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       <title>Rantburg</title>
       <link>http://www.rantburg.com/</link>
       <description>Civil, well-reasoned discourse</description>
       <language>en-us</language>
       <generator>Rantburg RSS Feeder</generator>
       <managingEditor>Fred Pruitt</managingEditor>
       <webMaster>fred@rantburg.com</webMaster>
       <item>
        <title><![CDATA['Soldier beheaded' in 'Islamist terror attack' oustide barracks in Woolwich]]></title>
               <link>http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?D=2013-05-22&amp;ID=368845</link>
               <pubDate>2013-05-22</pubDate>
               <description> <![CDATA[ Two suspected terrorists were shot by armed police after attacking a pedestrian, believed to be a soldier, with a machete-style knife close to military barracks in an 'Islamist attack'.

Good grief.  There are no words.... ]]> </description>
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        <title><![CDATA[Iraq crisis: Gunmen kill 12 in Baghdad brothel]]></title>
               <link>http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?D=2013-05-22&amp;ID=368843</link>
               <pubDate>2013-05-22</pubDate>
               <description> <![CDATA[ Seven women and five men have been shot dead in a brothel in Baghdad, state and medical officials say.

Unknown armed gunmen are said to have burst into the brothel in the well-to-do eastern district of Zayouna on Wednesday afternoon and opened fire.

Prostitution is prohibited under Islam, the dominant religion in Iraq.

The killings come two days after multiple bombings killed at least 70 people - more died in fresh blasts on Tuesday.

In recent months Iraq has seen a rise in attacks linked to growing political and sectarian tension.

The escalation of violence has raised fears of a return to the carnage of 2006-7.

In response, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has ordered a shake-up in senior military ranks across the country, reports said.

Zayouna, where Wednesday's attack took place, is a mixed district of Sunni and Shia Muslims. ]]> </description>
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        <title><![CDATA[Man dead in suspected Woolwich terror attack]]></title>
               <link>http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?D=2013-05-22&amp;ID=368842</link>
               <pubDate>2013-05-22</pubDate>
               <description> <![CDATA[ A man has died and two are injured after police responded to a reported machete attack in south-east London.

The government is reported to be treating the attack as a suspected terrorist incident and the prime minister said it was &quot;truly shocking&quot;.

Eyewitnesses said a man was assaulted in a Woolwich street by two individuals who were later shot by officers.

Local MP Nick Raynsford said the dead man was a soldier at Woolwich barracks but this has not been confirmed.

Home Secretary Theresa May has summoned a meeting of the government's emergency response committee Cobra to assess the incident.

It is understood she has also requested updates from the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Bernard Hogan-Howe, and the head of MI5.

Whitehall sources have told the BBC it is &quot;a fair supposition&quot; that the incident was a terrorist incident but police have not commented publicly on the suggestion.

BBC political editor Nick Robinson said the police view is that the attack may have been filmed and footage may exist.

People carrying out the attack were heard to say Allahu Akbar [God is Great], said our political editor.

On Twitter, the Mayor of London Boris Johnson described the attack as a &quot;sickening deluded and unforgivable act of violence&quot;. ]]> </description>
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        <title><![CDATA[Stockholm burns as rioters battle police after three days of violence in immigrant 'ghetto  ]]></title>
               <link>http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?D=2013-05-22&amp;ID=368841</link>
               <pubDate>2013-05-22</pubDate>
               <description> <![CDATA[ Two schools and a cultural centre were set on fire in Stockholm
Gangs of up to 60 youths hurled rocks at police and firefighters
Yesterday's violence is the worst the country has seen in years
Provoked debate on youth unemployment and immigration in Sweden

Hundreds of youths attacked police and emergency services last night as rioting in Stockholm's poor immigrant suburbs escalated.

Yesterday's violence, which has intensified over three days of rioting, saw gangs torch dozens of cars and attack two schools and a police station.

It is Sweden's worst disorder in years and has shocked the country and provoked a debate on how Sweden is coping with youth unemployment and an influx of immigrants.

Scroll down for video

 ]]> </description>
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        <title><![CDATA[Armed DHS guards outside IRS building in St. Louis  -  Gateway Pundit]]></title>
               <link>http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?D=2013-05-22&amp;ID=368837</link>
               <pubDate>2013-05-22</pubDate>
               <description> <![CDATA[ Very interesting.  Local law enforcement not utilized.  Will this become a trend in the new police state ? ]]> </description>
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        <title><![CDATA[Odious IRS executive Steve Miller admits targeting was partisan  -  Breitbart]]></title>
               <link>http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?D=2013-05-22&amp;ID=368836</link>
               <pubDate>2013-05-22</pubDate>
               <description> <![CDATA[  ]]> </description>
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        <title><![CDATA[Man shot dead by FBI agent knew Boston bombing suspect ]]></title>
               <link>http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?D=2013-05-22&amp;ID=368835</link>
               <pubDate>2013-05-22</pubDate>
               <description> <![CDATA[ breaking - so keep the salt handy
A man who was shot dead by an FBI agent late Tuesday night in Orlando knew one of the suspects in the Boston Marathon bombings, a man identified as friend of the victim said Wednesday.

The agent encountered the man while conducting official duties, agent Dave Couvertier said in a statement.

A man at the scene on Peregrine Avenue near Kirkman and Vineland roads who identified himself as a friend of the victim said the man knew Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the older brother suspected in the April 15 bombings that killed three and injured more than 260.

Khusen Taramov said he and his friend had no connection with the Boston bombings, but the FBI had been questioning them since then.
a wide net - just a leeetle too late
&quot;He used to talk on the phone with him [Tsarnaev],&quot; Taramov said of his friend. &quot;They talked last time a month ago. After the bombing, I couldn't believe it,&quot; he said.

&quot;The FBI kept asking, 'What's the connection?' But there is no connection... no connection.&quot;

Taramov said the victim had planned to return to Chechnya but had canceled his tickets.
actually, the FBI agent cancelled his ticket ]]> </description>
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        <title><![CDATA[Issa warns the Hildebeast:  Be ready if called to testify]]></title>
               <link>http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?D=2013-05-22&amp;ID=368834</link>
               <pubDate>2013-05-22</pubDate>
               <description> <![CDATA[  ]]> </description>
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        <title><![CDATA[First they came for Fox News  -  Daily Beast]]></title>
               <link>http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?D=2013-05-22&amp;ID=368833</link>
               <pubDate>2013-05-22</pubDate>
               <description> <![CDATA[  ]]> </description>
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        <title><![CDATA[Lies About Libya: Obama, Clinton and Benghazi  -  Thomas Sowell]]></title>
               <link>http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?D=2013-05-22&amp;ID=368832</link>
               <pubDate>2013-05-22</pubDate>
               <description> <![CDATA[  ]]> </description>
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        <title><![CDATA[Afghan interpreters to get right to live in UK]]></title>
               <link>http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?D=2013-05-22&amp;ID=368831</link>
               <pubDate>2013-05-22</pubDate>
               <description> <![CDATA[ Up to 600 Afghan interpreters who worked alongside British troops are to be given the right to live in the UK, government sources have confirmed.

The plan marks a climbdown from ministers who had decided they should not get the same UK resettlement rights as interpreters in the Iraq conflict.

Afghan interpreters who worked on the front line for a year or more will initially be offered a five-year visa.

The move covers about half of Afghan interpreters who helped the UK.

A Downing Street source said the proposals would give interpreters a choice - &quot;the opportunity to go on working in Afghanistan, learning new skills and to go on rebuilding their country or to come and make a new start in Britain&quot;.

BBC defence correspondent Caroline Wyatt said the coalition previously appeared to be split on the issue.

Liberal Democrats, including former Royal Marine Lord Ashdown, had called for a resettlement package.

Others feared a blanket right to come to the UK could be taken as a sign of a lack of faith in Afghanistan's future after Western forces left, o ]]> </description>
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        <title><![CDATA[FBI zeroes in on Benghazi attack suspects, lacks evidence for civilian prosecution]]></title>
               <link>http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?D=2013-05-22&amp;ID=368830</link>
               <pubDate>2013-05-22</pubDate>
               <description> <![CDATA[ Five men have been identified by the US as linked to the September 2012 attack on a diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, though they remain at large as the FBI seeks to gather sufficient evidence for a civilian trial.

According to the Associated Press, the five individuals thought to be responsible for the attack, in which four were killed including US Ambassador Christopher Stevens, could be taken into custody by the US military, though sufficient proof seems lacking to try them in court.

The suspects are thought to be members of Ansar al-Shariah, a Libyan militia group whose fighters were seen near the US diplomatic facility in Benghazi just prior to the assault.

At least some of the suspects have been in contact with previously identified regional Jihadists, including Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.

A senior Obama administration official has told the AP that the FBI identified several individuals that may either have information, or may have been directly involved in the attack. However, per that official, a unilateral military mission to extract the suspects without Libya’s cooperation is thought to be potentially damaging to relations.

Photos for three of the five suspects have been released by the FBI in the hopes that the public may provide information, images evidently obtained by security cameras at the US diplomatic post at the time of the attack. Delays due to the security situation meant that the agency took three weeks to obtain the camera and their data, and relay them to American officials in Tripoli. ]]> </description>
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        <title><![CDATA[Judge says it was fair to sentence terrorists day of Boston Marathon bombings]]></title>
               <link>http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?D=2013-05-22&amp;ID=368829</link>
               <pubDate>2013-05-22</pubDate>
               <description> <![CDATA[ A federal judge has denied the motions of a North Bergen man and Elmwood Park man who argued that their sentencing for a terrorism-related crime on the same day as the Boston Marathon was unfair.

The ruling signed today by District Court Judge Dickinson R. Debevoise will let stand the 22-year-sentence he meted out to Mohamed Alessa, 23, of North Bergen and 20-year-sentence received by codefendant Carlos Almonte, 27.

After the April 15 sentencings, defense attorneys sought a new sentencing, arguing that the prosecution's knowledge of the bombing allowed them to alter their presentation to focus on the vulnerability of targets in the New York area, rather then on the defendants themselves, according to Debovoise's opinion.

In the motion filed April 29, they also argued Debevoise learned of the bombing prior to sentencing the pair that day, but that the defense was not aware of the bombing prior to the sentencing.

The judge said that the defense attorneys' recollection of the hearing was faulty. Two assistant US attorneys gave presentations and the one focusing on the vulnerability of targets went first and it was before word of the Boston bombings reached the court, the opinion says.

