Camp Pendleton, Calif. An eight-man panel of four officers and four senior non-commissioned officers will begin listening to testimony Monday morning when the lawyers fighting the final Battle of Haditha offer their opening statements at the General Court Martial of SSgt Frank D. Wuterich, the last Marine standing in the six-year-old fight.
The government is apparently expecting a tough battle in the weeks ahead.
I cant think of a single witness desiring of being helpful to the government, complained chief prosecutor Major Nicholas Gannon at the conclusion the tedious two-day voir dire proceeding. Sitting next to him was LtCol. Sean Sullivan, a Chicago reservist called to active duty to augment the prosecution team the government assembled.
Across the aisle, wearing an air of pleased expectation, were Wuterichs lawyers: retired Marine military judge Neal Puckett and Haytham Faraj, a retired Marine major and experienced Haditha defense counsel. Assisting them is detailed Marine counsel Major Meridith Marshall, a relative newcomer to the Haditha imbroglio.
Military judge LtCol. David Jones ordered the trial to begin Monday morning after a colonel and two sergeants were stricken from the pool of potential panelists at the conclusion of the two-day selection process.
A Swedish citizen died early yesterday (January 5) when he overshot a bend in Kamala on his rented motorbike and crashed into a shop.
Kamala Police were called to the site of the crash in Baan Bang Wan at 2 am and found the body of Masmood Sulan Sasi, 49. He was not wearing a helmet. 2am and riding motorcycles don't mix. Take a cab, for chrissake, it's not like they're expensive.
Insh'allah, my dear. If Allah wills his death, no precautions will matter, but if he does not, precautions are not necessary. Given that, why bother spending even so little?
A witness told police that Mr Sasi was travelling at high speed down the narrow road and had lost control on the bend, crashing into a full-length window in the side of the shop.
The body was taken to Patong Hospital for collection by Mr Sasi's family.
Over 3,000 people were killed in South Sudan in brutal massacres last week in an kaboom of ethnic violence that forced tens of thousands to flee, the top local official said Friday.
"There have been mass killings, a massacre," said Joshua Konyi, commissioner for Pibor county in Jonglei state. "We have been out counting the bodies, and we calculate so far that 2,182 women and kiddies were killed and 959 men died."
United Nations ...a formerly good idea gone bad... and South Sudanese army officials have yet to confirm the corpse counts and the claims from the remote region could not be independently verified.
If confirmed, the killings of 3,141 people would be the worst outbreak of ethnic violence ever seen in the decampedgling nation, which split from Sudan in July.
A column of some 6,000 rampaging armed youths from the Lou Nuer tribe last week marched on the remote town of Pibor, home to the rival Murle people, whom they blame for abductions and cattle raiding and have vowed to exterminate.
The Lou Nuer gunnies attacked Pibor at the weekend, torching huts and looting a hospital, and only withdrew after government troops opened fire.
Over a thousand children are missing, feared kidnapped, while tens of thousands of cows were stolen, added Konyi, who is himself an ethnic Murle.
The UN humanitarian coordinator for South Sudan, Lise Grande, said she feared "tens, perhaps hundreds" could have died.
"Yes, there have been casualties, but we don't have the details, and can't at present confirm what the commissioner reports," said Jonglei state information minister Isaac Ajiba.
"We are awaiting reports from our (military) forces on the ground," said South Sudan army front man Philip Aguer. "For the assessment to be credible they must have gone into the villages to count all the bodies."
South Sudan has declared Jonglei state a national "disaster area", while the UN has said it will launch a "massive emergency operation" to help those uprooted by the violence.
"The needs are great... It is currently estimated that 50,000 people are affected," Elisabeth Byrs, spokeswoman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), told news hounds in Geneva.
The ethnic groups must "return all the kidnappedwomen and kiddies of both sides and reunite them with their communities," the government added.
Lou Nuer fighters are now returning homewards, after the army and UN peacekeepers beefed up reinforcements in Pibor, while the World Food Programme (WFP) has flown in emergency rations to support the thousands displaced.
