Looks like it's gonna be hours not days before Greece defaults. Then it gonna be goodby to the whole sorry saga.
Less than half of Greece's international creditors had agreed to a vital 206bn (£172bn) bond swap on Wednesday night, leaving Athens dangerously exposed to default. The Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays and HSBC joined 30 European banks and institutions in declaring their acceptance of the deal - but the tally was still far short of the 95pc needed to avoid being officially declared in default.
The International Institute of Finance (IIF), the body that has negotiated with the Greek government on behalf of bondholders, put out several announcements on Wednesday, counting the proportion of the vote as it inched up. The latest statement said bondholders "amounting in aggregate to 84bn, or 40.8pc of the 206bn total eligible debt" would support the deal.
The regular updates coincided with provocative comments from Germany's finance minister, Wolfgang Schaeuble, who said he had discussed with Greece's finance minister Evangelos Venizelos whether it would be better for the country to leave the euro.
Speaking at the European University Institute in Italy, Mr Schaeuble said he had discussed the issue "very openly" with Mr Venizelos.
"Maybe you could say it was the wrong decision for Greece to join the common European currency," Mr Schaeuble said. "Greece has failed for a long time to deliver what is needed to be in a common currency." Only the last couple thousand of years...
Lawmakers who want to seize control of federal lands are pushing a legal battle they insist is winnable despite multiple warnings their effort is highly unconstitutional and almost sure to fail in court.
Utah is poised to become the first state to pass a package of bills that demand the federal government relinquish claims to huge sections of public land. A proposal that advanced Wednesday demands that by 2014 the federal government cede control of nearly 30 million acres -- nearly 50 percent of the entire state. A bill setting an identical deadline is also moving in the Arizona Legislature.
Rep. Ken Ivory, who is leading the effort in Utah and helped draft model legislation for use in other states, said the federal government doesn't treat states like equal partners in land management.
"If sovereignty means anything, it means not having to say pretty please, or mother may I," Ivory said.
Driving the legislative frustration is an ongoing anger over missed opportunities to develop and mine lands managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service. There is also concern that access to state-owned or private lands will be increasingly restricted by Congress or even with the stroke of a president's pen, which happened in 1996 when President Bill Clinton created the 1.9-million-acre Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in southern Utah.
"In our area, we feel that we have federal land management policies that ignore the needs of state, county or local residents," said Dirk Clayson, a commissioner in rural Kane County, Utah, which has less than 10 percent privately-owned land. "Even well-meant efforts from federal officials seem to get tied up with policy decisions ... that are not responsive to local needs."
While Clayson doesn't think state control will solve all the issues, he said it would give the counties a more accessible partner.
"There's risks, but there's a general feeling that we will have a much more effective working relationship with the state," Clayson said. "After all, they're only a four-hour automobile drive away from us."
Critics, however, argue the bills are almost all unconstitutional and amount to nothing more than chest-thumping political statements that waste taxpayer money. Even Utah's legislative attorneys have warned the bills will likely not withstand a court challenge.
"This bill is likely unconstitutional and will engage us in a legal battle with the federal government," Utah Senate Minority Leader Ross Romero, D-Salt Lake City, said. "We're likely to eventually lose in this endeavor ... Simply inviting a lawsuit where we'll be spending time and energy to lose is not the best policy."
But the fight is worth it for many Western lawmakers because they see the potential for millions of dollars in revenue from taxes, development rights or even the sale of lands.
Pressing the federal government to resolve the issue politically or take it to court is the goal, said Utah state Sen. Wayne Niederhauser, R-Sandy.
"This is not a tanks, swords or horses issue," Niederhauser said. "There is a peaceful way to do this."
#2
This is one of the most important counterattacks against Progressivism, ever. The environmental movement, and now the UN, has long had the goal to push Americans out of the central US, and reserve it solely for the environmentalists.
#1
I greatly enjoyed his blog. A good man who served our country well.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/07/2012 16:52
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Oh, blazes. It's painful to see how essential military bloggers have become to get the news out, without ignorant and biased journalists fouling it up.
Satellite images of an Iranian military facility show trucks and earth-moving vehicles at the site, indicating that crews were trying to clean it of radioactive traces possibly left by tests of a nuclear-weapon trigger, diplomats told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
Two of the diplomats said the crews may be trying to erase evidence of tests of a small neutron device used to set off a nuclear explosion. A third diplomat could not confirm that but said any attempt to trigger a so-called neutron initiator at the Parchin site could only be in the context of trying to develop nuclear arms.
The images, provided to the IAEA by member countries, are recent and constantly updated, said one of the diplomats.
The diplomats are nuclear experts accredited to the International Atomic Energy Agency, and all asked for anonymity to discuss sensitive information.
In judgements that cut across a growing international consensus, experts at London's leading defence think-tank said yesterday that, in their view, there would be no Israeli -- or US -- attack on Iran before the end of the year.
What would we do without experts? Especially experts in London who know nothing about what's going on in the Israeli government right now...
They also dashed hopes of an early departure of the Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad, saying that, despite the uprising in Homs, he still controlled 70 per cent of the country and rebel forces lacked the capacity to depose him.
John Chipman, director of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, was answering questions after the institute's presentation of its annual flagship assessment of global military capabilities, "The Military Balance". In describing the prospect of an early military attack on Iran as "unlikely", Dr Chipman appeared to contradict a recent statement from the US Defence Secretary, Leon Panetta, but also a warning just the previous day from the Prime Minister to MPs to the effect that Iran wanted to build an intercontinental nuclear missile that could pose a direct threat to London. Mr Cameron was speaking after a briefing from the Government's national security adviser, Sir Kim Darroch.
Dr Chipman based his less alarmist view on a deal he said had been done between President Obama and the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, according to which Israel would agree not to attack Iran, so long as the US gave an assurance that it would not exclude military action to prevent Iran developing a nuclear weapon. Mr Netanyahu "got that assurance," Mr Chipman said, during his recent visit to Washington.
#2
It depends what your definition of "attack" is. The Iranians think they are so cagey when they send teams of dumbasses around the world to attempt assassinations. They seemingly have no clue that this sword cuts both ways, and that there are a lot of people, with a lot more experience, who can cut them to ribbons with it.
#3
Defensive-oriented Iran isn't going to risk doing anything that would invite detrimental, major US-Allied mil retaliation + MSM, Diplomatic morass.
NUKE WANNABE IRAN + "PERSIANISM", ETC. = CAUGHT BETWEEN DESIRE FOR POTENT SHIA-LED OWG
"CALIPHATE", VERSUS NEAR-TERM EXISTENTIAL
NATIONAL SECURITY + INTEGRITY.
IMO any US-Iran war is more likely to start outside the Persian Gulf, e.g. vee Syria Crisis, Islamist-Militant takeover of Nuke-armed Pakistan, or Afghan-vs-Pak Crisis, War which draws in Indjuh + China.
* TOPIX, DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > US, IRANIANS "CLASH" AT SEA, near territorial waters of Kuwait.
Group of six Iranians caught in seemingly covert attempt to sneak oer Kuwait's maritime borders - 4 Iranians killed or dead, 1 wounded, 1 missing, MOTIVES UNKNOWN AT THIS TIME.
* BHARAT RAKSHAK > [China] DON'T SEEK EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS TO SRI LANKA, INDIA TOLD.
William Heirens, known as the "Lipstick Killer" because he once scrawled in lipstick on the wall of a victim's apartment "For heaven's sake, catch me before I kill more I cannot control myself.", has died after spending nearly 66 years in an Illinois prison.
The sensational case later became the basis for the 1956 Fritz Lang film, "While the City Sleeps."
Heirens was a 17-year-old student at the University of Chicago when he confessed in 1946 to killing two women in their homes and strangling a six-year-old girl. The girl's body was dismembered and disposed of in the city's sewers, according to local media accounts.
Heirens recanted his confession, saying he admitted to the murders to avoid the electric chair. Drizin said Heirens had been tortured before his confession, and then became a model prisoner, with no discipline problems for 50 years. He became the first person in Illinois to get a four-year-college degree in prison, and redesigned the prison library system, Drizin said.
In arguing against Heirens' multiple requests for parole, prosecutors have noted that Heirens' fingerprints were found on a ransom note for the child, and at one of the woman's apartments.
Geert Wilders, who leads the right-wing Party for Freedom (PVV) in Holland, said last week he believes Jordan should be renamed Palestine.
Oh that's going to get some Hashemite turbans to unwind...
The Jordanian government responded by saying Wilders' speech was reminiscent of the Israeli right wing.
That may in fact be a true statement...
"Jordan is Palestine," said Wilders, who heads the third-largest party in Holland. "Changing its name to Palestine will end the conflict in the Middle East and provide the Palestinians with an alternate homeland."
Wilders added that Israel deserved a special status in the Dutch government because it was fighting for Jerusalem in its name.
"If Jerusalem falls into the hands of the Muslims, Athens and Rome will be next. Thus, Jerusalem is the main front protecting the West. It is not a conflict over territory but rather an ideological battle, between the mentality of the liberated West and the ideology of Islamic barbarism," he said.
"There has been an independent Palestinian state since 1946, and it is the kingdom of Jordan." Wilders also called on the Dutch government to refer to Jordan as Palestine and move its embassy to Jerusalem.
The Saudi Al-Watan carried Jordan's response to Wilders' speech. The kingdom's embassy in Hague was fearful outraged, and said the Dutch ambassador would soon be summoned to explain.
"It's called 'free speech', your Enormity, which is why you don't understand his comments."
Jordan's minister for media affairs and communications, Nabil Al Sharif, asked for clarifications. He described Wilders' declaration as "an echo of the voice of the Israeli Right" and "crows' screams".
"Jordan is an independent and secure country which supports the Palestinian issue, and these imaginings of finding them an alternate homeland are nothing but the delusions of a few people," he said.
The PVV nearly tripled its power in the last election, going from nine parliament seats to 24. The right-wing party, which has called for a ban on minarets and Muslim scarves, has been holding so far unsuccessful negotiations with the liberal Right.
#1
Something doesn't smell right about this story. Officers involved? Marine Corps officers tend to be pretty respectable types. Waiting to see/hear more before I cast judgement on anybody.
I also expect the media to jump on the Marines and presume guilt and try to use this as a distraction so sew up the women vote further.
Perhaps, the biggest news of the night is outside the confines of the presidential election. In OH-2, Representative Jean Schmidt was defeated in a stunning upset by conservative challenger Brad Wenstrup. She is the first of those who voted for the debt ceiling deal to go down in a primary. This should encourage us to focus our attention on congressional races in the coming weeks. There are primaries in Alabama and Mississippi next week. Several weak incumbents, such as Jo Bonner, Spencer Bachus, and Steve Palazzo, have primary challengers. (LTC) Dr. Brad Wenstrup, combat surgeon, podiatrist (foot specialist and surgeon, a lot more serious a job in wartime).
He has been in the U.S. Army Reserve since 1998, serving in the Medical Service Corps. In 2005, he deployed for a year of active duty in Iraq where he served as a Combat Surgeon with the 344th Combat Support Hospital. For his service and actions in Iraq, Wenstrup was awarded the Bronze Star and Combat Action Badge. Wenstrup continues his service in the U.S. Army Reserve as a Lieutenant Colonel.
#5
I'm not sure the blogger is accurately describing Rep. schmidt's overall approach. She followed Rob Portman in representing Ohio District #2. I seem to recall her taking what we would view the right approach to War on Terror stuff...
Latest
Six British soldiers are missing, presumed dead, after their armoured vehicle was caught in an explosion in the single biggest British loss of life in the Afghan campaign for six years.
Very sad, but there is a reason why the US does not use Bradley Fighting Vehicles in Afghanistan. V shaped hulls save lives. The technology is not new.
#2
If I recall correctly, press accounts indicate that Bradleys did pretty well in Iraq. From Wikipedia:
In the Iraq War, the Bradley has proved somewhat vulnerable to improvised explosive device (IED) and rocket propelled grenade (RPG) attacks, but casualties have been lightthe doctrine being to allow the crew to escape at the expense of the vehicle. As of early 2006, total combat losses included 55 Bradleys.[12]
The main problem is that they were noisy (could be heard from distance, making surprise visits difficult), expensive to operate and serious gas hogs.
#3
The current family of armored wheeled vehicles MRAP, MAXPro, etc. can be heard coming as well. Along with the politically incorrect 20mm gun, mobility (getting them to the fight), fuel, and maintenance on tracked vehicles are other downsides.
Thank God and the US taxpayer our soldiers have the best!
#4
As an aside, if a vehicle, ANY vehicle.... hits a pressure plate or remotely initiated Improvised Explosive Device (IED) containing more than 100 lbs of homemade explosives (HME), it will not be a good day. As little as 40 lbs of HME will make an Afghan Army Ford Ranger pick-up truck unrecognizable.
Rep. Dennis Kucinich, who won a national following among liberals in two colorful but unsuccessful runs for president, was defeated by fellow Ohio Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur, leaving his political future in question.
Mr. Kucinich has visited Washington State, prompting speculation that he might run for Congress from there, and his campaign has declined to rule out that option. It would be a highly unusual move, but Washington leans Democratic and there is an open congressional seat in a Seattle-area district.
She received her undergraduate degree from the University of WisconsinMadison in 1968 and a Master of Urban Planning from the University of Michigan in 1974.[3] She did post-graduate study in urban planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1981.
Kaptur served on the Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions from 1969 to 1975 and was director of planning for the National Center for Urban Ethnic Affairs (19751977) founded by the late Msgr. Geno Baroni. She later served as a domestic policy advisor during President Jimmy Carter's Administration.
#3
In 2011 Kaptur introduced HR 1489 to re-instate Glass-Steagall and rein in the banking industry. She has introduced similar legislation before, and those measures have gone nowhere.
#4
In 2011 Kaptur introduced HR 1489 to re-instate Glass-Steagall
Surprised, but I actually agree w this - consumer / commercial banking SHOULD be firewalled from investment banking as a risk management strategy.
Posted by: Cincinnatus Chili ||
03/07/2012 13:40
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#5
...Kucinich has been a factor in Northeast Ohio politics for more than thirty years, and his district was about as reliable as it could get for a left wing liberal. His defeat could be a sign of something bad about to happen...
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
03/07/2012 17:12
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#6
#5 ...Kucinich has been a factor in Northeast Ohio politics for more than thirty years, and his district was about as reliable as it could get for a left wing liberal. His defeat could be a sign of something bad good about to happen...
#1
The WWII Hiroshima and Nagasakia scenario provides both a template and a precedent for very effective conflict secession. Tehran vacation timeshares might not be a wise investment at the moment.
