#3
I can attest to his gender confusion - as a co-worker at Penn State, he wasn't shy about saying he felt many times like a woman or female in a man's body.
U.S. military planners are working closely with African nations in advance of an offensive to wrest control of northern Mali from al-Qaida linked extremists, Obama administration officials said Wednesday.
The cooperation reflects the increasing U.S. and international concern about the political, security and humanitarian challenges in Mali after a military coup ousted the democratically elected government this year. Capitalizing on the upheaval, al-Qaida in Islamic Maghreb, the best financed al-Qaida affiliate, now controls northern Mali -- an area the size of Texas.
That makes it "the largest territory controlled by Islamic extremists in the world," said Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee on African Affairs.
Officials from the State and Defense departments told senators that the United States was working with the African Union and ECOWAS, the 15-member Economic Community of West African States, on a planned military action in northern Mali. But there are limits to U.S. involvement.
"We have sent military planners to ECOWAS to assist with the continued development and refinement of the plans for international intervention," said Johnnie Carson, assistant secretary for African Affairs. "Any attempt to militarily oust a AQIM from northern Mali must be African-led. It must be Malian-led," he insisted.
Earlier this week, Army Gen. Carter Ham, the top U.S. commander in Africa, warned against any premature military action in Mali, saying negotiation is the best approach, If there is an offensive, he said, it must be successful and at the appropriate time.
#2
The people seemed to be getting rolled again. The Tea Party helped deliver the House to the Pubs in 2010. It seems like Boehner is trying to purge the party of tea party members who are in any leadership positions. It looks like he is trying to get rid of opposition to a "deal" with Obama. This deal will not bode well for citizens. The Rinos and the Progressives are the ruination of this country. They will financially break this country.
We have a system that is basically a two-party system. Third parties don't do well. Ross Perot did about as well as any third party candidate could do in 1992 but his candidacy basically split off votes from the Pubs. He got about 19M+; about 1/2 as many as either the Donks or Pubs. The Libertarians don't ever show up in big numbers. There were large numbers of eligible voters who did not vote in the last election--probably a larger number than voted for either party. Who are they and what do they stand for? Could they be a part of a new third party such as the Constitutional Party or some such name? If they won, what could they do to upset the existing power structure and preserve this country? I'm about sick of either party as they don't seem to represent anyone in terms of the Constitution.
#3
You don't have to agree with everything he said, but Alvin Toffler sure got it right when he said, a long time ago, that the US has ONE political party - the DemoPublican party...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
12/05/2012 16:01
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#4
The establishment Republicans are at war with the Tea Party. We are a threat to their power. They don't mind being in the minority, but they hate primary challenges.
#8
How did Boehner get into this position in the first place? Can anyone answer that? 2010 was a TeaParty/Conservative success story and not carrying through on that in 2012 was our collective loss. (In addition to massive voter fraud IMO).
#9
what you are seeing is the breakdown of ties between the Republicans and the Tea Party. I always thought that the Tea Party should have developed their own platform and stayed as a third party. It would have slowed their progress, but given them more independence. I think that they got sucked into whatever backroom deals the Republicans offered - because their leadership was greedy or naive. Or both. Now they discover that once the Republicans see them as a liability - they can get the boot.
And so goes Washington DC ...
Gridlocked.
No solutions.
A bed patient in critical care.
An Israeli-Palestinian showdown over plans for new Jewish settlements around Jerusalem escalated on Wednesday.
Israel pushed the most contentious of the projects further along in the planning pipeline, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said he would seek UN Security Council help to block the construction.
Israel is moving ahead despite mounting international condemnation of its settlement plans, some of them activated last week in retaliation for the UN General Assembly's acceptance of a state of Palestine as a nonmember observer.
Israel has built dozens of settlements for half a million Israelis since its 1967 capture of the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem the lands the UN now says make up the state of Palestine.
The Palestinians are particularly concerned about plans for more than 7,500 apartments and hundreds of hotel rooms in two future settlements, known as E1 and Givat Hamatos, on the eastern and southern edges of Jerusalem.
Critics say the settlements would cut off traditionally Arab east Jerusalem from its West Bank hinterland and destroy hopes for a viable Palestinian state alongside Israel, with Jerusalem as a shared capital.
Israel had frozen E1 plans under pressure from successive US administrations, but it revived them last week after UN recognition of Palestine. Actual construction may still be years away.
Israel's announcement of the planned construction met harsh international criticism. The US said it was "shocked" by the move, and Israeli ambassadors in Egypt, France, the UK, Italy, Australia, Brazil, Ireland and Finland were summoned by the respective capitals for clarification on Tuesday.
#1
"Red line" to whom - Egypt claims Gaza, while Jordan claims the West Bank. Technically, the Paleos + their PA Govt. are mere "guests" on non-Paleo Muslim lands.
Eurozone countries would lose the right to set their own budgets and end up surrendering economic sovereignty to Brussels under a blueprint to "complete" the European Union's single currency.
A masterplan for "completion of economic and monetary union" has been set out in a confidential document to be discussed by EU leaders at a Brussels summit next week.
In the nine-page paper, seen by The Daily Telegraph, Herman Van Rompuy, the president of the European Council -- the monthly summits of EU leaders -- charts a series of steps from ongoing financial reforms to overall political union for the eurozone. "The general objective will be to aim for a progressive pooling of economic sovereignty at the European level," the paper states.
Mr Van Rompuy expects the EU to have agreed an "operational framework" to give the European Central Bank (ECB) the role as single eurozone banking supervisor by March next year, despite continuing splits between France and Germany over the policy.
The EU president then sees a second phase to a full "banking union" with legislative proposals next year for a shared bank bail-out fund and a euro-wide deposit guarantee scheme, proposals that are even more controversial than giving the ECB a supervisory role.
Then, by 2014, the plan requires all eurozone countries to "enter into individual arrangements of a contractual nature with EU institutions on the measures and reforms they commit to undertake and on the means for their implementation".
With banking union and binding contracts of fiscal policy, the basis will have been laid, according to the plan, for a move to "completion" of the euro which will "imply a change to the treaties" after 2014.
In the final stage, all eurozone countries will essentially surrender fiscal sovereignty with an "increasing degree of common decision-making on national budgets and an enhanced co-ordination of economic policies".
The step-by-step "road map" will leave Britain isolated and is expected to trigger a fierce British EU referendum debate in the last half of 2014, just months before a general election.
#1
Yokay, I'll bite, WASN'T GIVING THAT THE INTENTION ALL ALONG, OR ONE OF THEM, AS PER FORMALLY CREATING THE EU/EUZ = OWG "GLOBAL FEDERAL UNION" + [political] "GLOBALISM"???
In an apparent bid to isolate Islamist extremists and bolster a new Western-backed Syrian opposition alliance, the United States is moving to declare one of the most effective Syrian rebel groups a foreign terrorist organization because of its alleged ties to al Qaida.
The State Department originally planned to add the Nusra Front Jabhat al Nusra in Arabic to its list of international terrorist groups this week, McClatchy learned. The announcement was postponed, however, as officials discussed how to get the maximum impact from the designation.
The designation now is likely just before the United States and its European and Arab allies meet with leaders of the new opposition alliance at a conference Dec. 12 in Morocco, where a significant aid package for the new alliance is expected to be announced.
The impact of the terrorist designation for Nusra, whose members have been at the forefront of many of the rebels most recent victories, remains unclear. Many rebel sympathizers said they were concerned that the designation would make it impossible for rebel groups to coordinate in their fight to topple Syrian President Bashar Assad.
#1
Obama should be supporting the Anti Morsi people who are dying tonight in Cairo.They want freedom like the West has but like Iran he will look away.
Louise Story of the New York Times writes an excellent piece on state subsidies for Hollywood films and studios -- a frequent practice that often reaps very little in tax revenue or long-term jobs.
Her report explores the huge amount of film credits in the state of Michigan boosted by former Gov. Jennifer Granholm.
According to the report, liberal Michael Moore received $841,145 in incentives to film his documentary "Capitalism: A Love Story" in Michigan.
[Ynet] Algerian immigrant Ahmed Ferhani sentenced to 10 years in jail after confessing to terror conspiracy
An Algerian immigrant charged with plotting to blow up synagogues in New York City has pleaded guilty to state terrorism ... any action taken by a non-Moslem state that constrains the violent impulses of Moslems or their allies ... charges.
Ahmed Ferhani entered the plea Tuesday in the unusual state-level terror case.
Manhattan state Supreme Court Justice Michael Obus says he plans to sentence Ferhani to 10 years in prison. Sentencing is set for January 30.
The Manhattan district attorney's office has said Ferhani wanted to attack a synagogue. Prosecutors say he bought three guns and a grenade to do so. The buy was a sting.
His lawyers previously said Ferhani was mentally unstable. They have said the prosecution was based on insufficient evidence and dubious tactics.
Ferhani and a co-defendant were placed in long-term storage Book 'im, Mahmoud! last year.
A grand jury declined to indict the men on a top-level terror conspiracy charge.
The 27-year-old Algerian native Ferhani conspired with 21-year-old Moroccan native Mohamed Mamdouh to disguise himself as a Jew in order to infiltrate synagogues in New York and plant bombs in them. The two also allegedly said they would attack the Empire State Building, according to AFP.
[Times of Israel] French police on Tuesday announced that they had cooled for a few years Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'! a man and a woman in connection with the Toulouse ...lies on the banks of the River Garonne, half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. The Toulouse metropolitan area is the fourth-largest in La Belle France... shootings in March, in which Mohammed Merah, a French-Algerian Islamist, killed a rabbi and three children at a Jewish school, several days after gunning down four French paratroopers in two separate attacks.
The man arrested Tuesday was picked up in the city of Albi in southern La Belle France, and the woman -- his ex-girlfriend -- was arrested in Toulouse, the prosecutor's office said. It released no other details. The two are suspected of providing Merah with logistical support and assistance in carrying out the attacks.
The Sipa news agency said the man is suspected of helping Merah obtain the scooter used in the attacks.
