Ahead of December 21, which marks the conclusion of the 5,125-year "Long Count" Mayan calendar, panic buying of candles and essentials has been reported in China and Russia, along with an explosion in sales of survival shelters in America. In France believers were preparing to converge on a mountain where they believe aliens will rescue them.
The precise manner of Armageddon remains vague, ranging from a catastrophic celestial collision between Earth and the mythical planet Nibiru, also known as Planet X, a disastrous crash with a comet, or the annihilation of civilisation by a giant solar storm.
In America Ron Hubbard, a manufacturer of hi-tech underground survival shelters, has seen his business explode.
"We've gone from one a month to one a day," he said. "I don't have an opinion on the Mayan calendar but, when astrophysicists come to me, buy my shelters and tell me to be prepared for solar flares, radiation, EMPs (electromagnetic pulses) ... I'm going underground on the 19th and coming out on the 23rd. It's just in case anybody's right."
In the French Pyrenees the mayor of Bugarach, population 179, has attempted to prevent pandemonium by banning UFO watchers and light aircraft from the flat topped mount Pic de Bugarach.
According to New Age lore it as an "alien garage" where extraterrestrials are waiting to abandon Earth, taking a lucky few humans with them.
Russia saw people in Omutninsk, in Kirov region, rushing to buy kerosene and supplies after a newspaper article, supposedly written by a Tibetan monk, confirmed the end of the world.
The city of Novokuznetsk faced a run on salt. In Barnaul, close to the Altai Mountains, panic-buyers snapped up all the torches and Thermos flasks.
Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian prime minister, even addressed the situation.
"I don't believe in the end of the world," before adding somewhat disconcertingly: "At least, not this year."
This may be old news. The story at the link is updated.
The typically quiet town of Casa Grande, Arizona was rocked by an explosion at the local Social Security Administration office early Friday morning by what appears to an improvised explosive device (IED). No one was hurt in the explosion, which occurred shortly before the office was scheduled to open. The explosion was reportedly heard and felt all over the area.
While the little town of Casa Grande and the nearby Phoenix area is talking about the incident, virtually no one else is. In fact, the only reason I was following the story is because Im presently in the area and saw the initial reports on the explosion and continued to look into it .
Within 90 minutes of the explosion police had a suspect in custody. But you wouldnt know it Nothing to see here, be on your way...
from reading the establishment media reports this past weekend. One reason might be the suspect is 47 year-old Abdullatif Aldosary of Coolidge, AZ, an Iraqi refugee.
Reading the update: The local FBI mouthpiece sez the boom-boy will not be charged with terrorism.
The one thing you can count on is that the FBI will always rush to declare that any attack is 'not terrorism' :(
Posted by: abu do you love ||
12/07/2012
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PSY has been taking over America with his surprise smash hit Gangnam Style but theres new information on the South Korean pop star that will soon change his popularity among U.S. fans.
It turns out PSY has been involved in several anti-American protest performances. According to Mediaite.com he smashed a model U.S. tank while onstage in 2002 to oppose 37,000 U.S. troops that descended on the Korean Peninsula.
A few years later, PSY cursed Americans after a South Korean missionary was executed. His song Dear American sets the record straight.
Kill those f***ing Yankees who have been torturing Iraqi captives/Kill those f***ing Yankees who ordered them to torture/Kill their daughters, mothers, daughters-in-law and fathers/Kill them all slowly and painfully, he raps.
PSY is slated to perform for President Obama for a Christmas In Washington special to air on TNT Friday, December 21. As a result, a petition to rescind his invitation has been created by outraged Americans for his anti-American song lyrics.
Looks like PSYs 15-minutes of fame are just about over.
"As a proud South Korean who was educated in the United States and lived there for a very significant part of my life, I understand the sacrifices American servicemen and women have made to protect freedom and democracy in my country and around the world," he said.
The 34-year-old pop star said the words came at a heated time, following the killing of two Korean schoolgirls.
"The song I was featured ineight years agowas part of a deeply emotional reaction to the war in Iraq and the killing of two Korean schoolgirls that was part of the overall antiwar sentiment shared by others around the world at that time. While I'm grateful for the freedom to express one's self, I've learned there are limits to what language is appropriate and I'm deeply sorry for how these lyrics could be interpreted. I will forever be sorry for any pain I have caused by those words," he added.
#6
Yoohoo, PSY, lest you fergit IIRC TOPIX, WORLD NEWS > IS NORTH KOREA CHINA'S NEW PROVINCE?
Also, there are Reports that Kim Jong-n is putting his credibiity on theline wid NOKOR's upcoming new rocket launch, as it appears the transfer of power isn't going too well for him in Pyongyang.
I hope PSY remembers that toy/model tank when the PLA comes over the Yalu and takes over the North, because SOKOR is all thats gonna be left of ancient Koguryu/Korye.
#7
ION DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > US DECLINES SUPPORT FOR ASIAN ALLIES IN DISPUTES WID CHINA | [Washington Free Beacon] PACIFIC COMMANDER: US DECLINES SUPPORT FOR ASIAN ALLIES IN SEA DISPUTES WID INCREASINGLY AGGRESSIVE CHINA.
USN ADM. Samuel Locklear III.
* SAME, TOPIX > PANETTA: US INTERVENTION POSSIBLE IN CHINA, JAPAN ISLANDS DISPUTE.
* SAME > US SENATE WRITES JAPANESE ADMINISTRATION OF DIAOYUDAI INTO [US]LAW.
* SAME > [The Diplomat]FOOL'S ERRAND: AMERICA'S "PIVOT" INTO ASIA.
- May create more probs than it solves, espec vee strategic cooperat wid China.
- USDOD = MIL BUDGET IS GOING DOWN = US does NOT have the $$$ to fund any Asia buildup, be it traditional procurement of more or new ships and planes, nor for so-called "quick-fix" solutions, i.e. LR HT Remore Warfare Drones, other UVS, + LR Options.
- US already homeports nearly 54.0% of its tote fleet in Asia-Pacific - the desired futurist "60%" stated by Washington is just PC for a more realistic, lessor raise in fleet levels to 57%.
#2
Pearl Harbor was a sucker punch, the Japanese hoping to cripple and demoralize the Americans. It just made them mad. The end game is well-known history, although it was a long and bloody struggle to get there. Heartfelt thanks to everyone who made that possible.
September 11 was a sucker punch, al Qaeda hoping to cripple and demoralize the Americans. It just made them mad. The end game is still playing out, but certain parties are no longer playing.
#3
Japan's biggest mistake at Pearl Harbor was failing to invade the Hawaiian islands afterward + establishing LR Bomber + Sub bases to isolate Pearl from the mainland.
Even as the state Treasury prepares to begin another financial review of Detroit's books, a plan is being solidified in the governor's office that would guide Michigan's largest city through what is being called a managed bankruptcy.
The working concept, still evolving, assumes that the state's financial review would find severe financial distress in Detroit, that Mayor Dave Bing and City Council would be unable to push through overdue restructuring, and that the process would culminate in appointment of an emergency financial manager under Public Act 72.
The case would be filed under Chapter 9 of the federal bankruptcy code, according to two ranking sources familiar with the situation, following efforts to reach prenegotiated settlements with as many key creditors -- unions, vendors and pension funds among them -- as possible before any filing.
"Clearly, we will always try to do that," one source familiar with the situation said in an interview Thursday. "You can move on a much more expedited basis if you can demonstrate that your cash is running out" -- as Detroit clearly is with each passing week.
The evolving bankruptcy scenario is a clear signal that Gov. Rick Snyder and Treasurer Andy Dillon have lost confidence in the ability of the mayor, his management team and council to honor their commitments under the eight-month-old consent agreement with the state, or to make any meaningful progress on restructuring.
Contingency planning in Lansing for a possible Chapter 9 bankruptcy filing is not likely to be popular inside council chambers or the Mayor's Office. But it's the responsible and necessary thing to do, whatever the protests from the elected officials whose denial and self-delusion are hastening the arrival of a reckoning they can no longer avoid.
The goal of a managed bankruptcy is to streamline the protracted process by minimizing the chaos, uncertainty, delay and steep costs associated with Chapter 9. It would be the largest municipal bankruptcy in the nation's history, an unambiguous symbol of the city's epic failure and a chance for a fresh start.
"That's exactly the strategy you should do," said Douglas Bernstein, managing partner of Plunkett Cooney's banking, bankruptcy and creditor rights group. "You're never going to be able to get all the unions -- and all you need -- to agree in advance, not a chance. You try to do it outside of bankruptcy or you drop it in. It's prudent, too. It's very prudent."
In bankruptcy, pre-packaged deals arrange settlements with all creditors in advance of a filing that is usually followed quickly with a plan of reorganization (called "plan of adjustment" in Chapter 9). A pre-negotiated deal akin to the one being explored in the Governor's Office would reach settlements with some creditors and leave others to be litigated in court.
A Chapter 9 filing for Detroit may be increasingly likely given the dysfunction and infantile posturing atop City Hall. But bankruptcy is not yet certain, provided three obstacles can be removed or settled outside of court: pending litigation designed to slow the process; pension debt of $1.4 billion and $440 million in outstanding swap contracts; and liabilities for retiree health care.
Planning for a possible bankruptcy of Detroit should not be surprising coming from Snyder, an accountant-turned-CEO, and Dillon, a former investment banker. Both possess keen financial minds, strategic savvy and a habit for planning further ahead than most politicians, particularly the elected officials in Detroit flailing from one crisis to the next.
In anticipation of Detroit's financial collapse, for example, Dillon retained an investment banking firm in December 2010 -- before taking office -- to advise the Treasury on ways to restructure Detroit's balance sheet, reduce its liabilities and return the city's credit rating to investment grade.
City Council, by comparison, is blocking the mayor's effort to hire a local law firm, Miller Canfield, citing conflicts of interest. Nor has the city, likely about a month away from Snyder appointing an emergency financial manager, showed any inkling of forward planning and retained bankruptcy counsel.
It should, because there is no president of the United States or consortium of banks coming to the rescue. Both Public Act 72, the existing emergency financial manager law, and revised legislation that passed the House this week enable an emergency financial manager and his counsel to negotiate settlements with creditors in advance of a Chapter 9 filing.
Under Public Act 72, an emergency financial manager cannot move to abandon the city's financial workout plan in favor of bankruptcy until 180 days have passed. But the timeline to Chapter 9 filing can be accelerated if the city is in danger of running out of cash.
Still, bankruptcy for Detroit would require the governor to first appoint an emergency financial manager. The appointee would be charged with devising a financial plan, making it public and beginning the effort to execute it -- unless the city's meager cash hoard runs out first.
It probably will, which is why the governor and his treasurer are taking their jobs seriously and planning for the worst. Someone has to.
#3
But it's the responsible and necessary thing to do, whatever the protests from the elected officials whose denial and self-delusion are hastening the arrival of a reckoning they can no longer avoid.
They're still waiting for Senator John Frum and the Beltway air force to air-drop 'the bacon'.
#5
So the rest of the Michigan and the country will have to pay for the dipwads who were elected and the corruption of these dipwads?
The D9 solution might be considered. Does Public Act 72 and Chapter 9 allow for that solution? Might also consider tossing in front of the D9 the mayors and council people who allowed this debacle to occur.
#7
Having just returned from a trip to the Motor City, I have to say large expanses look like they were nuked already. Although, I was impressed by how clean Rosa Parks Blvd. was - no doubt due to the complete absence of people.
#9
Actually it's Michigan that is preparing for Detroits Bankruptcy, Detroit ain't having none of it, not even hiring counsel as of yet. This is going to happen very quickly, which might even be a good thing.
Posted by: Barbara ||
12/07/2012 16:51
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#11
Good riddance.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
12/07/2012 18:42
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#12
So the rest of the Michigan and the country will have to pay for the dipwads who were elected and the corruption of these dipwads?
PLEASE NOTE: 11/7/12: "In a victory for unions and grassroots organizers, Michigan voters struck down a law that allowed state-appointed emergency managers to renegotiate union contracts, change pension agreements and sell public assets to right the finances in fiscally-troubled communities.
Michiganders voted 52 percent to 48 percent, with 94 percent of precincts reporting, to strike down a referendum on Public Act 4. The law has been suspended since August, when opponents of the bill won a court decision to have the referendum placed on the ballot."
Public Act 4 would have streamlined the resolution of Detroit's situation & most likely would helped more than it hurt. But the Michigan electorate didn't like it because it didn't favor their precious public unions & public union bennies. Michiganders as a group now richly deserve paying for those Detroit dipwads. IMHO.
#5
If you believe these numbers, I have a bridge in New York I will sell you.
Also note, there was a snippet on the internet that if the unemployment rate were computed in the same manner as it was in 1933, our current unemployment would exceed the 1933 rate of unemployment.
when you realize the employment index shows only 67% of the employable, able to work, are working, that should mean we have 33% unemployment? Or am I being too rational?
Posted by: Bill Clinton ||
12/07/2012 18:13
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#6
The lie is apparent to any who READ, "The ng>Governmentfigures.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
12/07/2012 18:50
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#7
I wanted the word GOVERNMENT, in BIG and BOLD, didn't work right.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
12/07/2012 18:53
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#8
You mean like this, RJ?
GOVERNMENT
Posted by: Barbara ||
12/07/2012 19:51
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Gov to sign next week, unless the thugs have their way.
Michigan's GOP-dominated statehouse voted Thursday in lame-duck session in favor of right-to-work laws that critics say would limit workers' unlimited rights and weaken all-powerful unions.
The Senate passed two bills, one affecting private workers and the other public workers. The Evil, Rovian, Bushitler Republicans control both chambers.
After Senate Bill 116 passed by a vote of 22-16, the chamber's 12 Democrats decided not to participate further and left the building; the remaining senators then passed House Bill 4003 by 22-4, McCann said.
