Posted by: Fred ||
08/09/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Happy Birthday/Daily Gam Shot
Gillian Anderson aka Dana Scully in "The X-Files" aka Lily Bart in "The House of Mirth" aka Lady Dedlock in "Bleak House" aka Duchess of Windsor in "Any Human Heart" aka Sarah Merrit in "The Last King of Scotland" aka Pamela Head in "Johnny English Reborn" (age 44)
#6
she was in that propaganda video where global-warming deniers' heads exploded
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/09/2011 14:55 Comments ||
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#7
Hey that kid was her. Even then always trying to get attention. Her knees are so knobby you have to turn them to get her legs to open or close. I don't know what she want's in that picture but it's gonna cost ya.
[Daily Nation (Kenya)] Residents decamped from pockets of violence around Mogadishu today, two days after a surprise rebel pullback that had led the government to claim it fully controlled the famine-stricken city.
Fighting erupted in several areas in the south and north of the city, as African Union ...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful... -backed government troops set up bases in former al-Shabaab ... Harakat ash-Shabaab al-Mujahidin aka the Mujahideen Youth Movement. It was originally the youth movement of the Islamic Courts, now pretty much all of what's left of it. They are aligned with al-Qaeda but operate more like the Afghan or Pakistani Taliban. The organization's current leader is Ibrahim Haji Jama Mee'aad, also known as Ibrahim al-Afghani. Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, asaid Kenyan al-Qaeda member, is considered the group's military leader... strongholds.
"We are very worried, and many people have already decamped to stay away from the firing," said Abdulahi Duale, a resident from the famine-stricken capital's northern Suqaholaha district.
"We could hear shooting close to our neighbourhood," he added.
The al-Qaeda-affiliated rebels who had controlled around half of Mogadishu abandoned their positions in a surprise withdrawal on Saturday but some units remained active on the outskirts of the capital.
Another resident, Huda Ali said: "We could hear the heavy fighting ... as opposed to the more usual light or sporadic fighting... on Sunday night. We are planning to flee because there are stray bullets reaching close to us now."
Government officials celebrated the hardline rebel pullout, but the al-Shabaab say it is merely "a change of military tactics."
"It was the second day of our changed tactics, and the mujahedeen fighters carried out at least five attacks," al-Shabaab front man Abdulaziz Abu Musab told news hounds.
"We have inflicted heavy losses on the enemy... where the Christian invading forces tried to expand," he added.
Government forces dismissed the rebel claims, reporting only sporadic shooting as soldiers moved cautiously into former al-Shabaab-held areas.
Internal wrangles
"Our forces are making a gradual advancement into areas of the city where the Islamist snuffies have left," said Abdikarin Dhegobadan, a senior government officer.
Yusuf Mohamed Siad Indhoade, the leader of a pro-government militia, said the al-Shabaab were forced to withdraw from Mogadishu because of internal wrangles.
The city was quieter on Monday morning after fighting during the night, but residents continued to move out, fearing further conflict.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/09/2011 00:00 ||
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[Iran Press TV] Libyan revolutionaries say they have repelled an offensive by the forces loyal to long-time ruler Muammar Qadaffy ...whose instability has been an inspiration to dictators everywhere... on a strategically important town in south of Tripoli.
The revolutionary fighters said they held on to the strategic town of Bir Ghanam but suffered casualties in Zlitan, some 120 kilometers east of the capital Tripoli.
The developments come a day after the regime claimed that its troops had recaptured the key town of Bir Ghanam.
However, it was a brave man who first ate an oyster... the opposition forces have admitted they are running low on ammunition as they try to hold off an assault by the Qadaffy troops in Zlitan.
Attacks by pro-Qadaffy troops have intensified as opposition fighters are pushing their way towards Tripoli where the long-time ruler is holed-up.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/09/2011 00:00 ||
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[Emirates 24/7] Libyan rebels who seized this town 80 km (50 miles) south of Tripoli said on Monday they would now push on towards Muammar Qadaffy's ...Custodian of Wheelus AFB for 42 long years... stronghold in the capital.
