[IranPressTV] - Head of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi says the Islamic Republic has achieved self-sufficiency in producing yellow cake.
The first consignment of yellow cake was shipped from Gachin mine in Bandar Abbas, southern Iran, to Isfahan Uranium Conversion Facility (UCF) under the surveillance of the International Atomic Energy Organization (IAEA), Salehi said in an exclusive interview with Press TV on Sunday.
o a bigger uranium mine at Saghand, in central Iran, to be opened when funds are obtained
o Saghand's known reserves are estimated at more than 1.7 million tons of medium quality ore. The mine, about 300 miles (480 kilometers) south of Tehran, has a production capacity of 132,000 tons of uranium ore per year. It consists of an open pit with minimal reserves and a deep mine nearby.
o Iran announced discoveries of new uranium deposits in 2006 at three sites in the central areas of Khoshoomi, Charchooleh and Narigan.
The head of Iran's atomic energy organization said on television Sunday that Iran had achieved the ability to produce its own yellow cake, uranium powder that is a step in the process for creating nuclear fuel.
Ali Akbar Salehi said the breakthrough, using uranium ore mined in southern Iran, signified the country's full self-sufficiency in the production of uranium, cutting out the need for imported material.
The announcement comes on the eve of talks on Iran's nuclear program Monday in Geneva and may be aimed at bolstering Tehran's bargaining position. It also follows attacks Monday on two Iranian scientists, one of them Majid Shahriari, who was killed in what Iran described as a Western or Israeli operation.
"The enemies and ill-wishers have always tried to create despair and disappointment among our youth, academicians, engineers and our nation, but today we witness the delivery of the first batch of yellow cake that is produced inside the country," Salehi said at a news conference broadcast on state television.
Salehi said the announcement meant Iran would be attending the upcoming talks "with power and authority and that we do not seek favors from any party."
Sarah Palin has found a new opponent to debate: John F. Kennedy.
In her new book, "America by Heart," Palin objects to my uncle's famous 1960 speech to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association, in which he challenged the ministers - and the country - to judge him, a Catholic presidential candidate, by his views rather than his faith.
Palin was taught [she says in the book] that Kennedy's speech had "succeeded in the best possible way: It reconciled public service and religion without compromising either." She [now] finds it "defensive . . . in tone and content" and is upset that Kennedy, rather than presenting a reconciliation of his private faith and his public role, had instead offered an "unequivocal divorce of the two." After "carefully reading" Palin's book, the author now concludes that she wants a religious test for public office, ignoring the separation of church and state. Wow. Will the attacks ever end? Palin's crime? Suggesting Kennedy should have explained how his faith enriched him.
Posted by: Bobby ||
12/05/2010
13:45 ||
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Coalition and Afghan security forces have captured a "key" financier for a little-known, radical wing of the Taliban known as the Mullah Dadullah Front, which is led by a former Guantanamo Bay detainee. Guess he wasn't all innocent or rehabilitated after all.
The Taliban financier, who was not identified, was captured along with an undisclosed number of fighters yesterday by a combined special operations force during a raid in the district of Kandahar in the province of the same name. Does it seem like there are a lot of raids like this lately?
ISAF said the Taliban financier "worked directly for the Mullah Dadullah Lang Allegiance leader" and "was heavily involved in financing and the transferring of funds for Helmand province-based insurgents." Hope he kept good account ledgers - and that we have them now. Maybe they can go on Wikileaks? Roggio has much more at link.
#1
Green house would imply that generally all temps would rise. Now some have hypothesized that the collapse of the thermosphere results in the opposite condition in which extremes happen at both ends of the temperature range. Unfortunately for the redistributionists, its a natural occurrence without any man made intervention. "The collapse happened during the deep solar minimum of 2008-2009a fact which comes as little surprise to researchers. The thermosphere always cools and contracts when solar activity is low." I'm sure they're working hard on another new version of the con game to extract monies from the gullible. It's been going on since the 'priests' of the Nile took credit for the life giving floods that the ancient Egyptians depended upon.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
12/05/2010 16:35
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"Donors in Saudi Arabia constitute the most significant source of funding to Sunni terrorist groups worldwide" We didn't need Wikileaks or Hillary Clinton to tell us that. It is common knowledge commonly ignored.
#4
Karl Denninger said it better: Telling us what we already know - that China officially sanctions hacking computers and stealing from both industry and government in the United States, that we bribe people to support fraudulent "Climate Change" BS and that Hillary thinks she's Queen and can do whatever she wants (and will raise hell when she can't or doesn't) fails to impress...
A blast at an internet cafe in downtown Kaili City, located in Guizhou province, southern China, killed six people and injured 34 others Saturday night around 10:30 p.m., according to Xinhua, citing the province's public security department.
Police are still trying to determine what caused the incident. I suppose it could be a natural gas leak rather than terrorism. Or it could be a government warning to internet users. Or it could just be a defective battery. But I select terrorism until proven otherwise.
Pictures from the scene show the building torn to shreds, its contents largely unrecognizable and many walls ripped down. Rescue workers said the windows of nearby residential buildings were also blown out.
#4
OK - a little paranoid connect the dots here. Article listed on R'Burg a few days ago about the Chinese gov't arresting a large bunch of hackers. Complete with obligatory snarks about a government recruiting drive. Now this a few days later. Possible that some of the gov't tame hackers have been going off the reservation and gov't is cleaning up? or am I channelling Joe M?
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/05/2010
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#1
Most excellent video. I must follow up on this. Very well done. I made a mistake one time when I said it looked professional. I was immediately corrected "IT IS".
#2
I noticed in the cartoon she has brunch with Tom Friedman at Kramerbooks. Its a nice place right near the Dupont Circle Metrorail station.
There is a uber left book store a few dozen yards away.
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
12/05/2010 9:09
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#2 I noticed in the cartoon she has brunch with Tom Friedman at Kramerbooks. Its a nice place right near the Dupont Circle Metrorail station.
There is a uber left book store a few dozen yards away.
Posted by: Lord Garth 2010-12-05 09:09
If memory serves, (mid-late 80's through 90's) that Kramerbooks also had some fairly decent and occasionally good acoustic entertainment on the weekends.
#1
Wikileaks reported that a cable from the State Department in 2009, said that Saudi donors remain the primary financiers of Sunni militant groups like Al Qaeda.
[MSNBC] The House on Thursday passed a bill that would prevent advertisers from abruptly raising the volume to catch the attention of viewers wandering off when regular programming is interrupted.
"Every American has likely experienced the frustration of abrasively loud television commercials," the Senate sponsor of the bill, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., said when the Senate approved it in September. "While this may be an effective way for ads to grab attention, it also adds unnecessary stress to the daily lives of many Americans."
#1
For some reason, I don't think Congress should be meddling here. It's as if they do it just to validate the fact that they can, even if they don't really have the power to.
#12
This is much ado about nothing. Regulating the content of what goes out over the public airwaves is definitely within the powers of Congress. Big F Deal.
#13
I'm surprised that with modern TV sets the output volume isn't automatically regulated, regardless of the volume on the input signal. This would be trivial to do.
Posted by: Aussie Mike ||
12/05/2010 17:56
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#14
And all this time I thought it was my bloody telly!
#15
modern TV sets the output volume isn't automatically regulated Well, it is, but the creators of the offending material learned to get around the built-in regulation by fiddling with the audio spectrum of their material so that it SOUNDS louder than it is. Certain audio pitches (and probably rhythms) seem much louder & more piercing than simpleminded measurements would indicate. You can reproduce a similar effect by using sound editors like Audacity on a sound clip. People can do similar things with their voice, like some of my former girlfriends.
#17
"Regulating the content of what goes out over the public airwaves is definitely within the powers of Congress."
That covers ABC, NBS, CBS, public TV, and Fox (I think they're broadcast) but not Fox News, and any other channels that are broadcast over the airwaves.
Nothing gives them the right to regulate cable/satelite, which is not broadcast, but delivered to paying customers by whatever means is used.
We'd all be better off it ReCongress would just butt out of our lives; do the mininum they are authorized/required to do by the actual Constitution (not the liberal one that lives in their heads), get their grubby hands out of our pockets, tell the whiners around the country to shut up and man- (or woman-) up and LEAVE US THE HELL ALONE.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
12/05/2010 19:55
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Never happen Barb. Congress and our "leadership" are too interested in authorizing bum buggering for the military, feeding the "poor", and interfering globally at every opportunity.