Debevoise notes that the prosecutor then invited the second prosecutor to &quot;talk about the individual characteristics of the defendants.&quot;

The judge also noted that the sentencing process involved thousands of pages of documents reviewed over a long period of time and his 43-page statement of the reasons for the sentences was compiled long before the bombings.

The judge said there was a potential for terrorist attacks by the defendants in the United States and as such, there was no reason the prosecution would not have referred to potential targets while arguing for 30-year sentences, the opinion said. ]]> </description>
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        <title><![CDATA[Claim Saudi princes laundered Hezbollah money &quot;fanciful&quot;-lawyer]]></title>
               <link>http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?D=2013-05-22&amp;ID=368828</link>
               <pubDate>2013-05-22</pubDate>
               <description> <![CDATA[ Two Saudi princes on Tuesday sought to extricate themselves from a London legal battle with a Jordanian businessman who accuses them of laundering money for Hezbollah, an allegation their lawyer called &quot;fanciful&quot;.

Prince Mishal bin Abdulaziz al Saud, a brother of Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah, and his son Prince Abdulaziz bin Mishal, had previously argued they had sovereign immunity from suit but the courts rejected that stance.

They also tried to keep details of the case secret on the grounds that making the allegations public would damage Saudi relations with Britain and the United States, which considers Hezbollah a terrorist organisation, but that failed in the Court of Appeal last week.

The Hezbollah allegation is likely to raise concern in Saudi Arabia, because Hezbollah is backed by foe Iran, and Hezbollah fighters are supporting President Bashar al-Assad in Syria while Saudi Arabia is a major backer of rebel forces.

John Wardell, a lawyer for the princes, told the High Court on Tuesday that Faisal Almhairat, an estranged business partner of Prince Abdulaziz, had fabricated &quot;incredible tales&quot; that were &quot;fanciful&quot;, and argued that his clients should not be parties to the case at all.

He said Global Torch - the British Virgin Island company the younger prince is said to control - and not the princes should be the party at the trial when it comes to court in January. ]]> </description>
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        <title><![CDATA[ A German's View of Islam]]></title>
               <link>http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?D=2013-05-22&amp;ID=368827</link>
               <pubDate>2013-05-22</pubDate>
               <description> <![CDATA[  ]]> </description>
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        <title><![CDATA[Palestinian Fishing Area Off Gaza Expanded Back To 6 Miles]]></title>
               <link>http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?D=2013-05-22&amp;ID=368826</link>
               <pubDate>2013-05-22</pubDate>
               <description> <![CDATA[ [Ynet] Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon confirmed the extension of Paleostinian fishing space off the coast of the Gazoo Strip to six nautical miles. This followed the reduction of fishing territory to three miles after the firing of rockets at Israel's southern communities two months ago.
 
The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, Brigadier General Eitan Dangot briefed Paleostinian Authority officials on the decision. 
  Actions have consequences in the world of the sane... ]]> </description>
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        <title><![CDATA[Indictments Filed Against Six Palestinians Planning Kidnapping]]></title>
               <link>http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?D=2013-05-22&amp;ID=368825</link>
               <pubDate>2013-05-22</pubDate>
               <description> <![CDATA[ [Ynet]  The Shin Bet tossed in the clink
Youse'll never take me alive coppers!... [BANG!]... Ow!... I quit!
 six wanted Paleostinians aged 18 - 33, including two from Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, and four from the Hebron area Islamic Jihad
...created after many members of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood decided the organization was becoming too moderate. Operations were conducted out of Egypt until 1981 when the group was exiled after the assassination of President Anw&amp;#97;r S&amp;#97;d&amp;#97;t. They worked out of G&amp;#97;z&amp;#97; until they were exiled to Leb&amp;#97;non in 1987, where they clove tightly to H&amp;#101;zb&amp;#111;ll&amp;#97;h. In 1989 they moved to D&amp;#97;m&amp;#97;scus, where they remain a subsidiary of H&amp;#101;zb&amp;#111;ll&amp;#97;h...
. The men had split into two groups and planned to kidnap civilians and soldiers to use in bargaining for the release of Paleostinian prisoners.
 
During interrogations, the men provided information regarding how to manufacture explosives and on at-the-ready explosives. Indictments were issued against cell members in the Judea Military Court.  ]]> </description>
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        <title><![CDATA[Austria: Peackeepers may quit Golan if EU arms rebels]]></title>
               <link>http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?D=2013-05-22&amp;ID=368824</link>
               <pubDate>2013-05-22</pubDate>
               <description> <![CDATA[ [Yet]  Austria may pull its peacekeeping troops from the Golan Heights, its defence minister warned on Tuesday.
 
Vienna's warning was aimed at Britannia and other allies which want to help Syrian rebels by lifting an EU arms embargo - doing so, minister Gerald Klug told Rooters, would rob Austrian troops of their neutrality. He stopped short of saying an end to the EU arms ban would automatically prompt the departure of the 380 Austrian soldiers. But their withdrawal after four decades keeping the peace would leave a huge hole in the already troubled, 1,000-strong UN force.  ]]> </description>
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        <title><![CDATA[Clashes Between Egypt Troops And Gunmen In Sinai]]></title>
               <link>http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?D=2013-05-22&amp;ID=368823</link>
               <pubDate>2013-05-22</pubDate>
               <description> <![CDATA[ [Ynet]  Egyptian security officials say police and military forces have clashed with armed rustics in a north Sinai village by the border with Israel, leaving one gunman dead.
 
The festivities came when troops and police, backed by helicopter gunships, were conducting a sweep through a number of villages along the border with Israel. Egypt's government has built up security forces in northern Sinai as part of an effort to secure the release of six coppers and a border guard kidnapped last week by suspected bad boys.  ]]> </description>
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        <title><![CDATA[IDF to launch nationwide drill as officials ramp up war rhetoric]]></title>
               <link>http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?D=2013-05-22&amp;ID=368822</link>
               <pubDate>2013-05-22</pubDate>
               <description> <![CDATA[ [Ynet]  Home front minister says war is not question of 'if' but 'when' as he launches exercise intended to prepare civilians to its event

&quot;There is no longer a question whether missiles will be launched at Israel's major population centers, only when it would happen,&quot; Home Front Defense Minister Gilad Erdan said Tuesday ahead of a nationwide drill.
 
The civil war raging in Syria and ominous Israeli promises to prevent advanced weapons from landing in the hands of terrorist organizations are only part of the background for the annual national emergency exercise set to be held next week.

The drill, held jointly by the IDF Home Front Command and emergency services, aims to prepare the Israeli population for the undesired event of thousands of missiles and rockets hitting population centers and strategic installations across the country, including unconventional weapons from Syria, Leb and the Gazoo Strip. The simulation will commence Sunday morning with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announcing a week of national emergency.

From Monday until Wednesday the drill will focus on civilian population, in particular practicing speedy retreat to protected spaces. This will be a high-tech drill, as participation will be checked online with the assistance of the Education Ministry, which devised a form asking students whether they and their parents indeed entered sheltered areas.
 
Additionally, this will be first time the entire early warning system will be put to a test as, besides sirens, civilians will receive alerts via different media including mobile devices, social networks and television broadcasts.
  
Erdan also said that &quot;in terms of gaps in protection, we prefer to invest in protecting our citizens from conventional threats before investing in shielding the population from nonconventional weaponry. The Iron Dome (missile defense system) will not be ready to cope -- as we have seen in the Pillar of Defense operation -- with the scope and size of such missiles.&quot;
 
Head of the Home Front Command Major-General Eyal Eisenberg also spoke of war as a near certainty, saying &quot;We'll be required to deal with a large volume of rocket fire. Our opponents hold long-range missiles with large warheads and carrying capacity of hundreds of pounds.
 
&quot;There is no doubt Israel's home front has never dealt with such a scenario, and we will have to show extraordinary fortitude. These are not easy times, but Israel possesses a far greater destructive capacity compared to our enemies, so I would suggest our neighbors weigh the odds once more before they warm up the engines,&quot; said the commander.  ]]> </description>
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        <title><![CDATA[Report: Anti-Israel NGOs receive US funding]]></title>
               <link>http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?D=2013-05-22&amp;ID=368821</link>
               <pubDate>2013-05-22</pubDate>
               <description> <![CDATA[ [Ynet]  Research institute says some Mideast organizations receiving grants from Washington 'demonize Israel, promote BDS campaigns targeting Israel'
  But our beloved, honourable president simply adores Israel -- all the newspapers reported it so during his recent visit.  It must have been rogue underlings again. ]]> </description>
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        <title><![CDATA[Good Morning]]></title>
               <link>http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?D=2013-05-22&amp;ID=368820</link>
               <pubDate>2013-05-22</pubDate>
               <description> <![CDATA[  ]]> </description>
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        <title><![CDATA[Assad Butchers, Israel Still Blamed]]></title>
               <link>http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?D=2013-05-22&amp;ID=368818</link>
               <pubDate>2013-05-22</pubDate>
               <description> <![CDATA[ [Ynet] Despite atrocities committed by Syrian regime, alleged Israeli Arclight airstrike united Arab world against Jewish state

Since the revolution in Syria began, many Israelis, Jews and Arabs alike, have been mulling over whether Israel should intervene in the civil war there. The Arabs, Sunnis, Christians and Druze are watching their brothers across the border being butchered or becoming refugees. The Jews are reminded of the world's indifference during the Holocaust. The alleged Israeli Arclight airstrike gave us a definitive answer. It was as though the rival sides took a break from the mutual killing and recalled their common denominator -- the hatred of the &quot;Zionist enemy.&quot;
 
The Arab world is finding it very difficult to come to terms with the Israeli intervention in Syria, as it put a spotlight on the intolerable truth: Despite a corpse count nearing 100,000, the Arab world is not really intervening in a massacre that is occurring in the heart of the Islamist nation. ]]> </description>
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        <title><![CDATA[Iranian troops fighting for Assad, says State Dept. official]]></title>
               <link>http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?D=2013-05-22&amp;ID=368817</link>
               <pubDate>2013-05-22</pubDate>
               <description> <![CDATA[ Iran has sent soldiers to Syria to fight alongside forces loyal to Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
One of the last of the old-fashioned hereditary iron-fisted fascist dictators...
 and those of the Leb-based Hezbollah militia, a senior State Department official said Tuesday.

