[Ynet] The Afghanistan Taliban have condemned an attack by the Pak Taliban on a school in Pakistain that killed 141 people on Tuesday.
"The intentional killing of innocent people, children and women are against the basics of Islam and this criteria has to be considered by every Islamic party and government," Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement.
The Pak Taliban are separate from but allied to the Afghan Taliban across the border. Both aim to overthrow their own governments and establish an Islamic state.
[AnNahar] The British embassy in Cairo said on Tuesday it has resumed services to the public, nine days after they were suspended over security concerns about the mission's main building.
The Canadian embassy next to the British embassy, which also suspended services, remains shut to the public.
"The British embassy in Cairo resumed public services today, Tuesday 16 December, after security issues related to the building were resolved in cooperation with the Egyptian government," a statement by the mission said.
On December 7, London closed its embassy to the public for "security reasons", but without specifying what these were.
The Canadian embassy announced the next day that it was doing the same.
Egypt's authorities said they had no reports of any specific threat to the embassies, but diplomats say some missions have raised concerns about the security provided by the host country.
[Ynet] In homes and streets around Egypt, women are keeping alive a group the authorities are determined to crush. They teach Moslem Brüderbund values to children, organize its protests, preserve its networks, and take an ever more prominent role in politics.
The Brotherhood has been in retreat since the army overthrew elected Islamist President Mohammed Mursi in July 2013, launching a crackdown that has seen it banned as a terrorist group and thousands of its members locked away Please don't kill me! With most Brotherhood leaders in jail or exile, women who have long lived in their shadow have been thrust into the vanguard of the organization's battle for survival.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
12/17/2014 00:00 ||
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France will step in to help coordinate a regional taskforce against Nigeria's Islamist group Boko Haram, amid signs of mistrust among West African neighbors, Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Tuesday.
Boko Haram has stepped up attacks across much of Nigeria's north ahead of presidential elections in February. Their operations have spilled over Nigeria's borders into Niger to the north and Cameroon to the east, and stirred fears that Chad could be dragged into the conflict.
The leaders of the four countries agreed in Paris in May to flesh out a plan to share intelligence, coordinate action and monitor borders. But there appears to have been little tangible cooperation between Abuja and neighboring governments since.
France has ruled out direct military intervention, sayingNigeria should take the lead. But Paris says it can play a role in easing tensions between its three former colonies and anglophone Nigeria.
“We're at a forum in Dakar talking about the need for Africans to collectively take charge of their security and yet it's not happening where there is urgency,” Le Drian said.
Posted by: badanov ||
12/17/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
You know you have problems militarily when the French are shitting on you.
Rebels have massacred at least 184 civilians in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo since October, according to Human Rights Watch. The violence has been attributed to a rebel movement operating in the area despite U.N. and Congolese army operations against the group.
In research published Tuesday, Human Rights Watch documented horrifying brutality in the Beni territory of eastern DRC, where witnesses say rebels have been hacking civilians to death with machetes and axes, and shooting others with firearms during attacks on villages.
In one of the worst instances, local groups say at least 50 people were killed in one night in mid-November.
The attacks are believed to have been carried out by the Allied Democratic Forces, an Islamist group that began its rebellion in neighboring Uganda in the mid-1990s.
Human Rights Watch Senior Researcher Ida Sawyer said the violence appeared aimed primarily at spreading terror.
#2
I'm afraid Afrikan tribal 'massacre' predates the 1960's just a bit. Members of the Dutch Reformed Church (NGK) were once a favorite target. Massacres at the hands of thousands of raving savages have now been replaced by urban crime. Same outcomes, but less often mentioned in the international news.
[AnNahar] Dozens of Moslemholy mans on Monday urged Interpol to "rapidly" remove the name of influential Egypt-born preacher Yusuf al-Qaradawi ...crackpot Egyptian Islamist theologian. He is best known for his program Shariah and Life on Al Jazeera, with an estimated audience of 60 million kindred souls worldwide. He is also well-known for IslamOnline, which occasionally advocates things like slavery and thumping the old lady with a rod no thicker than an inch, and has published more than 120 books, including Islam: The Future Civilization. Joe has long had a prominent role within the intellectual leadership of the Moslem Brüderbund. Some of his views have been controversial in the West, though less so among the rubes of the Mysterious East, and he was refused entry to the United Kingdom in 2008. In 2004, 2,500 Muslim academics from Saudi Arabia, Iraq and from the Palestinian territories condemned Qaradawi, and accused him of giving Islam a bad name.... from its wanted list.