[Geo News] An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) on Saturday issued warrants for the arrest of two coppers for their "failure" to protect slain former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, a prosecutor said.
The court had issued non-bailable warrants for the arrest of Rawalpindi's police chief at the time, Saud Aziz, and another senior police officer, Khurram Shahzad, special prosecutor Chaudhry Zulfiqar Ali said.
"I filed an application that the two coppers be summoned as accused in the case for their abetment in the crime and the court has accepted my request today," Ali told AFP.
"The officers failed to provide adequate security to BB, denied her a post-mortem and were also responsible for hosing down the scene of the killing immediately after the crime," the prosecutor said.
The court will resume the hearing on December 11, he said.
Police said they had jugged five men in the weeks following BB's slaying and five other suspects were on the lam, of whom three had been killed, including Taliban capo Baitullah Mehsud.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/05/2010
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[ADN Kronos] The government of the Pak Punjabi region favours capital punishment for blasphemy convicts but wants a check on bogus allegations by awarding the same sentence to the accuser proven false after a thorough investigation.
Provincial law minister Rana Sanaullah told news hounds at a meeting of the Punjab Assembly's Press Gallery Committee in the Lahore Punjab capital on Thursday that false accusers deserved the same sentence that was given to the convicts because playing with the lives of the innocent could and should not be allowed.
He said governor Salmaan Taseer made an abortive attempt to start a new controversy in the province by visiting Aasia, a blasphemy convict, in a Sheikhupura prison and speaking against the law.
But the plan failed like the plot to murder the Lahore High Court chief justice, he said, adding the governor was now facing the wrath of religious leaders for his 'irresponsible' comments on the blasphemy law.
The law minister played down WikiLeaks disclosures and described them as "just observations of US diplomats and high-level officials that may and may not be correct".
Opposing levy of reformed general sales tax at a time when people are already facing multiple hardships, he denied PPP claim that Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif gave his consent for the new tax at a recent meeting of the Council of Common Interests.
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(KUNA) -- A Paleostinian worker was maimed with Israeli gunfire near the town of Beit Hanoun in the north of Gazoo Strip on Saturday bringing number of Paleostinians maimed in identical circumstances today to three.
Paleostinian security sources told KUNA that Israeli troops shot up a group of Paleostinian workers who were collecting pebbles close to the town, wounding one. Earlier today, two another workers were maimed with Israeli shooting at the same site.
The workers were collecting small stones for usage in construction.
In the earlier indicent, the two workers suffered medium cuts in the shooting and had to be hospitalized.
Such incidents take place frequently in the region.
Also today, Israeli troops clashed with Paleostinian gunnies near the town of Deir Al-Balah in the center of Gazoo Strip, Paleostinian security sources reported. One Paleostinian fighter was shot and maimed in the leg during the firefight that erupted when an Israeli squad attempted to infiltrate into Paleostinian-held areas, the sources said.
Salah-Eddine Brigades, the military wing of the Popular Resistance Committees, an umbrella organization that groups several factions, said in a statement its fighters were engaged in the fighting with the assaulting troops.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/05/2010
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[Asharq al-Aswat] Asharq Al-Awsat has obtained new information about the 19 Al Qaeda affiliated terrorist cells that Saudi authorities dismantled over the past 8 months, arresting 149 terrorist suspects, and particularly the roles played by non-Saudi nationals in these terrorist cells.
According to the information received by Asharq Al-Awsat from informed sources, the non-Saudi nationals who were members of the 19 dismantled Al Qaeda affiliated cells were tasked with 6 main roles.
Sources informed Asharq Al-Awsat that "the vast majority of non-Saudis nationals were a key part of the connection, communication and coordination between Al Qaeda and its different branches.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
12/05/2010
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Sweeeeeet. Burge is an American treasure
WASHINGTON DC - Elusive Wikileaks founder Julian Assange made a rare public appearance today at the White House to accept his award as Great Satan Infidel of the Year for 2010. The annual prize, bestowed by the Zionist Crusader Club of Washington, honors "exemplary individual achievement in the humiliation of Islam and its holy prophet."
Award presenter Israel U.S. Americastein cited Assange for his "tireless efforts in creating and distributing over 15,000 blasphemous cartoon images of Mohammed, as well as single-handedly writing the Stuxnet virus that crippled Iran's nuclear program - all while defiling over 50 Muslim virgins."
In accepting the award - and its $25,000 prize package of cash, a West Bank settlement, and a lifetime supply of Palestine Blood hot dog buns - an emotional Assange expressed gratitude to other infidels whom he cited as inspiration.
"I am only here because I have stood on the shoulders of infidel giants," he said. "Gosh, where do I start? I'd like to thank Pope Alexander II and the whole Andalusia crew, the Knights Templar, Richard I, Pope Urban II, Menachem Begin, Crusader Bush, plus a special shout-out to my homies in the Elders of Zion."
Assange saved his biggest thanks for Salman Rushdie, the controversial author of The Satanic Verses who accompanied Assange to the awards ceremony held inside the White House Graven Image room.
"Lastly, I would like to thank Salman for his inspirational and blasphemous desecration of Allah's sacred word - which, I am proud to announce, Wikileaks has now secretly encrypted onto every computer shipped to Islamic lands," said Assange, placing his left foot mockingly atop the holy Qu'ran.
"Growing up Muslim, I never dreamed I would win such a great honor," said the Australian-born apostate, wiping away a tear. "In closing, I want to give all praise to Shiva and Ganesh and the hundreds of other little gods who helped me reject the stupid infallible word of Allah."
The emotional moment and Qu'ran-stomping drew a standing ovation from the crowd, which included some of the biggest and most immodestly-dressed stars in Islamic blasphemy biz. At his follow-up press conference, Assange hinted at bigger future projects for Wikileaks.
"In the next few weeks I'll be traveling around the world, without body guards, often to cities with large Muslim populations,'" said Assange, whose photos and physical description can easily be found on Google. "After that, I'll be doing the final mix of my CD 'America, Why I Love Her.' Then it's back to the old Wikileaks keyboard. If all goes well, I'll be sneaking some homosexual Jews into Mecca during the Hadj."
The award capped a tumultuous week for Assange, who was the target of harsh criticism from administration officials after Wikileaks release thousands of documents initially believed to have been downloaded from the U.S. State Department. The White House backed off after Assange revealed that the files actually contained encrypted secret documents from the Russian, Chinese, and North Korean governments.
"It's a really amazing treasure trove," explained Presidential press secretary Robert Gibbs. "Launch codes, Chinese bank passwords, incredibly embarrasing photos of Vladimir Putin. Plus some really juicy stuff about Suge Knight. And that's just the beginning - Julian says he has loads more data on a flash drive he had surgically implanted somewhere under his skin. Thank God he's on our side!"
In related news, Assange announced the appointment of Craig Larson as Wikileak's Senior Deputy Assistant Blasphemer. Larson resides at 608-B Lakewood Mobile Home Park in Coralville, Iowa, where his truck is currently blocking his neighbor's driveway.
Posted by: Frank G ||
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[Pak Daily Times] The two candidates in Ivory Coast's disputed presidential election took duelling oaths of office on Saturday after each claimed victory, as the political crisis spiralled out of control and renewed unrest in this country once split in two by civil war.
Incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo defied calls from the United States, France and the United Nations, aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society to concede defeat, wrapping himself in the Ivorian flag as he was sworn in for another term. Hours later, opposition candidate Alassane Ouattara announced that he too had taken his own oath. Saturday's developments leave Ivory Coast with two men who both claim to be president, furthering inflaming the political chaos in the West African nation whose once-prosperous economy was destroyed by the brief 2002-2003 civil war.
US President Barack B.O. Obama and French President Nicolas Sarkozy say Ouattara is the rightful winner and that his victory must be acknowledged. The top U.N. official in Ivory Coast is also standing by results released Thursday by the country's election commission that put Ouattara ahead. Prime Minister Guillaume Soro, a former rebel leader who had served in a unity government with Gbagbo since a 2007 peace deal, said Saturday he was backing Ouattara, who is wildly popular in the formerly rebel-held north. Ouattara said his first act as president was to reappoint Soro.
"These last days have been difficult but I can tell you now that Ivory Coast is in good hands," Ouattara said just hours after Gbagbo held his inauguration ceremony at the presidential palace. At his swearing-in, Gbagbo renewed allegations that his supporters had been intimidated in the north, repeating the rationale used by the country's constitutional council to throw out a half million ballots that were cast in Ouattara strongholds.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[An Nahar] Leb filed a complaint with the U.N. Security Council on Saturday over an Israeli device found in south Leb to spy on Hizbullah's private telecommunications network.