An unknown number of Iranians are fighting in Syria, the official said, citing accounts from members of the opposition Free Syrian Army, which is backed by the United States. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to preview a strategy session that Secretary of State John F. Kerry is to hold Wednesday with key supporters of the Syrian opposition.

With the British, French and American governments considering providing arms to the Syrian opposition on a scale not yet seen in the civil war, the U.S. official's allegation was a tacit acknowledgment that the two-year-old Syrian conflict has become a regional war and a de facto U.S. proxy fight with Iran.

Russia appears to be hedging its bets, as the U.S. official acknowledged Tuesday. Assad's forces are being resupplied from somewhere, the official said, and not all of the armaments can be explained away as part of a continuation of weapons contracts that predate the conflict. ]]> </description>
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        <title><![CDATA[Hundreds Protest Anti-Semitism In Malmo]]></title>
               <link>http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?D=2013-05-22&amp;ID=368816</link>
               <pubDate>2013-05-22</pubDate>
               <description> <![CDATA[ [Ynet]  Jews, people of other faiths march in southern Swedish city, which has large immigrant Muslim community, to bring attention to intolerance, anti-Semitic attacks in Nordic country
 ]]> </description>
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        <title><![CDATA[Syria Rebels Threaten to Eradicate Alawites if  Al-Qusair  falls.]]></title>
               <link>http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?D=2013-05-22&amp;ID=368815</link>
               <pubDate>2013-05-22</pubDate>
               <description> <![CDATA[ Communities inhabited by Shiite Muslims and President Bashar al-Assad’s Alawite minority will be “wiped off the map” if the strategic city of Al-Qusair in central Syria falls to government troops, rebel forces said. 

Fighter planes and heavy artillery pounded the city [May 21st], the U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said in an e-mail. It said two people were killed during clashes between rebels and government troops backed by Hezbollah fighters, bringing the death toll from clashes at Al-Qusair in the last three days to more than 90. 

Bassam al-Dada, a political adviser to the Free Syrian Army, said from Istanbul yesterday that Assad’s forces were still at the outskirts of the city. “Our people are still fighting inside and very strongly, but it’s not an easy situation,” he said.  ]]> </description>
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        <title><![CDATA[Mayhem in Monterrey: 8 die -- UPDATED]]></title>
               <link>http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?D=2013-05-22&amp;ID=368814</link>
               <pubDate>2013-05-22</pubDate>
               <description> <![CDATA[ 
For a map, click here  For a map of Nuevo Leon, click here.  For a map of Monterrey, click here

By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com

A total of eight individuals were killed in ongoing drug and gang related violence in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, according to Mexican press reports.

According to a news report which appeared on the website of Milenio news daily, a local drug gang leader identified only as El Cuervo, and four of his security detail were gunned down in a gunfight Tuesday afternoon.

The incident took place between elements of the Nuevo Leon state Policia Minsterial and the armed group at around 1740 hrs in the Cumbres sector of Monterrey, near the intersection of Avenida Leones and Calle Pedro Infante.

According to the report, the armed group opened fire on the police detail which then initiated a pursuit, endingin an exchange of gunfire.  El Curevo was in charge of a criminal group in northern sectors of the city.  

According to a Facebook posting by the Mexican security blogger Codigo Rojo Laguna, El Cuervo was a Los Zetas operative.

Three other individuals were killed in separate incidents in Monterrey.
Two unidentified men were shot to death and a female was seriously  wounded in a shooting in a bar in Guadalupe municipality Tuesday evening.  According to a news account which appeared in Milenio, two armed suspects entered the Texas bar near the intersection of Avenida Pablo Livas and Camino Real and opened fire on the victims, then fled the scene.
A 17 year old youth was shot to death in Guadalupe municipality Monday night. Luis Alberto Ortiz Mireles, 17, and another adult male, Jose Felipe Tello Lopez, 38, were shot by armed suspects who were travelling in a van in Las Sabinitas colony.
An unidentified man was shot and wounded Monday night at a bar in Monterrey.  The victim was waiting to leave El Cielo bar by bus near the corner of  calles Arteaga and Amado Nervo when he was shot three times.
Chris Covert writes Mexican Drug War and national political news for Rantburg.com and BorderlandBeat.com ]]> </description>
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        <title><![CDATA[Qatar: Arab Spring Makes Israeli-Palestinian Peace More Pressing]]></title>
               <link>http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?D=2013-05-22&amp;ID=368813</link>
               <pubDate>2013-05-22</pubDate>
               <description> <![CDATA[ [Ynet]  Gulf state's emir tells Doha Forum Mideast revolutions put Israel 'in direct confrontation with Arab people, not only their rulers'
  That certainly is one way of looking at things...Not remotely related to external reality, but internally valid, at least. ]]> </description>
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        <title><![CDATA[South Sudan Army Recaptures Boma]]></title>
               <link>http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?D=2013-05-22&amp;ID=368812</link>
               <pubDate>2013-05-22</pubDate>
               <description> <![CDATA[ The South Sudanese army (SPLA) has recaptured the town of Boma in Jonglei state after a brief battle with rebels led by David Yau Yau, SPLA officials said Monday.

Four SPLA soldiers died in the fighting and 12 were wounded, army spokesman Col. Philip Aguer said, adding that &quot;20 bodies from the militia side were counted&quot; after the 30-minute battle for Boma, the psychologically important town the was the first captured by the SPLA from the Sudan during the long civil war against Khartoum, which ended in 2005.

The rebels, meanwhile, denied that they had lost control of Boma, saying in a statement that the SPLA had only captured the small village of Iti, around 35 kilometers outside the town. They also said they lost only five fighters and, in an email exchange on Monday, threatened to launch a counter-attack against Iti in the coming days.

The claims and counter-claims from both sides came as eight senior diplomats in South Sudan, led by U.S. Ambassador Susan Page, issued a statement voicing their concern about the violence in Jonglei state, which they said required &quot;a political and not a military solution.&quot; ]]> </description>
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        <title><![CDATA[FBI ID's Benghazi Suspects but Holder Won't Arrest Them]]></title>
               <link>http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?D=2013-05-22&amp;ID=368811</link>
               <pubDate>2013-05-22</pubDate>
               <description> <![CDATA[ WASHINGTON -- The U.S. has identified five men who might be responsible for the attack on the diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, last year, and has enough evidence to justify seizing them by military force as suspected terrorists, officials say. But there isn't enough proof to try them in a U.S. civilian court as the Obama administration prefers.
Try them in a civilian court? Are the Obama people and the DoJ mad?

Okay, that was a rhetorical question.

Under no circumstances can we extend to foreign terrorists, who conducted a terrorist attack on our people on foreign soil, the protections of the U.S. Constitution. That is simple madness. The Constitution and its protections are meant to protect us, not foreign terrorists.The men remain at large while the FBI gathers evidence. 
Where is the CIA in all this?But the investigation has been slowed by the reduced U.S. intelligence presence in the region since the Sept. 11, 2012, attacks, and by the limited ability to assist by Libya's post-revolutionary law enforcement and intelligence agencies, which are still in their infancy since the overthrow of dictator Col. Moammar Gadhafi.
They're also, I suspect, steamed by the way we've handled this mess. We should have had people there on day 1 after the attack, and instead we fooled around (I'm being charitable) for several weeks.The decision not to seize the men militarily underscores the White House aim to move away from hunting terrorists as enemy combatants and holding them at the military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. 
Since Gitmo is icky, doncha know. This leaves Champ only a couple choices: he can put a SEAL team to whack the hard boyz, but that could blow up on us. He could drone-zap them but that could create collateral problems both with the Libyan government and with the Europeans next door. It's a lot closer than Peshawar. It could be just the thing that would destabilize Libya's current government, a government that isn't stable at all right now, and allow militias around the country to pull the place down.

He doesn't have the opportunity just to ID the hard boyz and let the Libyan government take care of them, as the following paragraph suggests would be 'ideal'. That government is weak, doesn't control the country, the militias and the police/justice system, and isn't very happy with us. So that's no choice at all. For the same reason we can't do a legal extradition -- if the weak government has to say 'no' in order to stay in power Champ will look like a fool.

In the end Champ is stuck by his own ideology, rhetoric and foolishness. He knows that a trial in New York will be a circus, and that's one thing he doesn't need right now. The terrorists certainly aren't going to respect our judicial system, they'll use it against us. There's also the danger of a foolish judge or a runaway jury, or evidence that suddenly disappears or a witness who recants. And even if a trial 'works', you've given the mouthpieces for the terrorists the opportunity to conduct all sorts of discovery. That information will for sure get back to the terrorist leaders.The preference is toward a process in which most are apprehended and tried by the countries where they are living or arrested by the U.S. with the host country's cooperation and tried in the U.S. criminal justice system. Using military force to detain the men might also harm fledgling relations with Libya and other post-Arab-Spring governments with whom the U.S. is trying to build partnerships to hunt al-Qaida as the organization expands throughout the region.
That Arab Spring sure turned out well eh?

If Champ had us in front on the Libyan War and had gained Congressional approval, he'd be in a much better position today to work with Libya -- say the way Bush was in Iraq in early 2004. But he didn't, precisely because he's not Bush. He could have kept us out of Libya completely to the point of not having a consulate in Benghazi. But Hillary just had to have us out there with our collective asses in the breeze opening up 'cultural centers' in an unstable, unsafe city. So we ended up with the worst of all situations: dead diplomats in a country where we have no influence.A senior administration official said the FBI has identified a number of individuals that it believes have information or may have been involved, and is considering options to bring those responsible to justice. But taking action in remote eastern Libya would be difficult. America's relationship with Libya would be weighed as part of those options, the official said.

Waiting to prosecute suspects instead of grabbing them now could add to the political weight the Benghazi case already carries. The attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans weeks before President Barack Obama's re-election. Since then, Republicans in Congress have condemned the administration's handling of the situation, criticizing the level of embassy security, questioning the talking points provided to U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice for her public appearances to explain the attack and suggesting the White House tried to play down the incident to minimize its effect on the president's campaign.
That's about as mild an indictment of Champ as the AP can manage, even after finding out that their phones were tapped.The FBI released photos of three of the five suspects earlier this month, asking the public to provide more information on the men pictured. The images were captured by security cameras at the U.S. diplomatic post during the attack, but it took weeks for the FBI to see and study them. It took the agency three weeks to get to Libya because of stupidity security problems, so Libyan officials had to get the cameras and send them to U.S. officials in Tripoli, the capital.

