After Baitullah Mehsuds death in 2009, the TTP has lost organisational capability
Internal rivalries, coupled with a prolonged leadership crisis since militant leader Baitullah Mehsuds death in August 2009, have diminished the influence of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistani (TTP) as a militant umbrella organisation in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), analysts say.
Against that backdrop, about 130 major and minor militant groups, some of which have splintered off the TTP, operate in and from a 27,220-sq.-km. area of FATA, said Ashraf Ali, president of the FATA Research Centre, an Islamabad-based think tank dedicated to researching the Taliban in Pakistans tribal regions.
The TTP has not been able to forge a united command ever since it lost its influential commander in an air strike in August 2009, he said.
The TTP is plagued by a leadership crisis as neither its incumbent head Hakeemullah Mehsud too immature to lead nor Maulvi Faqir, a leading commander from Bajaur Agency, is in a position to keep it united, Ali said.
Nobody knows exactly how many militant groups exist these days, Shah said, referring to the secession from the TTP.
The TTP resulted from bringing 40 militant groups together under one umbrella in 2007, Ali said.
Baitullah, he said, was the linchpin in keeping the TTP together, as it was because of him that so many militant leaders agreed to form the TTP.
After its creation, the organisation saw its influence grow as many small gangs that were active in FATA started joining its ranks, Mansoor Khan Mehsud, director of research at the FATA Research Centre, told Central Asia Online.
After Baitullahs death, reports of differences among Hakeemullah Mehsud, a more lethal militant leader; Wali-ur-Rehman, an important commander; and Maulvi Faqir, one of Baitullahs deputies in Bajaur, surfaced, setting the stage for a confrontation that continues to this day, Ali said.
The Muslim world should not accept an apology issued by U.S. President Barack Obama over the burning of Korans in an American base in Afghanistan, a top Iranian military commander said on Saturday, adding that nothing short of "burning the White House can relieve the wound of us."
Obama's Thursday apology in a letter to Afghan President Hamid Karzai sought to quell spiraling furor among Afghans, who have been protesting the act for five straight days, after Afghan workers found charred copies of the Muslim holy book on a military base near Kabul.
#5
Jew or Muslim, pro-US or anti-US, by most accounts they are not impressed wid Obama as POTUS - by that scope, then, IRAN + RADICAL ISLAM HAVE A STAKE IN ENSURING THAT THE BAMMER WINS RE-ELECTION.
As per the "Arab Springs", its under the Bammer that Radical Islam is now on the verge/threshold of going de facto Nuclear, vee formal electoral control of the NucProgs of key, formerly pro-US Islamic Countries + Wannabes.
Aladeen tweeted on his verified Twitter account, "Victory is ours! Today the mighty nation of Wadiya triumphed over the Zionist snakes of Hollywood. Evil and all those who made Satan their protector were vanquished and driven into the Pacific Sea."
#1
Correction: first there was the bank heist. THEN the prostitution.
They then taught them how to gamble, and saw they made the same irrational decisions a human gambler would make as well. The data generated by the capuchin monkeys, Chen says, make them statistically indistinguishable from most stock-market investors.
#4
I can imagine the monkeys next developing the concepts of mercantilism and employment, as well as organized crime. I think they already proved that monkeys have a similar response to slot machines.
#3
Thanks t o Obama's arrogant and clear disdain for Karzai, he never realized he may need Karzai to stand with him to defuse such a situation to protect our troops. Unfortunately Karzai is now tempted to watch Obama squirm. A bow to our enemies will no longer work. This is now Obama's disaster and he will not handle it well at all. Look for him to now blame Bush.
Posted by: George Ebbeamp4828 ||
02/25/2012 22:36
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#4
"Look for him to now blame Bush."
Whaddaya mean now, George?
When did Bambi do anything else?
Posted by: Barbara ||
02/25/2012 23:29
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Posted by: Steve White ||
02/25/2012 14:45
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#3
After getting drawn into multiple internal conflict of the Greeks [The Macedonian Wars], the Romans got fed up and appointed a Proconsul for the place. Ah, yes the cycles of history and human behaviors.
#4
This is going to be amusing. Those tax collectors assume that the Greek police will be like German police, and obey without question, not realizing that the Greek police are little different or more disciplined than the people they will be ordering them to oppress.
They will soon realize that the mule is the national bird of Greece.
The U.S. commander of coalition forces in Afghanistan pulled scores of advisers from Afghan ministries after two high-ranking American military officers were gunned down Saturday at the nation's Interior Ministry headquarters.
U.S. Marine Gen. John Allen ordered the unprecedented move after an American colonel and major were both found shot in the head at the busy Interior Ministry compound that is the nerve center for the Afghan law enforcement, according to one Western official in Kabul.
"We are investigating the crime and we will pursue all leads to find the person responsible for this attack," Gen. Allen said in a statement. "The perpetrator of this attack is a coward whose actions will not go unanswered."
Afghan and American officials shut down the ministry compound in central Kabul as they launched an investigation into the killings in one of the most heavily guarded parts of the capital.
Top U.S. military officials said they were still trying to determine the identity of the attacker. But one Western official in Kabul said that the two Americans were shot by an Afghan police official who was upset about the burning of Qurans earlier this week at a U.S. military base.
The Quran that was found in the trash was probably PLANTED there by the same people that found it. The demonstrations were too wide spread and too quick to start to be anything but organized ahead of time.
Can you name one miracle that has occurred though the faith of one Moslem? The Quran only
Can you imagine the public condemnation if a group went on a rampage like this because a Bible was burned?
Posted by: Bill Clinton ||
02/25/2012 17:21
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#3
"Can you imagine the public condemnation if a group went on a rampage like this because a Bible was burned?"
Maybe they should, Bill. Look at the fear "respect" the moslems get from doing it.
You get more of whatever gets rewarded. :-(
Posted by: Barbara ||
02/25/2012 18:10
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#4
See also WAFF > NATIONAL POST'S [Canada]LORNE GUNTER: KORAN RIOTS PROVE ITS TIME TO [just up + ]QUIT AFGHANISTAN.
Gunter once suppor the Afghan mission of Canada + NATO, but now believes Canada + NATO should just pull up + leave ASAP now, + leave or abandon Afghanistan + uncontrollable Afghans to their own devices - NO NEED TO WAIT FOR 2014???
A U.S. drone may have crashed on Saturday in North Waziristan, not far from the Afghan border, Pakistan intelligence officials said, and Taliban militants said they had shot it down.
Taliban militants led by Hafiz Gul Bahadur said they had collected wreckage of the destroyed drone and would provide its pictures to the media on Sunday.
Pakistani security officials, however, said they did not know what caused the drone to crash.
"A drone aircraft was seen going down in Machikhel and flames were seen," a Pakistani intelligence official said.
"We don't know what caused it to go down. We are investigating."
Another official said the drone had gone down in an area controlled by militants, about 30 km (20 miles) from the Afghan border.
#1
Switch to using masers in space to just cook the animals.
Posted by: Water Modem ||
02/25/2012 13:53
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#2
The good thing about drones is that, even if the enemy shoots them down, there is no pilot that they can use by dragging his mutilated body through the streets.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
02/25/2012 14:32
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#3
wow, taliban 1, drones 10,000
Posted by: chris ||
02/25/2012 15:18
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#4
Since when have those savges been able to throw rocks 20,000 feet into the air?
Karma, dudes!
Pakistan's capital is fighting a hairy invader: the wild boar, which has taken over Islamabad in ever increasing numbers.
The wild pigs, which feast on rubbish outside homes and restaurants, are said to be a major cause of traffic accidents, and will charge if frightened or injured. The animals can weigh up to 220 pounds, have sharp teeth, and adult males have tusks.
The Associated Press reported that city authorities are using poison and allowing free hunting permits to try and cut down on the wild boar population, but few Pakistanis are interested.
"Hunters are wary of getting arrested by the police, or even worse getting mistaken for a terrorist," the AP reported. AyPee has better article, but...
Hey, you don't suppose DARPA is behind this? Lately, we've seen BigDog and his even bigger brother, Legged Squad Support System. Maybe they have been working on This Little Piggy. Time to go watch Screamers" again!
#4
"The wild pigs, which feast on rubbish outside homes and restaurants"
No food, maybe they'd go away. Ever think of getting rid of the "rubbish outside homes and restaurants"?
Probably not.
(And I doubt this stuff is in industrial dumpsters like we're used to seeing out back of restaurants in the Western world. Can't see 200-lb. pigs climbing into those.)
Posted by: Barbara ||
02/25/2012 10:59
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#5
Can't see 200-lb. pigs climbing into those
Don't know about that Barb. There's a heap of 2 legged pigs round about there too.
#10
If it was DARPA, we can but hope that the pigs are all conditioned to respond to Muezzin calls as "feeding time at the mosque! The pigs who get their first get the most!"
They could even be trained to savagely bite dummies on the floor to make their food come faster.
Imagine the hilarity as they just started to pray when a hundred, hundred-pound pigs came tearing through, biting everyone they met.
Two Nato officers have been killed inside the interior ministry in the Afghan capital Kabul, coalition officials say.
The International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) confirmed the deaths but would not reveal the nationalities.
However, Afghan security officials said they were an American colonel and major. Local media reports suggest the incident followed a "verbal clash".
The ministry has been put in lock-down, officials say.
The shootings come amid five days of deadly protests across the country over the burning of copies of the Koran by US soldiers.
Kunduz deaths
"An individual turned his weapon against International Security Assistance Force service members in Kabul city today", the Isaf statement said.
Angry protests erupted in Kunduz on Saturday over the Koran burnings
Isaf spokesman Brig Gen Carsten Jacobson told the BBC that Nato could not yet release details of the nationalities of those killed.