Hizbullah said Friday that it discovered the device which went kaboom! after apparently being detonated remotely by the Israelis near the village of Majdel Selem, about 8 kilometers from the border with Israel.
The Lebanese foreign ministry said it filed the complaint through its mission in New York.
In its letter, it said planting such devices is a clear violation of Lebanese illusory sovereignty, international law and Security Council resolution 1701.
The move stresses again that Israel disregards international resolutions, continues its aggressive campaign against Leb and threatens peace, the letter added.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
So, did Iran tell you guys to file the complaint?
#2
I can't rightly blame the Lebanese government for being utterly spineless while kowtowing before their masters. They are so whupped that they just have no zip left.
Muslim 59.7% (Shia, Sunni, Druze, Isma'ilite, Alawite or Nusayri), Christian 39% (Maronite Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Melkite Catholic, Armenian Orthodox, Syrian Catholic, Armenian Catholic, Syrian Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Chaldean, Assyrian, Copt, Protestant), other 1.3%
[Asharq al-Aswat] Iran's intelligence chief accused the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency of sending spies in the guise of inspectors to gather information about Iran's nuclear activities, state TV reported Saturday.
The claim was another sign that Iran has hardened its stance since the liquidation a week ago of a prominent nuclear scientist and the wounding of another. Iran is to hold talks on Monday and Tuesday in Geneva with world powers trying to persuade it to curtail key elements of its nuclear work.
Intelligence Minister Heidar Moslehi said staff sent by the ineffective International Atomic Energy Agency had engaged in espionage and the Vienna-based agency must take responsibility for their actions. He did not elaborate or identify the inspectors Iran was accusing.
Iran has increasingly complained in recent months about the leaking of information gathered by the agency's inspectors to U.S. officials and other allies.
"Among the individuals the IAEA sends as so-called inspectors, there are spies from intelligence services. The IAEA must be held responsible for this," state TV quoted Moslehi as saying.
Iran says Monday's killing of nuclear scientist Majid Shahriari in a bomb attack and the wounding of another scientist in a separate attack in Tehran was the part of a Western campaign to sabotage its nuclear program.
According to Iran, that campaign has included the abduction of Iranian scientists, the sale of faulty equipment and the planting of a destructive computer worm known as Stuxnet, which briefly brought Iran's uranium enrichment activity to a halt last month.
Iran's chief suspect is archenemy Israel, whose Mossad spy agency has a long history of assassinating foes far beyond the country's borders.
Moslehi again accused Israel's Mossad, Britain's MI6 and the CIA of being behind the daring attacks.
Iran has also expressed its displeasure with IAEA chief Yukiya Amano's report, issued this week, on its nuclear program. The report said Iran had fewer centrifuges functioning than previously believed, suggesting its uranium enrichment program was not progressing as fast as Iran hoped.
Iran says the IAEA should just inspect the nuclear facilities and not release details like how much uranium or how many centrifuges it has.
The U.S. and its allies suspect Iran's nuclear work is aimed at producing weapons. Iran says it only wants to enrich uranium to make fuel for power plants and not process it to the higher levels needed to make weapons.
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Al Qaeda gunnies now in detention planned to kill Saudi government and security officials and media workers by sending poisoned gifts to their offices, an Interior Ministry official said on Saturday.
The group "planned to rob banks and companies to finance their operations", the official, who declined to be named, said. "Using poisoned perfume which they planned to send as gifts is one of the ways the jugged people planned to carry out their liquidations," the Interior Ministry official said.
Last month Soddy Arabia said it captured 149 al Qaeda gunnies in recent months who were raising money and recruiting members to carry out attacks inside the kingdom, targeting government facilities, security officials and the media. The Islamic myrmidons, who revealed the information to Saudi security forces, belonged to 19 al Qaeda cells and included 124 Saudis and 25 foreigners. The groups had links to gunnies in Somalia and Yemen, the Interior Ministry said last month.
Soddy Arabia has been fighting al Qaeda militancy for years and quelled a three-year al Qaeda campaign of violence in 2006. Al Qaeda's Yemeni and Saudi wings merged in 2009 into a new group, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), based in Yemen. In August 2009, a jacket wallah posing as a repentant Islamic myrmidon tried to assassinate Soddy Arabia's top anti-terrorism official, Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, but inflicted only minor injuries. In October, a plot to send two parcel bombs from Yemen to the United States was foiled after a tip off from Soddy Arabia.
"Changes from explosives to chemicals is significant because it demonstrates resolve and the ability to try to trick the security services," said Theodore Karasik, a security analyst at Dubai-based group INEGMA. "This is a change in tactics. It means they are trying every possible way to spread chaos... The security services are very lucky that they discovered this," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
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(KUNA) -- Pakistain annd Afghanistan on Saturday renewed their commitments to continue joint strategy against terrorism and further strengthen bilateral cooperation in the economic sector as well.
Might as well make official what the Pakhtons/Pashtuns have been doing with their cousins anyway. Does following the Talib adventurers home from the raids with an armed Predator count as a joint strategy against terrorism?
Pak Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani addressing a joint presser with Afghanistan's Caped PresidentHamid Maybe I'll join the Taliban Karzai in Kabul, capital of war-torn Afghanistan, said that "there is an equal realization that both the countries are equally suffering because of terrorism
At the rate the Pakistani Taliban are running amok, that may soon be true.
and there should be no blame game." According to the News Agency that Dare Not be Named of Pakistain (APP), the two leaders first held one-on-one meeting, followed by delegation level talks. It said that they held in-depth discussions aimed at enhancing cooperation in war against terrorism, and promoting collaboration in economic, trade and investment and building energy corridors and improving road and rail links.
The two leaders exchanged views on bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest, it said, adding, there was unanimity of views that Pakistain and Afghanistan should strengthen their existing strategic partnership for creating economic growth and job opportunities by making investments in trans-regional projects.
Opium poppies, their cultivation, refinement, and distribution, perhaps? No doubt efficiencies could be introduced into current practices, leading to increased profitability all the way down the line.
Later, addressing a luncheon hosted in his honor at the Presidential Palace, the Pak Prime Minister said that Islamabad was committed to enhance bilateral trade with Afghanistan to US 5 billion by 2015, besides building 100 primary schools and 50 basic health units.
How many of those new schools and health units (whatever those are) would be replacements for the ones burnt down by ISI-supported Afghan Taliban?
"We need to enhance customs cooperation and management for effective trade facilitation. We are committed to enhancing our current bilateral trade of US 2 billion to US 5 billion by 2015 through joint efforts," he said.
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EMARSS addresses part of the operational requirements contemplated for the Aerial Common Sensor (ACS). It will be designed to operate as part of the Aerial Exploitation Battalions (AEB), which are assigned to the U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM).
When operated in support of theater commands, the collection of Intelligence, Surveillance and Renaissance (ISR) will be handled through centralized processing, exploitation and dissemination (PED).
However, unlike the former ACS, EMARSS will also have a simultaneous capability to directly support tactical forces, transmitting critical full-motion video and intelligence products to engaged tactical forces.
[Yemen Post] Houthis jugged a student participating in a conference for Islah Party that took part in Saada province.
Local sources said that Ahmed Ali Alhamati, a student in Saada University, was jugged at a Houthi checkpoint in Aned town and taken to Houthis Headquarters in Thahian district.
Tribal sources told Yemen Post that Houthis confirmed the detention of the student, denying any effort to release him.
On the other hand, the General Union of Yemeni Students denounced the detention, asking Houthis to free him, and calling to keep away students from conflict with the authorities.
At least 26 people have been killed and several maimed in two suicide kaboom attacks against Houthis in northern Yemen two weeks ago. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has claimed its responsibility for the attacks.
The country has witnessed sporadic battles since 2004 between governmental troops and Houthi rebels.
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[Bangla Daily Star] A mob beat dead three alleged members of a robber gang who had opened fire on locals killing one at Muradnagar upazila in Comilla yesterday.
Police said some 10 to 12 people on a microbus had intercepted another microbus carrying a group of businessmen near Elliotganj Bazar in the morning and robbed them of Tk 16 lakh.
While hurrying to make their get-away, the gang's vehicle plunged into a roadside ditch.
As locals came forward sensing trouble, the criminals shot up them, leaving three locals -- Kazi Mohammad Siraj, Zakir Hossain and Vanu Bhushan Saha -- injured, said witnesses.