The FBI and other U.S. intelligence agencies identified the men through contacts in Libya and by monitoring their communications. They are thought to be members of Ansar al-Shariah, the Libyan militia group whose fighters were seen near the U.S. diplomatic facility prior to the violence.

U.S. officials say the FBI has proof that the five men were either at the scene of the first attack or somehow involved because of intercepts of at least one of them bragging about taking part. Some of the men have also been in contact with a network of well-known regional Jihadists, including al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb.
I bet they didn't star in any cheesy video...The U.S. has decided that the evidence it has now would be enough for a military operation to seize the men for questioning, but not enough for a civilian arrest or a drone strike against them, the officials said. The U.S. has kept them under surveillance, mostly by electronic means. There was a worry that the men could get spooked and hide, but so far, not even the FBI's release of surveillance video stills has done that.
Idiocy. They don't deserve a civilian trial and all the trappings thereof. They're terrorists, or irregular combatants if you prefer, and should be treated as such.FBI investigators are hoping for more evidence, such as other video of the attack that might show the suspects in the act of setting the fires that ultimately killed the ambassador and his communications specialist, or firing the mortars hours later at the CIA base where the surviving diplomats took shelter -- or a Libyan witness willing to testify against the suspects in a U.S. courtroom.
Sure, that'll happen...But Rep. Howard P. &quot;Buck&quot; McKeon, the Republican chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said he is concerned the Obama administration is treating terrorism as criminal actions instead of acts of war that would elicit a much harsher response from the United States.

&quot;The war on terror, I think, is a war and at times I get the feeling that the administration wants to treat it as a crime,&quot; McKeon said Tuesday.
He gets it. Administration officials have indicated recently that the FBI is zeroing in.

&quot;Regardless of what happened previously, we have made very, very, very substantial progress in that investigation,&quot; Attorney General Eric Holder told lawmakers last week.
Who the hell listens to, or respects, you anymore?That echoed comments made by Secretary of State John Kerry to lawmakers last month.
Ditto, Jahwn...&quot;They do have people ID'd,&quot; Kerry said of the FBI-led investigation. &quot;They have made some progress. They have a number of suspects who are persons of interest that they are pursuing in this and building cases on.&quot;

But options for dealing with the men are few and difficult, U.S. officials said, describing high level strategy debates among White House, FBI and other counterterror officials. The U.S. could ask Libya to arrest the suspects, hoping that Americans would be given access to question them and that the Libyans gather enough evidence to hold the men under their own justice system. Another option is to ask the Libyans to extradite the men to the U.S., but that would require the U.S. to gather enough solid evidence linking the suspects to the crime to ask for such an action.

Asking other countries to detain suspects hasn't produced much thus far. 
No, really?In this case, the Egyptian government detained Egyptian Islamic Jihad member Muhammad Jamal Abu Ahmad for possible links to the attack, but it remains unclear if U.S. intelligence officers were ever allowed to question him.

Tunisia allowed the U.S. to question Tunisian suspect Ali Harzi, 28, who was arrested in Turkey last October because of suspected links to the Sept. 11 Benghazi attack, but a judge released him in January for lack of evidence.

Finally, the U.S. could send a military team to grab the men, and take them to an offsite location such as a U.S. naval ship -- the same way al-Qaida suspect Ahmed Warsame was seized by special operations personnel in 2011 in Somalia. He was then held and questioned for two months on a U.S. ship before being read his Miranda rights, transferred to the custody of the FBI and taken for trial in a New York court. Warsame pleaded guilty earlier this year and agreed to tell the FBI what he knew about terror threats and, if necessary, testify for the government.
Why not just take them to Ice Station Zebra and gently, quietly fill them with giggle juice?The U.S. has made preparations for raids to grab the Benghazi suspects for interrogation in case the administration decides that's the best option, officials said. Such raids could be legally justified under the U.S. law passed just after the 9/11 terror attacks that authorizes the use of military force against al-Qaida, officials said. The reach of the law has been expanded to include groups working with al-Qaida.

The option most likely off the table would be taking suspects seized by the military to Guantanamo Bay, the facility in Cuba that Obama has said he wants to close.

&quot;Just as the administration is trying to find the exit ramp for Guantanamo is not the time to be adding to it,&quot; said Morris Davis, the former chief prosecutor for Guantanamo. ]]> </description>
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        <title><![CDATA[8 die in western Chihuahua]]></title>
               <link>http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?D=2013-05-22&amp;ID=368810</link>
               <pubDate>2013-05-22</pubDate>
               <description> <![CDATA[ 
For a map, click here  For a map of Chihuahua state, click here

By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com

A total of eight unidentified individuals have been killed in ongoing drug and gang related violence in far southern Chihuahua state, according to Mexican news accounts.

According to a news report posted on the website of Animal Politico, the victims were killed in four separate incidents Sunday and Monday in Guadalupe y Calvo and Baborigame municipalities.

According to a report submitted by Chihuahua Fiscalia General del Estado (FGE), three individuals were found shot to death along a road between the villages of Santa Tulita and Baborigame.

According to a separate account which appeared in the online edition of El Sol de Parral news daily, the three victims were identified as Andres Garcia Ayala, 64, Josefina Torres Carrillo, 34, and Miguel Loera Carrillo, 28.

The news account also said that a dispute between neighbors may be a factor in the shootings.  One unidentified suspect has been detained in connection with the shooting.

The body of an unidentified 15 year old male was also found Sunday in the village of La Mesa in Baborigame municipality. He had been shot once in the face.  The victim is said to be connected to the feud between two families.

In Guadalupe y Calvo municipality three more unidentified victims were found shot to death on a road between Guadalupe y Calvo and  Parral city, near a location called Las Gallinas. 

According to a separate account which appeared on the website of El Sol de Parral, the three victims were identified as Valentin Gonzalez Lopez,  61, Daniel Molina Vargas, 24m and Anastasio Gonzalez Ramos, 68.  The body of Gonzalez Lopez was found dismembered. 

An eighth shooting victim was found Sunday in San Francisco del Oro municipality, which is also in far southern Chihuahua state.

The victim was identified as farmer Chalaca Salvador Dominguez, 40, of Valle de Rosario. He was found lying face down, his hands bound, in an arroyo in ejido El Encinal.  He had been shot once with a semiautomatic pistol.

Separately, the spokesman for the Chihuahua state FGE said a sawmill in the village of Ojo Fr&iacute;o had been set afire and destroyed.

The southern Chihuahua and western Chihuahua state encompasses an area known as the Sierra Tarahumara.  It was announced last February by Chihuahua governor Cesar Duarte Jaquez that a new security operation would begin in the region, this time including the first of the new federal Policia Gendarmaria (PG) security police.  Part of that operation was to increase the use of checkpoints in the region.

The new operation has met with some success. According to a news report which appeared in the online edition of El Heraldo de Chihuahua news daily, the bishop of the Sierra Tarahumara diocese, Rafael Sandoval Sandoval lamented security could be improved but also said, according to the news account, &quot;progress&quot; has been made by authorities.

Chihuahua state is one of 14 states in Mexico which are undergoing midterm elections for local deputies and municipality presidents.  The election in the Sierra Tarahumara is a factor given local authorities actions a year ago when it was leaked that aid sent to the region was withheld on promises of votes.

The new national government headed by Enriqiue Pena Nieto has been pushing its latest social initiative, La Cruzada Contra la Hambre or Crusade Against Hunger, a program which has already garnered severe criticism in states which as Veracruz amid accusations it will be used for political purposes.

Many of the municipalities of the Sierra Tarahumara are likely recipients of Pena's latest initiative since they are amongst the poorest in Mexico.

Chris Covert writes Mexican Drug War and national political news for Rantburg.com and BorderlandBeat.com ]]> </description>
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        <title><![CDATA[Iraq forces another Iranian plane to land for inspection]]></title>
               <link>http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?D=2013-05-22&amp;ID=368809</link>
               <pubDate>2013-05-22</pubDate>
               <description> <![CDATA[ Iraqi civil aviation authorities forced a cargo plane belonging to Iran's Caspian Airlines to land at Baghdad International Airport, the Iraqi Transport Ministry said in a statement on Monday, Aswat al-Iraq reported.

The plane was searched by security forces at the airport, but nothing illegal was found and the plane was allowed to continue its flight, the statement added.
You wonder if this was all set up since certain Iraqi government officials are mighty cozy with their Iranian cousins...Tehran has repeatedly criticized Iraqi officials over the inspection of Iranian planes carrying humanitarian aid to crisis-hit Syria. It says the inspections - which have invariably failed to find any illegal cargo - are carried out under political pressure from other countries.
True enough but we're going to force you to move arms to Pencilneck in some more indirect way...&quot;This measure is not negligible or justifiable, and we have voiced our protest against this approach and consider it a violation of international law and conventions,&quot; former Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said on April 23.

He added that Iraqi officials had been previously warned against insisting on the inspection of Iranian airplanes. ]]> </description>
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        <title><![CDATA[N.Korea 'Tested New Rocket Launchers']]></title>
               <link>http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?D=2013-05-22&amp;ID=368808</link>
               <pubDate>2013-05-22</pubDate>
               <description> <![CDATA[ The South Korean government has concluded that the six missiles North Korea launched into the sea between Saturday and Monday aimed to test new bigger multiple rocket launchers. 

The missiles flew about 150 km, but their maximum range is estimated to be 180-200 km, a South Korean government official said Tuesday.  Until now the North was believed to have three kinds of multiple rocket launchers -- 107 mm, 122 mm, and 240 mm with a maximum range of less than 65 km. 

But the new launchers could threaten South Korean military headquarters at Gyeryongdae in South Chungcheong Province and U.S. bases in Pyeongtaek and Osan, both in Gyeonggi Province, as well as the entire Seoul region. 
It's almost as if it were planned...With six to 12 launch tubes, mobile rocket launchers can fire more projectiles -- eight or nine rockets in 10 minutes -- than missile launch vehicles. The launchers are difficult to detect until they start firing. 

The test launches could be construed as provocative, although they &quot;do not necessarily violate North Korea's international obligations,&quot; Pentagon spokesman George Little told reporters Monday.
 ]]> </description>
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        <title><![CDATA[Tunisian feminist held for provocation]]></title>
               <link>http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?D=2013-05-22&amp;ID=368807</link>
               <pubDate>2013-05-22</pubDate>
               <description> <![CDATA[ TUNIS — A Tunisian attention whore feminist who had scandalised her country by posting topless photos of herself online has been arrested after sneaking into Tunisia’s city disguised in a veil, then trying to get undressed during a protest, officials said.