Merah was killed following a dramatic manhunt and a 30-hour standoff with police three days after the attack on the Jewish school.
In March, the Dubai police chief warned that the Muslim Brotherhood had a plan for the Gulf monarchies. Instead of regime change, it would make them figurehead bodies without actual ruling. Thats exactly what the Muslim Brotherhood is trying to make happen in Jordan by demanding democratic reforms. And King Abdullah II appears to be wobbling under the stress.
Turkey has not received any new request from the United States to reduce the level of its crude oil purchases from Iran and its existing level of imports is continuing, Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz told Reuters on Wednesday.
In June, Washington exempted Turkey, along with six other countries, from its financial sanctions on Iran's oil trade for six months in return for a 20 percent cut in Ankara's purchases.
Last week, the U.S. Senate approved expanded sanctions on global trade with Iran's energy and shipping sectors as it continued to ratchet up economic pressure on Tehran over its nuclear programme.
Washington says Tehran is enriching uranium to levels that could be used in nuclear weapons. Iran says the programme is for peaceful purposes.
The new package kept in place exemptions for countries including Turkey that have made significant cuts to their purchases of Iranian crude oil.
"There is no new demand from the USA to reduce the amount of crude oil which we get from Iran," Yildiz told Reuters.
"Whatever the current process is for purchasing crude oil from Iran, we are continuing that in the same way," he said.
Official trade data last month showed Turkey's crude oil imports from Iran fell more than 30 percent to 75,281 barrels per day (bpd) in October from September, as substitute oil from other suppliers including Iraq and Saudi Arabia rose.
Imports from the Islamic Republic, which was once supplying more than 60 percent of Turkey's crude oil requirements, came third in October behind Iraq and Russia.
The new U.S. sanctions also included measures aimed at stopping the flow of gold from Turkey to Iran.
[An Nahar] The Malian government and two rebel groups agreed Tuesday to respect Mali's "national unity" as they held their first talks to try to end the crisis that has split the west African country in two.
Delegations from the government, the Islamist Ansar Dine and the Tuareg MNLA agreed "on the respect for Mali's national unity and territorial integrity," and "on the rejection of any form of extremism and terrorism," they said in a statement.
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#1
"Thieves respect property. They merely wish the property to become their property that they may more perfectly respect it." Chesterton
Posted by: James ||
12/05/2012 20:58
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[An Nahar] Two men were killed on Tuesday by sniper gunshots during festivities between Jabal Mohsen and Bab al-Tabbaneh regions in the northern city of Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of thich is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... "The bullets that killed Mohammed Ibrahim, 65, were shot from al-Qobbah region," a military source told Agence La Belle France Press, adding that the army is now firing back at the sources of the gunshots.
The second victim is Abdul Rahman Nassouh, 26, the National News Agency reported.
Twelve others were also injured in these festivities -- two in Jabal Mohsen and 10 in Bab al-Tabbaneh -- , while shops and businesses in the area closed down especially in Syria street that separates between both feuding regions.
Meanwhile, ...back at the shouting match, a new, even louder, voice was to be heard... the army announced that it will be deploying more forces in Tripoli to prevent any further development of the fighting.
Tension in the northern city rose following the death of several Lebanese Islamists in the neighboring country in an ambush carried out by the Syrian regime in Tall Kalakh.
Media outlets reporting the news had conflicting information about the number of people who died and those who survived the attack.
While the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that a group of 30 rebels "were caught in an ambush by government troops in the area of Tall Sarin near the town of Tal Kalakh", Voice of Leb radio (100.5) said the ambush left 20 Lebanese men dead, adding that they hail from Akkar's Fnaideq and Tripoli's Bab al-Tabbaneh and al-Mankoubine neighborhoods.
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[Dawn] New Delhi on Tuesday accused Islamabad of maintaining more than 40 thug camps along their border and said it has foiled attempts by the hard boyz to cross into its territory.
There are 42 thug camps functioning in the border region, 25 in Pak-administered Kashmire and 17 in Pakistain containing around 2,500 thugs, junior home affairs minister Mullappally Ramachandran told the Indian parliament.
The terrorist infrastructure in Pakistain or Kashmire remains intact and infiltration attempts from across the border still continue to pose a challenge to the security forces, he alleged.
Ramachandran further alleged that hard boyz with the support of the Pak Army have made 249 infiltration attempts to sneak into Indian territory so far this year two more than last year but far below the 489 in 2010.
Intelligence inputs indicate active support of Pak intelligence and security agencies to push beturbanned goons into India, claimed the minister.
The border area particularly the Jammu region in Indian-administered Kashmire is highly vulnerable to infiltration from Pakistain side, he said.
However, a clean conscience makes a soft pillow... due to intensive vigil and high degree of alertness, BSF (Border Security Force) personnel foil every attempt of infiltration by Pak terrorists. There has been no case of infiltration by terrorists, Ramachandran said.
He said the lack of successful infiltration attempts was due to better border management, including border fencing and better intelligence.
India accuses Pakistain of backing Death Eaterhard boyz on its side of the divided region. Pakistain denies the charges.
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#1
See also DEFENCE.PK?FORUMS > INDIA FACING AFGHAN TEST AS ALLY [Kabul = Afghanistan] CALLS FOR [increased]MILITARY AID.
Despite the ongoing international crisis over Iran's NucProgs, espec vee the US-Israel, in Afghanistan Kabul sees Iran as a bona-fide partner alongside the US as per Military Asssistance + Foreign Direct Investment, etc. in the country.
[Dawn] Indias leading Islamic seminary, the Darul Uloom Deoband, has barred Mohammedan women from working as receptionists, calling the act un-Islamic and against Shariah law, said a reported published on Tuesday.
According to the Press Trust of India, the Darul Uloom Deoband has issued a fatwa against the appointment of Mohammedan women as receptionists. The seminary issued the fatwa after a Pakistain-based company submitted a query on Nov 29 regarding the appointment of Mohammedan women as receptionists, said the report.
Darul Uloom said that a Mohammedan woman working in offices as receptionist was un-Islamic because Mohammedan women were not allowed to appear before men without wearing a veil, as ordained by Islam.
Mohammedanholy man and president of the UP Imam organization, Mufti Zulfikar Ali, defended the fatwa and said that Mohammedan women could work in offices if they wore the veil. However, facts are stubborn; statistics are more pliable... he added, the post of receptionist required constant interactions with people, and thus should not be practiced.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
Mohammedan women were not allowed to appear before men without wearing a veil, as ordained by Islam.
Problem is "Islam" doesn't ordain wearing 'veils'
That rule is the invention of man, not from the prophet.
#2
...working as receptionists, calling the act un-Islamic and against Shariah law
This sounds like a problem to be solved by community organizer and Empowered Woman of the Year Sandra Fluke (contraceptive queen). I didn't think so. Such women want to stir up things in the relatively safety of a country such as the USA--no risk to one's own arse.
[Yahoo] Secret information on counter-terrorism shared by foreign governments may have been compromised by a massive data theft by a senior IT technician for the NDB, Switzerland ...home of the Helvetians, famous for cheese, watches, yodeling, and William Tell... 's intelligence service, European national security sources said.
Intelligence agencies in the United States and Britannia are among those who were warned by Swiss authorities that their data could have been put in jeopardy, said one of the sources, who asked for anonymity when discussing sensitive information.
Swiss authorities locked away Maw! They're comin' to get me, Maw! the technician suspected in the data theft last summer amid signs he was acting suspiciously. He later was released from prison while a criminal investigation by the office of Switzerland's Federal Attorney General continues, according to two sources familiar with the case.
The suspect's name was not made public. Swiss authorities believe he intended to sell the stolen data to foreign officials or commercial buyers.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
Don't tell me.... our entier banking system and currency is compromised, Kroger and the ATM's are Tango Uniform, and we must default to FEMA ration cards and stamps by tomorrow morning ?
Thank Allan the merciful, and the Champ for having of that stuff printed up and waiting, along with the 50,000,000 pre-positions rounds of .40 cal ball ammo. The guy is a genius, a savior I tells ya!
Posted by: Besoeker on the road again ||
12/05/2012 11:42
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#2
Besoeker, your nym sounds like a Willie Nelson song title.
[Al Ahram] Tunisian opposition parties are seeking to achieve a vote of no-confidence within the National Constituent Assembly, following the recent festivities between protesters and police in the southwestern town of Siliana.
Opposition parties will present a formal note of objection to pave the way for this step, and to express their rejection of the coalition's failure to fulfill the basic demands of the nation and handle the recent protests that have erupted in response.
Anti-government members of the assembly had walked out of a session last Friday, protesting the absence of Prime Minister Hamadi Al-Jebali from the discussion about Siliana's political unrest.
MP Mohamed Al-Baroudi pointed out that the no-confidence bid seeks to impose pressure on the government to respond to the popular demonstrations which express anger about Tunisia's growing political and economic problems.
The Islamic Ennahda Movement won the country's first free elections in October 2011 following Tunisia's revolution, which set off last year's "Arab Spring" uprisings.
The movement heads a government that also includes two secular parties, the Congress for the Republic and the Ettakatol. The coalition holds a comfortable majority of 139 seats in the 217-member body.
The Constituent Assembly elected Moncef Marzouki as president in December 2011 to follow Zine Al-Abidine, who was ousted as president in January 2011 after weeks of protests.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[Dawn] Apparently foiling a terrorist plan of a suicide kaboom on an Imambargah, police on Tuesday incarcerated ... anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not... two alleged hard boyz belonging to banned Lashker-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) in 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... , DawnNews reported.
According to police sources, Azizabad police resorted to counter-firing when suspects in a Highroof van refused to stop at a security check-point and opened fire on officials near the Bloody Karachi Academy in Azizabad.
Subsequently, two suspects Hanif and Chiragh Deen were arrested with two riffles and a bomb-detonator. However, some men learn by reading. A few learn by observation. The rest have to pee on the electric fence for themselves... the source said, Qari Ghulam, Riaz and Qari Ghulam Akber successfully fled the site.