The mob caught three gang members and beat them to death on the spot. The identities of the dear departed trio could not be known immediately.
The rest of the gang, however, decamped.
Locals caught one unidentified person on suspicion and handed him over to police.
Bullet-hit Siraj died at Comilla Medical College Hospital. The two other maimed have been sent to Dhaka for treatment.
Law enforcers recovered one pistol, one revolver and five bullets from the scene of the crime.
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#1
Looks like another thrilling installment in the evolving saga of the "Bangla Upazilas Irregulars, Spontaneously Supporting the Local RAB" whenever they can.
(KUNA) -- Israeli troops clashed with Paleostinian gunnies near the town of Deir Al-Balah in the center of Gazoo Strip on Saturday, Paleostinian security sources reported.
One Paleostinian fighter was shot and maimed in the leg during the firefight that erupted when an Israeli squad attempted to infiltrate into Paleostinian-held areas, the sources said.
Salah-Eddine Brigades, the military wing of the Popular Resistance Committees, an umbrella organization that groups several factions, said in a statement its fighters were engaged in the fighting with the assaulting troops.
Posted by: Fred ||
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Her father flew into a rage when a Mail on Sunday reporter tried to speak to him last week at the familys modern house in Zmeika, on the edge of the Caucasus.
When asked if there was any comparison between his daughter and Anna Chapman, the glamorous spy who spent years in Britain as a sleeper agent, he shouted, Get out. Ill kill you, b****** before chasing the journalist through the village, first on foot and then in his car.
Despite the grim vignette with which Wikileaks documents attempted to portray Mexican President Felipe Calderon and the state of the war against drug cartels in late 2009, a senior Mexican Army commander attempted to get a political agreement on expanded powers of the army earlier this year, according to the Mexican weekly Proceso.
Proceso reported in a Friday online edition that General Guillermo Galvan Galvan, Calderon's Secretary of Defense, met with several legislative leaders in Mexico City to forge an agreement on expanded powers for the Mexican Army in its role in the current war on drugs.
Wikileaks documents released about meetings between US state Department officials and senior officials with the Calderon government paint a grim picture of a politicians uncertain about its next step in combating drug cartels.
According to the April 16th article, Proceso reported that on April 7th, Galvan Galvan met with Ardelio Vargas, Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI), Enrique Ibarra, Labour Party, and Paul Escudero, Partido Verde Ecologista de Mexico (PVEM) to ask for their support in making changes in Mexican law to allow expanded search and interrogation powers by Mexican military units in the fight against Mexican drug cartels.
Among the powers requested was a curfew in "zones of emergency" and expanded powers of interrogation by military commanders. The curfew request was to be limited in areas where drug violence was the most intense including Chihuahua, Tamaulipas and Sonora as well as other states.
But the centerpiece of Galvan's request was the ominous "state of emergency," while entails invocation of Article 29 of the Mexican Constitution, which requires consent of the Council of Ministers and the Federal Congress, politically a very high mountain for anyone to climb.
According to the article, a main contention in the meeting was that Galvan was never very clear about the exact nature of his request, except for the establishment of military checkpoints, which are currently in operation in some parts of Mexico.
Many of Galvan's requests ran counter to explicits rights set forth in the Mexican Constitution, but what probably spooked legislators the most was Galvan's hint that these expanded powers would require Mexican military presence in on the streets for between five and ten years, powers that would span the next president's term in 2012.
President Calderon will step down as Mexican president in 2012.
Galvan wanted other specific changes as well:
Authority to conduct proactive searches.
Authority to detain 24 hours suspects for interrogation and to take fingerprints.
Authority to intercept communications including powers to track websites and authority to cut electrical grids.
Authority cancel public events.
Authority to dissolve concentrations of vehicles, such as those that occurred in March and April, in Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas, where suspected drug traffickers blocked downtown streets of several cities to prevent the passage of the police.
Finally, the possibility that it can declare a "state of exception" in areas controlled by the drug cartels.
What Galvan was likely aiming for was a state of emergency de facto, not necessarily de jure.
Although the article doesn't so state, with the Mexican Army already doing many of the things Galvan has requested, it seems that the request for a state of emergency may have been a last resort for Calderon. The choices may well have been as stark as the choice between the laundry list Galvan presented and invocation of Article 29; and may well have been the only path politically Mexican national politicians could stomach short of Article 29.
The likely bitterest pill for Mexico to swallow with a state of emergency is the likelihood the northern border would be sealed, an act even the US government won't consider.
According to the article Mexican politicians are still considering many of Galvan's requests.
The Mexican Congress has already placed its endorsement on the idea that the Mexican military can stem the violence by increasing the size of the army by the equivalent of four combat brigades, or 18 rifle battalions, and by increasing military salaries.
Whether this will have a positive affect of the Mexican War on Drugs without the state of emergency remains to be seen.
At the moment, confrontations between Mexican security forces and drug gangs are down and have been for about three weeks. Whether the additional firepower on Mexico's northern sector is the cause or cartels are just reloading is also an issue to be resolved in time.
[El Universal] Andrés is Venezuela and José is Cuba. Or they used to be. This was the coded message in a paper seized by Spanish authorities, annexed to the dossier which has consolidated Venezuela's image as a training ground for terrorists, members of Basque nationalist and separatist organization ETA.
Based on the paper, ETA members purported to test sort of grenade launchers that two ETA members had devised in Cuba. For such purpose, they had requested the authorization and cooperation of the Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC).
This was disclosed in March 1999, following the detention in Gay Paree of three ETA members in possession of a letter where José Ignacio Echarte Urbieta -a refugee in Cuba- made the request.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
12/05/2010
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It began when a woman (Aasia Bibi) made an 'I'm proud to be a Christian' comment to a coworker. The coworker complained to a cleric and a court charged Aasia with blasphemy. The Pakistan minister for minority Religion (Shabhaz Bhatti) said the blasphemy laws should be revised.
Several Islamic terrorist orgs, e.g. Lashkar-e-Toiba (a big well organized one) and Majlis Ahrar e Islam (a smaller one) have issued a fatwa calling for the assasination of Bhatti. They have also said that if the Govt of Pakistan pardons Aasia they will have a similar fatwa issued against them. A number of imans connected with mainline mosques have issued statements supporting the blasphemy laws, warning Bhatti not to defend Aasia, etc. Essentially no Imans in Pakistan (or elsewhere to my knowledge) have defended Aasia or said that the blasphemy law should be made less ferocious.
The whole issue has been ignored by the NYTimes, the WaPo, etc.
Posted by: lord garth ||
12/05/2010
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So saying you are proud to be Christian is blasphemy?how?
Pakistan is the home of intolerance just like its ideal country Saudi Arabia.
Could you imagine Anjem Choudhry being killed because he said he was proud to be muslim in the UK?
Pakistan need nuking or brought screaming into the 21st Century to survive.I dont think i hate any nation more than Pakistan.I pity Somalia,Iran and North Korea but this country does not help itself!The Govt isnt the problem here its the people who live within!
Posted by: Paul D ||
12/05/2010 16:11
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At least 150 civilians have been killed in fighting between the Nigerian military and armed tough guyz in the oil-producing Niger Delta.
The incident took place as Nigerian warplanes bombed a village near a krazed killer camp and soldiers opened fire with machine guns, the News Agency that Dare Not be Named quoted human rights ... which are not the same thing as individual rights, mind you... activists and witnesses as saying on Friday.
Dozens of villagers took refuge in a nearby city after a military taskforce -- comprising the army, navy and air force -- began raiding three camps believed to belong to a krazed killer leader in Delta state on Thursday.
"We've seen about 30 evacuated made up of mainly women, children and new born babies in the barracks. Six are receiving treatment in the military hospital. (Their) immediate needs are food and water," a Red Thingy official said.
While, the country's armed forces deny targeting civilian communities in raids on krazed killer camps lying deep in the creeks, activists and witnesses assert that civilians get killed in the attacks.
The attacks on a village in the Niger Delta continued on Friday as the military tried to kill or capture John Togo, the most wanted krazed killer leader of the Niger Delta Liberation Force, who runs the attacked camps.
A campaign of pipeline bombings and high-profile kidnappings has been ongoing in the region since 2006.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/05/2010
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[Straits Times] SUSPECTED Islamic forces of Evil rubbed out five people in attacks across Thailand's restive south, including one Mohammedan man bumped off by a gang apparently dressed as soldiers, police said on Saturday.
