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AQAP #2 killed for the THIRD time in Yemen
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
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Home Front: Culture Wars
Emanuel To Banks: Stop Supporting Gun Makers
Posted by: DarthVader || 01/25/2013 18:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336110 views] Top|| File under:

#1  since he's not CoS anymore, and the head of a corrupt and bankrupt municipality, while the gun Co.s are money-making Ops, it will be interesting to see how tinkerbell does
Posted by: Frank G || 01/25/2013 20:05 Comments || Top||

#2  “Collectively we can send a clear and unambiguous message to the entire gun industry that investors will no longer financially support companies that support gun violence,” Emanuel wrote.

And then more investors will step in to, "financially support companies that support gun violence make them money". That's why they're called "investors", dipshit...
Posted by: tu3031 || 01/25/2013 21:37 Comments || Top||


Africa North
Fatal clashes on Egypt uprising anniversary
Egyptian opposition supporters are protesting across the country on the second anniversary of the uprising that swept Hosni Mubarak from power, with five people killed in the city of Suez.

Police clashed with President Mohammed Morsi's opponents in Cairo outside his palace and near Tahrir Square.

Alexandria also saw clashes. In Ismailia, protesters set fire to the HQ of the Muslim Brotherhood's party.

Critics accuse Mr Morsi of betraying the revolution, which he denies.

The president has appealed for calm to end the clashes, in which more than 330 people have been injured nationwide.
Posted by: tipper || 01/25/2013 16:28 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336139 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Morsi can expect a phone call any time soon or maybe not. Depends what Obamas Muslim Brotherhood advisers tell him..
Posted by: tipper || 01/25/2013 20:16 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
At least 140 reportedly dead as Syrian army widens offensive
Syria's army unleashed a barrage of rocket and artillery fire on rebel-held areas in a central province Friday as part of a widening offensive against fighters seeking to oust President Bashar Assad. At least 140 people were killed in fighting nationwide, according to activist groups.

In a rare gesture, Syria's Interior Ministry called on those who fled the country during the civil war to return, including regime opponents. It said the government will help hundreds of thousands of citizens return whether they left "legally or illegally."
Posted by: tipper || 01/25/2013 16:12 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336102 views] Top|| File under:


Afghanistan
US blacklists Afghan airline accused of smuggling opium
Afghanistan's largest private airline, Kam Air, has been barred from receiving US military contracts amid allegations of drug smuggling, officials say.

The US military says it conducted an investigation which showed Kam Air transported large quantities of opium on civilian flights to neighbouring Tajikistan.

The Central Asian country is a key transit route used by drug smugglers.

The airline's owner has firmly rejected the allegations.

Zemary Kamgar said that he was consulting with his lawyers over the US move and that his legal team would prepare a defence.

The blacklisting of Kam Air first came to light in an article in the Wall Street Journal on Friday.
Posted by: tipper || 01/25/2013 13:46 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336112 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I simply had to post it.
Posted by: Besoeker || 01/25/2013 16:12 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
UNCONFIRMED: Iranian Uranium Enrichment Site Destroyed?
Hat tip Alaska Paul.
[WND] A kaboom deep within Iran's Fordow nuclear facility has destroyed much of the installation and trapped about 240 personnel deep underground, according to a former intelligence officer of the Islamic regime.

According to a source in the security forces protecting Fordow, an kaboom on Monday at 11:30 a.m. Tehran time rocked the site, which is buried deep under a mountain and immune not only to Arclight airstrikes but to most bunker-buster bombs. The report of the blast came via Hamidreza Zakeri, formerly with the Islamic regime's Ministry of Intelligence and National Security,

The blast shook facilities within a radius of three miles. Security forces have enforced a no-traffic radius of 15 miles, and the Tehran-Qom highway was shut down for several hours after the blast, the source said. As of Wednesday afternoon, rescue workers had failed to reach the trapped personnel.

The site, about 300 feet under a mountain, had two elevators which now are out of commission. One elevator descended about 240 feet and was used to reach centrifuge chambers. The other went to the bottom to carry heavy equipment and transfer uranium hexafluoride. One emergency staircase reaches the bottom of the site and another one was not complete. The source said the emergency exit southwest of the site is unreachable.

The regime believes the blast was sabotage and the explosives could have reached the area disguised as equipment or in the uranium hexafluoride stock transferred to the site, the source said. The kaboom occurred at the third centrifuge chambers, with the high-grade enriched uranium reserves below them.

The information was passed on to U.S. officials but has not been verified or denied by the regime or other sources within the regime.

The regime's uranium enrichment process takes place at two known sites: the Natanz facility with more than 10,000 centrifuges and Fordow with more than 2,700. The regime currently has enough low-grade (3.5 percent) uranium stockpiled for six nuclear bombs if further enriched.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/25/2013 13:31 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336141 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran

#1  trapped underground with a possible radioactive release and possibly a damaged or nonexistent air supply? Well, Friday is prayer day in Iran
Posted by: Frank G || 01/25/2013 13:40 Comments || Top||

#2  It happened on Monday at 11:30 a.m
They sure take their time getting information out.
Posted by: tipper || 01/25/2013 14:04 Comments || Top||

#3  Very clever operation ... if indeed this was sabotage. One thing's for sure - Iran willl hit back hard if they verify this was caused by foreign powers.
Posted by: Raider || 01/25/2013 14:13 Comments || Top||

#4  Next is Nataz. A kaboom is needed where Stuxnet left off. UF6 is not a nice chemical to be exposed to.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 01/25/2013 14:34 Comments || Top||

#5  Boy howdy, be a real shame if all those nuclear scientists were trapped down there for good. I bet the rescuers are real happy heading into a mountain filled with trapped UF6.
Posted by: Steve White || 01/25/2013 14:45 Comments || Top||

#6  World Net Daily. And it's several days old. And I haven't seen any related stories elsewhere yet. But it's a nice dream, at least.
Posted by: Glenmore || 01/25/2013 14:46 Comments || Top||

#7  Iran has, for about a year, been moving its best enrichment equipment from the Natanz site to the Fordow site. This is not just because the Fordow site is deep underground but also, it is thought, because the Natanz site was more difficult to keep clear of hostile insiders.
Posted by: lord garth || 01/25/2013 15:01 Comments || Top||

#8  Halliburton graphic please.
Posted by: Besoeker || 01/25/2013 15:47 Comments || Top||

#9  Morton salt seems more appropriate.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble || 01/25/2013 17:01 Comments || Top||

#10  There are quiet a number of reports on the net now but they all quote Reza Khalili, a former intelligence officer in the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, who acted as a spy for, and eventually defected to, the United States as the source.
Posted by: tipper || 01/25/2013 17:12 Comments || Top||

#11  Uranium hexafluoride? Boy howdee, if this happened, some people are gonna be talking with reelee deeeep voices.

Reminds me of the time Daggett and Norbert went to the center of the Earth.
Posted by: Dopey Sinatra9196 || 01/25/2013 17:49 Comments || Top||

#12  could be an industrial accident ... may not be sabotage. Maybe one (or more) of the new centrifuges self-destructed at high rpm's?? that would explain why Iran is keeping it quiet.
Posted by: Raider || 01/25/2013 17:58 Comments || Top||

#13  Iff the site is indeed radioactive now, as alleged by some Netters, can Iran clean it up widout having to search for an alternate site???

A new move can easily be detected by ground recce + SPAWAR.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 01/25/2013 18:49 Comments || Top||

#14  Awhile back, I recall that author Vince Flynn had a novel with this story line.
Posted by: JohnQC || 01/25/2013 18:52 Comments || Top||

#15  if this news is several days old - and actually true - then it seems like debka.com would have picked up this event. They usually cover sabotage within Iran very quickly. so without confirmation this story is suspect right now.
Posted by: Raider || 01/25/2013 19:06 Comments || Top||

#16  JohnQC - I think you're thinking of The Disciple - Jake Grafton/Tommy Carmellini novel by Stephen Coonts? Available on Amazon via Fred's links. Fun book
Posted by: Frank G || 01/25/2013 20:09 Comments || Top||

#17  if this news is several days old - and actually true - then it seems like debka.com would have picked up this event.
Good point, Raider. As far as I can tell (I don't have a membership), Debka is indeed not carrying this story.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/25/2013 21:00 Comments || Top||

#18  WORLD NEWS > KISSINGER:IRAN NUCLEAR SITUATION WILL COME TO A HEAD IN "VERY FORESEEABLE FUTURE"|
... ... "NUCLEAR IRAN" [fast] APPROACHING.

* SAME > VARIOUS > [Minnestota Star Tribune] EXPERT WARNS THAT ITS NOT ENOUGH TO SANCTION IRAN ANYMORE OVER ITS NUCLEAR PROGRAM.

VALI NASR, Dean of Paul H. Nitze School of International Studies at John Hopkins Univeristy.

ARTIC > NASR = In absence of significant Diplomatic breakthrough, or in the alternate Military strike agz its Nucprog, Iran per se will continue its unrelenting unilateral "rush" towards Nuclear Power, to includ possible NucWeapons development.

VERSUS

* WORLD NEWS > [Business Insider] BREMMER: JAPAN-CHINA CRISIS THE MOST SIGNIFICANT GEOPOLITICAL TENSION IN THE WORLD.

Yuuuppp.

* SAME > BREMMER: RISE OF CHINA CREATING CONFLICT.

IMO more correct to say China's anti-US "Manifest Destiny" versus anti-US, "Multi-Polar", OWG-NWO "Globalism", wid not-a-little "Europe vs Asia", "Occident vs. Oriental" PHILISM VS PHOBISM historicities mixed in.

* SAME > [SIno-Japan Crisis] ASDF AIR WING COULD MOVE TO SAKISHIMA ISLANDS.

Yoohoo, JONG-UN, indirectly CHINA + PLAAF are looking at you.

["MIG ALLEY" here].

* SAME > A TWO-STATE SOLUTION [Balochis, Pakistan] FOR BALOCHISTAN?

First off, IRAN is likely to demand inclusion in any such venture, both because of its claimed historical control of most of AFPAK, + its more contemporary fears that a US-led ground war agz Iran's NucProgs will result in post-war forced separation of Balochi regions in southern Iran to merge wid those of Pakistan, then to be given by the US to Afghanistan so that the latter can have strategic access to the Indian Ocean for trade.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 01/25/2013 22:13 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Politix
DEVELOPING: Obama recess appointments unconstitutional, court
Posted by: DarthVader || 01/25/2013 12:57 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336115 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Its the Consumer Finance Protection hardjob which is big, as I understand this project could not receive any funds until a head was appointed. NLRB rulings will be interesting as well - the Boeing Plant decision falls within this time frame.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 01/25/2013 13:23 Comments || Top||

#2  Three pub judges made the decision. It is pretty broad and far reaching. Look for appeals.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble || 01/25/2013 14:10 Comments || Top||

#3  The Lord Of The Flies will not be amused.
Posted by: tipper || 01/25/2013 15:32 Comments || Top||

#4  Lord Of The Flies

Aunt Myrtle used to claim BHO was the anti-Christ. I used to think it was funny.
Posted by: SteveS || 01/25/2013 16:20 Comments || Top||

#5  Aunt Myrtle is perceptive.
Posted by: JohnQC || 01/25/2013 18:57 Comments || Top||

#6  As per FREEREPUBLIC, the Bammer NLRB will "continue to act" despite the ruling.

And to the US Supreme Court we go ...
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 01/25/2013 19:11 Comments || Top||

#7  Don't worry. They'll ignore the Supreme court too.
Posted by: DarthVader || 01/25/2013 20:53 Comments || Top||


China-Japan-Koreas
Kim Jong Eun surgery rumors force open a sliver of daylight with China
North Korea’s official news agency has taken the unusual step of publicly rebuking a rumor about young leader Kim Jong Eun, and has chastised China, its sponsor and only real ally, in the process. The vitriolic report insists that the 30-year-old Kim absolutely, positively did not receive plastic surgery to look more like his deceased grandfather, Kim Il Sung. Such rumors have been around for years, but just as rumors. So why condemn them now, at the risk of just lending them greater legitimacy?

Since taking control of the country, Kim Jong Eun has aggressively cultivated an image in his grandfather’s likeness. Kim Il Sung, considered North Korea’s national founder, is practically deified. His son and heir, Kim Jong Il, rarely appeared in public and never fully inherited his father’s cult of personality. Now, Kim Jong Eun seems to be doing everything he can to draw comparisons between himself and his beloved grandfather, which could help him considerably in consolidating and maintaining power.

The long-running rumors, that Kim Jong Eun’s resemblance to Kim Il Sung is more than just genetic, got a big boost from a mainland Chinese station called Shenzhen TV. The network, based in the country’s more liberal southeast, cited a “diplomatic source” who said he or she had traveled to Pyongyang recently, where a North Korean official had confirmed the rumor.
Posted by: tipper || 01/25/2013 12:32 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336116 views] Top|| File under:

#1  What, they couldn't do a tummy tuck while they were in there?
Posted by: Muggsy Mussolini1226 || 01/25/2013 13:07 Comments || Top||

#2  If we had a CIA worth anything at all we'd be spreading the rumor that the surgery made him look more Japanese...
Posted by: Steve White || 01/25/2013 14:46 Comments || Top||

#3  Did they surgically implant that "E" in his last name?
Posted by: Dopey Sinatra9196 || 01/25/2013 18:00 Comments || Top||

#4  Did they surgically implant that "E" in his last name?


The Koreans go family name first, Dopey Sinatra9196. So Kim is the family name, Jong Eun (prob'ly pronounced something like Yun is his personal name. Were I Korean, I would style myself Wife Tray Ling, and everyone except my immediate family and childhood friends would call me Mrs. Wife. Come to think of it, only my immediate family and childhood friends would even know my personal name -- manners are different over there.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/25/2013 20:01 Comments || Top||

#5  a Korean named Kim? What next? A Vietnamese named Nguyen? Where does the madness stop, Mr. Chin?
Posted by: Frank G || 01/25/2013 21:05 Comments || Top||

#6  Many of the Vietnamese refugees that made it safely gave their surname as 'Nguyen' to officials.

Regardless of what their last name was.
Posted by: Pappy || 01/25/2013 21:35 Comments || Top||


Arabia
Yemen- America's new terrorist battleground (Video)
Because Mali belongs to the French?
Posted by: tipper || 01/25/2013 12:09 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336098 views] Top|| File under:


Home Front: WoT
Ex-CIA man Kiriakou gets 2 1/2 years for leaks
Former CIA officer John Kiriakou was sentenced Friday to more than two years in prison by a federal judge who rejected arguments that he was acting as a whistleblower when he leaked a covert officer's name to a reporter.

A plea deal required the judge to impose a sentence of 2 1/2 years. U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema said she would have given Kiriakou much more time if she could.

Kiriakou's supporters describe him as a whistleblower who exposed aspects of the CIA's use of torture against detained terrorists. Prosecutors said Kiriakou was merely seeking to increase his fame and public stature by trading on his insider knowledge.

The 48-year-old Arlington resident pleaded guilty last year to violating the Intelligence Identities Protection Act. No one had been convicted under the law in 27 years.
Posted by: tipper || 01/25/2013 11:38 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336080 views] Top|| File under:


China-Japan-Koreas
N. Korea threatens South if it supports U.N. sanctions
The threat comes a day after North Korea vowed to target the USA, its "sworn enemy," with a nuclear test and further long-range missile tests.

North Korea warned Friday it will take "strong physical countermeasures" against South Korea if Seoul takes part in United Nations sanctions aimed at punishing Pyongyang for the rocket launch.

"Sanctions mean war and a declaration of war against us," the Committee for Peaceful Unification of the Fatherland said in a statement carried by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency.
Posted by: tipper || 01/25/2013 10:51 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336086 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Yup. South Korea is going to sit there and be "peacefully unified".
Posted by: tipover || 01/25/2013 11:07 Comments || Top||


#3  For who?
Posted by: Steve White || 01/25/2013 17:50 Comments || Top||

#4  China doesn't want SOKOR to be Nuke-armed, as ostensib in response to NOKOR Nukes.