Police suggests the arrested belong to the banned LeJ and were trained in Afghanistans Qandahar area.
According to initial interrogation, the source said, a stolen vehicle was being prepared for a suicide attack on an Imambargah in the citys Gulshan-e-Iqbal neighbourhood. They wanted to hand over the vehicle to a jacket wallah in New Bloody Karachis Khamiso Goth, the police source added.
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[Al Ahram] A statement by the hard-line Islamist group Al-Gamaa Al-Islamiya calls on Tuesday's anti-constitution protesters to avoid using violence and asks 'Christians to maintain the peace'
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
"And please stand tall as you march, so the cameras can get a clear view of your faces."
[An Nahar] The influence of hardline Islamists is increasingly being seen on Syria's battlefields, with even the more secular rebel fighters starting to sport jihadist-style beards, headbands and clothes.
The trend is confusing the West and complicating the dispatch of aid, especially weapons, to the thugs, experts say.
"It is difficult to distinguish between moderate Islamists and Salafi-jihadists in the context of the Syrian civil war," says Elizabeth O'Bagy, author of a recent Institute for War report entitled "Jihad in Syria."
"The mainstream use of jihadi iconography by non-Salafist rebel groups distorts perceptions about their ideologies and end-goals," she says.
This represents a critical, if blurry line for Western powers who remain wary of providing weapons to the rebels for fear they may fall into the hands of bad boys.
According to O'Bagy, "it is significant to draw the distinction in order to understand which Islamist opposition groups are willing to work within a state system."
The past six months of the conflict have been marked by a growing Islamization of the opposition, with an increased number of hardline jihadist battalions fighting alongside more secular-minded Free Syrian Army fighters.
Fighters from the jihadist Al-Nusra Front in particular have moved to the forefront of the rebellion across many Syrian battle fronts.
"The Syrian conflict began as a secular revolt against autocracy. Yet as the conflict protracts, a radical Islamist dynamic has emerged within the opposition," says O'Bagy.
"There is a small but growing jihadist presence inside Syria, and this presence within the opposition galvanizes Assad's support base and complicates U.S. involvement in the conflict," she adds.
The vast majority of rebels are devout Mohammedans, who see their struggle as both a religious and patriotic duty.
But even those who are not hardcore Islamists have now adopted the ways of their more radical comrades-in-arms, as cut-throats before them have done in Afghanistan, Iraq and during last year's Libyan revolution.
The signs are all too clear, starting with the tell-tale jihadist beard, worn thick and long and preferably with the mustache shaved off.
Pants are hemmed above the ankle, as in the days of Prophet Mohammed, and fighters sport black or green headbands inscribed with the words God, Mohammed or with the "shahada" -- the Mohammedan profession of faith.
Another symbolic accessory is the "sewak", a wooden stick used to brush the teeth and cleanse the mouth.
Black banners bearing the same "shahada" fly above almost all rebel checkpoints and camps, sometimes, but not always, alongside the three-starred revolutionary flag.
Many rebels have also adopted the black flag with the seal of the prophet, which was used as the banner of the "Islamic State of Iraq," the branch of al-Qaeda in Iraq, or the colors of the bad turban al-Shabaab ... the Islamic version of the old Somali warlord... in Somalia.
The use of Internet videos, long the propaganda tool of choice for jihadists, are also widespread among Syrian thugs, who send their own camera crews to film the exploits of their fighters on the ground.
The presence of imported muscle is no longer an anomaly in the conflict, which has attracted a plethora of volunteers. They range from veterans of Arab Spring uprisings across the region to hardcore jihadists, most of them allied to the Al-Nusra Front.
Around a dozen Salafist-inspired Islamist groups fight alongside the main rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) and have names such as: Suqour al-Sham (Damascus ...The capital of Iran's Syrian satrapy... Falcons), Liwa al-Islam (Islam Brigade), Ahrar al-Sham (Damascus Freemen), Katibat al-Ansar (Battalion of the first soldiers of Islam).
In mid-November, the Aleppo ...For centuries, Aleppo was Greater Syria's largest city and the Ottoman Empire's third, after Constantinople and Cairo. Although relatively close to Damascus in distance, Aleppans regard Damascenes as country cousins... -based factions of many of these groups, including the powerful Al-Nusra Front, announced in a video posted to the Internet their desire to establish an Islamic state.
The slew of battalions operating from one region to another, and the fact that more secular FSA units work hand-in-hand with the Islamists, only compound the confusion for Western observers.
But there are signs that leave no room for any doubt, such as the distinctive jalabiya robe which jihadists wear, the Afghani shalwar kamiz tunic or hoods covering the face and black clothing.
But perhaps the most surefire jihadist trait is a pronounced hostility to foreign journalists, the only Western presence in Syria's embattled territories.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/05/2012
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[Dawn] Terrorism suspects and court cases involving missing people have been a dime a dozen since 9/11 in Pakistain.
However, a hangover is the wrath of grapes... in a strange twist of affairs, one lingering case of litigation curiously involved a mother whose quest for her missing son for four years has led her to accuse a set of women of kidnapping her son.
On Monday, Zahida Parveen, the mother of Mohammad Adnan, urged the Islamabad High Court (IHC) to try Memoona Akhtar, Robina Kausar, Sabina Karim and two men, Mohammad Awais and Mohammad Maroof, in an anti-terrorism court (ATC) for abducting her son.
The accused belong to Tehrik-e-Islami (TI), an organization outlawed in 2002.
Adnan Haider Randhawa, Ms Parveens counsel, argued in front of Chief Justice Iqbal Hameedur Rehman and Justice Riaz Ahmed Khan at the IHC.
The lawyer expressed fears that since Adnan, a student of the University of Engineering and Technology (UET), Taxila, was familiar with remote control technology, he might have been handed over to Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP) in 2008. He pointed out that faceless myrmidons needed to make bombs that explode through remote control.
According to the court documents, Adnan was a final year student.
An FIR registered in the Sabzi Mandi cop shoppe revealed that on Oct 19, 2008, Adnan left his home for the university, but was kidnapped from the street.
The next morning he called his mother, but spoke with great difficulty.
Adnan informed his mother that his life was in danger, but cautioned her against telling anyone about his predicament.
According to the petition, Parveen then went to Memoona for help. But the latter told the mother to keep quiet and assured her that she (Memoona) would help trace Adnan.
A few days later, the petition added, Sabina, who is the head of the womens student wing of Tehrik-e-Islami, came to Parveens house and gave her a letter from Adnan.
The letter, however, was not in Adnans handwriting.
The distraught mother refused to be satisfied with the letter despite the assurances of Sabina and Memoona.
A second, typed letter, left anonymously at her doorstep, told Parveen that her son had embraced shahadat (martyrdom).
According to the petition, neighbours told Parveen that Memoona, Sabina, Robina, Owais and Maroof had kidnapped her son at the behest of TTP.
Ghulam Rasool, the missing boys father, told Dawn that as neighbours he and his family used to visit Memoonas house off and on.
ATTACK ON MOSQUE: The father alleged that the women were involved in other terrorist activities, including a suicide kaboom on a mosque in Rawalpindis Parade Lane, a military area, in 2009 during Friday prayers. At least 37 people, mostly retired as well as serving military officers and their children, bit the dust when five attackers opened fire on and hurled grenades at a crowd of about 150 worshipers. All five gunnies died by either blowing themselves up or fighting the soldiers inside the mosque.
According to him, Mohammad Asghar Ghauri, who is the son of Yasmin Hameed, a Naib Nazima (deputy chief) of Tehrik-e-Islami, was involved in the mosque attack.
Ghulam Rasool said that the SC had also taken notice of the missing boy and after getting details from the police had observed that sufficient evidence has come on record connecting them (the accused person) prima facie with the commission of alleged offence.
The petition alleged that police investigations carried out under the Supreme Court orders revealed that Memoona and her associates were involved in kidnapping young boys and sending them to Wazoo for training in carrying out terrorist attacks.
It said that Memoonas son Hasham, who was a commander of TTP, was killed in Waziristan.
According to the petition, the prosecution added Section 6 of Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) 1997 in the 173 report (challan) of the case. The case was remanded to the ATC, but the special judge on May 25 this year observed that the law was not applicable to terror-related offences.
Chaudhry Abdul Aziz, who is the counsel of Memoona and her associates, told the court that there was no evidence to prove that his clients persuaded Adnan to take part in militancy.
He said that the accused women were well educated Robina has a masters degree in English literature while Sabina is an MA in Mathematics. Memoona is also well educated and is married to a government officer.
He alleged that Adnan was a right wing sympathizer who often tried to convince his fellow students to carry out jihad.
He requested the court that the case may not be remanded to the ATC again.
The court has reserved its judgment.
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[An Nahar] NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all.... on Tuesday agreed to deploy Patriot missiles along the border of member state Turkey as requested by Ankara to help it defend its territory against threats from Syria.
"NATO has agreed to augment Turkey's air defense capabilities in order to defend the population and territory of Turkey and to contribute to the de-escalation of the crisis along the alliance's border," a statement said.
Turkey formally asked its NATO partners to deploy the U.S.-made anti-missile system after a series of cross-border shellings, including one that left five civilians dead on October 3.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/05/2012
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#2
Since the Patriot system defends against ballistic missiles and since Syria hasn't fired any of those, I think there is a chance the 'syria' angle is just a smokescreen and the reality is that Turkey is worried about ballastic missiles fired by Iran.
Posted by: lord garth ||
12/05/2012 9:17
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The Patriot was orginally an Anti-Aircraft Missle System that was given AMD/BMD capability.
A serious dilemma for the US stems from allegations that Al-Qaeda + other Jihadi Groups are interwined along wid FSA + anti-Assad rebel groups inside Turkey, + being protected + armed by Turkey - ALA "FAST-N-FURIOUS II", IFF TRUE THE SCENARIO EXISTS THAT PATRIOTS, ETC. US ARMS IRONICALLY MAY END UP BEING USED BY TURKEY TO ALSO PROTECT AL-QAEDA + ANTI-US ANTI-ASSAD JIHADIST GROUPS.