On Sunday, Amina Tyler -- a 19-year-old member of the Ukrainian feminist group FEMEN, which uses nudity in its protests -- passed through heavy security and checkpoints to enter Kairouan city, where police were preventing Islamists from holding an annual conference. There she unveiled her bleach blonde hair and cutoff jeans, scrawled “FEMEN” on the wall of a cemetery near the city’s main mosque, and attempted to take off her clothes, her lawyer Radhia Nasraoui quoted police as saying.  
Bet that unwound some turbans...The protest enraged local residents who converged on her, forcing police to take her into protective custody.  In a video of the incident shown on the Tunisian news website Nawaat, Tunisians are yelling “get out” at her as police usher her into a waiting van.

“She is dishonoring us. We will protect our town, but a dirty girl like her shouldn’t come among us,” one resident screams at the camera.  

The Interior Ministry said Tyler may be charged with conducting “provocative acts” when she appears in court on Tuesday.   “It is an act of provocation and it is against the morals and traditions of Tunisian society, which is a Muslim society,” an Interior spokesman said. ]]> </description>
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        <title><![CDATA[Iran bars candidates for presidential election
]]></title>
               <link>http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?D=2013-05-22&amp;ID=368805</link>
               <pubDate>2013-05-22</pubDate>
               <description> <![CDATA[ [REUTERS] Iranian authorities barred two potentially powerful and disruptive candidates from running in next month's presidential election on Tuesday, ensuring a contest largely among hardliners loyal to the holy manal supreme leader.

Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani
... the fourth President of Iran. He was a member of the Assembly of Experts until he was eased out in 2011  He continues, for the moment, as Chairman of the Expediency Discernment Council. In 2005 he ran for a third term as president, ultimately losing to rival M&amp;#97;hm&amp;#111;&amp;#117;d Ahm&amp;#97;d&amp;#105;n&amp;#101;j&amp;#97;d, who was in Khamenei's graces back then. In 1980 R&amp;#97;fs&amp;#97;nj&amp;#97;n&amp;#105; survived an &amp;#97;ss&amp;#97;ss&amp;#105;n&amp;#97;t&amp;#105;&amp;#111;n attempt, during which he was seriously injured. He has been described as a centrist and a pragmatic conservative without all that much reason. He is currently being eased out of any position of actual influence or power and may be dead by the end of 2012...
, a veteran companion of the Islamic Theocratic Republic's founder, a former president and thought potentially sympathetic to reform, was denied a place on the ballot by the Guardian Council of holy mans and jurists, state media said.

So too was Esfandiar Rahim Mashaie, a close aide to outgoing president Mahmoud Short Round Ahmadinejad, whose hardline followers have jockeyed with those of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Both rejections may generate angry responses and Mashaie for one said he would appeal, while urging supporters to stay calm.

Most of the remaining eight men on the ballot for the first round on June 14 are seen as loyalists to Khamenei, who seems determined to avoid a repeat of the popular unrest that followed Ahmadinejad's re-election in 2009 - especially at a time when Iran is engaged in bitter economic, diplomatic and military confrontations with the West, Israel and its Arab neighbors.
 ]]> </description>
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        <title><![CDATA[Syria, Israel exchange fire across cease-fire line]]></title>
               <link>http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?D=2013-05-22&amp;ID=368804</link>
               <pubDate>2013-05-22</pubDate>
               <description> <![CDATA[ [LATIMES] Syria said Tuesday that its forces had destroyed an Israeli vehicle that crossed into Syrian territory from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, an account disputed by Israel, which said that shots were fired at a patrol inside Israeli-controlled territory.

It was the latest in a series of incidents in recent weeks that have raised fears of renewed violence along the cease-fire line between Syria and Israel. Syria has vowed to retaliate the next time Israel attacks its territory, following three reported Israeli Arclight airstrikes this year.

Syrian state media reported that the country's military &quot;destroyed&quot; an Israeli vehicle that had crossed the cease-fire line and was headed toward a village, Bir Ajam, that is a stronghold of armed rebels seeking to oust Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Horror of Homs...
According to the Syrian account, Israel then fired a pair of rockets from its territory toward a Syrian government position. No casualties were reported in the Israeli strike, Syria said.

Syria accused Israel of acting in &quot;direct coordination&quot; with rebel groups in Syria, saying its forces had previously seized an Israeli military vehicle that was being used by rebels in the embattled town of Qusair, which is close to the Lebanese border and far from the Golan Heights.
 ]]> </description>
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        <title><![CDATA[Boko Haram crisis: Nigeria to free women]]></title>
               <link>http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?D=2013-05-22&amp;ID=368803</link>
               <pubDate>2013-05-22</pubDate>
               <description> <![CDATA[ [BBC.CO.UK] 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...
 has ordered the release of all women held in connection with &quot;terrorist activity&quot;, the defence ministry says.

The decision was aimed at enhancing peace efforts in Nigeria, it added.

The army is conducting an offensive in three states, where an emergency was declared last week to fight the bully boy Islamist 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...
The group had set the release of women and kiddies as a condition for talks with the government.

More than 2,000 people have died in the conflict in Nigeria since Boko Haram launched its insurgency in 2009 to create an Islamic state.

Earlier this month, it said it had kidnapped women and teenage girls in response to the security forces arresting the relatives of its fighters.

It said it would treat them as &quot;slaves&quot;.

Human rights concerns
The defence ministry said a number of suspects tossed in the clink
Drop the heater, Studs, or you're hist'try!
 for &quot;terrorist activities&quot; would be handed to state governments for &quot;further rehabilitation&quot; before being released.

&quot;The measure, which is in line with presidential magnanimity to enhance peace efforts in the country, will result in freedom for suspects, including all women under custody,&quot; it added, in a statement.

BBC Hausa Editor Mansur Liman says the decision signals that Mr Jonathan has not shut the door to talks with Boko Haram, despite ordering a military offensive against the group.
 ]]> </description>
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        <title><![CDATA[Iranians Joining Hizbullah in Key Syria Battle]]></title>
               <link>http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?D=2013-05-22&amp;ID=368802</link>
               <pubDate>2013-05-22</pubDate>
               <description> <![CDATA[ [An Nahar] Iranians are working alongside Hizbullah fighters to back Syrian troops battling to retake the rebel stronghold of Qusayr amid fears of a civilian massacre, a U.S. official said Tuesday.

&quot;It is the most visible effort we have seen by Hizbullah to engage directly in the fighting in Syria as a foreign force, and we understand there are also Iranians up there,&quot; a senior State Department official told news hounds.

His information was based on reports from commanders of the rebel Free Syrian Army, but he was unable to give any estimates of how many Hizbullah fighters or Iranians were involved, and what exact role the Iranians were playing.

&quot;I don't know that they are directly involved in the fighting, but I don't think the people that I'm talking to know that themselves,&quot; the official told news hounds travelling with U.S. Secretary of State John F. I was in Vietnam, you know Kerry
Former Senator-for-Life from Massachussetts, self-defined war hero, speaker of French, owner of a lucky hat, conqueror of Cambodia, and current Secretary of State...
&quot;This is an important thing to note -- the direct implication of foreigners on Syrian soil for the regime,&quot; he cautioned on a conference call in Muscat.

Many opposition commanders had reported that forces from Hizbullah &quot;are directly engaged in fighting literally on the streets. They say that their men... are directly fighting against Hizbullah commanders.&quot;

&quot;Iran's role and Hizbullah's role have grown substantially over the last couple of months,&quot; he warned ahead of a Friends of Syria meeting to be held in Jordan on Wednesday.

Observers have alleged that Hizbullah fighters were leading the battle for Qusayr in Homs province, three days after the Syrian regime began an assault to regain control of the town.
 ]]> </description>
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        <title><![CDATA[Tripoli Clashes Intensify as Eid Declares All-Out Battle]]></title>
               <link>http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?D=2013-05-22&amp;ID=368801</link>
               <pubDate>2013-05-22</pubDate>
               <description> <![CDATA[ [An Nahar] Clashes renewed in a fierce manner in Tripoli
...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn...
 on Tuesday afternoon, leaving at least four people dead and several others maimed, as the Arab Democratic Party declared an open battle and warned that it &quot;will not let Tripoli sleep.&quot;

The National News Agency said Mohammed Rashid Soltani, 30, was killed and two other people were maimed, identifying them as Yehia Seif Obeid, 81, and Khaled Mohammed Mohammed, 33.

Meanwhile,
...back at the pie fight, Bella opened her mouth at precisely the wrong moment...
Future TV reported that &quot;Abu Ridwan al-Asmar, the muezzin of Bab al-Tabbaneh's al-Jihad Mosque, has died of his wounds.&quot;

And as MTV said &quot;Mohammed Mahmoud al-Asmar was killed by sniper gunfire in Tripoli,&quot; Voice of Leb radio (100.5) said &quot;Ahmed al-Bunni was killed at Jabal Mohsen's al-Amerkan Square after receiving a bullet in the neck.&quot;

As the situation deteriorated, a mortar hit an army base on al-Ghoraba Street while another fell on an army base in al-Zahriyeh, leaving a man from al-Tiba family maimed.

&quot;Multiple rocket launchers were deployed in Jabal Mohsen as a prelude to escalation,&quot; Voice of Leb radio (100.5) reported.

Clashes also intensified in al-Baqqar, al-Qobbeh and al-Mankoubin as Bab al-Tabbaneh's residents started evacuating their homes and the army withdrew the vehicles that were deployed on Bab al-Tabbaneh's highway near al-Qasr Bakery.

Voice of Leb radio (93.3) said Mariam al-Saqqa, Issa Thawra and Ali Ahmed were maimed when a mortar hit al-Omari Street.

On the political front, Arab Democratic Party media officer Abdul Latif Saleh said: &quot;We will show them who are the cubs and lions of Rifaat Eid and we will cut off the hand that attempts to target Jabal Mohsen.&quot;

&quot;The same as our children cried, Tripoli's children will cry and they will see our actions in the coming hours,&quot; Saleh threatened in an interview on al-Mayadeen television.