Personally I'm interpreting this news as another indirect threat by the DPRK [read, CHINA] agz the USS GEORGE WASHINGTON CVN, Battle Group, + USFJ in general - iff a shooting war does break out between China + Japan oer the disputed Senkakus/Daoyus. CHINA + PLA WILL WANT TO TAKE OUT THE NEAREST USN AIRCRAFT CARRIER(S) [+ Subs].

Histoire' suggests that China likes surprise attacks, espec iff its Enemy is tech-superior - that puts the burden on the USA = Bammer Admin, USDOD, + INTEL to discover when China is ready to strike.

AGain, the catalyst or cover for a Sino-Japanese mil conflict can be the Senkakus/Doayus, but what China ultimately wants is TAIWAN - it is ready-n-willing to accept prohibitive casualties in any campaign [Airborne-led?] to take Taiwan. IN CHINA'S MIND/VIEW WIDOUT TAIWAN THERE IS NO "POST-US", "FUTURE WORLD #1", "MANIFEST DESTINY".

NONE, NADA, "THATS A BIG NEGATIVE, GHOSTRIDER"!

At least NOT in Year 2050-2100.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 01/25/2013 19:07 Comments || Top||


Arabia
Saudi prince calls for Syrian rebels to be armed
A senior member of Saudi Arabia's monarchy called on Friday for Syrian rebels to be given anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons to "level the playing field" in their battle against President Bashar al-Assad.

Insurgents in Syria have seized territory in the north of the country and control suburbs to the east and south of the capital, but Assad's air power and continued army strength have limited their advances 22 months into the conflict.

"I'm not in government so I don't have to be diplomatic. I assume we're sending weapons and if we were not sending weapons it would be terrible mistake on our part," said Prince Turki al-Faisal, a former intelligence chief and brother of Saudi Arabia's foreign minister.

"You have to level the playing field. Most of the weapons the rebels have come from captured Syrian stocks and defectors bringing their weapons," he said at the World Economic Forum in the Swiss mountain resort of Davos.

"What is needed are sophisticated, high-level weapons that can bring down planes, can take out tanks at a distance. This is not getting through."
Posted by: tipper || 01/25/2013 10:32 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336099 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Prince Turki ought to keep in mind that those same weapons may very well end up being used against the Magic Kingdom later.
Posted by: Pappy || 01/25/2013 11:55 Comments || Top||

#2  Update
NEW TALIBAN IN SYRIA?

Noting that Jordanian forces were still fighting Taliban militants in Afghanistan alongside NATO troops, he said: "The new Taliban we are going to have to deal with will be in Syria."

Even in the most optimistic scenario, it would take at least three years to "clean them up" after the fall of the Assad government, the monarch said.

He called for major powers to craft "a real and inclusive transition plan" for Syria, saying the army must be preserved intact to form the backbone of any new system and avoid the anarchy that prevailed in Iraq after the U.S.-led 2003 invasion.
Posted by: tipper || 01/25/2013 11:59 Comments || Top||


Africa North
Group warns of threat to Libyan oil fields
A group organized to protect journalists said there were "credible" reports that militants may be plotting attacks on oil fields in Libya.
Sounds like a job for the European Army...
The U.S. and British governments warned citizens of the threat of terrorist attacks in Libya one day after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton testified about Sept. 11, 2012, attacks on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi. That attack left Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans dead.

The International News Safety Institute, a coalition formed to ensure journalist safety, followed up with its warning advising of potential attacks on Libyan oil fields.

"The International News Safety Institute has been alerted by credible sources that terrorist organizations may be planning to attack oil fields in Libya," the organization said.

It added that it's likely any attack would mirror last week's al-Qaida siege on a natural gas facility in eastern Algeria.

Posted by: tipper || 01/25/2013 10:11 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336097 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Timely (?) advice. Right on top of world news. /s
Posted by: tipover || 01/25/2013 11:10 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Syria terror group kills 200 security personnel
Syrian terrorist group Jabhat al-Nusra killed some 200 security personnel including a senior officer, in an area close to the Golan Heights, Israel Radio reported Sunday citing a Syrian rebel group.

The sources reported that the terror group destroyed a Syrian military base in the village of Saasa, not far away from the Israeli border. A resident of the area told Israel Radio that echoes of an explosion were heard in the area.
Posted by: tipper || 01/25/2013 10:08 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336116 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I think this base was one where locals were being trained for paramilitary duty.

Thus the dead are more civilians than soldiers
Posted by: lord garth || 01/25/2013 10:15 Comments || Top||

#2  Maybe the same action
Twin Car Bombs in Golan Heights Town Kill Eight
Posted by: tipper || 01/25/2013 11:30 Comments || Top||


Africa North
Al Qaeda linked to Algeria attack
The Obama Administration now believes the attack and hostage-taking at a natural gas plant in Algeria last week is the work of al Qaeda operatives based out of northern Mali.
Wow! that was fast
Holmes! How do you do it?!
U.S. officials say al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) was behind the attack and may also have operated a communications network from northern Mali. Despite the recent French intervention, large areas of Mali remain in the hands of jihadist groups.

One senior U.S. official said "elements of AQIM" may have carried out the offensive in tandem with fighters loyal to Moktar Belmoktar, a veteran militant based in northern Mali who has claimed responsibility for the assault.

Last year, Belmoktar was said to have been demoted by the Emir of AQIM, Abdel Malek Droukdel, but is thought to have retained links to the organization.

One U.S. official told CNN that American intelligence gatherers are trying to determine if the two factions had reunited for the attack. If so, that would indicate greater communications among North African elements of al Qaeda affiliates and splinter groups than previously thought.

U.S. intelligence believes some of the attackers came into Algeria from training camps in Libya, whose border is about 40 miles (60 kilometers) from the In Amenas site.

One of the officials emphasized that the United States is now relying on intelligence it has gathered "by other means" because of the lack of information coming from the Algerian government. It has long been privately acknowledged that the U.S. intelligence community has the ability to gather imagery and intercept communications using a variety of military and CIA platforms such as satellites and aircraft.

"We have other ways of assessing who the perpetrators were," he said, but warned the information on Mali could change as more information emerges.
Posted by: tipper || 01/25/2013 09:51 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336104 views] Top|| File under:

#1  So now we know that Al Qaeda was linked to this, and to Benghazi, and to the Mali groups that Morsi-who-we're-giving-F16's-to is sticking up for.
Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain || 01/25/2013 10:17 Comments || Top||

#2  One of the officials emphasized that the United States is now relying on intelligence it has gathered "by other means" because of the lack of information coming from the Algerian government. It has long been privately acknowledged that the U.S. intelligence community has the ability to gather imagery and intercept communications using a variety of military and CIA platforms such as satellites and aircraft.

....but these special intelligence mechanisms were unavailable due to vacations and annual leave on 9/11/12.
Posted by: Besoeker || 01/25/2013 10:30 Comments || Top||

#3  Hm. Its almost like the Algerian government doesn't trust this administration with important information.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 01/25/2013 11:00 Comments || Top||

#4  ....but these special intelligence mechanisms were unavailable due to vacations and annual leave on 9/11/12

Heavy sunspot activity, plus an additional focus on Facebook voter activity.
Posted by: Pappy || 01/25/2013 11:39 Comments || Top||

#5  Yo Pappy. What you smell ?

Drone vectored to attack site - Check
Attack approaches 7 hour mark - Check
50 vehicle relief column not arrived - Check
Drone orbits on station - Check
W & D use tracers to hold off attackers - Check
Drone orbiting on station - Check
Mortar fire begins - Check
Drone Orbiting on station - Check
W & D fire terminates - Check
Mortar fire terminates - Check
Drone orbits on station - Check
No movement from W & D - Check
Drone orbits on station - Check
Bad guys fade away - Check
50 vehicle relief column shows up - Check
Drone Returns to Base - Check

œ5:04 a.m.: The team from Tripoli arrives at the CIA base. Glen Doherty, one of the GRS men from Tripoli, goes to the roof and joins Woods in firing positions.

œ5:15 a.m.: A new Libyan assault begins, this time with mortars. Two rounds miss and the next three hit the roof. The rooftop defenders never glaser the mortars,h as has been reported. They donft know the weapons are in place until the indirect fire begins, nor are the mortars observed by the drone overhead. The defenders have focused their laser sights earlier on several Libyan attackers, as warnings not to fire. At 5:26 the attack is over. Woods and Doherty are dead and two others are wounded.

œ6 a.m.: Libyan forces from the military intelligence service finally arrive, now with 50 vehicles. They escort the Americans to the airport. A first group of 18, including two wounded, depart at 7 a.m. A second group of 12, plus the four dead, leave at 10 a.m. for Tripoli and then the long flight back to America.

Link
Posted by: Besoeker || 01/25/2013 13:05 Comments || Top||

#6  Yo Pappy. What you smell ?

1. Ignatius' timeline coordinates with other open source info indicating Libyan TNG-element collusion or deliberate...'not paying attention' to attack.

2. Mortar deployment and use was performed by highly trained team(s). Two 'missed' (ranging) rounds is about par for an expert team with previously supplied range-to-target data and with a pre-established launch site.

3. Drone deployment and implementation brings up a lot of questions, like expertise level of the operations team and the C4 situation.

4. I won't venture an educated opinion as to USG and administration response and actions - at this point.
Posted by: Pappy || 01/25/2013 14:25 Comments || Top||

#7  I agree with your assessment. I might add that the timing of the arrival of the relief column [approx. 30 minutes after the shi* stops] appears a bit suspect. Shades of PAK relief effort - 1993, Blackhawk Down, or worse. Seven hours is a very long time to be waiting on the cavalry. Guess I'll leave it at that.
Posted by: Besoeker || 01/25/2013 15:57 Comments || Top||

#8  "Its almost like the Algerian government doesn't trust this administration with important information."

I don't - why should they?
Posted by: Barbara || 01/25/2013 17:11 Comments || Top||

#9  Seven hours is a very long time to be waiting on the cavalry

As I mentioned before, think "attacks on USS AGERs" and the politically-driven motivations for the NCA responses (or lack thereof.)
Posted by: Pappy || 01/25/2013 17:52 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Culture Wars
Daily Kos: Does the Green Party Hate Black Women?
Posted by: tipper || 01/25/2013 09:38 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336127 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Does the author hate Native Americans, because clearly there was no reference to New World Monkeys (Colombus white European murderers eleventy/d5454d

That would have been a solid D back in junior high current event reports.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 01/25/2013 10:42 Comments || Top||

#2  I read and re-read the article and the headline conclusion does not follow from the story--a non sequitur. No where were women mentioned in the story as far as I could tell. I guess it is implied and for the reader to discern these esoteric nuances. But it is Daily Kos reporting(?) isn't it?
Posted by: JohnQC || 01/25/2013 11:07 Comments || Top||

#3  I hate to credit the Kos with anything, but there is a very wide thread of truth found herein. Just my 2 cents worth.
Posted by: Besoeker || 01/25/2013 11:09 Comments || Top||

#4  Agree John, the title is quite strange.
Posted by: Besoeker || 01/25/2013 11:10 Comments || Top||

#5 
Does the Green Party hate black women?
Do they like anyone who won't be in their Ecologist Caste?
Posted by: Korora || 01/25/2013 13:17 Comments || Top||

#6  Does it matter? You need a microscope to see their electorate.
Posted by: Muggsy Mussolini1226 || 01/25/2013 13:18 Comments || Top||

#7  I thought they hate all humans?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 01/25/2013 14:30 Comments || Top||

#8  What g(r)omgoru said. Sure the Green Party hates black women. And white men. And Asian children. The philosophy calls for a *vast* reduction in the human population, and their membership are 99% white, urban progressives. You figure it out.
Posted by: Secret Master || 01/25/2013 16:44 Comments || Top||

#9  The philosophy calls for a *vast* reduction in the human population. That's the philosophy of the Livid Party. Sir David Attenborough recently went on record that the human race is a 'plague' on the earth. He's 86 years old. He is not following the advice of Japan’s finance minister: Old people should “hurry up and die”
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 01/25/2013 17:50 Comments || Top||

#10  There's tens of thousands of centenarians in Japans...of course, they died many decades ago but the family really, but really enjoy spending their old age pension...so nobody tell their government.
't's all fiat money, anyway, innit?
Posted by: Thrineger Thurong3165 || 01/25/2013 22:06 Comments || Top||


Europe
2 convicted of al-Qaida membership in Germany
A German and an Austrian have been convicted of membership in al-Qaida and sentenced to several years in prison.

Yusuf Ocak, 27, from Luebeck, Germany, was also convicted of being a founding member of the German Taliban Mujahideen and was sentenced to 9 years in prison. Maqsood Lodin, 23, an Austrian of Afghan background, was sentenced to 6 years 9 months.

Both can appeal.

The pair met in July 2010 in Pakistan's Waziristan region and were assigned by al-Qaida to collect money and recruit members for the terrorist group in Europe upon returning there in the spring of 2011. Ocak also posted a threat video on the internet in 2009.

Ocak was arrested in Vienna and Lodin in Berlin in 2011. Neither defendant made statements during the trial.

Posted by: tipper || 01/25/2013 09:21 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336125 views] Top|| File under:


Britain
Suspected terrorist wins appeal
You just can't make this sh*t up YJCMTSU
A suspected terrorist from Algeria with links to supporters of al Qaida has won his appeal to stay on British soil over fears he may kill himself if deported.

The North African fanatic, who does not dispute posing a threat to national security and is currently free on bail, is believed to have provided travel arrangements and fake passports to terrorists.

But in a blow to the Home Office, a special immigration court has allowed the 43-year-old to remain in Britain amid concerns his human rights will be breached because he is likely to commit suicide once returned to his home country.
That doesn't make a bit of sense, even for Britain...
Question: do they mean he would hang himself, or become a jacket wallah?
There you go, they wouldn't want him to be a splodydope, unless he can take out a bunch of Zionist wimmins and babies...
In the same judgment, Mr Justice Mitting - who recently upheld hate preacher Abu Qatada's appeal to remain in Britain - told six other Algerian terror suspects they must leave the country.

But the senior immigration judge warned that despite his ruling there was "no end in sight" to removing the men, who are also free on bail and include two fundamentalists linked with an alleged 2003 plot to commit mass murder using the poison ricin.
Posted by: tipper || 01/25/2013 09:01 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336080 views] Top|| File under:


Terror Networks
The road to renewal
A small glimmer of light in a hurricane of Islamic ignorance.
After centuries of stagnation science is making a comeback in the Islamic world
Posted by: tipper || 01/25/2013 02:13 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336077 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Didn't see any credit for that 'historic' period given to all the dhimmis and other unter-menchen that actually did the sicence.

The main thing they did was preserve all the ancient Greek, Persian, Hindu, etc. learning that came before the Muzzie conquests.
Posted by: AlanC || 01/25/2013 7:33 Comments || Top||

#2  "If we have seen further, it is because we have stood on the backs and shoulders of monkeys and pigs!"
Posted by: M. Murcek || 01/25/2013 8:57 Comments || Top||

#3  /sark, I hope one and all realize...
Posted by: M. Murcek || 01/25/2013 8:58 Comments || Top||

#4  Quaid-i-Azam University in Islamabad, for example, has three mosques on campus, with a fourth planned, but no bookshop. They don't need a bookshop as they would only have one book anyway.
Posted by: JohnQC || 01/25/2013 11:51 Comments || Top||


Africa North
More soldiers for Benghazi
[Libya Herald] Three hundred and sixteen new soliders graduated at a ceremony in Benghazi yesterday, Wednesday. Aged between 24 and 40, they will serve as members of the combat security division of the city's Department of Military Intelligence, part of the national army.

The ceremony was attended by Colonels Abdel-Jalil Houti and Abdel-Samad Houti from the General Staff as well as Colonels Rafa Akasha, Director of the Benghazi Department of Military Intelligence, Salah Attia, commander of the combat security division of Benghazi military department and Ayman Abdali, director of the Management Affairs Department.

