In an expression of solidarity with Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) Chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, British parliamentarian of Kashmiri origin Lord Nazir Ahmed has announced a reward for the captor[sic] of US President Barack Obama and his predecessor George W Bush. Via Harry's Place, where they want him booted from Labour, but don't think it's going to happen.
#1
Nice. If he's an MP, he's part of the government. If the government doesn't do anything to him, they're complicit in his announcement.
Over to you, Mr. Cameron.
(Maybe the UK gummint should rethink selling lordships to moslems from other countries....)
Posted by: Barbara ||
04/15/2012 17:57
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Barbara,
He is the House of Lords and part of the Labour party.
MP's are members of parliament whether Conservative Labour or Lib Dems.
If this guy thinks Saeed is a hero we have no chance in making muslims see sense as already OBL,Saeed and Mullah Omar are seen as heroes in the British Pakistani community.
#5
MEMRI has the original report. Lord High Mucketymuck (PTUI) might want to argue with them.
During a recent visit to Pakistan, Lord Nazir Ahmed, a member of the British House of Lords who originally hails from Pakistani Kashmir, announced he was putting up a bounty of £10 million for the capture of U.S. President Barack Obama and his predecessor, George W. Bush. The announcement, made at a conference held in the Pakistani town of Haripur, came in response to a recent U.S. announcement offering a $10 million reward to anyone providing information leading to the capture of Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, founder of the Pakistani jihadi organization Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), and emir of LeT's charity arm, Jamaatud Dawa.
...Following are excerpts from a report on the announcement that appeared in the Pakistani daily The Express Tribune:[2]
...[2] The Express Tribune (Pakistan), April 15, 2012. The original English has been lightly edited for clarity.
Google translate Omar al-Haddouchi, the infamous ideological leader of the jihadist movement in Morocco, has a bizarre fatwa: All Muslims must as soon as possible to leave France for North African countries.
Okay, he's got our interest...
According to the preacher, Muslims have nothing to look for in France include the burka ban, mitigating the call to Friday prayers and tighter controls on Muslim radicals after the terrorist attack in Toulouse.
Also among Dutch Muslim radical sheik has many supporters. Al-Haddouchi was sentenced to thirty years in prison because of his connections to the perpetrators of the suicide bombings in Casablanca in May 2003, but was released from prison last year after the Moroccan King Mohammed VI gave him a pardon. Omar al-Haddouchi compares non-Muslim countries with "a toilet where you leave a big message and then leave."
In his fatwa, pronounced in a 14 minute video speech, which is currently circulating on jiadwebsites said Al-Haddouchi: "Do your best in spreading this message and do your best in saving people and getting them out of the darkness of ignorance and disbelief at the expanse of Islam. If someone is weak in Sharia knowledge, the only thing he has to do is to walk away from the countries of the infidels, especially in our time. You must depart from the land of the infidels."
Only problem is, what if the Dar-al-Islam doesn't want you?
#4
Unfortunately, this means that France is going to start getting hit with terrorist chemical weapons in the near future. That is why the Turban is getting his followers out of France ASAP, so that they will not be the dead Muslims that the French pile up in retaliation for the chemical attacks.
#5
Muslim brotherhood is taking over France and hooking up with the brothers in Germany as soon as they get the green light to do so from the Obama administration!
#8
Have to agree wid #4 - given how many Jihadi Groups are setting up throughout Europe or desire to, I see no reason to issue such a Fatwa unless al-Haddouchi knows something Paris or Brussels, etc. does NOT???
#9
CIA or MI6 or whomever should have set up a false version of this a long time ago. Happy that the real thing came along even if Shieldwolf might be right about the reason why.
#3
"Soccer is a game for Girls/Kids in the US" ...
SOCCER SYMBOLIZES NATIONAL DOMESTICITY, CULTURE, + QUALITY-OF-LIFE.
LOSING AT SOCCER = ...
> Baby Jesus is actually the Devil.
> Your favorite Pet is actually a Transformer Robot controlled by an escaped lab mouse wid an oversized Brain named "the Brain" who has a serious Napoleonic Complex + is out to take over the World every night.
> Your Wife or best GF of many years was born a Man.
> Mom + Grandma were lying to you all those years or deacdes ago when they claimed they cooked or made everything by hand.
> The US Govt declared Blatz Beer a "National Treasure" over Budweiser, Pabst, Miller or even Heineken. Ditto wid Escargots.
> France decides to fight the Germans instead of surrendering.
And so on, and so on ...
AND YOU JUST REALIZED OR FOUND OUT ABOUT IT ALL BEFORE OR DURING THE SOCCER GAME.
Thusly, Virginia, we learn again how Soccer Riots begin.
Speaking to the Duma, Putin announced his support for the ISAF mission:
Surprisingly few American mothers think their sons should go into combat to pull Russia's chestnuts out of the fire.
"We understand what is happening in Afghanistan -- right?" Russia's educator-in-chief lectured the Duma. "We are interested in things there being under control, right? And we do not want our soldiers to fight on the Tajik-Afghan border, right?"
"It's in our national interests to help maintain stability in Afghanistan," he continued. "Well, NATO and the Western community are present there. God bless them! Let them do their work."
This is not going to make the Afghan War any more popular in the US. Surprisingly few American mothers think their sons should go into combat to pull Russia's chestnuts out of the fire. However, if President Obama goes ahead and withdraws from Afghanistan before fulfilling the objectives laid out in the UN resolutions authorizing the war, the Russians are threatening to sue.
Speaking to the Duma, Putin announced his support for the ISAF mission:
Surprisingly few American mothers think their sons should go into combat to pull Russia's chestnuts out of the fire.
"We understand what is happening in Afghanistan -- right?" Russia's educator-in-chief lectured the Duma. "We are interested in things there being under control, right? And we do not want our soldiers to fight on the Tajik-Afghan border, right?"
"It's in our national interests to help maintain stability in Afghanistan," he continued. "Well, NATO and the Western community are present there. God bless them! Let them do their work."
This is not going to make the Afghan War any more popular in the US. Surprisingly few American mothers think their sons should go into combat to pull Russia's chestnuts out of the fire. However, if President Obama goes ahead and withdraws from Afghanistan before fulfilling the objectives laid out in the UN resolutions authorizing the war, the Russians are threatening to sue.
#1
Its in our national interests to help maintain stability in Afghanistan, he [Putin] continued.
Doublespeak. He and Obama (lecturer-in-chief) are meant for each other. What has Russia done to maintain stability in Afghanistan? They are hated in Afghanistan; maybe staying out is good for Afghan stability.
#2
It's in Russia's interest that Afghanistan be stable, most certainly. However, it is also in Russia's interest that they not be involved, at least militarily.
#4
Read The Great Game, Russia and Afghanistan goes back a long ways. These Kahnites and Stans were responsible for enslaving a large number Russian peoples back in the day, basically as soon as the Mongols were ousted as the mussels were undeterred in the great pastime of abduction and slave trading.
That said, Russia and the West have been sparring this area for a while as well. I'm sure they would love for us to be effective without winning.
Pour a cup of coffee or tea, put up your feet and settle down for a thoughtful read. A Jacksonian Democrat details the various positions on Obama's outreach to Russia vs. human rights there.
The Taliban fighter crouched in a muddy field about 100 yards from Highway 1. The mid-afternoon sun melted the last patches of winter's snow as he waited for an American convoy to pass.
Three miles away, Lt. Col. Robert Horney and his soldiers pulled on body armor and climbed into their vehicles. The trucks were rolling when one of Horney's junior commanders suggested that he delay the convoy until dark, when insurgents rarely attack vehicles with improvised explosive devices, or IEDs.
"We are the U.S. Army," Horney thought to himself with some irritation. "We go where we want to go." Besides, I don't listen to chicken little lieutenants.
The vehicles rumbled down a rutted dirt road, through a small village and toward a highway culvert where the Taliban had set about 40 pounds of explosives in a yellow plastic jug.
The Taliban fighter pressed a button, and a charge of electricity raced through copper wire. Journo school teaches this breathless prose.
The highway exploded, shooting chunks of rock and dirt hundreds of feet in the air, nearly missing one of the American trucks. It shook and then lurched hard to the left.
"IED, IED, IED," Horney's soldiers yelled.
They called the name of the gunner, exposed in the turret. He did not respond, so they yanked on his pants. The gunner's ears were still ringing from the blast when he ducked into the vehicle to say that he was all right.
The bomb tore a five-foot-deep hole in an already pockmarked highway that the U.S. government paid $230 million to pave and that Horney's troops were supposed to protect. It showed that even as the U.S. military has pushed Taliban fighters from many strongholds, the enemy retains significant havens in this region only 40 miles from Kabul, the capital.
Horney noticed the hastily buried wire glinting in the sun and followed it until he reached the spot where the insurgent had been waiting. He approached a nearby farmer, gray-bearded and bent from a life in the fields.
Why didn't he report the bomber to Afghan soldiers a short walk away? Horney asked. The Taliban were everywhere, including the Afghan army, the farmer replied. "There is no one I can trust," he insisted.
The two spoke for a few minutes about the man's crops and his nine children. As Horney shook his hand and turned to leave, the farmer had a question. "Was anyone hurt?"
Posted by: Bobby ||
04/15/2012
08:49 ||
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#1
So we have CO's that can speak Pashtun?
Posted by: Bill Clinton ||
04/15/2012 12:16
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the Taliban had set about 40 pounds of explosives in a yellow plastic jug.
Big Jug, barrel in fact or misprint?
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
04/15/2012 12:19
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#3
A 5-gallon jug of water weighs 40 lbs., and it's a, uh, jug...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
04/15/2012 13:49
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#4
So we have CO's that can speak Pashtun?
Yes.
Posted by: Secret Asian Man ||
04/15/2012 15:43
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#5
Why didn't he report the bomber to Afghan soldiers a short walk away? Horney asked. The Taliban were everywhere, including the Afghan army, the farmer replied. "There is no one I can trust," he insisted.
Western diplomats claimed modest progress Saturday after more than 10 hours of talks with Iranian officials, raising hopes for at least a temporary easing of a nuclear crisis that has fueled fears of a new military conflict in the Middle East.
The day-long talks at an Istanbul conference center did not yield an agreement on specific curbs to Iran's nuclear program, but U.S. and European officials described the negotiations as "constructive and useful" and said a second round had been set for May 23 in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad. This is datelined April 14 - THIS year.
"While the atmosphere today was positive, and good enough to merit a second round, there is urgency for concrete progress, and the window for diplomatic action is closing," said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe diplomatic deliberations. He's free to be quoted on global warming, Hollywood Starlets, and other such topics, just not diplomatic deliberations. And always not for attribution...
The chief Iranian representative, Supreme National Security Council Secretary Saeed Jalili, called the talks a "success" and said he believed the atmosphere was now conducive to progress.
"We saw a positive approach," said Jalili, speaking through an interpreter. "We consider it a step forward. For Iranian people, the language of threats and pressure don't work. But the approach of appeasement cooperation and talk could be fruitful." He may even believe what he says, but wait ...
The senior U.S. official said that during the meetings, Jalili "repeated what they said in the past, that it is un-Islamic to have a nuclear weapon."
Signaling Iran's intention to take a tough line in the future talks, Jalili said Tehran would insist on having "full rights under the non-proliferation treaty," implying that it will continue to maintain its right to enrich uranium, which it says it needs for peaceful nuclear energy uses. Groundhog Day! Before taking the podium, Jalili's aide displayed a poster of Iranian scientists killed in bomb attacks over the past four years -- assaults Jalili denounced as terrorism. Maybe, but we are not sending in molten-copper shaped charges yet.
While diplomats welcomed the chance for continued dialogue with Iran, the prospect of extended negotiations carries political risks for the White House. Israeli and Arab leaders have warned that Iran may use them as a stalling tactic or a means to divide public opinion. Fruitless negotiations could also leave President Obama vulnerable to attacks from Republican opponents who have sought to portray the administration as stoopid soft on Iran.
"Nobody knows exactly how to make a deal on the nuclear issue," said Aaron David Miller, a former State Department official and a veteran of Middle East negotiations. "But none of the three prospective combatants [Israel, Iran and the United States] wants a regional Armageddon, and that's why a negotiating process is king and will rule for much of 2012." Negotiate - until it's too late.
Posted by: Bobby ||
04/15/2012
08:28 ||
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Netanyahu notes with irritation that the scheduling of the next meeting gives Iran five free weeks to continue enriching uranium. He does mention aloud that the world will expect Israel to do nothing during this time.
Gunfire followed by several explosions shook Kabul on Sunday afternoon, in what appeared to be a coordinated attack.
Explosions were first heard in an area near Western embassies and a major NATO military camp, usually a heavily guarded area of the city. Soon afterward there was shooting near the Parliament and reports of explosions in other parts of Kabul.
In the upscale residential neighborhood of Wazir Akbar Khan, police rushed down the road that led to the German Embassy and Camp Eggers, a NATO camp that includes many top officials that run the NATO training mission. Several Western countries, including Britain and the U.S., have their embassies in the area.
Several explosions that sounded like bombs were followed by blasts from several rockets in the area. Sirens blared at nearby embassies warning people to duck and cover and get away from the windows. Each explosion caused windows to shake in nearby houses. Smoke could be seen coming from some buildings, and witnesses said that smoke seemed to be billowing from the German embassy.
A reporter in Kabul said terrorists militants who had staked out positions in a tall building were firing rockets in different directions. It was unclear what they were targeting.
At least a dozen large explosions and automatic gunfire rocked Kabul on Sunday in what appeared to be a coordinated attack across several areas of the city centre and concentrated on the heavily guarded diplomatic area, Reuters witnesses said.
Gunfire appeared to be coming from various directions in the barricaded diplomatic area of the city, close to both the U.S. and British embassies, and embassy alarms were sounding.
Smoke billowed from the direction of the German embassy, while explosions from rocket-propelled grenades rocked nearby buildings. The embassies were not immediately available to comment.
Afghan security forces were scrambling to reinforce areas around the so-called green zone.
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/15/2012 13:59
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#7
Kabul + three other major Afghan Cities-Provinces.
* See also BHARAT RAKSHAK > KABUL HIT BY MULTIPLE BLASTS, GUN ATTACKS; EMBASSIES, NATO HQ, PARLIAMENT KEY TARGETS | TALIBAN ROCK KABUL WID WAVE OF TERROR ATTACKS.
* SAME > TALIBAN ATTACKS A MAJOR BLOW TO FALSE OPTIMISM OF WESTERN POLICY.
versus
* WORLD NEWS > BOLD TALIBAN ATTACKS UNLIKELY TO ALTER US AFGHAN PLANS.
* BHARAT RAKSHAK > RUNNING SCARED OF PASHTUNS: TO CHECK THE TIDE OF [growing]PASHTUN NATIONALISM, PAKISTAN'S ISI IS PROMOTING NON-PASHTUN TALIBAN WHOM MAY SOON BE IN CONTROL OF SOUTHERN AFGHANISTAN.
Organizers of the pro-Palestinian fly-over have stated on Twitter and other social networks that in spite of European airport security measures, some of the activists managed to board flights bound for Israel.
Three out of the four activists that arrived in Israel on a flight from Paris and who were held for questioning at Ben Gurion Airport were allowed to enter Israel. The entry of the fourth activist was forbidden.
Organizers of the pro-Palestinian 'flytilla' have stated that Turkish authorities have prevented pro-Palestinian activists from boarding flights to Israel.
Several dozen pro-Palestinian activists protested at Geneva airport today, saying authorities prevented them from boarding a Tel Aviv-bound flight as part of a "fly-in" that Israel has vowed to block.
"The information we got from activists is that over 20 were able to board the plane," said Anas Muhammed, spokesman for the "Welcome to Palestine" campaign. "
Foreigners arrive in Israel as part of 'Welcome to Palestine' fly-in protest; activists from Canada, Portugal and France denied entry. In Paris, dozens protest Israel entry ban: 'France new Israeli settlement?'
PARIS -- As hundreds of police officers deployed at Ben Gurion Airport Sunday morning in order to prevent the entry of foreign activists who are due to arrive in Israel as part of the "Welcome to Palestine" fly-in protest, dozens gathered at Paris' Charles de Gaulle Airport protest their "exclusion" from Israel.
Three people who arrived aboard an El Al flight from Paris Sunday morning were questioned at a booth set up by the Interior Ministry at BG Airport. They were subsequently released and allowed entry into the country.
However, a Portuguese national who arrived aboard a Royal Jordanian flight from Amman and a Canadian national who took an American Airlines flight to Israel were both denied entry and later expelled.
Another four French women were denied entry to Israel at around noon. The four, who arrived on a flight from Switzerland, are expected to be deported.
Some of the foreign activists received notices alerting them to the fact that their flights to Israel had been cancelled while others managed to issue their boarding cards but are not sure they will be able to reach the Palestinian Authority. During the protest they called out: "Today the barrier is here" and "Israel get out, France is not yours."
A sign waved by the protesters read, "France, a new Israeli settlement?"
The activists in Paris sought to make it clear that they were not operating against Israel, rather they were seeking to carry out a "pacifist action" and go to Bethlehem to see the situation with their own eyes.
Liars believed by fools.
The flytilla organizers briefed activists from around the world through social networks on methods of challenging the airports and governments and how to reach the airports with boarding cards in hand.
"The (foreign) governments must pressure Israel so that it will allow the arrival of visitors into the occupied territories. This blockade is a breach of the fourth Geneva Convention. Israel has turned Palestine into a huge prison," they wrote.
The organizers noted that the Oz Unit at the Immigration Authority chose to halt its strike due to the flytilla and claimed: "Racism unites the government and its employees."
Palestinian fly-in organizers said a number of foreign activists have arrived in Bethlehem. They said Turkish and Swiss authorities prevented pro-Palestinian activists from boarding flights to Israel.
Internal Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch on Saturday expressed satisfaction with the cooperation of foreign airlines who he said are preventing those identified by Israel as pro-Palestinian activists from boarding their flights.
About 100 pro-Palestinian activists staged a protest at Brussles national airport in Zaventem on Sunday morning after several "flytilla" demonstrators were barred from boarding flights to Israel.
Fifty-nine pro-Palestinian activists were detained at the Ben Gurion Airport on Sunday including 42 who were transferred to the Givon Prison, twelve who were sent back to their countries of origin and nine who are held in a detention center. Three activists await flights back home.
