Article written by security/terrorism expert Ellen Cannon, with good background as well as the who/what/where/when/how that degreed journalists manage. You're going to like Senator Mark Kirk's (R-Ill) approach to the subject -- Carol Moseley-Braun he is not.
#1
Kirk favors: stop paying ransoms; blockade primary pirate ports; adopt aggressive rules of military engagement to confront pirates.
In addition he calls for rewarding frontline Somali communities with economic assistance if they confront or convert Al Shabaab controlled areas;
Must throw money! expand prisons to incarcerate hundreds of new pirates operating in the Indian ocean, and provide military assistance to Somali forces who regain control of Al Shabaab or pirate controlled areas.
Sounds like a good 'investment' to me!
Posted by: Bobby ||
06/14/2011 9:35 Comments ||
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[Al Jazeera] North and south Sudan have agreed "in principle" to demilitarise the disputed central region of Abyei and to allow an Ethiopian peacekeeping team to come in, an official say.
Details of the agreement are yet to be worked out.
The agreement was reached after two days of talks between Omar al-Bashir Head of the National Congress Party. He came to power in 1989 when he, as a brigadier in the Sudanese army, led a group of officers in a bloodless military coup that ousted the government of Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi and eventually appointed himself president. Omar's peculiar talent lies in starting conflict. He has fallen out with his Islamic mentor, Hasan al-Turabi, tried to impose shariah on the Christian and animist south, resulting in its imminent secessesion, and attempted to Arabize Darfur by unleashing the barbaric Janjaweed on it. Sudan's potential prosperity has been pissed away in warfare that has left as many as 400,000 people dead and 2.5 million displaced. Omar has been indicted for genocide by the International Criminal Court but nothing is expected to come of it. and Salva Kiir, the respective leaders of Sudan's north and south, according to Barney Afako, a front man for the former South African president, Thabo Mbeki, who is helping lead the negotiations.
"The parties have agreed to the idea that the Abyei area should be demilitarised and they agreed in principal that the southern and the northern forces are to pull out of the area," Afako said on Monday.
The political status of Abyei and issues such as oil revenues are yet to be discussed, Afako said.
To assist with the demilitarisation, the Ethiopian government offered to send in troops to oversee security so that civilians who decamped can return, he said.
Engaged in negotiations
Afako emphasised that the two parties are still engaged in negotiations and that many details remain to be agreed on.
Commenting on the development, Rabie Abdul Atti, a member of Sudan's ruling National Congress Party, told Al Jizz: "The agreement will happen before July 9, in the condition that SPLM will not have any existence in Abyei, the new forces should be under the UN.
"This will pave the way for the presidency to perform its function in Abyei and for the referendum or any other political solutions with SPLM."
Earlier on Monday Hillary Clinton ... sometimes described as the Smartest Woman in the World and at other times as Mrs. Bill, never as Another Edmund Randolph ... , the US secretary of state, said the US wants to see northern troops withdraw from Abyei and would welcome Ethiopian peacekeepers being sent in.
"We would welcome both parties agreeing to ask Ethiopia, which has volunteered to send peacekeepers and to do so as part of a United Nations ...an organization whose definition of human rights is interesting, to say the least... mission that will be strengthened," she said in Tanzania.
"The United States has made our view very clearly known to both President Bashir and Vice-President Kiir and I am looking forward to hearing positive news out of their ongoing discussions."
Posted by: Fred ||
06/14/2011 00:00 ||
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CAIRO - Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Elaraby on Monday told Iran not to meddle in the internal affairs of Gulf Arab states, saying that Cairo considers the security of fellow Arab countries "a red line", or no-go area.
Send in the mighty Egyptian army! (I know, I'm terrified, too.)
In excerpts of an interview with Al Arabiya television, broadcast on Monday, Elaraby said he had communicated Egypt's views with "frankness and clarity" on security in the Gulf region to his Iranian counterpart.
"Egypt does not accept the intervention by any state in the internal affairs of another state," Elaraby said. "For Egypt, the security of the Gulf (region) is an inseparable part of the security of Egypt, and the phrase I used was 'a red line'," he added.
Now that's some frightening verbiage. Stiff note to follow, which will be equally effective.
However, no one's mustache was cursed...
In April, the foreign ministers of the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council "severely condemned Iranian interference in the internal affairs of Bahrain which is in violation of international pacts".
Elaraby is due to take over as Arab League Secretary General when the term of current chief Jerry Lewis Amr Moussa ends later this year.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/14/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
"Egypt does not accept the intervention by any state in the internal affairs of another state," Elaraby said.
October 19th 2005:
Ambassadors from ten Muslim countries (including Turkey and Egypt) request a meeting with the Prime Minister of Denmark, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, to ask him to distance himself from the cartoons in Jyllands-Posten as well as various other allegedly derogatory comments about Islam in the Danish media. The Prime Minister refuses to meet the ambassadors, on the grounds that he cannot infringe on the freedom of the press. link
Adml Sir Mark Stanhope said the campaign would have been more effective without the Government's defence cuts.
The aircraft carrier and the Harrier jump-jets scrapped under last year's strategic defence review would have made the mission more effective, faster and cheaper, he said.
Sir Mark warned that the Navy would not be able to sustain its operations in Libya for another three months without making cuts elsewhere. The First Sea Lord's comments will stir the debate over defence cuts that have left Britain without a working aircraft carrier and forced the Royal Navy's Harrier jump jets to be mothballed.
Highlighting military anger over the shrinking Armed Forces, another admiral warned that "comical" defence cuts would leave the Navy without enough ships to be effective.
Ministers have repeatedly argued that Britain has had no need of either HMS Ark Royal or the Harriers in the Libyan mission because planes can fly from bases in Italy, such as Gioia del Colle. But Sir Mark said the carrier and its planes would have been useful in Libya. "If we had Ark Royal and the Harriers, I feel relatively reassured that we would have deployed that capability off Libya," he said.
Harriers would have been used for "ground support" operations, attacking Col Gaddafi's land forces, he said.