What to do you expect from a Brit ?
I look forward to the day Britain is annexed to Soddy Arabia. At least that would solve the question whether the British are Suni or Shiite
Posted by: Elder of Zion ||
03/07/2012 11:49
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#4
This and all similar articles are flawed by a refusal to state what Iran might do if not attacked and if allowed to develop nuclear weapons. THAT is the issue.
Look at where their sympathies/loyalties lie. They already know exactly what Iran will do - and are trying to hide it from distract the proles until it's too late.
Posted by: Barbara ||
03/07/2012 13:16
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#6
EoZ proving what a "wonderful" "ally" Israel is...
#7
I think a certain segment of elites quietly wish that Iran would solve the middle east problem. Thus they drag their feet and get ready to villify Iran afterwards.
Nowhere in this article do any of the genuises at ISII, Brookings, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, University of Notre Dame, etc., even raise the consideration that Iran might far enough along to develop a weapon, or proffer options when a nuclear weapon is developed.
* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS this AM > PAKISTAN POSSESSES 110 NUCLEAR WEAPONS, REPORT SAYS.
We know Pakland stands agz any attack on fellow Muslim State Iran - OTOH, besides the threat from various domestic MilTerr Groups whom demand to stay armed, PAKISTAN IS REPOR AT RISK FROM 1970's IRAN-SYLE ISLAMIC UPRISING + ONGOING
POLITICAL-LEGAL-ELECTORAL JIHAD ["Pakistan Spring/Autumn"].
IMO the US recognizes the PRO-IRAN, NON-IRANIAN, EXISTENTIAL? THREAT TO ISRAEL as per repor [worst-case]Contingency Plans to deploy US Troops to Pakistan to secure Pakistan's Nuke Arsenal, in case Peace Talks = Govt-Taliban/Militant powersharing blows up in Islamabad's face. Ditto per the other "Arab Springs" + new Nuke-loving Islamist Govts-Order.
A senior commander sacked as deputy to Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud came out publicly to back peace talks with the government and said he was not directly informed of his dismissal.
Maulvi Faqir Mohammad is the Taliban commander in Bajaur, one of Pakistan's seven districts in the tribal belt on the Afghan border and one that has seen a recent lull in fighting between the Taliban and Pakistani soldiers.
He was sacked on Sunday at a meeting presided over by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Hakimullah Mehsud at a secret location in Pakistan's northwestern tribal belt, spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan told AFP.
Ehsan gave no reason for the removal. Neither was a successor announced.
Speaking to AFP from an undisclosed location on Tuesday, Mohammad said the Taliban did not inform him directly of his sacking or give an explanation.
"I came to know through the media. I was not given any notice. I don't know the background of this decision," he said, speaking by telephone.
Giving one possible reason, he said: The leadership might be angry with my talks with Pakistani government. If it was so, I talked to them with the permission of my leadership."
New Delhi police said they had arrested a man in connection with last month's bomb attack on an Israeli diplomat's car, which Israel blamed on Iran.
Police spokesman Rajan Bhagat on Wednesday said the man was 50-years-old but gave no details as to the charges he faced related to the February 13 attack.
Police sources identified the suspect as Syed Mohammed Kazmi and said he was an Indian national who claimed to be a journalist working for an Iranian publication.
A 42-year-old Israeli diplomat, the wife of the defence attache at the embassy, was badly wounded in the attack when a motorcyclist attached a bomb to the back of her vehicle in central New Delhi.
Israel accused Iran of carrying out the car bombing which came on the same day as another attempted attack on an Israeli embassy car in Georgia.
A day later, Thai police arrested two Iranian men in Bangkok who are suspected of planning an attack on Israeli diplomats.
Tehran has denied any involvement in the alleged plots.
[Yemen Post] The newly-appointed governor of And Waheed Ali Rasheed has said he has plans to protect the government facilities and protect the proprieties of people.
He affirmed that security and stability would be consolidated, after the governorate witnessed violence acts in which at least ten soldiers and non-combatants were killed.
In a meeting with officials of the governorate, Rasheed urged them to cooperate to maintain security, remove armed manifestations and impose the rule of law inside the port city.
He said that cop shoppes will be reordered across the districts of Aden, calling all people to cooperate to improve the services provided to citizens.
Rasheed had visited a number of public authorities including Aden international Airport, ordering the officials to do best to boost up the living standards of people.
Separately, The Yemeni Interior Ministry affirmed that put the security forces in alert in Aden and Lahj provinces with the aim of repelling any attempts of Al-Qaeda to repeat events of Abyan there.
The Interior Minister Abduk-Kadir Qahtan had directed to send two military units of the Central Security to maintain security and stability in the governorates, as the ministry affirmed in its website.
In a statement, the ministry said it received information about the growth of Al-Qaeda in some southern areas, pointing out that the new Commander of the Southern Region requested sending reinforcements to prevent the repeating of Abyan's events in other governorates.
Militants linked to al Qaeda had launched strikes on positions of the Yemeni military, killing more that 105 soldiers and controlled several military positions in some districts of the southern governorate of Abyan.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/07/2012
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Op-ed: We can't count on president to protect Israel at the expense of his personal interest
Please try to honestly answer the following question, assuming that President Barack Obama faces two alternatives.
One would be to eliminate Irans nuclear program and avert a future threat that could hit Israel, thereby prompting oil prices to skyrocket and causing a serious blow to the US economy.
The second alternative would be to speak harshly and attempt to tighten the sanctions, yet in practice turn a blind eye to Irans progress and the fact that it has passed the point of no return, while persevering the stability of his administration and winning a second term in office, even though this would jeopardize Israels future.
Which alternative would Obama choose?
Lets ask this question in a different way: Is there a sane Israeli out there who thinks an American president would forego a second term in office, or at least threaten his prospects gravely, in order to safeguard the Jewish state? And even if someone believes this would be the case, can one count on it?
I heard Ms. Tzipi Livni saying that our relationship with America was better in the past, and hence Israel was safer. I also heard commentators longing for the Bush Administration. Yet we must not cling to the past. We must not count on old understandings and dying pledges.
It is possible that once upon a time things were better, and its also possible that once upon a time it was easier to destroy a nuclear reactor in a foreign country. It is even possible that things will always be easier with a Republican Administration in place.
However, we do not live in the past, and we an either count on a president whose personal interests (temporary quiet) contradict Israels interests (long-term quiet) or decide our childrens future via a bold, complex operation.
We can either choose the second option, or wait patiently until we sustain the gravest military blow ever known by Israel. What sounds better to you?
#2
Is there a sane Israeli out there who thinks an American president would forego a second term in office, or at least threaten his prospects gravely, in order to safeguard the Jewish state?
One additional question:
Is there a sane Israeli out there who does not think Obama would act differently about an Israeli strike against Iran after the upcoming US national election?
#3
Sane Israelis are invited to call their friends and relatives in the US and tell them to quit voting dem.
Posted by: Richard Aubrey ||
03/07/2012 10:44
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#4
There is no such thing as a sane Israeli.
Nobody can be remotely called sane when they face a possibility of nuclear weapons in the hands of a fanatic mullah dominated religious theocracy ! moreover a theocracy who declares publicly and on numerous occations that thay would destroy us.
I don't want to be sane in a situation like this.
I just insanely hope our leaders sanely decide to attack with full force and all available weapons, irrespective of what Hussein Obama says or does.
Posted by: Elder of Zion ||
03/07/2012 11:31
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#5
P.S.
Northern Cousin - are you a North Korean by any chance or just a redular Democrat ?
Posted by: Elder of Zion ||
03/07/2012 11:45
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#6
I would not / do not trust the word of Obama vis a vis Israel on anything at all.
Deep down, or not so deep, I think he would be pleased if Israel was wiped off the map. Any statements to the contrary can be taken as politicing/fund raising.
Would he actively aid in the destruction of Israel? Probably not.
Would he be upset that it occurred? Probably not.
Posted by: Barbara ||
03/07/2012 13:11
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#8
I can't help but wonder whether, given the seeming inevitibility of some sort of near term action against the Iranian nuclear program, Israel might not attempt a twofer. Strike ahead of the US election thereby spiking the oil market and encouraging a little regime change in the US as well.
[An Nahar] The U.N. Security Council on Tuesday demanded an end to border attacks and hostilities between Sudan and South Sudan in a forceful warning to the rivals to ease mounting tensions.
Amid widespread predictions that the two countries, which separated in July last year, could be headed for a new conflict, the council also demanded Sudan authorities allow humanitarian access to two conflict-stricken states.
The council expressed "grave concern about reports of repeated incidents of cross-border violence between Sudan and South Sudan, including troop movements, support to proxy forces and aerial bombardments," said a statement read by Britannia's U.N. ambassador Mark Lyall Grant, council president for March.
"The Security Council demands that all parties cease military operations in the border areas and put an end to the cycle of violence.
"It further demands that the governments of Sudan and South Sudan take no action that would undermine the security and stability of the other, including through any direct or indirect form of support to gangs in the other's territory."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/07/2012
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[Dawn] The Pakistain People's party (PPP) tried to woo the Jamaat-e-Islami ...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... (JI) with offering it an electoral alliance for the next general election, JI Amir Syed Munawar Hasan claimed in an interview with Dawn on Monday.
The JI rejected the offer as it was mindful of the fact that considering the decades-long hostility between the two parties, PPP voters would hardly support JI candidates, he said.
The PPP on its trail to find more political friends sent Senator Babar Awan to hold talks with the JI. Mr Hasan said that Dr Awan
conveyed the message of friendship to him on behalf of PPP Co-Chairperson Asif Ali President Ten Percent Zardari ... sticky-fingered husband of the late Benazir Bhutto ... .
"When the PPP vote bank does not turn to us, the alliance is useless," the JI amir said.
Mr Hasan said his party also turned down a Dr Awan's request to restrain from issuing anti-government statements in order to avoid any confrontation.
"We told the PPP leader that it would be hard for us to do so as every one has a right to comment and criticise government's policies publicly.
"We also told the PPP leader that the JI will not criticise the PPP just on the basis of on speculations."
Dr Awan could not be contacted for comment despite several calls made to him.
Though the Jamaat sees no electoral cooperation possibilities with the PPP, it is however in talks with other mainstream parties such as the Pakistain Mohammedan League-N (PML-N) and the Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf ...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations.... (PTI).
Posted by: Fred ||
03/07/2012
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[Bangla Daily Star] Mulayam Singh Yadav's Samajwadi Party swept to power jolting Congress party and BJP in Uttar Pradesh assembly polls, the results of which are a setback to Rahul Gandhi, who acknowledged the "defeat".
SP dethroned Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Mayawati by getting an absolute majority by comfortably crossing the required 202-mark in the 403 member House. The SP has won 224 seats.
Mayawati was relegated to the second position ending up close to 80 seats.
Indian ruling Congress suffered a heavy blow as it failed to improve strength in the politically most crucial state of Uttar Pradesh and regain governance in Punjab. The party also lost power in Goa, our New Delhi correspondent Pallab Bhattacharya adds.
The only relief for Congress is its emphatic victory in northeastern state of Manipur where it retained power for the third consecutive term.
The Congress, which was hoping to do well after Rahul Gandhi's extensive campaigning in 207 constituencies, improved its previous tally of 22 seats by winning 26 seats and was leading in another two.
The BJP, which had 51 seats, has won 47.
The polls were a mid-term popularity test for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government ahead of 2014 parliamentary elections and a first real appraisal of Rahul Gandhi viewed by many as the future Prime Minister of India.
"I stood in front, so it is my responsibility," 41-year-old Rahul told news hounds as he conceded defeat. "All of us in the Congress party fought. We fought well but the result which came was not so good."
Rahul, the scion of Nehru-Gandhi family, had led the party's charge in Uttar Pradesh in a bid to revive Congress in what constituted his biggest challenge yet in a state where it has been out of power for 22 years.
The SP has crossed the half-way mark in the 2012 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections and looks all set to form the next government in the state.
Earlier in the day, state unit president Akhilesh Yadav said party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav will be the chief minister.
Akhilesh said the party's Parliamentary Board will meet tomorrow to decide on issues like staking claim before Governor BL Joshi to form the next government. "I have answered this question several times.... We all want netaji (Mulayam) as the chief minister," Akhilesh said seeking to put a lid on speculation that he would be the next chief minister of the state.
Replying to questions on the possibility of SP seeking support of independent MLAs, the party's state unit chief said his party will not take support of "mafia".
On possibility of removing statues of elephants (BSP's election symbol) as also of outgoing chief minister Mayawati, he said SP has already made it clear that the statues would not be removed.
SP state president and star campaigner for the party Akhilesh Yadav said that after formation of the government, the first priority of the SP would be to provide relief to the farmers through loan waivers and improvement in power supply.
He said the BSP got five years to develop the state but it squandered money on parks and stones. However, there's more than one way to stuff a chicken... he also said that SP will not touch dalit memorials built by Mayawati. "They will be safe."
What seems to have gone in favour of SP is its image makeover by Akhilesh. Previous SP rule in 2003-07 was known for poor law and order but Akhilesh promised to change the order this time. While Mulayam worked to get back Mohammedans who were angry after he shook hands with Kalyan Singh in 2009, Akhilesh worked to woo different castes and communities. He was also able to attract youth.
The BSP is expected to remain second despite a loss of over 100 seats in comparison to the 206 it got in 2007.
Congress and BJP are likely to improve but are fighting for third and fourth place.
Congress's ally RLD is also expected to increase its number, according to Times of India.
SP seems to be getting support across the state and all castes and communities, while BSP has suffered losses everywhere but seems to have retained its Dalit base.
However, there's more than one way to stuff a chicken... Mayawati's social engineering failed as Brahmins and Mohammedans do not seem to have vote for BSP in large number as they did in 2007. Congress and BJP seem to have has excelled in some pockets of UP.
While celebrations have begun in SP head quarters in Lucknow, an eerie silence prevailed in BSP head office and gates were closed for visitors. Disappointment was palpable in Congress office, whereas BJP camp was hopeful of getting more than 100 seats, double of what it got in 2007.
Reacting to result trends, SP general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav said that people have voted against five years of misrule in UP. He said SP is gaining because it took up public cause for five years while sitting in opposition.
UP Congress President Rita Bahugana Joshi said that though her party does not seems to be doing well, it would improve its tally. She said there is a strong anti-incumbency wave against Mayawati regime.
Congress leader Rajiv Shukla said that Rahul Gandhi created a favourable atmosphere for the party through his work and campaign in UP. But, he said, party could not convert it into seats because of absence of party cadre at the ground level. He claimed that in any case Congress would emerge as key player in UP.