Strange bedfellows, indeed.
SYRIA = "LIBYA/GADAFFI II", only potentially much much worse + bloody???
#2
Hearing alot of teeth gnashing, but the costumes were from a Volunteer group who go around and do charity work in those costumes. The kid in the house had a SWer's collection he lost in the fire, so I don't see the problem.
Posted by: Charles ||
12/05/2012 16:51
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[Al Ahram] Turkey's media watchdog has fined a private television channel for broadcasting episodes of the American cartoon series "The Simpsons" that poked fun at God, a local newspaper reported on Monday.
The Supreme Board of Radio and Televison (RTUK) fined CNBC-E around 53,000 lira (22,700 euros) over the show, saying it "mocked God" by depicting him serving Satan a cup of coffee and showing one character encouraging another to commit murder in the name of God, the Hurriyet newspaper said.
RTUK also accused "The Simpsons" of showing scenes in which copies of the bible are burnt and encouraging young people to consume alcohol.
The decision by RTUK, which has imposed a string of fines over other television series aired in Turkey that were deemed to be insulting to God or historical leaders or offending family values, was ridiculed by Hurriyet columnist Mehmet Yilmaz.
"I wonder what the makers of 'The Simpsons' would say when they hear their jokes are taken literally in a country called 'Turkey'," Yilmaz wrote. "Perhaps Homer will get a Moslem neighbour."
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[Dawn] Pakistains Supreme Court has constituted a judicial commission to probe the 2007 Lal Masjid operation a government crackdown on a controversial pro-Taliban mosque in the capital which ended in a bloody eight-day siege killing at least 58 Pak troops and seminary students.
Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry observed today that police have failed to satisfy the court and ordered a judicial commission to probe the matter, said Tariq Asad, a lawyer involved in the case.
The pro-Taliban mosque, with the radical Maulana Abdul Aziz leading several armed seminary students, had announced the establishment of a parallel judicial system, vowing to enforce Islamic Shariah laws in the federal capital and threatening to unleash a wave of jacket wallahs if the government took any action to counter it.
A military raid in July 2007 under then president Pervez Perv Musharraf ... former dictator of Pakistain, who was less dictatorial and corrupt than any Pak civilian government to date ... eventually overcame the armed thugs.
However, the hip bone's connected to the leg bone... several questions regarding the operation were left unanswered.
The Supreme Court took up the case the same year to demand answers to several questionable aspects of the siege, including the legality of the operation and the large number of civilian deaths in the raid.
A three-member bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, continued hearing the case here on Tuesday. During the proceedings, a report prepared by Assistant Inspector General (AIG) of Police Tahir Alam Khan was presented before the court.
After reviewing progress achieved so far in the investigation on the case, the bench appointed senior judge of the Federal Shariat Court, Shahzado Sheikh, to head the judicial commission.
Police has been ordered to hand over all documents relating to the case to the one-man commission, which will be tasked to answer these questions:
What were the reasons behind the Lal Masjid operation? How many civilians and security personnel were killed in the operation? Were all the dead identified and bodies handed over to their loved ones? Were the victims families paid the compensation promised by the government? Was any legal action initiated against those who carried out the operation? With the available evidence, is it possible to identify those responsible for the casualties during the siege and the raid on the mosque?
The commission has been directed to present its report in a period of 45 days.
Critics say the apex courts move could fan further tensions between the judiciary and the army.
Political analyst Hasan Askari said it was unclear what the commission could achieve other than to provide thug groups with a forum and reprimand the then government, given that Musharraf is no longer in power or in Pakistain.
Its their desire to be populist, they know theyll get support on this from the Islamists, the right wing and it also goes against the army, Askari told AFP.
The army is already unhappy with the judiciary so the judiciary is hitting in all directions and it is causing political uncertainty in an already uncertain and confused political system, he added.
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[Al Ahram] Secretary-general of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood says number of demonstrators outside presidential palace for Tuesday rally against draft constitution doesn't exceed 2000 Then his lips fell off. Were they committing suicide at the gates?
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
Photo at Kuwait Times seems to indicate a few more than 2K.
Kind of how the MSM here under-count Tea Party Rally participants.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
12/05/2012 8:39
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Well, Jesse Jackson says there were at least 1 Million protesters. So who are you gonna believe?
It was the sort of surprise no combat pilot wants to get. As his small, propeller-driven Mosquito spotter plane droned along over the Korean battlefield, the U.S. Air Force pilot spotted a far faster enemy jet roaring in for a kill. Only quick action allowed him to escape by executing several 360-degree turns to shake off his less agile adversary. But when the report of the encounter made it to Air Force intelligence, what analysts found most remarkable was not their pilots skill, but the identification of the attacker a hostile F-84, an American fighter jet.
This was no isolated case of mistaken friendly fire, officers feared. In late 1951 and 1952, numerous American pilots reported sighting, and even being attacked by, several types of hostile U.S. fighters, sometimes spotted flying in formation with enemy MiG-15s. Previously classified records obtained by Korean Confidential detail these incidents and that Air Force intelligence believed even its new, top-of-the line jet fighter was involved, reporting indications in 1952 that the Soviet enemy has put an F-86 aircraft into operation in Korea.
#1
Saw the Senate Select committee on this issue years back. Friend of mine asked how come Chuck Norris and Sylvester Stallone knew this stuff before the government did.
One case, in Laos where somebody stomped out a "rocking K", a designated authenticator for downed aircrew, in a padi field got my attention. The gummint investigator said some kid there was trying to impress his girlfriend. The Senators nearly came over the table at him. Another case of such signaling was laid to somebody getting a letter from the US. To a peasant village in Laos.
Eric Haney, in his book on Delta Force, speaks of gearing up to go after POWs in Laos twice, each time having to stand down because the op was burned.
Talked to a WaPo reporter who outed an upcoming POW raid into Laos. Said the photos taken prior to the raid date didn't show anything useful so he figured there shouldn't be a raid.
Yup. The powers that be abandoned these guys.
On purpose.
Posted by: Richard Aubrey ||
12/05/2012 12:14
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[Fox News] U.N. experts are accusing the Rwandan military of commanding and joining rebel forces in eastern Congo in their recent capture of the strategic city of Goma. On the other hand, who the hell trusts a word the UN sez?
The expert panel released a letter, photos, and a day-by-day outline of Rwandan support for the M23 rebels who held the city of 1 million for two weeks before Congolese soldiers took back control Monday. The letter was a follow-up to a report last month that made similar accusations against Rwandan forces in the run-up to the seizure of Goma.
In the letter to a Security Council committee, the experts said the recent capture of Goma "strongly upholds" their earlier conclusion that the Rwandan government and allies in the Ugandan government are equipping and commanding the rebels.
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[Dawn] THE demolition of a Hindu temple in 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... 's Garden area on Saturday raises some disturbing questions and is a prime example of the callous attitude that officialdom often has towards this country's non-Moslem citizens. Reportedly, there is a dispute between a builder who claims to own the structure which contained the temple and residents, and the matter is in court. Yet the Pakistain Hindu Council and residents claim they were not given advance warning before the demolition squad showed up and that religious objects were desecrated during the operation. It has also been alleged that individuals accompanying the demolition squad took away religious objects as well as gold jewellery. Community members claim they have been living in the location for over a century. They say they have been harassed to vacate the land. An official of the cantonment board -- the building falls under its jurisdiction -- claims no place of worship was damaged in the "anti-encroachment" operation. However, nothing needs reforming like other people's bad habits... images in the media of Hindu idols surrounded by rubble makes such denials questionable.
Certainly one way to describe it...
We are not assuming that the temple was deliberately targeted.
Seriously?
Yet the matter should have been handled more tactfully considering the sensitivities, specifically the fact that a place of worship was involved. Would such action have been taken if a mosque had been built on illegally occupied land instead of a temple? Clumsily handled situations such as this only add to the discomfiture of minorities living in this country. As it is, in many instances non-Moslems have hardly been given equal treatment in Pakistain and have been increasingly marginalised with the growth of extremism. In such circumstances, disrespecting a non-Moslem place of worship only adds to the alienation. The authorities need to uncover the facts of the matter, especially regarding ownership, and apologise to the Hindu community for having hurt their sentiments by demolishing the temple. Even if the structure was illegally built, the community should be given an alternative site to build the temple. And if this is not the case and the demolition was illegal, then the temple should be rebuilt as it was.
And give back all the gold ornaments!
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[Daily Nation (Kenya)] Senegal ... a nation of about 14 million on the west coast of Africa bordering Mauretania to the north, Mali to the east, and a pair of Guineas to the south, one of them Bissau. It is 90 percent Mohammedan and has more than 80 political parties. Its primary purpose seems to be absorbing refugees... s minister of tourism and entertainment Youssou NDour on Tuesday kicked off a nationwide campaign against clandestine bars and motels in a bid to check the spread of HIV/Aids.
He said besides posing an unfair competition to bars and motels legally operating in the country, we need to ensure that these clandestine bars and motels are not springboards for the propagation of HIV/Aids.
Senegals successful attempts to check the spread of Aids as early as in the 80s has given the country the reputation of a model and considered as an inspiration in the global fight against the pandemic.
A decade after the outburst of the epidemic, WHO data revealed that the rate of infection among adults was 0.5 per cent (while the government pegged it at 0.3 per cent) among the lowest worldwide.
Soon after the epidemic broke out, the the government speedily mounted a socialist-style public education strategy in 1984 that massively mobilised all levels of society, notably womens groups, faith-based organizations, government agencies, the private sector and the media.
Prostitution by women became legalised while a special education was given to registered sex workers who were issued identification cards and were subject to regular medical checks.
Minister NDour said since the spread of the disease is often linked to alcohol and drug abuse, it was therefore imperative that entertainment industries including bars and motels should be controlled.
We will go all out to ensure that these clandestine bars and motels which do not become the lieu for the propagation of hiv/aids, the minister said.
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[Dawn] Gunmen armed with silenced weapons attacked a house in east Storied Baghdad ...located along the Tigris River, founded in the 8th century, home of the Abbasid Caliphate... on Tuesday, killing a man, his wife and four children, a security official and a medic said.