Sir Mark appeared to contradict ministers' assurances on the Italian bases. He said operating Harriers from an aircraft carrier would have allowed British forces to respond more quickly to events on the ground in Libya.
"The pros would have been a much more reactive force," he said. "Rather than deploying from Gioia del Colle, we would deploy within 20 minutes as opposed to an hour and a half, so obviously there are some advantages. It's cheaper to fly an aircraft from an aircraft carrier than from the shore." Scrapping Ark Royal and its Harriers was perhaps the most controversial decision made in last year's Strategic Defence and Security Review. The Coalition has said it could not afford to maintain the ship or the planes. Military analysts and retired defence chiefs have said the cuts have limited Britain's military capabilities.
Despite his remarks, Sir Mark said there could be no going back on the cuts. "We have got to look forward."
British forces have been in action in Libya since March, yet Col Gaddafi remains in power. On June 1, Nato extended the military mission by another 90 days.
Sir Mark said British forces would be "comfortable" with another three months of operations. "Beyond that, we might have to request the Government to make some challenging decisions about priorities," he said. "There are different ways of doing this. It's not simply about giving up standing commitments, we will have to rebalance."
Robert Gates, the US defence secretary, said last week that Britain and France were struggling to maintain the Libyan operation without significant American support and supplies.
Sir Mark confirmed that the Navy had been forced to ask the US to resupply Tomahawk cruise missiles used by submarines targeting Libya.
"We are not running out, but we certainly have to take action to replace those weapons to bring stockpiles back up to where they were," he said.
As well as Ark Royal and the Harriers, the Navy is losing 5,000 posts under the defence review. Rear-Adml David Steel, the head of Navy personnel, said the defence cuts would be a major challenge for the Senior Service.
"Our ships are hugely capable but we just don't have enough of them," he told a veterans' conference in Plymouth at the weekend. "Having to make so many people redundant would be almost comical if it were not so serious."
Dr Liam Fox, the Defence Secretary, defended the defence review last night. He said: "We continue to have the resources necessary to carry out the operations we are undertaking."
An MoD source said: "Unfortunately Harriers wouldn't have been able to carry the precision weapons needed for these operations."
Has Ark Royal been turned into scrap yet? Have the Harriers been stored or shredded? Perhaps the Brits, if they had the will, could bring them back. If it's not too late.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/14/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
IIRC WAFF > Artic says that UK Royal Navy carrier pilots are being required to learn how to speak French + fly Rafale M aircraft, espec as taking off, landing aboard the decks of the FNS CHARLES DE GAULLE.
Not counting the USN CVNS.
D *** NG IT, DOES THIS MEAN THE AMERICANS WILL FINALLY HAVE TO LEARN ENGLISH!?
#2
ION CHINESE MILITARY FORUM > GUAM MULLS INDEPENDENCE, THE TIMES ARE A'CHANGING.
ARTIC > UOG President Robert Underwood = believes it is possible for Guam to be politically independent of the US [sovereign], but remain economically dependent/interdependent on same.
CMF POSTER > opined that Guam is a massively important US Mil Bastion in WESTPAC - iff Guam kicks out the USA, its loss will weaken + change the US presence in Asia in profound ways.
* SAME > US DESTROYER [USS "Chung-Hoon"] SENT TO SOUTH CHINA SEA AMID [Sino-Viet, Sino-Phil] TENSION IN THE SPRATLEYS.
* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > PHILIPPINES RENAMES SOUTH CHINA SEAS AS "WEST PHILIPPINE SEA".
GUAM-CNMI-WESTPAC = "EAST PHILIPINE SEA"???
* SAME > CENTRAL SOUTH CHINA SEAS [whole] IS PART OF CHINA'S EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE.
#3
England could save a ton of money by declaring that every male of military service age on welfare can either join the military for training in a rural part of the country, in military field conditions, getting free tent, food and health care, or they will no longer get welfare or health care.
The vast majority will just drop out of welfare, and those that join the military for field training will cost much, much less. And some of their best may be allowed to enlist in the regular army, if they show themselves to be of value.
This will save England tens of billions of pounds, annually.
The crucial role of the United States and Britannia in the brutal crackdown on anti-government protesters in Bahrain has been exposed.
According to the Morning Star newspaper, Bahrain received over USD 200 million in military equipment from US companies between October 2009 and October 2010, which were used against peaceful anti-government protesters in the country.
The arms sales were more than double the USD 89 million worth approved by Washington over the previous US financial year.
Previously, the sales included military hardware for aircraft and military electronics. However, you can observe a lot just by watching... in 2010, the US government also approved the sale of USD 760,000 in rifles, shotguns and assault weapons to Bahrain.
Scores of protesters have been killed and many others injured since the beginning of anti-regime protests in Bahrain in mid-February.
Despite international condemnation of Manama's gross human rights ...not to be confused with individual rights, mind you... violations, Washington has, so far, refused to condemn the brutal crackdown on protesters with US President Barack B.O. Obama expressing firm support for the Bahraini regime.
Bahraini opposition groups have lashed out at the US for what they have described as Washington's double-standards on the revolutions in the Arab world.
It is widely believed that since Bahrain is a key US ally in the Persian Gulf region and hosts the US Navy's Fifth Fleet, Washington prefers to remain silent about events unfolding in the country.
Chris Bambery, a Middle East analyst, said in an interview with Press TV that Bahrain is also "a major banking center for British and American finance."
Britannia, which has played a key role in propping up hereditary monarchies in the Persian Gulf and supports the unelected regimes, has also played a significant role in crackdowns on Bahraini protesters.
According to UK Ministry of Defense, members of the Soddy Arabian National Guard, who were sent into Bahrain in March to crush the popular uprising, had received military training from the British Armed Forces in Soddy Arabia.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/14/2011 00:00 ||
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H/T Gates of Vienna
The former Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair, who was famously reluctant to discuss his faith during his time in office, has declared that he reads the Koran every day.