Egyptian security official says three Palestinians arrested en route to Cairo terror attack; Egypt's military announced military operation to eradicate terror in the northern peninsula last week.
Two Egyptian police officers were killed in shootout with Islamist militants on Sunday, as tension continued to rise following attempts by Egypt's military to curb terror activity in the desert peninsula.
According to reports, the two were killed, along with three wounded police officers, after Salafi militants opened fire at a patrol car in the town of el-Arish from an ambush.
Recently, there have been reports of intensified activity by Egypt's security forces, mainly in the northeastern corner of the peninsula, along the border with Gaza. Only last week, Egypt announced an extensive military operation to eradicate terror in the northern Sinai, centering on the el-Arish-Rafa-Sheikh Zowaiid triangle.
Meanwhile, details regarding clashes in el-Arish came as DPA reported that Egyptian security forces arrested three Palestinians, suspected of planning to execute a terror attack in Cairo.
According to a senior Egyptian security official cited in the report, an investigation of the suspects, arrested on Friday, indicated that they infiltrated Egypt using Gaza's tunnel systems, and that they paid a large sum of money to a person who was meant to drive them to the Egyptian capital.
Beer makes men smarter. Umm ....
So say researchers at the University of Illinois in Chicago. Ahh. Academics. Now it makes sense.
They found that men with a couple beers under their belts were actually better at solving brain-teasers than their sober counterparts. Or were they just more likely to take the challenge seriously?
To reach that surprising conclusion, the researchers devised a bar game in which 40 men were given three words and told to come up with a fourth that fits the pattern. What kind of bar game is that?
For example, the word cheese could fit with words like blue or cottage or Swiss. Or Obama.
Half the players were given two pints. The other half got nothing. Ouch.
The result? Those who imbibed solved 40% more of the problems that their sober counterparts. And they were better looking and more suave, too.
Also, the drinkers finished their problems in 12 seconds while it took the non-drinkers 15.5 seconds. Cross checking down, confidence up.
We found at 0.07 blood alcohol, people were worse at working memory tasks, but they were better at creative problem-solving tasks, psychologist Jennifer Wiley reported on the Federation of Associations in Behavioral and Brain Sciences (FABBS) site. I'll drink to that.
Wiley conceded that her findings run counter to popular belief that alcohol hinders analytical thinking and muddies the mind. No, she just doesn't drink.
We have this assumption, that being able to focus on one part of a problem or having a lot of expertise is better for problem solving, says Wiley. But thats not necessarily true. Innovation may happen when people are not so focused. Sometimes its good to be distracted. Musta been distracted by the cow babe at the bar.
It may also help explain why raving drunks like Ernest Hemingway, John Cheever or Charles Bukowski were able to write their books. Lowered inhibitions about people laughing at their idea?
Sometimes the really creative stuff comes out when youre having a glass of wine over dinner, or when youre taking a shower, Wiley said.
DRINKING IN MODERATION TIP
Researchers also found that men are more likely to solve a problem when working in groups of three rather than two.
In groups of two, we tend to be more polite, not to confront or ask questions, Wiley said. But when you respond to a question in a group of three, youre not confronting, youre speaking up for the whole group.
#1
I wonder how much ObamaCash it took to stimulate this study?
Posted by: Bobby ||
04/15/2012 10:11
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#2
I've known this for decades. A little bit of alcohol somehow reduces the brain's resistance to looking at problems 'creatively'. An ancient graph compared # of barrels of oil found to # of drinks at lunch - one or two drinks beat none or more than two; anectodally, my personal performance tends to confirm. The 'aha' moments can get past our 'certainty' a bit easier with a little lubrication.
#3
Beer the new health food? I don't think so. My casual study of this subject would say that consumption of too much beer makes one stupid. Many stupid things get said or done under the influence of too many brewskies. Women get prettier. We get to be 10' tall. Logic goes out the window. Brawls ensue.
"Well ya see, Norm, it's like this. A herd of buffalo can only move as fast as the slowest buffalo. And when the herd is hunted, it is the slowest and weakest ones at the back that are killed first. This natural selection is good for the herd as a whole, because the general speed and health of the whole group keeps improving by the regular killing of the weakest members.
In much the same way, the human brain can only operate as fast as the slowest brain cells. Excessive intake of alcohol, as we know, kills brain cells. But naturally, it attacks the slowest and weakest brain cells first. In this way, regular consumption of beer eliminates the weaker brain cells, making the brain a faster and more efficient machine!
That's why you always feel smarter after a few beers."
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
04/15/2012 12:12
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#5
Well, alcohol does reduce inhibitions. Perhaps it reduces the brain's tendency to "overthink" things. One personal experience: I can't shoot pool worth a damn. However, one night I had a few and ran the table. Of course, I passed out later, so the process does seem to have an asymptotic (self-limiting) point.....
#9
So the control group was a bunch of guys in a bar who were EXPECTING to drink but couldn't and ended up having to watch other's drink while they were being quizzed? No wonder they scored less.
Saudi Arabia said it has no plans to acquire an arms factory from Sweden, weeks after the Swedish defence minister was forced to resign over reports Stockholm planned to help the conservative Muslim state build such a plant.
The Saudi Defence Ministry stressed that it has not signed any agreement with Sweden for a project of this nature in the past nor is there any project in such a field currently, the state-run Saudi Press Agencysaid, citing an unnamed ministry official.
Swedens Defence Minister Sten Tolgfors resigned last month after reports about the weapons plant sparked an outcry in a country which prides itself on defending and promoting human rights around the world.
Tolgfors had weathered initial reports that said a state-run defence research agency planned to help Saudi Arabia build the plant, saying he had not known of them and that the agency had over-stepped its authority. But in the end, pressure on him became too great and he stepped down.
Amid mounting tensions with Iran U.S.-allied Saudi Arabia, the worlds top oil exporter, has signed multi-billion dollar defence contracts with Western companies.
Reading this kinda makes me wonder how Obean would have fared.
George Washington has been named as the greatest foe ever faced by the British.
The American was voted the winner in a contest run by the National Army Museum to identify the country's most outstanding military opponent.
He was one of a shortlist of five leaders who topped a public poll and on Saturday was selected as the ultimate winner by an audience of around 70 guests at a special event at the museum, in Chelsea, west London.
In second place was Michael Collins, the Irish leader, ahead of Napoleon Bonaparte, Erwin Rommel and Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.
At the event, each contender had their case made by a historian giving a 40 minute presentation. The audience, who had paid to attend the day, then voted in a secret ballot after all five presentations had been made.
Dr Stephen Brumwell, who had championed Washington, said: "As British officers conceded, he was a worthy opponent."
The shortlist of five were selected from an initial list of 20 candidates, drawn up by the museum's curators.
To qualify, each commander had to come from the 17th century onwards the period covered by the museum's collection and had to have led an army in the field against the British, thus excluding political enemies, like Adolf Hitler.
The contest was designed to not only identify Britain's most outstanding opponent, but also to draw attention to some lesser-known adversaries.
Most of the 20 fought in various colonial wars, such as Ntshingwayo kaMahole, the Zulu leader and victor of Isandlwana, one of the British army's greatest military defeats, and Tipu Sultan, known as the "Tiger of Mysore", who resisted British expansion in India.
Alongside Rommel, the only Second World War leader was Tomoyuki Yamashita, the Japanese commander who oversaw the fall of Singapore. The one woman on the list was Rani of Jhansi, who fought British forces in nineteenth century India.
The online poll was launched in the middle of February, and around St Patrick's Day March 17 there was a surge in support for Michael Collins, although several people pointed out on the museum's website that, technically, the guerrilla leader never led an army on a battlefield.
He took a strong lead, but the contest was later featured in the Turkish media, leading to wave of support for Atatürk, who ended up winning with more than 3,000 votes 40 per cent of those cast.
The museum selected the format of an online poll followed by a closed vote to filter out tactical voting, reducing the risk that a candidate could win thanks to orchestrated "block" voting along national lines rather than on the specific criteria of their performance in battle against the British. The eventual winner, George Washington, came fourth in the online poll, with less than two per cent of the vote.
The top five:
George Washington (1732-99) 45 per cent of the vote in the final round
Guided the American rebels to victory over the British in the War of Independence. Often outmanoeuvred by British generals with larger armies, his leadership enabled him to hold together an army of secessionists from 13 different states and keep it in the field and ultimately prevail during the protracted struggle.
Stephen Brumwell, author and specialist on eighteenth century North America, said: "Washington scores highly as an enemy of Britain on three key grounds: the immense scale of damage he inflicts upon Britain's Army and Empire the most jarring defeat that either endured; his ability to not only provide inspirational battlefield leadership but to work with civilians who were crucial to sustain the war-effort; and the kind of man he was. As British officers conceded, he was a worthy opponent."
Michael Collins (1890-1922) 21 per cent
Helped transform the Irish Republican Army into a powerful force which fought the British to a standstill in the Irish War of Independence, securing the separation of most of the island of Ireland from the rest of the United Kingdom.
Under him, the force waged a guerrilla campaign, mounting attacks and ambushes on barracks, police stations and convoys before quickly withdrawing. His tactics made much of Ireland ungovernable with an army that never exceeded 3,000 active volunteers at any given time.
Gabriel Doherty, lecturer at University College Cork, said: "He was much more than just a great military leader. He had many different hats and his political and administrative skills tend to be a lot more overlooked."
Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) 18 per cent
Emerged from the turmoil and terror of revolution to become France's greatest military commander, conquering much of Europe. His greatest victories were against other countries, but his final campaign, culminating in the Battle of Waterloo, tested the Duke of Wellington to the limit.
Alan Forrest, professor of modern history at the University of York, said: "Napoleon was, of course, a supremely gifted general and military tactician, and he also had an unerring gift for propaganda and self-promotion. He recognised in Britain his most implacable opponent, and concentrated all his resources political and economic as well as military in his attempt to defeat him."
Erwin Rommel (1891-1944) 10 per cent
A decorated veteran of the First World War, he led the German "Blitzkrieg" of France in the Second World War before making his name battling British forces in North Africa, where he earned the nickname "Desert Fox". His skill at handling armoured formations enabled his "Afrikakorps" to consistently outmatch his opponents, often against heavy odds.
Dale Clarke, a reservist officer in the Royal Artillery, author and technical adviser on historical films and television shows, said: "A myth may have grown up around Rommel but there is an underlying truth that he was a superb leader who knew that in war you have to instantly grasp the initiative and keep your men moving forward. He is still the ultimate enemy, because of his sheer tenacity and skill."
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (1881-1938) 6 per cent
Fought a tenacious defensive campaign at Gallipoli in 1915 which forced the Allied invasion force to withdraw. Displayed great leadership and tactical acumen, reacting immediately to the landing at Anzac Cove to launch successful counter-attacks, preventing his opponents from securing high ground.
Matthew Hughes, from Brunel University, said: "Atatürk resisted the British-led amphibious landings and was the man at the front who stopped the enemy troops taking the peninsula, advancing on Istanbul and knocking Turkey out of the war."
#2
A bit of a self inflicted wound. During the period of the French and Indian War and shortly thereafter, Washington sought a colonelcy in the Royal Army, only to be turned down by His Majesty's agent in the American colonies.
#3
I would have thought AdmiralChuichi Nagumo would have been a bigger enemy for the severe ass kicking he delivered to the British Navy in the Indian Ocean in 1942
It clearly depends what exactly is meant by 'greatest ever foe' but from the possible foes mentioned it is inconceivable that the top foe could not be judged to have been Napoleon. The scope and cost of Britain's war with Napoleon was enormous - - I'm too lazy to look up the numbers but it must rival the costs of either the first or second world wars in constant dollars. And this war, like its final battle, was a "damned near-run thing" for Britain. If Britain had lost, the consequences for the country - - and for the people of many other countries besides - - would have been very bad indeed.
Moreover, had Britain not been engaged in a running conflict with France at the time of the American secession, it's entirely possible that General Washington would have met with more decisive British opposition and lost.
No, George Washington was clearly a good general and subsequently a great leader (less in the sense that his policy prescriptions were brilliant but that he set the first and lasting example of the peaceful transfer of power in the young United States). But 'greatest ever foe'? I don't think so.
Posted by: Peter Carroll ||
04/15/2012 12:33
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#9
Yes, it's based upon factors other than just battlefield. As for cost, another way of looking at it is as lost potential. When you throw in what America developed into, it's all off the Empire's subsequent balance sheet.
#10
My initial take was no way, but on second reading, it doesn't say the "greatest general". As the man who played the major part in removing the colonies from British control, the political and economic impact are staggering.
If is is the American Colonies, then perhaps Ben Franklin; not to take away from any of the many others who were responsible for creating the situation for Washington to be the successful commander he was.
I hate ranking American commanders, as so many were so successful in so many different situations. I do suggest Washington's Crossing which not only highlights Washington and his stuggles but also does well to note the British and their particulars.
#12
The foe was determined after a debate so each of the four leading "foes" could have lost by having a bad supporter talking up their cause.
I'd go with Napoleon as well since he fought on for two decades while Rommel was eventually defeated in North Africa and Michael Collins didn't really belong in the same league.
Personally I'd probably put forth Joan of Arc who reversed decades worth of English victories in France fairly rapidly, without military training or even any military skill to speak of and pretty much knocked the British off the continent (okay the changing loyalties of the Burgundians had a lot to do with it, but still).
#13
There was no "US" at the time, only 13 separate Colonies wid an organized but "rocky" Congress.
Besides his own Commanders + other, Ole' George had to deal wid Colonial Politicians at all levels whom had their own ideas on how to fight the war agz the Brits + how, whom to pay for it.
IIRC the in-fighting + disagreements were such that he George wrote how missed the days of when he was a young Surveyor on the frontier at risk from Highwaymen andor French-Indian ambush.
Afghan forces backed by air support from Nato aircraft have launched a broad sweep of the country's northeast borders killing 59 Taliban insurgents in a major offensive in a province that serves as a militant supply route from Pakistan.
The Afghan forces are for the past three days combing mountainous region in Kamdesh district in Nuristan province, which touches Pakistan, in a spring onslaught on Taliban bases.
"14 armed insurgents were killed, 34 wounded and 18 others arrested by Afghan forces during the last 24 hours," the interior ministry said in an statement.
Kamdesh is a strategic base for the Taliban in eastern Afghanistan and serves as a spring board for militants crossing from Pakistan's turbulent Wazirstan province, a spokesman of the Nuristan province said.
Nato's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) spokesman said that 32 other militants had been killed in recent days.
According to the sources, about 400 Afghan policemen are assisting Afghan commandos in the sweep across the province, considered to be a den of Taliban commander Maulvi Nazir and Haqqani network.The interior ministry said that Afghan forces were in the restive province to stay. "This time we are not going to just conduct a big operation and leave."
They said that the Afghan forces had gained control of the main road through Kamdesh for the first time in years.
The ministry said that after the combing operations, security personnel would set-up more check-posts to control infiltration of militants.
The commandos and the policemen descended into the area by helicopters, a defence ministry statement said.
The ministry said the new operation was another example of successful transition of combat operations from the US-led forces to the Afghan Army. "We expect to see more such types of Afghan-led operations in spring and summer."
The defence ministry said that on April 12, 8 Taliban militants were killed and 19 others apprehended, while on April 11, 5 insurgents were killed and 18 arrested.
They said the Afghan Police had captured Taliban's deputy shadow governor of southern Helmand province 'Janan' who is famous under the name of Syed Ghulam.
Afghan forces backed by air support from 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... aircraft have launched a broad sweep of the country's northeast borders killing 59 Taliban cut-throats in a major offensive in a province that serves as a Death Eater supply route from Pakistain.
The Afghan forces are for the past three days combing mountainous region in Kamdesh district in Nuristan province, which touches Pakistain, in a spring onslaught on Taliban bases.
"14 armed cut-throats were killed, 34 maimed and 18 others set to sit in solemn silence in a dull, dark dock, in a pestilential prison with a life-long lock by Afghan forces during the last 24 hours," the interior ministry said in an statement.
Kamdesh is a strategic base for the Taliban in eastern Afghanistan and serves as a spring board for faceless myrmidons crossing from Pakistain's turbulent Wazirstan province, a front man of the Nuristan province said.
NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) front man said that 32 other faceless myrmidons had been killed in recent days.
According to the sources, about 400 Afghan coppers are assisting Afghan commandos in the sweep across the province, considered to be a den of Taliban capo Maulvi Nazir and Haqqani network.The interior ministry said that Afghan forces were in the restive province to stay. "This time we are not going to just conduct a big operation and leave."
They said that the Afghan forces had gained control of the main road through Kamdesh for the first time in years.
The ministry said that after the combing operations, security personnel would set-up more check-posts to control infiltration of Death Eaters.
The commandos and the coppers descended into the area by helicopters, a defence ministry statement said.
The ministry said the new operation was another example of successful transition of combat operations from the US-led forces to the Afghan Army. "We expect to see more such types of Afghan-led operations in spring and summer."
The defence ministry said that on April 12, 8 Talibs were killed and 19 others apprehended, while on April 11, 5 cut-throats were killed and 18 set to sit in solemn silence in a dull, dark dock, in a pestilential prison with a life-long lock.
They said the Afghan Police had captured Taliban's deputy shadow governor of southern Helmand ...an Afghan province populated mostly by Pashtuns, adjacent to Injun country in Pak Balochistan... province 'Janan' who is famous under the name of Syed Ghulam.
Posted by: Mike Ramsey ||
04/15/2012
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See how India fills out the paperwork and know one cares? Yeah, they build their rockets out of balsam wood so we know they are accurate. Actually, India rockets are accurate and not a danger to people. Unlike some rat eaters I see.
[Shabelle] Police said Friday they were interrogating a suspected terrorist who has confessed having traveled toSomaliato receive Al-Shabaab ... Harakat ash-Shabaab al-Mujahidin aka the Mujahideen Youth Movement. It was originally the youth movement of the Islamic Courts, now pretty much all of what's left of it. They are aligned with al-Qaeda but operate more like the Afghan or Pakistani Taliban... training.
Abdullah Abdul Majid aka Abul was jugged on Thursday last week on suspicion of involvement in the grenade attacks atNairobi's country bus station which killed nine people and maimed dozens others last month.
The 28-year-old has since told police he is a resident of Majengo,Mombasa. He was picked up fromNairobi's Eastleigh Section III by Anti-Terrorism Police Unit (ATPU) detectives.
He has told police he was born inSoddy Arabia, but he has not been able to produce his passport.