This small settlement in the desert is the closest rebel position to Tripoli and its capture at the weekend is likely to give new hope to a faltering six-month campaign to oust Qadaffy.
Anti-Qadaffy fighters had been camped since late June on the outskirts of Bir al-Ghanam, unable to advance. According to rebels in the town on Monday, they moved in on Saturday under cover from NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions... warplanes.
They said their next target was Zawiyah, a town on the Mediterranean coast 50 km west of Tripoli.
Zawiyah was the scene of two failed uprisings against Qadaffy's rule since February. Many of the fighters in Bir al-Ghanam are from there, although a number of those who took part in the uprisings are now in prison or dead.
"Our aim is to get to Zawiyah. Once we do that Qadaffy is finished," said rebel fighter Murad Bada, who was sitting under the shade of a tree and humming a song about Zawiyah.
The capture of Bir al-Ghanam is the biggest rebel breakthrough in weeks of largely static fighting on three fronts across Libya. But that alone is not enough to undermine Qadaffy's grip on power.
The small rebel force approaching from the south could face much stiffer resistance as it draws nearer to the capital, where his troops are likely to put up a more fierce fight and he can can count on a certain level of popular support. The rebel advance elsewhere has been hampered by divisions and infighting, as well as a lack of experience in warfare.
Libya's prime minister told news hounds in Tripoli on Sunday that government forces were in control of Bir al-Ghanam after fighting off a rebel attack.
But in the town early on Monday, the only sign of government forces was the weaponry they had left behind when they decamped, said a Rootersnews hound in the town centre.
One artillery piece was abandoned, and three tanks were burned out. Next to one tank -- still mounted on the trailer of a tank transporter -- was a deep crater which appeared to have been caused by a NATO air strike.
Rebel fighters were resting in the heat. One was wrapping a wound on his arm which he said was caused by rocket shrapnel.
Another fighter, 32-year-old Salim Shawsh, said in the five-hour battle on Saturday to take Bir al-Ghanam, rebels attacked on foot from behind ridges on the outskirts of the town, with NATO air support.
He said five rebel fighters were killed, including a Libyan-American father and son, part of a large contingent of foreigners with Libyan roots who have come back to fight against Qadaffy. The pair was hit by rocket fire and they died with the father clutching the son, Shawsh said. They chose .. poorly...
On Sunday, British Apache attack helicopters took off from a warship in the Mediterranean Sea and fired Hellfire missiles at military vehicles in Al-Watyah, the site of a government air base 170 km southwest of Tripoli, front man Major General Nick Pope said.
Potentially adding to pressure on Qadaffy, Tripoli has been experiencing power shortages in the past few days and these have been growing worse. Libyan state television ... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
appealed on Sunday to people to conserve energy by switching off air conditioners in mosques and offices when they are not in use.
Because of the blackouts, many residents have no air conditioning during the peak summer heat and no refrigeration as they prepare for evening meals during the Mohammedan holy month of Ramadan.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/09/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
http://youtu.be/gzIAiyxS-nk
Posted by: S ||
08/09/2011 20:26 Comments ||
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[Yemen Post] Electricity returned to Yemen's capital Sana'a on Sunday after the authorities repaired damages to power towers between Sana'a and Marib provinces that sent the Marib gas-fired power plant out of commission for almost a week.
The Public Electricity Corporation completed the repairs to two units of the Marib plant and the third unit will resume operation in the coming hours, an official at the Corporation said. "The Marib plant returned to its normal status and now supplies electric power to the capital," the official said, urging all the people to avoid political conflicts to help prevent attacks against public facilities and impacts on basic services.
Officials at the Corporation said that power towers along Sana'a-Marib road had been attacked more than 25 times this year.
In addition to blackouts, Yemen has been hit by severe crises topped by acute fuel, cooking gas and water shortages, six-month dueling protests in downtown cities, battles between the army and Al-Qaeda and revolutionaries, and paralyzed key sectors.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/09/2011 00:00 ||
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[Yemen Post] Two people were killed and a third injured during a manhunt for two wanted suspects in Yemen's western Hodeida province on Sunday.