Early reports suggest the two were shot in the ministry's command and control centre.
Angry protests over the burning of the Korans continued on Saturday, with a UN compound in the city of Kunduz set alight.
Four people were killed and dozens injured in clashes in the city, according to local doctors. Three more people were killed in the southern province of Logar.
More than 20 have died since the protests began on Tuesday.
On Friday Nato's Afghanistan commander Gen John Allen had appealed for calm.
US personnel apparently inadvertently put the books into a rubbish incinerator at Bagram air base, near Kabul.
#1
However, Afghan security officials said they were an American colonel and major. Local media reports suggest the incident followed a "verbal clash".
Excuse me, but I feel like going out on the porch, leaning over the rail, and throwing up!
#4
I think that the Taliban have sensed weakness with the US apology. They are right. If we had deployed some of those microwave anti-riot devices they would just be peachy. But not having them, we will have to hose the murderous crowd or run away like frightened small animals.
#8
I have supported the war in Afghanistan from the beginning. However, I have reached the point that I think we should get out ASAP. The Taliban will see this as a victory, since they "chased" us out.
However, I don't think it is possible to "win" in Afghanistan, even if we could define what "winning" is. On the other hand, we should probably warn Afghanistan and Pakistan that the next time we come back, we won't have any troops on the ground unless they are in radiation protective suits.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
02/25/2012 14:36
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#9
Again its about defining winning. Winning is leaving the opponent in a position not to mess with you again. That could have been achieved by backing a tribe or a number of tribes to keep the others so engrossed in just maintaining their interests as to be ineffective in doing anything else but treading water.
#10
It may have little if anything to do with war in AFG or the holy book burning. It may have everything to do with Iranian or Pakistani intelligence and a well rehearsed professional hit by personnel wearing AFG Army uniforms using supressed Markarovs. We may never know about this one.
Six Afghan army soldiers were killed and 16 injured in western Afghanistan on Saturday when a Taliban bomb exploded as the troops tried to defuse it. The incident happened in Muqur district of western Badghis province.
Afghan defense ministry spokesman Dawlat Waziri said, "Six soldiers were killed and 16 others injured when the Taliban improvised explosive device (IED) went off prematurely."
#1
Afghan Army EOD skills are still lagging. Generally they are blown them in place (BIP) using diesel fuel by the Afghans. Sounds like they tried to retrieve this one and it had an anti-tamper divice (Russian or Chinese AP mine) daisy chained to a couple more; possibly command wired to Taliban guy with klacker hiding nearby (always look for wires); or they attempted to take it back to the office.
Praise Allen, good work Achmed. Throw it in the back of the Ranger with all the rest... KABLOWEEE!
Al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for a car bomb attack in southern Yemen that killed at least 26 people and wounded dozens more when it was driven towards a presidential palace in the city of Mukalla in Hadramout province on Saturday.
An al-Qaeda source said, "Al-Qaeda is responsible for the suicide bombing in Mukalla in retaliation for the Republican Guard's crimes."
Egypts ultra-conservative Salafists Call condemned Hamas leader in Gaza Ismail Haniya shortly after he led a prayer in the al-Azhar Mosque on Friday, saying he met with Shiite leaders last week while all the killing in Iraq is ongoing and Sunnis are attacked almost daily.
We refuse that Haniya leads the prayer in Egypts largest Sunni mosque after he shook hands with the Shiites, and Egypt is the country of the Sunni al-Azhar [and we] do not accept a man who put his hand into the hand that kills Sunnis in Iraq and Syria, said a statement released by the Salafi Call on Friday.
Haniya is visiting Egypt for meetings with Egyptian officials on Gaza and the peace process with Israel.
The Call said that Haniya, who is being supported by the Muslim Brotherhood, follows a method of lying, cheating and cunning and plays on all fronts after he shook hands with Shiite in Iran and Hezboallah and Bashar al-Assad and now he comes to Egypt to shake ours, despite he never condemned Assad even once.
What is the difference between Jews, Hezbollah and Iran when they are all gathered in going against Gods word and wish to break down Islam, continued the Call.
There is no difference between the massacres in Syria and Gaza, they are all Muslims, the group added.
Why do we only care about al-Aqsa and Jihad there and ignore Aleppo and the rest of Syria.
The Call went on to criticize the Muslim Brotherhood, who in their opinion, tried its hardest to get Haniya to Egypt and failed to support the bearded police officers in their battle with the ministry of interior.
A number of police officers want to go against the code of the ministry and let their beards grow as they see it as part of their Islamic identity.
Iran's defense minister says an Israeli attack will lead to the collapse of the Jewish state.
The comments by Gen. Ahmad Vahidi are one of the strongest statements from Iran that it will punish Israel should it attack Iran's nuclear facilities.
Vahidi's remarks were posted on the state-run Press TV's website Saturday.
Israel has recently increased its rhetoric warning of the need to halt Iran's nuclear development.
Israeli officials say Israel must act by the summer because Tehran is moving more of its nuclear installations underground.
The U.S. and some of its allies accuse Iran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons, a charge Tehran denies.
Israel views Iran as an existential threat.
Military planners have asked for emergency funding from Congress to address a perceived shortfall in defence capabilities that could undermine the ability of US forces to respond to an Iranian closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the Wall Street Journal quoted American officials as saying.
Gen James Mattis, the head of the US Central Command, has privately informed Congress of his intentions to place mine detection and clearing equipment in and around the Strait and to boost surveillance capabilities in the Gulf.
There are also plans to modify weapons systems on ships that are at present vulnerable to Iranian fast-attack boats, many of which carry anti-ship missiles.
Reflecting Pentagon fears that the US could be sucked into a war by the end of the year, the Central Command told Congress that it wanted the new systems in place by the autumn.
The request comes amid growing speculation that Israel is preparing to launch unilateral military strikes against Iran's nuclear facilities this year. Senior US and British officials have cautioned Israel against such action, urging Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, to give tougher Western sanctions against Iran a chance to work. President Barack Obama is expected to emphasise that message when he holds talks with Mr Netanyahu in Washington next Sunday.
Posted by: Water Modem ||
02/25/2012 13:51
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#2
Looks like the Navy is weighing in, as per FOX NEWS AM - DepNav has repor submitted funding requests to the Congress to fund its expansion of shipboard close-in weapons for defense agz harassing IRGC Speedboats, Drones, + Sappers.
IIUC, NAVY = e.g. MA DEUCE + M-60's + M-16's/AR-15's, Rockets + the like, for Marines + assigned Sailors.
#3
WAFF > USN: SURFACE SHIP SHORTFALL | US NAVY FACES A GAP [shortage] IN CRUISERS + DESTROYERS UNDER ITS CURRENT PLAN.
Navy favors $$$ for more LCS'.
and
* SAME > [StrategyPage] IRAN ATTACKS.
ARTIC = denotes that MALAYSIA allows many dedicated, foreign Islamic Terrorists to stay + reside in their Country as long as they don't foster trouble in same or Malaysia's sovereign neighbors.
A MALAY POLICY WHICH APPAREN HASN'T WORKED OUT TOO WELL.
Speaking after a Friends of Syria conference, held in Tunisia, Mrs Clinton said that Russia and China must join international condemnation of President Assad's regime.
"It's quite distressing to see two permanent members of the Security Council using their veto while people are being murdered women, children, brave young men houses are being destroyed," she said.
"It is just despicable and I ask whose side are they on? They are clearly not on the side of the Syrian people."
Mrs Clinton went on to predict a military coup inside Syria of the kind that ended the old regimes in Egypt and Tunisia.
"We saw this happen in other settings last year, I think it is going to happen in Syria," she told reporters at the end of the meeting.
#3
Agitated to find out the basic tenant that "America" is the source of all problems isn't the real world or frustrated that the narrative isn't fitting into the real world, cause it means the evil conservatives back home might be right.
#1
What is rarely seen by the public are the layers of bureaucracy whose sole purpose seems to be to keep those receiving welfare from bettering themselves enough to get off welfare.
The purest example of this was seen in the old Swedish welfare state, where it was said that
"If you are an incompetent and crappy artist whose works no one wants, you will live like a king and get the highest tier of benefits. But God help you if you sell anything, because at the first sign of any success, the government will chop you off at the legs."
In the US, the welfare bureaucrats often have redundant and frivolous demands, such as how recipients must travel to the far side of a municipal area from where they live, likely by public transport taking several hours each way, to attend "mandatory meetings" that consist of an empty room with a sign-in sheet.
If they fail to obey, they lose their benefits. In some cases, such requirements are made for them for 3 or 4 days of the week. Then add to that "real" meetings, that are little more than jobs programs for counselors, have nothing to do with employment or anything useful, where the group sits around talking about their feelings.
Oh, and they also have to apply for work in the middle of that. It is a dehumanizing, demoralizing, and exhausting experience unless you take the attitude that "it is my job to be on welfare, and if I quit I will be utterly helpless." Which is precisely the attitude that the system wants. Total, absolute dependence.
#2
Almost 40 years ago I was introduced to the evil of bureaucracy and it's effects on the truly needy.
I was hired by Social Security in the explosion that was SSI. All people had to be dealt with under various grand father clauses. In NYC 2 blocks from the WTC the office dealt with many of the worst sorts from the vaious slums of the lower east side and Brooklyn. There was a group of NGO types in the lobby of the building handing out instructions for these people on how to claim disability for what we came to call the four 'A's: most everyone claimed to be disabled due to Angina, Allergies, Asthma or Arthritis. Disgusting to say the least.
BUT there were also the victims of the bureaucratic power struggle. It seems that the NYC welfare department decreed that ALL recipients of city welfare had to apply for SSI despite their complete unsuitability. The saddest case I got was a 20 year old woman who was squeeking by on Aid to Families with Dependent Children. A widow with 2 kids and no education or family. THEY STOPPED HER BENEFITS until she could prove that she wasn't able to get SSI. It took my boss 3 weeks to even get through to the city people and another 3 to get them to own up.