BJP national vice president and candidate from Lucknow East Kalraj Mishra said that party would do better than 2007. He admitted that induction of sacked BSP minister Babu Singh Kushwaha, who is prime accused in NRHM scam and has been locked away by CBI, damaged BJP's prospect upto some extent in UP.
The BJP has received a strong drubbing in Lucknow, which used to be its stronghold for long. The party has lost in Lucknow constituency for the first time since 1991. This was the first elections in which former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was not in the picture. And this resulted in crushing defeat for the party.
The BJP also lost in the rural areas of Lucknow. It was in a miserable state at the start of election but entry of fire brand Hindutava leader Uma Bharti galvanised cadre and brought party back in contest.
BJP was also able to polarise votes on communal lines at few places on the issue of Mohammedan quota.
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[Dawn] Four snuffies were killed when rival groups clashed with each other to get control over an important bunker in Tirah valley of Khyber Agency on Monday.
Sources said that Taliban of Tariq Afridi group attacked a bunker of Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) in Dwa Thoe area of the valley. Both the groups traded heavy fire, which resulted in killing of four hard boys. LI sources in Bara claimed that they not only repulsed the offensive but also killed three of their opponents.
The LI had captured the same post after expelling Taliban from the Kukikhel ...a tribe of primitives inhabiting Khyber Agency. They are a branch of the Afridi tribe. Traditionally they have been migratory, tromping between Jamrud and the Rajgal valley with the seasons. The tribe has had mustache-cursing relationships with several other tribes, including the Zakkakhel and Kambarkhel, and with the Mullagori. They make welcome most anyone with a turban and automatic weapons, but every once in awhile they get together a tribal lashkar to mollify the government... dominated areas of Tirah valley. Both groups have been fighting with each other since October last year to gain full control of the area.
Taliban had lost most of the areas, they had been occupying after they were expelled from Darra Adamkhel following a military operation about two years ago.
Also, an official of Mehsud Scouts was killed in a blast while headless body of a primitive was found in Bara on Monday.
Officials said that security forces were conducting a search operation in Naway Kamar area on Sheen Qamar Road when an bomb planted inside an empty house went kaboom!.
The kaboom caused injuries to a soldier, who later succumbed to his wounds in a hospital.
In Akkakhel, local residents found headless body of Tor Mullah Zakhakhel, a primitive, at a deserted place. Sources said that reason behind beheading the primitive could not be ascertained immediately.
Meanwhile, ...back at the argument, Jane reached into her purse for her .38... Kukikhel volunteers defused an bomb planted on a roadside in Serhai area on Monday.
Local sources said that the device was spotted minutes before a Kukikhel jirga was held in the area. Nobody has grabbed credit for planting the improvised bomb.
However, ars longa, vita brevis... Taliban of Tariq Afridi group have grabbed credit for a suicide kaboom carried out at a LI base in the same region on Friday.
In Landi Kotal, unidentified snuffies blew up a government primary school on the night between Sunday and Monday.
Officials said that snuffies planted huge quantity of explosives at Malik Jafar Khan primary school at midnight that went kaboom! later. The blast damaged the building. Nobody has so far grabbed credit for the blast.
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03/07/2012
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#1
When jihadis kill each other, surely nobody goes to Paradise.
[Dawn] FOREIGN Minister Rabbani Khar's recent statement to journalists rubbishing, in the words of one journalist, the concept of 'strategic depth' and maintaining that if this were being sought it could not be obtained militarily or through proxy war but only by "building trust with the Afghan state", is welcome.
It is a recognition of the reality of the regional situation. It appears to signal that Pakistain is now prepared to perceive Afghanistan, with which Pakistain shares many bonds and on whose behalf it has assumed many burdens, as a sovereign, independent neighbour. But is this statement and the claim that the "trend" towards the change of policy "is clear" and we have actually "walked the talk" reflected in actual actions?
In this exchange with journalists, Ms Khar noted approvingly that President Karzai had talked of Pakistain having a "proactive supportive role and not a proactive leading role". But then she added her views on the path that Afghanistan should follow: hold a loya jirga to decide the broad framework for peace talks including an intra-Afghan dialogue to see on what conditions they want to run the process of peace and reconciliation, who do they want it to be run by and the time frame in which they want this completed.
This is good advice. I myself have long advocated an intra-Afghan dialogue that brings together various ethnic groups -- the Tajiks, Uzbeks, Hazaras and anti-Taliban or at least moderate Pakhtuns -- to decide on power-sharing arrangements and changes in the constitutional structure that can be offered to the Taliban.
I, however, am a private citizen and can offer such advice publicly. A Pak foreign minister has to be much more circumspect in public statements even while being prepared to offer such recommendations in private discussions.
One must assume that since Ms Khar was obviously speaking from a well-prepared brief this suggestion was designed to address suspicions in Afghanistan that Pakistain did not believe that ethnic minorities had a role to play in the reconciliation process.
But does this, important as it may be, constitute "walking the talk"? From the Afghan perspective our contribution should be to persuade the Taliban to come to the negotiating table. After President Karzai's visit Ms Khar dismissed as ridiculous what she termed as the Karzai demand that Pakistain deliver Mullah Omar ... a minor Pashtun commander in the war against the Soviets who made good as leader of the Taliban. As ruler of Afghanistan, he took the title Leader of the Faithful. The imposition of Pashtunkhwa on the nation institutionalized ignorance and brutality already notable for its own fair share of ignorance and brutality... to the negotiating table.
She may be right in saying that Pakistain does not know where Mullah Omar is and certainly cannot force him to negotiate with Karzai. What Pakistain can, however, do is be more helpful in identifying and bringing forward such Taliban and Haqqani representatives that have credible positions in the movement and are valued as initial negotiating partners by Afghanistan.
Mullah Ghani Baradar, who we have been holding as an honoured guest, is one person Karzai believes is of consequence in the Taliban movement, since at the time of his detention he was perceived to be Mullah Omar's principal lieutenant. He probably also believes that Ibrahim Haqqani, brother of Jalaluddin Haqqani with whom the Americans held talks arranged by the ISI, could be another interlocutor. If we are really rethinking our position on Afghanistan these are requests we should accede to -- and urgently.
This is not altruism. We must recognise that reconciliation on whatever terms the Afghans can agree among themselves with such prodding as we and other Afghan well-wishers can provide is as urgent a necessity for Pakistain as it is for our Afghan brethren. We must recognise that suspicions about our intentions trigger reactions by other neighbours of Afghanistan that would retard reconciliation. We must therefore be seen through our concrete actions as being sincere in our protestations of support for Afghan-led reconciliation.
Recent incidents such as urinating by American soldiers on Afghan corpses, and more importantly, the burning of religious texts makes problematic the prospect of agreement on the Strategic Partnership Document that the Afghans have been negotiating with the Americans to govern a limited US presence after foreign troops withdraw.
These incidents have probably also ensured that the Americans will complete their withdrawal by 2013 rather than the originally envisaged 2014 date. Therefore, this possible source of economic activity and employment generation for Afghans will also disappear faster than anticipated.
Political turbulence in Afghanistan and the expected economic downturn have already increased the flow of economic refugees to Pakistain. This refugee trickle will turn into a flood as there is greater unemployment following the reduction in the size of the Afghan National Security Forces from 358,000 to 230,000, by retrenchment in firms that currently provide security at ongoing projects and by the halt of construction and other economic activities generated by the foreign troops' presence.
It is my estimate that unless we take precautionary measures we will have in the next two to three years some two million economic refugees from Afghanistan. If there is no reconciliation, the mix of economic and political refugees will climb to five million to add to the numbers already here.
Even as we work with Karzai to promote reconciliation and increase our diplomatic efforts to win support from others for such reconciliation, we must do more to secure our borders against the influx of refugees. For starters the biometric system must be enforced for all travellers between Afghanistan and Pakistain across Torkham and Chaman. We must also ensure that we exercise greater control over the refugee camps even if we cannot close them down.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/07/2012
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A Nebraska woman has sold a three-year-old McDonald's Chicken McNugget that resembles President George Washington for $8,100 on eBay. The Sioux City Journal in Iowa says bidding ended Monday morning.
Rebekah Speight of Dakota City sold the McNugget to raise money for a drive to raise $15,000 and send 50 children to summer church camp in Sioux City. She did not disclose who won the auction.
Speight says her children didn't eat the chicken during a McDonald's visit three years ago. She was about to toss it, then spotted Washington's resemblance. Speight stashed the McNugget in her freezer.
eBay had temporarily taken down the auction last month because it violated rules regulating expired food. She later received an email saying the site was "willing to make exceptions to help your cause."
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03/07/2012
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#1
Our founding father would be so pleased...
Posted by: American Delight ||
03/07/2012 7:03
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I had one that looked like Obama but I was hungry.
[Yemen Post] The Yemeni Interior Ministry has affirmed that armed gangs hold Africans infiltrating to Yemen, revealing that 129 Ethiopians were held at Haradh districts located at the Yemeni-Saudi borders.
It affirmed that the Africans were tortured and forced to contact their families residing in Soddy Arabia to transfer them money that reach to the hand of the culprits.
The ministry said that Abdullah Al-Wahash and Khalid Eisa are the chieftains of the gangs, affirming that about49 Ethiopians were held by Al-Wahsh and 97 others by Eisa.
The Ministry stated that it could release the Ethiopians, pointing out that it referred the criminals to courts.
Media sources said that a cop shoppe of Haradh issued a list of 19 persons who held Ethiopians who were en route to Soddy Arabia through the Yemeni soil.
They further said that some Africans are seized in Al-Sharafi region of Hajja, affirming that some of them were killed and others are subjected to tortures.
Local human rights ...which are usually entirely different from personal liberty... groups called on the Human Rights Ministry and security services to halt such crimes and take firm actions against the criminals.
Security sources affirmed that powerful tribal sheiks of allowing the culprits to carry out such practices help and protect them.
Hundreds of Africans perish every year attempting the hazardous sea voyage on rickety fishing boats run by smugglers.
Fleeing their war-torn country, Africans are paying smugglers hundreds of dollars to be then helped into Soddy Arabia.
The United Nations ...Parkinson's Law on an international scale... refugee agency has expressed concern ...meaning the brow was mildly wrinkled, the eyebrows drawn slightly together, and a thoughtful expression assumed, not that anything was actually done or indeed that any thought was actually expended... s over the record numbers of Ethiopians and Somalis flocking to Yemen, despite the deteriorating the political and security crises sweeping the state.
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#1
Are the Ethiopians Muslims? This would make sense in that this community in Ethiopia is "restive" and trying to secede.
#2
Anonymoose, according to the CIA World Factbook, 33.9% of the mighty AEthiops are Muslim. Almost all of the rest are Christians of one sort or another.
[Dawn] US President Barack Obama Republicans can come along for the ride, but they've got to sit in the back... said on Tuesday that there was no need to decide now on military action against Iran and said new talks would show "quickly" how serious Tehran is about resolving the nuclear standoff.
"Iran is feeling the bite of these sanctions in a substantial way. The world is unified, Iran is politically isolated. And what I have said is that we will not countenance Iran getting a nuclear weapon," Obama told news hounds at a White House presser.
"We're now seeing noises about them returning to the negotiating table, that it is deeply in everybody's interests, the United States', Israel's, and the world's, to see if this can be resolved in a peaceful fashion.
"And so this notion that somehow we have a choice to make in the next week or two weeks or month or two months is not borne out by the facts." Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned during a US visit on Monday that it could not afford to wait "much longer" for sanctions to work, and said he would "never let my people live in the shadow of annihilation".
Obama lashed out at criticism from Republican rivals over his Iran policy, saying "bluster" is not helping resolve the crisis and accusing them of repeating the same policies he has been pursuing for three years.
"This is not a game, and there's nothing casual about it," the president said. "When I see the casualness with which some of these folks talk about war, I'm reminded of the costs involved in war." Republican frontrunner Mitt Romney ...whose real first name is actually, no kidding, Willard, was governor of Massachussetts and is currently the front-runner for president on the Publican ticket. He is the son of the former governor of Michigan, George Romney, who himself ran for president after saving American Motors from failure, though not permanently. Romney's foot is in an ideological bucket because of Romneycare, a state-level experiment that should have been a warning against Obamacare if anyone had been paying attention. Romney's charisma is best defined as soporific, which is probably why he is leading the Publican field... suggested he would be more willing than Obama to consider using military force while his main rival for the presidential nomination Rick Santorum ...candidate for president and former U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania. He was a lawyer before becoming the Representative for suburban Pittsburgh in 1991. He lost his Senate seat in 2006 to Bob Casey, a Democrat machine politician and political dynast. Santorum is a social conservative whose primary attraction is seemingly that he is neither Mitt Romney or Newt Gingrich... backed an ultimatum demanding Iran stop nuclear production or face action by the US to "tear down" its facilities.
In Brussels, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, speaking on behalf of Britannia, China, La Belle France, Germany, Russia and the United States, reiterated an offer to resume talks with Tehran.
The B.O. regime has said it does not believe Iran has taken a decision to develop a nuclear weapon, or that the time is right for military action, preferring to give biting new sanctions time to work.
However Israel, which sees a possible Iranian nuclear weapon as a threat to its existence, believes that Iran may be on the cusp of "break out" capability -- the moment when it could quickly build a nuclear weapon.
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03/07/2012
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[Dawn] IT was supposed to be easy; it had been spelled out in lengthy treatises and frequent speeches in the heady, feverish years leading up to 1947.
Pakistain was to be a modern Mohammedan state, a country where democratic and Islamic values gelled to produce a polity that felt no discomfort with either its religious identity or its democratic one.
The generation that awaited it with hushed anticipation saw no confusion in the recipe; their leaders were the likes of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, Maulvi Chiragh Ali, Nazir Ahmed -- brave men with a clear vision for South Asian Mohammedans.
They had fought the decrepit ignorance that kept Mohammedans submerged in old ways in the name of tradition; they believed in the necessity of making inroads with modern education and scientific knowledge. The modern state they pined for in those early and middling decades of the 19th century did not yet exist, but they could see it, imagine it with great accuracy as the repository of free minds that would engage the novel, promote the revolutionary.
In the balmy August of 1947 the probable became a reality and Pakistain was created. With its birth the hybrid of a modern religious identity and robust respect for pluralism had to be put in motion.
As many of that dwindling generation would remember, those were euphoric times when even the massive tragedies of trains full of bodies and bloodied neighbourhoods could not extinguish the hopefulness of those embracing a new nation. Where first there had been only an idea, there was now a country on the map. With the founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the men and women who had devoted their lives to a vision set about making it real.
