#2
Here is a link, gromky, though it may not be the one tipper intended.
The International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) has decided unanimously today to declare that Greek's bond swap constitutes a "credit event" and that "the right of all holders of the affected Bonds to receive payments has been reduced," according to release published by the ASDA late Friday.
#3
Or perhaps this Forbes article was meant, which makes things even more interesting:
UPDATE 2 (2:48 p.m.): ISDA has now declared that Greeces restructuring does represent a default, meaning credit default swaps will trigger. Read the statement here.
#6
Link goes where? A summary would be nice, too.
Gromky, my summary is that Greece is now officially for sale to the highest bidder, probably the US, but they will have to be quick to beat China. Ever since Israel discovered an deep sea oilfield off its shoreline, other countries in the Mediterranean have also started searching. It appears there is bonanza of oil and gas to be had. But you can't do much if you're broke, hence Greece will have to invite a sugar daddy in, to keep them in the style to which they have become accustomed.
#7
More likely they'll be able to hand over the oilfields for someone else to keep themselves in the style to which the Greeks had formerly been accustomed.
Israel killed two militants in the Gaza Strip on Friday after rockets were fired at the Jewish state, Hamas officials said.
The reported attack came hours after Israel's military said it had killed two other militant leaders in an air strike. The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the new report.
AoS note: when citing a source, use the original news source and not a blog. Thank you.
Iraqi activists sounded the bell over the killing of dozens of teenagers by religious police for having "emo" haircuts.
Activists told the Cairo-based al-Akhbar daily that at least 90 Iraqi teenagers with "emo" appearances have been stoned to death by the Moral Police in the country in the past month. The violent crackdown against "emo" Iraqi teenagers came after the Iraqi interior ministry declared them as "devil worshippers."
"The 'Emo phenomenon' or devil worshiping is being probed by the Moral Police who have the approval to eliminate it as soon as possible since it's detrimentally affecting the society and becoming a danger," a statement by the Interior Ministry said.
"They wear strange, tight clothes that have pictures on them such as skulls and use stationery that are shaped as skulls. They also wear rings on their noses and tongues, and do other strange activities," the statement added.
The statement said that Iraq's Moral Police was granted approval by the Ministry of Education to enter Baghdad schools and pinpoint students with Western appearances.
#3
Sad, but this is reported elsewhere. Apparently the head of the Interior Ministry came out to condemn what the Emo's do as "devil worship", so Shiite extremists have taken to brutally murdering them.
Sistani has condemned it as terrorism, so at least somebody is acting like an adult. I just wish that somebody would brutally murder the murderers back.
#4
Just wonderin. Wonderin why we would sacrifice more US lives to protect the right for Neanderthals (sorry to insult you, GEICO guy) to another muso- autocracy?
#3
Steve,
I'm disappointed that the post was deleted. I wanted to see the comments our Rantburger's came up with. I thought Mr. Pollak was calm cool and collected while whooping Soledad's @ss. I think we need to see more of these, not less.
#4
Rob06: a fair point, but if we did that we'd end up just being another Ace of Spades (not that there's anything wrong with Ace). We do want to stay some focused on the WoT.
CF: no problem.
Gromky: remember, it's okay when Fred does it. Then we're illustrating the fatuous, shallow nature of the MSM.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/09/2012 17:51
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#5
I did like that snark that Houston left nothing in her will to her ex-husband, and that her daughter should be set for a while with the house, furniture, and 50 kilos of powder cocaine.
The Mossad has warned Turkey that Israel's diplomatic missions in the country could be in danger of Iranian "kabooms," Turkish daily Hurriyet reported on Wednesday, citing a story aired on the NTV news channel.
According to the report, the Israeli intelligence agency sent a letter to its Turkish counterpart warning of a plot by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Quds Force to attack Israeli targets on Turkish soil.
Four individuals have already entered Turkey from Iran and are in possession of weapons and materials to be used in the attacks, the report added.
According to Hurriyet, Turkish intelligence sources neither confirmed nor denied the NTV report.
Where Soledad O'Brien (an alledged journalist) and her guests try to recast the BreitBard Vetting Obama video as a 'so what'. Credit to Mr. Pollak for staying cool after basically being called a liar, racist and being openly laughed at by this alledged journalist and her guests.
Completely over O'Brien's head is what he said about the story being about 'what is happening right now - on this show.' where the media refused to vett Obama in '08 and covered this entire story up - and was currently covering it up. She didn't realize that she, herself, and her cronies are part of the ongoing story.
Benjamin Netanyahu has triggered fresh speculation that he could authorise military action against Iran by declaring that a unilateral Israeli strike would not cause an irreparable rupture in relations with the United States.
The Israeli prime minister countered domestic critics who have argued that an attack would antagonise the Jewish state's most powerful patron by pointing to predecessors who had defied Washington without doing long-term damage. The Six Day War of 1967, the Suez Crisis of 1956 and the bombardment of an Iraqi nuclear reactor in 1981 were all launched in opposition to US wishes.
He's got a point. If Israel is to wait for US approval it will never come. Easier to beg forgiveness...
In his first public comments since returning from a tense encounter with President Barack Obama at the White House this week, Mr Netanyahu yielded few clues over his intentions with regards to Iran, but again hinted that his patience with diplomacy was waning.
"We're not standing with a stopwatch in hand," he said in an interview with Israeli television to be broadcast on Saturday evening. "It's not a matter of days or weeks, but also not years. The result must be the removal of the threat of nuclear weapons in Iran's hands."
#1
"The Israeli prime minister countered domestic critics who have argued that an attack would antagonise the Jewish state's most powerful patron by pointing to predecessors who had defied Washington without doing long-term damage. ... the Suez Crisis of 1956 ... all launched in opposition to US wishes."
One could say that the Suez Crisis of 1956 changed everything and not in a good way for Israel as it was not long afterwards that their European friends dismantled their empires and found it convenient to bash Israel at every opportunity.
#3
If I were the Israeli PM (less likely to happen than becoming POTUS, though when you're that close to zero it's hard to tell), I would already have whacked Iran using the best tools I had available.
And if that wasn't enough, I'd whack 'em again.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/09/2012 17:53
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#4
Saw this recently, and its apt for the Iranian Leadership and radical Islamists:
"I know nothing of philosophical philanthropy. But I know what I have seen, and what I have looked in the face in this world here, where I find myself. And I tell you this, my friend, that there are people (men and women both, unfortunately) who have no good in them--none. That there are people whom it is necessary to detest without compromise. That there are people who must be dealt with as enemies of the human race. That there are people who have no human heart, and who must be crushed like savage beasts and cleared out of the way."
Posted by: Barbara ||
03/09/2012 20:07
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#7
ION WAFF > [YNET News = ex-MOSSAD Chief] DAGAN: INSTEAD OF ATTACK [war] - FOMENT "REGIME CHANGE" IN IRAN.
Still comes down to doing such before the Mullahs dev + control any Nukes + the LRBMS to deliver 'em, i.e. before the Mullahs "use 'em or lose 'em" before they lose power???
And for today's piece of non-fiction uber-humor we have....
U.S. COUNTER-SUES BUFFET'S NETJETS OVER UNPAID TAX LIABILITIES
Perhaps the GOP can offer to match Buffett $2 for every $1 in tax that NetJets is found to have not paid. One wonders: did NetJets pay less tax than Buffett's secretary?
And here is how one "builds" equity value:
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT COUNTERCLAIMS FOR MORE THAN $302 MILLION
Why by not allowing cash to leave the family of course. Luckily endless hypocrisy is free.
South Asian experts say there is a lack of Asian support for a possible US or Israeli attack against Iran as it could destabilize the whole region and jeopardize its energy needs.
As the war rhetoric against Iran amplifies in Israel and the US, Iran's neighboring countries like China, India and Pakistan have expressed their disapproval of a new conflict in the already turbulent region.
As I recall, India is Iran's largest customer for oil, and China also buys a lot. Pakistan is standing with its Muslim brother. None, I suspect, will actively intervene to protect Iran against attack, although China can veto things in the UN Security Council.
Recently, in a meeting with US President Barack Obama, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that time was running out for the Iranian regime. Although the US president downplayed the war talk, he did not rule out a military option to stop Iran from getting atomic weapons.
Dr. Gulshan Sachdeva, professor at the Jawaharlal Nehru University of Delhi, told Deutsche Welle that India would not like to get involved in the conflict.
"Any kind of attack on Iran, or any sort of disturbance there, will have long-term energy security problems for India because it imports a significant amount of oil from Tehran," said Sachdeva. He was of the opinion that New Delhi would like to see a peaceful solution to this problem.
"It would be a very difficult situation for India but it all depends on how this conflict evolves."
Missiles fired from US drone aircrafts killed at least 13 people on Friday in the South Waziristan tribal region on the Afghan border, DawnNews reported.
The missiles targeted a vehicle and a house in the Mandao district of South Waziristan, a rugged militant stronghold where the Pakistani army has staged offensives in the past, the officials said, giving no further details. The officials did not give their names because they were not authorized to speak to journalists.
It took place hours after al Qaida confirmed that a strike last month in North Waziristan killed one of its commanders _ a success in a CIA-led campaign, but a major source of tension plaguing the relationship between Washington and Islamabad.
#1
The big fish are all gone, how many millions do we spend at this point to flame a 13 turbans that aren't worth 2 cents put together?
I think we are getting to the point of 'diminishing returns'.
A smart house in a bustling town just over 20 miles north of Islamabad was lived in by Osama bin Laden and his family in 2004, according to new research - and it can be yours for £150 a month.
Kofi Annan, the former UN chief appointed joint UN-Arab League envoy to Syria, has been accused of "living on Mars" after saying he wanted the Assad government and opposition to enter dialogue.
Good point...
Mr Annan has said his mission was to start a "political process" to resolve the conflict in the country. He is due this weekend in Syria where he will meet with Assad.
In comments made in Cairo on Thursday after talks with Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby, Annan warned against further militarisation of the Syrian conflict and urged the opposition to come together with the government to find a political solution.
"I hope that no one is thinking very seriously of using force in this situation," Annan said. "I believe any further militarization would make the situation worse."
Gee, who might be using force right now Kofi? How about Pencilneck and his goons? Kofi is advocating unilateral disarmament, but then, he IS from the United Nations...
He also said he would be making "realistic" proposals to resolve the conflict. He did not elaborate.
After all, lunch as yet to be served...
Activists however rejected his calls for dialogue.
"It seems he lives on Mars," said Mohammad Saeed, an activist in the Damascus suburb of Douma.
"Between us and Bashar Assad are the bodies of 5,000 martyrs. We can't hear each other even if we wanted to," he said. "What dialogue are they talking about?"
#5
The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Which are usually cemented in by folks like Kofi Annan.
Jeezus, he was useless before and now he's worse than useless. Fortunately, most people seem to be aware of that now, and soon he can go back to Ghana and do whatever it was he was doing there before someone got the bright idea to dust him off and send him up to Syria to accomplish absolutely nothing.
h/t Gates of Vienna
A bad wind blows from Norway onto the world. It is not only the monstrous massacre by the deranged Breivick perpetrated for several hours without the police intervention. Now is added the political violence of a desperate government before the past elections that it would probably have lost if the horror caused bythe killing spree of a psychopath, had not given it victory. Exploiting politically this crime, the government launched its bloodhounds, its anathemas, its fatwas and edicts against all writers on the planet who, painfully defying terrorism, professional ruin and social ostracism imposed by the single thought, struggle to maintain democratic freedoms and human dignity in Western societies. The crime of Breivick strengthened the government party and took hostage the right to think, speak and criticize political power. It imprisoned Westerners in the jail of totalitarianism and intellectual tyranny by criminalizing critical thinking.
#2
The article appears to ignore the fact that all of those new welfare, food stamp, medical care, public employee union, endless unemployment, and other pubic trough leeches recipients will vote to keep getting Other Peoples Money. I sincerely hope that Zero is defeated, but I wouldn't bet on it.
#5
Gasoline prices should probably be #1 on the list.
People can't easily get a feel for how the economy is doing and the difference between a 2.5% GDP growth and 2.8% GDP growth probably doesn't amount to much.
However, gasoline is purchased often and when it is purchased, it hurts. While it is true that the Obama administration isn't solely responsible for the high prices, its also true that very few in the public are willing to let the administration off with no blame whatsoever.
Furthermore, at some point, probably not more than another 25 cents or so, the high gas prices will visibly and negatively feed back into the economy and wipe out whatever credit Obama tries to claim for the recovery.
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
03/09/2012 15:01
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#6
But gas prices can easily be blamed on the evil oil companies, not Obama.
The IAF struck a vehicle in Gaza on Friday, killing two senior officials of the Popular Resistance Committee (PRC). The explosion happened shortly after two mortar shells were fired at Israel from the Hamas-ruled territory Two for two
GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Two people were killed as Israel launched a second airstrike on the Gaza Strip, bringing Friday's death toll to four people, medics said.
Obeid al-Ghirbali and Muhammad Harara were named as those killed, medical services spokesman Adham Abu Salmiyeh said.
Both men were members of the Al-Quds Brigade, the armed wing of Islamic Jihad. Their bodies were taken to Dar al-Shifa hospital.
Earlier, an Israeli strike targeting a car in western Gaza killed the head of the Popular Resistance Committees and a former prisoner released by Israel four years ago, medical officials said.
Thirteen rockets have reportedly been fired from the Gaza Strip.
The national resistance brigades, the DFLP's armed wing, the Al-Aqsa brigades, and the armed wing of the PRC, the An-Nasser Salah Ad-Din brigades, have all claimed responsibility for rocket fire.
Presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh condemned the earlier Israeli airstrike, saying it will lead to an escalating cycle of violence in the region.
Hamas' foreign ministry called on the international community to intervene to stop Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people, a statement said.
The An-Nasser Salah Ad-Din Brigades, the PRC's armed wing, had promised a "seismic response" to the earlier assassination.
#3
Update An Israeli airstrike killed the commander of the militant group behind the abduction of Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit and a second militant in Gaza on Friday in the highest profile attack against the coastal strip in months.
The Israeli military confirmed the strike, saying the slain commander Zuhair al-Qaissi was plotting an infiltration attack into Israel similar to one his group carried out in August that killed eight people and injured 40 more. In a statement, the military warned Gaza's Hamas rulers against any retaliation for the strike.
Palestinian witnesses said Israeli drones were seen hovering above just moments before a vehicle exploded into flames, in a southern district of Gaza City.
#5
Update Now up to eight.
Israeli airstrikes kill 8 in Gaza Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip Friday killed eight Palestinian militants, including the head of a radical group, while mortar and rocket fire from Gaza pounded the Jewish state.
One strike, on a car travelling in the Tel El-Hawa neighbourhood west of Gaza City, killed the head of the militant Popular Resistance Committees, Zohair al-Qaisi, and fellow-member Mahmud Hanani, the group said.
Both the PRC and the military wing of Hamas threatened retribution for Qaisis death.
A second air raid, on the east side of the city, killed Obeid al-Gharabli, Mohammed Harara, and Hazem Qoureqa of the Al Quds Brigades, the military arm of Islamic Jihad, that organisation said in a statement.
Two top terrorists were killed in Gaza City Friday, after IDF aircraft targeted a vehicle there.
One of the dead is Zuhir al-Qaisi, the secretary-general of the Popular Resistance Committees terror group. The second terrorist killed in the strike is Ahmad al-Khanini, a senior PRC member freed during the Shalit prisoner exchange. A third Palestinian was seriously injured in the strike, which targeted a vehicle traveling in western Gaza City.
Al-Khanini headed a PRC terror cell in the Nablus region. His cell prepared two explosive belts, one of which was seized in the possession of a terrorist planning an attack in Jerusalem in 2006. After his release in the Shalit deal in October of 2011, al-Khanini was expelled to the Gaza Strip.
Philippine troops have captured an Abu Sayyaf gunman linked to the kidnappings of three Americans and another terrorist militant implicated in the 2007 beheadings of Philippine marines.
Philippine rangers on Wednesday nabbed Serham Akalon in his hide-out in southern Basilan province, while Anni Idris was captured in the provincial capital of Isabela city. Both are members the Abu Sayyaf.
Akalon, who uses the nom de guerre Uttoh Takas, was implicated in the 2007 beheadings of 10 marines during a battle in Basilan's remote Al-Barka town and was also accused of being involved in a kidnapping. He was captured but escaped with 31 mostly Muslim terrorists insurgents in a 2009 rebel attack on a Basilan jail.
Idris allegedly played a role in the 2001 kidnappings of three Americans and 17 mostly Chinese Filipino tourists, who were seized in the western province of Palawan and brought to Basilan, where they were held for several months in the jungle.
One of the Americans was beheaded by the terrorists militants and another was killed during a rescue that freed the third American. The other hostages either escaped or were set free after payment of ransom.
Georgetown Law student Sandra Fluke is being represented by a former Obama advisers PR firm, Bill OReilly explained on his Thursday night program The OReilly Factor, suggesting that the young woman was indirectly planted at the center of the contraception controversy by the Obama administration.
It has been somewhat of a mystery as to how Sandra Fluke came to fame prior to Rush Limbaughs ill-advised remarks and why she was chosen by congressional Democrats to give expert testimony on the issue of contraception.
OReilly offered his theory Thursday, revealing the unusual circumstances regarding Flukes media ascendancy.
As we reported last night The Factor believes Sandra Fluke contraception controversy was manufactured to divert attention away from the Obama administrations disastrous decision to force non-Catholic organizations to provide insurance coverage for birth control and the morning after pill. That might very well be unconstitutional.
Anyway, were having trouble tracking down just who is sending Sandra around to the media, he continued. Its very strange. So far, the 30-year-old activist has appeared on eight national news programs where she was not challenged at all. Last week we called Sandra on her cell phone and invited her on The Factor. She didnt call back. Very unusual.
OReilly also said there was a man named Mike who was pushing her out to the media, but that no last name or contact information had been given.
There was no other public contact for the woman, he said. Just her cell phone. A man named Mike has booked her on a few programs, but we cant even get his last name. And Mike doesnt provide call-back numbers with those to whom he speaks. So Mike, who are you? And why the subterfuge?
KABUL, Afghanistan -- Afghanistan's president on Tuesday endorsed a "code of conduct" issued by an influential council of clerics that activists say represents a giant step backward for women's rights in the country.
President Hamid Karzai's Tuesday remarks backing the Ulema Council's document, which allows husbands to beat wives under certain circumstances and encourages segregation of the sexes, is seen as part of his outreach to insurgents like the Taliban.
For which the Taliban, when it seizes power early next year, will permit Karzai to have a Najibullah moment...
Both the U.S. and Karzai hope that the Taliban can be brought into negotiations to end the country's decade-long war. But activists say they're worried that gains made by women since 2001 may be lost in the process.
Not that you could call it great strides in the first place...
When the Taliban ruled Afghanistan prior to the 2001 U.S. invasion, girls were banned from going to school and women had to wear burqas that covered them from head to toe. Women were not allowed to leave their homes without a male relative as an escort.
The "code of conduct" issued Friday by the Ulema Council as part of a longer statement on national political issues is cast as a set of guidelines that religious women should obey voluntarily, but activists are concerned it will herald a reversal of the trend in Afghanistan since 2001 to pass laws aimed at expanding women's rights. Among the rules: Women should not travel without a male guardian and women should not mingle with strange men in places like schools, markets or offices. Beating one's wife is prohibited only if there is no "Shariah-compliant reason," it said, referring to the principles of Islamic law.
Asked about the code of conduct at a press conference in the capital, Karzai said it was in line with Islamic law and was written in consultation with Afghan women's groups. He did not name the groups that were consulted.
His wives. And Mullah Omar's...
"The clerics' council of Afghanistan did not put any limitations on women," Karzai said, adding: "It is the Shariah law of all Muslims and all Afghans."
See? It was Mo' himself who limited the wimmins. You could look it up...
Karzai's public backing of the council's guidelines may be intended to make his own government more palatable to the Taliban, or he may simply be trying to keep on the good side of the Ulema Council, who could be valuable intermediaries in speaking to the insurgents.
But either way, women's activists say that Karzai's endorsement means that existing or planned laws aimed at protecting women's rights may be sacrificed for peace negotiations.
"It sends a really frightening message that women can expect to get sold out in this process," said Heather Barr, an Afghanistan researcher for New York-based Human Rights Watch.
Just remember Heather, you enable the people who allow people to force women to wear burlap sacks. Now then, I'm afraid your wardrobe is suffering from an 'uncovered cat-meat' moment...
Shukria Barikzai, a parliamentarian from the capital Kabul who has been active in women's issues, said she was worried that Karzai and the clerics' council appeared to be ignoring their country's own laws.
"When it comes to civil rights in Afghanistan, Karzai should respect the constitution," Barikzai said. The Afghan constitution provides equal rights for men and women.
But that isn't Sharia-compliant so it'll go by the wayside.
The exception for certain types of beatings also appears to contradict Afghan law that prohibits spousal abuse. And the guidelines also promote rules on divorce that give women few rights, a real turnaround from pledges by Karzai to reform Afghan family law to make divorces more equitable, Barr said.
"This represents a significant change in his message on women's rights," she said.
Stay tuned for the next version of wimmins 'rights' from the Ulema Council...
Afghan women's rights activist Fatana Ishaq Gailani, founder of the Afghanistan Women's Council, said she feels like women's rights are being used as part of a political game.
No, really? Got it in one, did you?
"We want the correct Islam, not the Islam of politics," Gailani said. She said she supported negotiations with the Taliban, but that Afghanistan's women should not be sacrificed for that end.
Hadi Marifat of the Afghanistan Human Rights and Democracy Organization, which surveyed 5,000 Afghan women for a recent report on the state of women's rights in Afghanistan, argued that the statements show Karzai is shifting more toward the strictest interpretations of Shariah law.
Trying to save his own neck, which he won't succeed in doing unless he leaves the country. Milwaukee is looking pretty good right now, Hamid. Just sayin'...
"In the post-Taliban Afghanistan, the guiding principle of President Karzai regarding women's rights has been attracting funding from the international community on one hand, balanced against the need to get the support of the Ulema Council and other traditionalists on the other," Marifat said.
"The concerning thing is that now this balance is shifting toward the conservative element, and that was obvious in his statement."
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/09/2012
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#2
He's a politician.
Bit more than that Pappy, a politician who would be king Karzai re-enacted the original coronation of Ahmad Shah Durrani at the shrine of Sher-i-Surkh outside of Kandahar where he had leaders of various Afghan tribes, including a descendent of the religious leader (Sabir Shah) that originally selected Ahmad Shah Durrani in 1747 as key players in this event.[25] Further evidence that Karzai views himself fulfilling a Durrani monarch's role arise from statements furnished by close allies within his government.[26] His late brother, Ahmed Wali Karzai, made statements to a similar effect.[27]
Yeah, we gave them a politician when we should have given them a U.S. general to impose strict martial law with an emphasis on secularism. They weren't ready for democracy. It was naive to think they were. Too bad. The opportunity has passed.
#5
He's boned and he knows it. When we pull out, he's a dead man if he doesn't go back to Britain and live in exile, albeit rather luxurious exile with all the NATO $$ he has skimmed.
The intense campaign to cut advertising to The Rush Limbaugh Show took another turn Thursday when one of the first companies to pull its ads reportedly asked to return to the radio show -- only to be told by Team Limbaugh that the conservative host no longer would give his endorsement.
A Limbaugh spokesman said that California mattress company Sleep Train asked to restart a voiced endorsement from Limbaugh that it had publicly cut off last week. The company said at the time that it does not condone such negative comments toward any person.
Several activist groups have called for companies to drop their ads after Limbaugh called a Georgetown law school student a slut and a prostitute for her support of a proposal to mandate birth control in standard healthcare coverage.
Sleep Train's departure from the program had been billed by some observers as particularly significant because the mattress retailer had been with Limbaugh show for 25 years. Yet the tone of Sleep Train's withdrawal statement last Friday hinted it might not be pulling out for the long run.
As a diverse company, Sleep Train does not condone such negative comments directed toward any person, Sleep Train said at the time. We have currently pulled our ads with Rush Limbaugh.
Still, Washington Post blogger Erik Wemple called Sleep Train's decision "an act worth crediting," saying that lost ads would have more of an effect on Limbaugh than "well-crafted expressions of outrage from the usual organs."
Limbaugh spokesman Brian Glicklich on Thursday forwarded a copy of an email that he said had been sent to Sleep Train Chief Executive Dale Carlsen. In it, Glicklich wrote that Limbaugh had personally received the company's requests to resume advertising on his show.
Unfortunately," Glicklich wrote, "your public comments were not well received by our audience, and did not accurately portray either Rush Limbaugh's character or the intent of his remarks. Thus, we regret to inform you that Rush will be unable to endorse Sleep Train in the future.
Twelve soldiers were wounded when terrorists militants attacked two military outposts in Narathiwat province early Friday morning.
Police received reports of the attacks at about 12:30 a.m. The deputy chief of Narathiwat police led a joint police and military force and bomb disposal team to the scenes of the attacks. This joint force reported that trees had been toppled to block the rural road. It took an hour to clear a way to the outpost.
Then they discovered the terrorists militants had also used explosives to brng down power poles to block the road . It took another hour to clear a way through the power poles out and dispose of unexploded bombs placed on other power poles.
When the relief force finally reached the first outpost at Ban Sompoi they reported that a motorcycle parking shelter had been destroyed by an M79 grenade and three motorcycles destroyed by the blaze. They went on to the command outpost at the district water works office and found that a multipurpose ground in front of the post was also hit by an M79 grenade.
Bullet holes were seen in the building walls and bunkers at the two military posts.
Witnesses reported that about 50 armed terrorists militants, divided into three teams, wre involved. The first two teams attacked the two outposts with M79 grenades and assault weapons. The soldiers on duty there returned fire.
The third team toppled trees and blasted power piles to block the road. The attackers fled after a 20-minute gunfight.
#1
There is nothing Champ won't use to gain re-election, and all obligtion to actually make decisions based on our national interests and the well being of the Republic is meaningless to this completley dishonest jackass. He travels with an entourage worthy of an oriental potentate of the famed king of Persia, and the Wookie lives and travels like Marie Antoinette. Get these mutts out of the White House, they not only abuse the public trust, they are an embarrassment and a grave danger.
#3
Election-year politics dictate White House Iranian policy
Fixed that for ya.
President Obama is a weak leader. And not simply for the obvious reasons. His ultimate liability lies with his predictability. Every decision made by the WH balances two components. What is right? and What personally benefits the Presdent?
#1
Just because someone served in our military does not mean they are not an idiot. I have met several veterans that were idiots. I do not see how veteran status makes it a crime to point out misbehavior.
#2
Mr. Brown, a veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars who wore a T-shirt proclaiming his veteran's status, repeatedly interrupted the governor, according to a reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer.