Alsahwa-yemen.net quoted security sources as saying that a motorcyclist and a cafeteria owner were killed when the police was hunting two suspects in downtown Hodeida late Sunday, but the website did not report who rubbed out the victims.
The police did not arrest the suspects who could run away, it added.
Hodeida is one of the Yemeni cities hit by month-long unrest and associated crises including an acute fuel shortage, persistent power outages and protests.
After the incident, people gathered at the site, burned tires on the streets and closed roads in protest at random killings of innocent civilians.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/09/2011 00:00 ||
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"Kids, pack up the palace. Your father is finally taking us on that vacation he promised twenty-five years ago!"
[Yemen Post] The Yemeni regime has submitted a new initiative to solve the political crisis which has been crippling the country for almost six months. Severe crises have hit Yemen since the unrest started in the aftermath of the Tunisian and Egyptian uprisings largely affecting the people's livelihoods and paralyzing key sectors.
Ahmed Al-Soufi, advisor to President-for-Life Saleh ... exemplifying the Arab's propensity to combine brutality with incompetence... , told Radio Sawa that the initiative called for holding early presidential elections and that Saleh never runs for president.
"The initiative calls for early presidential elections on condition Saleh does not compete and bring one of his sons to run for the post of president. Right now, there are deliberations focused on how long it will take to prepare for these elections because Yemen is a democratic state," he said.
The announcement coincided with reports that President Saleh, who left a Saudi hospital two days ago after two months of treatment for injuries he had got in a rocket attack on his palace in June, has decided not to come back to Yemen.
Reports said that the decision came amid mounting U.S. and Saudi pressure on him.
Saleh's body was completely burned in the attack that badly maimed 87 bigwigs in his regime including PM, Shura Chairman and Parliament Speaker and killed almost a dozen of his bodyguards.
The veteran president who has been facing escalating protests calling for his regime ouster underwent nine surgeries for the burns and reports said on Sunday that his doctors are afraid if he comes back his condition might deteriorate.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/09/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
...How many times has he decided not to come back now?
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
08/09/2011 7:41 Comments ||
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#2
Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away
BOOOOOOM!
Now it looks like they're here to stay, oh I believe in yesterday, suddenly, a comma came to stay, and so did I, yesterday.
Posted by: S ||
08/09/2011 20:29 Comments ||
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[Bangla Daily Star] One suspected criminal was killed in a shootout between police and his cohorts at the capital's Porabosti slum at Kalyanpur early yesterday.
Police tossed in the slammer three of the gang, one of them bullet-hit, and recovered a private car,
Whoa! What happened to "vanished, as if they'd never been"?
Either the collective cunning of the miscreants has decreased in recent months, or the patience of the police has...
one pistol, five bullets and two sharp weapons from their possession, said Kazi Wazed Ali, officer-in-charge of Mirpur Police Station.
Assistant Sub-inspector Zamilur Rahman was also hit in the leg during the shootout. He was admitted to Rajarbagh Police Lines Hospital, Wazed added.
"Doc, come quick! He stubbed his toe!"
The dead is Nur Hossain, 32, who pegged out at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) around 5:45am, around five hours after he was hit in the leg.
While there may have been toe-stubbing for Mr. Hossain, his case was in the end determined to be considerably more complicated. Thank goodness Dr. Quincy was on duty.
Injured Babu, 25, was undergoing treatment at DMCH. The two other detainees -- Rony Hossain, 25, and Abdur Rashid, 40 -- were placed on a three-day remand for interrogation.
"Assistant sub-inspector, fetch the mustache wax. It's going to be a long three days."
"But Sarge, I've been wounded -- remember my toe?"
"Stiff upper lip, man -- expect every man to do his duty and all-that-kind-of-thing."
Police said a plainclothes police team signalled the private car as it was passing through the slum at about 12:15am.
Step five: after all good citizens have sought their pillows...
Not stopping, the criminals opened fire prompting the police to fire back.
What could they do, it was practically an engraved invitation!
"At one stage, one of the five gang members bravely ran away firing shots indiscriminately," the OC said.
And equally bravely hit nothing, thank goodness.