During a series of interrogations, Majid has confessed to police that he had traveled toSomaliafor training with other Mujahideen after listening to preaching sessions from various Sheikhs--including Shamir and Aboud Rogo.
Police Spokesman Eric Kiraithe said the suspect has so far told police how he crossed intoSomaliain January 2011 with one of his Mombasa-based friends he identified as Dhulkarner who is currently inSomalia.
"On arrival inSomaliaat Dobley, he was met by Al-Shabaab members who inducted him into Mujahideen. He stayed in Dobley for two weeks while arrangements were being made for his transfer to Baidoa," the suspect told police.
Later, together with other foreigners, they were taken for training at Abadajira, a prison camp for former President Siad Barre, just outside Baidoa.
"At Abadajira, we were trained on how to use grenades, pistols and AK47 rifles. It was a three month course attended by 300 trainees," the suspect adds in his statement to the police.
After graduation, the suspect told police they were divided into two groups; one remained inMogadishuand another near the Kenya-Ethiopia border.
Majid was in the group that remained inMogadishu.
He claims he traveled back to Kenya to see his mother, police believe he is not genuine because even after returning back to Kenya he has never traveled to Majengo, Mombasa to greet his mother.
Police said they had been able to independently verify Majid's statement and that he had indeed traveled toSomaliawhere he received terrorism training.
Police believe he was deployed toKenyaby the Al-Shabaab command to act as a local spy. He is still being held by the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit (ATPU) who are still interrogating him.
"The investigation on his this man is still going on, appropriate action will be taken," Kiraithe said.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/15/2012
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#1
http://www.afrepren.org/news.htm -next time you hear it is for Democracy or real security from someone higher up FRAG the. The US is getting used and screwed for a few dumb ass crackers in suits some of them even have stars on their shoulders! Giant US military base Africa and a CHINKO wind farm next door what dumb asses like them chips by the way!
Posted by: Ho Chi Sperese2612 ||
04/15/2012 19:27
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Upon their arrival to Israel the pro-Paleostinian "flytilla" activists will receive an official letter from the Israeli government that reads: "We appreciate your choosing to make Israel the object of your humanitarian concerns. We know there were many other worthy choices. You could have chosen to protest the Syrian regime's daily savagery against its own people."
"We suggest to let you solve first the real problems of the region, and then come back and share with us your experience," the letter concludes.
ISLAMABAD: There is little hope that any of the 128 Pakistani soldiers and 11 civilians buried under an avalanche that engulfed a battalion at an alpine camp a week ago will be found alive, Pakistan's army said on Saturday.
It's not a nice way to die. Hopefully they went quickly, without knowing.
"We are praying to God for a miracle," Major General Ishfaq Nadeem Ahmad, the head of military operations, said at a press conference in the garrison town of Rawalpindi.
Bad weather has hampered efforts to try to find survivors of the avalanche that trapped its victims beneath 25 m (80 feet) of snow in one of the most unforgiving environments in the world.
The disaster struck early on Saturday a week ago at an altitude of 4,000 m (13,000 feet) near the Siachen Glacier in the Karakoram mountain range.
Ahmad said the sheer size of the avalanche, which covered an area about one km (half a mile) wide, and the increasingly bad weather conditions were the biggest hurdles to the rescue effort. He said the military had used the camp for more than 20 years, had never before faced a disaster of such magnitude and would not yet abandon the search.
"We are continuing with both rescue and recovery. We are hoping to continue the rescue efforts until such a time that we get to the people over there," he said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/15/2012
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Just wait some decades and all will be transported to the glacier snout.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
04/15/2012 12:21
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The South Sudan army claimed Saturday to still be in control of Heglig after Khartoum said it had launched an offensive to recapture the disputed oil hub.
"The SPLA is controlling Heglig," front man Philip Aguer told AFP. He said that the Southern army had repelled soldiers of the Sudanese Armed Forces in the village of Kelet some 40 kilometers (25 miles) from Heglig on Friday, the fourth day of the worst festivities since South Sudan's independence last year.
"Yesterday, there were festivities between their patrols and SPLA. ... SPLA has destroyed two tanks belonging to the SAF," Colonel Aguer said.
Aguer said the SAF bombed the border areas of Jau and Panakuach, in northern South Sudan's Unity State, on Saturday, as well as Heglig, the main producer of Khartoum's oil.
No information was available early Saturday on the positions of the two armies.
A Unity State government front man, reached by telephone in the state capital Bentiu, confirmed the aerial bombings near the border.
"The areas in the north of Unity State are still subject to Antonovs (planes)," said the front man, Gideon Gatfan.
"We don't have the updates yet between Heglig and Kelet. But all those areas they are subjected to bombing," he added.
On Friday, the SAF said it had launched a counter-attack towards Heglig and were close to the town.
Khartoum had vowed to react with "all means" against a three-pronged attack it said was launched by South Sudanese forces.
The festivities have brought the two former foes the closest yet to a return to outright war.
Some two million people died in Sudan's 22-year civil war, one of Africa's longest, which ended with a peace deal in 2005.
Neither army has provided casualty figures but one Southern soldier in Bentiu said earlier: "There are so many bodies at the front line, so many dead" that it is impossible to bury them or bring them back.
Juba has refused to withdraw from Heglig unless certain conditions are met, including Khartoum's pullout from the neighboring Abyei region it holds and which, like Heglig, is claimed by both sides.
When the South separated last July, Khartoum lost about 75 percent of its oil production and billions of dollars in revenue, leaving the Heglig area as its main producer. Its output roughly fulfilled domestic requirements.
But Tuesday's attack caused a total production shutdown in the area, said Ahmed Haroun, governor of South Kordofan state, where Heglig is located.
World powers including the African Union ...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful... , United Nations ...Parkinson's Law on an international scale... , United States and China have called for restraint and voiced deep concern at the escalation of violence.
Ministries agree financial support for ex-detainees
They're already paying their employees at increasingly irregular intervals as pledges continue to be ignored, so why not add another expense?
(Ma'an) -- The Paleostinian Authority has agreed to give financial support to prisoners jugged by Israel before the Oslo Accords, an official said Thursday.
The Oslo Accords led to the creation of the Paleostinian Authority in 1994.
The Ministry of Detainee Affairs and the Finance Ministry have agreed that former detainees who were set to sit in solemn silence in a dull, dark dock, in a pestilential prison with a life-long lock prior to 1994 will receive around 600,000 shekels ($160,000), director of prisoner affairs Bassam al-Majdalawi.
The PA will continue to provide for former prisoners, al-Majdalawi said, applauding the role of PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad ...Fayyad's political agenda holds that neither violence nor peaceful negotiations have brought the Paleostinians any closer to an independent state. The alternative to both, violent negotiations, doesn't seem to be working too well, either... in supporting ex-detainees and their families.
Around 40 percent of Paleostinian men living in the occupied territories have been jugged by Israel at some point in their lives.
A total of 3,312 Paleostinians were set to sit in solemn silence in a dull, dark dock, in a pestilential prison with a life-long lock by Israeli authorities in 2011.
Around 300 Paleostinians are currently held in administrative detention in Israel, including around 20 MPs.
As many as 31 people have been killed in an Afghan commandos operation in eastern Nuristan province in the past three days, local officials said.
One Afghan police officer, a civilian, and 29 Islamic fascistiwere killed during a military push to clear Islamic fascistifrom the Kamdish district, head of the provincial media office Mohammed Zareen said.
The civilian was killed by an cut-thoat who was shooting at the security forces, added Zareen.
Another 35 people have been maimed - four Afghan commandos, one civilian and 30 cut-thoats, he said.
Kamdish district shares a border with Pak and has been under cut-thoat control for more than a year.
Last week some members of Parliament called for extra troops to be sent to Nuristan province and for more efforts to be made to bring it under Afghan cops control.
The operation is continuing in Kamdish, with a focus on five villages including Benooz and Paeen, Zareen said.
The residents of Kamdish have urged the government to continue the operation, according to TOLOnews' local news hound.
KARACHI, April 13: Parts of Lyari ...one of the eighteen constituent towns of the city of Karachi. It is the smallest town by area in the city but also the most densely populated. Lyari has few schools, substandard hospitals, a poor water system, limited infrastructure, and broken roads. It is a stronghold of ruling Pakistan Peoples Party. Ubiquitous gang activity and a thriving narcotics industry make Lyari one of the most disturbed places in Karachi, which is really saying a lot.... on Friday looked like a war zone with the Lea Market area strewn with stones, shrapnel and a huge number of spent bullet casings as an early morning raid in the area by police triggered a fresh wave of violence that left at least four people dead and over a dozen others maimed.
Police claimed that three criminals wanted in as many as 55 cases of murder, attempt to murder, kidnapping for ransom and extortion activities were picked up during the early morning raid on a hideout in the Kalkot area that sparked a violent reaction.
In the violence that revisited Lyari after a 10-day gap, protesters not only lobbed hand grenades and petrol bombs at police but also fired a couple of rockets.
A young man was killed and his family members were maimed when their fifth-floor apartment was hit by a rocket, police said.
Mohammad Hanif suffered shrapnel injuries and was shifted to the Lyari General Hospital (LGH) with his wife and two children who also sustained injuries, said an official at the Napier cop shoppe.
The official added that Hanif was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital while his family were admitted for treatment.
A 10-year-old boy, who sustained a gunshot wound and was brought to the Civil Hospital Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It may be the largest city in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... (CHK), died during treatment, said police surgeon Dr Hamid Pariyar.
Shortly afterwards, a hand grenade was hurled at the Eidgah cop shoppe leaving several passers-by maimed. One of them, aged 50, later died at the LGH.
Speaking to Dawn, City SP Khurram Waris said initial reports indicated that most of the victims maimed in the daylong violence were caught in crossfire.
Several people were maimed in firing near the LGH. Most of them were taken to the same hospital, while a few others were shifted to the civil hospital.
In another attack, people standing at a bus stop in Lea Market sustained bullet wounds when gunnies opened fire on them at around 4pm.
Police claimed that some coppers were standing at the bus stop and their presence apparently prompted the attack.
Half a dozen people were maimed in the firing. They were rushed to the CHK, where one of them, later identified as Saad Wali Khan, was pronounced dead on arrival. Hospital sources said the victim had sustained a bullet wound to the head and had died before his arrival at the hospital.
Some protesters with their faces covered threw petrol bombs at armoured personnel carriers of police. The tyres of an APC were flattened in a hand grenade attack.
The protestors also set fire to tyres in different areas.
In the evening, two rockets were fired in the Lea Market area that went kaboom! but no casualty was reported in the incident.
Three held, arms seized in raid
SP of the CID anti-extremist cell Aslam Khan later told a presser that they raided a hideout in the Kalkot area of Lyari and tossed in the clink three suspects booked in dozens of criminal cases.
A huge cache of arms found in their possession was seized, he said.
"Ali Hasan alias Hassu, Mushtaq alias Pathan and Abid are wanted in as many as 55 cases of murder, attempt to murder, kidnapping for ransom and extortion," said SP Khan.
A light machine gun, five AK-47 rifles, two G-3 rifles, five hand grenades and five TT pistols were seized during the raid.
The Friday violence triggered by the raid came as a grim reminder of the recent week festivities between law-enforcers and protesters in the same areas of Lyari following the killing of a suspect in an alleged police encounter. At least six people were killed in the violence then.
Long, thought-provoking piece on what's been happening in the region beyond the American military effort, and the changes that might be rung as a result once we are gone.
#1
Long article. Good summary of the various interests: U.S., China, Pakistan, India, Russia, Iran, and the Stans and the strategic jockeying among them as the U.S. prepares to leave Afghanistan. As pointed out, the U.S. may have a steering role for Afghanistan without the cost of occupying the country. Much depends upon how much control those whom we have trained in Afghanistan can maintain a somewhat stable country and prevent the return of a ruling Taliban.
[An Nahar] 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... formally admitted Saturday that La Belle France failed in its duty towards the Algerian loyalists who fought on Gay Paree' side in their country's war of independence.
Around 60,000 pro-French Algerians, known as "harkis", came to La Belle France after the war, but approximately as many again were abandoned to face bloody reprisals in Algeria at the hands of their pro-independence countrymen.
"La Belle France should have protected the harkis from history, it did not do so. La Belle France bears this historic responsibility, and it is this responsibility that I have come here to recognize," Sarkozy said in the southern city of Perpignan.
"La Belle France should, as it has always done, look history in the face and admit the mistakes it has made. In this instance, nothing can explain and nothing can excuse our abandoning of those who chose the side of La Belle France," he said.
Today, the harkis and their descendants represent around 500,000 people in La Belle France, many of them still living in poverty, and making up a sizable pool of possible voters in next week's French presidential election.
Sarkozy's main opponent in his re-election battle is the Socialist Party's Francois Hollande, who has already promised to accept La Belle France's guilt if he is elected in the two-round vote, to be held on April 22 and May 6.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the accords that brought the Algerian War of Independence to an end, and so the withdrawal of the French colonial administration and French and harki forces.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/15/2012
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What you need to be popping off to Sarkozy is getting your debt under control, and reforming that government you did shit with since you got there.
Another Socialist will but all lock it in. It took hell to get you elected, remember where you were please.
German ship stopped after owners discover it's carrying Iranian weapons to Syria regime
Germany's government said Saturday it is looking into a report that weapons bound for the Syrian regime were loaded onto a German-owned ship.
German weekly Der Spiegel reported that the Atlantic Cruiser was halted in the Mediterranean after its owners were warned it was suspected to be carrying Iranian military equipment to Tartus, Syria, where it was supposed to arrive Friday.
Der Spiegel quoted shipping agent Torsten Lueddeke of Hamburg-based CEG Bulk Chartering as saying: "We stopped the ship after we received information on the weapons cargo."
He said the ship had been chartered to an Odessa, Ukraine-based company called White Whale Shipping and "they declared to us as cargo above all pumps and things like that," according to the report. "We would never have allowed weapons on board."
The ship's current whereabouts weren't clear. Der Spiegel -- which reported that the suspect cargo was loaded in Djibouti -- said it had changed course for Iskenderun, Turkey, on Friday and then stopped about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southwest of Tartus and sailed in circles.
Perhaps it's not just weapons they're shipping from Iran...
The ship, which had been chartered by a Ukrainian shipping company, was delivering weapons to Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Before going into the family business Pencilneck was an eye doctor... , who has been coping with 11-month-long mass protests against his rule According to the report, the German government's economic ministry has announce that it will investigate any and all smuggling attempts.
The ship was initially identified by Syrian defectors who alerted the German company of the illegal cargo aboard, the report stated.
This is not the first time a German vessel has been used to smuggle Iranian arms. In March 2011, the Israeli navy seized the Victoria fat merchantman as it was sailing off Israel's coast on its way to Egypt while flying a Liberian flag. The ship was carrying 50 tons of weaponry destined for Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason,, including advanced Iranian-made radar-guided anti-ship missiles.
The Iranian regime does not confine its weapons smuggling to German vessels. In November 2009, Israel also intercepted the Francop ship, which was sailing near Cyprus on its way to Syria. Flying an Antiguan flag, the vessel was found to be carrying around 500 tons of weaponry, including long-range Katyusha rockets.
In January, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Benny Gantz said he was working to recruit countries from around the world to help combat what he called the "transatlantic smuggling" of weaponry from Iran to its terror proxies in the region..
A former North Carolina Democratic Party staffer was sexually harassed by a party official, made a financial settlement with the party and signed a non-disclosure agreement to keep the incident quiet, according to emails obtained by The Daily Caller.
If this hits the media, the Democratic Party, our candidates, and our credibility are doomed in this election, reads one email exchange between state Democratic leaders.
An email chain between those Democratic leaders, obtained by The Daily Caller, indicates the executive director of the North Carolina Democratic Party, Jay Parmley, and the alleged sexual harassment victim both signed non-disclosure agreements.
The email chain does not make clear who was guilty of the alleged harassment, the status of that individuals employment with the Democratic Party or the identity of the victim.
State Democratic Party spokesman Walton Robinson did not respond to The Daily Callers request for comment on the matter.
President Obamas re-election team views North Carolina as an important state in the presidents campaign and Charlotte, N.C. is the site of this years Democratic National Convention.
In the email chain, North Carolina Democratic statehouse candidate Watt Jones complained about the lack of what he considers competent staffers in the state party.
Though North Carolina Democratic Party chairman David Parker claimed in one email that a supposed ongoing staff exodus was due to staffers leaving for greener pastures during the campaign season, Jones rebutted that assertion.
In regards to the personnel issues, certain staff leaving for greener grass is not the issue, Jones wrote to Parker. In fact, some of those staffers who have recently left have also privately spoke of frustration at things occurring within Goodwin House [the North Carolina Democratic Party headquarters].
Jones said that those personnel issues coming from Goodwin House are now related to allegations of harassment, sexual or otherwise, involving staff.
He went on to explain how the alleged sexual harassment going on within the Democratic Partys North Carolina headquarters could be detrimental to the party and may even directly contradict the Democrats own immediate agenda.
Even with an agreed non-disclosure statement and financial settlement, that appears to be short-lived, Jones wrote. Its making its rounds all over the state and beyond. Is the person responsible still employed? Many questions are unanswered. With a Democratic Party which is suppose [sic] to be fighting to defeat Amendment One [which describes marriage as between one man and one woman] on the May 8 ballot, yet we have this in Goodwin House? How does that look?
The question of appearances by Jones may imply that the harassment was same-sex in nature, which might complicate Democratic messaging in the partys efforts to defeat the anti-gay-marriage amendment.
Rest assured there is a statewide gathering (I am told) that are upset over this and want people held accountable, Jones continued. In all honesty, I am being told by several reliable sources that the Associated Press is itching to get this out. Thankfully, some are trying to stop it. Do we want the Republicans to get this information? They are also asking questions.
Jones added that he expects that the Democratic Party, our Candidates, and our credibility are doomed in this election, if the alleged sexual harassment story is made public.
#2
It costs like lots of money to pay an actual rocket scientist in this world. But someday, your guys will figure out how to shave the pine bark off of the booster rockets and it will be more aerodynamic. Than you may call it a Hyundai - and you know where they are now? Richer than your piece of shit country. That's where.
#3
because they have executed many of the previous generation of rocket scientists and also shunted personnel between their various reactor projects, rocket projects and making big rolls of cheese
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
04/15/2012 18:06
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CHINESE MIL FORUM POSTER = opined that ITS NOT IN CHINA'S INTERESTS TO HELP NORTH KOREA WID ITS ROCKET TECHNOLOGIES.