A statement from a group calling itself the "Nuer White Army" said their attacks against the Murle had been "successful" and warned of more assaults if the Murle retaliate.
"If they did that, we will launch surprise attacks which will lead to more bloodshed and displacements," it added, warning the government "any attempt to disarm the Nuer White Army will lead to catastrophe."
Doctors Without Borders (MSF -- Medecins Sans Frontieres), the main healthcare provider for the estimated 160,000 people in Pibor county, has temporarily suspended its operations after the festivities forced them to evacuate staff.
"Parts of the town have been burnt, our facilities were completely looted, but people are coming back and are not afraid any more, it is stable now," said Parthesarathy Rajendran, MSF head of mission, after visiting Pibor.
"There are enormous needs, some people need every single item. Our first priority will be medical care, but we are planning to provide non-food items as well so people can start rebuilding," he added in a statement Friday.
Newly independent South Sudan was left in ruins by decades of war with northern Sudanese forces, who fuelled conflict by backing proxy militia forces across the south, often exacerbating historical enmities between rival groups.
Ethnic violence, cattle raids and reprisal attacks in the vast eastern state left over 1,100 people dead and forced some 63,000 from their homes last year, according to UN reports based on local authorities and assessment teams.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/07/2012 00:00 ||
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#4
At least one of his brothers lives in squalor in an african shanty town. On less than $30 a month. Why should his cousins garner any more sympathy than his brother.
#5
I'm thinkin' that the 0bama family estate, (the Kenmore dryer shipping box in Kenya) is beginning to smell a bit gamy these days; as is our Pharaoh.
Posted by: Slomp Oppressor of the Faeries1490 ||
01/07/2012 23:02 Comments ||
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CARACAS- Venezuelan His Excellency President-for-Life, Caudillo of the Bolivarians Hugo Chavez on Friday named as defense minister General Henry Rangel Silva, who the United States has described as a "drug kingpin" linked to cocaine smuggling from neighboring Colombia..
In 2008, the US Treasury Department accused Rangel and another high-ranking officer of materially assisting the narcotics trafficking activities of Colombia's FARC rebels. Both men deny any wrongdoing.
For a map, click here.
To read the Rantburg report on the filing of the lawsuit, click here
By Chris Covert
Attorneys for former Mexican president Ernesto Zedillo filed a motion in US District Court in Hartford claiming Zedillo has immunity from prosecution for his alleged role in an massacre that took place in 1997 in Chiapas state, according to Mexican and US news reports.
A Miami, Florida law firm filed suit on behalf of the 45 individuals who were shot to death in Acteal, Chiapas, naming six John and Jane Does as plaintiffs. The lawsuit, filed last October, requests unspecified damages and attorney fees.
Zedillo was president of Mexico from 1994 to 2000, around the time of the Chiapas conflict when Marxist guerrillas associated with the Ejercito Zapatista Liberacion Nacional launched an a six day assault in the far southern Mexican state of Chiapas.
Zedillo now teaches at Yale University.
The armed portion of the conflict was mediated by clergy and laymen from the Mexican Catholic Church, chief amongst them, Javier Sicilia, leader of Mexico's anti drug war peace movement.
The EZLN war inspired a number of other Marxist groups in Chiapas, Guerrero and Oaxaca states, responding to perceived injustices committed by Mexican government officials.
The war between EZLN guerrillas and their supporters and the Mexican government and their supporters went from hot to cold until December 1997 when a number of armed men attacked a church housing Christian pacifists and killed 45 individuals including women and children. The attack lasted for six hours according to reports.
It was later found the community, known as the time as Los Abesos, were active supporters of the EZLN, which is a fact likely to have contributed to the decision to attack the church.
The attack on Acteal was preceded by several years of conflict between indigenous Indians living in Chiapas who supported the ELZN and Mexican citizens. Eventually it was found that ELZN and their supporters violated terms of the ceasefire.