In reading the article it looks like the guy was being an asshole. And yes I think even veterans can be jerks and assholes.
Take John 'I was in Vietnam you know.' Kerry for example.
Your comments are certainly true. Christie however, should be professional enough to take the high-road and rise above taunts rather than jumping down in the ditch and slugging it out with name calling. He clearly is not, and it has become a pattern with him.
#5
Oh, I thinks it past time when dealing with some people to be 'gentlemanly' about it. This high road stuff doesn't work when you're bombarded by such behavior. One side has the play the game for a long time. The object is to shut down the other person's right to free assembly and free speech. You surrender that fundamental when you let them get away with it. Communicate in a manner they understand sometimes is appropriate. If they retreat to reevaluate their tactics, so much the better. If they escalate, its proof that they have no interests in real discourse and are only seeking submission.
#6
Christie however, should be professional enough to take the high-road
It's New Jersey, Besoeker, not Georgia. There is no high road there, and they would not respect someone who didn't give better than he got. Separately, Procopius2k is right on the general principle.
#9
Christie's popularity in NJ denotes from the fact that he comes across just like a rather smart, friendly, blue collar guy you could find in any blue collar bar in NJ at the end of the workday.
Men in NJ recognize this and like it, and he reminds women of their brothers, husbands and fathers, in a good way.
Part of this is plain speaking, and not playing a gentleman when somebody is spouting abusive b.s., but saying what everybody else like that is thinking.
He was even able to whup the teacher's union, because he presented them like a bunch of snooty teachers with turned up noses who think they are better than everyone else and want free money for little work.
#10
Yes, and Christie is popular because he acts like New Jersey. I don't like New Jersey in my bar or around my friends. And I do not like Christie talking like he is staff on Jersey Shore.
Blue Collar doe not mean being raunchy or acting like a loud buffoon.
All he did take take on state budget. He is FUBAR on everything else.
If you are Jersey, please do not move south and act like you are some kind of tough shit here in the south. If you are from jersey, you may GET BENT.
#11
He is where he is for a reason, multiple ways.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
03/09/2012 12:05
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From a New Jersey newspaper, the rest of the story:
Brown, a Democrat who ran an unsuccessfully for Assembly last year, says hes a Navy Seal who served in Iraq. As he testified before the Rutgers Board of Governors last month, he argued the Christie-sanctioned plan to rebrand the South Jersey campus under the Rowan name would rob students of opportunities afforded by Rutgers reputation. The Republican governor began to explain that current students would still graduate with degrees from Rutgers.
But Brown shouted from audience: "What about my son? What about my neighbors? What about my friends?"
According to the story, he got worse from there. Is that how retired combat veteran Navy SEALs normally behave?
#13
Besoeker, I have to respectfully disagree with the sentiment of continually "taking the high road" with these people. TTHR's all well and good when arguing with someone else on the right side of the political aisle...a libertarian vs. an evangelical so-con, for example. But the leftists always use knives and brass knuckles, while their media stooges always rake us over the coals for even the slightest deviation from Marquess of Queensberry rules. That was the whole point that Breitbart (PBUH) was always trying to make - we are at war with these bastards, and Mr. Nice Guy's not gonna be the last one left standing.
TW, nice detective work. It's been my experience that the loudmouth who always wants to share his harrowing experiences as a SEAL, Green Beret or USMC Force Recon invariably turns out to have spent his service time doing something like working in the motor pool at Minot AFB.
Posted by: Ricky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo) ||
03/09/2012 13:07
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#14
When you get down on the same level as a loser, they succeeded.
#15
Hmm... having not been in the military myself - I have a lot of respect for them - particularly the Rangers, Seals, and other special forces.
Having that respect when I hear of one acting like this I have to wonder... were they really what they claim they were? Or is it another 'Winter Soldier / Stolen Valor'? I'll believe him until shown otherwise but there is that shadow of a doubt lingering...
#18
We returned the favor of Guernica, Warsaw, Rotterdam and Coventry with Hamburg, Berlin, Dresden. They failed.
Posted by: Procopius2k 2012-03-09
So you are insinuating our troops were on the same level as the NAZI's. Fighting back with righteous indignation is far, far different than pure evil in uniform, bro.
Posted by: George Ebbeamp4828 ||
03/09/2012 23:19
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#19
I'm just guessing that before this little conflagration with Christie, Prior Petty Officer Brown had been listening to Springsteen's latest anti-USA debacle.
Compare Chevrolet MalibuThe Awards Keep Coming In. Check Out the 2012 Malibu and See Why. www.Chevrolet.com/Malibu
In a piece of video that shot across the Internet Thursday like a sports car doing zero-to-60 in four seconds, Energy Secretary Stephen Chu told the House Subcommittee on Energy and Power that he does not own a car. But The Daily Caller has confirmed that Chus wife does and its quite an automobile.
Theres no Chevy Volt in the Chu households driveway. TheDC has obtained motor vehicle registration records showing that Jean Chu (née Fetter) is the owner of a 2002 BMW 325i, a sports sedan with a gas-guzzling 6-cylinder engine.
And its engine requires premium gasoline. AAA determined on Thursday that the average U.S. price for that grade of fuel was $4.03 per gallon.
When the car was first sold, its EPA-estimated fuel economy was rated at 18 miles per gallon in the city and 27 mpg on highways, according to FuelEconomy.gov, a website run by Secretary Chus own Department of Energy. The website reports that the cars average fuel economy was 21 mpg back when it had zero miles on its odometer.
The U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics has reported that the average fuel economy of light-duty passenger vehicles for the 2002 model year was 29.0 mpg, putting Mrs. Chus car in the less-than-efficient column.
During Chus testimony Thursday about his departments budget request for 2013, he praised the Chevy Volt. The all-electric General Motors vehicle is a great car, Chu said, adding that he is still very hopeful that the Chevy Volt will be adopted more broadly.
Asked if he drove one himself, he answered no, I dont own a car at the moment.
Since he is a member of President Obamas cabinet, Chu is driven to work every day through the courtesy of a security detail, with taxpayers footing the bill.
Turning this center over to the host nation will have a chilling effect on intelligence collection and the removal of Taliban from the battlefield. We should only be handing them the keys as the last US soldier boards the plane home.
Palestinian terroists, Oct 1985, Cruise ship Achille Lauro, Sigonella tarmac....Italianna Carabinieri surround US Delta Force to save terrorists? My memory is so bad.
and ye shall hear of the midnight posts of Rantburg Fred.
On the eleventh of September, in two thousand one, our country bled.
He said to his friends,
The enemy has struck.
No time for a lantern to be hung.
They came neither by land or by sea.
They came by air.
So through these years rode our Rantburg Fred...
For, borne on the night-wind of the Past,
Through all our history, to the last,
In the hour of darkness and peril and need,
The people will waken and listen to hear
The hurrying hoof-beats of that steed,
And the midnight message of Rantburg Fred.
(My most sincere apologies to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow)
Yes, apologies are necessary. But a noble effort indeed -- I wouldn't have dared it. :-)
Fred's Rantburg has awakened and listens to the midnight message of Rantburg Fred.
You know of his "depth of history, his knowledge of our wars." You know of his "lovely ladies" and you know of his inline humor.....
You know of this place, and just in case you didn't know of its history? Now you do.
The bleg begins.....
Site meter today tells us that on this day March 8th, for this week, there have already been over 54,000 views!
Average visit? 6 minutes 29 seconds.
A choice for lunch --
Subway Club Salad with drink -- $6.34.
Campbell's can of microwaved Chicken Noodle Soup -- $1.48.
Hum..... about a 5 bucks difference.
That 5 bucks would pay for lots of page views....
So -- Scroll down to the Brietbart is Here graphic -- Why?
Be Brietbart ----
Below his graphic? Click the DONATE button -- all it takes is giving up that Subway sandwich/salad for the day and heat that can of Chicken Noodle Soup in the microwave.
And, oh yea? I can "feel" that smile inside of you, for clicking on that button! You owe it to yourself......
#6
Haven't seen a bleg here in quite some time. Did the Amazon thing. I don't claim to be Breitbart, much less Fred, but I do appreciate www.breitbart.com...almost as much as Rantburg.
[Dawn] the late Osama bin Laden ... who no longer has to waste time and energy breathing... spent his last weeks in a house divided, amid wives riven by suspicions. On the top floor, sharing his bedroom, was his youngest wife. The trouble came when his eldest wife moved into the bedroom on the floor below.
Others in the family, crammed into the three-storey villa compound where Bin Laden would eventually be killed in a May 2 US raid, were convinced that the eldest wife intended to betray the Al Qaeda leader.
The picture of Bin Laden's life in the Abbottabad ... A pleasant city located only 30 convenient miles from Islamabad. The city is noted for its nice weather and good schools. It is the site of Pakistain's military academy, which was within comfortable walking distance of the residence of the late Osama bin Laden.... compound comes from Brig Shaukat Qadir, a retired army officer who spent months researching the events and says he was given rare access to transcripts of Pak intelligence's interrogation of Bin Laden's youngest wife, who was jugged in the raid.
Brig Qadir was also given rare entry into the villa, which was sealed after the raid and demolished last month. Pictures he took, which he allowed The News Agency that Dare Not be Named to see, showed the villa's main staircase, splattered with blood. Other pictures show windows protected by iron grills and the 20-foot high walls around the villa.
Brig Qadir's research gives one of the most extensive descriptions of the arrangements in Bin Laden's hideout when US SEAL commandos stormed in, killing him and four others. His account is based on accounts by an official of Inter-Services Intelligence agency who escorted him on a tour of the villa, the interrogation transcription he was allowed to read, and interviews with other ISI officials and Al Qaeda-linked Death Eaters and rustics in the Afghan-Pakistain border region.
The compound where Bin Laden lived since mid-2005 was a crowded place, with 28 residents, including Bin Laden, his three wives, eight of his children and five of his grandchildren.
Bin Laden lived and died on the third floor. One room he shared with his youngest wife, Amal Ahmed Abdel-Fatah al-Sada, a Yemeni who was 19 when she married the Al Qaeda leader in 1999. Another wife, Siham Saber, lived in another room on the same floor that also served as a computer room, Brig Qadir said.
The arrival of his eldest wife, Saudi-born Khairiah Saber, in early 2011 stirred up the household, Amal said in her ISI interrogation, according to Brig Qadir.
Eldest, one of the oh so superior Saudis, and the youngest was the favourite. Mr. Bin Laden created his own personal hell, a pleasant thought.
There was already bad blood between Khairiah, who married Bin Laden in the late 1980s, and Amal because of Bin Laden's favouritism for the younger Yemeni woman, Brig Qadir said he was told by tribal leaders who knew the family.--
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
Only the mooselimbs are smart enough to handle multiple wives.
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/09/2012 6:16
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Posted by: Fred ||
03/09/2012
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#1
Happy Birthday/Daily Gam Shot
Alexandra Bastedo (English) aka Gotham Society Dame in "Batman Begins (2005)" aka Meg in "Casino Royale (1967)" aka Gloria - Girl Friend in "Wedding Night (1969)" aka Cicely Clarkson in "My Lover My Son (1970)" aka Leda Schmidt in "I Hate My Body (1974)" (age 66)
[An Nahar] United Nations ...what started out as a a diplomatic initiative, now trying to edge its way into legislative, judicial, and executive areas... and 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... special envoy to Syria Kofi Annan on Thursday urged the Syrian opposition to cooperate to resolve the conflict that has left thousands dead in the past year.
Former U.N. chief Annan, speaking to news hounds in Cairo, urged "the Syrian opposition to come together to work with us to find a solution that will respect the aspirations of the Syrian people."
Annan was in Cairo for talks with officials ahead of a trip to Damascus ...Capital of the last overtly fascist regime in the world... on Friday.
"We will do whatever we can to urge and press the cessation of hostilities and an end to the killing and violence," he said ahead of talks with Foreign Minister Mohammed Amr.
"But of course the ultimate solution lies in the political settlement," Annan said.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/09/2012
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#1
Annan is basically telling the people being tortured to start behaving better.
Makes sense if you are Kofi Annan
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
03/09/2012 0:35
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[Dawn] United States President Barack Obama This is a teachable moment... and his Afghan counterpart Hamid Maybe I'll join the Taliban Karzai ... A former Baltimore restaurateur, now 12th and current President of Afghanistan, displacing the legitimate president Rabbani in December 2004. He was installed as the dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001 in a vain attempt to put a Pashtun face on the successor state to the Taliban. After the 2004 presidential election, he was declared president regardless of what the actual vote count was. He won a second, even more dubious, five-year-term after the 2009 presidential election. His grip on reality has been slipping steadily since around 2007, probably from heavy drug use... agreed in a video conference on Thursday to continue a "partnership" tested by violence sparked after US troops burned Holy Korans.
The two leaders also discussed regional security and Afghan-led reconciliation talks with the Taliban, White House front man Jay Carney said.
"The leaders noted progress toward concluding a strategic partnership that reinforces Afghan illusory sovereignty while addressing the practical requirements of transition," he added, referring to the deal that would lay out US involvement in Afghanistan beyond 2014, when most foreign combat troops are due to leave.
The agreement has been held up for months by disagreement over night raids and control of detention centers now managed by foreign forces.
Carney also noted an agreement by both leaders to stay in close contact as the transfer of power nears.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/09/2012
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[Daily Nation (Kenya)] Zim-bob-wean chiefs have demanded to be allocated guns ahead of elections President Bob Muggsy Mugabe Octogenarian President-for-Life of Zim-bob-we who turned the former Breadbasket of Africa into the African Basket Case... wants held this year.