Union drones People in the gallery could be heard chanting, "Shame on you!"
Under the bills, the right to strike and picket would be limited; membership and paying dues into the union could not be a condition of employment.
Sen. John Gleason, (D), said the laws were referendum-proof - voters could not overturn them - because they were put in a million-dollar appropriations bill. Voters with courage could overturn them. Complainers say they are bullet-proof. He accused the Republicans of having rushed it through "so that the public has no opportunity to look at it or debate the issue." Took a lesson from the Obama playbook, did they?
Posted by: Bobby ||
12/07/2012
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#1
Union drones People in the gallery could be heard chanting, "Shame on you!"
Luckily for them, there is always the.... move to Illinois option.
#2
Good move on the part of Michigan. Maybe some industry will return.
Read yesterday somewhere that a judge may yet have something to say about the GM bailout. GM trustees are suing GM over the bailout. I know the bond holders got screwed but the unions made out. The article said GM is in worse shape than it was before the bailout. Well, at least Osama Bin Laden is still dead--we hope.
#4
Never underestimate the devotion of Michiganders to unions, especially their public ones. Maybe after Detroit dissolves in a major financial disaster, the Michigan electorate will see their error of their evil ways. But I doubt it.
#3
I guess they aren't entertaining alternative explanations and theories of CC. What kind of open, questioning, scientific, inquisitive minds are embracing climate change (rhetorical question)? O.K. what kind of buck-hustling, money-grubbing, self-aggrandizing minds are behind this snake oil scam?
#1
So the Campaigner-In-Chief is still campaigning. There are going to be many surprises for those who voted for him and got buyer's remorse. My wife was talking to an African-American woman the other day who was astonished that she would not get free health care when ObamaCare was fully implemented.
EL-ARISH, Egypt (Ma'an) -- A Palestinian businessman says his relatives shot him in Egypt's Sinai because he named his daughter Isabella. Huh???
The man was visiting his brother in Sheikh Zuweid in North Sinai with his Swedish wife and two sons. Sorry, honey. They're usually not like this...
GET THAT INFIDEL BITCH OUTTA HERE!
One of his relatives shot him in the leg claiming that naming his daughter Isabella was against Islamic law, the businessman told a Ma'an reporter. Where's it say that?
BANG!
#1
Didn't Isabella conquer the last Moorish kingdom in al Andalus? I could see why naming your daughter after the queen of the conquistadors might upset someone who takes his submission and his history seriously. I'm trying to think of a parallel faux pas... my brother-in-law deliberately named his firstborn after Milos Obilic, but he doesn't have any Muslim or Turkish relatives or in-laws...
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
12/07/2012 8:40
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Isabella, btw, is the Spanish form of "Elizabeth"
As reported by the Voice of America, the Egyptian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood has called on its members and supporters to rally in support of fellow member, Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi. View slideshow: Prominent bearers of the "Prayer Bruise."
Reportedly, supporters of the Shari'a-friendly movement number in the millions in the North African nation.
A physical characteristic that many of its members, as well as millions of Muslims throughout the world share is the noticeable prayer bump, or more correctly, the zebibah (Arabic for raisin).
Seen by many of its bearers as a sign of true devotion to Islam, the cranial bruising is caused by the repeated hitting of their foreheads to the ground while making their daily Salah, or prayers required of every male Muslim.
Not Just For Boxers And Football Players Anymore...
Great Britain's Oxford University published an academic research paper entitled "Repeated mild injury causes cumulative damage to hippocampal cells," in which repeated Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (rMTBI) has;
"An emerging hypothesis in the study of neurotrauma is that repeated mild traumatic brain injury (rMTBI) may cause cumulative damage to the brain, which could ultimately result in memory and learning dysfunction."
The medical reference website MedScape.com cites the medical term for repeated mild head trauma as Repetitive Head Injury Syndrome, authored by Dr. David Cifu, MD, and Dr. Sherwin SW Ho, MD.
The doctors pointed out that those suffering with the syndrome displayed;
"cognitive impairments when compared with a control group in the areas of episodic memory, short-term memory, visuospatial processing, object naming, and semantic processing."
The U.S. government's Center for Disease Control cited the functional changes of TBI in layman's terms;
TBI can cause a wide range of functional short- or long-term changes affecting thinking, sensation, language, or emotions.
Thinking (i.e., memory and reasoning);
Sensation (i.e., touch, taste, and smell);
Language (i.e., communication, expression, and understanding); and
Emotion (i.e., depression, anxiety, personality changes, aggression, acting out, and social inappropriateness).
As cited, TBI can also cause epilepsy and increase the risk for conditions such as Alzheimers disease, Parkinsons disease, and other brain disorders that become more prevalent with age.
#1
Jihadists always seemed more than somewhat deficient in certain faculties, and I thought that it could be a result of frequent inbreeding. TBI splains it.
#2
Of course, now to figure out what is the cause of progressive mental dysfunction (PMD). Symptoms: Persistent cognitive dissonance, internal production of kool-aid (does not have to be ingested), circular "reasoning", sublimated persistent need for a nanny (at later stages represented by a state). Those are most prominent symptoms of many others not listed.
#5
Correct g(r)om. My comment was a sort of a racist colloquialism which referenced food stamps as a potential rMTBI causation. We tend to blame everything here on poverty and circumstances as opposed to generational indolence and genetic predisposition to tribalism. On your next visit, be sure to avoid our expanding urban homelands.
#6
Head banger syndrome? I always wondered about the nature/nurture aspects of cultural behavior. I wouldn't discount twobyfour's theory also. Could also be brain damage from listening to imam's endless diatribes.
[An Nahar] Ecuador said Thursday it has not offered Bashir al-Assad asylum amid speculation the embattled Syrian president was weighing Latin America as a place of refuge.
"Totally denied," Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino said on his Twitter account. "No Syrian citizen has requested asylum in Ecuador, much less its current president."
The asylum speculation stems from a recent trip to Cuba by Syria's deputy foreign minister, Fayssal Mekdad, who delivered a message from Assad to Cuban President Compañero Raul Castro ...Fidel's little brother... , according to the official Cuban news agency Prensa Latina.
The Syrian official also was reported to have traveled to Venezuela, Nicaragua and Ecuador, whose leftist governments have close relations with Havana.
Asked about the reports, State Department front man Mark Toner said Wednesday that the United States was aware that some countries had offered to host Assad and his family should he leave Syria.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/07/2012
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#1
Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua and Ecuador...I'm sure they all have nicer weather than Siberia.
[Dawn] AN example of the negative signals that come from New Delhi from time to time is the provocative and debatable statement made in parliament on Tuesday by India's junior foreign minister. His country, said Mullappally Ramchandran, had identified 42 training camps for 2,500 bully boyz in Pakistain and Azad Kashmire. He said that no less than 249 attempts had been made by bully boyz so far this year to sneak into "Indian territory" by which he meant the part of Kashmire that is under Indian occupation. Then there was the allegation that all this enjoyed support from Pakistain's intelligence agencies. Mr Ramchandran's remarks come on the heels of Indian Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid's recent press talk. While the foreign minister admitted that no one should be optimistic, he said there were "peace constituencies" in the two countries and that these had begun to have an impact on Pakistain-India relations. Does Mr Ramchandran's tirade reveal a rift in the Indian establishment on Pakistain?
All observers of the South Asian scene, including sections of the Indian media, admit there has been a reversal of Islamabad's undoubtedly flawed, pre-9/11 policy with regard to militancy: Islamabad had to crack down on the networks because they had become a threat to Pakistain itself. The ground reality in held Kashmire has changed: armed festivities between Indian security forces and bully boyz have become a rarity, and Kashmire's struggle is now being led by educated, urban youths, whose only weapons are stones and moral strength. Armed thus, they have kept their struggle for self-determination going. What Mr Ramchandran and his ilk should note is that the end of support from bully boyz from outside the Valley does not mean that the Kashmiris have acquiesced in their state's occupation by India. The protest is likely to continue irrespective of support or lack of it from beyond. All that Mr Ramchandran's uncalled-for outburst does is to give an inkling of the Indian government's approach, which shies away not only from a Kashmire solution but from a resolution of less contentious issues such as Siachen and Sir Creek.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/07/2012
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from an Egyptian news daily
Prosecutor General Talaat Ibrahim Abdallah on Tuesday referred a complaint accusing former presidential candidates and politicians of spying and inciting the overthrow of the government to the State Security Prosecution for investigation.
So are all the guys in the Muslim Brotherhood named 'Abdul'. Pass it on and make plans to whack 'em all...
Hamed Sadeq, a lawyer who filed the report, accused former presidential candidates Amr Moussa and Hamdeen Sabbahi, Constitution Party leader Mohamed ElBaradei, Wafd Party president Al-Sayed al-Badawy and Judges Club head Ahmed al-Zend of espionage and sedition.
Sadeq claimed that Moussa met with former Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and agreed with her to fabricate internal crises, and that all of the politicians named in his complaint then met at the Wafd Pary headquarters to implement the "Zionist plot." He requested that the accused be banned from travel and that the Wafd Party headquarters be confiscated for investigation
Posted by: lord garth ||
12/07/2012
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#1
If there weren't so many possible nasty ramifications to this I'd try and get the rights and make it a sitcom. Something like Alf maybe.
Posted by: lord garth ||
12/07/2012 8:32
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#3
Alf with corpses. Sounds hilarious.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/07/2012 9:45
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#4
So to translate the colloquial [or consulting the Rosetta Stone], in Egypt 'Zionist' is the political tag for what 'racist' is in America. Something hurled in desperation rather than deal with facts.
[Dawn] APPARENTLY not satisfied with the Islamabad police's investigation of the 2007 Lal Masjid stand-off, the Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered the formation of a one-man commission to probe the episode, in response to complaints filed by the heirs of those missing since the operation. A police official told the court that nearly all the 103 'missing' persons had been killed and that the majority of them comprised militants; only 16 people remained unidentified. The official also denied that any women students of Jamia Hafsa, the women's seminary attached to Lal Masjid, were killed in the operation.
While this gory episode must be investigated, the probe should cover all aspects -- the details of the dead and missing as well as the events that led to the battle between the state and the militants holed up inside the mosque. There is no doubt that brute force was used to crush the militants, and one indication of this is that there were no survivors after the operation. Why was this level of force necessary? Was it intentional? On the other hand, the Lal Masjid forces, led by Abdul Rashid Ghazi, who was killed in the hostilities, had rebelled against the Pakistani state. Before the stand-off began in July 2007 a Sharia 'court' had been set up in the mosque while the Jamia Hafsa students launched a violent campaign of intimidation in the capital to enforce their rigid brand of religion. The Lal Masjid elements had also occupied government buildings and attacked security men and had openly displayed sophisticated weapons before the assault.
So while the commission needs to look into how many people were killed and who gave the orders for the crackdown, it must also examine how a mosque was turned into a militant hub in the heart of Islamabad, and how the security establishment failed to detect the stockpiling of heavy weapons in its backyard. In short, along with the government's handling of the episode, the Lal Masjid phenomenon itself must also be examined. Knowing the names and identities of the dead is important. Maulvi Abdul Aziz, Lal Masjid's head cleric, and others have been claiming that 'hundreds', mostly women, were killed in the assault. An investigation would go a long way in clarifying matters. The commission should also investigate if women were used as human shields by militants. As for the argument that the state defiled a mosque, it should be recalled that similar action was taken by the Saudi government, with sanction from the ulema, in 1979 when zealots stormed the Grand Mosque of Makkah -- Islam's holiest site.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/07/2012
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[Dawn] The number of terrorist attacks worldwide has sky-rocketed over the past decade, with a third of all incidents taking place in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a new study published Wednesday.
Violence carried out by a "non-state actor" rose from less than a thousand incidents in 2002 to 4,564 attacks in 2011, according to the Global Terrorism Index, produced by the Australia-based Institute for Economics and Peace.
The other countries most affected were Pakistain, India, Thailand, the Philippines and Russia, the study said.
The number of victims claimed by the violence peaked in 2007 with 10,000 people killed, while 7,500 died in 2011.
"The current global trend of terrorism can best be described as plateauing rather than decreasing" since 2002, the report said.
In 2011, Iraq remained the country with the highest number of deaths from terrorist attacks, with 1,798 killed in 1,228 incidents, half of which took place in Storied Baghdad ...located along the Tigris River, founded in the 8th century, home of the Abbasid Caliphate... . US troops pulled out of Iraq at the end of 2011.
About 1,468 people were killed last year in attacks in Pakistain and 1,293 in Afghanistan, where the bulk of a NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A single organization with differing goals, equipment, language, doctrine, and organization.... -led force is due to withdraw by the end of 2014.
During the ten-year period assessed by the study, the most lethal assaults occurred in 2004.
In that year, a March 21 attack in Nepal by Maoist rebels left 518 dead and 216 maimed. In Madrid, 191 were killed and 1,800 injured in March 11 commuter train bombings. And in the Russian town of Beslan, more than 300 people were killed and 700 maimed, mostly children, after faceless myrmidons took hostages at a secondary school on September 1.
The study, which documented 104,000 incidents since 2002, found that terrorist attacks tended to target private citizens, government offices and police. Military installations and troops only accounted for four percent of terrorist targets, it said.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/07/2012
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#1
Weak, Pommie half-measures. Real support would see billions of USD in foreign aid along with clandestine arms shipments to the Mexican Drug Lords Muslim Brotherhood's Arab Spring initiatives!
[Al Ahram] The former head of the Judges' Club says president should freeze decisions to allow opposition and Islamists to negotiate draft constitution; Morsi aides insist on 'no retreat'
Posted by: Fred ||
12/07/2012
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[Ynet] Palestinian police officers clashed with IDF forces who were on patrol in Hebron. As a result of the clash 200 Palestinians gathered at the scene and began disrupting order with some even throwing rocks at the soldiers.