A number of those who completed the training were enrolled into the security unit by the Warriors Affairs Commission.
Posted by: Fred || 01/25/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336095 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring

#1  Wonder if they were trained by Blue Mountain?
Posted by: Pappy || 01/25/2013 11:41 Comments || Top||

#2  Our colleagues the Turks have at least part of the training mission. They appear to be.... hmmm hmmm very well funded.
Posted by: Besoeker || 01/25/2013 12:16 Comments || Top||

#3  Well-funded indeed.

Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt. All players here.

The phrase "used like a downtown bus" appears to be applicable.
Posted by: Pappy || 01/25/2013 14:30 Comments || Top||


Southeast Asia
Assistant village leader gunned down in southern Thailand
An assistant village leader was gunned down in Pattani's Mayo district on Thursday afternoon.

The Mayo police chief, Pol Col Kong-ath Suwankham, said the attack occurred about 1 p.m. as Muhamad Sukin Yaye was sitting alone on a bamboo bed on the ground floor of his home. Two men arrived on a motorcycle and one of them opened fire at him with a .38 pistol, instantly killing him.

Police are checking security camera footage from near the spot to identify the attackers.

PM calls for investigation of brazen school attack

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has ordered an investigation into the brazen shooting of a Muslim teacher in the far South, as security authorities defended their approach to school security.

The lunchtime shooting on Wednesday of Chonlathee Charoenchol, a teacher in Narathiwat province, shocked the government and security officials for its cold-blooded nature. Chonlathee was shot at lunchtime in front of 292 students and 15 other teachers in the school's cafeteria.

Police yesterday provided a list of four suspects for the shooting, as 20 schools in the area stayed shut for a second day after teachers expressed concerns.

The four men named by police as suspects in the attack were identified as Isma-ael, Arhama, Sorkumin and Marorsor. Mr Isma-ael is believed to be the man who shot the teacher, Deputy Narathiwat police chief Kritsada Kaewjandee said. The gun used in the killing belonged to Pol Sgt Arzeesal Hemna, who was attached to Khok Khian police station in Narathiwat before being gunned down last year, he said.
Posted by: ryuge || 01/25/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336100 views] Top|| File under:


Caribbean-Latin America
Venezuela's vice president says he's target of assassination plot
[REUTERS] Venezuelan Vice President Nicolas Maduro said unidentified groups had entered the country with the aim of assassinating him and the head of the National Assembly as His Excellency President-for-Life, Caudillo of the Bolivarians Hugo Chavez recovers from cancer in Cuba.

Maduro provided no proof of the claim, made at a rally on Wednesday to mark the end of a dictatorship in the OPEC nation 55 years ago, but he said action would be taken shortly.

"For several weeks we've been following groups that have infiltrated the country with the aim of making attempts on the life of (Assembly head) Diosdado Cabello and my own," Maduro told a crowd of red-shirted "Chavista" supporters. "They will not manage it against either of us."
Posted by: Fred || 01/25/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336074 views] Top|| File under: Commies

#1  That's how those kind of governments work, Nicolas. Ask Trotsky.
Posted by: Glenmore || 01/25/2013 7:51 Comments || Top||

#2  Yeah, watch out for anyone carrying an ice axe around Caracas.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 01/25/2013 8:55 Comments || Top||


Arabia
Yemen Dispatches Troops to Launch New Campaign against Militants
[Yemen Post] Yemeni forces arrived early Monday in Baidha province led by the army's chief of staff to launch a campaign against Al-Qaeda snuffies who have lately started to regroup in the Rada city, Almasdar Online reported on Wednesday.

Hundreds of soldiers, 50 tanks and other equipment were dispatched to Rada amid reports tribal elders in the province are trying to mediate and convince the snuffies to leave the city without any battles with the government, it quoted local sources as saying.

"The campaign mainly aims to retake control of some parts of Rada which are almost under control of Al-Qaeda-linked snuffies ," a source told the website.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred || 01/25/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336085 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Arabia

#1  Note Soviet "leg & foot wraps" vs socks in graphic as discussed here a few days ago.
Posted by: Besoeker || 01/25/2013 16:01 Comments || Top||


International-UN-NGOs
UN Secretary-General outlines UN priorities for 2013
[GBCGHANA] UN Secretary-General the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon
... of whom it can be said to his credit that he is not Kofi Annan...
has outlined the United Nations
...Parkinson's Law on an international scale...
priorities for 2013. He told the General Assembly's 193 member States that this year, they were meeting amid tremendous turmoil and uncertainty.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred || 01/25/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336117 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Is "move it all to Geneva" on the list?
Posted by: Pappy || 01/25/2013 15:56 Comments || Top||

#2  Same as priorities for 2012, with the addition of extended lunch hours and the addition of April 25th, the Africa Day Holiday.
Posted by: Besoeker || 01/25/2013 16:17 Comments || Top||

#3  Is one of the priorities to insure a gourmet Halal menu is provided? Is another to try to bilk the U.S. taxpayers out of more money for nonsense?
Posted by: JohnQC || 01/25/2013 19:12 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Iran unveils third generation fighter jets
Iranian Defense Minister will soon unveil the third generation of Iranian fighter jets, defense ministry official said, MNA reported.
Readers should click the link for a look. I think it's a cleaned up F5...
Reports quoted Ahmad Vahidi as saying; "a new fighter jet to be unveiled soon, is designed as a bomber and performs both air-to-air and air-to-ground missions. It is fully engineered by Islamic Republic of Iran's scientists and is considered a very important achievement for Iran."

This will be the third generation of Iranian fighter jets unveiled by Iranian defense ministry since the Islamic Revolution in 1979. Previously, Iran Defense industry had revealed "Azarakhsh" and "Saeqeh" for first and second generation of fighter jets respectively.
Posted by: Steve White || 01/25/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336120 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Looks like that to me, Dr. Steve.
Posted by: USN,Ret. || 01/25/2013 8:45 Comments || Top||

#2  Code-named "Splash"
Posted by: Frank G || 01/25/2013 8:46 Comments || Top||

#3  Revolutionary paint job.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble || 01/25/2013 9:06 Comments || Top||

#4  Kinda fancy for a target drone.
Posted by: gorb || 01/25/2013 10:28 Comments || Top||

#5  They forgot the "We Brake For NOBODY" sticker...
Posted by: Muggsy Mussolini1226 || 01/25/2013 13:09 Comments || Top||

#6  Yep. They just rework the F5 electronics a bit and call it a new generation.
Posted by: DarthVader || 01/25/2013 20:54 Comments || Top||


Arabia
Top Al Qaeda commander killed for the THIRD time: U.S air strike 'finally' gets terror boss in Yemen
  • Senior Al Qaeda leader reported dead after air strike
  • It is the third time Said al-Shihri has been reported killed
  • He has been linked with several attacks, kidnaps and bombings
  • Veteran fighter was released from Guantanamo in 2007

    [Daily Mail] A senior jihadist believed to be behind a deadly bombing at the U.S. embassy in Yemen has been reported killed, the third time his death has been announced.

    Said al-Shihri, the second in command of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), was reportedly killed in an Arclight airstrike in Yemen in December, according to a news report by Arabic television network Al Arabiya.
    Yemen Post sez it was November, but why quibble?
    According to the report, the Saudi-born beturbanned goon died after sustaining severe injuries from a joint U.S.-Yemeni Arclight airstrike that targeted his convoy.

    The al Arabiya account, based on information from 'family sources', said al-Shihri went into a coma and allegedly died soon after.

    It is the third time he has been reported killed. In 2009 it was announced that he was killed by an American cruise missile and in September 2012, Yemeni news sites reported he was eliminated by a U.S. drone strike.
    On the other hand, he's only gotta be dead once. See how that works?
    Al-Shihri was jugged
    Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un!
    in Guantanamo Bay for six years after being captured in fighting in Afghanistan.
    ... where, as everyone knows, all the inmates are innocent.
    He caused controversy in the U.S. after he was released back to his Soddy Arabia
    ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in their national face...
    in 2007 and underwent a Saudi rehabilitation programme for Islamic beturbanned goons, almost immediately returning to terrorist activity on his release.
    What is the Saudi recidivism rate for their special rehab program for jihadis?
    The al Arabiya report said he was involved in the failed operation that targeted liquidation of the Saudi interior minister, Prince Mohammed bin Nayef in 2009.
    Was that where they sent in the brother of the master bomb maker with a bomb stuffed up his bum?
    That's the one. Next to dressing up like girls, they like bombs up the bum best.
    Al-Shihri is also reported to have been involved in the kidnapping of foreigners in Yemen and was allegedly the criminal mastermind behind the 2008 embassy bombing.

    AQAP, a highly active branch of Al Qaeda, was behind a suicide kaboom aimed at the British ambassador in Yemen in April 2010, and a rocket fired at a British embassy vehicle in October 2010.

    The Yemeni army, supported by the U.S., has been fighting Islamist gunnies in the south of the country for months.

    The gunnies took large parts of the south of Yemen after president President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh
    ... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, but he didn't invite Donna Summer to the inauguration and Blondie couldn't make it...
    was ousted in February 2012.
  • Posted by: trailing wife || 01/25/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336162 views] Top|| File under:

    #1  If it wasn't him that got killed the first two times, who was it? Body doubles? Car thieves? Parking valets?
    Posted by: Glenmore || 01/25/2013 7:36 Comments || Top||

    #2  Released from Gitmo in 2007? Clearly the catch, rehab, and release program is not working. This is a variation on the Scorpion and Frog fable.
    Posted by: JohnQC || 01/25/2013 10:54 Comments || Top||

    #3  File under "Tales of the Counter-Intuitive"
    Posted by: Fred || 01/25/2013 11:05 Comments || Top||

    #4  "If it wasn't him that got killed the first two times, who was it? "
    Well obviously it was the Evil Empire's Clone Troopers

    Posted by: Betty Forkbeard9572 || 01/25/2013 20:52 Comments || Top||


    Police Chief Escapes Assassination Plot in Yemen
    [Yemen Post] Chief of the rescue police in Baidha province, Khalid Al-Dhile, escaped an liquidation plot after unknown people placed a bomb inside his car and detonated it on Wednesday, the state-run September 26 website reported.

    Son of the chief and two others were maimed and a soldier was killed in the kaboom which occurred at the main market of Baidha, the website said.

    The kaboom was very huge and burned the car of the chief completely, it added.
    Continued on Page 49
    Posted by: Fred || 01/25/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336124 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Arabia


    China-Japan-Koreas
    Ignoring North Korea's gulags
    By Jared Genser
    Jared Genseran, an attorney and pro bono counsel to the International Coalition to Stop Crimes Against Humanity in North Korea, says we shouldn't ignore the gulags, and points out that dealing with the gulags is exactly the same moral issue as dealing with the North Korean nukes. He's on to something. Recommended.
    Posted by: Steve White || 01/25/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336101 views] Top|| File under:

    #1  They've sworn to attacj America, when they do, it;s show over for them.
    Posted by: Redneck Jim || 01/25/2013 16:49 Comments || Top||


    Africa North
    Mali rebel group splits, one faction ready for talks
    [FRANCE24] Following two weeks of joint French-Malian military action to flush out Islamist Death Eaters in northern Mali, the country's rebel group Ansar Dine has split in two, with the breakaway faction ready for peace talks, it said on Thursday.

    A faction of one of the armed Islamist groups occupying the north of the Mali has split off from its al Qaeda allies and says it is willing to hold talks with the government, the leader of the new group said on Thursday.

    Alghabass Ag Intallah, a senior member of the Tuareg-led Ansar Dine group which helped seize northern Mali last year from government forces, said he had created a new organization, the Islamic Movement of Azawad (MIA), and was ready to seek a negotiated solution to Mali's conflict.

    "There has to be a ceasefire so there can be talks," he said, speaking from the town of Kidal, a Tuareg stronghold in northeast Mali seized by Ansar Dine last year
    A French-led military operation is underway in Mali to drive back the Islamist fighters who launched a surprise push southward toward the capital Bamako two weeks ago. An African ground force is being deployed to support French and Malian troops.

    "We want to wage our war and not that of AQIM," Ag Intallah said by telephone, referring to al Qaeda's North African wing which has been at the heart of the takeover of the vast desert north by Malian and foreign Islamist fighters.
    It doesn't work that way, bub. You started, you asked them for help, they pushed you out of the way and went for the whole thing. Besides which, Ansar Dine was "governing" the same way AQIM was "governing."
    "There has to be a ceasefire so there can be talks," he said, speaking from the town of Kidal, a Tuareg stronghold in northeast Mali seized by Ansar Dine last year. "The aim is to speak about the situation in the north."
    There doesn't need to be a ceasefire and talks are not called for at the moment. The aim is not to talk about the situation in the north, but to destroy a pack of mad dogs through a country with a 7,500 man army.
    He said the new group, which would be based in Kidal, had been in touch with mediators in Burkina Faso
    ...The country in west Africa that they put where Upper Volta used to be. Its capital is Oogadooga, or something like that. Its president is currently Blaise Compaoré, who took office in 1987 and expects to leave office feet first at the age of 111...
    and Algerian authorities. He said rebel demands would be for a broad autonomy rather than independence for the north.
    If Ansar Dine did get their own "broadly autonomous" principate to misrule, what would stop AQIM from shoving them aside and taking over again?
    Ansar Dine had formed a loose alliance with AQIM and a third group, MUJWA, to impose sharia Islamic law in the desert and mountain area the size of Texas.
    Islamic law sez it's okay to slap women around for not wearing veils, to saw people's hands off, and to bury people under piles of rocks for humping. They're selling that as a good thing.
    It was not immediately possible to confirm how many fighters would leave the ranks of Ansar Dine to join the new group.

    International negotiators have long sought to prize apart the Islamist alliance by offering talks to Ansar Dine and Tuareg separatists, on the condition that they broke with AQIM. Ag Intallah was a senior Ansar Dine negotiator in talks last year.

    But preliminary negotiations broke down last month after Ansar Dine called off a ceasefire, amid reports of splits between moderates seeking a political solution and cut-throats with deep links to al Qaeda.

    Ag Intallah would not give a figure for his supporters, as he said a list was still being drawn up, but he said most Malians in the ranks of Ansar Dine had joined his faction.

    Estimates for the total number of Islamist fighters in Mali vary but do not exceed roughly 3,000.

    Ag Intallah said some members of the Tuareg separatist MNLA movement, which has fought AQIM in the north, had also joined his group.
    "Islamic law? Why, sure! Sign me up!"
    A front man for the MNLA was not immediately available for comment.
    "I can say no more!"
    Posted by: Fred || 01/25/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336112 views] Top|| File under: Ansar Dine

    #1  "we're not done killing you yet"
    Posted by: Frank G || 01/25/2013 8:18 Comments || Top||

    #2  SPLITTERS!
    Posted by: Muggsy Mussolini1226 || 01/25/2013 13:28 Comments || Top||

    #3  Ansar Dine is kinda creepy -- like some of the Navajo went all Mooselimb.

    And how many more people have to be slaughtered before VW changes the name of that fooking SUV?
    Posted by: Dopey Sinatra9196 || 01/25/2013 17:34 Comments || Top||


    Good morning
    Posted by: Fred || 01/25/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336123 views] Top|| File under:

    #1  Birthday Gam Shot

    Christine Lakin [Filmography](age 34)



    Intelligent Design


    Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 01/25/2013 1:08 Comments || Top||


    Syria-Lebanon-Iran
    US has plans for surgical strikes on Iran, sez Ehud Barak
    In this lifetime, or the next?
    The United States are now considering the use of surgical strikes, rather than heavy-handed attacks, to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, Israel's outgoing defence minister, Ehud Barak, said Thursday at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, DPA reported.

    Barack said the US military plans had been changed under the administration of President Barack Obama to "extremely fine noodles scalpels."