The traditional leaders, who also declared that the 88-year-old leader must be left to rule until he dies, said they wanted the firearms to protect themselves, arguing that most of them were victims of political violence in past elections.
Previous elections have been marred by political violence blamed on President Mugabe's Zanu PF party.
The worst violence was recorded in 2008 when the ageing leader lost the first round of the presidential election to former opposition leader and now Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.
Tsvangirai was forced to drop from the run-off poll, accusing security forces of killing his supporters in massive political violence.
The majority of Zim-bob-wean chiefs support President Mugabe's Zanu PF party, which in turn lavishes them with state-bankrolled monthly allowances and vehicles. The latest demands tabled at an ongoing chiefs' council annual meeting in the second city of Bulawayo also include diplomatic passports and exemption from paying toll gate fees on highways.
Posted by: Fred ||
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Collaboration with the Chinese communists and the nationalization of mines, property, and other natural resources continue, it's the Obama African way.
[Dawn] Syria's deputy oil minister resigned on Thursday, becoming the most bigwig to join the rebel ranks, as Washington revealed it is considering non-lethal aid to the insurgency.
The boost for the rebels came as UN-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... special envoy Kofi Annan appealed in Cairo to Syria's opposition to join his mission's efforts to resolve the conflict that has left thousands dead in the past year.
Abdo Hussameddin announced his resignation in a video posted by activists on YouTube, saying he was joining the revolt.
"I, the engineer Abdo Hussameddin, the deputy oil minister... announce my defection from the regime and my resignation," he said in the video.
"I am joining the revolution of the people who reject injustice and the brutal campaign of the regime, which is seeking to crush the people's demand for freedom and dignity," he added.
The defection was quickly welcomed by Syrian opposition leader Burhan Ghalioun, who told AFP he expects more government officials and politicians to do the same.
"I hail the deputy (oil) minister who defected and I call on all government members and public servants ... to abandon this regime and join the ranks of the revolution for freedom and dignity," said Ghalioun, head of the Syrian National Council, the main opposition group.
"I expect for sure that there are other government officials and politicians who will follow suit," he added.
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[Dawn] A US envoy said on Thursday he was confident proposed food aid to North Korea would flow to those who really need it,
The greatest need is in the concentration camps, not the elites of Pyongyang or the army.
but stopped short of announcing a final deal, part of a nascent agreement to restart nuclear disarmament steps by Pyongyang.
The US envoy for human rights One man's rights are another man's existential threat. in North Korea, Robert King, said talks with North Korean officials in the Chinese capital helped clear administrative roadblocks to the aid.
King suggested that worries about the food possibly being diverted by the North Korean government for its own needs had been dealt with.
"We've had very productive, positive talks," King told news hounds, many of them Japanese and South Korean, at Beijing airport. "I'm very satisfied with our discussions."
King said one of main topics of the talks was US concerns that the aid would go to truly needy people, and he answered "yes" when asked if he was confident on this point.
"We're still working on the details. Not all of those questions have been worked out," said King, when asked about when North Korea would begin receiving new aid shipments.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/09/2012
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#1
Fool, NORKs will send the food where you'll never see it again,and CLAIM it went to feed the People.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
03/09/2012 7:48
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#2
It will go to the people in the form of a "gift" from Pugsley. And their nuke program will continue apace.
[Daily Nation (Kenya)] Whitney Houston left all of her assets to her daughter Bobbi Kristina, born from her troubled marriage to singer Bobby Brown who gets nothing, according to her will published Wednesday. That'd be the ex-husband who broke her face, right? Wonder why she didn't leave him anything? I'm not experienced in this whole divorce thing, but isn't that how it usually works?
Bobbi Kristina, who is currently 19, will receive the proceeds from all of the late singer's money, furniture, clothing, personal effects, jewellery, and cars, according to the will published by news show Inside Edition.
The inheritance will be placed in a trust until she is 21. She will get more money when she turns 25, and the rest when she is 30. Houston's mother, Cissy, is the will's executor, with her brother Michael and sister-in-law Donna trustees.
A copy of part of the will, first drafted in 1993 and amended in 2000 when she was still married to Brown, was published on the show's website.
The last testament states that if her daughter had died before Houston, her assets would have been shared between her ex husband, her mother Cissy and other relatives.
Houston was found dead on February 11 in a Los Angeles hotel room, aged 48. She was laid to rest in a a New Jersey cemetery next to her late father, after a funeral ceremony celebrating her life on February 18.
The singer of hits including "I Will Always Love You" sold over 170 million records during a nearly three-decade career, but fought a long battle against substance abuse while trying to keep her performing talent alive.
Posted by: Fred ||
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Awwwww, well dats a fine how do ya do, nothing for Osama after all his fan loyalty + devotion + desire to "off" Bobby, like Onassis-vs-JFK oer Jackie [so I've heard]???
[An Nahar] Egypt's Foreign Minister Mohammed Amr on Thursday warned of regional consequences should the crisis in Syria "explode", during talks with U.N.-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... envoy to Syria Kofi Annan, his front man said.
Quite unlike Egypt, whose internal melt-down will only affect those living along the Nile.
Amr said that an "kaboom" of the situation in Syria "would not only have internal consequences but will spread to the whole region," Amr Roshdy told news hounds.
The foreign minister was holding talks in Cairo with Annan, who was recently named special envoy to Syria and is due to fly to Damascus ...Capital of the last overtly fascist regime in the world... on Friday.
On Wednesday, Amr warned that arming rebel fighters in Syria, mainly Syrian army defectors, would "lead to an escalation in the military conflict and spark a civil war in Syria."
Some Arab countries, such as Qatar and regional powerhouse Soddy Arabia, have spoken in favor of arming the rebels.
The opposition Syrian National Council has said it wants to organize arms deliveries to the rebels and announced a "military bureau" to coordinate and serve as a conduit for weapons from abroad.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[An Nahar] Paleostinian Islamic fascistiin the Gazoo Strip fired a mortar into southern Israel Thursday morning which went kaboom! without causing casualties or damage, a police front man said.
"A mortar was fired in the general direction of a kibbutz, it didn't cause injuries or damage," Micky Rosenfeld told Agence La Belle France Presse.
Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason,, which rules the Gazoo Strip, has maintained a tacit truce with Israel, but other armed Paleostinian groups regularly fire rockets and mortars across the border, which can spark air strikes in response. Interesting. Hamas sez they're not going to support Iran in any war with Israel. A day or two later someone -- presumably Islamic Jihad -- is trying to stir the pot. You could almost sympathize with the bastards...
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
They're getting more accurate; fortunately they missed the kibbutz, but they DID hit Israel this time.
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/09/2012 8:35
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#3
It's one of those boys being boys thingies. Someone shoots off a couple missiles just abut every single day...and some of them hit Israel. In the meantime, the IDF kills, wounds, or arrests the miscreants if they see them in the act.
But the children of Sderot play more happily now that the underground bunker/rec. center has opened for business. So do the old folks.
[Yemen Post] Yemen's interior Ministry has disclosed on Wednesday that Al-Qaeda has a "terrorist" plan to attack Al-Mukallh of Hadhramout governorate with the aim of declaring it as an Islamic Emirate.
In its website, it said that 300 of Al-Qaeda operatives including three leaders, Ibraheem Al-Bana'a, Egyptian Nationa, Qasim Al-Raimi, and Shaker Hamel were planning to attack strategic government facilities, military and security camps.
The ministry affirmed that it would repel any terrorist plans, pointing out that the organization started to realize that it will not stay long in Yemen as the state is preparing to reconstruct the military and embark on an inclusive dialogue.
The ministry further said it directed the security services in Hadhramout and Shabwa to take tight security procedures in all points and entrances and be alert to any terrorist acts.
Al-Qaeda grabbed credit on Wednesday for a daring weekend assault on a military base in southern Yemen, killing nearly 200 soldiers, the bloodiest battle in a year of turmoil.
Separately, the terrorist group of Ansara Al-Sharia (Supporters of Sharia) threatened to kill 73 jugged troops in case the Yemeni government does not release its operatives imprisoned inside government jails.
In a statement posted on a website, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula said the attack last week came after surveillance showed a rising U.S. military presence in the southern city of Aden.
Media sources said the corpse count from an al-Qaeda assault on a military positions exceeded 185 government soldiers, pointing out that a local hospital were crowded with corpses.
"Many soldiers' bodies were found mutilated, and some were headless," the sources said.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[Yemen Post] Governor of Abyan Saleh Al-Zawari has accused military and political services of surrendering Abyan to Al-Qaeda.
In remarks to a local Aden radio, he called to form a commission to investigate into the events, hold the responsible people accountable and bring them to justice.
The governor also revealed that tanks, cannons and other military equipments were surrendered to Al-Qaeda bully boyz without any resistance, pointing out that those behaviors were clear evidence of the collusion of some military services with Al-Qaea.
He affirmed that the Yemeni military will recapture Zinjibar and Jaar in this month.
Meanwhile, ...back at the wreckage, Captain Poindexter awoke groggily, his hand still stuck in the Ming vase... Yemen parties and human rights ...which often include carefully measured allowances of freedom at the convenience of the state... organizations strongly condemned the events of Abyan in which over 180 soldiers were killed by bully boyz connected to Al-Qaea.
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.
Deputy Chief of Staff , Major General Mohammad Ali Salah and the new Commander of the Southern Region Salem Ali Qatan and other senior officers visited some military units positioned in Abyan.
Salah urged the troops to be alert and prepare to defeat the terrorist groups that try to undermine security and stability of the nation, as he said.
Separately, the terrorist group of Ansara Al-Sharia (Supporters of Sharia) threatened to kill 73 jugged troops in case the Yemeni government does not release its operatives imprisoned inside government jails.
They called the relatives of the troops to press on the authorities and the new Yemeni President Abdu Rabo Hadi to release al-Qaeda members in return for freeing the troops.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[An Nahar] Clashes between the army and Tuareg rebels in northern Mali have forced 172,000 people to flee their homes since mid-January, the United Nations ...an organization whose definition of human rights is interesting, to say the least... humanitarian office (OCHA) said Thursday.
"The number of people displaced by the conflict reached more than 172,000 at the beginning of March, including more than 90,000 who have decamped abroad, mostly to Mauritania, Burkina Faso ...The country in west Africa that they put where Upper Volta used to be. Its capital is Oogadooga, or something like that. Its president is currently Blaise Compaoré, who took office in 1987 and may be in the process of being chased out now... and Niger," read a statement from the agency.
The numbers have swelled by nearly 50,000 in two weeks.
Tuareg rebels are waging their biggest offensive since a 2009 rebellion as they demand autonomy in Mali's vast north, and have launched several attacks on towns in the region since mid-January.
There have been reports of scores of executions, and deaths of civilians and soldiers in the fighting.
A nomadic community of some 1.5 million people, Tuareg of various tribes are scattered between Algeria, Burkina Faso, Libya, Niger and Mali.
Mali and Niger experienced uprisings as the Tuareg fought for recognition of their identity and an independent state in the 1960s, 1990s and early 2000s, with a resurgence between 2006 and 2009.
Many Tuareg left for Libya where they later fought for Muammar Qadaffy ... who is now napping peacefully in the dirt... 's regime, but after his death in October they returned home, some heavily armed.
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[An Nahar] A Canadian woman has launched a human rights ...not to be confused with individual rights, mind you... complaint against the city of Ottawa for refusing to let her to park in front of her home in a historic district, a court spokeswoman said Wednesday.
Pamela Howson has alleged discrimination in a case before the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal on the grounds of "family circumstances," said the spokeswoman.
Zoning regulations do not permit parking on the street in front of her home in the Canadian capital, which is located in a heritage preservation district.
Howson can park behind the house, but the lane is barely wide enough for her vehicle, which is larger than average to accommodate safety seats for her three young children.
The city said exceptions can be granted under certain circumstances, but that applications must be made to a minor variance committee -- an avenue which the city says Howson declined to pursue.
Howson told the tribunal that because of the parking problem, the family is considering selling the century-old house.
"This is a lived burden that is very real for us," she said, according to the Ottawa Citizen.
A decision on the case is expected within a few weeks. In the meantime, Howson is said to be parking -- illegally -- on her front lawn.
Posted by: Fred ||
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Hey, it was vacations as a human right or parking as a human right. Vacations won. Get over it.
Some 200 Paleostinians rallied near the Qalandiya checkpoint and hurled stones at security forces who responded with crowd-dispersal means.
The Paleostinians claimed a protest of Israeli and Paleostinian women against checkpoints and in honor of International Women's Day was being held at the area. They claimed three women were lightly injured.
[An Nahar] Syrian security forces on Thursday killed 62 people across the country, monitors said, as the army sent further troop reinforcements to the northwestern province of Idlib, where activists said they fear an assault similar to the one that devastated the Baba Amr neighborhood of Homs.
Fifty-two people were killed in the central province of Homs, including 44 who were summarily executed, two in Idlib province, two in the Damascus ...Capital of the last overtly fascist regime in the world... suburb of Daraya, three in the eastern province of Deir al-Zour, one in the central province of Hama, one in the southern province of Daraa and one in the northern province of Aleppo ...For centuries, Aleppo was Greater Syria's largest city and the Ottoman Empire's third, after Constantinople and Cairo. Although relatively close to Damascus in distance, Aleppans regard Damascenes as country cousins... , the LCC reported.
For its part, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said a little girl was killed by gunfire in the Idlib village of Khan Shaykhoun.
Troops also rubbed out a man in the province's Jabal al-Zawiya hill district, the head of the Britannia-based watchdog, Rami Abdul Rahman, told Agence La Belle France Presse.
