/29/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  It appears more that they successfully damaged it, + forced it to land???
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 11/29/2012 0:18 Comments || Top||


Russia Calls Syria Bombings 'Unjustified Terror'
[An Nahar] Russia strongly condemned on Wednesday twin car boomings that killed more than 50 people near Syria's capital in a neighborhood favorable to the regime of traditional Moscow ally Bashir al-Assad.

"We condemn in the strongest terms these new terrorist crimes, which nothing can justify," the foreign ministry said in a statement, adding that the attacks showed "the traditional methods of international terrorist organizations like a-Qaeda".

"Their goal is to undermine any effort at stabilizing the situation in Syria and resolving the crisis through peaceful and political means."

Simultaneous car boomings in a Damascus
...Capital of the last remaining Baathist regime in the world...
suburb on Wednesday killed more than 50 civilians and left a trail of destruction and dozens of people maimed in the latest violence in the Syria conflict that has already claimed more than 40,000 lives, according to watchdog estimates.

The Syrian uprising erupted in March 2011 with peaceful pro-democracy protests, inspired by the Arab Spring. It transformed into an armed insurgency when the government began a bloody crackdown on dissent.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights gave a toll of 54 dead and 120 maimed in Wednesday's bombings.
Posted by: Fred || 11/29/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria

#1  And who knows more about "unjustified terror" than the Russian ?
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/29/2012 7:17 Comments || Top||

#2  Bes,

For the Russians, that's justified terror.
Posted by: Eric Jablow || 11/29/2012 18:53 Comments || Top||


Britain
Another Russian Dead in the U.K.
Another Russian dead in Britain. It just does not pay to be fleeing the mafia - whilst sipping tea or taking a jog in the evening. It's worse than duck season over there.
Posted by: Raider || 11/29/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  by the way ... pretty sophisticated killing. assassins like that just don't come cheap. you can really max out your AmEx card calling these guys.
Posted by: Raider || 11/29/2012 0:04 Comments || Top||

#2  I'm still waiting for word about the ricin. It's the old, dependable drugs that really shine in these types of circumstances.
That's if the Bulgarians will share.
Posted by: ed in texas || 11/29/2012 6:50 Comments || Top||

#3  a case that caused an international outcry and prompted the United States to push for a bill cracking down on Russian corruption.

I've got to ponder that one a little more.
Posted by: Blackbeard Snaviger6355 || 11/29/2012 10:16 Comments || Top||

#4  JohnQC = Blackbeard Snaviger6355. I cleared out my history to get rid of accrued garbage and got a new nym. I rather like Blackbeard.
Posted by: Blackbeard Snaviger6355 || 11/29/2012 10:19 Comments || Top||

#5  Blackbeard is a pretty good avatar, JohnQC. Watch out for strange ships in the waters, mate - and always post a lookout!! HAHAHA!!!

Ed - no doubt the UK police will test for ricin as a poison. What's strange here is that the victim died while jogging. You might expect that if this was some sort of poison taken by fluids or food - he would die shortly after a meal. Possibly the poison in this case was a cardiac toxin. Or maybe the poison was soaked into some of his sports equipment (or clothes) and then entered the body through the skin during his workout.

This could be a death from natural causes, of course. But if it's a murder - it's a sophisticated one. Let's watch for the autopsy results.
Posted by: Raider || 11/29/2012 12:21 Comments || Top||

#6  The U.K.? Probably bad food.
Posted by: JohnQC || 11/29/2012 19:00 Comments || Top||


Africa North
Six expat Copts receive death penalty sentence for anti-Islam film
[Al Ahram] The state security court issued a verdict on Wednesday sentencing six expatriate Coptic Egyptians to the death penalty for offending the Islamic faith, on charges related to producing the anti-Islamic film 'The Innocence of Moslems'.

Bishop Marcus of the Coptic Orthodox Church described the sentence as "harsh", while asserting that the church rejects any offence towards any religion.

The US-made film provoked angry protests throughout much of the Islamic world in September, including Egypt and Libya.
Maurice Sadek, a conservative Coptic Christian living in the US, and controversial Pastor Terry Jones
...a Florida preacher of no particular distinction other than his willingness to occasionally set fire to a koran. This results in his getting his name in the papers and in attacks of the vapors in Teheran and places like that...
, who is known for his burning of the Koran, are believed to have been involved in promoting the film but were not involved in its production, according to reports in the Wall Street Journal.

Egyptian-born Coptic Christian Mark Basseley Youssef, also known by his alias Sam Baccil, later acknowledged creating the film, in an interview with the New York Times
...which still proudly displays Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize...

Meanwhile,
...back at the alley, Slats Chumbaloni was staring into a hole that was just .45 inch in diameter and was less than three feet from his face ...
the controversial film has resulted in the arrest of several people in Egypt, mostly Copts accused of sharing the film.

Bishoy Kamel, a Coptic school teacher, was sentenced to six years for sharing the film on his Facebook page and for insulting the president.

Coptic activist Alber Saber, who also allegedly shared the film, remains in detention.
Posted by: Fred || 11/29/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring

#1  I find the sentence offensive. In fact, I find it terribly offensive that my government sends billions of dollars to a country with such disregard for free speech.
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 || 11/29/2012 15:50 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Syrian villagers cheer downed jet
[CNN] Villagers in northern Syria picked pieces of a downed fighter jet from an olive grove Wednesday after rebel fighters claimed to have shot down three government aircraft in 24 hours.

Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Scourge of Qusayr...
's government has relied more on air power to battle the 21-month-old revolt against it, and witnesses said a cheer went up when the jet went down near Aleppo
...For centuries, Aleppo was Greater Syria's largest city and the Ottoman Empire's third, after Constantinople and Cairo. Although relatively close to Damascus in distance, Aleppans regard Damascenes as country cousins...

"We want to take this ... to show them in the other villages," a man who identified himself as Abu Dargham told CNN as he showed off two twisted chunks of metal. "Let them see what happened to these planes."

The downed plane's tail was largely intact, but the fuselage was in pieces and the type of aircraft was not immediately identifiable. Locals picked it apart, with some stuffing pieces into in bags as a tractor hauled away what appeared to be an engine. Cheering children were piled on the tractor as it drove away.

Witnesses said two fliers ejected from the plane before the crash. One was found unconscious and taken to a makeshift clinic, while villagers said they were still searching for the other late Wednesday.

Rebels posted two videos online to support their claims. One shows rebels carrying an unconscious man wearing what looks like a military pilot uniform, while another includes footage of medics bandaging a bloodied and moaning pilot.
Posted by: Fred || 11/29/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


Africa Subsaharan
Nigerian troops kill three Islamists in restive north
[Daily Nation (Kenya)] Nigerian troops have killed three Boko Haram
... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality...
Islamists and recovered arms and ammunition in a crackdown on the group in the restive northeastern city of Maiduguri, the military said Wednesday.

Military front man Sagir Musa said government troops lost one soldier with one injured and tossed in the slammer
Please don't kill me!
31 suspects during the offensive against the bully boy group in the Bulabulin Ngarnam area of the city on Tuesday.

"In an exchange of fire, one soldier was killed, one injured and one immigration personnel missing in action," he said.

"Three Boko Haram bad boyz were potted, 31 suspected Boko Haram gunnies were arrested, one AK-47 rifle, one G3 rifle and some quantity of assorted magazines and ammunitions were recovered," he added.
Posted by: Fred || 11/29/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under: Boko Haram


Africa North
Tunisia court orders release of detained TV owner
[Al Ahram] Tunisia's Court of Cassation on Wednesday ordered the release of TV owner Sami Fehri, incarcerated
Drop the rod and step away witcher hands up!
in August in a move NGOs denounced as an attempt by the authorities to silence their critics, his lawyer said.
"He will be freed in the coming hours. The judgement has just been given and we are waiting for the information to be relayed to the civil prison in Mornaguia," near Tunis, Sonia Dahmani told AFP.

"We still don't have the details of the judgement, but we can imagine why the court (decided to free him), it was such a violation of his rights," she added.

Fehri gave himself up to the authorities after being charged with "illegal use of Tunisian state television
... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
resources" during the rule of president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, at the risk of being placed in durance vile
You have the right to remain silent...
for ten years.

His TV channel Ettounsiya had aired a controversial satirical programme critical of the government.

Fehri's lawyers asked the court to revoke his provisional detention due to serious procedural flaws.

They say the authorities put pressure on the judiciary to imprison him.

"The judges have decided they will no longer put up with the interferences (of the government), so now we have a decision in accordance with the law," Dahmani said after Wednesday's ruling.