The IDF forces fired warning shots into the air and attempted to disperse the crowd with riot control equipment. IDF sources said that the involvement of Palestinian officers is seen with grave severity and that the event is currently being investigated.
[Al Ahram] Egypt's President Morsi meets with ministers and presidential guard to discuss growing violence sparked by opposition anger at constitutional declaration and draft constitution
Posted by: Fred ||
12/07/2012
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[Al Ahram] The interior ministry is not taking sides in the ongoing festivities between supporters and opponents of President Morsi outside the presidential palace, a security official at the ministry has said.
Security forces only intervened in festivities on Wednesday and early Thursday in an attempt to subdue the violence, he told state news agency MENA on Thursday.
Moreover, security forces only started firing tear gas in an attempt to divide the two groups, he added.
The current violence has left six dead and over 450 injured, the interior ministry has announced.
Police withdrew from the presidential palace on Tuesday when protesters arrived to demonstrate against the president's constitutional declaration and the draft constitution. Supporters of President Morsi attacked an opposition sit-in at the palace on Wednesday. Police returned in attempt to divide the fighting groups.
The interior ministry has been widely condemned for its brutality against opposition activists at previous protests. Most recently for its attacks on a protest and sit-in against the constitutional declaration in Tahrir Square.
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[Al Ahram] Four volatile regions of Tunisia -- including the part of the country where the Arab Spring began -- went on strike on Thursday, amid rising tensions with the country's ruling Islamist party.
As well as Sidi Bouzid, where the uprising started two years ago that unseated former dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and was emulated in other Arab countries, the strike was followed in the regions of Kasserine, Gafsa and Sfax, whose eponymous capital is Tunisia's second city.
The closure of the main private and public companies in those areas was called by regional branches of the country's main labour group, the General Union of Tunisian Workers (UGTT). Demonstrations were expected later in the day.
Only small shops and cafes were open for business.
Thursday's strike was seen as a prelude to the nationwide general strike called for December 13 by the UGTT to denounce an attack on its headquarters earlier this week that it says was carried out by Islamist Islamic fascisticlose to the Ennada ruling party.
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[Al Ahram] Syria's deputy foreign minister Faisal Maqdad fears that the west are using worries of the regime using chemical weapons, which the regime consistently said it would not do, as a "pretext for intervention"
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#1
No kidding. Give the stuff to a Shia and point him at a Sunni. Blame the Alawites and then get Turkey and NATO to pull down Assad's pants. move a Division across the border and give it air cover.
Asshat has to do something...how about he does it in Venezuela?
Chavez is just stupid enough to let him in. Then Assad has to find a way to stay alive in Chavez' hospital hallway. Remember the Shah? He died in a Mexican toilet reading what was written on the stall door. And nobody believes in hell anymore.
#2
Thinking Russian, how soon might we be reading this:
Chemical weapons preparation and storage area overrun by rebels, deadly chemical release kills dozens. US intelligence community reports both sides now possess chemical weapons capability.
[Dawn] The Mehsud elders have requested the political administration to extend the deadline, set for expulsion of the tribe from South Wazoo Agency.
Scores of Mehsud elders submitted a written application with political agent of South Waziristan Agency through the assistant political agent, seeking extension in the Dec 5 deadline, which expired on Wednesday.
In the application the tribal elders said that thousands of Mehsuds were residing in South Waziristan and their expulsion in such a short span of time was not possible. They said that sufficient time should be given to them to leave the area.
The tribal elders said that some families that had shifted from South Waziristan Agency to Tank were living in the open there.
They said that those people had no proper arrangements for accommodation.
The elders said that most of the migrating Mehsuds belonged to poor families and they couldn't bear even transportation expenses. "So they are going on foot which may take time," they said.
The Mehsud elders demanded of the political administration to provide tents and essential items to the tribal people to save them from any catastrophe. They also demanded relaxation in checking for migrating people at various checkpoints, set up between South Waziristan Agency and Tank district.
Meanwhile, ...back at the chili cook-off, Chuck and Manuel's rivalry was entering a new and more dangerous phase... a jirga of Mehsud elders will be held at political compound in Tank on Thursday to review the situation thoroughly.
In Khyber Agency, a member of a banned hard boy group was killed and two others were maimed in festivities between rival groups in Bazaar Zakhakhel area of Bara on Wednesday.
Sources said that festivities erupted in Dera area when members of Lashkar-e-Islam attacked a bunker of their rival group Tawheedul Islam. Momin Khan Sipah of Lashkar-e-Islam was killed while another member of the group was injured in exchange of fire.
A member of Tawheedul Islam was also injured. However, ars longa, vita brevis... the attack was repulsed, sources said.
In Mohmand Agency ... Named for the Mohmand clan of the Sarban Pahstuns, a truculent, quarrelsome lot. In Pakistain, the Mohmands infest their eponymous Agency, metastasizing as far as the plains of Peshawar, Charsadda, and Mardan. Mohmands are also scattered throughout Pakistan in urban areas including Karachi, Lahore, and Quetta. In Afghanistan they are mainly found in Nangarhar and Kunar... , a government school was blown up by unidentified Islamic fascistiin tehsil Ekka Ghound on Wednesday.
Sources said that Islamic fascistiplanted bombs in the building of middle school for boys in Shno Ghundo area. The school was destroyed completely when the bombs went off, they added.
The officials of local political administration also confirmed that the school was blown up by unidentified hard boys. No loss of life was reported in the incident.
The residents of the area said that gunshots were fired in the adjacent areas after the blasts.
It is pertinent to mention here that the political administration have signed an accord with rustics about the safety of government buildings. According to the accord, the local rustics will reconstruct the blown up buildings of schools and other government offices in their respective areas.
The accord has bounded the rustics to protect government property in their area.
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[Al Ahram] Five months after his predecessor defected and joined the country's anti-regime revolt, Syria's new ambassador to Iraq took up his post in Baghdad
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[Al Ahram] Some of the Moslem Brüderbund's offices were attacked on Thursday for the second day in a row, following violent festivities on Wednesday between supporters and opponents of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi outside Cairo's presidential palace.
Spokesman for the Moslem Brüderbund Mahmoud Ghozlan confirmed reports that the headquarters of the Islamist group, located in Al-Moqattam district, had been set on fire and raided - allegedly by protesters - late Thursday.
Earlier, Ahram Online news hound Randa Ali spotted festivities at the Brotherhood's office in Cairo's upscale Maadi district, where hundreds of protesters gathered before the building before violence erupted.
"It is really hard to tell who started the fight, but at some point both sides started to stone each other," she reported.
The Brotherhood's office in the governorate of Kafr El-Sheik was also stoned by an angry crowd, resulting in the destruction of the front windows.
The Brotherhood said in a statement that there had been arson attacks on its offices in the cities of Ismailia, Suez and Monoufiya.
The headquarters of the Brotherhood in Suez was once again set on fire late on Thursday.
On Wednesday, supporters of Morsi, who hails from the Brotherhood, forcefully dispersed a sit-in by opposition protesters who had flocked to the presidential palace on Tuesday in the hundreds of thousands.
Protesters voiced their rejection of recent decisions by the president that they deem "dictatorial."
The opposition also argues that the draft constitution -- which will be put before a popular referendum next week after having been written by Egypt's Islamist-led Constituent Assembly -- would have an adverse effect on civil liberties.
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For a map, click here For a map of Coahuila state, click here
By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com
One week following the end of the security operation known as Laguna Segura, and in the wake of several criminal incidents, elements of the Mexican Army and Durango state police are scheduled to arrive in La Laguna, perhaps within hours to reinforce security operations in the area, according to Mexican news accounts.
According to a news item posted on the website of El Sol de Durango news daily, three unidentified youths were found shot once in the head on the road between Nuevo Gomez Palacio and the village of La Borrega in Durango state late Tuesday afternoon. All three of the victims were under 16 years old.
In a separate incident, three men was killed when armed suspects attacked a business in Gomez Palacio Thursday, according to a news item posted on the website of El Diario de Coahuila news daily.
The assault took place at Gruas ABSA on Bulevar Ejercito Mexicano, where armed suspects also set four cranes afire, wounding two others. The dead were identified as Oscar Sanchez Martinez, 23 , who died at the scene, and Pablo Sanchez Ruvalcaba, 56, and Nestor Joaquin Landeros, who died while receiving medical attention. Wounded in the fire were Samuel Mendoza Hernandez, 39, Torreon, Coahuila, and Homero Garcia Meza, 21, Gomez Palacio.
Only two months ago then Mexican interior minister Alejandro Poire Romero arrived in Saltillo, the capital of Coahuila state, to make a review of security conditions in La Laguna, later making the determination that since violence had been reduced, the Laguna Segura operation could come to an end.
La Laguna is an area in eastern Coahuila and western Durango states which includes 10 municipalities of both states as well as the cities of Torreon, Coahuila and Gomez Palacio, Durango. Its location is on the northern-most contiguous east-west highway that connects the east and west coasts of Mexico, Mexico Federal Highway 40.
For his part, Coahuila governor Ruben Moreira Valdes, has had his hands full dealing with the security breakdown in the Piedra Negras region of northern Coahuila state, where 131 inmates at a Centro de Readaptacion Social (CERESO) escaped, creating a massive security headache, with a severe uptick in violent incidents in the wake of the mass prison escape.
Governor Moreira Valdes also suffered the loss of his nephew, Eduardo Moreira who was working for Coahuila state in Ciudad Acuna, and who was killed allegedly on orders of Los Zetas leader Heriberto Lazcano Lazcano, who was himself killed in an exchange of gunfire with a naval infantry unit in northern Coahuila state.
Durango Governor Jorge Herrera Caldera has been publicly less than enthusiastic at the news, protesting the security operation should continue.
Laguna Segura was initiated November, 2011 as a comprehensive joint program controlled by the Mexican Army, including the 10th Military Zone and later the IX Military Region. It was intended to address jurisdictional problems, especially in pursuits against organized crime groups which pass through the area. The program was also intended to clean up the state police and assist 10 municipalities in and around La Laguna in cleaning up their police corporations, as well as to provide a choke point for the drug cartels' movement of product and shooters north.
At one point Laguna Segura claimed as many as 4,000 federal operatives in the area.
According to a news item posted on the website of El Siglo de Durango news daily, Durango state Secretaria de Seguridad Publica del Estado (SSPE), Antonio Rosso Holguin, announced that Durango Policia Acrediable units and units of the Mexican Army would move into the area and would be coordinated this time by Durango state.
SSPE Rosso Holguin also said that Policia Federal (PF) units could return to the area, but not yet, as hotels housing PF units were already full. Some PF quarters were attacked by armed suspects last month. He also indicated that Torreon may not be protected by units with the 10th Military Zone, which is based in Durango.
So far, no announcement has been released by the Mexican Secretaria de Defensa Nacional (SEDENA) the controlling agency for the Mexican Army relating to the new security arrangements. The website of SEDENA has not released any news on their incidents since November 30th.
Mexican news accounts indicate that the state security structure in Coahuila is currently focussed on the Piedras Negras area, where shootings and shootouts have become commonplace.
Chris Covert writes Mexican Drug War and national political news for Rantburg.com
[Al Ahram] Syrian activists reject calls for UN peacekeeping deployments in war-torn country, saying move would split country into pro-, anti-regime regions
Posted by: Fred ||
12/07/2012
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#1
Would anyone assume that was Michelle in Fred's post?
Maybe this is Fred's inner feelings being expressed despite himself/
Well, we do have those pics of the Messiah's mother posing like Backdoor Betty. I love Rantburg. Freedom of speech and then we salute. All the good news to enjoy about Islam doing islamic things. damn I love this place.
Yeah, especially given the category here is Syria. Fred has an encyclopedic collection of lurid pulp magazine covers and Ziegfield-era babes that add color to the 'burg. Let's not overthink this.
#5
Actually, Fred's inner feeling is that the UN sends peacekeepers to hellholes, most of them African, to 'present a presence,' rather than actually doing anything of substance. Peacekeepers don't actually defend the aged, the infirm, or the otherwise helpless. They observe and report to the UN so that Ban Ki Moon can issue another ineffectual observation -- no, no, never a condemnation.
That leaves the peacekeepeers with time on their hands, which they can spend porking the local dusky maidens.
If you notice the date on the graphic, you'll see that I've had it since before I heard of B.O. or his little woman.
Nor am I quite sure what we 'salute.' Pages 1, 2, 3, and 6 all contain straight news, even though not always presented with a straight face. Page 4 is opinion and you're welcome to salute or not, or even to write your own opinion and see if anybody else cares what you think.
All that's probably too subtle for you. I'm sure I'm a racist, whether I realize it or not.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/07/2012 9:55
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#6
Would anyone assume that was Michelle in Fred's post?
Can we assume you're still a f--king idiot*, no matter how many times you changed nyms over the years?
*must be from swimming in those Coachella irrigation canals in yer underwear, eh?
[Al Ahram] Clashes between supporters of President Mohamed Morsi and his opponents which started on Wednesday night have left six dead and 450 injured, according to the health ministry.
Hospitals in the Heliopolis area continued to receive casualties of gunshots and rock throwing into the early hours of Thursday morning.
El-Hosseini Abul-Deif, a journalist at El-Fagr newspaper, is one of those who were shot and was critically injured during the festivities and doctors at Zahraa Hospital declared him clinically dead on Thursday morning.
The executive board of the Journalists' Syndicate has blamed the leadership of the Moslem Brüderbund for the attack on El-Hosseini and also held President Morsi responsible for his failure to ensure public security.
Meanwhile, ...back at the Council of Boskone, Helmuth had turned a paler shade of blue. Star-A-Star had struck again... a total of six presidential advisers have resigned from their posts to protest President Morsi's recent decrees and what they said was his inability to resolve the current political crisis.