#6
Since leaving Number 10, Mr Blair has set up the Tony Blair Faith Foundation, to promote respect and understanding between the major religions.
Tony, don't lose your head over this if you get the drift!
"People still ask me if military decisions in Iraq or Afghanistan were based on some kind of divine instruction. "It's rubbish. Of course not. Just as I couldn't go into a corner and pray to ask God what the minimum wage should be."
Elitist. You might ought to try it and pray to God that the takeover of your country from within stops. You might pray for another Churchill to rally the country to fight its enemies.
[Iran Press TV] An American Peace Activist says the United States is turning into a police state.
"Here in the United States it seems like we are being controlled more and more by the police state apparatus", Cindy Sheehan told Press TV's U.S. desk on Monday. "We have to go through full body X-ray machines to get on flights."
Sheehan said more than a dozen coppers broke into a house a few days ago and jugged a man and his three young children for six hours over some questions with his former wife's loan. She described the incident as oppressive.
"Of course we have seen such [incidents]. When we had a demo at the G-20, the last one was in Pittsburg, and there were more heavily armed coppers... I myself was there. I got tear gassed, I got shot at with rubber bullets, chased by the police just for exercising our freedom of speech!"
"The most damning thing that shows that the United States is in the process of [a] police state is the recent passage of the USA Patriot Act which basically makes the Constitution of the United States null and void," said Sheehan.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/14/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
An American Peace Activist says the United States is turning into a police state.
Lady, you wouldn't know a police state if one jumped up and bit you on you insane a@s.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
06/14/2011 1:34 Comments ||
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#2
She's right, wid the so-called "US Police State" still having the potential oer time to devol further into an "Army State".
Lest we fergit, PRE, POST-9-11 NET > COMMIE, ETC. GROUPS COLLUDING WID MUSLIM RADICAL MILTERR GROUPS.
World-Grand Socialist Revolution AND Global-Grand Jihad, to become World-Grand Revolution VERSUS Global-Grand Jihad, ONCE THE ISLAMIST MILTERRS GO PAR TO FULL-SCALE NUKULAAR.
More likely given ...
* MEMRI.ORG > ONLINE JIHADISTS PREPARE "HIT LIST" OF [US-Western] POLITICIANS, MILITARY FIGURES, + BUSINESSMEN, as part of "individual jihad" proposed hit list sponsored by Jihadi Forum writer Yanan Mukhaddab.
POTUS BAMMER + ADMIN, PETRAEUS, DONALD TRUMP...@etc. US-specific targets, besides the UK Royals, Other???
* SAME > DISPUTE BETWEEN JIHADIST WEBSITES ON VIDEO ANNOUNCING HAMZA BIN LADEN [OBL Son-Heir = "Crown Prince of Terror"] AS FATHER'S SUCCESSOR.
Hamza is still young at this time + lacks enough field credentials despite his alleged participation in AQ activities - THE FUTURE, HOWEVER, IS UP FOR GRABS, + IFF HE SURVIVES + TAKES REVENGE FOR HIS FATHER HE WILL STRIKE AT BOTH THE US + PAKISTAN, ETAL. THOSE HE DEEMS GUILTY OF KILLING OR HELPING TO KILL HIS FATHER OSAMA.
#4
WND > FORECAST FOR US SCITIES: CONFRONTATION? CHAOS? UNIONS, RADICALS PLOT TO COUNTER RIGHT- WING THREATS TO "MIDDLE CLASS".
and
* IIRC FOX NEWS CHANNEL AM > GLEN BECK SHOW segment > 18 SIGNS THAT [US-World] SOCIETY IS ON VERGE OF COLLAPSE.
His Beckness claims that the World is being intentionally "heated up", ostensibly by dedic "revolutionaries" including those already in high positions of power + influence.
#5
I imagine the Mad Mullahs would consider it a propaganda coup if Cindy would move to Tehran. Maybe they'd pay here room and board. She could write a book about the police state!
Posted by: Bobby ||
06/14/2011 7:06 Comments ||
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#6
It pains me to say it, but Cindy is getting too close to being right this time; there have been way too many examples of police power abuse lately,
#7
Seems to me if this were a true police state, Cindy would be in the can, not speaking to Iran Press TV. Of course, she could always move to Iran to see what a real police state is like...
"They dumped his body in the ocean. That way, whenever you go to the beach you can piss on his grave." -- anon
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/14/2011 20:20 Comments ||
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#20
Dont think its becoming a police state, but the civlian police have been militerizd. I was a state cop for 33 years and the changes in equipment, weapons, tactics, training and organization were very para military. Alot of it was just to protect us and the public. Plastic armour became kevlar, batons became tazers, shotguns to automatic rifles, breaching guns and rubber bullets. Military style rough duty uniforms. Most was just technical invovation but sometimes I sat back and said to myself "Whao what is going on" Big Big changes occurrred after the LA riots and the LA bank robbery. Would the civil authority or military turn on its own population no I dont believe so, with the odd exception of Katrina. But hell, there half the cops deserted their posts and out of state officers had to come in. It was a corupt agency to begin with. Cops and the military must subcribe to thier oath "to protect and defend". When I retired and old Lt came up to me and said congradutations - but nobody has released you from your oath. I frequently remind my son-in-law of that, your oath is for life.
Posted by: retired LEO ||
06/14/2011 21:40 Comments ||
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#21
Unfortunately, I agree with her on this one, never thought I would with her on anything.
Not only with all the bizarre cops shooting and killing people first and never asking questions at all, the militarized SWAT teams with special ops training, the aggressive behavior towards people, the courts allowing SWAT to break into people's houses and the Supreme Court stating that police have that right.
In addition, a young girl I know going clamming with a very expensive permit and after having been spied on by a ranger all day with a scope being charged with a CRIMINAL charge for having ONE extra clam than the permit allowed (at eight dollars a clam for the permit) and not allowed to give the clam to other permitted clammers in the same group. And a 24 year old nephew who was banned from his neighborhood grocery store for a day because his mom had asked him to buy a bottle of wine for their barbecue, and he dared to take his not quite 21 year old girlfriend with him!!!