In another interview with LBCI, Saleh said: &quot;We have entered the fight and we will not let Tripoli sleep.&quot;

Meanwhile,
...back at the pound, the little lost dog backed into the corner and showed its teeth. And what big teeth they were!...
 Rifaat Eid, the party's secretary-general, wrote on his Facebook page: &quot;An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth and the initiator is the aggressor ... Enough is enough, now you will hear the roar of Jabal Mohsen.&quot;

Later on Tuesday, Tripoli's dignitaries held a meeting at MP Mohammed Kabbara's residence.

&quot;Does the state want to defend Tripoli or not?&quot; Kabbara said, reciting a statement issued after the meeting.

&quot;The threats of Assad's party (Arab Democratic Party), which were later executed, are a blatant crime that is tantamount to mass murder against an entire people and they deserve the death penalty. Rifaat Eid and Assad's shabiha must be tossed in the calaboose
Youse'll never take me alive coppers!... [BANG!]... Ow!... I quit!
,&quot; Kabbara added.

&quot;How can some shabiha kill the city's residents without being held accountable?&quot; he went on to say.

He noted that the chiefs of security agencies know that &quot;Assad's party in Baal Mohsen is the aggressor.&quot;

&quot;So how can they be lenient with the murderer and firm with the victim?&quot; added Kabbara.

&quot;Tripoli calls on the state to restore its security and stability and defend it against the shabiha of (Syrian President Bashar) Assad and (Hizbullah chief Sayyed) Hassan Nasrallah who are killing the Lebanese and Syrian peoples,&quot; he said.
 ]]> </description>
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       <item>
        <title><![CDATA[U.S. State Department: We Do Not Differentiate between Hizbullah Wings]]></title>
               <link>http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?D=2013-05-22&amp;ID=368800</link>
               <pubDate>2013-05-22</pubDate>
               <description> <![CDATA[ [An Nahar] The United States said Tuesday it does not differentiate between Hizbullah's armed and political wings as it again urged Europe to blacklist the group, a decision diplomats indicated could be imminent.
  ]]> </description>
       </item>
       <item>
        <title><![CDATA[Mustaqbal Bloc Urges Suleiman, Berri, Miqati to Stop 'Hizbullah's Crimes' in Syria
]]></title>
               <link>http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?D=2013-05-22&amp;ID=368799</link>
               <pubDate>2013-05-22</pubDate>
               <description> <![CDATA[ [An Nahar] Al-Mustaqbal
... the Future Movement, political party led by Saad Hariri...
 parliamentary bloc urged the three presidents on Tuesday to act quickly and draw an end to &quot;Hizbullah's crimes in Syria,&quot; considering that the party is implementing the instructions of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.

&quot;We call on President Michel Suleiman
...before assuming office as President, he held the position of commander of the Leb Armed Forces. That was after the previous commander, the loathesome Em&amp;#105;l&amp;#101; L&amp;#97;h&amp;#111;&amp;#117;d, took office as president in November of 1998. Likely the next president of Leb will be whoever's commander of the armed forces, too...
, Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati and Speaker Nabih Knobby Berri
Speaker of the Lebanese parliament, a member of AMAL, a not very subtle Hizbullah sock puppet...
 to act quickly to stop Hizubllah's involvement in killing Syrians in (the Syrian border town of) al-Qusayr,&quot; the politicians said in a released statement after the bloc's weekly meeting at the Center House.

It added: &quot;Hizbullah's involvement in Syria's war is a crime and the party is implementing the instructions of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.&quot;

Addressing Hizbullah's fighters, al-Mustaqbal bloc asked: &quot;What are you doing in al-Qusayr? Did the battle against the enemy relocate to Syria? Why involving Leb in conflicts through inciting sedition? Why are they putting the Lebanese in a confrontation against the Arab world and the Syrian people?&quot;

&quot;We urge the civil society and institutions and the Lebanese youth to raise their voices and demand the return of the fighters alive from al-Qusayr.&quot;

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights revealed on Tuesday that at least 31 Hizbullah fighters have been killed since Sunday in battles in Syria, as well as 68 rebel fighters.

Al-Arabiya satellite news channel had reported that around 20 Hizbullah fighters and 62 others maimed in battles in Qusayr were submitted to hospitals in Beirut.

Hizbullah's al-Manar broadcasted images showing hundreds of people attending funerals for five members killed &quot;carrying out their jihadist duty.&quot;
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       <item>
        <title><![CDATA[One Wounded as Car Fails to Stop at Wadi Khaled Army Checkpoint]]></title>
               <link>http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?D=2013-05-22&amp;ID=368798</link>
               <pubDate>2013-05-22</pubDate>
               <description> <![CDATA[ [An Nahar] A car passenger was maimed on Tuesday as army troops opened fire on the vehicle after its driver refused to stop at a military checkpoint in the northern town of al-Awwadeh in the Wadi Khaled region, state-run National News Agency reported.

The maimed man was rushed by a Lebanese Red Thingy ambulance to the Our Lady of Peace Hospital in al-Qoubaiyat, while the army locked away
Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out!
 a man from the al-Shiban family.

The incident created an uproar in Wadi Khaled's towns, with protesters blocking the al-Hisheh-Wadi Khaled road. ]]> </description>
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       <item>
        <title><![CDATA[EU Poised to Put Hizbullah's Military Wing on Terror List]]></title>
               <link>http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?D=2013-05-22&amp;ID=368797</link>
               <pubDate>2013-05-22</pubDate>
               <description> <![CDATA[ [An Nahar] The E&amp;#117;r&amp;#111;p&amp;#101;&amp;#97;n Un&amp;#105;&amp;#111;n
...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing...
 stands poised to put the military wing of Hizbullah on its list of terrorist organizations after a formal request to blacklist the group was filed by a member state Monday, diplomats said.

The request from Britannia formally launches a process to blacklist the group, a move that has long been requested by Israel and which will be discussed in early June, several EU diplomats told Agence La Belle France Presse.

&quot;We hope to have an agreement by the end of June,&quot; one of the diplomats said, adding that EU experts would meet in a special committee to discuss the request early June.

Both Israel and the United States have pressured the 27-member bloc to follow their example and designate Hizbullah as a terrorist group but the issue remained sensitive and divisive
...politicians call things divisive when when the other side sez something they don't like.  Their own statements are never divisive, they're principled...
, with Britannia openly in favor while La Belle France and Italia were believed reluctant.

Informed French sources told pan-Arab daily al-Hayat published Sunday that La Belle France, which has been the most influential opponent of the move, has lately seen a change in stance and could approve the measure given that Hizbullah members are fighting alongside Syrian regime troops against the rebels.

They told al-Hayat that the French leadership favors putting some Hizbullah leaders on the terror list and not the entire military wing of the party.

During a visit in March, Israeli President Shimon Peres urged the EU to brand Hizbullah as terrorists, arguing that the movement's intervention in Syria against rebels opposed to Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Supressor of the Damascenes...
 was enabling the group to spread its reach.

&quot;If you do not take measures against Hizbullah, then they may think that they are permitted&quot; to do what they like, he said after a meeting with European Commission head Jose Manuel Barroso.
 ]]> </description>
       </item>
       <item>
        <title><![CDATA[Hizbullah Sends New Fighters to Bloody Syria Battle
]]></title>
               <link>http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?D=2013-05-22&amp;ID=368796</link>
               <pubDate>2013-05-22</pubDate>
               <description> <![CDATA[ [An Nahar] Dozens of people, mostly combatants, have been killed in ongoing battles for the Syrian town of Qusayr, a watchdog said Tuesday, as Hizbullah sent new elite fighters to the rebel stronghold.

&quot;At least 31 Hizbullah fighters have been killed since Sunday, as well as 68 rebel fighters, six of whom we were unable to identify,&quot; said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

&quot;Another nine troops loyal to Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Before going into the family business Pencilneck was an eye doctor. If he'd stuck with it he'd have had a good practice by now...
 were killed in the fighting, as were three paramilitary fighters.

&quot;It's clear Hizbullah is leading the assault,&quot; said Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman.

Four civilians -- three of them women -- were also killed, he added.

Hizbullah's al-Manar broadcasted images showing hundreds of people attending funerals for five members killed &quot;carrying out their jihadist duty&quot;.

It did not specify where they had been killed.

Abdel Rahman said most of the rebels who were killed in Qusayr, a strategic town that links Damascus to the coast and the heartland of Assad's Alawite sect, died in the shelling.

A source close to Hizbullah told Agence La Belle France Presse that the fighters had been killed by bombs planted by rebels who are seeking to oust Assad's regime.

The source also said Hizbullah had sent new fighters into Qusayr to fight alongside pro-Assad forces.

&quot;Hizbullah has sent new elite troops to Qusayr. They have already taken many prisoners from among the rebels, including non-Syrians,&quot; the source said on condition of anonymity.
 ]]> </description>
       </item>
       <item>
        <title><![CDATA[Commandos Descend on Tripoli, Ghosn Warns Country's Fate at Stake]]></title>
               <link>http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?D=2013-05-22&amp;ID=368795</link>
               <pubDate>2013-05-22</pubDate>
               <description> <![CDATA[ [An Nahar] Army commandos joined on Tuesday other military brigades seeking to impose security in the northern city of Tripoli
...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn...
 after deadly festivities between rival neighborhoods left several people dead and injured.

The army completed the deployment before noon in the areas that witnessed heavy festivities in the past three days, said the state-run National News Agency.

But after the deployment, the festivities and sniper fire intensified in several areas and mainly in the neighborhoods of Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen, reportedly leaving one dead and at least five injured.

All private and state-run schools in Tripoli and the nearby al-Beddawi area were closed. The Lebanese University campus in al-Qobbeh in addition to shops and markets were also shut.

The army command said two soldiers were killed in Bab al-Tabbaneh on Monday. Their death in addition to Tuesday's casualties brought the toll since the fighting erupted on Sunday to five.

The army's communique said soldiers will firmly respond to the sources of fire.

Caretaker Defense Minister Fayez Ghosn condemned on Tuesday the attack on the army, saying the military institution will remain steadfast to protect the country and preserve security.

He warned in a statement that the security chaos in Tripoli was putting the entire country's fate at stake.

The people behind &quot;instigation campaigns ... will not be able to prevent the army from confronting those who gave themselves the right to tamper with the city's security,&quot; Ghosn said.

&quot;The past few days proved that there is no political cover to anyone ... and that the army is the decision-maker in resolving&quot; such issues, he added.