    "I used to scorn my American friends, I used to tell them: When we talk about surgical operations, we think of scalpels - you think of a chisel with a 10-pound hammer," he said at the meeting of government and business leaders in the Swiss town.
    Continued on Page 49
    Posted by: Steve White || 01/25/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336136 views] Top|| File under:

    #1  OTOH XINHUA [Drudgereport]> JOHN KERRY PLEDGES DIPLOMATIC RESOLUTION TO IRAN ISSUE.

    IMO Artic also read, US = ANTI-WAR, PRO-DIPLOMACY BAMMER ADMIN HAS NO REASON TO UNILATERALLY STRIKE OR INVADE IRAN.

    Sub-read,IRAN WILL GET ITS NUKES.

    Sub-Sub-read, GOOD FOR COMMIES, GLOBALISTS, + AMERIKKA ALA FUTURE NUCLEAR GLOBAL JIHAD = NUCLEAR MILTERR'ISM.
    Posted by: JosephMendiola || 01/25/2013 19:19 Comments || Top||


    India-Pakistan
    Consensus on militancy
    [Dawn] THE ANP’s proposed all-parties conference on terrorism is a decent idea on paper, but like most things that look good on paper, the reality may prove somewhat more difficult. The ANP’s interest in the conference is clear and its reasons legitimate: as one of the only mainstream parties that have taken an unequivocal stance against terrorism and militancy, the party has suffered greatly. Hundreds of party activists and leaders have been killed in recent years and now the ANP faces perhaps its greatest hurdle: launching an election campaign in a climate of fear in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
    ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central...
    . Predictably, though, the ANP’s move has faced resistance from the usual quarters, particularly the mainstream religious parties that prefer the politics of appeasement when it comes to terrorism and militancy. True, part of the problem with the ANP’s attempt to convene an APC is the lack of a clear agenda and obvious doubts about how any new recommendations will be implemented. There already exist parliamentary recommendations for the fight against militancy and if those have gone unheeded, what chance of success for an APC?

    Beyond that, though, the problem lies with the fecklessness of many mainstream political parties. Start with the JI and the JUI-F, both of which have already rejected an invitation to participate in the APC. Both have suffered at the hands of Death Eaters over the years and both will know that the first to suffer when Death Eaters take over are the mainstream religious parties for their ‘collaboration’ with ‘un-Islamic’ forces. Maulana Fazlur Rehman
    Deobandi holy man, known as Mullah Diesel during the war against the Soviets, his sympathies for the Taliban have never been tempered by honesty ...
    himself has been repeatedly attacked by Death Eaters and though it has been obvious who the perpetrators were, the JUI-F has preferred to target its rhetoric against ‘foreign interference’ and the US-led war in Afghanistan. Even when the Death Eaters themselves claim responsibility for spectacular, bloody attacks inside Pakistain, the JI and the JUI-F have been reluctant to denounce the perpetrators and the groups they represent.

    The records of the PML-Q and the PML-N are hardly any better when it comes to denouncing all forms of terrorism and militancy, a fact made all the more troubling by the reality that Punjab is a growing centre of extremism and militancy. Imran Khan
    ... aka Taliban Khan, who ain't the sharpest bulb on the national tree...
    and his PTI have in recent months been somewhat better when it comes to at least condemning violence and denouncing some krazed killer groups, but one of the party’s main electoral planks is still rooted in denial about what jihad culture has done to Pakistain. Faced with deep, almost across-the-board reluctance to even acknowledge the nature of the threat, the few in the political class who want to challenge it are helpless and impotent.
    Posted by: Fred || 01/25/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336078 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


    Africa North
    French planes destroy Islamist bases in Mali
    [FRANCE24] French warplanes destroyed two Islamist bases in northern Mali as a leading Al-Qaeda-linked group in the region split Thursday, with the breakaway group saying it wanted talks to end the French-led offensive against the myrmidons.

    The bombing raids overnight targeted Ansongo, about 80 kilometres (50 miles) from the town of Gao and bully boy bases in the nearby village of the Seyna Sonrai, a Malian military source said on condition of anonymity.

    "French military planes successfully attacked Islamist positions at Ansongo and nearby areas," the source said. "The strikes were very successful and caused damage to the enemy."
    Continued on Page 49
    Posted by: Fred || 01/25/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336106 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in North Africa

    #1  Nah, they destroyed an aspirin factory that was hidden inside a baby milk plant.
    Posted by: Glenmore || 01/25/2013 7:32 Comments || Top||

    #2  That provided employment for thousands of orphan bunnies.
    Posted by: Shipman || 01/25/2013 16:21 Comments || Top||

    #3  Considering the value of water in Mali I would be skeptical about the body dump in the well. That would REALLY PO the locals.
    Posted by: tipover || 01/25/2013 16:30 Comments || Top||

    #4  Commonly done in that part of the world. Quickly accomplishes three things: (1.) Rids the region of trouble makers. (2.) Sends strong message to local survivors. (3.) Forces survivors to pack up and move elsewhere.
    Posted by: Besoeker || 01/25/2013 16:38 Comments || Top||


    Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
    Council of Europe alleges use of torture in north Caucasus
    The Council of Europe on Thursday accused Russian authorities of administering electric shocks, asphyxiation and other tortures on prisoners in an effort to suppress an Islamist insurgency in the North Caucasus.

    The report was released after Russia for the first time allowed the publication of findings gathered by the council's committee on torture on a 2011 trip to Chechnya, Dagestan and North Ossetia.

    The report by the Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) gives weight to human rights groups' assertions that regional governments turn a blind eye to abuses in the name of cracking down on the terrorists militants.
    Continued on Page 49
    Posted by: ryuge || 01/25/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336094 views] Top|| File under:


    China-Japan-Koreas
    Park will not tolerate N. Korea's nuclear weapons program
    DAVOS, Switzerland -- South Korean President-elect Park Geun-hye will not tolerate North Korea's nuclear weapons program and will respond firmly to any additional provocations from the communist country, a special envoy said Thursday (local time).

    Rep. Rhee In-je, Park's special envoy to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, made the remarks in a briefing to the foreign press while outlining the incoming president's policies on North Korea.

    "President-elect Park has proposed a 'Korean Peninsula trust process' as a real solution to the North Korea issue," Rhee said. "If there is trust, the two Koreas can do a lot together, and if the trust accumulates, that could provide the key to solving the North Korean nuclear issue."

    The envoy, a six-term lawmaker of Park's ruling Saenuri Party and a co-chief of her presidential campaign last year, added that the president-elect is open to dialogue with the North and will provide food and medical aid to the North Korean people.
    Posted by: Steve White || 01/25/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336096 views] Top|| File under:

    #1  A firmly worded letter is being crafted as we speak.
    Posted by: gorb || 01/25/2013 10:24 Comments || Top||


    -Lurid Crime Tales-
    Car Accident Triggers Unrest In Azerbaijan Town
    I'm not sure if this should be classified under the Surrealists or the Dadaists. Perhaps you can figure it out, dear Reader.
    [Ay Pee] It began late at night with a minor car accident.

    By midday Thursday, a hotel had been burned to the ground, several expensive vehicles torched and crowds were facing off with police to demand a leading regional official's resignation.

    The episode has exposed latent tensions nurtured by economic inequality and unresponsive governance in the oil-abundant Azerbaijan. The ostentatious display of wealth and aggressive, arrogant behavior among well-connected individuals is commonplace across resource-rich former Soviet republics and engenders much bitterness.
    Continued on Page 49
    Posted by: trailing wife || 01/25/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336076 views] Top|| File under:

    #1  The ostentatious display of wealth and aggressive, arrogant behavior among well-connected individuals is commonplace across resource-rich former Soviet republics and engenders much bitterness.
    Same thing here - Obama's attitude and parties embitters ME.
    Posted by: Glenmore || 01/25/2013 7:47 Comments || Top||

    #2  There are 9m people in Azerbaijan. There are at least 9m reasons for unrest. On the other hand, you could find something like this in Chicago or L.A. on a hot summer night.
    Posted by: JohnQC || 01/25/2013 11:54 Comments || Top||

    #3  I'm not sure if this should be classified under the Surrealists or the Dadaists. Perhaps you can figure it out, dear Reader.

    If Chrome then Surrealists
    If Chrome and Agricultural Implements then Dadaist.

    Unless the car is a Lada it looks to be Surreal.
    Posted by: Shipman || 01/25/2013 16:38 Comments || Top||


    India-Pakistan
    Ties with India
    [Dawn] PREOCCUPATION with domestic issues over the past few weeks should not have prevented Pakistain's policymakers and informed sections of society from taking note of the dangerous events along the Line of Control in Kashmire.
    "Dangerous events" are defined in Pakistain as Indian reaction to Pak covering fire for infiltrators. Denial that the firing ever took place is stupid. Any "inability" of the govt to confirm or deny is just as stupid -- if their military can't keep track of the number of artillery rounds in a given unit they're incompetent by definition.
    What led to the exchange of fire between Indian and Pakistain troops and the loss of life on both sides is not clear.
    But we've already established what led to it: covering fire for government-approved Lashkar-e-Taiba infiltrators. You get the covering fire, a Pak denial, and then two or three or four bad guys are shooting it out with the cops or the army in Srinagar the next Wednesday. You can set your watch by it, unless you're a Pak.
    However,
    corruption finds a dozen alibis for its evil deeds...
    it should not have been difficult to appreciate India's anger at the reported beheading of one of its soldiers.
    That's kind of the Islamist trademark, isn't it? No doubt the guy that did it has the head at home in his refrigerator.
    One does regret the two sides' failure to set up a mechanism for the investigation of such incidents.
    Tut tut. But it actually doesn't take two sides to set up that kind of mechanism. One on each side would do, and then they could meet and trade details. No need to station intel agents in each other's command posts. Well, I guess there is, if their primary function to collect intel.
    What should have caused immense anxiety in Pakistain was the sharp reaction from the Indian leadership, especially Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's declaration that bilateral relations had considerably deteriorated.
    I did like the "duck and cover" and "build a bunker with food for two weeks in your cellar" instructions. That sort of thing catches even a Pak warmonger's attention.
    Fortunately, the foreign ministers of both countries are making an attempt at damage control but a more earnest effort to ease the tension is obviously needed.
    You mean, like on the side of the Pak military? Or on the part of their pet Talibs, who were promising yesterday to attack "terror training camps" of the Heathen Hindoo. Reciprocity and equity would seem to grant the same right to "violate sovereignty" to the other side, so perhaps they could end up ducking and covering in Miranshah or Mir Ali or Bara.
    Whatever the provocation,
    ... and chopping somebody's head off is definitely a provocation...
    the Indian decision to suspend the visa-on-arrival facility for senior citizens was completely unexpected. It also made no sense.
    Neither did chopping the guy's head off.
    People on both sides had hailed the new system as the culmination of years of campaigning by human rights activists on both sides. It seemed the doors were being shut on agents of friendship and goodwill.
    How much "friendship and goodwill" is included under the headings of "covering fire," "Lashkar-e-Taiba," and "chopped his head off?" Think real hard now.
    This impression has been altered somewhat by the explanation that certain preparations for managing the new system have to be completed. One should hope that the suspension of the new visa regime is only for a short time.
    "Yasss. We have certain procedures we have to see to before the program can go into effect. Please bear with us."
    "How long's it gonna take?"
    "How about when we get the guy's head back?"

    More worrisome has been the effectiveness of the hate-driven campaign by India's communal organizations, led by the new boss of Shiv Sena,
    A Hindoo nationalist political movement that presents a resistance using the same nasty tactics to aggressive Islamists and that's a pain in the underwear to other Indian political parties...
    who is obviously keen to establish himself as a tougher troublemaker than his recently departed predecessor.
    Yeah. It's probably Bal Thackeray's fault.
    Pak hockey players were sent back home before they had time to unsheathe their sticks, the venue of a Pak women's cricket match was shifted from Mumbai, a Pak actor was obliged to rush back home, a drama team was disallowed participation in a theatre festival and Ajoka's performance of a play on Manto at Jaipur was cancelled (though by allowing two performances of the play in New Delhi, Indian society confirmed its valuable stock of sanity).
    That's the sort of thing countries do to other countries with which they're miffed. Note that there's no artillery involved. Nor any meat cleavers.
    These incidents should not be dismissed as infantile petulance;
    Because they're not.
    they betray the communal extremists' fears that cooperation between India and Pakistain in the areas of the arts, sports and culture, as indeed free travel between the two countries, will demolish the walls of acrimony they and their patrons in mainstream politics have raised after years of hard labour.
    Uhuh. I got two words: Hafiz Saeed. Y'want three more? Qazi Hussein Ahmed. There's still a pretty good supply of words, actually. We could go on for hours, in fact.
    This also underlines the urgency of redoubled efforts to promote deeper cooperation between the two neighbours in the cultural field.
    Maybe the country with the world's largest population of Moslems doesn't want to assimilate Pak culture.
    Islamabad and New Delhi both should be aware of the challenges they face from anti-democratic and anti-secular forces in the run-up to their general elections and both need to protect whatever of substance has survived in their democratic systems after the free hand allowed to self-seekers and criminals with money bags. Indian democracy's being more resilient than Pakistain's seasonal experiments in democratic governance does not mean that New Delhi can afford to be complacent about the canker of communalism in its body politic. In Pakistain's case, the battle with cut-throats and religious snuffies has become for obvious reasons a matter of life and death and therefore it has much greater need to strengthen its defences against attacks on its constitutional order.
    Posted by: Fred || 01/25/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336077 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan

    #1  I am going to hit paypal. This is what I payfor.
    Posted by: Shipman || 01/25/2013 17:25 Comments || Top||


    Syria-Lebanon-Iran
    Syrian Authorities Call for 'Million Man Prayers' on Friday
    [An Nahar] Syrian authorities have called for "million man prayers" at mosques on Friday to appeal for the re-establishment of security in the country, ravaged by 22 months of bloodshed, a minister said.

    "Prayers will be held after Friday services in Syria's mosques with the appeal for a return to security and safety in the homeland," Minister of Religious Endowments Mohammed Abdel Settar said in a statement.

    Syria "will prevail against the conspiracy launched by hostile states, carried out by their proxies and slaves, and led by Wahhabi infidels from abroad," he said in the statement released Thursday by state news agency SANA.

    Wahhabism is a strict form of Sunni Islam practiced mainly in Saudi Arabia.

    Syrian authorities have consistently labeled the uprising against President Bashar Assad's regime as a "conspiracy" backed by the West, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey.
    Posted by: Fred || 01/25/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336094 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


    Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
    Russia sends note to Kazakhstan on Baikonur
    Russian Foreign Ministry has sent note to Kazakhstan on the Baikonur Cosmodrome in anticipation of Kazakh Foreign Minister Yerlan Idrisov's visit to Moscow, Russian newspaper Izvestia reported.

    In the note Russia informed Kazakhstan on the measures to be taken by Moscow if Astana will not permit all launches planned by the Russian party from the cosmodrome.

    "In this case, Russia will have to think whether it is expedient to continue bilateral cooperation in the joint projects, including Dnepr program, Baiterek joint project and some others," the newspaper quotes the note.

    Russian Space Agency Roscosmos told the newspaper that the restriction imposed by Kazakhstan on Proton-M carrier rockets launches will result in $500 million loss for Russian companies.

    Kazakh Foreign Ministry confirmed reception of the note, saying that there are no ultimatums in the note.

    "Russia sent the note on January 18. I believe associating this note with the visit of Kazakh Foreign Minister to Russian Federation makes no sense. This is a normal partnership working process, we will discuss all the issues concerning the Baikonur cosmodrome," the head of Kazakh Foreign Ministry's International Information Department Zhanbulat Usenov told Interfax news agency.

    According to Usenov, Kazakh-Russian bilateral commission on Baikonur cooperation will discuss the situation in Moscow on January 30.