The president's chief of staff, Refaa Tahtawi, told news hounds on Thursday morning that President Morsi would address the nation sometime later in the day.
"There will be no return to the past, yet, there will be moves to the future," Tahtawi said without giving details on what measures the president intends to announce to deal with the crisis.
Meanwhile, ...back at the bake sale, Umberto's Mom's cannoli were a big hit... Sobhi Saleh, a leading Brotherhood figure and former MP, who was attacked by anti-Morsi protesters in Alexandria on Wednesday night, told news hounds that "revolutionaries should be ashamed of themselves because the Brotherhood are the most noble people."
Late on Wednesday night, Zaghloul El-Balshi, the newly appointed head of the election commission, which is set to organise the upcoming referendum on the constitution set for 15 December, resigned from his post saying that he refuses to monitor "a vote that spilled Egyptian's blood."
According to the official state news agency, MENA, the Egyptian presidential guard deployed tanks on Thursday morning at the presidential palace, where the festivities have been taking place since Wednesday afternoon, to maintain order.
At 4pm on Wednesday, hundreds of supporters of President Morsi attacked anti-Morsi protesters with truncheons in an attempt to disperse a peaceful protest against the recently issued constitutional declaration, which gives the president the power to override the country's judiciary.
Two hours later, anti-Morsi protesters descended on the palace to protest the attacks before escalations ensued.
Later in the night, anti-Morsi protesters, angered at the attack on the sit-in at the presidential palace, torched two Brotherhood headquarters in Ismailia and Sharqiya governorate.
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We demand an end to Pakistani support of jihadis. Shall we go on to the next round?
[Dawn] Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf on Thursday demanded an end to US drone attacks in Pakistain in a meeting with the United States Ambassador to Pakistain Richard Olson in Islamabad, DawnNews reported.
The Pak prime minister's call against the covert CIA drone campaign comes the same day a US unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) fired missiles at a compound in North Wazoo, killing at least three suspected Death Eaters.
US-Pakistain bilateral relations were discussed during the meeting, sources said.
According to the sources, PM Ashraf expressed his concerns regarding the drone attacks and said that the attacks were harmful and ineffective. He demanded that the US end its drone attacks on Pak soil.
He further said that alternative methods should be used to eliminate terrorism.
He also said that Pakistain was fighting to eliminate terrorism from its soil and would not rest unless it had been successful.
US Ambassador Olson took note of the concerns put forward by PM Ashraf and assured him that US authorities would be informed about their concerns.
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#1
Not until they clear North/south Wazir of jihadis
#2
Fight crime and jihadis right here at home! More immediate benefit to the rule of law, peace and civility might be realized by drone use in Cook County, Illinois as opposed to Pakistan.
#7
I'm with the Pakistainis on this. Sure it's big video game fun, but unmanned drones are too labor intensive. Autonomous killbots are the way to go, mos' def. Flying or driving, choose your flavor. They come in singles or the economical swarm-pack.
[Al Ahram] Egypt President Mohamed Morsi has invited all political forces to hold dialogue in an effort to put an end to the ongoing dispute over his 22 November constitutional declaration and draft constitution, stressing that the latter would be put before a popular referendum on 15 December as planned.
"I call on everyone to hold dialogue on 8 December in an effort to work things out with love, the rule of law and determination," he said Thursday in a televised address.
"I will meet with legal experts and opposition figures on Saturday at 12:30 [local time] at the presidential headquarters to come up with a solution to save the nation; some decisions will be discussed, such as maintaining the Shura Council [the upper, consultative house of Egypt's parliament]."
He added: "We shall also discuss the post-referendum roadmap, whether the people reject or approve it .. If the constitution is rejected, I will see to it that a new constituent assembly is drawn up."
The National Salvation Front, a recently created umbrella group comprised of many liberal and leftist groups, had earlier issued a statement wherein it said that the "authority" has lost its legitimacy and called for mass protests on Friday.
The front also rejected to engage in dialogue after Wednesday's events.
Clashes erupted after two weeks of simmering tension due to a 22 November constitutional declaration by Morsi, which gave him immunity from judicial oversight and protected the Constituent Assembly (tasked with drafting a new constitution) from dissolution.
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#1
Muzzies don't "call for talk" unless they're loosing.
#2
In East Pakistan, later called Bangla Desh, the govt. called for "talks" for about one day. The Awami League didn't have any guns at the time and the Pak army did. They never actually got around to talking because the Pak army shot fifty unarmed civilians the next day. Shortly after that the dockworker unions in Chittagong stormed a shipload of guns brought in for the Army. The talks were over. The killing went on for eight months until about three million people were dead.
After that the only thing people talked about was slicing each other's genitals off and piling them in the dead man's mouth.
But then that is how Moslems actually hold elections.
[Dawn] The Pak Taliban, one of the world's most feared bully boy groups, are preparing for a leadership change that could mean less violence against the state but more attacks against US-led forces in Afghanistan, Pak military sources said.
Hakimullah Mehsud, a ruthless commander who has led the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP) for the last three years, has lost operational control of the movement and the trust of his fighters, said a senior Pakistain army official based in the South Wazoo tribal region, the group's stronghold.
The organization's more moderate deputy leader, Wali-ur-Rehman, 40, is poised to succeed Mehsud, whose extreme violence has alienated enough of his fighters to significantly weaken him, the military sources told Rooters.
"Rehman is fast emerging as a consensus candidate to formally replace Hakimullah," said the army official, who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter. "Now we may see the brutal commander replaced by a more pragmatic one for whom reconciliation with the Pak government has become a priority."
The TTP, known as the Pak Taliban, was set up as an umbrella group of beturbanned goons in 2007.
Its main aim is to topple the US-backed government in Pakistain and impose its austere brand of Islam across the country of 185 million people, although it has also carried out attacks in neighbouring Afghanistan.
The beturbanned goons intensified their battle against the Pak state after an army raid on Islamabad's Red Mosque in 2007, which had been seized by allies of the group.
Mehsud, believed to be in his mid-30s, took over the Pak Taliban in August 2009. He rose to prominence in 2010 when US prosecutors charged him with involvement in an attack that killed seven CIA employees at a US base in Afghanistan.
His profile was raised further when he appeared in a farewell video with the Jordanian jacket wallah who killed the employees.
Rooters interviewed several senior Pakistain military officials as well as tribal elders and locals during a three-day trip with the army in South Waziristan last week, getting rare access to an area that has been a virtual no-go zone for journalists since an army offensive was launched in October 2009.
Three senior military officials said informers in the Pak Taliban told them Mehsud was no longer steering the group.
Pak Taliban capos did not respond to repeated requests for comment on the possible leadership change.
US officials said that while Rehman was Mehsud's natural successor, they cautioned about expecting an imminent transition. Mehsud's standing in the Pak Taliban might have weakened, but he still had followers, they said.
Washington has offered a reward of $5 million for information leading to the capture of either Mehsud or Rehman.
One Pakistain military official, who has served in South Waziristan for more than two years, said his Pak Taliban contacts first alerted him to Mehsud's waning power six months ago, when constant pressure from the Pakistain military, US drone strikes and poor health had hurt his ability to lead.
"Representing the moderate point of view, there is a probability that under Rehman, TTP will dial down its fight against the Pak state, unlike Hakimullah who believes in wanton destruction here," said the military official based in the South Waziristani capital of Wana.
The official said this might lead to more attacks across the border in Afghanistan because Rehman has been pushing for the group's fighters to turn their guns on Western forces.
Other factions within the Pak Taliban such as the Nazir group in South Waziristan and the Hafiz Gul Bahadur faction in North Waziristan have struck peace deals with the Pak military while focusing attacks on Western and Afghan forces in Afghanistan.
A change in the Pakistain Taliban's focus would complicate Western efforts to stabilise Afghanistan before most NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions... troops leave by the end of 2014, said Riaz Mohammad Khan, a Pak diplomat who has held several posts dealing with Afghanistan.
The United States is already fighting the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani network, which is based along the unruly frontier between Afghanistan and Pakistain and which is perhaps Washington's deadliest foe in Afghanistan.
The last thing US-led NATO troops need is a new, formidable enemy in the approach to 2014.
Such a shift in emphasis, however, could reduce the number of suicide kabooms that have plagued Pakistain in recent years, scaring off investment needed to prop up an economy that has barely managed to grow since 2007.
At each other's throats
The Pak Taliban, who are close to al Qaeda, remain resilient despite a series of military offensives. They took part in a number of high-profile operations, including an attack on army headquarters in 2009, assaults on military bases, and the attempted liquidation of Pak schoolgirl Malala Yousufzai in October, who had campaigned for girls' education.
The Pak Taliban were also blamed for the 2008 bombing of the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad which killed more than 50 people.
Under Mehsud, the organization formed complex alliances with other bully boy groups spread across Pakistain.
But it has long been strained by internal rivalries over strategy. Mehsud has pushed the war with the Pak state, while others such as Rehman want the battle to be against US and allied forces in Afghanistan.
"Rehman has even held secret negotiations with the Pak government in the past but Hakimullah always stood in his way, wanting to carry on fighting the Pak military," a second Wana-based military official said.
The two were at each other's throats earlier this year and hostilities were close to open warfare, Taliban sources said.
"Differences within the ranks have only gotten worse, not better, rendering the TTP a much weaker force today than a few years ago," the second military official said.
A source close to the Taliban told Rooters there had been months of internal talks on the Pak Taliban's decreasing support among locals and fighters in tribal areas where the group has assassinated many pro-government elders.
"The Taliban know they are fighting a public relations war, and under someone like Hakimullah, they will only lose it," added the source who declined to be identified because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
It isn't clear whether Mehsud will hand over the leadership to Rehman without a fight.
A power struggle could split the group, making it more difficult to recruit young fighters and also disrupt the safe havens in Pakistain used by Afghan bully boys.
According to accepted practice, a leadership council, or shura, will ultimately decide whether to formally replace Mehsud with Rehman.
Intelligence officials said Mehsud had not commanded any recent operations, including an Aug 16 attack on the Minhas Airbase in Pakistain and a suicide kaboom on a street market in May that killed 24 people.
Military sources said Rehman planned the April 15 jail break in Bannu in Pakistain that freed 384 prisoners, including an estimated 200 Taliban members and an al Qaeda-linked bully boy who had attempted to assassinate former president Pervez Perv Musharraf ... former dictator of Pakistain, who was less dictatorial and corrupt than any Pak civilian government to date ... .
Fall from grace
Intelligence officials in the area said Mehsud's brutality had turned his own subordinates against him, while the more measured Rehman had emerged as the group's primary military strategist.
"If a leader doesn't behave like a leader, he loses support. For the longest time now, Hakimullah has done the dirty work while Wali-ur-Rehman is the thinker. Taliban fighters recognise this," said the first Pak military source.
A local elder described Mehsud as "short-tempered and trigger-happy".
"(Mehsud) used to work 24 hours a day, tirelessly. But he would also put a gun to anyone's head and kill them for his cause," said a local shopkeeper who has family members involved in the Pakistain Taliban.
Mehsud gained his reputation fighting with the Afghan Taliban against US and allied forces in Helmand ...an Afghan province populated mostly by Pashtuns, adjacent to Injun country in Pak Balochistan... province in Afghanistan. He was later given command of Taliban factions in the Bajaur, Orakzai, Khyber and Kurram regions.
He took over the Pak Taliban after a weeks-long succession battle with Rehman following the death of Baitullah Mehsud in a drone strike. The two Mehsuds were not related.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
Rehman has even held secret negotiations with the Pak government in the past He is aiming to become a good taliban in the eyes of Pakistan and get rid of his predecessor.
[Dawn] Jamaat Ulema-e-Islam ...Assembly of Islamic Clergy, or JUI, is a Pak Deobandi (Hanafi) political party. There are two main branches, one led by Maulana Fazlur Rahman, and one led by Maulana Samiul Haq. Fazl is active in Pak politix and Sami spends more time running his madrassah. Both branches sponsor branches of the Taliban, though with plausible deniability... (JUI-F) has expressed concern ...meaning the brow was mildly wrinkled, the eyebrows drawn slightly together, and a thoughtful expression assumed, not that anything was actually done or indeed that any thought was actually expended... over closure of roads to different villages in Khyber Agency due to military operation and demanded of the government to stop the operation and ensure supply of food, medicines and other necessary items to the residents.
Speaking at a presser at 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. Press Club on Wednesday, JUI-F's Khyber Agency naib amir Haji Shamsuddin said that patients had been dying due to restriction on movement of people.
Referring to problems being faced by residents of Tirah valley due to prolonged curfews, he said that they had been forced to keep their movement to their localities and they were not allowed to keep contact with rest of the country.
"We can move via Dogar (Kurram Agency ...home of an intricately interconnected web of poverty, ignorance, and religious fanaticism, where the laws of cause and effect are assumed to be suspended, conveniently located adjacent to Tora Bora... ), Dabori of Orakzai Agency ... crawling with holy men, home to Darra Adam Khel, the world's largest illegal arms bazaar. 14 distinct tribes of beturbanned primitives inhabit Orakzai agency's 1500 or so square kilometers... or Bara from Tirah valley, but all the routes have been closed and officials of the political administration have also closed their eyes to the sufferings of people," Mr Shamsuddin said.
He said that besides this the police had been taking innocent people into custody and extorting money from them otherwise they were kept in torture cells for months.
"I can prove that police have opened cells in Hayatabad area where they keep people and torture them for payment of extortion," the JUI-F leader claimed.
Mr Shamsuddin said that police were bound to produce people in courts and prove them guilty. He said that the JUI-F would soon launch a protest movement for rights of tribal people.
He said that the federal and provincial disaster management authorities had failed to serve the internally displaced persons. He alleged embezzlement in relief items by employees deputed at Jalozai camp and demanded their replacement.