The 34 individuals said to be responsible for the shootings were convicted and sentenced to 26 years of prison. In 2009 a Mexican court released 20 of those convicted because of prosecutorial misconduct.
It is extremely unlikely Zedillo had any direct responsibility for the attack in Acteal or he knew in advance about the attack, inasmuch as he was president and commander in chief of the Mexican Army at the time of the attack.
The counterinsurgency strategy adopted and implemented by the Mexican Army at the time had been developed during Zedillo's predecessor's rule, Carlos Salinas de Gortari. The strategy called for the arming of prior and concurrent Mexican military service personnel to provide intelligence and policing capability in the region. The strategy was based in part on the experiences of the US in Greece and in the Philippines.
[Dawn] Eastman Kodak, the company which brought photography to the masses a century ago, faces a gloomy future amid new reports that it is on the edge of bankruptcy.
Never able to rebuild after the digital wave blew its core film business away from the mass market, the Wall Street Journal reported on late Wednesday that Kodak has already begun preparing to ask for protection from creditors.
On Tuesday the New York Stock Exchange told the company, once one of the fabled 30 Dow Jones blue chips, that it faces delisting from the exchange if it cannot get its stock price back above $1.00 level.
In its heyday Kodak shares topped $80 in 1996 -- just at the outset of the digital photo revolution that eventually replaced the need for consumers to buy Kodak film, once a virtual monopoly in the US market.
On Wednesday its share price plunged 28 per cent to 47 cents a share; Thursday it sank another 10.6 per cent to 42 cents as Moody's downgraded the company's debt rating to a very low Caa3, citing "a heightened probability of a bankruptcy over the near term."
And on Thursday the company's chief communications officer quit, following in the wake of three board directors in the past two weeks. The Wall Street Journal said the company is still hoping that it can sell off some of its valuable patent portfolio to raise money. But if that last-ditch effort fails, it could file for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 protection, later this month or in February, the Journal said citing sources familiar with the issue. That would place the jobs of its 19,000 employees in question.
At its height in the 1980s, it had 145,000 workers.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/07/2012 00:00 ||
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#1
No surprise here - at Penn State, my Case Group [among others] did a detailed presentation in front of Kodak Reps warning that Kodak must change or else face its own demise.
Posted by: Water Modem ||
01/07/2012 6:17 Comments ||
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#4
I worked at Kodak as an IS consultant for most of '96 -'97.
The one thing that twists my knickers in situations like this are the long line of simpletons that come out with the "We warned them, they didn't listen" crap. Same thing about DEC where I worked for 14 yrs. before they crashed and burned in the late '80s - early '90s.
Both Kodak and DEC knew what the issues were and caught on to the danger. What they couldn't do is find the right way out of the maze. I'm not absolving the people there but it is way too complicated for the brain-dead "they should have gone digital" type of commentary.
Oh, BTW, Rochester NY doesn't get all that much snow in the winter despite being on a Great Lake.
#6
What they couldn't do is find the right way out of the maze.
Business or political institutions both. It's institutional behavior. The ability to truly reinvent oneself is not that prevalent. Either there's a collapse or a revolution. Neither of which are usually pretty for those who are involved in the process. It takes leadership. Unfortunately too many confuse management with leadership.
#7
Oh, BTW, Rochester NY doesn't get all that much snow in the winter despite being on a Great Lake.
So true, AlanC. That's because the snow falls on Buffalo and the Southtowns area, leaving Rochester in a snow shadow, so to speak. In fact, Mr. Wife's parents' house in Lackawanna on the southwest side of Buffalo gets about a foot more snow than my mother's house on the northeast side of the city.
#8
So true TW. Rochester is between the snow plumes off Erie and Ontario. After the former, before the latter. Buffalo and Syracuse get clobbered.
Proco you are so right. There were many people at Kodak and DEC that saw the problems. Many also saw answers. The problem was which answers were right?