The attack took place in the Zayouna area, an interior ministry official said, adding that the motive for the crime was not known.
Gunmen who were also armed with silenced weapons carried out a similar attack on Nov 28 in Tarmiyah, 45 kilometres north of Storied Baghdad, killing seven members of the same family.
In that case, two members of the family, including one of those killed, belonged to the anti-Qaeda Sahwa militia force, made up of Sunni rustics who fought the bad boy group and helped turn the tide of the war in Iraq.
Also on Tuesday, a roadside kaboommaimed three police in the restive north Iraq city of djinn-infested Mosul, a police officer and a doctor said.
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#1
Insurgents, personal dispute/feuds, or organized crime? Suppressed weapons? Someone didn't want any witnesses and/or they were sending a strong message to others.
[Dawn] The early morning killing of a seminary teacher triggered violence in parts of Gulshan-e-Iqbal on Monday, when six other persons two coppers, a 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... Metropolitan Corporation officer and his young nephew and two young friends were also rubbed out. Bring that up next time somebody tells you 'violence never accomplishes anything.'
At least five vehicles were torched and many others damaged in random arson and armed attacks in different parts of the city, bringing life in various localities to a standstill.
The hours-long violence on Rashid Minhas Road, University Road and adjoining arteries made law-enforcement personnel disappear from the strife-hit zone. The police backed by the Rangers reappeared after more than two hours, when much damage had been done.
A little after 8am, when gunnies on a cycle of violence intercepted Maulana Mufti Muhammad Ismail near Jamia Majid Umar Farooq, off Abul Hasan Ispahani Road, when he was driving to Madrassah Ahsan-ul-Uloom, said Inspector Azhar Iqbal, the SHO of the Sachal cop shoppe.
He routinely dropped his children at a seminary in Scheme 33 and drove to work when targeted by armed riders. Hit in the head, chest and face, he was struck down in his prime. The police found five casings of spent 9mm bullets at the scene. The body was later moved to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre.
Within an hour of his killing, charged youths carrying sticks and bricks took to the main Rashid Minhas Road and blocked traffic on the road and later also on University Road.
Within the next half hour five vehicles, including an ambulance of a charity, were set on fire on Rashid Minhas Road, University Road and Allama Shabbir Ahmed Usmani Road.
Bricks, sewerage pipes and other heavy objects were placed on all main exit and entry points of Gulshan-e-Iqbal town that houses several commercial facilities and educational institutions. The traffic mess stretched to Hasan Square and Water Pump.
Miscreants damaged with sticks several vehicles lining up at CNG stations on Rashid Minhas Road and University Road. The intensity of the violence turned low only after the body of Mufti Ismail was moved to Madrassah Ahsan-ul-Uloom, where his funeral prayers were offered after Zuhar.
A number of shops were attacked on Rashid Minhas Road, Allama Shabbir Ahmed Usmani Road and University Road where traffic signals were also smashed. With violence moving from one block to another, parts of Gulshan-e-Iqbal and areas neighbouring Abul Hasan Ispahani Road reverberated with gunfire, causing immediate closure of shops and markets and compelling residents to stay indoors.
Associated with Madrassah Ahsan-ul-Uloom for the past 15 years as a senior faculty member, Mufti Ismail completed his education at the same seminary before moving to Al-Madinah International University for higher education.
Father of four, the slain holy man originally hailed from Pishin. Only last month, seven students of the same seminary were killed in an armed attack on a roadside teashop in Gulshan-e-Iqbal block 2.
Sindh IG Fayyaz Ahmed Leghari sought a report from the Bloody Karachi police chief on the killing of Mufti Ismail.
The report should pertain to the overall security steps in the concerned zone and on the initial findings on a forensic basis, said a statement issued by the central police office. The IG directed that there should be a joint patrolling of police and Rangers in sensitive areas of the city. He also called for picketing and snap checks and keeping an eye on myrmidons. The IG directed that the security of Madaris, mosques and Imambargahs be beefed up.
Meanwhile, ...back at the chili cook-off, Chuck and Manuel's rivalry was entering a new and more dangerous phase... in separate armed attacks a police inspector, a special branch constable and a KMC officer and his young nephew were killed, and two bullet-riddled bodies stuffed in gunny bags were found.
In Orangi Town, Sector 11½, 42-year-old Mahmood Alam and his 26-year-old nephew Jaseem Siddiqui were killed in an ambush. The police said that Mr Alam, the KMCs district officer who looked after the citys graveyard affairs, was attacked when he was driving his official hi-roof vehicle (GS-9940) with his nephew.
Both victims were residents of the same sector, said Inspector Muhammad Sabir, the SHO of the Iqbal Market cop shoppe. They were attacked near Sabri Chowk, a busy area. Witnesses said that gunnies after attacking the two in the van fired multiple shots into the air to scare people around and sped away.
A police officer in Korangi met the same fate when he was driving to the police post where he was recently posted as its in-charge. Police said two masked men on a motorbike targeted 49-year-old Sub-Inspector Hidayatullah when he slowed down his car near Street 3 of Bilal Colony.
He was hit by five bullets and was struck down in his prime, said an official at the Korangi Industrial Area cop shoppe. He was recently posted as officer-in-charge of the R police post within the remit of the Korangi Industrial Area cop shoppe after being transferred from the Qayyumabad police post.
The victim had been serving in the same Korangi town for the past 10 years at different cop shoppes and in different capacities. Hailing from Shikarpur, he was actively involved in recent arrests of some suspected killers and criminals in Korangi.
The police meanwhile registered an FIR (1044/2012) under Sections 302 (premeditated murder) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistain Penal Code as well as Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act against unknown suspects on a complaint of the victims elder son, added the official.
Earlier, bodies of two young friends were found stuffed in gunny bags in the Sohrab Goth area. The victims were later identified as Tayyab Chaudhry and Mahmood-ul-Hasan both in their mid-20s who were hit by six and eight bullets, respectively, fired from a very close range, the police said.
Both were residents of Rajput Colony in Gulshan-e-Iqbal, said Inspector Azhar Iqbal, the SHO of the Sachal cop shoppe. There bodies were found at a truck stand near a storm drain passing under the 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.... Expressway bridge near the Sohrab Goth intersection. They had left home on Sunday afternoon to see some friends, but did not return.
Targeted attacks continued after sunset as gunnies in Orangi Town rubbed out a special branch constable when he was waiting for a friend outside his home.
Armed men entered one of the narrow streets of Frontier Colony and stopped close to Murad Khan, said an official at the Pirabad cop shoppe. Before he could comprehend the situation, one of the riders got off the motorbike, pulled out a .30-bore pistol and fired a single shot in his head from a very close range before running away with his accomplice.
The victim was associated with the Sindh polices special branch and posted at the Pirabad cop shoppe. Originally hailing from Beautiful Downtown Peshawar ...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire. , he lived in Orangi Town Sector 10 and was father of eight.
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Posted by: Fred ||
12/05/2012
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#1
I always figured red-light cameras were a voluntary tax contribution program.
My last time was a human, and I thought I was in the right, by five feet, but the cop didn't want to hear about it. I have been more careful, since then.
Posted by: Bobby ||
12/05/2012 12:26
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#2
Lets not forget that shortening the time the light is 'yellow' is very likely to cause more accidents.
When they install a red-light-camera and shorten the yellow light timing you know that they are not interested in safety - just revenue.
Here in Lynnwood Washington they ding you if you make a 'hollywood stop' as well (that is don't come to a complete and total stop).
#4
Ironic, here in Iowa I've noticed Yellow Light times have increased after the camera's have gone in. Regional thing or we aren't a bunch of greedy union thugs?
Posted by: Charles ||
12/05/2012 17:00
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[Al Ahram] Gunmen shot a female Christian charity worker from Sweden in Pakistain's eastern city of Lahore on Monday leaving her hospitalised, police said.
That's why Allah created them, after all.
Bargeeta Almby, 72, was returning from work when she was attacked by unknown assailants in the upmarket locality where she lives.
O brave Lions of Islam, attacking a little old lady!
"She was returning from her office and was attacked when she arrived in front of her home in the Model Town neighbourhood," Awais Malik, a senior police official told AFP.
Doctors said she was hit in the chest and was recovering in hospital.
"A bullet hit her in the chest. We have treated her and she is improving now," Ali Usman, a doctor at the hospital, told AFP.
No further details about the attack were immediately available.
Police and colleagues told AFP Almby is the managing director in Pakistain of Full Gospel Assemblies, which describes itself as a 'church fellowship' founded in the United States with congregations worldwide.
The organization runs charities in the country including a technical training institute, adult literacy centre and orphanage. Almby has lived in Pakistain for the past 38 years, according to police.
Considered Pakistain's cultural capital and close to the Indian border, Lahore is a city of eight million that in 2010 suffered a string of high-profile bombings blamed on Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked myrmidons.
How much longer do you s'pose that cultural thingy will last?
In August last year, a 71-year-old US development worker Warren Weinstein, was kidnapped after gunnies tricked their way into his Lahore home.
Yes, but he was Jewish, so that doesn't count -- it's like expecting a cat to restrain itself around uncovered meat.
Pak officials believe he is being held by Al-Qaeda and Taliban Death Eaters in Pakistain's lawless northwest.
In April, a British MoslemRed Thingy worker was beheaded nearly four months after being kidnapped in the southwestern city of Quetta.
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[Dawn] Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... Minister for Information Mian Iftikhar Hussain has said that gunnies are drugging young boys to use them as jacket wallahs.
Talking to journalists at University of Beautiful Downtown Peshawar ...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire. (UoP) here on Monday, he said that five young boys, who were recently tossed in the slammer Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please! in Lakki Marwat and Peshawar, were also drugged by gunnies to prepare them for suicide kabooms.
The minister visited UoP to attend the inaugural ceremony of Seminar Hall at Pashto Academy as a chief guest.