And then the request by the Feds to spy on all your neighbors. Yes, I'd say the descent into a police state is happening quite rapidly.
[Dawn] JUI-F leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman Deobandi holy man, known as Mullah Diesel during the war against the Soviets, his sympathies for the Taliban have never been tempered by honesty ... has reneged on his party's support for the Independent Commission on the Abbottabad US raid, and said that in his "personal opinion" it is against the "national interest".
"If the commission finds the military in the wrong it will be Pakistain that will suffer, not the military leadership," he said while talking to news hounds on Sunday outside his official residence in the Ministers' Enclave after a meeting of his party's central majlis-i-shoora.
He alleged that the government itself had created controversy over the commission in order to avoid investigations.
Maulana Fazl said he had not attended the May 14 joint session of both houses of parliament which had adopted a resolution asking the government to set up the commission. Had he attended the session, he would have opposed the resolution, he added.
The government announced on May 31 the setting up of a five-member commission headed by Justice Javed Iqbal of the Supreme Court to investigate the May 2 covert US commando operation.
However, some people cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go... the announcement triggered controversies, it was rejected by the PML-N, Justice Javed Iqbal said he would head the commission only if Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry allowed him to do so and Justice (retd) Fakharuddin G.
Ebrahim said he would not like to be its member.
The commission is expected to start its work because the government has already set up its secretariat.
The JUI-F chief said if the commission blamed the armed forces for being negligent, it would result in isolation of the defence forces.
Maulana Fazl said the process of reconciliation being pursued in Afghanistan through a Pakistain-Afghan commission should also be initiated in Pakistain. He said the JUI-F believed that the policy of using force to eliminate terrorism had failed in both countries.
He warned against a military operation in North Wazoo.
"The army will launch a suicide kaboom on itself if it launches the operation," he said.
Maulana Fazl called for a review of the foreign policy and the policy of war against terrorism. He said the government would be responsible for "bloodshed and lawlessness" in the country if it did not review the policies.
The JUI-F chief said that the revival of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal had become indispensable. Despite having reservations over the attitude of the Jamaat-i-Islami, he said, the JUI-F had authorised him to contact leaders of the component parties of the non-functional alliance and he would soon convene an informal meeting. It will be the first formal attempt to revive the MMA since the JUI-F quitting the government in December last year.
Efforts made earlier to revive the alliance had failed because the Jamaat-i-Islami put the condition that the JUI-F should first
leave the ruling coalition.
Contacts between the two parties were revived in May last year in the wake of a three-day meeting of Deobandi leaders held in Lahore as part of reconciliation among religious parties. About 150 leaders representing different Deobandi groups, seminaries and political parties attended the meeting.
The objectives of the conference, according to some participants, were to discuss factors which engendered terrorism, "organise a movement for the enforcement of Shariat through peaceful and democratic means" and "draw public attention to the need for defending Pakistain's illusory sovereignty and security". The meeting failed to reach a unanimous stand against suicide attacks in the country.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/14/2011 00:00 ||
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Dozens of Fatah members on Monday threatened to quit in protest against the decision to expel former security commander Muhammad Dahlan from the ruling faction.
The Fatah Central Committee, at the request of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas (who also heads Fatah), decided over the weekend to expel Dahlan and recommended that he be charged with corruption and other criminal offenses.
Dahlans expulsion is seen as a victory for Abbas and old guard Fatah leaders.
The move is also seen as a severe blow to Fatah supporters in the Gaza Strip, where Dahlan remains a popular figure and is regarded by some as a potential successor to Abbas.
Fatah representatives warned that the Abbas-Dahlan dispute could lead to a split in the faction. They said that many Fatah activists in the Gaza Strip were threatening to quit in protest against the dismissal of Dahlan.
One activist said that at least 30 Fatah members have already expressed their intention to quit. He pointed out that six members of the Fatah Central Committee did not vote in favor of the recommendation to expel Dahlan.
If Dahlan is forced out of Fatah, it will be the end of the party, the activist said.
Dahlan is the victim of a conspiracy concocted by a small group of Fatah leaders who work with Abbas.
Several Fatah legislators in the Gaza Strip expressed outrage over the removal of Dahlan. They said that the decision was a flagrant violation of the PAs Basic Law because Dahlan is an elected member of parliament and as such enjoys immunity.
Salah Abu Khatlah, a top Fatah official in Gaza, condemned the decision as disgraceful.
He said the move against Dahlan was also directed against all Fatah supporters in the Strip.
The decision shows that the [Fatah] Central Committee cant be trusted with managing the affairs of the party, Abu Khatlah said. Its also harmful to Fatahs history and culture and the sacrifices of our martyrs and prisoners.
Dahlan, in a first response, denounced the decision as illegal and accused Abbas and his rivals of acting as thugs.
Dahlan accused Abbas of acting like a dictator by taking decisions alone and preventing him from replying to the charges against him before a commission of inquiry that was established by the PA president.
Abbas has accused Dahlan of plotting to undermine him.
Dahlan says that the dispute erupted only after he began talking about the involvement of Abbass sons in economic projects in the Palestinian territories.
If Abbas feels that he cant cope with responsibility, he should retire, Dahlan said.
There are many other leading figures in Fatah who could do the job more effectively.
He also accused Abbas of acting out of self-interest. Abbas does not tolerate different opinions or criticism, he said.
He doesnt want anyone to ask questions.
Maher Miqdad, another top Fatah official, described the move against Dahlan as a humiliation for all Fatah members. He said that instead of solving Fatahs problems, the central committee was deepening the crisis in the faction. This is not the way to remove Dahlan from the political scene, he said.
Dont make us believe rumors about a suspicious deal with Hamas to get rid of Dahlan.
Dahlan was chosen to head the PAs Preventive Security Service in Gaza after the signing of the Oslo Accords. He built up a force of 20,000 men.