Indjuh has its MIGS, Russia has its Space Rockets whom demand their God-given metallic right to crash???
[An Nahar] The U.N. Security Council on Saturday unanimously passed its first resolution on the Syria crisis, allowing an advance party of ceasefire monitors to go to the country on the brink of civil war.
U.N. Resolution 2042 approved the first 30 unarmed military monitors, who U.N. officials said could leave for Damascus ...The City of Jasmin is the oldest continuously-inhabited city in the world. It has not always been inhabited by the same set of fascisti... within hours.
The resolution also calls upon the Syrian government to "implement visibly" all commitments under special envoy Kofi Annan ...Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh and so far the worst Secretary-General of the UN. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize for something or other that probably sounded good at the time. In December 2004, reports surfaced that Kofi's son Kojo received payments from the Swiss company Cotecna, which had won a lucrative contract under the UN Oil-for-Food Program. Kofi Annan called for an investigation to look into the allegations, which stirred up the expected cesspool but couldn't seem to come up with enough evidence to indict Kofi himself, or even Kojo... 's peace plan -- including the withdrawal of all troops and heavy guns from Syrian cities.
The vote had been expected Friday but was held up by Russian objections to much of the text. Russia's ambassador Vitaly Churkin said that "substantive changes" had been made to make it "more balanced."
Russia and China vetoed two previous attempts by the 15-nation council to pass a resolution on the crisis which the U.N. says has left well over 9,000 dead.
A new resolution with a full mandate will be required for the full monitoring mission of more than 200 observers.
The resolution called on Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Despoiler of Deraa... and the opposition "to guarantee the safety of the advance team without prejudice to its freedom of movement and access."
It "stresses" that "primary responsibility" for the observers' safety rests with the Syrian government.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/15/2012
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Unintentional comedy gold from a NY Times foreign correspondent. Hat tip to the other perfessor
From TFA:
Since Hosni Mubarak fell from power in Egypt last year, the Muslim Brotherhood has repeatedly promised moderation and vowed not to "monopolize political institutions in the new Egypt." But right now a committee is forming to write a new Constitution. The "moderate" Brotherhood controls the parliament and tried to stack the committee's membership so that it held a controlling majority. On Tuesday, however, a court blocked the effort.
We should never have believed them. He's here all week, folks. Try to remember to tip the waitstaff.
#6
Recall that one leader in the Islamic world who said they consider democracy to be like a bus. They will get off when they get where they want to go. No surprises if liberals were paying attention.
#2
There's a problem with that scenario. China probably has no problem escalating to nuclear if attacked. They can lose 100 million people and that would be nothing.
The scenario as presented as being against China is fantasy. They would nuke the living crap out of us, absorb a retaliatory strike and nuke us again. Then the Russians might just nuke us just to finish us off.
Those aircraft would have no bases to which they could return. Their bases would be a smoking hole in the ground before they could get home.
More likely the scenario is one that is more general. I believe we would have to assume that even a conventional attack against the Chinese mainland would immediately go nuclear and I don't think we are prepared to go there.
#3
I can't see any possibility of a conventional attack on China.
The only scenario I can envisage is to cut China's trade routes. Sink ships, destroy bridges, collapse tunnels, and attack oil pipelines outside China itself. Precision munitions, UAVs and cruise missiles make this fairly easy.
#4
The big money defense industrialists must have a boogey-man, eh? I more imagine this scenario would be appropriate for the less retaliation ready gulf states.
I'm going to respectfully disagree with you - it is absolutely in the Chinese interest to keep things from going nuclear. Keep in mind that dictatorships rely on two things above all else: order and control of communications. A single nuclear shot in China will end order right quickly, not to mention what more than that will do to communications. If nuclear weapons start going off, the only thing the Chinese leadership will control will be whatever is within literal arms' reach, and they value their backsides, power, and perks far too much to risk them.
This isn't to say that a US/PRC war couldn't spin out of control, but there are a lot of factors on both sides to militate against it.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
04/15/2012 10:11
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#6
So, anything hidden at Chinese company controlled ports at each end of the panama canal? Nice location for nuclear blackmail. Bill Gerz talked about this years ago.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
04/15/2012 11:58
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#7
The Chicoms loose more from the canal disappearing than do we. And we could develop a new no-lock canal rapidly.
There is likelihood that the Boko Haram sect might have killed its present spokesman, Abu Qaqa II, last week. The new spokesman, who took over from Abu Qaqa I, who is now with the State Security Services (SSS) on detention after his arrest in January, was accused of planning to defect sometime last week. The killing, according to reliable security sources, was at the behest of the group's leader, Abubakar Shekau.
Earlier in the year, shortly after his arrest, Abu Qaqa I had revealed that death for a member suspected of defection plan or disloyalty is always the only option. He had said that such applies especially to members who are non-Kanuri like the sect leader, Shekau.
Qaqa noted that even the members sent on suicide missions by compulsion must never be Kanuri, which is how the leader safeguards his tribesmen from death, while exposing others to bombing that consumes their lives.
The same sentiment which requires a beautiful goat that's been trifled with be sold on to the next village for food, not made into a feast for the home folks.
Since Abu Qaqa II was accused of trying to denounce the sect after intensive trailing by the security agency that saw him changing locations severally, his group felt the best for him was death.
Abu Qaqa II whose real name is Mohammed Anwal Kontagora was from Kontagora in Niger State. He took the name Abu Qaqa in February this year after the original Abu Qaqa, 42, also known as Abu Dardaa, Mohammed Shuaibu, Mohammed Bello, Abu Tiamiya and Abdulrahman Abdullahi, was arrested.
Kontagora, like his predecessor, was non-Kanuri, so his case as applicable to every non-Kanuri was said to have been decided summarily by the sect leader. After elimination of the spokesman, the source revealed that Boko Haram is shopping for a new spokesperson that would be dubbed Abu Qaqa III.
The first one arrested, the second bumped off ... who wouldn't want to be the next Abu Qaqa?
The vacuum created by Abu Qaqa II's assassination was said to have been responsible for the silence of Boko Haram over the Easter Sunday killing in Kaduna by the group. The sect never owned up or disassociated itself from the Easter Sunday bomb blast that killed so many commercial motorcyclists and tea vendors.
Just how easy is it to make a deadly virus? The question has arisen recently, thanks to two controversial experiments that transformed the H5N1 bird flu virus into mutant forms that spread in mammals.
After months of intense worldwide debate, scientists brought together by the World Health Organization in February recommended publishing the results. And last month United States government biosecurity advisers said they support publishing the now-revised studies because they don't reveal details bioterrorists could use. The journals Nature and Science say they plan to publish the works as soon as possible.
While terrorists and cults have long been a concern, some scientists also fear publication may allow curious amateurs to recreate the mutated virus - raising the risk of an accidental release. Over the past decade, more amateur biologists have started to do genetic experiments of their own. The Web site DIYbio.org now has more than 2,000 members.
"I worry about the garage scientist, about the do-your-own scientist, about the person who just wants to try and see if they can do it," Michael T. Osterholm of the University of Minnesota said recently at a meeting of biosecurity experts in Washington, D.C.
Dr. Arturo Casadevall of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, who with Dr. Osterholm is a member of the board that initially recommended against publication, agreed, saying, "Humans are very inventive."
Do-it-yourself biologists say such fears are exaggerated.
"I am really sick and tired of folks waving this particular red flag," said Ellen D. Jorgensen, a molecular biologist who is president of Genspace, a "community biotechnology lab" in New York.
At the biosecurity meeting, Ron Fouchier, who led the Dutch team that created the mutated virus known as mutH5N1, described part of the experiment, which used well-established methods: Scientists introduced mutations into the H5N1 flu genes that they thought might help the bird flu infect mammals. They gave the viruses to ferrets, waited for them to get sick, then transferred viruses to other ferrets, ending up with a strain that could spread from one ferret to another in the air.
There are several ways trained virologists could make mutH5N1. They could take the publicly available genome sequence of H5N1 and rewrite it to include the new mutations, then simply copy the new sequence into an e-mail. A DNA-synthesis company would then send back harmless segments of the flu's genes, pasted into the DNA of bacteria. The scientists could cut out the viral segments, paste them together and inject the reconstructed virus genes into cells. The cells would start making mutH5N1 viruses.
The synthesis companies look out for matches between requested DNA and the genomes of dangerous pathogens. But some experts dismiss such safeguards. "You could imagine a determined actor could cleverly disguise orders," Dr. Casadevall said.
Trained virologists, knowing the mutations acquired by mutH5N1, could simply alter ordinary H5N1 viruses at the same sites in its genes to match it. Virologists might even figure out how to make mutH5N1 from the few details that have emerged. Reports say there were only five mutations in the Dutch viruses, and these were most likely at key sites involved in getting viruses into host cells. (Viruses have to infect host cells to reproduce; they cannot replicate on their own.) Devices for duplicating pieces of DNA sell for a few hundred dollars on eBay.
D.I.Y. biologists sometimes laugh at the sinister powers people think they have. "People overestimate our technological abilities and underestimate our ethics," said Jason Bobe, a founder of DIYbio.org. And amateurs lack the years of training it takes to grow viruses.
It is hard to predict how the evolution of biotechnology will affect the risk of homegrown pathogens. While it might be challenging to make one particular flu virus, like mutH5N1, it is not hard to try to breed new flu viruses. I have a degree in genetics and I know that creating your own new flu strain isn't that hard. The years of training is BS.
#1
This is the danger of the 21 Century. Some terrorist is going to kill someone's loved one/s as just more collateral damage. That someone will have the capability to engineer a bug with just enough lethality to hammer third world populations from which these terrorists spawn. As the government dilly dally about and try to avoid doing anything that might upset some else, that third party will take vendetta to unimaginable levels.
#4
I worry more about some idiot who accidentally or deliberately infects himself or his cat. Once some new capability gets into a spreading viral infection, anything could happen.
#5
g(r)omgoru, it's possible. However releasing said virus will have an effect proportional to the ability of the society to take effective remedial actions. A truly deadly pan epidemic will shut down outside help as transportation connections will be severed. Basics in sanitation, public health, not just at a nation level but local level will make the release of any such pathogen absolutely devastating when it reaches that population simply for those facts. In their case, it would be suicide for their culture, not that such an act is out of their behavior patterns, and remove a threat to all other civilizations.
[Bangla Daily Star] Police locked away 26 leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami ...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... in a house at Sora village in Shyamnagar upazila of Satkhira on Saturday.
Alamgri Hossain, officer-in-charge of Shyamnagar Police Station, said the Jamaat leaders, all rokons of the organization, were locked away while holding a "clandestine" meeting to carry out subversive activities against the state.
The locked away include Shyamnagar upazila unit nayeb-e-ameer of Jamaat Maulana Oheduzzaman, Alamgir Kabir, Israfil, Abdul Aziz, Abdul Mannan, Mofazzal Hossain, Lutfar Rahman, Rafiqul Islam, Aminur Rahman, Arafat Hossain, Motaleb Hossain, Abdur Rahman, Siddique Gazi, Abu Bakkar Gazi, Hafizur Rahman, Imam Hossain and Abdul Kalam.
The OC said acting on a tip-off they conducted a drive at the house of Jamaat leader Abdul Jalil in the evening and locked away them.
The locked away will be charged with sedition, he added.
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#1
Birthday/Daily Gam Shot
Claudia Cardinale aka Jill McBain in "Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)" aka Claudia in "8½ (1963)" aka Angelica Sedara / Bertiana in "The Leopard (1963)" aka Princess Dahla in "The Pink Panther (1963)" aka Mrs. Maria Grant in "The Professionals (1966)" aka Molly in "Fitzcarraldo (1982)" (age 74)
Julie Christie aka Diana Scott in "Darling (Won AW) (1965)" aka Lara Antipova in "Doctor Zhivago (1965)" aka Clarisse / Linda Montag in "Fahrenheit 451 (1966)" aka Constance Miller in "McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971)" aka Jackie Shawn in "Shampoo (1975)" aka Phyllis Mann in "Afterglow (Nominated for AW)(1997)" aka Fiona Anderson in "Away from Her (Nominated for AW)(2006)" (age 71)
Yunus Habib's gift of Rs 1.5 billion
Daily Mashriq reported that banker Yunus Habib told the Supreme Court that he had put together nearly Rs 1.5 billion on behalf of Army Chief Aslam Beg and distributed it to politicians and journalists to defeat the PPP in 1990 elections. After he said that he had no record of this distribution, the Court added that it had uncovered some details and would keep them sealed.
Mian Amir as new Punjab governor?
Reported in Mashriq after the debacle of the defeat of PPP leader Aslam Gill as Senate candidate because the PPP members of Punjab Assembly did not vote properly, the central PPP was enraged and wanted to change Governor Punjab Latif Khan Khosa. The new governor would be Lahore's ex-mayor Mian Amir Mehmood who is also the owner of University of Central Punjab and Dunya TV channel. Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif was also trying to make Mian Amir join the PMLN.
Imran Khan fails in his saint's city
Reported in Jinnah the mammoth meeting of Imran Khan's tsunami party Tehreek Insaf failed in Gujjar Khan where his saint Dr Rafeeq Akhtar lived. Imran reached there two hours late, while two and half thousand chairs remained empty. This triggered speculation about the fizzling out of Tsunami Khan and that his party had probably lost steam.
Raja Zafrul Haq versus nationalities
PMLN leader Raja Zafrul Haq was quoted by Nawa-e-Waqt as saying that there was a conspiracy to divide Pakistan into nationalities instead of one nation on the pattern of the Soviet Union - which was a plan that his party would defeat.
Khaleda Zia took money from ISI
Incumbent prime minister of Bangladesh Hasina Wajed was quoted by Jang as saying that her opposition leader Khaleda Zia had received bribes from Pakistan's ISI on the eve of 1901 elections to defeat the Awami League of Hasina Wajed and to incite trouble in the north-western states of India through Bangladesh. In all, Khaled Zia received Rs 50 crores. At that time Pakistan itself was reeling under the scandal called Mehrangate.
Taseer's family will stay in Pakistan
Quoted in Jang daughter of late governor Punjab Salmaan Taseer, Sheherbano Taseer, said on the occasion of Women's Day in Lahore that despite the fact that her father was treated shabbily and her brother was being held by terrorists, her family would not leave Pakistan but stay to face the challenge.
Blasphemy law revives divine love
Famous TV preacher and scourge of minorities Amir Liaquat Hussain was quoted by Jang as saying that Blasphemy Law was a blessing that kept faith alive (imaan zinda rakhta hai). He said it was the love of Prophet Muhammad PBUH which kept the faith intact.
Osama's wives killed him through infighting
Daily Nawa-e-Waqt reported that Osama's many wives could have been the cause of his death because they were fighting among themselves while living with him. Intimate wife Amal and her son Khalid were convinced that wife Khairya was thinking of betraying him to the Americans after she had asserted that she would 'do the last great thing for Osama'. Osama was himself was suspicious but was helpless in the face of his wives and left the matter to Allah.
Arbab Raheem speaks up from Dubai
Daily Nawa-e-Waqt telephoned ex-chief minister Sindh Arbab Raheem in Dubai who immediately revealed that Zardari had made him the offer of office if he joined the PPP. Raheem said the country was tired of PPP's robbery (loot-maar) but the PML must unite once again against it.
Foreign affairs committee not too united
Quoted in Nawa-e-Waqt members of Senate standing committee on foreign affairs spoke differently on the subject. Salim Saifullah said good relations with neighbours were greatly needed. But others said that US alliance with India was a great hurdle. SM Zafar said that by boycotting the Bonn conference after the Salala attack by US greatly boosted the confidence of Pakistan.
Pasha was behind Imran Khan
Daily Jang reported that many people were happy that General Pasha of the ISI was not retained on another extension. One party was PMLN which thought that Pasha was behind the Imran Khan phenomenon directed against the PMLN to make it lose the coming election. The PMLN therefore was at the forefront of those who did not want any extension given to Pasha. Mashriq reported that Pasha's relations with the US had soured but that the new ISI chief was close to Army Chief Kayani and had served with him. Both are supposed to want that in relations with the US be normal.
Zardari is a fake Baloch
Politician with a funny bone JUI's Hafiz Hussain Ahmad stated in Nawa-e-Waqt that fake Baloch leaders like Zardari had damaged Balochistan. He said he was asking the army to quit Balochistan but the Baloch like Talal Bugti are inviting the Army in. He said warrants of Musharraf should be pasted on the gates of the GHQ in Rawalpindi.
Driver makes money off accidents
A driver called Sajid was reported by Jinnah to have earned Rs 77 lakh from the American embassy after he was wounded after his car was hit by an American. Later he got interested in doing more of the same for the Americans, which was hitting the car of the Iranian ambassador in Islamabad. He was being investigated.
Hindu girls being 'converted' and married
Daily Mashriq reported that the trend in Sindh to convert Hindu girls and marry them was on the increase thus damaging the family life of the Hindu minority there. The courts let this happen because the converted girls were made to tell the court that they had converted for real. Those involved in this were powerful local feudal lords.
Imran destined to win!
Writing in Jang Haroon Rasheed stated that Imran Khan was predestined by Allah to win and therefore it was not possible to understand his leadership according to reason. But people writing against him were motivated by personal animus, especially one popular English columnist (Ayaz Amir?) whose column was greatly admired who wanted to join Imran but was enraged by rejection by Tehreek Insaf. Most people were unable to understand Imran Khan.
'Fixer' fast bowler Amir in love
Daily Mashriq reported that young Pakistani fast bowler who had spent time in British jail for fixing a match has left prison with love in his heart. Sajida Malik his lawyer is the latest development in his life but the family says that relations between him and Sajida Malik are strictly professional.
Message for new ISI chief
Famous columnist Irfan Siddiqi wrote in Jang that the new ISI chief Zaheerul Islam was welcome to his job but he must keep in mind the fact that being lenient to the US was not in the interest of Pakistan. The arrest of Raymond Davis showed united action between the army and political leadership but letting him go in the end was not good. General Pasha was looked at by Americans with hostility because he had tried to keep the Americans within limits. This was very important.
[An Nahar] Five people were killed and six maimed in Sudanese Arclight airstrikes on Bentiu, capital of the oil-rich South Sudan border state of Unity, on Saturday.