Nowadays gunnies kidnap boys to turn them into suicide bombers. For this they even drug the boys when they are about to be used for suicide attacks, he said.
Mr Hussain said infighting had started between terrorist groups in Wazoo tribal agencies. The gunnies were opposing and killing each other, he said. He added that the terrorists, who had fled Pakistain, were hiding in Kunar and Nuristan provinces of Afghanistan but NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Originally it was a mutual defense pact directed against an expansionist Soviet Union. In later years it evolved into a mechanism for picking the American pocket while criticizing the cut of the American pants... forces were taking action against them.
Earlier while addressing the ceremony, the minister said that the last three years were tough for Pashto Academy. Efforts were made to close it in order to damage Pashto language, however, the government frustrated all such designs, he said.
UoP Vice-chancellor Dr Qibla Ayaz, Pashto Academy Chairperson Dr Salma Shaheen and others academicians also addressed the ceremony.
Peshawar University Teachers Association president Jamil Ahmad Chitrali, teachers and a large number of students were also present on the occasion. The minister directed the quarters concerned to submit a written report about the needs of the academy so that necessary action could be taken in that regard.
He said that provincial government included all mother tongues of the province as compulsory subject in the syllabus from primary to higher secondary level.
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[Al Ahram] Wael Khalil and Ahmed Seif El-Islam quit National Council of Human Rights after President Morsi's power-grab constitutional decree 'threatens judicial independence' and draft constitution articles 'violate' human rights
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[An Nahar] A rebel mortar attack on a school in a camp for displaced people near Damascus ...The place where Pencilneck hangs his brass hat... on Tuesday killed nine students and their teacher, Syrian state television ... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
reported, branding it a "horrific crime."
The broadcaster also reported 20 people were maimed in the attack, but it was not immediately possible to verify their identities.
The mortar smashed into Bteiha school in Wafideen camp about 20 kilometers (15 miles) northeast of Damascus, the report said. Wafideen is home to some 25,000 people displaced from the Golan Heights by the Israeli occupation since 1967.
"In a horrific crime, nine students were killed along with one of their teachers," the television said.
The broadcaster initially reported a corpse count of nine, but later updated it to 10.
"They were killed by a mortar launched by terrorists," said the broadcaster, using the Syrian regime's term for rebels fighting Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Scourge of Qusayr... 's forces in the country's raging civil war.
"Some 20 people were maimed," it added.
Battles east of Damascus have grown especially bloody in past days as troops try to push back rebels in the Eastern Ghouta region as they inch closer towards the capital.
On Tuesday alone, a total of 16 people were killed in violence in the province of Damascus, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which also reported the killings in the Wafideen camp.
The Britannia-based watchdog said raging battles were being fought on Tuesday at a checkpoint near the strategic road linking Damascus to the international airport.
The army, meanwhile, shelled several towns and villages on the outskirts of Damascus, both southwest and east of the capital, it said.
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[Dawn] Interior Minister Rehman Malik Pak politician, Interior Minister under the Gilani government. Malik is a former Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) intelligence officer who rose to head the FIA during Benazir Bhutto's second tenure. Malik was tossed from his FIA job in 1998 after documenting the breath-taking corruption of the Sharif family. By unhappy coincidence Nawaz Sharif became PM at just that moment and Malik moved to London one step ahead of the button men. He had to give up the interior ministry job because he held dual Brit citizenship. on Monday claimed that all killers of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto ... 11th Prime Minister of Pakistain in two non-consecutive terms from 1988 until 1990 and 1993 until 1996. She was the daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, founder of the Pakistain People's Party, who was murdered at the instigation of General Ayub Khan. She was murdered in her turn by person or persons unknown while campaigning in late 2007. Suspects include, to note just a few, Baitullah Mehsud, General Pervez Musharraf, the ISI, al-Qaeda in Pakistain, and her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, who shows remarkably little curiosity about who done her in... had been placed in durance vile Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please! and their identity would be disclosed on Dec 27, the fifth anniversary of her liquidation.
Addressing a meeting of Pakistain Peoples Party workers here, Mr Malik said his successful strategy had led to the division of the banned thug organization, Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP), into three factions and that TTP leaders Waliur Rehman, Zahid and Ihsanullah Ihsan were fighting for their survival.
He said he had gathered information about Ihsanullah Ihsan and his foreign masters and their agenda, and would be disclosing them all shortly.
The minister announced amnesty for TTP activists, who had abandoned militancy and agreed to live a peaceful life.
It is a fact that majority of TTP workers are those who do it (carry out thug activities) out of poverty and unemployment, he said, adding that he would provide jobs in government departments to those leaving the Taliban.
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[Dawn] A jobless youth who attempted to kill himself by blowing up a 'home-made' suicide jacket was handed over to Kamalia police by some locals on Monday.
The police started the paperwork but haven't done much else against 20-year-old Shahid Imran,
Poor kid was doomed from the moment they gave him that name.
a resident of Eidgah locality under sections 325,285 and 286 of PPC.
According to the police, the accused after being frustrated by his prolonged joblessness decided to end his life and allegedly prepared a suicide jacket using gunpowder meant for manufacturing firecrackers.
However, facts are stubborn; statistics are more pliable... his suicide bid was thwarted by some passersby when he was about to ignite the kaboom fitted in the jacket near octroi post No 6. He was later handed over to police.
Posted by: Fred ||
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Should have joined the Boom Scouts and gotten familiar with boom lore.
[Al Ahram] Essam El-Arian, deputy chairman of the Moslem Brüderbund's Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), slammed protesters taking part in Tuesday's demonstrations in statements to Al-Ahram's Arabic-language news website.
"These are the people who reject the results of the March 2011 referendum and who want to overthrow the president in order to establish a presidential council," El-Arian said. He added that the protesters were "from the elite class, faraway from the street," stressing that "the final word would be with the Egyptian people."
Secretary-General of the Moslem Brüderbund's guidance bureau Mahmoud Hussein told Al-Ahram's Arabic-language news website that the protesters consisted of "small groups with no political weight whatsoever and whose numbers do not exceed 2,000 protesters."
"Who are you going to believe, me or my lying eyes?"
Hussein stressed that all Egyptians enjoyed the right to peaceful protest, but asserted that certain elements of the opposition were insistent on using violent means -- including attacks on security forces -- to express their opinions.
From Port Said, former FJP MP and leading Brotherhood member Akram El-Shaer also criticised protests in Port Said on Tuesday. "They are only about 75 protesters," El-Shaer said in televised comments.
According to news reports, however, a couple of thousand people protested in Port Said near the headquarters of the Moslem Brüderbund and even torched effigies depicting the Brotherhood's supreme guide and President Morsi.
The Moslem Brüderbund's guidance bureau reportedly held a meeting on Tuesday to discuss the impact of Tuesday's rallies, according to news reports.
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[Al Ahram] Internet freedom will not be curbed or controlled, the head of the UN telecommunications body, Hamadoun Toure, said as a meeting to review the 24-year-old telecom regulations kicked off Monday. Trust them on that...
Such claims are "completely (unfounded)," Toure, secretary general of the International Telecommunication Union, told AFP. "I find it a very cheap way of attacking" the conference, he said, as the World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT-12) set off in Dubai to review regulations reached in 1988.
Earlier, Toure told participants at the conference that the Internet freedom of expression will not be touched during the discussions at the meeting. "We could if we wanted to, of course, be we don't want to. Not right now, anyway."
"Nothing can stop the freedom of expression in the world today, and nothing in this conference will be about it," he said. "Maybe next conference..."
"I have not mentioned anything about controlling the Internet."
Google has been vocal in warning of serious repercussions on the Internet if proposals made by member states are approved at the WCIT-12 meeting, including permitting censorship over legitimate content. "Some proposals could permit governments to censor legitimate speech -- or even cut off Internet access," said Bill Echikson, Google's head of Free Expression in Europe, Middle East and Africa in a statement on Friday.
The Internet giant is also arguing that the ITU, which is the UN agency for information communication technologies, is not the right body to address Internet issues. "Although the ITU has helped the world manage radio spectrum and telephone networks, it is the wrong place to make decisions about the future of the Internet," Echikson said. "Only governments have a vote at the ITU," he pointed out.
But Toure, whose Geneva-based organisation has 193 member states and over 700 private-sector entities and academic institutions, said that "consensus" is the way to make decisions at the agency. Tell us more about Global Warming®...
He also dismissed claims that the meetings in Dubai were secretive, telling reporters that the sessions are open. "All y'gotta do is have a pass... No, I'm not the guy to see for a pass... No, I don't know who is..."
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yeah.... about as 'open' as the 'affordable healthcare' conference we had here in the US (where the unions dictated their terms and the taxpayers were shutout).
About as open as the OBumbles Administration.
[An Nahar] Sudan and South Sudan have failed to meet an 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... deadline to reach an agreement on the contested Abyei region by December 5, officials said Tuesday, with no talks scheduled on the issue.
The flashpoint Abyei region, a Leb-sized area claimed by both sides, is one of the most contentious outstanding issues after South Sudan won independence from former civil war foes in Khartoum in July 2011.
The African Union, which has been mediating talks between the rivals who fought bitter border battles in April and May, gave both sides six weeks from October 24 to reach a deal on Abyei.
AU's Peace and Security commissioner Ramtane Lamamra said that the mediators for the negotiations, the AU High Level Implementation Panel, has yet to set a date for the resumption of talks.
"We are in touch with our high level panel... we will wait for recommendations," Lamamra told AFP.
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[Al Ahram] An EgyptAir pilot made an emergency landing at Hurghada airport on Monday after a snake bit a Jordanian passenger who had concealed it in his luggage.
Crew were shocked by the passenger's screams, being unaware of the snake's presence on the plane.
The accident was reported to the pilot, who requested emergency permission to land in Hurghada. The passenger was immediately taken off the plane for medical treatment, and local authorities confiscated the snake.
Following that, the flight continued on to Kuwait.
Posted by: Fred ||
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Animal rights bozos have made it very difficult to legally import and export many kinds of animals. The obvious result is that animals are the third most smuggled item in the world (behind cash and drugs). There is a huge amount of money involved--collectors pay top dollar for rare species.