Babul Hossain, a local tea vendor, said the gang tried to flee the spot
That spot. The one under the X.
leaving the car but locals caught two of them while two others, hit by bullet, fell on the ground.
Two men, one bullet? Impressive...
The gang went to the area to sell the car, which was hijacked from city's Mohammadpur area three days ago, Wazed said.
Police are trying to identify the car owner.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/09/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Police are trying to identify the car owner.
There that smudge over there, is that Him?
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
08/09/2011 3:20 Comments ||
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#2
What's up with all this non-RAB activity? are these coppers the summer replacement series for the Real RAB as they work on the Fall lineup?
[Dawn] A kaboom on Monday maimed at least 10 Pak soldiers in the Taliban and Al-Qaeda hotspot of Wazoo on the Afghan border, officials said.
The device exploded by remote control as a military vehicle passed through the Sararogha village area in the mountains of South Waziristan, which is part of Pakistain's semi-autonomous tribal district.
"At least 10 soldiers were maimed, three of them seriously," a security official told AFP.
A local intelligence official confirmed the kaboom and casualties.
Pakistain carried out a sweeping offensive in 2009 in South Waziristan targeting the country's main Taliban faction, but many of their commanders and foot soldiers are believed to have decamped to neighbouring North Waziristan.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/09/2011 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] Security forces have killed more than 200 snuffies over the past month in the Kurram Agency ...home of an intricately interconnected web of poverty, ignorance, and religious fanaticism, where the laws of cause and effect are assumed to be suspended, conveniently located adjacent to Tora Bora... where the military is waging an anti-Taliban offensive, a Pak official said.
Javedullah said four of the snuffies were killed Monday in the tribal region.
The United Nations ...aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society... said tens of thousands of civilians have decamped the area to avoid the conflict.
Javedullah said one soldier had been killed and 10 had been maimed over the past month in Kurram. He said the fighting had slowed since the start of the month of Ramazan.
Access to Kurram is restricted and the reports are difficult to independently verify.
Pakistain's army has been fighting snuffies in the tribal belt for years, with limited success.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/09/2011 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] A US federal judge has denied bail for the son of a Florida imam incarcerated on charges of financing and supporting the Pak Taliban.
US prosecutors have charged Irfan Khan, 37, along with his father and brother, who is also a holy man at another Florida mosque, with conspiring to provide material support to terrorists.
The three Pak-born US citizens were incarcerated in May and are among six people indicted on charges they conspired to transfer about $50,000 and provide other support for the Pak Taliban, which the US government considers a terrorist organization.
In a ruling late on Friday, Judge Adalberto Jordan denied bail for Khan, saying he represented a flight risk. The judge had already rejected bail requests for the other two men.
Jordan said the evidence against Khan was "substantial" but not as strong as that against his father, Hafiz Muhammed Sher Ali Khan, 76, who was a holy man at the Miami Mosque at the time of his arrest.
All three men have pleaded not guilty "Wudn't me." to the charges. If convicted, the men face up to 15 years in prison for each count of the indictment.
Prosecutors say their arrests capped a three-year investigation into suspicious financial transactions and were based on recorded conversations and a trail of money moving from US bank accounts to Pakistain.
US officials allege the men, along with the others indicted, also supported the Pak Taliban through a madrasa, or Islamic school, in Swat, Pakistain.
The other three people charged in the case were living in Pakistain when the indictment was handed down and are believed to be still on the lam.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/09/2011 00:00 ||
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Yusoh Weseechi, 52, a village leader in Pattani province, was killed in an ambush on Tuesday morning. Yusoh was attacked on a local road in front of a school in Yaring while driving his motorcycle to visit his wife in the village. He was hit several times in his head and body, and died on the spot.
A Buddhist teacher was severely wounded in a drive-by shooting in Pattani province Tuesday.
Somboon Jongderm, 57, a teacher and assistsant director at the Royal Thai Army Uthit Don Yang School, was attacked at 12:30 p.m. while he was leaving his school. Police said Somboon was shot by a pillion rider just 300 meters outside of the school. A bullet passed through his right arm and chest, and he was taken to the hospital.