    Earlier Kazakhstan allowed Russia to launch only 12 Proton-M carrier rockets from Baikonur in 2013 instead of the 17 requested launches. The Kazakh party explains the restriction by negative environmental impact of the launches.
    And a need for cash...
    The Baikonur Cosmodrome is located in the desert steppe of Kazakhstan. It is leased by the Kazakh government to Russia (currently until 2050) and is managed jointly by the Russian Federal Space Agency and the Russian Space Forces. Under the current Russian space program, Baikonur remains a busy space port, with numerous commercial, military and scientific missions being launched annually.
    Posted by: Steve White || 01/25/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336076 views] Top|| File under:

    #1  The Kazakh party explains the restriction by negative environmental impact

    Environment aspect is just cover for blackmail (or 'contract amendments.') They do the same thing to us with our oil operations there.
    Posted by: Glenmore || 01/25/2013 7:52 Comments || Top||

    #2  Environment aspect is just cover for blackmail (or 'contract amendments.') They do the same thing to us with our oil operations there.

    but they're dealing with Vlad Putin
    Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 01/25/2013 8:35 Comments || Top||


    Africa Horn
    Al Shabaab threaten to kill Kenyan hostages
    Somali terrorists insurgents linked to Al Qaeda have demanded that Kenya release all Muslims held on terror charges within three weeks, or else they would kill their Kenyan hostages.

    Al Shabaab tweeted a link to a video of two Kenyan civil servants, who were taken from the frontier county of Wajir last year, telling the Kenyan government they were in grave danger. It then tweeted that Kenya must release all Muslim prisoners held on “so-called terrorism charges in Kenya” and “secure the release of Muslims extradited to Uganda for terrorism charges”.

    “Kenyan government has 3 weeks, starting midnight 24/01/2013 to respond to the demands of HSM if the prisoners are to remain alive,” the group posted.

    Kenyan officials said on Thursday they would not negotiate with terrorists militants. A spokesman for the Kenyan military, Cyrus Oguna, said, “The government cannot negotiate with terrorists so that is out. What Al Shabaab is doing is a criminal activity that is punishable by any law. They should just release them.”

    Titled “KENYA POWS: FINAL MESSAGE”, the video posted by the terrorists insurgents featured Mule Yesse Edward, a local administrator, and Fredrick Irungu who works with ministry of immigration. Both were seized last January when terrorists militants crossed the border into Kenya and attacked a police post in Wajir.

    The video also showed a still photograph of four other Kenyan hostages who were not identified. Yesse, who spoke in the video, said all the Kenyan hostages held by the group were at risk if Kenya did not meet the terrorists' rebels’ demands.
    Posted by: ryuge || 01/25/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336120 views] Top|| File under: al-Shabaab

    #1  hope this doesn't happen. but I know that Kenya wont bow to these demands. the Kenyans will hit Al Shebaab hard if they go thru with this.
    Posted by: Raider || 01/25/2013 0:04 Comments || Top||

    #2  one per day, execute the Muslims held on terror charges and tweet the pics til the Kenyans are released. "This is on you, Al-Shabaab"
    Posted by: Frank G || 01/25/2013 7:22 Comments || Top||

    #3  The Twitter account of Somali militant group al-Shabab has been suspended, after it was used to threaten to kill Kenyan hostages. BBC
    Posted by: Willy || 01/25/2013 7:58 Comments || Top||


    Europe
    74% of French say Islam is 'intolerant'
    I offer this not to endorse the survey or the findings. There has been a disconnect between the European nomenklatura and ordinary Europeans over Islam, just as there has been in America. This survey illustrates that divide.
    ROME, JANUARY 24 - A new survey by Paris-based Ipsos research company on Thursday showed 74% of French respondents believe the Muslim religion is ''intolerant'' and incompatible with their social values.

    The survey, published on the Le Monde newspaper website, also showed eight out of 10 French people believe the Islamic religion tries to impose its views on others, 10% believe a majority of Muslims are fundamentalists, and another 44% believe a many but not all Muslims are fundamentalists. Most respondents did not know how to define fundamentalism, however.

    The data varied across age groups and political affiliations, but represents a majority in each category of respondents.
    Posted by: Steve White || 01/25/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336092 views] Top|| File under:

    #1  Even in moderate, liberated and allied Afghanistan ideological deviation from Islam carries the death penalty.

    Islam is objectively intolerant, or else the terms tolerance and intolerance are meaningless letter sequences.
    </rant>
    Posted by: Elmerert Hupens2660 || 01/25/2013 3:27 Comments || Top||

    #2  EH, that's objectively, explicitly, in writing, speech, thought & mind intolerant.

    Most respondents did not know how to define fundamentalism And why should they? The Muzzies themselves can't/won't define it for the simple reason that if they did they would have to admit that the Gospel according to Mo IS FUNDAMENTAL. So anyone who purports to believe in Islam is, by definition, a fundamentalist.
    Posted by: AlanC || 01/25/2013 7:08 Comments || Top||

    #3  26% of the French are mentally incompetent and belong in care institutions. Or maybe it's only 18%, once you subtract out the Muslims. No, I was right the first time.
    Posted by: Glenmore || 01/25/2013 7:40 Comments || Top||

    #4  In a time of universal deceit - telling the truth is a revolutionary act.
    George Orwell
    Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 01/25/2013 8:29 Comments || Top||

    #5  To be fair, the other 26% are Muslims.
    Posted by: Deacon Blues || 01/25/2013 10:21 Comments || Top||

    #6  26% of the French are mentally incompetent and belong in care institutions. Or maybe it's only 18%, once you subtract out the Muslims. No, I was right the first time.

    One and the same.
    Posted by: gorb || 01/25/2013 10:25 Comments || Top||

    #7  Figured that out all by their lonesomes, did they?
    Posted by: Muggsy Mussolini1226 || 01/25/2013 10:53 Comments || Top||

    #8  it's only 18%, once you subtract out the Muslims. No, I was right the first time


    Once you subtract the Commies (who have allied with every enemy of France? Nazis included since the Party was founded) and the Greens (Commies in disguise who are also very pro-Araba and Pro-Paleo you can substract another 15%. There are only 3% netally incompetente. Unless you consider Commies and Greens to be mentally incompetent. I do.
    Posted by: JFM || 01/25/2013 12:43 Comments || Top||

    #9  Hey, credit where credit is due! Props to 74% of your countrymen, JFM.
    Posted by: Dopey Sinatra9196 || 01/25/2013 18:14 Comments || Top||

    #10  Being French, they have all sorts of strong opinions. From Ynet:

    French poll: 40% say Jews too powerful in business

    More than 40% of France's population believe that Jews have "too much power in the business world," according to a survey on anti-Semitism in France conducted by the World Zionist Organization ahead of the International Day for Countering Anti-Semitism, which will be marked on January 27.

    The poll also shows that 47% think French Jews are "more loyal to Israel than to the country they live in" and that 19% of young men up to the age of 24 have negative sentiments towards the Jews of France, while 43% of people with higher education expressed positive feelings towards them.
    Posted by: trailing wife || 01/25/2013 18:47 Comments || Top||


    Africa North
    Quit Benghazi advice is overreaction
    [Libya Herald] The Undersecretary at the Ministry of the Interior, Abdullah Mansour Zwai has condemned the call by Western embassies for their nationals to evacuate Benghazi as "an over-reaction".

    Mansour insisted that the security problems in the city did not warrant this response. He also said that the Libyan Foreign Office had not been told formally by the British government of the change in travel advice issued today.

    The British embassy told Libya Herald this evening: "We don't feel it is an over-reaction. The safety and security of British nationals is our priority." As yet the British government had not received any official reaction from the Libyan government.
    Continued on Page 49
    Posted by: Fred || 01/25/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336100 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring

    #1  other carriers, including Turkish Air, Qatar, Jordan and Egyptair continue to fly into Benghazi on their normal schedules.

    Yeah, but can you get a drink on those flights?
    Posted by: Skidmark || 01/25/2013 1:57 Comments || Top||

    #2  Quit Benghazi? That's another way of trying to say the situation is untenable. It isn't. It wasn't. Hillary, Panetta and BO effed up. Big time bad.
    Posted by: gorb || 01/25/2013 10:30 Comments || Top||

    #3  "What difference does it make"!
    Posted by: Besoeker || 01/25/2013 10:32 Comments || Top||

    #4  Methinks Qatar's flights are cargo runs.
    Posted by: Pappy || 01/25/2013 11:42 Comments || Top||

    #5  Only the pilots I think.
    Posted by: Skidmark || 01/25/2013 15:57 Comments || Top||

    #6  I listened to Hillary in the Senate hearing today. The Donks fell all over themselves praising her as the greatest SOS in history. She was then asked softball questions. And then she prattled on about nothing.
    Posted by: JohnQC || 01/25/2013 19:06 Comments || Top||


    Home Front: Culture Wars
    California School gets Assault Rifles
    Posted by: Skidmark || 01/25/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336149 views] Top|| File under:

    #1  One [er Child, to be used by the Rifle team?
    Posted by: Redneck Jim || 01/25/2013 8:27 Comments || Top||

    #2  PER
    Posted by: Redneck Jim || 01/25/2013 8:28 Comments || Top||

    #3  I kinda makes me wonder why a democratic bastion school district in Calif(p)ornia would think to have armed police guards at a school? What are they thinking? Don't they understand you protect your children with GUN FREE ZONE signs?

    Another thing, they aren't "war zone" weapons. They do not have the select fire option.

    Another another thing, I bet the side arms they carry are "war zone" compatible.
    Posted by: BrerRabbit || 01/25/2013 8:51 Comments || Top||

    #4  Is Fontana some sort of ritzy outskirt or something?
    Posted by: swksvolFF || 01/25/2013 10:28 Comments || Top||

    #5  Brer, did you not see the grenade launcher swivel sling attachment point? Its the one next to the spear thrower swivel attachment notch point and the photon beam auto destruct emitter.
    Posted by: swksvolFF || 01/25/2013 10:31 Comments || Top||

    #6  Fontana is a manufacturing/industrial lowbrow area - site of the former Kaiser Steel/Armaments Plant and the Fontana racetrack.
    Posted by: Frank G || 01/25/2013 10:42 Comments || Top||

    #7  Thank you. It was reading to me a bit like an affluent neighborhood waving their hands about. Now, the purchases were made back in July. Fireproof safe. Practice. Sounds like a flagship to me, deep in SoCo. But of course officers with sidearms couldn't stop that little ole two-person robbery back in the day either.
    Posted by: swksvolFF || 01/25/2013 10:58 Comments || Top||

    #8  Review of the Colt LE6940 rifle. So what makes this high-powered? What makes it an assault rifle? It appears to be a semi-automatic rifle and not fully automatic.
    Posted by: JohnQC || 01/25/2013 11:27 Comments || Top||

    #9  Notice that when the media talks about police or military uses they are "semi-automatic rifles", when ordinary citizens have them they are "assault rifles".
    A carefully nuanced phrase that a commenter on the article caught.
    Posted by: bigjim-CA || 01/25/2013 19:02 Comments || Top||


    Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
    Two top Chechen terrorists killed in shootout
    Two of the most wanted Islamist terrorists rebels in Chechnya were among 14 people killed in a shootout between Russian forces and terrorists militants. The operation started on Wednesday and continued into Thursday.

    Brothers Khuseyn and Muslim Gakayev have been accused of organizing several high-profile attacks, including a suicide bomb attack on an interior ministry vehicle that killed four people last August. They were also blamed for an attack on the Chechen parliament in 2010 when which killed at least six people, and an assassination attempt at the residence of Moscow-backed Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov.

    An unnamed Interior Ministry spokesman said, "During a special operation in the mountains of Chechnya, 12 militants were killed."
    Continued on Page 49
    Posted by: ryuge || 01/25/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336129 views] Top|| File under:


    Britain
    Two more arrested in 'Muslim patrol' incidents
    Detectives investigating a self-styled Muslim patrol gang made two more arrests today. Men aged 25 and 29 are in custody, bringing the number held so far in the investigation to four, a Scotland Yard spokesman said.

    Officers are investigating a string of incidents in east London over the weekend of January 12 and 13 where the gang harassed passers-by. A video posted on YouTube showed the gang hurling homophobic abuse at one man, whom the police have asked to come forward.

    In the film, they are heard to shout "get out of here you fag... don't stay around here any more". In a second video, also posted online, men from the group in Whitechapel tell another man "no drink in this area, it's a Muslim area" before ordering him to pour out his alcohol.
    Continued on Page 49
    Posted by: ryuge || 01/25/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336079 views] Top|| File under:

    #1  before ordering him to pour out his alcohol

    Homo...! What about the alcohol abuse?
    Posted by: Skidmark || 01/25/2013 1:53 Comments || Top||

    #2  When I first read about Muslim patrols, I thought it was regular humans out patrolling to take back the streets from muzzie thugs. I guess had that been the case then the police would've really cracked down on the violent, xenophobic, racist, etc. hooligans out attacking peaceful, productive Muslim citizens who only want to make better lives for themselves and in turn make the country better through diversity and skilled labor. I looked up the videos on the youtubes and it was disgusting to say the least. The affront to western civilization might as well be more beheading videos. We've been sold out by our respective govts. I could eat nails right now. Londonistan indeed.
    Posted by: Lowspark || 01/25/2013 11:04 Comments || Top||

    #3  before ordering him to pour out his alcohol

    "Alcohol does not solve any problems, but then neither does a glass of milk".
    Scottish proverb
    Posted by: Besoeker || 01/25/2013 11:16 Comments || Top||

    #4  There's a glass on the table
    Says it's gonna ease my pain.
    I drink it down,
    next day I feel the same.
    -- What Good Can Drinking Do?
    Posted by: Muggsy Mussolini1226 || 01/25/2013 13:13 Comments || Top||


    Arabia
    Human Rights Minister condemns use of drones in Yemen
    [Yemen Post] Yemen Human Rights Minister, Hooria Mashour openly criticized and condemned the use of drones - unmanned planes - in targeting al-Qaeda hideouts and forces of Evil in the country, arguing the collateral loss of lives much out-weighted the benefits of such a policy.

    A long-standing human rights
    ...which are usually open to widely divergent definitions...
    activists and member of the Joint Meeting Parties - JMP - before she was appointed Human Rights Minister in Yemen's transitional government, Minister Mashour has been known for a stance against violence and civil rights advocacy.

    Only a week after Yemen's National Security Chief, Ali Hassan al-Ahmadi told the press "U.S drone strikes against al-Qaeda will continue as the two government - U.S and Yemen - keep up their counter-terrorism cooperation, Minister Mashour is voicing her disapproval, joining a long list of protesters.

    Although the HR minister did nor per se rejected America' counter-terrorism strategy in Yemen she was keen to note "I am in favour of changing the anti-terrorism strategy. I think there are more effective strategies ...
    Lay one out. Run it in parallel with the drone strategy and see which is the more effective. If the other one's that much more effective, replace the drone strategy with it. Dumping an effective strategy in anticipation of a newer, more effective strategy in the sweet by-and-by would be the kind of thing you'd expect from an entrenched Qaeda sympathizer or fifth columnist. Never mind.
    We're committed to fighting terrorism but we're calling for changing the means and strategies... Strategies can be applied on the ground without harming civilians and without leading to human rights violations."

    Human Rights activist in Yemen welcomed Minister Mashour comments, stressing the government needs now to devise a new strategy, in accordance with international law and human rights conventions.

    "One cannot justify using terror to fight terror, the rule of law needs to be our weapon ... Otherwise we are no better than the Death Eaters we are opposing," said Mogib Hassan al-Sharafi a youth activist in Aden.
    Posted by: Fred || 01/25/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336074 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Arabia


    Home Front: Politix
    'California did the impossible,' Brown says in State of the State
    [LATIMES] In a strident and sweeping State of the State address, Gov. Jerry Governor Moonbeam Brown
    ... those who ignore history are bound to repeat it ...
    declared Thursday morning that "Caliphornia, an impregnable bastion of the Democratic Party, did the impossible," bouncing back from the precipice of fiscal collapse to emerge as an economic leader.