Much has been said about the post-Partition years and the idea of Pakistain that guided them. Critical historians have pointed out the structural challenges faced by the nascent nation, the dithering bits of administrative incapacity and the disconnected ends of British bureaucracy that were handed to Pakistain.
Others have pointed to the catastrophes -- a dying Jinnah leaving a newborn nation without a leader and menacing neighbours at the borders always willing to pounce at the tiniest chinks in the country's newly grown armour.
The new Pakistain was indeed vulnerable, both in terms of resources and leadership. There was, however, another, less-noticed affliction waiting in the shadows.
The idea of Pakistain as coined by the reformist Mohammedans who fought for Pakistain and took on the task of organising South Asian Mohammedans were informed by a distinctly South Asian idea of modernity. Their consciousness of being Mohammedan relied on their experience of being a minority ruled by a foreign power.
While they realised that they would be a majority in the new nation, this was an abstract idea, not an experienced one. Their
own lives were lived in a state where a democracy unmediated by the law would leave them outnumbered and vanquished.
The South Asian recipe for developing a hybrid of Mohammedan identity and democratic governance relied on the use of the law as safeguarding the interests of those who could never win at the ballot box; having been the 'little guy' for long, they now sought protection for the underdog. For them, Islam was part of a political identity, deserving requisite space in the political sphere, but never a means of exclusion.
The assault on this Pak identity stemmed not only from the mediocre realities of governance against the passion of revolution. It came also from two distantly related realities of the new Pakistain.
The first was demographic; while the Mohammedans who migrated to Pakistain brought with them the memory of having been a minority, many of those that welcomed them remembered only the brute injustice of being a Mohammedan majority ruled by an imperial power.
If the newcomers, remembering the slights they had felt in a united India where they had been outnumbered, wanted to take care to create a tolerant Pakistain, those awaiting them, finally freed from the yoke of imperial rule, wished now for their chance at making the rules and being the boss.
A second assault came from the location of the new Pakistain and in upcoming decades its emergence as a labour-exporting nation. If the ideologues of Pakistain had looked around and within themselves and had been intellectually rooted in South Asia, the men leading Pakistain in the first 50 or so years of its creation looked to the Middle East.
As memories of Partition waned, being Pak began to mean being a lesser Mohammedan -- the plural religious landscape of South Asia becoming a taint on purity. The Zia years made this burgeoning crisis of authenticity visible and reimagined the Pak identity as one whose central tragedy was not being Arab.
The wounds deepened as economic pressures in the 1980s and 1990s sent hundreds of thousands of Paks to Soddy Arabia and the Gulf states. They returned with stereos, VCRs and a robust hatred for themselves; in their migrant logic being Mohammedan and being Arab became intertwined.
Working on construction sites and as cab drivers in Dammam and Riyadh, they learned from their Arab bosses' oil-fuelled exchanges with modernity that skyscrapers and Ferraris were permissible but women's rights and democratic governance were not. The current crisis of identity of Paks today, a long 65 years after the triumph of Independence, is a product of this historical trajectory which discarded indigenous South Asian ideas of modernity developed during the Independence movement for a hodge-podge of inferiorities brought home by would-be scholars and expatriate workers yearning to be Arab.
If the first ideas of being Pak had been erected on a moment of achievement and a defeat of British imperialism, this second is submerged in inadequacy, and servility and in self-hatred in which being Pak means being always less and always wanting.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/07/2012
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#1
How many of the country want to be Western/modern or how many want to be 7th Century/Saudi Arabia?
[Dawn] Voters from Alaska to Georgia are going to the polls on a potentially pivotal Super Tuesday that is expected to see Mitt Romney ...whose real first name is actually, no kidding, Willard, was governor of Massachussetts and is currently the front-runner for president on the Publican ticket. He is the son of the former governor of Michigan, George Romney, who himself ran for president after saving American Motors from failure, though not permanently. Romney's foot is in an ideological bucket because of Romneycare, a state-level experiment that should have been a warning against Obamacare if anyone had been paying attention. Romney's charisma is best defined as soporific, which is probably why he is leading the Publican field... close in on the Republican presidential nomination.
The frontrunner hopes to build on recent momentum, he has won the last five voting contests, and deal a knockout blow to key rival Rick Santorum ...candidate for president and former U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania. He was a lawyer before becoming the Representative for suburban Pittsburgh in 1991. He lost his Senate seat in 2006 to Bob Casey, a Democrat machine politician and political dynast. Santorum is a social conservative whose primary attraction is seemingly that he is neither Mitt Romney or Newt Gingrich... as they fight for the right to take on President Barack Obama I mean, I do think at a certain point you've made enough money... in November.
In Tuesday's 10-state marathon, Romney is tipped to win Idaho, Massachusetts, Vermont and Virginia, Santorum is odds-on to take Oklahoma and former House speaker Newt Gingrich ...former Speaker of the House, author of the Contract with America. Gingrich gave the country welfare reform and a balanced budget and the Publicans a landslide House victory in 1994. On the downside, he has a roving eye and a loose fly, he's opinionated, and he's abrasive despite his ability to work with the other side of the political aisle... is seen as a sure-fire winner in his home state of Georgia.
Ohio and North Dakota are straight shoot-outs between Romney and Santorum, while all three have a chance in Tennessee. Romney must fend off a strong challenge in Alaska from Texas congressman Ron Paul, who is still looking for his first state win.
Romney will not be crowned the nominee on Tuesday and there could still be a long battle all the way to the Republican Party's August convention, but if he wins the crucial state of Ohio he will become very hard to beat.
Exiting a TV studio in Columbus, Ohio after addressing the pro-Israeli AIPAC lobby in Washington via video-link, Romney told AFP: "It's a great day, looking forward to it."
Asked if he would win Ohio, he replied: "I hope so."The former Massachusetts governor gave the thumbs up before boarding his campaign bus, which has been frantically criss-crossing this Rust Belt state as he tries to overcome a stiff challenge from Santorum.
Polls opened at 6:30 am (1130 GMT) in the largely working-class swing state and general election bellwether.
A steady stream of voters showed up before work at a polling station in the Whetstone Community Center in an affluent area of Columbus.
Jim Ray, 46, who runs a truck dealership, said he backed Romney.
"I just think he has the best chance of winning against Obama. My biggest concern is who will be able to win in November," he told AFP.
Romney talked up Ohio's importance on Monday, characterizing the race as a "battle for the soul of America" and telling cheering supporters at a rally in Zanesville: "If you do your job tomorrow we're going to win this thing."
Santorum, a devout Roman Catholic who fiercely opposes abortion and gay marriage, has billed himself as an authentic conservative who understands working-class voters and can beat Obama in the manufacturing-heavy Rust Belt.
If he loses Ohio, serious questions will be asked about his electability in November. Final polls showed the race was too close to call but Romney has closed fast after Santorum enjoyed a healthy lead a week ago.
Santorum, who came from nowhere to sweep three states on February 8, challenging Romney for frontrunner status before faltering in Arizona and Michigan, has played up his underdog status.
"The establishment is lining up behind the guy who's next in line,"Santorum told supporters Monday in Westerville, Ohio. "We have to have someone who can stand on principle, stand on ideas."
Delegates are awarded by each state in the complex Republican Party nominating process, sometimes on a proportional and/or non-binding basis, until one candidate reaches the 1,144 delegate threshold required to declare victory.
Romney, a former businessman who made his fortune as a venture capitalist, has pulled ahead in the early delegate count, but Santorum and Gingrich loom in the wings as dark horses for the nomination.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/07/2012
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#1
Cleanup on Aisle #1, please.
Posted by: Barbara ||
03/07/2012 19:01
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#2
I am at the Anyone But Obama stage where I don't care who they nominate as long has he has opposable thumbs and is vaguely conservative. Even the hominid part isn't a strict requirement. I would vote for my sister's dog over That Other Guy.
Hickory for President! Because it is time to chase the Squirrels of Socialism off our national lawn.
[Dawn] Preetam Das is a good doctor with a hospital job and a thriving private clinic, yet all he thinks about is leaving Pakistain, terrified about a rise in killings and kidnappings targeting Hindus.
A successful professional, he lives in mega city Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It may be the largest city in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... with his wife and two children, but comes from Kashmore, a district in the north of Pakistain's southern province of Sindh.
His family has lived there for centuries and in 1947 when the sub-continent split between India, a majority Hindu state, and Pakistain, a homeland for Mohammedans, Das' grandparents chose to stay with the Mohammedans.
They fervently believed the promise of Pakistain's founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah that religious minorities would be protected. Sixty years later, their grandson says life in Kashmore has become unbearable.
"The situation is getting worse every day," he says.
Two of his uncles have been kidnapped and affluent Hindus are at particular risk from abduction gangs looking for ransom, he says.
Rights activists say the climate is indicative of progressive Islamisation over the last 30 years that has fuelled an increasing lack of tolerance to religious minorities, too often considered second class citizens.
Das says the only thing keeping him in Pakistain is his mother.
"She has flatly refused to migrate, which hinders my plans. I can't go without her," he said.
Hindus make up 2.5 per cent of the 174 million people living in the nuclear-armed Mohammedan nation. Over 90 per cent live in Sindh, where they are generally wealthy and enterprising, making them easy prey for criminal gangs.
An official at the ministry of external affairs in New Delhi who declined to be named said: "Every month about eight to 10 Hindu families migrate from Pakistain. Most of them are well-off."
He had no comment on whether the number was on the rise, but Hindu community groups in Pakistain say more people are leaving because of kidnappings, killings and even forced conversions of girls to Islam.
"Two of my brothers have migrated to India and an uncle to the UAE," said Jay Ram, a farmer in Sindh's northern district of Ghotki.
"It's becoming too difficult to live here. Sindhis are the most tolerant community in the country vis-a-vis religious harmony, but deteriorating law and order is forcing them to move unwillingly," he added.
Ramesh Kumar Vankwani, chief of the Pakistain Hindu Council and a former politician for Sindh province, said Hindus are picked on by kidnappers and that their daughters are subject to forced conversions to Islam.
"Every now and then we get reports of families migrating. It's getting worse now. People are extremely harassed and are forced to leave their homeland but our rulers are shamelessly idle," he told AFP.
Rights activists also say Hindus in Sindh are discriminated against.
"Recently 37 members of five Hindu families migrated to India from Thul town owing to discrimination while three Hindus, including a doctor, were murdered in Shikarpur district," said Rubab Jafri, who heads Sindh's Human Rights Forum.
"Lots of violent incidents are happening daily. Most go unreported, which shows vested interests are trying to force Hindus to leave Pakistain."
According to the Pakistain Hindu Seva, a community welfare organization, at least 10 families have migrated from Sindh every month since 2008, mostly to India, but in the last 10 months, 400 families have left.
Another survey last year by the local Scheduled Caste Rights Movement said more than 80 percent of Hindu families complained that Mohammedans discriminated against them by using different utensils when serving them at food stalls.
"Hindu migration is a brain-drain for Pakistain as most of them are doctors, engineers, agriculturists, businessmen and intellectuals," Jafri said.
But the provincial authorities are reluctant to recognise a problem.
"I do admit that law and order in some districts of Sindh is quite bad, but it is bad for everyone and not just my community, the Hindus," Mukesh Kumar Chawla, provincial minister for excise and taxation, told AFP.
"Hindus do not migrate in flocks as has been claimed and those who migrate are going abroad for a better fortune," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
No surprise.Pakistan up with Saudi for religious intolerance
#4
Send out the wife and children, follow as soon as possible. Mother might find rejoining her grandchildren a motivation to let go, especially if the alternative is moving in with one of the uncles.
The U.S. Congress held a hearing on China's forced repatriation of North Korean defectors on Monday. Lawmakers, activist groups and defectors urged Beijing to stop the practice and respect the refugees' human rights.
One mother and daughter who managed to flee the North after being forced back to their homeland four times testified before the Congressional-Executive Commission on China and spoke of the torture and dangers they faced when they were sent home.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/07/2012
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Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on neighboring Syria on Tuesday to allow the immediate opening of humanitarian aid corridors.
"Humanitarian aid corridors must immediately be opened," Erdogan told a parliamentary meeting of his AKP party, urging the international community to put pressure on Damascus ...Capital of the last overtly fascist regime in the world... to allow the delivery of relief supplies to civilians.
But the prime minister did not comment on the possible location for an aid corridor into Syria with whom Turkey shares a 910-kilometer border.
In the parliament, Erdogan accused his one-time ally Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Supressor of the Damascenes... of ramping up the violence against the Syrian opposition whom he saluted for their "honorable and determined resistance".
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#1
Turkey has a nice long border with Syria and a big army. What's stopping you from doing this yourself?
"We've always been at war with Eastasia"
[An Nahar] Free Patriotic Movement Despite its name a Christian party allied with Hizbullah, neither free nor particularly patriotic... leader MP Michel Aoun ...a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hizbullah... slammed on Tuesday the National Struggle Front's boycott of Monday's parliamentary session, accusing its leader MP Walid Jumblat of only seeking to ensure his own interests.
He said after the Change and Reform bloc's weekly meeting: "It seems that the MP was never part of the parliamentary majority."
The National Struggle Front decided to adopt a negative position, which it did not justify, explained the FPM leader.
Asked if the March 8 forces ... the opposition to the Mar. 14th movement, consisting of Hizbullah and its allies, so-called in commemoration of their Mar. 8th, 2006 demonstration of strength in Beirut ... still retains the parliamentary majority, Aoun responded: "We will see if we have the majority if Jumblat resigns from government."
On Monday, March 14 Those are the good guys, insofar as Leb has good guys... and National Struggle Front MPs boycotted a parliamentary session that was aimed at tackling the dispute over government extra-budgetary spending.
Jumblat told As Safir newspaper Monday that his bloc's decision to boycott lies in its insistence on finding a political solution to the dispute.
"This doesn't mean that we are no longer part of the ruling majority," he said about the March 8 forces.
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[Yemen Post] The Minister of Interior Abdul-Kader Qahtan has ordered to swiftly send two units of the Central Security with all their military equipment to the capital of Lahj, Al-Huta, to maintain security and stability, the Interior Ministry has said in its website.
The ministry said it will send the forces as it had information about the growth of Al-Qaeda in Al-Houta and its outskirts, pointing out that Commander of the Southern Region requested sending reinforcements to prevent the repeating of Abyan's events in other governorate.
Meanwhile, ...back at the wreckage, Captain Poindexter awoke groggily, his hand still stuck in the Ming vase... the life was paralyzed in the main road linking between Aden and Abyan due to the confrontations between military units of the Southern Region and Al-Qaeda operatives.