The Qatar ...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates... -based Islamist scholar is seen as a spiritual guide of Egypt's banned Moslem Brüderbund, the movement of ousted president Mohammed Morsi.
Egypt had approached Interpol seeking Qaradawi's arrest and in November the international police organization put him on his wanted list.
An Interpol Red Notice said the Qatar-based Qaradawi is wanted by Egypt for "agreement, incitement and assistance to commit intentional murder, helping the prisoners to escape, arson, vandalism and theft."
But in a joint statement Moslemholy mans defended Qaradawi and said the notice against him is "irresponsible".
"We reject all the false accusations" against Qaradawi, they said in a joint statement distributed by the Doha-based International Union for Moslem Scholars, headed by Qaradawi himself.
The Interpol notice is an "insult to Islam and Moslems", they said, urging the international police organization to "rapidly" remove Qaradawi from its wanted list.
Qaradawi, 88, established regional fame through a religious program on Al-Jazeera ... an Arab news network headquartered in Qatar, notorious for carrying al-Qaeda press releases. The name means the Peninsula, as in the Arabian Peninsula. In recent years it has settled in to become slightly less biased than MSNBC, in about the same category as BBC or CBS... pan-Arab news channel.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
12/17/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
"Dozens of Muslim Clerics should also be on the list"
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/17/2014 7:29 Comments ||
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[Ynet] The politicians settled instead on a comprimise resolution that peace talks should progress; symbolic vote to call on EU's 28 members to recognize Paleostinian statehood without conditions to be held Wednesday.
[AnNahar] Swedish police have jugged Drop the heater, Studs, or you're hist'try! two Egyptian men and a Lebanese woman for illegally transporting asylum seekers into the country aboard a private jet, the police said Tuesday.
The Cessna jet, registered to an Egyptian company, landed in Malmoe airport Monday evening from Beirut with ten people on board who were not registered on the passenger list.
"The airport authorities notified us about this," police spokeswoman Ewa-Gun Westford told Agence La Belle France-Presse, confirming that three arrests had been made for people smuggling.
"The refugees have been handed over to the Migration Board," she said, adding that their asylum applications would be processed.
At least two of the refugees had Syrian nationality, according to Swedish news agency TT.
In 2013, Sweden became the only European country to automatically grant Syrian refugees permanent residency and has since received record numbers of asylum seekers from the war-torn country.
Most of the estimated 80,000 refugees arriving in the country this year -- mainly from Syria, Eritrea ...is run by the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ), with about the amounts of democracy and justice you'd expect from a party with that name. National elections have been periodically scheduled and cancelled; none have ever been held in the country. The president, Isaias Afewerki, has been in office since independence in 1993 and will probably die there of old age... and Somalia -- reportedly entered the country via Denmark, which is joined by a bridge to southern Sweden, after long trips overland.
[IsraelTimes] The EU is on Wednesday to temporarily remove Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, from its list of designated terrorist organizations, Israel’s Channel 10 news reported Tuesday night.
The report said the EU has described the move as “a technicality” and “temporary,” and that its stance on Hamas has not changed.
The move stems from a petition recently submitted to the European Court of Human Rights on a related matter, concerning Tamil terrorists, in the course of which it was argued that the EU had designated Hamas a terror group on the basis of information provided by the United States, while EU regulations require that the EU’s own material be used as the basis for such a designation, the TV report said.
Based on this, the EU will temporarily remove Hamas from its list of designated terror groups, but will swiftly return it to that list once the correct paperwork has been processed.
The report said that the EU has kept Israel informed about the process, and that there have been contacts with top Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman.
Israel’s concern is that Hamas will exploit any time lag to operate in Europe, the TV report said. The EU has promised Israel, however, that it will seek to block that possibility, including by issuing interim regulations.
The EU has asked Israeli officials not to cause a public row over the affair, the TV report said, and Jerusalem is refusing to comment on it.
#3
Based on this, the EU will temporarily remove Hamas from its list of designated terror groups, but will swiftly return it to that list once the correct paperwork has been processed.