Just because there's more than one answer doesn't mean that all answers are right. Trying to turn around any large institution takes time even if you get it right; and time is something that the high velocity environment of high tech just doesn't afford you.
Posted by: Clilet Darling of the Ostrogoths8010 ||
01/07/2012 14:35 Comments ||
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#12
I'm sure the remaining company officers and executives are busily looting the company as we speak. Lets see an executive compensation report and then I'll decide whether to feel 'sorry' for them or not. To lazy to go and look for it myself, so f*ck em. Too bad for the 19K sorry smucks that do nothing but go to work and break their backs for them every day. That's the only sad part in my book.
[An Nahar] The husband of Ukraine's placed in durance vile former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko sought political asylum in the Czech Republic at the end of last year, a Czech newspaper reported Friday.
Oleksandr Tymoshenko, a 51-year-old businessman who also has a stake in Czech company International Industrial Projects, has a fair chance of getting the asylum, the Pravo daily said.
A year ago, Prague granted asylum to Bogdan Danylyshyn, economy minister in Tymoshenko's government in 2007-2010, causing a row with Ukraine that led to the expulsion of two Czech diplomats for alleged espionage in May 2011.
"We have never commented on asylum proceedings, and we won't do it today either," Czech interior ministry front man Pavel Novak told Agece La Belle France Presse.
Yulia Tymoshenko, the leader of Ukraine's 2004 Orange Revolution, was sentenced last October to seven years in prison for abuse of power during her time in office.
The case came up just months after she lost a close election to President Viktor Yanukovych.
Her husband seldom appeared in public, until he started to attend Tymoshenko's court hearings after she was taken into custody in August last year, Pravo said.
Tymoshenko's conviction was followed almost immediately by charges of financial crimes, allegedly committed while she was head of the state power company in the 1990s, which could keep her in prison even if the original case against her is overturned.
This case also involves Oleksandr Tymoshenko, who spent a year in jug on charges of embezzlement in 2000-2001 but was freed because of a lack of evidence.
"It cannot be ruled out that (the Ukrainian) authorities have focused on her husband again," Pravo said.
The Tymoshenko affair has sparked tensions between Kiev and the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... which suspects that the probes against the opposition leader are politically motivated.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/07/2012 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] Three persons, including a father and his son, were rubbed out in a family feud outside their home near Punjab House here on Thursday, police said. "Do you have a theory on this case, Officer Friendly?"
"I think they're dead."
Mohammad Ashraf, his son Ghulam Mustafa and their relative Habib Khan were heading towards Marrir Chowk when their rivals blocked their way and opened fire on them. "Yew jest stop right where yew air, Mohammad, Ghulam and Habib!"
The three were struck down in their prime, said the police. [BANG! BANG! BANGETY BANG!]
"Aaaiiieee! I am undone!"
"Aaaiiieee! Rosebud!"
"Aaaiiieee! Pain! Brief pain! [THUD!] Rattle...
Panic and fear gripped the surrounding areas as the gunshots rang out. "Remain calm! All is well...!"
[TRAMPLE!]
The younger son of the victim called the police for help; "Operator! Get me the police!"
however, the attackers numbering six beat feet before the police arrived. "Curly-toed slippers, don't fail us now!" Azeem Khan, the elder brother of Habib Khan, in his statement recorded with the Civil Lines police stated that he along with Arshad Mehmood was sitting at the corner of a street in the katchi abadi near Punjab House "Yeah. We wuz just sittin' on the corner, mindin' our own bidnid..."
when he saw Ashraf, Ghulam Mustaf and Habib Khan coming towards their home. "... when we seen dese guyz comin' toward our house!"
He said as the three reached at the corner of a narrow street, Jehanzeb, his brother Khan Vaiz and some other persons carrying pistols blocked their way. "Yeah. Dey was heeled an' da dear departed wudn't..."
He said Jehanzeb and his brother were nephews of deceased Ashraf. "So dey wuz like relatives, y'know?"