Media sources said that the military units launch wide-range strikes against terrorist groups connected to Al-Qaeda in Wadi Dafoos, Jaar and Zinjbar of Abyan governorate, pointing out that the military forces made remarkable progress against Al-Qaeda Death Eaters.
The ministry said security forces in Aden have put on high alert to encounter all possibilities.
Militants linked to al Qaeda had launched strikes on positions of the Yemeni military, killing more that 105 soldiers and controlled several military positions in some districts of the southern governorate of Abyan.
Local sources said the snuffies paraded military hardware seized in the attacks, pointing out that they captured 70 soldiers in their raids against the positions on Sunday.
Abyan governorate, the birthplace of the new Yemen president Abdu Rabo Mansour Hadi, has been the site of regular festivities between the army and Al-Qaeda Death Eaters, despite government claims to have cleansed the city from snuffies last September.
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[An Nahar] The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo headed by Prime Minister Adolphe Muzito has resigned more than three months after legislative elections, a front man said Tuesday.
Muzito "presented the resignation of his government" to President Joseph Kabila, said the outgoing government's front man Lambert Mende.
"We are at the end of this legislature so the president must have his hands free to create a new government," he added.
The vast central Africa country held presidential and legislative elections on November 28 following a campaign marred by violence and claims by opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi of foul play.
Results for the presidential ballot were released in late December and returned Kabila who has been in power since 2001.
The polls were widely criticized as chaotic and riven with irregularities. Kabila's inauguration was largely snubbed by the international community.
The results of the legislative ballot were only announced on February 1, giving Kabila's party and its allies control of parliament, albeit with a reduced majority.
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Rapid Action Battalionincarcerated two leaders and a member of the banned Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh The JMB is said to be the youth front of Al Mujahideen, the parent organization that began working toward establishing Bangladesh as an Islamic state in the mid 1990s which remains obscure even today. Other organizations, such as Jama'atul Jihad, JMB, Jagrata Mohammedan Janata Bangladesh (JMJB), Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HUJI), Hizbut Tawhid, Tawhidi Janata, Islami Jubo Shangha, Islami Shangha, Al Falah A'am Unnayan Shanstha and Shahadat-e al Hiqma are believed to be part of the Al Mujahideen network. The JMB at its peak was reported to contain at least 100,000 members, and an alleged 2,000-man suicide brigade, few of whom actually went kaboom!. JMB allegedly received financial assistance from individual donors in Kuwait, UAE, Bahrain, Pakistan, Soddy Arabia and Libya. Reports have claimed that funding of JMB by international NGOs like Kuwait based Society of the Revival of Islamic Heritage (RIHS) and Doulatul Kuwait, Soddy Arabia based Al Haramaine Islamic Institute and Rabita Al Alam Al Islami, Qatar Charitable Society and UAE-based Al Fuzaira and Khairul Ansar Al Khairia. The top leadership of JMB was captured in 2005 and hung in 2007, which pretty much shot their bolt. (JMB) outfit from different parts of the capital on Monday.
The elite force members also seized several JMB publications and leaflets from the possession of the arrestees, Major Walid Md Saifullah, deputy director of Rab's Media and Legal Wing, told The Daily Star.
The trio was identified as Mohammad Asaduzzaman alias Hazari, chief of JMB Khulna divisional unit, Md Wahab, head of JMB Savar zone and JMB member Anwar Hossain.
Asaduzzaman, a Majlish-e-Sura committee member of JMB, was incarcerated from Sayedabad, Wahab, a gayeri ehsar (part-time) member was picked up from Gabtoli while Anwar was incarcerated from Abdullahpur in Uttara, the Rab official said.
The arrestees were produced before a presser yesterday at Rab Headquarters of Uttara where Commander Mohammad Sohail, director of Rab's Media and Legal Wing said Wahab and Asaduzzaman were incarcerated on information squeezed out of Anwar.
He said all three were runaways in the series kaboom cases of 2005.
There are a total five cases against Asaduzzaman with several cop shoppes in Shatkhira. He is said to have led the August 17, 2005 kabooms at Shatkhira and was reportedly assigned by Sheikh Abdur Rahman.
Wahab is an accused in two cases filed with cop shoppes in Savar and Anwar is an accused in two cases.
Rab officials are interrogating the arrestees for more information.
Commander Sohail said they are trying to find out if any banned outfits like JMB are plotting any subversive activities ahead of BNP's March 12 political programme as Death Eaters try to take advantage of mass political events for such activities.
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[An Nahar] Attackers suspected to be from a rival ethnic group have stormed a remote area of Nigeria, killing at least 16 and burning homes in the latest flare-up of tensions in the region, police said Tuesday.
The violence broke out on Sunday when suspected members of the Fulani ethnic group descended on communities dominated by ethnic Tivs in Benue state in eastern Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation, a police front man said.
Local media put the corpse count as high as 30, but police confirmed 16 dead.
"The precise number of people that were killed were 16," police front man Ejike Alaribe told Agence La Belle France Presse. "The information is that they came and opened fired sporadically, started shooting everywhere and started burning houses."
He said police had been deployed and calm had returned to the area.
Violence has flared numerous times in the area, with the dispute believed to be primarily over access to land. The Fulanis, who are mainly Moslem, are mostly herdsmen, while Tivs in the area tend to be Christian farmers.
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(Ma'an) -- Israel has sent a delegation of 100 students to represent it in the annual Apartheid Week in South Africa, an Israeli newspaper reported Tuesday.
The report in Maariv noted one unusual participant in this year's delegation -- a 25-year-old Muslim Bushra Khalilieh, a member of Israel's Arab minority in the Galilee.
The newspaper said Khalilieh was attending university in one of South Africas university campuses. Khalilieh, who wears a hijab, came to Israel's defense during activities on campus.
"We toured Johannesburg and Cape Towns campuses and met local students," she said.
"We spoke with them about Israel and I told them about my personal issue as an Arab girl living in Israel. I feel Israel to be my hometown where theres equality and I have all my rights.
"When students hear us, they are surprised as there are some who do not even know there are Arabs living in Israel. I, as an Arab Israeli girl, love my country and believe that it seeks peace and respects all its citizens.
Khalilieh, a masters student at Tel Aviv University, stressed that she represents herself and not the position of the Israeli government.
I represent myself as a Muslim Arab who lives in Israel as a liberal and free girl unlike other Arab girls who live in Arab countries and do not have the human rights I have like freedom of expression and dignity.
She added: "There are people who are calling to boycott us and say that there is apartheid in Israel, but I try to show Israel as a country thats different from what they think."
House Speaker John Boehner pledges Congress will never let Jewish state stand alone.'
WASHINGTON Citing historical precedents in which the US and Israel did not see eye-to-eye and Israel acted according to its own perception of its interests, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told congressional leaders Tuesday that Israel viewed things differently than the US did at times, because it was not a global power and was more vulnerable.
Israeli sources said Netanyahu, meeting congressional leaders before flying back to Israel Tuesday evening, noted that David Ben-Gurion declared independence against the advice of the US; Levi Eshkol launched a preemptive attack in 1967, against Washingtons counsel; and Menachem Begin decided to bomb the Iraqi nuclear reactor in 1981 despite US opposition.
America has global interests, while Israel is on the ground and more vulnerable, Netanyahu said in reference to Iran, saying that this made for a very different perspective.
Netanyahu followed up his meeting at the White House Monday with meetings on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, as leaders of both parties pledged commitment to a robust policy to keep Iran from getting nuclear arms.
The US Congress will always stand by Israel, and the US Congress will never allow Israel to stand alone, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said Tuesday, standing alongside Netanyahu and the House leadership from both parties.
The looming threat of a nuclear Iran cannot be ignored, he said, warning that ambiguity could lead to serious miscalculation, which is what we collectively hope to avoid.
Boehner said that Israel and the US had to be clear with each other, and with the Iranians.
Now is the time to stand together, and we are here today to tell the prime minister that Congress intends to do so, he declared.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-California) echoed his comments, saying that rejecting containment of Iran and preventing them from having a nuclear weapon was in the interests of the US, Israel and the region.
Boehner and Pelosi spoke just prior to a luncheon meeting with Netanyahu along with other congressional leaders as the prime minister was winding down his two-day visit to Washington. Before meeting the congressional leadership, Netanyahu met with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Last week, he met with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper in Ottawa to enlist his support for action against Iran.
Netanyahu thanked the congressional leaders for their support and remarkable solidarity when it came to Israel.
I [will] go back to Israel feeling that we have great friends in Washington, he said.
National Security Council head Yaacov Amidror said that following the trip to Washington there was a need to return to Israel to digest what the Americans had said, and make decisions based on Israels interests and the premise upon which Israel was created that we are able to defend ourselves.
Amidror said that during Netanyahus meeting with Obama, the US president had made clear that containment of a nuclear Iran was not an option, something Amidror said was a message it was important for Tehran to understand.
During the meetings, Amidror said, several points were made clear: that Israel retains the freedom of action to defend itself as it sees fit, and that there is not only a cost for an attack on Iran, but also a very, very high price to the possibility of a nuclear Iran.
He added that the overall importance of the meeting with Obama was that both sides now better understood the positions of the other. In a relationship as important as the one between the US and Israel, he said, this type of understanding is critical in continuing the dialogue.
On Monday night, just after meeting Obama, Netanyahu delivered a passionate speech to some 13,000 delegates at the annual American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) Policy Conference, intoning the Never Again mantra and pledging that as prime minister of Israel, I will never let my people live in the shadow of annihilation.
Netanyahu adopted a tough tone toward the Islamic Republic, drawing on the tragic history of the Holocaust to argue that the world, and the Jewish people, could not accept a world in which the ayatollahs have atomic bombs.
We are determined to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, he said. We leave all options on the table.
And containment is definitely not an option. The Jewish state will not allow those seeking our destruction to possess the means to achieve that goal.
While forcefully asserting Israels right to defend itself, and spelling out the dangers Iran posed to the world, Netanyahu stopped well short of providing any indication of how or when Israel might act.
Every day, I open the papers and read about these red lines and these time lines, he said, in reference to weeks of speculation on differences between the US and Israel about how to deal with Iran. I read about what Israel has decided to do or what Israel might do. Well, Im not going to talk to you about what Israel will do or will not do. I never talk about that.
Instead, the speech focused on Israels historical imperative and justification to act if it felt the need to do so.
Netanyahu said he had warned against a nuclear Iran for 15 years, the international community had tried diplomacy to stop it for the last decade, and the world had imposed sanctions over the last six years but none of it had worked. While expressing appreciation for Obamas efforts to impose tougher sanctions, he said that Tehrans nuclear march goes on.
Weve waited for diplomacy to work, he said. Weve waited for sanctions to work. None of us can afford to wait much longer.
Netanyahu chastised unnamed commentators for saying that stopping Iran from obtaining a bomb was more dangerous then letting it have one.
They say that a military confrontation with Iran would undermine the efforts already under way, that it would be ineffective, and that it would provoke even more vindictive action by Iran, he said, adding that he had heard, and even read, those arguments before.
He then dramatically displayed copies of letters that the World Jewish Congress had exchanged with the US War Department at the height of the Holocaust in 1944 that implored the US government to bomb Auschwitz.
Such an operation could be executed only by diverting considerable air support essential to the success of our forces elsewhere, and in any case would be of such doubtful efficacy that it would not warrant the use of our resources, Netanyahu read from the letters.
And heres the most remarkable sentence of all, he added, quoting, Such an effort might provoke even more vindictive action by the Germans. Think about that: even more vindictive action than the Holocaust, he said. My friends, this is not 1944. The American government today is different.
You heard it in President Obamas speech yesterday. But heres my point. The Jewish people are also different. Today we have a state of our own. The purpose of the Jewish state is to secure the Jewish future. That is why Israel must always have the ability to defend itself, by itself, against any threat.
Netanyahu reiterated what he had said before meeting Obama: We must always remain the masters of our fate.
He made mention of the upcoming holiday of Purim, saying that in every generation there were those who wished to destroy the Jewish people.
But, he added, in this generation we are blessed to live in a time when there is a Jewish state capable of defending the Jewish people.
Continued on Page 49
#1
"Masters of our fate", hmmm -masters of the Palastinians too I guess, but thats another story. And as for never letting the "Jewish Stand alone". Hmmm again -No matter what they do?? Sabre rattling can back everyone in a corner. I get it, but the rhetoric leaves a lot of rough edges.
#2
Hi Cousin,
They have not always stood by us - we have 6 milion dead witnesses to that.
You have a very short memory span
If Obama cannot see the writing on the wall - we will show it to him by taking proper action.
Better have 8$ gallon fuel now than an atomic bomb on our head later.
I know Americans don't like this but I assure you that you will thank us for this later irrespective if we go it alone or with you.
My 2 cents
Posted by: Elder of Zion ||
03/07/2012 7:10
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#3
You show your ignorance, Northern Cousin. There's a large community of Holocaust survivors in Toronto. Ask them how many would have preferred to emigrate before the war instead of after...and how many more there would have been then, contributing to Canada's economy, not to mention volunteering for the Princess Pats, etc. it is for that reason that the Jews insisted on independence, rather than continuing as a protectorate of the British Empire.
As for the Palestinians, all that is is asked of them is that they stop trying to kill Israelis, which for some reason seems impossible for them to do. And that killing goes back to the time when it was the Jews were were called Palestinians, while those who today go by that appellation insisted they were simply Arabs, like the rest of their brothers.
[Yemen Post] The Yemeni army troops are all set to have a decisive battle with al-Qaeda in the southern war-torn province of Abyan, military sources said.
The army troops have taken fighting positions in and around Zinjubar, the thriving provincial capital of Abyan, and in the main road connecting Zinjubar to Aden, local military source told Yemen Post on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to release information to the press.
The forces have besieged Ja'ar, and Zinjuabar towns, al-Qaeda strongholds, and are poised to have a decisive, uphill battle in the few coming hours with the terrorists, said the source.
Military reinforcements arrived in the couple of days ago to Abyan coming from several provinces in the efforts to defeat al-Qaeda and eradicate its elements, who distributed Monday flies in Zinjuabar threatening army personnel with death and urging them to repent, local witnesses told Yemen Post.
This came two days after bully boyz have surprisingly stormed a military base in Lawder Valley of Abyan, leaving as many as 105 soldiers killed, wounding 40 others, and taking prisoner of 55. Not to mention the heavy weapons they have looted.
Yemeni President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi vowed on Monday to chase al-Qaeda to the very last hideout they might take shelter in, confirming that the government is unwaveringly resolved to defeat and eradicate the islamists.