That job turned me from a full on libertarian to much more of a compassionate conservative. It also led to me running screaming into the woods to become a nail-banger for the next 6 years.
#3
Apparently Republicans aren't very interested in actually winning back the White House this year.
How about we drug test everyone if they receive any kind of government benefits? We can assume that everyone is guilty unless they prove themselves otherwise by peeing in front of a medical tech watching us through a slot in the wall. And it'll be a very inexpensive program to run too.
We can drug test anyone receiving farm subsidies, or anyone taking a tax break on their tax returns for any reason, using Medicare, and anyone having the privilege of obtaining a driver's license.
"This is the beginning of a thank you which will continue throughout election year." Wilson said. "POTUS We wanted to make sure the entire country was represented.
"So all 57 states and territories, all ranks, all services, all backgrounds, even a lawyer general from Oklahoma -- the point of it was that in the East Room that night, that that room would look like the America that served on the battlefield in Iraq."
Well COL Liethen, we're all certainly glad you were the commander and were monitoring the unit's command climate and these horrid events closely in order to nip them in the bud.
For phuechs sake! Anyone reading traffic for the past 5-7 years is fully aware of the PAK connection, militant havens, etc. Has it just recently reached the ambassadorial level? Clearly WAPO providing convenient cover for the administration failure in... "The Good War."
#1
Anne-Marie Slaughter Clintons former policy planning director at the State Department has called for the establishment of no-kill zones" inside Syria.
So it appears all our intrepid R2P'ers are starting to chime in again. Apparently they must think that Libyan thang was a smashing success. Except for all those pesky tribal revenge killings and missing MANPAD's of course. But hey, that Unity of Command thingee is sooooo Bush. Now it's all about Unity of Vision bayybee.
Let's hear a snippit what the good Dr.Slaughter thinks 'bout Syria...shall we?
If the U.S. says it stands behind R2P but then does nothing in a case where it applies, not only will dictators around the world draw their own conclusions, but belief in the U.S. commitment to other international norms and obligations also weakens, just at a time when the U.S. grand strategy is to expand and strengthen an effective international order.
Ooooh Ann-Marie you sound so..so international when talk about Grand strategies and International orders and all.
#2
Isn't it rich?
Are we a pair (me and Kofi)?
Me here at last on the ground,
You in mid-air (but nowhere near Syria thankfully).
Send in the drones.
Isn't it bliss?
Don't you approve?
One who keeps tearing around (first class),
One who can't move (great pad this WH).
Where are the drones?
Send in the drones.
Just when I'd stopped opening doors,
Finally knowing the one that I wanted was yours,
Making my entrance again with my usual flair,
Sure of my lines,
No one is there.
Don't you love farce?
My fault I fear.
I thought that you'd want what I want.
Sorry, my dear Kofi.
But where are the drones?
Quick, send in the drones.
Don't bother, they're here (somewhere in Arizona).
Isn't it rich?
Isn't it queer,
Losing my timing this late
In my presidency?
And where are the drones?
There ought to be drones.
Well, maybe next year.
Obama's Feds want to lock poor Fairey up. There's gratitude for you.
The creator of the Barack Obama 'HOPE' poster has pleaded guilty to criminal contempt for lying about the photo he used to create the image.
Shepard Fairey said he made a 'terrible decision' in 2009 to destroy some documents and fabricate others in a lawsuit about an Associated Press photograph he relied upon to make the poster.
Fairey entered the plea in federal court to the misdemeanor charge, which carries a maximum potential penalty of up to six months in prison.
#1
Young people simply do not perceive that their actions have consequences. Nor that there are right things to do and wrong things to do. Nope, just do what I took a split-second to decide what was best for me, and fuck everything else.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/25/2012
00:49 ||
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#1
Happy Birthday/Daily Gam Shot
Téa Leoni aka Jenny Lerner in "Deep Impact (1998)" aka Amanda Kirby in "Jurassic Park III (2001)" aka Kate Reynolds in "The Family Man (2000)" aka Jane Harper in "Fun with Dick and Jane (2005)" aka Rosemary Rose in "The Smell of Success (2009)" (age 46)
Nairobi newspapers are reporting that the controversial Canadian Muslim preacher, Bilal Philips, has been deported from Kenya due to security concerns, just hours after he landed in the country for a speaking tour.
Njiru Mwaniki, chief of the Anti-Terrorism Police said, "We had to turn him away because he easily mobilizes people using his controversial teachings wherever he goes. This is dangerous to our country."
The police chief said Philips "has been in terror circles," the Nation reported. The Standard quoted a senior immigration official who said, "He is not wanted here because he may poison our youth through his controversial preaching."
He was deported on Wednesday. A Muslim group has demanded an apology and noted that Philips had visited in 2009.
Born in Jamaica, Philips converted to Islam after immigrating to Canada. He studied in Saudi Arabia and is now called an Islamic scholar. He lives in Qatar and has written more than 50 books. His writings preach against listening to music, which he compares to a drug, call homosexuality "evil" and claim that AIDS is a form of divine punishment.
Kenya is only the latest country to deny him entry. Last year, Philips was expelled from Germany for advocating the killing of homosexuals. Britain and Australia have taken similar action and the U.S. has named him as a suspected terrorist co-conspirator. He continues to travel to Canada and spoke last year at two Toronto mosques whose former worshippers have joined al-Qaeda-linked terrorist groups.
Last year he said he had been "from the beginning opposed to the Qaeda and any form of terrorism in the name of Islam" and "continues to oppose suicide bombing directed against civilian populations anywhere."
Asked why he was not allowed to enter other countries, he said, "Well, I think mainly it is an issue of assimilation. I mean, they want Muslims to assimilate and be indistinguishable from the regular local population. That's what I see at the bottom of it."
Mexican Army units operating throughout Mexico have seized
1,215.845 kilograms of marijuana and two kilograms of opium gum, as well as smaller quantities of various drugs since February 17th, according to information posted at the website of Secretaria de Defensa Nacional (SEDENA), the controlling agency for the Mexican Army.
A detachment of the Mexican 5th Military Zone arrested two individuals for possession of firearms February 20th in Chihuahua state. The patrol was in Lo Largo Maderal in Madera municipality when the arrest took place. Weapons seized included one rifle, one handgun, ten weapons magazines, 107 rounds of ammunition and a vehicle.
Mexican Army units with the 8th Military Zone killed eight armed suspects in two separate engagements in Tamaulipas state February 19th.
An army patrol in Narciso Mendoza colony in Reynosa came under small arms fire by an unknown number of shooters. Army return fire killed four. Nine unidentified armed suspects were detained. Seized following the gunfight were nine rifles, one grenade launcher attachment (probably 40mm), 131 weapons magazines, 1,700 rounds of ammunition, tactical and communications gear, one motorcycle and three vehicles.
In Ciudad Victoria, an army patrol came under small arms fire from armed suspects in Modelo colony. Army return fire killed four. Materiel sized following the confrontation included four rifles, one 40mm grenade launcher, one 40mm grenade, 40 .223 weapons magazines, 1,302 rounds of .223 caliber ammunition, tactical and communications gear and one vehicle.
A Mexican Army unit with the 13th Military Zone in coordination with a Policia Federal Preventiva unit stopped a tractor trailer rig in Nayarit state February 19th. The stop took place in Acaponeta municipality where security forces discovered 29 tons of chemicals intended to be used to produce synthetic drubs. Two unidentified individuals were detained at the scene.
An army detachment with the Mexican 4th Military Zone seized a number of weapons in a presumed traffic stop in western Sonora state. The stop took place Ciudad Obregon where soldiers took possession of eight rifles, one grenade, 36 weapons magazines, 600 rounds of ammunition, and one vehicle. One unidentified individual was arrested at the scene.
Army units with the 29th and 19 Military Zones in at least two incidents detained five individuals and seized a number of contraband February 20th in Veracruz state as part of Veracruz Seguro security operation. Contraband taken included three handguns, one rifle, three weapons magazines, 135 rounds of ammunition and three stolen vehicles. A total of two kilograms of marijuana were seized.
Three armed suspects were killed by an army detachment of the Mexican 21st Military Zone in Michoacan state February 18th. The unit attempted a traffic stop of three vehicles in Las Parotas in Tuzantla municipality, but were instead fire on. Army return fire killed three including one individual identified as El Perro, who is said to be the leader of La Familia criminal gang in the area. Seized materiel included seven rifles, one handgun, one fragmentation grenade, 38 weapons magazines, 912 rounds of ammunition and three vehicles. Drugs seized included 6.845 kilograms of marijuana.
A unit of the Mexican 45th Military Zone found several kilograms of marijuana in Sonora state February 21st. The unit found a vehicle and 437 kilograms of marijuana in 43 packages.
A Mexican Army unit with the 13th Military Zone detained one unidentified individual with drugs and weapons in Nayarit state February 22nd. The arrest took place in La Presa in Santiago Ixcuintla municipality where soldiers seized two kilograms of opium gum, personal quantities of cocaine and marijuana and quantities of crack cocaine divided for retail sale, two handguns, one weapons magazine, two rounds of ammunition and one motorcycle
Army units with the Mexican 15th Military Zone arrested six unidentified individuals and seized several packages of various drugs in five separate incidents between February 17th and February 19th in Jalisco state.
An army unit on patrol on the Atotonilco-Tototlan road near El Castillo in Atotonilco colony February 17th detained four individuals in a presumed traffic stop. Contraband seized included 114 packages of methamphetamine divided for retail sale, 20 packages of marijuana, 13 packages of cocaine, one rifle, one handgun, 50 rounds of ammunition and two vehicles.