Fehri, who founded Ettounsiya in March 2011, two months after the revolution swept Ben Ali from power, had been involved with a production company belonging to Belhassen Trabelsi, the former president's brother-in-law.

His detention in August caused uproar, notably because it came just days after he announced having pulled the satirical show Guignols ('puppets' in French) under pressure from the Islamist party Ennahda, which heads the coalition government.
Posted by: Fred || 11/29/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


India-Pakistan
Man killed in 'sectarian' attack
[Dawn] After over a weeklong lull in assassinations in the city, a young man was bumped off in a sectarian attack in the Gulbahar area late Monday night, police said.

They added that gunnies riding a cycle of violence fired shots at 30-year-old Ali Haider in Gulbahar No 2 within the remit of the Rizvia cop shoppe and fled. The victim suffered fatal bullet wounds, causing his death on the spot, the police said. They said the victim had arrived in Gulbahar to see someone when he was targeted.

The motive for the killing seemed to be sectarian though the victim was also a sympathiser of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement
...English: United National Movement, generally known as MQM, is the 3rd largest political party and the largest secular political party in Pakistain with particular strength in Sindh. From 1992 to 1999, the MQM was the target of the Pak Army's Operation Cleanup leaving thousands of urdu speaking civilians dead...
, said DIG (west) Javed Odho. The police shifted the body to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for medico-legal formalities.

The victim's funeral prayers were offered at Imambargah Aalay Muhammad in North Bloody Karachi
...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It may be the largest city in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous...
before his burial in the Wadius Salaam graveyard in Surjani Town.
Posted by: Fred || 11/29/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under: Lashkar e-Jhangvi


Southeast Asia
Abu Sayyaf beheading suspect captured in the Philippines
A member of Abu Sayyaf, believed to be involved in the beheading of two men in 2002, was arrested in a small village about 10 miles outside of Zamboanga City. The suspect, Walid Amping, aka Alexander Antonio and Tuma, was taken in Friday morning in the village of Tulungatung.

Amping was nabbed on six counts of kidnapping and two counts of murder for the 2002 kidnapping of six Jehovah's Witnesses in Sulu province. According to reports, the victims - four females and two males - were selling products door-to-door when the Abu Sayyaf terrorists bandits seized them.

They beheaded the two male hostages, whose bodies were found the next day. The rest of the hostages were rescued after weeks of military operations against the Abu Sayyaf in Sulu.

Amping is the fifth terrorist militant suspect arrested in the recent pursuit of the Abu Sayyaf by local police and military in Zamboanga and Basilan provinces.
Posted by: ryuge || 11/29/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under: Abu Sayyaf


Good morning
Posted by: Fred || 11/29/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Birthday Gam Shot 11/28

Laura Antonelli [Italia][Filmography](age 71)


Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 11/29/2012 3:09 Comments || Top||

#2  Birthday Gam Shot

Kim Delaney[Filmography](age 51)


Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 11/29/2012 3:24 Comments || Top||

#3  Peek-a-boo....
Posted by: Uncle Phester || 11/29/2012 18:17 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Cabinet approves draft to form new counter-terrorism body
[Dawn] Pakistain's federal cabinet on Wednesday approved a draft law to establish a new counter terrorism body aimed at better coordinating efforts to defeat Taliban and al Qaeda-linked violence, a minister said.

Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira said the main objective was to defeat terrorism, but he provided no details on exactly how the new organization would help.

"The cabinet today approved the National Counter-Terrorism Authority Bill the need for which has been felt for a long time," Kaira told news hounds after a regular cabinet meeting.
Posted by: Fred || 11/29/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Africa North
Rights Bodies Denounce Abuses in Mauritania
[An Nahar] The International Federation for Human Rights on Wednesday denounced extrajudicial killings, repression, torture and other rights abuses in Mauritania.

"If, under the regime of (President) Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, people dare to exercise their rights, they are often victims of repression, arrest and imprisonment," read a joint report with the Mauritania Human Rights Association published Wednesday.

The rights bodies said the indefinite postponement of legislative and local elections in 2011, which led to protests from the opposition, could be linked to these rights violations.

The report denounced "extrajudicial killings, excessive and fatal use of force, violence while trying to maintain order, arrests and arbitrary arrests, acts of torture ... and unjust judicial procedures."

"The consolidation of a democratic regime must pass through a balancing of power and the organization as soon as possible of free and fair legislative elections and the strengthening of judicial independence," the report said.

It also called for the end of impunity for those implicated in atrocities against black Mauritanians under former president Maaouiya Ould Taya, who was in power for 21 years until a 2005 coup.

Political anger has simmered in the large, arid north-west African nation since current leader Abdel Aziz seized power in another coup in 2008.

Despite his election in democratic polls a year later the opposition has never accepted his rule as legitimate and demand widespread political reforms.

On Wednesday the opposition boycotted celebrations of the country's 52nd anniversary of independence from La Belle France to protest his regime.
Posted by: Fred || 11/29/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under:


India-Pakistan
Pakistan test fires nuclear-capable ballistic missile
[Al Ahram] Pakistain on Wednesday test fired a nuclear-capable ballistic missile with a range of 1,300 kilometres (800 miles), the military said.

The military described the Hatf V Ghauri missile as a liquid fuel missile, which can carry both conventional and nuclear warheads.

It was Pakistain's eighth missile test so far this year and comes two months after its last test of a Hatf-VII with a range of 700 kilometres.

Five of those tests were conducted within a few weeks after arch-rival India in April successfully test fired the Agni V, which can deliver a one-tonne nuclear warhead anywhere in China, marking a major advance in its military capabilities.

India and Pakistain have fought three wars -- two over the disputed Himalayan territory of Kashmire -- and have routinely carried out missile tests since both demonstrated nuclear weapons capability in 1998.
Posted by: Fred || 11/29/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Iran Accuses U.S. of 8 Airspace Violations in October, Warns of 'Serious Reaction'
[An Nahar] Iranian airspace was violated eight times by archfoe the United States in October, Iran's foreign ministry front man said, adding that an official protest had been lodged with the United Nations
...an organization originally established to war on dictatorships which was promptly infiltrated by dictatorships and is now held in thrall to dictatorships...

"Any country violating our territory will face a serious reaction from Iran," Ramin Mehmanparast warned in a statement quoted by the media on Wednesday.

"In the month of October we witnessed eight cases of airspace violations by the American fleet (U.S. Navy) and we have told the U.N. ... of course we have announced our serious objection to the U.S.," said Mehmanparast, without elaborating on the nature of the violations.

"We have written two separate letters to the (Security Council) and to the secretary general of the U.N. regarding the U.S. violations, asking them to notify the U.S. ... to respect our illusory sovereignty," he added.

He said that the latest incident, the only one to have been made public so far, had taken place on November 1, when a U.S. drone was attacked by two Iranian fighters over the Gulf.

Tehran has said its planes opened fire while the drone was on a reconnaissance mission over the main oil terminal on the Iranian island of Kharg.

Washington insists the drone was in international airspace eight miles (13 kilometers) beyond the Iranian territorial boundaries. It said the drone was not damaged.

Iran's envoy to the U.N. Mohammad Khazaee, quoted by the government newspaper Iran Daily said that U.S. drones had violated Iranian airspace seven times in October, flying over the southern city of Bushehr where Iran's nuclear power plant is located and Kharg island where the oil terminal is located.

Khazaee said Tehran had warned in its protest letter against the "adverse consequences of any provocative and dangerous acts for which the United States government would be held responsible."
Posted by: Fred || 11/29/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran

#1  SU-25 FROGFOOTS are ground attack or CAS aircraft, NOT "fighters".
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 11/29/2012 0:14 Comments || Top||


Africa North
Egypt's Nour Party backs controversial Morsi decree
[Al Ahram] The Salafist Nour Party on Wednesday expressed support for Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi's controversial constitutional declaration.

"The president's decisions did not come out of the blue; it is clear to anyone following recent political events that there have been attempts to lead the country into a state of lawlessness," Nour Party front man Nader Bakkar stated.

He pointed in particular to the dissolution this summer of Egypt's democratically elected parliament based on a ruling by Egypt's High Constitutional Court.

The party front man asserted that the recent replacement of Prosecutor-General Abdel-Maguid Mahmoud -- who, according to Bakkar, "had stood against the revolution" -- with Judge Talaat Abdullah, "has given hope to the families of the revolution's deaders, after everyone had accused the president of not doing enough to attain deaders' rights."

Bakkar went on to warn against opposition calls to dissolve the Constituent Assembly (tasked with drafting a new constitution) and Shura Council (the upper, consultative house of parliament) and for President Morsi to step down.

"How can we allow a handful of individuals and political forces -- which don't represent the people -- to bring an end to all state institutions?" he asked.