Flanked by other rustics, the JUI-F leader claimed that many people had been missing from different localities of tribal areas, but the government was not taking interest to recover them safely. He alleged that the IDPs were being looted at checkpoints, but the police department was not taking notice of injustices by its staff.
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[Al Ahram] President Mohamed Morsi's assistant for foreign relations and internal cooperation, Essam El-Haddad, has told CNN America that ongoing protests in Egypt are not a drawback and should be viewed as people exercising their freedom of expression.
Haddad, who is currently visiting Washington DC with a delegation of Egyptian officials, said violence at the presidential palace between pro- and anti-Morsi protesters was reprehensible. President Morsi is open to dialogue and willing to negotiate on all matters, he added.
Speaking with CNN's Wolf Blitzer on Thursday, Haddad rejected calls by Constitution Party leader 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. for the constitutional referendum, set for 15 December, to be postponed.
"There will be a referendum for the people to freely express their view. What is the use of cancelling the draft constitution at this moment?" Haddad stated.
If the constitution is approved, he said, the new parliament would have the opportunity to rework the contentious articles.
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[Al Ahram] Mevlid Jasarevic, an Islamist who opened fire at the US embassy in Sarajevo last year, was sentenced to 18 years in prison by a Bosnian court
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[An Nahar] Ziad Takieddine, a Franco-Lebanese businessman who has been charged with corruption in the "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... " kickbacks affair is also being investigated for suspected money laundering after being tossed in the slammer Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un! with 1.5 million euros in cash, it emerged Thursday.
Judicial sources said Takieddine, who is allegedly embroiled in a string of illegal political financing scandals in La Belle France, had been caught with the money on a private flight out of Libya in March 2011, prior to the overthrow of Libya's then President Muammar Qadaffy ... one of those little rainstorms from the Arab Spring... The case has been put in the hands of examining magistrates Renaud Van Ruymbeke and Roger Le Loire, the judges who are in charge of the Bloody Karachi investigation.
That case centers on allegations that a 2002 bombing in Bloody Karachi was carried out by Pak agents in Dire Revenge for the non-payment of bribes promised in relation to a 1994 sale of a French submarine.
The bombing killed 14 people, including 11 French naval engineers.
It is alleged that some of the cash involved was channeled back to former prime minister Edouard Balladur's campaign to be the French right's candidate in the 1995 presidential election.
Takieddine has been charged as acting as an intermediary.
The Bloody Karachi affair has also embroiled former president Nicolas Sarkozy ...23rd and current President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra. Sarkozy is married to singer-songwriter Carla Bruni, who has a really nice birthday suit... , who was Balladur's campaign front man and budget minister at the time.
Media reports have claimed Sarkozy authorized the creation of a shell company used to channel kickbacks. He has been questioned by the judges but not charged with anything. Two of his former aides have been charged.
Sarkozy has also been accused, by the media, of accepting cash from Qadaffy for his own 2007 presidential election campaign.
No investigation has been opened into those claims and Sarkozy is pursuing a defamation suit against online news website Mediapart over its reporting.
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[Dawn] Haider Ali alias Saleem, was killed by assailants who had barged into his house in Soldier Bazaar area.
"The suspects brought a box of sweets to the victim's house. When his wife opened the door they barged in and shot All twice in the head," DSP Qaiser Ali Shah said, read a report in the following day's paper.
In the backdrop of the killing, the sixth and last witness to the murder of journalist Wali Khan Babar, and a spike in violence and crimes 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... , the crucial issue of witness protection program (WPP) has resurfaced in several discussions over the last few months.
Noting that one of the major impediments in effective prosecution was witnesses turning hostile, especially in cases of sectarian murders and extortion in Bloody Karachi's anti-terrorist courts, Sharfuddin Memon, consultant with the Sindh Home Department, has urged for "a comprehensive WPP within the existing criminal justice system."
President Asif Ali Ten Percent Zardari ... husband of the late Benazir Bhutto, who has been singularly lacking in curiosity about who done her in ... , while presiding over a law and order meeting in Bloody Karachi, early last month also agreed that the legal battle against faceless myrmidons and criminals can only be won if witnesses were given fool-proof security.
The president directed the provincial government to draft a new legislation that guaranteed safety for those who testify and for those judges who pass sentences without feeling intimidated.
Memon, a former head of the Citizens-Police Liaison Committee (CPLC), an organization working closely with Bloody Karachi's police and the provincial government, however, was of the view that it was vital to establish the WPP all over Pakistain, not just Sindh or Bloody Karachi alone.
Bloody Karachi, with a population of over 18 million, has seen an unprecedented spike in violence since the beginning of the year.
In the first eight months of this year, over 1,300 people were killed in Bloody Karachi violence, compared with 1,715 in the whole of 2011, according to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistain, which cited criminal gangs and "political patronage" for the festivities.
The CPLC reported 106 cases of kidnapping by October, compared with 113 in 2011. Few culprits are caught, and when they are, most are acquitted for want of evidence.
In October, this year, an anti-terrorism court acquitted Qadir alias Daket, known to be associated with criminal gangs operating in Lyari. He was allegedly involved in attacking an armoured personnel carrier with rocket launchers in December 2009, killing the driver and injuring several coppers. According to the report, the prosecutor failed to produce concrete evidence against the accused.
Despite having set up anti-terrorist courts (ATCs) for speedy disposal of cases, in Sindh, the conviction rate is still an abysmal 26 per cent.
Talking to Dawn.com the prosecutor general of Sindh, Shahadat Awan said that a total of 1,329 cases were pending before 11 ATCs of the province, of which 43 cases were related to the years between 1999 and 2006.
While experts say the WPP is important, many link high rate of acquittal, almost 73 per cent, to weak investigation and witnesses retreating.
Senior advocate, Ismat Mehdi, a well-known criminal lawyer, finds the WPP impractical. "What is needed is to instil respect for the police, strengthen prosecution, have an independent investigation carried out by honest and upright coppers who are acquainted with the law and rules of investigation."
She says while section 31e of NAB Ordinance provides protection to witnesses as does the Anti terrorism Act 2007, there is no provision in general law for that. "And the ATC has limited application with just one per cent convicts being tried there."
To strengthen investigation, Awan suggests induction of law graduates in the police force. "I know coppers are provided some training but it's really not enough for them to assist the legal fraternity in courts," he said.
Even the first information report, said Mehdi is "prepared in a hurry either on the instructions of a superior or under political pressure." She further added that investigation is conducted "without application of mind and law".
Hasan Abdullah, senior assignment editor at CNBC, a private television channel, covered crime and courts as a news hound, while agreeing that "a working WPP is essential", but given the pathetic conviction rate in anti-terrorism cases, the WPP, in Pakistain it is nothing more than "fancy sound bytes of government officials".
Instead, he believes the police investigation should rely more on forensic evidence than witnesses. "The police force is rife with political influence and has to mould its investigations around the directives it receives from the 'top'. There will be no improvement for the next ten years unless there is a change of mindset," he said.
The government's apathy towards correcting society was recently observed by the apex court which is currently looking into Bloody Karachi's law and order implementation case.
Sindh's additional inspector general (AIG) early last month informed the court that over 35 criminals who were released by the government on parole in 2003, for two years, had not been re-placed in durance vile Youse'll never take me alive coppers!... [BANG!]... Ow!... I quit! and brought to trial. Further, last year 2,381 criminal cases were registered in which 761 people were arrested while 3,461 were still absconding.
"How can the law and order situation in the city improve when more than 3,500 murderers and criminals are roaming freely in the city without any fear of arrest or prosecution?" rebuked Justice Khilji Arif Hussain.
"When criminals know they will get released, crime and criminal elements will flourish," said Haider Abbas Rizvi, spokesperson of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement ...English: United National Movement, generally known as MQM, is the 3rd largest political party and the largest secular political party in Pakistain with particular strength in Sindh. From 1992 to 1999, the MQM was the target of the Pak Army's Operation Cleanup leaving thousands of urdu speaking civilians dead... , he said, adding an effective WPP would help in stemming crime.
The home department has already set up a witness protection cell and has started providing not only police protection but even aims at taking extreme measures like post-trial anonymity and rehabilitation, even relocation. "And if may also require giving the witness a new means of earning livelihood," explained Memon.
But witnesses are not the only ones who remain at risk. Often the police are intimidated and killed.
According to police sources, of the 124 coppers killed in the line of duty in the last ten months, 98 were from Bloody Karachi police alone. Last year the corpse count of the coppers in Sindh was 80 and 57 for Bloody Karachi.
Since the 1990s, Awan estimates the figure to be over 800.
Memon assured that the WPC provided protection for police as well as the judiciary and "anyone cooperating in apprehending the criminals".
Sceptical of its success, Abdullah said even if such programme is rolled out, these were likely to fail under the present political order. "Purely political inductions in police, home ministry, Nadra and other key departments often manifest in the form of sensitive information leaking out," he pointed out.
Memon, however, said that there is a need to have confidence in the police and for them to be allowed to work independently.
At the moment Bloody Karachi has an inadequately trained, demoralised and politicised police force of 33,000 of which 12,000 were deployed on special duties. This means there is one policeman for every 900 people.
"Yes!" agreed Mehdi. "We need to make our police independent by taking them out of the clutches of the politicians. They don't work for the government; they work for individuals," she rued.
In addition, said, MQM's Rizvi: "There needs to be even-handed enforcement of the law, regardless of the political group involved in the breach of peace."
Meanwhile, ...back at the precinct house, Sergeant Maloney wasn't buying it. It was just too pat. It smelled phony... pointing to the huge backlog of cases pending before the courts, Abdullah said: "The courts need to speed up the process of dispensing justice," he added.
In an editorial dated November 19, Dawn mentioned how Nitish Kumar, the chief minister of Bihar, claimed to have controlled crime in his state "through speedy trials, strong prosecution and taking action against suspects irrespective of their connections".
"You can achieve nothing without the political will, which, in our case, is non-existent," lamented Abdullah. "The status quo serves the interests of our ruling elite and they have no desire to change it," he added.
Still Mehdi had the last word when she said: "We often talk about disposal of cases; that's not how it should be, it's the dispensation of justice that should be the hallmark of a bold justice system."
Alas, she said: "Our judicial system is not bold enough!"
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#1
I seem to remember a similar problem in NYC & Chicago about 80 years ago.
#2
Wow - the Karachi Witness Protection Program.
Talk about a series of impossible ideas strung together. To borrow a line from The Princess Bride ... It's INCONCEIVABLE!!! :-)
[Ynet] Egypt informed the leadership of the Islamic Jihad that Israel was against the entrance of Jihad top operatives to the Gaza Strip, the Maan news agency reported.
According to the report, Israel has threatened to target the organization's Secretary-General Ramadan Shallah and his deputy Ziad Nakhleh, and as a result the leadership was considering to cancel the two's visit to the strip.
[An Nahar] In an army barracks seized by rebels in northern Syria, Abu Islam heads a new unit that looks into complaints against Death Eaters for abuses such as intimidation, extortion and vandalism.
"We need an organized system that works better than before, to eliminate bad behavior by (rebel) Free Syrian Army fighters and civilians," Abu Islam told an AFP correspondent in al-Bab.
Civilians in the rebel-held town are encouraged to seek protection from some 80 volunteers of the Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Vice Prevention.
The mission of the internal affairs unit is to put a stop to crimes committed by FSA fighters, most of which have involved theft and vandalism.
Al-Bab is located about 30 kilometers (20 miles) northeast of Syria's main battleground 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... It has been controlled by rebels since mid-July, though their internal affairs unit was only established in November, with Abu Islam saying it is one of the first of its kind in Syria.
"It was set up following consultations with all the brigades in al-Bab," he added, a Kalashnikov assault rifle in hand and face covered.
Though no salaries are provided, those who enlist receive masks, camouflage clothing and Kalashnikovs.
While on mission, volunteers always wear masks, concealing their identities, for fear of retaliation by angry rebels, said Abu Islam.
Attacks on the revolutionary coppers by friends or family members of placed in long-term storage I ain't sayin' nuttin' widdout me mout'piece! offenders are not uncommon, he added.
Abu Islam and his colleagues were all recruited from outside the ranks of the FSA.
"These are young people who served out of their own choice, all from al-Bab or the countryside," Abu Islam said, speaking to AFP from behind his desk, in a building heavily guarded by gunnies constantly on the look-out.
"No members of the new institution has ever been part of the FSA," said Thaer al-Horr, who used to sell mobile phones before the Syrian conflict broke out, but has now joined the new squad.
"I joined the al-Bab internal affairs unit because I saw many civilian members of the FSA making mistakes in this town," said Horr. "We should set up a system in this town in order to improve people's lives."
Abu Islam explained the decision to exclude fighters from the squad was taken to avoid brigades accusing the squad of making arrests on behalf of competing rebel groups.
"They are not military," he said. "They aren't military in order to avoid people accusing us of using any brigade backing."
The squad works alongside the rebels' Islamic court in al-Bab, set up soon after the town was seized from the army, Abu Islam added.
If enough incriminating evidence is brought against a defendant, he is given 48 hours to report to the rebel authorities, said Abu Islam.
And if the defendant does not report in time, the rebel internal affairs squad deploys to bring him in.
The accused is then interrogated and imprisoned, until he is brought to trial.
Human rights watchdogs have frequently accused anti-regime rebels of serious abuses, including kidnapping, torture and extra-judicial liquidation, albeit to a smaller degree than those committed by forces loyal to Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Scourge of Qusayr... .
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#1
Long time, no see IronMan!
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaoooooooo
[Al Ahram] "I feel a responsibility for every Egyptian, whether they oppose or support me. The nation is united. All citizens enjoy the right to security."
"There is no difference between citizens in terms of their right to safety."