Two border patrol police officers were wounded in a bombing at a 7-Eleven convenience store near the Southern Border Provinces Police Command Centre in Yala province.
The two injured police, identified as Pol Sen Sgt-Maj Somwong Niraro and Pol Sen Sgt-Maj Nipatcharaporn Kosuma, were going to work in Yala municipality.
Set off by a radio signal, the blast created a shallow hole about one meter wide in the road, with fragments of the radio and bomb scattered around the site. Vehicles and nearby buildings were also damaged.
Police found a small ice carrier wrapped in brown tape which they inspected and destroyed by robot. The bomb squad found only sand inside the carrier. It is believed that the tape-wrapped ice carrier was a decoy to draw police to the scene before setting off an actual bomb.
Police are reviewing closed-circuit television coverage to identify the bombers, and believe a group of suspected terrorists insurgents led by Madaree Arong may be behind the attack.
[An Nahar] Hizbullah gunnies have intercepted a group of Lebanese youths and expatriates who arrived at the barren mountains of the Bekaa town of al-Yammouneh on an ATV trip that started in Ouyoun al-Siman and passed through the Cedar Mountains and Ouyoun Orghosh, Akhbar al-Yawm news agency reported Monday.
"We took the Deir al-Ahmar-al-Yammouneh road ... and we were surprised to see three khaki-clad gunnies in full combat gear standing in the middle of the road, near a guard post fortified with sand barriers," one of the voyagers told Akhbar al-Yawm.
"You are in a Hizbullah military zone; go back to where you came from," the voyager quoted the Hizbullah members as saying.
"On the way back, the voyagers encountered a truck driver and asked him about another road that can lead to Ouyoun al-Siman other than the relatively long road they initially took. They also asked him about what's going on in the area and he told them that 'Hizbullah members block this road every now and then', without elaborating," the news agency said.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/09/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Poppy harvesting season?
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
08/09/2011 9:46 Comments ||
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[Dawn] 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... on Monday appointed a new defence minister, state television ... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
reported, amid mounting Arab condemnation of nearly five months of deadly crackdown on dissent.
"President Assad has signed a decree naming General Daood Rajha as the head of the defence ministry," the television report said.
The 64-year-old Rajha, who was the army's chief of staff, replaces General Ali Habib who had been defence minister since 2009.
State television said Assad had decided to remove Habib and replace him with Rajha in line with decisions he took after meetings residents of protest cities to make changes in top state positions.
But the report also said that Habib "has been ill for some time and his condition has tanked." In April, less than a month after the start of pro-democracy protests in Syria, Assad ordered the formation of a new government after former premier Mohammed Naji Otri resigned on March 29.
Since the protests broke out in mid-March, the president has sacked several governors, namely from flashpoint provinces such as Homs and Hama in the centre, and Deir Ezzor in the east.
Assad's latest decision comes as oil kingpin Soddy Arabia and two other members of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council recalled their ambassadors from Syria for consultations and condemned the violence.
The head of Al-Azhar, the top Sunni Mohammedan authority, also denounced the bloodshed from Cairo and urged the Syrian authorities to put an immediate end to the "tragedy" of the bloodletting.
The Cairo-based 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... on Sunday issued its first formal statement on Syria with Secretary General Nabil al-Arabi calling for an "impartial probe"into the bloodshed, and warning against "chaos" and "religious strife."
Posted by: Fred ||
08/09/2011 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] Syria's state-run news agency ...and if you can't believe the state-run news agency who can you believe?... SANA reported that "army units tasked with restoring security and stability to the city of Hama began leaving it after completing their mission of protecting civilians and tracking down the armed terrorist groups which had been wreaking havoc" in the city.
The agency quoted an official military source as saying that "the army units confronted the terrorists, showing high precision and professionalism and arresting a number of them to bring them to justice."
The military source added that "normal life began to return gradually to the city."
Hama and the eastern oil hub of Deir Ezzor have been rallying points for pro-democracy protests since mid-March.
Activists say more than 200 civilians have been killed in the central city of Hama since the army launched a violent crackdown on July 31.