So whenever you read about someone getting caught in an airport with snakes in his pants, go smack a PETA member.
#3
in a related airplane makes emergency divert story, a 13 day old 787 suffered numerous in flight mechanical issues and had to abort/land in New Orleans. 174 PAX on board. no word yet from the Lazy B as to origins. happened Teusday morning
[Al Ahram] Hundreds of thousands of protesters gathered at Egypt's presidential palace and in Tahrir Square Tuesday to protest a draft constitution and a recent decree by President Mohamed Morsi giving him sweeping powers.
"This constitution is all wrong. It violates freedoms and was only created by the Brotherhood and Salafists ...Salafists are ostentatiously devout Moslems who figure the ostentation of their piety gives them the right to tell others how to do it and to kill those who don't listen to them... for their own benefit," said Hanan Sabri, a housewife, as she walked to Tahrir Square, the site of mass protests against the recently issued draft constitution.
The Constituent Assembly, which wrote the draft charter, is accused of having been dominated by the Moslem Brüderbund from which President Morsi hails and Salafist groups. The assembly has also been marred by several withdrawals, including by representatives of the Coptic Church, labourers, journalists and farmers.
The draft constitution itself is seen by critics as unrepresentative of Egyptians on the lam and as falling short on the freedoms and social benefits called for in the 25 January Revolution. Many articles are also criticised for being vague.
"There is an article that states that society should be 'self-critical.' What does that mean? It means that well find people bothering us for not liking what we wear," added Sabri.
The draft constitution was rushed through in a final marathon session during which it was approved by assembly members, cutting short an additional two-month period set aside for discussion of its contents. Morsi was then presented with the document, after which he announced it would be put to a nationwide referendum on 15 December.
Thousands gathered in Tahrir Square on Tuesday while hundreds of thousands made their way to the presidential palace in Cairo's Heliopolis district to voice opposition to the draft charter.
Two major marches from the Abassiya and Madinet Nasr districts close to Heliopolis brought the bulk of protests to the door of the palace. Another rally from Ain Shams University merged with a rally from Rabaa Al-Adawaiya.
The marches began at 4pm and maintained a peaceful nature, with protesters chanting 'Down with Morsi, down with the rule of the Supreme Guide,' as they snaked through the streets leading to the palace.
Amany Moussa walking in the Madinet Nasr rally, which was launched from the Rabaa El Adaweya Mosque complained that Egypt had finally seen some stability in recent months, but Morsis constitutional decree had again led to violence.
Before a date for the constitutional referendum was set, the president had issued a constitutional declaration that shields his decisions from judicial oversight and protects the Constituent Assembly and Shura Council from dissolution by court order.
The declaration was deemed "dictatorial" by the opposition, which filled Tahrir Square twice in protests last week.
Islamist forces then held a rival protest on Saturday in defence of Morsi's decree. Dubbed the "Day of Legitimacy and Sharia," hundreds of thousands of Islamists gathered at Cairo University to back the president.
"I know he's an elected president, but I think he lost his legitimacy," Moussa said.
"There are various articles in the constitution that violate the values of the Egyptian revolution, especially articles allowing civilians to be put on trial in military courts," she said.
"This is the first time I join a protest," Ahmed Ibrahim, another protester at the rally, told Ahram Online. "I am so angry, I feel that the Moslem Brüderbund are dominating everything and taking complete control of the country."
Participating in the Abassiya march that set out from Cairo's Al-Nour Mosque, Shaimaa an independent activist in her twenties travelled from Suez to join the march to denounce Morsi's constitutional declaration.
"We are here to attend the protest; weve taken part in all major protests happening in Cairo since the 25 January Revolution," she said, as she arrived with thousands of others in the vicinity of the presidential palace.
Like Ibrahim, Shaimaa condemned the recently finalised draft constitution as being "a constitution made only for the Moslem Brüderbund."
Shaimaa added that she came only to protest peacefully, but intended to stay if any protesters were assaulted.
As protesters reached the presidential palace, they were met with a cordon of barbed wire and security personnel. A few minutes later, teargas was fired from the security side, although soldiers later retreated, opening the way in Merghany Street for protesters to pass.
As they approached the main gate, protesters chanted, "The people want to topple the regime," and, "We will not leave, he will leave."
"Down with the Supreme Guide [of the Moslem Brüderbund]," they yelled, while waving Egyptian flags and banners that read: "We reject splitting the country in two using religion," and, "We reject the constitutional declaration."
Protesters also waved flags bearing the images of slain protesters, including Sheikh Emad Effat who died during festivities between military police and protesters during a December 2011 sit-in and Sayid Belal, a Salafist activist tortured to death in 2010 under the ousted Mubarak regime.
Challenges face the looming constitutional referendum, as Egypt's Judges Club announced it would boycott the poll and refrain from supervising polling stations as it usually does to protest what it calls Morsi's "power grab" decree, which they say impinges on its independence.
In reaction to the Judges Club stance, Egypt's Supreme Judicial Council announced on Monday that it would allocate judges and members of the prosecution to supervise the referendum despite the strike action.
Tuesday evening also witnessed protests in Alexandria, Mansoura, Mahalla, Hurghada, Luxor, Assiut, Minya and Ismailia against the draft constitution and constitutional declaration. According to activists, thousands of protesters took the streets in huge rallies in Alexandria.
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#1
"There is an article that states that society should be 'self-critical.' What does that mean? It means that we'll find people bothering us for not liking what we wear," added Sabri.
Well, a boatload of people live in Egypt, stands to reason a few would get it, still I'm surprised.
[Daily Nation (Kenya)] Zim-bob-we is reportedly amassing troops along the border with Mozambique in anticipation of a civil war in the neighbouring country.
Just what Mozambique needs, more civil war...
Fears of a war are mounting in Mozambique after opposition Renamo leader Alfonso Dlakama returned to a former military base threatening war unless the Frelimo government agreed to negotiations.
The Zim-bob-wean government has not confirmed weekend reports by a private newspaper that troops were already being deployed in the eastern border.
But the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai on Tuesday said it feared the deployments will be used as an excuse to campaign for President Bob Muggsy Mugabe Octogenarian President-for-Life of Zim-bob-we who turned the former Breadbasket of Africa into the African Basket Case...
ahead of elections next year's general elections.
The MDC accuses army generals of being an extension of the veteran ruler's Zanu PF party.
"The government must first educate the soldiers they are deploying in Manicaland on the actual mandate, so that they do not stray and harass people as we approach the elections set for next year," MDC said in a statement.
That would defeat the purpose of the mobilization...
"Army personnel are at our borders with Mozambique in case the Renamo bandidos cause any instability'', the MDC said.
Posted by: Fred ||
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I had a chance to buy into a beach condo community in Moz a few years back. It was very tempting, but I declined. What was I thinking anyway ?
Posted by: Besoeker on the road again ||
12/05/2012 11:28
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[Dawn] A teacher of a seminary was among at least seven people rubbed out in 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... on Monday.
The killing of Mufti Mohammad Ismail off Abul Hasan Ispahani Road triggered violence in parts of Gulshan-e-Iqbal and at least five vehicles were torched and many others damaged in arson and armed attacks that brought life to a standstill in various areas.
Men on a cycle of violence intercepted Mufti Ismail when he was going to Madressah Ahsanul Uloom in the morning and shot him in the head, face and chest.
Charged youths carrying sticks and bricks took to the Rashid Minhas Road, University Road and Allama Shabbir Ahmed Usmani Road, blocked traffic and attacked vehicles and shops.
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[Dawn] Spokesman for the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP) Ehsanullah Ehsan claimed on Tuesday that the organization was responsible for the blast carried out in Bannu today and said the group was not involved in last week's attack on pro-government and anti-US Taliban leader Mullah Nazir.
Speaking to Dawn.com's correspondent from Qazi's guesthouse an undisclosed location, Ehsan condemned the attack on Nazir and said he was part of the Ittehad-e-Shura-Mujahideen, of which the TTP was also a member.
The TTP front man further said that though the TTP may have organizational differences with Mullah Nazir, there were no ideological differences between the groups.
The problem created in South Wazoo is the usual tiresome primitives' penchant for mindless violence between the Ahmedzai Wazir and Mehsud clans which would be settled as per tribal customs, said the front man for the banned outfit.
Ehsan claimed the TTP was not behind today's blast that reportedly took place near the house of Kainat, one of the girls who was injured during the attack on Malala Yousufzai, the 14-year-old campaigner for girls' education.
The attack was suspected to be a terrorist act according to certain reports in the media whereas Swat ...a valley and an administrative district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistain, located 99 mi from Islamabad. It is inhabited mostly by Pashto speakers. The place has gone steadily downhill since the days when Babe Ruth was the Sultan of Swat... DPO Gul Afzal Khan Afridi had stated that the blast appeared to have been caused due to a gas leakage as initial investigative reports suggested that debris from the kaboom flew outwards.
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[Al Ahram] After Tuesday's mass protests, Egypt's National Salvation Front has agreed on three main demands to be put before President Mohamed Morsi to be met before Friday.
The National Salvation Front is a recently-formed umbrella group led by former presidential candidates Hamdeen Sabbahi and Jerry Lewis doppelgänger Amr Moussa ... who was head of the Arab League for approximately two normal lifespans, accomplishing nothing that was obvious to the casual observer ... , along with reform campaigner Mohamed ElBaradei Egyptian law scholar and Iranian catspaw. He was head of the IAEA from December 1997 to November 2009. At some point during his tenure he was purchased by the Iranians. ElBaradei and the IAEA were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for something in 2005. After stepping down from his IAEA position ElBaradei attempted to horn in on the 2011 Egyptian protests which culminated in the collapse of the Mubarak regime. ElBaradei served on the Board of Trustees of the International Crisis Group, a lefty NGO that is bankrolled by the Carnegie Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, as well as George Soros' Open Society Institute. Soros himself serves as a member of the organization's Executive Committee. The front -- which includes the Constitution Party, the Egyptian Popular Current, the Social Democratic Party and the Socialist Popular Alliance Party, amongst others -- will demand that Morsi's recent constitutional declaration be reversed; that the constitutional referendum slated for mid-December be scrapped; and that a new Constituent Assembly be drawn up to draft a constitution "more reflective" of the popular will.