    With references to the Bible, the history of the Caliphornia, an impregnable bastion of the Democratic Party, republic and Irish poet William Butler Yeats, Brown mapped out a vision for the state that includes big investment in its water and rail systems and schools free of regulations that he says inhibit flexibility and creativity.
    Continued on Page 49
    Posted by: Fred || 01/25/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336114 views] Top|| File under:

    #1  Bammer inauguration speech, only lite.
    Posted by: JosephMendiola || 01/25/2013 0:06 Comments || Top||

    #2  delusional!!!
    California is as close to falling off the fiscal cliff as any state in the union. talk about an administration that has got no grip on reality ... it's our Dearly Beloved State Of California.
    Posted by: Raider || 01/25/2013 0:09 Comments || Top||

    #3  And yeah .. we haven't forgotten that he dumped Linda Ronstadt. DUMB ... DUMB ... DUMB. He could have at least had someone to sing him some lullabies at night. :-)
    Posted by: Raider || 01/25/2013 0:13 Comments || Top||

    #4  By 'the impossible', is he referring to Cali's ability to spin gold into straw or that they have cooked the books so thoroughly it looks like they are winning?
    Posted by: SteveS || 01/25/2013 0:33 Comments || Top||

    #5  So... saying everything is ok while the state collapses around you is doing the impossible?

    Oooookay. Seems like every failed third world nation has done that too... but who am I to judge?
    Posted by: DarthVader || 01/25/2013 1:02 Comments || Top||

    #6  Phil Mickelson reports that he is "out of balls, but will gladly pay his fair share".
    Posted by: Besoeker || 01/25/2013 1:09 Comments || Top||

    #7  Now comes the big payout. Whereupon they tell the rest of us that we have to stand good for California's mismanagment. (You got some money over there, doncha?)
    Posted by: ed in texas || 01/25/2013 7:03 Comments || Top||

    #8  See, even refugees from the North Korean Ministry of Propaganda can get a job in the governor's press office. Must be tough though not being able to use Juche(c) and Sea of Fire(c) in official communications.
    Posted by: Procopius2k || 01/25/2013 8:44 Comments || Top||

    #9  and yet they are still pursuing that High Speed Rail browndoggle which will initially go from nowhere to nowhere. It will lose billions every year, but make up for it in volume
    Posted by: Frank G || 01/25/2013 10:39 Comments || Top||

    #10  did the impossible," bouncing back from the precipice of fiscal collapse to emerge as an economic leader. Channeling Baghdad Bob? Must be the MerryJuana.
    Posted by: JohnQC || 01/25/2013 11:47 Comments || Top||

    #11  re #3: raider, do a Google image search for Linda Ronstadt 2012. She's not as cute as she was back in the day.
    Posted by: Rambler in Virginia || 01/25/2013 12:24 Comments || Top||

    #12  Me, I blame the Jesuits.
    Posted by: Muggsy Mussolini1226 || 01/25/2013 13:28 Comments || Top||

    #13  I could be wrong but I believe Brown left all of the pension issues out of the claims. So the budget is a lie.
    Posted by: rjschwarz || 01/25/2013 14:34 Comments || Top||

    #14  California also owes money to school and municipal funds it's raided over the years.
    Posted by: Pappy || 01/25/2013 15:11 Comments || Top||

    #15  Also owes billions as a result of lawsuits
    Posted by: Rex Mundi || 01/25/2013 16:30 Comments || Top||

    #16  "re #3: raider, do a Google image search for Linda Ronstadt 2012. She's not as cute as she was back in the day."

    Could be true. But he missed out on a LOT of good nights between then and now. HAHAHA!!!
    Posted by: Raider || 01/25/2013 17:03 Comments || Top||

    #17  California is planning the impossible. Whether it will manage to do the impossible will be clear only at year-end 2013.
    Posted by: Zhang Fei || 01/25/2013 19:11 Comments || Top||

    #18  and yet they are still pursuing that High Speed Rail browndoggle which will initially go from nowhere to nowhere.

    It's a full employment act for environmental lawyers. I doubt they'll ever lay enough rail to run the first train.
    Posted by: AzCat || 01/25/2013 20:24 Comments || Top||

    #19  and yet they are still pursuing that High Speed Rail browndoggle which will initially go from nowhere to nowhere

    I'm guessing the CA and the Feds will use it to transfer $40B into CA's economy, and only some token infrastructure will be put in to cover a few union jobs. The rest will evaporate to who knows where, then the whole thing will be canceled and any debt overlooked.
    Posted by: gorb || 01/25/2013 22:08 Comments || Top||

    #20  it's a sinkhole of $. It will NEVER operate in the black as the Prop authorizing it required. In my dreams I'd like all the blatantly lying pols, unions, engineering firms(!) and contracting firms that bankroll the lie to be smacked into their bankruptcy
    Posted by: Frank G || 01/25/2013 22:14 Comments || Top||


    China-Japan-Koreas
    Kerry raises N. Korean gulag issue in confirmation hearing
    That twitched the surprise meter, just a bit...
    WASHINGTON -- Sen. John Kerry, the nominee to be secretary of state, said Thursday that the Obama administration should be more vocal in criticizing the issue of North Korean political prisoners.

    Testifying at a confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, of which he was long chairman, Kerry emphasized that American foreign policy is "defined by leadership of life-threatening issues like climate change, or fighting to lift up millions of lives by promoting freedom and democracy from Africa to the Americas and speaking out for the prisoners of gulags in North Korea and victims of human trafficking."

    He also pointed out that today's world has become "more complicated" partly due to the emergence of China. He did not elaborate in his prepared opening remarks, which focused on a broad diplomatic vision.
    Posted by: Steve White || 01/25/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336110 views] Top|| File under:

    #1  Still unanswered question is whether JFK has paid the back taxes on his boat.......
    Will the spineless R's ask that simple Y/N question? nope, they don't have 2 balls to rub between all of them, the wusses.
    Posted by: USN,Ret. || 01/25/2013 8:42 Comments || Top||


    India-Pakistan
    Two policemen among four killed in Karachi twin blasts
    [Dawn] Two consecutive kabooms destroyed Bloody Karachi
    ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous...
    ’s densely populated Quaidabad area on Thursday, killing four people including two police officials and injuring a dozen others, DawnNews reported.

    According to reports, the first blast happened in a garbage dump. However,
    a person who gets all wrapped up in himself makes a mighty small package...
    nobody was reported hurt in the kaboom.

    Police and rescue officials reached the location soon, following which the second kaboom took place.

    Senior police officer Alilm Jaffery told AP the victims responded to a report of the kaboom and then were killed by the second blast after they reached the site.

    According to SP Sindh Police Umar Khattab, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Kamal Khan Mangan and Sub-Inspector Akbar were among four people killed.

    Private security guard Saeedur Rehman and a passerby, identified as Fazal, were the other two victims of the blast.

    Police further said that two of their vehicles and two ambulances were damaged in the kaboom.
    Posted by: Fred || 01/25/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336098 views] Top|| File under:


    -Lurid Crime Tales-
    Today's Idiots
    Chicken patties? Potato skins? The last tub of mint chocolate chip ice cream? One of these items – or something – was such a hot item it stemmed a battle royale with literal cheese in an Albany area supermarket.
    "Ware green beans!"
    "Careful! You could put an eye out with that pizza!"
    "Friendly Fire cleanup in Groceries!"

    Many of us have seen the pictures from People of Walmart and chuckled loudly over the years. But who would have thought that an actual brawl would of broken out in in the frozen food aisle at the Walmart in Amsterdam, NY.

    Reportedly, five different shoppers decided that a knock down, drag out fight was absolutely necessary. One of the women involved in the brawl had a ten month old with her, who almost got hurt! Luckily, one of the Walmart employees grabbed the baby after it was almost hurt several times. (I hope they got a BUNCH of smiley face stickers for it, too).

    The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office charged all five of the wannabe MMA fighters with endangering the welfare of a child, criminal mischief and disorderly conduct – all misdemeanors. NYS Child Protective Services was also given a buzz.
    "Yeah, we got this idjit who endangered her kid in a brawl."
    Officer Friendly did not disclose what the rumble was about – which is what everyone is most curious about. My money is on the last box of the Meatball & Mozzarella Hot Pockets. What – those things are de-LISH!
    My money's on already-consumed beer.
    Posted by: Korora || 01/25/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336091 views] Top|| File under:

    #1  My money's on already-consumed beer.
    [little girl's voice]
    EWWWWWW!!!!
    [/little girl's voice]
    Posted by: Guillibaldo Johnson4614 || 01/25/2013 8:07 Comments || Top||

    #2  ...and it's not even Black Thursday at Wallysmart. So who do we blame? Violent movies or video games, how about Springer! (All the world's a stage...)
    Posted by: Procopius2k || 01/25/2013 8:54 Comments || Top||

    #3  My money's on already-consumed beer.

    Is that a euphemism for Miller Lite?
    Posted by: gorb || 01/25/2013 11:28 Comments || Top||

    #4  I'm suggesting someone may have had three sheet to the wind.
    Posted by: Korora || 01/25/2013 12:01 Comments || Top||

    #5  Gov Cuomo: "We must ban Walmart! It's for the children!"
    Posted by: Rambler in Virginia || 01/25/2013 12:11 Comments || Top||

    #6  But who would have thought that an actual brawl -->would of<-- broken out in in the frozen food aisle at the Walmart in Amsterdam, NY.

    Who writes this crap? Don't the teach contractions in school anymore?
    Posted by: Percy Smith4873 || 01/25/2013 13:05 Comments || Top||

    #7  *they
    Posted by: Butch Bourbon2471 || 01/25/2013 13:06 Comments || Top||

    #8  Don't they teach contractions in school anymore?

    1. It's Albany.

    2. It's a radio-jock. In Albany.
    Posted by: Pappy || 01/25/2013 14:36 Comments || Top||


    India-Pakistan
    Malik, Badar among those who helped Tauqir Sadiq escape, NAB tells SC
    [Dawn] The Supreme Court bench on Thursday ordered the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to file reference within a week against Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf, Interior Minister Rehman Malik
    Pak politician, Interior Minister under the Gilani government. Malik is a former Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) intelligence officer who rose to head the FIA during Benazir Bhutto's second tenure. Malik was tossed from his FIA job in 1998 after documenting the breath-taking corruption of the Sharif family. By unhappy coincidence Nawaz Sharif became PM at just that moment and Malik moved to London one step ahead of the button men. He had to give up the interior ministry job because he held dual Brit citizenship.
    and Pakistain People's Party (PPP) Secretary General Jehangir Badar within a week, being responsible for the appointment of Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority's (Ogra) former chairman Tauqir Sadiq and later providing him protection from arrest.

    A two-member-bench of the apex court comprising of Justice Khilji Arif Hussain and Justice Jawwad S. Khwaja resumed hearing the case pertaining to the implementation of the court's order to arrest the former Ogra chief.
    Continued on Page 49
    Posted by: Fred || 01/25/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336078 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


    Economy
    Obama EPA kills power plant, 3,900 jobs in Texas
    [WASHINGTONEXAMINER] Chase Power, the parent company behind the $3 billion Las Brisas coal power plant in Corpus Christi, Texas, announced yesterday that it was cancelling the project.

    "Chase Power ... has opted to suspend efforts to further permit the facility and is seeking alternative investors as part of a plan of dissolution for the parent company," Chase CEO Dave Freysinger told the Corpus Christi Caller-Times.

    Freysinger made it very clear who was responsible for the projects death. "The (Las Brisas Energy Center) is a victim of EPA's concerted effort to stifle solid-fuel energy facilities in the U.S., including EPA's carbon-permitting requirements and EPA's New Source Performance Standards for new power plants," he said.
    Continued on Page 49
    Posted by: Fred || 01/25/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336105 views] Top|| File under:

    #1  Obama said up front in his first campaign that under his admin you could still build a coal plant, but you'd go bankrupt doing it.
    Posted by: SteveS || 01/25/2013 0:47 Comments || Top||

    #2  They could build it in Texas and put a power line from there to Corpus.
    Posted by: Glenmore || 01/25/2013 7:55 Comments || Top||

    #3  Mexico, not Texas, (gotta get some caffeine.)
    Posted by: Glenmore || 01/25/2013 7:55 Comments || Top||

    #4  In either case, not a lot of Texas workers.
    Posted by: Skidmark || 01/25/2013 15:51 Comments || Top||

    #5  I don't think it's purely an Obama thing. Record low nat gas prices have put a dent in the economics of coal power plants.
    Posted by: Zhang Fei || 01/25/2013 19:14 Comments || Top||


    Israel-Palestine-Jordan
    Netanyahu begins informal coalition talks
    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu contacted two potential coalition partners Thursday, in his first, informal, steps towards forming the country's next government, DPA reported.

    The final results of Tuesday's elections gave the right-wing and religious bloc of parties in the 120-seat Knesset a one seat majority, according to the Central Election Committee. Votes from soldiers, diplomats and prisoners, which were counted Thursday, gave one more seat, under Israel's proportional representation system, to the ultra-nationalist Jewish Home party at the expense of the United Arab List.

    Netanyahu, whose Likud-Beteinu coalition won 31 seats, met in Jerusalem with Yair Lapid, leader of the centrist Yesh Atid party, which unexpectedly became the second largest faction in the parliament with 19 seats. No details emerged from the two-and-a-half hour meeting. Lapid was the first party leader with whom Netanyahu has held face-to-face talks since the election.

    The premier also telephoned Jewish Home leader Naftali Bennett, whose party is the fourth largest in parliament with 12 mandates.

    President Shimon Peres is to consult separately with representatives of all 12 parties next week. He will then entrust one party leader - the only realistic possibility being Netanyahu - with the task of forming the next government, after which official negotiations can begin.

    Former foreign minister and Beiteinu leader Avigdor Lieberman said the new government should focus on domestic issues rather than the Palestinian peace process, where serious rifts exist between potential coalition partners Yesh Atid and Jewish Home. Lieberman, who will not hold a ministerial portfolio unless he is acquitted in an impending trial for fraud and breech of trust, also rejected the long-standing Palestinian demand for Israel to freeze construction in settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem before peace talks begin.

    "We are not willing to accept any diktats on the issue of a freeze," he told Israel Radio.

    "There won't be a freeze, not in Jerusalem and not in Judea and Samaria," he added, using the Biblical terms for the West Bank.

    Peace talks have been moribund since September 2010 after Netanyahu refused a demand by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to extend a partial 10-month settlement freeze in the West Bank.

    "At the end of the day, we really want to reach here an agreement for peace," said Lieberman. "But if the other side doesn't want this, that's its problem."
    Let the Paleos make a compromise proposal, and let them carry the burden of selling it to their people.
    He said a prospective coalition consisting only of Likud-Beteinu, Yesh Atid, and the Jewish Home could find common ground by agreeing to reduce the cost of living, and ending blanket military service exemption for ultra-Orthodox Jews, two issues which dominated the recent election campaign.

    But an incoming Yesh Atid legislator told Israel Radio that reviving the peace process was one of three conditions under which his party would join a Netanyahu-led government.

    "Without peace negotiations, we will not join the government," said Rabbi Shai Piron.
    Posted by: Steve White || 01/25/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336143 views] Top|| File under:

    #1  "I won, President Obama. Get over it."
    Posted by: trailing wife || 01/25/2013 20:21 Comments || Top||


    Down Under
    Aussie candidate's halal post sparks new storm
    Posted by: ryuge || 01/25/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336077 views] Top|| File under:


    Home Front: Politix
    Shockingly Not Shocking: Obama Didn't Write Inaugural Speech Libs Have Been Drooling Over...
    "It was one of the hardest speeches I've written," Favreau said.
    Of course. It's been the better part of a century since presidents wrote their own speeches. That's what clever wordsmiths like Peggy Noonan are for. Although if that was one of the hardest speeches Mr. Favreau has written, perhaps he'd better go in for additional training.
    Forgive him, he might be right: given the stifling, pedantic mush Champ has been pushing these last few years, it just might have been the hardest speech Mr. Favreau has ever written. How many different ways can you cut up your opponents and offer free stuff to your supporters?
    If Peggy Noonan is a clever wordsmith, then Alejandro the MS-13 tagger is a poet laureate.
    She must be a clever wordsmith, because she most certainly isn't a clever thinker, poor dear. Fortunately, she'll never notice there's a difference.
    She must be a clever wordsmith, she gets invited to all the right parties...
    Posted by: Uncle Phester || 01/25/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336094 views] Top|| File under:

    #1  Nor surprising.
    Posted by: Redneck Jim || 01/25/2013 8:21 Comments || Top||

    #2  That speech was so aweful, obviously el gigantor didn't write it, this jellyfish did, and it was perfect he says.