In 1982, an estimated 20,000 people were killed in Hama when the army put down an Islamist revolt against the rule of 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... 's late father, Hafez.
The president replaced the governor of Hama after a record 500,000 protesters rallied in the opposition bastion on July 1 calling for the fall of the regime.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported Monday that seven people were killed, including a mother and her two children rubbed out as they were fleeing a military assault on Deir Ezzor.
Later a sniper rubbed out an 18-year-old woman in the city, the largest in eastern Syria, and an elderly woman was killed in the al-Joura district, the Observatory said, quoting local residents.
It also reported that security forces rubbed out three people in the southern protest hub of Deraa as they took part in the funeral of a man who died on Sunday.
It identified one of the victims as Maan Awadat, brother of prominent dissident Haitham Manaa. "He was hit in the head, it was an liquidation," said Rami Abdul Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory.
Witnesses and activists on Monday reported tanks and troops entering Maaret al-Numan in Idlib province bordering Turkey and carrying out "a large number of arrests," while tanks also deployed outside the town of Saraqeb.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/09/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
If I lived in Hama, it would be in a mobile home, with the motor running all the time.
[Dawn] Soddy Arabia recalled its envoy to Syria in a major escalation of international pressure Monday after security forces killed more than 50 people and the regime defended its crackdown on "outlaws".
The surprise move by Riyadh, the Middle East's Sunni Mohammedan heavyweight, followed condemnation by Pope Benedict XVI and 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... over the continuing bloodshed.
"Soddy Arabia announces the recall of its ambassador for consultations," the king said in a statement and urged 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... to "stop the killing machine and the bloodshed...before it is too late".
"The kingdom does not accept the situation in Syria, because the developments cannot be justified," he said, urging "comprehensive and quick reforms".
"The future of Syria lies between two options: either Syria chooses willingly to resort to reason, or face being swept into deep chaos, God forbid," he said.
He branded the crackdown on protests immoral and in breach of Islamic teaching.
"Large numbers of deaders have fallen, their blood has been shed, and many others have been maimed...this is not in accord with religion, values and morals," he said.
He reminded the Syrian government of Saudi support "in the past" but said that the Gulf kingdom had to take an "historic" decision.
The US envoy to Damascus, Robert Ford, who returned to Syria on Thursday, said in a US television interview on Sunday that Washington will "try to ratchet up the pressure" on President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad's One of the last of the old-fashioned hereditary iron-fisted fascist dictators. Before going into the family business Pencilneck was an eye doctor... regime.
Ford, who infuriated the Syrian authorities with a visit to the flashpoint protest city of Hama last month, also told ABC news that the violence against protesters was "grotesque" and "abhorrent".
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ... sometimes described as the Smartest Woman in the World and at other times as Mrs. Bill, never as Another James Baker ... meanwhile has asked Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu to press Syria to "return its military to the barracks," during his visit to Damascus on Tuesday, an official said.
Clinton spoke by telephone with Davutoglu on Sunday, State Department front man Mark Toner said in Washington.
"Secretary Clinton discussed the US position that Syria must immediately return its military to barracks and release all prisoners of concern," Toner said.
Activists said security forces backed by tanks killed 42 civilians in the eastern city of Deir Ezzor and at least 10 more in the central town of Hula on Sunday.
"Forty-two civilians have been killed and more than 100 maimed in Deir Ezzor by gunfire from the armed forces and security agents," Syrian League for the Defence of Human Rights head Abdel Karim Rihawi told AFP.
In Hula in Homs district, at least 10 people were killed in a military assault, Rihawi said.
"About 25 tanks and troop carriers entered Hula and carried out military operations," another activist, Rami Abdel Rahman of the Britannia-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said earlier.
The Observatory also reported two civilians rubbed out in Idlib in the northwest by security forces firing on mourners at a funeral.
Abdel Rahman said hundreds of demonstrators erupted into the streets of Syria's second city Aleppo ...For centuries, Aleppo was Greater Syria's largest city and the Ottoman Empire's third, after Constantinople and Cairo. Although relatively close to Damascus in distance, Aleppans regard Damascenes as country cousins... in the north late on Sunday, demanding the fall of the regime and proclaiming solidarity with Deir Ezzor and Hama.