"Three bombs were released next to Bentiu Bridge, and at the moment one person is confirmed killed. But they did not break the bridge," said Gideon Gatfan, front man of the Unity State government.
The bridge links Bentiu to a road leading to the border between Sudan and South Sudan some 60 kilometers (35 miles) to the north which has been the theatre of fierce festivities in recent days.
It was the second air raid reported by South Sudanese officials on Bentiu since Thursday.
The South Sudan army claimed Saturday to still be in control of the oil hub of Heglig after Khartoum said it had launched an offensive to recapture the area seized by Juba's forces on Thursday.
The festivities are the worst since South Sudan's independence from Sudan last July under a 2005 peace accord and have brought the two former foes the closest yet to a return to outright war.
No information was available early Saturday on the positions of the two armies.
Some two million people died in Sudan's 22-year civil war, one of Africa's longest, before the peace deal opened the way to South Sudan's independence.
When the South separated, Khartoum lost about 75 percent of its oil production and billions of dollars in revenue, leaving the Heglig area as its main producer.
Posted by: Fred ||
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Another example of President Obama's love for Israel.
The leaks continue from the B.O. regime with regard to Israeli defense secrets. On Sunday, the New Yorker printed a report stating that US had worked with the Iranian opposition group Mujahideen-e-Khalq (MEK). The US was apparently receiving intelligence from the group, including intercepted cell phone calls and text messages. But sources also confirmed that Mossad was helping to funnel resources and train members of the MEK.
So they threw their own intelligence source under the bus in order to sabotage Israel? How very clever, to be sure. The director of the CIA must be livid.
Champ and the NYT consider this a two-fer...
As Seymour Hersh writes:
[E]arly last month NBC News quoted two senior Obama Administration officials as confirming that the attacks were carried out by M.E.K. units that were financed and trained by Mossad, the Israeli secret service. NBC further quoted the Administration officials as denying any American involvement in the M.E.K. activities. The former senior intelligence official I spoke with seconded the NBC report that the Israelis were working with the M.E.K., adding that the operations benefitted from American intelligence. He said that the targets were not "Einsteins"; "The goal is to affect Iranian psychology and morale," he said, and to "demoralize the whole system--nuclear delivery vehicles, nuclear enrichment facilities, power plants." Attacks have also been carried out on pipelines. He added that the operations are "primarily being done by M.E.K. through liaison with the Israelis, but the United States is now providing the intelligence."
So what would be the purpose of the leak this time? The same as the last time: it's supposed to tip off the Iranians to efforts against them, and it's supposed to dissuade the Israelis from doing anything to stop the Iranian nuclear program. And those efforts are largely Israeli -- Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta ...current SecDef, previously Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Panetta served as President Bill Clinton's White House Chief of Staff from 1994 to 1997 and was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1977 to 1993.... has already denied any US involvement in the liquidations of the Iranian nuclear scientists.
This leak is just the latest in a pattern of leaks from the B.O. regime, which has already leaked information about a covert Israeli deal with Azerbaijan to use airbases in that country as a staging point for an attack on the Iranian nuclear facilities. In 2010, the B.O. regime leaked information of a covert deal between Israel and Soddy Arabia to use Saudi airspace for such an attack.
#2
O has kowtowed to our enemies or adversaries and has and is continuing to stab our allies in the back. Just whose side is he on, hmmmmm?
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
04/15/2012 3:09
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#3
Shapiro delivers, as per usual, his copy and paste conjecture complete with the typical asked and answered set-up question. It appears as if this is now his chosen vehicle to speculate motivation thus allowing him to finish with his assumed conclusions. Not bad when you consider he has literally written books on the evils of propaganda.
#6
Oh yes, did I mention the MEK were allied to Saddam Hussein and helped him put down kurdish and shiite rebellions?
Getting in bed with these guys is no different to how the CIA got in bed with OBL and his pals in the late 80s. Lets hope it doesn't end the same way that did.
#7
Remember a Moslem will have more loyalty toward a fellow Moslem than they will toward their home country....oops....what is his home country? Have we settled that yet?
Posted by: Bill Clinton ||
04/15/2012 12:24
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The body overseeing Egypt's presidential election disqualfied 10 candidates from the race on Saturday, including the Moslem Brüderbund's Khairat al-Shater, former spy chief Omar Suleiman ... Now former Vice president of Egypt. From 1993 until his appointment to that office in 2011 he was Minister without Portfolio and Director of the Egyptian General Intelligence Directorate (EGID)... and ultra orthodox Salafi sheikh Hazem Salah Abu Ismail.
Farouk Sultan, head of the presidential election commission, told Rooters the disqualified candidates had 48 hours to appeal against its decision. He declined to give details on the reasons for their disqualification.
#1
Those rights are already protected under the Constitution, but King said it is useful to pass a state law to reaffirm them what he called a belt and suspenders approach.
And if there's enough time this session they will tackle the "creeping influence" of The Wiccan set of Lady Sheba's 161 Laws.
#2
The bill would void "Any court, arbitration, tribunal or administrative ruling or decision based on a foreign law, legal code or system" that runs counter to the Kansas or U.S. Constitutions. Not a bad idea to re-affirm the U.S. Constitution as the law of the land. There are too many assaults on it from within and without.
President Obama vowed in an interview with Univision to pursue comprehensive immigration reform and attacked Romney and GOP lawmakers, saying they would oppose his efforts. Obama promised to pursue immigration reform in his second term, but said Republicans in Congress may keep him from succeeding.
I can promise that I will try to do it in the first year of my second term, Obama said in an interview with Univision set to air on Sunday. I want to try this year. The challenge we've got on immigration reform is very simple. I've got a majority of Democrats who are prepared to vote for it, and I've got no Republicans who are prepared to vote for it.
"Vote for me, I can't get anything done."
The president also took a shot at Mitt Romney, his likely Republican opponent in the fall, for supporting Arizonas controversial anti-illegal immigration law.
We now have a Republican nominee who said that the Arizona laws are a model for the country; that - and these are laws that potentially would allow someone to be stopped and picked up and asked where their citizenship papers are based on an assumption.
So, now can you guess?
Univision reporter Enrique Acevedo interjected to describe such stops as racial profiling.
Very troublesome, Obama continued. And this is something that the Republican nominee has said should be a model for the country. So what we need is a change either of Congress or we need Republicans to change their mind, and I think this has to be an important debate during - throughout the country.
Champ will open the gates and let anyone in. That's "reform" to him.
Folks, you may not particularly like Willard, but we can't afford four more years of Champ.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/15/2012
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#1
WHAT secomd term?
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
04/15/2012 0:28
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#2
"A-M-N-E-S-T-Y. It's not just for illegal aliens related to Obama any more. Vote Democrat - Vote often"
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/15/2012 0:32
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#5
Expect to be like the UK with plenty of friendly, Neighborly types of feelings for you. If Mexicans are not going to be the force Immigre - it must be MME.
#6
but the one thing that I think everybody needs to understand is that this is something I care deeply about. It's personal to me, and I will do everything that I can to try to get it done.
Uh yeah we know. BTW, how are Uncle Onyango and Auntie Zeituni doing anyhow?
You could work out a value maximising amount per immigrant and then charge that, it would sort the wheat from the chaff.
Subsidised immigration suits the rent-seeking political classes, cheap labour + more expensive rents, and billed to you, the citizens of the country they run "in your name" lol.
#10
I'm afraid my rudimentary Spanish isn't good enough to say "Remember, amigos, that all of this puta's promises come with an expiration date. Every single one."
Posted by: Matt ||
04/15/2012 11:35
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#11
Fresh from his promises and presidential victory, he had two years of a packed House and Senate to get anything he wanted done.
Know what he chose over immigration reform?
Golf.
Tell the truth, I wouldn't trust him to keep score. Said he never cheated at golf, bullshit. Said himself he skipped a hole not to be part of a photo op (martha's vinyard). Skipping a hole is cheating at golf, ask the old timers and young pros. Orr...not keeping score is just wasting time.
Three people were killed and 33 others injured after a man tossed a grenade into a cockfighting arena in the southern Philippines on Friday.
More than a hundred people had gathered at the makeshift cockpit in the small rural town of Aleosan when a fragmentation grenade went off, said provincial police chief Superintendent Conrado Salinas.
Survivors saw the man who threw the grenade and recognized him as a local resident, Salinas said. He is now being hunted by police. The police chief said, "We suspect that the man lost (money) in previous cockfights and he wanted to get even."
DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistain - Around 300 prisoners beat feet from a jail in northwest Pakistain early on Sunday after it was attacked by Islamist faceless myrmidons armed with guns and rocket propelled grenades, a senior police official told Rooters.
Some of those who beat feet were jihad boys, an intelligence official said.
AFP - Some 384 prisoners including gunnies beat feet early Sunday from a jail in northwestern Pakistain after an attack by Death Eaters armed with guns, grenades and rockets, according to officials.
More than 150 gunnies stormed the central prison outside the restive northwestern town of Bannu bordering the lawless tribal regions where Taliban and Al-Qaeda linked gunnies are active.
The attack started at around 1:00 am (2000 GMT) and continued for two hours, with gunnies in cars and pick-up trucks shooting and lobbing grenades to force their way into the prison, a security bigshot told AFP.
"Some 384 prisoners, including some hardcore krazed killers, have beat feet during the attack," the official said.
"Preliminary information suggests that there were some 944 prisoners in the jail according to the tally late Saturday," he said.
A large number of gunnies had recently been moved to the jail from neighbouring Kohat and Lakki Marwat prisons, which are being converted into internment centres to rehabilitate former Death Eaters, the official said.
A former member of the airforce sentenced to death for an attack on former president Pervez Perv Musharraf ... former dictator of Pakistain, who was less dictatorial and corrupt than any Pak civilian government to date ... was among the beat feet krazed killers, he said.
Police confirmed the attack but did not give any figures for the escapees, saying they were still investigating.
"There was an attack on the central jail and some prisoners beat feet," senior Bannu police official Iftikhar Khan told AFP.
"At least three police officials were maimed in the attack," he said.
The attackers outnumbered the security forces at the prison and gunnies fled before reinforcements reached the jail.
Shafiq Ahmed, another police official said that security forces had imposed a cordon and a search operation was launched in the area.
"We have tossed in the slammer four of the beat feet prisoners," Ahmed told AFP.
In Iran -- and perhaps Saudi Arabia -- they're running out of oil. In Yemen it's water. It's starting to look like Allah doesn't like these people.
A senior water expert in Sana'a Basin Water Management Project Ali Hassan forwarned on Wednesday of the depletion of the Sana'a water basin by 2025.
In his meeting focusing on economic journalism with trainees of the Studies and Economic Media Center, Hassan made it clear that according to the scientific studies and the facts currently available, Sana'a would run out of water by 2025.
"Our goal is to lengthen the basin's durability, but ultimately the disaster is coming", said Hassan, specifying that the annual volume of water from rainfall amounts to 80 million square meters, compared to the 200 million square meters that are needed to sustain the Sana'a basin.
Experts such as Mohammed al-Dubaei, a professor of geology, say there is a need to halve Sana'a city's two million population in order to confront the water crisis in the city. "Sana'a city cannot stand rapid urbanization," he said. Water availability in Yemen has been worsening by the year and the government has no clear strategy on how to deal with the problem.
They say water shortages, which affect about 80 percent of the country's 21 million people, are exacerbated by the high fertility rate, rapid urbanization, the cultivation of 'qat' (a mild narcotic), a lack of public awareness, and the arbitrary digging of wells.
These remarks have been repeated since the symposium of August 2008 organized by the Sheba Centre for Strategic Studies (SCSS) and a local think-tank entitled 'Water Security in Yemen'. The symposium brought together dozens of local officials and experts on water.
According to the latest official statistics, the total amount of water used annually is 3.5 billion cubic metres (cu.m.), of which 93% is used in agriculture, 6% in households and 1% by industry. The renewed fresh water is 2.5 billion cu.m. per year. The gap between used water and renewed fresh water is 1 billion cu.m. a year. The additional problem of a predicted doubling in Yemen's population by 2025 means that 4.6 billion cu.m. would be required to sustain the country.
Water use per capita in Yemen is currently at 125 cu.m. per year, but expected to drop to 62.5 cu.m a year by 2025. Globally, average water consumption per capita is 1,500 cu.m. per year. About 92 % of Yemen's land is arid, semi-arid and desert.
Nasser al-Awlaqi, a professor of economy and a former minister of water, said the water crisis in Yemen was largely due to agriculture, which depended on ground water from deep wells.
Rapidly depleting water resources have forced many residents of Sana'a to buy water from private sources. He said farmers used to make do with surface water and rain, not ground water, but with the introduction of appropriate technology, they began to dig wells. "Before 1970, there were no wells 800 meters deep. They were manually dug and their depth was only 20-40 meters.
According to the Ministry of Water and Environment there are over 60,000 wells and over 350 water drillers nationwide, and the rate of water level-diminution in these wells was 6.3 percent per year.
Al-Awlaqi confirmed that arbitrary digging of wells meant water could be found at depths of 800 - 1,000 meters. "Influential figures are digging wells in Sana'a city, with the Ministry of Water unable to do anything to stop them. The 'Water Law' is not being implemented."
The above mentioned law forbids arbitrary digging and requires prior permission from the ministry. "In 1974, the area irrigated by ground water was 30,000 - 35,000 hectares. But now over 400,000 hectares are irrigated by ground water. At that time, Yemen produced 1.2 million tones of cereals but now production has dropped sharply as agriculture is not fed by rainfall," claimed al-Awlaqi.
Experts say that farmers are not able to make use of the large quantity of rainwater - 68 billion cu.m. a year - due to the ineffectiveness of dams. The dams were built arbitrarily and as a result are not practical. Very few were built adequately. Dams are not looked after and most of them have been filled with filth. Over US$22 billion has so far been spent on dams, but their capacity is only 80 million cubic meters (mcm). Yemen is a poor country but its resources are wasted.
The Ministry of Water and Environment said that the option of desalination in Sana'a was impossible as Yemen's resources were limited and even talk about this alternative was not logical. "How do we want to benefit from desalinating sea water when it will immediately be used to irrigate qat?," one of their ministers said.
[Shabelle] The Danish navy captured 16 Somali pirates and freed 12 captives when it intercepted a "mothership" vessel off the Horn of Africa, it said on Thursday.
The Danish warship Absalon, serving in NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A cautionary tale of cost-benefit analysis.... 's counter-piracy mission Ocean Shield, stopped the vessel off the east coast of Somalia on Wednesday, boarded it without resistance, placed in long-term storage the suspected Somali pirates and found the hostages.
"The operation was carried out without use of armed force," the Danish navy command said in a statement.
"As the Absalon approached the ship and hailed it, they surrendered right away," navy front man Mikael Bill said.
Held by the pirates were three Iranians and nine Pak hostages, the original crew of the vessel, a Jelbut-type fishing boat seized by pirates about a month ago, Bill said.
The navy calls such a boat a "pirate mothership" because it is big enough to operate on the high seas and serve as a support vessel, carrying equipment for pirates who tend to use small skiffs to approach and board ships.
The hostages were on their way home on Thursday after giving testimony, but the suspected pirates will remain held aboard the Absalon until Denmark determines if it can hand the pirates over to a country in the region for prosecution, Bill said.
It was the second time in just month-and-a-half that the Absalon placed in long-term storage pirates and freed hostages offSomalia.
At the end of February, the Danish navy ship opened fire on a suspected pirate vessel which disobeyed orders to stop, killing two hostages but freeing 16 others and capturing 17 suspected pirates.
Piracy is rife off the Horn of Africa, disrupting important shipping lanes between Europe andAsia, putting seamen, vessels and cargoes at risk, and costing shipping companies huge sums to protect themselves.
It has been a huge problem as pirates from lawless, poverty-strickenSomaliaseek ransoms to release ships and hostages.
Although anti-piracy operations have succeeded in reducing the numbers of vessels and hostages taken in the past few years, efforts to stamp out piracy are hampered by the unwillingness of many countries to prosecute captured pirates in their courts.
The problem of finding courts to try pirates stems partly from a lack of a functioning judicial system and prisons inSomalia, but also reluctance by other countries to receive captured pirates.
Most European countries, includingDenmark, have been unwilling to bring suspects from eastAfricato their jails and courts, which means navies engaged in anti-piracy missions often must release captured pirates without prosecution.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/15/2012
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#1
but the suspected pirates will remain held aboard the Absalon until Denmark determines if it can hand the pirates over to a country in the region for prosecution, Bill said.
Y'know, I've been to sea. It can be very dangerous, especially at night. I mean, a guy goes for a walk, and Splash! he falls overboard. If the lookout doesn't see him, he may be shark food before they even know he's gone. It could happen to several of the pirates, since they aren't familiar with the ship and all.
Of course, if the Absalon had yard arms, they could solve the problem very quickly...
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
04/15/2012 0:33
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#2
Well, we can only hope that some of these incidents are never reported ...
#3
From Wikipedia: "The two ships in the Absalon class, named after Danish archbishop and statesman Absalon, received full operational status in 2007."
Interesting that the most successful ships against Islamic piracy are named after an archbishop!
#4
kinds spoiled it for me.. a warship named after a Bishop... what's wrong with "Thor's Hammer" or something like? I seem to remember Norway naming some small missle boats after Odin's ravens....
#5
I don't think the US or any of its citizens has any right to complain about the Absalon's name. When we tried to build a version of it we wound up trading away the ship's ability to _do_ anything for a 45 knot sprint speed. Oh, and our 45 knot target cost twice as much as well.
#8
I don't think the US or any of its citizens has any right to complain about the Absalon's name.
Right now we have the USS Murtha and the USS Jimmah Carter. I'd take a bishop over these two anyday.
#9
And the USS Gabriel Gifford. Nothing against Ms. Gifford, but she did nothing heroic, all she did was get shot by a madman*.
*Yes, I know "alleged" madman.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
04/15/2012 17:05
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#10
Why did the pirates give up without a fight?
I know! I know!
The Danes had one of those dragon thingies on the bow.
Posted by: Richard Aubrey ||
04/15/2012 21:40
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#11
Tie ropes to them and throw them over the bow. Measure the ropes to ensure they hang around the props. When someone asks what you are doing, scream at them that their islamaphobia is showing.
Posted by: Silentbrick - Halliburton Lost Drill Bit Division ||
04/15/2012 22:26
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Some 1600 Paleostinians in Israeli prisons will go on an open-ended hunger strike as of April 17, the Paleostinian Authority Minister for Prisoner Affairs, Issa Qaraqi, announced Saturday.