His forces were accused of torturing Hamas detainees throughout the 1990s, allegations Dahlan denies. During this period Gaza was nicknamed Dahlanistan due to his power.
In June 2007, Hamas drove Dahlan, then-head of the Palestinian National Security Council, out of Gaza along with the rest of the Strips Fatah leaders.
Dozens of Fatah members on Monday threatened to quit in protest against the decision to expel former security commander Muhammad Dahlan from the ruling faction.
The Fatah Central Committee, at the request of Paleostinian Authority President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas ... a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial... (who also heads Fatah), decided over the weekend to expel Dahlan and recommended that he be charged with corruption and other criminal offenses.
Dahlan's expulsion is seen as a victory for Abbas and old guard Fatah leaders. The move is also seen as a severe blow to Fatah supporters in the Gazoo Strip, where Dahlan remains a popular figure and is regarded by some as a potential successor to Abbas.
Fatah representatives warned that the Abbas-Dahlan dispute could lead to a split in the faction. They said that many Fatah activists in the Gazoo Strip were threatening to quit in protest against the dismissal of Dahlan.
One activist said that at least 30 Fatah members have already expressed their intention to quit. He pointed out that six members of the Fatah Central Committee did not vote in favor of the recommendation to expel Dahlan. "If Dahlan is forced out of Fatah, it will be the end of the party," the activist said. "Dahlan is the victim of a conspiracy concocted by a small group of Fatah leaders who work with Abbas."
Several Fatah politicians in the Gazoo Strip expressed outrage over the removal of Dahlan. They said that the decision was a flagrant violation of the PA's Basic Law because Dahlan is an elected member of parliament and as such enjoys immunity.
Salah Abu Khatlah, a top Fatah official in Gazoo, condemned the decision as disgraceful. He said the move against Dahlan was also directed against all Fatah supporters in the Strip. "The decision shows that the [Fatah] Central Committee can't be trusted with managing the affairs of the party," Abu Khatlah said. "It's also harmful to Fatah's history and culture and the sacrifices of our deaders and prisoners."
Dahlan, in a first response, denounced the decision as "illegal" and accused Abbas and his rivals of acting as "thugs." Dahlan accused Abbas of acting like a dictator by taking decisions alone and preventing him from replying to the charges against him before a commission of inquiry that was established by the PA president.
Abbas has accused Dahlan of plotting to undermine him.
Dahlan says that the dispute erupted only after he began talking about the involvement of Abbas's sons in economic projects in the Paleostinian territories. "If Abbas feels that he can't cope with responsibility, he should retire," Dahlan said. "There are many other leading figures in Fatah who could do the job more effectively."
He also accused Abbas of acting out of self-interest. "Abbas does not tolerate different opinions or criticism," he said. "He doesn't want anyone to ask questions."
Maher Miqdad, another top Fatah official, described the move against Dahlan as a "humiliation for all Fatah members." He said that instead of solving Fatah's problems, the central committee was deepening the crisis in the faction. "This is not the way to remove Dahlan from the political scene," he said. "Don't make us believe rumors about a suspicious deal with Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, to get rid of Dahlan."
Dahlan was chosen to head the PA's Preventive Security Service in Gazoo after the signing of the Oslo Accords. He built up a force of 20,000 men.
His forces were accused of torturing Hamas detainees throughout the 1990s, allegations Dahlan denies. During this period Gazoo was nicknamed "Dahlanistan" due to his power.
In June 2007, Hamas drove Dahlan, then-head of the Paleostinian National Security Council, out of Gazoo along with the rest of the Strip's Fatah leaders.
Dozens of Fatah members on Monday threatened to quit in protest against the decision to expel former security commander Muhammad Dahlan from the ruling faction.
The Fatah Central Committee, at the request of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas (who also heads Fatah), decided over the weekend to expel Dahlan and recommended that he be charged with corruption and other criminal offenses.
Dahlans expulsion is seen as a victory for Abbas and old guard Fatah leaders.
The move is also seen as a severe blow to Fatah supporters in the Gaza Strip, where Dahlan remains a popular figure and is regarded by some as a potential successor to Abbas.
Fatah representatives warned that the Abbas-Dahlan dispute could lead to a split in the faction. They said that many Fatah activists in the Gaza Strip were threatening to quit in protest against the dismissal of Dahlan.
One activist said that at least 30 Fatah members have already expressed their intention to quit. He pointed out that six members of the Fatah Central Committee did not vote in favor of the recommendation to expel Dahlan.
If Dahlan is forced out of Fatah, it will be the end of the party, the activist said.
Dahlan is the victim of a conspiracy concocted by a small group of Fatah leaders who work with Abbas.
Several Fatah legislators in the Gaza Strip expressed outrage over the removal of Dahlan. They said that the decision was a flagrant violation of the PAs Basic Law because Dahlan is an elected member of parliament and as such enjoys immunity.
Salah Abu Khatlah, a top Fatah official in Gaza, condemned the decision as disgraceful.
He said the move against Dahlan was also directed against all Fatah supporters in the Strip.
The decision shows that the [Fatah] Central Committee cant be trusted with managing the affairs of the party, Abu Khatlah said. Its also harmful to Fatahs history and culture and the sacrifices of our martyrs and prisoners.
Dahlan, in a first response, denounced the decision as illegal and accused Abbas and his rivals of acting as thugs.
Dahlan accused Abbas of acting like a dictator by taking decisions alone and preventing him from replying to the charges against him before a commission of inquiry that was established by the PA president.
Abbas has accused Dahlan of plotting to undermine him.
Dahlan says that the dispute erupted only after he began talking about the involvement of Abbass sons in economic projects in the Palestinian territories.
If Abbas feels that he cant cope with responsibility, he should retire, Dahlan said.
There are many other leading figures in Fatah who could do the job more effectively.
He also accused Abbas of acting out of self-interest. Abbas does not tolerate different opinions or criticism, he said.
He doesnt want anyone to ask questions.