Assad roundly defended his security forces, however.
"To deal with outlaws who cut off roads, seal towns and terrorise residents is a duty of the state which must defend security and protect the lives of civilians," state news agency SANA quoted him as saying.
SANA also quoted an official military source as dismissing claims that the army was shelling Deir Ezzor with tanks as "completely false and untrue".
The latest bloodshed came as the pope said he was "following with deep concern the dramatic and increasing episodes of violence in Syria that have led to numerous victims and grave suffering".
The Arab League made its first official statement on the unrest, calling on Damascus to "immediately" stop the violence that has raged since mid-March.
Secretary General Nabil al-Arabi also urged an "impartial probe" into the bloodshed, warning against "chaos" and "religious strife" in Syria, it said.
US and European leaders pledged to consider new steps to punish Syria after security forces killed more than 30 people on the first Friday of Ramazan, the holy Mohammedan month of fasting.
Syria's government has sought to crush the democracy movement with force, leaving at least 2,059 people dead, including 391 members of the security forces, according to the Syrian Observatory.
The Assad regime has pledged reform and accused "armed terrorist gangs" of fomenting the unrest.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/09/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
meanwhile has asked Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu to press Syria to "return its military to the barracks,"
Well, I'll be damned, she really is THAT stupid, isn't she?
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
08/09/2011 17:46 Comments ||
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(KUNA) -- Kuwait has recalled its ambassador in Syria for consultation, the country's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Dr. Mohammad Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah said.
"Kuwait has decided to recall its ambassador in 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... for consultation," the Kuwaiti deputy prime minister and foreign minister told news hounds following a parliamentary meeting.
He added that the foreign ministers of the GCC members states will meet soon to look into the latest developments in Syria.
He said Kuwait took the lead to break Arab acquiescence in the situation in Syria by having issued a statement four days ago, which was then followed by a relevant GCC statement.
In its statement, Kuwait had voiced much dismay at continuing bloodshed in Syria, and had called for dialogue and a political solution to the crisis that should envision genuine reforms in order to fulfill the legitimate demands of the Syrian people, and should avert security solutions.
He condemned bloodshed involving over 2,000 Syrians as "unacceptable".
The Kuwaiti official, meanwhile, hailed the recent wise position and deep message of King of the Arabians, Sheikh of the Burning Sands #65;bdullah ... Fifth out of 37 sons of King Abdulaziz to ascend to the throne. He is, after his half-brothers Bandar and Musa'id, the third eldest of the living sons of Abdul Aziz ibn Saud. Abdullah's mother is from the Rashid clan, longtime rivals of the Saud. He has 6 sons and 15 daughters and about $20 billion. His youngest son is just seven years old... bin Abdulaziz, in which he called on Syrian officials to stop bloodshed and to resort to wisdom and reconciliation with the people instead.
He reiterated his country's support for the Saudi position, given that the security option should be given up and bloodshed be halted.
On Kuwait, Sheikh Mohammad said: "Kuwait is protected by Gold and then by its international relations, commitments and full respect of international law, charters and norms." On Mubarak Al-Kabeer port on Boubyan Island, he said: "Kuwait is fully committed to (UN) Resolution 833 whose Article 5 provides the freedom and right of navigation at Al-Abdullah Inlet without any obstacle or impediment." He reaffirmed his country's welcome of an Iraqi technical delegation to be briefed on relevant technical, engineering and environmental studies, which prove that Mubarak Al-Kabeer port would not impede navigation at Abdullah Inlet.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/09/2011 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[6 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
#1
"Kuwait is protected by Gold
Sweet sweet Freudian one there.
Posted by: S ||
08/09/2011 12:56 Comments ||
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#1
Did Foreign Training Help the Taliban Take Down a NATO Helicopter?
What brought the helo down was our unwillingness to vanquish the enemy and achieve victory. This area was being turned over to host nation, but they failed to secure it and the TB moved back in. Senior leaders fear this scenario will play out in other turn-over areas as well. Remind anyone besides me of helo's landing on top of the embassy?