Azeem Khan said Jehanzeb shouted at Ashraf that he would teach him a lesson and then opened fire on him. "Son of a diseased camel! I'll show you! [BANG!]
In the meanwhile, Dilawar targeted Ghulam Mustafa and Miskeen shot Habib Khan. [BANG! BANGETY BANG!] Fearing that the attackers might kill them, Azeem Khan and Arshad Mehmood did not try to intercept the attackers, who beat feet after firing into the air. "Don't nobody try to follow us! [BANG!]... [QUACK!]"
The complainant said in his statement that all the attackers were carrying 30-bore pistols. "How d'you hit anything with a 30-bore? They're kiddy guns! Now this is a gun!"
"Holy spit! How d'you lift that thing?"
According to the police, the motive behind the triple murder was an old enmity between the two groups who belonged to the same family. "Yeah, Great Uncle Mahmoud spilled soup on Cousin Chaudry, seven times removed, at Cousin Fatima's wedding to Cousin Adullah. There wuz a minor altercation at the time, only seven dead and a couple dozen wounded. Nobody thought much of it at the time."
There had been a minor brawl between the groups some one-and-a-half years back but the issue was settled and a patch-up made between them. "Now youse guyz shake hands and make up!"
"[grumble]"
"[grumble]"
"And clean up those bodies! People'll think you're uncivilized!"
Posted by: Fred ||
01/07/2012 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... Governor Barrister Masood Kausar has directed political agents of all tribal agencies to effectively control kidnapping incidents to improve investment environment in Federally Administered Tribal Areas.
"This must be given serious consideration so that people feel some kind of improvement," he said during a high level meeting, according to an official handout issued here on Thursday.
Chairing the 12th Political Agents Conference at the Governor`s House on Thursday, Mr Kausar reviewed the law and order situation, anti-polio ...Poliomyelitis is a disease caused by infection with the poliovirus. Between 1840 and the 1950s, polio was a worldwide epidemic. Since the development of polio vaccines the disease has been largely wiped out in the civilized world. However, since the vaccine is known to make Moslem pee-pees shrink and renders females sterile, bookish, and unsubmissive it is not widely used by the turban and automatic weapons set... campaign in Fata, implementation on Fata legal reforms and the causes of unscheduled prolonged power loadshedding in the tribal areas.
Political agents presented reports about law and order situation in their respective agencies and briefed the governor about the steps taken to overcome the problem.
The governor said that as security environment in Fata was improving, the political administration should focus on the development of their respective areas.
The improvement of investment climate in Fata, he added, should also be attached top priority and potential investors should be provided facilities to encourage them to start businesses in Fata.
"The political administration should move forward, taking the tribal communities along," Mr Kausar said. He appreciated the support extended by local communities against militancy and urged the political administration to further strengthen their liaison with the rustics.
He directed the political agent of Khyber Agency to effectively address the grievances and complaints of Bara rustics. The process of return of internally displaced persons to their homes should be accelerated and facilitated, the governor said.
Issuing directives to the political agents to ensure speedy implementation of Fata reforms, he asked them to coordinate their efforts and perform their duties proactively to ensure further improvement in the tribal areas. He said that strengthening of peace and execution of development projects should be the two major priorities in all the seven tribal agencies.
The governor said that promotion of sports and cultural activities should also be focused in an effort to involve tribal youth in healthy and positive activities.
Reviewing the situation in the wake of prolonged power outages in Fata, he said that rustics must be given relief. He directed the authorities concerned to work out a mechanism to overcome the technical problems adding to rustics`s electricity related issues.
He said that Tribal Electric Supply Company and political administration should coordinate their efforts. The communities, he added, should also realise their responsibilities in improving the electricity distribution system in Fata.
The Fata additional chief secretary presented an overview about the implementation of the previous conference`s decisions.
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Secretary Ghulam Dastagir Akhtar, Fata Additional Chief Secretary Fazal Karim Khattak, officials of Fata Secretariat, commissioners of Kohat, Malkand and D.I. Khan, all the political agents, Fata director education and director health and Tesco chief executive attended the conference.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/07/2012 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] The politicians from both treasury and opposition benches in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... Assembly here on Thursday showed sagacity over the politically divisive issue of Hazara province.