The prisoners who will go on hunger strike are affiliated with Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason,, Islamic Jihad ...created after many members of the Egyptian Moslem Brotherhood decided the organization was becoming too moderate. Operations were conducted out of Egypt until 1981 when the group was exiled after the liquidation of President Anwar Sadat. They worked out of Gaza until they were exiled to Lebanon in 1987, where they clove tightly to Hezbollah. In 1989 they moved to Damascus, where they remain a subsidiary of Hezbollah... , the Popular Front for the Liberation of Paleostine ... Paleostinian Marxist movement, founded in 1967. It is considered a terrorist organization by more than 30 countries including the U.S., European Union, Australia, Canada, and Antarctica. The PFLP's stated goal is the establishment of a socialist State in Paleostine. They pioneered armed aircraft hijackings in the late 60s and early 70s... and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Paleostine ... a breakaway faction of the Pöpular Frönt för the Liberation of Paleostine. The are regarded as the most intellectual of Paleostinian fedayeen groups, smoking cheap cigarettes and drawing heavily on Marxist-Leninist theory to explain their crappy lives. They can occasionally be seen strutting through the streets of Paleostine, dressed up like soldiers and lugging firearms, though they seldom manage to hit anything and then usually by accident. This may be because of their habit of wearing black masks that cut off most of their vision. That would also explain their habit of occasionally walking into walls, which is a well-known attribute of those immersed in true understanding of the dialectic... Fatah prisoners have yet to decide whether they want to join the hunger strike or not, said Fares Kadoura, chairman of the Paleostinian Prisoners Club in the West Bank.
The thing about a hunger strike is that one gets so darned hungry before it's over, dontchaknow.
Cindy Sheehan didn't. Then again, her hunger strike allowed smoothies. I think she gained weight...
The prisoners are demanding an end to administrative detentions and solitary confinement and that Israel permit families from the Gazoo Strip to visit their sons in prison. They are also demanding that Israel cancel its decision to ban academic studies and newspapers.
(Ma'an) -- "Passengers on Lufthansa flights have not committed any offense, and do not accept these mafia-methods, favored by governments complicit in the imprisonment of the Paleostinian people," a group organizing a visit by foreigners said Friday.
"Therefore, with the support of many friends, they will appear as scheduled at their airports boarding this weekend, a reminder that the West Bank, nor the rest of Paleostine, does not belong to Israel," they said.
The mayor of Bethlehem on Tuesday urged Israel not to humiliate hundreds of tourists invited to the week-long tour.
Some 25 organizations have invited internationals to visit Paleostine from April 15-21 and Mayor Victor Batarseh urged Israel to let them enter and not to humiliate them.
"We demand our international friends have access to Bethlehem," the mayor said. "It is our right to welcome visitors."
Paleostinian organizations have arranged a week-long program, starting Sunday, which includes helping to build a school in Bethlehem and day trips to Hebron, the Jordan Valley, Ramallah and Jerusalem.
How sad. Here they've gone to all the trouble and expense of arranging activities and excursions, and no one will come... again. A fetal country could go broke that way.
All visitors to the West Bank must first pass Israeli border control and many arriving in Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport do not tell Israeli security if they will be visiting Paleostinian areas as this leads to interrogation and often deportation. But the campaign has asked its guests to be open about their plans to visit the West Bank.
Around 30 Afghanis, half of them women, took to the streets of Kabul on Saturday to protest the recent killing of five Afghan women. The protesters held signs with slogans including "Where is justice?" and "Enforce law for violence against women".
Fatima Saidi, a 17-year old protester, said, "We hold this rally on behalf of the Afghan women whose voices are not heard and we came to raise our voice against their killing. Even our government is not helping us to reduce violence against women."
Another protester, Sadaf Fitrat, said, "Why is the violence against women continuing in Afghanistan? Women have the right to live, work and study just like men,
But they don't. They merely ought to, and some are lucky enough to have male guardians who agree...or don't notice what the girls are doing.
then why are they being killed?"
Since March, three women have been killed in western Herat, one in Khost in the north, and one in Paktia in the south-east.
More than 50 Afghani policemen equipped with shields were at the protest on Saturday.
#2
In a world where you are endowed by your creator with certain unalienable rights AND your government of, by and for the people protect those rights, yes you do.
In a theocratic hell hole where the government and people don't believe in those things you're SOL until the creator decides to take a hand.
Christians are being "persecuted" by courts and "driven underground" in the same way that homosexuals once were, a former Archbishop of Canterbury has warned.
Lord Carey says worshippers are being "vilified" by the state, treated as "bigots" and sacked simply for expressing their beliefs.
The attack is part of a direct appeal to the European Court of Human Rights before a landmark case on religious freedom. In a written submission seen by The Daily Telegraph, the former leader of more than 70 million Anglicans warns that the outward expression of traditional conservative Christian values has effectively been "banned" in Britannia under a new "secular conformity of belief and conduct".
His comments represent one of the strongest attacks on the impartiality of Britannia's judiciary from a religious leader.
He says Christians will face a "religious bar" to employment if rulings against wearing crosses and expressing their beliefs are not reversed.
The hearing, due to start in Strasbourg on Sept 4, will deal with the case of two workers forced out of their jobs over the wearing of crosses as a visible manifestation of their faith. It will also take in the cases of Gary McFarlane, a counsellor sacked for saying that he may not be comfortable in giving sex therapy to homosexual couples, and a Christian registrar, who wishes not to conduct civil partnership ceremonies.
Lord Carey, who was archbishop from 1991 to 2002, warns of a "drive to remove Judaeo-Christian values from the public square". Courts in Britannia have "consistently applied equality law to discriminate against Christians".
They show a "crude" misunderstanding of the faith by treating some believers as "bigots". He writes: "In a country where Christians can be sacked for manifesting their faith, are vilified by State bodies, are in fear of reprisal or even arrest for expressing their views on sexual ethics, something is very wrong.
"It affects the moral and ethical compass of the United Kingdom. Christians are excluded from many sectors of employment simply because of their beliefs; beliefs which are not contrary to the public good."
He outlines a string of cases in which he argues that British judges have used a strict reading of equality law to strip the legally established right to freedom of religion of "any substantive effect".
"It is now Christians who are persecuted; often sought out and framed by homosexual activists," he says. "Christians are driven underground. There appears to be a clear animus to the Christian faith and to Judaeo-Christian values. Clearly the courts of the United Kingdom require guidance."
He says the human rights ...which often intentionally defined so widely as to be meaningless... campaign has gone too far and become a political agenda.
Keith Porteous-Wood, executive director of the National Secular Society, said: "The idea that there is any kind of suppression of religion in Britannia is ridiculous.
"Even in the European Convention on Human Rights, the right to religious freedom is not absolute -- it is not a licence to trample on the rights of others. That seems to be what Lord Carey wants to do."
[Bangla Daily Star] A youth was killed in a 'shootout' between his cohorts and members of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) at Panthapath in the capital early yesterday.
If it's in the capitol, it should be easy enough to find on the map...
The dear departed Masud Rana Tusher,
A three-namer -- that's more than most...
, 32
That's a mature adult where I come from, not a mere slip of a youth. But do go on, O Daily Star reporter...
was a carjacker, said Raihan Uddin Khan, operation officer of Rab-2. Tusher was a resident of Mohammadpur.
Which is...somewhere. It must be, with the name of the prophet and all.
It's a western suburb of Dhaka. Good schools. Nice Chinese restaurants.
SM Kamal, commanding officer of Rab-2, told The Daily Star that a patrol team signalled a speeding microbus to stop at the check post near Bashundhara City at around 4:20am. As The Bible says, paraphrasing, What does it prophet a man to run a checkpoint, but lose his life?
The driver of the microbus slowed down but as Rab neared the vehicle, he sped up, said Rab officials.
Bad move. The Rab doesn't like being dissed like that -- remember the professor who didn't like them blocking his driveway?
The criminals on board opened fire on the Rab patrol team,
Random fire from a speeding microbus? That'll work well...
prompting them to fire back
They had no choice, poor dears, however much they might dislike the inevitable outcome.
and at one stage the microbus stopped and around four criminals decamped, they added. Downright romantic, the Bangla bad guys are. The only thing missing are the names, Bonni Fatima and Achmed Clyde, and a Tommy gun.
The elite force then discovered the body of Tusher lying inside the abandoned vehicle. "That Tusher?"
"Yeah, that's him boss. Don't look so good don't he?"
"Death will affect your looks."
They seized the microbus and recovered one pistol and four bullets from the scene.
Now cleaned and polished by the newest member of the team, and returned to their velvet bags in the evidence locker.
However, a poor excuse is better than no excuse at all... family members of the dear departed gave a different account of the incident.
They said that Rab claimed Tusher and his gang were involved in carjacking in the capital but they failed to mention any case against him in this connection. Unlikely the late Tusher would say to Ma, "Ma, I'm charged with carjacking. Think of the new business that will generate! We'll be able to pay off the mortgage! I'll save the farm!!"
Ibrahim Hossain Titu, Tusher's younger brother, said his brother was a fruit vendor in Chittagong Road area. In Mexico they call fruit vendors halcones; in the US we call them lookouts. Prolly got a small cut everytime he ID'd a car to jack.
He said someone called Tusher on his mobile at 10:30pm and after that Tusher left his residence. He could not be reached over his mobile since then. Mamoud the Weasel calling at the behest of the station chief. Setting up a meet, a late night meet, near the orchard, by the farm near Highway 66. 0100 hrs, don't be late and don't bring gun.
Titu said when they rang up Tusher again early morning a person at the other end said that Tusher was injured in a road accident and was taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
Where Dr Quincy and Jim patiently await. All enter there eventually, having abandoned both hope and life.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/15/2012
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#1
I love that the Daily Star always reports on the number of bullets that were "recovered" at the scene with that number generally being tiny. The Rab also nabbed one whole pistol this time, but failed to find even a single shuttle gun.
[Tolo News] Two children were killed after the car they were travelling in hit a roadside kaboom in the Afghanistan's southern Helmand ...an Afghan province populated mostly by Pashtuns, adjacent to Injun country in Pak Balochistan... province on Thursday, the provincial governor's office said.
Local residents of the area retaliated by capturing the man they believed was responsible for the landmine and cut off his ears, according to a statement from the Helmand Governor's office.
Goodness. They certainly don't play around.
The car, which was part of a wedding party, hit the improvised bomb in the road around 9 a.m. Thursday, killing an 10-year-old and an 11-year-old and wounding six others in the same car.
The local residents of the Safar area in Helmand's Garamsir district where the incident occured wanted "to punish the criminal themselves", the statement said.
Helmand Governor Mohammad Gulab Mangal said he strongly condemned the attack and offered his condolences to the families of the dead children.
"By carrying out of such an evil, anti-Islam acts of gunnies once again declared that they only fight with innocent civilians in the country," the statement said.
This comes two days after three jacket wallahs targeted the police office in the Musa Qala district of Helmand province, killing eight Afghan coppers.
Also this week, three NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A cautionary tale of cost-benefit analysis.... soldiers have died from IED's in southern Afghanistan. One NATO soldier was killed Thursday following an IED blast, a day after another NATO soldier died after coming into contact with an IED.
Both deaths were confirmed by Isaf, but no further details of the soldier's names, nationality, or which province the blasts occurred in were given.
Meanwhile a British soldier died in hospital on Sunday two months after he was maimed by an IED in Helmand near the picturesque provincial capital Lashkar Gah.
Helmand province has seen some of the fiercest fighting between Islamic fascistiand the NATO-led mission in recent years. It has one of the highest casualty rates for civilians and soldiers among all Afghanistan's provinces.
#1
Ask the people in charge why Helmand was done half assed hint the letter A and stupid ghouls= Ass Backwards! (Those in Charge suits and ties etc like the cease fire bi ch!
Yunus Habib's gift of Rs 1.5 billion
Daily Mashriq reported that banker Yunus Habib told the Supreme Court that he had put together nearly Rs 1.5 billion on behalf of Army Chief Aslam Beg and distributed it to politicians and journalists to defeat the PPP in 1990 elections. After he said that he had no record of this distribution, the Court added that it had uncovered some details and would keep them sealed.
Mian Amir as new Punjab governor?
Reported in Mashriq after the debacle of the defeat of PPP leader Aslam Gill as Senate candidate because the PPP members of Punjab Assembly did not vote properly, the central PPP was enraged and wanted to change Governor Punjab Latif Khan Khosa. The new governor would be Lahore's ex-mayor Mian Amir Mehmood who is also the owner of University of Central Punjab and Dunya TV channel. Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif was also trying to make Mian Amir join the PMLN.
Imran Khan fails in his saint's city
Reported in Jinnah the mammoth meeting of Imran Khan ... aka Taliban Khan, who ain't the sharpest bulb on the national tree... 's tsunami party Tehrik Insaf failed in Gujjar Khan where his saint Dr Rafeeq Akhtar lived. Imran reached there two hours late, while two and half thousand chairs remained empty. This triggered speculation about the fizzling out of Tsunami Khan and that his party had probably lost steam.
Raja Zafrul Haq versus nationalities
PMLN leader Raja Zafrul Haq was quoted by Nawa-e-Waqt as saying that there was a conspiracy to divide Pakistain into nationalities instead of one nation on the pattern of the Soviet Union - which was a plan that his party would defeat.
Khaleda Zia took money from ISI
Incumbent prime minister of Bangladesh Hasina Wajed was quoted by Jang as saying that her opposition leader Khaleda Zia Three-term PM of Bangla, widow of deceased dictator Ziaur Rahman, head of the Bangla Nationalist Party, an apparent magnet for corruption ... had received bribes from Pakistain's ISI on the eve of 1901 elections to defeat the Awami League of Hasina Wajed and to incite trouble in the north-western states of India through Bangladesh. In all, Khaled Zia received Rs 50 crores. At that time Pakistain itself was reeling under the scandal called Mehrangate.
Taseer's family will stay in Pakistain
Quoted in Jang daughter of late governor Punjab Salmaan Taseer, Sheherbano Taseer, said on the occasion of Women's Day in Lahore that despite the fact that her father was treated shabbily and her brother was being held by terrorists, her family would not leave Pakistain but stay to face the challenge.
Blasphemy law revives divine love
Famous TV preacher and scourge of minorities Amir Liaquat Hussain was quoted by Jang as saying that Blasphemy Law was a blessing that kept faith alive (imaan zinda rakhta hai). He said it was the love of Prophet Muhammad (PTUI!) which kept the faith intact.
Osama's wives killed him through infighting
Daily Nawa-e-Waqt reported that Osama's many wives could have been the cause of his death because they were fighting among themselves while living with him. Intimate wife Amal and her son Khalid were convinced that wife Khairya was thinking of betraying him to the Americans after she had asserted that she would 'do the last great thing for Osama'. Osama was himself was suspicious but was helpless in the face of his wives and left the matter to Allah.
This, my dears, is why it is safest to be monogamous.
Arbab Raheem speaks up from Dubai
Daily Nawa-e-Waqt telephoned ex-chief minister Sindh Arbab Raheem in Dubai who immediately revealed that Zardari had made him the offer of office if he joined the PPP. Raheem said the country was tired of PPP's robbery (loot-maar) but the PML must unite once again against it.
Foreign affairs committee not too united
Quoted in Nawa-e-Waqt members of Senate standing committee on foreign affairs spoke differently on the subject. Salim Saifullah said good relations with neighbours were greatly needed. But others said that US alliance with India was a great hurdle. SM Zafar said that by boycotting the Bonn conference after the Salala attack by US greatly boosted the confidence of Pakistain.
Pasha was behind Imran Khan
Daily Jang reported that many people were happy that General Pasha of the ISI was not retained on another extension. One party was PMLN which thought that Pasha was behind the Imran Khan phenomenon directed against the PMLN to make it lose the coming election. The PMLN therefore was at the forefront of those who did not want any extension given to Pasha. Mashriq reported that Pasha's relations with the US had soured but that the new ISI chief was close to Army Chief Kayani ... four star general, current Chief of Army Staff of the Mighty Pak Army. Kayani is the former Director General of ISI... and had served with him. Both are supposed to want that in relations with the US be normal.
Zardari is a fake Baloch
Politician with a funny bone JUI's Hafiz Hussain Ahmad stated in Nawa-e-Waqt that fake Baloch leaders like Zardari had damaged 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... . He said he was asking the army to quit Balochistan but the Baloch like Talal Bugti are inviting the Army in. He said warrants of Musharraf should be pasted on the gates of the GHQ in Rawalpindi.
Driver makes money off accidents
A driver called Sajid was reported by Jinnah to have earned Rs 77 lakh from the American embassy after he was maimed after his car was hit by an American. Later he got interested in doing more of the same for the Americans, which was hitting the car of the Iranian ambassador in Islamabad. He was being investigated.
Hindu girls being 'converted' and married
Daily Mashriq reported that the trend in Sindh to convert Hindu girls and marry them was on the increase thus damaging the family life of the Hindu minority there. The courts let this happen because the converted girls were made to tell the court that they had converted for real. Those involved in this were powerful local feudal lords.
And besides, they're cheap. No bride price, no expensive wedding...the son of a poor man could do worse.
Imran destined to win!
Writing in Jang Haroon Rasheed stated that Imran Khan was predestined by Allah to win and therefore it was not possible to understand his leadership according to reason. But people writing against him were motivated by personal animus, especially one popular English columnist (Ayaz Amir?) whose column was greatly admired who wanted to join Imran but was enraged by rejection by Tehrik Insaf. Most people were unable to understand Imran Khan.
The utter blankness of the utterly blank slate is like unto nirvana itself. One can only partake of the blankness... Or not.
'Fixer' fast bowler Amir in love
Daily Mashriq reported that young Pak fast bowler who had spent time in British jail for fixing a match has left prison with love in his heart. Sajida Malik his lawyer is the latest development in his life but the family says that relations between him and Sajida Malik are strictly professional.
Message for new ISI chief
Famous columnist Irfan Siddiqi wrote in Jang that the new ISI chief Zaheerul Islam was welcome to his job but he must keep in mind the fact that being lenient to the US was not in the interest of Pakistain. The arrest of Raymond Davis showed united action between the army and political leadership but letting him go in the end was not good. General Pasha was looked at by Americans with hostility because he had tried to keep the Americans within limits. This was very important.