[Ynet] Vienna school officials have ordered the closure of a 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... n school accused of teaching anti-Semitism, after it refused to comply with a request to identify the institution's director and teachers.
The board began investigating the school last month after media reports that a history book used there contained anti-Jewish material. The book allegedly describes Freemasons as "a Jewish, secret, subversive organization focused on guaranteeing control of the world by Jews."
[Ynet] Germany plans to finance part of the cost of four new corvette warships for the Israeli navy made by German firm Thyssen Krupp under a deal struck with the Jewish state in November, the government said on Monday.
Following approval by German parliament's budget committee the contract could be finalized before the end of this year, government front man Steffen Seibert said.
The mass-circulation Bild am Sonntag newspaper reported on Sunday that Berlin had earmarked up to 115 million euros for the warships - which would cost around 1 billion euros in total.
Seibert declined comment on the size of the German contribution.
#2
Let me guess. When delivery time comes, due to international tensions, the shipyard will be instructed to hold the vessels pending government approval.
I think I've already seen this movie...
Posted by: ed in texas ||
12/17/2014 7:37 Comments ||
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Evidently these are going to be tasked with defending the oil fields, they haven an advanced anti-missile setup. A drilling ship would be an awesome target for a C-3 fired from Lebanon or smuggled some how into Gazo.
Cost estimated at 1 billion Euros. Germany to pick up 115 million of total.
[DAWN] On his visit to Kabul on Wednesday, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif sought handover of top Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain chief Mullah Fazlullah ...son-in-law of holy man Sufi Mohammad. Known as Mullah FM, Fazlullah had the habit of grabbing his FM mike when the mood struck him and bellowing forth sermons. Sufi suckered the Pak govt into imposing Shariah on the Swat Valley and then stepped aside whilst Fazlullah and his Talibs imposed a reign of terror on the populace like they hadn't seen before, at least not for a thousand years or so. For some reason the Pak intel services were never able to locate his transmitter, much less bomb it. After ruling the place like a conquered province for a year or so, Fazlullah's Talibs began gobbling up more territory as they pushed toward Islamabad, at which point as a matter of self-preservation the Mighty Pak Army threw them out and chased them into Afghanistan... who is wanted for terrorism cases in Pakistain.
The army chief shared classified intelligence details with the Afghan officials and revealed to them that the criminal mastermind behind the Beautiful Downtown Peshawar ...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire. attack, who was from Afghanistan, was giving directives to terrorists.
Afghanistan's Caped PresidentAshraf Ghani ...former chancellor of Kabul University, now president of Afghanistan. Before returning to Afghanistan in 2002 he was a scholar of political science and anthropology. He worked at the World Bank working on international development assistance. As Finance Minister of Afghanistan between July 2002 and December 2004, he led Afghanistan's attempted economic recovery until the Karzais stole all the money. .. said Afghanistan stands with the people of Pakistain in their hour of grief.
Read: Militant siege of Peshawar school ends, 141 killed
General Raheel also met International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) commander General Joseph Dunford. Dunford condemned the attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar and assured Pakistain of complete cooperation in countering terrorism and in security related matters.
General Raheel also sought Kabul's help in order to extradite top Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain chief Mullah Fazalullah who is wanted for terrorism cases in Pakistain.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/17/2014 12:15 ||
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#1
In other news, Pakistan removed it's ban on the death penalty for terrorism cases today.
[DAWN] The Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf ...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations.... (PTI) on Wednesday decided to end their countrywide sit-in protests, DawnNews reported.
"Due to the situation in the country right now, we have decided to end our protests," PTI Chairman Imran Khan ... aka Taliban Khan, who who convinced himself that playing cricket qualified him to lead a nuclear-armed nation with severe personality problems... told party supporters in Islamabad.
The decision was made by the PTI core committee to end the four-month long sit-in protests.
Imran Khan said that the decision had been made in light of the terrorist attack on a school in Beautiful Downtown Peshawar ...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire. and said that the country needed national unity.
Tuesday's terrorist attack left 141 people dead, including 132 children.
"I have never seen an atrocity like this in my entire life...I cannot even comprehend how someone could kill children like this," he said.
"If someone killed my children like this, I would seek to avenge it as well," Imran said.
When speaking about attending the All Parties Conference (APC) headed by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... in Peshawar today, he said that it had to be done for the country's interest.