Late on Monday, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ... sometimes described as The Liberatress of Libya and at other times as Mrs. Bill, never as Another John Foster Dulles ... has strongly condemned the terrorist attack, pledged support for newly-elected President Hadi and Yemeni people in the delicate transitional period, and offered her sincere condolences to those who lost loved ones in the recent attacks by al-Qaeda.
Yemen is a vital partner of the west in the war against terrorism with US providing the poor Gulf state with all the equipment, money and training required to fight the global terror network of al-Qaeda.
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[Dawn] Pakistain's upper house of parliament on Tuesday passed a unanimous resolution condemning the burning of Koran's at a US base in Afghanistan and demanding that those responsible be punished.
"This house demands investigation and punishment for those who were responsible for this deplorable act," the resolution said, passed four days after elections widened the main ruling party's representation in the Senate.
"NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions... will have to take steps to stop such irresponsible acts in the future," added the resolution, presented by Nayyar Bukhari, leader in the Senate from President Asif Ali President Ten Percent Zardari's ... sticky-fingered husband of the late Benazir Bhutto ... Pakistain People's Party.
Violent anti-US protests over the Koran burning ...One of the basic tenets of Islam is that once a Koran has been printed it is expected to last for all time, no matter how old, ratty, and smelly other, lesser holy books may become. Should it actually become necessary to put a Koran out of its misery there is a ritual that includes extensive charivari, featuring long drawn-wailing and head bonking, ritual wife beating, and the sacrifice of dozens of women's noses and pubic lips. When the actual disposal has been completed there is a prescribed period of celebratory gun sex with the expectation of a minimum of two hundred casualties. Should actual infidels dispose of a Koran, Islamic custom calls for three weeks of rioting and a minimum of three dozen dead, which is a holdover from the days of Moloch worship... killed 40 people in Afghanistan, plunging relations between NATO members and their Afghan allies to an all-time low and forcing US President Barack Obama The campaign's over, John... to apologise.
Protests also spilled over into neighbouring Pakistain, where the resolution was passed at a farewell session for the outgoing Senate.
Pakistain's parliament is tentatively expected to review the country's own troubled alliance with the United States later this month at a joint session that has been repeatedly delayed.
The review is considered key to getting Pak-US diplomatic relations onto a more solid footing after US air strikes killed 24 Pak soldiers on November 26 and brought the relationship to its lowest point in years.
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[An Nahar] Marada Movement the personal militia of Suleiman Franjieh, president of Leb at the outbreak of the civil war, currently Syrian toadies, but you never know when that could change... leader MP Suleiman Franjieh on Tuesday voiced concerns over a possible "dangerous thing being plotted against Leb under the slogans of humanitarian corridors and support for the (Syrian) opposition."
"Security-wise, some places in Leb are calm and other places are tense. The atmosphere is being prepared day after day and it is heading towards negativity, not positivity. Who sensed the presence of (the jihad boy group) Fatah al-Islam A Syrian-incubated al-Qaeda work-alike that they think can be turned off if no longer needed to keep the Leb pot stirred. before the eruption of its conflict with the army?" Franjieh said in an interview on OTV.
He warned that "a hundred" groups similar to Fatah al-Islam were being set up in northern Leb."
"Should the situation change in Syria and should it transit from a secular to a sectarian regime, Leb will be automatically affected, as well as the political map in Leb and the minorities in the region," Franjieh added.
The Christian leader, who is close to embattled Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Trampler of Homs... , expressed his fears that "Leb is heading towards a crisis."
"I wish Leb will always be stable, but let's observe what's being plotted outside: there is a sectarian conflict in the Levant that is taking the form of a Sunni-Shiite conflict. The war on Syria is being fought under the slogan of democracy and freedom, but its real aim is weakening the Iranian regime," Franjieh said.
He warned that "the battle will move to Leb" should the regime in Damascus ...Capital of the last remaining Baathist regime in the world... manage to survive.
"They spoke of toppling the regime in Syria, then they spoke of civil war. Should they find that ousting the regime is impossible, which is clearly the case, the battle will move to Leb, and therefore supporting the Syrian opposition with money and arms by some malicious people in Leb will lead to creating an atmosphere that will have its repercussions on Leb, not on Syria," Franjieh cautioned.
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[An Nahar] U.S. President Barack Obama I've now been in 57 states -- I think one left to go... Tuesday described the violence in Syria as "heartbreaking," but cautioned there was no simple solution, warning unilateral military action would be a mistake.
"What's happening in Syria is heartbreaking, and outrageous, and what you've seen is the international community mobilize against the Assad regime," Obama told a White House presser.
Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Trampler of Homs... has "lost legitimacy of his people. And the actions that he is now taking against his own people is inexcusable," the president told journalists.
"On the other hand, for us to take military action, unilaterally, as some have suggested, or to think that somehow there's some simple solution, I think is a mistake."
On Monday, top Republican Senator John Maverick McCain ... the Senator-for-Life from Arizona, former presidential candidate and even more former foot soldier in the Reagan Revolution... called for U.S. air strikes on Syrian forces to protect population centers and create safe havens for opponents of the regime.
"Time is running out," McCain said, with the United Nations ...what started out as a a diplomatic initiative, now trying to edge its way into legislative, judicial, and executive areas... reporting more than 7,500 people killed in Syria in the past year. He added "the only realistic way" to save civilian lives was "with foreign air power."
But Obama cautioned the situation was not the same as in Libya, when the United States used its air force to back a NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A cautionary tale of cost-benefit analysis.... no-fly zone.
In Libya, the United States "had the full cooperation of the region, Arab states, and we knew that we could execute very effectively in a relatively short period of time. This is a much more complicated situation," he said.
"Ultimately, this dictator will fall, as dictators in the past have fallen. But the notion that the way to solve every one of these problems is to deploy our military, you know, that hasn't been true in the past, and it won't be true now," Obama added.
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#1
But the notion that the way to solve every one of these problems is to deploy our military, you know, that hasn't been true in the past, and it won't be true now," Obama added.
Burning Obama effigies in the region having an impact on decision making... or is he watching a bit too much Ron Paul?
#4
CHINA DAILY FORUM > RUSSIA ACCUSES LIBYA OF TRAINING SYRIAN REBELS.
HMMMM, HMMMMM, so why Libyuh but NOT Syruh???
Fear not, Bashir, CHINA IS COMING, CHINA IS COMING - Beijing is sending an Envoy!
* SAME > CHINESE ENVOY: WEST LACKS WILL + VIABLE MILITARY PLAN IN SYRIA.
Must have learned the US Pentagon is gener agz mil intervention in Syria.
* SAME > RON PAUL CALLS FOR COMPLETE US MILITARY PULLOUT FROM MIDDLE EAST. Bring the Boyz home from AFRAG + elsewhere.
'Tis ruins US credibility, is too costly, + also unconstitutional.
* SAME > CAPTURE OF FRENCH COMMANDOS IN SYRIA MEAN BRITAIN + FRANCE TO COME UNDER [Terror] ATTACK?, in retaliation.
* FYI DAVE CAMERON = claims UK at risk from NUCLEAR TERRORISM, vee "dirty bomb(s)" as symbolized by Iran going Nukulaar [NucBombs + LR ICBMS], perhaps as soon as the 2012 London Olympics???
[Yemen Post] The alliance of the Joint Meeting Parties (JMP) has said there was a collision behind the massacre committed against the Yemeni military in Al-Kood and Dofas in Abyan.
More than 140 troops of the Yemeni military were killed last weekend in an attack supposedly carried out by the so-called Ansar Al-Sharia (supporters of Sharia), a terrorist group connected to Al-Qaeda in southern Yemen.
JMP condemned the terrorist attacks against the soldiers, describing them as brutal crimes and demanding President Abdu Rabo Mansour Hadi to swiftly investigate into the incident, and bring the responsible to justice.
Yemeni politicians and analysts accused the ousted Yemeni President President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh ... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, but he didn't invite Donna Summer to the inauguration and Blondie couldn't make it... of using Al-Qaeda to intimidate some Western countries with the aim of keeping his relatives in their military positions.
Ali Al-Jaradi, a political analyst, pointed out that Saleh with along with other military commanders operates to provide Al-Qaeda with weapons to hinder the achievement of the Yemeni revolution's demands.
Adnan Al-Odaini, a leader of the Islah Party, called the Yemeni parliament to assume its responsibilities towards the killing of the soldiers, stressing that military commanders were involved in providing Al-Qaeda with weapons and military equipment.
Yahya Jaber, a writer with interest in the Islamist groups, said Saleh attempts to persuade the global world that the stay of his relatives in power is a guarantee to defeat Al-Qaeda.
Yemeni analysts said that the Yemeni military did not use.
The US State Department condemned the killing of the Yemeni soldiers, expressing deepest condolences to the families, loved ones and friends of the victims.
In recent years, the United States has provided hundreds of millions of dollars-worth of equipment and training designed to help Yemen's Special Forces counter Al-Qaeda.
However, a woman is only as old as she admits... Yemeni analysts said these forces were used against peaceful protests and that they did not took part in fighting Al-Qaeda.
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[Magharebia] Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki recently issued a call to the Constituent Assembly to adopt a law incriminating takfir ...an adherent of takfir wal hijra, an offshoot of Salafism that regards everybody who doesn't agree with them as apostates who most be killed... , or accusations of apostasy.
"The use of this dangerous style in the expression of intellectual differences is a threat to peace among the citizens of one country and spreads sedition among them," Marzouki said in a February 25th statement.
The measure would help "preserve the co-existence of Tunisians", according to the president. He hinted at some groups that "deliberately" exercise takfir against others.
"No one has the right to lay such accusation against fellow citizens, given that it could lead to violence, which is repressible in principle," Marzouki wrote.
Most Tunisians welcomed the call.
"I wish a clause would be added in the constitution explicitly criminalising takfir, the pace of which has increased in recent times," specialist in Islamic groups Alia Allani told Magharebia.
According to Allani, "takfir is one of the ways of negating 'the other' politically and was used during the eras of decadence".
A number of attacks against journalists and intellectuals occurred in Tunis recently. Some of them were attributed to Salafists ...Salafists are ostentatiously devout Moslems who figure the ostentation of their piety gives them the right to tell others how to do it and to kill those who don't listen to them... . Al-Maghreb editor Zied Krichen, academics Abdelhalim Messaoudi and Hamadi Redissi were among victims of assaults. The interim government denounced the acts and vowed to prosecute the perpetrators.
Last month, Interior Minister Ali Larayedh announced that security forces had uncovered a terrorist cell seeking to "establish an Islamic emirate in Tunisia". He pointed out the terrorist threat was "still present in Tunisia" and called for addressing it with " education, religious advocacy, the media, culture, justice, security and by providing social and economic responses".
Political activist Abou El Alaa Ghawar agreed that the initiative "came belatedly" but supported the call.
Allegations of apostasy are foreign to Tunisian society and "marginalise the legitimate demands of Tunisian people", according to the activist.
"We hope the National Constituent Assembly takes on the responsibility to reinstate the debate on the issues of concern to public opinion in Tunisia, such as unemployment and the marginalisation of the interior regions," college student Tarek Messidi said.
"We have been experiencing this violence and assault on freedom of expression since January 14th, 2011, and the interim president did not comprehend it until it affected his party," human rights ...not to be confused with individual rights, mind you... activist Bochra Bel Haj Hmida told Magharebia.
"All that is needed now is a clear position on all sides, from the entire government and the Constituent Assembly, against this phenomenon and against the use of mosques for political propaganda and advocacy of violence, cursing, insulting and harming the people," she added. "Otherwise we can't build a democracy in Tunisia."
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For a map, clock here. For a map of Nuevo Leon, click here. For a map of Monterrey, click here
A total of 13 individuals were killed or found dead in ongoing drug and gang related violence in and around Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, including three armed suspects who were killed in an exchange of gunfire with a Mexican Army patrol in Mina municipality.
A Mexican Army detachment killed three armed suspects in a gun battle in Mina municipality in Monday. The unit was on patrol near El Rancho de San Gabriel when the unit came under small arms fire. Army return fire killed three. Presumably the remainder of the armed group which attacked the patrol escaped. Following the exchange of gunfire, soldiers seized seven rifles, 27 weapons magazines and 188 rounds of ammunition, communications and tactical gear, and four vehicles.
An army patrol discovered a mass grave containing at least four dead in an area seven kilometers east of Monterrey city Monday. The unit was dispatched based on an anonymous complaint to a location near the village of Santa Ana in Juarez municipality, about 300 meters from the road to San Roque near an abandoned farmhouse. The unit also detained an undisclosed number of individuals in the area.
Two unidentified men were shot to death in Monterrey Monday night. The victims were shot near the intersection of calles Pascual Ortiz Rubio and Narciso Mendoza in Niño Artillero colony. Reports say a group of armed suspects travelling aboard a sedan opened fire on the two victim as the victims were conversing on the street. One victim died immediately while the other attempted to flee the attack, but was caught by gunfire only a few meters away. AR-15 assault rifles were used in the attack. The shooters left about 100 spent .223 caliber cartridge casings at the scene. The area was a known area for drug dealing.
An unidentified man was shot to death and immolated on Monterrey's north side. The victim was shot while in his Volkswagen Golf sedan near on Avenida Luis Donaldo Colosio near Industrias en Ciudad Solidaridad barrio by Pesquería bridge on the city limits with Escobedo. A total of eight spent .223 cartridge casings were found at the scene just outside the vehicle. The victim's attackers then doused the vehicle with gasoline and set it afire before fleeing the scene.
One unidentified individual was shot to death and three others were abducted in Monterrey at around 1500 hrs Tuesday afternoon. The victims were all near the intersection of calles Jose Maria Bocanegra and Amado Nervo in the Industrial colony when an armed group fired on them, killing the victim.
A former Escobedo municipal police agent was shot and later died while receiving medical attention Tuesday morning in Escobedo. Benito Fraustro Pruneda, 39, who had been employed as a bakery truck delivery driver was shot outside his residence near the intersection of calles Del Lirio and Raul Caballero in Monterreal colony. The victim had just boarded his Ford ranger pickup truck for his morning commute when armed suspects travelling aboard a Chevrolet Impala fired on and killed him. Fraustro Pruneda is survived by his wife and three adult children.
A manager of a trucking business was shot to death Tuesday afternoon in Allende. Adolfo Tamez García, 38, was preparing to leave work for the day when armed suspects shot and killed him. The shooting took place on kilometer 1 of the Allende-Cadereyta highway. A rifle was found near the scene of the murder.
One of the three men who were shot and wounded in La Esperanza colony Sunday died of his wounds Tuesday. Jaime Enrique Calderon Mendoza, 25, and a mason by trade, died at Monterrey's University Hospital. The other two victims, Luis Fernando Rivera Gaytan, 28, and José Hernandez Zamarrón, 36, apparently remain under medical care.