On Calle Allende in Jocotepec municipality February 17th an army unit found an abandoned vehicle with one rifle, one weapons magazine, 55 rounds of ammunition, three packages of cocaine and one package of marijuana inside.
On February 18th an army unit on Calle Barra de Navidaa in Jalisco colony in Tonala municipality found small quantities of , methamphetamine and marijuana, one rifle, one handgun, four weapons magazines and six rounds of ammunition.
On February 19th an army unit on Calle Zaragoza in Zona Cdentro of Ocotlan, detained an unidentified individual with 340 grams of methamphetamine, one rifle, one weapons magazine and 39 rounds of ammunition.
In the village of Santa Rita in Ayotlan municipality, soldiers detained one unidentified individual with 118 packages of cocaine, 108 packages of marijuana, 60 packages of methamphetamine and one package with 33 grams of methamphetamine.
An army unit with the Mexican 45th Military Zone February 23rd while on patrol between Puerto Peñasco a San Luis Rio Colorado, Sonora found 75 packages of marijuana weighing a total of 770 kilograms.
Badanov's Burnt Blunt Special
A unit of the Mexican 9th Military Zone incinerated 52.8 kilograms of marijuana and small quantities of glass methamphetamine and cocaine February 21st in Los Mochis, Sinaloa.
PESHAWAR: Terrorists attacked troops deployed in Khyber Agency on Friday and the ensuing fighting left three soldiers and seven terrorists dead, security officials said.
At least three soldiers were killed and three others were injured after militants attacked them in Malik Dinkhel area of Khyber, a senior security official said. Seven militants were also killed in the fighting, he added.
Some 18,000 people fled their homes in Khyber in October last year amid fears of a fresh onslaught of fighting between the army and terrorists linked to the Pakistani Taliban. Seven tribal areas near the Afghan border are rife with insurgents and are strongholds of Taliban and al Qaeda operatives.
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RIYADH: Saudi Arabia on Friday beheaded a man convicted of trafficking drugs in the kingdom, the interior ministry said. The ministry in a statement carried by the official SPA news agency said Wahid Atawi, a Saudi national, had confessed to bringing a quantity of hashish into the country in a bid to sell the banned substance.
His beheading brings to nine the number of people executed since the beginning of the year in the kingdom, according to an AFP tally based on official reports. Amnesty International said the kingdom executed 79 people in 2011. Saudi Arabia applies the death penalty for a wide range of offences, including rape, murder, apostasy, armed robbery and drug trafficking.
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#1
The Australian Labor Party, currently in government, has succumbed to a major case of cognitive dissonance. The remedy apparently involves forming a circular firing squad.
Those of us who have long despised these lickspittles hope that none of them will be left to treat Australia as their own private social experiment. While this political bloodsport is playing out, I feel it necessary to ask for urgent foreign aid.
#3
I still don't get what compelled you Americans to vote in Obama. What was wrong with George W?
Bottom line is that the leftist propaganda machine was believed by enough of those folks who sit in the political middle ground, to give labor another chance. Of course, once they were in power, there was a fast paced flurry of expensive reform policies, that were not wanted by the voters, and were appallingly mismanaged.
Kevin Rudd, the Prime Minister who replaced John Howard, was a monomaniac, and a right leaning lefty, who found himself despised by his colleagues. Some knives in the dark resulted in him being replaced with Julia Gillard, a left leaning lefty, with Kevin Rudd becoming the Foreign Minister (sort of like SECSTATE).
Gillard faced an election in 2010, and she won (only just), for two reasons;
a) She promised not to go full retard,
b) She was a girl. (Sorry for bringing this up, but she is Australia's first female PM)
Now the vote she received was substantially less than 50%. However, she made a deal with the Greens party (very leftist) and some independent members of parliament (join us, and we will give you a billion for a new hospital), which gave her just one more vote in parliament than the other guys.
Of course, once she was in power, she went full retard. Her alliances dragged her policies even further to the left. The Australian people want her out (by a 70% majority)
There has been speculation for months that she would be challenged by Kevin Rudd. Last week, some of her ministers badmouthed Rudd as disloyal and a destabilising influence. Rudd spat the dummy, resigned a Foreign Minister, and hurled his political gloves at Julias feet. Rudd wants the PM job back. Both seem happy to destroy the labor party along the way. The labor party will vote on it at 10:00 AM on Monday. Any consideration for governing the country has been thrown aside. (not that they were ever much good for that).
Where does that leave us? Well, as a put it in another forum yesterday,
"Two petty warlords battle for supremacy over the post-apocalytic wasteland that this government has become. It will not matter who the henchpeople in caucus choose. The cleansing fire of an election is the only way forward"
#4
Twobyfour, the bogans got bored with prosperity and domestic tranquility in the 2007 election. Thought they would give the other mob a go. To quote Malcolm Reynolds in a Firefly episode "that worked out well". He was sitting naked in the desert.
Posted by: Aussie Mike ||
02/25/2012 5:14
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The Australian ALP leadership stouch in a nutshell.
The ALP is run by the Unions
They elected Rudd as the head of the ALP 4 years ago cos the Unions are unpopular and wanted a non-union frontman.
Rudd decided he wanted to do a Tony Blair and wrest control of the ALP from the unions.
In response the unions dumped Rudd and elected a safe but hopeless Gillard as their mouthpiece.
Rudd decides to throw down the gauntlet and make the unions decide between himself who can potentially win the next election and Gillard who will lose.
Looks like the unions will decide to keep control of the ALP by retaining Gillard rather than losing control to Rudd and as a result will lose the next election.
Personally, I am rooting for a Gillard win. And lookng forward to an ALP wipeout at the next election.
#6
I like the Mad Max analogy, and think it presents a great opportunity for humor at their expense.
Have a podium set up like a typical press conference, with a Gillard look alike dressed as (Tina Turner's) "Aunty Entity". Then, a dwarf dressed as "Master" to portray Rudd.
Alternative, the Rudd character could be dressed as "Wez", the 'red mohawk' villain in The Road Warrior.
The humor would be in both of them speaking about utterly mundane political topics, just punctuated with little bits of post-apocalyptic psychosis.
#8
Bunyip - plenty of extra popcorn; just got an extra boxcar-load into my rail siding. Extra butter with that? ;-p
"I still don't get what compelled you Americans to vote in Obama. What was wrong with George W?"
Bush's second term was up and he couldn't run again, according to our Constitution. We were actually using it back then - with the bunch of Chicago Criminals in charge now, not so much. :-(
Posted by: Barbara ||
02/25/2012 10:49
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Bunyip, that is the kind of political commentary I wish folks in America could read daily. Thanks for the informative and witty exposition!
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/25/2012 11:44
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Bunyip, re Dubya, being a Canuck, I've got one word for ya: Harper.
Review article in TIME, I have drastically re-ordered reporting sequence:
Thank you for doing that; you are the far better writer compared to the Time hack.
'Superdollars' is a term used by the US Secret Service to describe counterfeit $100 and $50 bills so accurate that only specially equipped Federal Reserve banks can identify them. A European investigator said, "Superdollars are just U.S. dollars not made by the U.S. government."
North Korea apparently possesses the same kind of intaglio printing press (or presses) used by the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing. A leading theory is that in 1989, just before the collapse of the Berlin Wall, the machines made their way to North Korea from a clandestine facility in East Germany, where they were used to make fake passports and other secret documents. The high-tech paper is just about the same as what's used to make authentic dollars, and the North Koreans buy their ink from the same Swiss firm that supplies the US government with ink for greenbacks.
At the end of December, Ireland's high court rejected a U.S. request to extradite former Workers Party president and IRA veteran, Sean Garland, for his alleged involvement with the superdollar plot. There is also the question of what exactly the North Koreans hope to procure with all of this "money."
Juche, perhaps, which either means heroin or independence.
Estimates are the NKors make $15 to $400 million this way. Estimates are $1 trillion in cash is currently in circulation.
Who would be most inconvenienced if Washington were to outlaw $100 and $50 bills tomorrow?
#5
and the difference in debasing the currency that the Treasury intended with QE1, QE2, et al is?
One is a hostile government blithely taking extreme, illegal measures to save their own elite asses from arrogant, anti-human policies that are destroying what little is left of the fabric of the nation. And the other is . . . oh, wait.
JERUSALEM - Clashes broke out on Friday between Israeli police and hundreds of Palestinian stone-throwers at the flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalems Old City, police said.
They threw stones towards the Maghrebi Gate and police went onto the plaza, police spokeswoman Luba Samri told AFP, referring to the only entrance to the compound which can be used by non-Muslims. There are now hundreds of people throwing stones.
Police said they had used only stun grenades against the demonstrators and that dozens of people had barricaded themselves inside the Al-Aqsa mosque.
Palestinian officials confirmed an unspecified number of people had barricaded themselves inside the Al-Aqsa mosque as well as the golden-topped Dome of the Rock.
We are negotiating with the Israelis not to storm into the mosque or the Dome of the Rock and to let people out, Sheikh Azzam al-Khatib, head of the Jerusalem Waqf, told AFP.
Witnesses told AFP police had also fired tear gas, forcing a number of women to run for cover inside the Dome of the Rock.
Police had no immediate number of those arrested but said several police officers had been hurt by stones and treated at the scene.
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KHARTOUM: Rebels in Sudans Darfur region have clashed with government forces, both sides said, with the rebels claiming to kill a dozen government soldiers and Khartoum accusing its opponents of targeting civilians.
One of the regions main rebel groups, a faction of the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) led by Minni Minnawi, attacked Alawna, an area south of the North Darfur state capital El-Fasher, on Wednesday evening , SLA spokesman Adam Salih said. The insurgents killed 12 government soldiers including a regional commander and captured weapons such as mortars, rocket-propelled grenades and Kalashnikov rifles, he said.