The 36-year-old deputy village headman was killed after three gunnies dressed in clothing resembling military uniforms broke into his house in Narathiwat on Friday evening, according to police.
In the same province a 43-year-old Buddhist man, who worked with the local irrigation office, was also shot and killed at his home.
Earlier in the day, a 55-year-old Mohammedan government worker died on his way back from afternoon prayers in a drive-by shooting in Pattani province.
Another shooting in Pattani killed a 32-year-old security volunteer who was driving a cycle of violence. His wife, who was a passenger on the vehicle, was maimed.
In Yala province, a 41-year-old Mohammedan man was rubbed out while returning from working at a rubber plantation on Friday afternoon.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/05/2010
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[Jakarta Post] Indonesian terror suspect, Fadli Sadama, arrived at the Soekarno-Hatta Airport, Tangerang, under strict guard from Detachment 88, Indonesia's National Police anti-terror squad, around 5 p.m on Saturday, a police front man said.
Sr. Comr. Boy Rafli Amar said National Police chief Gen.Timur Pradopo would issue a statement about the return of the terror suspect later at the airport's international terminal.
A joint team of Detachment 88 and Malaysian National Police officers captured Fadli, on Oct. 13 while traveling on a bus to the state of Johor with two revolvers in his possession.
Fadli allegedly plotted the heist of the Medan-branch of CIMB Bank, which took place in August, with fellow prisoner, Toni Togar during their imprisonment in Medan.
Fadli was charged for his role in a series of bank robberies and for financing the 2003 JW Marriot Hotel bomb attacks carried out by Noordin M. Top and Dr.Azhari.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/05/2010
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[Iran Press TV] The US-backed UN court probing the liquidation of former Lebanese premier Rafiq Hariri has asked for images Israeli had taken from the scene of the crime.
The Special Tribunal for Leb (STL)'s investigative committee requested from Tel Aviv surveillance images, captured on February 14, 2005, when a massive car booming in the Lebanese capital of Beirut killed the Former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri alongside more than 20 other people, Lebanese newspaper Al Akhbar reported.
Quoting a former member of the committee, the newspaper said, the request had been made under prosecutor Detliv Mehlis -- who was replaced in 2006.
Israeli reconnaissance aircraft violate the Lebanese airspace on an almost daily basis. The spy drones transmit pictures and footage to Tel Aviv.
In an August speech, the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbullies's Secretary General Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah presented evidence proving that Israel had criminal masterminded Hariri's liquidation.
Hizb'allah's truth? Have they been getting into Photoshop again?
The televised address featured a video captured by Israeli unmanned aerial vehicles, as well as recorded confessions by Israeli fifth columnists, substantiating that Tel Aviv had been behind the killing.
If so, perhaps Hizb'allah leadership would be wise not to bring Israeli attention to themselves, if Israel is as capable and brutal as claimed.
Tel Aviv has so far reportedly refused to provide the committee with information about the attack. However, The infamous However... Al Akhbar revealed last week that Israel's Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman had admitted to Tel Aviv's involvement in the tribunal.
Someone at IranPressTV has gotten hold of a shipment of the good stuff from Afghanistan.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/05/2010
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(KUNA) -- US President Barack B.O. Obama welcomed on Saturday the trade deal agreement between the United States and South Korea, saying it will strengthen the alliance between them and create at least 70,000 jobs for Americans.
Plus it doesn't have George W. Bush's hand on it so it's an acceptable free trade agreement ...
Obama told news hounds that in the wake of the increase of unemployment to 9.8 percent, his administration needs to open new markets around the world for American products, while welcoming the "trademark" trade deal agreement between the US and South Korea and "a win for American workers".
While in Seoul last month, Obama failed to finalize the trade deal, which prompted domestic criticism to his foreign policy from the Republican Party.
He defended the failure to reach a deal before, saying it "was not good enough. It was not good enough for the American economy and it was not good enough for American workers".
"I am not interested in signing trade agreements for the sake of signing trade agreements. I am interested in agreements that increase jobs and exports for the American people and that also help our partners grow their economies," he added.
Obama, who was surrounded by US Trade Representative and the lead negotiator for the deal Michael Froman, noted that tariff reductions in this agreement alone "are expected to boost annual exports of American goods by up to USD 11 billion." "This agreement -- including the opening of the Korean services market -- will support at least 70,000 American jobs. It will contribute significantly to achieving (my) goal of doubling US exports over the next five years. In fact, it is estimated that today's deal alone will increase American economic output by more than our last nine free trade agreements combined," he added.
Speaking at the White House upon his return from his surprise trip to Afghanistan, Obama said this deal is "also a win for our ally and friend South Korea. They will gain greater access to our markets and make American products more affordable for Korean households and businesses -- resulting in more choices for Korean consumers and more jobs for Americans."
Posted by: Fred ||
12/05/2010
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[Jakarta Post] India's federal investigative agency says its website has been temporarily shut down by a cyber attack blamed on a Pak group.
The Central Bureau of Investigation says its website was accessed without authorization and defaced Friday night.
CBI front man R.K. Gaur says the hackers posted the slogan "Pakistain Zindabad" (Long Live Pakistain) on the website. He didn't give other details.
The Press Trust of India news agency says the hackers identified themselves as members of the Pakistain Cyber Army. They warned Indians not to attack Pak websites.
The CBI said Saturday it was making efforts to restore the website with the help of experts.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/05/2010
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#1
These will be remembered as the good old days. I have enjoyed the access to so much information and people. Access denial will be the norm for the least bit of information someone finds offensive. Political correctness, information control, damage control, fairness doctrine, equal time, or a new tax and then blackout for unapproved speak. I guess I'll just have to fire up the old SW till they block the signal. This Cyber attack business will have consequences(TSA).
(KUNA) -- Green campaigners marched on Parliament Saturday demanding greenhouse gas emissions to be slashed to help prevent "climate catastrophe".
With UN delegates meeting in Cancun, Mexico, to consume mass quantities hammer out a deal to cut global warming, thousands of campaigners marched through London, the organisers said.
Hundreds of people in Hyde Park formed themselves into a "2030" with a giant zero - spelling out the date by which campaigners want a 'Zero Carbon Britain'.
Bozos. No carbon emissions = no energy = no society. Enjoy your regression into Celts and Picts ...
But the Celts and Picts cooked and heated with wood fires. Lots of carbon emissions from those.
After creating the human 2030, campaigners cycled and marched through central London to urge the coalition Government to take strong action to decarbonise the economy and create a million green jobs in the process.
The climate rally was addressed by Green Party MP Caroline Lucas, Labour's John McDonnell and Michael Meacher and leaders of green organisations and unions.
Larissa Stuart, front man for Campaign Against Climate Change (CACC), said "there was a great atmosphere and the politicians made really rousing speeches.
"We had lots of support from people and gave out lots of leaflets and really raised awareness".
Ahead of the march, Phil Thornhill, also from CACC, said "gridlock in the international negotiations does not stop the slide towards climate catastrophe gathering deadly pace - as we have begun to witness this year in flood-stricken Pakistain, drought-hit Russia and other places.
"It makes it all the more crucial that we transform the politics behind that impasse and we can start at home".
Friends of the Earth's executive director Andy Atkins, who also spoke at the rally, said "alarm bells are ringing loudly" and urgent action was needed to stop climate change.
Posted by: Fred ||
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Amazing how the global warming nutters always seem to pick freezing snowy weather to schedule their protests.
It's the Ruritanian Secret Service, they done it ...
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
12/05/2010
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The political murders of the Revolution are now over a quarter of a century ago. That's more than a generation, unless Taheri's arguing that retail assassinations are being planned and executed by the same old bulls as back then. Anyways, motorcycle-riding assassination is popular across the jihadi spectrum. I still say it's more likely Saudi or Gulf funded freelancers than Israelis, Westerners, or internal Iranian strife.
Hell, it might even be Iraqi Sunnis starting to return the pain the Iranian mullahs have been pouring into Mesopotamia for the last seven years. Although I doubt it - doesn't seem the Iraqi style, they would have planted roadside bombs.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
12/05/2010 9:45
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What I find in was that all 3 scientists had ties to the pro-democracy "green revolution" including one that had family ties to Mousavi.