The current constitutional draft was written by an assembly that critics say is dominated by Islamists after repeated walkouts by non-Islamist groups, including the Coptic Church, human rights When they're defined by the state or an NGO they don't mean much... activists and workers', farmers' and journalists' representatives.
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[Dawn] Police in Bangladeshs capital fired tear gas and tossed in the slammer You have the right to remain silent... dozens of protesters as the nations largest Islamic party enforced a daylong strike that has shut schools and businesses across the country.
The opposition 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 maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. 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... party called the strike to demand authorities halt trials of its top leaders on charges of crimes against humanity during the 1971 war against Pakistain in which the country got its independence.
Witnesses say several buses and three-wheel vehicles that tried to ignore Tuesdays strike were either vandalized or torched in the capital, Dhaka.
TV footage showed protesters clashing with police firing tear gas. About 50 protesters were reportedly arrested in Dhaka, reported the News Agency that Dare Not be Named.
Jamaat-e-Islamis top eight leaders are on trial for allegedly collaborating with the Mighty Pak Army in committing atrocities during the war. The party denies the charges, saying theyre politically motivated.
Earlier on Monday, a teenage Jamaat activist was killed during festivities in which police fired live bullets to disperse crowds ahead of the nationwide strike, news agency AFP quoted officials as saying.
Local police chief Tariqul Islam told AFP that the cause of the activists death was unclear while a medical official said the 18-year-old died after being admitted to hospital with a gunshot wound to the head.
The Jamaat-e-Islami member died on Monday night in violence in the northern town of Chirirbandar, 300 kilometres from the capital Dhaka.
We fired seven rounds of live bullets, rubber bullets and tear gas shells, Islam, the local police chief, said.
Shihidul Islam, a nurse at Rangpur Medical College Hospital, said the activist died as he was brought to the clinic. He has a bullet shot in his head, he told AFP.
About 20 coppers were also injured in the festivities, the police chief said.
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[The Hill] A United Nations ...an organization originally established to war on dictatorships which was promptly infiltrated by dictatorships and is now held in thrall to dictatorships... treaty to ban discrimination against people with disabilities went down to defeat in the Senate on Tuesday in a 61-38 vote.
The treaty, backed by President B.O. and former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole (R-Kan.), fell five votes short of the two-thirds majority needed for confirmation as dozens of Senate Republicans objected that it would create new abortion rights and impede the ability of people to homeschool disabled children.
Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) argued the treaty would infringe on U.S. illusory sovereignty, an argument echoed by other opponents. This unelected bureaucratic body would pass recommendations that would be forced upon the United States if we were a signatory, he said.
Supporters of the treaty argued that the Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities would simply require the rest of the world to meet the standards that Americans already enjoy under the 1990 Americans With Disabilities Act. Sure. And I'd make a good father, so it would be okay for me to sleep with your wife?
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Supporters of the treaty argued that the Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities would simply require the rest of the world to meet the standards that Americans already enjoy under the 1990 Americans With Disabilities Act.
Well, gee whiz, if we already have the pertinent laws on the books why the need to ratify a treaty, other than to surrender power to an unelected non-American bureaucratic wannabee?
#2
Good point, P2K. And, as we saw in that Pakistaini essay on free speech the other day (the one that Fred ruthlessly savaged), forcing American values on the world is mean, hateful and un-Islamic. It prolly bees raciss, too.
#3
We have the ADA law passed in this country under George H.W. Bush. Let the UN worry about these things in other countries or let other countries exercise their sovereign rights to address such issues. I see no need to get in bed with the UN. Most likely, this involves US taxpayer money in some way. Don't we have significant problems in this country that beg attention?
#4
Dammit Dole, got yourself hurt defending the USA from the dictates of foreign governments, what the crap support any UN treaty which would override US law?
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It's Chicago. A year or so ago, something like this happened in Austin, TX. A dog was shot and killed in front of its owner. The dog was no threat. The locals got a petition together to remove the police officer from duty. News of the shooting was also put on FB with an online petition. Tens of thousands signed the petition. An investigation found the officer used bad judgment and coupled with the political heat from the community the officer did get removed from duty. The dog's owner got an apology from APD.
[An Nahar] German Chancellor Angela Merkel was re-elected head of her conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) Tuesday by more than 97 percent of delegates' votes at a two-day party congress.
It was Merkel's best result since she took over as chairman of the CDU in 2000 and comes as she gears up for fighting for a third term at the helm of Europe's top economy in elections expected in September.
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The Crook in Chief knows the heist he is pulling off. Just working with the propaganda machine to find right spin to put out there to make taking money from the people who work a success.
[Dawn] Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik Pak politician, Interior Minister under the Gilani government. Malik is a former Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) intelligence officer who rose to head the FIA during Benazir Bhutto's second tenure. Malik was tossed from his FIA job in 1998 after documenting the breath-taking corruption of the Sharif family. By unhappy coincidence Nawaz Sharif became PM at just that moment and Malik moved to London one step ahead of the button men. He had to give up the interior ministry job because he held dual Brit citizenship. on Tuesday demanded Afghanistan to arrest and hand over Pak Taliban leader Maulvi Fazlullah who, he said, is based in Kunar province. ... which is right down the road from Chitral. Kunar is Haqqani country..... How about in exchange for Jalauddin Haqqani? Sound pretty fair?
Addressing a presser, Malik said the bully boyz are launching attacks on Pak villages and security posts along the Pak-Afghan border in Bajour, Dir and Chitral areas from inside Afghanistan.
The interior minister said the Afghan government should cooperate in sealing the Pak-Afghan border as it is necessary to control terrorism.
Commenting on war against terrorism, Malik said the bully boyz have been defeated and they are on the run now, adding that around forty thousand Pak nationals have sacrificed their lives for the cause.
Vowing to continue the governments efforts against terrorism, he said that all those young man, who have been engaged by the Death Eaters, would be given employment opportunities if they end their links with them.
Answering a question, Malik said that investigation on Benazir Bhutto ... 11th Prime Minister of Pakistain in two non-consecutive terms from 1988 until 1990 and 1993 until 1996. She was the daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, founder of the Pakistain People's Party, who was murdered at the instigation of General Ayub Khan. She was murdered in her turn by person or persons unknown while campaigning in late 2007. Suspects include, to note just a few, Baitullah Mehsud, General Pervez Musharraf, the ISI, al-Qaeda in Pakistain, and her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, who shows remarkably little curiosity about who done her in... liquidation has been finalised and it will be made public with permission of the court.
Earlier, the minister inaugurated Pak Origin Cads (POC) for overseas Paks and their spouses. He also launched the Smart Card to replace the existing Computerized National Identity Cards (NIC). The new card would hold thirty eight features.
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
U.S. military planners are working closely with African nations in advance of an offensive to wrest control of northern Mali from al-Qaida linked extremists, Obama administration officials said Wednesday.
Eurozone countries would lose the right to set their own budgets and end up surrendering economic sovereignty to Brussels under a blueprint to "complete" the European Union's single currency.
[Dawn] New Delhi on Tuesday accused Islamabad of maintaining more than 40
[Dawn] Indias leading Islamic seminary, the Darul Uloom Deoband, has barred 
[Yahoo] Secret information on counter-terrorism shared by foreign governments may have been compromised by a massive data theft by a senior IT technician for the NDB, 
[Al Ahram] Tunisian opposition parties are seeking to achieve a vote of no-confidence within the National Constituent Assembly, following the recent 
[Dawn] Apparently foiling a terrorist plan of a 
Wazoo
[Deadline]
[Al Ahram] Turkey's media watchdog has fined a private television channel for broadcasting episodes of the American cartoon series "The Simpsons" that poked fun at God, a local newspaper reported on Monday.
[Dawn] Pakistains Supreme Court has constituted a judicial commission to probe the 2007 Lal Masjid operation a government crackdown on a controversial pro-Taliban mosque in the capital which ended in a bloody eight-day siege killing at least 58 Pak troops and seminary students.
Pervez 
[Dawn] The early morning killing of a seminary teacher triggered violence in parts of Gulshan-e-Iqbal on Monday, when six other persons two 
cycle of violence
[New York.CBSLocal]
[An Nahar] A rebel mortar attack on a school in a camp for displaced people near 
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
[Dawn] Interior Minister 
[Al Ahram] Essam El-Arian, deputy chairman of the 
[Al Ahram] Internet freedom will not be curbed or controlled, the head of the UN telecommunications body, Hamadoun Toure, said as a meeting to review the 24-year-old telecom regulations kicked off Monday.
[Al Ahram] An EgyptAir pilot made an emergency landing at Hurghada airport on Monday after a snake bit a Jordanian passenger who had concealed it in his luggage.
[Al Ahram] Hundreds of thousands of protesters gathered at Egypt's presidential palace and in Tahrir Square Tuesday to protest a draft constitution and a recent decree by President Mohamed Morsi giving him sweeping powers.
[Dawn] A teacher of a seminary was among at least seven people 
[Dawn] Spokesman for the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP) Ehsanullah Ehsan claimed on Tuesday that the organization was responsible for the blast carried out in Bannu today and said the group was not involved in last week's attack on pro-government and anti-US Taliban leader Mullah Nazir.
...a valley and an administrative district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistain, located 99 mi from Islamabad. It is inhabited mostly by Pashto speakers. The place has gone steadily downhill since the days when Babe Ruth was the Sultan of Swat...
[Al Ahram] After Tuesday's mass protests, Egypt's National Salvation Front has agreed on three main demands to be put before President Mohamed Morsi to be met before Friday.
Jerry Lewis doppelgänger Amr Moussa
[Dawn] Police in Bangladeshs capital fired tear gas and 
[The Hill] A 
[Weekly Standard]
[Dawn] Federal Interior Minister 