The (government) force was completely defeated, and its remnants were scattered toward El-Fasher, Salih said.
Sudans state media reported that fighting had broken out in Alawna on Wednesday, but said the rebels had killed six civilians and wounded four others. State news agency SUNA quoted a military official from the region as accusing the rebels of burning homes and terrorizing innocent, unarmed civilians. The report did not mention any government casualties.
The rebels denied targeting civilians in the attack.
Last year, Khartoum signed a peace deal with an umbrella of smaller rebel groups, but Minnawis faction of the SLA and the other major insurgent groups refused to sign. Minnawis SLA signed a peace accord with Khartoum in 2006, but later returned to fighting.
Them folks is just disagreeable...
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A man died on Thursday in Tangail after he was brutally beaten by the local people who suspected him of stealing.
Victim Yusub Ali, 35, is son of Nuru Miah of village Kasabhanu at Kalihati upazila, said the police.
Kalihati police sub-inspector Maksudul Alam, quoting local people, said Yusub was caught when he had secretly entered the house of Nuru Miah at village Patal at the upazila.
Shouldn't have worn the clown slippers...
Critically injured from beating by the villagers he was taken to Tangail General Hospital where the doctors declared him dead. He was buried in his village after an autopsy in the hospital morgue.
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#1
Peter Falk as Vince Ricardo: Are you interested in joining? The benefits are terrific. The trick is not to get killed. That's really the key to the benefit program
BRUSSELS: Serbia and its one-time province of Kosovo reached agreement Friday on two key issues that will significantly enhance Serbias chances of becoming an official candidate for EU membership next week. The agreements allow Kosovo to represent itself in international conferences and spell out the technical details of how Serbia and Kosovo will manage their joint borders and border crossings.
The EU wanted Belgrade to make new progress in the talks with Kosovo before backing its bid to join the bloc. EU foreign ministers will meet next week to consider whether Serbia has fulfilled conditions required to be a candidate for membership.
Kosovo, which declared independence in 2008, used to be a province of Serbia. Belgrade has vowed to never recognize its secession but the two sides have been in regular talks for the past year on normalizing ties.
One of the key sticking points has been Kosovos insistence that it be represented in international forums as an independent state, something Serbia has opposed. A compromise proposed by the EU and accepted by both sides states that Kosovos nameplate at meetings will be followed by an asterisk. This would have a footnote attached referring to a UN Security Council resolution that makes no mention of Kosovos independence, and a ruling by the International Court of Justice saying Kosovos declaration of independence is legal.
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THI QAR / Aswat al-Iraq: 10 followers of religious leader Mahmoud al-Sarkhy in Nassiriya city were arrested when trying to storm in city's former municipality building, security sources said today. The followers stated that they intended to perform their prayers there, but police forces prevented them and subsequently attacked them.
The source told Aswat al-Iraq that Sarkhy's followers converted the building to a mosque without official approval.
"Security forces prevented us from entering the building to perform our prayers there," Abdul Khaliq al-Hasani, the head of Sarkhy's office in Thi Qar, told Aswat al-Iraq. He added that the local government should declare the building either a mosque or a governmental building to end this case.
This building is the oldest one in Thi Qar province, which suffered methodological attempts to demolish it until Sarkhy's followers converted it to a mosque for prayers.
The case was brought to court, where a ruling was issued that the building should be a governmental building. The local government, however, did not implement the sentence and permitted Sarkhy's followers to continue their prayers in the street in front of it.
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A Mexican army battalion commander is currently on trial for ordering the murders of two of his subordinates in early 2010.
At around the same time as those murders, three petty thieves were arrested by men in military uniforms in Buenaventura in Galeana municipality in western Chihuahua state.
Human rights activists and family members of the three disappeared say the commander is responsible, but some evidence exculpates the commander:
Relatives had said the three were taken to the Nuevas Casas Grandes army base, while officials both at the local army garrison as well as at higher commands denied having them. A human rights report stated that on February 4th, a friend of one of the victims, received a brief telephone call from Nitza Paola Alvarado Espinoza. A local prosecutor in Galeana attempted to trace the call but failed.
The army has consistently denied knowing the whereabouts or fate of the three victims, a contention which has appeared to be true.
#1
The story reminds me of the idiot who hijacked a truck in Baltimore, and drove South on the Baltimore-Washington Parkway to try to escape. When he passed Odenton, he decided to pull off at the next exit, at Route 32. Those of you in the area have guessed what happened next, I'm sure.
The man couldn't read, I am guessing, or he would have known not to take the 'NSA Employees Only' exit. At least he did have the minimal intelligence not to try to overrun the Army unit with the machine guns.
Let's hope his years in prison have mellowed him.
Posted by: Eric Jablow ||
02/25/2012 7:30
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They Y-12 Security doesn't fool around. They are very serious always. I've been there and took extra care to follow all instructions.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
02/25/2012 8:55
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Y-12 has beefed up security since 9/11. Drive down the wrong road and you've got a lot of splainin to do.
Pirouz Sedaghaty, also known as Pete Seda, was convicted of federal tax fraud and conspiracy charges, for helping to smuggle $150,000 to Saudi Arabia through the Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation in Ashland.
Prosecutors argued the money was meant for Islamic fighters in Chechnya, but Judge Michael Hogan ruled they failed to prove that element of the conspiracy. He was sentenced to 33 months (2 years, 9 months)in prison.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a lower court ruling denying a stay of sentence while his appeal is being heard.
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
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From the article: North Korea has demonstrated its ability to disrupt U.S. navigational capabilities through Soviet-made electronic jammers placed on vehicles near the North-South demarcation line that, when activated, were able to disrupt U.S. Global Positioning System signals up to 62 miles away.
The German military pulled out early from a camp in Afghanistan, the army said Friday, following a demonstration over the burning of Korans by US troops, dpa reported. The Talokan camp was being guarded by Afghan troops Friday after the Germans unexpectedly cleared out, officials from both countries confirmed. They had been scheduled to leave by the end of March.
I think we might have overly-pacified the Germans just a touch after our last war with them...
The 50 German personnel withdrew Wednesday, taking their weapons, ammunition and vehicles, after a demonstration outside the camp by 300 people who were protesting the burning of Korans, the army said. They pulled back to a main German camp in Kunduz, 70 kilometres away, the command in Potsdam, Germany, said.
The governor of Talokan province, Abdul Jabar Takwa, criticized the departure, telling dpa it came without warning.
"We have not entered the camp," he said. Afghan forces had been posted outside it to protect it.
Talokan, which has 200,000 inhabitants, is one of Afghanistan's 10 main cities. The provincial advisory team (PAT) camp is located in the middle of the city, unlike other German camps that are outside built-up areas. Several people were killed in May during a demonstration outside the camp where petrol bombs and hand grenades were thrown at it. Two German soldiers and four Afghan guards were wounded.
Posted by: Steve White ||
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#1
The Germans have it right: risk no further blood or treasure to assist the barbarian Orc's that inhabit the region known as "Afghanistan".
#4
The Kunduz airstrike incident made clear that Western troops are in Afghanistan not to fight enemies but to act as servants and hostages.
If these troops were attacked by the Afghans they could either let themselves be slaughtered or they could defend themselves by killing lots of Afghans only to be tried and executed by the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, with NATO's permission.
No one, not even German soldiers deserves to be sacrificed to appease the despicable noble people of Afghanistan.
TUNISIA: Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal supported yesterday the call for arming the rebels fighting the brutal regime of President Bashar Assad. He went further than any of the other Friends of Syria nations meeting in Tunis Friday to increase pressure on Assad to call for a cease-fire, step down and allow humanitarian aid to flow to hard-hit areas.
Asked at the start of a meeting with US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton if he thought arming the Syrian opposition was a good idea, the prince said: I think its an excellent idea. Asked why, he said, Because they have to protect themselves.
Clinton warned that Syrias rulers have squandered every chance for peace and, if they do not let aid reach civilians, will have even more blood on their hands.
Arab and Western nations called for an immediate end to violence in the country and new sanctions on the Assad regime. In a final declaration, the group called for Syria's government to "immediately cease all violence" to allow humanitarian access and "committed to take steps to apply and enforce restrictions and sanctions on the regime."
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#1
Hillary,
You need to ask yourself who is more damgerous in charge Sunnis or Shias?
Sunni people in general seem to be more fanatical and anti western.
The man wields a freshly sharpened scalpel. Here is a taste.
Oscar Wilde noted "true friends stab you in the front." Which explains why President Obama-- the self-proclaimed "best friend Israel ever had" -- has decided to cut funding for the Jewish state's missile defense system at the same time he wants to restore funding to UNESCO. (Israel's best friends will remember that the President was forced to cut support to the traditional anti-Israel agency by federal law because the organization recognized the Palestinian Authority as a state.) Someone should think seriously about building a machine, into which a decisive action like cutting funding to UNESCO could be entered. The machine, a wonderful piece of software, would file the action and then at the end of a six month period check to see whether it had been negated. If it had been negated the person who took the decisive action would be attacked by sharks with friggin' lasers on their heads. It think it would be the appropriate treatment for Short Attention Span syndrome, as well as for Poltroonery.
If that wasn't enough evidence of the President's "unshakeable bond" with Israel, these policy decisions come exactly at the same time Israel is engaged in a cold, covert war against Iran and making preparations for a possible strike against Iranian nuclear facilities. As the song goes, "That's what friend are for." All you gotta do is figure out who's the "friend." Once you've got that down, watch the hands, not the lips.