Lawmakers of Awami National Party, both factions of Pakistain Mohammedan League and Jamaat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl said that Muttahida Qaumi Movement ...English: United National Movement, generally known as MQM, is the 3rd largest political party and the largest secular political party in Pakistain with particular strength in Sindh. From 1992 to 1999, the MQM was the target of the Pak Army's Operation Cleanup leaving thousands of urdu speaking civilians dead... and other forces would not be provided opportunity to divide people of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa along linguistic lines.
PML-Q politician from Abbottabad ... A pleasant city located only 30 convenient miles from Islamabad. The city is noted for its nice weather and good schools. It is the site of Pakistain's military academy, which was within comfortable walking distance of the residence of the late Osama bin Laden.... Qalandar Khan Lodhi on a point of order criticised ANP leaders for making hue and cry and holding regular pressers over MQM`s demand for carving out Hazara province from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
He said that ANP leaders should refrain from issuing statements, which offended people of Hazara and also provide opportunity to other elements to draw political mileage. He said if nobody was bringing resolution in favour of creation of Hazara province then why ANP leaders were issuing statements.
"So far this is non-issue and we have no intention to table resolution in the assembly," said Qalandar Lodhi, asking ANP not to generate controversy. He said that all issues would be resolved in the larger interest of the people of the province.
PML-N member from Hazara Javed Abbasi castigated MQM for bringing resolution in the National Assembly. He said that MQM was hatching conspiracy to create rifts between people of Hazara division and Pakhtuns in Bloody Karachi. ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It may be the largest city in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... "MQM has no representation in the provincial assembly and politicianship in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa has the ability and determination to resolve all issues," he said, adding that his party did not want division of the province on linguistic lines.
Mr Abbasi said that provincial assembly was the proper forum to hold debate on creation of new province and PML-N would fulfil all constitutional requirements needed for creation of new province. He said that his party understood intentions of MQM and others, who were supporting creation of new provinces in the country.
MMA politician Mufti Kifayatullah said that issue about creation of new provinces should not be blown out of proportion and political parties should give priority to the national interest. He said that 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 ... had recently supported creation of Hazara province.
Inayatullah Khan Jadoon and Sardar Aurangzeb Nelotha of PML-N also criticised MQM for doing politics on the issue of Hazara province.
Replying to the point of order, Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain said that Altaf Hussain wanted to divert attention from real issues and create new controversy. He said that ANP had struggled for 63 years to change name of the province, but never used unconstitutional means.
He said that MQM wanted division of Sindh to set up Jinnahpur. He added that MQM should stop killing people of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in Bloody Karachi and give them their basic rights.
The minister said that political parties should follow constitution and the provincial assembly would have to pass resolution with two/third majority of the total membership in support of creating new province. He said that ANP was not against creation of Hazara or any other province if constitutional requirements were fulfilled.
Mr Hussain said that government had decided in principle to carve out a new division from Hazara. He informed the house that decision regarding creation of new division was pending because of delay in census. He said that once the census process was completed Abaseen division comprising Battagram, Kohistan ...a backwoods district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa distinguished by being even more rustic than is the norm among the local Pashtuns.... and Torghar would be notified.
The assembly passed The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Enforcement of Women Ownership Rights Bill, 2011. The house allowed PPP politician Dr Faiza Rashid to introduce The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Labour Laws Application Workmen Bill, 2012 despite opposition by Minister for Labour Sher Azam Wazir.
Another PPP member Shazia Tehmas was not allowed to introduce bill regarding regularisation, organization and development of home-based workers. The move was defeated after it was put for vote.
Deputy Speaker Khushdil Khan, who was presiding over the proceedings, adjourned the house till 4pm Friday.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/07/2012 00:00 ||
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BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: A military parade was held today to commemorate the 91st anniversary of the Iraqi army, which is the first since US forces withdrawal.