Launching a QRF (Quick Reaction Force) into a unsecured, HOT LZ has it's risks. We just suffered one of them.
No counterinsurgency can be defeated with border sancuaries such as Pakistan. This is a fool's game at best.
Sickening, all very, very sickening. This entire country isn't worth a bucket of warm piss.
#2
"One unidentified source told an American officer that seven Manpads purchased by Iran from Algeria had been 'clandestinely transported from Mashhad in Iran across the border into Afghanistan,'" the paper explained. "Other reports, also unconfirmed, accused Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence of supplying weapons or missile-trainers to the Taliban." Last month, Kandahar's police chief told Afghanistan's TOLO News that Pakistan and Iran were providing "safe havens" for Taliban leaders. Other reports last year suggested that Taliban fighters were training in Iran and using Iranian weapons.
Check, check, and check. I would not trust any intel coming from tribal chiefs, ISI, Pakistanis, Afgans, etc. unless thoroughly vetted. I recall the group of CIA agents who trusted an informant. Vigilance was relaxed and he turned out to be a boomer.
#4
We are wasting blood and treasure on this dump. The enemy has safe haven and support in both Pakistan and Iran. Our supply lines are extremely long and you have to bring in everything. The locals are uneducated, tribal and regionalized by the local geography. The local geography also makes fighting and transport a nightmare. Anyone here, many of whom have a lot more experience about such things, think this is a good place to fight or that we have a chance of making a difference? I say we declare victory and leave. Start packing today.
Bush pretty much DID 'declare victory and leave' back in 2003 but was ridiculed and vilified for it, for abandoning a 'righteous' war and 'lying' us into wrongful war in Iraq. I thought it was the single most intelligent and pragmatic decision he made as Commander-in-Chief.
#6
The whole point of the Afghan War is to not allow Al Qaeda (or their facsimiles) a base to train and launch attacks against the West. Are we sure that this has been accomplished? I'm not...
Posted by: Shakey Steve ||
08/09/2011 14:09 Comments ||
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#7
How many attacks has al-Qaeda launched on the west from Afghan bases these last few years?
There's your answer.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/09/2011 15:36 Comments ||
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#8
Does the term 'Taliban' ring a bell? Last time I checked, they are still VERY active Afghanistan, and are still bragging about attacking Western targets...do they not qualify as a facsimile of Al Qaeda? Remove the Allied armies, and the Taliban will take over as sure as the sun rises in the east. But there's not much Texas tea under those sands, so Dubya and his cabal had no reason to stay too long...
Posted by: Shakey Steve ||
08/09/2011 15:47 Comments ||
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#9
I suspect something that no one has yet said, that the shoot down was probably done with a Soviet Strela 3 (NATO name SA-14 Gremlin).
Strela-3 missiles have been exported to over 30 countries since 1974. It has a reputation for being an effective fly swatter for slow moving, low targets.
Posted by: john frum ||
08/09/2011 17:00 Comments ||
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#11
If they did use an anza missle then we would run out of reasons to let Pakistan exist.
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
08/09/2011 17:26 Comments ||
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#12
So Shakey, if the Taliban return, so what? Then they become a pain in the ass, nothing more. We know a whole lot more about A-stan now than we did before 2011. If they set up diddly that could threaten us there are a whole lot of ways we could eliminate the threat. We are not limited to troops on the ground. The point is that we are not going to eliminate the Taliban...ever. Even if we stay 20 years, as soon as we leave, the Taliban or some version are going to return. That is why it is futile to waste more blood and treasure on this exercise.
#14
AFAIK the Taliban Hard Boyz are still claiming it was an RPG - however, AFAIK again they haven't specified whether the SEALS' Helo was fired upon by only one lone Fighter, or a group of Fighters in which one struck home.
Safe to argue that the SEALS' LZ was NOT SECURE.
FYI an AL-QAEDA AFFILIATE is jumping into the fray, claiming it was one of their Hard Boyz that killed the SEALS, ee AL-QAEDA-IN-GAZA = JIHADAYA SALAFIDHAYA.
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King of the Arabians, Sheikh of the Burning Sands #65;bdullah