Bakkar also asserted that former members of Mubarak's now-dissolved National Democratic Party were recruiting people to "fabricate crises in return for large sums of money."

He went on to stress that the Nour Party would support the elected president -- who hails from Egypt's Moslem Brüderbund -- in the coming phase, and would participate in all rallies in coordination with other Islamist forces for the sake of the nation.

On Tuesday, more than a hundred thousand demonstrators protested against Morsi's constitutional declaration in Cairo's Tahrir Square.

Morsi's divisive
...politicians call things divisive when when the other side sez something they don't like. Their own statements are never divisive, they're principled...
declaration prevents the judiciary from challenging his decisions. It also protects the Shura Council and Constituent Assembly from possible dissolution by court order.

The declaration also called for the dismissal of Egypt's longstanding prosecutor-general, who Morsi had unsuccessfully attempted to remove in October.

The president's declaration further ordered the retrial of ousted president Hosni Mubarak
...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011...
and aides implicated in the killing of protesters during and after last year's popular uprising.
Posted by: Fred || 11/29/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Blasts kill 54 near Syria capital, warplane downed
[Al Ahram] Simultaneous car boomings killed more than 50 civilians and left a trail of destruction in a town near Syria's capital Wednesday, as rebels downed a second military aircraft in as many days.

The explosives-packed cars blew up at daybreak in a pro-regime neighbourhood of the mainly Christian and Druze town of Jaramana, residents, state media and a rights watchdog reported.

The blasts destroyed a central square near a petrol station, one going off as a bomb-laden car was driven against the traffic down a main road lined by many people.

There was a ball of fire at the end of a narrow lane, and the impact of the kabooms brought walls down onto cars. Pools of blood and severed body parts were left behind on the streets, said an AFP photographer.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights gave a corpse count of 54, all civilians. More than 120 other people were maimed, and many residents rushed with them to hospital.

"What do they want from Jaramana? The town brings together people from all over Syria and welcomes everybody," one told AFP.

Jaramana has now been targeted by four such kabooms in three months. It is home to predominantly Christians and Druze, an influential minority whose faith is an offshoot of Shiite Islam.

Sectarian divides are a key factor in Syria's armed rebellion, with many in the Sunni Mohammedan majority frustrated at more than 40 years of Alawite-dominated rule.

The uprising erupted in March 2011 with peaceful democracy protests. It transformed into an armed insurgency when the government began a bloody crackdown.

The regime of Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
The Scourge of Hama...
, himself from the Alawite offshoot of Shiite Islam, insists it is fighting foreign-backed "terrorists".

The failure of international diplomacy has enabled it to press on with its all-out military campaign to crush the rebellion, and the fighting has resulted in more than 40,000 deaths, according to the Observatory.

At least another 31 people -- on top of the 54 who died in Jaramana -- were killed in violence across Syria on Wednesday, the watchdog said, updating an earlier toll.

Also, a car kaboom struck the town of Basra al-Sham, in the southwestern province of Daraa, the Observatory said, without providing a precise casualty toll.

"A huge kaboom hit the town," said the Observatory. "It was caused by a car kaboom. The kaboom was followed by the sound of festivities. There were reports of casualties."

An AFP correspondent on the Syria-Turkey border, meanwhile, reported that rebel fighters shot down a fighter jet in the embattled northwest.

The aircraft was hit by a missile and crashed at Daret Ezza, said the Observatory, a Britannia-based watchdog that relies on a network of activists and medics on the ground.

Witnesses said the rebels later captured one of the pilots.

"Two pilots used parachutes to jump out of the plane after it was hit," a witness told an AFP news hound one kilometre (less than a mile) away in Tourmanin. "One of them was taken prisoner."

The rebels were seen carrying him and taunting Assad in YouTube videos.

"This is your airplane, oh Bashar," a man said in one video as fire and smoke rose from the mass of broken metal. "The (rebel) Free Syrian Army has downed it."

It came a day after rebels downed an army helicopter for the first time with a newly acquired ground-to-air missile, in what the Observatory said had the potential to change the balance of military power.

The gunship was on a strafing run near the besieged northwestern base of Sheikh Suleiman, the last garrison in government hands between Syria's second city Aleppo
...For centuries, Aleppo was Greater Syria's largest city and the Ottoman Empire's third, after Constantinople and Cairo. Although relatively close to Damascus in distance, Aleppans regard Damascenes as country cousins...
and the Turkish border.

Little more than a week ago, the rebels seized tanks, armoured vehicles, artillery, 120-mm mortars and rocket launchers when they took the government forces' sprawling Base 46, about 12 kilometres (eight miles) west of Aleppo.
Posted by: Fred || 11/29/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria

#1  at another site there was an interview w a local who seemed to blame the rebels, the US, Israel and Qatar
Posted by: lord garth || 11/29/2012 2:53 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Militants seeking berth in parliament: minister
[Dawn] The Beautiful Downtown Peshawar
...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire.
High Court on Tuesday directed the provincial government to end the suspension of former Bannu Commissioner Abdullah Mehsud and appoint him to an office of his grade.

The directions were issued by a bench comprising Chief Justice Dost Mohammad Khan and Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth during the hearing into a petition of Mr Mehsud, who was suspended over the April 2012 escape of over 300 prisoners from Bannu Jail after a Death Eater attack, for restoration of his service.

The bench observed that under the Efficiency and Disciplinary Rules, a government official couldn't be placed under suspension for more than six months and since the petitioner had been suspended for more than that period, he should be reinstated to the service.

It observed that an official had already been posted to the Bannu commissioner's office and therefore, the government should appoint the petitioner to some other office of his grade.

The bench later admitted the petition to full hearing and gave 20 days to the provincial government for compliance with its directions.

During the hearing, the chief justice observed that the bench had conducted a judicial inquiry into the April 15, 2012 Bannu jailbreak and its findings were startling.

He observed that the inquiry revealed that the attackers had reached Bannu from Mir Ali in North Wazoo Agency after crossing eight checkposts of law-enforcement agencies and that they were armed with modern weapons, including rocket propelled grenades.

The chief justice observed that the inquiry also revealed that messages about attackers were conveyed to law-enforcement agencies but they didn't respond.

When the chief justice asked the petitioner why he had not responded to the attack, he replied that he was informed by the relevant telephone operator that it was a normal attack.

The bench observed how an attack on a prison could be declared a normal attack.

Jehanzeb Mehsud, lawyer for the petitioner, said he was first suspended by the government on May 28 for three months and his suspension was extended on Aug 26 for three months.

He said several officers were suspended over the jailbreak and they were restored and appointed to different posts but the petitioner continued to be under suspension.

The lawyer said there was no lapse on part of the petitioner over the jailbreak.
Posted by: Fred || 11/29/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


-Signs, Portents, and the Weather-
State Senator Proposes Dissolving City Of Detroit
[Detroit.CBSLocal] It would no doubt be controversial, but the idea of dissolving the fiscally struggling city of Detroit and absorbing it into Wayne County is being tossed around in Lansing.
Does Wayne County want it?
WWJ Lansing Bureau Chief Tim Skubick reports some state Republicans are talking about giving the city the option to vote itself into bankruptcy. And mid-Michigan Senator Rick Jones said all options should be considered -- including dissolving the city.

"If we have to, that is one idea we have to look at. We really have to look at everything that is on the table," Jones said. "Again, if this goes to federal bankruptcy, every employee down there will suffer, the city will suffer and the vultures will come in and take the jewels of Detroit and they will be gone."

Local consultant Tom Watkins has proposed this in the past, but the idea has never played well among Detroiters.

In a live interview on WWJ Newsradio 950 Wednesday morning, Gov. Rick Snyder said he wouldn't count anything out.

"Detroit needs to solve their problems, but they need support and we've been very supportive partners, I believe, in terms of offering different ideas and thoughts. And I just encourage them to work harder about working better together," Snyder said.

Talking to Talk Radio 1270 host Charlie Langton, Detroit's ex-communications chief Karen Dumas said she would not support such a plan.

"No, I don't think that dissolution is the solution for the city of Detroit; I don't," said Dumas. "I think people ... with every step we get more and more fearful ... and maybe at some point that's going to make everybody wake up and realize that we need to stop playing politics and come up with a solution for progress. "I don't know at what point that's going to happen. "
Posted by: Fred || 11/29/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I thought JOHN KERRY + Arabs were going to save the day ala the proposed "GREAT LAKES FTZ"???

SON, AHZ ES NOW CONFUSED.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 11/29/2012 0:25 Comments || Top||

#2  Oh. As a legal entity. I was hoping for bulldozers.
Posted by: gromky || 11/29/2012 0:37 Comments || Top||

#3  Only in Detroit: In town for his ongoing federal racketeering trial in U.S. District Court, former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick tweeted that he caught a guy breaking into a house on the same street as his mother's, former U.S. Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick.