"These painful events happened due to political differences. The only solution is dialogue."
"The ex-regime used thugs and rigged elections ... such methods will never be used in Egypt ever again."
"Violence is not the solution. Wisdom, rationality, peace must be used to solve the current situation."
"Whoever has come to defend legitimacy and paid with his life, I say it with honesty: while we respect peaceful expression, I will never allow anyone to kill and vandalize, I will not allow plans to murder and vandalize and terrorize citizens."
"Investigations and confessions have shown that some of those enjugged Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please! have connections to political forces. Other armed assailants were paid."
"Yesterday was worse than Tuesday. Peaceful protesters were attacked by armed infiltrators."
"Protesters were violent on Tuesday. Some of them attacked the presidential cars; a driver was badly injured and is still in the hospital as a result. This is not an acceptable way of protesting."
"Assailants used shotguns and teargas while attacking protesters ... calls for more violence continued until this morning."
"The prosecution will announce the results of its investigations, for those who committed the attacks, those who incited them and those who paid the perpetrators."
"I differentiate between all stripes of political opposition and those who spend their corrupt money to destroy the nation."
"The issuing of the constitutional deceleration stirred up opposition, which was acceptable. But those who brought arms and hired thugs to wreak havoc must be punished."
"The declaration wasn't meant to prevent the judiciary from doing its work, or take away citizens' rights."
"The judiciary has protected rights and freedoms so long as it stayed away from politics. I'm sure it will carry on doing its duty."
"I am not insisting on keeping Article 6 of the declaration if dialogue with political partners leads to that. What is included in the article is already mandated, as some have pointed out."
"I will meet with legal experts and opposition figures on Saturday at 12:30 [local time] at the presidential headquarters to come up with a solution that shall save the nation; Some decisions will be discussed, such as maintaining the Shura Council."
"We shall also discuss the roadmap after the referendum, whether the people reject or approve it."
"I offer my condolences to the families of all those martyred during the festivities. I will see to it that all the necessary medical care is provided to those injured."
"If the constitution is rejected, I will see to it that a new constituent assembly is drawn up."
"I reject attacks on companies, ministries or embassies ... I call on everyone to hold dialogue in an effort to work things out with love, rule of law and determination."
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[An Nahar] A Norway appeals court on Thursday overturned a terrorism conviction against Mullah Krekar, the Iraqi founder of a radical Iraqi Kurdish Islamist group, but jugged Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un! him on other charges.
The Oslo appeals court found the mullah, who founded the Ansar al-Islam group and has lived in Norway since 1991, not guilty of "inciting terrorism" but sentenced him to two years and 10 months in prison for issuing threats and intimidating witnesses.
A lower court had sentenced Krekar, whose real name is Najmeddine Faraj Ahmad, to a total of six years in prison in two separate trials for having made threats and calling for the murder of, among others, a former government minister who signed an order expelling him from Norway in 2003.
The appeal judges upheld only the convictions covering witness harassment in Krekar's first trial and threats he issued to Kurds whom he accused of desecrating or burning pages of the Koran.
The prosecution had called for a seven-year prison sentence.
The mullah was also ordered to pay 130,000 kroner (18,000 euros, $23,000) to each of the three people he threatened.
Krekar is, like his organization, on terrorist lists drawn up by the United Nations ...Parkinson's Law on an international scale... and the United States. While he acknowledges having co-founded Ansar al-Islam, he insists he has not led the group since 2002.
He has avoided deportation since his expulsion order was signed nine years ago because Norwegian law prevents him from being deported to Iraq until his safety can be guaranteed and as long as he risks the death penalty there.
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[Dawn] The Lahore High Court chief justice on Wednesday took notice of an incident in which a man ordered gang-rape of his daughter and ex-wife at a village in Chakwal.
The chief justice directed the Chakwal sessions judge to submit a detailed report about the incident within a week.
The CJ took notice on a news item and subsequent editorial published in two English dailies about the brutal incident. It was reported that a man, Dilbar Khan along with his accomplices stormed the house of his former wife, Durdana Jan, and daughter Parwana Bibi.
They tortured both women and later Dilbar asked his accomplices to rape them.
Parwana Bibi in her statement to the police alleged that her father also raped her. The girl had rejected a marriage proposal of her father's nephew and married man of her mother's choice.
The police started the paperwork but haven't done much else against Dilbar Khan and 24 others.
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[Al Ahram] Germany announces participation with 400 troops in the recently-approved NATO mission to deploy Patriot missiles on the Turkish-Syrian borders
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[An Nahar] U.N. chief the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon ... of whom it can be said to his credit that he is not Kofi Annan... said on Thursday that Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Leveler of Latakia... should be "brought to justice" if his regime uses chemical weapons to combat the armed revolt in his country.
"I have expressed my concerns to the Syrian government and I have sent a letter to President Assad two days ago," Ban told a joint news conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki ... Prime Minister of Iraq and the secretary-general of the Islamic Dawa Party.... in Storied Baghdad ...located along the Tigris River, founded in the 8th century, home of the Abbasid Caliphate... "In any case, if chemical weapons are used, then whoever it may be will have to be brought to justice," the U.N. secretary general said. "It will create serious consequences on the people."
The Syrian government, fighting to prevent the capital Damascus ...Capital of the last remaining Baathist regime in the world... from falling to rebel forces, has insisted it would never resort to chemical weapons.
But Washington fears that battlefield advances by rebels could prompt Assad to use chemical arms, or that such stocks could become insecure or find their way into the hands of groups hostile to the United States and its allies.
In a new warning as the conflict approaches the 21-month mark with more than 41,000 people killed, U.S. President Barack Obama I think when you spread the wealth around, it's good for everybody... on Monday warned Assad of "consequences" if he uses chemical weapons against his own people.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
because killing people with bullets, rockets, knives, and strangling ropes don't require justice
Posted by: lord garth ||
12/07/2012 13:52
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#2
I sense that the status on their "strongly worded letter" templates have been elevated to at least DEFCON 3...
[Al Ahram] Liberal, leftist umbrella group condemns president's 'failure' to prevent bloodshed following Wednesday's clashes at presidential palace, says authorities have 'lost legitimacy'
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[Jpost] A Seattle man pleaded guilty on Thursday in connection with a plot to mount a machine-gun and grenade attack on a US military recruitment center in the city, federal prosecutors said.
Abu Khalid Abdul-Latif, 35, pleaded guilty in US District Court in Seattle to conspiracy to murder officers and employees of the United States and conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction.
His co-defendant, 33-year-old Walli Mujahidh, pleaded guilty in December 2011 to conspiracy and weapons charges.
[Dawn] Afghanistan's head of intelligence was maimed in an liquidation attempt claimed by the Taliban on Thursday just months after he took office as Kabul seeks to navigate the impending departure of NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions... combat troops.
Asadullah Khalid, who heads the National Directorate of Security (NDS), was injured in an attack by a visitor in a spy agency guesthouse in the upscale Kabul district of Taimani, security sources told AFP.
Khalid was rushed into surgery but his life was not in danger, presidency front man Aimal Faizi told AFP.
President Hamid Maybe I'll join the Taliban Karzai ... A former Baltimore restaurateur, now 12th and current President of Afghanistan, displacing the legitimate president Rabbani in December 2004. He was installed as the dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001 in a vain attempt to put a Pashtun face on the successor state to the Taliban. After the 2004 presidential election, he was declared president regardless of what the actual vote count was. He won a second, even more dubious, five-year-term after the 2009 presidential election. His grip on reality has been slipping steadily since around 2007, probably from heavy drug use... visited the hospital where surgeons "assured the president that he is stable and his injury is not life threatening", the front man said.
There were earlier conflicting reports on Khalid's condition, with some officials saying he was seriously maimed in the stomach and the head. The Taliban claimed he was in a coma after one of its fighters carried out a suicide kaboom.
Afghan officials were also tight-lipped on the nature of the attack. Police said Khalid was maimed by a grenade. Afghan security sources said the visitor, who had been searched before being allowed into the guesthouse, was killed in the kaboom.
There were also unconfirmed reports from senior Afghan government officials that it had been a suicide attack.
Karzai strongly condemned the "cowardly" attack by terrorists, his front man said.
The Taliban claimed that one of its jacket wallahs targeted Khalid.
"As a result of a suicide attack carried out by hero mujahedeen Hafiz Mohammad inside a guest house, a large number of intelligence officials were maimed," Taliban front man Zabihullah Mujahid said in an email to AFP.
"Intelligence chief Asadullah Khalid was the primary target and according to our information is in a coma," he added.
The NDS plays a crucial role in the fight against the Taliban, who have been waging an insurgency since being ousted from power by the 2001 US-led invasion for harbouring al Qaeda leader the late Osama bin Laden ... he's rotten though not quite forgotten... after the 9/11 attacks.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
Well cheer up - looks like there is a new job opening. Anybody interested.
AFGHAN SPY CHIEF ... Must be good at dodging poisoned dinners and grenade blasts, must excel at running networks filled with double-agents, and must be fully capable of taking large bribes while accepting foreign support. The following will be considered a PLUS, but experience is important: able to manage a growing drug trade while publicly "destroying" opium crops, able to keep track of which roads are actually safe on any given day (but never venture out of Kabul), and able to complain vociferously about casualties from NATO srikes while simultaneously ignoring all Blue-On-Green incidents.
[Dawn] ISLAMABAD: A complicated love-triangle, gone out of control, has spilled into the public domain.
A woman, a government servant by profession, fell in love with the taxi driver that used to regularly pick and drop her from the office. The driver himself is married.
The psychological dynamics of the case are equally intriguing. The government servant is a single mom, mother of two, whose husband left her, sometime back, and is presently settled in the US.
The case came into public view after a brawl took place between the wife of the taxi driver and the government servant. As awful as it sounds but it happened: two women fought over a man. It seems outdated in today's world but strange things happen, as life is sometimes stranger than fiction.
After the cat fight (two women fighting) the government servant used her influence and lodged a complaint against the taxi driver's wife, who was incarcerated Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out! as a result.
The arrest was confirmed by the woman cop shoppe, who said that the arrest was made after the complaint was lodged by the government servant. Later she pardoned the woman and settled the issue privately.
According to the official version, the woman had gone to the taxi driver's house in Bhara Kahu to deliver internet accessories, which he had demanded. There was some level of blackmail that was also involved, whether internet accessories were part of the blackmail or not, is not clear. But once inside the house, the two women started fighting.
According to the woman (involved with the taxi driver), all is fair in love and war: "I am in love with the taxi driver and he took advantage of my weakness."
There was also abuse involved in the relationship, as the woman indicated: "He (taxi driver) used to beat me and refused to marry me but we are in love and ready to cross all limits."
She also adds: "He also blackmails me and comes to my official residence under the influence of alcohol and creates a scene."
Even the taxi driver, when contacted admitted that they were in love and said some vile things, better left unmentioned.
But the sad part of the story is that the woman is a single mother, whose husband has left her and she is living all alone by herself. She seems to have no family support mechanism to protect her and could be easy prey for male predators. And the fracas might affect her career. Even though everything is fair in love and war, but the abuse and blackmail involved in the relationship is an indication that the relationship might have crossed the limit of 'fairness'.
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So very racist and backward. Here, she'd sue both the driver and his wife for mental anguish and damages, be immediately promoted or offered full disability and benefits.
There was also abuse involved in the relationship, as the woman indicated: He (taxi driver) used to beat me and refused to marry me but we are in love and ready to cross all limits. She also adds: He also blackmails me and comes to my official residence under the influence of alcohol and creates a scene.
Is this woman nutzo? Is her husband and the cabdriver, by any chance, from Pakistain?
[An Nahar] Rebels in the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...formerly the Congo Free State, Belgian Congo, Zaire, and who knows what else, not to be confused with the Brazzaville Congo or Republic of Congo, which is much smaller and much more (for Africa) stable. DRC gave the world Patrice Lumumba and Joseph Mobutu, followed by years of tedious civil war. Its principle industry seems to be the production of corpses. With a population of about 74 million it has lots of raw material... will start talks with Kinshasa's government in Kampala on Friday, to "resolve the conflict" in the volatile and mineral-rich east, a Ugandan official said.
"Delegations from the DRC government and M23 (rebels) shall begin preliminary meetings tomorrow," Ugandan government front man Fred Opolot told news hounds Thursday.
The rebels' lightning capture of the mining hub of Goma on November 20, eight months after the army mutineers launched an uprising against the government, had sparked fears of a wider war and a major humanitarian crisis.
M23 fighters, largely from the ethnic Tutsi community, pulled out of Goma at the weekend. They are expected to have a raft of potential demands, including major political reform for the war-weary region.
Initial meetings will work focus on fixing the "ground rules and working framework" for the subsequent main body of talks, with negotiations on which observers would attend those talks, Opolot added.
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But these guys probably will send "regrets". Maybe a nice fruit basket...
GAZA CITY (Maan) -- Israel threatened to assassinate the leader of Islamic Jihad if he enters the Gaza Strip, causing the party to reconsider his upcoming visit, sources said Thursday.
Egyptian authorities told Islamic Jihad that Israel rejected the visit and would target leader Ramadan Shalah and his deputy Ziad Nakhla if they went into Gaza, sources close to the discussions told Ma'an.
Islamic Jihad leaders are considering whether to cancel the visit, set to take place on Friday ahead of Hamas' 25th anniversary celebrations which start the following day.
[Dawn] An anti-terrorism court convicted the criminal mastermind of two suicide kabooms in Dera Ismail Khan ... the Pearl of Pashtunistan ... on different counts and sentenced him to 339 years rigorous imprisonment with a fine of Rs150,000.