Two civilians died in festivities in the town of al-Mayadin, in the eastern province of Deir al-Zour, and another died in Daraya village, in Damascus province, Abdul Rahman said.
He said security forces were also carrying out raids and arrests in Deir al-Zour city.
In the flashpoint central province of Hama, a 44-year-old man was rubbed out by a pro-regime militia in the village of Jarjara, Abdul Rahman added.
In the capital, dozens of people were placed in long-term storage after a funeral turned into an anti-regime demonstration.
"Security forces have placed in long-term storage dozens of people in the Mezzeh district of Damascus, who attended the funeral of a young man killed recently," the Observatory said.
In the northern province of Aleppo, kabooms hit two security force buildings in the town of Aazaz which was heavily bombarded by troops on Wednesday, the Observatory said.
An activist said the blasts were probably reprisal attacks by the rebel Free Syrian Army.
Almost 8,500 people have died in the government's bloody crackdown on the revolt that erupted in Syria last March, most of them civilians, according to Observatory figures.
Abdul Rahman said the troop buildup in Idlib appeared to indicate a major military operation was imminent given reports in the official press of "armed terrorist groups" in the region.
Milad Fadl, a member of the opposition Syrian Revolution General Commission, said tanks and troops were deploying heavily around the Jabal al-Zawiya district of the province.
"Large numbers of residents from eight villages in that area have decamped," Fadl told AFP, adding that residents of the city of Idlib itself were also leaving.
"The government troops have asked members of the rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) to surrender their weapons through messages on mosque loudspeakers or through local officials," Fadl said.
"I expect the army to first storm Idlib and then decide from there what to do."
He said one civilian was "executed" Thursday in Jabal al-Zawiya and five homes were burned down to punish the local population for supporting the rebel fighters.
There are concerns that Idlib, a mountainous province near the Turkish border, could suffer the same fate as Baba Amr which was stormed by government troops on March 1 after a month-long blitz.
Idlib is considered strategically important because of the presence of a large number of FSA members, particularly in the Jabal al-Zawiya area.
Abdul Rahman told AFP that festivities were taking place on Thursday between security forces and rebel fighters in the Idlib village of Kfar Nabal.
On Wednesday, the opposition Syrian National Council appealed to the international community and 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... to act urgently at all levels to avoid any repetition of what happened in Baba Amr.
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Out of an estimated 48 North Korean defectors detained in China, 10 were already repatriated to North Korea on Thursday, a campaigning lawmaker here said.
See, this is what dictatorships do. Now, try appealing to their humanity...
Park Sun-young of the Liberty Forward Party said the 10 were part of a group of 25 held at a detention center in Shenyang and were sent to the border town of Dandong on Thursday night and sent back across the border to the North around 11 p.m.
Citing sources in the border area, Park said the group included a 14-month-old baby, a 70-year-old and two 16-year-olds.
Park also said a group of some 50 youngsters from an orphanage in Hyesan, Ryanggang Province recently escaped from the North. She added another 30 youngsters from the same orphanage fled last December, right after the death of leader Kim Jong-il. Twenty of them were caught at the border and were punished but the others managed to escape and are unaccounted for, she said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/09/2012
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#3
Knowing the finesse of the Norks, they probably picked up the 14-month-old baby by the ankles, and dashed its head on rocks, repeatedly. They have all the subtlety of the Khmer Rouge.
[Dawn] Arab countries are sending mercenaries to Syria to thwart any chance of a negotiated settlement to end Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad's Despoiler of Deraa... crackdown on a year-long uprising against his rule, Iran's ambassador to La Belle France said on Thursday.
Iran, a close ally of Assad's government, was initially very supportive of the way the Syrian authorities were putting down the uprising, but has lately been saying that Assad should enact reforms that take account of popular grievances.
Speaking in an interview with Rooters in Gay Paree, Iran's newly appointed envoy, Ali Ahani, accused certain Arab countries of financing and supplying weapons to those opposing Assad.
"We have information about money, weapons and mercenaries that are being sent there to disrupt things," the former deputy foreign minister said, declining to say where the mercenaries were coming from.
"There is information that certain Arab countries have sent them (mercenaries) and been financed by the United States and even Israel," he added, without naming the Arab states.
Sunni Soddy Arabia, which along with Qatar is leading Arab efforts to force Assad to step aside, has publicly called for rebels fighting the government to be armed but Ahani did not name Soddy Arabia.
He alleged that the intervention was preventing the opposition and Assad from reaching a negotiated settlement, saying that such a settlement was the only hope of solving the crisis.
"It's obvious there is a manipulation that isn't allowing the government or opposition to try to hold dialogue and come to an agreement to resolve the internal problems," he said.
"We are concerned for the future of Syria and its people."
The United Nations ...an idea whose time has gone... has said that more than 7,500 people have been killed since the protests started a year ago.
Assad has continued to use tanks and troops against the protesters despite growing pressure from the West and Arab states for the bloodletting to stop.
Non-Arab, Shia Moslem Iran has backed other "Arab Spring" uprisings that toppled several Western-allied dictators in predominantly Sunni Moslem North Africa. But it has steadfastly continued to support Assad, a member of the minority Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shia Islam.
Facing its own dispute with the West over its nuclear programme, Iran could become increasingly isolated if Assad were to fall.
Ahani said Assad's government had to meet the demands of the Syrian people, but said overseas interference was making that more difficult.
"We can't impose a solution from overseas to resolve the internal problems of Syria," he said. "The opposition and government must be encouraged to try and resolve themselves the problem. There are demands of the Syrian people that have to be respected and that's what we said to the Syrian government."
There are unconfirmed reports that Tehran has been helping the Syrian government manage the crisis. But when asked if advisers had been sent to Damascus ...Capital of the last overtly fascist regime in the world... to help Assad, Ahani said Syria was a sovereign state that made its own decisions.
"The narrow relationship we have with Syria is clear and well diversified, but that doesn't mean that all the decisions of the Syrian government are rubber-stamped or not by Iran," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/09/2012
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#1
There are no problems, crisis, or situation in which blaming the Jew is off limits.
[An Nahar] Tribesmen and politicians in Libya's oil-rich east have polarized public opinion, raised fears that the country might break apart and prompted some of his sharpest statements yet from the interim leader.
Analysts say the problem lies not with the federalism they are proposing but with the unilateral way in which a political movement in the second city of Benghazi is seeking to carve out an autonomous territory in the oil-rich region.
On Tuesday, tribal and politicians in Benghazi declared the eastern region of Cyrenaica as autonomous but recognized the ruling National Transitional Council (NTC) as Libya's legitimate representative in foreign affairs.
Libyan university professor Sadiq Budawara said "many may agree that federalism is the most appropriate form of government for Libya and that it doesn't necessarily pave the way for partition.
"But it is an entirely different matter when the decision to go federal is made by one region unilaterally without consulting other regions. This will split the land."
Libya was a federal union from 1951 to 1963 under the late King Idris I, which divided the country into three states -- Cyrenaica, Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of thich is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... tania and Fezzan.
Partisans of a return to federalism say it will prevent the east from being marginalized as was the case for decades, while opponents fear it will spark a power struggle that splits the country well before elections.
Benghazi-based Libyan political analyst Mohammed bin Hariz told Agence La Belle France Presse federalism would exacerbate rather than ease tensions in Libya, which is striving for national reconciliation after last year's conflict.
"Advocates argue that federalism is a safety valve for national unity but federalism and unity are contradictory terms that cannot co-exist," bin Hariz told AFP.
The distribution of oil wealth, he warned, could engender conflict, especially since the issue of marginalization is a claim that can be easily staked across Libya, including poorer neighborhoods of the capital.
"What did federalism achieve in Iraq," he asked, pointing to the ongoing struggle between the autonomous oil-rich northern region of Kurdistan and the central government in Storied Baghdad ...located along the Tigris River, founded in the 8th century, home of the Abbasid Caliphate...
Jamal bin Dardaf, member of the National Campaign to Raise Political Awareness, said the call for an autonomous region is a reaction to the problems caused by "the sharp centralism" of Qadaffy.
That centralism meant that all official business had to be conducted in the capital, an expensive proposition for most pockets.
But dividing Libya into separate states joined by a loose federation, as was the case under the monarchy, might not present the best formula because present conditions differ entirely from those days, he said.
"Libya is a vast country and (back then) its areas where disconnected," making regional autonomy a necessity, he said. Today, telecommunications and road networks facilitate greater cooperation and cohesion.
Political analyst Abdel Salam al-Raqiyi says it is normal for the country to debate what system of governance it wants but that any decisions need to wait until the election of a constituent assembly in June.
"The federalists have a democratic right to express their thoughts on the type of government they want and to field candidates for the election of a constituent assembly just like the other parties," he said.
"But if the intention was to secession of the region of Berqa (Cyrenaica) and the establishment of an independent date, then the move has no legitimacy and moreover no one will agree to it," Raqiyi continued.
Senior officials in Tripoli, including interim leader Mustapha Abdul Jalil and Prime Minister Abdul Rahim al-Kib, have flatly rejected the federalist project as a throwback to the past.
Instead, they promote a program of decentralization that would give more than 50 local councils considerable decision-making powers and discretionary budgets.
On Tuesday, Abdul Jalil said he had been surprised by the Benghazi declaration, as Libyans from east to west had fought together to overthrow the dictatorship of Muammar Qadaffy ... the like of whose wardrobe will never be seen again. At least that's what we hope... in 2011.
He also charged that some unnamed Arab nations were supporting and financing "sedition" in eastern Libya to thwart the success of the revolution and prevent the so-called Arab Spring from reaching their doorsteps.
On Wednesday, the usually soft-spoken leader toughened his tone, threatening force to preserve the country's unity and calling on his brothers in the east to not be fooled by "infiltrators" and remnants of Qadaffy's regime.
In a nod of support to the interim authorities, which have struggled to exert their authority across Libya, a political party dominated by the Moslem Brüderbund said it too was opposed to federalism.
"Like all Libyans, we reaffirm our rejection of federalism," read a statement issued by the newly formed Justice and Construction party, which is headed by a member of the Moslem Brüderbund but includes other Islamists and independents.
"Federalism is an inadequate model for Libya, both in the short term and the long term," it said.
Ahmed Zubair al-Senussi, who was appointed head of Cyrenaica's governing council on Tuesday, downplayed fears that the federal model would splinter the country.
"This is not sedition," he said in an interview with Agence La Belle France Presse, arguing that federalism, which thrived in the United Arab Emirates, is the most suitable form of government for Libya.
Senussi is a relative of the late king, who was tossed by Qadaffy in a 1969 coup, and was the longest serving political prisoner under Qadaffy's regime. He is also a member of the NTC.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/09/2012
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#1
As was noted a few days ago, until after WWII, Libya was basically three or two administrative countries. And those divisions were likely sensible, such as why Libya is a different country from either Egypt or Tunisia and Algeria.
Comparatively, federalism is often like water that seeks its own level. East Libya feels rather exploited by West Libya because its oil wealth goes West to Tripoli with little to show for it in the East. This was a big factor in the split of Sudan.
So far, Iraq has made a success of its major federal division between southern Iraq and Kurdistan, because the Arabs have wisely not been terribly oppressive of the Kurds. So from the point of view of the Kurds, the alliance with the Arabs (in light of Turkey) is better, for the time being than going it alone.
However, at the same time, the restive Sunni western Iraq has written a lot of checks that it cannot afford. So the Shiites have made it abundantly clear that they either toe the federal line or they face expulsion.
[Dawn] Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar on Thursday reiterated Pakistain's desire to have better relations with the world, including the United States. However, nothing needs reforming like other people's bad habits... the decision to restore the 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... supply line would only be taken by the Parliament, she added.
Speaking at the Foreign Affairs Academy in Islamabad, the foreign minister said that the Parliament was in the process of reviewing Pak-US relations.
In reply to a question, Khar said that a stable and peaceful Afghanistan was in Pakistain's interest. "We would have to give Afghanistan the respect that we desire for ourselves," she said.
A report by the BBC on Thursday claimed that some Pak officials -- involved in back-door diplomacy between the US and Pakistain after the deterioration of relations after the Salala checkpost attacks on Nov 26, 2011 -- are hopeful the Americans will officially apologise soon.
According to the report, a senior military official claims that the Pak report on the Salala incident has helped convince American policy-makers to a great degree that the demand for a formal apology by the US is not unjustified.
An official in the Pak embassy in the US has also confirmed that the two-month diplomatic process aimed at mending ties between the two countries has finally concluded, adds the report.
The official, wishing not to be named, said that the two-month process of back-door diplomacy included not only the Pak foreign minister, Pakistain's Ambassador to the US, and their US counterparts, but also senior military officials from both sides. We don't have a graphic for "back-door diplomacy." If we did, it would be dirty.
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[Dawn] Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Thursday criticised the government for appointing an 'incompetent' chief election commissioner, DawnNews reported.
Speaking at a presser, the Pakistain Moslem League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader claimed that Chief Election Commissioner Justice (retd) Hamid Ali Mirza is working to protect political interests of the PPP-led coalition government and has failed to ensure free and fair by-polls in few constituencies.
Moreover, the PML-N leader claimed that Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani ... Pakistain's erstwhile current prime minister, whose occasional feats of mental gymnastics can be awe-inspiring ... has no authority to extend tenure of the DG Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Lt-Gen Shuja Pasha.
Answering a query about missing persons, the opposition leader said that he has submitted a resolution on the matter in the National Assembly Secretariat. "I will try my best for the recovery of these people," he added.