The president really believes -- as a "friend" -- that Israel should do nothing with regard to Iran except boost its ability to defend against a nuclear attack and focus on reaching a peace treaty with the Palestinian authority. President Obama still believes that the key to neutralizing Iran and its alliance with Hamas and Hezbollah is for Israel to cut itself down to the size and shape of the Palestinians' liking. That particular size and shape would possibly include a ghetto off in one corner of Arab Paleostine, with Jewish feet forbidden in al Quds.
#3
No one in Israel's chain of command believes the Obama administration will support pre-emptive military operations, whether they be against Hamas, Hezbollah, or Iran
I doubt that anyone here believes that either under BO.
Granting compensation payments to families of protesters killed by Thai authorities in the recent deaths of four villagers, reportedly shot by Army rangers, could complicate reconciliation efforts in the deep South, an official said yesterday.
Relatives of people killed by security officials in several incidents in the deep South, including the Tak Bai incident, are likely to demand the same amount - Bt7.5 million - that is to be paid to families of redshirt supporters and others killed in Bangkok in May 2010, Prasit Meksuwan said.
The guidelines for compensating families of those killed or injured by terrorists insurgents or in counterinsurgency operations in the deep South have yet to be completed. Relatives of the victims would like the same Bt7.5 million figure.
Prasit said, "The relatives are asking how their mental anguish and suffering will be measured and how they will be compensated for the deaths of their loved ones."
Government teachers also would like higher compensation rates for doing such risky jobs in the strife-torn region, he added.
PESHAWAR: A terrorist was injured on Friday when the landmine he was planting on Ring Road exploded prematurely, in the jurisdiction of Chamkani Police Station. SSP (Operations) Tahir Ayub told the media that two terrorists in Gulshan Colony area on Ring Road were planting a landmine that exploded and injured one of them.
Police reached the area immediately and arrested the injured terrorist, while his accomplice escaped. The area was cordoned off. The blast also damaged some vehicles parked nearby.
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#1
2. Do not push landmine into hole with shovel.
Posted by: Steven ||
02/25/2012 0:15
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One wonders how there was enough left to arrest.
On February 21, Azerbaijani counterintelligence services arrested Iranian agents plotting terrorist attacks against Israeli diplomats and prominent members of the Jewish community. This is the second such cell to have been intercepted since the beginning of the year.
These arrests indicate the heightened level of Tehrans terrorist activity aimed at Azerbaijan. Relations between Baku and Tehran in recent times have been steadily deteriorating, mainly due to developing ties between Azerbaijan and the U.S. and NATO.
This Iranian pressure against Baku warrants a firmer response by the U.S. and the West.
CAIRO: The Hamas prime minister on Friday expressed support for Syrian protesters seeking to overthrow President Bashar Assad, the first time a senior Hamas leader has publicly rebuked the groups longtime patron.
Ismail Haniyeh said after Friday prayers at Egypts Al-Azhar Mosque that Hamas commends the brave Syrian people that are moving toward democracy and reform.
And who would know more about democracy and reform than Ismail?
Assad has long hosted and supported leaders of the movement, which rules the Gaza Strip, but the group has significantly reduced the presence of its exiled leaders in Syria since the start of the 11-month-old uprising against the Syrian regime.
Some of the top Hamas leaders are now spending most of their time in Qatar, Egypt and Lebanon, as the group tries to distance itself from Assads brutal crackdown on opponents.
Keep it up and maybe they'll spend most of their time in Mauritania...
The United States viewed Haniyehs remarks on Syria positively.
It just speaks to how isolated Assad is, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said.
Haniyehs speech was another sign of Hamas drift away from longtime backers Iran and Syria, as it finds new allies in the region. Hamas isolation has eased since its parent movement, the pan-Arab Muslim Brotherhood, gained political influence in the region, including in Egypt, in the wake of the Arab Spring uprisings.
Which is why they don't need the Shi'a infidels in Iran and Syria as much as they used to. Duh.
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From The Cable at Foreign Policy magazine. This is quite a scoop.
The State Department has begun coordinating with Syria's neighbors to prepare for the handling of President Bashar al-Assad's extensive weapons of mass destruction if and when his regime collapses, The Cable has learned.
This week, the State Department sent a diplomatic demarche to Syria's neighbors Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia, warning them about the possibility of Syria's WMDs crossing their borders and offering U.S. government help in dealing with the problem, three Obama administration officials confirmed to The Cable. For concerned parties both inside and outside the U.S. government, the demarche signifies that the United States is increasingly developing plans to deal with the dangers of a post-Assad Syria -- while simultaneously highlighting the lack of planning for how to directly bring about Assad's downfall.
'Developing plans': what does that mean? Shifting the blame? Glancing the other way? Wringing our hands? In 2003 we had a plan for a thug we thought had weapons of mass destruction, but I have a feeling that isn't the kind of plans we're developing now.
Syria is believed to have a substantial chemical weapons program, which includes mustard gas and sophisticated nerve agents, such as sarin gas, as well as biological weapons. Syria has also refused IAEA requests to make available facilities that were part of its nuclear weapons program and may still be in operation.
If it turns out later that the State Department is wrong on this (for whatever reason), will the progressive left castigate Obama the way it castigated Bush over Iraq?
The State Department declined to provide access to any officials to discuss the private diplomatic communication on the record, such as the author of the demarche Assistant Secretary of State for International Security and Nonproliferation Tom Countryman. In a meeting with reporters earlier this year, Countryman expressed confidence that the United States knows where Syria's WMD stockpiles are, but warned that they could become a very serious security issue for Syria and the region going forward.
"We have ideas as to the quantity and we have ideas as to where they are," Countryman said. "We wish some of the neighbors of Syria to be on the lookout... When you get a change of regime in Syria, it matters what are the conditions -- chaotic or orderly."
The demarche made four specific points, according to other U.S. officials who offered a fuller account to The Cable. It communicated the U.S. government's recognition that there is a highly active chemical warfare program in Syria, which is complemented by ballistic-missile delivery capability. It further emphasized that that any potential political transition in Syria could raise serious questions about the regime's control over proliferation-sensitive material.
Third, the State Department wanted Syria's neighbors to know that should the Assad regime fall, the security of its WMD stockpile -- as well as its control over conventional weapons like MANPADS (shoulder-fired rocket launchers) -- could come into question and could pose a serious threat to regional security. Lastly, the demarche emphasized that the U.S. government stands ready to support neighboring countries to provide border-related security cooperation.
"It's essentially a recognition of the danger to the regional and international community of the stockpiles that the regime possesses and the importance of working with countries, given the potential fall of the regime, to prevent the proliferation of these very sensitive weapons outside of Syria's border," one administration official said. "It's an exponentially more dangerous program than Libya. We are talking about legitimate WMDs here -- this isn't Iraq.
Iraq had these weapons as well. Saddam used chemical weapons on Iran and on his own people. He then figured out that the threat of use was as good as having big stockpiles, and so put his production into cold storage.
The administration is really concerned about loose WMDs. It's one of the few things you could put on the agenda and do something about without planning the fall of the regime."
The administration is also working closely with the Jordanians on the issue. A Jordanian military delegation was at the Pentagon Thursday to meet with Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.
In addition to the danger of proliferation, there is a concern that Assad could actually use his WMDs if his situation becomes desperate.
"The WMD program is in play now, and that's important because it highlights the innate danger that the existence of this regime poses to U.S. security and regional interests," the administration official said. "[The demarche] puts Syria's neighbors on notice and it reflects the recognition that a dangerous Assad regime is willing to do anything to save its own skin. If they are willing to kill the country to save the regime, they might be willing to do a great deal more damage throughout the region."
No one would be surprised if Pencilneck did just this, just as no one was surprised when Saddam used chemical weapons on the Kurds. The difference is, George Bush led from the front, and Obama is leading from behind.
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#1
Where did the WMD go? Dumb asses.
Missed it all I guess. -Why doth Russia have fight here other than the port? Who moved that stock.
Afghanistan wants NATO to put on public trial those who burned copies of the Koran at a NATO base, President Hamid Karzai's office said on Thursday, after a third day of bloody protests over the incident.
It said NATO had agreed to a trial, but that could not be immediately confirmed.
Karzai had earlier accused a U.S. officer of "ignorantly" burning copies of the Koran, in an incident that has deepened anti-Western sentiment in a country NATO is trying to stabilize before foreign combat troops leave by the end of 2014.
Demonstrations have drawn thousands of angry Afghans to the streets, chanting "Death to America!" amid violence that has killed 11 people including two U.S. service personnel.
"NATO officials, in response to a request for the trial and punishment of the perpetrators ... promised this crime will brought to court as soon as possible," Karzai's office said in a statement.
#1
FOX NEWS AM repors that the violent, anti-US mass protests occurring as a consequence of the Quran burning incident is now spreading into PAKISTAN.
* DEFENCE/PK/FORUMS > GINGRICH WANTS AFGHANS TO APOLOGIZE TO AMERICANS, argung that as POTUS Obama's first duty is the protection + security of the US, to include US Troops servinf in Afghanistanl, hence was no need for Him = USA to offer any apologies for the burning of Qurans used by detainees to smuggle hidden meesages out their cells.
MORESO AS THE DETAINEES THEMSELVES AS MUSLIMS WERE VIOLATING ISLAMIC LAW + DEFILING THE QURAN BY WRITING SAID ALLEGED HIDDEN MESSAGES ON THEIR OWN HOLY BOOK.
versus
* SAME > NATO SOLDIERS {French + Canadian] DON'T WANT TO WORK WID AMERICANS, because it is believed that their Soldiers are being put at unecessary risk by certain Amer actions or policies.
versus
* SAME > GROWING USE OF SHARIA BY UK MUSLIMS, as separate or independent from traditional UK Public Processes WHICH ARE BEING INCREASINGLY IGNORED.