Twelve people including four coppers were killed on Saturday in an attack by Al-Qaeda-linked forces of Evil on a checkpoint in Yemen's southern port city of Aden, police said.
"Armed men from Al-Qaeda attacked a security forces checkpoint at Jawala at the northern entrance to Aden, killing four coppers," a police source told AFP.
The source, updating an earlier toll, said eight assailants were killed as security forces responded.
The attack comes after at least 222 people including 183 forces of Evil were killed in five days of festivities this week around the strategic southern town of Loder which Al-Qaeda is trying to seize, according to local sources.
[Shabelle] Several MPs in Somali parliament have had a meeting on Saturday in Mogadishu to voice their concern about the escalating violence in Beledweyne town, the capital of Hiiran region inn central war-torn horn of African country.
Dahir Sheik Amin Jesow, a politician who hails from Hiiran region told Shabelle Media that the aim of their meeting was to talk about a power sharing deal between people living in the region after forming recently a regional administration that approved by Somali president Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed.
On the other hand, the MP accused the ministry of home and national security of corrupting the appointment of posts of Hiran administration, saying the ministry has named a police official who is not in the list.
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Thousands of Christian pilgrims are gathering in Jerusalem for an ancient fire ritual that celebrates Jesus' resurrection. They have crowded Saturday into the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, where many Christian traditions hold that Jesus was crucified, buried and resurrected.
During the annual ceremony, top Eastern Orthodox holy mans enter the Edicule, the small chamber marking the site of Jesus' tomb.
They will emerge after some time to reveal candles lit with "holy fire" -- said to be miraculously lit as a message to the faithful from heaven. The details of the flame's source are a closely guarded secret. The flames will be passed from believer to believer.
Eastern Orthodox churches celebrate Easter this week using the older Julian calendar.
Police have arrested three people thought to be involved in two bombings in Yala last month. Evidence shows the three suspects might have colluded in the blasts in Yala's municipal area on March 31 in which 11 people were killed and more than 100 wounded.
Pol Maj Gen Peera said some residents might have seen other suspects who fled on motorcycles after the attacks. He is seeking help from the public in providing details about these other suspects, who remain at large.
He also urged locals to keep an eye out for three stolen vehicles that could be used to transport bombs. Security sources were yesterday checking an intelligence report that terrorists insurgents were modifying several pickup trucks, including some with Bangkok and Lampang number plates, and planned to use them to carry out car bombings in the deep South.
In Narathiwat, a bomb went off near a roadside billboard near the provincial airport yesterday. No one was injured. Police said the five kilogram explosive was packed in a large metal box and left beside the billboard. The blast ripped the board and tore down a tree. It also shattered the windows of a pickup truck that was passing through the area.
A group of Muslim Americans filed a lawsuit against the United States government, alleging they were profiled, handcuffed and subjected to invasive body searches at the U.S.-Canada border because of their religion. The lawsuit filed in Detroit is the latest case claiming that U.S. agents are abusing their power at U.S.-Canada border crossings. Three other lawsuits have been filed in federal court during the past year involving non-Muslim Canadian women who also say they have been subject to invasive strip searches.
Friday's lawsuit was filed on behalf of four Muslim-American men by CAIR and Shereef Akeel, a Huntington Woods attorney. The suit was filed after the council had filed complaints over the allegations with the civil rights office of the Department of Homeland Security last year. But that office said it did not have the legal authority to address the complaints.
The lawsuit says that since 2008, the four men, including the imam of a large mosque in Canton, were at various times detained, handcuffed, strip-searched and questioned for hours. Sometimes, agents would surround their cars with guns. Agents would ask questions such as: Which mosque do you go to? How many times a day do you pray?
According to the lawsuit, "The questioning and treatment ... humiliates Muslim-American travelers ... and wrongly stigmatizes them as violent threats based solely on ... their religious beliefs."
The suit was filed against three federal agencies: Customs and Border Protection, the Transportation Security Administration and the FBI. It alleges the men's constitutional rights were violated.
Ken Hammond, a spokesman for the local office of Customs Border Protection, said the agency "strictly prohibits profiling on the basis of race or religion." Hammond also said that it follows the Department of Justice's rules on how race can be considered.
One of the plaintiffs, Wissam Charafeddine, 35, of Dearborn, said he has repeatedly been jailed when he has crossed the border. He said that every time he has crossed in the last three years, he has been fingerprinted and body searched, "where every part of the body is touched and squeezed."
#2
Hesaid that every time he has crossed in the last three years, he has been fingerprinted and body searched, "where every part of the body is touched and squeezed."
"which is why he has been making daily, sometimes twice-a-day, trips across the border"
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/15/2012 10:18
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#3
Glad we are getting smarter about where to look. For awhile we were like the drunk looking for his car keys under the street light because that was easiest and where there was more light although he lost the keys in the dark in the park. Maybe we are getting better and not profiling little old ladies, Mennonites, and children?
(Ma'an) -- Security services in the Sinai peninsula believe three Paleostinians seized on Friday after entering Egypt are snuffies linked to the Popular Resistance Committees.
The men, residents of Jabaliya in the Gazoo Strip, were placed in long-term storage after coming into Egypt via underground tunnels to purchase weapons from an Egyptian middleman, security officials told Ma'an. They were suspected to be en route to Libya, officials added.
The assessment followed more than 10 hours of interrogation after they were placed in long-term storage. Their car was pulled over Friday in a sting operation by the police and army in Deir al-Abed.
Five Egyptian security services are taking part in the investigation, a Ma'an news hound said.
In August 2011, Israel blamed the PRC's Nasser Salah al-Din Brigades for a deadly attack from the Sinai targeting the southern port city of Eilat.
Two months later Egypt placed in long-term storage Muhammad Eid Musleh Hamad, the head of the "Jihadists and Takfiris ...an adherent of takfir wal hijra, an offshoot of Salafism that regards everybody who doesn't agree with them as apostates who must be killed... movement" in northern Sinai, and two others it accused of planning the operation.
There was no indication the three alleged PRC operatives jugged in Egypt were involved in attacks against Israel.
The Egyptian government's authority in Sinai has weakened since the fall of Hosni Mubarak ...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011... in February 2011 and on Sunday, Egyptian officials announced plans to increase security.
Maj.-Gen. Ahmad Jamal said that the interior ministry decided to send 2,000 officers and soldiers from the special forces to the north of Sinai in order to increase security control of the area, in particular to protect the peninsula's natural gas line.
An unmanned US aircraft crashed in Ghazni province on Saturday morning because of a mechanical failure, according to an Isaf spokesperson.
Isaf confirmed via phone Saturday that a drone had crashed in "eastern Afghanistan" without anybody being harmed, with initial reports indicating that there had been a mechanical failure.
"There was no enemy activity in the area at the time," the Isaf front man said.
Afghanistan National Directorate of Security provincial intelligence chief Syed Amirshah Sadat told TOLOnews on Saturday morning that the crash had occurred in Ghazni, although he said it happened Friday night.
Meanwhile, ...back at the buffalo wallow, Tex and his new-found Indian friend were preparing a little surprise for the bandidos... US officials told the News Agency that Dare Not be Named on Friday that the White House has no intentions of ending CIA drone strikes against bully boy targets on Pak soil, amid fresh calls from the country for the strikes to end.
On Thursday, Pakistain's parliament unanimously approved new guidelines for ties with the US. One condition of the new guidelines was for the US to end liquidation drone strikes on its territory.
It is not the first time Pakistain has demanded an end to the strikes, with the Pak parliament passing a resolution with this demand in 2008.
Anti-U.S. Shiite holy manMoqtada Tater al-Sadr ... the Iranian catspaw holy man who was 22 years old in 2003 and was nearing 40 in 2010. He spends most of his time in Iran, safely out of the line of fire, where he's learning to be an ayatollah... on Saturday accused the prime minister of having engineered the arrest of Iraq's electoral chief to serve his own purposes of staying in power.
Faraj al-Haidari, head of the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC), was jugged on Thursday for alleged corruption along with another of the body's members, Karim al-Tamimi.
"The one who ordered the arrest is to be precise brother (Prime Minister) Nouri al-Maliki ... Prime Minister of Iraq and the secretary-general of the Islamic Dawa Party.... ," Sadr said.
"Maybe the arrest is to the benefit of the brother prime minister, because in my opinion, he is working on postponing or cancelling the elections," he said in a statement from his office in Najaf.
Haidari "was set to sit in solemn silence in a dull, dark dock, in a pestilential prison with a life-long lock while there are other people more important than him who are walking (free) and controlling peoples' destinies," said Sadr, whose movement has 14 MPs in parliament and is a key member of Maliki's unity government
"The arrest of Haidari should be under the law and not under the power of dictatorship," he said.
Sadr's statement further ratchets up political tension, a day after the presidency of Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region and a leading MP from Sunni-backed Iraqiya list said the arrests were an attack on democracy.
LAHORE: Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf ...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations.... (PTI) Chairperson Imran Khan ... aka Taliban Khan, who ain't the sharpest bulb on the national tree... on Saturday said that the NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all.... supply has already been resumed in the name of so called 'national interest', DawnNews reported.
The PTI chief added that, as a response, if there is any suicide kaboom in the country, the common people would have to bear the cost of it.
Addressing a meeting in Lahore, Khan said that the political actors have gathered on one platform and formed a consensus on the PCNS recommendations in order to cover up for each others' corruption.
Khan's remarks came after the parliament reached a consensus to no more let Pakistain serve as conduit of arms to Afghanistan, but gave a green signal for a resumption of non-lethal NATO supplies to the war-ravaged country.
Imran said the system of slavery is prevalent in the country and people are being economically prosecuted.
Politicians fear that if PTI comes to power then they will have to face accountability, Khan said.
"People want a change and only PTI can bring this change," PTI chairman added.
"Around 80 percent of the people have joined PTI on the recommendation of their children," Khan revealed.
"All the corrupt politicians have reached a 'so-called consensus' just to avoid the change but they will not be able to stop the 'tsunami' of the youth," the PTI chairman asserted
QUETTA: Hundreds of infuriated demonstrators poured out onto the streets in the troubled southwestern city of Quetta on Saturday, blocking traffic and setting fire to tyres in protest against the day's incidents of sectarian violence in the city.
All commercial markets and business centers were closed and traffic was barely visible.
Several angry protestors gathered at Mizan roundabout, while hundreds of other demonstrators gathered outside the BMC hospital, torching a vehicle and a cycle of violence parked there.
Gunmen had rubbed out eight Shia Moslems in separate incidents of sectarian violence in the Quetta on Saturday.
Senior police officer Shaukat Ajmad said that assailants opened fire on a car Saturday, killing six people in Quetta, reported the News Agency that Dare Not be Named.
The incident happened on Brewery Road in the Killi Ibrahim Zai area of the city.
The victim's bodies were shifted to Bolan Medical College hospital where they were identified as Abdullah, Juma Ali, Muhammad Ali, Syed Asghar Shah and Eid Muhammad, while identity of the sixth dead could not be ascertained. All of them were said to belong to the ethnic Hazara Shia community.
A senior local police official Malik Arshad confirmed the incidents and casualties and said: "The killings were part of sectarian violence in the city."
In another incident of firing, person or persons unknown riding bikes opened fire on people standing on a roadside on Sabzal road, in which one person identified as Gul Muhammad was killed while another, identified as Muhammad Hasan, was injured.
The dead and the maimed were shifted to BMC hospital.
In a third incident, gunniesshot up a policeman, who succumbed to his wounds, within the jurisdiction of Shalkot cop shoppe.
Meanwhile, ...back at the wrecked scow, a single surviver held tightly to the smashed prow... a 15-year-old boy, identified as Sabir, was maimed on Toghi road when enraged people who were staging demonstration against the murder retorted to gun sex.
The Frontier Corps (FC) paramilitary troops were called in to maintain peace in the city. Heavy contingents of FC, police and Anti-Terrorist Force (ATF) were deployed on sensitive points including Mizan Chowk, Jinnah Road, Brewery Road, Sariab Road, Airport Road, Sabzal Road, Alamdar Road and other areas.
The Hazara Democratic Party (HDP) has called for a wheel-jam strike within the city on Sunday. Meanwhile, ...back at the wrecked scow, a single surviver held tightly to the smashed prow... the Tahaffaz Azadari Council has announced a seven-day mourning in the city.
#1
What side will Mc Cain take are they his brothers or sisters in arms and heroes or the enemy? Does anyone know if Mc Cain supports the Muslim Brotherhood one of the earliest allies of Nazi Germany?
PYONGYANG, North Korea: Hours after a failed rocket launch criticized abroad as a covert test of missile technology, North Korea's new leader underlined the country's "military first" policy with a budget that allocates a sizable chunk of funding to defense spending.
North Korea's legislature also rubber-stamped Kim Jong Un's leadership of the country and promoted a host of relatively younger military officials to the powerful National Defense Commission, state-run media reported Saturday, in a strong indication that will have an overarching role in policy, just as it did under his father, late leader Kim Jong Il.
Still, Premier Choe Yong Rim told legislators the nation's top priority is to build up the economy and improve the people's standard of living, according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency.
North Korea's Supreme People's Assembly convened Friday for a special one-day session to ratify appointments and promotions, discuss this year's budget and to make constitutional amendments to formalize Kim Jong Un's leadership of the country.
Kim Jong Un was made first secretary of the National Defense Commission, a post formally making him the nation's leader. Joining him on the commission were three new, relatively younger, officials in the first major reshuffle of the body since Kim, who is believed to be in his late 20s, took power four months ago following his father's death.
The legislature also approved setting aside 15.8 percent of the budget for defense -- roughly the same amount as the past two years, confirmation that resources will continue to be pumped into the military under Kim Jong Un.
However, the premier said the focus will rest on improving the economy.
"This year the Cabinet will concentrate all efforts on light industry and agriculture and lay a solid foundation for building an economic power," Choe told legislators, according to KCNA.
Posted by: Steve White ||
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#1
As is said the fruit doesn't fall far from the tree. Kim Jong Un pursuing the same policies of his father Kim Jong Il. Meanwhile, China is North Korea's most biggest trading partner; and main source of food, arms, and fuel.
#3
See also WORLD NEWS > [Times of India] AFTER ROCKET BLOW, NORTH KOREA SHOWS OFF NEW MISSLE | NORTH KOREA SHOWS OFF NEW [Long-Range] MISSLE AT [post-UNHA-3] MILITARY PARADE.
ANALYSTS = Jong-un's new LRBM is more likely an IRBM, NOT an ICBM???
A MUSLIM taxi driver has been sacked after refusing to let a family take an unopened bottle of wine into his car because it went against his religion.
Adrian Cartwright, 46, booked the cab to take his wife and young daughter on a five-minute journey to an Indian restaurant for an early evening meal.
But he was left fuming when the private hire driver booted them out of the taxi after he spotted they had an unopened bottle of white wine.
Mr Cartwright later wrote about the incident in detail on Facebook -- prompting the driver's Asian-run taxi firm to sack him.
He said: "We all got inside the car and the driver said: 'Is that alcohol?' When I said 'yes' he replied: 'I am sorry but I can't allow it in my cab -- it's against my religion'.
"I knew it wasn't worth arguing so we had to get out."
He added: "The meal I had that evening was a Halal meal, whose methods I don't agree with, but tolerate out of respect.
"I expect anyone offering a public service to do the same, and will be contacting the licensing department to suggest that the driver is politely asked to do so, or hand his badge back."
Mr Cartwright complained to Borough Cars in Royton, near Oldham, Greater Manchester, and the self-employed cabbie was fired 30 minutes later.
The firm, a co-operative of 70 predominantly Moslem drivers, apologised and sent another driver two minutes later.
In an emergency meeting of its chairman and four directors, the firm then decided to dismiss the unnamed driver, thought to be in his 20s, who had only been working for the company for 10 weeks.
The company's former chairman Fazal Rahim, who has also been a driver with the firm for 24 years, said the decision to axe the man was unanimous. Mr Rahim, 51, told the Daily Express: "I am a practicing Moslem, like a lot of the drivers. This was not a decision based on race or religion, however, but about being a professional taxi driver.
"As taxi drivers, we cannot be moral coppers. If I picked a customer up from a pub, should I ask him if he has been drinking? Of course not.
"We need to provide a great service to our customers and as a company we have prided ourselves on that for many years. I don't know the lad in question but I can only put this down to youthful ignorance.
"We take people wherever they need to go, whether to a pub, church, mosque or synagogue."
The cab was booked at 6pm on Easter Sunday.
The Cartwrights had the bottle of wine because the restaurant they were heading to is unlicensed but allows customers to bring their own alcohol.
In a statement, Borough Cars added: "We would like to apologise to Mr Cartwright and his family for any upset or offence caused."
Mr Cartwright preferred not to add to the comments he made on Facebook.
But a family friend said last night: "Adrian has friends of all faiths and the last thing he wants to do is for this to be about race or religion -- he just complained because of poor customer service."
Egyptian officials blame Gamal Mubarak for attempted liquidation of presidential candidate during uprising
An example of why the Egyptian people did not want President Mubarak's kids to inherit the mantle.
Egyptian officials have blamed an attempted liquidation of presidential candidate Omar Suleiman ... Now former Vice president of Egypt. From 1993 until his appointment to that office in 2011 he was Minister without Portfolio and Director of the Egyptian General Intelligence Directorate (EGID)... on Hosni Mubarak ...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011... 's son, Gamal, the Al-Ahram newspaper reported Saturday.
According to the report, Suleiman confirmed he was the subject of a botched hit on January 30, 2011 but said he does not know who was responsible for the attempt on his life. Attorney Khaled Suleiman has filed a complaint with Egypt's general prosecutor, accusing Gamal Mubarak and several other officials of the crime.
Omar Suleiman, who had just been appointed vice president at the time, was saved due to a mix-up that put him in an armored car on his way to meet then-geriatric former President-for-Life Hosni Mubarak. As per the allegations, Gamal Mubarak was informed that the vice president would be traveling in an unprotected car that day, directing three gunnies to shoot at the vehicle. A body guard riding the car was killed and the driver was injured.
The attorney claimed that there is much evidence to the fact that the other officials were responsible for the attack, and demanded an investigation.
Suleiman, who has announced his presidential candidacy recently, has been repeatedly accused of aiming to restore the toppled regime to power. The former spy chief has made attempts to present himself as the alternative to the Mubarak government, claiming he and the former president grew apart after the liquidation attempt.