The ceremony was attended by Premier Nouri al-Maliki, acting defence minister Sadoun Dulaimi, chief of staff Babakr Zebari and a number of ministers, senior officials and diplomatic missions accredited to Iraq.
Several types of forces took part in the parade, including tanks, APCs and helicopters.
Parliament Security and Defence Commission member Haki al-Zamili pointed out that the army needs more time to hand over the internal security to the Interior Ministry. "I think the army will continue its present tasks this year and many changes shall take place according to security situation", he elaborated.
On 6 January the first force was formed in 1921 on voluntary basis, but enlisted participation took place in 1935.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/07/2012 00:00 ||
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A senior Christian figure was stabbed to death by an unknown attacker during a march to mark the Orthodox Christmas in Jaffa on Friday night. The attacker was dressed up as Santa Claus, according to a number of eye witnesses.
Police identified the murder victim as Gabriel Cadis, Chairman of the Jaffa Orthodox Church Association.
Six suspects, all members of the Christian community in Jaffa, were arrested on Saturday. Police do not suspect a religiously motivated attack.
Police spokesman Moshe Katz told The Jerusalem Post that the stabbing occurred at the end of a march held by the Christian community along a Jaffa street.
"People nearby evacuated him from the scene," the spokesman added.
The stab victim was rushed to the Wolfson Medical Center in nearby Holon. Doctors attempted to save his life but were unsuccessful, and he was pronounced death shortly after arrival.
Homicide detectives have begun interviewing eye witnesses and searching for CCTV footage that could assist in their investigation.
A funeral procession was held for Candis in Jaffa on Saturday afternoon.
Just hurry up and sink already. The complainiest islands in all of the Indian Ocean are at it again:
The President of what could be the first country in the world lost to climate change has urged Australia to prepare for a mass wave of climate refugees seeking a new place to live.
The Maldivian President, Mohamed Nasheed, said his government was considering Australia as a possible new home if the tiny archipelago disappears beneath rising seas.
It is increasingly becoming difficult to sustain the islands, in the natural manner that these islands have been, he told the Herald in an interview in Male, the Maldives capital.
Then he attended a ceremony to mark the construction of a new airport. President Nasheed has more urgent problems than a few little waves:
An epidemic of cheap heroin has swept through the archipelago, but taken root in Male in particular. The UN has estimated 40 per cent of the countrys youth use hard drugs.
Nasheed, a Muslim as the Maldives constitution obliges all Maldivians to be, also faces a rising tide of Islamic fundamentalism. Wahhabist Islamic scholars, most schooled in madrassas in Pakistan, are radicalising Islam in the Maldives.
Female circumcision is practised, and is reportedly on the increase, across the archipelago. There are calls for the return of amputation for crimes and for the banning of music and dancing. Women are flogged for having extra-marital sex.
This global warming we sometimes hear about any chance of speeding it up
#3
I thought all Muslim refugees in the Indian Ocean went to Yemen. It's a tropical paradise. Ask anyone...
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/07/2012 16:19 Comments ||
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#4
summers are in Somalia. For the waters
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/07/2012 17:29 Comments ||
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#5
The Maldivian President, Mohamed Nasheed, said his government was considering Australia as a possible new home if the tiny archipelago disappears beneath rising seas.
Hmmmmm...Australia have any input on having this wonderful honor bestowed upon it?
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.
His Excellency President-for-Life, Caudillo of the Bolivarians Hugo Chavez
The husband of Ukraine's 
Three persons, including a father and his son, were 
Azeem Khan, the elder brother of Habib Khan, in his statement recorded with the Civil Lines police stated that he along with Arshad Mehmood was sitting at the corner of a street in the katchi abadi near Punjab House 
Fearing that the attackers might kill them, Azeem Khan and Arshad Mehmood did not try to intercept the attackers, who 
[Dawn] 
[Dawn] The 
Maulana Fazlur Rehman