"Dude breaking into a house on Moms street," he tweeted around 8 p.m.

"Hey get out there," Kilpatrick yelled.

The would-be burglar apparently was stunned by the person giving the orders.

"Damn, Ok Kwame," Kilpatrick reported he said.
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 11/29/2012 0:41 Comments || Top||

#4  Editorial from Detroit News:
Hard to know which is more stunning — the dysfunction of Detroit's political class and their paymasters in the city's unions or the denial embedded in their posturing and public statements. And all of it comes wrapped in rhetoric dripping with the same sense of entitlement that Detroit's auto industry regularly manufactured right up to its collapse four years ago.

A current favorite from Ed McNeil, assistant to the president of AFSCME Local 25: "If we get them out of here" — "them" being appointees answerable to the state Treasury Department — "we won't be broke."

Really? It's that simple? Bounce the interlopers imported from Lansing, revert to business as usual, restore wage and benefit cuts, cancel restructuring plans and tax revenues and credit ratings will magically reverse their steady downward trajectory? So easy, that.

Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 11/29/2012 0:45 Comments || Top||

#5  Hmmm, seems the most effective way would be to split it among all the Bosses now running it.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 11/29/2012 1:16 Comments || Top||

#6  Detroit can be a set for the continuing episodes of "Life without People."
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 11/29/2012 2:07 Comments || Top||

#7  What are they going to use to dissolve it with?
Posted by: tu3031 || 11/29/2012 2:20 Comments || Top||

#8  I was thinking the same - maybe dissolve it in fuming nitric acid. Or - Drano.
Posted by: Lone Ranger || 11/29/2012 5:29 Comments || Top||

#9  Too bad we can't pack it all up and ship it to Sacramento CA as a warning.
Posted by: CrazyFool || 11/29/2012 6:57 Comments || Top||

#10  Arresting decay is very costly and for what reason? We seldom learn anything from history, so let it go. Reforestation and reestablishing animal habitats are probably the right courses of action. Within 50-60 years wood frame structures will have collapsed with only the foundations remaining. There may be some commercial value in harvesting used brick and scrap iron. Gaia will manage it properly until future generations have a valid need for it.
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/29/2012 7:09 Comments || Top||

#11  Part of this is to absorb it into Wayne County.
The folks in the county aren't pleased. In fact, I think they're terrified. Imagine spreading Detroititis to the innocent surrounding municipalities.
Posted by: Richard Aubrey || 11/29/2012 8:00 Comments || Top||

#12  It will be like popping an infected boil. Poor Wayne county will need to worry about infection as the leftist puss oozes out.
Posted by: airandee || 11/29/2012 8:21 Comments || Top||

#13  The Michigan state legislature did pass laws to impose emergency management on the city of Detroit to get a handle on the situation by, among other things, throwing out union contracts in a step short of bankruptcy or dissolution.
The electorate of the state of Michigan in their wisdom (/sarc) THREW OUT this legislation in a referendum.
Now the state government has fewer & more drastic options, as mentioned.
By voting for that referendum, the entire state bought into the coming disaster. They own whatever awful situation Detroit will now get not. Got to protect those public unions, no matter what.
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 11/29/2012 8:38 Comments || Top||

#14  Detroit will now get not into.
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 11/29/2012 8:39 Comments || Top||

#15  the jewels of Detroit

Ummm, I don't think that word means what you think it does.

Cubic Zirconium is vastly superior to the polished turd that is Detroit.
Posted by: AlanC || 11/29/2012 8:50 Comments || Top||

#16  I was wondering that myself. Other than the sports teams who have a good season every so often...

What, exactly, are jewels are Detroit?

Museums? Art Galleries? Journeyman Homicide Squads?
Posted by: swksvolFF || 11/29/2012 9:26 Comments || Top||

#17  Monica Conyers, Kwame Kilpatrick....

nuff said
Posted by: Frank G || 11/29/2012 9:32 Comments || Top||

#18  Journeyman Homicide Squads?

As featured in A&E's The First 48.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 11/29/2012 9:41 Comments || Top||

#19  "the jewels of Detroit"

What?! Is someone going to steal Mike Illitch? Al Kaline? Better Made Potato Chips? Strohs has been gone for decades...
Posted by: Broadhead6 || 11/29/2012 9:46 Comments || Top||

#20  The iconic Detroit Public Library was recently raided by the FBI.
Nothing's safe.
Posted by: Richard Aubrey || 11/29/2012 10:19 Comments || Top||

#21  Strohs was a decent brew as I recall but then it is a matter of taste. I was born in Detroitistan years ago. So when asked "place of birth" what does one say if Detroit is dissolved? Does it put you on a TSA watch list if you respond with "Detroit?" How about "Southeast Territory of Michigan?" Wayne County? "Born in what is former Detroit?" Or just silently curse the greedy corruptocrats (politicians, unions, etc.) of every stripe who fed at the public trough and caused this?
Posted by: JohnQC || 11/29/2012 10:34 Comments || Top||

#22  Strohs was a favorite brew in my penny pinching (squeezing till they screamed) days post college.
Also liked Black Horse Ale and Prior's Double Dark.
Posted by: AlanC || 11/29/2012 11:06 Comments || Top||

#23  My dad was a Wayne County guy back in the day. Transferred from Wayne high to Ypsi where he met my mom. Pegged jeans, white suede shoes and a DA. He was base vocal for the Dynamics...even played the Apollo. They moved to CA just prior to my birth. A day doesn't go by where I thank God they did. Breaks my mom's heart to see what has become of that once great city and it's surrounds.
Oh and Stroh's was terrible. Guaranteed case of the runs each and every time.
Posted by: Rex Mundi || 11/29/2012 11:20 Comments || Top||

#24  Rex, to each his own on the brew. At least you didn't have Schmidts (or Iron City) 8^)
Posted by: AlanC || 11/29/2012 12:05 Comments || Top||

#25  Isn't Detroit the 'Model City' of the Liberal/Socialist 'Great Society' or something?
Posted by: CrazyFool || 11/29/2012 12:14 Comments || Top||

#26  "Does Wayne County want it?"

I doubt it.

But I would suppose it would depend on how stupid they are.
Posted by: Barbara || 11/29/2012 12:22 Comments || Top||

#27  What shall we do with our fair city
Dirty and dangerous, grimy and gritty?
What shall we do with our fair town?
GRAB A HAMMER AND SMASH IT DOWN!
Posted by: mojo || 11/29/2012 14:12 Comments || Top||

#28  Buy up the foreclosed homes and properties selling for a $1 and get them off the market.

Strike most laws from the books (including welfare) and become an American version of Hong Kong. If the folks leave to collect their welfare elsewhere so be it. Detroit can be rebuilt but the current government/paradigm is not going to do it.
Posted by: rjschwarz || 11/29/2012 14:48 Comments || Top||

#29  Why not just let Detroit go and use it as a living laboratory of how societies fail. Won't really cost you a cent, and the union issues will resolve themselves as the remaining money dries up.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 11/29/2012 15:04 Comments || Top||

#30  and use it as a living laboratory of how societies fail.

Unfortunately the lefties never learn. See 'Soviet Union', 'North Korea', 'Cuba'. they always think *they* will get it right this time (and never do!).
Posted by: CrazyFool || 11/29/2012 16:07 Comments || Top||

#31  Rex - Wayne Memorial High. Not exactly Detroit but close enough. Both my parents went there. My Step-Father went to St. Mary's Commercial High (pretty sure that was the one)Many, many, moons ago...His old neighborhood (once polish and italian) is not even recognizable today. Where his house stood is a vacant lot.
Posted by: Broadhead6 || 11/29/2012 17:35 Comments || Top||

#32  What, exactly, are jewels are Detroit?

The Heidelburg Project

Posted by: SteveS || 11/29/2012 18:26 Comments || Top||

#33  Hey Rex, was your Dad in the Dynamics before or after the Ice Cream Song?

I believe they produced that while still in Detroit and before their Memphis days.
Posted by: Mullah Richard || 11/29/2012 18:43 Comments || Top||

#34  When the Romans destroyed a city they then plowed salt in the agricultural land around the city, so that it could not be re-inhabited. See Cartage.
Surely since the Dems have destroyed Detroit it must now be time they salted it as well.
Posted by: tipper || 11/29/2012 19:11 Comments || Top||

#35  Ahhh yes Mullah, that would be the RnB Dynamics. My dad's group formed up in the late 50's and started out as doo-wop, but also included numbers by The Drifters and Sam Cooke, etc.
Posted by: Rex Mundi || 11/29/2012 19:32 Comments || Top||

#36  Bh6: I hear ya. Went back for grandma's funeral some years ago. We toured around the the old homesteads like strangers. Afterwards we went to Rick's in Ann Arbor, got tanked and ran the pool tables for several hours. Haven't been back since.
Posted by: Rex Mundi || 11/29/2012 19:38 Comments || Top||

#37  Holy bushel o'shrooms, SteveS.