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[Dawn] THE rapidly deteriorating situation in Afghanistan has thrown America's exit plan into peril, casting doubts on whether an orderly withdrawal from the war-torn country is still possible.
The killing of six American soldiers by their Afghan counterparts over the past week raises questions about the viability of the US strategy that depends on the Afghan cops for winding down this 10-year war. More coalition soldiers are now being killed by Afghan soldiers than in attacks by the Taliban.
Despite reassurances by the B.O. regime that there will be no change in its war strategy, there is growing scepticism about the US achieving even a minimum objective that would allow it an honourable exit from the Afghan quagmire.
It may not be 'the Saigon moment' for the American forces in Afghanistan yet, but many analysts believe the situation is fast spiralling out of control. Although the recent violence was triggered by an incident of the desecration of the Holy Koran by American soldiers, it was simmering sentiment against the occupation forces that the protests gave vent to. Some 40 people, including six American soldiers, have been killed in the worst wave of violence since the US occupation of Afghanistan in December 2001.
The tension had been building up for quite some time, particularly after the surfacing of a video that showed four American soldiers urinating on the bodies of Taliban fighters. But the desecration incident let loose a furious tide that swept through even the areas in northern Afghanistan which are considered relatively peaceful. The street protests have now subsided, but the continuing attacks on coalition troops indicate intensifying hostility among Afghan soldiers towards their foreign mentors. A major plank of 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... 's planned 2014 withdrawal plan was to train and transfer security responsibility to the Afghan army, but the recent spate of killings has put that objective into peril. America and its coalition partners have pulled out hundreds of military advisors associated with various Afghan ministries and coalition troops have been advised to keep their distance from their Afghan counterparts because of the fear of more attacks. That decision is going to seriously affect the military campaign against the Taliban myrmidons.
There has been a steep rise in the trend of Afghan soldiers turning their guns on their foreign partners. Even before this latest episode, the attacks on foreign troops had become more frequent. Earlier this year an Afghan soldier killed four French soldiers, prompting La Belle France to accelerate the withdrawal of its troops. Another rogue Afghan soldier shot and killed an American marine in Helmand ...an Afghan province populated mostly by Pashtuns, adjacent to Injun country in Pak Balochistan... province in February.
Some 76 coalition troops have been killed and 114 others maimed in attacks involving Afghan security personnel since 2007; 75 per cent of these have occurred in the past two years. The Taliban have claimed the responsibility for most of the attacks, but there has not been any independent verification of the claim. Some analysts believe that some of the attackers may have been Taliban infiltrators, but there have also been individual acts, particularly in the case of the recent killings.
The rising number of coalition troops' deaths had prompted US officials to order a tougher screening procedure for members of the Afghan army. Yet given the degree of distrust, there is little hope of the gulf being bridged. American officials concede that despite years of training that has cost billions of dollars, the reliability of Afghan soldiers remains suspect.
This situation is bound to affect the coalition plan to build a well-trained Afghan security force which could work jointly with the foreign forces in fighting the Taliban insurgency and be ready in the future to take complete responsibility for security. But the increasingly perilous situation on the ground provides little hope of achieving that objective. The expectation that a weak administration in Kabul will be able to transform Afghanistan into a stable state by 2014 and take over border and internal security responsibility is unrealistic at best. The growing animosity among Afghan soldiers has restricted options for the United States and its allies as the 2014 deadline comes closer.
While the US and its coalition partner are fast losing ground, the Taliban are taking full advantage of the situation, fuelling the unrest and inciting Afghan soldiers to turn their guns against "foreign infidels rather than on their own people". In many areas,
former Mujahideen commanders who had allied themselves with the US under public pressure joined the protests.
There is now serious doubt that America's negotiations with the Taliban are going anywhere. The decision earlier this year by the Taliban to open an office in Qatar had raised hopes of the talks getting off the ground. The office provides legitimacy to the Death Eaters which was essential for taking the reconciliation process forward. Some American officials believed the development could be a game-changer.
There were also reports that the B.O. regime may even agree to release five Taliban prisoners from Guantanamo Bay and shift them to Qatar. The move could have paved the way for more substantive negotiations on the future of Afghanistan, but it is not clear whether the Taliban will seriously engage in the negotiations in the current situation.
The fact that this is an election year has also compounded President B.O.'s Afghanistan dilemma. Any concession in the negotiations with the Taliban would expose him to attacks from the Republican presidential candidates. He was even criticised for apologising to the Afghan people over the desecration incident. In this situation, the release of Taliban prisoners at Guantanamo Bay seems difficult. Yet more important at this point is how the US administration deals with the current challenge emanating from the growing gulf between the coalition forces and their Afghan counterparts.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
The only man that may ensure OUR Soldiers get shot in the back is the Commander and Chief.
#2
There are 2 Afghan armies. One is units composed mostly of Uzbeks and Tadjiks that are reliable and reasonably good. The other is composed mostly of Pashtuns, unreliable and mostly acts as a training ground for the Taliban.
There is currently a program to make the army reflect the ethnic composition of Afghanistan, which in practice means to Pashtunize it.
All sides know the civil war will restart when the West leaves and they are preparing appropriately.
#6
Somehow a Chinese occupation doesn't seem so bad. China will also suffer in the Graveyard of Empires. This will cost them dearly but will for the most part make the American Occupation look like a cake walk. They need a Gengis Khan style occupation which is more than capable off they only issues is the recently found natural resources mhich btw the US seems disinterested in pursuing. China will keep the lid on things which is what we need / lesser of two evils.
#7
there is growing scepticism about the US achieving even a minimum objective that would allow it an honourable exit from the Afghan quagmire.
Snake Plissken? Hotel Hell-hole? Contain the Gitmo detainees and all other Sharia-promoters within: "you can check in anytime you like, but you can NEVER leave"?
#9
" The rising number of coalition troops' deaths had prompted US officials to order a tougher screening procedure for members of the Afghan army. Yet given the degree of distrust, there is little hope of the gulf being bridged. American officials concede that despite years of training that has cost billions of dollars, the reliability of Afghan soldiers remains suspect."
Learning the news today about transferring the Taliban prisoners over to Afghan control about 3,000 of them, is this really the smart thing to do? I hope this isn't politically motivated. They also want to stop the night raids that are really successful. Allowing these Taliban prisoners the potential freedom under the afghans watch putting our soldiers in grave danger is leudacrist. I'm just a mom, I always turn to Rantburg for the skinny, would love to hear your thoughts
Posted by: Jan ||
03/09/2012 12:19
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Top||
#10
transferring the Taliban prisoners over to Afghan control about 3,000 of them
Note how little we hear from our leadership about the Taliban recidivism rate resulting from the so called Afghan Reintegration program or from former GITMO detainees. "Catch and Release" is NOT just a handy soldier phrase, it is reality.
#11
"..the situation is fast spiraling out of control.." simply because Americans cannot find any reason to only fund regimes that BELIEVE in Freedom! If we did nothing more than only send Aid, Visas, training, and food only to those countries that enshrined our First Amendment we'd have the Egyptians eating sand right now and we'd be out of Afganistan leaving them to their soccer field murders. Unless we're willing to enforce our foundational beliefs and documents we shouldn't be paying to sit beside people that, in their heart of hearts, believe in genital mutilation and theocracy.
#12
As a parting gift, how about a satellite dish and cheap tv for every man, women and child, along with an efficient backup hand generator. Then start broadcasting unencoded programming of from the West. A message from heaven. Betcha it'll scare the turbans off the Talibunnies, puttng a twist in their beards. I'm sure they'll try to force the population to fork them over, but human ingenuity often prevails. Consider it the modern version of salting the earth.
* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > [The Sun = Poll]BRITS WANT OUT OF "UN-WINNABLE" [Afghan] WAR.
ARTIC = ...
> 60% of Brits believe UK Afghan forces are NOT succeeding in their mission or efforts to bring stability + peace to Afghanistan.
> As per the above, 40% believe they NEVER WILL.
> 57% believe UK Combat Troops should be brought home ASAP before the 2014 deadline.
[Dawn] President Asif Ali President Ten Percent Zardari ... sticky-fingered husband of the late Benazir Bhutto ... Thursday reiterated the commitment of the government to improve the situation in Balochistan ...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... and said that mega development projects would help address grievances of the Baloch people.
Talking to Chief Minister Balochistan Nawab Muhammad Aslam Khan Raisani and newly elected senators from Balochistan who called on the president at the Aiwan-e-Sadr, he said measures under the Aghaz-e-Haqooq-e-Balochistan will bring Balochistan at par with other provinces in terms of socio-economic development.
The president congratulated the newly elected senators from Balochistan and expressed the hope that they will work with full devotion for strengthening democracy and democratic institutions in the country.
He expressed confidence that the newly elected senators would play their active role for the welfare and development of their respective areas and also to safeguard the rights of the people of Balochistan.
Developmental projects, law and order, the political situation in the province and the implementation status of Aghaz-e-Haqooq-e-Balochistan package also came under discussion during the meeting.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
FYI DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > BALOCH REBELS INSPIRE SEPARATISTS IN SINDH.
'Twasn't that long ago that Islamabad feared both Pashtun + Punjabi-specific ethno-separatism.
[Dawn] Pak Taliban capos are locked in talks, trying to heal a damaging rift that has inflamed tensions over whether to pursue peace efforts with the government, insiders say.
After months of relative calm, bomb and suicide kabooms are again hitting the country's northwest, raising fears that gun-hung tough guys are again on the offensive despite reports late last year that commanders were exploring peace contacts.
"The one-point agenda is how to adopt a uniform policy," a Taliban capo told AFP from Qazi's guesthouse an undisclosed location on condition of anonymity.
The umbrella Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP) is a loose confederation of rival commanders. Divisions first came to the fore after founder Baitullah Mehsud was killed in a US drone strike in August 2009.
The young and radical Hakimullah Mehsud --a clan relation to Baitullah --ultimately won a leadership battle, pushing the TTP closer to al Qaeda and overseeing some of Pakistain's bloodiest gun and suicide attacks yet.
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... , the Afghan Taliban supreme leader, reportedly asked TTP commanders to stop attacks as his movement explores confidence-building talks with the Americans at the start of a nascent grinding of the peace processor in Afghanistan.
The only TTP commander who refused to comply was Hakimullah Mehsud, putting him at odds with his arch-rival, the older and more measured Wali-ur Rehman, sources say.
Differences appeared to bubble over Sunday with the sacking of Mehsud's deputy, Maulvi Faqir Mohammad, who is considered close to Rehman, at a TTP meeting.
"Dialogue with Pakistain is a secondary issue. First, we're trying to end our disputes and after that we will decide on holding talks with Pakistain," the Taliban capo told AFP.
"There are serious differences between Hakimullah Mehsud and Wali-ur Rehman which everybody wants to end," he added.
The TTP leadership has held several meetings with representatives from the Afghan Taliban and Afghanistan's krazed killer Haqqani network to try to unite, but commanders are constantly on the move, worried about US drone missiles.
"Several rounds of talks have taken place but commanders can't sit together in one place for long as they fear drone strikes," another source told AFP.
Experts are divided over the significance of Mohammad's sacking with the government and former officials convinced that the TTP is now weaker than ever, hit hard by the US drone strikes and by Pak military offensives.
"Hakimullah Mehsud has his group with its own weight but TTP commanders are scattered. Some are in Afghanistan, some in the tribal areas. There is a lack of communication," said Mehmud Shah, a former tribal belt security chief.
"There are commanders who aren't listening to Mehsud... The shura (meeting) of some of its leaders is just to show their importance. The TTP structure is broken and they are making efforts to rebuild it and remove difference," he added.
Mohammad has insisted that he initiated peace contacts in Bajaur, his home district and one of seven in Pakistain's northwestern tribal belt, with the full knowledge of Mehsud's TTP leadership as a "test case".
"They told me that first the grinding of the peace processor should take place in Bajaur and then be expanded," he told AFP by telephone.
Malik Sultan Zeb, an elder in the Mamund tribe in Bajaur, said rustics were keen to cut a deal with the TTP provided that the gun-hung tough guys were willing to stop attacks.
"America is holding peace talks with (Afghanistan's) Taliban and we also want to have peace talks with the krazed killers," he said.
A Pak security official, speaking on condition of anonymity ... for fear of being murdered... and saying his information was based on informants, said the message to unite came from Mullah Omar in December.
"He sent a message saying, peace in Pakistain is imperative for us," the official said.
"Hakimullah Mehsud is still reluctant about various issues, but intermediaries from Afghanistan are trying to solve the rifts," he told AFP.
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[Dawn] Pakistain is advertising for companies to install an Internet filtering system that could block up to 50 million Web addresses, alarming free speech activists who fear current censorship could become much more widespread.
"Think of the kids."
Internet access for Pakistain's some 20 million Web users is less restricted than in many countries in Asia and the Arab world, though some pornographic sites and those seen as insulting to Islam are blocked. Others related to separatist activities or army criticism have also been, or continue to be, censored.
Few nations have so publicly revealed their plans to censor the Web as Pakistain is doing, however. Last month, the government took out newspaper and Web advertisements asking for companies or institutions to develop the national filtering and blocking system.
"They are already blocking a lot of Internet content, and now they are going for a massive system that can only limit and control political discourse," said Shahzad Ahmad, the director of Bytes for All Pakistain, which campaigns for Internet freedom. "The government has nothing to do with what I choose to look at."
The government doesn't currently list the sites it has blocked, or their number, or say who sits on the committee that decides what pages to shut down. Pakistain's Telecommunication Authority instructs the country's 50 Internet Service Providers to block sites. The ISPs, which receive their license from the PTA, are obliged to obey.