The court presided over by Mr Khwaja Wajihuddin pronounced that the prosecution proved the cases against 28-year-old Ahmad Nawaz alias Dhallu, a resident of D.I. Khan. The court also declared five of the absconding accused -- Qari Abdul Zahir alias Qari Zafar, Fazalur Rehman, Mohammad Iqbal, Qari Asif and Imran alias Khitab -- proclaimed offenders and issued their perpetual arrest warrants.
In one of the incidents, four jacket wallahs had attacked the office of district police officer that resulted in the death of four policeman and injuries to seven others. A civilian was also injured in the attack. The FIR of the case was registered at Cantt cop shoppe on Jan 14, 2012.
In the other incident, a suicide bomber had blown up himself near a vehicle carrying two deputy superintendents of police -- Abdul Ghafoor and Salahuddin -- and other coppers near Commissionary Bazaar on March 4, 2012. Four coppers including Abdul Ghafoor were maimed in the attack.
The accused was jugged Book 'im, Mahmoud! on Sept 11, 2012. He had confessed to his crime after remaining in the custody of police. Police had also recovered certain video footages from his possession wherein he was shown guiding the suicide bombers, who had carried out the acts of terrorism.
The public prosecutor, Sheikh Mohammad Jehanzeb, appeared for the state while Advocate Rab Nawaz represented the accused. In the first case, the accused was sentenced to life imprisonment on four counts under Section 302/149 of Pakistain Penal Code. He was again sentenced to life imprisonment on four counts under different sections of Anti-Terrorism Act including 7(a), 21-I and 21-J.
He was further convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment under Section 120B of PPC. For injuring eight persons, the accused was convicted on eight counts and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment.
Similarly, he was sentenced to life imprisonment under the Explosive Substance Act. He would undergo a total of 243 years imprisonment in that case.
In the second case he would undergo a total of 96 years imprisonment. The court extended the convict the benefit of Section 382-B of Criminal Procedure Code under which the period he had already spent in prison would be counted in his prison term.
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[Dawn] Soldiers thwarted an attempt by jacket wallahs to attack a military base in South Wazoo on Wednesday. Three of them, however, bit the dust in the process. The two bombers were also killed as their explosives-laden vehicle blew up. If two boomers detonated and three soldiers were killed, the attack wasn't 'foiled' by definition. Perhaps the bad guyz lost, but the attack took place.
According to a security official in 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. , soldiers manning a security tower at the walled Javed Sultan Shaheed Camp spotted the vehicle when it was about 100 metres from the camp.
The soldiers blew up the speeding vehicle by firing a rocket- propelled grenade, causing a huge blast, which also led to the death of a soldier at the tower. Another soldier was injured and later died at hospital, the official said.
A captain died when the roof of a building inside the camp collapsed on him, the official said.
The camp had come under an attack once before too.
The camp -- housing military offices and residences of officers and soldiers -- is barely a few kilometres away from the Afghan
border.
This was the second case of suicide kaboom in Wana over the past week. On Nov 29, in an attempt to kill a pro-government bad turban commander, a cycle of violence-riding suicide bomber had killed eight people and injured 18.
The bombing has caused tension between the native Ahmadzai Wazir tribe and Mehsud rustics, who have settled here after being displaced by a military operation in their area. The top leadership of the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain belongs to the Mehsud tribe.
Although no group grabbed credit for the Nov 29 attack, the Ahmadzai Wazir tribe gave Mehsud rustics a deadline to leave their territory by Wednesday (Dec 5).
Hundreds of Mehsud rustics were seen leaving Wana before expiry of the deadline.
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[Dawn] A federal minister revealed on Wednesday that the government had no plan to hold an inquiry into the allegations that PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... had received money from intelligence agencies in 1990 as ordered by the Supreme Court in the Asghar Khan case.
"The Asghar Khan case is buried," declared Syed Khurshid Ahmed Shah, the chief negotiator of the government with the opposition, while talking to news hounds after attending a parliamentary committee meeting.
He also expressed apprehensions over the court's recent decisions about delimitation of constituencies 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... and the Balochistan ...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... government. "We do not want the FIA director general to drag Mr Sharif," Mr Shah said, adding that the PPP wanted the matter to be decided by the people.
Mr Shah's remarks came a day after Mr Sharif said the credit for completion of the elected government's five-year term went to his party. "We are thankful to Mr Sharif for supporting democracy despite efforts to pitch us against each other," Mr Shah said while commenting on the PML-N chief's remarks.
The apex court had, in its Oct 19 order in the Asghar Khan case, held the then military establishment and the presidency responsible for manipulating the 1990 elections through distribution of money among politicians.
Initially, the PML-N rejected an investigation by the FIA, but following criticism from different quarters, Mr Sharif -- who had become prime minister as a result of the 1990 elections -- announced that he was ready to face a probe through the agency.
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[Dawn] The Supreme Court has appointed a one-man commission to probe the 2007 Lal Masjid military operation, which continues to haunt the country in many ways. The nation should know the entire truth about the bloody incident to end the controversy surrounding the tragedy.
Therefore the investigation should not be restricted to finding out how many people were killed in the operation and whether the families of the victims were paid compensation. It is more important for the commission to ascertain the circumstances that led to the military action.
Was the raid on the mosque completely unprovoked? Who were the gunnies entrenched inside the mosque who engaged the elite special forces for over one week, killing at least 15 soldiers, including an officer? Why sophisticated weapons were stored in a place of worship? The commission needs to investigate these questions and establish the facts about the deadly battle in July 2007 that has left in its wake a violent legacy of suicide kabooms, killing thousands of citizens.
The gruesome end of the Lal Masjid siege marked a watershed in Pakistain's struggle with violent extremism. It led to a declaration of war against the military by the Death Eaters. It also had other grievous repercussions which still cast their shadows over the country's politics.
It may be argued that such massive use of force was avoidable, but the action cannot be described as unprovoked. Tension had been building up for the past many years as the capital's central mosque sitting a stone's throw from the ISI's headquarters became the centre of radical Islamism and anti-government protests.
In 2004 the holy mans of the mosque issued a fatwa calling the people to join the Death Eater resistance against the army in Wazoo.
They declared that those fighting the Pak forces were deaders and urged the people not to give Islamic burial to the soldiers killed in the fighting.
The mosque had also become a base for Taliban-style vigilante squads. Tension escalated after female students of the Jamia Hafsa, who were linked with Lal Masjid, occupied an adjoining children's library.
Led by fearsome, stick-wielding, burqa-clad young women gunnies would pour out of the mosque and the two madressahs affiliated to it, raiding houses allegedly used as brothels, kidnapping suspected hookers, and making bonfires of
videocassettes and DVDs that they regarded as un-Islamic.
These activities caused panic among citizens and compelled them to call upon the government to stop vigilante squad.
Meanwhile, ...back at the palazzo, Count Guido had escaped from his bonds and overwhelmed this guard using the bludgeon the faithful Filomena had smuggled to him in the loaf of bread... the Lal Masjid holy mans set up courts to dispense their version of Islamic justice, and people began coming to them to resolve all sorts of grievances, from business matters to personal disputes. They also presented a charter for a Taliban-style Islamic rule in the country and called for setting up revolutionary committees. These unlawful actions certainly presented a
serious challenge to the administration.
But for months the administration had tolerated activities of the self-styled anti-vice squads even after they kidnapped a number of coppers and ransacked government buildings.
The Musharraf government finally decided to act as the situation escalated to a point that some feared the forces of Evil might take over the capital itself. But the final onslaught was held off in order to allow time for the students to surrender. Announcements on loudspeakers warned the girls over and over again to leave the premises.
Over the next few days the army set several deadlines for surrender. Except for an unspecified number of hardcore Death Eaters, almost all the female and male madressah students were believed to have left the Lal Masjid before the final operation was carried out. For seven consecutive days the forces of Evil responded to the military's siege with automatic fire, showing little sign of fatigue or shortage of ammunition.
On a visit a day after the operation I found every part of the sprawling complex scarred by the battle. In the blackened basement where Abdul Rashid Ghazi and half a dozen followers made a last stand, the wall had been shattered by explosives.
The acrid stench of battle hung in the air. Metal furniture lay piled in a corner. The windowless room inside the Jamia Hafsa was charred; a jacket wallah had detonated his charge as the commandos stormed the building.
In the next room swarms of flies buzzed over the blood-stained floor and rubble was scattered where the forces of Evil had built a bunker. Walls that had been painted with Islamic verses were riddled with bullet holes, evidence of a vicious 35-hour assault in which the commandos fought from room to room against heavily armed Death Eaters. The resistance was indeed beyond the expectations of the armed forces.
Let's hope the commission would also be able to ascertain the identity of those fighters and why were those gunnies present inside the mosque.
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[Al Ahram] Supporters of President Morsi set to sit in solemn silence in a dull, dark dock, in a pestilential prison with a life-long lock Maw! They're comin' to get me, Maw! 83 opposition "thugs" during festivities at the presidential palace on Wednesday, Abdel-Moneim Abdel-Maqsoud, a lawyer for the Moslem Brüderbund, has said.
The suspects were not handed over to the police immediately, Abdel-Maqsoud told Turkey's Anadolu news agency. They were held until the prosecution and forensic experts had inspected the available evidence.
The detained persons had confessed to killing six members of the Brotherhood and injuring hundreds of others, he added.
"The 83 'thugs' were tossed in the calaboose ... anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not... with money, white weapons and Molotov cocktails," Abdel-Maqsoud claimed. "They admitted causing riots and killing and injuring hundreds of [the president's] supporters."
The Brotherhood has filed reports with the general prosecutor against those it accuses of involvement in the violence at the presidential palace, and of burning Brotherhood and Freedom and Justice Party offices in various part of the country.
"We have clear-cut and documented evidence that proves major politicians and media figures incited the violence," he said.
The presidential guard ordered protesters to leave the area around the presidential palace by 3pm on Thursday, presidential spokesperson Yasser Ali said earlier in the day.
Pro-Morsi supporters on Wednesday attacked a peaceful sit-in by opposition activists calling for the constitutional referendum on 15 December to be cancelled. Six people have been reported killed and over 600 injured in the resulting violence.
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with money, white weapons and Molotov cocktails," Abdel-Maqsoud claimed. "They admitted causing riots and killing and injuring hundreds of [the president's] supporters."
I sense we are present at the birth of a Baby Meme.
[Al Ahram] Snipers have rubbed out 11 people, including a 13-year-old boy, in the northern Lebanese 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... during three days of violence linked to the conflict in neighbouring Syria, a security official said on Thursday.
"On Thursday, a 13-year-old child was rubbed out by a sniper taking aim into his family home" in a neighbourhood the majority of whose residents are Alawite, the same community to which Syria's Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Scourge of Qusayr... belongs, the official said.
Earlier in the day, three others were killed in the Alawite district of Jabal Mohsen and the Sunni Moslem district of Bab al-Tebbaneh, the official said.
Another 20 people were maimed on Thursday, including a Lebanese soldier, he added.
For three days, Tripoli has been rocked by sectarian violence linked to the nearly 21-month uprising in Syria.
Five people were bumped off on Wednesday and another two the previous day.
The violence has pitted Sunni districts against neighbouring areas populated by Alawites, and officials say the snipers come from both camps.
On Thursday, troops patrolled the restive areas and were responding to the gunfire, but snipers held their positions and continued to shoot, an AFP correspondent on the scene reported.
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[Al Ahram] Judge Abdel-Meguid Mahmoud, Egypt's former prosecutor-general, was appointed head of Egypt's court of appeal on Thursday upon his request, following weeks of tension with President Mohamed Morsi. Mahmoud was appointed Egypt's prosecutor-general in 2006 by ousted president Hosni Mubarak ...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011... . He maintained the position for five months under Morsi, who eventually replaced him with Judge Talaat Abdullah after issuing a constitutional declaration making his decisions impervious to judicial challenge.
Morsi first relieved Mahmoud of his duties in mid-October, but was forced to reverse the decision after Egypt's High Constitutional Court ruled the move unconstitutional. At the time, Mahmoud insisted on finishing his tenure, criticising Morsi for his decision.
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[Ynet] Bird captured in Darfur has Khartoum atwitter, as it was found tagged with Israeli Park Services GPS chip. Sudan says bird was on espionage mission; Israel: Chip a standard migration tracker
Three Days of the Condor, Sudan style: Sudanese media was a buzz Thursday, with news saying that Darfur authorities had captured a vulture carrying Israeli spy gear.
The suspect bird was found to be tagged with an Israeli GPS chip and a leg band labeled "Israel Nature Service" and "Hebrew University, Jerusalem."
Related stories:
Turkey suspects bird of being Israeli spy
Iran exposes pigeon espionage ring
Tehran: 14 squirrels suspected of spying
Khartoum's media claimed that the device was capable of taking photos and sending them back to Israel; but Israel's National Parks Service dismissed the allegation, saying that both the band and the GPS chip were nothing more than standard migration trackers.
Tensions between Israel and Sudan have been high since a mysterious Arclight airstrike leveled a major weapons manufacturing compound in Khartoum in October. Sudan blamed Israel for the raid. Jerusalem has remained mum on the subject.
The Opposition in Sudan was quick to mock the "spy bird" find: The country's Justice and Equality Movement featured the news on its website, asking: "How is it possible that the regime was able to detect one vulture, but was unable to detect the jets that bombed the arms facility?"
The website further ridiculed the authorities' report of the case, which lauded it as an "unprecedented achievement," saying that all state reports about the bird's seizure failed to mention whether the vulture was captured because the military's radar picked up on its GPS signal, or whether the bird just happened to be flying by.
Ohad Hazofe, an ecologist with the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, confirmed that the bird was carrying Israeli tags, but said the vulture came to Israel from the Balkans, from which it migrates every year.
Wild birds that visit Israel as part of their migration paths are often tagged with various bands and sometimes GPS chips, to assist ornithologists in their studies.