I do not think I can legally drive for three hours after reading the DUSA flag.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 11/29/2012 20:43 Comments || Top||

#38  Use it as props for making Batman movies :-)
Posted by: Raider || 11/29/2012 20:50 Comments || Top||

#39  Didn't know, had to ask. Thanks Rex.

Playing at the Apollo is still pretty cool, though. What an honor, plus a great opportunity, for a young man.

Lived my very early years in an apartment complex in St. Clair Shores. Don't remember much, only that you could see the lake.
Posted by: Mullah Richard || 11/29/2012 20:57 Comments || Top||

#40  No worries Mullah..and it was an honor. The Drifters hired em as an opening act for some gigs and Mr Gordy even gsve em a song to record. Not bad for a bunch of white boys who were still in or just out of high school.

The thing is Detroit was a powerhouse, a national treasure and the industrial engine thay helped speed victory in WWII. It's sad decline is an endictment of progressive politics and their parastic ways.
Posted by: Rex Mundi || 11/29/2012 22:16 Comments || Top||


Arabia
Saudi diplomat killed in Sana'a
[Yemen Post] A Saudi diplomat, along with a Yemeni escort, was killed in the heart of the capital Sana'a on Wednesday.
Probably a spontaneous reaction by people fired up over some anti-Islamic film or something. It happens every now and then...
Eyewitnesses affirmed that gunnies in a four-wheel vehicle shot fire at the diplomat and managed to escape.

Diplomatic sources spelt out the diplomat, Khalid al-Enzi, served as an assistant of the military attaché.

Alarabya TV reported that the killers were dressed in security force uniforms of the Central Security.

A Saudi Foreign Ministry front man confirmed to Rooters the unnamed diplomat died in the attack, but no group has grabbed credit for the attack.

In October, masked gunnies rubbed out a Yemeni man who worked in the security office of the U.S. Embassy in Sanaa, weeks after Abdulilah Al-Ashwal, a senior intelligence official, was killed in a drive-by shooting in the capital.

Soddy Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in their national face...
, which is a major donor to their poor neighbor and hosted the signing of the deal for President Abdurabu Mansour Hadi
...the second and possibly the last president of Yemen, successor to former President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh...
to take power, strongly supported Yemen in combating Al-Qaeda.

Hadi conducted an offensive against Al-Qaeda and could cleanse them from their main hideouts in Abyan
...a governorate of Yemen. The region was a base to the Aden-Abyan Islamic Army terrorist group until it dropped the name and joined al-Qaeda. Its capital is Zinjibar. In March 2011, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula declared the governate an Islamic Emirate after seizing control of the region. The New York Times fastidiously reported that those in control, while Islamic hard boyz, are not in fact al-Qaeda, but something else that looks, tastes, smells, and acts the same. Yemeni government forces launched an effort to re-establish control of the region when President-for-Life Saleh was tossed and the carnage continues...
and Shabwa governorates, but Al-Qaeda resorted to use other tactics including liquidations and bombing in its war against the Yemeni government.

A Saudi diplomat, Abdullah Al-Khalidi, was kidnapped in the port city of Aden on March 28 and several video messages of al-Khalidi were posted by Al-Qaeda in which he appealed to the Saudi authorities to meet the demands of captors through releasing Al-Qaeada prisoners and pay a ransom.

Posted by: Fred || 11/29/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Arabia

#1  "The Panther" by Nelson DeMille (available on Amazon via Fred's link) is just out, and a great read. Takes John Corey and Kate to Yemen to ostensibly hunt down an Al-Amriki terrorist that was a mastermind behind the Cole bombing and other acts. Great sense of the duplicitous Bedouins, Saudis, Sana'a Govt and forces, just about everyone there is a lying thief.
Posted by: Frank G || 11/29/2012 8:07 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Mowing the lawn
[Ynet] Analysis: IDF aware Operation Pillar of Defense in Gazoo not a long-term solution to Paleostinian rocket fire on south

After eight days of intense aerial bombardments of terrorist infrastructure in the Gazoo Strip, Israel agreed to an Egypt-mediated ceasefire, effectively marking the end of Operation Pillar of Defense. Despite the fact that over 70% of Israelis were against the ceasefire deal, the IDF raced to declare victory after the 9 pm deadline came into effect, touting its many, albeit minor, military achievements. And again, despite popular opinion, the IDF's case is strong.

Consider as a contrast the Second Leb War, widely perceived as a failure by the Israel public, and confirmed as such by the government-appointed Winograd Commission. In 2006, the IDF invaded Leb with a number of ambitious goals, including the toppling of Hezbollah and the engendering of long-term change in the Lebanese political system. Indeed, the loftiness of the goals rendered IDF action void ab initio, and doomed to insignificance even the military's considerable tactical victories.

Learning from its mistakes, for Operation Pillar of Defense the IDF set itself modest, achievable military goals. The first, tactical, was to deplete Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason,' stores of rockets and weapons systems.

The second, strategic, was to recreate a comprehensive deterrence capability that would cause bully boyz in the coastal enclave to hesitate before renewing rocket salvoes against Israel's south.

According to the IDF, during the course of the eight-day operation, Israel targeted:

o 30 senior Hamas and Islamic Jihad
...created after many members of the Egyptian Mohammedan Brotherhood decided the organization was becoming too moderate. Operations were conducted out of Egypt until 1981 when the group was exiled after the liquidation of President Anwar Sadat. They worked out of Gaza until they were exiled to Lebanon in 1987, where they clove tightly to Hezbollah. In 1989 they moved to Damascus, where they remain a subsidiary of Hezbollah...
terrorists
o 19 high-level command centers
o 980 underground rocket launchers
o 140 smuggling tunnels
o 66 tunnels used for terrorist operations
o 42 operation rooms and bases owned by Hamas
o 26 weapons manufacturing and storage facilities

To add a little bit of context, the IDF launched far more Arclight airstrikes in Gazoo during the first few days of Operation Pillar of Defense than during the same initial period of Operation Cast Lead of 2008-2009. The recent operation decimated Hamas' and other terrorist organizations' stores of Qassam rockets and mortars, while all but completely obliterating their Iranian-made Fajr-5 missiles.

On the diplomatic front, if Israel secures Egyptian cooperation over weapons smuggling into Gazoo, Hamas could find it exceedingly difficult to resupply and rearm. These represent incontestable tactical scores for the IDF, and could be considered, ipso facto, justification for Operation Pillar of Defense.

Which leads us to the IDF's deterrence capabilities: The IDF displayed the effectiveness of its budding UAV program, dubbed "Canopy of Fire," or hupat esh in Hebrew. The program is comprised of constant aerial surveillance of terrorist infrastructure in the Gazoo Strip.

Buzzing drones flying kilometers above the enclave use high-resolution cameras to monitor individual bully boyz conducting military operations, at times allowing the IAF to conduct rapid pinpoint strikes against the operatives. The program is increasingly successful, and will eventually threaten terrorists' ability to fire rockets into Israel without being targeted by an IAF strike.

Of course, the success of the operation will ultimately be judged in the coming weeks and months based on the stability of the ceasefire deal. If Israel has in fact managed to renegotiate the "rules of the game" to prohibit rocket fire on Israel's south, the operation will be deemed a success.

But be clear, there are very few within the IDF, if any, who believe that Operation Pillar of Defense is a long-term solution to Paleostinian rocket fire. Most expect the ceasefire to break down eventually, as Defense Minister Ehud Barak said, within "nine days, nine weeks, or more."

Far from being a regional game-changer, the operation was viewed as a tactical necessity, one which has frustrated the increasingly brazen terrorist attacks emanating from Gazoo, and which will have to be repeated in weeks, months, or years down the line.

It is viewed as both a sequel to Operation Cast Lead and a prequel to what will invariably be the next IDF operation in the Strip, and the next, until a diplomatic solution can be found.

In IDF slang, the process is known as "mowing the lawn." Only time will tell when the weeds will grow back.