It just goes to show you have to look beyond the obvious to find whats foing on
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
12/05/2010 16:40
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A total of 20 individuals were murdered in violence in northern Mexican states that included four Juarez municipal plice officers executed Saturday. For a map, click here
An unidentified man was shot to death Friday night in Chihuahua, Chihuahua, according to Mexican news reports. The shooting took place near the intersection of Avenida 20 de Noviembre and Calle 31st in the Obrera colony, where armed suspects dressed in hooded jackets shot the victim numerous times while he was in his Honda sedan. Both 9mm and .45 caliber spent shell casings were found at the scene.
An unidentified man was found shot to death in Juarez Friday night, say Mexican news accounts. The victim had been tortured and shot numerous times and dumped on the Juarez-Porvenir road near the San Isidro poblado.
Four unidentified Juarez municipal police officers were shot to death Saturday morning in Juarez, say Mexican news accounts. The officers, three men and a woman, were aboard their official vehicle on calle Cuicuitzin in the Aguilas de Zaragoza colony when armed suspects aboard several trucks blocked their way. According to reports, the officers were ordered from their vehicle, lined up and shot one by one. An unidentified four year old boy was hit by stray shots. All four officers were from the Estacion Benito Juarez in far northern Juarez. Last Monday a commander from the same station was assassinated.
Twpo unidentified men were murdered in separate crimes in Juarez Saturday, according to the Mexican daily La Polaka. One victim was found shot to death near the corner of calles Morelos and Altamirano in the Barrio Alto colony. The second victim was shot to death on Calle Juan Balderas near the Panteon Jardines del Recuerdo cemetery.
Six unidentified individuals attending an informal dinner in Juarez were shot to death Saturday evening, say Mexican news accounts. The attack took place near the intersection of calles Palas and Saturno in the Satelite colony at a blacksmith shop, when armed suspects entered the business and started shooting.
A man was shot to death and his wife was wounded in an attack on a farm near Tijuana, Baja California, say Mexican news accounts. Reports say armed suspects fired more than 130 times into a residence on calle Herradura on ejido Lazaro Cardenas, Tercera Seccion at the rancho San Jeronimo. Juan Arturo Sandoval Acosta, 34, died at the scene having been hit once in he chest. Several AK-47 rounds and .223 caliber rounds were found at the scene.
Three individuals were shot to death in Tijuana, Baja California Thursday, according to Mexican news accounts. The victims were found on calle Amado Nervo in Otay Modulo colony Cuarta Seccion in the Centenario delegation. All three victims were found in front of two different residences on the street, all shot to death. 9mm and .40 caliber spent shell casings were found at the scenes.
Two individuals were found shot to death in Tijuana, Baja California Thursday, according to Mexican news accounts. The victims were found on calle Bule in the Rinconada de Otay colony. Ten .223 caliber spent shell casings were found at the scene.
[Tolo News] A total of 13 people were killed and around 80 others were maimed in a series of car boom blasts in the Iraqi capital on Saturday, Iraqi security officials say
Five people were killed and 18 others hurt after Orcs and similar vermin detonated a car crammed with explosives in front of a house used by Iranians as rest stop.
There are reports claiming explosives were also planted in a house adjacent to the rest stop. The two houses were totally destroyed.
A car boom struck a bus carrying Iranians to Shula, a district in northern Storied Baghdad, sources said.
The bombing left two people killed and 28 others maimed.
A third car boom targeted a market in Storied Baghdad's southwestern Bayaa district, killing six people and wounding 41 others, sources said.
Since the collapse of Saddam Hussein's government by a US-led invasion in 2003, hundreds of thousands of Iranian pilgrims have visited Shiite holy sites in Iraq.
Most often Iranian pilgrims are targeted by al-Qaeda linked Orcs and similar vermin and they oftentimes use religious ceremonies as the best time to carry out their attacks in Iraq.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/05/2010
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#1
Iranian Shiites have been funding bombs in Israel for decades. Now they experience it themselves when they come to Iraq. Not so pleasant, is it?
Posted by: American Delight ||
12/05/2010 2:47
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[Ennahar] The Coptic community in Egypt is afraid of being increasingly marginalized by an Islamism it claims to be encouraged by the state, although the Islamist opposition was swept in the parliamentary elections of which the second round is held Sunday.
"Discrimination against Copts is systematic and widespread in Egypt. It is found in government bureaucracy, courts, police and universities," said Emad Gad, of the Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies.
"Discrimination is not only practiced by the government," but "the government has managed to Islamize society (...). They use religion to gain support from people," he adds, speaking of "a fanatic bureaucratic system."
"Just to repair the window of a church, you must obtain permission from the government. If you want to build a mosque, you can get it in no time," he said.
Perhaps y'all might consider moving to a more open society, one where all are equal under the law.
It's just a coincidence, I'm sure, but there's one of those next door ...
The Copts in America are pro-Israel; the Copts in Egypt still talk about "Christ-killers". I'm not sure Israel would be wise to accept them.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[Asharq al-Aswat] Information in Leb confirms that Soddy Arabia and Syria have intensified their efforts to delay the Hariri tribunal issuing its final decision in conjunction with pressure being exerted by the March 8 Alliance to reach a compromise [with the international tribunal] ahead of the forthcoming indictment.
In this context, Future bloc MP Ammar Houri told Asharq Al-Awsat that "the compromise being cooked up today, and the discussions that are taking place, are confined to one single point and that is what is going to happen following the indictment." Houri said that "we are trying to reach a certain formula that will help the country avoid violence, discord, and rhetoric that leads to the unknown, following the issuance of the [international tribunal's] indictment. However there will be no compromise on the date or content of this decision, and there is no possibility of this being raised."
As for the rumors that the Future bloc will not accept the international tribunal utilizing evidence from Leb's infiltrated communication network, Houri said that "the infiltration of the communication network is something that occurs in all countries, however what was revealed by the Minister of Communication about the manipulation of data must be investigated by the office of the Attorney General as soon as possible. We will not issue any early judgments on the evidence that may be put forward by the international tribunal."
A Hezbullies source also informed Asharq Al-Awsat that "there is a newly emerging Soddy Arabian effort to accelerate the reaching of a compromise [with the international tribunal] before the issuance of this indictment." The source also revealed that "Washington desires the issuance of the [international tribunal's] decision before the fifteenth of this month...whilst there is also a French -- Saudi effort to delay the issuance of this decision."
The Hezbullies source also told Asharq Al-Awsat that "the compromise that is being cooked up revolves around two main points that it seems that the Future movement are beginning to be convinced of, and these two points are the necessity of the international tribunal's decision not relying upon the false witnesses or the infiltrated communication network. These two points are part of a deal whose chances of success stand at around 50 percent."
Meanwhile, ...back at the ranch... Lebanese Minister of State Wael Abu Faour stressed "the necessity of the Arab efforts being exerted by Syria and Soddy Arabia to find a national consensus over the disputed issues being met with local efforts by all parties to reduce congestion and restore the climate of internal dialogue." He also pointed out that "this [effort] could help in the acceptance of any Arab initiative to protect Leb internally from any internal or external dangers."
For his part, Development and Liberation bloc MP Michel Moussa commented on these external efforts, saying "at one time, things reached a dead end internally, and so this necessitated the worthy initiatives from our friends abroad, especially Syria and Soddy Arabia." He also pointed out that "rapprochement between the two countries [Syria and Soddy Arabia] gives rise to a good atmosphere that may produce solutions."
Leb First MP Khaled Zahraman apologized for what he described as the country reaching "a state of impasse" and he stressed "the importance of internal dialogue that was lacking in the recent period taking place, which must be accompanied by external dialogue, especially with Syria, Soddy Arabia, Iran, and Turkey."
Posted by: Fred ||
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[Iran Press TV] The US Senate has rejected President B.O.'s proposed tax plan which would extend the Bush-era tax breaks only for the lower- and middle-class families.
The failure of Congress to renew the measures, against tax breaks which expire on December 31 this year, will raise income taxes for the lowest earners from 10 percent to 15 and for the highest ones from 35 percent to 39.6 starting in 2011.
The bill fell short by seven votes to reach the 60 votes required to pass in the Senate on Saturday. Not one Republican senator backed the proposal, and even a few Democrats voted against it, Rooters reported.
Congress also failed to extend aid for hundreds of thousands of long-term unemployed Americans, which began to expire this week.
Obama had hoped to end the Bush-era breaks on incomes above USD 250,000 a year for couples and USD 200,000 a year for individuals.
"You don't raise taxes if your ultimate goal, if the main thing is to create jobs," Senator John Thune (R-SD), who voted against the bill, was quoted by The New York Times as saying.