Reminds me once again of ACTOR-COMEDIAN ROBIN WILLIAMS + POST-911 "72 VIRGINIANS" SKIT = [paraph]"THE FRENCH + OTHER EUROS [ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY CATEGORICALLY UNDENIABLY ....@etc.] HATE AMERICANS, + DEMAND THEY ALL GO HOME, UNTIL THE GERMANS ATTACK ACROSS THEIR BORDERS, WHEREUPON THEY SUDDENLY LOVE AMERICANS AGAIN".
#5
Might have been a good plan to take over Tora Bora and stock it well and set up supporting fortresses and then occasionally announced koran burning exercises. Then take care of the self-selecting waves of orcs that assault the stronghold.
HEBRON, Palestinian Territories - Hundreds of rubesfoolscatspaws Palestinians protested Friday in Hebron to demand the citys main street be reopened after an 18-year closure by the Israeli military on security grounds.
Shuhada Street was partially closed off to the Palestinian public some 18 years ago shortly after a Jewish extremist from a nearby settlement gunned down 29 Muslim worshippers at the Tomb of the Patriarchs, on February 25, 1994. Six years later, the street was completely sealed off to public access at the outset of the second Palestinian intifada, or uprising, which erupted in September 2000, with the military declaring it a closed military zone.
This demonstration is part of an international campaign to reopen Shuhada Street which is the main road to the Ibrahimi Mosque and many other stores and homes that are closed in the heart of Hebron, organiser Issa Amr told AFP, using the Muslim name for the Tomb of the Patriarchs.
An AFP correspondent at the scene said about 500 people had joined the march towards Shuhada Street, carrying Palestinian flags and huge banners reading End the apartheid.
But they were blocked by troops, who broke up the march by firing tear gas, sound bombs and a foul-smelling liquid known as skunk, he said.
Five demonstrators were arrested and another injured, one of whom was Arab Israeli MP Mohammed Barakeh who was hit in the leg by a stun grenade, witnesses and a statement from his office said.
The Israeli army had no immediate comment on the demonstration, nor could it confirm any arrests.
In a statement, organisers of the demonstration said they wanted to establish February 25 as an international day of struggle to reopen Shuhada Street.
On February 25 1994, Baruch Goldstein, a doctor from Kiryat Arba settlement gunned down 29 worshippers as they prayed at the Tomb of the Patriarchs, a site holy to both Jews and Muslims, before being shot dead himself. He was a member of a banned racist group, which advocates the forcible expulsion of all Arabs from the biblical Greater Israel
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/25/2012
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#1
foul-smelling liquid known as liquid Paleo musk,
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/25/2012 9:51
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"liquid Paleo musk,"
Yuck. I think I just threw up a little bit in my mouth.
NEW DELHI: American NGOs fund the protests that hold India back from building the nuclear reactors it needs to meet fast-growing energy needs, the country's prime minister said in an interview published in Science magazine on Friday.
Which of the consortium of NGOs amongst Open Society, Ford, Carnegie, etc?
Among the plants suffering delays is the Kudankulam power station, which was due to open last year. Progress on the Russian-built reactor has been halted by protesters over safety fears.
"The atomic energy program has got into problems because these NGOs, mostly I think based in the United States, don't appreciate the need for our country to increase the energy supply," Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said in the interview Singh also blamed protests against genetically modified crops on groups he said were funded from the United States and Scandinavian countries.
The NGOs are into protesting all sorts of stuff that they don't like. They'll even take money from your competitors and protest against you.
"(They are) not fully appreciative of the development challenges that our country faces," he said.
Protesters at Kudankulam in southern India have denied that they get overseas financing, and say an interior ministry investigation into the accounts of dozens of protest groups in the area turned up no evidence of wrongdoing.
Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in India are allowed to receive foreign financing, with certain restrictions. A member of Singh's cabinet on Friday said three NGOs had lost their license to operate for inappropriately using funds.
Maybe you should dig deeper...
The Kudankulam power station in Tamil Nadu is one of several planned power projects that are seen as vital to plugging huge electricity shortages that have damaged economic growth. Protests by local people against the power station gathered pace after the Fukushima accident in Japan in March last year. In December, Singh said the plant would be open within weeks.
Posted by: Steve White ||
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#1
I wouldn't be surprised about actual "NGO" interference here. Nor that is exists in Egypt as well.
#4
"It is absolutely a lie that we have been receiving money from US and Scandinavian countries, said SP Udayakumar of the Peoples Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE).
The Times of India reported that Western Christian organizations transferred 630 million rupees to finance the campaign against the peaceful use of nuclear energy in the country.
Other accusations have been made against Scandanavian NGOs. Money had been received by about 12 NGOs that were investigated by the Minisry of Home Affairs.
The Ministry of Home Affairs cancelled licenses for about 3 NGOS and is initiating action against NGOs not following guidelines, he said.
India still remember how these organization financed by the West organized mass protests against the construction of metallurgical and Engineering factories and oil refineries many years ago. The Prime Minister has also blamed these NGOs for opposing the development of biotechnology in the country.
A special Home Ministry team found that some organisations involved in the protests against the Kudankulam had received funds to the tune of over Rs. 55 crore (about $4.7m).
[Ma'an] Leaders of Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, turned publicly against their long-time ally Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad The Scourge of Hama... of Syria on Friday, endorsing the revolt aimed at overthrowing his dynastic rule.
The policy shift deprives Assad of one of his few remaining Sunni Mohammedan supporters in the Arab world and deepens his international isolation. It was announced in Hamas speeches at Friday prayers in Cairo and a rally in the Gazoo Strip.
Hamas went public after nearly a year of equivocating as Assad's army, largely led by fellow members of the president's Alawite sect, has crushed mainly Sunni protesters and rebels.
In a Middle East split along sectarian lines, the public abandonment of Assad casts immediate questions over Hamas's future ties with its principal backer Iran, which has stuck by its ally Assad, as well as with Iran's fellow Shiite allies in Leb's Hezbullies movement.
"I salute all the nations of the Arab Spring and I salute the heroic people of Syria who are striving for freedom, democracy and reform," Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, ...became Prime Minister after the legislative elections of 2006 which Hamas won. President Mahmoud Abbas dismissed Haniyeh from office on 14 June 2007 at the height of the Fatah-Hamas festivities, but Haniyeh did not acknowledge the decree and continues as the PM of Gazoo while Abbas maintains a separate PM in the West Bank... visiting Egypt from the Gazoo Strip, told thousands of Friday worshipers at Cairo's al-Azhar mosque. "I am on the bandwagon and I'm playing the tuba!"
"We are marching through Georgia towards Syria, with millions of deaders," chanted worshipers at al-Azhar, home to one of the Sunni world's highest seats of learning. "No Hezbullies and no Iran! The Syrian revolution is an Arab revolution."
Contemporary political rivalries have exacerbated tensions that date back centuries between Sunnis -- the vast majority of Arabs -- and Shiites, who form substantial Arab populations, notably in Leb and Iraq, and who dominate in non-Arab Iran.
Hamas and Hezbullies, confronting Israel on its southwestern and northern borders, have long had a strategic alliance, despite opposing positions on the sectarian divide. Both have fought wars with Israel in the past six years.
But as the Sunni-Shiite split in the Middle East deepens, Hamas appears to have cast its lot with the powerful, Egypt-based Sunni Islamists of the Moslem Brüderbund, whose star has been in the ascendant since the Arab Spring revolts last year.
Hamas makes its choice
"This is considered a big step in the direction of cutting ties with Syria," said Hany al-Masri, a Paleostinian political commentator. Damascus ...Capital of the last overtly fascist regime in the world... might now opt to formally expel Hamas's exile headquarters from Syria, he said.
Banned by deposed Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak ...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011... , the Moslem Brüderbund has moved to the center of public life. It is the ideological parent of Hamas, which was founded 25 years ago among the Paleostinians, the majority of whom are Sunni Mohammedans.
Shiite Hezbullies still supports the Assad family, from the minority Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiite Islam, which has maintained authoritarian rule over Syria's Sunni majority for four decades but now may have its back to the wall.
Hamas, however, has been deeply embarrassed among Paleostinians by its association with Assad, as the corpse count in his crackdown on opponents has risen into the thousands.
In Gazoo, senior Hamas member Salah al-Bardaweel addressed thousands of supporters at a rally in Khan Younis refugee camp, sending "a message to the peoples who have not been liberated yet, those free peoples who are still bleeding every day."
"The hearts of the Paleostinian people bleed with every drop of bloodshed in Syria," Bardaweel said. "No political considerations will make us turn a blind eye to what is happening on the soil of Syria."
Anti-Israel axis weakened
The divorce between Hamas and Damascus had been coming for months. The Paleostinian group had angered Assad last year when it refused a request to hold public rallies in Paleostinian refugee camps in Syria in support of his government.
Hamas's exile political leader Khaled Meshaal and his associates quietly quit their headquarters in Damascus and have stayed away from Syria for months now, although Hamas tried to deny their absence had anything to do with the revolt.
Haniyeh visited Iran earlier this month on a mission to shore up ties with the power that has provided Hamas with money and weapons to fight Israel. It is not clear what the outcome of his visit has been, though the tone of the latest Hamas comments is hardly compatible with continued warm relations with Tehran.
Rallies in favor of Syria's Sunni majority have been rare in the coastal enclave but on Friday it seemed the Islamist rulers of the territory had decided to break the silence.
"Nations do not get defeated. They do not retreat and they do not get broken. We are on your side and on the side of all free peoples," said Bardaweel.
"Holy Shit! Allahu akbar! God is Greatest," the crowd chanted. "Orf wiv 'is 'ead! Victory to the people of Syria."
Hamas-Hezbullies relations have been good in the past. But Hamas did not attack Israel when it was fighting Hezbullies in 2006 and Hezbullies did not join in when Israel mounted a major offensive against Hamas in Gazoo in the winter of 2008-2009.