Maher Miqdad, another top Fatah official, described the move against Dahlan as a humiliation for all Fatah members. He said that instead of solving Fatahs problems, the central committee was deepening the crisis in the faction. This is not the way to remove Dahlan from the political scene, he said.
Dont make us believe rumors about a suspicious deal with Hamas to get rid of Dahlan.
Dahlan was chosen to head the PAs Preventive Security Service in Gaza after the signing of the Oslo Accords. He built up a force of 20,000 men.
His forces were accused of torturing Hamas detainees throughout the 1990s, allegations Dahlan denies. During this period Gaza was nicknamed Dahlanistan due to his power.
In June 2007, Hamas drove Dahlan, then-head of the Palestinian National Security Council, out of Gaza along with the rest of the Strips Fatah leaders.
The Palestinian Authority is considering asking the UN to implement Resolution 181, which calls for the partition of mandatory Palestine between Jews and Arabs, if the US foils plans to seek UN recognition of a Palestinian state in September, a senior PA official disclosed on Saturday.
You guys rejected that in '48. Remember? Your grandparents do. And a proposal, once rejected, is dead...
PA negotiator Nabil Sha'ath said the possibility of demanding the implementation of the 1947 Partition Plan was one of a number of options the Palestinians were studying in wake of Washington's threat to veto a statehood resolution in September. Sha'ath declared that despite the US threat, the PA was determined to proceed with the statehood bid in September.
His declaration came even as some PA officials have been talking, in private, about abandoning the plan to ask the UN to unilaterally recognize a state along the pre-1967 lines.
Sha'ath's remarks were published by the London-based Al-Hayat newspaper. He said there was much the Palestinians could do after Washington vetoes the statehood bid at the UN.
"We have a lot to do, but we won't reveal our steps now," he added. "We won't give the Israelis a chance to confront us at the UN." But he said that one of the ideas being discussed was "going back to UN Resolution 181."
He said the Partition Plan called for the establishment of two states, "but Israel announced its independence unilaterally and was recognized by the UN." He noted that Kosovo did the same in spite of Serbia's opposition.
No, Israel accepted the plan, and the Arabs rejected it, as they had rejected all previous partition plans. Then they sent five armies in to enforce that rejection... and lost. Every Arab war against Israel since then has been another attempt to enforce their rejection of the Partition Plan, making Mr. Sha'ath's little plan too clever by half.
"Even if the US uses the veto, there will be 131 UN members that recognize Palestine," he said. "The US then won't be able to stop these countries from treating us as a state."
All those countries could be treating the Palestinian Territories like a state now. And yet they don't.
#2
Get a clue: Israel is pretty much at the Resolution 181 borders. The "Palestinian State" the resolution refers to already exists: it's called JORDAN.
Last Thursday, Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani while at the Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University in Indonesia stated that Iran will use its missiles to defend other Muslim nations if threatened.
This is the first time that a high-ranking Iranian official has issued such a warning. In effect, Iran is expanding its defense strategy from protecting their own sovereignty to a defensive umbrella over other Islamic nations.
Larijani based his argument on what he called the school of the late Ayatollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic: Muslims should possess enough defensive strength to use against other countries should one of those countries attack. Larijani further stated:
We do not hide our defensive advancement and (we) have designed advanced missile systems. Israel and the U.S. should know that if they want to act violently toward Muslims, we will stand in their way.
The Revolutionary Guards have now expanded the reach of their missiles to 2000 miles, which covers the capitals in Western Europe. These missiles are capable of carrying a nuclear payload.
Also, through a secret pact with Venezuela which was signed by Hugo Chavez and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on October 19 in Tehran, the Guards are constructing a missile installation to be built inside Venezuela with missiles able to reach U.S. shores. The Guards are also actively arming Hezbollah, which now has over 40,000 rockets, and Hamas with over 10,000 rockets.
The Guards have stockpiled more than 1,000 ballistic missiles while constantly introducing more advanced models: the recently announced Qiyam 1 missile is difficult for air defense systems to detect.
The Guards have also stockpiled hundreds of anti-ship missiles capable of disrupting the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf. More and more they are sounding like the Japanese government prior to WWII.
#5
See also WAFF [related]> IRAN NOW OFFERS A MISSLE UMBRELLA TO FELLOW MUSLIM NATIONS.
ARTIC = denotes that ...
> Iran's curren arsenal of LRBMS can effec hit ISRAEL, SE EUROPE, + RUSSIA.
> VENEZUELA MISLBASE(S) = Iran can strike at CONUS-NORAM targets.
> IRAN'S SECONDARY MESSAGE = may strike Any + All Muslim Nations whom are agz its interests + aligned or in support of the US-West e.g. YEMEN, BAHRAIN, + UAE.
> IRAN'S MISSLE UMBRELLA = closely resembles tit-for-tat that of the SOVIET UNION/USSR AS PER SOVIET-DOMIN EASTERN EUROPE, ETC. DURING THE COLD WAR, i.e. PROTECTING SOVIET = IRAN-DESIRED HEGEMONY WHILE ALLOWING IT TO PROMOTE + FOSTER PRO-MARXIST/SOVIET, ANTI-US/NATO INSURGENCIES, AGENDUMS ABROAD.
> Until the advent of the REAGAN POTUS ADMIN, the Cold War SOVIETS were not deterred by the potent US Strategic Nuc Arsenal from fomenting various Civil Wars + Insurgencies, etc. in Asia, Africa, + Latin America. DITTO RISING NUCLEAR IRAN VEE OBAMA POTUS ADMIN + SUCCESSOR???
IOW, Iran is not going to stop dev andor improving its LRBMS + NucWeaps, Mil Arsenal + C4IRM, etc. warfighting management sys until it achieves PARITY, IFF NOT SUPERIORITY, AGZ THE US-WEST = MEMBERS OF THE WORLD NUCLEAR CLUB!?
and
* PEOPLE'S DAILY FORUM > WAR COULD HIT NORTH AMERICAN SOIL THUS CENTURY? Irvin Studin, co-author of Canada's 2004 NatSec Policy.