Yoni holds a BA degree in Psychology with a minor in Political Science, from the University of British Columbia. He is currently working as a journalist in Israel, and his expertise lies in policy, conflict and Middle East affairs. Yoni was called up for reserve duty in the IDF's Strategic Division at the start of Operation Pillar of Defense.
Posted by: trailing wife || 11/29/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under: Hamas


Home Front: WoT
Lawfare: Group sues US, Clinton, for 'funding terror'
[JPost] Shurat Hadin files lawsuit on behalf of Americans living in Israel over alleged funding of Paleostinian terror in West Bank, Gazoo.

A group of 24 Americans living in Israel, including victims of terrorism, filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
... sometimes described as The Liberatress of Libya and at other times as Mrs. Bill, never as Another Hamilton Fish ...
and the US government over allegations of funding Paleostinian terrorism in the West Bank and Gazoo.

The civil action, filed in the district court of Washington, DC, alleges that the US State Department, including Clinton, has ignored congressional safeguards and transparency requirements attached to US aid to the Paleostinian Authority under the Paleostinian Anti-Terrorism Act.

Related:
Shurat HaDin warns charity over alleged terror ties
Leb War victims alter game of terror financing

In announcing the lawsuit, Shurat HaDin-Israel Law Center noted that it had filed the case right as the PA is about to seek non-member status at the UN on Thursday, implying that the lawsuit could have embarrassing consequences for the PA, the US government and other supporters of the PA at a critical diplomatic moment.

The US Embassy said that it could not provide an official response by press time.

In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs claim that the White House has not been complying with the regulations and reporting obligations governing presidential waivers which facilitate emergency funding to the Paleostinians.

As a result of the alleged noncompliance, the lawsuit contends that US funds have been flowing, whether intentionally or unintentionally, to terror groups like Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, and others.

The lawsuit claims that since the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993, the US State Department, via USAID, has given over $4 billion to Paleostinians.

However,
Caliphornia hasn't yet slid into the ocean, no matter how hard it's tried...
Shurat HaDin could not provide clear figures about how much of those amounts have found their way into the hands of terrorists, focusing instead on the alleged failed supervision and transparency.

Shurat HaDin maintained that a more thorough investigation of the PA budget would reveal concrete funding given by the PA to the Gazoo police, considered by many to part of Hamas's armed wing. The organization argues that the State Department should be demanding these amounts from the PA and then providing the figures to Congress for oversight.

According to Shurat Hadin, the State Department is supposed to be providing very specific oversight of the PA budget, spending and bank accounts as "an international mechanism" to ensure that there is transparency.

Each time the president utilizes a waiver and directly funds the PA because Congress does not want to appropriate funds, contended Shurat Hadin, the State Department is supposed to report to Congress that it knows where the PA funds are going and that they are not being used for terrorism.

According to the lawsuit, Americans living in proximity to these Paleostinian terror groups are in the class of individuals that Congress sought to protect through the safeguards and regulations that the White House, State Department and USAID are allegedly disregarding.

The suit asks the federal court to review the conduct of the State Department and the safeguards on funds being distributed by USAID in its programs to the PA and to the United Nations
...where theory meets practice and practice loses...
Refugee Worker's Administration.

It also seeks an injunction to suspend future American aid to the PA and UNRWA until all congressionally legislated regulations and reporting requirements are fully complied with.

The plaintiffs are represented by attorneys Norman Steiner of New York and Nitsana Darshan- Leitner, the director of Shurat HaDin.

Darshan-Leitner stressed that "once handed over, US funding of the PA and UNRWA is difficult to trace and the State Department has been lax in requiring the Paleostinians to utilize bank accounts and other transfer methods that ensure transparency."

The founder of the Israeli counterterror group added that "US aid to the Paleostinians is killing innocent people."

Steiner added: "The American people are opposed to terror and do not want to fund it via their taxes. The ongoing noncompliance of the White House and State Department with congressionally mandated protections cannot be allowed to continue."

Established in 2003 and based in Tel-Aviv, Shurat HaDin works together with Western intelligence agencies and volunteer lawyers around the world to file legal actions on behalf of victims of terror.
Posted by: trailing wife || 11/29/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Empty threat, you can;t sue for "Lawful Actions".
They'll find out the hard way.

Did Hitler "Sue"when he lost a battle?
Hell no.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 11/29/2012 1:31 Comments || Top||

#2  The Israeli govt has also provided funds to the PA.

Since Salam Fayad reorganized PA finances in early 2008, the American and Israeli funds have been pretty well sequestered into civil service pay and civilian infrastructure.

The bad part of this is that by doing so, other funding, say from the Soddys, etc. has been available for other uses.
Posted by: lord garth || 11/29/2012 2:59 Comments || Top||

#3  garth, it's called fungibility and is the bane of any foreign aid plan. It matters not one whit which pocket provides the funds. The only way to deal with it is to provide 0 funding and let the beggar decide on what his limited funds get spent; civil service pay or bombs.
Posted by: AlanC || 11/29/2012 8:40 Comments || Top||

#4  ..it's called fungibility

Which Americans will learn about if sequestering take place as the Executive robs one entity (re: Defense) to keep another entity running even if its against written law. What will they do about it and who has the guts to do it?
Posted by: Procopius2k || 11/29/2012 9:50 Comments || Top||

#5  Executive robs one entity (re: Defense)

All part of the greater Obama plan. These folks (both active and retired) represent a very small portion of Champ's constituency. They are "the enemy, we know who you are".
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/29/2012 9:54 Comments || Top||


Southeast Asia
Former village official killed in southern Thailand
A former village leader was killed and a territorial defense volunteer injured in a drive-by shooting in Pattani province on Wednesday afternoon.

The dead man was identified as Suwan Kaewsrinaw, former assistant leader of Ban Khlong Tam in Pattani’s Panare district. The injured man is Ong-art Inthakan, a defense volunteer in the same district. He was admitted to the hospital.

Witnesses said the victims were traveling on a motorcycle on a rural road when gunmen on two other motorcycles fired on them with pistols. The attackers then fled. Mr Suwan died on the spot.

Police blamed separatist terrorists militants.

Three soldiers wounded in army base attack

Three soldiers were slightly injured when assailants fired M79 grenades at an army base near a school in Yala province on Monday night.

At about 8:30 p.m. terrorists militants fired five M79 rounds at the base of Company 7020 of the Yala Task Force 15. Four of the grenades landed inside the base and exploded, injuring three soldiers. The other grenade landed outside, damaging the roof of the library building of Bacho School. The school was then closed for one day.
Posted by: ryuge || 11/29/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under: Thai Insurgency


Afghanistan
Security Forces Free Kidnapped Boys in Balkh
[Tolo News] Two boys kidnapped in separate incidents in northern Balkh province have been released and their captors locked away
Drop the heater, Studs, or you're hist'try!
after successful operations conducted by special forces, Balkh police said.

The two boys -- one 12-years-old and one in grade 12 in high school -- were both kidnapped in different incidents and freed in a space of 24 hours, Balkh Police Commander Gen. Abdulrazaq Qaderi said Wednesday.

"Two incidents took place in the city of Mazar-e-Sharif over the last 24 hours, both kidnappings. Five have been tossed in the slammer
Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un!
in association with the incidents," Qaseri told TOLOnews.

Ramez, the high school student, was allegedly kidnapped by classmates who first drugged him.

He told TOLOnews he went with a classmate to the Shrine of Hazrat Ali after preparing for a university entrance exam. The classmate, who Ramez said is from the Khogian district of eastern Nangarhar
The unfortunate Afghan province located adjacent to Mohmand, Kurram, and Khyber Agencies. The capital is Jalalabad. The province was the fief of Younus Khalis after the Soviets departed and one of his sons is the current provincial Taliban commander. Nangarhar is Haqqani country..
province, drugged him and kidnapped with the help of two other people.

"There were two glasses of banana milkshake - one had an anesthetic in it which he gave to me and he drank from the other glass. I fell unconscious a few moments after that and he kidnapped me," Ramez said.

The father of the 12-year-old expressed his gratitude for the return of his son.

"I am so happy that my son is released after a few days. I thank the security forces," said Waissuddin.

The reasons for the kidnappings were not clear.

Both parties called for the kidnappers to be punished according to the law.

Article 420 of the Afghanistan Penal Code says a person kidnapping an under-18 individually or along with someone else will be sentenced to not more than seven years prison.
Posted by: Fred || 11/29/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under:


Africa North
Algeria's ruling party eyes landslide in local elections
[Al Ahram] Algeria's ruling party is eyeing a landslide victory in local elections on Thursday, with numerous opposition groups warning of fraud in a poll that could struggle to mobilise a disaffected electorate.
Many of the 52 parties and lists competing for the 1,541 municipal and 48 regional assemblies in energy-rich Algeria have in recent weeks suggested that the outcome of the vote is already known, after claims of widespread fraud in May's parliamentary election.