Two unidentified Apodaca municipal police agents were shot and wounded, and another two were injured in a car crash Monday night. The police were in a three vehicle convoy rolling along the Mezquital-Santa Rosa highway when armed suspects travelling aboard four vehicles opened fire on the last vehicle, hitting two police agents. Police in the other two vehicles attempted to come to the aid of he wounded officers, but one of the drivers crashed his vehicles into a trailer. The shooters fled the scene aboard their vehicles towards Santo Domingo.
[Dawn] A deputy leader of the Pakistain Taliban, reportedly ousted at the weekend by a krazed killer council, still favors peace talks with the Pak government, he told Rooters on Tuesday.
Maulvi Faqir Mohammad, who commands Islamic fascistiof the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP), or Pakistain Taliban, in the tribal agency of Bajaur near the Afghan border, has reportedly been in talks with the government in Islamabad over a peace deal.
The TTP, allied with the Afghan Taliban movement fighting US-led NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions... forces in Afghanistan, is entrenched in the unruly areas along the porous frontier. It has pledged to overthrow the Pak government after the military started operations against the TTP.
Past peace pacts with the TTP have failed to bring stability, and merely gave the umbrella group time and space to consolidate, launch fresh attacks and impose their austere version of Islam on segments of the population.
The TTP leadership is split over new talks with the Pak government, with some hardliners rejecting them. Mohammad said, however, that he has never disobeyed the council.
"Whenever I've held talks with the government of Pakistain, I've held them with the permission and advice of the central leadership of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain," Mohammad said from Qazi's guesthouse an undisclosed location.
"When the Taliban in Afghanistan can talk to America, then why can't we talk to the government of Pakistain?"
Pakistain last month urged leaders of the Afghan Taliban movement to enter direct peace negotiations with Kabul, a possible sign that Islamabad is stepping up support for reconciliation in neighbouring Afghanistan.
A council which reportedly included TTP chief Hakimullah Mehsud, ousted Mohammad, but he said he had "no information on this council, its members, or where its meeting was held."
"Except for Ehsanullah Ehsan, who contacted the media, no important Taliban leader has contacted me." Ehsanullah is the front man for the TTP and announced the demotion.
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[An Nahar] Syrian forces pounded rebel-held towns Tuesday and blasted a bridge used by refugees to escape to Leb, killing 35 people across the country, monitors said.
Twenty-three people were killed in the central province of Homs, seven in the southern province of Daraa, four in the northwestern province of Idlib and one in Damascus ...Capital of the last remaining Baathist regime in the world... province, the Local Coordination Committees, the main activist group spurring protests on the ground, said.
Regime troops launched a major assault on Herak, a town in the southern province of Daraa, a monitoring group said.
A girl was rubbed out there by a sniper and five soldiers were killed in festivities with the rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA), the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
"Large military forces, including tanks and armored troop carriers, launched an assault on Herak," the Britannia-based monitoring group added, citing residents.
And in Maaret al-Numan, a town in the northwestern province of Idlib, a 23-year-old man was rubbed out by sniper fire, according to the Observatory. Security forces also killed two others in Idlib.
After fleeing the battered Baba Amr district in the flashpoint central city of Homs, the rebels regrouped in nearby Rastan, which the Observatory and activists said came under artillery fire on Sunday and Monday.
Rastan, bombed intermittently since February 5, is located on the motorway linking Damascus to northern Syria.
Qusayr, another town in Homs province that has fallen mainly under rebel control, was also targeted by heavy bombardment, according to Anas Abu Ali, an official with the FSA.
Observatory chief Rami Abdul Rahman told Agence La Belle France Presse in Beirut that Syrian forces bombed a bridge used to evacuate the maimed and refugees to Leb from Homs province.
The violence comes amid a flurry of diplomatic initiatives launched separately by the Arab League ...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing... , the United Nations ...a formerly good idea gone bad... , Russia and China -- all aimed at ending the year-long tumult in Syria.
The International Committee of the Red Thingy, meanwhile, was negotiating with Syria authorities for a fourth day to be allowed to deliver aid and evacuate the maimed from Baba Amr.
Rebel fighters retreated from Baba Amr last Thursday in the face of a ground assault by Syrian forces after almost a month of shelling, with fleeing residents giving terrifying accounts of atrocities committed by government troops.
The ICRC and the Syrian Arab Red Islamic Thingy Society have since sought in vain permission to enter the Homs district with a seven-truck aid convoy.
With the convoy stalled, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged the international community on Tuesday to put pressure on Damascus to allow the delivery of relief supplies to civilians.
In New York, U.N. humanitarian chief Valerie Amos said she had been granted permission by Damascus to go to Syria from Wednesday to Friday.
The aim of the visit, she said, would be "to urge all parties to allow unhindered access for humanitarian relief workers so that they can evacuate the maimed and deliver essential supplies."
The violence in Homs province has sent more than 1,500 Syrian refugees, mainly women and kiddies, fleeing across the border into Leb in the past few days, U.N. and Lebanese officials said.
With diplomatic efforts so far stymied, U.S. Senator John Maverick McCain ... the Senator-for-Life from Arizona, former presidential candidate and even more former foot soldier in the Reagan Revolution... , an influential Republican, called on Monday for American air strikes on Syrian forces to protect population centers and create safe havens.
At the request of the Syrian opposition, he said "the United States should lead an international effort to protect key population centers in Syria, especially in the north, through air strikes on Assad's forces."
On Wednesday, former U.N. chief Kofi Annan is to launch a mission aimed at Assad to silence the guns blamed for thousands of deaths since anti-regime protests broke out last March.
He is to hold talks with Arab leaders in Cairo before he heads to the Syrian capital on Saturday as joint special envoy for the United Nations and the 22-member Arab League.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, meanwhile, said he was to meet his Arab counterparts on Saturday in Cairo, where the League has its headquarters, to discuss Moscow's ally Syria.
China's former ambassador to Damascus, Li Huaxin, is due in Syria on Wednesday for meetings with the government and other parties.
La Belle France, meanwhile, was to close its Damascus embassy on Tuesday, the foreign ministry said, after President Nicolas Sarkozy ...23rd and current President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra. Sarkozy is married to singer-songwriter Carla Bruni, who has a really nice birthday suit... announced the move to protest the Syrian regime's bloody crackdown.
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[An Nahar] Syria is determined to press on with reforms and to fight "terrorism," Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Despoiler of Deraa... , who has been battling a one-year uprising against his regime, said on Tuesday.
"The Syrian people, who have in the past managed to crush foreign plots ... have again proven their capacity to defend the nation and to build a new Syria through their determination to pursue reforms along with the fight against foreign-backed terrorism," Assad said, quoted by state news agency SANA.
Assad, speaking during a meeting with a delegation from the Ukrainian parliament, said his country was clearly being targeted by outside forces seeking to undermine his regime.
"Any country draws its strength from the backing of its people," he said.
The 46-year-old president has consistently blamed the one-year revolt threatening his regime on foreign-backed "terrorist gangs".
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[Dawn] THE removal of Maulvi Faqir Mohammad from his deputy-commander position in the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain may indicate a weakened organization, but by no means a defeated one. Faqir Mohammad was reportedly involved in talks with the state, including on cross-border attacks from Afghanistan when these became a recurring problem last year. The fact that those attacks have now waned and the theory that the TTP has demoted such a senior commander for participating in talks reflect gains for the Pak state. But it's unclear whether he will now create problems for the organization or acquiesce to their demands, and the centre of TTP power does not lie in his stronghold of Bajaur. According to experts the development is unlikely to become a major setback for the organization.
The assessment reflects a broader scepticism about claims that the back of Fata-based militancy has been broken. While the operational capability and structure of the TTP and other thug groups have weakened, they remain a threat to the lives of both troops and civilians. Militants are battling security forces in parts of Orakzai, Khyber and Kurram agencies. In the latter two, local pie fights and sectarian rivalries continue to create security problems in which the state has gotten embroiled; a major attack on Shia civilians in Parachinar last month and a fierce clash with troops in Khyber's Tirah Valley last week indicate that they remain capable of carrying out significant attacks. Even in agencies not currently seeing operations, smaller-scale incidents such as roadside kabooms are still taking place and cut-throats retain bases off the main roads in less accessible areas. And while the TTP has weakened due to internal rivalries, splintering remains less of a threat than commonly assumed.
Faqir Mohammad's demotion and the defection last year of Fazal Saeed represent differences with important commanders. So far, though, the organization has shown an ability to retain enough cohesion to avoid falling apart completely despite rivalries over the years. Above all, the military is still avoiding going into North Wazoo, where cut-throats of all stripes are living in refuge.
It's true that actions against the TTP and other Fata-based cut-throats have caused considerable damage. Military operations in most tribal agencies have driven cut-throats away from their strongholds and drone attacks have helped kill and scatter operatives. Reports show that in Pakistain as a whole suicide kabooms and other instances of terrorism have gone down over the last two years. New attempts at dialogue are reportedly being made, hopefully informed by the failures of earlier attempts. But the process is a slow one, and it is too soon to call victory just yet.
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Salah Bardawil says Hamas 'won't do Iran's bidding in any war'; adds group will not escalate situation with Israel simply at Tehran's request
Interesting. Could it be that Iran no longer appears to certain parties to be the strong horse?
Perhaps Benji has communicated certain facts on the ground to Hamas...
Hamas will not automatically side with Iran in case of a military conflict with Israel, the Guardian reported Tuesday.
Senior Politburo member in Gaza Strip Salah Bardawil said that Hamas "will not do Iran's bidding in any war with Israel, and will not launch rockets at Israel at Tehran's request."
"If there is a war between two powers, Hamas will not be part of such a war," Bardawil was quoted as saying. Hamas is not part of military alliances in the region. Our strategy is to defend our rights."
Analysts said that this somewhat surprising stance illustrates the rift between Hamas and Iran -- its key financial patron; as well as Gaza-rulers' realignment with Egypt's new ruling party, the Muslim Brotherhood.
A second, anonymous Hamas source, told the British newspaper that the group "will not get involved in any war between Iran and Israel."
Defense analysts speculate that in the event of a war between Jerusalem and Tehran, the latter will task its proxies in the region -- Hamas and Hezbollah -- with firing rockets at Israel.
However, Bardawil insisted that "Hamas has never given complete loyalty to Tehran."
Bardawil also spoke about the situation in Syria. Hamas has diminished its presence in Damascus over the escalating violence in the country, with Hamas Politburo Chief Khaled Mashaal relocating to Qatart.
According to Bardawil, Hamas' office in Damascus "is still open and functioning, but it is empty. We still haven't found another country to move our office to."
Politburo members are now scattered between Jordan, Qatar and Egypt.
#1
I suspect Hamas is worried Bibi will end the Palestinian problem once and for all (forced movement of populations is most likely) if the Pals go to war with Israel during war with Israel.
Either that or they are hoping the Israeli's will aim a few less missiles there way for the time they do attack.
[Dawn] The number of soldiers killed in a weekend assault by Al-Qaeda bully boyz on an army camp in Yemen's restive Abyan province has risen to 185, a military official said Tuesday following the discovery of more bodies.
"The toll has risen to 185 soldiers killed" in the Sunday attack on a military camp in Kud, just south of the main city of Zinjibar, the official said, adding that more bodies have been recovered from a nearby desert area.
Officials and medics have said scores of soldiers and Al-Qaeda gunnies were maimed in the assault, while at least 25 attackers died.
Medical officials in the area said the poor services in local hospitals accounted for the death of many soldiers who suffered serious wounds but could have survived had they been given better medical care.
The corpse count among the troops is believed to be the highest on record in battles fought by the army against al Qaeda thugs, who have been emboldened by the political turmoil roiling the impoverished Arab nation for more than a year.
The thugs' attack appeared to be al Qaeda's response to a pledge by Yemen's newly inaugurated President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi to fight the Yemeni branch of the terror network, believed to be the world's most active.
Hadi repeated that pledge on Monday during talks with a visiting British diplomat.
"The confrontation will continue until we are rid of the last terrorist, whether in Abyan or elsewhere," local Yemeni media quoted him as saying.
The military officials said the thugs' surprise attack outside Abyan's lovely provincial capital Zinjibar also led to the capture of 55 soldiers.
The captives were paraded on the streets of Jaar, a nearby town that, like Zinjibar, has been under al-Qaeda's control for about a year.
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[An Nahar] Syrian authorities said on Tuesday they had seized what appeared to be an "Israeli-like reconnaissance plane" in an arms factory in the Baba Amr area of Homs, the official SANA news agency reported.
"In Baba Amr, the competent authorities uncovered a factory for weapons used by forces of Evil to prepare explosives and hand-made rockets to be launched indiscriminately against houses," the agency said.
"The authorities also discovered a reconnaissance plane similar to the ones used by Israel, cameras, anti-tank grenades and tunnels used by the forces of Evil to smuggle weapons."
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#1
A single line please, ready your photographs. Your photographs please.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has only two more years to live, a leaked email published by WikiLeaks claimed. According to the email, Erdogan is suffering from terminal cancer.
Turkish sources, including the alleged source of the information, denied the information, claiming that the email was a complete lie.
2. More likely than the army attempting to reassert control.
3. What do you think?
Pappy, re #3 either I started drinking to early or didn't drink enough.
my guess is #2 which could turn into a real BIG problem given the situations in Greece & Iraq. If they get aggresive I'd expect more of a move on Cyprus and the PKK with a play on Israel's Med development.
#7
I suspect Turkey's future will hinge on how Iran survives the next year or so. If the Islamists are put down like dogs Turkey may become less militant Islamist as well. If Iran is seen to win Turkey will go full nutter.
[Dawn] Five people, including a woman, were maimed when the bus they were travelling in came under fire in a Malir locality on Monday, police said.
The Awami National Party, however, put the number of maimed at seven and claimed that all of them were its supporters, who were returning home from the welcome rally of Senator-elect Shahi Syed.
SSP East Khadim Rind said that five persons, including a woman, were maimed in the firing near Kala Board.
He said that participants in the rally were firing into the air and at Kala Board they exchanged gunfire with unknown persons. Five persons were maimed in crossfire.
The SSP said that the maimed woman was a passer-by.
The ANP took out a rally towards Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It may be the largest city in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... airport to receive Shahi Syed, who was returning to the city after being elected senator by the Khyber Pukhtunkhwa Assembly, on Monday.
Since afternoon, the traffic police had been diverting the Sharea Faisal-bound traffic coming from different directions, but despite the diversions, serious traffic jams were witnessed on different portions of the thoroughfare.