Tripoli has seen repeated festivities between Sunnis residing the neighborhood of Bab al-Tabbaneh and gunnies from Jabal Mohsen whose residents are from the Alawite sect of Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Leveler of Latakia...
In March, at least five people were killed and 26 others were maimed, including army troops, in gunbattles between Jabal Mohsen and Bab al-Tabbaneh.
 ]]> </description>
       </item>
       <item>
        <title><![CDATA[Israeli Troops Shoot Palestinian Boy in W.Bank Clash
]]></title>
               <link>http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?D=2013-05-22&amp;ID=368794</link>
               <pubDate>2013-05-22</pubDate>
               <description> <![CDATA[ [An Nahar] Israeli troops shot and seriously maimed a 12-year-old Paleostinian boy during a clash in the West Bank on Tuesday, Paleostinian security and medical officials told Agence La Belle France Presse.

They said that Atta Mohammed Sharadeh was hit during one of what have become almost daily festivities between young Paleostinians and soldiers outside the Jelazoun refugee camp, near Ramallah.

The camp is close to the Israeli settlement of Beit El.

The officials said that he was hit in the chest by a live bullet which exited through his back and was at death's door in a Ramallah hospital.
 ]]> </description>
       </item>
       <item>
        <title><![CDATA[Saudi Arrests 10 Iran Ring Spy Suspects, among Them Lebanese, Turkish
]]></title>
               <link>http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?D=2013-05-22&amp;ID=368793</link>
               <pubDate>2013-05-22</pubDate>
               <description> <![CDATA[ [An Nahar] Saudi authorities have enjugged
You have the right to remain silent...
 10 more suspects in an alleged Iranian spy ring unveiled two months ago, an interior ministry front man said on Tuesday.

The eight Saudis, a Lebanese and a Turk bring the number of people arrested to 28, the official SPA news agency quoted the front man as saying.

However,
if you can't say something nice about a person some juicy gossip will go well...
 a Lebanese arrested in March has since been released.

&quot;The results of investigations by security services have led to the arrest of the other 10 involved in spying for this cell,&quot; the front man said.

On March 19, the interior ministry said authorities had arrested 16 Saudis, an Iranian and a Lebanese in four regions, including the oil-rich Eastern Province, where 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 the Soddy national face...
's Shiite Mohammedan minority is concentrated.

A week later, the kingdom said the alleged spy cell had &quot;direct links&quot; to Iran's intelligence services.

&quot;Preliminary investigations and physical evidence that has been collected as well as the defendants' statements on this case have all revealed direct links between this cell and Iranian intelligence services,&quot; a ministry front man said.

Shiite-dominated Iran has denied any involvement in the alleged spy ring.

Saudi Arabia's ultra-conservative Sunni Mohammedan rulers have strained ties with Iran, which deteriorated further after a Saudi-led military intervention crushed Shiite-led pro-democracy protests in neighboring Bahrain in early 2011.
 ]]> </description>
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       <item>
        <title><![CDATA[Tunisia Salafist Group Calls for Friday Demo
]]></title>
               <link>http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?D=2013-05-22&amp;ID=368792</link>
               <pubDate>2013-05-22</pubDate>
               <description> <![CDATA[ [An Nahar] Radical Salafist group 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...
, which Tunisian authorities have branded a terrorist organization, has called for a protest in the city of Kairouan on Friday against the arrest of its front man.

&quot;Call to all Moslems to a protest in support of Ansar al-Sharia's front man Seifeddine Rais, in front of the headquarters of ruling Islamist party Ennahda near Bab Jalladine&quot; in Kairouan, the group said on its Facebook page.

Rais was locked away
I ain't sayin' nuttin' widdout me mout'piece!
 on Sunday in the city south of Tunis where the Salafist group was to have held a congress the same day that was banned by the authorities.

The interior ministry has not stated the reason for the front man's arrest, carried out at dawn as he was jogging in Kairouan.

&quot;The law will be applied when a person fails to respect the law,&quot; was all the ministry's front man Mohamed Ali Aroui would say, contacted by Agence La Belle France Presse for comment.
 ]]> </description>
       </item>
       <item>
        <title><![CDATA[Egypt Troops Sweep Sinai before Possible Rescue Op
]]></title>
               <link>http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?D=2013-05-22&amp;ID=368791</link>
               <pubDate>2013-05-22</pubDate>
               <description> <![CDATA[ [An Nahar] Egyptian troops and coppers began sweeps of north Sinai on Tuesday ahead of a possible showdown with heavily armed gunnies who kidnapped seven security personnel, officials said.

A senior interior ministry official told Agence La Belle France Presse a &quot;campaign has been going on for half an hour&quot;, while a policeman taking part in the operation told AFP that security forces shot it out with gunnies in a village in the restive peninsula.

The operations were part of a large security sweep and not a rescue attempt, said the interior ministry official.

Prime Minister Hisham Qandil said there were &quot;intense efforts on all fronts for the return of the captured conscripts safely,&quot; the official MENA news agency reported.

The kidnappers, who kidnapped the conscripts last week, are heavily armed with SAM anti-aircraft missiles and heavy machine guns, interior minister Mohamed Ibrahim said.

He said there were no negotiations with the kidnappers, who demand the release of tossed in the clink
Drop the rosco, Muggsy, or you're one with the ages!
 Bedouin bully boys, but tribal leaders have asked for some time to persuade the gunnies to release the hostages.
 ]]> </description>
       </item>
       <item>
        <title><![CDATA[Protesters Rally for South Yemen Independence
]]></title>
               <link>http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?D=2013-05-22&amp;ID=368790</link>
               <pubDate>2013-05-22</pubDate>
               <description> <![CDATA[ [An Nahar] Thousands gathered in Yemen's main southern city of Aden on Tuesday to call for renewed independence for the south 23 years after it united with the north.

Waving the flag of the former People's Democratic Republic of Yemen and portraits of exiled southern leader Ali Salem al-Baid, the protesters gathered at a square in the Khor Maksar district of Aden, Agence La Belle France Presse reported.

&quot;We have vowed that Sanaa will no longer rule us. Get out,&quot; they chanted.

&quot;Independence is our goal,&quot; read their banners.

After north and south united in 1990, southern leaders led a short-lived breakaway in 1994 that sparked a civil war that culminated in an occupation by northern troops.

The protesters on Tuesday were responding to calls by Baid to commemorate mark the breakaway which he declared on May 21, 1994.

Baid, who now lives in Leb, is still campaigning for southern independence despite the participation of the Southern Movement alliance of separatists and federalists, in a national dialogue that began in Sanaa on March 18.
 ]]> </description>
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        <title><![CDATA[Israel Says Foiled Islamist Attacks in West Bank
]]></title>
               <link>http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?D=2013-05-22&amp;ID=368789</link>
               <pubDate>2013-05-22</pubDate>
               <description> <![CDATA[ [An Nahar] Israel's Shin Bet domestic spy agency said on Tuesday it had foiled planned attacks on Israelis by two Paleostinian Islamist groups in the Hebron area.

It said that, in March, Shin Bet, army and police uncovered a nine-man Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, cell in the village of Bani Naim, south of the West Bank city, which planned to shoot dead an Israeli settler working in nearby fields.

A statement said the men intended to take the victim's corpse as a bargaining chip to secure the release of Paleostinian prisoners held by Israel.

It said they also had prepared an bomb which they intended to place in a settlement field.

Separately, in March and April, agents incarcerated
Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'!
 four Islamic Jihad
...created after many members of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood decided the organization was becoming too moderate. Operations were conducted out of Egypt until 1981 when the group was exiled after the assassination of President Anw&amp;#97;r S&amp;#97;d&amp;#97;t. They worked out of G&amp;#97;z&amp;#97; until they were exiled to Leb&amp;#97;non in 1987, where they clove tightly to H&amp;#101;zb&amp;#111;ll&amp;#97;h. In 1989 they moved to D&amp;#97;m&amp;#97;scus, where they remain a subsidiary of H&amp;#101;zb&amp;#111;ll&amp;#97;h...
 Death Eaters in Hebron who planned to shoot dead an Israeli soldier or civilian traveling in the area.

They confessed under interrogation that they also intended to hold the body to lever a swap, the statement said, without saying explicitly that the two plots were connected.

All the suspects were charged last month in a military court, it added.
 ]]> </description>
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       <item>
        <title><![CDATA[Damascus Opponents Demand Guarantees Assad Will Quit
]]></title>
               <link>http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?D=2013-05-22&amp;ID=368788</link>
               <pubDate>2013-05-22</pubDate>
               <description> <![CDATA[ [An Nahar] Syrian opposition representatives have demanded international guarantees that Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Supressor of the Damascenes...
 step down in any peace deal, former opposition chief Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib said on Tuesday, as Russia and the United States step up efforts to organize a peace conference.

The demand was one of eight points set out in a roadmap agreed by delegates to a two-day Syrian National Consultation meeting in Madrid, Khatib said on his Facebook page.

Delegates also stipulated that &quot;involvement in any political process on Syria depends on the army's withdrawal to its barracks, on the release of all detainees, and on humanitarian assistance being allowed in to all areas of the country without exception&quot;.

It also said the National Coalition -- which Khatib has abandoned -- would be &quot;the legitimate representative&quot; of Syrian opposition forces in any political negotiations.

&quot;Bashir al-Assad and his security regime are not a part of any transitional phase, and they have no role in Syria's future,&quot; the document said, adding that there need to be &quot;international guarantees&quot; for his departure.

It also said Syria would be led by a transitional government &quot;until the foundations are laid for a new political system based on democracy, pluralism, justice, equality and the rule of law&quot;.
 ]]> </description>
       </item>
       <item>
        <title><![CDATA[Iraq PM Orders 'Changes' in Security Commands
]]></title>
               <link>http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?D=2013-05-22&amp;ID=368787</link>
               <pubDate>2013-05-22</pubDate>
               <description> <![CDATA[ [An Nahar] Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki ordered a shakeup of senior security officers on Tuesday after a spate of unrest that has killed more than 380 people so far this month, an official said.

Maliki, &quot;after consultation with security officials, issues orders ... for changes in the operations commands and commanders of divisions,&quot; the bigwig told Agence La Belle France Presse on condition of anonymity.

One of those changes was to sack Staff Lieutenant General Ahmed Hashem, the head of the Storied B&amp;#97;ghd&amp;#97;d
...located along the Tigris River, founded in the 8th century, home of the Abbasid Caliphate...
 Operations Command, which is responsible for security in the capital, the official said.