"I initially was hesitant to go to the meeting with Nawaz Sharif, but decided that it had to be done in the interest of the nation," Imran Khan said.
"During the past few months I have seen the people of Pakistain wake up and rise for their rights...We held historic protest rallies in Pakistain with record numbers of people attending," the PTI chairman said.
However, a clean conscience makes a soft pillow... he said that the party would continue to fight for 'justice' and insisted that a judicial commission had to be constituted to investigate alleged rigging during the 2013 elections.
Imran Khan also said that if the judicial commission finds rigging to have taken place, then the prime minister would have to resign.
The PTI, along with Pakistain Awami Tehrik (PAT), had launched a campaign against the government of PM Nawaz Sharif in August, demanding that he resign over alleged rigging in last years polls.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/17/2014 11:52 ||
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From the WaPo
...Maulana Fazlullah was riding high. Tens of thousands of people in the Swat Valley were tuning in to his illegal FM radio station, from which he excoriated the evils of female education and urged jihad. His influence was growing at such a rapid clip village women donated earrings and bangle bracelets to the cause. A cult figure was born. “He is totally out of control,” one local leader told Schmidle, who found Fazlullah particularly dangerous. “His ambitions exceeded the mere creation of an Islamic emirate in Swat,” Schmidle wrote in the New York Times....By Fazlullah’s twisted logi, here the WaPo is flat out wrong, Fazlullah's logic is flawless, its the premise 'girls should not have education, boys should not have secular education' that are the problem'
the attacks made sense. The killings were a response to a recent military crackdown on Taliban activities following years of ambivalent policies toward homegrown Islamic militants. They reasserted the Taliban’s presence and power to cause mayhem. But the killings also reflected Fazlullah’s desire to obliterate women’s chances to secure an education. Since 2009, Buzzfeed noted, militants have targeted more than 1,000 schools — a time frame that closely traces the rise of Fazlullah.
Posted by: lord garth ||
12/17/2014 11:38 ||
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The Taliban has killed dozens of children at a Peshawar school in a revenge mission for Pakistani schoolgirl activist Malala Yousafzai being awarded the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize.
Ahmed Rashid, an expert on the Islamic militants, told the BBC the insurgents had various reasons to attack the school, one of which was to send a message to the supporters of Malala, who advocates education for women and children.
In response to the events at the school in Pakistan, education campaigner Malala has condemned the “atrocious and cowardly” attack.
As reported by the Guardian, she said: “I am heartbroken by this senseless and cold-blooded act of terror in Peshawar that is unfolding before us.
“Innocent children in their school have no place in horror such as this.
[Ynet] 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... tells top Paleostinian negotiator that US will block Jordanian-backed resolution at Security Council.
WASHINGTON ? The United States will veto a proposed Paleostinian resolution "to end the occupation" at the United Nations ...an organization originally established to war on dictatorships which was promptly infiltrated by dictatorships and is now held in thrall to dictatorships... Security Council on Wednesday. According to Paleostinian sources, Secretary of State John Kerry said that America will veto the Jordanian-backed proposal at a meeting with the top Paleostinian negotiator.
It was not initially clear how the US would react to the proposal by the Paleostinians after a shaky few months between US and Israeli relations. However, there's more than one way to skin a cat... the US ultimately decided it would oppose the resolution, a unilateral move that would force a schedule for an Israeli withdrawal from Paleostinian territories.
The Americans clarified that they do not automatically veto all resolutions on Israel, and that they examine each Security Council resolution based on its merit. State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki ...a valley girl who woke up one morning and found she was spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of State... said that the US opposed pre-determining the outcome of the grinding of the peace processor and that a time table for the removal of security forces constituted a unilateral action.
At his Tuesday evening meeting with Saeb Erekat ...negotiated the Oslo Accords with Israel. He has been chief Paleostinian negotiator since 1995. He is currently negotiating with Israel to establish a de jure Paleostinian state... , the chief Paleostinian negotiator, Secretary Kerry said he opposed the Paleostinian draft approved by the Arab League ...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing... . He repeated the US decision to the foreign ministers of other world powers.
The US administration is wary of vetoing resolutions, and the State Department stressed that there was talk that the US never voted against Israel at the Security Council, but Psaki noted the US had supported resolutions that were not "one-sided."