Due to the traffic jams, several domestic and international flights were also delayed.
The participants in the rally were on cycle of violences, buses and cars.
Heavy celebratory firing was in evidence during the rally, which almost paralysed Sharea Faisal traffic causing hardship to road users.
All the petrol and CNG stations along Sharea Faisal had been shut since noon. Similarly some fuel stations located in Malir and on Rashid Minhas Road had also closed their premises.
However, we can't all be heroes. Somebody has to sit on the curb and applaud when they go by... the fuel stations resumed their normal operation after the rally passed through Sharea Faisal.
After reaching near Defence Mor on Korangi Road, Shahi Syed addressed the rally participants.
"We are peace-loving people and have fought against the enemies of the peace in the city and will continue to do so and that no single organization can keep its control over the city," said Mr Syed.
He urged the people to support the ANP to end the reign of terror in the city.
He demanded a high-level inquiry into all incidents of assassination to trace the culprits. He also advised Baba Haider Zaman of the Hazara Sooba Tehrik to launch a movement for a province in Khyber Pukhtunkhwa and not in Bloody Karachi.
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Czech public television is reporting that police have arrested an Iranian national suspected of trying to buy weapons with the goal of transporting them to Iran.
The broadcaster, which did not name its sources, says the man was trying to buy 500 M4 rifles in the Czech capital. It says exports of such weapons to Iran are banned under an international embargo.
#1
Our Country Team, ie, defence attaché and LEGAT fellows in Prague not tuned it? Not interested in a possible.... "Fast and Furious" style dealer sample shipment tracking effort?
Details a bit sparse, but sounds like a missed intelligence exploitation opportunity.
...although the probability, at whatever confidence level you like, is considerably closer to zero than one.
US President Barack Obama said at a Super Tuesday news conference that he believes a window of opportunity in which diplomatic means with Iran can be achieved does exist. He said Israeli officials also think a diplomatic solution is plausible.
Obama said that Iran is deeply affected by the sanctions used against it and that the united world stands in front of an isolated Iran. In regards to Iran acquiring nuclear weapons, Obama said that he is doing all he can along with Israel to prevent Iran from achieving its goal.
Anybody want to buy a beautiful bridge in Brooklyn? It was owned by a dear little old lady who only went to church in Sundays...
#1
Should create a map that divides Iran up by ethnic groups. I've read a lot of no Persians are unhappy with the current Iranian borders. Carve out a Baluchistan, Shia Arabistan, Kurd East and Aberbejwhatever. Then support any uprisings with extensive air power for humanitarian reasons.
If Israel is smart (and under Bibi I believe they are) they will prepare to solve the Hezbollah and Hamas problems once and for all when war comes with plans for dislocating Palestinians if things really get bad. Gotta think long term. Syria and Iran might end but Egypt is also becoming an enemy again after all.
#2
RJ
I agree with every word.
there is only one mistake here. Egypt is not "becoming" an enemy. It is already a serious enemy who intentionally turned the Sinai peninsula into a no man's land with Al Kaida and Beduin terrorists reigning supreme and freely moving everywhere.
The only reason Egypt does not attack Israel is their internal political instability and economical problems.
I expect them to attack us at the first convenient opportunity they have.
Posted by: Elder of Zion ||
03/07/2012 11:42
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#3
Chamberlain: Diplmatic solution with Gefrmany plausible.
A suicide bomber attacked near a police station in Russia's southern republic of Dagestan Tuesday, killing at least four, state-owned news agency RIA Novosti reported.
Police sources told RIA Novosti that the suicide bomber was a woman, but Dagestan Interior Ministry officials could not confirm that information.
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#1
Happy Birthday/Daily Gam Shot
Laura Prepon aka Donna Pinciotti in "That '70s Show (TV Series 19982006)" aka Karla Homolka in "Karla (2006)" aka Hannah Daniels in "October Road (TV Series 20072008)" aka Reanna in "Slackers (2002)" aka Kim in "Come Early Morning (2006)" aka Holly in "Lay the Favorite (2012)" aka Chelsea Newman in "Are You There, Chelsea? (TV Series 2011)" (age 32)
Because nothing says pushing back against Islamist colonizers like shoving out the Jews.
Francois Fillon suggests Muslims, Jews give up ritual slaughter as President Sarkozy steps up their efforts to woo far-right voters
France's prime minister urged Muslims and Jews to consider scrapping their halal and kosher slaughter laws on Monday as President Nicolas Sarkozy and his allies stepped up their efforts to woo far-right voters.
Prime Minister Francois Fillon made the suggestion after Sarkozy called at the weekend for butchers to clearly label meat slaughtered according to religious laws and his allies warned immigrants might impose halal meat on French schoolchildren.
Fillon and other conservative leaders linked this tough stand on ritually prepared meat to issues such as immigration and French identity that the far-right National Front uses to tap into resentment against Europe's largest Muslim minority.
"Religions should think about keeping traditions that don't have much in common with today's state of science, technology and health problems," Fillon told Europe 1 radio while discussing the two-round presidential election ending May 6.
The "ancestral traditions" of ritual slaughter were justified for hygienic reasons in the past but were now outdated, he said. "We live in a modern society."
Mohammad Moussaoui, head of France's Muslim Council, said ritual slaughter was no more painful than modern methods and labelling meat as being prepared "without stunning" would feed resentment against the two minority religions using it.
"It will stigmatize Muslims and Jews as people who don't respect the interests of animals," he said. "That will raise tensions in society."
National Front leader Martine Le Pen launched the debate last month saying abattoirs around Paris only slaughtered meat the Muslim way. It turned out they mostly supplied local Muslim butchers and most meat sold in Paris came from further away.
The issue caught hold and Sarkozy's campaign countered with ever tougher statements on immigration and ringing defenses of French civilization and secularism - code words implying some of the five million Muslims here did not share these values.
Interior Minister Claude Gueant warned last week that giving immigrants the right to vote in municipal elections, as the Socialist want, would lead to Muslims forming majorities on local councils and imposing halal meat in school canteens.
"This is quite possible, given the proportion of foreigners in some areas," he said when challenged on RTL radio on Monday.
Fillon seconded this view but Sarkozy campaign spokeswoman Natalie Kosciusko-Morizet declined to support it.
Sarkozy's former Justice Minister Rachida Dati, a Muslim, told the daily Le Figaro such comments "mix up French Muslims and foreigners. French Muslims are citizens like any other."
Hollande's spokesman Pierre Moscovici said Sarkozy "is branding French Muslims in a sly way and echoing the National Front's issues."
The debate has also highlighted little-known aspects of the meat industry in France, where producers are mostly opposed to efforts by consumer groups to divulge their slaughter methods.
Halal and kosher slaughter demand that cattle are conscious before their throats are slit and blood drained. Non-religious butchers stun the animal first, saying this lessens pain.
Abattoir operators say killing cattle by both methods in the same slaughterhouse is too costly, so some use only the halal method because they can sell the meat to both Muslim butchers and supermarket chains for the general public.
Clearly labelling meat as "stunned" or "not stunned" would reveal how much religiously prepared food is being sold.
"Every time shoppers go to the meat counter, they'll see meat described as 'not stunned'," Moussaoui said. "That will look as if there was cruelty towards these animals."
If shoppers shun this meat, kosher beef could become very expensive because butchers for the Jewish minority -- at 600,000 the largest in Europe -- offset some of their costs by selling the expensive hind cuts of beef to non-kosher distributors.
Kashrut, or Jewish dietary laws, bans meat that touches the sciatic nerve along the back, buttocks and thighs of mammals. If kosher butchers cannot sell sirloin and filet mignon steaks to non-kosher shops, they will lose a key part of their business.
#1
We're going to see agitation for this in the United States. After all, San Francisco already tried to ban the B'rit Milah, and the Federal Government has claimed the power to force religious institutions and religious people to act against their religions' doctrines.
First the Catholics, then the Jews.
Posted by: Eric Jablow ||
03/07/2012 6:35
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#2
The situation is far worse than it sounds because the US has long recognized a whole bunch of Jewish religious-legal practices, which it was able to do because they were not offensive or oppressive as far as the rest of society is concerned.
This includes things such as recognizing Jewish law courts just for Jews; special what could be called "Sabbath zones" marked by publicly placed boundaries, in which Jews could perform *some* mild labor during their Sabbath (by religious exemption), and many other courtesies.
And yet today, even within Judaism there is a huge brawl by animal-rights and vegan Jews against religious animal slaughter.
Yet all of this is contrasted with Muslim and other religious practices, such as Santeria and Voodoo, which other Americans find deeply offensive.
They argue in court that religions have to be treated the same, even if the practices of one religion are deeply offensive to the public. "Either we can be offensive, or the Jews can't have any special exemptions."
I remember legal disputes over Eruvim, those Sabbath zones you mentioned. Thanks for reminding me.
For the uninitiated, the Talmudic rules about how far one may travel and how much one can carry on the Sabbath had always been different for towns versus walled cities. An Eruv is an ancient legal fiction where the authorities can encircle a populated area with a cord, and do a ritual wherever the cord has to be broken to turn that street into a 'gate', to turn that area into the religious equivalent of a walled city.
Shall we rework Martin Niemöller's quotation?
Posted by: Eric Jablow ||
03/07/2012 8:35
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#4
Hebrew National hot dogs (Costco) are the only ones I buy anymore. Superior
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/07/2012 17:04
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#5
We're going to see agitation for this in the United States
Laws against kosher slaughter have passed in quite a few Western European countries, Eric. Now they are going for laws banning the import of kosher meat slaughtered elsewhere.
[An Nahar] Syrian regime forces bombed on Tuesday a bridge used by refugees fleeing to Leb from the central province of Homs, cutting off a key escape route to evacuate the maimed, a monitoring group said.
"Regime forces on Tuesday bombarded a bridge near Qusayr, in Homs province, which is used by refugees and the maimed fleeing to Leb," Rami Abdel Rahman, of the Britannia-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told Agence La Belle France Presse.
Hadi Abdallah, a Syrian activist in Homs, said the bridge was the main route used to evacuate the maimed from the battered city, which has suffered a relentless onslaught by regime forces.
"The bridge was hit by artillery shells," said Abdallah, reached by telephone from Beirut. "It can no longer be used.
"It was the main route used to transport the maimed," he added.
Around 2,000 Syrians, mainly women and kiddies, have crossed into Leb in recent days, fleeing the violence in Homs, U.N. and local officials said.
Dana Suleiman, of the United Nations ...an idea whose time has gone... refugee agency, told AFP that 170 families had sought refuge in the border Lebanese village of el-Fakha, located in the eastern Bekaa valley, and 50 others were in the nearby town of Arsal.
"We are trying to verify whether there are additional people in other areas and how many have returned to Syria," Suleiman said.
She said the UNHCR, in cooperation with local non-governmental organizations, was sending food, blankets and other aid to the refugees.
Ahmed Moussa, a front man for the Committee of Syrian Refugees in Leb, said some 65 families had arrived in northern Leb on Monday, some of them having moved on from the Bekaa.
He said the majority were from Homs and Qusayr.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/07/2012
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
In judgements that cut across a growing international consensus, experts at London's leading defence think-tank said yesterday that, in their view, there would be no Israeli -- or US -- attack on Iran before the end of the year.
Rep. Dennis Kucinich, who won a national following among liberals in two colorful but unsuccessful runs for president, was defeated by fellow Ohio Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur, leaving his political future in question.
The newly-appointed governor of And Waheed Ali Rasheed has said he has plans to protect the government facilities and protect the proprieties of people.
Asif Ali 
Mulayam Singh Yadav's Samajwadi Party swept to power jolting Congress party and BJP in Uttar Pradesh assembly polls, the results of which are a setback to Rahul Gandhi, who acknowledged the "defeat".
FOREIGN Minister Rabbani Khar's recent statement to journalists rubbishing, in the words of one journalist, the concept of 'strategic depth' and maintaining that if this were being sought it could not be obtained militarily or through proxy war but only by "building trust with the Afghan state", is welcome.
US President 
IT was supposed to be easy; it had been spelled out in lengthy treatises and frequent speeches in the heady, feverish years leading up to 1947.
Preetam Das is a good doctor with a hospital job and a thriving private clinic, yet all he thinks about is leaving Pakistain, terrified about a rise in killings and kidnappings targeting Hindus.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on neighboring Syria on Tuesday to allow the immediate opening of humanitarian aid corridors.
Michel Aoun
[Yemen Post] The Minister of Interior Abdul-Kader Qahtan has ordered to swiftly send two units of the Central Security with all their military equipment to the capital of Lahj, Al-Huta, to maintain security and stability, the Interior Ministry has said in its website.
Hillary Clinton
[Dawn] Pakistain's upper house of parliament on Tuesday passed a unanimous resolution condemning the burning of Koran's at a US base in Afghanistan and demanding that those responsible be punished.
...One of the basic tenets of Islam is that once a Koran has been printed it is expected to last for all time, no matter how old, ratty, and smelly other, lesser holy books may become. Should it actually become necessary to put a Koran out of its misery there is a ritual that includes extensive charivari, featuring long drawn-wailing and head bonking, ritual wife beating, and the sacrifice of dozens of women's noses and pubic lips. When the actual disposal has been completed there is a prescribed period of celebratory gun sex with the expectation of a minimum of two hundred casualties. Should actual infidels dispose of a Koran, Islamic custom calls for three weeks of rioting and a minimum of three dozen dead, which is a holdover from the days of Moloch worship...
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
[An Nahar] U.S. President 
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
John 
[Dawn] A deputy leader of the Pakistain Taliban, reportedly ousted at the weekend by a
[An Nahar] Syrian forces pounded rebel-held towns Tuesday and blasted a bridge used by refugees to escape to 
[Dawn] THE removal of Maulvi Faqir Mohammad from his deputy-commander position in the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain may indicate a weakened organization, but by no means a defeated one. Faqir Mohammad was reportedly involved in talks with the state, including on cross-border attacks from Afghanistan when these became a recurring problem last year. The fact that those attacks have now waned and the theory that the TTP has demoted such a senior commander for participating in talks reflect gains for the Pak state. But it's unclear whether he will now create problems for the organization or acquiesce to their demands, and the centre of TTP power does not lie in his stronghold of Bajaur. According to experts the development is unlikely to become a major setback for the organization.
Khyber's Tirah Valley last week indicate that they remain capable of carrying out significant attacks. Even in agencies not currently seeing operations, smaller-scale incidents such as roadside 
[Dawn] The number of soldiers killed in a weekend assault by Al-Qaeda 
[Dawn] Five people, including a woman, were 