Anything that divides Hamas and Hezbullies is likely to be welcomed by Israel, which has been watching warily recent moves by Hamas to reconcile differences with its Paleostinian rivals in Fatah, the movement of President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas. ... a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial... There was no immediate Israeli comment on Friday's speeches.
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#1
See also TOPIX > IRAN-VS-ISRAEL: COULD ISRAEL'S HUGE GAS FIND [also] TRIGGER HOSTILITY, espec wid Lebanon, after the Iran nuclear issues/crisis is resolved?
Israel stands to potens expand its geopol + econ influence in ME + around the world.
PESHAWAR: Four policemen were killed while five others sustained injuries when three suicide bombers launched a pre-dawn attack on a police station in the Old City area on Friday. It was the second terrorist attack in the city in two consecutive days, as Thursdays attack on a bus terminal on Kohat Road killed 13 people.
We have lost three brave policemen. The attack was repulsed properly and heavy loss was avoided, Peshawar CCPO Imtiaz Altaf said during his visit to the C-Division Police Station the crime scene in the Kotwali area.
The fourth policeman died in the hospital. He repeated that the attacks were in reaction to the military action being taken against terrorists in the Khyber and Orakzai tribal regions.
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There was a vocal - some call it violent - protest at last night's lecture by Nonie Darwish, an Egyptian born American human rights activist. She is a co-founder of the group "Arabs for Israel." Ms. Darwish was speaking at UNM on "Why the Arab Spring is Failing and how Israel is Involved".
Video clip from KOB-TV shows some audience members interrupting the speaker by shouting her down, followed by a crowd scene involving other audience members with gray hair. The ABQ Journal has nothing on its web site about this incident.
Following clip is from KOB-TV web site:
A YouTube video (which has since been taken down) was posted by the someone calling themselves (Un)Occupy Albuquerque, with the text: A group of people, who were acting in solidarity with the Palestinian people... I think we already know the rest of the lines to that song & dance...
#1
"A group of people, who were acting in solidarity with the Palestinian people..."
I'm getting sick of this sh*t. Every single idiot who says they're "in solidarity" with the paleos should prove it by going to live with they. I hear Gazoo is lovely this time of year. >:-(
Posted by: Barbara ||
02/25/2012 0:43
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Some of the other ABQ MSM sites are finally starting to publish reports.
KRQE: Chaos broke out during a lecture at the University of New Mexico, and it is was all caught on video Thursday.
When (Un)Occupy Albuquerque protesters shouted down a speaker in an UNM lecture hall other members of the audience went after the protesters.
The video posted on the Internet showed the noisy scene that looked more like the start of a bar brawl than an educational lecture...The group UNM Israel Alliance put on the event and invited anyone to show up. (Un)Occupy Albuquerque took up the offer.
About 12 people with the group started shouting down the speaker halfway through her talk.
"We came to basically voice our opinion," said Brittany Arneson, a member of (Un)Occupy Albuquerque who was at the lecture.
Arneson was there to say she did not agree with the speaker and to show her support for Palestine.
"We were there in peace and weren't trying to be violent at all," Areneson said.
But during the loud protest some people there to listen to the speaker had enough and started grabbing and shoving protesters...Arneson said she was roughed up a bit but not injured in the chaos.
"I wasn't expecting that at all," she said. Riiight.
#3
For better or worse, (I vote worse) advocation of superstition, barbarism and genocide is still freedom of speech, and our brave, brave universities here in the US are the vanguard.
No easy answers.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
02/25/2012 9:02
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"We were there in peace and weren't trying to be violent at all,"
Shutting down some other person's right to free speech and peaceful assembly is stripping them of their basic civil rights. Of course in the minds of the perps, the civil rights of others are trumped by 'social justice'.
Now we'll see if they can connect the dots. If they go file criminal complaints, their names and addresses will become public record. The power of anonymity disappears.
BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: The dissolved Baath party on Friday threatened to target the coming Arab summit if it is held in Baghdad. A statement from what is called the Armed Iraqi National Resistance, which was published on a website belonging to the Baath party, expressed hope that the Arab League would hold the meeting in another country until Iraq is freed from the "Parisian occupation."
The statement threatened to attack the interests any country that insists on attending the summit with any representation.
Iraq is to host an Arab summit on March 29, the first since the Arab Spring that swept away several leaders and brought Islamists to the fore.
The last time Baghdad hosted a regular summit of the 22-member organisation dates back to November 1978, and Iraq was the venue for an extraordinary session in May 1990, just months before Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait.
A regular Arab summit was originally due to be held on March 29, 2011 in the Iraqi capital but delayed due to the turbulence of the Arab Spring that last year ousted long-term rulers of Tunisia, Egypt and Libya. It was rescheduled until May 11 before being postponed for a second time.
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A Thai government delegation has visited Aceh province in Indonesia to study the peace process and the implementation of sharia law. The three-day visit was to get input from the Aceh provincial administration so that the lessons learned can be applied in Thailand, particularly in the southern provinces of the country, where people have been fighting for autonomy and sharia law.
Narumon Siriwat, a delegation member representing the Thai senate said, "We want to know exactly how the people of Aceh, especially the disputing parties such as the Free Aceh Movement [GAM] and the Indonesian government, could make peace and sit together now."
"We wish to transfer the knowledge achieved by the people of Aceh to our citizens in the south," Narumon added.
In the meeting between the delegation and members of the Aceh Legislative Council, members from the Thai delegation asked a number of questions about the peace process, including the reasons why GAM demanded independence from the Indonesia.
Legislative council member Adnan Beuransyah, a former GAM member, responded by saying, "The conflict ensued from the Dutch era, when they attempted to rule the Aceh kingdom. However, since Indonesias independence, Aceh was unilaterally handed over to the Indonesian government and Aceh became a part of Indonesia."
In addition to Acehs historical resistance to the central government, the delegation was also told about prominent separatist figure Hasan Di Tiro, who formed the Free Aceh Movement in 1976 to fight for independence, leading to armed conflict between GAM and Indonesia.
The Thai delegation also asked about the implementation of sharia law in Aceh. Delegation head Narong Vongsumits asked, "Has the Islamic sharia been implemented long ago, or ever since the peace pact was signed in 2005?"
Hasbi replied that sharia law has been enforced in Aceh since the signing of the peace treaty in 2005. Although sharia law was one of the regional autonomous rights in Aceh, its implementation was still in a transitional stage. Hasbi said, "In several aspects we have implemented Islamic sharia, but in other aspects we still use the national law."
QUETTA: Unidentified men on Friday blew up a gas pipeline in the Pir Koh area of Dera Bugti. Levies officials said that the men planted explosives along the 16 inches diameter gas pipeline supplying gas to plant from well number 41. They detonated the explosives with a remote control, disrupting the gas supply to the purification plant.
Soon after the incident, law enforcement agencies' personnel reached the site and cordoned off the entire area. Investigation into the incident is underway.
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Just in case the previous pipeline blast was not a convincing argument that building a new pipeline through injun country was a bad idea.
Abd Rabu Mansour Hadi was elected Yemen's new president with 99.8 per cent of the vote, the head of the Supreme Commission for Elections and Referendum, Mohammed Hussein al-Hakimi, said Friday, dpa reported.
Hadi, 67, will replace Ali Abdullah Saleh, who was in power for 33 years.
Wonder if Hadi is already plotting how to spend his next 33 years...
Saleh is expected to attend Hadi's inauguration next week in the Yemeni capital Sana'a.
Al-Hakimi said more than 6.6 million voters cast their ballots on Tuesday, and put the turnout at about 65 per cent. Hadi was the sole candidate in the early election, which was the result of a deal for the peaceful transfer of power signed in November by Saleh, 69, and the opposition.
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Where's Saleh going to retire to for his health?
Posted by: Barbara ||
02/25/2012 0:39
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Well, Idi Amin got to die in Saudi Arabia after he was deposed by playing the Muslim card. I think that Saleh should consider Morocco or France instead.
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.
Two Nato officers have been killed inside the interior ministry in the Afghan capital Kabul, coalition officials say.
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia on Friday beheaded a man convicted of trafficking drugs in the kingdom, the interior ministry said. The ministry in a statement carried by the official SPA news agency said Wahid Atawi, a Saudi national, had confessed to bringing a quantity of hashish into the country in a bid to sell the banned substance. 
THI QAR / Aswat al-Iraq: 10 followers of religious leader Mahmoud al-Sarkhy in Nassiriya city were arrested when trying to storm in city's former municipality building, security sources said today. The followers stated that they intended to perform their prayers there, but police forces prevented them and subsequently attacked them.
The German military pulled out early from a camp in Afghanistan, the army said Friday, following a demonstration over the burning of Korans by US troops, dpa reported. The Talokan camp was being guarded by Afghan troops Friday after the Germans unexpectedly cleared out, officials from both countries confirmed. They had been scheduled to leave by the end of March.
PESHAWAR: A terrorist was injured on Friday when the landmine he was planting on Ring Road exploded prematurely, in the jurisdiction of Chamkani Police Station. SSP (Operations) Tahir Ayub told the media that two terrorists in Gulshan Colony area on Ring Road were planting a landmine that exploded and injured one of them. 
NEW DELHI: American NGOs fund the protests that hold India back from building the nuclear reactors it needs to meet fast-growing energy needs, the country's prime minister said in an interview published in Science magazine on Friday.
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
QUETTA: Unidentified men on Friday blew up a gas pipeline in the Pir Koh area of Dera Bugti. Levies officials said that the men planted explosives along the 16 inches diameter gas pipeline supplying gas to plant from well number 41. They detonated the explosives with a remote control, disrupting the gas supply to the purification plant. 