In November, the PTA ordered cell phone companies to block text messages containing a list of more than 1,500 English words it said were offensive. But the plan was dropped after public ridicule and complaints from cell phone companies about practicality.
The plan to censor the Internet comes amid unease over a set of proposals by a media regulatory body aimed at bringing the country's freewheeling television media under closer government control. With general elections later this year or earlier next, some critics have speculated the government might be trying to cut down on criticism.
The media proposals call for television stations not to broadcast programs "against the national interest" or those that "undermine its integrity or solidarity as an independent and sovereign country" or "contain aspersions against or ridicule the organs of the State."
Pakistain's Information Minister Firdous Ashiq Awan denied Wednesday that the government was seeking to curb the media.
"We want to see the media growing. We want to strengthen it," Awan said, emphasizing that the proposals were just that, and the government wouldn't implement them without the media's consent.
The government advertisements state it wants a system capable of shutting down up to 50 million Web addresses in multiple languagesrevealed with a processing delay of not less than one millisecond.
The head of Pakistain's ISP association, Wahajus Siraj, said he supported the proposed system, saying his ISP and others in the association didn't have the time or money to take down the sites. He also said rights activists had nothing to worry about.
"They don't fully understanding the concept of it," said Siraj. "This is not new censorship. It's making the manual system more efficient. I respect their point of view, but decent freedom of speech should not be blocked."
Siraj, who sits on the board of the government-run technology fund seeking proposals for the blocking system, said there had been many expressions of interest to create the system, including from two Western firms. He declined to name them.
Websense Inc, a Sa with a n Diego-based Internet security firm, has already said it is not bidding for the Pakistain project.
"We call on other technology providers to also do the right thing for the citizens of Pakistain and refuse to submit a proposal for this contract," it said in a statement. "Broad government censorship of citizen access to the Internet is morally wrong."
US technology companies have been criticized for helping foreign governments censor the Internet to their citizens. Cisco Systems Inc, which makes networking equipment that could be used in official efforts to monitor and control Internet use, is often cited; the company insists it does not provide any government with any special capabilities and cannot control what its customers do with the products.
Like in many Asian cn Diego-ountries where pornographic materials are banned, Pakistain currently tries to block adult websites. It also seeks to censor what it sees as "blasphemous" content toward Islam, as other Moslem nations do.
In 2008, the government blocked YouTube because of anti-Islamic movies on the site; in 2010, it blocked Facebook for two weeks amid anger over a page that encouraged users to post images of Islam's Prophet Muhammad.
Other sites that have, or continue to be blocked, are those containing news and views from Balochistan ...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... , a southwestern province where a separatist insurgency has simmered for years in the face of army crackdowns. There have been other cases where sites have been blocked apparently after they triggered the anger of members of the military and political elite.
Rollingstone.com has been offline since July last year, reportedly because it ran a short story critical of the amount of budgetary funds allocated to the army. Rollingstone.com didn't return e-mails seeking comment.
Asked for comment, the telecommunication authority sent a statement that explained the blocking system was being installed because the Pak people wanted a "ban on blasphemous and objectionable contents that were being used to harass, deface and blackmail the innocent citizens of Pakistain."
Blocking pornographic websites and those seen insulting to Islam is not unpopular in Pakistain; many would say it is obligatory under Islam. Many of the most high-profile blocks have been a result of court orders acting on petitions from members of the public.
"I'm with the government on this one. They have right the intention," said Ahmjad Alvi, founder of Brainnet, one of the country's first ISPs. "Think of the kids."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/09/2012
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#1
Have they approached Google about doing this for them?
From the D'Oh! Department
Japan has at least temporarily shut down an industry that once generated a third of its electricity. Japan's PM has called for re-starting the plants, but waffles by saying he will wait for approval from communities near the plants. The country has avoided obvious power shortages by a drastic conservation program. Alternative sources have been ramped up, at greatly increased cost. Economists blame Japan's recent annual trade deficit, the first in over 30 years, on these higher energy prices. Japanese have expressed conflicted feelings on this issue. They want the benefits of cheap power with no risks.
#2
Get a grip, Nippon, we all knew that even iff you did shut down the NucPower industry it wouldn't last long, becuz domestic reserves + imports taint enuff to stausfy national requirements.
Since HOMER SIMPSON is taken, I'll go wid "SHERIFF BUFORD T. JUSTICE" > THE G *** D *** GERMANS HAVE GOT NOTHING TO DO WID ANYTHING!
#7
Maybe we aren't giving Japanese pols enough credit here. The public was demanding that the nukes be shut down. Now the public has learned what that means. Pretty soon they'll be demanding that the nukes be restarted. Viola, democracy!
#11
It gets even worse. N and S Japan have different generating systems, one 50 hz ant the other 60 hz, so they are incompatable with each other for intertie or redirecting power. No nukes means more shortages and negative economic impact.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
03/09/2012 11:25
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[An Nahar] Two kabooms on Thursday struck security posts in the northern Syrian town of Aazaz, site of fierce festivities between government and rebel troops, a monitoring group said.
The Britannia-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said in a statement that one blast targeted an intelligence office and the second a cop shoppe.
"There were fierce festivities afterwards between Syrian forces and rebel troops," the Observatory added.
Mohamed al-Halabi, an activist in Aleppo ...For centuries, Aleppo was Greater Syria's largest city and the Ottoman Empire's third, after Constantinople and Cairo. Although relatively close to Damascus in distance, Aleppans regard Damascenes as country cousins... , told Agence La Belle France Presse in Beirut by telephone that the rebel Free Syrian Army was behind the blasts in the town located in the province of Aleppo, near the Turkish border.
"Aazaz was subjected all day yesterday to intense shelling by Syrian forces and rebel troops retaliated and then blew up the two security posts," he said.
He said several anti-regime demonstrations were held Wednesday evening in a number of Aleppo neighborhoods.
He added that security forces at dawn on Thursday raided several districts of the city, the second largest in the country, and tossed in the slammer dozens of people.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/09/2012
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[Dawn] Pakistain has charged the late Osama bin Laden's ... who can now be reached at RFD Boneyard... three widows with illegally entering and living in the country, the interior minister said Thursday.
The three women have been in Pak detention since May last year, when US commandos raided the house where they, bin Laden and several of their children were staying. The commandos shot and killed bin Laden, and then buried his body at sea.
Rehman said the three had been charged in court, but he did not say when. It was unclear if they had a lawyer.
He said their children were free to leave Pakistain, but could stay with their mothers for the duration of the trial.
A Pak legal expert contacted about the case, Hashmat Habib, said the maximum punishment the women could receive was five years in jail.
One of their relatives has reportedly visited Pakistain recently to urge authorities to let them leave the country. The decision to charge them could be a formal part of that process.
One of the women is known to be from Yemen, another from Soddy Arabia. The nationality of the third woman is unclear.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/09/2012
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Top|| File under: al-Qaeda
#1
Yokay, I'll bite, I thought Pakland was allowing Osama's Babes + Kiddies, etal. to leave, e.g. to Yemen???
#3
FREEREPUBLIC this AM > looks like the PAK TALIBAN are threatening to harm various Pak Govt-Public Officials involved or linked to the Case, etc. unless Osama's Babes + Kiddies are released???
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry said Thursday the violent crackdown by Bashar Assad's regime in Syria should not be tolerated, but the world must respond "in a responsible way", Associated Press reported.
'Responsible' is the progressive code word for not using the icky military in a situation that would tend to go against the interests of progressives, like liberating a long-suffering people...
Kerry said there are stark differences between the situation in Syria and in Moammar Gadhafi's Libya, at the time the United States and others intervened, and that Assad has stronger air defenses. Asked about U.S. intervention, the Democrat said: "Is that the right thing to do tomorrow or the next day? I think not," he said in a nationally broadcast interview.
Remember, he's the senior senator in foreign relations because Bumblin' Joe got kicked upstairs...
Kerry told CBS television's "This Morning" show that Washington "can't just jump up some morning and say, 'Let's go and drop some bombs on Syrian tanks.' "
We could, actually, no one would stop us, least of all the Syrians. Even Vlad Putin would get out of our way if he saw we were serious. But we're not.
The senator also said he believes Russia and China gave Assad "a kind of get-out-of-jail card" when the two countries vetoed a U.N. effort to force him out.
Mr. Kerry just had one of his twice-a-day moments...
Kerry's Senate colleague, Republican John McCain, has called for the United States to arm the Syrian opposition forces and lead an international coalition with airstrikes against Assad's regime to end the slaughter. But that proposal has drawn little support in Congress, the Obama administration or among the Republican presidential candidates.
Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said in a separate interview that the decision by Russia and China is "costing them mightily" in terms of reputations in the international community.
"We're all outraged" by what's happening in Syria, she said. But Rice said the distinction between the situation in Syria and in Libya is that "there's not the clear-cut unified opposition (in Syria) that controls a clear piece of territory."
In an interview on MSBNC, Rice said the United States is trying "to ramp up, to the extent possible, economic pressure on President Assad."
"The best answer to this is not more arms. It's not air strikes against a very complex and capable air defense," she said, adding that "we don't think it's appropriate to put American boots on the ground."
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/09/2012
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#1
Not for IRAN either???
* CHINESE MILITARY FORUM > [POTUS Candidates]REPUBLICANS CLASH WID OBAMA ON IRAN RESPONSE.
Ironically, given how the 2012 GOP Candidates as portrayed as "pro-War" as per Iran, its in Iran's interest to ensure that the Bammer gets re-elected.
#2
"We're all outraged" by what's happening in Syria, she said. But Rice said the distinction between the situation in Syria and in Libya is that "there's not the clear-cut unified opposition (in Syria) that controls a clear piece of territory."
Translation:
We're rightsizing and no longer need our NATO partners in Afghanistan. Outcomes in Lybia had left a very bad aftertaste as well.
#6
Quick, unleash a bunch of Free Syria bumperstickers! Just like the Free Tibet movement it will peacefully force a transfer of political power within a few generations.
* WAFF > [US] CONGRESS NO LONGER NEEDED WHEN DECIDING ON [unilateral = POTUS Admin-led] MILITARY ACTION | [YouTube] OBAMA ADMIN CITES INTERNATIONAL PERMISSION, NOT CONGRESS, FOR SYRIA INTERVENTION.
* SAME > [CNN] OFFICIAL: PANETTA MIS-INTERPETED ON
[needing Foreign]"PERMISSION" FOR SYRIA INTERVENTION.
[Yemen Post] Director of the Yemeni Petroleum Company Omar Al-Arhabi has resigned following a wave of protests organized by the company's employees.
They accused Al-Arhabi of standing behind assaults against some of the employees who headed to the cabinet demanding the resignation of Al-Arhabi.
They said Al-Arhabi was involved in corruption issues and looting of the company's assets, threatening to carry out an inclusive strike from March 16th if a new director is not appointed.
Al-Arhabi attributed his resignation to health reasons that forced him to resign.
In a resignation letter presented to President Abdu Rabo Mansour Hadi, Al-Arhabi said he did best to maintain and develop the company and its employees, indicating that he could provid the oil derivatives during the political crisis that hit the country in 2011.
A committee presided over by the State Minister Jawhra Hamoud along with ten representatives of the financial and oil ministries was formed with the aim of resolving the problems of the company and its employees.
Media sources revealed that Al-Arhabi had left the country after two days of his resignation.
Some employees of the company cited that they were interrupted by gunnies affiliated with Al-Arhabi they prevented them from heading to the cabinet to sit in.
Well-informed sources said that the government accepted the resignation of Al-Arhabi and tasked the Oil Minister Hisham Sharaf to appoint a new director.
What is recently known as the institution revolution hit many public authorities and resulted in the ouster of tens of corrupt officials in Yemen, as employees and students insisted on firing them.
Several military and security units demanded the removal of officers accused of corruption or involvement in the deadly crackdown on protesters.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/09/2012
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#1
Al-Arhabi attributed his resignation to health reasons that forced him to resign.
He wants to stay healthy.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
03/09/2012 7:51
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French 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... admitted publicly Thursday he will quit politics if he loses next month's election, as his Socialist challenger pressed home his attacks on the incumbent's record.
"You won't have Dick Nixon to kick around anymore."
"I tell you, yes," he replied when asked on a television program if he would withdraw from public life if, as opinion polls predict, he loses to Socialist Francois Hollande in the two-round vote in April and May.
But Sarkozy made clear he had not already thrown in the towel, announcing a raft of new measures after a week that saw his re-election campaign take a sharp turn to the right on integration and immigration issues.
He told BFMTV he was working on a new plan to help La Belle France's underprivileged and unruly suburbs, a fund to help single mothers, and extra measures to stop people cheating on social security benefits.
Sarkozy has failed to narrow the gap with Hollande -- who has enjoyed a clear opinion poll lead for five months -- and this week pulled out all the stops to revamp what many critics say has been a lacklustre campaign.
In a marathon three-hour television interview on Tuesday, he declared that there were too many immigrants in La Belle France and that the country's attempts to integrate foreign arrivals into its culture and society had become paralyzed.
That statement came as French Jewish and Mohammedan leaders united to complain they were being used as pawns in a presidential election increasingly dominated by bitter disputes over national identity and ritual slaughter.
Sarkozy picked up on a debate about halal meat -- initially launched by the anti-immigrant National Front leader Marine Le Pen -- and declared that its spread in butchers' shops was a major problem for the French.
That fuelled accusations that he is pinning his hopes on catching up on Hollande -- in what appears to be shaping up as a clear two-horse race -- in winning back voters who lean towards the National Front.