Turnout is considered a key issue in Thursday's ballot.

Past elections have been dogged by voter apathy, amid entrenched scepticism over the government's ability to alleviate Algeria's pressing social problems, such as joblessness and poor housing.

The legislative poll earlier this year saw the ruling coalition of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika
... 10th president of Algeria. He was elected in 1999 and is currently on his third or fourth term...
tighten its grip on power.

The 75-year-old president's National Liberation Front (FLN) won 221 of the 462 parliamentary seats up for grabs in what was seen as a referendum on the piecemeal political reforms Bouteflika launched in the wake of Arab Spring unrest last year.

Among the reforms was an agreement to allow for the formation of dozens of new political parties, some of which took part in the May election, in which the RND, another party in the presidential alliance, came second with 70 seats.

Abdelaziz Belkhadem, the FLN's secretary general and former prime minister, expressed confidence the party would repeat its "overwhelming" victory, since it was, he said, "the only political force capable of unifying" the Algerians.
Posted by: Fred || 11/29/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


Youth of anti-Morsi parties reject coalition with 'Mubarak remnants'
[Al Ahram] The student membership of the Constitution Party, Socialist Popular Alliance and the Egyptian Popular Current issued a statement Wednesday denouncing the National Front for Salvation of the Revolution coalition between their parties and figures from the Mubarak regime.

"We students of parties and movements reject that our party leaders and figures stand side by side with remnants of the former regime in the 'Front for Salvation of the Revolution,'" read the statement, adding that they are pressurising their parties to withdraw from the coalition.

The National Front for Salvation of the Revolution was launched on Saturday by tens of opposition political parties and groups to counter the controversial constitutional declaration that was issued by President Mohamed Morsi on Thursday.

The front, which includes the Coalition of Nasserist parties, the Egyptian Social Democratic Party, Free Egypt Party, the Wafd Party, the Free Egyptians Party and the Farmers General Syndicate, declared they will not hold any dialogue meetings with Morsi until the declaration is cancelled.

However,
the man who has no enemies isn't anybody and has never done anything...
the coalition has sparked criticism among several members of pro-revolution political forces who oppose relations with any figure affiliated with Hosni Mubarak
...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011...
's administration.

"This front will defame our revolution," the youth members continued, "We have always been part of our great revolution and all figures from the former [Mubarak] regime have always been nothing but enemies to us and to our revolution."

Two controversial figures in the front are Mubarak-era former Minister of Foreign Affairs Jerry Lewis doppelgänger Amr Moussa
... who was head of the Arab League for approximately two normal lifespans, accomplishing nothing that was obvious to the casual observer ...
and head of the liberal Wafd Party Sayed El-Badawi.

Many have also slammed the presence of the Free Egyptians Party, as they accuse the liberal party of having been closely affiliated with the former regime.
Posted by: Fred || 11/29/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


Africa Subsaharan
Trial of army mutineers begins in Burkina Faso
[Daily Nation (Kenya)] The trial of soldiers implicated in a mutiny that rocked the regime of Burkina Faso
...The country in west Africa that they put where Upper Volta used to be. Its capital is Oogadooga, or something like that. Its president is currently Blaise Compaoré, who took office in 1987 and may be in the process of being chased out now...
's President Blaise Compaore last year opened Tuesday in Ouagadougou, with verdicts handed down in a handful of cases.

In all, 346 people who are currently in detention were due to go to court in a series of trials.

They are soldiers, two-thirds of whom have been dismissed from the army, with the exception of about 15 civilians.

According to a source close to the military tribunal, which began by trying five of the accused, the trials will last until the end of the "first quarter of 2013."

Between March and June last year, almost all army barracks mutinied, including that of the presidential guard, as civilians demonstrated in the streets.

The events shook the regime more than any other since Compaore came to power in a military coup in 1987.
Posted by: Fred || 11/29/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  FIRST rule of government change in Africa ... make sure your mutiny or coup WILL succeed at all cost - or be prepared to run like he** !!!!! HAHAHA!!
Posted by: Raider || 11/29/2012 20:47 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
China Paper Backpedals after Falling for Kim Spoof
[An Nahar] The Chinese Communist Party's official mouthpiece on Wednesday deleted a story that North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un had been named 2012's "Sexiest Man Alive", after it fell for a spoof by U.S. website The Onion.

The People's Daily had run the U.S. satirical site's gushing quotes about the "Pyongyang-bred heartthrob" in both Chinese and English as world news, along with a 55-image gallery opening with Kim astride a horse and gazing into the distance.

But after gleeful Internet users pointed out the error, the English version's web address returned a "page not found" message late Wednesday morning.

A link to the story remained on the website's Korean news pages but there was no content.

The printed edition of the People's Daily did not carry the online report, which made no mention of satire.

It quoted The Onion as saying: "With his devastatingly handsome, round face, his boyish charm, and his strong, sturdy frame, this Pyongyang-bred heartthrob is every woman's dream come true.

"Blessed with an air of power that masks an unmistakable cute, cuddly side, Kim made this newspaper's editorial board swoon with his impeccable fashion sense, chic short hairstyle, and, of course, that famous smile."
Posted by: Fred || 11/29/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under: Commies

#1  Kim's too sexy for his shirt, too sexy for his shirt, he's so sexy it hurts!

hehe.

On a separate note, any sign of Jong-un's better half yet???
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 11/29/2012 0:22 Comments || Top||

#2  Oriental humor just doesn't jive with Anglo humor, and visa-versa. Often we're saying "What"?
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 11/29/2012 1:24 Comments || Top||

#3  Gotta be the haircut...
Posted by: tu3031 || 11/29/2012 2:16 Comments || Top||

#4  What-o?
Posted by: Enver Glusorong6308 || 11/29/2012 6:47 Comments || Top||

#5  Note to international press: First clue- It's in 'The Onion'.
That pretty much says it all.
Posted by: ed in texas || 11/29/2012 6:53 Comments || Top||


Africa North
'We're learning how to be free,' says Egypt's Morsi
[Daily Nation (Kenya)] President Mohamed Morsi vowed in an interview published Wednesday to surrender his new special powers when a new constitution is in place, and pleaded for patience as Egypt learns to be free.
That's certainly one way to look at it.
Morsi dismissed criticism of his power grab and said protests on the streets of Cairo were a positive sign that Egypt was on the path to democracy after overthrowing dictator Hosni Mubarak
...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011...
in February 2011.

"The world stage is very difficult. It's not easy to be on the world stage," admitted Morsi, who won a cliffhanger election in June, speaking briefly in English at the start of his interview with Time magazine.

"My chief responsibility is to maintain the national ship to go through this transitional period. This is not easy. Egyptians are determined to (move) forward within the path of freedom and democracy," he said.
Posted by: Fred || 11/29/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring

#1  it's just teensy steps ... he's really at the bottom of the learning curve. that democracy thing could takes decades at this rate.
Posted by: Raider || 11/29/2012 0:06 Comments || Top||

#2  Democracy for all! Freedom for none!!
One man one vote, once.

Any other cliches come to mind?
Posted by: AlanC || 11/29/2012 8:41 Comments || Top||

#3  Looks like not all the Egyptians think they are free.
Posted by: JohnQC || 11/29/2012 10:42 Comments || Top||

#4  I think we need a definition of "we" here.
Posted by: mojo || 11/29/2012 11:36 Comments || Top||

#5  I'm sure that's the royal "we," mojo. :-(
Posted by: Barbara || 11/29/2012 12:47 Comments || Top||

#6  "We had to burn the country in order to save it"?
Posted by: Pappy || 11/29/2012 12:48 Comments || Top||

#7  Puts a new spin on "We have to vote on it to know what's in it."
Posted by: BA || 11/29/2012 13:15 Comments || Top||

#8  That's it for Freedom Week, boys and girls. Tune in next week when we learn about Food & Famine. See ya then!
Posted by: SteveS || 11/29/2012 18:40 Comments || Top||


Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Red Square bomb plotter gets 15 years
A man whose plan to cause carnage in Moscow’s Red Square was thwarted by a spam phone message was yesterday sentenced to 15 years in jail.

Ilyas Saidov, a member of an underground Islamist group, brought explosives-laden belts camouflaged as heaters for two female suicide bombers on a bus from his native Dagestan. But just hours before they were to set off the bombs on New Year’s Eve, 2010, one belt blew up as a spam message activated the mobile phone attached to the detonator. One of the women was killed and the other arrested. She was sentenced to ten years in jail in May.

The Moscow City Court also found Saidov guilty of shooting two police officers and three civilians in Dagestan. Saidov pleaded guilty and co-operated with investigators, giving up the leader and several members of a secret Islamist group he was part of. His testimony led to the killing of several Islamists.