ARTIC > STUDIN = believes that ...
> US is likely to remain the world's premier strategic power until 2050 - after 2050, US status becoms increasingly uncertain = up for grabs???
> Canada must strive to improve its MilPol standards + capabilities "across-the-board" as over time it may no longer be able to rely on US specific assistance, protection as per its National, Geopol Security.
IOW, IIUC OWG-NWO + US-WORLD ECON TROUBLES MAY EFFEC ALTER THE MONROE, ETC. VARIOUS US STRATEGIC DOCTRINES WHEREUPON THE USA WILL NO LONGER UNILATER DETER NOR PREVENT FOREIGN POWERS FROM ASSERTING, OR ATTEMPTING TO ASSERT, [anti-US-Western]POWER + INFLUENCE IN NORTH AMERICA OR ANY IN THE AMERICAS - THE US MAY NO LONGER DESIRE OR BE ABLE TO MILPOL "GUARANTY" THE SECURITY + INTEGRITY OF NORTH-CENTRAL-SOUTH AMERICAS.
And by extension nor for ANY of its key Allies elsewhere around the World.
"Atlanticism" + "Pacific-ism", etc. may be no more???
IMO STUDIN'S TIMELINE = could likely be SHORTER than 2050 depending on the state of RADICAL ISLAM'S, OTHER ANTI-US/WESTERN MILTERR NUCLEARIZATION E.G. IRAN'S UNSTOPPABLE "NUCLEAR TRAIN" COMMENT.
AGain, Iran is unlikely to formally declare itself a NucWeaps State until such time its MilTerr proxies also have "sufficient/minimal" Nuke-WMDS capabilities, for effec deterrence + mil counterresponse agz US-ISRAELI-NATO = UNO,UNSC attack.
* SAME > PANETTA BACKS [Conventional] PROMPT GLOBAL STRIKE CAPABILITY.
[Al Jazeera] Leb's prime minister has announced a new cabinet, dominated by allies of Hezbullies, five months after the party and its allies brought down the government.
Najib Mikati's cabinet, unveiled on Monday, gives Hezbullies and its allies 16 of the 30 seats. In the previous government they had 10 seats.
The cabinet still must be formally presented to parliament for a vote of confidence.
Mikati was appointed to form a government after Hezbullies and its allies toppled Saad Hariri Second son of Rafik Hariri, the Leb PM who was assassinated in 2005. He has was prime minister in his own right from 2009 through early 2011. He was born in Riyadh to an Iraqi mother and graduated from Georgetown University. He managed his father's business interests in Riyadh until his father's liquidation. When his father died he inherited a fortune of some $4.1 billion, which won't do him much good if Hizbullah has him bumped off, too. 's coalition in January over a dispute involving a UN-backed tribunal investigating the liquidation of Rafiq al-Hariri, Saad's father.
"Let us go to work immediately according to the principles and basis that we have affirmed our commitment to several times, namely defending Leb's illusory sovereignty and its independence and liberating land that remains under the occupation of the Israeli enemy," Mikati said.
Talal Arslan, a Druze politician who was made a minister of state, resigned within hours of the announcement due to dissatisfaction over his post.
"I cannot participate in a government in which Najib Mikati says the Druze do not have the right to demand a key ministry," he said at a televised news conference.
Political sources said Mikati could easily replace Arslan, who had been demanding the defence portfolio.
Arslan said he would not support a vote of confidence in the government at a parliamentary session, but Hezbullies and its allies still have enough votes for the government to be approved.
Political wrangling had held up the formation of the cabinet, including disagreements over sensitive posts.
Move welcomed Al Jizz's Rula Amin, reporting from Beirut, says the cabinet formation solves some of Leb's problems.
"This country, without a government, was barely functioning," she said.
"Mikati told the Lebanese people that they shouldn't judge him by the names of the new cabinet, but rather by their future actions."
"This country is a close neighbour of Syria where there are troubles, and many people fear that the crisis could spill over - some people are hoping that forming a new government will help to face some challenges."
Mohammed Safadi, the former economy minister, was named finance minister and will need to improve Leb's growth outlook, which was driven down by the political stalemate.
Fayez Ghusn was named defence minister and Marwan Charbel the interior minister.
Nicolas Sehnawi was given the telecommunications portfolio, a post ridden with controversy due to disagreements over privatising the sector.
Hariri, who is supported by the West and Soddy Arabia, has refused to join Mikati's government.
Tribunal controversy
A main aim of the government will be to agree on a unified stand to face indictments by the UN tribunal , which is expected to implicate members of Hezbullies in the 2005 killing of Rafiq al-Hariri.
The group denies any link to the attack.
Mikati, who says he is politically neutral, said the Lebanese government would seek to maintain positive ties with all Arab countries.
The Syrian president, Bashir al-Assad, who has been fighting a popular revolt against his 11-year rule, telephoned Mikati to congratulate him, Lebanese media said.
Syria is a strong ally of Hezbullies, the main player in the political coalition that helped to bring Mikati to power in January.
"This government is committed to maintaining strong, brotherly ties which bind Leb to all Arab countries without exception," Mikati said.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/14/2011 00:00 ||
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[Iran Press TV] Turkey's smear campaign against the Syrian government is much worse than the propaganda spread by Arab media to tarnish the image of Damascus ...The City of Jasmin is the oldest continuously-inhabited city in the world. It has not always been inhabited by the same set of fascisti... with regards to its recent unrest.
While Syrian officials and residents of crisis-hit Syrian regions have repeatedly said that gangs are responsible for the deadly festivities in the country, Turkey has tried to portray Iran and the Lebanese Resistance Movement, Hezbullies, as being behind the unrest in Syria and that they help Damascus quell protests.
The Turkish NTV news channel recently claimed that the Syrian soldiers who refused to open fire on protesters were rubbed out by their commanders.