Earlier in Gay Paree, Kerry told journalists that it was "imperative to lower the temperature" in the region to find a path for peace wanted by both Israelis and Paleostinians. "The status quo is unsustainable for both parties," he said. "Right now what we are trying to is have a constructive conversation with everybody to find the best way to go forward."
The top American diplomat has worked tirelessly in recent days to prevent the Jordanian-backed resolution from being proposed at the Security Council.
Summary: Hundreds of young Iraqi Kurds have joined ISIS, are being killed fighting the Peshmerga in both Syria and Iraq. Estimates range from 85 to 600. Government response is increased security, including a midnight curfew and forbidding public mourning for the dead.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
12/17/2014 00:00 ||
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[IsraelTimes] A small legal team in the Israeli NGO Shurat HaDin ? Israel Law Center has been busy compiling damning files against Paleostinian Authority leaders, documenting their supposed involvement in terror activities in recent years.
The purpose of this endeavor, Israel Law Center chairwoman and founder Nitsana Darshan-Leitner told The Times of Israel this week, is to deter the Paleostinian leadership from joining the International Criminal Court ... where Milosevich died of old age before being convicted ... (ICC) and legally pursuing Israeli leaders at The Hague, as Paleostinians have been threatening to do for months.
Continued on Page 49
[Ynet] In set back for the US-supported system billed as a bulwark against Iran, operators cancel first live test after failure to lock on target.
Israel's upgraded ballistic missile shield failed its first live interception test on Tuesday, security sources said, a fresh setback for the US-supported system billed as a bulwark against Iran.
Operators of the Arrow 3 battery at Palmahim air base on the Mediterranean coast cancelled the launch of its interceptor missile after it failed to lock on to a target missile fired over the sea, the sources said.
"There was a countdown to the launch and then nothing happened," one source told Rooters on condition of anonymity. "A decision was made not to waste the interceptor missile."
Arrow is among several elements of an integrated Israeli aerial shield built up to withstand potential future missile and rocket attacks by Iran, Syria or their guerrilla allies in Leb and Gazoo.
Initially, Israel's Defence Ministry said that "within the framework of preparations for a future interception test, a target missile was launched and carried out its trajectory successfully".
However two hours later it added, in a statement, that "the conditions had not been ripe for launching an interceptor missile".
A high-ranking official within the Defense Ministry, who requested to remain unnamed, said that the conditions did not have to do with the missile interceptor itself but with external conditions relating to the test.
"The conditions were not ripe, and therefore we arranged with our partners in advance, which include members of the defense industry, American counterparts and Air Force officials, not to pass from one stage to the other and launch the target missile, according to criteria we set from the start. This decision was made with a clear mind. During experiments we behave differently than we would during operational events. The missile interceptor and the experiment itself is very expensive," said the Defense Ministry source.
Arrow 3 interceptors are designed to fly above the earth's atmosphere, where their warheads detach to become kamikaze satellites, or "kill vehicles", that track and slam into the targets. Such high-altitude shoot-downs are meant to safely destroy incoming nuclear, biological or chemical missiles.
Arrow is jointly developed by state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and US firm Boeing Co. Its earlier version, Arrow 2, was deployed more than a decade ago and officials put its success rate in trials at around 90 percent.
But an Arrow 2 interception test on September 9 ended inconclusively, the Defence Ministry has said. The US journal Defense News later reported that the Arrow 2 interceptor missile had missed its target.
[AnNahar] Three Christian holy mans sentenced to six years' jail in Iran on "national security" charges have been acquitted on appeal, a Christian rights association said Tuesday.
Christian Solidarity Worldwide said Pastor Matthias Haghnejad and Deacon Silas Rabbani had been released but Pastor Behnam Irani remained in Karaj jail, west of Tehran, for a separate conviction.
The three Iranians were jugged Please don't kill me! in 2011 in Karaj, where they had set up underground churches.
They were found guilty in October on charges of "action against national security" and of "creating a network to overthrow the system".
An appeals court in the Islamic republic dropped the charges in a hearing on December 9, said the Britannia-based association.
"We continue to call on the Iranian government to... allow the country's religious minorities to enjoy freedom of religion or belief as guaranteed under Iran?s own constitution," the NGO said.
The Iranian constitution recognizes the rights of certain religious minorities, including Christians, but apostasy is punishable by death under the country's Islamic sharia laws.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
12/17/2014 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.