    Except everyone noticed that it was the exact same as '09 with the sentences flipped about and words italicized. In English class they would have called it plagerizing.

    Noonan is the Stanley Cup of drunken liberal thinkers; the Stephen King of op-wine.
    Posted by: swksvolFF || 01/25/2013 10:51 Comments || Top||

    #3  Obama and Beyonce. Did they both lip-sync? Milli Vanilli duo?

    Do any Presidents write their own speeches these days?
    Posted by: JohnQC || 01/25/2013 11:44 Comments || Top||

    #4  This may be the wrong place to discuss my Peggy Noonan crush. So I will move on.

    Posted by: Shipman || 01/25/2013 17:32 Comments || Top||

    #5  So I will move on.

    Dear Shipman, it's just like the fact that I don't like the taste of beer means there's more for everyone else at the table. Enjoy!
    Posted by: trailing wife || 01/25/2013 20:05 Comments || Top||


    Africa North
    Stratfor's Analysis of Mali's Kidnapping Brigade
    Good historical background on the group -- they were always in the kidnapping of groups of foreigners for ransom biz, a good fundraiser for the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat, and an even better one for Al Qaeda in North Africa.
    Posted by: Frozen Al || 01/25/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336074 views] Top|| File under:


    Africa Subsaharan
    Nigerian President Appeals for Help Against Boko Haram
    [VOA News] Nigeria's president Goodluck Jonathan
    ... 14th President of Nigeria. He was Governor of Bayelsa State from 9 December 2005 to 28 May 2007, and was sworn in as Vice President on 29 May 2007. Jonathan is a member of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP). He is a lover of nifty hats, which makes him easily recognizable unless someone else in the room is wearing a neat chapeau...
    calls the Nigerian-based Islamist terror group Boko Haram
    ... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality...
    a threat to all of west, north and central Africa.

    In an interview with CNN television Wednesday, Jonathan called on the rest of the world to work with Nigeria to contain the group. He said Boko Haram members have gone to northern Mali, which is under control of al-Qaeda-linked turbans.

    The president denies that alleged corruption in Nigeria is helping fuel the violence. He also denies charges that Nigerian soldiers have carried out human rights
    When they're defined by the state or an NGO they don't mean much...
    abuses against civilians under the guise of fighting terrorism.

    U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
    ... sometimes described as America's Blond Eminence and at other times as Mrs. Bill, never as Another Elihu Root ...
    mentioned Boko Haram during her testimony before Congressional committees Wednesday. She called it part of the same global jihadist movement as al-Qaeda and Ansar al-Sharia
    ...a Yemeni Islamist militia which claims it is not part of al-Qaeda, even though it works about the same and for the same ends...
    .
    Posted by: Fred || 01/25/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336075 views] Top|| File under: Boko Haram

    #1  Gonna Pay in Billion Dollar Bills?
    Posted by: Redneck Jim || 01/25/2013 8:40 Comments || Top||


    Caribbean-Latin America
    81 disgraced La Laguna cops resign

    For a map,click here. For a map of Durango state, click here. For a map of Coahuila state, click here

    By Chris Covert
    Rantburg.com

    A total of 81 disgraced municipal police agents in La Laguna resigned their jobs Thursday despite being offered training and tests that could have reinstated them, according to Mexican news accounts.

    Last Friday 158 municipal police agents and clerks from Gomez Palacio and Ciudad Lerdo in Durango were detained after being disarmed by a Mexican Army unit, placed on six buses and then transported to Centro de Readaptacion Social Numero 1 in Durango city to face investigation and possibly charges. Among those detained were the Secretaria de Seguridad Publica (SSP) or police chiefs of Gomez Palacio, Victor Hugo Cordero and Ciudad Lerdo SSP Andres Balderas Perez.

    According to a news report posted on Animal Politico website, however, 64 municipal police agents remain in detention with the two SSPs facing charges and six other unidentified municipal police agents under arrest warrants. A total of 91 police agents were released Wednesday.

    The 91 police agents were offered military training as well as confidence tests by the Mexican Army as a condition of retaining their employment, but apparently all refused. The Mexican Army is currently operating La Laguna's 066 emergency system, and operates patrols in the area.

    It has been reported in the Mexican press that an undisclosed number of military and police operatives have been deployed to La Laguna to aid with a security situation which has been characterized as deteriorating, including Mexican Army, Naval Infantry, and Policia Federal.

    Thursday, according to a news item posted on El Siglo de Durango news daily, a Durango state deputy, José Antonio Rodriguez Ochoa, said that La Laguna has been forgotten and abandoned by state authorities.

    According to the news report José Antonio Rodriguez Ochoa said, "The state of Durango state is not acting with the strength that such a complicated situation requires."

    The deputy also referred to a recently passed Ley de Extincion, or Law of Forfeiture, the resources of which have not been diverted to use in confidence and control tests used to decide whether a police agent can retain his or her job.

    According to a news item posted on the website of Yancuic news agency approximately ten clerks and police agents appeared at the Gomez Palacio Palacio Municipal or city hall Thursday to inquire about their employment status and any possible severance. According to the municipality human resources director, Jose Herrera, police agents asked about reassignment in other areas of the municipality while the security situation is being normalized.

    Herrera was quoted as saying a severance of MX $2,000.00 (USD $158.25) was offered for voluntary resignations, and that was all that could be discussed. The subtext in the news report is that Gomez Palacio may not have sufficient funds to offer severances to all the resigned police agents.

    Meanwhile in Durango city Mexican president Enrique Pena Nieto visited the state to promote his latest social initiative, the Cruzada Nacional contra el Hambre, or National Campaign against Hunger before he leaves for a tour in South America.

    According to a news report posted on the website of El Siglo de Durango, President Pena Nieto said in a brief radio interview that he was "aware"of the situation in La Laguna, and that violence might not be quelled until the medium term. In the interview Pena Nieto failed to specify a time frame for ending violence in La Laguna.

    According to a news item posted on El Universal news daily, President Pena Nieto is planning to attend a meeting of the Communidad de Estados Latinamericanos y Caribenos (CELEC) or Community of Latin American and Caribbean States to bevheld in Santiago, Chile. President Pena Nieto is also planning a brief visit to Uruguay.

    Chris Covert writes Mexican Drug War and national political news for Rantburg.com
    Posted by: badanov || 01/25/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336078 views] Top|| File under:


    -Short Attention Span Theater-
    The Ouster of Mattis: Some Follow-Up Details and a White House Response
    Once again, all roads lead back to Tom Donilon.
    Posted by: Besoeker || 01/25/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336099 views] Top|| File under:

    #1  •The mishandling of Mattis is a larger part of an attempt by Donilon to centralize foreign policy making in his office, with DOD and State as implementers.

    Champ's desire for Susan Rice to head State was our first clue. She does precisely what you TELL her to do, as did the Hildebeast.
    Posted by: Besoeker || 01/25/2013 1:20 Comments || Top||

    #2  The current administration does not seem to tolerate debate or dissent despite what they put out for public consumption. Maybe it's just me but it seems like a large number of the upper brass has left or been purged.
    Posted by: JohnQC || 01/25/2013 11:35 Comments || Top||

    #3  Champ's desire for Susan Rice to head State was our first clue.

    Chuck Hagel is another.
    Posted by: Pappy || 01/25/2013 16:00 Comments || Top||

    #4  I so wanted the ARB ["Pub weenies" per LTC(Ret) Ralph Peters] to ask the Hilderbeast if anyone had asked her to appear on the Sunday Talk shows, and who that someone might have been. As you may recall, she went missing for weeks following those events.
    Posted by: Besoeker || 01/25/2013 16:05 Comments || Top||

    #5  He purged many very good Officers. He does many things lightning fast and so it becomes difficult to track. He moves so fast that you are always looking back to find stringers which no one cares about because that was yesterdays news.

    Patton Relieved, shrug.
    Posted by: newc || 01/25/2013 19:47 Comments || Top||


    Arabia
    Houthis condemn State's refusal to celebrate Prophet's birthday
    "Not even a card! You bastards!"
    [Yemen Post] Abdul-Malek al-Houthi, leader of the Houthis, a group of Shia rebel whose zone of influence extends over three of Yemen northern provinces -- Hajjah, Sa'ada and al-Jawf -- condemned in a address on Thursday President Abdo Rabbo Hadi's refusal to allow Zaidi Mohammedans to perform a ceremony in the honor of the prophet of Islam - al Mouled al-Nabawi (birthday of the prophet)

    Islamic tradition established Prophet Mohammed was born on the 12th day of Rabi al-Awwal - lunar calendar.

    Continued on Page 49
    Posted by: Fred || 01/25/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336086 views] Top|| File under: Houthis


    -Short Attention Span Theater-
    Plant is still thriving inside sealed bottle after 40 years
    [DAILYMAIL.CO.UK] A plant grown inside a sealed glass bottle is still thriving despite not having water or fresh air for more than 40 years.

    Gardener David Latimer, 80, from Cranleigh in Surrey, first planted his bottle garden in 1960 and finally sealed it tightly shut 12 years later - yet it's still going strong.

    He recently took a picture of the 53-year-old bottle garden along to Radio 4 Gardener's Question Time, where it was hailed as an amazing example of plants recycling their own waste by members of the programme's expert panel.
    Continued on Page 49
    Posted by: Fred || 01/25/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336080 views] Top|| File under:

    #1  The Earth Effectively is a "Sealed Bottle".
    Posted by: Redneck Jim || 01/25/2013 8:29 Comments || Top||

    #2  isn't this the story of Kandor
    Posted by: lord garth || 01/25/2013 10:17 Comments || Top||

    #3  Thought it was about a senator.
    Posted by: swksvolFF || 01/25/2013 12:04 Comments || Top||


    -Lurid Crime Tales-
    Strauss-Kahn questioned over pimping allegations
    [FRANCE24] French Sherlocks on Thursday questioned former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn in the northern city of Lille as part of an investigation into allegations that he helped procure hookers for parties.
    Disgraced former IMF boss Dominique Strauss-Kahn came face-to-face with a call girl on Thursday in the latest stage of a probe into charges that he procured hookers for sex parties.

    The one-time favourite to be French President was confronted with the escort girl as part of prosecutors' attempts to assess their different versions of events that have led to him being charged with "aggravated pimping as part of an organised gang," judicial sources said.

    Continued on Page 49
    Posted by: Fred || 01/25/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336082 views] Top|| File under:


    Bangladesh
    Fakhrul sent back to jail
    [Bangla Daily Star] A Dhaka court yesterday sent BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir back to jail for the third time after rejecting his remand and bail petitions in a case.

    Kalabagan police filed the case for assaulting police and preventing them from discharging their duties in front of Padma General Hospital on Sonargaon Road in the city during the opposition's December 9 road blockade.

    Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Mohammad Saifur Rahman came up with the order after rejecting a 10-day remand prayer of the investigation officer of the case and bail application of the accused.
    Continued on Page 49
    Posted by: Fred || 01/25/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336082 views] Top|| File under:


    China-Japan-Koreas
    Xi Backs Denuclearization of Korean Peninsula
    China's president-in-waiting Xi Jinping on Wednesday said Beijing remains committed to denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Xi told envoys of president-elect Park Geun-hye that denuclearization and non-proliferation of weapons of mass destructions are "essential conditions" to peace and stability on the peninsula, according to delegation head Kim Moo-sung.

    Xi's remarks came as the UN Security Council unanimously condemned the North's rocket launch in December and expanded existing sanctions, prompting the North to announce it would hold no more talks on dismantling its nuclear weapons program.

    Xi "probably wanted to send North Korea a warning amid signs of another provocation by the North," said a diplomatic source in Beijing.

    The Chinese Foreign Ministry issued a statement urging North Korea to refrain from doing anything that could worsen the situation, though it added the usual formula calling on other countries to remain calm.
    Posted by: Steve White || 01/25/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336130 views] Top|| File under:

    #1  OTOH WORLD MILITARY FORUM > EXPERTS:SOUTH KOREA SHOULD PROVE TO CHINA THAT IT IS NOT A PROXY FOR THE US + JAPAN IN THE ISOLATION OR CONTAINMENT OF CHINA IN EAST ASIA.

    * Also from SAME > PHILIPPINE FM [Albert del Rosaro] FORMALLY RECOGNIZES CHINA'S EFFECTIVE OR "ACTUAL CONTROL" OF HUANGYAN ISLAND [PHIL = Panatag Shoal]. PHILIPPINE GOVT., COMMERCIAL SHIPS HAVE NOT ENTERED DISPUTED AREA, PHILIPPINES TO SEEK POLITICAL, LEGAL, + DIPLOMATIC OPTIONS IFF CHINA REFUSES TO WITHDRAW.

    * TOPIX > [ABS-CBN News] BAJO DE MASINLOC CLAIM CRUCIAL TO CHINA' CLAIM OF ENTIRE SOUTH CHINA SEA.

    * DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > UN TO CONSIDER VALIDITY OF CHINA'S CLAIM OVER DISPUTED ISLANDS [East China Sea = China-claimed "Diaoyu Dao + afiliated islands"].

    ARTIC > CHINA = informed the UN Panel that the "OKINAWA TROUGH IS THE NATURAL TERMINATION OF THE 'CONTINENTAL SHELF' IN THE EAST CHINA SEA".

    RELATED SAME, TOPIX, WORLD NEWS > [Various = old] CHINA SAYS [Underwater] GEOLOGY BACKS CLAIM TO DISPUTED EAST CHINA SEA ISLANDS, + also History.

    CHINA = Geology + Histoire' = ECS + Okinawa Islands, Surface + Sea Floor, is ALL THEIRS.

    * SAME > NORTH KOREA THREATENS PHYSICAL COUNTER-MEASURES AGZ SOUTH KOREA.

    Pragmatically, the US is in SOKOR, OKINAWA, + SUBIC BAY - where the US is NOT is NORTHERN PHILIPPINES, I.E. NORTH OF SUBIC BAY + CLARK + MANILA BAY WHICH FLANKS CHINA'S ULTIMATE TARGET TAIWAN. AFAIK the Philippine Armed Forces are focused mainly in the SCS vee China, + Mindanao vee Moros, etal.
    Posted by: JosephMendiola || 01/25/2013 0:38 Comments || Top||

    #2  Xi "probably wanted to send North Korea a warning amid signs of another provocation by the North," said a diplomatic source in Beijing

    Methinks China is more concerned with potential specweps in SKOR.

    Posted by: Pappy || 01/25/2013 12:47 Comments || Top||

    #3  China's president-in-waiting Xi Jinping

    Oh, *that* Xi. When I saw the headline, I was thinking the Company Formerly Known As Blackwater.
    Posted by: SteveS || 01/25/2013 15:34 Comments || Top||

    #4  This is China's way of trying to prevent the ROK's from acquiring nukes. China doesn't need multi-national talks to stop NK's nuclear program - all it has to do is cut off its aid to NK.
    Posted by: Zhang Fei || 01/25/2013 17:41 Comments || Top||

    #5  DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > CHINESE MEDIA [Global Times] THREATENS NORTH KOREA AID CUT OVER ATOMIC TEST.

    Even one presumes that China does cut off aid, in the current climate vee Japan it only means China + PLA get to take over the DPRK that much faster - brings the PLA Airborne + LR Strike Air [PLAAF] much closer to Japan + espec TAIWAN.

    Lest we fergit, to deter or prevent China takeover, THE DPRK + NorKoms = JONG-UN CANNOT "NOT NUCLEARIZE".