Four members of the group have been convicted, and six more are currently standing trial.
Posted by: ryuge || 11/29/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under:


The Grand Turk
NATO surveys possible missile sites on Turkish-Syrian borders: Report
[Al Ahram] NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all....
experts on Wednesday began a survey of sites that would serve as suitable locations for the deployment of Patriot missiles along the border with its war-torn neighbour Syria, the state-run Anatolia news agency reported.
Turkey last week asked NATO partners to deploy the surface-to-air missiles along its frontier with Syria after a series of cross-border shellings, including an attack that left five civilians dead.

NATO has yet to formally respond to the request.

The NATO experts were due to visit a military base in eastern Turkey's Malatya province, which already hosts an early warning radar as part of NATO's missile defence system, Anatolia said.

Turkish officials say the number of Patriot batteries and their location would be decided after the visiting team reports back to the alliance.

Aside from Malatya, the Patriots could be deployed in the southeastern provinces of Diyarbakir or Sanliurfa.

Turkey might receive up to six Patriot batteries and some 300 foreign troops to operate the missiles, which are expected to be supplied by The Netherlands or Germany, the two European providers of the US-made weapons.
Posted by: Fred || 11/29/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria

#1  Possible missile sites? POSSIBLE sites? C'mon guys ... you're on the friggin' border. All you gotta' do is point the missiles in the right general direction, then light the blue touch paper. They're bound to go over into Syria somewhere.
Posted by: Raider || 11/29/2012 0:12 Comments || Top||


Europe
Spain's Bankia to cut 6,000 jobs amid recession concerns for Q4
[Iran Press TV] Spain's nationalized Bankia says it plans to cut 6,000 jobs by laying off about 28 percent of its staff over the next three years.

The announcement on Wednesday follows a preliminary report on Madrid's overall economy by the Spanish Central Bank suggesting that the country's job-killing recession is expected to persist into the final quarter of 2012.

Bankia's decision to make the massive layoffs came after the European Commission (EC) approved a restructuring plan for the bank. Bankia also said it intends to shut 39 percent of its branches by 2015.

A spokesperson for the EC said the restructuring "will allow them to become viable in the long-term without continued state support."
Posted by: Fred || 11/29/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under:


Africa Horn
Heavy fighting in southern Somalia kills 3,injures 7
[Shabelle] At least three people confirmed dead and seven others injured when a fierce shootout erupted between government forces and Al shabab fighters in Somalia's Lower Shabelle region, reports said.

The skirmish broke out last night at around 7 pm local time after heavily armed fighters belonging to Al shabab stormed bases manned by Somali forces outside Shalanbod town, 110 Km south of Mogadishu.

"Three combatants from both warring sides were killed and 7 maimed during the attack that lasted for several hours at the entrance of Shabalnbod, where Somali forces have military positions," a resident told Shabelle Media via phone.

Locals said the battle was the deadliest they have ever witnessed since Somali national army (SNA) and AMISOM took the control of the port city of Marko and its surrounding areas from Al shabab hard boyz last month.
Posted by: Fred || 11/29/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Shabaab


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Assad near defeat in Aleppo
Peyamner News Agency, 28 Nov 2012 -- The Free Syrian Army seized control of the road linking Aleppo to the Raqe Province and declared Aleppo is completely under the control of opposition forces.
(the Peyamner agency is a part of the anti Mullah Mojahedin Org of Iran - they are jumping the gun a bit but there is no doubt that Assad forces have been beaten up badly in and near Aleppo)
Posted by: lord garth || 11/29/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  They have also shot down a plane and helicopter with SAMs. Assad's days literally are numbered.
Posted by: phil_b || 11/29/2012 2:17 Comments || Top||

#2  the peyamner news says not just one but two MIGs were shot down this week
Posted by: lord garth || 11/29/2012 2:51 Comments || Top||

#3  Okay, so Assad's out. Do we get another MB dictatorship or a Talibunny on Israels border?
How long do the Alawites have before they're all killed? Will they flee to Jordan? Leb? Iraq? Turkey?

One more cesspool just gets dug deeper.

Oh, BTW, who will the Russkis sell their arms to now?
Posted by: AlanC || 11/29/2012 9:47 Comments || Top||

#4  How long until the various freedom groups turn on each other in order to achieve freedom?
Posted by: bman || 11/29/2012 11:08 Comments || Top||

#5  resetting cookie
Posted by: Whiskey Mike || 11/29/2012 11:58 Comments || Top||

#6  Bet Assad wishes he could do that, Mike. ;-p
Posted by: Barbara || 11/29/2012 12:46 Comments || Top||

#7  Assad doesn't need to. The internet is down in Syria
Posted by: Nimble Spemble || 11/29/2012 15:46 Comments || Top||

#8  The Alawite homeland is supposed to be fairly good defensive terrain, if that's seriously attacked I can see gas being used.
Posted by: Shipman || 11/29/2012 15:48 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Five Jordanians nabbed for Syria plot: Police
[Al Ahram] Jordan police said it set to sit in solemn silence in a dull, dark dock, in a pestilential prison with a life-long lock
... anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not...
on Wednesday five Jordanian men, including a terror convict, for planning to infiltrate into neighbouring Syria with automatic weapons.

"Police today raided a house in the border town of Torra and arrested five Jordanians and seized automatic weapons, including Kalashnikovs," a police statement said.

"Investigations showed that they obtained the arms to infiltrate the northern border."

A police front man confirmed to AFP that the suspects planned to go to Syria.

"One of the men was charged and sentenced to 15 years in jail in 2007 for plotting to carry out terror attacks. He was pardoned after spending time in jail," the statement said without elaborating.

Jordan, which says it is hosting more than 200,000 Syrian refugees, arrested more than a dozen jihadists in April and June as they tried to infiltrate Syria.

And last month, although Amman has beefed up its security along the border, a Jordanian soldier was killed in festivities with jihadists trying to cross over.
Posted by: Fred || 11/29/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


Africa Horn
Two civilians killed in Beledweyne town
[Shabelle] Gunmen in Somalia's central city of Beledweyne have bumped off two local residents on Tuesday night, the latest in a cycle of killings against locals and government officials, latest reports said.

A witness who spoke with Shabelle under anonymity has confirmed that the murder happened after unknown gunnies attacked a house in Hawo Tako noghborhood located east of Beledweyne.

"We woke up this morning two dead bodies of our neighborhood members being strewn at a street in the village. We don't know who is behind this shocking act," said a resident in the city.

Pro-government soldiers sealed off the area of the crime and carried out searches early in the morning, but no one was tossed in the slammer
Maw! They're comin' to get me, Maw!
over the murder so far, sources said.

This incident comes hours after unindentified two men armed with pistols have shot and killed Sheikh Mohamed Mo'alin Hussein known as (Maracadde), a prominent chief for the traditional elders in Hiiran region.
Posted by: Fred || 11/29/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Shabaab



Who's in the News
25[untagged]
10Arab Spring
7Govt of Pakistan
5al-Shabaab
4Govt of Syria
2Hamas
2Taliban
1Lashkar e-Jhangvi
1Thai Insurgency
1TTP
1Abu Sayyaf
1al-Qaeda
1al-Qaeda in Arabia
1Boko Haram
1Commies
1Govt of Iran

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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.
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Two weeks of WOT
Thu 2012-11-29
  Bomb injures top Talibunny Mullah Nazir
Wed 2012-11-28
  Packed Tahrir Square defiant as deadlock prevails
Tue 2012-11-27
  30 Inmates Escape as Gunmen Attack Nigerian Police Unit
Mon 2012-11-26
  Syrian Rebels Claim Capture of Helicopter Base Near Damascus
Sun 2012-11-25
  Thousands of anti-Morsi protesters spend the night in Egypt's Tahrir square
Sat 2012-11-24
  7 People Killed in Pakistan Shiite Procession
Fri 2012-11-23
  IDF, Shin Bet Arrest 55 Terror Operatives In West Bank
Thu 2012-11-22
  Mashaal: I accept a Palestinian state on '67 borders
Wed 2012-11-21
  'Bomb blast' on bus in Tel Aviv
Tue 2012-11-20
  Female Suicide Boomer Targets Qazi
Mon 2012-11-19
  Israeli Strikes Kill 21 Palestinians, Gaza Rockets Wound 10 Israelis
Sun 2012-11-18
  Israeli air strikes pound Gaza as death toll hits 38
Sat 2012-11-17
   Israel air strikes hit Hamas HQ
Fri 2012-11-16
  Israel Warns of Escalation After Tel Aviv Missile Firing
Thu 2012-11-15
  Gaza missiles fired at Tel Aviv

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