Vice President Joe Foreign Policy Whiz Kid Biden ... an example of the kind of top-notch Washington intellect to be found in the World's Greatest Deliberative Body ... said that Congress's move "will wind up costing us hundreds of thousands of more jobs."
The Senate also rejected an alternative proposal which would have raised the tax break threshold to USD 1 million.
"It seems to me that about the best way to reduce the deficit is not to give USD 300 billion of tax breaks to the 315,000 Americans whose income is over a million dollars," New York Senator Charles E. Schumer said, who proposed the bill.
Republicans won a majority in the House and picked up six seats in the Senate in the recent midterm elections.
Obama's top economic advisers are discussing a deal with key politicians to renew the lower tax rates for everyone, including America's wealthiest individuals for one to three years, Rooters reported.
Posted by: Fred ||
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Consider: In 1969 we had half a million troops in a foreign country, were smack in the middle of the interstate highway construction proram, one of the largest public works in history, and we put a man on the moon. The government did all those things with our tax dollars then; now they can't do even one of them.
Why is that? Where are all of our tax dollars going now? (Rhetorical question)
Isn't that about the same time LBJ started up the War on Poverty? Isn't THAT the "War Without End"?
It's not an either-or proposition, folks. Extend the unemployment, extend the tax breaks, and pay for both by rolling back the War on Poverty!
Why yes, I am heartless!
Posted by: Bobby ||
12/05/2010 12:27
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Hello Bobby; Your review of history is as the Aussie says is "Spot on". We also had riots and media attack dogs. LBJ was forced into the great society thing. Things were falling apart. Air conditioning and food stamps defused the situation in my opinion. The money is now spent. The problems have only grown. I don't believe our representatives will have the will to deal with these pressing issues.
#3
1969 was over 40 years and trillions of dollars ago. We now have a different economy and a different country. 'Pay for both' by canceling Social Security & Medicare. RRRiight. We WILL pay for everything, one way or another. Crisis will start as soon as the US gov't can't sell enough bonds every few days to cover its expenditures.
#4
AH you are so correct. SS when it was set up was 40-1 paying in for one retiree. Now it is 3-1 and soon 2-1. I lived that time and was commiserating with Bobby. Things will get out of control soon if as you say when the bonds don't sell. The main center cities are almost warlord areas now. Not all but many as you would find out if you venture in an area you don't belong. Default possibly. In Europe I believe I heard that the governments have taken the retirement savings(France as I recall was one). Limits on how much you can withdraw at one time would control a paper run.
With proper leadership and capitalism we would turn this around fast.
#5
In Europe I believe I heard that the governments have taken the retirement savings(France as I recall was one). Limits on how much you can withdraw at one time would control a paper run. Both events have already happened, but in Argentina in 2002. Many Argentinian retirement savings at that time were in Argentinian banks denominated in US dollars. Argentine government mandated conversion of those deposits into Argentine currency, drastically devaluated that currency, and limited withdrawals of that devalued money by the account holders. By the time the account holders could get to their money, it wasn't worth much. That whole process amounted to partial confiscation of their accounts by the government. This is now being done in the USA, under the guise of QE2, and I expect, will be done in the future by QE2+X. This process is much harder to follow, especially since the US government manipulates the reporting of consumer prices. E.g., Quaker Old Fashioned Oats in the large box now costs $4.26 at my local Walmart, which is ridiculously expensive for what you get. Gas down the street last night was $2.99 for unleaded regular. US CPI stats do not cover this, by design.
Always remember that in 1933, the US government seized all gold and gold-backed currency in the US, and invalidated previously valid contracts which set their value by a gold standard. All this was approved by the US Supreme Court, although IMHO absolutely unconstitutional. The emergency executive order signed by FDR justifying all this is, IIRC, still in effect.
#7
Oh my, I didn't like the sound of those words
"The emergency executive order". Thank you for taking the time to pass that information on. I have noticed that hours are being cut in most retail. Managers are being told to covert full timers to part time or we'll get someone who will. This is the time of year for Christmas sales and temporary hires. Young people will not be working. In your area you have seen the increases and the story is being repeated everywhere. Wall Mart knows that as fuel prices go up store traffic drops as they track it.
#8
Yesterday the unemployment figures rose to I believe it was 9.8%. After the holidays and the "seasonal helpers" are laid off, I suspect they'll break 10% with no problem at all. Unless I've missed my guess, we're in for a tough bit of sledding.
#10
I am a story teller. Here are two;
Stalin asked his economists what was the best system to overcome difficult times. One said capitalism. Why? because when winter is here spring comes much sooner. He was dead not long after.
Two men are walking along and one has a dog. The other is jealous. So he kills the dog so both are equal. Rush aired this some time ago.
AH to manage this Triage may be the only way. We can only save who we can.
#11
Hasn't there already been some talk and rumors about the government seizing ROA's and 401K accounts to be replaced by a Social Security type government-run program? To safeguard and guarantee your retirement in a dangerous marketplace.....
Oh they will wrap it up on a pretty package "to save social security" or "to save seniors". But it'll be the same redistribution of wealth...
[Ennahar] The address in Switzerland of the site Wikileaks, which began publishing Sunday U.S. secret diplomatic telegrams, was active again on Saturday after a brief hiatus, said the Pirates Party of Switzerland, who argued for freedom on the Internet.
Stripped of its website on Friday by its American supplier of domain names EveryDNS.net, the site of revelation of secret documents had found refuge in the morning in Switzerland, under the address wikileaks.ch, no longer operational in the evening.
The owner of the domain name "wikileaks.ch" is "the party of the pirates in Switzerland", which claims to support the legalization of file sharing on the Internet and protecting the privacy of Internet users.
"Two hours after disabling wikileaks.ch by EveryDNS.net, we acquired a lot of DNS (domain name system) available," says on its website the Pirates' Party of Switzerland, founded in 2009 on the model of Swedish Pirate Party.
He has drawn on its website (http://www.pirateparty.ch/wikileaks_ch_blocked) a list of 21 sites where you can see Wikileaks, many located in Europe (wikileaks.nl, wikileaks.de, wikileaks.fi. ..)
Denis Simonet, the leader of the Pirate Party of Switzerland, told AFP he registered the domain name wikileaks.ch six months ago.
"We did it to support Wikileaks," he said, adding that it was not at the request of Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks.
The U.S. supplier of domain names EveryDNS.net had ceased in the night from Thursday to Friday after its service to wikileaks.org after massive cyber attacks against the site that created the spot in the U.S. and in many capitals publishing secret diplomatic cables.
Companies like EveryDNS.net provide domain names and turn them into IP addresses. When service is interrupted, the site is down.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/05/2010
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[Yemen Post] Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula grabbed credit for killing the Houthi spiritual leader Badr Al-Din Al-Houthi who was reported dead a day after a car boom targeted a Houthi convoy in Saada last month.
The group said in a statement posted on Al-Fajr Media Center the leader was assassinated in the car boom attack against the convoy that was on its way to mark Day of Al-Ghadir.
The attack was carried out by Al-Qaeda member Abi Aisha Al-Sana'ani, the statement said.
"The Houthi Group tried to hide he was among the victims of the operation, saying he naturally died, but the fact is that the attack already killed him."
Commenting on the information, the Houthi information bureau denied the leader died in the blast that reports said killed Houthi leaders.
Over the last two weeks, Islamic preachers are starting to believe that Al-Qaeda is really sponsored by international powers after reports confirmed that Badr Al-Din never left Sa'ada over the last two years.
Spokesman at the bureau Dhaif Allah Al-Shami said the leader died from asthma in Matara district on Thursday and the information was untrue.
Last month, two car booms targeted Houthi convoys in Jawf and Saada killing about 27 and injuring almost a dozen others.
AQAP grabbed credit for the blasts, saying they were carried out by newly-formed special units responsible for defending the Sunnis and eradicating the malice planted by Shiites in the north.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/05/2010
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#1
Comment. Word up,
Posted by: Fire and ice ||
12/05/2010 1:01
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#2
Comment.Word up,
Translation please, Fire and Ice? I'm not up on the latest slang, whether military or civilian, I'm afraid.
(KUNA) -- European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso expressed deep concern here Saturday over the events in Ivory Coast.
Barroso's remark came after Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo was sworn in for a new term, despite the fact that the country's electoral body declared that last Sunday's run-off poll was won by opposition leader Alassane Ouattara.
"I am deeply concerned by the evolution of events in Ivory Coast. I call on all political forces to respect the electoral outcome, to show responsibility and to refrain from any act of violence," he said in a statement.