    Posted by: JosephMendiola || 01/25/2013 21:40 Comments || Top||


    Economy
    United Continental to cut 600 front-office jobs
    [Chicago Tribune] United Continental Holdings Inc. will cut about 600 front-office jobs through voluntary and involuntary cuts, the company said Thursday as it announced disappointing financial losses for 2012.

    The world's largest airline did not detail where cutbacks will take place, but Chicago is likely to be most affected considering the corporate headquarters and network operations center are in downtown Chicago and that Chicago O'Hare airport is one of the airline's largest hubs.

    The job cuts were announced Thursday morning during a conference call about the airline's profits. United officials said they were disappointed in the airline company's 2012 performance and pledged to improve in 2013, both in financial performance and the airline's operational reliability.
    Posted by: Fred || 01/25/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336078 views] Top|| File under:

    #1  Probably doesn't help that all their Boeing Volts, er, Dreamliners are gounded.
    Posted by: USN,Ret. || 01/25/2013 8:50 Comments || Top||


    -Signs, Portents, and the Weather-
    Antibiotic-resistant diseases pose 'apocalyptic' threat, top expert says
    [GUARDIAN.CO.UK] Chief medical officer Dame Sally Davies tells MPs issue should be added to national risk register of civil emergencies
    We're up to about two apocalypses a month now, I think. There are about 250 horsemen, maybe more, but I don't think they're all going to smite us at once.

    I'm going to go eat an alar-soaked apple.

    No one under age 40 will get that...
    Posted by: Fred || 01/25/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336076 views] Top|| File under:

    #1  No one under age 40 will get that...

    Pity, that; since it gives you some idea of how long this rotten nonsense has been going on.

    Antibiotic resistance *is* a problem. But most people are going to encounter it when Granma goes into the hospital for some routine procedure and ends up dying from a hospital-acquired, drug-resistant, opportunistic pathogen. A tragedy, but rather low on the apocalypse scale.
    Posted by: SteveS || 01/25/2013 0:43 Comments || Top||

    #2  Those OWG Caliphate + Ummah-happy Islamic MilTerrs widout Nukes will be ditto MilTerrs wid Biowar + Chemwar, etc. non-Nuke weapons, increasingly deadly in both Scale + Range.

    To paraph Daddy-O SEAN CONNERY in "Indiana Jones + Last Crusade" > "OUR SITUATION HAS NOT IMPROVED"!
    Posted by: JosephMendiola || 01/25/2013 1:17 Comments || Top||

    #3  Dr. White-

    People did this to themselves. Half the people I know take antibiotics when they get a cold, because they "have to do SOMETHING!"

    I was in the food store a couple of years back and overheard two young mommies talking about how to trick the pediatrician into giving their little darlings a prescription for antibiotics by lying about the color of their snot (sounds crazy but I'm not making this up). Nice job, mommy, you gave me a drug that did nothing to stop the virus that is causing the cold, but will mean that I won't survive the infection I'm going to get at 35 years old.

    But hey, you got to feel like supermommy for a couple of days!
    Posted by: no mo uro || 01/25/2013 5:36 Comments || Top||

    #4  Look up "tragedy of the commons" no mo uro. Personally, I'm not going to endenger my kid while farmers giving antibiotics to lifestock.
    Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 01/25/2013 5:54 Comments || Top||

    #5  The need to do 'something' whenever bad or merely unpleasant things happen is probably responsible for most of our problems.
    Posted by: Glenmore || 01/25/2013 7:50 Comments || Top||

    #6  Anti-biotic resistance is more generated by regulatory cost effects that encourage larger facilities than would otherwise be used.
    Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 01/25/2013 8:22 Comments || Top||

    #7  @no mo uro

    It's worse that that. Antibiotics mess up your stomach flora and that could be responsible for a whole host of immune disorders and obesity.
    Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 01/25/2013 8:24 Comments || Top||

    #8  We have "New" Antibiotics all the time, Not a problem.
    Posted by: Redneck Jim || 01/25/2013 8:32 Comments || Top||

    #9  RJ, and now you can buy Probiotics to replace all the good stuff the antis killed off.

    Just got off an antibiotic regime to kill off a really nasty tooth abcess and they told me to take a probiotic to put back the good gut stuff.
    Posted by: AlanC || 01/25/2013 9:07 Comments || Top||

    #10  And if probiotics don't work, fecal transplants have shown effectiveness.
    Posted by: Glenmore || 01/25/2013 9:16 Comments || Top||

    #11  which are free at most public/gas station restrooms
    Posted by: Frank G || 01/25/2013 10:43 Comments || Top||

    #12  And the next procedure involves multiple fecal transplants at once, using a fan to distribute...
    Posted by: ed in texas || 01/25/2013 10:43 Comments || Top||

    #13  Swine flu infected 'fifth of people'
    At least one in five people, including half of schoolchildren, were infected with swine flu during the first year of the pandemic in 2009, according to data from 19 countries.

    It is thought the virus killed 200,000 people around the world.
    Posted by: tipper || 01/25/2013 13:33 Comments || Top||

    #14  Is this the new wonder cure?
    Blowing up superbugs: IBM reveals nanotech gel that can 'explode' cells

    Firm says breakthrough could replace antibiotics
    'hydrogel' could be used for creams, coating for medical instruments and injections into infections wounds
    It can disrupt the membrane of bacterial cells, causing them to 'explode'


    Posted by: tipper || 01/25/2013 15:51 Comments || Top||

    #15  "The need to do 'something' whenever bad or merely unpleasant things happen is probably responsible for most of our problems."

    It's definitely the cause of a LOT of bad law, #5 Glenmore, :-(
    Posted by: Barbara || 01/25/2013 17:09 Comments || Top||


    Southeast Asia
    Four slain in MILF encounter
    Fighting broke out between two groups of Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels in Lambayong, Sultan Kudarat, which resulted in four deaths and six others wounded, including two innocent civilians.

    Police said the MILF terrorists rebels belonging to 105th MILF Base Command led by Commander Bansil encountered the group of Commander Bausad from the 106th MILF Base Command in Barangay Penguiaman in Maguindanao.

    At least four MILF terrorists rebels from Bansil's group were killed while four other rebels were injured during the fierce battle. Two civilians were also hit by stray bullets during the skirmishes.

    Senior Inspector Emerson Policarpio, Lambayong police chief, said, “Initial investigation showed the two MILF chieftains figured in a land conflict that triggered the fighting."

    He said the battling groups were reinforced by their members armed with high-powered weapons from nearby SK Pendatun town.
    Posted by: ryuge || 01/25/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336088 views] Top|| File under: Moro Islamic Liberation Front

    #1  that must have been one heck of an 'encounter'
    Posted by: abu do you love || 01/25/2013 0:57 Comments || Top||

    #2  "105th MILF Base Command "?

    Man, the military sure has changed since I was a grunt...
    Posted by: Muggsy Mussolini1226 || 01/25/2013 10:52 Comments || Top||

    #3  Who is was sad it was the Moro Islamic Liberation Front?
    Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 01/25/2013 12:49 Comments || Top||


    Arabia
    Yemen Seizes New Turkish-Made Gun Cargo
    [Yemen Post] The Yemeni authorities seized on Thursday a new Turkish-made arms cargo inside a container which was anchored and have been watched at the Aden port since mid-November.

    Head of the customs authority Muhammad Zimam said the cargo included scores of boxes containing machine guns that were produced and shipped in Turkey, the state news agency Saba said.

    "According to preliminary information, the cargo included about 3780 machine guns, T14 type," he was quoted as saying.
    Continued on Page 49
    Posted by: Fred || 01/25/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336090 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


    China-Japan-Koreas
    China calls for talks after North Korean threat
    [LATIMES] With North Korea openly threatening the United States with nuclear weapons, China called Thursday for a new round of diplomacy and appears to be growing increasingly frustrated with its longtime ally.

    Beijing's calls for intervention come amid a torrent of belligerent language from Pyongyang, angered by a United Nations
    ...where theory meets practice and practice loses...
    resolution earlier in the week expanding sanctions over its missile and nuclear program.

    The latest escalation came Thursday when Pyongyang lashed out at the United States, which it called the "archenemy of the Korean people.''

    "We are not disguising the fact that the various satellites and long-range rockets that we will fire and the high-level nuclear test we will carry out are targeted at the United States," North Korea's National Defense Commission said in a statement released by the official news service.

    "Settling accounts with the U.S. needs to be done with force, not with words," it said.

    North Korea's confrontational stand dampened hopes that the country might be following a more moderate course under its new 30-year-old leader, Kim Pudge Jong-un
    ...the hereditary potentate of North Korea...
    , who took over 13 months ago following the death of his father Kim Jong Il.
    Posted by: Fred || 01/25/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336089 views] Top|| File under: Commies

    #1  As things stand wid JAPAN over the disputed Senkakus/Diaoyus, a PLA takeover of the DPRK puts it that much closer to China's ultimate target TAIWAN, as well as the Taiwan-flanking Northern Philippines aka WHERE THE US + PHIL ARMED FORCES ARE NOT.

    The US is back at SUBIC, + of course the ROK + Okinawa, but AFAIK not in the regions far north of Subic + Manila Bay [Central, North Central PHIL]. The PHIL Armed Forces per se are focused on the SCS vee China, + in Mindanao vee Muslim Moros.
    Posted by: JosephMendiola || 01/25/2013 1:04 Comments || Top||


    Israel-Palestine-Jordan
    Hamas To Establish Military Academy For Schoolkids
    [Jpost] Haniyeh says inaugural Gazoo school will prepare kids as young as 12 to establish Paleostinian state "from the river to the sea."

    Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, plans to establish a military academy in the Gazoo Strip to train and educate schoolchildren.

    Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh
    ...became Prime Minister after the legislative elections of 2006 which Hamas won. President Mahmoud Abbas dismissed Haniyeh from office on 14 June 2007 at the height of the Fatah-Hamas festivities, but Haniyeh did not acknowledge the decree and continues as the PM of Gazoo while Abbas maintains a separate PM in the West Bank...
    announced on Thursday that the military academy, the first of its kind in the Gazoo Strip, would prepare the children for the "phase of liberating Paleostine."

    He said that children in grades 7-9 could join the school and graduate with a diploma or a BA in military affairs.

    Haniyeh made this announcement during a ceremony in the Gazoo Strip marking the birth of the prophet Muhammad. More than 10,000 schoolchildren attended the ceremony, which included a "military parade" by some of the teenagers.

    The prime minister said he has instructed the Hamas-run Education Ministry to draw up plans for the establishment of the military academy. Haniyeh said that the new academy would educate and prepare children for the establishment of a Paleostinian state "from the river to the sea."

    The decision to establish a military academy follows Hamas's announcement that it would create its own "defense ministry" in the Gazoo Strip. That announcement was made shortly after the IDF's Operation Pillar of Defense in Gazoo in November.
    Posted by: trailing wife || 01/25/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336092 views] Top|| File under: Hamas

    #1  I see lots of "work accidents". And flaming hoops...
    Posted by: tu3031 || 01/25/2013 0:11 Comments || Top||

    #2  According to The Times of Israel, there's also the "military training" elective offered in all Gaza high schools, which yesterday graduated its first class of 3,000. Granted, it's only an hour each week, but the lads are ready for jihad by the time they're done, by golly.

    “My officer taught me the values of courage, sacrifice and love of jihad, as well as some battle tactics,” said Radwan Wasfi, 15, whose black-painted face dripped with sweat after going through a drill. “I feel that I can free my energy in a good way. I can do for real what I do in video games.”
    Posted by: trailing wife || 01/25/2013 2:38 Comments || Top||

    #3  If my HS gym class had involved explosives I might have gone more...
    Posted by: Glenmore || 01/25/2013 7:44 Comments || Top||

    #4  the school nurse is a trauma team
    Posted by: Frank G || 01/25/2013 8:45 Comments || Top||

    #5  I can do for real what I do in video games

    You can jump on turtles and eat mushrooms?
    Posted by: swksvolFF || 01/25/2013 11:03 Comments || Top||

    #6  I can do for real what I do in video games

    Hint: You don't get to restart the game when you get killed.
    Posted by: Pappy || 01/25/2013 12:51 Comments || Top||

    #7  Learning curve is very steep without maxing out intelligence.
    Permadeath ruins re-playability.
    Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 01/25/2013 16:30 Comments || Top||


    China-Japan-Koreas
    Norks Threaten Fresh Nuclear Test
    North Korea on Thursday seized its brief moment in the international spotlight with threats to conduct a fresh nuclear test and target its "sworn enemy," the U.S.

    "We are not disguising the fact that the various satellites and long-range rockets we will launch, as well as the high-level nuclear test we will carry out, are targeted at the United States, the sworn enemy of our people," the North's National Defense Commission said in a statement on Thursday. "Accounts with the U.S. need to be settled with force, not with words."

    The statement carried by the official KCNA news agency came in response to Wednesday's UN Security Council resolution that condemns last month's rocket launch and intensifies sanctions against the renegade country.
    Continued on Page 49
    Posted by: Steve White || 01/25/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336083 views] Top|| File under:

    #1  I doubt this has to do with politics. It's much more likely that it's a business deal for N. Korea. It's possible that the Iranians have paid them to run this test. For all we know, this next bomb might be a prototype Iranian design. It makes sense that Tehran would test their own design, before staging a nuclear detonation inside their own country.
    Posted by: Raider || 01/25/2013 0:06 Comments || Top||

    #2  As long as the "TEST" is FAR from America.
    Posted by: Redneck Jim || 01/25/2013 8:38 Comments || Top||


    Israel-Palestine-Jordan
    2012 Sees 55% Drop In Israeli Casualties From Terrorism
    Terrorism fail.
    But they make faces most fearsomely...
    Fortunately, there's that saving grace. Do note that these statistics include Gaza's excessive rocketry brouhaha in November.
    Lesson to Gazookian rocketeers: if you want to cause casualties, you have to hit something other than sand...
    [Jpost] The past year saw a 55 percent drop in the number of casualties from terrorism compared to 2011, according to figures released by the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) on Thursday.

    Ten Israelis bit the dust in terrorist attacks in 2012, compared to 22 in 2011. Six of the casualties were civilians and four were members of the security forces.

    Nine out of the ten casualties in 2012 were killed in terror attacks that originated from the Gazoo Strip (7) and the Sinai Peninsula (2). Paleostinian rocket fire during Operation Pillar of Defense in November resulted in the murder of six Israelis - four civilians and two members of the security forces. One Israeli was rubbed out in a terrorist attack in Ramle, central Israel.
    Posted by: trailing wife || 01/25/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [336077 views] Top|| File under:

    #1  I wonder what the casualties look like from year to year? A 55% reduction is a good thing for whatever reason.
    Posted by: JohnQC || 01/25/2013 19:02 Comments || Top||



    Who's in the News
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    Two weeks of WOT
    Fri 2013-01-25
      AQAP #2 killed for the THIRD time in Yemen
    Thu 2013-01-24
      US drone strike near Sanaa kills 7 hard boyz
    Wed 2013-01-23
      Nuristan Airstrike Kills 14 Insurgents
    Tue 2013-01-22
      French seize control of Diabaly, Douentza
    Mon 2013-01-21
      Nigeria: Gunmen attack Kano emir's convoy
    Sun 2013-01-20
      Algeria crisis: Hostage-takers 'taken alive' at gas plant
    Sat 2013-01-19
      Boko Haram leader Shekau shot, escapes to Mali
    Fri 2013-01-18
      1,400 French soldiers in Mali for ground assaults: minister
    Thu 2013-01-17
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    Wed 2013-01-16
      France deploys armoured vehicles towards northern Mali
    Tue 2013-01-15
      Pakistan paralysed after court demands PM arrest
    Mon 2013-01-14
      Famed Tunisia Mausoleum Torched by Salafists
    Sun 2013-01-13
      19 Killed in Failed French Raid to Free Somalia Hostage
    Sat 2013-01-12
      French commandos attack al-Shabab base, explosions, gunfire heard
    Fri 2013-01-11
      France confirms Mali intervention

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