Others accused him of being sidetracked by side issues at a time when La Belle France is struggling to generate growth and to escape the Eurozone financial crisis.
Hollande, who has never held a ministerial post and whose ex-partner Segolene Royal lost to Sarkozy in 2007, this week, pressed home his attacks on his rival's record in five years at the Elysee palace.
He mocked Sarkozy's plan -- announced Tuesday -- to slap a new tax on the profits of listed companies which he said would bring in up to three billion euros ($3.9 billion) a year to help cut the public deficit.
"Nicolas Sarkozy has realized at the end of his term that some of the country's biggest companies ... beat feet paying tax," he said Wednesday.
"It would have been a better idea to do that in 2007," said the 57-year-old, who hopes to become the first Socialist president since Francois Mitterrand was re-elected in 1988.
Sarkozy has been accused of favoring the rich, but in recent weeks has tried to dispel that image by announcing he wants to ban big pay-offs to corporate bosses and to hit big firms with more tax.
Hollande for his part has declared that the "world of finance" is the adversary and said he wants a 75 percent tax rate on annual income above one million euros.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/09/2012
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#1
Will he be holding his breath until he turns blue?
Posted by: Water Modem ||
03/09/2012 9:47
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[An Nahar] The Yemeni army has killed seven suspected al-Qaeda bully boyz in an artillery strike on Zinjibar, an bad turban stronghold in the restive southern Abyan province, a military official said on Thursday.
The assault follows one of the deadliest al-Qaeda attacks on Yemeni security forces in the southern outskirts of Zinjibar on Sunday that killed 185 troops.
"The army fired artillery shells at al-Qaeda positions in Zinjibar" late Wednesday night, the official told Agence La Belle France Presse.
A local official in the nearby town of Jaar meanwhile said that "the bodies of seven al-Qaeda gunnies" were transferred to the bully boy stronghold for burial.
Al-Qaeda, which grabbed credit for Sunday's attack, said in a statement it took "73 soldiers" captive and seized a tank, anti-aircraft weapons, a rocket launcher, rockets and 11 Kalashnikov assault rifles, as well as three military vehicles and "a large amount of ammunition."
Yemen's newly formed cabinet at an emergency meeting late Wednesday condemned al-Qaeda's escalating attacks in the country's mostly lawless south and urged the divided and battered security forces to "unite in the face of terrorism and extremism...that threatens Yemen's security and stability."
The ministers in a statement released on the official SABA news agency cautioned they would not hesitate "to punish ... those (members of the security forces) who neglect their duties."
The government warning was triggered by allegations that Sunday's assault on the army base in Kud was an "inside job" and that some soldiers had collaborated with the bad turbans.
The ministry of interior meanwhile said late Wednesday that an al-Qaeda plot to seize the city of Mukalla, the capital of Hadramawt, had been uncovered and that security forces in the area have been placed on high alert.
Al-Qaeda linked bully boyz in Yemen, known as the Partisans of Sharia (Islamic law) seized several towns and cities in the country's south and east, including Zinjibar, in the wake of mass protests against Saleh's regime last year.
Attacks on security forces have escalated since President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi pledged, during his presidential inauguration speech on February 25, to eradicate al-Qaeda.
Al-Qaeda and their local affiliates have launched near daily attacks on security forces and police in Abyan, as well as the provinces of Bayda, Shabwa and Hadramawt in the south and east of the country.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/09/2012
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[An Nahar] Vladimir Putin ...Second President of the Russian Federation and the first to remain sober. Because of constitutionally mandated term limits he is the current Prime Minister of Russia. His sock puppet, Dmitry Medvedev, was installed in the 2008 presidential elections. Putin is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law. During his eight years in office Russia's economy bounced back from crisis, seeing GDP increase, poverty decrease and average monthly salaries increase. During his presidency Putin passed into law a series of fundamental reforms, including a flat income tax of 13%, a reduced profits tax, and new land and legal codes. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to Putin. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile... vowed Thursday to rule Russia as a "non-party" leader when he assumes power for a third term as president amid a wave of protests challenging his rule for the first time in 12 years.
"Today, it would probably be appropriate to recall that the president is a non-party figure," Putin told outgoing President Dmitry Medvedev in a televised meeting at the Krasnaya Polyana ski resort on the Black Sea.
"I will be working in the interests of the entire Russian people, irrespective of their party affiliations," Putin promised.
The former KGB spy is the leader of the ruling United Russia party that won a fraud-tainted parliamentary election in December that originally sparked the protests against Putin's era of domination.
Putin is not officially a card-carrying member of United Russia despite chairing the party. He has also recently attempted to distance himself from the group amid speculation that it may soon be either disbanded or reformed.
The idea of Putin presiding over Russia for an extended six-year term after a 2000-2008 presidency has stirred protests that are set to continue in Moscow on Saturday with a rally organizers hope can draw 50,000 people.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/09/2012
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#1
What's the difference between "Non-Party" and "One-Party"? I wonder.
#2
Little or nothing. A large number of Russians still embrace the concept of a "Vohzd" (leader)(typically the polite address for Lenin and Stalin, though it fell out of favor with Khrushchev), be it a Czar or a General Party Secretary.
Historically, Russia was ruled by the Czar over what amounted to a senate of major landholders. If the Czar was weak, the landholders would pick up the slack.
This resulted in a miscalculation on their part once, with Peter I "The Great" (1672-1725). When he traveled to Europe to steal technology, mostly shipbuilding technology, the landholders assumed he was weak, so tried a coup. But Peter had a competent first minister, who arrested and held them for his return.
He used a sword to personally cut off the heads of the traitors.
To his credit, he did build a navy, and because of his actions, by the turn of the 20th Century, Russia had become the world's fourth largest industrial power, a huge accomplishment in that they began for the most part from an almost medieval state.
[Yemen Post] Ansar al-Sharia ...a Yemeni Islamist militia which claims it is not part of al-Qaeda, even though it works about the same and for the same ends... , al-Qaeda offshoot in Yemen, declared on Wednesday the southern Yemeni province of Shabwa, the hometown of the Yemeni American holy man Anwar al-Awlaqi, who was assassinated last year by an US drone strike, as an Islamic emirate.
In a statement released on its website, al-Qaeda declared Shabwa, a province abundantly rich in natural resources such as oil and gas, an Islamic emirate, citing pictures of its elements in control of key government institution in the governorate.
Such announcement is the third of its kind but the biggest of its magnitude. The terror network has declared Zinjubar, the lovely provincial capital of the strife-torn province of Abyan, an Islamic emirate in May last year. However Yemeni army assisted by tribal gunnies managed to regain control of it , forcing them out three months later.
The town [Zinjubar] still the scene of nearly daily festivities between the Jihadists and army troopers nevertheless. On Sunday, AQAP gunnies has waged a surprise attack on military posts the outskirts of Zinjubar, leaving at least 180 soldiers killed, capturing 70, and looting different kinds of weapons.
Also, earlier the year, the Orcs and similar vermin have briefly taken over Rada, the main town of the southeastern Province of Al-Baitha. They ,however, pulled out after Yemeni government has struck a deal with them, releasing dozens of their fellow islamists from prisons.
Taking an advantage of the current situation the country is going through, Yemen-based al-Qaeda wing--the most active offshoot of the global terror network in the world according to US Department of State-- has gained momentum in south Yemen, stepping up its attacks on army and security forces, and taking control of large swathes of lands.
Earlier the day, locals in al-Mukala, the lovely provincial capital of Hadramout, the biggest province in the country, has distributed flies, warning army personnel that their fate is going to be death unless they repent and stop fighting for the government.
High-ranking security officer told Yemen Post on condition of anonymity that the interior Ministry have intelligence information that the AQAP fighters planning to take over al-Mukala.
Yemeni President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi has pledged to eradicate AQAP elements on Monday.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/09/2012
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#1
HMMMMM, HMMMMM, so AQ established an Emirate in the hometown of a man [Awlaki] whom LTC Anthony Shaffer says may had been a Double or Triple Agent for the US before 9-11???
Georgia and NATO signed an agreement to extend mutual cooperation in the area of security. The agreement was signed on Wednesday in Brussels during a meeting of the NATO-Georgia Commission, Georgian Foreign Ministry said.
Might as well. NATO isn't good for anything else these days, why not make another defense promise we have no intention of keeping?
Secretary of Georgia's Security Council Giga Bokeria, who was heading Georgian delegation said after the meeting that this document is very important for Georgia, as it implies increased cooperation in security and removal of existing threats to Georgia.
"It concerns the analysis of and assistance in ensuring Georgia's defense and cybersecurity, which is very important for us because we were often subjected to such attacks in the past", said Bokeria.
He also said that regional security issues and threats to Georgia in the region were discussed during the committee meeting.
Georgian envoy to NATO Grigol Mgaloblishvili said that NATO Secretary-General welcomed the strengthening of cooperation and almost double increase in number of Georgian troops in Afghanistan. "Georgia is a major player in ensuring international security, which is primarily seen in the fight against terrorism in Afghanistan, where NATO has its most significant operation," he said.
Mgaloblishvili said that a new agreement on extending cooperation in the area of security also omplies further assistance in ensuring compliance of the Georgian defense structures to NATO standards.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/09/2012
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Posted by: Water Modem ||
03/09/2012
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#1
This one bears close watching. Will the rest of the world force the EU to put commercial interests ahead of environmental interests? If so, then the issue might set the high water mark for hysterical environmental psuedo-science.
#2
This could lead to a major trade war. Imagine if Uncle Sam decide to impose a tax on EU airlines equal to the amount levied on American airlines. And other countries took the same action to recover fees imposed on their national airlines.
#3
This is yet another reason that any GOP candidate is preferable to Obama - a GOP prez would probably coordinate retaliatory action with the rest of the world.
#4
this will give the EU the excuse it needs to back out of their policy
tom friedman will ignore it and praise China anyway
obama will blame Bush or big oil; whatever
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
03/09/2012 0:32
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#5
But in December, the European Court of Justice ruled that the EU levy on CO2 pollution from aircraft was legal. No air carrier will face a bill until 2013 after this year's carbon emissions have been tallied.
Gee, I wonder if the cost of flying will go up?
It's not a "levy", it's a tax, one designed to give the taxers more money to spend while discouraging air transportation.
The elities will still have to fly to carbon conferences, of course, because the cost is picked up by the taxpayers.
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/09/2012 6:14
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#6
The hidden factor behind this is that this tax was a barely concealed effort to create an "international tax", which internationalists have been clamoring for, for years.
They lust for an international tax on *anything*, so that it would not be controlled by individual nations more than willing to close the money spigot. As things are now, the money always comes with strings attached, and they hate this.
Other proposals along this line are an international financial transaction tax, or just taxes on international currency transactions, an international tax on aviation fuel, a tax on airline tickets, carbon use taxes, including a 4.8-cent tax on each gallon of gasoline, an international shipping tax, and other taxes on an extensive range of transactions, goods and services.
And of course, an international tax to pay for the United Nations, and an independent UN military, to give food to the world's poor, for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), to support the IMF and World Bank, to pay for the Kyoto and related treaties,
and, rather blatantly, "internationalism" itself.
And the OECD and UN are already using US money to lobby congress to create such taxes. Which is unlawful for anyone else to do.
#7
Oh, and this is far from an inclusive list. Just after writing it, I have remembered several more such schemes, such as funding major initiatives by the World Health Organization, major "world cultural" (think mosque) preservation and restoration, and real insidious ones like funding for "Agenda 21" and other such insane tyrannies.
These people obviously have nothing productive or creative to do, so they spend all their time trying to persuade others to make them wealthy and powerful.
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.
The IAF struck a vehicle in Gaza on Friday, killing two senior officials of the Popular Resistance Committee (PRC). The explosion happened shortly after two mortar shells were fired at Israel from the Hamas-ruled territory
Two top terrorists were killed in Gaza City Friday, after IDF aircraft targeted a vehicle there.
Senior official in new Libyan gov't says handguns, grenades, bomb-making materials found in EU, Asia, Africa embassies.
[Dawn] 
[Dawn] United States President 
[Dawn] Syria's deputy oil minister resigned on Thursday, becoming the most 
North Korea
Some 200 Paleostinians rallied near the Qalandiya checkpoint and hurled stones at security forces who responded with crowd-dispersal means.
[An Nahar] Syrian security forces on Thursday killed 62 people across the country, monitors said, as the army sent further troop reinforcements to the northwestern province of Idlib, where activists said they fear an assault similar to the one that devastated the Baba Amr neighborhood of Homs.
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
[Dawn] Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar on Thursday reiterated Pakistain's desire to have better relations with the world, including the United States. 
[Dawn] Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Thursday criticised the government for appointing an 'incompetent' chief election commissioner, DawnNews reported.
Asif Ali 
[Dawn] Pak 
[Dawn] Pakistain is advertising for companies to install an Internet filtering system that could block up to 50 million Web addresses, alarming free speech activists who fear current censorship could become much more widespread.
[Dawn] Pakistain has charged 
French President 
...Second President of the Russian Federation and the first to remain sober. Because of constitutionally mandated term limits he is the current Prime Minister of Russia. His sock puppet, Dmitry Medvedev, was installed in the 2008 presidential elections. Putin is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law. During his eight years in office Russia's economy bounced back from crisis, seeing GDP increase, poverty decrease and average monthly salaries increase. During his presidency Putin passed into law a series of fundamental reforms, including a flat income tax of 13%, a reduced profits tax, and new land and legal codes. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to Putin. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile...