The head of the EU's executive body said he has taken note of the United Nations, aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society' statement, which confirmed Ouattara as the winner of the presidential elections in Ivory Coast.
"This fact has also been confirmed by the African Union, as well as by the Economic Community of the West African States. I want to join the International Community in congratulating Mr. Alassane Ouattara and I compliment him as the legitimate winner of these democratic elections," Barroso stated.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[Iran Press TV] At least 35 people have been killed and many others injured when heavy festivities broke out between African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) troops and al-Shaboobs.
The fighting took place in Mogadishu on Thursday after African Union troops blocked Industry Road, which connects various quarters in the Somali capital. Twenty civilians bit the dust and at least eight al-Shabaab members were also killed, Radio Garowe reported late on Friday.
Several others were killed as intense violence continued in Mogadishu's Bondhere, Shibis, Hodan, and Daynile districts, according to witnesses and medical workers.
"The operations to extend our area of control have been successful," AMISOM front man Major Barigye Bahoku said.
Somali ambulance workers transported 17 maimed civilians to local hospitals for treatment, according to the head of Mogadishu's ambulance service, Ali Muse.
The International Committee of the Red Thingy (ICRC) has reported that hundreds of civilians were maimed in fighting in Somalia in recent months.
The Geneva-based humanitarian institution said that a total of 5,000 patients with war injuries, including 1,900 women and kiddies, were admitted to Mogadishu's Keysaney and Medina hospitals from January through September.
Compared to last year, it is an increase of 25 percent in the total number of war casualties and 72 percent in the number of war-maimedwomen and kiddies admitted to the hospitals.
Boilerplate follows...
Somalia has not had a functioning government since 1991, when warlords overthrew former dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.
Over the past two decades, up to one million people have bit the dust in fighting between rival factions and due to famine and disease.
There are more than 1.4 million internally displaced people (IDPs) in Somalia. Over 300,000 of the IDPs are sheltered in Mogadishu.
The United Nations, aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society High Commissioner for Refugees reported that most of the displaced live in poor and degrading conditions on makeshift sites in southern and central Somalia.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
Admittedly, the AU troops are a bit "rough" and they lack assets and training. Then again, it's a home-grown operation and they aren't restricted with the ROEs of public-relations-sensitive 'civilized' Western armies.
And remember that if this were a UN operation, the area of control would still be the two-block area where the rump Somali government is.
#2
"Somalia has not had a functioning government since...". Ever? Can you call a dictatorship a 'functioning government' with a straight face (and not be a minion of the UN)?
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
12/05/2010 6:01
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#3
Well, Mussolini did make the trains run on time...
#4
Whiskey Mike - It functioned far better than anything that's been in place since then. In fact, Somalia had a halfway-decent government in place up until the late 1980's, when various warlords began causing problems for the central government. Puntland and Somaliland both have functioning governments - it's just the lower half of Somalia that's in turmoil.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/05/2010 14:30
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#5
Well, then there's this, just scroll down to the subject line Chicago's 2010 homicide toll surpasses 400. I wouldn't sweat the Mog.
[Pak Daily Times] A kaboom occurred in a mobile market in a bazaar in Landikotal on Saturday. According to details, a powerful bomb exploded in a busy mobile market in a Landikotal bazaar, which damaged at least 15 shops in the market. However, The infamous However... no loss of life was reported in the blast.
The mobile markets had been warned in the past by unidentified forces of Evil to stop selling "vulgar videos" and other obscene content, which were corrupting the minds of the youngsters.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[An Nahar] Free Patriotic Movement Despite its name a Christian party allied with Hizbullah, neither free nor particularly patriotic... leader Michel Aoun ...a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hizbullah... on Saturday warned that there is a global conspiracy to destabilize Leb and accused the international community of seeking to create a clash between Hizbullah and the Special Tribunal for Leb.
"Let them tell us why there is a Court that wants to condemn Hizbullah, and then there are media leaks for the benefit of Hizbullah. Why?" asked Aoun.
"The truth is this: There is an international conspiracy to destabilize Leb," Aoun told a student delegation representing the victorious alliance from the Lebanese American University.
"That is why they do not want to refer the false witnesses' issue to the Court because this would lead to the truth," he thought.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[Pak Daily Times] Paleostinian President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas has warned he may dissolve his self-rule government and ask Israel to resume full control of the West Bank if troubled peace talks fail.
Just the West Bank, though. De-facto President Abbas hasn't the power to surrender the Gaza Strip, thank goodness.
Dismantling the Paleostinian Authority would be a last resort, Abbas told Paleostine TV in an interview broadcast late Friday. If all efforts fail, Abbas said, "I will tell the Americans and the Israelis, come and put an end to all this. I can't continue like this. We have an occupation and we don't. No, keep it all and release me (from my responsibility)." However, The infamous However... his comments marked the most explicit warning yet that he's considering a step that could crush lingering hopes for a Mideast peace deal. Abbas has said that if peace negotiations collapse, the Paleostinians might seek unilateral UN recognition of a state in the West Bank, Gazoo and east Jerusalem, territories Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast War.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/05/2010
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[Ma'an] A group of Paleostinian fighters affiliated with the An-Nasser Salah Addin Brigades, the military wing of the Popular Resistance Committees, said they clashed with an Israeli force attempting to cross into the central Gazoo Strip.
The brigades said the force withdrew, no injuries were reported.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[ADN Kronos] The Taliban's former ambassador to Pakistain "will not mediate any talks between the United States and the Taliban", he said on Friday in an interview with Arab-language satellite news channel al-Arabiya.
Abdul Salam Zaif also said prior to the United States' invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, he warned Washington that American forces would have a quick victory but in the long run would lose if they stayed on as occupiers.
"I said they would have won quickly but that they would lose if they decided to stay," he said.
Before the terrorist attacks on 11 Sept. 2001, Zaif represented the Taliban during the US' failed efforts for Afghanistan to extradite Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden.
Zaeef was held at Guantanamo Bay. he lives in Kabul and denies involvement with the Taliban insurgency.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/05/2010
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(KUNA) -- Air navigation in, to and from Spain came to a standstill on Saturday as a result of a nationwide strike observed by aviation controllers.
The controllers have abandoned their work places collectively demanding sick leaves and declaring that they cannot pursue the work. They are also protesting a government plan to privatize 94 percent of the stakes of the national aviation authority.
Development Minister Jose Blanco warned the striking staffers, at a news conference, that they must resume work or they would be supplemented with personnel of the national defense forces -- a plan that was later carried out.
General paralysis is prevailing across the nation's air facilities although a number of the controllers have turned up at their work offices and places. Up to four million people are forecast to be affected with the paralysis of the Spanish air services.
Earlier, Interior Minister Afredo Robalcaba announced the national military forces had taken charge of the nation's air aviation facilities as a result of the ongoing strike. Robalcaba, in a press statement, said the military forces were deployed at the airports after air controllers declared the strike that initially affected more than 300,000 passengers and citizens throughout the country.
The minister added that Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero had called for an urgent cabinet meeting, expected to be held soon, to declare a state of emergency in case the controllers refused to resume work, warning that the strikers might be prosecuted on charges of committing "a crime against the nation." The defense forces have been assigned to take charge of the aviation sector, in line with certain provisions in the constitution and relevant legislations.
The air navigation controllers have gone on strike to protest work conditions and privatization of the authority running the sector.
The cabinet had decided to take several austerity economic measures intended to cut the burden of public debts, including privatization of 44 percent of the stakes of the aviation company.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/05/2010
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#1
Update: The Spanish government halted the strike Saturday evening. Zapatero declared a "state of alarm", citing an unused clause in the constitution.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Sarah Palin has found a new opponent to debate: John F. Kennedy. 
[MSNBC] The House on Thursday passed a bill that would prevent advertisers from abruptly raising the volume to catch the attention of viewers wandering off when regular programming is interrupted.
Al Qaeda 
(KUNA) -- Israeli troops clashed with 
[Jakarta Post] India's federal investigative agency says its website has been temporarily shut down by a cyber attack blamed on a Pak group.
(KUNA) -- Green campaigners marched on Parliament Saturday demanding greenhouse gas emissions to be slashed to help prevent "climate catastrophe".
[An Nahar] 
[Pak Daily Times] 
(KUNA) -- Air navigation in, to and from Spain came to a standstill on Saturday as a result of a nationwide strike observed by aviation controllers.