Senior defense officials in Egypt told the newspaper that Suleiman and Gamal Mubarak had an altercation prior to the incident. It was unclear what the argument was about, but the sources say that Suleiman charged Gamal Mubarak with "disgracing" his father. According to the sources, Suleiman was pushed out of President Mubarak's close circle towards the end of the regime.
(Ma'an) -- Life is starting to look more permanent for the Syrian refugees in Kilis. There are no tents in the Turkish camp. Instead, thousands of white cubicles sit in endless rows.
With every grey brick laid along the paths that criss-cross the sea of container houses, Terkia Zarzoureh feels she is further from returning to her home across the border.
"We left our home in Jisr al-Shughur almost 11 months ago, and I think it will still be a long time before we ever go back again," says the 27-year-old mother-of-six, whose family decamped some of the first scenes of bloodshed from Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Trampler of Homs... 's crackdown on the year-long revolt against his rule.
Even as diplomats debate ceasefires and the deployment of monitors to calm Syria's streets, the builders of Kilis seem to think Syrian refugees are in for a long haul.
Three large yellow schools are being constructed. Two mosques with blue minarets and stained glass windows mark either end of the camp.
"This is not a camp, this is a city. Next month you will see a different world here, like a dream city," says Suphi Atan, a Turkish Foreign Ministry official who oversees the Syrian refugee camps.
In the linoleum-tiled floors of a new administrative office, Atan shows visitors seated in black leather chairs a color-coded map outlining this camp, made for 12,000 of Turkey's nearly 25,000 refugees. He proudly notes the "Carrefour-style" store being built, for everything from vegetables to shoes.
Back in Syria, security forces and rebels have mostly stuck to a ceasefire imposed on April 12 through a deal brokered by special envoy Kofi Annan ...Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh and so far the worst Secretary-General of the UN. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize for something or other that probably sounded good at the time. In December 2004, reports surfaced that Kofi's son Kojo received payments from the Swiss company Cotecna, which had won a lucrative contract under the UN Oil-for-Food Program. Kofi Annan called for an investigation to look into the allegations, which stirred up the expected cesspool but couldn't seem to come up with enough evidence to indict Kofi himself, or even Kojo... . The United Nations ...an idea whose time has gone... is now discussing sending in a small monitoring mission to observe the truce.
But Zarzoureh says it is not convincing enough to leave Kilis.
"Who believes in these things? Our neighbors came 10 days ago, they saw rockets and death. Right now all I want to worry about is how to fit a family of eight in two rooms," she said, frying potatoes for dinner on a stove next to her bed.
"This is not the home I want, but I may have to settle for this for a long time. We will not see our homes again until Bashir al-Assad falls."
Turkey has spent about $150 million on refugee camps, Atan said. Kilis' construction will cost $50 million and take another $2 million per month to run. Turkey is now accepting international aid to share the rising cost.
"As the Turkish government we should be prepared for the worst scenario," Atan said. "We do not hope that this conflict continues very long but we want to be prepared for hosting our brothers coming from Syria."
'Dream is dead'
Around 500 Turkish employees will work in Kilis, including police, teachers and doctors. The freshly painted clinic will have x-ray machines and operating rooms.
But for Syrians living here, the tall aluminum walls topped with barbed wire and the police watchtowers that loom above are a stark reminder that they are fleeing a nightmare.
Mahmoud's family carried his half-paralyzed body for three days to bring him to Kilis, after shrapnel pierced his neck when a rocket hit his home in northern Idlib province. He lies pale on the floor as his mother and seven sisters huddle around him.
"I can move my left foot a little bit. I don't know what happens next. A few months ago I was protesting, now I try not to worry about the future," the 15-year-old boy said.
Just visible over the wall near his new home are the green peaks of Syria and the Syrian flags waving from an army border post nearby.
Syria's Interior Ministry called on refugees to return home after the truce. But Mohammed says that is not an option.
"Look what happened to me, this is a big scar to remember the price for asking for freedom. We won't go back until Bashar is gone," he said.
Only rows of tattered laundry and a playground swarming with children break up the endless rows of identical houses.
Residents also try to personalize their new homes. Black graffiti labels one road the "Conqueror of Assad Street", other homes cluster around an intersection dubbed "Freedom Square".
As some 9,000 inhabitants already in Kilis settle in for a long stay, a new pace of daily life emerges.
Women roll out dough for bread on door stoops. Nearby, young men have dragged the metal frames of the bunk beds onto the street as makeshift shop counters, filled with candy and cigarettes to sell.
Mustafa, a 25-year-old activist from Hama, lays on a mat outside rewrapping a gunshot wound through his leg. He is grateful for his new home in Turkey, but says it is no dream.
"They could build us a palace and we wouldn't forget we were refugees," he said. "It is hard to dream here, being here means that for now, our dream is dead."
Air France, Jet2.com cancel tickets of four West Bank-bound women at Israel's request
British airline Jet2.com and Air La Belle France have cancelled the tickets of four women planning to travel to Israel on Sunday to take part in the pro-Paleostinian "flytilla" protest.
According to The Guardian, the low-cost airline relented to Israel's request to refuse the women service.
"It never crossed my mind that Israel could stop people with British passports leaving British airports," One of the women, Norma Turner, told the Guardian.
They can't, you stupid bint. But they can refuse to let you step foot on their territory. You, my dear, are what the diplomatic types call Persona Non Grata.
Jet2.com informed the women by email that the airline has refused to carry them and would not issue a refund.
How nice -- they get to pay to be rejected, and the airline won't lose by it.
The airline said in the messages it had been obliged to provide the Israeli authorities passengers' names, dates of birth, passport numbers and nationalities.
"As a result of providing that information, Jet2.com has been informed by the Israeli authorities that you will not be not permitted to enter Israel," the e-mails said. "Consequently, if Jet2.com carries you to Israel, you will be refused entry and Jet2.com will be liable for both a fine and your return to Manchester.
"We regret that, in light of the decision taken by the Israeli authorities, we are unable to accept you for carriage to Israel on this occasion and your booking with Jet2.com has been cancelled."
The airline apologized and said the cancellation was "totally beyond our control" but said the passengers would not be reimbursed.
Meanwhile, ...back at the sandwich shop, Caroline was experimenting with ingredients of increasing volatility... Julie Lachapelle, a Canadian activist, received a message of similar nature from Air La Belle France.
Air La Belle France and Jet2.com join German airline Lufthansa, which cancelled dozens of airline tickets reserved by "flytilla" passengers on Friday.
Some 1,500 pro-Paleostinian activists from several countries plan to land in Ben Gurion Airport on Sunday, and from there proceed to the Paleostinian Authority.
The Immigration and Population Authority has requested airlines to avoid transporting known activists, explaining that the protesters intend to travel to Israel illegally and therefore will be denied entrance. The airlines would be held responsible for taking deported activists back to their countries of origin. An unwelcome passenger list was attached to the request.
Human rights groups Thursday lauded the efforts of the Mexican senate in advancing reforms in military justice, to include moving two crimes from the category of crimes -- known as Article 57 of the Mexican Code of Military Justice -- that can only be prosecuted by military prosecutors, to crimes that can only be prosecuted by local civilian prosecutors, even if the suspects are members of Mexico's armed services.
Mexican news reports say Partido Accion Nacional (PAN) senate leader Alejandro Gonzalez Alcocer said that the reforms are expected to be debated next week.
From previous news reports is it difficult to gauge how far along the reforms have moved. Mexican president Felipe Calderon Hinojosa suggested making the changes last fall but in context of advancing a far more important reform, national security. Two of the crimes to be excised from Article 57 are rape and forced disappearances.
As a practical matter, Mexican military personnel can be -- but usually are not -- charged in civilian courts for crimes committed against civilians in the course of counternarcotics and counterinsurgency operations. If a crime victim, or the family of a crime victim goes to a local prosecutor and requests that the incident be investigated, usually the prosecutor will investigate the crime up to a point. However at some point it is has been de riguer since at least the 1990s, for local and state prosecutors and courts to declare their lack of competence in prosecuting such cases in favor of military prosecutors.
The declaration has the same effect of kicking a case out of one level and into a different one, even a higher level such as state and federal courts.
Having military prosecutors investigate and prosecute crimes committed by soldiers against civilians make sense. The prosecutor has access to documents and witnesses that a prosecuting lawyer normally does not have, and understands the military where a local prosecutor may not. In the Drug War military prosecutors are far less likely to be in thrall to criminal groups and to their infiltration. Although theoretically military prosecutors are as susceptible to corruption as their civilian counterparts, military prosecutors are held to higher standards and are often subject to command review.
Unlike civilian prosecutors, reforms implemented during the Vicente Fox administration and afterwards have required a much higher emphasis on human rights by military prosecutors. Secretaria de Defensa Nacional (SEDENA), the controlling agency for the Mexican Army, now has an office whose sole purpose is to look into human right violations.
Human rights groups such as Human Rights Watch have routinely charged for years, absurdly, that military prosecutors do not prosecute military personnel for crimes, the implication being that only civilian prosecutors can make a case against a soldier. A deeper implication is that Mexican soldiers are monsters not held accountable for crimes committed against civilians.
Evidence provided the SEDENA and Secretaria de Gobiernacion (SEGOB) or Interior Ministry shows a different story, however.
Last week, Human Rights Watch issued a news release haranguing the government of Mexico about its slow progress in dealing with human right cases.
The news release purporting to use statistics provided by the La Procuraduria General de Justicia Militar or Attorney General for Military Justice shows that of 3,000 human rights cases filed between January 2007 and July 2011, only 29 military personnel have been convicted for crimes against civilians. Since July, 2011, the military has claimed that of those 3,000 cases, two percent were found to be sustainable, the remaining 98 percent called "jokes" by one unidentified senior field commander.
SEGOB Alejandro Poire released information in November 2011, which clarified the military's involvement in policing its ranks.
In 6,000 operations, presumably to include minor activities such as road patrols, SEDENA claims the National Human Right Commission has received 6,065 human rights complaints of which 98, or 1.61 percent were found to be sustainable as a prosecution.
Similarly, the Mexican Navy has received 800 complaints, of which 17 were sustainable as prosecutions. Poire said in his presentation that less than one percent, or 0.85 percent of the remaining cases, it was found that someone's rights had been violated by the Mexican military. The subtext in Poire's presentation, and one human rights groups refuse to acknowledge, is that Mexican military personnel are subject to investigation and prosecution -- and are being investigated -- when the case is found have a basis and is sustainable.
It is unclear in the serial news releases by Human Rights Watch if their skewing of statistics dealing with human rights violations are honest mistakes or blatant attempts to "cook the books" in favor of their agenda. Human rights organization in additional to advancing their agenda appear also to have mischaracterized a Mexican Corte Suprema de Justicia de la Nacion (SCJN) ruling last year which essentially ordered lower courts to take up human rights cases involving the military, instead of allowing the military to police its own.
However, since that ruling, members of the SCJN have been engaged in discussions attempting to square July's ruling which subordinates Mexican sovereignty to international treaties it has subscribed to, even apparently retroactively.
An article published in March in the El Diario de Coahuila news daily gives a slight glimpse into issues the court is debating. The attempt to reconcile the issues of sovereignty and international treaty obligations has created two opposing camps, one represented by Justice Arturo Zaldivar who said the Mexican constitution and Mexico's obligations under international treaty should be interpreted harmoniously.
The other camp, represented by Justice Olga Sanchez Cordero wants to deal with apparent contradictions by granting the highest level of human rights protection on a case by case basis, without dealing with contradictions or dealing with the degradation to Mexican sovereignty.
The ruling had said that cases involving human rights, even if such violations are not codified under Mexican law, must be investigated as a criminal act, and only by Mexican civilian prosecutors. In practice, critics such as the military and some Mexican legal experts warned at the time, the ruling places 1,200 forced disappearances cases onto civilian prosecutor's desks and places untold numbers, possibly thousands of Mexican prior-service military in potential legal jeopardy. And that is just the cases filed between 1968 and 1982, nearly half of them in one state, Guerrero. Guerrero, the poorest state in Mexico will be likely to resolve but a few of those cases, and those cases under the ruling will stretch prosecutors' budgets thin.
When the concurrent cases of disappeared in Mexico are added, anywhere between 2,000 and 5,000 cases, if it difficult to see how many of them will be resolved to the satisfaction of perfunctory groups such as Human Rights Watch.
Assuming military justice reforms are passed and signed into law, the crimes of rape and forced disappearances will be two that will be the exclusive purview of civilian courts if the victim is civilian. It was promised last fall by President Calderon as a means of advancing another far more sweeping law, the Ley de Seguridad Nacional.
The Ley de Seguiridad Nacional is a proposal which has languished at various stages in the Mexican legislative process since 2009, and gives Mexican field commanders wide latitude in dealing with organized crime, especially in counternarcotics operations. Among the proposals are permitting field commanders to cancel public events, to cut electrical power to an area and to allow the Mexican military to monitor social media such as Twitter and Facebook, as well as others.
But the biggest obstacle to the Ley de Seguridad Nacional is the proviso that allows the Mexican president to declare a state of emergency and apply it to a specific location, such as a state, without first consulting with his cabinet, the Chamber of Deputies, or the Senate, consulting only with his commanders.
A law that permits a nationwide state of emergency exists in Mexico, but the chief executive has a number of hurdles to pass before the state of emergency can be imposed.
For real life and personal reasons, elements of the Mexican left has vehemently opposed the new law. Many of them suffered under a series of Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) presidents, when those executives unleashed the power of their military against hostile and sometimes armed opposition groups.
But aside from the personal reasons, placing such power in the hands of a single group, the president and his military -- already under Mexican law a close-knit group -- doesn't sounds like very sound public policy, but for Mexican organized crime.
The Ley de Seguridad Nacional law had been advancing last year at a brisk pace, passing a court test in May, 2011 and then, suddenly with the advent of Javier Sicilia and his peace group, had insufficient life to survive beyond the last regular session of the Mexican senate. Despite promises made last August by PRI Chamber of Deputies leader Jorge Carlos Ramirez Marin to pass the law in the wake of the Monterrey gaming establishment arson, the law has been tabled. Despite Calderon's best efforts to advance changes in Mexican Code of Military Justice Article 57, no movement has been made to advance the much more sweeping law on national security.
The problem for NGOs such as Human Rights Watch was the informal announcement made by SCJN chief justice Juan Silva Meza the very next day, when he walked the ruling back from its original intent, saying the federal court judges will have the widest latitude in deciding whether human rights cases will proceed, or if those cases will be thrown out.
Human rights groups want to conflate their standards of human rights violations, standards so low as to be non-existent, and up to a point the Mexican legal and political establishment has gone along. But when cases of human rights violations by Mexican military against civilian reaches a much more rigorous and less politically charged level, the federal level, human rights groups may well see their agenda fall apart in the face of the reality of national security.
Chris Covert writes Mexican Drug War and national political news for Rantburg.com
An unmanned US aircraft crashed in Ghazni province on Saturday morning because of a mechanical failure, according to an Isaf spokesperson.
Isaf confirmed via phone Saturday that a drone had crashed in "eastern Afghanistan" without anybody being harmed, with initial reports indicating that there had been a mechanical failure.
"There was no enemy activity in the area at the time," the Isaf front man said.
Afghanistan National Directorate of Security provincial intelligence chief Syed Amirshah Sadat told TOLOnews on Saturday morning that the crash had occurred in Ghazni, although he said it happened Friday night.
Meanwhile, ...back at the buffalo wallow, Tex and his new-found Indian friend were preparing a little surprise for the bandidos... US officials told the News Agency that Dare Not be Named on Friday that the White House has no intentions of ending CIA drone strikes against bully boy targets on Pak soil, amid fresh calls from the country for the strikes to end.
On Thursday, Pakistain's parliament unanimously approved new guidelines for ties with the US. One condition of the new guidelines was for the US to end liquidation drone strikes on its territory.
It is not the first time Pakistain has demanded an end to the strikes, with the Pak parliament passing a resolution with this demand in 2008.
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.
Before taking the podium, Jalili's aide displayed a poster of Iranian scientists killed in bomb attacks over the past four years -- assaults Jalili denounced as terrorism. 
Gunfire followed by several explosions shook Kabul on Sunday afternoon, in what appeared to be a coordinated attack. 
At least a dozen large explosions and automatic gunfire rocked Kabul on Sunday in what appeared to be a coordinated attack across several areas of the city centre and concentrated on the heavily guarded diplomatic area, Reuters witnesses said.
Beer makes men smarter.
Afghan forces backed by air support from 
Ministries agree financial support for ex-detainees
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
...Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh and so far the worst Secretary-General of the UN. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize for something or other that probably sounded good at the time. In December 2004, reports surfaced that Kofi's son Kojo received payments from the Swiss company Cotecna, which had won a lucrative contract under the UN Oil-for-Food Program. Kofi Annan called for an investigation to look into the allegations, which stirred up the expected cesspool but couldn't seem to come up with enough evidence to indict Kofi himself, or even Kojo...
There is likelihood that the Boko Haram sect might have killed its present spokesman, Abu Qaqa II, last week. The new spokesman, who took over from Abu Qaqa I, who is now with the State Security Services (SSS) on detention after his arrest in January, was accused of planning to defect sometime last week. The killing, according to reliable security sources, was at the behest of the group's leader, Abubakar Shekau.
Pervez 
Somali pirates
Popular Front for the Liberation of Paleostine
Democratic Front for the Liberation of Paleostine
(Ma'an) -- "Passengers on Lufthansa flights have not committed any offense, and do not accept these mafia-methods, favored by governments complicit in the imprisonment of the Paleostinian people," a group organizing a visit by foreigners said Friday. 
Christians are being "persecuted" by courts and "driven underground" in the same way that homosexuals once were, a former Archbishop of Canterbury has warned.
Yunus Habib's gift of Rs 1.5 billion
Khaleda Zia
Police have arrested three people thought to be involved in two bombings in Yala last month. Evidence shows the three suspects might have colluded in the blasts in Yala's municipal area on March 31 in which 11 people were killed and more than 100 wounded.
(Ma'an) -- Security services in the Sinai peninsula believe three Paleostinians seized on Friday after entering Egypt are 
Moqtada 
Nouri al-Maliki
PYONGYANG, North Korea: Hours after a failed rocket launch criticized abroad as a covert test of missile technology, North Korea's new leader underlined the country's "military first" policy with a budget that allocates a sizable chunk of funding to defense spending.
Egyptian officials blame Gamal Mubarak for attempted 