The shakeup comes a day after Maliki said he would change the country's security strategy as well as top personnel.

&quot;We are about to make changes in the high and middle positions of those responsible for security, and the security strategy,&quot; Maliki said on Monday.
 ]]> </description>
       </item>
       <item>
        <title><![CDATA[Recovering Algerian President Moved to New Paris Facility
]]></title>
               <link>http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?D=2013-05-22&amp;ID=368786</link>
               <pubDate>2013-05-22</pubDate>
               <description> <![CDATA[ [An Nahar] Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika
... 10th president of Algeria. He was elected in 1999 and is currently on his third or fourth term, who will probably die in office of old age...
 has been transferred to a new facility in Gay Paree to continue his recovery after treatment in a French military hospital, La Belle France's defense ministry said Tuesday.

Bouteflika, 76, was flown to the Val de Grace hospital in Gay Paree three weeks ago following a mini-stroke and speculation has been rife about the state of his health.

In a statement, the French defense ministry confirmed that the Algerian leader had been hospitalized at his request at Val de Grace on April 27.

&quot;Mr. Bouteflika is today leaving Val de Grace for another facility in order to continue his convalescence,&quot; the statement said, without providing further details.

Algerian authorities broke official silence on Bouteflika's health on Monday, confirming he was recovering in Gay Paree after a mini-stroke and saying his life was &quot;never in danger&quot;.

The secrecy surrounding his treatment in La Belle France led many in Algeria to speculate about the health of the president, who has ruled Algeria since 1999.
 ]]> </description>
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       <item>
        <title><![CDATA[Nigeria Relaxes Curfew in Islamist Stronghold of Maiduguri
]]></title>
               <link>http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?D=2013-05-22&amp;ID=368785</link>
               <pubDate>2013-05-22</pubDate>
               <description> <![CDATA[ [An Nahar] Nigeria on Tuesday relaxed the curfew in Maiduguri, stronghold of the Boko Haram
... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of &amp;#97;l-Q&amp;#97;&amp;#101;d&amp;#97; and the T&amp;#97;l&amp;#105;b&amp;#97;n rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality...
 Islamist krazed killer sect, three days after it was imposed, an Agence La Belle France Presse journalist in the city said.

City residents were able to go outside their homes during the day after the army issued a statement late Monday easing the curfew from 7 am (0600 GMT) until 5 pm (1600 GMT).

Nigeria's military on Saturday imposed a 24-hour curfew in parts of the northeastern city as soldiers pressed on with a campaign against Boko Haram Islamists that has sent people fleeing from their homes.
 ]]> </description>
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       <item>
        <title><![CDATA[DR Congo Fighting Leaves 19 Dead ahead of U.N. Chief Visit]]></title>
               <link>http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?D=2013-05-22&amp;ID=368784</link>
               <pubDate>2013-05-22</pubDate>
               <description> <![CDATA[ [An Nahar] A fresh bout of fighting between army and rebel forces in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo
...formerly the Congo Free State, Belgian Congo, Zaire, and who knows what else, not to be confused with the Brazzaville Congo aka Republic of Congo, which is much smaller and much more (for Africa) stable. DRC gave the world Patrice Lumumba and Joseph Mobutu, followed by years of tedious civil war. Its principle industry seems to be the production of corpses. With a population of about 74 million it has lots of raw material...
 has left 19 dead, the government said Tuesday, on the eve of a visit by U.N. chief the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon
... of whom it can be said to his credit that he is not Kofi Annan...
Mortar fire rang out for a second day north of the regional hub Goma after the first festivities in six months between the M23 rebellion that briefly seized the city in November and government troops broke out on Monday.

Government front man Lambert Mende told journalists that Monday's fighting had left 15 rebels dead and 21 injured, while four soldiers were killed and six injured.

M23 military front man Vianney Kazarama rejected the figures provided by Kinshasa however and said only two loyalist troops were maimed and two rebels maimed.

During his visit, Ban will be accompanied by the World Bank president Jim Yong Kim, U.N. peacekeeping force chief Herve Ladsous and Mary Robinson who is the U.N. special envoy for Africa's Great Lakes region.

The visit comes after a U.N.-brokered accord was signed by 11 African heads of state on February 24 who vowed not to interfere in the affairs of their neighbors.
 ]]> </description>
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       <item>
        <title><![CDATA[Turkey Charges Prime Suspect in Car Bombings]]></title>
               <link>http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?D=2013-05-22&amp;ID=368783</link>
               <pubDate>2013-05-22</pubDate>
               <description> <![CDATA[ [An Nahar] Turkish authorities on Tuesday charged the prime suspect in the twin car bombings that left 51 people dead in a town near the Syrian border, the state-run Anatolia news agency reported.

The man, who was arrested trying to cross into Syria along with two accomplices, is alleged to have purchased the vehicles used in the bombings. Four other suspects were also charged.

Turkish police have arrested dozens of people over the attack and 12 people have been charged so far, Anatolia said.

All suspects are Turkish nationals who Ankara believes were backed by the Syrian regime.

Damascus has denied any involvement and has offered to carry out a joint investigation, which was firmly rejected by the Turkish government.
 ]]> </description>
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       <item>
        <title><![CDATA[Hong Kong Hails the Return of the Duck
]]></title>
               <link>http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?D=2013-05-22&amp;ID=368782</link>
               <pubDate>2013-05-22</pubDate>
               <description> <![CDATA[ [An Nahar] Hong Kong on Tuesday joyfully welcomed the return of a giant inflatable rubber duck, which drew tens of thousands of visitors before it was abruptly deflated for maintenance for almost a week.

The southern Chinese city has taken the 16.5-meter-tall (54-feet) yellow inflatable duck, conceived by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman, to its heart since it was towed into the harbor on May 2 to cheering crowds.

Duck mania has gripped the city ever since, with locals and tourists packing the streets near where it is moored to catch a glimpse of it. Stalls and shops throughout the city sold replicas and restaurants created special duck dishes.

So many were disconsolate when the cheerful giant-sized bath toy was transformed into a deflated disc resembling a floating fried egg last Wednesday.

&quot;It went for a body check and for maintenance, now all the work is finished and it will see everybody again,&quot; Andrew Yeung, advertising and promotions manager of shopping mall Harbor City which is organizing the exhibit, told Agence La Belle France Presse.

Hundreds packed the waterfront late Tuesday and greeted the duck with cheers.

&quot;I thought that once it got deflated, it wouldn't come back again. So now I see that it is back, I am very happy,&quot; said 28 year-old Bonibelle Lee, who was carrying a three-dimensional duck tote bag with matching yellow rain boots. ]]> </description>
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        <title><![CDATA['Tornado clearly targets conservatives': Daily Show creator faces backlash over insensitive tweet]]></title>
               <link>http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?D=2013-05-22&amp;ID=368776</link>
               <pubDate>2013-05-22</pubDate>
               <description> <![CDATA[ Very, very sad, but also revealing. ]]> </description>
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        <title><![CDATA[Top IRS official to Plead Fifth to congress  -  Breitbart]]></title>
               <link>http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?D=2013-05-22&amp;ID=368775</link>
               <pubDate>2013-05-22</pubDate>
               <description> <![CDATA[ Tuesday afternoon a bombshell was dropped into the already explosive IRS scandal when it was reported that Lois Lerner, a top IRS official in the non-profit division that paralyzed Tea Party groups with ongoing harassment, would invoke the Fifth Amendment and refuse to answer questions during Congressional testimony schedule before the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday. 
And so it begins.
At least the Obama administration finally found a Constitutional amendment they like...
The LA Times reports that Lerner will refuse to answer any questions about what she knows about the targeting of conservative groups. She will also refuse to explain why she is refusing to answer questions. 
That's all in addition to being &quot;bad at maths&quot;.
Lerner has retained defense attorney William W. Taylor 3rd, who sent a letter to Darrell Issa, the Chairman of the House Oversight Committee. In the letter Taylor said, &quot;She has not committed any crime or made any misrepresentation but under the circumstances she has no choice but to take this course.&quot;
The truth is certainly a &quot;choice&quot;.
Taylor is hoping Issa will excuse his client from having to testify in order to save her the embarrassment of having to invoke the Fifth in public. Per The L.A. Times, the committee hasn't yet answered her request one way or the other. 
&quot;SAVE HER THE FOK'N EMBARRASSMENT&quot;... *#^&amp;#&amp;*&amp;#@!!!!
ADDED: National Journal reports that Issa &quot;has issued a  subpoena to Lerner anyway.&quot;
Since the IRS scandal broke wide open ten days ago, Lerner has been at the center of the controversy. She is not only the head of the division that oversaw the Kafka-esque harassment of President Obama's political foes; she has also been caught on numerous occasions making misleading statements. 
&quot;Making misleading statements&quot;...generally referred to as obfuscation and LYING !
Lerner was also part of the fumbled attempt to control how the scandal was made public with a planted question at an American Bar Association meeting. Lerner followed that debacle with a phone call with journalists in which she attempted to downplay the scandal and laughed off the fact she didn't understand math. 
&quot;Funbled attempt to control&quot; = OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE !
Lerner's testimony had been widely anticipated. What she knows is considered key to finding out the answer to the one question we still don't know the answer to: Who okayed this partisan harassment and who participated in it? ]]> </description>
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        <title><![CDATA[Benghazi: Champ' “Wag the Dog” in Reverse  -  Capitalism Magazine]]></title>
               <link>http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?D=2013-05-22&amp;ID=368763</link>
               <pubDate>2013-05-22</pubDate>
               <description> <![CDATA[ Some time ago speculation ran through the MSM and the Internets about which “playbook”  The Champ's administration has been following in terms of its domestic and international policies. Was it George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, or Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged?

The consensus came down for Atlas Shrugged, a novel whose villains seemed to have enjoyed a kind of ethereal, literary karma and wound up in President Barack Obama’s administration. The premise behind the consensus was that before you can depict a country in ruins governed by an all-knowing, all-controlling totalitarian r&eacute;gime, it must first be ruined.
I'll go with Atlas Shrugged. ]]> </description>
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        <title><![CDATA[An IRS Timeline]]></title>
               <link>http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?D=2013-05-22&amp;ID=368682</link>
               <pubDate>2013-05-22</pubDate>
               <description> <![CDATA[  ]]> </description>
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