The bird in question can fly a distance of 600km a day, Hazofe explained. "This is a young vulture that was tagged, along with 100 others, in October. He has two wing bands and a German-made GPS chip."
The device, he stressed, has no photography capabilities. "This equipment that can give out distance and altitude readings only. That's the only way we knew something had happened to the bird -- all of a sudden it stopped flying and started traveling on the ground."
"We had horrid visions it had turned into the Road Runner," he added, "so someone googled Acme just in case."
#3
I think that's pretty clever scheme by the Israelis - use roadkill from Sudanese terrorists to feed their vultures. Pretty interesting. Now if they could just train the birds to eat live terrorists :-)
A man charged with the kidnapping of two Western journalists by Islamic extremists in Syria will go on trial with another suspect in June.
Jubayer Chowdhury appeared by videolink at the Old Bailey and was remanded in custody for a preliminary hearing in April. He will be tried with a British trainee doctor, Shajul Islam, on a charge of imprisoning a British photographer and a Dutch journalist against their will in July while they were covering the Syrian conflict. The trial will start on June 5 and is expected to last six weeks.
Chowdhury was arrested by counter-terrorism police at Heathrow Airport last month after arriving on a flight from Bahrain. Islam was detained at Heathrow airport in October after arriving on a flight from Egypt.
[Dawn] Police allegedly baton-charged the protesting paramedics on Wednesday and jugged Drop the heater, Studs, or you're hist'try! big shots and scores of other activists of the Punjab Paramedical Alliance (PPA).
The lower-cadre employees of the state-run hospitals were protesting outside the Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC) for service structure and regularisation of daily wagers and contract colleagues.
Condemning the police action, the paramedics went on a complete strike all over the province and locked diagnostic services including laboratories at sate-run hospitals.
Witnesses said protesters wanted to march towards the CM's House at GOR from the PIC when the police used force.
Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif had promised last year to evolve a service structure for all paramedics. Later, the CM had been holding out assurances to paramedics whenever they launched protest. Wednesday's was another major but 'peaceful' protest for the same purpose.
Several paramedics suffered injuries as the police allegedly thrashed and tortured them to foil their attempt to reach CM's House. Seeing they were injured, somebody called for the... ummm... paramedics.
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[Al Ahram] The head of Egypt's state broadcaster, Essam El-Amir, has resigned in protest at how the country has been managed since President Morsi's constitutional declaration and the resulting divisions in society it has caused.
Mohsen El-Shehawy, head of security at the Maspero state broadcasting building, on Thursday said additional presidential guards had been deployed to protect the building.
The state broadcaster is under the supervision of Information Minister Salah Abdel-Maksoud, a member of the Moslem Brüderbund.
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Sounds like a perfect opportunity for Jeff Zucker if that CNN gig doesn't work out.
[Dawn] Three assailants rubbed out a prayer leader inside a mosque in Sector 5-C of New 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 Wednesday evening. Third holy man in three days, is it?
One of the assailants who was caught by area people when trying to flee told police he worked for the Taliban and killed the Peshimam because the latter was an 'informer'. Who better to hear about bloodthirsty and nefarious schemes than a holy man?
According to police, three suspects who arrived on a cycle of violence walked into Jamia Masjid Islamia Ahl-e-Hadith within the remit of the Bilal Colony cop shoppe and killed Peshimam Ahsanullah, 38. "Michael Corleone sez hello, Mr. Peshimam!"
"Who?"
[BANG!]
The victim was shot with a single bullet to the head causing his instant death, said police. "Rosebud!"
The assailants were trying to escape but their cycle of violence failed to kick-start. The area people who had gathered outside after hearing the gunshot managed to overpower one of them. The other two managed to flee, said police. "Youse there! Halt!"
"Whut?"
"Mahmoud! Get on the [GRAB!] cycle of violence!"
[VROOM!]
People handed over the suspect to police. The suspect who gave his name as Kashif was first taken to the Bilal Colony cop shoppe but was immediately shifted to another location fearing his presence might cause trouble, said New Bloody Karachi SP Syed Salman Hussain. A little later, the fears were proved right as a large number of people laid a virtual siege to the cop shoppe, demanding the suspect be brought before them, said the SP. "We wants the guy what gunned down the holy man, sharif!"
"He ain't here! Now, yew boyz jes' go back home and settle down!"
"But what'll we do with this rope?"
Because of the sensitivity of the situation, DIG-West Javed Odho held a presser on Wednesday night and made public the information obtained from the suspect. He said the suspect had confessed to killing the Peshimam who he said was an 'informer'. He told police that he had undergone 21-day jihad boy training at a camp in Mansehra ...a city and an eponymous district in eastern Khyber-Pakthunwa, nestled snug up against Pak Kashmir, with Kohistan and Diamir to the north and Abbottabad to the south... and was getting Rs15,000 a month. "Tut tut! An obvious falsehood! There's no training camp in Manshera!... No-o-o-o-o training camp in Manshera... You are getting sleepy... You are getting very sleepy..."
The suspect said he was working for Taliban and was in touch with them in Wazoo. Initially, he gave different names but was finally identified as Mohammad Kashif alias Bilal, said the DIG. "Sergeant Abdurrehman, take his finger prints!"
"Which finger should I start with, chief?"
"Awright! Make him put that thing away! My name's Moe Kashif!"
"I thought ya said yer name was Bilal?"
"That's my alias."
Police shifted the Peshimam's body to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for medico-legal formalities. "Doctor Quincy! To the white courtesy phone!"
Man killed by robbers
A man was bumped off by assailants in Khudadad Colony on the Shahrah-e-Qaideen on Wednesday afternoon.
Police said that Tanveer Bangash, 24, was standing outside a car showroom when the assailants riding a cycle of violence targeted him. They managed to escape after the shooting, police said.
The victim was rushed to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre where he was pronounced dead. He's dead, Jim! on arrival. He had suffered two gunshot wounds in the head and neck, police said.
"The victim was killed while resisting a snatching bid. The suspects took away his pistol, cellphone and other valuable belongings," said Jamshed Town SP Asad Raza.
The dear departed who worked as a cash delivery man for an auto showroom had a criminal record, said the SP.
In 2005 and 2007, he had killed two men within the jurisdiction of the Soldier Bazaar and Ferozeabad cop shoppes, respectively, he added.
The victim was resident of Balti Mohallah Lines Area, police said.
However, man does not live by words alone, despite the fact that sometimes he has to eat them... a handout issued by the Majlis-e-Wahdat-e-Moslemeen stated that Bangash was an active member of Anjuman Sadeqan Bangash Bloody Karachi and also a security coordinator of mosques and Imambargahs in Lines Area and Abyssinia Lines.
Bangash had survived a similar attack about three months ago, said the statement quoting his brother.
The dear departed has left one-year-old baby and a widow. His funeral prayer was offered at the Numaish intersection and later he was buried in the Wadi-e-Hussain graveyard.
Security guard bumped off
A private security guard was bumped off when he was performing duty outside a private bank within the remit of the Boat Basin cop shoppe on Wednesday.
Police said the guard identified as Feroz Khan, 55, was killed by gunnies who managed to escape after the shooting and suspected the killing was the result of a personal enmity.
The victim belonged to Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... province. His body was shifted to the JPMC for a post-mortem examination.
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#1
It is always a joy to see the Master at work, FredMan working with his automatic straightman is a hoot.
#5
Although I really liked Suzanne, once the die was cast the studio made a good choice in picking Priscilla.
Didn't she also the propaganda Mom in "Starship Troopers", the one whom was happily ecstatic after her kid stomped on some street bugs in the Earth-wide buildup toward invading the Bug Planet???
[Al Ahram] Eleven professional syndicates issued a statement Thursday holding President Mohamed Morsi and the Moslem Brüderbund "responsible for the violent confrontations that have taken place in the vicinity of the presidential palace, and violence against revolutionary youth" Wednesday night.
The signatories to the statement include syndicates that represent tour guides, lawyers, actors, musicians, painters, journalists and writers.
The 11 syndicates declared their full solidarity with "all political and revolutionary forces in their legitimate demands, calling on the presidency and the Cabinet to provide protection to peaceful protesters and to fulfil the aspirations of the January 25 Revolution," warning they would call for the fall of the regime if the government fails to deliver on these points.
Last week, in contrast, a number of professional syndicates that represent agriculturists, engineers and commercial employees declared support for President Morsi's controversial 22 November constitutional declaration.
Journalists in at least 12 independent and partisan newspapers went on strike Tuesday against Morsi's declaration and articles in the draft constitution, prepared by the Islamist-led Constituent Assembly, that allow the government to jail journalists on the basis of expressed views.
Five satellite TV stations had planned industrial action Wednesday, in protest at the president's recent decisions, but called off the strike in order to cover festivities that broke out at the presidential palace Wednesday evening.
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tour guides, lawyers, actors, musicians, painters, journalists and writers.
Sounds like a good list of the professions most threatened by an Islamist regime.
1. tour guides? When you have no tourists....
2. lawyers? When all law is Koranic you only need holy mens
3. actors? Immoral men and wanton hussies.
4. musicians? Music is unIslamic, off withtheir heads.
5. painters? Other than houses what is their to paint in Islam?
6. jouralists/writers? Anything worth writing or reporting is already in the Koran.
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.
Even as the state Treasury prepares to begin another financial review of Detroit's books, a plan is being solidified in the governor's office that would guide Michigan's largest city through what is being called a managed bankruptcy.
He accused the Republicans of having rushed it through "so that the public has no opportunity to look at it or debate the issue."
[Al Ahram] Egypt's President Morsi meets with ministers and presidential guard to discuss growing violence sparked by opposition anger at constitutional declaration and draft constitution
[Al Ahram] The interior ministry is not taking sides in the ongoing 
[Al Ahram] Four volatile regions of Tunisia -- including the part of the country where the Arab Spring began -- went on strike on Thursday, amid rising tensions with the country's ruling Islamist party.
[Al Ahram] Syria's deputy foreign minister Faisal Maqdad fears that the west are using worries of the regime using chemical weapons, which the regime consistently said it would not do, as a "pretext for intervention"
Wazoo
Mohmand Agency
[Al Ahram] Some of the 
[Al Ahram] Syrian activists reject calls for UN peacekeeping deployments in war-torn country, saying move would split country into pro-, anti-regime regions
[Dawn] Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf on Thursday demanded an end to US drone attacks in Pakistain in a meeting with the United States Ambassador to Pakistain Richard Olson in Islamabad, DawnNews reported.
[Al Ahram] Egypt President Mohamed Morsi has invited all political forces to hold dialogue in an effort to put an end to the ongoing dispute over his 22 November constitutional declaration and draft constitution, stressing that the latter would be put before a popular referendum on 15 December as planned.
Pervez 
Orakzai Agency
[Al Ahram] President Mohamed Morsi's assistant for foreign relations and internal cooperation, Essam El-Haddad, has told CNN America that ongoing protests in Egypt are not a drawback and should be viewed as people exercising their freedom of expression.
[Al Ahram] Mevlid Jasarevic, an Islamist who opened fire at the US embassy in Sarajevo last year, was sentenced to 18 years in prison by a Bosnian court
President Asif Ali 
[Ynet] Egypt informed the leadership of the Islamic Jihad that Israel was against the entrance of Jihad top operatives to the Gaza Strip, the Maan news agency reported..jpg)
[An Nahar] In an army barracks seized by rebels in northern Syria, Abu Islam heads a new unit that looks into complaints against 
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
[Al Ahram] "I feel a responsibility for every Egyptian, whether they oppose or support me. The nation is united. All citizens enjoy the right to security."
[Dawn] The Lahore High Court chief justice on Wednesday took notice of an incident in which a man ordered gang-rape of his daughter and ex-wife at a village in Chakwal.
Germany announces participation with 400 troops in the recently-approved NATO mission to deploy Patriot missiles on the Turkish-Syrian borders
the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon
Nouri al-Maliki
[Al Ahram] Liberal, leftist umbrella group condemns president's 'failure' to prevent bloodshed following Wednesday's clashes at presidential palace, says authorities have 'lost legitimacy'
[Dawn] ISLAMABAD: A complicated love-triangle, gone out of control, has spilled into the public domain.
After the cat fight (two women fighting) the government servant used her influence and lodged a complaint against the taxi driver's wife, who was 
[Al Ahram] Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal is set to arrive in the coastal territory in Palestine on Friday to celebrate Hamas's 25th anniversary
[Dawn] An anti-terrorism court convicted the 
Nawaz Sharif
[Dawn] The Supreme Court has appointed a one-man commission to probe the 2007 Lal Masjid military operation, which continues to haunt the country in many ways. The nation should know the entire truth about the bloody incident to end the controversy surrounding the tragedy.
[Al Ahram] Supporters of President Morsi 
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
[Al Ahram] Judge Abdel-Meguid Mahmoud, Egypt's former prosecutor-general, was appointed head of Egypt's court of appeal on Thursday upon his request, following weeks of tension with President Mohamed Morsi. Mahmoud was appointed Egypt's prosecutor-general in 2006 by ousted president 
[Ynet] Bird captured in Darfur has Khartoum atwitter, as it was found tagged with Israeli Park Services GPS chip. Sudan says bird was on espionage mission; Israel: Chip a standard migration tracker
Tensions between Israel and Sudan have been high since a mysterious 
[Dawn] Police allegedly baton-charged the protesting paramedics on Wednesday and 
[Al Ahram] The head of Egypt's state broadcaster, Essam El-Amir, has resigned in protest at how the country has been managed since President Morsi's constitutional declaration and the resulting divisions in society it has caused.
[Dawn] Three assailants 
a city and an eponymous district in eastern Khyber-Pakthunwa, nestled snug up against Pak Kashmir, with Kohistan and Diamir to the north and Abbottabad to the south...
[Al Ahram] Eleven professional syndicates issued a statement Thursday holding President Mohamed Morsi and the 