The broadcaster reported that a Syrian soldier taking refuge in the country says that he and his comrades were trying to avoid hurting protesters by firing warning shots, but those who refused to open fire on protesters were rubbed out.
"I've seen Iranians and Hezbullies operators giving instructions to shoot, and those who refused were immediately rubbed out," the alleged runaway Syrian soldier told NTV, adding that the soldiers were mostly shot from behind or in the neck.
The Turkish broadcaster has also claimed that Syrian forces have opened fire on unarmed civilians in al-Rastan.
"We opened fire on everyone, the young, the old... Women were raped in front of their husbands and children," the army defector told NTV.
Political analysts in Middle East affairs have accused Ankara of playing a double game -- claiming to support the Damascus government in order to have greater influence in the Middle East, while at the same time supporting and providing a safe haven for armed gangs seeking to incite revolt in Syria.
Iranian analyst Hadi Mohammadi says that the United States has now formed operational headquarters in southern Turkey close to the border with Syria to direct the riots in the Arab country after its attempts to cause unrest in southern Syria were unsuccessful.
Mohammadi said that the United States has assigned Turkey to carry out its anti-Syria plan. It has hence provided aid to the Turkish Army to assist Syrian dissidents in crossing into Turkey and settle in tent villages set up in Turkey's Hatay Province.
Meanwhile, ...back at the sandwich shop, Caroline was experimenting with ingredients... a mass grave with bodies of at least 10 Syrian security forces was discovered near the northwestern town of Jisr al-Shughour on Monday.
Syria's state TV says the victims were killed by armed gangs and the bodies bore marks of torture.
Heavy festivities were reported as troops and tanks moved into the city on Sunday and gunnies targeted civilian areas including a hospital.
The government says it entered the town to restore order after some 120 security forces were killed there about a week ago. People in Jisr al-Shughour gathered to thank government troops for protecting them against the gunnies.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/14/2011 00:00 ||
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[Iran Press TV] Syrian Information Minister Adnan Mahmoud has reportedly dismissed the director of the country's state TV network, Reem Haddad.
In a decree issued on Monday Mahmoud relieved Haddad of all her responsibilities in the state-run Syria television and replaced her with Muan Saleh, IRNA reported.
Haddad had recently told the state-funded BBC in an interview that the crowds of Syrians going across the border to Turkey have relatives there.
"A lot of them find it easy to move across because their relatives are there. It's a bit like having a problem in your street, and your mum lives in the next street, so you go and visit your mum for a bit," Haddad commented.
The Syrian information minister also expelled director of development programs of Syria's state television ... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
on Monday.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/14/2011 00:00 ||
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[Iran Press TV] The US and Israel have so far carried out a number of plots in Syria to incite unrest, create insecurity and spark a civil war in the Arab nation.
At the outset, the White House and the Tel Aviv regime provoked anti-government protests in Syria's southern city of Daraa near the border with Jordan.
There is now clear evidence that weapons, cell phones and cut-throats from Jordan were transferred into the city to further complicate the situation on the ground, analysts say.
The Syrian army began withdrawing its forces from Daraa in early May after arresting scores of heavily-armed people and confiscating large amounts of sophisticated weapons and ammunition.
The US and Israel then sparked revolts in the cities of Baniyas, located on Syria's Mediterranean coast, and Talkalakh near the Lebanese border.
Informed sources in Leb blamed Salafi Orcs and similar vermin and elements associated with the country's al-Mustaqbal ... the Future Movement, political party led by Saad Hariri... party for direct involvement in the violence.
The Lebanese sources blame a retired general in charge of Mustaqbal's maintenance and leaders of al-Qaeda-linked Fatah al-Islam A Syrian-incubated al-Qaeda work-alike that they think can be turned off if no longer needed to keep the Leb pot stirred. militia for distributing arms and SIM cards among rioters in northern Syria.
Major Salafi holy mans in north Leb have provided refuge for cut-throats operating in Syria, and issuing provocative decrees. Salafi mosques in the region are reportedly being used to store weapons.
The Syrian military ultimately succeeded in restoring calm to the area after scores of cut-throats were tossed in the clink and their weapons were confiscated.
Violent festivities between gangs and Syrian troops then broke out in the northern city of Jisr al-Shughour.
At least 120 Syrian soldiers were killed after gangs attacked police and security stations in the city on June 6, Syrian state television ... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
reported.
Syrian TV on Sunday evening broadcast photos of a mass grave containing mutilated bodies belonging to police and security forces that were killed by armed terrorist groups in Jisr al-Shughour. Marks of torture were visible on the bodies of the victims.
Reports say the terrorist groups behind days of deadly festivities in the northern city of Jisr al-Shughour have beat feet to Turkey.
Hundreds of Syrian civilians have also crossed the northern border into Turkey after the Turkish government announced that its doors are open to those seeking refuge.
The developments come as the US Central Intelligence Agency Director Leon Panetta recently visited the border between Syria and Turkey in a secret visit to Turkey. The United States and some regional countries support civil war in Syria.
Syrian army units on Monday restored security and tranquility to the city of Jisr al-Shaghour after clearing it from the gangs that terrorized locals, attacked public and private properties, and wrought havoc in the city.
In the latest attempts, Washington and Tel Aviv are hatching plots to reignite the flames of unrest in Syria through smuggling weapons into the Arab country via the autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq.
The Syrian government has repeatedly blamed foreign infiltrators and turban groups for killing civilians and security forces, and creating chaos in the country.
Syrian President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad One of the last of the old-fashioned hereditary iron-fisted fascist dictators. Before going into the family business Pencilneck was an eye doctor... has vowed to bring those behind the killings to justice.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/14/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
That's right, Short Round, we're inciting riots in Syria.
You're next.
Be afraid; be very afraid.
Posted by: Bobby ||
06/14/2011 7:09 Comments ||
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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.
Hillary Clinton
The crucial role of the United States and 
An American Peace Activist says the United States is turning into a police state.
Maulana Fazlur Rehman
Wazoo
